My election in 2016 fulfilled a long-held ambition to promote a deeper understanding of contemporary and historic photography – an artform which holds a unique position in Scotland, the birthplace of many great photographers, including Hill & Adamson, John Thomson and James Craig Annan.

The role is a voluntary one, like all the committee members and the tasks covered by the Studies in Photography means that I can be involved in all aspects of the organisation from the journals to the books.

As Chair I was involved in the redesign of the journal Studies in Photography as we sought to offer a balance of historic and contemporary articles. Highlights of my past six years include an exhibition of school’s photography at the Scottish Parliament, alongside the delivery of free copies of our journal to every secondary art department in Scotland; and the promotion of prints by eminent photographers, to raise funds for mental health charities. The launch of our new Journal Leaves guided by an ex committee member Sara Stevenson. As we enter our fortieth anniversary year, we are expanding our publishing programme, we have joined Publishing Scotland and have partnered with Edinburgh University Press to present our Thematic and Scottish Photographic Artists Book Series, for which I am Series Editor.

I look forward to welcoming you to the organisation, either as an individual member or an academic Institution.

Since the age of 9 I've been taking photographs, wanting to make and communicate some sort of record of life around me. I'm intrigued by the way others do the same job, and interested in how the process has been approached over the last two centuries.

I'm excited by the vision of other photographers and hopeful that Studies in Photography can also excite those who use cameras, as well as those who study photographs. I'm aware there are many ways to help another photographer (and myself) move forward, whether it's by watching a good film, or sharing images which speak to us. It is a journey, since none of us ever arrive!

Robin Gillanders is former Reader in Photography at Edinburgh Napier University and was awarded an Honorary Fellowship in 2014. He is a practising photographic artist and has exhibited frequently and internationally. In the 1990’s he made several collaborative works with the artist/poet Ian Hamilton Finlay, culminating in his exhibition and book ‘Little Sparta: Portrait of a Garden’ (1998). More recent solo publications includeThe Photographic Portrait(2004),The Philosopher’s Garden(2004), Highland Journey: In the Spirit of Edwin Muir(2009). and A Lovers Complaint with Henry Gough-Cooper (2016).

He has works in the collections of National Galleries of Scotland, City Art Centre, Edinburgh, and the National Portrait Gallery and V&A in London. He had a major retrospective at Stills Gallery Edinburgh in 2017. He has been a committee member of SSHoP/Studies in Photography for at least twenty-five years and is a passionate proponent of Scottish photography, both historical and contemporary.

The role is a voluntary one, like all the committee members and the tasks covered by the Studies in Photography means that I can be involved in all aspects of the organisation from the journals to the books.

Malde is a photographer, Guggenheim Fellow, and Samuel R. Williamson Distinguished University Chair and Professor of Art at the University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee, USA. Much of his work considers the experience of loss and how it serves as a catalyst for regeneration.

He is currently working in rural communities in Haiti, Tanzania, and Tennessee, designing models for community development through photography. He studied photography at what is now the Arts University of Bournemouth, England, and completed a MA at the Glasgow School of Art in Scotland in 1979. He moved to Orkney, Scotland in 1980. It was there that he began, with Dr. Mike Ware, to reformulate the platinum/palladium printing process.

Scottish photographic culture has been one of Malde’s most formative experiences, and continues to profoundly inform his work. He believes that Studies in Photography presents a vital confluence of global matters, historical and contemporary work, and theoretical studies that concern photography. Malde recollects that he “will never forget being in the audience, as a young photographer, of what became the founding event of the Scottish Society for the History of Photography (SSHoP) — it deepened my photographic education and practice, and established transformative and enduring friendships.

SSHoP is nowStudies in Photography, and I want to bring younger generations of photographers into this community, regardless of their geographic location.

Scotland is my adopted home - I share my life between Edinburgh and Washington DC. I fell in love with Scotland for its art, architecture, people and extraordinary landscape when working there many years ago in my profession as a publisher.

My connection with Studies in Photography goes like this: 
It was 2019 and I attended the Annual Lecture of the Scottish Society for the History of Photography (that binds the Studies in Photography programs) at the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh, given by the renowned Scottish photographer, Robin Gillanders. It was an inspirational lecture on Chick Chalmers, the photographer featured in the then current issue of the Society’s journal, Studies in Photography, of which Robin is an Editor.

At the lovely cocktail party following the lecture, I thanked Robin for his wonderful presentation, and as a freshly retired publisher, I offered my volunteer services to the Journal. Robin pointed to Alex Hamilton (the then and current Chair of the governing Committee and Co-Editor of the Journal) and said, “Talk to that man.”  Thus began my rewarding association with this extraordinarily talented assembly of artists and the exquisite and accessible publications and programs they produce.

I have been delighted to indulge my passion for the visual arts by working with these renowned artists and other fellow volunteer member aficionados in helping to shine the journals and books in brighter, broader light to more people in more places on behalf of Scottish photography. The Journal is freely available to members digitally and in print, and the books are available to them at a deep discount.

Stephen Kirkpatrick has been working in the design industry over the last 30 years, establishing two design consultancies and now runs and manages Artibrand Ltd.

Graduating from ECA (Edinburgh College of Art) in the late 1980’s with an honours degree in Graphic Design and Photography, Steve has always been interested in photography, from fine art, documentation to commercial.

Steve joined Studies in Photography late 2019 drawn to the organisation by their pedigree in photography and art, enthusiasm and friendly manner. Steve works closely with several committee members on developing the company’s online image via website and social media.