From prime ministers to pop stars, sporting heroes to opera legends, murder inquiries to gun sieges – they’ve all been the focus of award-winning photographer Adam Davies.
But the freelance photographer’s portfolio covers much more, including commercial, fashion, weddings and just about every aspect of life.
Now his artistic eye has turned to the beautiful landscape of his native South Wales and his dramatic interpretations of areas like the Gower, Mumbles and Swansea Marina are on exhibition at The Gallery restaurant at Trenchers, in Swansea’s Quadrant shopping centre.
“All the pictures are black and white. I wanted to get away from the chocolate box pictures where people say ‘that’s nice’. I wanted something that was different and had some drama to it,” said Adam, 42, who was Master Photographers Asscociation’s Welsh Wedding Photographer of the Year 2010, Welsh Sports Photographer of the Year 2010 and Welsh Fashion Photographer of the year 2009.
Certainly Trenchers owner Clif Roberson agreed. “Adam is very good at what he does and he liked the idea of being able to exhibit his work and it lends itself ideally to what I am trying to do.
“I was talking to Adam about the history of the cafe and how it used to be used as a gallery for local artists to exhibit their work. We have just finished a refurbishment after coming away from a franchise and are now independent and were looking for somewhere where local artists could exhibit and create a bit of interest for our customers.”
Business at the Quadrant has proved so good after completion of the new bus station that Clif has branched out and opened a new cafe at Llanelli.
Adam said: “I was doing a commercial assignment in the Quadrant when I got chatting to Clif who was interested in having some local art work for a large expanse of wall in The Gallery, the upstairs restaurant at Trenchers.
“I said I might be able to produce something and asked him what he was looking for and he wanted local landscapes. I did some pictures of the Gower and Mumbles and Clif said they were perfect. They were landscapes in black and white with very dramatic clouds,” said Adam, whose studio is at his home in Sketty, where he lives with his wife and four children.
Quadrant Centre Manager Alan Wallace said: “I know Adam’s work well because he often takes pictures for us here and it is very good and very professional but this is the first time I’ve seen his landscapes and they’re stunning.
“We’re lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the world and lucky that we have a local photographer like Adam who is able to capture these dramatic images – the exhibition is well worth seeing and I would urge everyone to come along and have a look.”
Adam’s interest in photography started when he was about 22 or 23 years old, which led to him completing a two year full-time design and photography course at Swansea College.
Work experience on the South Wales Evening Post led to the offer of a full-time job when the editor saw the quality of his work. He moved to the Western Mail and then back to the Post in Swansea before he decided to strike out on his own in 2003.
“I’m glad I did the newspaper work, it gave me opportunities and experiences I would never have had otherwise,” he said.
Those experiences included photographing the Royal family, political world leaders, Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, opera superstar Pavarotti and Katherine Jenkins, covering huge sporting events, music concerts, murder inquiries and breaking news.
His pictures have appeared on the front page of the The Times and Daily Mirror and inside many of the UK’s national newspapers which include The Telegraph, The independent, Daily Mail, Daily Express. He’s worked for huge commercial organisations and the British Army; he was the Ospreys official photographer for three years and is currently the photographer for London Irish. His work has also been featured in a National Geographic publication called Wales Untamed.
“Digital photography has opened the marketplace. It’s an industry where technology and styles are changing every couple of months. It’s an interesting time, trying to keep abreast of the developments and run a business at the same time,” said Adam.
Check out Adam’s website on www.adamdavies.com or contact him at [email protected] or ring 0781 313 0270. The Gallery restaurant is 01792 457507.
