| Literary Figures a Snap for Harnett
By Kaitlan Murphy Tauber
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Irishman Niall Hartnett, 34, is a relative newcomer to the photography
scene. But this summer, he will publish Notes from His Contemporaries
as a tribute to his father, the late Irish poet Michael Hartnett.
 The
project was conceived first as a Web site, according to Hartnett, and then
as a collection of memoirs and tribute poems regarding his dad.
"From this, it evolved to a book of writings from his contemporaries,
supported by my portraits of them when possible," Hartnett says.
He has photographed Irish writers such as Nuala Ni Dhomhaill, Seamus
Heaney and Macdara Woods for the book.
Hartnett says he gets major personalities to pose for him primarily
by evoking his father’s name. In the future, he says he hopes to "do it
more on the reputation of my work as it stands on its own."
Finding the Irish authors was not an easy feat, according to Hartnett,
but most authors he contacted agreed, "pretty much without hesitation,"
to pose for Harnett due to their fondness or respect for his father.
 Hartnett
was born in Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin, and moved to the United States in
1995. He lives in the Chicago-area with his fiancée, Rachel
Baum, who is an artist. Over the past two years, Hartnett has traveled
to Ireland three times to take photographs for the book.
To take his photographs, Hartnett uses a combination of digital point
and shoot, vintage medium format and large format cameras and a digital
film scanner for digitizing negatives. The portraits he took for Notes
from His Contemporaries are black and white. They were taken over the
past two years, according to Hartnett, with both digital and vintage cameras,
to "support the idea of a continuum of Irish writing from the past into
the present."
He also photographs subjects such as friends or volunteers on the street,
some professional and amateur models. Hartnett says he shoots mostly in
a studio setting or on location in a building or street scene.
 "For
naturalistic portraits, as in the case of the writers, I do not pose them
– only choose the best place for light – they compose themselves," Hartnett
says. "I want their idea of their image to come through, not just mine."
Diane Arbus and Helmut Newton are among the photographers that Hartnett
says he admires and looks to for inspiration.
He says that movies, especially genres such as film noir and science
fiction and fantasy, have influenced his ideas on lighting and mood.
"I also look for the quiet and open moment in the person rather than
the defended look," Hartnett says. "Often the photo I choose is the one
where the subject was not really aware I was taking it . . . I suppose
it has a certain vulnerability as we all do sometimes. But we want to hide,
whereas we would all be better off if we showed that side of ourselves."
The connection photography forges between subject and photographer is
what Hartnett says he enjoys about his craft, "as well as its honesty which,
although harsh sometimes is brilliant – and definitely can be a window
on the soul when the moment is right."
 All
of his photography is shot during any free time he can find – weekends,
nights, vacations and sometimes lunch time, because he works as an undergraduate
advisor at the University of Illinois-Chicago.
Hartnett says his educational background is psychology and education
and his advising job is the "perfect fit for my ‘day job’ and will help
me support my art."
Vacation destinations for Hartnett include Spain, Ireland and Australia.
He says his mother, Rosemary (Grantley) Hartnett, moved to Spain shortly
after he came to the United States. His sister, Lara, also left Ireland
for a warmer and drier climate soon after he left his homeland and now
lives in Australia where she "works in social welfare when she’s not being
a mom."
Besides taking photographs, Hartnett seems to have followed in the footsteps
of his father and says he’s written about 70 poems in English and one in
Irish, but has not done so for about two years. For now he is busy photographing
and putting the finishing touches on Notes from His Contemporaries.
In early spring, 2006, he had an extended exhibition of his works at the
Irish Cultural and Heritage Center in Milwaukee.
 
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