#MySligo Guest Blog from Pat McCarrick.
Recently I watched the movie, Nebraska. It’s a great movie on many levels; a nice father and son road trip story, better than most but what makes it stand apart is that it is filmed in black and white. You can watch this movie with the sound off and photographically, its stunning! It inspired me to make this short video, Sligo – Black and White.
The thing about black and white images is that even before you look at the contents, you get an atmospheric overview. As a photographer, I used to love colour and at times saw black and white as old fashioned. Not anymore; if photography is an art form, then black and white is art and then some.
The images in this video were all taken in colour but were chosen for this project because they transferred well to black and white, sometimes in a subtle way, sometimes with contrast. The piece is about Sligo and all the images are local, people and places. Rural life, tradition and landscape are the themes because for me these things define Sligo, especially rural Sligo. I see little separation between Queen Meadhbh and Harry McGowan, between Appalachian music and an Ox Mountain cottage, between disused railways and economic recovery. County Sligo is a many splendid place and its charms need to be sung, and in keeping with this little project; photographed and developed! I hope this video helps in that regard.
The music on the video, Down by the Sally Gardens, is of course a Sligo tune and is played here by Austrian classical flutist Karin Leitner. Yet another connection with this piece sees Karin Leitner play a House Concert at Moy River Folk Club (Moy River B&B) in Cloonacool on September 28th next.
For more information visit Karinleitner.com or Moyriver.com
