Iain in the frame: Lochaber Times photographer celebrates 50 years of media excellence

Following a feature on Falkirk’s Hospital Broadcasting Service, Radio Royal, he became an active member, with an unsuspected impact on his future career. He was also founder member of the Forth Valley Talking Newspaper Service, ‘Newsline’, which is still recording.

In 1988 he moved to Caithness to become a reporter, this opportunity coming thanks to a friend and colleague whose husband was editor.

In those days although the National Union of Journalists had strict demarcation lines he had already written several feature articles such as gliding and parachuting, his first trip to New York and touring Normandy beaches with WWII military vehicle collectors.

Reporting for the Caithness Courier and also producing a few tourist magazines he was then offered a job on the Moray Firth Radio News Team (returning home from the interview in Inverness just hours before becoming a father for the first time).

There were many happy times at MFR where, thanks to the open-minded management he was able to conceive and present an aviation-based programme “Plane Facts’ also travelling widely, interviewing many people, even recording the memories of Battle of Britain veterans at a museum launch to mark its 40th anniversary.

Sadly, times at MFR came to an end when he was made redundant, but it was quite literally onwards and upwards as he headed back to Caithness for the post of press and internal communications officer with the Atomic Energy Authority at the Dounreay nuclear site.

Dounreay had just come out of Government ‘protection’ to face the real world and often hostile media. With Higher qualifications in science and a good knowledge of the media, Iain ‘translated’ what the scientists were saying into understandable facts for publication.

Leaving the plant to set up his own business ‘The Write Image’ he was immediately asked by BBC Radio to be their correspondent, also being recruited by Grampian Television to work with their Caithness-based cameraman, as well as covering events for other regional, national and international media.

Iain continued to produce internal newsletters for some Dounreay departments, took on media relations for various local businesses and became part-time media studies lecturer at Thurso College.

Involved as always in the volunteer sector, he also helped set up Community Radio Station Caithness FM.

On his move to Fort William (for his wife’s job this time), he intended to take a year out and look after his weeks-old second daughter, but due to a call from a national newspaper literally as they arrived, that didn’t happen.

He did, however, take his children (later a third) with him to jobs almost from birth, camera bag, baby sling, car seat in hand, which has given them a long-standing confidence in any adult world.

Welcomed by local reporter Ian Abernethy, Iain was contracted to the Lochaber News and through his MFR connections he also joined Nevis Radio, training, presenting programmes, news and eventually as chairman for more than a decade.

Once again his experience also saw him as a founder member of the talking newspaper ‘Talk Lochaber’.

BBC work continued, becoming a video contributor to Reporting Scotland as well as radio, tutoring photography classes at Lochaber College, taking on the role of Lochaber Life Editor in 2007, as well as supplying photographs and stories locally and nationally.

An interesting one-off came when he was commissioned to supply images for a new set of Scottish banknotes, secretly travelling to locations across the country over several weeks.

Another plan to take time off came when son-in-law Johnpaul (Abrightside Photography) joined him. However, an invite from Ian Blackford MP to become his communications officer saw Iain actually expanding work across his constituency and in the Palace of Westminster.

Iain’s media career continues - also in the voluntary sector as chairman of Lochaber Phoenix Boxing Club and mentoring with MCR Pathways at Lochaber High School.

He said: “Photography was my start in the media and has always been at the core of everything I have done, not just as a job, but whole life experience.

“I was totally self-taught in every aspect and luckily seemed to grasp it easily. The industry buzz phrase is now ‘multi-skilling’, but I have actually been doing it since before the words were thought of.

“This job has given me a wonderful opportunity to share in the lives of a huge variety of people, access places where most would never be allowed and to use my experiences to help others.

“What could be better?”