Japan

I returned from Japan on 23rd March having arrived the day before the terrible earthquake and tsunami. I was in a different region well away from the epicentre. I have had an article published in The Guardian Cardiff on-line blog and I am planning to set up some fund-raising events over the next few weeks. The earthquake has affected the whole of Japan in some way and although the mood has been to keep calm and carry on with normal lives there is now increasing concern about the aftermath of the destruction of the nuclear power station at Fukushima and the affect it will have on the economy and on people's health These issues are going to pose many questions not just for Japan but for the whole world about future use of nuclear power - the question that everyone wants to know is how safe are these plants and what happens if something goes wrong ? I have more images here on my Flickr page and I hope to return later to take some images of what will be a very painful and long rebuilding process. The images are from my time in the Kansai region and show peole getting on with their lives and at the same time showing concern by raising funds and taking part in events to support those involved in rescue and rebuilding efforts.

St David

March 1st has come round again and each year the clamour for a public holiday in Wales to mark St David's Day grows in strength. This year was a little bit different for me than usual as I was a guest with my friend Deborah Fisher on the Roy Noble show on BBC Radio Wales. We were there to talk about our links with the Kansai St David's Society in Japan. Deborah was their guest speaker last year and I will be travelling out next week to Japan to give two talks about my photography work to their members in Osaka and in Tokyo. It is a fantastic opportunity to be able to do this and I am very fortunate in that I will be staying with some of the members who have kindly invited me to their houses. While I am there I am hoping to be able to talk to any potential students from Japan who wish to come and study in Wales and in particular at Swansea Metropolitan University. I am also hoping to meet up with Japanese artists and hopefully forge some links between them and Elysium gallery in Swansea which may result in future exhibitions in Wales for anyone who wishes to come over.

More Comic Relief - Red Globe Night

My second press photoshoot for the Wales Comic Relief team was at The Globe in Cardiff. New bands and a first time stand up comedian were on the bill for what proved to be a very successful fundraiser for the 2011 appeal. If anyone is interested in booking me for a photoshoot, please email me at rhysjones@ntlworld.com

Climate Change Poetry in Pontardawe

I had a message last Friday lunchtime to ask if I would be free to take some photographs that evening for Awel Amen Tawe a South Wales community energy charity who were holding a ceremony to announce the winners of their Climate Change poetry competition at Pontardawe Arts Centre. The event was organised by Emily Hinshelwood, a former winner of the John Tripp Spoken Poetry Award in 2003 and contained readings by National Poet for Wales, Gillian Clarke, the internationally acclaimed poet Menna Elfyn, Susan Richardson, one of BBC Radio 4's resident poets on 'Saturday Live' and 2009 John Tripp Award winner Dafydd Wyn. The English language entries for the competition were judged by Gillian Clarke and the Welsh language winners judged by Menna Elfyn. It was a very well-attended event and a first return for me to Pontardawe Arts Centre for almost a year. I've attached a selection of images of the poets who read and the prizewinners of the competition I took which I hope give a flavour of the event.

A Little Bit of Comic Relief

I had an interesting assignment this week in Cardiff bay. The Wales Millennium Centre was the focal point for the launch in Wales of Comic Relief 2011. BBC Wales weatherman Derek Brockway pressed a 'red nose' on the Wales Today programme and the lights on the WMC and other buildings in Cardiff Bay turned red for the evening. I was given a brief by the BBC Wales Comic Relief team to take some press photographs which were sent out with a press release to editors within an hour of the event. Red Nose Day is on 18 March and is one of the UK's major fundraising appeals which anyone can take part in. I'm doing another photoshoot for the Comic Relief team on 28 February at The Globe in Cardiff at a gig which features new Cardiff bands and musicians. So if you'd like to help click on the link and request a fundraising pack and register to get started. I was pleased to do my small bit to help in 2011!

Japan

I've been invited to have a small exhibition and give two talks about my work in Japan. I'll be leaving March 9th. My first week will be spent in Osaka where I'll be speaking at the Welsh Cultural Festival on March 12th with a Japanese photographer. Both of us will be presenting our personal views of Wales. I'll be presenting again to the Academic Society of Welsh Studies in Tokyo on March 19th. I'm keen to present a view of Wales which reflects what it is like to be a resident and which tackles some of the sterotypes. Wales is a small country with traditions which go back well into history and yet we have to be realistic that it will not be a country that will be well-known to most people in the world other than through its exports and these have been coal, products of heavy industry and various celebrities like Tom Jones, Richard Burton, Shirley Bassey and Anthony Hopkins. So there is a lot of material that can be presented which will be new to most audiences.

Thunderbirds are Go Again in 2011

Royal Mail is launching a set of lenticular stamps featuring key characters and scenes from Gerry Anderson puppet TV shows of the 1960s. The lenticular set is part of the 50th anniversary range of stamps featuring Stingray, Joe 90, Captain Scarlett and Thunderbirds, and Royal Mail's first 'motion stamps'. The four-stamp miniature sheet features Thunderbird 5 on its border and Thunderbirds 1-4 on the individual stamps. The range marks the 50th anniversary of the TV shows and will be available next year between first class and 97p denominations. The stamps are printed by Outer Aspect Ltd, of Aukland, New Zealand and contain 36 microthin key frames that make up the motion sequence that lasts several seconds.
These microthin slices were placed side by side and printed onto the back of a special clear magnifying lens in reverse so that they read correctly through the lens from the front.
The lens refracts the light in such a way that different but complete frames are displayed depending on the viewing angle, and by changing this angle the frames play in sequence.