Here are some images photographed by students who participated on the first documentary photography course in the Gallery of Photography. What a time we had... from "Yer Wan In Da Windah", a curious reportage about the statue of the white lady on the rock who looks out through the windows of houses, particularly around Crumlin to "Angels Plot", a gentle and poignant study of the graves of over 50,000 children who were buried in  Glasnevin cemetery, we had a really interesting selection of stories that students chose to document for their projects. There were also documentaries on a yoga practitioner, an artist moulding a strange looking punk fish out of clay and a haunting set of images documenting Dublin as a city of blinding lights... Well done to all who participated.. note:copyright is belonging to each photographer.. anybody know how to customize this for individual images on photoshelter, please let me know. kh

In January, I was in South Wollo in the Amhara region of Northern Ethiopia to photograph women for the upcoming "Women of Concern" exhibition which takes place in the Gallery of Photography in Temple bar from 4-21st March. I met Zinet on the last day of shooting. Zinet's life was already predetermined in birth. Betrothed as an infant, she was abducted and forced into an early marriage last year. Her father was arrested and accused of organising the abduction. The entire ordeal has torn a close-knit family apart.

From February 2010, I will be teaching an Introductory Course in Documentary Photography at the Gallery of Photography in Dublin. Courses for February and March are sold out but we will try to do more later in the year as there has been quite a demand for places. Being in the business for over ten years, it's exciting now to be in a position to pass on some of my knowledge and experience as a working photographer in the field, to share some of the crazy stories the scary situations and hopefully be an inspiration to others who have an idea for a photo story or a dream to be a documentary photographer.

We shot this short documentary last August in rural Mozambique. It follows a day in the life of the Antonio family whose lives have been affected by HIV/AIDS We entered it into some film festivals really just hoping it would get screened somewhere, anywhere. We're glad to say it did get screened and it also won the best documentary award at the Fastnet Short Film Festival which was held in Schull, West Cork last May. It's a great beginning to what I am hoping will be a new multimedia adventure. Thanks to the Simon Cumbers Media Challenge fund for their support.

"The picture speaks of mid 20th century rural Ireland: the old-fashioned stove and the turf box beside it; the reupholstered Cavan chair; even the co-op calendar on the roughcast wall. All's missing is the votive light beneath the picture of Our Lady. The sitter has put on his good suit to have his picture taken. Except that the photograph was taken by Dublin Freelance Photographer Kim Haughton on March 13th 2009"This is the opening quote from a recent Sunday Independent article by journalist Jim Cusack about the photograph (above) of founder of Republican Sinn Fein, Ruairi O' Bradaigh. It's always interesting to hear other people's descriptions of your photographs.