About me and this website

I was born in the Gower Peninsula in 1967 and I've been lucky enough to live here for most of my life. In that time, my hobbies have included fishing, mountain biking, walking, kayaking and bird watching, all of which have mainly been an excuse to indulge in the natural beauty of the Welsh countryside and its wildlife. I didn't take photography seriously as a hobby until around 2004, but, as the saying goes, time spent in reconnaissance is rarely wasted.

For obvious reasons, most of the photos on this website were taken in Gower and the surrounding area, usually as part of a walk or bike ride in wild surroundings, as driving straight to a popular viewpoint is never as satisfying. Witnessing these views in the first place is what it's really all about, especially in those peaceful early mornings when almost everyone else is still in bed.

Technical and location details can be found by clicking on the titles of individual photos. In almost all cases I've tried to capture what my eyes saw at the time, with the possible exception of black and white images or, rarely, the use of a polarising filter. Most of the images have had some form of computer enhancement, but usually only to overcome my inability to get it right first time in the field. My usual post-processing techniques involve adjusting levels or curves and, if necessary, manually blending bracketed exposures (not using HDR software). I admit to having cheated on one photo, creating an image that never existed in its entirety, but I've explained this in the text below that image and I've no intention of doing it again.

Since 2004 I've tried to learn about photography (beyond point and shoot), digital photography, image processing and web design, mainly using books and magazines. I've made a lot of mistakes along the way and I've still got a huge amount to learn, especially about web design, so I hope to be able to continually improve this web site in the future. Any suggestions would be welcome. I generally aim to give the site an overhaul and add new photos once a year, usually in January or February, in accordance with Ansel Adams' philosophy that 12 significant photos in any year is a good crop. What is  significant to me might not be the same as what is significant to anyone else of course. I've tried to keep the layout as simple and uncluttered as possible to make your experience a relaxing one, but I admit that this appearance is partly a result of my lack of ability to create anything more elaborate. 

I don't claim to have done justice to even this small part of Wales, but I hope you will enjoy the photos for what they are: Aspects of Wales. I've never taken this wonderful country for granted, mainly thanks to my parents, who took my brother and I on many walks around Gower when we were young and have painted many of these views in watercolour. In some of the images I've tried to recapture what seemed magical to me in my childhood and I hope that my own children get the same pleasure. I will also acknowledge Peter R Douglas-Jones, Joe Cornish and Outdoor Photography magazine for inspiring me to go out and take a look at the landscape in a new light, literally.

Please contact me at if you have any comments or questions or if you would like to obtain high resolution copies of any of my photos. I will normally be happy to provide these free of charge for charities, most other nonprofit-making organisations and, of course, family and friends. I'm open to offers from anyone else and I'm considering setting up a charity page if I get enough interest. The low resolution images on this site are freely available for use on other websites on the condition that the images link to this website (home page) and that I am duly credited.

Thank you for taking the time to visit this site. I hope you will return.