Angela's new book is a stunning snapshot of life during lockdown

‘Lockdown Through My Lens,’ by Angela Tourish, will be launched this Thursday at the Lake of Shadows Hotel in Buncrana, with the author and playwright Frank McGuinness as special guest.

Speaking to the Journal, Angela said the 168 page book features 550 photographs of ‘everything and anything’ she captured during her daily walks with her dog, including the nature around us, farm animals, derelict houses, winding roads, turf cutting, flowers in bloom, landscapes and sunsets.

Angela’s talents as a photographer are well known locally, but she told how, prior to lockdown, she wouldn’t post her personal photos on Facebook.

However, as people stayed with a certain radius from their home during Covid 19 lockdown, Angela decided to start sharing the images she saw as she walked close to her home.

"The response was unreal, especially from those who were cocooning. They would tell me the pictures kept them going, as they couldn’t get out to see the sunsets or the flowers in bloom. So, I kept putting them up on Facebook. At one stage, I was doing about 30 a day and always finished with a sunset.”

As restrictions were lifted and Angela was able to venture further, she began taking photographs in more locations across Inishowen, including in Ballyliffin, Malin Head, Fahan and Burt.

Recently, Angela, who was gifted her first camera by her father when she was a teenager, decided that it would be ‘really nice’ to collate all the photographs into a printed book and ‘Lockdown Through My Lens’ was born.

The book is prefaced by Frank McGuinness, who is also from Buncrana and who has written a ‘beautiful poem’.

There is also poetry in the book by Fearghal Friel, Bernie Keaney and Aine Durkan.

The launch of ‘Lockdown Through My Lens’ takes place this Thursday, December 1 at 7pm and everyone is welcome to attend. It will be available for sale in Buncrana at Mac’s Bookshop, McKenna’s Centra, Buncrana Post Office, Duffy’s Chemist and Phyllis/Leonilde (Centra) Wool shop.

The photographs will also be part of a photography and art exhibition with Angela, Ann Brogan and Donal Kearney, at the Church of Ireland, Church Street, Buncrana, launching on Friday, December 2 at 7pm.