Goodbye 2019. 2020, do your best!

Another weird and wonderful but incredible year took place at McAteer Photo, and we want to say a massive big thank you to all our equally weird and wonderful clients and associates. You are the best!

 

With around 300 shoots under our belt, we were a tad busy – precisely the way we like it. And, as tradition demands, we’re looking back on some memorable projects to highlight the variety of commissions that have come our way.

Red Tree exterior | Image ©McAteer Photo

Red Tree

Break out space with warm wooden colours | By McAteer Photo

Red Tree Magenta, Glasgow

Our first commission of 2019 was an architectural photography shoot of a fabulous new flexible workspace just outside Glasgow city: Red Tree Magenta in Rutherglen when we got to play with our new medium format camera kit, the Fujifilm GFX50R.

South Lanarkshire College, students | Image by McAteer Photo

South Lanarkshire College, student

South Lanarkshire College, students | Image by McAteer Photo

South Lanarkshire College, students

South Lanarkshire College, graduates | Image by McAteer Photo

South Lanarkshire College, graduates

South Lanarkshire College is a further education institution in South Lanarkshire, Scotland | Image by McAteer Photo

SLC staff conference

South Lanarkshire College is a further education institution in South Lanarkshire, Scotland | Image by McAteer Photo

SLC staff conference

MENtal Health event, South Lanarkshire College | Image by McAteer Photo

MENtal Health event, South Lanarkshire College

South Lanarkshire College invited us back for another year to document all manner of goings-on in both still and film photography. Commissions included video interviews with ex-staff and college graduates to showcase at the annual staff conference, an event which we also filmed and photographed. We created a series of videos for their staff recruitment drive, filmed and photographed students in the construction department and documented many events, including Nae Paseran, Men’s Mental Health Awareness Day and SLC’s graduation ceremonies. The SLC staff and students were, as always, incredibly welcoming and open. We’re already looking forward to some January shoots with the students, who are always up for a selfie!

Invest Glasgow commissioned us to produce a film to showcase the many developments happening along the Clyde waterfront to show at March’s MIPIM property market conference in Cannes. Along with our Eye in the Sky associates, we filmed a series of locations along the river and combined them with CGI footage and visual masterplans to create a smashing film that shows the reinvigoration of Glasgow’s waterfront with investment equating to £2.5bn. Later in the year, we partnered again with Invest Glasgow to produce a film that talks of the build-to-rent investment the city is attracting.

Radisson Red | Models | Business shoot | ©McAteer Photo

Business shoot, Radisson Red

Anderson Bell + Christie directors outside their Glasgow offices. Images shows L-R Jonathan McQuillan, Stuart Russell, Adam Bell, Stephen Lamb Anderson Bell Christie architects started in 1991 and they are Glasgow based | Image by McAteer Photo

Anderson Bell Christie Architects

Images of Blazing Griffin game development and film production studio for Scottish Enterprise | Image by McAteer Photo

Blazing Griffin

St James Centre construction, Edinburgh | Image by McAteer Photo

St James Centre construction, Edinburgh

Wind Farm, Eaglesham | Image by McAteer Photo

Wind Farm, Eaglesham

Long term client, Scottish Enterprise had our freelance associates and us photographing all over Scotland at supported businesses, cross-sector events, press launches and entrepreneurial development fund initiatives along with aerial flights to photograph development and investment sites around Scotland. We continue to manage the Scottish Enterprise online image library, cataloguing our images and sourcing from 3rd parties.

Edinburgh Law School library | Image by McAteer Photo

Law Library, University of Edinburgh

Dougal Sharp, Innes & Gunn | Image by McAteer Photo

Dougal Sharp, Innes & Gunn

Image shows statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary outside the Fransciscan church. Image by McAteer Photo

Virgin Mary, Fransciscan church

For Graham Construction and Laurence Macintosh, we photographed the beautifully refurbished University of Edinburgh Law Library at the start of the year. And, in February, we were asked to shoot St Valentine’s remains (yes, really), and Alan got to photograph the maker of his favourite beer, Dougal Sharp of Innis & Gunn. Both shoots were for Scotland is Now.

Birthday doughnuts | By McAteer Photo

Team birthday doughnuts

We turned 17 in February, celebrating with copious amounts of doughnuts and team haikus!

Stain glass art and craft | Colston Wellpark Parish Church | Church of Scotland | By McAteer Photo

Colston Wellpark Parish Church

Murchiston House, Edinburgh | Image by McAteer Photo

Murchiston House, Edinburgh

During Spring, we photographed many murals, stained glass and artworks in Glasgow churches for Church of Scotland as well as some great shapes in the newly refurbished Murchison House at the University of Edinburgh’s King’s Building Campus for Knauf AMF.

Apprentices, DSM | Image by McAteer Photo

Apprentices, DSM

Apprentices, DSM | Image by McAteer Photo

Apprentices, DSM

We love doing portrait photography commissions, particularly with young people who have a never-ending enthusiasm for life and we got to do just that when filmed and photographed apprentices at DSM for Message Matters.

Living in the west of Scotland, the weather can be somewhat challenging, especially when it’s ‘dreich,’ so we jumped at the chance to photograph a beautifully renovated Quercy farmhouse in France’s Lot et Garonne region during the glorious summer months.

A man picking up the handsent on an old black telephone with books in the background | Image by McAteer Photo

For Info policy

Man playing on a spinet | Image by McAteer Photo

Developing Collections policy

The National Trust for Scotland invited us to illustrate their policy document front covers. Working with the Trust’s Head of Collections and Interiors, we created a series of people-centred pictures featuring NTS treasures.  You can see more photos from this shoot here.

After the Rain bottles on rose petals | By McAteer Photo

After the Rain, Arran

Stocking fillers, Arran | Image by McAteer Photo

Stocking fillers, Arran

We photographed two significant campaigns for Arran Sense of Scotland during 2019: product photography for their signature scent, After the Rain (which you can read more about here) and their Christmas offering throughout their product range. We sourced props, styled and photographed the pieces in our Glasgow studio, resulting in creative imagery that Arran has widely used on social and digital media channels.

Masters of Fine Art | Citizen M

GSA MFA degree show | Image by McAteer Photo

GSA MFA degree show

GSA MFA degree show | Image by McAteer Photo

GSA MFA degree show

GSA MFA degree show | Image by McAteer Photo

GSA MFA degree show

Melody Uyanga Ramsay with her design | By McAteer photo

Melody Uyanga Ramsay with her design

Glasgow School of Art events are always a source of inspiration and offer some great photo opportunities. We were there for many of their highlights, including the MFA Graduate event at Citizen M, where we captured many-a-nice portrait and the Undergraduate Fashion Show, which included a collection by Melody Uyanga Ramsay – the winner of a prestigious internship with Ralph Lauren (find out more here). The Graduate Degree Show is always a favourite to photograph too.

A huge second fire in June 2018 caused extensive damage at Glasgow's Mackintosh building and hit multimillion-pound restoration work carried out in the aftermath of a previous blaze in 2014. | Image by McAteer Photo

Mackintosh Building and O2 ABC Glasgow

A huge second fire in June 2018 caused extensive damage at Glasgow's Mackintosh building and hit multimillion-pound restoration work carried out in the aftermath of a previous blaze in 2014. | Image by McAteer Photo

Mackintosh Building post fire

A huge second fire in June 2018 caused extensive damage at Glasgow's Mackintosh building and hit multimillion-pound restoration work carried out in the aftermath of a previous blaze in 2014. | Image by McAteer Photo

Mackintosh Building post fire

The 2018 fire at Glasgow School of Art was one of the saddest incidents in recent times. GSA asked us to photograph what remained of the iconic structure after the building was made safe for some to enter in late spring.

Roots and Fruits | Cullen - Moulded Pulp & Corrugate Packaging | By McAteer Photo

Staff at factory | Cullen - Moulded Pulp & Corrugate Packaging | By McAteer Photo

Pulp paper manufacturers, Cullen asked us to help with their re-branding and create a collection of new images that showed their people, products and processes.  You can read more about that commission here.

Images of Formedix staff working on location at Spaces, Glasgow | Image by McAteer Photo

Formedix staff

Images of Formedix staff working on location at Spaces, Glasgow | Image by McAteer Photo

Formedix staff

We spent a day with medical trial software developers, Formedix to observe their team at work. We were fuelled by their incredible enthusiasm for their work and their team of fun-loving staff.

We created a series of short films for Scotland’s Towns Partnership featuring interviews with small business owners to highlight the business improvement districts for Scotland’s smaller rural towns.

360 Architecture workshop | Image by McAteer Photo

360 Architecture workshop

We had office-envy after photographing Threesixty Architecture’s amazing new workspace at The Garment Factory in Glasgow. We created a photo series of observational, candid images of the staff in their new home-from-home.

CoVault, Glasgow office canteen | Image by McAteer Photo

CoVault, Glasgow

Throughout the year we’ve travelled around Scotland for architectural photography shoots and ended 2019 with a couple of nice shoots at CoVault shared offices in Tradeston and the refurbished offices of The Bible Society in Edinburgh.

Haddo House, Aberdeen | Image by McAteer Photo

Haddo House, Aberdeen

Haddo House, Aberdeen | Image by McAteer Photo

Haddo House, Aberdeen

Haddo House, Aberdeen | Image by McAteer Photo

Haddo House, Aberdeen

 

And lastly, we were commissioned by Get Made who are collaborating with the National Trust for Scotland to experiment with enhancing visitor experiences. Haddo House was the venue for the study of Light, Dark, Heat and Cold which we photographed before and during the event to provide a record of this new approach.

 

We can’t tell you how privileged we feel to be invited into businesses and locations just to do what we do: commercial and architectural photography. We meet some great people, we work with some real visionaries and we enjoy every minute of it. So, thank you again for your business, your support and friendship.