Directed by Spike Lee.

M.O.P in Brizzle.

M.O.P in Brizzle earlier this month. The best concert I've ever been to. Pictures taken with two Fuji disposable cameras. Scans of my ticket and the signed cover of Firing Squad. 

Autobiografia - unpublished but exhibited cd.

Autobiografia

For next few days I will be posting pictures from Autobiografia, which are not in the current selection available on my website, and which I exhibited during
my show in Poznan in October.

Shaolin Shadow Boxing!

Robinsons.

 In 2007 I was photographing Steve Robinson (in the 90's WBO Featherweight Champion of the World) and his son - Luke. Robinson junior was preparing for his first ever amateur fight (which he won).

Today I started to quick scan the negatives. 

Great grandfather.

For so many years now I want to do work on my great grandfather... I will one day.

CITY - work in progress.

Annis Abraham Jnr. and his forum were the main supporters of my Cardiff City project. In the early stages of our collaboration I have interviewed Annis, added pictures I've done up to date and send to press as PDF. Interview is dated 21.12.2012.

I also interviewed Gwyn Davies, but never published it. Maybe I will find time to prepare it as well.

The final product of what you see below is 'City - The Season' book which is available from my website.

The Wall of Silence

In 2010, when I was a 3rd year student at Newport, I decided to work on the project depicting life of people with African descent, who are living in Poland. 

My first trip took 2 or 3 weeks. After that time, when I came back to Cardiff, I realised I ended up with a number of pictures I had no idea what to do with. They were clearly not enough to comment on what I 'discovered'.

What I brought with me were stories written down in my notebook.

This picture comes from time I was trying to understand what I want to say and how I want to do it.

Today, I feel it is the time to get back to the project and finish it...

Maybe this is the way it could go (along with the portraits)?

Tonton.

Guinee, 2010.

Autobiography.

Picture taken in 2010. My sister is leaving High Wycombe, where she studied and lived for the last two years. 

She just said goodbye to all her friends. She will live with me and Binta for now, study at University of Wales, Newport.

I've only discovered this image 2, 3 months ago, and I shown it for the first time during my exhibition at Fundacja Spot in Poland. There is so much work from this project that I've never shown... It will be exiting to add it to the existing edit.

Short documentary about Ryszard Kapuscinski.

Back in Guinee

While working for the show in Steszew, I relieved great moments from Guinee.

Anniversary.

Four years ago today we get married in Conacry in Guinee. This picture of my wife I've taken during the 4 weeks trip to her homeland.

Aissatou.

Hard to believe that in few days it will be 10 months since she arrived. Now she starts to walk, have few teeth, and makes us laugh at every turn.

Classic from Cardiff streets.

Dad is taking pictures of a war ship.

...

No Show vs NATO.

In the next few days I will be uploading some more pictures from the events evoked by the NATO summit which took place in South Wales at the beginning of September.

One of the biggest disappointments of it all was the small crowd actively protesting against the summit... I thought people will be outraged, out on street, screaming their hearts out. Of course there were, but it seems to me, the majority of citizens here are rather comfortable with the way things are. Funny, at times it felt like there were more photographers then protesters themselves. Surrounded by lenses I thought, there was no point to shoot like everybody else. Classic Ducumentary(esque). I had nothing to loose, as I wasn't working for anyone or on a project. I decided to push my picture making. Do something I haven't done yet.

During the march in Newport, I have had some problems with one of the lady photographers. I have no clue who she was, but she looked like she was working for some agency or a newspaper. She was constantly trying to move me away from places I was photographing from. I guess, in her opinion, I was to close for her to not to include me in her pictures. I never knew there was some type of fucking etiquette when shooting events like this. What I know is - I don't really like it. If you are shooting an event, try to shoot it the way it really looked. There was a massive number of photographers. Plenty of Documentary Photography students from Caerleon must have had something to do with it... Just get them in. Don't alternate the news and convince people you were the only one witnessing what happened...  

Anyways. Next summit is in Warsaw, Poland. I might go, as it will be interesting for sure.

I made few more pictures...

and now I am thinking what to do with them. Small zine perhaps?

Another picture from No to NATO protest in Newport.

No to NATO protest in Newport.

PETER JONES is a 67 years old farmer from WEST WALES who happened to be a GREAT PHOTOGRAPHER too.

I remember exactly, when I met Peter Jones for the first time. 

I was working at Third Floor Gallery, when an older man came in. First thing I have noticed about him, before a single word was even spoken, were his hands. They were shaking (as I've learned later it was due to Parkinsons disease). He greeted me and asked about requirements to present his work during upcoming TFG's Stand Up Slideshow (SUS is something like an open mike for photographers). He stayed at the gallery for a while and when leaving dropped simple 'see you on Friday'. 

SUS is for fun, so we never have expectations about people's work. We just enjoy to talk about pictures. Few times however, we were surprised. Even fewer the way we were with Peter's work. Before the presentation Peter introduced himself to a small crowd gathered at the gallery. He said he is over 60 years old farmer from West Wales. He said he used to take a lot of pictures before and he'd like to share some of them with us...

I was moved by his work. The guy is really talented, it seemed unbelievable he was never published or exhibited before. Recently I saw some of his new shoots on Facebook and I couldn't stop myself from asking few questions about his life and practice. Below is what he had to say. The images come from his 'Welsh Farming Community' project.

I was born in the town of Aberystywyth in 1947 to a conventional family which would be called middle class, one elder brother, mother and entymologist father who worked for the Min. of Agriculture. Schooled in the town where I enjoyed a happy well balanced childhood, played football for the town and had final trials for Wales youth team. Left school with various qualifications but not suitable for entry to art college so studied subjects needed by doing night classes whilst working as a technician in the University. Attended 3 year photographic course at Manchester College of Art and Design '66-'69 where I was influenced by the work of Edward Weston and Tony Ray Jones. Went to London to look for work and found a job as John Thornton's first assistant. Came home one w/end to visit my sick mother in hospital and never went back to the big smoke. Got involved with farming beef and sheep  on family farm and didn't touch a camera for the next 30 years ( much to my present day disgust ) but I still took pics with my eyes. I have many wonderful images stored in the grey matter but am unable to share them. Got married to Judith a nurse and had 2 daughters who both work for the NHS and became a farmer, would you believe, I certainly wouldn't if told I was going to be.

I think my initial interest in photography was started by a family friend who showed me how to make contact prints of 21/4 sq. negs. I would have been about 10 years old and found the process to be wonderous. Bought a Kodak Duoflex box camera and developed (pun) my interest. My reintroduction into photography started at the turn of the millennuem when my sister in law who works in Aberystwyth Arts Center entered my name to take part in Ffotogallery's "Just Another Day" project where one of my pics was chosen for printing alongside the likes of Bruce Gilden, David Hurn etc. They gave disposable cameras and free processing to those involved which suited me because I had no equipment at all. I thought there might be some life in the old dog yet. 

I have never had an exhibition or proper appraisal of my work apart from winning some insignificant photo competitions. which didn't stand for much due mainly to my own apathy (I'm not a very pushey person) I'm content if I can produce a meaningful image that means something to me if others get pleasure from them, all the better.

I always planned on coming back to photography during retirement but unfortunately ill health (Parkinsons Disease diagnosed 2008) gave me mobility issues. However we struggle on in pursuit of that all meaning image. 

 

Because I achieved some moderate success I went and bought a Leica m6 along with 2 lenses: 35 and 50mm which I still use. My method of taking photographs involves being as unobtrusive as possible, looking for a likely situation or person that catches my interest I move quietly around them hoping they're unaware of me. My equipment list is still very minimal... Developing tank and cheap Lidl scanner.

My difficulties start with trying to load film onto spiral with hands that tremor and fingers that don't respond to instructions. Also when confronted with an exciting subject I shake all over. I have overcome this problem somewhat by doubling film speed to 800 so I can use faster shutter speeds. I don't shoot a lot of pics and am disappointed if I don't get a meaningful image per film.

I crop my images because it's an essential tool in concentrating the elements within a frame to make a picture more meaningful, in other words cut out the crap. I use white borders because I like velvety blacks which are enhanced  by the use of them.

The project "Welsh Farming Community" was born several years ago when I found several images in my collection with a similar theme I organized them into a file and have added to them since. The objective of the project is to record, in a non judgmental way a disappearing  way of life. Some of the images span a period of 40 years and will come to it's conclusion when my shutter stops blinking. The project consists of shots which have been made within a small area of Ceredigion.