Boat builder, Shetland


200 rolls of film. Many of those photographs have appeared in his books, Life In Shetland and Black Gold Tide, with text by journalist and broadcaster Tom Morton.


As a stranger in the community, Tom admits it took time to get accepted. He was also refused access to the oil terminal at Sullom Voe by BP, a major blow for a project detailing the impact of the oil industry on the island. But there were plenty of others willing to give him assistance and support.


At the start of the project, Tom hired a cotage in the middle of nowhere. But he found it hard to cope with the loneliness. He moved into a bed and breakfast and found that living with the islanders gave him more freedom.


To make ends meet, during the project he laboured on building sites, then as a furniture van driver. As a result, the island opened up to him. He was able to go places and


80 June 2015 meet people he might otherwise never have known.


It is now almost 40 years since oil was first brought ashore to Shetland in 1978. Tom’s collection, which includes some more recent pictures from the 1990s, provides a unique insight into a changing community. As a pictorial essay it remains an important work of social history documenting Shetland’s traditional croſting, fishing and textile making practices alongside the new influences of the oil industry.


Tom, who has enjoyed a distinguished and varied career, has had his work exhibited widely with some of his work held in the collections of the Scottish Arts Council and the Victoria and Albert Museum.


Homeward bound, Shetland


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