A new book by Bríd O’Neill of BON Photography
Reconnect is compiled of images I have taken taken by Brid O’Neill from March 2020 to March 2021 – so 12 months of lockdown – from Julianstown to Mornington.
“With us all being impacted with COVID-19 and the imposed lockdown I needed something to do to keep my mind occupied. My photography business was impacted – as I could no longer take family and portrait photos. Christenings, communions etc all gone. But thankful my main interest is in the landscape and seascapes and I still made sure I got out for my daily walk and brought my camera. And no better place to be than here in East Meath. I am originally from Wexford and missed my family and not being able to freely visit home like I was so used to doing. So taking photos of lour local area was a life saver. It gave me a purpose each day and also built up my own portfolio of images.
After Christmas when we headed into our third lockdown – and safe to say probably the toughest one – I was looking back at the photos I had taken and decided I needed to do something constructive with them. I wanted to put them together somehow and document the event. This was a world wide phenomenon and I felt it was very important to have a record of it in our locality. While there had been so many tragic events surrounding COVID-19 – so many had been very sick and many lost friends & family, lots of businesses had been severely impacted – I wanted to focus on how we had tried to remain positive. The hustle & bustle of modern day life had been shaken up and we had an opportunity to reflect on how we were living. Maybe it was time to make changes. I had many images of people walking the beach, fishermen, joggers, swimmers. Our beach had never had so much footfall before. We had even experienced some fantastic supermoons. The weather had been gorgeous in the first lockdown. People were going back to basics and back to nature. Now 12 months on it’s time to Reconnect and learn from the experiences – good and bad – of the last 12 months plus. So I thought it was fitting time to release the book just as Ireland was starting to open up again.
I have run some features on local businesses too in my book. They range from some who have been totally shut down throughout lockdown to some who have remained open and bravely put themselves out there on the front line to keep our community going. All are important to us and all need our support. I would like to thank them all for participating in this venture with me and hope they receive the support they deserve. ‘Shop local’ has never been more important than now !”
RECONNECT is available to purchase – directly from myself. So anybody interested can contact me through my Social Media – Facebook or Instagram – BON Photography or by email – brid_oneill@hotmail.com
It will also be available through some local businesses too. So keep an eye on my social media accounts for details of this. It is priced at €25.
All images in the book are also available for purchase as prints and framed prints.