Desmond Kavanagh Photography

The Liberties IV - The Nights

2009-03-21T15:58:00.001-07:00

The Liberties III - The Streets

2009-03-21T15:58:00.000-07:00

The Liberties II - The Liberties Market

2009-03-21T15:43:00.000-07:00

The Liberties

2009-03-21T15:31:00.001-07:00

Prague II

2008-09-23T12:41:00.000-07:00

Prague I

2008-09-23T12:35:00.000-07:00

Bird Market, Esfahan

2008-08-29T12:51:00.000-07:00

I visited a bird market in the labyrinthine bazaar in Esfahan, Iran and hung around for a while, There was a language barrier but they were all eager to show me around and point out the things i should take pictures of! I stayed long enough for them to forget about me, which was more ideal.

For the most part the conditions were awful and the bird handling was a little depressing, but its a different world and no different from any butchers except you have to bear the weight of actually killing the bird.

The colourful chicks the children were so interested in are bought for a season changing celebration, the chicks are dyed by an injection into the eggs and the colourful feathers fall off as they grow up, presumably to live normal iranian chicken lives.
This place had an atmosphere, being full of local men and women buying the dinner while their children marvelled at the birds like it was a zoo. There seemed to be a huge divide between what the kids saw and what was actually going on.

The picture of the chick leaning over the edge of the box is one of my favourites, I was leaning in to take the picture and the owner patted him back into the box, I awkwardly stood back up, and upon realising what i had been doing, he picked up another chick and gruffly potted it in the same position! They're his legs in the background, just before he walked over

Yazd, city in the sand II

2008-08-29T12:48:00.000-07:00

Yazd, city in the sand I

2008-08-29T12:43:00.000-07:00

Tehran, modern city

2008-08-29T12:39:00.000-07:00

Iran through a window

2008-08-29T12:33:00.000-07:00

Before Islam. Zoroastrianism in Iran

2008-08-29T12:18:00.000-07:00

Glorious Persia

2008-08-29T12:03:00.000-07:00

The Bazaar culture of Iran II

2008-08-29T11:59:00.000-07:00

The Bazaar culture of Iran I

2008-08-29T10:24:00.000-07:00

Eastern Turkey

2008-08-29T08:59:00.000-07:00

Ancient Cappadocia II

2008-08-29T08:56:00.000-07:00

Ancient Cappadocia I

2008-08-29T08:49:00.000-07:00

Traditional Crafts

2008-08-29T08:22:00.000-07:00

Stone-carved town of Goreme, Cappadocia

2008-08-29T07:07:00.000-07:00

A man in a carpet shop who wanted to see my pictures came across this one and asked me: "do you know why that door is green?"

I didn't so he told me; a man who has a good life can paint his door green, if he has a family, he is healthy and he has been to mecca.

I saw so many green doors from then on.

Another day I was sitting in the shade overlooking the town when i was approached by a veritable 'gang' of children. I was a magnet to them with the camera.

Naturally they hadn't a word of english but we had some common words like "spiderman". I was given a demonstration of climbing prowess on the rocks and had some distant spires pointed out as past victories.

After declining to follow i learnt another universality, making chicken noises at someone means the same thing right around the world...

Cappadocia from the air

2008-08-27T11:48:00.000-07:00

Cappadocia is an incredibly unreal landscape. A vast area of volcanic rock in central Turkey that's been eroded over millions of years by wind, somewhat like parts of the great west in America, only arguably more magical because of it's history.
The land was passed and divided by names as enduring as Xerxes of Persia, Alexander the great and Genghis Kahn, and its legacy is quite literally carved into the mountains with cave cities and soaring cliffside temples occupied for thousands of years.

Its more a backpacker's destination at the moment, with a collection of small villages with locals specialising in crafts, but get there quick, everyone seems to be converting a cave into a hotel and stockpiling quad bikes!

the big commercial tourist attraction is hot air balloon rides though, which i guiltily forked out for. Absolutely no regrets though!

People of Istanbul

2008-08-27T07:08:00.000-07:00

Soviet Legacy in Riga

2008-08-26T13:47:00.001-07:00

The Soviet occupation of Latvia left an ugly legacy. Forty-five years saw the medieval centre of the city fall into disrepair and the rural outskirts transformed into an aesthetic wasteland with the construction of faceless apartment blocks set in sprawling parkland and one very controversial monument that is difficult to find in most tourist literature.

The Soviet Victory monument shown in the last two photos is a huge and unwelcome obelisk. It was built in 1985 to commemorate the supposed Soviet "liberation" of Riga from fascism, although it's easy to see that that's not the entire story. A pillar of concrete rising 79m into the air is surrounded by the vainglorious statues of Mother Russia, three Red Army soldiers and endless expanses of empty parkland. Needless to say it's an endless source of controversy and while it's one of the most interesting icons of recent history in the city, it's future is uncertain.

Russian Market, Riga

2008-08-26T13:35:00.000-07:00

The central market of Riga is also known as the Russian market for its location in the Russian part of town and the ethnicity of the majority of its vendors. I visited it a few times, in the morning and evening and spent a long time wandering. I thought in no single other place could the living history of the city be seen.

The twentieth century for Latvia saw some of it's proudest moments with it's independence as a state declared twice. First from Germany in 1918, paving the way for an economic relationship with the west that proved so fruitful that the spoils of it can be seen in the long tree lined boulevards of the north part of the city. Each spectacularly decorated with some of the grandest Art Nouveau architecture of the world, albeit now in somewhat disrepair, giving the city the nickname "Paris of the North". The second time in 1991 with the collapse of the soviet union. Latvia's inclusion into the EU in 2004 show it has been quick to shake off it's history.

But in between these two events the country saw it's worst moments. They were sandwiched by the might of Germany and Russia during WWII and experienced the Holocaust and then the full weight of Soviet oppression. Despite the recent economic growth and optimistic political environment, it's hard to say they have fully recovered. The urban landscape outside the city centre is awash with cold, grey, homogenous apartment buildings and the scattered ruins of mansions from a richer time.

What can be said is Latvia is changing rapidly. 28% of the population is Russian and the outskirts of the city centre where this market is located are worn and old and crumbling. It seems the greatest poverty in a city renowned through the EU for it's economic growth lies in the ethnic community of the once-great nation that had dominated for so many years and held back that very growth. Riga is as diverse and interesting today as it has ever been, how long it will stay as it is is much harder to tell.

Medieval Centre of Riga

2008-08-26T12:17:00.000-07:00

I went to Riga, the capital of Latvia on a cheap flight earlier this year, I was really looking forward to doing something like i had done with Dublin, walking around for hours and hours trying to get a feel for the city and some pics in the process.

I went with my girlfriend and two other friends so had to balance my time. I took most pictures before anyone else was awake and met up with them at midday to do regular touristy things (well...shooting rifles in an old soviet bunker might be a bit of a rarity in most places).

I love Riga. I had a great time...not despite the Latvian's cold disposition, but almost...because of it. There was something so alien about the atmosphere of the city. Most places you go on holidays, whether you like it or not, land you in a touristy atmosphere, which is a shame, it can take a bit of a wander off the beaten track to get a real feel for a place. Funny thing about Riga is it's still so relatively unknown for such an amazingly preserved Medieval city that if you can ignore the hostel crowds, the personality of the city is prevalent. Authentic is the word.

These are some pictures from the old part of the city.

Old Dublin

2008-08-26T11:36:00.000-07:00

I took most of these one day the week after i got my camera. Then the rest i took one day a few weeks later. I walked aimlessly around Dublin for hours taking hundreds of photos with no particular vision or concept in my head. It definitely looks like i had no particular vision but i still like the results...it's kind of how i like to see Dublin, although perhaps not entirely true to life.

In fairness, seeming as i live here, it won't be hard to add to this...and i really feel like doing it someday, maybe getting more of a feel for the people. These pictures feel a little claustrophobic and impersonal. Anyway...