Snapshot Stories : Visuality, Photography, and the Social History of Ireland, 1922-2000

"During the twentieth century, men and women across Ireland picked up cameras, photographing days out at the beach, composing views of Ireland's cities and countryside, and recording political events as they witnessed them. Indeed, while foreign photographers often focused on the image of Ireland as a bucolic rural landscape, Irish photographers--snapshotter and professional alike--were creating and curating photographs of Ireland which revealed more complex and diverse images of Ireland. Snapshot Stories explores these stories. It examines a diverse array of photographic sources, including family photograph albums, studio portraits, and the work of photography clubs and community photography initiatives, alongside the output of those who took their cameras into the streets to record violence and poverty. It shows how Irish men and women used photography in order to explore their sense of self and society, and examines how we can use these images to fill in the details of Ireland's social history. Through exploring this rich array of sources, it asks what it means to see--to look, to gaze, to glance--in modern Ireland, and explores how conflicts regarding vision and visuality have repeatedly been at the centre of Irish life." -- Oxford Scholarship Online Cover Snapshot Stories: Visuality, Photography, and the Social History of Ireland, 1922–2000 Copyright Acknowledgements Contents List of Figures List of Abbreviations Introduction: Visuality, Photography, and the Social History of Ireland, 1922–2000 1: Beaches and Sunlight: Photograph Albums and Youthful Memories, c.1922–50 Dorothy Stokes and the Unique Oscillations of Convention James F. and the Poetics of the Japanese Parasol William C. and Snapshots of Distance 2: Clasped Hands and Clear Complexions: Studio Portraits and Respectability, 1922–60 Portrait Studios in Ireland Positive and Negative in Waterford Circulation of Images Finding meaning in mass-produced images 3: Dark Rooms and Developing Fluid: Amateur Photographers, Photographic Clubs, and the Irish Landscape, 1945–70 Camera Clubs in Ireland 1945–75 Photographing Rural Landscape Photographing in Kodachrome Photographing Buildings Photographing Industry Club photography debated 4: Community and Representation: Empowerment, Activism, and the Image, 1970–90 Leaving community photography undefined Buzz Logan and landscape photography on the Shankill Camerawork Derry and the Meaning of the Darkroom Dublin and the recital of an incident that illuminates destinies 5: Flesh and Blood Violence, Truth, and the Troubles, 1965–75 Battle of the Bogside and the Scarman Tribunal Bloody Sunday and the Widgery Tribunal 6: Power and Place: Documentary Photography, Politics, and Perspective, 1970–95 Documentary in the 1980s Derek Speirs and activist imagery Joanne O’Brien and the Migrant Gaze Frankie Quinn’s Photographic Eulogies to the Short Strand Conclusion: Digital Analogue Images and the Appearance of Historical Distance Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Literature Index During the twentieth century, men and women across Ireland picked up cameras, photographing days out at the beach, composing views of Ireland's cities and countryside, and recording political events as they witnessed them. Indeed, while foreign photographers often still focused on the image of Ireland as bucolic rural landscape, Irish photographers - snapshotter and professional alike - were creating and curating photographs which revealed more complex and diverse images of Ireland. Snapshot Stories explores these stories. Erika Hanna examines a diverse array of photographic sources, including family photograph albums, studio portraits, the work of photography clubs and community photography initiatives, alongside the output of those who took their cameras into the streets to record violence and poverty. The volume shows how Irish men and women used photography in order to explore their sense of self and society and examines how we can use these images to fill in the details of Ireland's social history. By exploring this rich array of sources, Snapshot Stories asks what it means to see-to look, to gaze, to glance-in modern Ireland, and explores how conflicts regarding vision and visuality have repeatedly been at the centre of Irish life Photographers often depict Ireland with bucolic rural landscapes, but during the twentieth century, men and women across Ireland picked up cameras to create and curate photographs revealing more complex and diverse images of Ireland. Snapshot Stories Uses diverse photographic archives, both professional and personal, to explore these stories Photographers often depict Ireland with bucolic rural landscapes, but during the 20th century, men and women across Ireland picked up cameras to create and curate photographs revealing more complex and diverse images of Ireland. 'Snapshot Stories' uses diverse photographic archives, both professional and personal, to explore these stories