For my first book I revisited my old negatives taken in South Wales during the 1970s when I worked for a local newspaper.
I believe that old photographs develop a special character. It’s a unique sheen imbued with the passage of time.
Looking through these photographs today, four decades later, I find myself not only in a different time, but also in a different country.
Visit the Blurb website to view the complete book or to purchase a copy - softcover, hardback and Ebook editions are available.
“... Wonderful Welsh pictures from the 70s …” - Wales Online
The evocative images in our gallery ... highlight a selection of Robins photography that capture a different era in Welsh culture, images frozen in time way before the hyper-connected age we live in now - British Culture Archive
"These photographs are miles above hackneyed whispers of the past ... Robin gets into the heart of the crowd and shows us things as they were" - Flashbak
"... a wonderful series of photographs..." - Manos Nokimos, Athens Voice
All the photographs in the book are available for reproduction from Collections Picture Library
Published in 2022, 'South Wales then and now' is a 24-page zine revisiting some of the places from my book 'A Different Country'. Soft cover, 24 pages, 47 photos, £8.99 plus VAT and shipping.
In the 1970s I was a photographer on the evening newspaper in Newport - the South Wales Argus. Chasing around Newport and the valleys of south-east Wales on news stories meant that I got to know the region extremely well. I always carried my small Leica camera so that I could capture my own views of life in South Wales between the press jobs.
I was always conscious that the unique character of South Wales cried out to be documented before its personality changed. Many of these pictures were published in my book A Different Country (2015).
That book's very title reflects how I felt about the images in it; not only was I looking back in time, I was also looking at what indeed was a very different country.
So, I've gone back to some of the places in that book, nearly half a century later in some cases, to see what they are like now. There have obviously been massive changes with the demise of the major industry - coal mining. Some places are barely recognisable, whilst others look and feel much the same.
What struck me on every one of these return visits though was that the warm, friendly, open Welsh welcome that's always been there hasn't changed a bit!
That book's very title reflects how I felt about the images in it; not only was I looking back in time, I was also looking at what indeed was a very different country.
So, I've gone back to some of the places in that book, nearly half a century later in some cases, to see what they are like now. There have obviously been massive changes with the demise of the major industry - coal mining. Some places are barely recognisable, whilst others look and feel much the same.
What struck me on every one of these return visits though was that the warm, friendly, open Welsh welcome that's always been there hasn't changed a bit!
SNAPPERS is available from Blurb as softcover, hardback or Ebook editions.
From the Victorian photographer beneath his black cloth to the 21st century 'snapper' with a selfie stick, photographers have probably always appeared a little eccentric to the casual observer.
This is what I wanted to try and capture when documenting my fellow photographers during my travels over the past 13 years.
This is what I wanted to try and capture when documenting my fellow photographers during my travels over the past 13 years.
It may be that, in my pictures, I am gently poking fun at my subjects but I always remind myself that I am like them - another 'snapper'. So, in a way, I am laughing at myself!
View a selection of images from the book here
Western Mail article - Snapping the snappers - "For his latest photography book, photographer Robin Weaver turned his attention to photographers themselves - with fascinating and entertaining results"
Compact budget editions of 'Snappers' and 'A Different Country' are available.
They are 10"x8" vertical format with soft cover and 72 pages.
Available from Blurb at £15.79 plus VAT and postage.
Click on the links below to preview the books and order copies:
These limited edition 36-page zines have been published by Cafe Royal Books
To view and purchase visit the CRB shop
"Neither artificially posed nor taken to illustrate particular news stories, the unfiltered and unvarnished images give an invaluable insight into working-class lives and culture in the region at the time." - Wales Arts Review
I have a limited number of signed copies available to order direct from myself