“What is something you have always wanted to do?”

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“What is something you have always wanted to do?” Approaching mid-life with no mortgage, no spouse, no children, and, soon, no job it is a great time to ask such a question. The real answer of course is to be happy. Fair enough, but how does one get there? How about time to reflect, some distance, and new perspective. How about a trip starting in the place you grew up, travel across country to the place you were born and following your ancestral roots to your homeland. OK, so there are a couple of other things I have wanted to do: take a long bike tour, visit one place for a period of time, and for the last couple of year I have had in my cranium the project described below.

Everyone says they want to live vicariously through my experience. How about some projection, or transference perhaps. Use the comment section to tell me “What is something you have always wanted to do?”

Cappoquin Photo Expedition

A village typical of those found in the Irish countryside, Cappoquin in County Waterford is working hard to transform itself into a vibrant community for future generations. This is taking place in the backdrop of Ireland's transition from a economic backwater to a leader in the high tech global economy.

Cappoquin is the birthplace of my Great-great-grandfather, Micheal Cavanagh, a leader in the movement to overturn the British rule of Ireland of the mid-nineteenth century. Cappoquin is one of the few places where the protestant gentry family still live in their traditional estate. Working together the descendants of the servant and master class from another era are building the Cappoquin of tomorrow. Leadership at a local level is a response to a particular situation, but is shaped by larger forces. What are the differences and similarities between the responses taken now and those of 150 years ago?

Through photography I seeks to explore the roots of community leadership that is at work today in Cappoquin. Through interviews and documentary photography I will explore the individual, historic, and economic forces at play in the community today. I will seek to understand the motivations for creating a better community, as well as the historical threads that inform those motivations. Through their example I will seek to give voice to universal truths, as well as illuminate the uniqueness of this situation.

This will also be a personal exploration of my roots in the legacy of Micheal Cavanagh, a community leader and writer of his time. For the past 15 years of my professional life I have been deeply engaged in the work of community leadership. I will explore my own motivations and their historical roots. How are these motivations drawn from universal themes or from characteristics unique to my circumstances? In addition I will be exploring the role of photography in my life and work, including how photography can be used as a tool in community organizing.

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Comments

[Jo]

horses, fishing and a little patch of land
I would love to go on a pack trip with horses, with a guide who didn't talk too much, and then only said kind and intelligent things. And I want to learn to fly fish, and I want to have a cozy house on a little bit of land, close to trails where I can roam with my dog. And I want to tend a flock of chickens and a small orchard and a garden. I want for my home to be a magnet that draws my nephews and my daughter home for visits.