Profile, Peter H Davies LRPS

Peter Davies was born in South Wales UK in 1947. Later he was employed in the local steel industry on the north coast of Swansea Bay on the Bristol Channel. Retiring in 1999, he pursued a semi-professional career in wedding and portrait photography, which soon introduced him to the joys of medium format.

 

His interest in photography began in 1969 when he joined the Steel Company of Wales Camera Club where he was impressed by the quality of the monochrome images produced. In 1980 he became a member of the Afan Camera Club later renamed the Port Talbot Camera Club. It was as a member of this club he gained the Leicentiateship of the Royal Photographic Society distinction in 1983 and began offering his services as a photo competition judge to local camera clubs within the Welsh Photographic Federation. He is currently a member of the Morriston Camera Club, Swansea, and has been so since 2003. He has since retired from commercial photography and is now enjoying it very much as a hobby.

 

My photographic tastes are mainly Landscapes and seascapes, though I do like 'water' in its many guises. Images of motion blur and some abstract are also pleasing to the eye though need not be of landscapes or seascapes. Patterns in nature are always enjoyable to look at and are all about us if we could only be more observant. Now where was it I read '...the eyes that see that don't see'.

Most my work is primarily hand made monochrome silver gelatine prints, most of which are enlarged to 16 inches (407mm). What about images? Well, philosophically, pictorial images of any genre should be able to stand alone without the need for a title or description. If a print on an exhibition wall causes a viewer to stop and look for a little while then its successful in communicating the photographer's visualisation / mood / emotion at the time of exposure.

I have learned a few things photographically over the past 35 years, so I could pass on the following, If you think they make some sense then give them a try. I have kept it as a summary, otherwise it would develop into a tutorial which is not the purpose of this biography.

Kept in mind BEFORE you press the shutter the following will help make that prospective image more meaningful or have more impact. Pre-visualising the finished image at this point is essential in my opinion. Use Control of Contrast, Composition, Size and position of the Centre of interest within the borders, Elimination of foreground and background clutter, Subject mater containing Opposites / Similar / Hard against Soft / Small against Large / Light against Dark and so it goes on.

All the advice given above can only serve as a guide to improving your photography. They are not rules to be followed to the letter, after all, we are all involved in photography for the pleasure it gives us, so do your own thing and ENJOY.

 

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