This selection of 46 unique and individual garden gates is as an addendum to my Garage Doors photo-essay, which I published in November 2020. The uniqueness of garden gates is that frequently these doors are home-made. It may be a recycled front door made of UPVC, or simple panelling, or even from decking panels. I admire the ingenuity and the upcycling efforts of the householder. These gates add such an interesting and varied aspect to one’s day. I particularly likeRead more

I was saddened to read that the Pembrey Park Riding Centre was closing and decided to photo-document the passing of this wonderful facility. The riding centre is situated in Pembrey Country Park; the ‘Things to Do’ page of the Country Park web site does not feature the riding centre, which is  disappointing, as the centre is in the park, and it offers substantive positive learning opportunities compared with the limitations of the amusements in the park. The Pembrey Park RidingRead more

On another of our adventures around Wales, my wife and I stayed in a lovely, converted forge in Betws Ifan. It is in the grounds of a charming manor house that was built in 1835 by Abel Walters who made his fortune in the tanning industry. It was such a peaceful and relaxing location that I decided to photograph the grounds and publish a photo-essay on my website. During my research on the manor house, I discovered that it hadRead more

Whilst Roz and I were staying in Ludlow, we visited a nearby church and castle. It was quite a hike-up from where were staying in Orleton Common, but well-worth the drive. The views from the church yard were stunning, it was such a peaceful place; we just stood and marvelled at the beautiful countryside before us (fig #27). St. Bartholomew Church is a delightful 12th-century building, set-in well-kept grounds, despite it no-longer being used for regular worship; and is nowRead more

On a recent trip to Ludlow I chanced upon Rickards of Ludlow, I was astonished and amazed by the shop fittings. There’s such character and age and a legacy of generations of local people, landowners, and farmers, who have sought solutions to their domestic and business hardware problems. It was a delight to enter such an historic emporium of irreplaceable shop fitting treasures. As a Documentary Photographer, I felt obliged to photograph and record such a momentous occasion for othersRead more

Roz and I revisited Ludlow, and this time we stayed in a charming artist’s studio that was once home to Hugh McKinnon. The studio is an upside-down building with a large decking area on the upper floor that is set amongst native deciduous trees and surrounded by wildlife. I was up at 04:00 hrs most mornings to experience the amazing dawn chorus. The decking provided easy access to a forest that I was eager to explore with my camera andRead more

Roz and I went on another of our breaks in Wales, this time to celebrate her birthday. We stayed in a beautiful converted forge in Betws Ifan in the county of Ceredigion. The Forge is in the grounds of Glanmedeni, which was built in 1835 by Abel Walters who had made his fortune in the tanning industry. In his blog, David Edward Pike articulates that John Evans describes the property as a magnificent mansion house. David Pike also refers toRead more

I recently attended an excellent studio lighting workshop at Margam Country Park in Port Talbot, which was  organised by Carmarthen Cameras. We had two excellent models: Tegan and John. They were both so patient with us 12 photographers who were, in the majority, totally inexperienced in the proficiencies of lighting and directing a model. Fortunately, we had an excellent coach in the form of Tommy Reynolds and two wonderful, professional models who made our day possible and pleasurable. I foundRead more

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