In Pictures: Portlaoise Camera Club focuses in on new exhibition

Portlaoise Camera Club is proud to announce its fourth and final “Laois Through the Lens” exhibition, hosted by the Dunamaise Arts Centre and supported by Laois County Council and Creative Ireland.

To read more see below picture. To see a sample of pictures taken by club members tap NEXT or ARROW.

The first of the Laois Through the Lens exhibition, which took place ten years ago, was initiated by John Dunne, one of the founding members of the Club. The photographers of the club were to pick a subject living in Laois, whether they were from the county or not, and to portray them in their environment.

The “models” were then asked to write a statement to shed light on their relationship with the location they were photographed in. Both photograph and statement were printed together. The concept proved most successful, with a wide variety of people and places represented, that there were two more exhibitions.

The original idea had always been to make the images into a book, that would become some kind of early 21st century archive of Laois, its places and its people. This year, Terry Conroy, current chairperson of the club, spearheaded the project to put together a final exhibition to bring the number of photographs to 122 and to finally bring the images of all four exhibitions together in a book.

The Club feels that this is a most special project, a testimony as some of the people photographed have passed and some of the businesses have closed. The variety and quality of images will speak for itself. Alongside the black and white Laois Through the Lens images, members of the club will also be displaying some of their personal images.

The exhibition will open August 15th and run until September 15th, with the official opening to take place on August 25th at 7pm, and the Club hopes to see many of its past and current models and photographers there.