Equal Fashion Magazine Vol 4 | 2016 | Page 246

Equal Fashion Magazine Vol 4-2016 Mammatus Clouds over Slieve Martin of The Mourne Mountains on Easter Sunday 2016 Photographer: Willy Gallagher Q1. We at Equal Fashion Magazine are very excited to hear you are going on a ?Walk About? with your lens to capture some of what Éireann has to offer and whatever comes your way. It makes us feel very free and adventurous. Circumstances keep some of us from travelling which is a wonderful and nourishing experience so thank you very much for letting us follow you on your journey. Have you anything in particular you would like to capture or is the adventure and not knowing what?s in front of you the thrill or, could it be a mixture of both? A1. I would say for sure it?s going to be a mixture of both,yes of course there our places that spring to mind right away all over the country,but for me I don?t want to be limited to what I 246 am going to go and capture or indeed feel the need to go and follow in the foot steps of all the others and try to see it though my eyes,a good friend and wonderful black and white photographer Thomas Keeley said to me once ?Willy, try not to stand in the spot where you see a set off foot prints and 3 hole?s in the ground? so try to be original. As long as I can do the place justice and get stuck in there, you know go talk to the locals find out about those hidden gems. If I can pull that off I will be a happy camper. Q2. What inspired you to take the plunge into the unknown? A2. I think what inspired me the most to want to take this journey is on April 28th 2016 I will be 2 years sober and free from an alcohol and drug problem that controlled my life for so long and I could not even imagine how much my life has changed in that time,not saying it was easy because it was not easy at all, but I needed help and I got it. A friend of mine Dani Botos who was always there by my side in my early recovery said to me one afternoon just as we were going to hike up to Slieve Martin in County Down, do you want to buy my camera of me, he gave me a great price for it so I said YES! And I took it from there. I have a family that love and support me and I will be forever grateful to them for not giving up on me as I put them through a lot and I mean a lot. This is something I want to do for myself not to try and prove anything but rather the fact that I feel that I can do it and to feel that way after coming through what I did that?s an amazing