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Glas
“A masterpiece of the highest order” - Lord Macdonald, High Chief of Clan Donald
A luxurious new book about the Isle of Skye.
17 years in the making.
PRE-ORDER - LIMITED EDITION OF JUST 75 COPIES
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Backstory: Part One
Backstory: Part Two
Glas, Scottish Gaelic for “grey”, is a photographic showcase of Scotland’s most iconic island, the Isle of Skye. Glas contains the ingredients to create your personal interpretation of this wonderful island.
The philosophy of Glas is to leave you with space and time to think and consider as you look at the imagery and read the poetry. It is the antidote to the hypersaturated digitality that invades our lives. Uncompromisingly analogue, Glas is a significant physical object with size and weight. It is a refuge from immediacy and urgency.
Photographed over seventeen years, Glas reveals the dramatic beauty of Skye’s landscape, its tumultuous weather, and the unique charms and quirks that make the island such a special place.
Its twelve themed chapters of black and white images are complemented by the beautiful verse of renowned Gaelic poet Rody Gorman. Written in Scottish Gaelic with English interpretations, Rody paints with his words to enhance the images and bring the Skye to life like never before.
Lord Macdonald, High Chief of Clan Donald, provides the foreword for Glas recounting his own memories of growing up on Skye and describing Glas as “a masterpiece of the highest order”.
By removing colour, the photographs in Glas invite you to look deeper, allowing your imagination to come alive. You can build your own interpretation of what is here, rekindle memories, or simply revel in the beauty and character of Skye.
Glas is a large format 30x30cm (12”x12”) hardback book of 227 pages printed on luxuriously heavy paper, with an accompanying Photography Index book describing each of the photographs, all within a presentation slip case.
Every copy of Glas is individually stamped, numbered and signed by the author.
PRE-ORDER - LIMITED EDITION OF JUST 75 COPIES
High quality prints of selected images from Glas are available. Buy a piece of art for your wall.
Chapter 1:
Small Houses
Scattered across the vast landscapes of Skye, small white houses stand as symbols of solitude and resilience. Alone against a backdrop of towering mountains or windswept hills, they evoke a sense of retreat, of choosing distance from the noise of the world.
gobhlag-fheòir, bioran-grìosaich, tàl is tobha,
sgrìoban is clobha nan laighe ri meadhan-latha
ri taobh Taigh Iain an Gobha
san fheasgar an Taigh ’n Tairbh,
uallanaich aig a’ chrodh-dhubh
’s aig na mairbh
Chapter 2: Sea Views
The sea surrounding the Isle of Skye is a serious force. It is constantly moving, shaping the rugged coastline and shifting stones that have been here for ages. The water here feels deep and mysterious, drawing you in with its wild beauty but also keeping you aware of its power. When a storm hits, the sea truly comes alive. It turns dark and angry, mirroring the heavy skies above, its immense power a stark reminder of nature’s raw strength.
Fèath
Ri fèath nan eun,
Ciùin is rèidh,
Soitheach geal air druim a’ chuain
San Linne Sgitheanaich
Agus na faoileagan
Ann an sgaoth na dèidh.
Chapter 3: Signs
Signs in the Isle of Skye are more than just directions, they are glimpses of the island’s personality. From the hand-painted and slightly wonky to the sleek and official, they dot the landscape like breadcrumbs for explorers. They don’t shout; they quietly suggest.
Slacadaich
Èist - an saoghal-suain
Gun char às ris a’ ghlasadh
Agus thall gu h-àrd an taigh-mòr
Os cionn a’ bhaile ’s an sanas
For Sale air a bheulaibh
’S, na sìneadh taobh ris, an làrach
Far an robh na saoir a’ cur ris,
A’ slacadaich is a’ glagraich
Is a’ feadalaich gun sgur
O chionn, och, ùine nan cian.
Chapter 4:
Trees and Beasties
Skye explodes with life as spring arrives.
Dormant plants wake up and deliver a frenzy of excited growth. Everything goes bright startling green. The woods smell of wild garlic and are carpeted with bluebells. Migrating birds arrive, baffling in their variety, and otters laugh at those that try to spot them.
Chapter 5: Benches
This chapter is about our perspective. The way that things, just like people, have a curated image that they project into the world, while simultaneously having a more private and genuine side that they keep to themselves. Each image tells a quiet story, not just of the view it overlooks but of the people who sit there, seeking escape or just a moment to stop.
Maor-cladaich
Bodach air suidheachan
Leis fhèin a’ sealltainn
A-mach air an Tiùrr aig Eilean Iarmain
Agus a’ bhratach ri dearrasan ’s plaightrigeadh
Feasgar eadar àrd is ìseal
Agus cam-ghlas no maor-cladaich
A’ siubhal a-null is a-nall
Gun sgur mar gum b’ ann a’ feuchainn
Ri lagh dìreach nan sgarbh
’S nan corrachan-gritheach a chur an gnìomh.
Chapter 6: Decay
Decay is part of Skye’s landscape, woven into its fabric like the threads of an old, fraying blanket.
The past lingers here. Not just in the ancient ruins that speak of clans and battles, but in the rusting hulks of abandoned cars, their metal skins slowly returning to the earth. Time moves differently in this place. What is left behind isn’t swept away but settles, becoming part of the story.
Ann am Boraraig
Ann am Boraraig, am baile bàn
Far an robh baile na linn
Is fodha leacan sleamhainn
Agus ògan maol a’ mèilich
Is gun lorg air a mhàthair no càch
Taobh ri feannag-taomaidh
’S an crochadh ri craoibh,
Teud a’ luasgadh
A-null ’s a-nall sa ghaoith.
Chapter 7: Fences
Fences in Skye are their own kind of poetry. Rugged, improvised, and often deeply confused about what they are supposed to be keeping in or out.
Some fences are masterpieces of necessity, patched together with whatever was at hand: driftwood posts, wire that’s seen better decades, and the occasional plastic pipe. Others are stoic and straight, their uniform posts marching uphill as if they’ve declared war on the landscape. Of course, the landscape always wins.
Chapter 8:
Water Features
Water defines Skye as much as stone and sky. It is the island’s lifeblood, carving its way through hills and glens, tumbling from heights in silver threads that gather force and roar into cascades. It pools in dark, peaty bogs, reflecting the low-hanging clouds, and spreads across marshes, blurring the line between land and liquid.
Poles are the unsung heroes of Skye, standing silently in rain, wind, and storm, their spindly forms cutting across the landscape.
Power poles and telephone poles are everywhere, holding up the lines that keep the lights on and the conversations flowing. Without them, the island would grind to a halt. Yet, they are barely noticed.
Air Sreang aig Dùn Sgàthaich
’S e na tha seo de dh’othail is de dh’olmost
Aig socanan is gocain-chìreanach air sreang aig Dùn Sgàthaich
Agus an crodh mòr ri nuall anns a’ bhàthaich
Agus clamhan a’ teàrnadh is a’ laighe ri post
Gun fhiosta ’s an uair sin càil ann ach an tost
Agus an caithtean a’ sèideadh an lùib an tràthaich.
Chapter 9: Poles
Chapter 10:
Observations
In the small, overlooked corners of Skye, beauty takes on a different shape. It is not sweeping or grand. It is in the grain of things, the way time and weather etch their stories into surfaces. A shard of peeling paint curls like a wave. A rusting corrugated iron roof mirrors the ridges and furrows of long abandoned potato beds, holding secrets of seasons long gone.
Sealladh
Abair sealladh
Air Bealach Udail
Agus letheach am falach
Shìos gu h-ìseal
Anns an fhraoch,
Soitheach-sgudail.
Chapter 11: Weather
The weather in Skye is not just a backdrop. It is the master of ceremonies, commanding every moment of island life.
It shapes the land, dictates the mood, and demands your attention. One moment, the sky is a perfect canvas of blue, the light sharp and golden. Then, as if on a whim, clouds gather like an army, shadows racing across the hills.
Sian
A’ chiad char anns a’ mhadainn
Eadar an tuil is an tràigh
Dìreach mar sin ann an Camas Darach
Ann an dà dhiog fhèin,
Uisge nan seachd sian
Agus grian an àigh.
Chapter 12:
Roads
The roads of Skye are as much a part of the landscape as the mountains they wind through and the lochs they skirt. They twist and climb, narrow ribbons of asphalt etched into the vastness, often barely wide enough for a single car. Passing places punctuate their length, unspoken agreements between drivers to pause and let the other through, a quiet nod to the rhythm of island life.
Dùsgadh
Agus an saoghal-suain mu thàmh
Fhathast ri linn a’ ghlasaidh
’S gun de dh’fhuaim ann ach ceileireadh
Nan eun ri briseadh na fàire,
Siud thall aig ceann an rathaid
Mar a bha riamh, fir na cairte-luaithe
’S iad a’ dùsgadh nan clach air an rathad
Is a’ fàgail nan soithichean falamh.
Companion Photography Index
I deliberately avoided image captions in Glas, but I want those interested in the techniques, equipment, environment and location of the images in Glas to have some more information about each photograph.
Captions introduce a lot of complexity into the visual layout of a photography book. More importantly, the philosophy behind Glas is to leave the reader to create their own reality from the photographs.
Adding captions alongside the images would break the flow of the book, and impact the simplicity of the design.
I also wanted to avoid putting explanatory text at the end of the book in an appendix. Glas is a large, heavy book and it would quickly become extremely annoying to have to keep flipping backwards and forwards.
I decided to solve this problem by creating a companion Photography Index book. This provides additional context for the photographs. I include the camera and lens used as well as the shutter speed, aperture and ISO settings. There are also little stories and anecdotes accompanying this technical information that give you a bit more of a feel for what it is like photographing in such amazing places.
I don’t reveal every location. Some of the Misty Isle’s mystery needs to remain.