The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Photographer snaps post-lockdown snips
Elliot Caunce documents people’s first return to hairdressers
A photographer in Dundee is documenting the city’s emergence out of lockdown — focusing on people getting their first professional haircut in months.
Elliot Caunce set up a makeshift studio in the alley beside Gents Hairdressers on Strathmartine Road to capture before and after portraits of people getting their first trim in months.
The freelance photographer, who graduated at Falmouth University before moving to Dundee to be with his partner last year, is posting the results to his Instagram page, Follow My Tracks, and his website, elliotcaunce.com initially — but hopes that one day the series will be shown in a gallery.
He said: “I am thinking this could be a document of Dundee coming out of lockdown. It’s such a historic period of time.
“About half of the people I have spoken to are happy to have their picture taken.
“I’ve been here for two days now, but I’ve taken some before portraits of people booking their haircut on Monday, so I’ll probably be back here then to get their after pictures.”
Elliot is considering visiting other hairdressers across the city in the coming days. He also stopped passersby on Strathmartine Road, including Louis Wynne, 29, who had travelled from London to visit family.
Louis grows his hair long for around two years then shaves it off to donate to children going through chemotherapy.
He said: “I saw a documentary about children that included a child being bullied for losing their hair and as I usually grow my hair long anyway, I thought it would be a nice thing to do.
“My last haircut was about a year ago so I am not due to shave this off for a while yet.
“I visit family in Dundee about four or
five times a year and this is the first time since lockdown.”
Among those who had their trim at Gents Hairdressers was Ian Smith, 77.
The Hilltown man said: “Getting a haircut has been one of the things I’ve been looking most forward to during lockdown.”
Jean Robertson, 72, visited the hairdresser to book an appointment on Monday, the earliest available slot.
She said: “I did try a haircut at home, but it’s not the same. I’m really looking forward to it. I have been shielding and the hardest part has been not seeing the great-grandchildren. We used to pick them up from school every day.
“We’ve been able to see them in the garden now that measures are being lifted, but it was about three months without seeing them and that was tough.”
Elliot’s portfolio includes a series on “Scottish hermits” that featured in The Guardian last month.
His Dundee project was praised by Alison Burns and Melanie McIntyre, hairdressers at Gents Hairdressers.
Alison said: “We’re fully booked until Monday so it’s been really busy. People have been desperate to get their hair cut.”
Melanie said: “It’s great that Elliot is documenting this point of time. When things are back to normal it may be forgotten about, so it’s good what he’s doing.”