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BBC News
09-08-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Belfast Photo Festival: Young people see Belfast Hills through new lens
The Belfast Hills have been seen through a different lens by young people, as part of a project to create a visual archive of the natural heritage they are home group used different cameras to explore Cave Hill, Divis and Black even for those familiar with the hills, it changed their Garnett led the Belfast Photo Festival project, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. "This was maybe one of the first times that I'd really been able to give people cameras and see what they were noticing," she from a traveller background, the hills made her feel at home when she moved to Northern Ireland."I could see Cave Hill and, you know, Napoleon's nose being such a significant landmark, it kind of made me feel more comfortable so I started going hiking and exploring them."And then it was really once I had my work at the Belfast Hills Partnership and working with the National Trust that I realised the kind of cultural significance that they have as well and just how special they are."So they mean a lot to me." 'Free of all boundaries' Italian Silvia Galli has also found her place in the the Wild Youth Officer for the Belfast Hills Partnership, she has seen the "different views, different landscape, different habitat, different wildlife" give young people a new perspective. "I think the hills offer a space free of all boundaries, where kids can really thrive, you know, because they're not restricted in a building, or they're not wearing uniforms."Sometimes their behaviour is so different that their personality sometimes changes when they feel like they can just walk or run without the boundaries of a building or something built by humans." The Hills are the focus of ongoing nature restoration projects, and they have also suffered damage in recent years from wildfires. The skull of a rabbit killed in the flames is the subject of one of Polly's photographs in the pictures and those taken by the young people are on display outside the coffee shop on Divis September, they will form a publicly accessible digital archive of natural heritage across Northern Ireland, exploring what green spaces mean to people and how they are being affected by climate change. A 'rewarding' experience Ryan Nelson (23) has volunteered in the hills before but said photographing them was a "rewarding" experience."I feel I know a lot more. I take a lot more notice of things around, you know, like looking out for different things that maybe stand out or something I could maybe take a picture of and share."His photos - pretending to be in prison behind a gate, and putting sunglasses on a tree - were taken as his group travelled round the hills before meeting up with other participants at the end of the day."That was one of my favourite parts actually, like coming together at the end and seeing everyone else's interpretations of how they had seen what you had seen differently." For Scott Montgomery (21) from Carrickfergus, it was the history of the hills that added another dimension to the experience - both human history, as fairs have been held on Cave Hill, and history on a longer time scale."It's interesting from a geological point of view if you think about its formation with the caves," he says."You can actually see on it the layers of where was what and what was covered in ice way back when."There is history of another recent sort as has found many prayer cards scattered across the hills during her hikes."And people put up a lot of, like, memory plaques and things like that, because I think people get that it's a beautiful space."So it becomes really significant for people."That significance is something Scott hopes the photos will help convey."I haven't been outside of the country much, but when I have, it makes you realise that these sort of grand green areas and all our hills and things - they're few and far between elsewhere."We have to appreciate what we have and make sure we defend it."
The Guardian
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Something fishy: the best of Belfast photo festival
Belfast photo festival, the UK and Ireland's largest annual photography festival, has transformed public spaces across the city and beyond into a living gallery with over 30 exhibitions from homegrown and international photographic talent. This year's theme is 'Biosphere'. Five major photographic commissions explore the fragility and beauty of Northern Ireland's natural heritage. Hill Pictures is an exploration of the iconic Belfast Hills, its people, and an invitation to collaborate in visualising our natural heritage. Belfast photo festival is on until 30 June Hill Pictures documents the long-term conservation of the hills Slievenacloy, Colin Glen, Divis and the Black Mountain, Ligoniel, Cave Hill and Carnmoney Hill. Photographer Polly Garnett says of her image of two young women climbing together on Cave Hill: 'This chance encounter on the hills reaffirmed the crucial role the hills play as a space for people to connect both to each other and to nature' Polly Garnett: 'Hill Pictures is in many ways a love letter to the hills, yet does not shy away from the complexities of our relationship to them. I documented both the planting of trees by conservation volunteers and the aftermath of wildfires which are a frequent occurrence on the hillsides closest to the city' Photographer Yvette Monahan: 'Otoliths, or ear stones, have revealed a fascinating world of fish senses. Otoliths can serve as biological timekeepers and storytellers – much like tree rings, holding the collective memory of the aquatic world. These remarkable otolith structures hold a biochronology– a map of life experiences embedded and made visible within their physical forms' Monahan: 'The scales and eels have illuminated the invisible mappings and magnetic fields that present fish as living archives. They have provided me with tangible subjects to photograph as I explored the intangible aspects of their lives' Monahan: 'Each layer encodes the fish's journeys, revealing the duration of their existence and the experiences that have shaped them. Their bodies carry a shared memory, telling a collective story. Fish possess an incredible ability to create and follow a map guided by instinctual knowledge, not on paper but within their very beings. They navigate the world using magnetic fields and respond to unseen frequencies, forging a connection between their biology and the forces of the planet. This living archive is not a static record; it continuously evolves' Shallow Waters aims to investigate the way myth and tradition sit alongside heavy industry and how closely connected they are, despite being at odds with each other. Through a photographic investigation of the landscape, its people and traditions, Joe Laverty charts a thread of connection between the two opposing engagements with the shallow waters of Lough Neagh, as it negotiates multiple threats and regulatory negligence Lough Neagh is the largest body of water in the UK and Ireland. It connects five counties and is often referred to as a county in itself. It is one of the largest freshwater lakes in Europe, and it is dying in plain sight Photographer Joe Laverty: 'Lough Neagh is dying right in front of us. It is fighting a perfect storm of largely man-made conditions that threaten to kill off its ecosystem entirely. This image shows a farmer's slurry pipe, half in/half out of the lough's water. It is emblematic of a wider problem with nutrient pollution of the lough's bed. Although technically legal, the pipe's incongruous presence is a foreboding reminder of Lough Neagh's fragile outlook' Bog Story traces the historical and contemporary landscape of peatlands in and around the Sperrins, a designated area of outstanding natural beauty. Chad Alexander's exploration delves into the cultural and environmental significance of bogs, examining the personal, economical and mythical relationships between people and the land. Through this body of work, he highlights the destructive effects of industrial practices, such as drainage, extraction, afforestation, and unregulated burning, that can harm these fragile ecosystems Photographer Chad Alexander: 'Over 80% of Northern Ireland's peatlands are either damaged or in poor condition, transforming them from vital carbon sinks into carbon emitters. This ecological unravelling threatens not only the climate, but also the richly diverse habitats they sustain, including those of endangered species. Compounding these pressures is the encroachment of mineral extraction companies, whose pursuit of gold and other minerals produces irreversible scars on these ancient landscapes' Alexander: 'Peatlands are also natural time capsules. Their waterlogged, oxygen-starved, and highly acidic environments preserve organic material in extraordinary detail, capturing traces of human history, mythology, and cultural memory. Growing at just one millimetre per year, each metre of peat stores a millennium of the past. Among the most intriguing discoveries are bog bodies – astonishingly well-preserved human remains, many over 2,000 years old, bearing evidence of ritual sacrifice. Their presence provides a window into a distant and enigmatic past' Narrow Valley captures a protected area of temperate rainforest that endures with minimal human interference: trees are left to die, to fall and to nourish the forest floor in a continuous cycle of decay and regeneration Photographer Helio León: 'Nature is our biggest teacher, a reflection of our soul. We are also nature, it rules us and deserves the utmost respect. I used to create my work mainly in big cities, documenting subculture and my personal reflections. Lately, though, I've turned my lens towards nature. I feel the presence of time and memory there, particularly in the forest. I've always been interested in capturing something invisible. And I believe there's a spirit there in nature, an aura that I find to be present in the pictures' Using alternative photographic processes which involved washing and bleaching his exposed film in the River Glenarm, León has produced large abstract prints on fabric which will be displayed in Belfast's Tropical Ravine
