We’ve got it very lucky in this current crisis all things considered, and being in walking distance of Edinburgh’s heart allows a photographer to continue to capture the city during lockdown. My pal Grant Stott decided to rework his parody (That’s Fife) of the Sinatra hit That’s Life - a parody of a parody really, and asked me to capture some images to fit his lyrics. Armed with toilet roll, hand gel, golf clubs and a Bawbags beanie I got to work across the city centre.

It had to be ready in very short order which gave Ryan Dewar the mammoth task of editing at breakneck speed. It’s gone a bit mental on social media across the planet with the USA particularly approving, and the current reach is well over 3 million pairs of eyeballs.

Grant Stott’s Save Lives parody edited by Ryan Dewar, with images by Tom Duffin.

Recapture Edinburgh

That was what we asked of these youngsters from Syria, some of our #NewScots who are making homes and building their lives here. In a joint project with artist Leena Nammari, the Stills photography folk and the SCRAN archive people at Historic Environment Scotland this energetic crew delved into Edinburgh's history, and explored ideas of their place in the city.

Today is the launch of their exhibition at Stills gallery where they can show off the work for their Arts Awards project to their (soon to be very proud) parents. The ten weeks has gone by in a whirlwind of archive visits, taking shots with "proper" cameras out in the streets, darkroom jiggerypokery, printing malarkey and gallery visits, and I can't wait to see what the kids think when they see their work up on display.

We did some work creating Then/Now images using old images from the SCRAN archive and Scotsman Publications which involved the kids finding the exact standpoint of the original photographer and capturing what the scene looks like now.

Apart from all the fun they've had the kids from the Multi Cultural Family Base will also receive real recognition for their efforts. The whole Recapture project is underpinned by the Arts Award, allowing all participants to gain a recognised qualification within a framework to discover heritage, develop arts practice and grow skills. Thanks to Sarah at SeeThinkMake, Jackie at SCRAN, Claire at Stills and the inexhaustible Leena for being Auntie to so many delightful new Scots and for making it all happen.

(This was first published as a Facebook post on Lost Edinburgh Facebook page on 6 December 2019)

Stills
Multi-Cultural Family Base
SCRAN