22 6 July 2019 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113
IT’S QUITE a leap from working
as a health and safety officer at
Sellafield, Cumbria, to becoming a
gallery owner in Keswick, but it’s
one that Stuart McGlennon made- and within only a few years of
taking up photography, too.
In the summer of 2015, he started
to take pictures as an adjunct to his
pastime of hillwalking, but soon the
desire to make photographs took
over and became the priority. He
was a regular on AP’s own forum
and received encouragement and
feedback in our appraisal gallery.
And he reached a turning point
in his photography pretty quickly.
‘It’s like any other hobby,’ he says.
‘People start out by imitating
photographers and going to certain
locations – you get a nice picture
It’s the dream of many a photographer to open
a gallery to sell their own work to the public, but
what’s the reality like? Ailsa McWhinnie talks
to three photographers who’ve made the jump
Off the wall
and come away happy. Eventually
that wears off, however, and you
want to put your own spin on
things. That period of wanting to
shoot honeypot locations didn’t
last long for me. I’m quite challenge
driven and it didn’t feel like a
challenge to repeat the same shots
everyone else was producing.’
As a result, despite living in
the Lake District – where you’d be
forgiven for thinking that every inch
has been photographed – he actively
shot views and locations that others
may not have seen. It garnered him
some attention, and he began to
supply a few prints to a small gallery
in Keswick. Then, early in 2018, the
owner of the gallery asked Stuart if
he’d be interested in taking it over.
‘At first, I thought it was a bit ofa joke,’ he says. ‘But I’d got stuck
in a rut of working shifts at
Sellafield, and realised if I didn’t
do it then, I might never do it.’
Not being prone to impulsive
behaviour, he didn’t say yes straight
away. Instead, he did the sensible
thing, and sought advice – most
importantly, from a friend who
runs two cafés in the same town,
so knows all about the practicalities
of location, footfall and potential
turnover. ‘I trust him implicitly,’
says Stuart. ‘He went over the
figures and told me he thought
it was a great idea.’
Crucially, the gallery is next door
to one of the biggest outdoor gear
retailers in Keswick, and is part
of the main route into town for
tourists who park in the main car
park by the nearby lake.The price is right
Once he had the keys, it was a fairly
straightforward case of freshening
it up with plenty of white paint and
maximising the small space while
avoiding making it appear cluttered.
And then he had to decide what
to put on the walls. ‘It’s a case of
matching your work to the tourists
who come in,’ Stuart explains. ‘You
might want to put your favourite
work on the walls, but you have to
make the choice between whether
it’s a picture you like and whether
it will sell.’
As for pricing, he calls it a ‘constant
mental battle’. He tweaks the cost ofALL PICTURES ON PAGES 22-23 © STUART McGLENNON
A love of the Lakes
Above: Blea Tarn
in Little Langdale
lends itself well
to the panoramic- a format Stuart
has found to be
particularly popular
with customers.
This print sells for
£240 at its largest
size (about 1.2m
when framed), then
£160 and £105
Above right: This
view of Warnscale
Bothy is by far his
best-selling print.
It sells for £105,
£140 and £210Right: Small but
perfectly formed –
the interior of Lens
District in Keswick