New book by local photographer captures Inishowen during lockdown

A local photographer is launching a book of photographs that captures Inishowen during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Angela Tourish from Buncrana, who has been a keen photographer for most of her life, captured people and places around the peninsula during 2020 and 2021.

Initially, photography was a hobby and a release from the day-to-day strains of life during lockdowns and restrictions.

She began posting the photographs on social media and found there was a great response, in particular from people who were cocooning and appreciated seeing her photographs of nature.

Angela, who then worked as the manager of Icare in Buncrana, said the response to her photographs was “unbelievable”. 

“People were missing what was going on in the outside world basically. They were missing the flowers blooming, the buds coming out on trees, the butterflies. They were missing what was going on in nature and they were appealing to me to keep the photographs coming.”

Angela Tourish captured thousands of photographs of Inishowen in 2020 and 2021

Spurred on by the encouragement from others and the feeling that in some way she was helping those who were unable to go out, she ended up putting up more than 30 photographs a day, ending each day with a photograph of the sunset.

“I ended up with thousands of photographs. It was probably the reaction from people that kept me going to do more. They were asking me to do more so I did more.”

As well as photographs of nature, Angela captured people she came across and landscapes across Inishowen, including in places she hadn’t been to before.

“It was random stuff, anything and everything that I came across.

“Of course, the lockdown lasted much longer than we ever thought it would and when the 2km was extended to 5km and then further again to 20km, that gave me more options and more scope.”

The 166 pages of Lockdown Through My Lens contain 550 photographs and poems by Feargal Friel, Barney Keaney and Áine Durkin.

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Buncrana writer Frank McGuinness has written the preface and will also launch the book at the Lake of Shadows in Buncrana on Thursday, December 1 at 7pm.

The book is on sale in Buncrana in Mac’s bookshop, the post office, Phyllis's wool shop, Duffy’s chemist, Supervalu and McKenna’s Centra.

Some of the photographs will be in an exhibition which is being launched on Friday, December 2 at 7pm in the Church of Ireland hall on Church Street, Buncrana. 

The exhibition, which will run until December 10, also features paintings by artist Anne Brogan and photographs by Donal Kearney.