In his photography, Keith Dowling, based in the South East of Ireland, captures the inherent beauty in everyday scenes that provoke us to stop and look again. These opportunities are often found in places or moments that pass for the ordinary. Parts of the lesser-seen landscape and even empty spaces, have helped Keith to draw the viewer into evocative scenes, sometimes missed because they are places where people simply pass through.
Keith says, “As a photographer I am constantly aware that in the most ordinary scene there is often an unseen beauty. If something makes us pause, we can often enter the scene and be surprised by what we see and indeed feel.”
While technology in photography is pretty wonderful these days, some of the basic photographic techniques and tools remain among Keith's favourites: composition, frame, exposure and tonal range, the quality and type of light and lens quality, to name a few. Deliberately limiting his tools inspires Keith’s creative process. Many of his images are shot simply with a standard lens (50mm) to restrict the technical resource and make creative use of lines of composition within an ordinary field of view. Thus the moment before the shutter is pressed pushes for emotional content.
Originally trained for the business of photography, along with portraiture, commercial and event work with Annabell Williams and Bambi Cantrell in the UK, Keith is also a long term member of the Irish Association of Professional Photographers (IPPA). Although an avid photographer from his teenage years, Keith began working exclusively as a professional photographer in 2008. Receiving IPPA accolades in Gold, Silver and Bronze, particularly in landscape and pictorial work has increased the recognition of Keith's work in Ireland. Local exhibitions are helping to bring the work into the public limelight. The selection and themes offered here are part of a growing body of work, available both titled and untitled as required.