Through the Lens - CLOSED

The Irish Times - Celebrating 150 Years - Where's the photographer?

Last week the Irish Times celebrated their 150th Anniversary and they undertook a major campaign to promote this fact. The radio ad which ran earlier in the week mentioned some of the journalists who had worked for the paper over the 150 years. At the time I was struck that no mention was made of the photographers and their work. I presumed I had heard only one of a series or that I had misheard the advertisement - after all up to now the Irish Times have always appeared to value the photograph as a essential element in their newspaper. I intended to look at the magazine but life took over and I could only quickly browse the paper and magazine. I planned to look through it at length later this week.

However judging by Tom Lawlor's letter in todays paper they didn't really mark the work of the photographers over the years.

It reads:

Madam, - Shame on Fintan O'Toole for failing to record the great contributions that Irish Times photographers made to the paper (150th Anniversary Magazine March 27th), from the first photographer, George Leech (who was a pilot with the royal flying corps), to the present talented team whose educated eyes have informed and entertained the readers with award winning work. Their job required them to be direct witnesses to political and social events which they gathered in the field and not on bar stools.-

Yours, etc,

TOM LAWLOR,
Vernon Avenue,
Clontarf, Dublin 3.

That'll tell Tom!

Reproduced here with Tom Lawlor's permission.

PhotoFest (trade show) by Dominic Lee

Photofest; 10 Euro to get in, 3 Euro for parking and 7.50 Euro for two cups of  Late, making your “Show Special Offer” not so special after all.

The bar menu listed Caffè Late @  3.75 Euro and Late it was, we waited 15 minutes for our cuppa, an indication of how busy the show was. 

This show had a good mix of Irish and foreign suppliers, (banning them from the same hotel as appears to be the case at another show is pathetic).

I hate having to buy equipment from abroad but with a huge Euro/Stirling discount and a delivery charge which is miraculously cheaper from Belfast to Dublin than it is from Dublin to Dublin, plus not having to fork out the dreaded VAT sadly it’s a no brainer for photographers to shop locally.

I also frown at the attitude of some of the suppliers when you mention the model number of your most recent major purchase “Ah that’s history; you must have it at least two years”. The new model is 10 times better and half the price and for an extra few quid you can have an attachment bit that wipes your arse!

And it’s an eye opener to see a product which was “exclusive” a few years ago is now “common as muck” on display on every other stand and cheap as chips.

But the best bit about trade shows is meeting old friends, whether they are buying or selling, it makes for a very pleasant way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Dominic

Unions Exposed! by Dominic Lee

There are far too many photographers in Ireland and not enough work so lets join a Union so we can blockade the streets of Dublin till the government give us eh, eh, eh...........!

We could demand that the photographers who include their digital files get issued with a Taxi plate as they will most likely be driving taxis within a year or two anyway.

I mean why should we have any competition, we got here first!!!!!

 

The Unions have a lot to answer for; they demanded huge pay rises and bizarre working conditions. But where are the Unions when their members are queuing up for the dole because companies have shipped their entire Irish operation to a foreign country or closed it down?

 

By wagging a finger at the Irish government they clearly failed to notice that Labour are in power in the UK and that country is also in deep doodoo along with the rest of the world.

They must live in Noddyland (along with the bankers who think they deserve a bonus).

 

Photographers going on strike would be pretty futile but the call for a national strike which will cost the country billions surely exposes the Unions for what they are really about, “Now that we have brought the country into the gutter, lets piss all over it.”

 

Dominic

There are far too many photographers in Ireland and not enough work so lets join a Union so we can blockade the streets of Dublin till the government give us eh, eh, eh...........!

We could demand that the photographers who include their digital files get issued with a Taxi plate as they will most likely be driving taxis within a year or two anyway.

I mean why should we have any competition, we got here first!!!!!

 

The Unions have a lot to answer for; they demanded huge pay rises and bizarre working conditions. But where are the Unions when their members are queuing up for the dole because companies have shipped their entire Irish operation to a foreign country or closed it down?

 

By wagging a finger at the Irish government they clearly failed to notice that Labour are in power in the UK and that country is also in deep doodoo along with the rest of the world.

They must live in Noddyland (along with the bankers who think they deserve a bonus).

 

Photographers going on strike would be pretty futile but the call for a national strike which will cost the country billions surely exposes the Unions for what they are really about, “Now that we have brought the country into the gutter, lets piss all over it.”

 

Dominic

There are far too many photographers in Ireland and not enough work so lets join a Union so we can blockade the streets of Dublin till the government give us eh, eh, eh...........!

We could demand that the photographers who include their digital files get issued with a Taxi plate as they will most likely be driving taxis within a year or two anyway.

I mean why should we have any competition, we got here first!!!!!

 

The Unions have a lot to answer for; they demanded huge pay rises and bizarre working conditions. But where are the Unions when their members are queuing up for the dole because companies have shipped their entire Irish operation to a foreign country or closed it down?

 

By wagging a finger at the Irish government they clearly failed to notice that Labour are in power in the UK and that country is also in deep doodoo along with the rest of the world.

They must live in Noddyland (along with the bankers who think they deserve a bonus).

 

Photographers going on strike would be pretty futile but the call for a national strike which will cost the country billions surely exposes the Unions for what they are really about, “Now that we have brought the country into the gutter, lets piss all over it.”

 

Dominic

Voucher Bandits (rewritten) by Dominic Lee

I’ve been asked to rewrite my last blog “Voucher Bandits” without mentioning the studio name so here goes:

I had a bit of a shopping adventure recently and as I ventured into a Gas Fire shop I noticed the sales assistant handing a 250 Euro Portrait Voucher to a customer (as a thank you for buying a gas fire). The customer promptly tore the voucher into pieces saying “once bitten twice shy”. 

 

No harm in selling vouchers for a fraction of their value or giving them away as long as you are up-front with what it may or may not include and what bigger or more portraits will cost, but these “Voucher Bandits” seem to be quite skilled in avoiding those questions and the end result is that the customer arrives home with their portraits feeling that they have been mugged. Which is why I said to the guy in the fire shop “Sir, you are entitled to Vent-your anger”?

 

Dominic

Romania in Recession! by Dominic Lee

According to The Irish Times 5^th Mar 09 (page 4) the Romanian authorities are seeking the extradition of a Romanian man for a crime committed 15 years ago so he can serve a three and a half years prison sentence for stealing chickens & a bicycle (when he was 13 years old). He had eaten two of the chickens and was riding the bike. I mean, if it was the other way around fair enough!

So now we know The Romanians are in recession too and have feck all else to do!

 

Dominic