{"id":11555,"date":"2024-03-22T09:41:44","date_gmt":"2024-03-22T09:41:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alfiebowen.com\/?p=11555"},"modified":"2024-03-22T15:43:33","modified_gmt":"2024-03-22T15:43:33","slug":"notes-from-the-field-wales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alfiebowen.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/22\/notes-from-the-field-wales\/","title":{"rendered":"Notes From The Field: Wales"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Welcome to a new series celebrating the locations and stories behind the photographs in my new book Wild Horses. I will share these over the next few months, as we celebrate the global publication of the project, and I gradually reveal the photographs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wales<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I left my home in East Anglia, I was well aware of the many challenges that would face me in the week ahead \u2014 the mountains of Northern Wales are unforgiving, and the Carneddau Ponies are a rare sight. It was a strong possibility that I return from the mountains with an empty camera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As with all shoots, I began by undertaking several months of research into the areas I was going to work in, the ponies I may encounter, and the best backdrops upon which to tell their stories. My research told me that there were just three hundred individuals roaming the two-hundred square kilometre Carneddau mountain range, which meant that even with the best advice from the best people on the ground, it was far from certain that I would find one pony, let alone the group I so desperately wanted to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I have mentioned many times in my career, my diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder means that I have a very vivid imagination and a very intense sensory experience, which can be a major hindrance in day-to-day life, but a major benefit when it comes to dreaming up potential compositions. I left home with a target list of photographs I wanted to capture during the assignment, including a group of ponies together, young ponies interacting with their mother, and ponies interacting with the incredible landscapes in which they thrive, and I aimed to tick two or three off the list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The View From Our Accommodation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Our accommodation for the week was in a central location, on the edge of a waterfall, and surrounded by rolling mountains and the distant shadows of the Carneddau mountain range towering over us. It was the perfect place in which to dream of potential images, there was an overriding sense of wilderness, wonder and magic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had four days in the wilderness, and this meant the search for ponies was set to be quite intense. I undertook a daily scout in the mountains, searching for ponies and potential backdrops or opportunities that we could use to create the pictures on my bucket list. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want people to feel the rawness of the environment and the emotion I have invested into the trip, none of that is possible until I have settled into my surroundings and I can feel the environment. Therefore, the first day was set aside for me to settle, and to feel all that these mighty mountains are about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With each day that passed in this most incredible landscape I felt increasingly lucky to in these mountains, the home of these beautiful ponies for several hundred years. I have included some of the results from the assignment, along with their stories, below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“I want people to feel the rawness of the environment and the emotion I have invested into the trip, none of that is possible until I have settled into my surroundings and I can feel the environment. “<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Wales: The Results<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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