Mona Lisa in a “Frenzy”

Leaving Certificate Examination, Higher Level Art Paper 2025

In 2025, Noel’s photograph Frenzy was selected for inclusion in Ireland’s Leaving Certificate Higher Level Art examination paper. For an Irish photographer, there is something particularly meaningful about seeing your work enter the classroom in your own country.

Noel’s image Frenzy will be referenced by students for years to come.

Students were invited not simply to look at the photograph, but to examine, interpret and respond to it — allowing the image to become part of a wider conversation about art, visual culture and the power of photographic storytelling.

Inclusion in a national examination is an unusual distinction for a contemporary photographer, and one that carries a significance beyond awards or publication. It gives the work an educational life, introducing it to thousands of students and allowing a single captured moment to become a source of discussion, analysis and learning. For Frenzy to have been chosen for that purpose, and to become part of Ireland’s national art education, is both a remarkable honour and a particularly proud moment in Noel’s photographic career.

Leaving Certificate Examination 2025

Art - Visual Studies - Higher Level

On a personal level, the experience has also made me reflect on where I want my photography to go next. Frenzy was created as a moment of observation — an image rooted in atmosphere, human behaviour and the unpredictability of a scene unfolding in front of the camera. Seeing it examined in an educational context has reinforced for me the importance of making work that invites questions rather than simply providing answers. It has encouraged me to trust images that contain ambiguity, emotion and layers of meaning, and to continue creating images that can hold a viewer's attention long after the initial moment has passed.

The questions posed to students:

A) Discuss this photograph using relevant art elements and design principles.

B) In your opinion, what is this photograph about? Justify your answer.

But what exactly is this image about - here is the story behind “Frenzy”.

I had been in Paris for three days attending a workshop and had always intended to visit the Mona Lisa before leaving. What I hadn’t realised was that I needed to book my ticket to the Louvre in advance. The last admission was at 5pm on the Friday afternoon and, already exhausted after three days of walking the city, I queued for almost two hours simply to get inside.

All I really wanted to do was see the Mona Lisa and leave. What I hadn’t anticipated was the journey through the museum to actually reach it. By the time I finally arrived at the room where Leonardo da Vinci’s painting hangs, I was completely exhausted.

I remember turning the corner and, if I’m truthful, feeling utterly disappointed. The Mona Lisa seemed so small and distant on the wall. And in front of it was this extraordinary frenzy of people — hundreds of visitors clamouring for position, phones held aloft, everyone trying to get a photograph or a selfie with one of the most famous paintings in the world. I had lost interest immediately.

I turned around, walked out and sat on a bench outside the room for about ten minutes, totally deflated, I was ready to leave. Then, as I started walking away, I stopped and thought: Hang on a minute. This whole scene is fantastic. This is the story.

I’m a documentary photographer. Rather than fight my way to the front and make the same photograph as everyone else, I went back and did what I often do — Step back and observe.

I had a 50mm Zeiss, manual focus lens on my camera, which was perfect for the shot I had in mind. I slowed down the shutter speed and holding the camera above my head with both hands, photographed the scene. I wanted to capture not simply the Mona Lisa, but the movement, energy and almost chaotic fascination surrounding it. I only shot a couple of frames and didn’t really appreciate what I had captured until I got home and started editing.

I gave it the title Frenzy, mirroring my thoughts at the time and the image has won multiple awards as well, of course as making it onto the education curriculum.

One my my most memorable moments, was receiving a message from one of my old teachers while away on a family holiday, June 2025, “McIntyre, you’ve made it…”

“Frenzy”as it appeared on the Leaving Certificate Paper 2025.

My first Leica Master Shot

and how it changed my life…

“Tête à Tête”

The story behind my first Leica Master Shot.

It was June 2023, and we were preparing to go to Mallorca on our family holiday. I had, for the previous year or so, become very curious about Leica cameras and the mystique surrounding them. Leica had just announced their new Q3, a compact camera with a fixed 28mm lens, definitely not my 'jam' up to that point, as I usually like to carry a selection of lenses in the bag.

I contacted Dieter in Leica Boutique Antwerpen (at that time we didn't have any Leica dealer in Ireland) and I jumped into the world of Leica, purchasing a new Q3. I remember saying to myself after it arriving with a lovely personal note from Dieter, "maybe this is what the whole Leica thing is about..." that outstanding customer experience, coming from a sales background, it resonated with me. It actually arrived just as we were preparing to head to the airport, so I literally unboxed it and jumped in the car, family waiting patiently.

No need to go into the details but it just felt good in hand, like it was honed from a metal billet. I had used it during the holiday for the usual family shots and one afternoon I decided to head into Palma and take a walk, try out this concept of "one camera, one lens". Walking along the prom, outbound from Palma beach, I noticed a concrete structure, seemed still under construction, curious, I walked towards it and these two straw hats peeped into view, still walking towards them, without looking, my left hand dipped almost instinctively, setting the aperture ring to F8, raised the camera to my eye and took the shot, the leaf shutter almost imperceptible to the photographer. I again raised the camera to my eye to check the image momentarily and when I looked again the couple were gone but I knew it was a special shot.

At this stage after registering my Leica for warranty etc, as a new owner, I had been invited to subscribe to the (LFI) Leica Fotografie Magazine and I was already enjoying the experience, articles and images, stories from iconic photographers I had long been admiring. So still in holiday mode, back at the apartment, I decided to submit the image to the LFI Gallery, very unusual for me as I'm not motivated by competitions or the like and generally don't bother.

The following mornings email read;

"Dear Noel McIntyre, we are very pleased to let you know that your photograph has been favourited by the editors of the LFI Gallery. Your image Tête-à-Tête is a Leica Mastershot. Your picture now ranks among the very best photographs in the LFI Gallery, and will be added to the gallery's Leica Master Shots collection. We look forward to receiving future submissions of your work.”

Since then I have dived into the world of Leica, adding an SL3 and recently an M EV1 to my Q3 and enjoying discovering the magic of M lenses and truly appreciating the “Leica look”. The whole Leica thing is much more than the amazing customer service experience that impressed me that day one.

This image has opened the door to a whole new world for me, a community of photographers and lovers of life, new friends from all around the world, the feeling that you are part of something special when a brand like Leica recognises your work. It has steered my career down a path which nearly four years later continues to provide me with some of the most personally satisfying experiences of my life to date. Thank you Leica.

Images that tell stories.

Copyright Noel McIntyre

Exif data:

Date captured: 13-6-2023

Leica Q3 - 28mm Summilux

1/800 sec

F8

ISO 100