Belfast Northern Ireland

I am back in Northern Ireland on a commission to photograph "Peace" Walls. The center of Belfast seems a less oppressive place since I was here photographing in 1995-2000. But leave the town center and the changes dissappear. The outer neighbourhods seem stuck in a time warp. I am not saying that the place has not changed but the physical landscape certainly has changed little.

Belfast is a wonderful place to photograph and my first afternoon was a joy as I photographed Alexandra Park, the only park in Western Europe divided by a wall. I will be here for three days with the Observer writer Sean O'Hagan. Sean is a brilliant writer to work with as a photographer. His understanding of photography is a rarity in the world of journalism.

Sean and I had dinner with Paul Seawright. An amazing photographer and teacher, his work is thought provoking and serious. I listened to Paul and Sean speak at length on the current state of photography peppered with mad stories about photographers. Lots of fun.

Also met the Dutch photographer Rob Hornstra. Rob is working on a 5 year project about Sochi, Russia and the run up to the Winter Olympics in 2014. He is doing a detailed study on the region surrounding Sochi and obviously he is questioning the question of setting the winter olympics in a region scarred by war and political violence. Rob is a fine example of the quality high end of self publishing as well as independent funding. He is a model for any serious photographer wishing to work in a documentary vein in the fast changing digital world we live in.

A Desperate Journey

It's not often that you get to re visit old work unless you are working on your portfolio. Last week I had an exhibition at the Jersey Arts Centre as part of the Amnesty International Human Rights Festival in St. Hellier, Jersey. The photos on exhibit were part of a story I did on Nicaraguan Refugees illegally migrating to the United States. I did the photos in 1989 when I was still working for the Miami Herald. It was my first real project.

Despite the passing of the years I am surprised how little the photos have aged. The people I followed were following an underground railroad that still is operating today. I have travelled many times to Guatemala and Central America since I shot these photos and I saw people still undetaking the same journey. Until there is economic justice across Latin America I doubt these journeys will end any time soon.

Photography has seen seismic changes in the past 22 years. It was odd handling the slides again, scanning them, trying to reproduce the luminous quality of the images into a digital version. It is certainly much easier shooting colour these days. Transparency film was so unforgiving. I wonder how different my photos would have looked if I had shot them with today's digital cameras. I shot the Nicaraguan Story on 2 FM2s and 4 fixed focal lenses. I carried a light meter and a big bag of film. No batteries needed except for the meter. I am not nostalgic for the old days by any means. In terms of exposing alone I am a much better colour photographer. But I probably concentrated more on the technical aspects of my medium in the past.

Regardless of the changes there is something wonderful seeing your images printed big. I think the thing I miss most in he digital age is how few times I print anything. A photograph is meant to be printed. Facebook and websites are a poor substitute.