About

Photography, for me, is about passion and vision. I am passionate about our world, its endless wonder, its incredible beauty and its resilience, despite humanity’s best efforts at destruction. The more I see, the more I am captivated by nature’s intricate interactions and the miracle that is life itself. My pictures of living things try to celebrate these wonders.

The landscape is a living thing, revealing imprints of mankind and other forces of nature. Sometimes, the changes are happening now – road building, river meanders and hedge laying are examples – or have happened in the past. Examples are medieval castles, mountain ranges still being formed and valleys shaped by former glaciers. By reading the landscape and revealing aspects of the past in my photographs, I hope to increase the viewer’s vision of the world’s amazing power to change, adapt and embody its past.

Born a Fenman in East Anglia, I moved to west Wales in 1995 in order to live in a community that retains its identity and cohesion. I have had a varied work experience, much of the time self employed as a furniture maker and designer. From 1983, I used purely local timbers, sometimes from trees I felled, milled and seasoned myself. As a result of needing to record my work, I self trained as a photographer and have used the acquired skills to set up a business as a photographer. Since 2003, I have been self employed as a landscape, natural history and culture photographer. I have two teenage children and live in the heart of Carmarthenshire. I am a Quaker, believing in truth, justice, equality and peaceful conflict resolution.

My most recent publication is a book called Beloved Tywi, ISBN 1 84323 6516, which is a photo-rich exploration of the famous salmon river in west Wales from its source high in the Cambrian Mountains to the sea in the Bay of Carmarthen. Published by Gomer Press, it incorporates written contributions from over twenty local people about diverse aspects of life along the river. Gomer

I worked as editor of the county magazine Carmarthenshire Life for a year, producing nine editions during 2008 and 2009, for which I wrote numerous articles and provided many photographs, including eight of the covers. Prior to that, I was photo editor and supplied thirty cover shots and forty articles, mostly about the natural world.

I have provided the photographic illustrations for the following books: Able to Garden, Peter Please, Batsford ISBN 978-0713461374 Children’s Gardening, Peter Please, ISBN 095210706 Peter Please The Dylan Thomas Trail, David N. Thomas, Y Lolfa, ISBN 086243 6095 Y Lolfa Also, I made all the experiments and tasks for the following book: How Nature Works, David Burnie, Readers Digest, ISBN 0895773910 Since 2003, I have produced numerous postcards and greetings cards and framed prints of west Wales, including many to commission. Prior to moving to Wales, I produced postcards of Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire.

I have exhibited my photographs in a number of prestigious locations, including the following:

• Newton House, Dinefwr
• Council Offices, Llandeilo
• National Botanic Garden of Wales
• Bishop’s Palace, Abergwili
• King Street Gallery, Carmarthen

Currently, my work is displayed in two galleries, both of which are co-operatives: King Street Gallery, Carmarthen and Crafts Alive in Llandeilo.

Dreams of Deheubarth is a book in production celebrating the rich medieval history of west Wales. It uses photographs of many locations throughout the present counties of Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Gower to present the story of the ancient Welsh kingdom of Deheubarth. Set up by Hywel Dda, legendary law maker in the late tenth century, it was largely conquered by the Normans. In the mid eleven hundreds, much of it was regained by the Lord Rhys. Eventually, it was re-conquered by Edward I in 1282, along with the rest of Wales. The book will illustrate all the important sites, including castles, battle sites, and religious establishments, together with many inspiring landscape images of this beautiful part of the country. Dreams of Deheubarth gallery.

Learning from the Landscape is a two year project involving pupils with special educational needs from 10 schools in the Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Swansea areas (5 comprehensive schools and 5 of their feeder primary schools). Run by Carmarthenshire Heritage Regeneration Trust, it is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, local authorities and Countryside Council for Wales, together with private companies. Co-ordinator Cheryl Kitt and I present 15 children from each school with digital cameras and, providing them with basic training in photography, take them to locations in their vicinity where they learn about what is special about the landscape by taking pictures. After three computer sessions, each pair of schools has a major exhibition of their work in a prestigious local venue. Invited dignitaries, press and family members are invariably highly impressed with the high quality of the children’s work. Part of my work in the project is to write a blog about each activity. The Learning from the Landscape blog.

I have written numerous published articles about nature, the landscape and culture in magazines and now am writing short stories. The stories may eventually be linked together to form a book. My Blog.

During my journey of self discovery in the early nineteen seventies, my love of nature extended to wood. I was given a block of exquisite walnut, which, as part of my self teaching in woodwork, I carefully cut and fashioned with hand tools into jewellery, boxes and other small items. My philosophy behind the work was to make something that was ‘perfect’. As my skill increased and the pieces I made improved, the possibility of achievement of perfection slid away. I was forced to concede that, however much my abilities expanded, my aim would never be met.

Nevertheless, my joy in making things from wood kept widening: from tiny things I rapidly upscaled, until I was making bespoke furniture, intricate staircases, fitted cabinets and doors and windows. A fortuitous encounter with a group of tree workers in Chew Stoke, near Bristol, led to my becoming part of the co-operative exhibition group, Tree and Man. Two ground breaking exhibitions in Bath and Street, Somerset followed. At this time, 1983, I made a vow only to use timber from known sources. Finally, I was felling, milling and drying my own material.