Byd Ron / Ron's World

A fascinating collection of colour and black-and-white photographs of one of the most successful Welsh photographers of the second half of the 20th century dated 1944-2001, comprising a variety of photographs portraying the people and land of Wales mainly, with some photographs taken during a period in India. 145 colour and 45 black-and-white photographs.

Review :
English review below Ym mis Rhagfyr 2001, fe ddathlodd Ron Davies ei ben blwydd yn 80 oed. Mae hynny ynddo'i hunan yn dipyn o gamp, ond fel mae’r llyfr newydd hwn yn ei ddangos, mae gan Ron Davies gryn dipyn i'w ddathlu o ran ei ddawn fel ffotograffydd. Mae’r casgliad yn agor gyda thraethawd difyr gan Alistair Crawford, sydd yn rhoi bywgraffiad diddorol o fywyd a gyrfa Ron Davies. Mae’n anodd i ni heddiw werthfawrogi pŵer ffotograff, am i ni gael ein boddi mewn delweddau ac arddangosfeydd o ddydd i ddydd, ond dechreuodd gyrfa Ron Davies mewn byd llawer llai agored. Nid dyma’r unig frwydr y bu’n rhaid iddo ei goresgyn; ym mis Medi 1950 parlyswyd Ron Davies mewn damwain erchyll. Tynnwyd pob llun ers y diwrnod hwnnw o gar neu o gadair olwyn. Mae ei waith yn sefyll heb unrhyw esgusodion, ond mae angen tynnu sylw at gymeriad penderfynol y dyn talentog yma. Cymru a’i phobl yw prif destun ei ffotograffau. Yn hyn o beth, mae’r lluniau'n naturiol ac yn bersonol. Mae’r rhan gyntaf yn dangos delweddau o’i amser yn yr India (1944-1950), yn ail ran yn ymwneud â gwahanol gymeriadau'r pyllau glo (1955-1960), a’r drydedd ran yn rhychwantu’r chwedegau i’r wythdegau, ac yn dangos amryw o gymeriadau lleol – plant, ffermwyr, anifeiliaid ayb. Y dyddiadau 1980-1999 sy’n canolbwyntio ar dirluniau gwledig o gwmpas Cymru. Yn y bôn, nid ffotograffydd yw Ron Davies, ond adroddwr stori. Yn fy marn i, y lluniau gorau yw’r portreadau o gymeriadau lleol. Maent i gyd (o’r babi lleia i’r pysgotwr hyna) yn llawn bywyd ac yn adlewyrchu cymaint y mae Ron Davies yn gwerthfawrogi ei destun. Trwy’r llyfr mae ’na gerddi gan feirdd fel W. J. Gruffydd, Dic Jones a Vernon Jones sydd yn cael eu partneru gyda gwahanol lluniau. Mae polisi dwyieithog y llyfr yn ddiddorol; mae traethawd Alistair Crawford yn Saesneg yn unig, 90% o’r cerddi yn Gymraeg yn unig, a theyrnged Carwyn Matera Rogers yn ddwyieithog. Mae’n biti na fydd darllenwyr di-Gymraeg yn medru gwerthfawrogi’r cerddi. Mae hefyd yn biti i’r ‘ffotonerds’ fel fi nad oes yma ddim gwybodaeth technegol am sut y tynnodd Ron Davies y lluniau hyn. Byddwn hefyd wedi hoffi cael gair gan y meistr ei hun. Byddai’n ddiddorol darllen sylwadau Ron ei hunan ar y rhesymeg y tu ôl i’r lluniau. Ond, ar y cyfan, dyma gasgliad ardderchog o luniau sy’n dangos cyfnod allweddol yn hanes Cymru * * * Ron Davies celebrated his 80th birthday in December 2001. To reach such a great age is achievement enough, but this new collection of his photographs proves that he has much beyond his birthday to celebrate. The collection begins with an entertaining essay by Alistair Crawford who gives us some insight into Ron’s history and career. In a world that is drowning in images, it is difficult for us to appreciate how different the world was at the beginning of Ron’s career as a photographer, but that wasn’t the only battle that Ron has had to fight. In September 1950 he was the victim of a bike accident that left him paralysed. Since that day every one of his photographs has been taken either from a wheelchair or from the viewpoint of his car. His work needs no special dispensation in the light of this, but this fact does reveal the determined nature of this talented man. Wales and her people are the main themes in his photographic work. The images are natural and personal – very little seems false or overly stylised. The first section shows images of his time in India (1944-1950), section 2 shows the various characters in the coal mines (1955-1960), the third section spans from the 60s through to the 80s and offers a wide selection of local characters – children, farmers, animals etc, and from 1980 to 1999 he concentrates on places of natural beauty around Wales. In my opinion, Ron Davies is not only a photographer, but also a storyteller. The best photographs are the ones of the local characters – they are all full of life, from the smallest baby to the oldest fisherman. My only slight disappointment was that there is no technical information about how the photographs were taken (possibly only of interest to photo-nerds like myself!). I would also have appreciated a very short foreword by the master himself – but perhaps Ron Davies would rather the images spoke for themselves. I highly recommend this excellent collection of photographs that reflect an interesting and key time in the history of Wales.