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The bright blue front of Stills, the centre for photography on Cockburn Street.
Edinburgh

Stills

A centre for photography since 1977, on Cockburn Street in the Old Town: exhibitions, darkrooms and courses.

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Welcome

Behind a bright blue front on Cockburn Street, the curving Victorian street that drops from the Royal Mile to Waverley, is Stills, the city's centre for photography.

It opened in 1977 and has been showing the work of photographers from Scotland and further afield ever since.

The gallery changes its exhibitions through the year, and it is a place for making pictures as well as looking at them. Behind the gallery are darkrooms, a colour print processor and a digital suite with the latest editing software, professional printers and scanners, all open to photographers who want to use them. Stills also teaches, with courses all year round that run from a first go in the darkroom and taking pictures on a phone to masterclasses with photographers known around the world.

The gallery opens from Tuesday to Saturday, eleven until five, and in the doorway there is a vintage photobooth for a strip of four to take home.

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The Daily for 4 November, from Scotland with love. A pink sandstone castle bristling with conical turrets and a Union Jack flag rises above a gravel forecourt, autumn-tinged ivy climbing one wing beside cannon displayed on the lawn.
Close byDeacon Brodie's TavernA Royal Mile pub named after Deacon William Brodie, cabinetmaker and councillor by day and burglar by night, hanged in 1788.1 min by roadSee itDeacon Brodie's Tavern
Before you go

The gallery opens Tuesday to Saturday.

Photographers can use the darkrooms, the colour print processor and the digital suite, and there are courses all year, from a first go in the darkroom to masterclasses.

Where
23 Cockburn Street, Edinburgh EH1 1BP.
Gallery
Tuesday to Saturday, 11am to 5pm.
Facilities
Tuesday 11am to 5pm; Wednesday and Thursday to 9pm; Friday and Saturday to 5pm.

Opening hours

Monday
Closed
Tuesday
11am–5pm
Wednesday
11am–5pm
Thursday
11am–5pm
Friday
11am–5pm
Saturday
11am–5pm
Sunday
Closed

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Where it is

Halfway down Cockburn Street, between the Royal Mile and Waverley station.

Close byCockburn Street and the galleries below it.
  1. The blue front of Stills on Cockburn Street.StillsautomatThe vintage photobooth in Stills' doorway, for a strip of four.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. The Fruitmarket GalleryThe Fruitmarket GalleryA free gallery of contemporary art on Market Street.Under a mile 1 min by road
  3. City Art CentreCity Art CentreThe city's own gallery of Scottish art, six floors on Market Street.Under a mile 1 min by road
  4. Marble café table with iced coffee, latte art and a cameraGordon Street CoffeeUnder a mile 1 min by road
  5. Cockburn StreetCockburn StreetA curving Victorian street of turreted tenements, built in the 1850s.Under a mile 2 min by road
  6. The stone arch at the foot of Fleshmarket Close, its name above and steps climbing away, people walking up.Fleshmarket CloseThe close climbing steeply from Market Street, best seen from the bottom.Under a mile 2 min by road
Directions
A window seat with cushions beside a brick wall hung with plants and a warm lamp, looking out on a street, inside a coffee shop in Edinburgh's Old Town.CafeThe MilkmanA step away
Mimi's shopfront with award chalkboards for Scottish Bakery and Café of the YearCafeMimi's BakehouseA step away
The old sweetshop front of The Milkman on Cockburn Street, CONFECTIONS cut in the stone above.CafeThe MilkmanA step away
CafeBrewhemiaA step away
Sandstone turrets and arched windows rise against an overcast skyAttractionsThe Scotsman StepsA step away
Set table beside a brick fireplace with clock and mirror aboveRestaurantsWhiski Rooms0.2 miles
Turreted stone tenement with crow-stepped gables and a lamppost in Edinburgh's Old TownAttractionsWriters' Museum0.2 miles
Pavement slab inscribed with Robert Garioch's verse "In Embro to the ployAttractionsLady Stair's Close0.2 miles
Turreted stone building with a Makars' Court sign in Edinburgh's Old TownAttractionsWriters’ Museum in Lady Stair’s Close0.2 miles

Recommend to a friend

Stay nearby

Places to stay near Stills, and when each is next free.

A hotel studio room with a beige fitted kitchen unit and stainless sink beside a bed dressed in white and teal cushions, a wall of black-framed pictures above a patterned headboard.Old Town Chambers
  • To stay
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from Stills
Check datesA round table and chairs stand before tall curtained windows looking onto stone buildings, a sofa and mounted television to the right.Moment George IV Bridge
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from Stills
Check datesWest End Muse
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Edinburgh
  • Under a mile from Stills
Check datesA turreted sandstone building with conical spires catches the evening light above rooftops, a large pine tree standing beside it.The Scott Hotel
  • A hotel
  • In Edinburgh
  • A mile from Stills
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in EdinburghAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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