The Slow Camera Exchange, Issue 1, Spring 2023 by The Slow Camera Exchange Ireland

THE SLOW CAMERA EXCHANGE

Image credit.

Artwork: Collaboration by Marie Sexton, Hermann Marbe and Jess Marbe.

Issue 1, Spring 2023

2 The Emergence of the Slow Camera Exchange

3 We all have stories in Us Hermann’s Passion for Analogue Photography

Analogue Love Stories at University College Cork

4 The Slow Camera Exchange introduced to the public at Hollyhill and Cork City Library September 2023

The Slow Camera Exchange and Cork City Libraries

5 Artem Trofemenko Explores the Camera Collection

6 Culture night 2022 Pop up portraits

7 The 55+ Casual Photography Meetings Shared Memories

8 Photo Essay: Shared Memories

24 Photo Essay: Six Months in Motion

39 Thanks

The Emergence of the Slow Camera Exchange

unpacked equipment, set up a tripod, exposed the image to the ﬁlm. I must confess moments of frustration when I wanted to keep going at my usual insane fast pace. Other moments I welcomed the still, the quiet and the slow. I had the chance to see the environment around me through new eyes, to notice new details, to observe how the light was catching the object or landscape in focus. It did something for me…. something good.

In this passage, Jess Marbe describes the importance of the creation of The Slow Camera Exchange and how it aims to contribute to community connections and wellbeing.

Hermann and I were not only partners in life, but also creative collaborators. We were fascinated by creative expression that usually goes unseen and stories that are often unheard and we loved to work in spaces where participation in the arts is broad and accessible. We viewed creative expression as a right for all. It seems ﬁtting for his cameras to be made available for public use through The Slow Camera Exchange and to celebrate the creativity that will emerge from this opportunity.

It was exciting to receive funding from Creative Ireland’s ‘Creativity in Older Age’ fund and to embark on the The Slow Camera Exchange’s ﬁrst journey with people who are 55+. One of my main hopes with the project is that people will connect with others and feel a sense of belonging while engaging in activities with potential to support their wellbeing. The Cork City Library Service and the Cork Film Centre share this vision and have been the perfect partners to bring this project to fruition.

During the 18 years that I spent as Hermann’s partner, I have had many moments having to slow down while he

Studies in neuroscience now show that slowing down, taking notice and having a moment of being more mindful of our surroundings or our own selves can have positive impacts on our wellbeing.

There are many other potential positive impacts of engaging with creativity and engaging with analogue photography, which is inherently a slower process than digital photography.

Recently, I have been engaging in research around wellbeing, exploring two models: the New Economics Forum’s ‘5 ways to Wellbeing’ and the PERMA model. The Five Ways to Wellbeing, developed by the New Economic Forum in the UK, communicates ﬁve simple messages:

• Connect,

• Be Active,

• Take Notice,

• Keep Learning,

• Give.

The other model is from the work of American psychologist, Dr. Seligman. He developed the field of Positive Psychology and its e orts to scientifically explore human potential. Growing out of extensive research in the field of Positive Psychology, Dr. Seligman identifies five building blocks that enable flourishing:

• Positive Emotion,

• Engagement,

• Relationships,

• Meaning,

• Accomplishment.

I see the potential of the Slow Camera Exchange in creating spaces for many of these aspects of wellbeing to be nurtured. We have already seen groups of older people forming new relationships and connecting with each other as they met regularly in the library. Through workshops, meetings and through social aspects of the Slow Camera Exchange, there is a lot of possibility for individuals to connect around an interest and form a sense of belonging and community. Engaging with analogue photography is an opportunity to move the body by physically going to explore physical environments to capture an image. The process of working with analogue photography is an opportunity to engage the brain in di erent ways, with the challenge of learning technical skills of how, for example, to balance lengths of exposure with apertures and all the learning of how to see, notice, frame and capture an image. It is also an opportunity to learn about one’s self, one’s creativity and one’s environment. Creative exploration and experimentation with ideas and images opens the possibility of new ideas and the possibility to create and ﬁnd meaning. Creating and presenting an image is a chance to give to others, allowing audiences to experience creativity, while gaining a sense of personal accomplishment.

We have witnessed some of these positive experiences already and hope that, as the programme expands and grows, more and more people will have opportunity the to engage with them and to ﬂourish.

My young children, Otto and Anna Rose, and I have journeyed through our loss together. Creativity has played such an important role in connecting with Hermann, with each other and with others. We have made blankets from his t-shirts, cushions from his trousers, a ‘daddy doll’ wearing his clothes. We want to remember. We want to celebrate. We want to share. We want journeys of creativity and of connection to continue and want to be part of that journey. The children are very proud of their Dad and are also excited about sharing their Dad’s passion and equipment in The Slow Camera Exchange.

Jess Marbe

WWW.THESLOWCAMERAEXCHANGE.COM

Analogue Love Stories at University College Cork

Young hearts run free and old ﬂames burn on. We wanted to hear about the beautiful connections made at University College Cork.

We all have stories in Us

It all started with a house full of cameras. Drawers were packed to the brim with every kind of photographic apparatus imaginable; from classic collectables to obsolete old-timers and dollar-store disposables. Opening any cupboard revealed new surprises: strange-looking equipment so bulky and heavy it’s a wonder the ﬂoors bore its weight; discontinued photo paper; ﬁlm and negatives; developing chemicals and boxes upon boxes of photographs. These were the treasures of Hermann Marbe’s world of photography.

When Hermann sadly died in 2018, he left behind a rare legacy - a collection of cameras and photographs of immense creative value. His wife, Jess Marbe, had a vision for these cameras; to make analogue photography accessible and for Hermann’s passion to continue through a camera-borrowing library and community arts initiative. Partnership with Cork Film Centre and Cork City Libraries is supporting this vision to come to life. With help from Cork City Arts O ce and funds from Creative Ireland’s ‘Creativity in Older

Age’ fund, we have had the opportunity to o er over 55’s around Cork City the chance to take pictures, make memories, develop new relationships and connect their stories to the bigger story of The Slow Camera Exchange.

So far, its facilitators and photographers have explored the captivating conﬁnes of Hollyhill Library, making art through its windows on rainy days and, on drier ones, venturing beyond its walls to the world outside, capturing life in its many fascinating forms. They photographed over 200 people during Culture Night and across two unique Valentine’s events in Cork City. They have worked to bring the story of Hermann Marbe to life and to carry on his belief that photography is a medium that absolutely anyone can pick up and fall in love with.

This publication aims to tell the story of the ﬁrst six months of The Slow Camera Exchange and particularly its engagement with over 55’s, through Creative Ireland’s ‘Creativity in Older Age’ Fund.

We are excited to continue this journey into the future with new images, new projects, new stories and new partnerships.

Hermann’s Passion for Analogue Photography

Hermann Marbe was a photographer with passion and a tireless fascination with all things photography. He was a collector of cameras, lenses and many di erent optical items and worked within a wide variety of photographic formats. He loved to explore the potential of all types of lenses; from high-end Zeiss lenses, to ones used for print reproduction or helicopter surveillance, intrigued even by the chance of achieving spectacular images from cheap plastic lenses. He could often be found building, repairing and adapting equipment to help reach his artistic visions. For Hermann, the darkroom was a space of quiet exploration and discovery as images revealed themselves. He worked with standard and experimental ﬁlm darkroom processes; working with infrared, wet plate, albumen, bromoils, cyanotype, lith prints and emulsions on all sorts of surfaces, from wood

to marble. His collection is amassed from trips around the world, to South America, USA, Japan and Europe, where he visitedaphic fairs, ﬂea markets and photography shops - some large dealers, others, small businesses with very rare and unusual ﬁnds.

Hermann’s life was immersed in creative explorations. He collaborated creatively with his partner, Jess Marbe, and worked as a supporting artist and collaborator with GASP artists of Cope Foundation. The creative journey with these artists was deeply entwined with Hermann’s life and passion and photography and ﬁlmbased work were also integral to this work. He saw no limits to what could be achieved and was ambitious, quirky and innovative in the projects and initiatives he embarked on.

The Slow Camera Exchange, in collaboration with the Department of Marketing & Brand Impact in University College Cork came together to hear the stories of students, alumni, and anyone with a special connection to the UCC campus ahead of Valentine’s Day, 2023.

EIMEAR & DAVID

It’s little wonder that the tickets for our college balls are always in such high demand – those fancy function rooms have been the site of many a UCC love story!

Indeed, it was at the Psychology Ball of 1993 where love ﬁrst blossomed for Eimear and David, who were studying Psychology and History & Sociology respectively (both 1994) at UCC.

As the treasurer of the Psychology Society, Eimear had a spare ticket going for the ball and, with the help of mutual friend and society auditor Vincent, who went to secondary school in Charleville with David, an introduction was made. David of course said “yes”, sparks ﬂew, and the rest, as they say, is history!

The search garnered an overwhelming response from couples across the country who wanted to reminisce on their special moments together, and with the help of awardwinning photographer, Artem Troﬁmenko, and Hermann’s charming Mamiya 330C twin-lens reﬂex camera, their stories were brought to life.

Thanks to Jane Haynes in the Department of Marketing & Brand Impact in University College Cork and alumni for participating in this project.

While the couple have been together for almost 30 years now, Eimear admits “it feels like we met ﬁve minutes ago”. During that time, she and David have enjoyed quite the adventure together, having spent periods living in Dublin, London and Sydney. They eventually settled in Ennis, Co. Clare, going on to tie the knot in September 2004 and welcoming their “fabulous” daughter 10 years later.

While the Psych Ball will always hold magical memories for the couple, they also look back fondly upon their student days spent eating Lennox’s chips and drinking cheap red wine, and meeting up for dates outside the iconic Boole Library, where Eimear worked part-time.

Image by Artem Troﬁmenko.

“I had a free ticket, and he said yes”

The Slow Camera Exchange introduced to the public at Hollyhill and Cork City Library September 2023

The ﬁrst Slow Camera Exchange exhibition took place at Holyhill Library, with a unique series of three mini-exhibitions. ‘Shared Memories’ featured a selection of images of residents of The Westgate Centre. Members of the FProject exhibited photographs taken with cameras from The Slow Camera Exchange collection. Completing the series was a collection of polaroid images taken by Hermann Marbe and his family. On Culture Night,The City Library displayed the camera collection, giving the opportunity for younger and older visitors to the library to get their hands on the cameras and explore the types of processes that are possible with analogue photography.

Sensitivity – it’s what immediately came to mind seeing Hermann Marbe’s photography. His collection is, quite literally, the photosensitive memory of things said and done; but more so, it is a demonstration of how returning to analogue mediums can ground us in the world, and the world of the subject it captures. It was a beautiful, loving, and warm experience to listen to the stories shared of each image and the transient and tender moment they embodied, and to see the contraptions Hermann collected used to cherish them. Access to analogue mediums can be challenging and expensive, but The Slow Camera Exchange’s mission of creating the ﬁrst analogue camera library in Ireland will allow everyone to have the opportunity to explore analogue photography, and crucially, allow under-represented groups to undertake creative projects and share their often unseen, unheard, and unfelt experiences. The turn toward analogue mediums can help us challenge the abstraction of the human experience in an increasingly digital and fast-paced world; by slowing down, we may be able to exercise greater sensitivity to one another when the world needs it most, letting us learn more about ourselves, and each other.

-Richard Keyes McDonnell, visitor to event.

THE SLOW CAMERA EXCHANGE AND CORK CITY LIBRARIES

Patricia Looney Senior Executive Librarian, tells us about the Libraries’ partnership with The Slow Camera Exchange.

Libraries aren’t just about books. Over the years, Cork City Libraries have developed a music library, games library and even a seed library. It is exciting now to be cataloguing cameras for The Slow Camera Exchange.

Inclusivity is at the core of Cork City Libraries’ ethos making this collaboration with the Hermann Marbe Camera Collection a very special one for us. Herman made a signiﬁcant mark on arts and inclusion in Cork City, and the programme of events recently developed around The Slow Camera Exchange continues in this vein.

Workshops hosted in Hollyhill Library and Westgate residential care centre have resulted in wonderful exhibitions and creative processes by older adults. Installations for Culture Night, Cork City’s Lifelong Learning Festival and upcoming for the Bealtaine festival showcase and encourage the amazing work of the older people involved.

With the use of a selection of analogue, user friendly cameras and kits from the collection the engagements promote positive ageing and inclusion through a new form of creative engagement and supports national initiatives such as Age Friendly Cities and Healthy Cities in a unique and creative way. We

look forward to continuing our work in creativity and ageing through this programme and to becoming the ﬁrst library in Ireland to make analogue cameras available to borrow by communities and artists to continue to develop this unique and inspired programme.

Soon, The Slow Camera Exchange will be in operation from the City Library to facilitate the borrowing of the cameras. To support access for people who may not have engaged with analogue photography before, a number of cameras have been formed into camera workshop kits. These camera kits will be available to artists to borrow for community engagement workshops; for example with youth groups, in residential settings, schools etc. The library will also programme activities within its own schedule, bringing in artists to facilitate community engagement with the cameras. These kits include 35 mm SLR cameras, medium-format cameras, pinhole cameras and boxes and point and shoot 35mms, as well as equipment for cyanotype photography.

There will also be a unique selection of 20 individual cameras available for loan to artists with some experience in analogue photography. The Slow Camera Exchange website will be updated with information when these are available for loan.

The Cork Film Centre in collaboration with the Library service will run a number of induction sessions for artists who wish to access these cameras.

Thanks to Creative Ireland for supporting our e orts.

-Patricia Looney Senior Executive Librarian

Keep an eye on The Slow Camera Exchange Website for updates. www.theslowcameraexchange.com

Artem Trofemenko Explores the Camera Collection

Ihad an early acquaintance with analogue photography, I was raised by my grandfather, who was an excellent storyteller and we spent a lot of time watching the world. When I picked up my first Kiev 4, I was already on my way to Ireland. The lens was perpetually fixed to my eye, perhaps first as a way to protect myself, but then to explore the unknown. I always had an appreciation for the broken things - lost to their context, they must be rediscovered. Gradually, I fell in love with the peculiarities of the process;

collective f. project. That was the year Hermann passed away and Jess lent a collection of his cameras to Cork Film Centre. In the summer of 2019 we would meet at Gunpowder Mills and explore the collection. It was extremely fascinating and stimulating to work with such an extensive range of analogue cameras, something I would not have had the chance to do otherwise.

What I love about analogue is that it must be rediscovered, like anything worthwhile, and to me no technique is ﬁnal. For me love is a space where we might be able to hold our misunderstandings and marvel at them in awe at how much we do not know. Due to the experimental nature of this work, you develop a relationship with chance. Many things may go wrong when you use old equipment but I enjoy the process and the possibility of falling in love with what ﬁrst might seem as a mistake. While I never had the chance to meet Hermann, through working with his cameras, that all require a particular approach, sometimes I feel I must have traced an akin trail. Sometimes I feel our fascination with analogue photography would stem from the same source.

Tarkovsky would refer to cinema as sculpting in time, for me to engage with ﬁlm photography is often about removing time, to connect to a gesture, ephemeral yet objective, a light made visible, a transient encounter that does not discriminate but signals towards an emanation beyond time.

the element of serendipity at the mercy of the technical error, looking for new ways to connect and to be surprised.

I was ﬁrst introduced to the camera collection in 2018. I had just graduated and no longer had access to dark room or analogue equipment, but I was very lucky to have met Chris Hurley from Cork Film Centre and as a result of regular photography meetups, we would set up our photography

The cameras one has to struggle with have been my favourite, a challenge has a greater potential for surprise. I had the chance to borrow Voigtlander Bessa 66, a pocket medium format camera, along with my work in Loop Head. Due to its small size, it was the best 120mm camera for the occasion. I most enjoyed using the Bell & Howell 127mm camera that I had to adapt to 35mm film. I was pleasantly surprised by the potential of this combination, 35mm on backing paper would come out warped and dreamy in unpredictable ways, often tarnished in a way that made the subject merge with the landscape yet a glow of some discrete element could be distinguished. When engaging with film photography on an experimental level you will often lose images, the camera becomes only a prop that colours the quality of your attention to a moment, so the process is no longer about the end result but a dialogue with what makes you pull the shutter in the first place.

Working with the collection allowed me to reﬁne my relationship with analogue processes. I had the opportunity to meet many wonderful people, working in the community.

Having become acquainted with the camera as an artist, it was great to have the opportunity to engage with

Artem Trofemenko is an artist photographer who has been experimenting with the cameras from The Slow Camera Exchange collection for the last three years. In 2018, the Cork Film Centre became the home of the collection, while we were exploring how to set up a system to make the cameras accessible for people to borrow. Artem and a group of graduates from MTU Crawford College of Art and Design formed an analogue photography collective after graduating. Alongside Artem, they have been using cameras from the collection within their arts practice. Artem describes his relationship to photography and to the camera collection, his journey from exploring and using the cameras himself to introducing them to the 55+ photography group at the Hollyhill Library.

people aged 55+ to share the potential and possibilities of working with the collection. We explored various new ways of looking at images and with great enthusiasm, the participants explored the possibilities of making visible rich stories in plain sight of Hollyhill Library. The language of images is universal and ﬁlm photography, given the paradox of its immediacy and great slowness, allows us to engage in the act of looking with care. The act of looking is what connects us no matter our age and I believe it is possible to express inexpressible things as we sharpen our gaze.

- Artem Trofemenko

Culture Night 2022 Pop up Portraits

“IT’S WONDERFUL TO HAVE THE POP-UP POLAROID EXHIBITION, ALLOWING EVERYONE TO TAKE PART AND WITNESS THE MAGIC OF TTHE SLOW CAMERA EXCHANGE!”

RICHARD KEYES MCDONNELL, VISITOR TO EVENT.

The 55+ Casual Photography Meetings

During Autumn 2022 and into the Spring of 2023, individuals aged 55+ engaged in six months of photographic storytelling at the Hollyhill Library. They became a community; exploring, exchanging and creating together using cameras from The Slow Camera Exchange collection. Workshop leader, Marcin Lewandowski, and participants, Eleanor and Martin, reﬂect on their experiences.

From the Lomography and plastic cameras, through even medium format portraits, accompanied by the soundtrack of the twin-lens Mamiya, to the large format Sinar, we got to create hundreds of photographs.

Within the workshop, we explored various new ways of looking at images. With great enthusiasm, the participants explored the possibilities of making visible rich stories in plain sight of Hollyhill Library.

The language of images is universal and ﬁlm photography, given the paradox of its immediacy and great slowness, allows us to engage in the act of looking with care.

- Marcin Lewandowski

SHARED MEMORIES

The beautiful portraits and text entitled ‘Shared Memories’ show members of the Westgate Foundation Social Club, who participated in the Cork City Libraries’ reminiscence workshop series, delivered by facilitators Carmel Creaner and Anne Kiely. In the workshops, archival imagery and song were introduced to stimulate conversation around memories. Artist Artem Troﬁmenko was then invited to photograph each participant using one of Hermann’s Sinar medium format monorail cameras. As Artem set up and exposed the shots, the subjects selected a particular memory that they wanted to share, speaking about it with the artists Anne and Carmel whilst being photographed.

It was great to have a space to learn and talk about photography. Every week, the photographic books and journals we were introduced to expanded our insight, both technically as well as into styles of photography. I learned a lot about composition, use of light, photography as art...and of course the technical stu about the 35mm, medium and large format cameras. It was such a great opportunity to get to use these precious cameras.

Eleanor,

The positives included two knowledgeable and enthusiastic facilitators and pro-active workshops using various cameras. The practical sessions re-awakened my interest in ﬁlm photography and I learned much about composing and creating imaginative images. Better still, as a result of attending the course I found that I was applying what I’d learned when I subsequently went out with my camera (which was very often).

See pages 24 to view the photo esssay outcome of the workshop.

It takes a while to set up shots with this particular camera which needs a large sturdy tripod to hold its weight. First, the subject poses and the lighting is measured to calculate the exposure time. The photographer uses a blackout sheet over the camera and tucks his head under to view and focus the image while looking through a ground glass viewfinder. He then inserts a film holder, holding the negative film, and, with the shutter still shut, needs to remove the cover. The film is then exposed through the lens as the shutter opens and closes. The cover is then put back on the film holder. The film is then ready for processing in the dark room to reveal the image.

Hermann photographed subjects in this way many times providing opportunity to listen to many stories. Many of his portrait images reﬂect something of this slow camera process in which there is time for the photographer to connect and develop a rapport with the subject. This series “Shared Memories” images share something not just of strong and beautiful subjects but also the slow camera process and the relationship to between the members of the Westgate Foundation Social Club and the photographer and artists who lead the project.

-Jess Marbe

“It was appropriate that the Hermann Marbe analogue cameras were used and the analogue prints made paying homage and respect to the lives of the participants. Beauty in older age is captured as the participants relayed their stories.”

-Carmel Creaner

The Westgate Foundation is a charitable organisation, based in Ballincollig, Co.Cork, providing an integrated range of community-based services and support for older people living in the community. Their mission is to support older people to grow old with strength, joy and conﬁdence. For further information on the work of Westgate, please visit www.westgatefoundation.ie

- 55+ Workshop Participant Martin, 55+ Workshop Participant

SHARED MEMORIES

The beautiful portraits and text of ‘Shared Memories’ show members of the Westgate Foundation Social Club.

Project Participants:

• Michael Kiely

• Michael Barrett

• Maura Butler

• Phil Lynch

• Pauline Carroll

• Denis O’Flaherty

• Kathleen Desmond

• Carol McElhinney

• Patricia Ryan

• Brendan Collins

• John Lynch

• Marie Kiely

• Breda Murphy

Workshop Facilitators:

Carmel Creaner and Anne Kiely

Photographer:

Artem Troﬁmenko

I was born and reared on the Commons Road, near Blackpool on the North side of Cork. Ours was a little small house opening directly onto the footpath. We had a small back garden at the bottom of which was a stream below a wall. The stream had a huge influence on my life. We blocked this stream to make our own swimming pool and we learned to swim in it. We fished in it, we raced our little home-made boats, we walked every mile of it, we threw stones at the rats, and listened to the otters whistling at night. It flowed in di erent colours depending on whatever dyes the woollen factory upstream were using on a particular day. We saw the shoals of eels as they departed on their way to the Saragossa across the Atlantic to breed.

Michael Kiely

In our small village, Newtown Sands in North Kerry when I was growing up, the blacksmith was a man named Jack Murphy, a very witty and good-humoured man. The parish priest asked the blacksmith to make a small fire grate for a bedroom fireplace in the presbytery and a larger one for his own sitting room. The priest came to ask how much he owed for the two grates. “A bargain price for you, Father. I’ll only charge you five bob for the material, five bob for doing the job, and five bob for knowing how to do the job, making a total of fifteen bob, Father.”

“You seem to be charging the same price for making the small grate as you’re charging for the bigger one. That can’t be right, surely?”

“Well, it’s like this Father. When I was born, I was a very small baby. But Big Bill, the farmer there, was a much bigger baby than me. Do you think, Father, that, when our mothers brought us to be christened at the church – the priest charged my mother less for baptising a small baby than he charged Bill’s mother for much bigger baby?” The parish priest knew when he was beaten. He paid the bill!

Michael Barrett Butler

I was born in Carlow and one of 5 children. I went to St Leo’s College in Carlow and then went to England to train to be a nurse at Guys Hospital in London and qualiﬁed as an SRN (State Registered Nurse) . When I returned to Ireland I continued nursing and during that time met Jim Butler from Bagenalstown(Muine Bheag). We married in the early 60’s and moved to Bishopstown Cork before moving to Inniscarra where I was the Post Mistress. When living in Inniscarra I had time to use my ﬁshing skills which I had learned from my father on the River Barrow.

Maura

In Dripsey during the summertime when the farmers were bringing in the harvest, families helped each other. Everyone knew where the threshing was taking place. All neighbours were involved. I catered for people, made sandwiches, made gallons of tea and we had barrels of porter. We even had a little drop ourselves. They were great days. As younger children we would play in the shaft that came from the machines. We followed the threshers around. You would be up early in the morning and have to have your jobs done. We would draw water and milk for the house ﬁrst. As a young child I carried water a quarter of a mile from the pump - two buckets that were mostly splashed out by the time you got home. Everybody did it so it didn’t matter we didn’t feel that it was hard work. After that we were allowed to go to the threshing which would be on all day long and we enjoyed every minute of it.

Phil Lynch

I worked in both mills in Douglas. I started when I was 14 in Morrogh’s mill. There was a ‘one-day a week’ school which I went to. We made worsted wool as well as white cloth for the Dominican priests. It was the ﬁnest of wool. I was a “hander in” and I was under the warp threads that made the cloth, it was 60 inches wide. The “drawer” took the threads from me one at a time. There was up to two thousand threads required. There were two sheds one housing the broad loom and the narrow loom. I remember the machines very well. I was there until I was 19. I then went to England and came back and worked in O’Brien’s or Murphy Blacks as it was called. In the automatic machine room they called it “the greyhound track” everyone needed to work so fast. They introduced “dollys” to every thread which would indicate a break if it occurred.

Pauline Carroll

I knew about sustainable living and the circular economy before they ever became the buzz words that they are today. When I was a child we recycled and reused everything. There wasn’t much we could reduce as we lived with the bare minimum. There was no waste. Clothes were patched and mended, school books tied with a strap. My grandfather grew his own veg in the tiny garden of a small terraced house. We collected horse manure for his garden in a small wooden box car that my brother and I built ourselves. There were no cars and plenty of manure on the city streets. The neighbours’ doors were always open. People shared what little they had, a cup of sugar until the rations were due again. We walked everywhere and played hurling using a long branch from a tree. There was no TV so we made our own entertainment, plays in the back garden, sing songs and parties in each others’ houses. We were poor but we didn’t know it. But there were always people, company, community. We had organic food, physical exercise and love. Isn’t that what mental health experts are recommending today? We had it in spades in Cork city during a world war. Imagine that!

Denis O’Flaherty

This story took place in 1957 when myself and my school pal Noreen were about ten years old.

Plans had been made in the schoolyard, the date and time were fixed. Noreen kept telling me about the bantam fowl her mother had in the hen house. Me being a curious ten year old longed to see this rare species. It was agreed we would meet on Saturday at the 12 o’clock Confessions in the Parish Church. I was in the Southern Men’s Aisle awaiting Fr.Jerome, the local curate, to arrive for Confessions when Noreen arrived complete with a jute sack. She placed it on the floor and every now and again the bag would bound around the floor to the horror of others present in the church. After Confession we tied the sack to the carrier of my bike and hurried home anxiously. To my delight I had now become the proud owner of one bantam cock and two bantam hens.

Kathleen Desmond

I have many happy memories of my holidays with my parents and brother when we were small. We went to Wexford between Gorey and Courtown to a guest house called Ballymoney. This was an old Victorian house at the end of a long drive. Every morning the men would put their shoes outside the door to be polished. At meal times a gong called us in!

It was around Easter time when I remember that there was great interest in the Grand National. I was the lucky one who backed Red Rum on that occasion!!

Carol McElhinney

My brother Charlie was a notorious trickster. He was well known in Ballincollig for his great love of theatre. He was always full of fun and devilment. One day he was giving me a spin from our home in Ovens to Ballincollig where I live now and he was driving an old Ford van. I worked on the South Mall in a solicitor’s o ce at the time and was fairly knowledgeable on the law. I quoted the law frequently and of course Charlie was going to take full advantage of this!! We were driving along by Classes Lake (Tanners Pond) which is the Rugby Club now where there was a very bad bend. We passed a car coming from the opposite direction. I then heard a loud bang. Charlie said nothing but I said “What was that!” I was sure that Charlie must have hit something. He realized that I was alerted to the something. He said “look out the back window and check if the car is still moving or stopping” and of course the car had almost disappeared. Charlie said “ah sure I’ll keep going and I’ll get away I think I hit him!”. Of course I got the fright of my life when he said that, thinking we were going to jail I said “Oh my God Charlie you can’t leave the scene of an accident you must stop immediately”. Charlie was delighted at this point to see how nervous I was!! It wasn’t until we reached home when he admitted and told me that he was only tricking all along. Brothers love to torture their only sisters!!!!!

Patricia Ryan

I spent my working life in Cork city from 1947-1957 in Tom Murphy’s and from 1957 to 1996 in Roches Stores. I sold many sti collars to the gentlemen of Cork. The collars cost 1 and 6 to 2 and 6 (2 shillings and 6 pence), depending on the quality. Shirts were sold without collars in those days. A man could wear a shirt for a week and simply change the collar and he always looked good.

Brendan Collins John Lynch

I have very fond memories of working in Prior’s when I was only a young boy. Pryor’s had a bar and a farm. It is long gone now but was located on the road to Macroom where Dan Sheahan’s is today. I worked on the farm in the 50’s where I both milked the cows every day with Mrs.Pryor and also worked in the bar. I started when I was 15 years old and worked seven days a week. I needed to be ﬂexible and do whatever was needed. I remember the customers who would come in to me in particular in the bar as they knew that I would serve them. The blacksmith who was an alcoholic would even come in the morning and he knew that I was a soft touch! Mr. Pryor was an ex-policeman and was very strict. He refused to serve him.

I remember this time in my life very clearly and with great fondness.

Marie Kiely

One of my fondest memories as a young girl was the great excitement in our house around the Cork Film Festival. Back in the 1950’s the festival was a glamorous heyday and my mum and dad always had their tickets. They would look forward to donning their finery and strolling arm-in-arm down along Patrick’s Street to their final destination, the grand Savoy cinema. The city would come to a standstill as hundreds of Corkonians lined the streets in the hopes of catching a glimpse of cinema’s brightest stars. The red carpet was rolled out for Hollywood royalty such as Rock Hudson, John Wayne, Jane Mansfield and Doris Day, while the crowd waited anxiously with pens and notebooks hoping for an autograph from stars of the silver screen. If you were lucky, they would politely oblige. It was such an exciting time for Cork, where for one week of the year, the glamour of Hollywood found its way to this little Leeside city of ours and my parents were part of the magic.

I lived all my life in Dripsey. A more recent event that took place in 1999 that has put Dripsey on the map was the Shortest St.Patrick’s Day Parade to take place in Ireland. One night, a lad in the pub decided to have a parade. Thinking of how he might make this extra special, he decided to start the parade in one pub back yard, cross the road and end up in the yard of the pub on the far side of the street. They decided on the di erent ﬂoats that they would have including men, women, children, donkeys, horses, dogs, dancers, musicians and of course St.Patrick himself. This was not a problem as the distance was so short. As it was the end of the century, they wanted to make the Guinness Book of Records and put Dripsey on the map. The RTE camera man was a native of Dripsey. As a matter of fact, I can recall that particular day at 230C was one of the ﬁnest St.Patrick’s days of the whole century.

Breda Murphy

SIX MONTHS IN MOTION

Six months in motion is the creative outcomes of the 55+ Casual Photography Meetings that took place during autumn 2022 and into the spring of 2023 where members of the community engaged in six months of photographic storytelling at the Hollyhill Library.

Cameras Used:

• Agfa Click, Agfa Clack and Agfa Isola

• Selection of Contax cameras including Contax RTS and more

• Selection of Voigtlander cameras including Bessa 66, Compur and more

• Selection of Lomography cameras including Diana +, POP, Sprocket Rocket and more

• Illford Sporti

• Mamiya C330

• Moskva 5

• Rocca

• Sinar Land Camera with Lomo Graﬂok

• Sputnik with Stereo Viewer

• Contessa Nettel - Dresden

• A21 Gaunthler

• Ensign Popular

• Thornton Pickard Junior Special Ruby Reﬂex

• Zeiss Ikonta - Kodak Instamatic

• Zenit E

• Plus a selection of analog cameras from workshop facilitators private collections

Collaborating Photographers:

• Eleanor

• Mary

• Maureen

• Martin

• Tony

• David

• Artem

• Marcin

Workshop Facilitators:

Workshop led and images developed, scanned, cleaned, retouched and printed by Artem Troﬁmenko (@artem_golden_) from Cork Film Centre at Sample Studios and Marcin Lewandowski (soundofphotography.com).