Idwal Symonds served in the 46
Commando formation in the Royal
Marines, and is a veteran of the
Normandy landings. He was captured
by the SS and faced a firing squad.
When I shoot these images, I visit the
veterans at home, but never go in with
my kit; that stays in the car. First of all
I want to get them to know me a little,
put them at ease and have a cup of tea.
I want to give the veterans and their
families a timeless, classic portrait; to
me, this means keeping things simple,
with one light for a classic Rembrandt
effect. It’s simple to set up and repeat.
Most importantly, it has a small
footprint, as I’m photographing in the
veteran’s home. The final look comes
from colourising using a combination of
3D LUTs and Photoshop adjustments.
The response to the project has been
amazing, but best of all has been the
reactions to the portraits by veterans
and their families. To present a veteran
in his late 90s with a mounted print
and for him to say, “This is the best
photograph of me ever taken,” is a
reaction that money can’t buy.See The 39-45 Portraits Exhibition at
the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum
in Woodstock until 5 January 2020
http://www.3945portraits.comhis project honours and
remembers our surviving
veterans of the Second World
War, by photographing as
many of them as possible to
provide both them and their
families with classic, timeless portraits
that can remain in their families for
generations to come. It has been a
privilege to photograph them – it feels
as though I was meant to do this and
everything I have done to this point has
been an apprenticeship to get me here.Glyn Dewis gives an insight into his ongoing
project to photograph our WW2 veterans
Shot of
the month
T
Shot of the month
Glyn Dewis
Portrait photographer
Title: Idwal Symonds
Camera: Sony Alpha 7R II
Lens: Sony 55mm f/1.8 ZA
Exposure: 1/125 sec, f/11, ISO 100http://www.glyndewis.com©^ GlynDewis/^3945 portraits.com68 DIGITAL CAMERA^ DECEMBER 2019 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com
“ To present a
veteran with a
mounted print
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say, ‘This is the
best photograph
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is a reaction that
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