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|| SportsShooter.com: News Item: Posted 2008-03-11
Deep into the Lives of Ireland
Brooks Institute's documentary class to premiere multimedia show and gallery exhibit in Santa Barbara on March 14, 2008, and in Ventura on March 17, 2008.
By Nicholas Draney, Brooks Institute
Photo by Nicholas Draney
A young student at the Gaelscoil de Hide in Oranmore, County Galway, Ireland, plays with other students during recess on Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2007.
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Wednesday, 8am, September 12, 2007, and I was sitting on the tarmac waiting for a plane to take me to a place I already knew and loved. Ireland. So why was I overcome with a sense of trepidation? This was, after all, my fifth voyage to my ancestral homeland. And the butterflies in my stomach were not generated by the usual suspect, my moderate, irrational fear of nose-diving at mach 1 into the Atlantic from 30,000 feet. It was something else entirely.
As with most questions pondered in between bad meals and nausea, the answer was another question: what had changed? Or, better yet, how much had changed since my first visit almost ten years ago? I was 17 then and had experienced culture shock and loved it. The land was beautiful and rugged. The people friendly if not reserved, and when they spoke to you, who couldn't resist that cascading Irish lilt?
And then it happened. We touched down, and I felt a familiar twinge, an electric reverberation that happens when one sets foot on ancestral ground. If things were to be dramatically different, then so be it. This was Ireland, and I wasn't going to let nostalgia make me miss something.
After all, this was not a tourist stop. I was not draped head to foot in Guinness garb, seeking four leaf clovers in a bog somewhere in Connemara. I was a photojournalist on a mission to go deep into the lives of the people I had come to admire and cherish. I was one of 12 student photographers from Brooks Institute participating in the Ireland Documentary Trip, who traveled with visual journalism instructor, and SportsShooter.com member Joe Gosen. We stayed in Ireland for five weeks photographing, recording video and audio. This time was bound to be different.
As much as I had known the Irish to be generous and hospitable, nothing could have prepared me for what was to come. I met hair stylist, Fergal O'Toole, in Dublin who, not only gave me a free haircut, but also invited me to stay with him and his wife on their family farm. "You are giving me room and board, and I get to follow you around with my camera for four days? Sign me up." But it was much more than that because a simple act of generosity had let me into their world. Fergal's wife Lindsay runs one of the many stables on a private and exclusive racehorse-breeding ranch outside of Dublin. She asked permission for me to photograph the horses every day I stayed with them, and on the last day she finally got me in. It was beautiful. Manicured lawns, hundred thousand euro race horses, perfect weather; it was truly a great experience.
Photo by Nicholas Draney
Luca Ciaorana, from Sicily, Italy, walks a young colt around yard 4 at a private stud farm in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland on Thursday, Oct. 11, 2007.
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The light in Ireland was another great experience. When one thinks of Ireland, the most common perception is constant rain and gray skies. What is not common is how intense, albeit elusive, the light really is. When we first got there I was struck by how, at any time of the day (if the sun was out), the light could be so warm and dramatic. When the light strikes, all 40 shades of that famous green pops out in a beautiful and intense instant. It was sensory overload for any photographer. Yet the weather had played cruel jokes on us. It would rain all day then the sun would break for two minutes of gorgeous, dramatic light, and then it was gone again. For that instant, though, the environment seemed to change. People seemed different, more energetic and approachable. The gray cobblestone streets that we walked daily for a week suddenly became more interesting. If you were in Galway that first week, and the sun broke through, you would have seen 13 photographers scramble around trying to photograph anything they could. It was nothing short of inspiring and brilliant.
Ireland is a beautiful country made even more so by the warm, energetic spirit of its people. They have held on to an inherent generosity and kindness despite hundreds of years of political and economic turmoil. Whether it was through a stranger's invitation to a cup of tea and biscuits or through Deputy First Prime Minister of Northern Ireland Martin McGuinness' willingness to be interviewed by two of our students, the Irish people opened up their lives and their hearts and let the camera-wielding ninjas in. A great experience to be sure, but it also lead to amazing work by all the photographers.
After the glorious experience of photographing in such a beautiful country for five weeks, the real work actually started. We had months of post-production work ahead of us. All 12 students divided up into groups to work on and produce a multimedia presentation, Website (http://documentary.brooks.edu/ireland), two gallery shows, a book, and DVD. The culmination of which is quickly approaching.
On March 14th, 2008 our grand opening will be held at the Lobero Theater in Santa Barbara at 7pm. There will be a reception after the multimedia presentation at Brooks Institute's Cota Street campus gallery at 8pm where we will unveil our gallery show. Also, there will be a second presentation and gallery show at the Ventura Beach Marriott on March 17th (St. Patrick's Day) at 5:30pm. All events are free and open to the public.
Photo by Joe Gosen / Brooks Institute
Brooks Institute students in Ireland with instructor Joe Gosen.
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Brooks Institute's Overseas documentary class presents:"Ireland"
Santa Barbara Opening Night Events
Friday, March 14, 2008
7pm - Documentary Screening
Lobero Theatre
33 E. Canon Perdido St.
Santa Barbara, Calif.
Gallery Exhibition
8pm-10pm
Brooks Institute's Cota Street Campus & Gallery
27 E. Cota St.
Santa Barbara, Calif.
Ventura Opening Night Events
Gallery Exhibition & Documentary Screening
Monday, March 17, 2008 (St. Patrick's Day)
5:30pm-7:30pm
Ventura Beach Marriott
2055 E. Harbor Blvd.
Ventura, Calif.
Books and DVDs from this documentary will be available for purchase at these events.
If you cannot attend the openings openings, please visit the class Website: http://documentary.brooks.edu/ireland (goes live on March 14, 2008)
The Ireland print gallery exhibit will remain at the Brooks Cota Street Campus until May 23, 2008 and at the Ventura Beach Marriott thru the end of April.
(Nicholas Draney is a 25 year old visual journalism student attending Brooks Institute. He has a bachelor's degree in English Literature from the University of Utah.)
Related Links:
Brooks Ireland Website
Nicholas Draney's member page
Matt McLoone's member page
Joe Gosen's member page
Brooks Institute
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