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Offas Dyke for Mother Goose Films

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In June I popped down to Shropshire to meet with Rob, the warden for the Offas Dyke National Trail that runs the length of the border between Wales and England. An ancient boundary, the path was established as a National Trail 50 years ago and Mother Goose Films have been commissioned to provide photo and video to promote the path at this milestone. I went down to get some shots for them that showed off the bluebells which were in full bloom, adding colour on a grey day.

River Swimming

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One of the many hot days of summer this year and a trip to landlocked Wiltshire. A search for a suitable place to slip into the Avon led to a path through the undergrowth, a clamber down the muddy bank and a cooling swim amongst lilies and demoiselles in the afternoon heat. River swimming always feels a little different to the coastal waters of home; nettles and brambles threaten the route to ingress, lowering ourselves from the top of the steep bank is rewarded with a squelching of mud between the toes and a course is navigated, arms held aloft, through roots and reeds to the point at which one can tentatively push off from the bank into the slow flow of the river. What lies beneath in these waters is unfamiliar and there’s the stirring of memories from childhood; warnings of pike and their needle sharp teeth mingle with tales of the riverbank from cultures and rivers both local and from the pages of stories told. Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, The Wind in the Willows and all those folk songs about the Mississippi or the Findhorn. The Wye, the Tay and the Spey, those evocative names for the arteries that carry the characteristics of their banks out to the sea beyond. The water feels different too; somehow it’s smoother and the abrasive sting of salt is replaced by the earthy smell of water that has percolated through the fields and woodlands that border the river. The source of the Avon is in Gloucestershire and hasn’t travelled far by the time it reaches Bradford on Avon. It’s journey will then take it winding through Wiltshire, the cities of Bath and Bristol and its industrial hinterlands before it eventually spills into the Severn Estuary at Avonmouth, a different river to the one that was born in the Gloucestershire countryside.

Studio portraits - Robin

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It was a pleasure to have my friend Robin come in for some portraits the other day. Covid put a stop to any such shoots of late so it was nice to be able to have someone sit for me again. I was inspired by a recent Phil Fisk shoot with Paul Weller to try some high key lighting with some gelled lights to give some colour as Phil had done in his shots. I love Phil’s portraits and his use of light is fantastic. Robins colouring struck me as suiting this style of shot so I invited him into my humble home studio. In the end the session was a little frustrating as using battery powered (possibly not charged recently :/ ) flash units made for inconsistent results. I suspect this was due to several factors present in a very DIY setup! I’d used a white cube used for product photography balanced on top of one speedlight to act as a high key backdrop. The only reliable element was my softbox as the front light. To the side I tried a gelled flash in slave mode to flash when the other units fired. From one shot to the next the lighting would give different results and so it was virtually impossible to work towards what I wanted! I was still pleased with the results that we achieved. We chatted Zappa and films and when there was a pause I took some shots and rolled with whatever results the lights decided to offer! Towards the end I went back to the classic one light style against a black background and had some lovely results but there is a reason why a well equipped studio is a powerful tool.

An unexpected joy was reading the messages Robin’s kids had sent to him when he showed them the results. This year has meant that many relationships have felt somewhat on hold despite the best abilities of technology to help us maintain connections with those that we don’t live close to. I think these shots made a nice change to a fuzzy image on Zoom. We underestimate the importance of seeing the faces of loved ones in real life and maybe the next best thing is a good picture.

Clare sent Today at 22:16

Omg DAD! These are AMAZING!!!! I absolutely love them!! And love that you did this!! I'm going to have one of them printed and framed. It captures your cheeky smile, always plotting a quick whip. Number 10 makes you look like a thug!

Paddy sent Today at 22:20

These are great dad. I love toms photos. Number 6 sums up a number of emotions. Great to see your smile but also just nice to see pics of you. X

Anna Platts Health Coaching

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Last week I took some pictures for Anna to promote her new Health Coaching business. Anna will be offering diet and health advice. We were lucky enough to be able to use a nice cottage in St Davids with a great dining table and good window light to make for a fun and relaxed afternoon and a variety of shots.

Marc Treanor

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I was sad to hear the news that Marc Treanor had passed away recently. Marc was known for his big works of sand art that he made on the beaches of Pembrokeshire and beyond. Marc was one of those characters whose work often popped up on social media and due to it’s nature (the tide would reclaim the sand a few hours later) most people would seldom get to see it in the flesh. A few years back a friend asked Marc to produce a piece for her hen do and I was lucky to be able to get some pictures for them. I didn’t get one of Marc unfortunately. We’ll miss seeing his work on local beaches.

Lovely video here from my friends at Mother Goose for Visit Pembrokeshire.

Lucy Davies Nutrition

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Lucy needed images for her website and social media but was not keen on having her picture taken. Lucy runs workshops on making chocolate, kombucha and other fermented goodies so we decided that some shots during a workshop would provide a good opportunity to get some nice natural images. We had a big, light kitchen to work in so all went well and as a bonus I came away with some tasty treats!

Lucy’s workshops are good fun and she makes the slightly daunting task of making your own fermented foods straightforward and enjoyable. A relaxing, fun atmosphere, simple instructions and supervision make it easy to get started with fermenting at home. Some pics below.

Get in touch via her profile on Instagram.