Photographer wins prestigious national press award with agricultural video

Regular contributor to the Irish Farmers Journal photographer and videographer Michael McLaughlin from Westport, Co Mayo, took first prize in the multimedia category at the Press

Photographers Ireland AIB Press Photography Awards on Friday 6 February in O'Reilly Hall, UCD with his video called The Ties That Bind.

The Ties That Bind is a rural life portrait of harvest, skill and community.

Bought unseen and cared for ever since, the machine still returns to the field to cut and tie small patches of grain.

In its rhythm are the old ways, neighbourly help and a friendship bound by the ties that bind.

The judges said of Michael's entry: "The winning entry in the video category is ‘The Ties That Bind’, a charming tale from rural Ireland about the restoration of a vintage grain binder.

"While this video is not without one or two technical issues, it stood out thanks to the range of shots, fine drone photography, well-paced editing and good use of interview clips.

"Warm and poignant, this story creates an emotional connection with the viewer that isn’t present in some of the other entries.

"In this instance, the connection is established gently, but the story is more memorable for it."

The Press Photographers Ireland annual AIB Press Photography Awards celebrate the best of photojournalists' work across the calendar year.

The curated work forms part of the national archive and is a snapshot in time for future generations.

In a time of significant technological advances, 'unreliable' news sources and AI, press photography is more important than ever.

The photographs entered are scrutinised to ensure the image taken from the camera was not manipulated in any way before publishing except for techniques that go back to the days of the photography dark room such as lighting and darkening.

This is very important in ensuring that the public can have confidence that the national media they consume is and true and fair refection of what is being reported.

Irish Farmers Journal picture editor Philip Doyle spoke to Michael McLaughlin for a short podcast 'Behind The Lens'.