A walk from Channel View to Burry Holms and back
90 minutes in Llangennith
Sea and sky
It’s our last day in Florida.
The sign in our condo seems quite apt for the pic I took this morning.
I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean
It’s official!
Even though I have been commissioned for a variety of projects over the last couple of years (Carmarthenshire CC; LSN Diffusion; Groundwork; The King Arthur Hotel etc.) I was delighted to hear recently that I’d been successful in winning an official 6 month contract via a tender through sell2wales.
The client is Software Alliance Wales (SAW) based at Swansea University and I’ve already done two assignments to date; the first at the successful St David’s digital enterprise Webadept where I spent a great afternoon with the staff (who I thank for their welcome and patience), and the second, at the recent GIS day on 19th November at UWTSD, Lampeter. Again thanks to all those involved. It was a fascinating day.
I’ve recently added to and upgraded my kit and invested considerably in a new model camera and lenses for which I will have to go into weight training to hold! Now I have only myself to blame if the results are not what I want and not my tools. But, I am delighted with the imagery to date and importantly, so is Communications Team Lead at SAW, Chris Rees.
It’s good to swap a designer’s hat to a photographer’s hat and vice versa. It is a strong offering now that NB:Design can offer these two sometimes separate, but often interrelated, arms of the business to our clients who are taking very favourably to the extended services which also include copywriting (I thought I’d mention that too or I’d be in trouble with my wife and business partner www.janefraserwriter.com)
In demand
It’s been a busy couple of months working with clients old and new on photographic commissions.
At LSN Diffusion, Llandybie, I spent the day at the factory photographing Welsh Government Minister, Edwina Hart, and a host of other visitors to this global enterprise, in reportage style as well as capturing the essence of this manufacturing business: what they do and the people who work there.
Closer to home, I have been working with award-winning wedding venue and country inn, The King Arthur Hotel, Gower as part of a brand development project. The commission afforded opportunity to shoot some interesting landscape shots of the wonderful gardens there and capture the great interior setting. It also gave me opportunity to add to my food portfolio.
Both these commissions have been part of a much bigger picture and clients approached me because not only could I offer the necessary imagery they required, but as part of NB:Design, provide the imagery in situ in finished design projects: wedding brochures, hotel leaflets, exhibition stands and corporate brochures and websites.
London calling
Having spent 20 years working in London, it’s great to go back for a visit (especially as I can also see my two beautiful granddaughters, Megan and Florence).
Last weekend, London town was looking at its best…
Space, the final frontier…
Recently spent an enjoyable day at Kennedy Space Centre, Florida.
Memories came flooding back from my childhood of sitting around the TV with my parents watching, in black & white of course, the various Saturn/Apollo launches. Perhaps it’s my age, but why aren’t we excited by the thought of space travel anymore?
As my wife Jane says of our visit:
We even had lunch with a real astronaut, Sam Gemar 3 x shuttle pilot. Jane felt she had been touched by a special presence and we even found out how to use the toilet in space!
What a difference a day makes!
A howling gale here this morning in Llangennith, but last night…
Q: what does the LSN in LSN Diffusion stand for?
A: Laurence, Sion and Norman. And that says it all. Although a global leader in the supply of alloyed powders used for surface coating and high temperature brazing, its success is attributable to the core family values and personality at its heart. This is what my images needed to translate. I needed to tell its distinctive story, convey its brand values.
As always, I believe that a good result is only as good as the brief you take. To that end, I set aside a half-day ahead of the shoot to discuss the aims and objectives of the commission with Operations Director, Laurence Griffiths. It is always good to wear my two hats at the same time: my photography and my designer one. A lovely set of images is all well and good, but knowing what objectives the company has for their use (or even suggesting how they could be used to best effect) ensures that end results are fit for purpose. Experience has shown me that time is always limited and things can sometimes be very “fluid”. Preparation and organisation is key and I sometimes have to let my clients know in the gentlest way possible.
It was an early Monday morning start at the conference venue at the Beacon, Llanelli where all LSN’s world-wide staff was convened. My approach was informal and bright – even the light I used was natural, removing the sterile corporate-glare you often see reflected in contexts such as these. There were a couple of for the record group-shots which had to be done, but again, interesting viewpoints gave a new twist to these, reflective of the very different company embodied in LSN Diffusion. We even had blue skies for the half-hour outside.
The second half of the day was spent in the company’s impressive purpose-built site at Llandybie shooting varied aspects of the operation: people, process, plant etc.
The result is an array of images that translates LSN Diffusion as they want it to be seen, and which I saw and captured: one very happy client and one happy photographer.
Rare breeds
I’ve been doing a commission for Carmarthenshire CC, photographing the town centres of Ammanford and Llandovery for forthcoming publications and as the weather looked promising, I did one of my early morning exits, to use it or lose it, and get those few final shots.
By pure chance, I happened upon Llandovery on the day of the 4th annual sheep festival. This was a new experience for me and I couldn’t believe me and my camera were in the right place at the right time for: good company, community, country life and all things woolly! (Llandovery Sheep Festival Programme 28-29 September 2013)
On the uplands of the Brecon Beacons and the Cambrian Mountains, the tough terrain that surrounds Llandovery, it is only hardier breeds that can thrive. Perhaps that includes people too, I thought as I looked around.
I decided to take shots of what I saw, varying aspects that to me, reflected the district’s rich and tough sheep-farming heritage. Unmissable photo-journalism as they say!
The result is a collection of black and white reportage-style images.
By the way, this is an annual event with local resident HRH The Price of Wales as patron. The event welcomes sponsors. Contact Fiona Walker, Event co-ordinator llandoverysheepfestival@gmail.com
I’ll be back!