Richard Boyle
Images of British Ceylon: 19th Century Photography of Sri Lanka — by Ismeth Raheem and Percy Colin-Thome, Produced for Ismeth Raheem by Times Editions Singapore: March 2000 …………. 155pp, Rs 3,950.00 …………….ISBN 981 204 778 6
Regeneration: A Reappraisal of Photography in Ceylon 1850 – 1900 — By John Falconer with Ismeth Raheem, Published by the British Council London: January 2000, 95pp, Rs 1,000.00 …… ISBN 0 86355 444 X
I am exceedingly grateful that a master photographer took my wedding photographs using black-and-white film. They nestle in the wedding album in their sharp and contrasting black-and-white glory, while the colour photographs of the conventional photographer affixed alongside have already begun to lose their vitality after less than two decades. It is a problem that has begun to alarm not only those who want to cherish memories, but curators, archivists and art investors as well. The London Times of July 11, 1998, reported in an article titled ‘Why the past is looking just a little too rosy’ that, “Millions of images taken since the invention of modern colour photography are changing because of the way their dyes break down. Just as the 19th century is now viewed in tones of sepia, so future generations may look back on the last three decades of the 20th as the era of purple lawns and red skies.”
Ships in Colombo harbor, Pic by S. Slinn & Co, 1868 –images, p. 85 Continue reading →
Northern Ireland parliamentarian for North Antrim from Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Ian Paisley Jr said that Sri Lanka has made more measurable gains post-conflict than Northern Ireland. That is what he has seen on the ground, and British politicians should recognise it and stop the suffocation of a country by its past and help Sri Lanka to move forward to a better future. He made these strong comments with passion at Westminister Hall, UK Parliament during the debate on ‘Sri Lanka and the United Nations responsibility to protect’ from 9.30am to 11.00am on Tuesday 08 January 2013. Continue reading 
