Ernest captured great characters over 50-year span

Ernest captured great characters over 50-year span

14 March 2018

A NEW exhibition featuring the work of Portaferry photographer Ernest Elliott has opened at Down County Museum.

A talented photographer, Mr Elliott created a vast collection of images taken over a 50-year career.

Self-taught in the 1930s, he began photographing everything that interested him, resulting in a large and varied collection, containing images of people, local events, industries and businesses, as well as stunning views of Strangford Lough.

Working from his own darkroom, which he converted from an outbuilding in his garden, his images evoke a world now only seen in history books and which live on in his photographs.

This exhibition focuses on his portrait collection, which explores the people who have made this area their home and highlights the connection they share with the Lough.

Mr Elliott had a lifelong love for the art of photography, beginning in 1931 when he returned from his honeymoon determined to improve his skills with the camera.

With guidance from another amateur photographer and chemist, Martin Poots of Newtownards, he honed his skills and eventually built his own dark room.

Many of his portraits were taken on a stool in his back garden and his ability to put his subject at ease and converse and laugh with them allowed him to capture a sense of the personality behind the face.

His portraits are stunning and thought-provoking pieces of art but they also manage to convey a feeling of spontaneity and authenticity.

In addition to his portraits, he was keen to capture newsworthy moments and consequently had many of his photographs published in local and Belfast newspapers. He was also successful in winning many photographic competitions, often being awarded a new camera as the prize.

In 1960, along with D J McNeill, who was principal of Downpatrick Technical College as well as a keen amateur photographer, he started Portaferry Camera Club which ran for 45 years in Portaferry and Strangford.

This exhibition shows his skill in observing and capturing the essence of those he photographed in their expressions. His work gives us an insight into the lives of the people who lived and worked in the area and the connection they share with Strangford Lough.

Cllr Roisin Mulgrew, chairwoman of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, said: “This exhibition of photographs by Ernest Elliott beautifully captures the personalities of the people of the Strangford Lough area.

“The subjects include fishermen, sailors, farmers and landscape shots. There are many interior scenes but always it is the face which is the central focus. This is a fascinating glimpse of the past life of the lough and its characters.”