The Irish Travellers
These images are part of long-term project focusing on the Irish Travellers, a historically nomadic group. They number about 40,000 in all of Ireland and are ethnically separate from Romani/Gypsies. Since the 1960s, Travellers have been forced to stay in roadside camps or small compounds on the city periphery, always kept at the margins of society.
Travellers are a remarkably resilient group who highly prize their culture and family life. They are endogamous, and traditional marriages are the norm. Horses and dogs play a major role in their lives.
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Biography
Bob Newman began making photographs on a regular basis in 2006 after a career in medicine. He favors long-term projects that permit visiting the same location(s) on multiple occasions. Currently, he is involved in two in-depth projects which focus on Irish Travellers and the Mississippi Delta, respectively.
Bob was selected to participate in the Agency VII Warsaw Masterclass and the Eddie Adams Workshop XXXII. His images have appeared in several publications including All About Photography, Social Documentary Network (SDN), Dodho, and Black & White Magazine (UK).
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Awards
In 2020 Newman was Short Listed in the Portrait of Humanity Competition, named a Finalist in the Fresh Annual Summer Exhibition, and Portrait Finalist at the Head On Photo Festival (Sydney, Australia). Photography @ Oregon Gallery (Eugene, OR) hosted his “Irish Traveller” images in a Solo Exhibition in the fall of 2019.
Additional awards received in 2019 recognizing the quality of his images include Travel Photography of the Year Finalist, International Photography Awards Best of Show and 1st Place Awards, Meitar Award for Excellence in Photography Finalist, B/W Child Competition (2nd Half of 2019) Grand Winner and 1st Place Documentary Awards.
