After a lovely two days photographing Peter and Jo making a coracle it is firmly embedded in my mind that I love taking photographs of people working. Although I missed out on the opportunity to get involved, I feel a little more prepared for a zombie apocalypse. I think this would be a great activity to do as a family, working together to build your own boat. Peter is one of only a few people keeping the tradition alive in Britain and has developed his own style of craft. www.coraclesandcurrachs.com/

Peter’s workshop used to be his old classroom when he was 6. The smell of the log burner and the cobwebs make the atmosphere reminiscent of my youth spent in boat yards with my father, I felt very much at home.

As a photographer you have your favorate images and inevitably they are not used.

Below is how the images were used. Here is a link to my edit.

I loved watching Scrooge, which I used to think of as a heart-warming tale -  but what if you are Tiny Tim and your father is not lucky enough to find a job, let alone a job with a scrooge boss, prone to hallucination with loads of money for Christmas pressies? Well you are Tiny Tim and you have to have the humility to find happiness in your situation.

In real life the Bankers are not going to give back their bonuses and the multinational companies are not going to put back the natural resources that went into making all the new stuff we bought. I make an effort not consume too much, but it is not always possible to escape the pressure of Christmas.

Luckily I was given an opportunity to escape reality and was whisked away on an adventure to Dickensian Bristol to solve a mystery and go to Scrooges Speakeasy. Organised by The Love Of It (The source of all things good and wholesome fun) It was a brilliant chance to experience a favorite story live and take part. A moment I will treasure. Thank You.

I was honored to be one of 22 photographers to have some of my work selected for Open Here as part of the Hereford Photography Festival. The festival opened yesterday and continues until the 26th of November.

Open Here is an open submission exhibition, they had over 300 applications.

“The exhibited work represents some of the newest, most exciting work being made in the UK and internationally.”

The work that was selected where 5 images from a project ‘Salone Nights’. ’Salone’ is slang for Sierra Leone.

These five images were taken behind a brothel in a town called Makeni; young people gather here to listen to the music escaping from the Flamingo nightspot.

Mains electricity is still not available in Makeni since a brutal and bloody civil war halted production of a hydro-electric dam.

Many of the young people in Sierra Leone are on the street and exiled from their families due to the shame of being child soldiers and forced into prostitution.

These portraits were lit with the light from their mobile phones; with the lack of infrastructure a mobile phone is a vital part of modern life.

I was in Sierra Leone in 2010 with the Piers Simon Appeal delivering school bags to two Orphanages and a school, supported by Street Child of Sierra Leone/HANCI and Orphfund.

Slone Nights @ Open Here @ Hereford Photography Festival 2011

If you would like to see the images they are available online here.

Check out the rest of the Hereford Open Exhibition on Facebook here.

As  qualified and experienced documentary photographer you can trust your special day to captured in a modern editorial style.

I started photographing weddings for my friends, the results have been so well received and I enjoyed the shoots so much I have decided to offer my skills for a handful of weddings a year.

Not only will you be receiving a bespoke service, from start to finnish. The images you will receive will be in tune with your vision and delivered in a web gallery with optional professionally printed book.

If you would like to discuss photography options for your big day, please contact Jenny

Scott at Fork was an ideal client  ”just take some photo’s, capture the event, interesting angles” this is not always possible, but gave me a real opportunity to do what I love and wonder around taking photo’s. As a photographer I find that if you are not particularly looking for anything and allow yourself to follow the flow, you naturally flow to some interesting things. I think part of the skill of a photographer is to on command slip into this flow and discover. This is not always possible and in the course of a shoot you can feel yourself riding the peeks and troughs. Some times you see the scene and work the shot waiting for the peek, the right moment. Other times, bang, you walk into the shot.

I will give a few examples, the Crazy Golf shot below was one I walked into, I saw the shape of his posture and immediately took the shot. It is one of my favorites.

This shot below took more work, I cold see the scene was interesting with the light through the umbrella, but I needing energy to the shot, luckily the girl in the photo needed a few attempts. I new I also needed action to leave the frame, so it was a case of siting tight and snapping away.

This portrait below of the Bull (Martin the Director) was taken while I was in a situation where I felt compelled to wait. I was not getting any good shots, and when this happens it is tempting to move on; I wanted to as the day was drawing to a close. It was a trough point but peeks can come fast, you can always predict, I think experience is the only way to master this. I am relatively new to photography  as a career so it is still called ‘luck’.

Sometimes getting a good shot is standing on the heads of giants, copying photographers that have gone before or standing in front of you.

Abergavenny Food Festival-Fork – Images by Jenny Hardy

Here a few of my favorite moments and images.

Mark Coates helping set up the DHI market stall in Bath

I am embarking on a long term project exploring what ‘The Big Society’ looks like. Gripped by buzz words in party political campaigns is not my usual style, but I have noticed an emphasis of shifting ideals from large corporations claiming that they are now ethical and fair and small grassroots organizations looking at ways to diversify their approach into supporting vulnerable members of the community. I don’t think I am alone in wondering what a fair society means to people like me.

When I was 16 and homeless I was supported my a local youth project, they had an abandoned dark room which I brought back to life with funding from the big Issue to help teach homeless people photography. This support was a lifesaver for me and gave me belief that I can achieve and my un-fortunate circumstances would not dictate my future. Throughout pursuing my chosen career I have often returned to teach or work with people that have housing problems. It is a subject that is very close to my heart and also a subject that is very hard to document as photography has a long tradition of objectifying it’s subjects. And people think it is something that can never happen to them; therefore people have chosen to be victims of poverty or addiction.

I am not sure how the final project will take shape. DHI are supporting the project idea and have given me time to explore the possibilities.

They have many new projects to help people back into employment that also promote healthy living and Independence.

I think independence is a strong and poignant word. Independence can have many contexts. For the ‘Big Society’ independence is a removal of dependence from the state. For an individual it can be, pride, strength, belief, autonomy and freedom.

See the article in the Spark about the new market stall in Bath selling organic veg boxes and herbs and plants from two non-profit local growers.