Photo11.FR
Photography by Paul Cunningham AFIAP
I am a long-time amateur photographer born in Northern Ireland where I grew up and was educated. I started to make photographs at the age of 14 thanks to a physics teacher who taught us how to work in the darkroom. Photography has been my passion ever since. I lived for 14 years in England and then for20 years in Scotland, I have now been living (and photographing) in Cournanel for the last 8 years.
I like to wander with my camera and sometimes, if I am lucky and if I am patient and if I look and listen carefully, something will speak to me. It might be some detail beside the path, a sparkle on the water or the way the light falls on stone - and it will say "excuse me, I want to be photographed". The photographs I make are my response.
The photographs in this exhibition are a personal story of my exploration and discovery of the beautiful surroundings of the village of Cournanel and (almost) all were taken within the boundaries of the commune. I am delighted to be able to share them with you as part of Toques et Clochers in Cournanel.
Our job is to record, each in his own way, this world of light and shadow and time that will never come again exactly as it is today.
- Edward Abbey writer and environmentalist
I am proud to have been awarded the distinction “A.F.I.A.P.” (Artiste F.I.A.P.) by the Federation Internationale de l'Art Photographique (F.I.A.P.) in recognition of my work.
"Light and Shadow and Time"
My passion for photography was born in the 1970s while I was still at school in Northern Ireland. One day our Physics teacher showed us how to develop a black and white film and from there, how to create a print. I was immediately captivated by the magic that took place in the darkroom and that initial sense of wonder has never diminished.
Subsequently I went on to have a career in Engineering and in particular, the technology of high voltage underground power cables. During those years my passion for Photography was a constant, I made the change from film to digital in 2006, an unintended consequence of which was a freedom to explore color photography alongside my long-standing passion for black and white work.
