Photographer Profile: Gale Jolly

This is the first in a series of profiles featuring local photographers. There was only one choice for our first entry; she is very local and very talented.

Gale has lived in Tongwynlais for 35 years and brought up her three sons in the village. She worked in the Lewis Arms for 16 years while they were young and currently works in the school as a teaching assistant. She developed her love of the countryside and all things wild when she lived in Llanishen. Gale loves to get out walking and decided to take up photography to capture the beautiful scenery and the creatures she saw.

Gale bought her first digital camera in 2003 and has owned several over the years. She now uses a Nikon D7000.

We love Gale’s photography for stunning shots like this.

And this.

Every spring Gale gets out into the woods to capture the blankets of bluebells.

And in the autumn she photographs the beautiful woodland colours around the castle.

Being a wildlife fan, you’ll regularly see fantastic images like these in her photostream.

You may spot a few fungi in her collection too.

You’ll also find some experimental shots like this one.

Gale records the history of the village with this photo of the old cottage on Castle Road.

And this is the castle when one of its towers was covered in scaffolding.

Gale is also a bit of a photojournalist, capturing this image of a grass fire behind the hotel.

Even the weather doesn’t stop her from getting out and about. This is the iron bridge from Christmas 2010 when the village had 10 inches of snow.

Here are a few more of my favourites.

Gale moderates the Tongwynlais Flickr group where users can submit their photos. There are some great shots in the group and it’s easy to sign up and contribute. Flickr offers loads of free storage and there are mobile apps to automatically backup up your photos.

We’re also on Flickr and we’d love to see your photos of the village.

Do you know a talented local photographer? Contact us to let us know.

Picture – brackenb