Festival of Welsh Documentary Photography
23/24 November 2012
www.llgc.org.uk/lens
Come to the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth for a celebration of the enormous contribution of the Welshman from Cross Hands, Ifor Thomas, and his wife, Joy, to British Photography.
Through their courses at the Guilford School of Photography during mid-twentieth century, they revolutionised the way photography was taught in Britain and laid the foundations for more than a generation of successful and influential photographers and film directors.
Lens is the annual documentary photographic festival held at the National Library of Wales. It’s a celebration and recognition of the Library’s collections of over 800,000 documentary photographs.
A bit about one of the speakers……
Adam Woolfitt, Panel Member
Adam Woolfitt
Adam Woolfitt was born in 1938 and by the age of 11 had decided to become a photographer. He attended the Photography course at Guildford College of Art under Ifor Thomas, a life changing experience. His first proper job was to set up a portrait studio and print darkroom for Decca Records. He later had six year a contract with The Mermaid Theatre to shoot front of house publicity. A brief flirtation with the world of Advertising convinced him that he was not a team player and after three years of working with the Daily Telegraph Colour Magazine, he got his first assignment for The National Geographic Magazine.
For the next thirty years he free-lanced for National Geographic and many other leading magazines worldwide, using amazing quantities of 35 mm Kodachrome.
In 1992 at Photokina in Cologne he saw a LEAF digital camera back in action for the first time and realized that silver photography (like the Middle Ages) was coming to an end. Thereupon, he immersed himself in computers and digital cameras. He was (briefly) Chairman of the Association of Photographers where he irritated most of the membership by constantly prophesying the end of film. He was the prime mover behind the UK Digital Imaging Group and a founding member of IDEA (the International Digital Exhibition and Awards) He was awarded an Associetship of the Royal Photographic Society whilst still a student at Guildford and aged 65 he gladly accepted an Honorary Fellowship of the British Institute of Professional Photographers.
The Corbis Digital Picture archive (privately owned by Bill Gates) invited him to submit his back catalogue and scanned nearly 10,000 images, which gave him a reliable income for many years and allowed him to branch out. In the mid 1990’s he co-founded SharpTurn Productions which was dedicated (years ahead of its time) to immersive 360º and interactive photography for Web, CD and Video projects.
He took up writing on digital matters for Ag Magazine, The British Journal of Photography, Image Magazine and Photo District News (New York) In 2006 he had a one man show of digital panoramas called “Circles of Confusion” in The Schoolhouse Gallery in Morvah, in Cornwall.
Most recently Adam escaped to the West country for nearly four years to shoot three food books, Gourmet Cornwall (2006) Cornish Fishing and Seafood (2008) & The Devon Food Book (2010)
He has finally returned to London, where he is still married to Penelope. They have three children and eight and a half grandchildren.