For my final BA Documentary Photography project I wrote a dissertation on Men’s Sheds Cymru, which was also my end-of-year exhibition at Cardiff MADE gallery. It was a treatise on a cohort of men who journeyed from the isolation and loneliness of their homes into the community of a Men’s Shed. At the time I was intrigued to visit an embryonic Shed and found one in my vicinity in Kidwelly. It was an interesting site based in a ‘pink building’,Read more

I was invited to attend a nature walk at Mynydd Mawr Woodland Park with Llanelli Multicultural Network (LMCN), which was one of their ‘Connecting to Nature’ series of walks funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. LMCN was founded in 2007 with the objective to ‘build a more coherent community’. The objective of ‘Connecting to Nature’ is to experience nature, gain woodland skills of vegetation and wildlife observation and cooking in the great outdoors. The walk was conducted by AshleyRead more

I was so pleased to be invited to photograph the retail shop and workshop of Mr. Joseph in Kidwelly. Mr. Joseph was born in 1933, and amazingly, at the age of 90-years, he is still running his upholstery business in Bridge Street with the support of his wife Rose, who implements the majority of the repairs and refurbishment of the sofas and chairs that are bought to him, usually from referrals. Mr. Joseph informed me that his grandfather was anRead more

The Environmental Portraits displayed here are portraits executed in the subject’s usual environment, such as in their home, leisure, or workplace, and typically defines the subject’s life, surroundings, and relationships. Management, administration, pharmacy and stores personnel at psychiatric hospital. Woman living on Zero Hours contract. Thais, a woman living with Dementia. Rosie; a woman living for her horse and dog. Sam; a Roman reenactor. Medieval reenactors. Gwili heritage railway, Carmarthen. Building Ysgol Parc Y Tywyn, Burry Port.Read more

I have admired and been inspired by Mel since I first met her at the Saith Gallery in Burry Port, created and run by Roz Moreton. Mel enthralled me with a description of her Bringing Gower Home project, which provided one-day photography workshops for up to 12 participants. It was a brilliant concept which was designed to be all-inclusive for people who may not usually have opportunities to visit the Gower and to produce photographs with the cameras provided. TheRead more

In September 2015 I was invited to Mel and Scribblah’s occupation of the redundant R&Z Fashions store in Swansea’s High Street prior to redevelopment.  Mel stated that her objective in occupying the premises and creating and displaying art was ‘We inhabit this space to bridge the gap between gallery and studio; between artist and public…’ and ‘We are artists challenging ourselves to engage with the world through discovery and innovation’. The space that Mel and Rosie Scribblah created was amazing,Read more

The Dread Zone: another amazing presentation by the Volcano Theatre, Swansea. I previously blogged a dress rehearsal of Hamlet Machine in 2019 and was blown-away by the performance and the imaginative construction of the stage set by Bourdon Brindille. On this occasion the Bourdon Brindille stage set is even more outrageous and involving, and superbly constructed. The Dread Zone was conceived and directed by Paul Davies, as was the Hamlet Machine. Paul stated that The Dread Zone has a ‘startingRead more

In 2015 I was granted permission to shadow-photograph MP Nia Griffith as she went about her Parliamentary duties and constituency visits. From the 5th until 31st August, I captured many of the engagements of this extraordinarily busy, committed, and energetic woman. It was an amazing opportunity to capture the working life of my MP. The finale of my project was an invitation to tour the Houses of Parliament and lunch on the terrace overlooking the Thames. A remarkable day, andRead more

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There was an excellent turn-out of exhibits at this year’s Steam Fair. It’s probably the best I’ve seen and maybe a response to the relaxation of the Covid restrictions. The care and attention that is lavished onto the historic steam engines is amazing, and we all owe a debt of gratitude to these remarkable people for valuing and maintaining our cultural history. And what’s even more astonishing is that some of the engines have been hand-built in sheds and workshops.Read more