Without a doubt, the Irish countryside is one of the toughest subjects in the world to photograph. On one hand, it is so incredibly green and delightful that, unless you are especially careful, you risk your photos looking like postcards. On the other hand, Ireland is literally a tough assignment -- the unpredictable light, the incessant winds, and the ever-present rain.
However, it is precisely these challenges that draw me to Ireland. Further, it is the land that my great grandparents were born and consequently I have a strong feeling for her people and land.
I did not set out to do an exhbit of photographs on Ireland. The opportunity to show at the James Library presented itself courtesy of Nancy Collela and I simply went back to my archives of images taken over the years. Upon reviewing them, it was apprarent that the changing light was the key thing that impressed me and once I started scanning/printing the images, it was equally clear that the "40 shades of Green" that Ireland is well known for was readily apparent in my images. Thus was born "The Changing Hues of Ireland" and I set upon printing the images to best reflect the feeling of the place.
For me the key thing was to somehow present the subtle shades of green. Yet all photo printers are weak when it comes to green (after all, printers use cyan and yellow ink to make "green", not pure green ink). The upshot of it is that printed greens tend to look muddy -- not at all what I was after. Further, the Irish countryside is full of other equally compelling colors -- the amazing azure skys, the brightly painted buildings, the fluorescent orange flowers, etc. As such, I would typically choose one predominent color per image and desaturated the remaining colors. The effect was to increase the apparent saturation of the primary color without resorting to over-saturating it. The result is precisely what I had in mind: the sense of intensity amid subtlety.
I shall return to Ireland again and again. The long term goal is to produce a book of photographs representing my personal interpretation of the place. With two shows under my belt, "The Changing Hues of Ireland" together with "Adventures in IR-land", I'm well on my way.
