Having just finished reading what is perhaps the most inspirational book I have ever had the pleasure of reading, I felt that I should write a quick blog about it; primarily to capture one of the many wonderful ideas on offer in the book, one that particularly caught my eye. In this way I hope this blog will serve as a both a reminder and a source of hope and inner strength to me.

I often find myself in real despair at the behaviour of the human race. Our behaviour towards each other, our greed, racism, arrogance, stupidity, inability to think for ourselves, the way we are destroying our planet, the way we treat animals, exploitation, slavery, corruption … the list goes on. I have even found myself wondering if the universe would be an altogether better place without us parasites in it. I have to search hard to find reasons why the human race deserves its place … but thanks to ideas from great men like Nelson Mandela I’m able to reconcile my misgivings with the hope he offers through his ideas, his approach to living and his ability to take the hard path when it is the right path. The world needs many more Nelson Mandelas!

This post is not really intended as a review of the book which really needs to be read to be fully appreciated. I can’t put into words how important this man is as an example to the rest of the human race, and not just South Africans – if it were up to me I’d have this book as required reading on the learning syllabus of our schools all over the world.

If I may paraphrase a part of the book, it tells the story of the journey of Nelson Mandela through life as he battles to be free; this journey begins with the innocent freedom of a young child; goes on to recount to freedom of self discovery as a student; continues to the honourable freedom of a young man in his early achievement of his potential – earning his keep, marrying and having a family. As Nelson puts it – the freedom not to be obstructed in a lawful life.

But then it goes on to tell of his politicisation when he realises that not only was he not free, but nor were is brothers and sisters (he includes all fellow South African’s in this idea including Blacks, Coloureds, Asians and even the whites oppressors who imposed apartheid). In such circumstances a more selfish and less thoughtful person would have walked a path of total intolerance and even extreme violence against the people who were oppressing him. But not Nelson Mandela. In his words, in a society where a disgusting idea like apartheid is allowed to blossom - “the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed. A man who takes away another man’s freedom is a prisoner of hatred”.

“To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others” … I believe in this idea, not just as it can be applied to the human race, but also to how we interact with the planet Earth and all the creatures that share it.

The human race is not yet free, it still has a long road to travel to get even close to freedom, but I am full of hope that one day it will. For me there is one idea in the book that reinforces this hope, that is this idea – “People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can also be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite”.

One cannot write about a great man like Nelson Mandela without giving him the last word, so here is an extract from his inauguration speech which we could use as a rallying cry for our freedom -

“Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another … The sun shall never set on so glorious a human achievement.

Let freedom reign. God bless Africa!”

The thing that probably gave me the most smiles over the weekend during the People’s Photography event was the work on Woollycats and Nutty Squirrels by Susie Carr and the wonderful humorous images showing off her work by husband, Darren Carr.     I think this is a wonderfully sweet business idea which is an example of the best in cottage industry. In  essence you can either design your own cat or send a picture of your favourite pet (dogs too) and Susie will knit a pocket sized  replica for you (apparently tabby’s take longer) …     … and if you are really lucky Darren will then take one of his wonderfully funny contextual photos also.     To add to the mix both Darren and Susie are vets in their day job … Hence the title for this post – borrowed from a book and BBC TV series by James Herriot … so they can throw in a health check of your moggie in the process of knitting the replica … Susie has even managed to knit a three legged RSPCA rescue cat (called Brockie) for one owner … Susie is also trying her hand at knitting Squirrels with the aptly named nutty.ie … be careful this cute idea may well catch on; soon we’ll all be carrying our own unique pockets pets!  

I was lucky to be able to participate in an annual Dublin event known as “People’s Photography” over the weekend. Its where local photographers from around the country get to display their images on the fences of St Stephen’s Green. It has also become an annual social event for the photographer community in Boards.ie and Twitter; These are the places where I have made many great friends over the years; thanks to our common interest; and it is always really lovely to see everyone displaying their work at the event (not to mention a few social drinks after it too).

I used this selection from my “Keep Passing the Open Windows” project (see the Photo Galleries) as the basis of my display -

I have to admit to being really pleased with how the weekend went … No I didn’t sell a single image; but at the same time I received a lot of compliments about the images I had on display (and a few people even took the time to write me an email) … most of the compliments came from other photographers which I found particularly encouraging.

Overall the event passed off as a success; despite occasional intervals of rain. On the Sunday we also held another event called Streetfeast (see streetfeast.ie) where everyone got into the spirit of community by participating in a street picnic of all sorts of home cooked delights … we even managed to coax a few passers by to join in the party spirit.

As regards highlights of the other photography on display … I’ll start with a small negative and end the blog on the high note …

People’s Photography is one of those events where one sees a lot a typical “Camera Club” type images (amongst my circle of photogeek friends we often jokingly refer to this as a phenomenon of inflatable foreground rocks and HDR swans). Most typical and indeed most prominent is the landscape and wildlife photo of which there were a great many on show; sadly very little of any real unique distinction. Landscape photography for me is something which I find deeply enjoyable. But I find it difficult and challenging to create images of any real note. Despite all of this I still love the process of landscape capture, it is the most meditative form of photography. I don’t envy the landscapers who displayed at People Photography, it is perhaps the most difficult of genre’s in which to truly stand out. Most of the images on display (particular along the more busy Grafton St section of the event) didn’t  stimulate the visual cortex quite so much as being able to also feel the caress of the wind and smell the aroma of the air at the original scene of the photograph.

Oddly, the real unique highlights of the weekend were on display in the least prominent areas of the event. I’m not sure if this was something the organisers did by design (in a effort to appeal to the masses) of simple a function of luck of the draw. But for me they missed the point and in the process the best of unique photographic talent was not really given a fair hearing.

For me there we three particular highlights about which I want to make a special mention (at the risk of offending some of my friends, which is definitely not my intention).

The first is less about photography (although the images on display were most original and very entertaining) and more about a great idea … I’ll be making a special separate blog just for this … this is the work of Darren Carr and his wife Susie for Woollycats.

The other two are similar in that both photographers had cyanotype images on display. My friend Sinéad McDonald had a wonderful display of these images as well as some lovely smaller fridge magnets made from other photographic techniques. It is difficult to stand out from the pack at events like these but Sinéad did a good job and doing so in the best possible way. She has really blossomed into a talented photographer over the years with a few good projects to her name at this stage and I look forward to seeing more … For more of her work see – Sinéad’s site

For me however the highlight of the entire event was hidden away at the far reaches of St Stephen’s Green away from the prying eyes of the tourists, the landscapes, the tacky nudes and the HDR swans. This was the display by Monika Fabijanczyk (see Monika’s site). She also had a wonderful collection of original Cyanotypes on show. But perhaps what really caught my eye the most were her prints on glass plates. These were truly inspirational in both their form and their content. Printed glass plates, as a medium, give a wonderful three dimensional quality to the prints. This results in a more life like image than with any standard printing technique. The images appear to leap off the medium right before your very eyes. Portraits have a ghostly reality to them. Monika has also done a wonderful job on selecting, composing and capturing the perfect content to show in this medium. In doing so she has managed to come up with a body of work which was both unique and inspiring. Her work stood head and shoulders above the rest of us in demonstrating the essence of what many of us are continually striving to do – being original.

I continue to be amazed at the complete lack of any consequences for the criminal element within the political, banking and property sectors of Ireland for the greatest crime in Irish history. We talk of the birth of a “terrible beauty” … well in this case it is the birth of a terrible injustice …

The greatest form of financial violence has been committed against the people of Ireland … someone (or more appropriately some people) is guilty of this crime … the punishment needs to be very severe … but instead nothing will happen … except perhaps a few more lawyers might get rich in another round of pointless tribunals …

It has been really good watching the Murdochs squirm as a result of thier activities for NOTW / News International … but such a shame we’ve been deprived of a similar experience for a much bigger story here in Ireland!

So my idea -

Why don’t we put our criminal bankers and greedy property speculators in front of a bunch of TD’s like in UK with Murdoch?

Is it because many of our major TD’s are complicit in this atrocious crime too? … or perhaps their Lawyer / Solicitor mates have put the kibosh on progress since they’ll be missing out on their cut in the form of exorbitant fees for pointless endless tribunals leading to no consequences for anyone…

We deserve what we get for being so passive!

During our recent trip to Kenya Philip and I visited two schools in Mombasa which are supported by Irish NGO Suas – Kongowea and Maweni.

The primary purpose of this visit was to evaluate the state of readiness of both schools to have computers … but as always, we saw so much more.

I was initially struck by the surrounding Kongowea slum which can be a violent assault on the senses. In many places it looks much the same as the Mukuru slum we regularly visit in Nairobi. But the added effect of the hotter climate of Mombasa seems to amplify some of the more negative aspects … not least the smell of what looks to be nothing more than a land fill in the centre of the slum. This is where the goats, chickens and other livestock graze.

But as with Gatoto, the gates of the school give way to a wonderful oasis. The schools, which are a little crumbling, look on the surface much as any other school in Ireland might look … there are classrooms, a library, a garden, play area etc. But when you scratch the surface you see the differences – the teachers are struggling with unbelievably limited resources. The infrastructure for these schools which both have over 1000 students is incredibly limited. There are classes with over 100 students to one teacher.

This all seems to be a direct consequence of the policy of the Kenyan government who force the schools to take every child that turns up at the gates. Their focus, it seems, it to be able to say that every child has access to education. The idea is a noble and correct one. But it ignores the important issue of quality in education. OK so government resources are very limited, but there is also much corruption diverting these precious resources away form where they are most needed. This forms a vicious cycle where lack of resource leads to poor education; which in turn leads to lack of growth, meaning lack of resources (perhaps an over simplification but the basic idea is still valid).

I’m sure education for everyone sounds good in the political speeches but on the ground the effectiveness of this policy seems to be questionable. I don’t know what the solution to the problem is, but one is definitely needed.

I was trying to think of some text to accompany these portraits … but to be honest, they speak for themselves. Most were taken at the Kongowea Primary school in Kenya. Some at the Maweni school. These are two schools supported by Suas … we are hoping to help them get an ICT lab together for use in teaching the children.

[View with PicLens]

Both need support and here is a link to where you can provide it – Maweni & Kongowea

For weeks before the trip I had tried everything to convince myself that it would be a complete waste of time and energy … and it was working! If it were not for my commitment to my travel companion Philip Sharpe I’d have cancelled the entire trip!

But on the way to the airport at 5am the morning of the flight to Nairobi I was given an odd reminder by a Dublin taxi driver (of all people) as to why I do these trips … the dialogue goes a bit like this -

Taxi Driver: “…yer man Rory McIlroy has done well for himself …”

Me: “yeah … some turnaround from the Masters”

Taxi Driver: “Yep … he went to Haiti after the Masters … to put his life in context…”

Me: “Really!?”

Suddenly it all comes back to me and I am awoken to my motives … we take a lot for granted here in the West … sometimes we need to get a bit of proper perspective … Kenya, and more specifically the Gatoto school in the Mukuru Kwa Reuben slum of Nairobi plays that very role for me … Betty, the principle, has a way of ensuring the magic of this oasis of hope in the midst of the surrounding squalor stays with you in your heart almost all the time (though to my shame I had lost it in the weeks before the trip!).

The following day, as our driver negotiated the mud soaked wasteland that serves as the entrance to the slum and the approach to the school gate, grey clouds seemed to part, giving way to a ray of beautiful sunshine. In the process a great weight was gradually lifted as my own life came back into perspective … for the first time in quite a few weeks, I allowed myself a genuine smile as I passed through the gates.

I named this web site for that wonderful moment … may I have many more!

Please support this project via a small contribution on the Suas Website

One of the finest seafood meals I’ve had in a long time … caressed by the gentle warm breeze coming off the Indian Ocean near Mtwapa, Kenya. One of the last places you’d expect to find an Italian restaurant.

Wonderful!

I stopped here during a recent drive along the marvellous pacific coast highway between San Luis Obisbo and Santa Cruz.

Visiting the gaudy homes of super rich people is not normally my thing … but this was worth it!

Here’s a few more images from the visit -

[View with PicLens]

I managed to arrive in one of the driest places in in North America the day it was flooded … go figure!

This was taken on the long drive between CES Las Vegas and San Jose … but what a drive it was!!

If you look really closely at the image below you can see where sea level sits -