SOME of the most dramatic and disturbing photographs taken during the Troubles are to feature in an RTÉ documentary to be broadcast next week.
The men who took the pictures, captured over several decades, reveal the stories behind the snaps that made headlines across the world.
Shooting the Darkness showcases images that have been locked away in picture desks and home-made darkrooms for decades.
From Bloody Sunday to IRA funerals, the grim job of recording the recent conflict often fell to a small number of local photographers, many who continue to work today.
The documentary, which will be broadcast on the 47th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, contains several iconic pictures taken during the atrocity by Stanley Matchett.
One of the images shows the then Fr Edward Daly waving a white blood stained rag as a group of men carry body of Jack Duddy, who was killed that day.
"In many ways it was one of the saddest days I have experienced in my life because it was so unexpected and why on earth it ever happened I have no idea," he said.
The work of The Irish News photographer Hugh Russell is also featured.
A former Olympic bronze medal boxer, Mr Russell took up the camera after retiring from the ring in 1983.
Since then he has been on hand to capture many poignant images of the Troubles.
With more than 35 years experience, his thoughts often turn to victims whose murders were overshadowed by other events.
"For the poor man or poor woman or poor child who died on their own I always thought it was equally as big a tragedy as any of the massive atrocities," he said.
"They were some of the houses that I thought were more sorrowful than many other ones."
He said he was also mindful of the impact some of his images had, especially those featuring murder victims.
"You don't realise that maybe not all the relatives or all their people had seen them there lying there," he said.
"But by the next day when your images are in the paper the aftermath, the feeling you get after these kind of things wasn't too pleasant."
Shooting the Darkness will be broadcast on RTÉ One on Wednesday January 30 at 10.35pm.
