A Skye photographer has made the shortlist of a prestigious competition with a poignant image of her mother.
Isabelle Law is locally known for her thought-provoking portraiture.
Hailing from Kylerhea in South Skye, Isabelle’s passion for photography started from home.
Her father was a photographer, and Isabelle credits his love for photography in giving her the interest from a young age.
Now her work is being shortlisted for the Portrait of Britain.
Portrait of Britain allows 200 entrants to have their submitted portrait published in a book.
100 of these portraits are then selected to be displayed across the country on JCDecaux screens.
According to Isabelle, being on the Portrait of Britain shortlist is ‘a huge honour’.
“It is a way of getting your work seen,” she says. “To have your image published in a book is so exciting.”
The story behind the portrait
Isabelle shares that she holds the portrait of her mother, Debbie, ‘very close’ to her heart.
“I have been documenting my mum’s journey from the start,” she says. “This image was taken on her fifth round of chemotherapy.”
“The lighting was just beautiful, and Mum looked amazing with her positive attitude shining through.”
Isabelle’s portrait of her mother received a warm response when it was shared online. Many commenters describe the piece as ‘beautiful’ and ‘poignant’.
“The support has been incredible,” she says. “It means a lot to come from a small community where everyone is backing you.”
“It’s a huge thing to document things close to your life and to have images of my family is very important to me.”
“You never know when life can take a curve ball – and you need to have memories through images.”
In fact, Isabelle’s next project takes the local community on a trip through memory lane.
‘Iomain’: the project capturing a culture
Shinty plays an undoubtedly large role in the lives of many across the Isle of Skye.
This also holds true for Isabelle who has been involved in shinty since her younger years.
Her current project ‘Iomain: An-dè, An-diugh agus A-màireach‘ is Scottish Gaelic for ‘Shinty: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow’.
The aim of the project is to capture the faces of past, present and future players of Skye Camanachd Club.
She hopes to exhibit ‘Iomain’ once the project is complete.
“I’m currently looking for funding as printing costs are high and I can’t fund this myself,” explains Isabelle.
“But I hope to have it displayed in the Archive Centre in Portree next year.”
Conversation