First up, I would like to wish you a very Happy New Year! I'm sure like me you are wondering what all the next 12 months will be filled with??

Some exciting ventures I am planning for/hoping for in 2012 include a return trip to Cambodia, my first solo show in October/November at the MCAC and potentially an exhibition of work from Beautiful Dawn - selected and arranged by a very special guest curator! :)

Return to Cambodia

Following on from my first trip in November last year to carry out initial research and to make contacts, I hope to return in April or May this year. The plan is to teach photography to girls that have been rescued from the sex trade. I hope that this will allow for space and time for relationship and trust to develop. I am keen to experience how useful (and fun) teaching and learning photography might be in this context. More info about my previous visit to Cambodia can be read on my Blog.

New Photography Workshop

On Saturday 24th March I will be running my first ADVANCED 1 Day DSLR Photo Workshop for past participants of previous 1 Day Workshops. This will be an opportunity to refresh and develop what has already been learnt and hopefully act as a focus to work on a personal project before arriving, with opportunity for group critique and encouragement on the day. Get in touch if you are eligible and interested!

Prize Winners

Before Christmas I held a competition on Facebook, ... it gives me great pleasure to announce the winners, who will all receive a mounted photographic print - they are... Andy Wright, Rachel Coote, Dee Haughian, Avril Browne, Dermot McConaghy, Jill McCamley, Karen Poots, Robin Morrision & Brian Taylor - lucky you!!! :)

Final thoughts... I have just moved into a new office in Belfast, sharing with the great guys from Forfey Festival. Also, Debs and I are settling into married life very well!! :) Watch this video of us and our "borrowed" dogs having a great time On Boxing Day at Portstewart Strand.

I'm back from Cambodia!! I had a great time on the trip - the first half being my honeymoon :), the second half spent with a team from Ratanak International finding out about the various projects they support throughout the country. It was both very challenging and very inspiring!

Cambodia & Its Recent History

The legacy of Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge and the Killing Fields is still very evident in many aspects of contemporary Cambodian society - perhaps, as I began to realise more and more while away, no more so than within the sex industry and prostitution of young girls.

Killing Fields & S-21

During our time in Phnom Penh we spent time at the Killing Fields, located about a 30 minute tuc-tuc journey from the city centre. It was chilling to see bits of bone and teeth and clothing at our feet - we could touch them - a direct link to the people and the awful atrocities that were committed there.

At S-21, the genocide museum, we went into the torture rooms and cells in which almost 21,000 Cambodians were sent, tortured and killed by the Khmer Rouge. Interestingly, each victim was photographed when they arrived at S-21 - often this is the only record that the person ever existed.

Glimmers of Hope

We visited many projects during our time in Phnom Penh seeking to provide help and hope to girls rescued from prostitution. Hope was a theme I wrestled with a lot while away. It was a huge and awful situation, yet there were shinning glimmers of hope visible through transformed lives - young girls who had been in brothels for many years 'servicing' as many as 10 men each night, now living lives and getting help to deal with the past that stood them in good stead for a much better future.

The above image is of a 'rape cubicle' inside a building that once was a brothel but is now a thriving community centre providing health, spiritual, recreational and educational services to the local community.

One example of a project we visited was Bloom Training & Cafe in the heart of the capital. It trains girls rescued from brothels in how to make cupcakes, cookies and probably the best cake I have ever tasted! :)

Other projects we visited included Hagar International, Daughters of Cambodia, Elder Care & NewSong.

Exhibition

The trip was a great opportunity to get to know the country, the culture and to make contacts with those involved in trying to help. The next stage is to go back out again to Cambodia around Easter time next year to make work that will be displayed in the MCAC in Oct/Nov 2012. Before then lots of effort will need to be put into processing the above, planning and raising funds for my return visit. Ideas are bubbling away in my head... looking fwd to how project will resolve... may take a while! ;)

Final thought... just heard that I will be receiving a SIAP Award from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland to help fund project - thank you!!! :)

My trip with Ratanak is fast approaching! On the 1st of November I will be departing for Cambodia to find out more, and to think more about, the country, its people and how in response I might best go about creating a body of photographic work. The proposed work will be displayed in the MCAC during October/November 2012.

It's hard to prepare myself fully for what my experience might be and how I will react and be effected by the experiences and relationships which develop. However, I'm determined to make the most of this opportunity and excited about the opportunity to further develop my practice after Beautiful Dawn.

Source Online
I was recently extremely pleased to receive the following review from Stefanie Braun, Senior Curator at The Photographers' Gallery in London about Beautiful Dawn...

• "This is a very moving body of work that delicately deals with the process of mourning. For one year, Tim Doak documented the life of Jason Smyth, who, after the death of his wife, built a pigeon loft on the roof of his local church. The loss and loneliness that has enveloped Jason's life is palpable in the images yet there is also a sense of hope and calm determination to carry on." (Stefanie had been asked to pick a selection of work from the Source Graduate Photography Online 2011 website.)

Exciting Opportunities
Over the past month I have had the opportunity to...

• Go to Stormont Buildings in Belfast and be part of the exhibition opening for a photo project I had been involved with over the summer months working with a group of foster care kids and their carers.
• Speak about my work with students at the University of Ulster in Belfast and at Sallynoggin College in Dublin.
• Prepare for the 'Familiar Spaces' exhibition opening, taking place at the Burren College of Art on Saturday 15th October at 8pm.

Photography Workshops
Perhaps you are starting to think about buying your Christmas presents, or what others might get for you (!?)... how about something a little different - a voucher for my next series of photography workshops starting in January 2012:

• Saturday 28th Jan 2012
  - 1 Day DSLR Photo Workshop
• Saturday 25th Feb 2012
  - 1/2 Day Point & Shoot Photo Workshop
• Saturday 31st Mar 2012
  - 1 Day DSLR Photo Workshop
• Saturday 14th Apr 2012
  - 1 Day DSLR Photo Workshop : ADVANCED
  For those that have previously took part in a 1 Day DSLR Workshop (more info to follow soon)

"Very pleased to have the chance to do this today. Very relaxed, informal, good practical and theory sessions. Finally, I have a much better understanding of my camera - aperture, shutter speed, composition etc..."
Connie Shaw - 1 Day Workshop Participant

Summer 2011

Since opening night of the MFA Photography exhibition back in June, it's been a busy few weeks! Since then I have had work shown in a group show which took place in Dublin that was part of the PhotoIreland Festival. The same show, 'Close To Home' is returning back to Belfast to be part of the Belfast Photo Festival in August. It's so exciting to see two great photography festivals taking place in Ireland, providing such a fantastic opportunity to showcase local talent and also a wonderful opportunity to be inspired by the work of other photographers from different parts of the world. By the way, the 'Close To Home' exhibition will take place at the King Street Arts Gallery. Opening night is Thursday 4th August at 5pm, with the exhibition continuing through to the 14th August.

Also, as part of the Belfast Photo Festival, I have been invited to speak at a couple of events. Both are taking place on the 12th August. At one event I will be discussing my dissertation which I completed as part of my studies for my MFA in Photography and at the other I will be "showing" and "telling" about my 'Beautiful Dawn' series.

At the start of July I headed over to the Eastern European Bible College to led a three day photography workshop which formed part of the College's overall media training. The EEBC is based in Oradea in western Romania, just across the Hungarian Boarder. It was a good experience to teach within a different cultural context, feeling I was able to offer some fresh perspectives on composition, story and creativity.

I'm starting to think about what might be next - what my next photographic project might be. I have had some very interesting and encouraging initial conversations with different key people and have a research and fact finding trip planned for later in the year. I don't want to say too much at this early stage but hopefully very soon my next photographic journey will be commencing - exciting!! :)

Opening Night!

Opening night of the MFA Photography Degree Show was fantastic! Such a buzz... with lots of friends and family coming along to support and encourage. The show looked great. Check out the work of the whole class at www.mfaphotobelfast.com. I have really enjoyed and been challenged by the last two years, learning a lot about context and narrative within documentary photography. Wondering and dreaming about what might be next...