{"id":612240,"date":"2025-12-04T19:19:38","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T19:19:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/612240\/"},"modified":"2025-12-04T19:19:38","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T19:19:38","slug":"photo-essay-ritchie-elders-images-of-edinburgh-faith-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/612240\/","title":{"rendered":"Photo essay: Ritchie Elder\u2019s images of Edinburgh faith communities"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ImamImam Muhammad Hamzah Rumi, Portobello Mosque, Edinburgh. Photograph by Ritchie Elder<\/a><\/p>\n

An intimate six-month project reveals the religious diversity of the Scottish capital<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Edinburgh<\/a>-based photographer Ritchie Elder<\/a> describes himself as a neutral observer. He didn\u2019t grow up within a faith and wondered, at first, what that meant for his long-term project centred around religion in the Scottish capital.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After asking himself a fundamental question \u2014 \u201ccan I really document these groups when I\u2019m not part of them?\u201d \u2014 he settled on a simple approach: listen carefully and photograph with good intentions.<\/p>\n

Faith<\/a>, a documentary series created over six months of the final year of his photography degree course at Edinburgh College, has placed Elder on the shortlist for Portrait of Britain<\/a> and won gold in the people photography category at the AOP Student Awards 2025<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The project takes in mosques, churches, temples and community halls across the Scottish capital. Growing up in Leith, a port area in north Edinburgh, Elder was surrounded by cultural diversity, but had rarely stepped into such spaces. Being granted entry, he says, felt like a gift.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNot everyone gets to experience what it\u2019s like inside a Buddhist temple and I had the opportunity,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The visits often revealed unexpected details about the people he photographed. In that Buddhist temple, the nun guiding him casually mentioned she had once been a model. At Portobello Mosque, he learned that the imam he was photographing was also an optician \u2014 a reminder of the ordinary, human lives often found behind spiritual vocations.<\/p>\n

Across different rituals and traditions, what struck him most was the shared language of prayer and congregation. In a time of rising hostility toward some faith communities, Elder\u2019s work turns its attention to the common ground found in everyday devotion and the people he met along the way.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just a normal guy from Edinburgh and they welcomed me in,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Islam<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Worshipper,A worshipper at Portobello Mosque. Photograph by Ritchie Elder<\/p>\n

\"AlaaAlaa Haroun, at Water of Leith in the Stockbridge district of Edinburgh. Photograph by Ritchie Elder<\/p>\n

Judaism<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"RabbiRabbi David Rose of Edinburgh Hebrew Congregation, which meets at Edinburgh Synagogue in the city\u2019s Newington district. Photograph by Ritchie Elder<\/p>\n

\"Worshipper,A worshipper from the Edinburgh Liberal Jewish Community, which meets at St Mark\u2019s Unitarian Church in the city\u2019s Old Town. Photograph by Ritchie Elder<\/p>\n

Sikhism<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"BhaiBhai Dharmveer Singh, Edinburgh Gurdwara, Leith. Photograph by Ritchie Elder<\/p>\n

Hinduism<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"SumanSuman Vohra MBE, Edinburgh Hindu Mandir & Cultural Centre, Leith. Photograph by Ritchie Elder<\/p>\n

\"HinalHinal Bhogayata, Edinburgh Hindu Mandir & Cultural Centre, Leith. Photograph by Ritchie Elder<\/p>\n

Buddhism<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"AniAni Rinchen, Kagyu Samye Dzong, Leith. Photograph by Ritchie Elder<\/p>\n

Church of Scotland<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"ReverendReverend Suzie Stark, North and South Leith Parish Church, Leith. Photograph by Ritchie Elder<\/p>\n

Catholicism<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"OurOur Lady of Pochayiv and St Andrew\u2019s Ukrainian Catholic Church, Leith. Photograph by Ritchie Elder<\/p>\n

Pentecostalism<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"YesminYesmin Kofigah, RCCG King of Glory Edinburgh, Craigentinny. Photograph by Ritchie Elder<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Imam Muhammad Hamzah Rumi, Portobello Mosque, Edinburgh. Photograph by Ritchie Elder An intimate six-month project reveals the religious…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":612241,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8816],"tags":[748,5426,1102,4884,191143,712,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-612240","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-edinburgh","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-diversity","10":"tag-edinburgh","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-photo-essays","13":"tag-scotland","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115662919957755451","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/612240","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=612240"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/612240\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/612241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=612240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=612240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=612240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}