MY MAGIC MOMENTS

STILLS photography is all about the moment – the moment the shutter button is pressed. Capturing the occasion, the essence of the event. Unlike a moving image, where the viewer’s eye flits from one spot to the next every fraction of a second, a still image allows the viewer to examine what is before them. In sporting terms, that can be a moment of intense competition, of victory or defeat. It can be the calm before the storm or the quiet contemplation of the performance. At the 21st Commonwealth Games held in Gold Coast, Australia, I was privileged to be able to photograph some of Scotland’s, and indeed the world’s, finest sports people, as they competed against each other for the glory of gold and in the pursuit of personal best performances. These are some of my favourite images captured for the Daily Record over two-and-a-half weeks of training and competition Down Under.

My Man of the Games – hammer thrower Mark Dry, who had battled four years of hip injuries since his bronze in Glasgow. He repeated the feat with his last throw of the competition, sparking a slightly manic celebration at his “miracle medal” Six-medal...