I was born and educated in Glasgow, Scotland where my first interest in photography arose at the age of 14 through a love of boxing. I had been boxing since the age of 10 and wanted to make images similar to those that hung on the walls of the gyms. By the age of 15 I was out of school and working as a carpenter/cabinet maker, which is a trade that still gives me occasional work and pleasure today. Despite a love of working with wood I wanted to re-engage with education and after gaining the required qualifications at night school I studied a Degree in Building Surveying.

In 1999 I married Kirsty and we live in Glasgow with our sons Cameron Jack (2001) and Brodie Mac (2004). 10 years later photography had taken over my life and my day job had become an obstruction. With great support and encouragement from those close to me I gave up my career to try and make photography the main focus in life.

I have never once looked back and consider myself to be the luckiest person I know. I first fell in love with the process of making photographs before I started to understand the potential historical importance each photograph can hold. The photograph provides a window to the past for future generations, and as such should be valued and treasured as part of our heritage. It is undeniable that the digital age has revolutionised photography, but sadly the digital explosion has very quickly had a detrimental impact on the traditional photographic processes which I first fell in love with. ... http://www.davidgillanders.com/about/

street children of ukraine:

In 2000 I was travelling through Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union developing a project on the transmission of HIV through intravenous drug use. I stumbled upon a group of young kids who were being chased from a McDonalds restaurant by a very aggressive restaurant manager. I intervened to prevent the manager beating the kids on the street. The kids had been removing leftovers from empty tables. This act led me into an underground world where young children live and die in the most squalid and horrible conditions I have ever experienced. Orphans, runaways, wee broken souls fending for themselves in a cruel and unforgiving world.