Shooting runners in the Keynsham 10k Road Race 2011

Keynsham 10k Road Race 2011

It was great to see all the runners out on the 10k run last weekend here in Keynsham. Although I was not covering the event for a magazine (I have previously covered triathlones and duathlones for magazines such as Triathlete's World), this road race was on my doorstep, so had to get out there and get some photographs of the runners in the race.

The race took place on Sunday 22nd May 2011, starting at The Sports Ground next to the former Cadbury's factory, Somerdale, Keynsham.

From here, after doing laps of the field and grounds of the factory, they headed up to the High Street and then into Charlton Road, which is where I first caught up with them. The runners the headed out of the town and then down Redlynch Lane to the small village of Chewton Keynsham, before heading back towards Keynham.

Once they had all passed me, I decided to switch from the road to the park, to get a different look to the images. I had my six year old apprentice with me too, so she planted herself on a bench, applauding every single runner as they passed.

With the runners back in the town, the course took them down Steel Mills, over Dapps Hill bridge and into Keynsham park. Avoiding Ducks on route, they continued through the main park, exiting the other side before then heading down Cadbury’s main drive to the finish.

I don't know how they felt, but I was tired just trying to keep up with then and take photos around the course. I was great to see lots of smiling faces as they noticed the camera, dispite having just run 9k out of 10.

You can check out some more of the photos on my Flickr site Here

And with lots of events happening over the year, I hope to be out there again soon, so if you see me, don't forget to smile.

Andrew



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10 Things to do with the kids this Half Term

10 Things to do with the kids this Half Term in and Around Bristol, Bath and the South West

I actually heard one of the mums at our kids school say the other day "I can't wait until Half Term". Now I don't know about you, but it's not a phrase I or a lot of parents use. True, you do get to spend time with the kids and it is an excuse to go out, but for many, it's juggling jobs and child care or worse still, struggling to find them something to do.

I'm guessing by the way, that the mum in question was more stressed over getting the kids to school and the long walks four times a day, given that one of the children is in my daughters nursery class and so only does mornings.

So, with half term approaching fast, we are already putting our thinking caps on to how to entertain 2 young kids, without spending a fortune and thought I would share this with you. Do feel free to add your own suggestions on twitter

1. Visit Wells
   OK, so it is my surname, but that's not the reason. The smallest city in England, location to Hot Fuzz the movie and has a lot of history. My 6 year old loved the cathedral, which only asks a donation for entry, so doesn't cost the earth to go in. Get there on Market day and Bag a bargain, plus don't forget the Fudge Shop on the Corner.
   Visit Somerset tourism site for Wells
   
   
2. If you go to the woods today...
   There are so many different things to do in the woods, from going for a simple stroll, spotting wildlife or even meditating or painting/photographing the ever-changing scenery. The Woodlands trust even have some activity packs on their web site for the kids, along with a searchable Database so that you can find your local woods.
   Go to Woodland trust Web Site
   
   
3. The Roman Baths
   We have recently been back to the Roman Baths in Bath and they have made a lot of improvements, so you can spend a lot of time there, including detailed audio commentary by Dr Alice Roberts for the adults and special characters for the Kids. The great thing too if you are a resident of B&NES, you can get in FREE with the Free Residents card
   Roman Baths Website
   Discovery Card Website
   
   
4. Royal Victoria Park, Bath
   I have always loved this place and love taking the kids there. The Botanic Gardens are beautiful, the Dell a nice quiet stroll, The Children's play area, which keeps on getting better, the Fish and duck pond and several geocache's to guide you around.
   More Information on The Royal Victoria Park
   
   
5. Go Geocaching
   If you are stuck with somewhere to go or something to do, Geocaching often takes you there. My Kids love it. What is it? Geocaching (pronounced geo-cashing) is a worldwide game of hiding and seeking treasure. A geocacher can place a geocache in the world, pinpoint its location using GPS technology and then share the geocache's existence and location online. Anyone with a GPS device can then try to locate the geocache. Best of all, it's Free and most modern smartphones have a built in GPS to use
   More details on Geocaching Website
   
   
6. Visit a Museum or two
   There are lots of Museums out there, most are now free and most are also interactive, so great for the kids. Here are just a few I found, but a quick search on Google will bring up more.
   Bristol Museum and Art Gallery - Queen's Road
   At Bristol - Harbourside, Bristol
   The Georgian House - 7 Great George Street, Bristol
   Fashion Museum, Bath (Free with Residents Discovery Card)
   
   
7. Discover Bristol's Pirate Past
   Discover Bristol's pirate past with a tour around the city's ancient harbour. Discover Bristol's famous people, places and buildings which are said to have inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to pen his classic tale Treasure Island. You can walk at your own pace with their free MP3 audio tours. These are a unique way of exploring Bristol where you can save the tours to your MP3 player or smartphone and let them guide you through our incredible city. The kids will love it
   More details and other Tours with Free MP3 download
   
   
8. Blaise Castle Estate, Bristol
   An historic park of romantic splendour and intrigue. You can catch a glimpse of the folly castle, have a picnic on the grasslands or explore the dramatic gorge and woodlands around Hazel Brook. Blaise Castle House Museum is also open at weekends in the winter months, plus is Free Entry at the moment.
   View Blaise Castle Estate Web Site for more details
   
   
9. Monkey around at Bristol Zoo
   Step into an amazing world of exotic and endangered animals where you can enjoy a safe, child-friendly environment. There’s always something new to see, and plenty of undercover exhibits for a great day out with the family whatever the weather. This Half term, the meerkats move into their new all-weather exhibit, so see it first. Yes, there is an entry fee, but it is a great day out and is on my list of places to visit (armed with camera of course)
   Bristol Zoo Gardens Website
   
   
10. Lifestyle Family Portraiture
    The great thing about many of the above locations, they are as ideal for some lifestyle portraiture. This half term you can take advantage of our limited time offer: Save over 50% off our standard Lifestyle Portrait Sittings, plus receive a complimentary 10" x 8" mounted print. Prices start at just £45.00
    View details of this offer

I hope you have a great half term, but what ever you do, have fun.

Andrew

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Please note that this is just ideas that I have put together and would do with my family. I have no affiliation with any of the above companies apart from AJW Photgraphy, who are Fab :)

Full circle as a photographer

Isn't it funny how some things go full circle and it seems that this has now happened with my photography

In the late 80's I moved to the beautiful city of Bath, which was at the time in the county of Avon, but now is part of Bath and North East Somerset (BANES), which is when my professional career started. For the few years before I had been a keen enthusiast of the craft, but after shooting my brother's wedding and showing the results to friends, soon found commissions coming in for their weddings and portraits, plus commissions from their friends and families.

Since then my career has snowballed and it had installed on me early on the importance of doing a great job and getting referrals from those that had used my services or had seen my work.

Here we are, over 20 years later, having moved away and spent many years in North wales, back down in the South West, living in Keynsham, just a few miles from the City of Bath, where it all started.

Like the cities of Bath and Bristol, in my photography some things remain the same, whilst other things have changed since those days. My principles have remained, the client has to come first and if you do more than a good job, then the work will keep coming in, although the focus of the types of work I do has moved on.

Weddings are now something I tend to do for friends or people that know my work, rather than being the forefront of my photography, instead commercial commissions now accounts for a high volume of my work, where I have been able to specialise in providing imagery for businesses and the creative industries, which includes buildings, both inside and out, products, people and PR.

Along the way I have met some great people and been very privileged to be involved in some exciting projects and see some fantastic developments. I've seen many new architectural creations and had the pleasure of photographing them in great detail, as well as meeting the amazing people behind them. Looking around the area, there appear to be some exiting developments happening now and in the future, so look forward to working with the team behind them.

I have also worked with many a local and national organisation along the way, such as the publishers for N Power and the National Lottery, supermarket chains including One Stop and the Co-operative, plus many local and national charities. Most recently I was working with the charity ChildLine, who are now part of the NSPCC, and was honoured to meet and Photograph Esther Rantzen CBE, who is their Patron.



Our onsite studio for Events, including our live view and print system, has proved very popular as guests get to view all the images instantly. Prints are produced in just 30 seconds should they decide to purchase a photograph to take home. We have gone from having to look for events to being booked up 6 to 12 months in advance of an event.

We hope to now replicate this success down in the southwest, so if you know anyone holding a Charity Ball, please pass on our details and we would be delighted to support their event at no charge and help them raise much needed money at the same time.

One thing that remains the same is our passion for people and capturing their lives through lifestyle portraiture. Styles may have changed, but having such beautiful cities and local areas, there is no end to the creative portraits we can create on location, giving you more than just a photo of yourself or family.

There are of course new opportunities too and we have some exciting announcements coming up over the next couple of months, so keep a watch out for those and we look forward to a wonderful New Year

Take a look at one of our sites to view our work and if you like what you see, feel free to get in touch, even if just to have a chat, or maybe share this blog with someone you know. You can also tweet it or link it to all your friends on Facebook.

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Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a successful new year

Andrew & Dawn



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Create Lasting memories of North Wales with Lifestyle Family Portraiture

Are you on holiday this summer in North Wales or do you live in this beautiful part of the world?

Book a Lifestyle Family Location Shoot this summer in North Wales for just £45, plus you will receive a complimentary 10"x8" print in a presentation mount.

North Wales is a fantastic holiday location with some great atmospheric locations for portraiture, from beaches to mountains and woodland parks to open countryside, so why not book a session for the time you are here and we will give you some holiday photo's to cherish forever.

Our location shoots are never rushed and usually last for 1 to 2 hours, to give you time to have fun, relax and let us capture some great memories.

And there has never been a better time to have a lifestyle family location shoot, with our web exclusive offer running until the end of September 2010.

To book your professional North Wales Lifestyle Family Portraiture session and take advantage of our Special Price, call us on 01745 570104 or send us a message via sales@ajwphoto.co.uk remembering to quote "Face Book summer offer"

And don't worry if you are not on holiday or if you live in North Wales, you can take advantage of the same offer too.

More of our images can be viewed on our Flickr page.

To book AJW photography for your event, contact us via our Web Site - ajwphoto.co.uk or Official Facebook Page and Become a Fan or email us





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L29 Design recommends Photographer Andrew Wells

I recently had the pleasure to work (again) with L29, this time at the Black Lion Pub in Llanfair Talhaiarn. It's always great to work with professionals who have a clear brief and ideas of what is needed when it comes to promoting a business.

Nina Sardar of L29 in Beuamaris said:

"I approached Andrew to provide professional commercial photography for a marketing campaign L29 Creative were commissioned to work on which consists of a welcome pack and business stationery for a renovated public house and restaurant with guest accommodation.

Andrew provided me with an instant quotation enabling me to get back to the client within 48 hours with full costings which were agreed and a photography brief was produced which Andrew followed to provide us with the shots needed to be included in the marketing material.

His ability to capture a variety of photography shots means that we get a superb choice which in turn gives the client more options in terms of future us on all marketing material.

At L29 Creative we only choose the best suppliers to work with and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Andrew's commercial photography ability if you are looking for photography for a forthcoming project."

Photos of the Black Lion pub in Llanfair Talhaiarn

Llandudno Photo Walk - 24th July 2010

I have been a professional photographer for several years, running AJW Photography, and really enjoy sharing experiences and skills with other photographers, both individually or through organisations like Welshot Imaging, that I work with.

So I have decided to be a part of the World Wide Photo Walk on July 24th

The aim of our walk is to give you a diverse range of subjects to shoot and we start off On the promenade of Llandudno, next to the Cenotaph. The end point is up at Alpine Lodge at Llandudno Ski Centre, so the is quite a climb to the top, but the views are worth it.

From the start we walk along to and on to the pier, passing the hustle and bustle of the slot machines, bouncy castles and Victorian styled shops. You can choose to walk to the end of the pier if you wish, before exiting on to marine Drive and up in to Happy Valley. We head up in to the lower part of Happy Valley, taking in the The Camera Obscura, our first views over the town and the pier, before heading into the formal gardens and hidden sculptures.

At the top of Happy Valley is Llandudno Ski Centre and it’s just a few minutes walk on a well worn path to fantastic views over the town from the Iron Age hill fort of Pen Dinas. Now it’s down to the Alpine Lodge to meet up with everyone, don’t forget to wave and say hi to those in the cable cars as the pass over you head.

The Walk is Free, just buy your own refreshments at the end if you wish.

And any level of experience can join us, using anything from a compact point and shoot camera to the latest DSLR (or anything in between)

To Join us, you must register (For Free) on the official site
http://worldwidephotowalk.com/walk/llandudno-wales-united-kingdom

We will set up a Flickr group for you and all the walkers to share their photos with one another, which is a great way for everyone to share what they captured during the Photo Walk.

Walkers who want to enter the contest can submit their single best image from your our walk and the winner will receive their choice of The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Book for Digital Photographers or The Adobe Photoshop CS5 Book for Digital Photographers, and will also be in the running for the Grand Prize!

Please invite all your friends and remember the walk has a Maximum of 50 Walkers only.


http://worldwidephotowalk.com/walk/llandudno-wales-united-kingdom/

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A great way to raise money for charity

Charity Balls are such a great way to raise money for your favorite cause. It's a win win situation really, you get to have a good time and the charity gets lots more dosh, something they really need in the current climate.

We have covered 2 events over the last 7 days, The Big Wig Ball which took place at Kinmel Manor Hotel, Abergele and was raising funds for the Wig and Head wear facility at The North Wales Cancer Service, Bodelwyddan, the other being the NSPCC Ball at Oriel House Hotel, St Asaph, to raise money for childline.

Between them they have raised over £12,000 for Charity and I know that everyone at these events had a fantastic time.

On top of this, the charities will now be remembered in the future, as one of the priorities for them was to have an event photographer. We don't charge them for being there, in fact we donated an auction prize to both, but as most guests went home with a photo, every time they look at it, they will be reminded of the great time they had at the function, which in turn reminds them about the charity.

Visual stimulants are so important with keeping people loyal to charities and many continue to support that charity for time to come.

More of our images can be viewed on our Flickr page and all the images from the Big Wig Ball can be found on our website at http://www.ajwphoto.co.uk/bigwig2010/

To book AJW photography for your event, contact us via our Web Site - ajwphoto.co.uk or Official Facebook Page and Become a Fan or email us

Here are just a few of the fantastic photographs taken at these two Charity Balls in North Wales.

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