My Place in Print is the new Edinburgh based venture, recently launched by landscape photographer Dougal Nicol. Dougal current plies his trade as an environmental consultant in Leith and has lived in Edinburgh since 2004. Since 2009 he has been dedicating as much of his free time to work with his camera as he can, which he admits is not as much as he’d like due an active young family at home! But progress has gradually been made and late in 2012, My Place in Print was born. It is Dougal’s hope that someday his hobby and passion may evolve into a small business he’s got his fingers crossed. So here’s a brief insight from Dougal himself to shed a bit more light on the story.
“So what is My Place in Print? In a practical sense, My Place in Print is an online gallery of landscape photographs, available to buy safely and securely over the internet. Prints of images can be purchased framed or unframed and delivered, across the UK and overseas, but My Place in Print is much more than this. More importantly, My Place in Print is my dream to epitomise the places we revere through landscape photography, and this journey has started with Edinburgh. It is my hope that by reproducing my photography online and making this available through a quality print service, my imagery can be shared and enjoyed by all those who love and enjoy our cities and towns so well.
“This philosophy stems from the belief that we all have bonds to the places we know. Our geographic ties can instil passion and pride as they provide a sense of identity and remind us who we are or where we’ve come from. What other perfect way to reflect this affinity then, than by landscape photography.
“I’m passionate about where I’m from and I now think of this as Edinburgh. This is something that I am proud of and I love to be reminded of how lucky I am to call Edinburgh home. What better way to do this than have a cracking photograph of Edinburgh up on the wall in my house! And this is where the idea for My Place in Print stemmed.
“It is my hope that there are people with similar passions all over the globe and who equally would love to have a print of their favourite place adorning their walls. So My Place in Print has the very grand goal to try and provide for this.
“The new website is designed to provide the jumping off platform get the ball rolling. Prints can be viewed online, purchased in a range of sizes, paid for securely and dispatched pretty much anywhere on the planet. They can also be full framed if delivered within the UK.
“So whether you’re an expat missing home, you want to treat yourself to a new picture, need a gift for any multitude of occasions, or even want your business space to make a statement, surely a great landscape print might be an option!
“Edinburgh has been the perfect starting point for my dreams. It must be one of the most photogenic cities as far as landscape photography is concerned, as it is blessed with an abundance of stunning subjects and focal points. Amongst these sits the most notable centrepiece of Edinburgh Castle, forming an icon above the city surrounding it below.
Summer sunset over Edinburgh Castle viewed from Arthur’s Seat.
“The city also lends itself to landscape photography with its seven hills providing a host of perfect vantage points. The most famous of these is the commanding summit of Arthur’s Seat. From here any number of amazing compositions can be created using Edinburgh’s many features, and at any time of the year with the setting sun dipping beyond to the west.
“At the moment My Place in Print is rooted in Edinburgh and the portfolio of prints available reflects this. However, the idea isn’t just to focus on Edinburgh but literally anywhere else that may have a similar allure or meaning to the people who know it. Now that’s quite a list, as it includes pretty much anywhere on the planet! But for now, the beginnings will see Edinburgh’s Scottish counterparts as the subject matter – Glasgow, St. Andrews, Aberdeen, Stirling, Inverness, and so forth…….and then perhaps any number of places, maybe even all the way to Sydney!!
“But expansion aside, Edinburgh is still very much my home. So expansion doesn’t mean the end of photographing Edinburgh, there’s simply too much to miss! Although the list of places beckons, I’m sure I’ll be constantly back out with my camera around Edinburgh, and never tire of capturing Edinburgh in print.
“My Place in Print is also gathering pace in social media circles, with Facebook, Twitter and Flickr pages all up and running. (Although, to be very honest, this pace is as fast as I can manage – it’s not an easy learning curve and as I’m finding out, there are a lot of balls to juggle when launching your own business!)
“If you would like to get in touch via social media, any comments would be most welcome. I’d love to hear any thoughts or feedback people may have. And if you like what you see, keep in touch and follow the journey as the list of places expands and the adventure unfolds!
Twilight floodlights bring Edinburgh Castle to life.
“My Place in Print wouldn’t have been possible without the help and guidance of local businesses to get the ball rolling. These include Edinburgh Arts who have formed an essential piece of the puzzle and provide an amazing framing service to give my prints that perfect finishing touch. Also critical to the puzzle is the help and guidance provided by Tartan Web Design based in Dunbar. Although I am responsible for the lion’s share of the website developed, there are times when the help and assistance provided by the professionals has been very welcome and outstanding from Tartan.
“So the plan seems epic indeed and it’s a pretty monumental mountain I’ve set myself to climb, but definitely one I’m going to have a crack at and thoroughly looking forward to tackling. There are other avenues for expansion too and I have a few tricks in mind. So watch this space as the future beckons.”
Links
Website: http://myplaceinprint.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myplaceinprint
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MyPlaceinPrint
Flicker: http://www.flickr.com/photos/myplaceinprint/
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
