© Stuart McAllister

I first took up photography 13 years ago and taught myself the basics.  I had a short spell with the Hamilton Photography Club but felt I wanted to be more expressive.  After a few years developing costs started to spiral and I moved to black and white and learned the skills of developing.  Through work I started running Saturday morning photography club in a local youth club.  This was a huge success with work by the young people being displayed in several gallery display evenings.  This came to an end when I moved jobs and was unable to run the club.  It was soon after this I ventured into the world of digital.  Although I was still faithful to my old 35mm Canon I soon found the benefits of digital taking over and eventually digital became my favoured format.

Although I saw my photography as a hobby I was soon getting compliments from around the world about the work on my own personal website, www.smcallister.co.uk .   I was being asked to supply images for ex-pats who grew up in the area, this I did free of charge.

March 2004 I was asked to submit a several images for inclusion into the selection process for an up and coming Art event in Washington State , USA .  Out of several selected photographers I was chosen to display my work at this event, http://www.prosserchamber.org/gallery-walk.htm .  As a result of this I was given the opportunity to fly out and be part of this event.

As a result of this I was asked back to be the main photographer for a calendar shoot to promote the local wine industry, http://www.studio-66.com/calendarintro.htm .  This was a 10 day shoot in late November 2004 and was a resounding success. 

It was at this point I was convinced by friends and family that I should take my hobby more seriously, Studio-66 being the result of that.

For me taking photographs is my way of capturing the world around and understanding it.  With portraiture it is my aim to introduce our customers to a whole new photographic experience in which we capture the essence of the subject's personality and imagination.

The image above was taken with a Fuji S7000 which has a fixed lens of 35 - 210mm.  I also use a Canon D350 with a standard 18-55mm lens and 55-300mm lens.