This year’s Open Championship will see renowned Scottish golf course photographer Mark Alexander exhibit a collection of specially taken images of the Ailsa course at Turnberry.
The framed images are the most up-to-date shots of Turnberry taken before work started on impressive grandstands and media compounds that surround the course. As such, the photographs were captured three months ago when the Scottish weather was at its least predictable.
“The weather in Scotland can be changeable at the best of times but especially in April,” says the 36-year-old photographer. “It was my last chance to photograph the course before the grandstands went up, so I had kept an eye on the forecasts and eventually spotted a break in the weather. As it turned out, the weather was brilliant and for two, four-hour sessions I got clarity, clouds and unbelievable light. It was certainly one of my most enjoyable shoots.”
The collection forms part of a wider exhibit of golf course photography presented in St Andrews throughout July at the celebrated arts venue the Byre Theatre. This show includes shots from across Scotland including scenes from the Old Course in St Andrews, the ancient links course at North Berwick and Fife favourites Ladybank and Leven Links.
As Mark explains, presenting his work at multiple venues has been a challenge. “The exhibition at The Open overlaps with another show in St Andrews and a smaller one in Leven. I had put on a similar event a year earlier with shots from around the world, but this year I wanted to concentrate on Scotland . Turnberry was the ideal place to kick things off. With all the other shoots I had to do in the run-up to the events, it’s been a busy but rewarding year.”
The exhibitions coincide with the launch of Mark’s website which includes photographic tours of courses in Scotland , America , Norway , Spain and Portugal as well as some of Mark’s landscapes, reportage and commercial work.
www.markalexanderphotography.co.uk