THE PHOTOGRAPHER

Thanks for visiting the site.

In my life I have had the unique opportunity to travel around the world, photographing people and places along the way. My wanderlust began at age 16, when I ventured from Dublin to the rural west of Ireland. Four years on, I left my native country in search of work, like half of the Irish population between the ages of 18 and 30 during the recession of the 80s.

At first I moved to London, but rather than live there, I decided to check out Holland. Traveling to the Continent was a big trip in those days. Since a plane ticket was very expensive, I took two boats and three trains to get to Amsterdam.

Once there, I lived on a houseboat and managed to find a job as a cleaner. I worked nonstop for about a year and a half, until I had saved up seven weeks of paid holidays and could start hitchhiking around Europe. Traveling from Amsterdam through Germany to Yugoslavia and then to Greece, I became aware of different cultures as I trekked farther south and east.

I continued my journey by boat to Israel. Upon my arrival in blistery hot Jerusalem, I was fascinated to see men dressed in black suits and hats, with long curly locks of hair dangling in front of their ears. Growing up in Ireland, I had never seen anyone like them before. Innocently I took some pictures and later found out they were Hasidic Jews.

When I returned to Amsterdam, without any goal or direction, I showed an acquaintance some of my photographs and asked what I could do to improve them. He told me to buy a good lens, which I did. Unemployed at the time, I decided to walk the streets of Amsterdam for about four hours every afternoon keeping my eyes open for anything that looked out of the ordinary. The next year I spent teaching myself the art of photography.

Little did I know at the time, that was the start of my profession and my passion. Working as a freelance photographer, I have traveled to more than 80 countries. My images have been used by travel agencies, guidebook publishers and airline companies. After being based in Amsterdam for about 30 years, I moved back home in 2009 and am now living in Donegal with my daughter Siobhan.

I wish to thank Mary Flanagan for her help with the website. Hope you enjoyed the images. Feel free to contact me.
My email address is: info@anthonycassidyphotography.com.