One man & his camera (From Free Press Series)

One man & his camera

Robert Jones has produced countless enduring images of the Welsh landscape by making the right split-second decisions.

He's slept on Snowdon to frame a breathtaking dawn, battled wind and rain to capture moody images of the Beacons, paddled his kayak across lakes, along rivers and around the coast to photograph places that even the most dedicated nature lovers have never explored.

His limited edition prints are displayed in locations as diverse as hospital waiting rooms and company boardrooms and are proving popular with ex-pats everywhere, particularly in the USA. "People appreciate the skill involved in water colour painting but think anyone can take good photographs with a digital camera! In fact you could make 50 trips to the same location before you got the right shot. "Photographers have to be more attuned to design than painters. A cloud coming over can change an image completely. "I don't believe there are any hard and fast rules when it comes to picture composition. You have to have a natural instinct for it, in the way that some people can 'visualise' interior design or create a recipe from a variety of ingredients. "If you're serious about photography though, you always carry a camera - and you learn from experience. You ask yourself 'Is this the picture - yes or no?' and make an instant decision. A lovely cloud formation can be lost in a split second. "You need a bit of luck too. One of the photographs that's most in demand on my website is of a rainbow against a black storm cloud in Torremolinos. I just happened to be sitting in a cafe with a cup of coffee when the rainbow suddenly appeared."

Born in Rhymney, Robert has been taking photographs since his schooldays. Among his earliest are a series of images of the construction of the first Severn Bridge, taken from the Aust ferry. "I was offered a place at Ealing School of Photography but my parents insisted I did a degree so I ended up studying zoology."

During his ensuing career in advertising and marketing he regularly worked on photo shoots, which broadened his photographic knowledge, and also learnt about print and design.

While living in Oxfordshire he spent every available opportunity over a four-year period travelling the length and breadth of Wales to provide illustrations and information for his magazine 'Walking Wales'.

He is also author of The Complete Guide to Snowdon - shortly to be republished by Seren - which covers everything from the mountain's geographical origins and the history of mining and farming in the area, to the animals and plants that live there and the various routes to the summit.

More recently he's run an internet company called wherewillwego.com providing would-be travellers with web links to tour operators organising adventure and cultural holidays world-wide.

He's gathered information for the site on press trips to destinations as far flung as Malawi, Turkey, Thailand and New Zealand - and has taken photographs in all of them. But he still finds inspiration on his travels near his Abergavenny home. "I enjoy walking and kayaking, finding new places to photograph. I'm particularly fond of mountains and water. "I've photographed most of the peaks in Wales, the Dales, the Lake District, the Peak District and the Scottish Highlands. "But, above all, I like photographing water - rivers, lakes, waterfalls, the seashore. My kayak enables me to get close to inaccessible places, so that I can view Llangorse Lake from the reed beds, the Brecon Beacons from the middle of a lake and so on. "There's a fantastic energy about waterfalls, but they're difficult to photograph because they tend to be in dark places. You need to work out the best time of year, even the right time of day."

A series of his waterfall pictures were recently displayed at the Welsh Assembly building in Cardiff.

Some of his personal favourites, though, are more abstract - like the solitary green tree on the Skirrid in the middle of field of bright yellow oil rape against a blue sky. "When I'm photographing a beach, for example, I'll look at the sand for footprints, shells and pebbles too. I recently got a lovely shot of icicles on grass at Keepers Pond near Blaenavon. "I've also become fascinated by post boxes in weird places ever since I came across one in the middle of the forest near Cwmystwyth! "The great thing is that if I wake up to a sunny day I can just pick up my camera and go." Snow, torrential rain and howling gales, however, are no deterrent. "A friend and I joke about the different circumstances in which we've eaten our tuna sandwiches... on hot days when they're so dry the edges have curled up, in blizzards when they're so cold you have to snap them in half, in pouring rain when they're so soggy you have to scoop them up in your hands!"

Robert admits he was a reluctant convert to digital cameras. "When I eventually got round to buying one it stayed in its box for months! But developing rolls and rolls of film is astronomically expensive. It makes sense to keep just 10 key shots out of 200 pictures!"

Robert sells his limited edition prints, featuring not only the hidden treasures of Wales but also stunning landscapes from around the globe, via his website (www.gwlad.co.uk) and at local craft fairs.

They include Giclee fine art prints, where the colours 'bleed' into the paper, softening the lines like a watercolour painting.

His work is also on display at the Court Cupboard near Abergavenny. He's shortly heading for Ohio, where he has a stand at a convention run by the Welsh associations of the United States.

Afterwards he plans to drive 800 miles from Washington over the Appalachian Mountains to Cincinnati, photographing everything of interest along the way.