Australian born to a TV star, a nomadic-style childhood and a talent for photography – read all about the Council’s Al Holmes

Alistair Holmes would normally shy away from any limelight that would see him in front of a camera – but after some gentle persuasion, he has agreed to share some of his stunning imagery taken from where he is much more comfortable – behind the lens or down under the drone!

Al, as he is known, is a Team Leader Operations with the Council’s Development and Infrastructure department based at the Hatston depot, overseeing a huge remit of roads and waste/environmental-related works, from those programmed to the unexpected and emergencies.

He joined the OIC as an Architectural Technician in 1990 and was involved in all manner of new builds, refurbishments and finishing his time there with the Pickaquoy Centre and Orkney College. Al moved to Orkneydirect - as it was known - as a Roads Technician in 1999, a service he has remained with ever since, although his role has changed considerably over the years.

“Over the years I’ve moved from site technical support, programming and scheduling of works, into more of a supervisory office-based role. I’ve had the pleasure of working with a fantastic team over the years and it has been great to see the team evolve through both the good times, the bad times, and the tragedies.

“There is no such thing as an average day in the Operational team thankfully, every single day, you come into work and hit the ground running. With such a huge remit of works and so many works going on at any one time from reactive on a daily basis, to programmed works, every day is a challenge.

“There have been innumerable changes over the years, so you really have to be flexible in the way you work in order to accommodate the constantly moving goalposts and changing priorities.”

Despite the potentially challenging – and, sadly, on occasion tragic, nature of emergency 24-hour standby, Al has found being able to assist people in some very difficult times to be very rewarding.

“I’ve been called out to some pretty nasty accidents/incidents over the years, some involving fatalities, which is never an easy thing to deal with. But the ability and opportunity to help people has been very worthwhile, from families stranded in the snow at home who couldn’t get out to get vital medication, to people trapped in flooding, it’s always good to be in a position to be able to help out those in need and give something back to the community in which we live.”

Although a job he enjoys, like in all professions, there are things that Al feels could be improved.

“At the end of the day, we are one big team with the remit of providing services to the population of Orkney and serving them to the best of our ability and, as such, we need to continue to identify better ways to work together across the council.”

His love of natural habitats and wildlife may have stemmed from a Nomadic-style upbringing – a lifestyle that saw Al experience many different countries and cultures.

He was born in Adelaide in 1969 and grew up between both Australia and the UK.

“Dad was a pilot and air traffic controller at various stages of his career, Mum had her own TV show on regional television in Australia when I was young but stopped doing that in order to keep an unruly child under control as he grew up! I have a sister who lives in Glasgow.

“One of the main memories is all the travel, as we moved, just as I settled into a new place, school etc, it seemed that within no time, we were off somewhere else. I often look at my cousins who stayed in the same place all their lives, and wish that we hadn’t moved so much, that we had been settled somewhere. But on the flip side, I got to see a huge part of the world, different cultures and people, so there are benefits on both sides really.”

Life in Oz was memorable for the good weather, the heat and the wildlife, he says.

“In Darwin in the far north of Australia, you only get 2 seasons, wet and dry. The wet season is the monsoon season, and I remember clearly the relief when the rain came. When it wasn’t raining, it was oppressively hot with 100% humidity, and when you left your air-conditioned house in the mornings, you were instantly soaked with sweat. So, one of the stand- out memories is those mornings when I walked the 4 miles to school in a massive tropical downpour, it was fabulous, everything came alive during the rains.

“Another stand out memory is the wildlife, mainly the poisonous/dangerous variety. Having to check for spiders or snakes hidden in your sheets, under the bed, in the toilet, in shoes etc. Crocodiles were ever present in swimming holes and on beaches, which made swimming and relaxing a bit of a challenge, then of course the sea, although nice and warm, was a haven for all sorts of sharks, poisonous jellyfish and sea snakes. But growing up here, it was all a part of daily life and no cause for concern. It made life more exciting.”

Al continued: “Having left home and school at 14 and heading rapidly down the wrong path, I gave myself a kick in the pants and went to university to study architecture.

“Whilst still deviating from the ‘right’ path….. I won’t say in with the ‘wrong crowd’ as that implies that other people were to blame for my behaviour at the time, which wasn’t the case. I had the opportunity to break the cycle and come to the UK with my parents, so I jumped at the chance for a new start.

“First stop was Suffolk while Dad renewed his various flying licences, I got a job as a spraypainter to keep busy while I got my bearings, then we moved to Glasgow when Dad got a job with Loganair, and after his training there, was offered a post in Orkney flying the Islander.

“It was a major culture shock moving from a life in cities, and arriving in Orkney, my plan was to stay here for a year, but I quickly fell in love with the remote and wild nature of Orkney. I met a local lass, and we had 2 children together along with a stepdaughter. Now the children have grown up and are starting on their own journey through life. I have a granddaughter, Eden, who is now 19 months old and has grandad absolutely wrapped around her little finger.”

Al’s interest in photography came about at a very young age.

He had an old Nikon slr that he purchased from a secondhand store, and often used to ‘borrow’ his Dad’s camera gear when he wasn’t looking.

“I like the way you can play with light in photography. Initially my interest was in landscape photography, then it slowly expanded to astrophotography, and when I managed to get hold of a decent lens, I merged my love of photography with my love of nature and wildlife.

“I currently have a Nikon D850 as my main body, and a D600 as a backup body. To go with these, I have a selection of lenses, depending on the subject matter I am trying to photograph. Essentially the camera is just a tool, the lenses are the important part of the kit as they are the method of transmitting the image/light to the camera sensor, so the more accurate the transmission of what you are seeing through the viewfinder, the more accurate the reproduction in the ‘photo’.”

Al also uses a drone for aerial photography if required.

“Having used a radio-controlled helicopter in the past for aerial photos, using a drone is so relaxing by comparison, as unlike a radio-controlled helicopter, they take absolutely no skill or coordination to fly. With RC helicopters you have to constantly fly them as they are so inherently unstable, they take skill to fly,  whereas a drone just sits exactly where you place it, and lets you concentrate on setting the shot up, zero skill required, they are fabulous.”

His favourite subject is predominantly birds – although other wildlife also fits within this category.

“It’s really because of the unpredictable nature of the subject. As wildlife numbers are dwindling, it becomes ever more important to tell their ‘story’. I very much enjoy being out in the wild and spending time in the environment of the subject I am photographing. There is something very special about taking the time to get to know the subject, and vice versa.

“With most animals, they have to accept you into their environment before you can get photographs of them behaving naturally. The majority of birds and wildlife in general, see you coming long before you have seen them, so it takes a great deal of time and patience to avoid disturbing them.

“It saddens me when I see ‘photographers’ stomping around in the wild with no thought or care for the environment they are in or the animals within it, all they want is to get the image as quickly as they can, so they can get it uploaded to whatever social media stream they can.

“To me it is all about taking the time to get to know the habits of your subject, and entering their world cautiously, quietly and slowly so you don’t startle them or impact their natural behavior, and then letting them come to you once they accept you being there. There is something magical about sitting in the middle of nowhere and having an owl land on a post or bush beside you when they are hunting and be totally accepting of you being there.”

Al has sold a few images over the years and has donated framed prints and calendars for charity events but as you can probably gauge, he is not one for self-promotion. Al takes photos simply because enjoys it.