Captured on camera

A local couple who celebrated their 50th anniversary recently, feature in a new photography book called Out of Your Tree, which is being sold to raise money for the Irish Cancer Society.Brendan and Margaret Doherty from Mullingar - two retired psychiatric nurses, were captured by their son-in-law, Dominic Lee who runs Priory Studios - the family portrait photographers, on camera as part of the book which is dedicated to the private pursuits, passions and inspirations of notable personalities, and in it, depicts Brendan and Margaret feeding the Swans on Lough Ennell on a very snowy winters day.All the proceeds from the book, which is on sale at Just Books Mullingar, will go towards the Irish Cancer Society.Dominic's first book of the same name raised €36,000 for the Central Remedial Clinic."I swore I'd never do it again but once you've done one project like this it's very hard to put it aside," Dominic told the Westmeath Examiner this week.Priory Studios is celebrating 25 years, but Dominic decided to do another book because of the frightening instances he encountered through his work of people dying from cancer."We have a lot of people coming into us looking for photos of people who have passed away, and cancer is mentioned almost on a weekly basis," he said."It's very sad - sometimes they will be looking for photos of people who I've photographed quite recently, and some very young people too, so that's why I decided to do another book and give all the proceeds to the Irish Cancer Society," he explained.Dominic spent two years working on the book that features many well known names inlcuding The Clinic's Amy Huberman, singer songwriter Brian Kennedy, dancer Michael Flatley, boxer Bernard Dunne, Rugby Commentator Brent Pope, Senator David Norris and Sir Richard Brandson, plus many more, when they are off duty and doing what they love in their spare time. Dominic had to travel all across Ireland to as far away as Argentina, Antarctica and The Caribbean to get the photos, and it was all out of his own pocket.But he only had to go as far as Mullingar to capture his parents-in-law on the very day of their 50th wedding anniversary:"Brendan and Margaret go out to Lough Ennell all the time to feed the swans, the swans actually know them at this stage!", says Dominic, who is married to their daughter Mairead, who also works in the photography business. And now Brendan and Margaret's granddaughter Shakira is also taking up photography."I'd love if people would support the book because it is going to a very good cause. It would make a very nice Christmas present for someone, and it means that while people are actually giving money to a charity, they are getting a very nice book in return.You can get it at Just Books in Mullingar, any Easons, Hughes and Hughes or Dubrey Books store, or on the Irish Cancer Society website."