Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

A new pop-up gallery has opened in Llanelli at historic Plas Llanelly House. The new gallery features exhibits by awarding-winning artist Denise Di Battista (John Street Gallery) and Llanelli Photographic Society member Arthur Mallett. “This is a first for Plas Llanelly House,” said trustee Alison Evans. “We’ve got some great rooms to show off her at Plas Llanelly House and it’s great to be able to create a buzz in the house with the installation of a pop-up gallery. “Denise Di Battista is a very well known local artist who already runs a successful gallery in John Street. “Arthur Mallett is a wonderful photographer and his prints will also attract a great deal of local interest." The pop-up gallery is on the ground floor and everyone is welcome to come in and have a browse. Arthur Mallett is a member of Llanelli Photographic Society and gained his AWPF (Associate of the Welsh Photographic Federation) in 2010. He said: “I have taken photos for most of my life but only took it...

An image of a robot ‘listening’ to an unborn child has won the ‘People’ category in this year’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Science Photography Competition. “The Greatest Discovery” was taken by Sandy Spence at the Department of Computer Science at Aberystwyth University and features mother to be Ayesha Jones and the Department’s iCub humanoid robot. The research of the Intelligent Robotics group at the Department of Computer Science is inspired by the development of infants during the very early stages of life. Patricia Shaw, a lecturer in Computer Science and a member of the Intelligent Robotics Group, said: “We work with psychologists and neuroscientists to understand how children develop and learn, even from before birth. “In the work we have done so far, we have developed a model that enables the iCub robot to learn how to coordinate what it is sensing to the motor movements it can make. “In the photograph, we wanted to tell a story to the general ...

My early Christmas present is a new Nikon camera. It'll take me months to figure out how to work it! I've been road-testing down at Llanelli's Millennium Coastal Park this evening. And here's a little slideshow . . .

Llanelli artist and photographer Russ Myners has sent through another update on his work this morning. Russ Myners is a local part-time artist and photographer, outside his 'day job' as a busy Practice Manager. He is also a weekend volunteer working in the grounds at the National Wetland Centre Wales, Penclacwydd, Llanelli. Russ started painting in watercolours around 2005 and has exhibited work at wetland centres both in Llanelli and at Slimbridge. His art and photographic work has attracted interest from the USA, Sweden and India. Aside from painting, Russ also carries out some Life drawing in charcoal and pencil. When time permits, Russ loves to be outdoors with his camera capturing nature as it is. His photography has been appreciated by many people across the UK, and has been commissioned for work on websites, canvass wraps and even digital wallpaper! You can find out more at Russ's website - http://www.russartworx.net Here's his latest news - Just a very quick ...

The winners of the National Assembly for Wales’s inaugural photographic competition have been announced. The “Democracy in Action” competition was launched at Newport’s School of Film, Photography and Digital Media by the National Assembly’s Presiding Officer, Rosemary Butler AM, in May. Its aim has been to get people in Wales to see how individuals, their families and their communities have the ability to effect changes, and to illustrate that by capturing those issues on their camera or smartphone. Almost 200 images were submitted and the judges’ winner and people’s choice winner have now been chosen. Tom Ashmore, a documentary photographer from Cardiff, was chosen by the judges with his image of “Reclaim Cardiff”, showing activists making preparations for a protest. “The image was shot last year, a day prior to the Occupy Cardiff protest at Cardiff Castle,” said Tom. ”I had been following the movement closely as it spread across the globe and into the UK, and a few days ...

Big Players is a community-focused project celebrating international rugby talent from the Carmarthenshire area. They have organised a photography exhibition to celebrate Llanelli Vs All Blacks 40th Anniversary. Over the last couple of months, the Big Players project has been working with local clubs to take portraits of 10 international and ex-international rugby players, including Ken Owens, Roy Bergiers, Stephen Jones, Ieuan Evans and Rhys Priestland among others. The images will be taken as assisted self-portraits with the help of professional photographers Ric Bower and Paul Avis. The photographs will be exhibited at four different locations within St Catherine’s Walk Shopping Centre from October 1-31. The celebrations will culminate in an interview session with a panel of the players at The Lyric Theatre at the end of October. Carmarthenshire County Council helps promote local businesses and attractions in the county. For more information visit www.discovercarmarthenshire....

Trostre Camera Club will this month be staging their annual exhibition in Llanelli Town Centre. The show will be in the precinct on Thursday 23rd, Friday 24th and Saturday 25th, from 9am until 5pm.

Angry people in local newspapers. Celebrating excellence in the field of local newspaper photography. See -  http://apiln.blogspot.com/ If you've ever worked in newspapers, you'll get it straight away.

Winners of Aberystwyth’s first photo marathon have been announced. The photomarathon took place on Saturday 22 October and saw dozens of excited individuals roaming the streets of Aberystwyth, armed with a camera or mobile phone, looking for a creative angle for their photography. Organised by FfotoAber, a new festival of photography for Aberystwyth, and supported by the Aberystwyth Business Club, the photomarathon tested the photographic skills of competitors in a race against time. The competition challenged participants to take six photographs on six themes in six hours. The themes, two of which were released every two hours from 10am were: • patterns; • community; • secret(s); • move; • age; • freedom. In a ceremony held at Morlan Centre on Sunday evening, the participants and their supporters learnt who took the winning photographs and were able to view the images deemed by the panel of judges to have excelled in each category. Rolant Dafis, professional photographer and one of th...

Today, FfotoAber, the first photographic festival of its kind to be held in Aberystwyth, is launching a registration system for keen photographers to to participate in a photomarathon. The photomarathon which takes place on 22 October, and is sponsored by Aberystwyth Business Club, aims to challenge competitors’ creativity and mental agility. Anyone interested in taking six photographs, related to six themes, on one day, using a digital or mobile phone camera is encouraged to visit www.ffotoaber.com to register. Deian Creunant, from FfotoAber commented: “As part of the new FfotoAber festival which launches in Aberystwyth this October, we’re introducing a pioneering event to the town, a photomarathon. We sincerely hope that this event will appeal to anyone, amateur and professional photographers alike, and those who simply want to try their hand at it.” At 10am on Saturday 22 October, two themes will be released to the competitors at the Morlan Centre, Aberystwyth and they are expecte...

The beauty of Carmarthenshire's wildlife has been captured by county council staff. A wildlife photography competition was held this summer, open to all council employees. Photos were submitted of species and habitats, and the competition was judged by staff at the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales, who said they were impressed by the standard of photography and range of wildlife captured. Wayne Jones won the species section with his picture of a brimstone butterfly (above), and Christine Hopkins won the habitat section with her photograph of meadow flowers (below). A range of habitats, including the coast, woodlands, hay meadows, parkland and uplands were captured, whilst insects and birds dominated the species category with dragonflies, butterflies and some dynamic action shots of birds. The winners and highly commended photos can be seen on the biodiversity pages of the council’s website – www.carmarthenshire.gov.uk . Carmarthenshire’s biodiversity officer Isabe...

St Clears photographer Alan Evans has launched a magical new facility at his studio. He now has 'green screen' to create special photographic effects. Alan reckons his facility is unique in Wales as green screens are rarely found outside of television and movie studios. He says - "You can now own those lovely cars you always wanted. "Have a picture taken with Kate Winslett, Jennifer Lopez or Larry Grayson, whoever you choose. "It's great fun for all the family and a magical idea for that special Christmas gift. "The possibilities for the facility are endless. "We are happy to work with people on their ideas and create something special. "It is ideal as a chance for children to dress up as a superhero and be placed in a Hollywood film set. "It is a unique facility in Wales, with only the BBC using green screen technology for programmes like Dr Who. "There's a warm invitation to one and all to come and see how it all w...

The Coracle project at the University of Wales Trinity St David is holding a number of short courses for any creative practitioner who considers themselves professional or who has an aspiration to be commercially viable. All courses are free, but places are strictly limited and registration is essential. These short courses are coordinated by Coracle. Coracle is part funded by the European Regional development Fund through the Interreg IVa programme in association with the South West Wales Vocational Support Initiative (part funded by the Higher education Funding Council for Wales and JISC) www.coracle.eu.com To register interest please contact Coracle by e-mail courses@coracle.eu.com or telephone 01267 676785 / 07875 576347 Short courses include: - • Video Camera Workshop half day course (Brett Aggersberg) - Monday 25 July • Final cut Editing 2 day course (Brett Aggersberg) - Tuesday 26 and Wednesday 27July • Introduction to Digital Enhanced Photographs (Carol...

Arrangements for a new festival in mid Wales are well underway. During October and November 2011, FfotoAber will be celebrating the art of photography through a series of exhibitions and events in Aberystwyth. FfotoAber is the first festival of its kind for Aberystwyth, if not Wales, and is arranged by residents of the town for residents of the town, the local area and visitors from all parts of Wales. Catrin M S Davies, one of the festival coordinators explains: “During the past few months, a group of local business people, photographers and volunteers have been meeting on a regular basis to arrange an event which celebrates photography here in Aberystwyth. All members of the local community are invited to participate in the range of events and exhibitions currently being organised. “This annual festival will start during October half term and conclude with the Lens festival at the National Library of Wales on the 18-19 November. We hope that it will provide a focus for the town du...

A Llanelli photographer who has worked with some of the world's top celebrities has called for the creation of a National Portrait Gallery for Wales. Terry Morris has created portraits of stars such as Dame Shirley Bassey, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Sir Tom Jones. He will be a keynote speaker at the Festival of Welsh Documentary Photography held at The National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth. The event takes place on Friday 19 November and Saturday 20 November 2010. See BBC story - http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/midwales/hi/people_and_places/newsid_9197000/9197968.stm