An optometrist has switched from contact lenses to camera lenses to create a unique portrait of a Tayside high street.
Steven Whittaker, 58, who has run his business in the centre of Carnoustie since 2007, has taken portraits of the shops keepers and business owners working on the town’s main thoroughfare.
Entitled The High Street Fights Back, Steven has been inspired by the challenges facing small business owners.
He said: “It’s almost like the blitz thing. The baddies are coming to get you, but we’ll stand firm.”
He said he started taking the photographs around a year ago, before Angus councillors voted through charges for parking in town centres.
Retailers have blamed the controversial decision for reducing footfall on high streets across the county.
Steven said: “The parking charges, Brexit, under-occupancy – it’s been a bit of zeitgeist. It’s the right time to get an exhibition up.”
“The people on Carnoustie High Street are a really diverse, independent bunch.
“It is lot better than some others. We’ve only got a couple of chains there and the rest of it is local people.
“They’re covered in tattoos; they’ve got piercings and they’ve got back stories. It’s a fascinating thing.”
The exhibition runs from September 2 to 28 in Carnoustie Library and is billed as a “celebration of the diversity and independence of retail.”
Earlier this month, business group the Federation of Small Businesses revealed Angus has one of the highest percentage of empty retail units in Scotland.
Only Inverclyde and North Lanarkshire had more unlet shops.
The report said 72 bank branches, shops and local businesses had closed in Angus, Perth and Kinross, Dundee and Fife since 2016.
Steven said his photographs strike a lighter note, capturing the positive side of working in a town centre.
“When I booked it [the exhibition] the parking thing wasn’t an issue, but now it is. I’ve called it the High Street Fights Back because it doesn’t feel doomy and gloomy when you’re there, to be honest. Though I can’t speak for other areas.”
He said there had been change in mood since he started taking the first photos a year ago.
“There are a lot more empty car parks now but the people are resilient and are trying different things. The Carnoustie shop owners try to entice people in and most of them seem to be doing OK.”
