A blend of joy, adventure and unimaginable tragedy

Lauren at the Elephant Terrace, Angkor Thom

Monday, November 7th, 2011
By Ciara Kenny

Photojournalist Lauren Crothers spends her days photographing Cambodian politicians and survivors of the Khmer Rouge regime, and hanging out at Angkor Wat at weekends; it’s a far cry from scraping a few sub-editing shifts together every week in Dublin, she writes.

When I wake up it’s blisteringly sunny. Factor 30 and a krama (a Cambodian scarf) have replaced socks, converse and a warm jacket as my daily pre-departure essentials. I hop on the back of a moto, usually with a camera or two slung around my neck, and get to work in 10 minutes for $1. I never know what my day will bring. One day I could be out interviewing a murder victim’s family; the next, I’ll be knee-deep in floodwaters photographing struggling communities. My life as I know it now seems completely normal to me, but it is so far removed from the one I was leading two years ago in Ireland.

I was born in Hong Kong to an Irish mother and Australian father and lived there until I was 11, at which time my parents split and Mum took us to Dublin. Over time I grew to love it, but always had a niggling feeling my life would ‘happen’ for me somewhere else.

After I got a Philosophy degree from Trinity I moved straight back to Hong Kong and began my career as a journalist at The South China Morning Post. After three years there, I moved back to Dublin and subbed for a few papers while completing a Masters. The two years I was back in Dublin were fun; it was nice to be around my family and friends again, but the crisis hit and things got difficult. Papers were cutting back and I was only pulling in a few shifts a week, which meant having to stand in the dole queue across from the very place where I’d received my Masters. I had started my career as a reporter, which segued into photography, but it just was not happening for me in Dublin.

An opportunity arose to work for The Toronto Star for a year and I pounced; this time, I was leaving a boyfriend, as well as my family and friends, all over again. I had a feeling this would be it and whatever would happen beyond Canada would not include a life back in Ireland. Read the full article and see the beautiful pictures at The Irish Times.