Ed Harrison Design - Wild Wings Of Hope

If you’re a regular here, it’s no surprise that Ed Harrison is being featured again.

Though this time I’d be working alongside cinematographer, Max Smith.

Our purpose this time round was to document Ed prototyping paper cut for his latest project - Wild Wings of Hope.

I’ll use Ed’s description to save butchering with my own words;

Inspired by the migrations of barn swallows, swifts and butterflies between Africa and the UK, Wild Wings of Hope explores our relationship with the natural world—celebrating the shared stories, wildlife and cultural traditions that connect people, species and places across borders.

With an early start and coffee to boot, we shot all the way through to sunset. Such good conditions are a rare treat!

Learn more about Wild Wings Of Hope

Jemma Gunning - Bristol Print Maker

First time in a long time, I visited Bristol to catch up with Jemma. Having just returned from the artic circle, she had plenty of stories to share. Polar bears. Danner Boots. Noisy Icebergs.

We didn’t shoot for long, St. Nicks was around the corner and falafel was calling our names.

This was an impromptu catch up. An excuse to stretch the legs phot wise. A laid back approach with no real goal. Just feeling things out.

The wider portraits are shot using a 50mm anamorphic lens.

VISIT JEMMA GUNNING

State Of Love & Trust, Cardiff

It’s that time again…

Refreshing the portfolio.

Figured I’d start updating my site at the same time… at 4.11am.

Anyway, amidst the absolute chaos of hard drives plugged into my desk, I found these.

This one holds sentimental value.

You may have met Nat already. If you haven’t, let me offer a brief (biased) summary;

• Australian

• Pearl Jam Fan

• Specialty Wine Expert

• Beer Expert/Chugger

• Linch Pin Of Friendship Groups.

I first met Nat (officially) over a decade ago. We’d met prior in a bike shop, but I’d forgotten.

Nat would keep beers back for me to buy on Fridays, a treat after riding bikes in shit weather all week long.

Fridays would turn to Saturday mornings. Beers, replaced by coffee, filthy grilled sandwiches & home made cakes.

The perfect weekend ritual.

For many weekends, we’d shoot the shit during these brief encounters. Music, travelling, bikes, life, the lot.

Randomly, one weekend Nat offered me a job. He was opening a bar in Cardiff.

At that time I was a cycle courier, so the idea of a gauranteed wage each month was not to be sniffed at!

It was in this bar I met the best gang of freaks, geeks and weirdos. Under Nat’s watchful eye, we created a home where we’d drink beers, eat burgers and play Mario Kart.

Our customers became fast friends and together we made something truly special.

Nowadays, we’ve all moved on. Gotten married, had kids & followed different passions.

However, Nat has kept that feeling of home alive. Incubating it over the years that followed after the bar.

As a result, State Of Love & Trust was born. A local neighbourhood off-licence & bar, a welcoming, communal gathering space, dreamt up by Nat and his sister-in-law Abigail.

Aptly named after a Pearl Jam song.

State Of Love & Trust has evolved further since these photos were taken, hosting events with food vendors, adding more draft beer & bespoke tables from local legends Neud.

If like me you’ve put your drinking days to rest, they still sling belting coffee’s and offer plenty of alternatives to explore.

… And fried egg flavoured crisps.

Go pay em a visit. I mean, if one of the original bar crew can regularly travel from California to visit, you’ve got no excuse right?!

VISIT STATE OF LOVE & TRUST

The River Taff - Sam Phipps

This time we’re in the River Taff with Sam Phipps for a personal project.

You may recognise Sam from his creative, family run, Branding & Graphic Design Studio; I Am Sam Creative.

Sam’s a Good dude. He has a great ethos - “Design for good”.

You can see this spanning across I Am Sam Creative’s portfolio, from big names to smaller endeavours.

Not only a respected business owner, Sam is also a dedicated family man.

So any spare time is spent in the river.

And I can see why.

The hustle and bustle of the city is within throwing distance, yet, down in the water… it’s serene. Splashes from jumping fish provide only brief interruption.

Sam by nature is horizontal, he always has this cool, calm and collected vibe to him.

Seeing him in the water provided a good explanation for this.

His method of fly fishing was incredibly meditative. Watching the water, gentle movements & focus.

It’s evident that Sam really admires and respects the river by choosing to be a part of it as opposed to sitting beside it.

You’ll see from the latter images how true this is.

Kneeling down, watching his catch resting after being released back into the water, you can feel there’s care and appreciation present.

As Sam’s catch swam back upstream, blue hour was well upon us, signalling our time to head home.

Ed Harrison's Veg Garden - Passing Down Knowledge

How you doing bud?

We’re back at Ed’s veg patch for this post.

This time with Olin Beau in tow

I’ve harped on in previous blogs and instagram posts about how special this place is and how much I admire Ed’s dedication to growing veg with nature in mind.

With this visit, Ed wanted to document the planting of new seeds and invited Olin to join us.

Olin loves a work day, he see’s it as one big adventure. Put a camera in his hand and he’s happy as Larry. Annoyingly, he gets better angles because he’s short.

Pairing a work day with these two was a match made in heaven. Since the Covid video call era, Olin’s loved “Uncle Ed” or “Cled” as he pronounces it.

So naturally, when we arrived, Olin sacked off his camera and insisted on hurling his blue glider round whilst Ed would hoot and holler with every flight.

Ed has this incredible ability to hold your attention whilst communicating.

Whether it’s engaging online, pen on paper or conversation, there is a steadfast confidence to his voice. One that inspires a (IMO) better world.

With that, once Ed started showing Olin around the veg patch, it was evident he had him excited about everything that was ready to harvest.

In my five years of being his dad, I have tried endlessly to get Olin messy. Muddy hands, grassy knees, sandy toes - not interested.

Five minutes with Ed, he’s pulling up leeks, legging it through woodland and weaving branches.

Anyway, I’ve done enough talking for now. I’ll let the images do the rest.

A x