ON WE GO! FULL STEAM AHEAD!!

This next post brings together a lot of strands of the leaving dublin project.
Here we pause to take stock of all that has happened to date.
Make some new work.
And set out the plans for the way forward.
Lots has happened since my proposal back in february 2010 in my own life and indeed in the lives of my sitters.
Watching as they weave there new route through life I have come to accept that this is the natural order of things.
In Ireland we are at the mercy of all sorts of external influences and as the international markets agitate against the Euro we are in a very sad state,but no worse than before and Ireland and the Irish will abide. We must deride those who sold us the false dreams of 1973,and Indeed Lisbon 2 in 2009 just before the real slide started.We are now strapped fully to the E.U.mast and must take whatever come its way with no real say anymore. C'est la vie.
Julie Mitchel married last weekend,Tady Walshes wife Milena just gave birth in Quimper ,France, Gareth Doolin just posted a happy picture of himself and his daughter Macey on Facebook,Linda dePaor settled in New Zealand and has given birth to a beautiful baby boy since!!
So goes it and as the months and years pass by the lives of my sitters tell to me the story of the new Irish, rising,moving and overcoming adversity.Their stories into the future  are for me what is important so it is my plan now to follow and document further the lives of my sitters and to follow them to the four corners of the world to see how they are getting on.
Some initial manoeuvres have been carried out back home and I am glad to report that Jacinta Sheerin,Ryan Cronin Neilan,and Conor mc Mahon are all doing well.
I have just made my first European visit yesterday I visited Tady Walsh, Milena and their baby hopefully this is the forerunner to  a serious session to follow in october in Australia and Possibly New Zealand!!
On my return to Ireland at the end of the month I will endeavor to document the early morning emptiness of all of the sites used to date for the leaving dublin project,hopefully the weather will be on my side!!
The Shot above is of Louise Haslett ,her daughter Ella,and her son Ewan.
Louise and co have by now departed for Brisbane Australia,her husband left ahead of them to set things in order while Ella was completing her Junior cert.
I talked at length with Louise about her departure and she told me that Although things were tough in her profession right now(she is an architect) finance was not he primary motivator for her move.But,the current sentiment in our country has made it easier for people like Louise to think of life further afield and to consider all sorts of different scenarios as an improvement of their lot.
The work was made in their back garden in Swords.Ewan skates on a Rich Gilligan inspired home skateboard ramp!!
I hope too to catch up with Louise and to meet with her family and her husband George once I arrive in Australia in october.
On the night of the shoot we were being filmed for a documentary by film maker Donald Taylor Black.
With a working title of 'Stuffing The Tiger' Donald is mapping a picture of the crash by making observations on several artists reactions/work  across several disciplines.
During the course of his filming he has focused on four photographic projects and I pride myself on being in the good company of Mark Curran,Anthony Haughey,Sean Hillen.
Donald and his crew Paddy and Carl joined my self and Carole for dinner after an interview and before the shoot.It was a very enjoyable meal for all and the night continued in a happy tone right up to Louise's house were we found herself and Ewan and Ella ready and in great form,expectant for a bright future in Australia.
Ray and my own brother Ian looked after lighting on the night and Ian actually made a good connection with Donald  and hopefully some of his original music will be used in Donalds upcoming documentary.
So after a fantastic show in Dublin this July and with more to come in Australia in october and around Ireland next year now is no time to be resting on the laurels so On we go. Full Steam Ahead!!

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A SHOW TO BE PROUD OF!!

Now that its come down I have to say that being involved in the photoireland festival (edition 3)
has been for me a very big experience. Having one of the main exhibitions with my now good friend, Maurice Gunning, in what has over the 3 short years has been one of the key venues, has been a fantastic experience.
Very early on we decided to make it a very sophisticated and polished show, with very high standards of presentation applied and no expense spared in the production.
For my part I must thank all who supported the fundit campaign and indeed the Immigration Museum Melbourne, both helped my component to the max!

LEAVING DUBLIN LAUNCHES TO A WALLSPACE IN A GRAND STYLE

wrapped

1/20 scale editing

CATCH -UP TIME!

 The last couple of weeks have been very busy so I suppose I should take a few minutes to talk you through all thats been going on and what's to come!
First off I have been preparing for the launch of the third PhotoIreland festival it kicks off on July 1st
and set to be the best yet with a fantastic program as always covering the Gamut of photographic styles allowing for an open and honest discourse around this years theme, Migrations, the Diaspora and Cultural Identity. As with last year there will be a book and magazine fair at Moxie studios and several programmed shows hosted within the theme.

GETTING OVER THE LINE!

Well time is moving on and the leaving Dublin project is well into the second year of its shooting(its been active for 27 months now)
Things are not getting any better on the streets in fact they get worse.
We are indeed feeling the pain of four austerity budgets in a row as money is sucked out of circulation and commercial activity continues on its downward spiral.The publicity maelstrom whipped up for the upcoming referendum is a mere diversion from the fact that whatever the outcome we are destined to continue down this road until this government falls out of favour with the electorate.As before the flaws in our system will leave us waiting whilst another set of deluded ministers bury their heads in the sand regarding our stressed population and only have eyes for keeping the show on the road.No time for negativity,just lets hear the good news,the rewards of their hard labour.
In fact there is no good news that will negate the hardships that are being felt on the streets right now, therein lies the flaw in the current political thinking.
But you know people are making the best of their lives still despite the weary weight that we are all squarely bearing.
For some this means relocating,emigrating,leaving home family and friends, in order to persue their chosen career.
One such  person is Gemma Geraghty.
Gemma an Artist, graduated last summer from Art school,A hard worker she worked in retail whilst interning in Dublin and London(six months) to gain experience.
through most of 2011 Gemma worked on the Leaving Dublin Project and was a great help on many a shoot in and around town(all Gemma shoots here).Now thanks to her hard work and dedication she has secured a full time position working on a technical team in a large London Gallery.
I congratulate her warmly and,just like her family,friends and boyfriend Paddy, I will miss her dearly,again saddened by the depressed state of the cultural section(be that only financial) in Ireland at the moment.
So like so many others  in order to get her career project over the line Gemma has had to take the boat.
She is following in a long line of cultural export and I hope she is soon to return,but I doubt it will be any time soon.
Ray hegarty and Artur Sikora headed up the lighting team on this shoot,a perfect job as always!


Back in Dublin I am trying to get a little project of mine over the line as we move a little closer to a milestone ,a print exhibition.
The cost of  mounting a substantial piece worthy of my sitters is high and response has been great to my funding campaign of fundit.ie.
There is only 2 days left on the campaign and it is close to reaching its goal.
The important thing to note is that if it fails to reach its target no funds will change hands.
So please help me to raise the last€900 euro or so by pledging to the campaign(if you have not done already) now and help get this one over the line.
there is a short video here to explain the virtues of a €150 pledge so if you can scrape it together the reward well outweighs its monetary value.https://vimeo.com/42268203
Big thanks to all who have already moved to help out its really appreciated!!
david
please Share and comment as always!

WALKING THE WALL!!

Things have been very busy in my small world of late with preparations for an upcoming show in the Photographic Archives Gallery.The show featuring my Leaving Dublin Project and the fascinating story of the Argentine Irish Diaspora,as told by Maurice Gunning, is a stroke of curatorial genius bringing together  two strands of a story and enriching the narrative by adding the layers of time and distance to the discussion.
The comings the goings,the leaving,the living!
It should form a central part of discussions around the theme of the PhotoIreland festival of which it is a part,that of migrations,the diaspora,and cultural identity.

ON REWARD 1-TYPE 55

There is no doubt about it less and less photographic work today is being carried out on traditional film stock.Pretty soon it will be impossible to find someone working on large format film unless you are pretty dedicated and detective like in the way you pursue a portrait photographer.
Right now I think it would be pretty impossible to find anybody shooting on type 55 polaroid film without a really long search!And when you did make that find the cost would be very high to you.
The reason for this is that type 55 film was discontinued in 2008.
Enough stock was manufactured to satisfy projected demand for 2009 but it sold out pretty quick and was snapped up by entusiastic photographers and ebay entrepreneurs.
I have had a pretty large stock of this precious film on ice since then and I have used it sparingly.
A recent show in Dublin last February rekindled my interest in shooting on this film ,particularly as a portrait medium.
The above shot of fellow photographer Rory O Neill is a recent portrait of mine shot on a linhoff technica 4x5 camera.
Type 55 negatives are the famous source of the "Polaroid frame look". Due to the development process where a Polaroid 545 film back holds the film for exposure with a large format camera, the Polaroid reagent/gel is squeezed between the negative and positive. Some of the reagent is trapped underneath the onion-skin-like frame that crops the print into a perfect 4x5 image. This reagent however creates an impression of that frame on the negative, which is not protected. The result is a perfect negative, but with imperfect frame-like image surrounded 3 of the four sides, while the 4th side shows the impression of the connective mesh that controls aspects of the Polaroid packet's sleeve functionality.In other words each frame shot on type 55 has a unique border caused by the rollers.This negative can then be used to achieve very high quality prints.

As a reward on my current Fundit campaign for the upcoming leaving Dublin show I am offering a unique experience for those of you willing to fund  to the tune of €150+.
Its a portrait sitting with me,shot on this rare and priceless material.
The reward includes a print of same,signed and dated,a limited edition postcard,and a thank you at the venue!
Rewards far beyond the value of the pledge.
GO FOR IT!!
here is a direct link
keep an eye out for further information on the other rewards and postings on the fundit site.
There are also lesser and one greater rewards available for pledges from twenty euro.
big thanks
David
as always