ENTRY DESCRIPTION
A Mundari cattle camp. Shooting at dawn and dusk is perfect as all the cattle are in place. The more you see, the more you realise that there is an inextricable bond between the tribe and their cattle. The way they lead them, rub ash into their skins, attend to their needs, use their milk, dung and urine. It is a symbiotic relationship where there is an understanding of the cattle which goes beyond normal animal husbandry. They take pride in their animals and the whole community of man and beast is interconnected. I have never seen anything like it.

On the previous evening the air was filled with smoke from the dung and kindle wood fires to keep insects at bay. The dust is used to help dry the dung which is laboriously collected and piled in the mornings. It is then dried as fuel. They also cover themselves in ash for the same reason which gives them a ghostly appearance as they walk between their animals. As the sun sets in African style the light, smoke and dust create an ethereal atmosphere which makes it appear that the Mundari and their cattle fade into a mist. An ancient mist, trapped in time, where tribal traits and traditions are perpetuated in the twenty first century.

AUTHOR
To capture people and landscapes and the interactions between them in the light of a world in transition is to encapsulate an inimitable moment, which will never again materialise. My own 'take' as a geographer photographer!

Born in the City of Derry but I have lived most of my life outside the bounds of Ireland in England, Singapore, Togo, Italy, Ethiopia and Brazil. Two years ago I returned to Ireland (Donegal).

My photography, together with travel, have become two of my life’s passions. I studied Geography at University and taught it in international schools. My photography focuses on culture, landscapes and wildlife; images which reflect a spatial and temporal journey through life and which try to convey a need to live in a more sustainable world. I seek the moment and the light in whatever context I find myself and endeavour to use my photographic acumen to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. I aspire to have a vision for tomorrow - An Alternative Vision. I believe that photography can capture those inimitable moments and empower us to make a positive change in our world.

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