052: Roo Lewis
This week, we have the super-talented and almost Welsh Roo Lewis. Roo talks(amongst other thing) about folklore, faith, community, and the importance of telling positive stories.
Roo spent over two years photographing the landscape and the people of Port Talbot to create a wonderful body of work that shows how deeply he cares about the people he works with.
Reach out to us @idlehandssociety. Your hosts today are @danshigginson, @paulbenceuk, and @roolewis on Instagram. You can support the Podcast by contributing to The Idle Hands Tip Jar.
“I realy do love Port Talbot. People think I’m joking, but I do love the town, and you have to judge something for what it is, not what it isn’t. And that’s what the books about, it’s a love letter to this town.”
© Roo Lewis, Port Talbot UFO Investigation Club
© Roo Lewis, Port Talbot UFO Investigation Club
© Roo Lewis, Port Talbot UFO Investigation Club
© Roo Lewis, Port Talbot UFO Investigation Club
© Roo Lewis, Port Talbot UFO Investigation Club
We appreciate your support
Transcript
Poorly transcribed by AI
00:00:04 Dan Higginson
Hi, I'm Dan Higginson, and welcome to the Idle Hands Society podcast. We're joined today by Paul Bence. Good morning and photographer Roo Lewis. Good morning.
00:00:14 Dan Higginson
Well, that's going wild.
00:00:16 Dan Higginson
You're walking, you're alone. You're going down the street. Aliens appear. Umm, you've got this automaton. They basically say we'll get a selfie with you. Everyone believe you're the guy. You're the first contact guy or.
00:00:28 Dan Higginson
We can give you the answer to everything, but nobody will believe you. They'll think you.
00:00:33 Dan Higginson
Where you.
00:00:33 Roo Lewis
Going this is can I ask a couple of qualifiers? Is that OK? So.
00:00:36 Dan Higginson
Yeah, of course.
00:00:41 Roo Lewis
But presumably the aliens speak English. They they're communicating in English.
00:00:44 Dan Higginson
They're communicating with you.
00:00:46 Roo Lewis
Yeah. OK. And are the aliens? I mean, this is. It's funny. The discussion of aliens, I think, because what? What what is the alien? You know? Do you mean the the standard sort of grey little little bodied aliens that come off of spaceship?
00:01:01 Dan Higginson
Don't. I don't know. You're the guy, right? You're.
00:01:03 Dan Higginson
The guy that came first.
00:01:05 Roo Lewis
Right, let's do it. Let's do it. OK. So what would I say? I I would go for.
00:01:11 Roo Lewis
The answer to everything because I think if I took a selfie one I don't like selfies and two.
00:01:16 Speaker 3
Yeah. OK.
00:01:19 Roo Lewis
I don't think anyone would believe it, right. You know, you've got AI and Photoshop. I just don't.
00:01:22 Dan Higginson
No, no, they they they're going public, right? They're they're gonna be talking to world leaders and stuff. But they'll be chatting about you.
00:01:27 Dan Higginson
So they're talking. Oh, my God. I was just thinking they're gonna.
00:01:30 Dan Higginson
Talk to Rishi, right?
00:01:32 Dan Higginson
But no, they'll they'll tell Rishi. And when they're talking to him.
00:01:35 Dan Higginson
They'll be like.
00:01:35 Dan Higginson
Oh no. We spoke to your boy Rue.
00:01:38 Dan Higginson
Right. We're a big, big fan of his.
00:01:41 Dan Higginson
He said that we're we we love his work, but we you know. So. So they're going public, right? Everyone will believe you.
00:01:41 Paul Bence
Loves his words.
00:01:43 Roo Lewis
Ohh here it is.
00:01:47 Roo Lewis
It's a good one, isn't it? Because that is a. That's a historical moment.
00:01:50 Roo Lewis
Isn't it? That would be.
00:01:51 Roo Lewis
Able to but but I also would like to know the answer to everything I would like to know that no, I'm.
00:01:56 Roo Lewis
Gonna give the answer to.
00:01:57 Dan Higginson
Everything. Yeah. You're going. So what do you reckon, Paul? You going social pariah but genius? Or are you going first contact guy?
00:02:04 Paul Bence
I think the answer to everything too is anything I I I would hate.
00:02:08 Paul Bence
Like if you.
00:02:09 Paul Bence
You you hear about celebrities and how much they hate being famous like it would just be that like a million times over.
00:02:14 Paul Bence
But worse, imagine, imagine your Instagram inbox. It would be like DMS every four seconds or something.
00:02:20 Dan Higginson
I know, I know, but also imagine being that crazy lunatic that everybody's passed on the street. That's like I know the answer to.
00:02:26 Dan Higginson
Everything and everyone.
00:02:27 Dan Higginson
Alright. How like aliens told me, like OK and.
00:02:31 Roo Lewis
I better feel like that. I mean, it would be a bit annoying if then.
00:02:35 Roo Lewis
You know, you chose that option and then they told everyone the answer to everything.
00:02:38 Dan Higginson
Ohh yeah, that would suck.
00:02:40 Roo Lewis
No. I mean then you wouldn't flow that knowledge, but yeah, I would like, I would like to know the answer to everything, but I I guess you wouldn't know if it was true or not.
00:02:49 Dan Higginson
Yeah. Who said you know?
00:02:50 Dan Higginson
Right, yeah.
00:02:51 Roo Lewis
They could be like.
00:02:52 Paul Bence
They might just be a bit clueless.
00:02:55 Roo Lewis
What do you guys think about UFO's?
00:02:58 Paul Bence
I'd like to think that they exist, but maybe not in how we as a little, you know, fluffy creature or, you know, some, like, not something like we've seen in the movies was uh.
00:03:10
Like a.
00:03:11 Dan Higginson
Source dimensional being or something?
00:03:12 Paul Bence
I don't know. I don't know. It's weird.
00:03:15 Paul Bence
My wife believes in, you know this, like the idea that we're that this universe is the universe. Universe is like multiverse. So she believes in the multiverse, right? There's versions of this universe and over and over repeated.
00:03:30 Dan Higginson
Maybe that's backed up with quantum physics as well, right? Right.
00:03:34 Paul Bence
That's that's.
00:03:35 Dan Higginson
That's not an unintelligent thing to say.
00:03:38 Paul Bence
She she's she's.
00:03:40 Paul Bence
And I I I I think there must be considering the size of the universe and and the amount of planets there's got to be right. There has to be like what? What that looks like it may be a simple life form maybe it's advance I don't know. And I don't think we'll ever find out.
00:04:00 Paul Bence
I don't think we'll ever. Ever. I I don't think in our lifetimes anyway. Maybe.
00:04:05 Paul Bence
It'd be amazing.
00:04:05 Roo Lewis
You don't think that the disclosure of any sort?
00:04:09 Paul Bence
Well, I was watching that thing. You know, there was like, yeah, yeah, the on, like, the Americans did. And it was really interesting.
00:04:10 Paul Bence
On the UAV's.
00:04:12 Dan Higginson
Yeah, yeah.
00:04:17 Paul Bence
To watch it, but I still I.
00:04:18 Paul Bence
Still feel like we?
00:04:21 Paul Bence
Wouldn't they, wouldn't they? Why wouldn't they? Why wouldn't they tell us? Cause we freak out? Why don't?
00:04:25 Paul Bence
They people would freak.
00:04:26 Paul Bence
Out that much of the thing.
00:04:27 Dan Higginson
Well, they kind of did, right? That's that's kind of what they did and no one gave a ****. That was the weirdest thing to me.
00:04:32 Dan Higginson
But they they.
00:04:34 Dan Higginson
Spoke about it in Congress or something.
00:04:35 Dan Higginson
Right, it was already.
00:04:36 Dan Higginson
Open there was loads of footage of stuff that they can't explain, but depending on which way you lean, it could have been nothing. It could have been something.
00:04:44 Dan Higginson
But they kind of said, like, we're not sure what this is and nobody gave a ****. Like we all just went to bed like it was normal that night. I don't know what the answer is.
00:04:50 Roo Lewis
Planned a bit, Blair. See that? I mean, that's what I really like about the discussion literally is just just by asking about UFO's. Paul went straight to aliens. Dan, you went to into dimensional.
00:05:04 Roo Lewis
And we're just really talking about stuff we can't explain in the sky. And I I just love that conversation. Where?
00:05:10 Roo Lewis
You know, you put your own metaphysical outlook on whatever you think it is, and and it's it really provokes thoughts you get. You get into people's head and, you know, everything's quite sort of divided politically. I I think in terms of conspiracy theory, you have, those are quite innocuous. You know they, they they don't do any harm and it's.
00:05:30 Roo Lewis
It's quite sort of a healthy mental exercise talking about it, I think because we can't, can't really know and and we sort of take that sort of leap.
00:05:39 Roo Lewis
Uh. Interface you know about? About about what we personally believe.
00:05:43 Roo Lewis
And I like that outlook. But yeah, I mean you mean?
00:05:48 Dan Higginson
Did you grow up in a religious?
00:05:49 Roo Lewis
Household. No, no, I didn't at all. But I did study philosophy and I do like seeing my invoice so.
00:06:00 Roo Lewis
No, I. No, I didn't go ********.
00:06:00 Dan Higginson
Whereabouts did you go up?
00:06:02 Paul Bence
There with people up, so that's about.
00:06:06 Paul Bence
Dorset Nice part of the world.
00:06:08 Roo Lewis
Yeah, in this sort of really.
00:06:10 Roo Lewis
In the middle of nowhere.
00:06:13 Roo Lewis
And it it was. You know, when you grow up, you think it's really boring and you sort of hate it. But when you look back, you go, wow, that's great.
00:06:20 Roo Lewis
That's great to quit.
00:06:22 Roo Lewis
In the middle of nowhere, with no bus routes.
00:06:26 Roo Lewis
But yeah, I think it really helped. It's very beautiful part of the world, Dorset, you know, very sort of countryside.
00:06:33 Roo Lewis
And as photographers, we are currently looking at light, right? We can see looking at light falls.
00:06:39 Roo Lewis
I think that was a pretty good school in.
00:06:42 Roo Lewis
Learning about life was sort of growing up in the countryside. Yeah. Uh and time. Time to look at those things.
00:06:49 Dan Higginson
Yeah. They, they, you do get a slower pace, right?
00:06:52 Dan Higginson
I I wasn't in the countryside, but I'm in Kent so.
00:06:56 Roo Lewis
Garden of England.
00:06:57 Paul Bence
I I was Bridgeman, so I was not far from the Talbot. I was, you know, putting the Bridgen boy. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:07:01 Roo Lewis
Do you at Bridgend?
00:07:04 Paul Bence
Gym boy. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:07:04 Roo Lewis
I didn't know. That's awesome. Thank you. Right by Port Talbot.
00:07:09 Paul Bence
Right. Yeah. Yeah. So Blackpool Tower, like when I saw you, I did. Never heard of you before you put up. No, no, no offence. Sorry, but you know, when I saw the work and coming from Bridgend, it is amazing what it it it it really.
00:07:28 Paul Bence
The it's really difficult to explain, maybe to somebody who isn't Welsh, but it was a real I I thought you were Welsh. I wasn't sure whether you were Welsh or what. Your connection to Wales were, but it felt really intimate, a really intimate portrayal of that part of South Wales because my uncle had a corner shop underneath the fly over in Port Talbot about for about 40 years, basically.
00:07:35 Speaker 5
Tune into.
00:07:47 Roo Lewis
Right.
00:07:49 Paul Bence
And and it's it's amazing. Every time they drove past it, it was like my God, this is another world. Like, we're travelling to another place. How does this place even exist and?
00:08:00 Paul Bence
Yeah. You you honestly, there's it's such. It's such a wonderful, beautiful book. It's my book of the year by miles. Like. I think it's really great. And I was wondering like what? What do you have a connection to Wales in any way or or do you have family in Wales or where? Where did it the idea of the Talbot come from really originally.
00:08:17 Roo Lewis
Yeah, I do. That's really nice of you to say.
00:08:21 Roo Lewis
Because there is, there is that understanding of well. So my granddad was well, she's very proud Welshman he was.
00:08:27 Roo Lewis
Russia and we, we never went on holiday or anything. Well, we went on holiday but it was to Wales. That's my mum and Dad love Wales. And so we would drive past Port Talbot on the way to visit him. And he he at one point I think he did some work in Port Talbot. He he worked in industry and we used to see these big bass.
00:08:47 Roo Lewis
Penises, you know, driving past. And we, we were told there was space stations, but yeah, on the M4 that those don't know it all toilets. It's just off the M4 in South Wales and it's an industrial town and it's there's there's a sort of innate human connection to being attracted to that sort of thing, isn't there and.
00:09:05 Roo Lewis
I don't know what it is, but there there's an intrigue there. Something you want to explore as soon as you say that? Because the.
00:09:13 Roo Lewis
In Wales there is a very.
00:09:16
You have to.
00:09:16 Roo Lewis
Sort of go there, especially South Wales. There is a magic to it. I don't know what it is, Paul. I haven't worked it out and that's kind of what the book's about is.
00:09:24 Roo Lewis
There, there is a magic I don't know if it's a history of the folklore.
00:09:27 Roo Lewis
Or or just a.
00:09:28 Roo Lewis
Rhythm. But there's a real sort of, UM.
00:09:32 Roo Lewis
Win resilient attitude to the Welsh.
00:09:36 Roo Lewis
And you know, some of the pictures, they're not. You can laugh because you know they're meant to be funny. There's a bit of humour there, but we're not laughing at them. You know, it's quite well.
00:09:44 Speaker 5
No, you're laughing with.
00:09:45 Paul Bence
Them right, because it's it's it's very exactly that, right, there's there's there's. If you go to to South Wales, then everybody there's so much banter. There's so much joviality. There's people like, you know, life is hard but it it it it it it doesn't there there is such a a warmth.
00:10:02 Paul Bence
There. Right. I I I've. I've had a few friends. I got a French friend who's a photographer and I took him down to Wales and he just couldn't get over.
00:10:10 Paul Bence
How? How warm the people were and how friendly and open to talking they were and how interested in him they were. And. And I think that's that's it's very difficult to get across in a bunch of photographs and I think you you do that beautifully I think that's and I I kind of you know I was at the other thing I.
00:10:27 Paul Bence
Was going to.
00:10:27 Paul Bence
Ask you is you shot it over two years.
00:10:30 Paul Bence
Right. Is that right?
00:10:31 Roo Lewis
Yeah, just over 2 years, yeah.
00:10:33 Paul Bence
And that in in terms of a a project that's relatively a short length period of time.
00:10:38 Paul Bence
So in terms of how you uhm, base your time, did you always go down with an idea of I'm going to go and shoot a portrait or I'm going to shoot the choir? Or or did you? Were you wondering as as well as as the the sort of the planned shoots shot I hate saying shoot but you.
00:10:54 Roo Lewis
Know what I mean? No, no, they. I mean, they are. I did. I did sort of plan them out as a shoot.
00:10:58 Roo Lewis
Each time. Yeah, it is in terms of span, it's quite a short.
00:11:02 Roo Lewis
Time. But I did go at least three nights a month for, you know, 2 1/2 years and and part of the reason was that it. And I never intended it to be that long. But when you go down, you the first thing about Wales, right is you don't. Not everyone's online. You can't. You can. You can find plenty of people.
00:11:09 Paul Bence
Yeah, yeah.
00:11:23 Roo Lewis
And not online, you know, and the way to find them, you go to pubs and talk to people and everyone knows someone that recommends someone. So you go down and shoot someone and hear the story in.
00:11:32 Roo Lewis
A pub. When they go you got.
00:11:33 Dan Higginson
And then, like the world, everything up to you.
00:11:35 Roo Lewis
You go open up and get right. I got come back and shoot that person and and you can't e-mail them. You can't just, you know.
00:11:42 Paul Bence
Can I just stop you there? Right. When? When crash walking into a A South Wales pub by not being from South Wales? Did you ever feel intimidated doing?
00:11:50 Paul Bence
That did you.
00:11:51 Roo Lewis
There was, there was food that you have to get. I'll tell you what my granddad bought me a lot of a lot of time. Got me a surname. Lewis, but there there is that sort of sort of tenacious attitude in words. But. And I think people from Wales tend to be. I'm just generality tend to be quite proud.
00:11:59 Speaker 3
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:12:09 Roo Lewis
And there's certainly something and they don't.
00:12:13 Roo Lewis
What you think of then? There's a real sort of honesty to that. I like that. They're sort of say it. So when you go up to someone that that there is a.
00:12:21 Dan Higginson
Black and white.
00:12:23 Roo Lewis
Yeah, an authenticity, but also a bit more direct then maybe I would be and and they don't care. They just tell you how it is. And I like that. And there's this wonderful storytelling culture in Wales and the UK, of course. But, you know, you go in a pub and talk to someone and have you seen the UFO tends to be quite.
00:12:40 Roo Lewis
A good opener, right?
00:12:41 Paul Bence
It's amazing.
00:12:43 Roo Lewis
And and people tell you and they don't care, they're not.
00:12:47 Roo Lewis
Uhm, so yeah, I went down and met loads of people and once you get a few people on side they introduced you and a few few key figures as a gentleman called Nigel who runs a a brand there called Sam Tablo and they're like a street wear brand.
00:13:02 Roo Lewis
And his business partners called Pancho from ***** *******. And so I sort of met them randomly.
00:13:08 Roo Lewis
But they they.
00:13:09 Roo Lewis
Ended up being connected to a lot of people. So yeah, they were really helpful.
00:13:13 Roo Lewis
But a lot of it is just talking. I I did put up posters actually have.
00:13:16 Roo Lewis
You seen the UFO's?
00:13:18 Roo Lewis
And I've still got a few actually.
00:13:20 Dan Higginson
The first thing in the book, isn't it? Yeah. First, it's the first photo in the.
00:13:23 Paul Bence
Sequence. How much response did you get from that? What was?
00:13:26 Paul Bence
The like what was I I still.
00:13:27 Roo Lewis
Get calls now. Wow.
00:13:29 Roo Lewis
Cools. Now I shouldn't have put my number on in the inside my actual phone number, but it was. It was really interesting, you know, some people just call up for a chat. Just.
00:13:38 Roo Lewis
To chat about it. But it I mean it all started.
00:13:41 Roo Lewis
Michael Sheens you know Michael Sheen's.
00:13:43 Roo Lewis
A Port Talbot boy.
00:13:44 Paul Bence
Yeah. Yeah. I was watching a documentary on him interviewing David Hearn yesterday. Actually, it's really good. I'll send it to you.
00:13:51 Paul Bence
It's really good.
00:13:51 Roo Lewis
I haven't seen that is that.
00:13:52 Paul Bence
New yes, it was up in the work. In men's. All in in Port Talbot, I think recently and it's good. Yeah, it's good.
00:13:59 Paul Bence
Really good.
00:13:59 Roo Lewis
Yeah, we'd like to see that. I mean, there, there is a wonderful photography culture in South Wales. You know, the whole Newport.
00:14:05 Paul Bence
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:14:05 Roo Lewis
Of Newport and Steve Smith, of course, for uh for Ghost. He he went to Newport and.
00:14:11 Paul Bence
They didn't. They did.
00:14:12 Paul Bence
You know, Dan, do you know Dan?
00:14:14 Paul Bence
Wood or not, you know, don't know, OK?
00:14:15 Roo Lewis
Yeah. Yeah, I've talked to Dan. Yeah, I really like what Santos actually thinks about junkies, right?
00:14:21 Paul Bence
Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's right.
00:14:21 Roo Lewis
Yeah, yeah, he's great. And the the, you know, there's this whole scene which is amazing. Offline journal Schneiderman, just amazing work. Bruno Sebastian all all these amazing photographers doing incredible work there and it I there was a magic to it. I I maybe you can explain for what is it do you think about South Wales?
00:14:28 Paul Bence
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:14:44 Paul Bence
I think I.
00:14:44 Paul Bence
Think it goes from the coast to the hills and I think.
00:14:50 Paul Bence
One, I think that you know, you walk into a rugby club in South Wales where you walk into A to a bar or even a cafe. People will stop and talk to you, right? They're interested in your life like one of the. But I I've been in London 20 years now, but I still go home like 3 or 4 * a year. My mom and dad still live there. My sister lives there.
00:15:11 Paul Bence
I mean it, it's.
00:15:13 Paul Bence
I I think when when when you leave and you've been when you've been away for so long.
00:15:18 Paul Bence
And you go.
00:15:18 Paul Bence
Back you you just notice the like London isn't particularly a warm place like people will. You know, you can sit on the table. Can you go from north to South London? And nobody will say a word to you even if you speak to somebody. You're a bit weird, right? Like it's you know, why is this guy talking to me?
00:15:33 Paul Bence
But if like you go on a train from Bridgend to Cardiff, which is like 2020 minutes.
00:15:38 Paul Bence
Like I'm knowing somebody's life, right? There's a guy sat opposite me. I've never met. He's gonna ride. Are we doing that? I'm fine from, but yeah, I'm in London. London is a big place in there. And you know, you're absolutely like. And there's this thing. There's this natural flow of of. It's like a closeness. I can't really describe it.
00:15:59 Paul Bence
And it's like if even like even in London, if I meet another Welshman, there's like, oh, you must. Yeah, there is. And I think because it's such a small country, there's only like, what, 3 million people?
00:16:03 Dan Higginson
It's my family, right?
00:16:09 Paul Bence
People that you do know a lot of people and people know about your life and and people are interested in your life, I think. And they and they care. There's a kindness in South Wales. I think people are kind. I mean they are ********* obviously everywhere. But I think overall like.
00:16:26 Paul Bence
One of the things like growing up there was like this amazing. Like I didn't realise at the time and then you don't realise until you you go away and come.
00:16:36 Paul Bence
But how beautiful it is like the the coastline and and the mountains. And you know, just everything about it. I mean it's I I want to go home at some point and live there again, but I I'm not sure where my wife is. Not sure. I'm trying to persuade her, but I'm. I'm jealous. I'm jealous. I want to go home.
00:16:56 Paul Bence
Do a project, but you know it's just like my life is in London. Really. At this moment. My my daughter is 11. She's going to secondary school. And so in the next and maybe another 10 years, I've got, yeah. And hopefully I can.
00:17:08 Paul Bence
And go and and do my my, my my retirement project.
00:17:14 Roo Lewis
And study gap in your hedge. Yeah, it's a really cool study of Wales. I love that book.
00:17:22 Paul Bence
Me too. Me too. Yeah. Dan, Dan is like 8. My really big influence in in terms of putting me on to documentary photography. Really. To be honest with you, like, before that point, I wasn't like, I was mainly St, which was, you know, and and and shooting that way. And and it's taken a long time to get that out of my system and I still do it a little bit but.
00:17:43 Paul Bence
Yeah, it's it's, it's, I love dance work. And and it's like you're right it's it's South Wales is such a hot bed of of footed like Sebastian Bruno's of Torah is really amazing as well. Right. I mean I was just looking through that before we came on and I was I was putting your work side by side and and it's amazing how both of them are really.
00:18:04 Paul Bence
Intimate portraits of South Wales and you're outsiders, really, in a way, right. Your your people. You're not. You're not Welsh by.
00:18:11 Paul Bence
But you still love me.
00:18:12 Paul Bence
Managed to create that connection and that closeness to the people and and I kind of wonder how you've done that, like what's being what is you just think is talking to people. Is that what the the closeness is and and repeating it over and over and?
00:18:24 Roo Lewis
Over. Yeah, I mean, it's sort of, yeah, we're sort of foreign eye, I guess it's like thin vendors. And he used to say that about the.
00:18:32 Roo Lewis
Laura and I looking in.
00:18:35 Roo Lewis
But you know what? I I've spent a lot of time in Wales and I I don't know specially. I think he probably lives in Wales, doesn't he? It's sort of understanding that sort of culture.
00:18:45 Roo Lewis
I'm wanting to capture it.
00:18:49 Roo Lewis
There's a big.
00:18:50 Roo Lewis
I mean, I really do love Port Talbot. People think I'm joking, but I do. I do love the town and it's you have to judge something for what it is and.
00:18:59 Roo Lewis
Not not what? It isn't, right?
00:19:01 Roo Lewis
And and that's what the book book is about. Is this love letter to this town? Because I do. I do see it as a dreamland. I do see it as this wild.
00:19:10 Roo Lewis
Place and you, you know, at at night you had the steelworks flaring, which is when the blast furnaces go off, does it lights up the sky? It grows. It's like the whole sky goes orange, is it? It's on fire in July. You have this blue plankton, the seas glowing blue. I've never seen blue plankton in the UK. But it visits every year on on ever.
00:19:30 Roo Lewis
Beach, the longest beach in Wales, brought up.
00:19:32 Paul Bence
And as the go didn't know, didn't know.
00:19:33 Roo Lewis
You have to go and all the town will come out. There's actually an image in the book where lots of times about 2:00 AM, lots of the town at out looking that you agitate the water and you can see it shimmer in the background. All the while you got the steelworks going, going mental and you know, everyone walks around.
00:19:48 Roo Lewis
It's normal.
00:19:49 Dan Higginson
That was a really nicely observed shot, by the way, that you kind of went back. It would be really easy to go to where the people are. Do you know what?
00:19:58 Dan Higginson
I mean and just. Yeah, that's what I've done. I've done a really dumb one with just like the water with the people. But you you went back.
00:20:05 Roo Lewis
You get to see it all. See. See the Skype? Yeah, it is. It's a very impressive landscape. And that that there's something, you know, I mentioned earlier about the rhythm.
00:20:15 Roo Lewis
There's this constant sound in Port Talbot, where, uh, the industry's going and it just reminds me of a train. It actually reminded me of my granddad's boatyard in Pembrokeshire, where the the masks would clink and make this noise. And it's and you don't notice it. After a while. It it's just like a train, you know, just this constant going, the sound of industry.
00:20:37 Roo Lewis
Yeah, and this is.
00:20:39 Roo Lewis
Once you're sort.
00:20:40 Roo Lewis
Of in the zone you you don't.
00:20:42 Roo Lewis
It is still part of the town. It's really hard to it's really hard to explain.
00:20:47 Roo Lewis
I when I shot the choir, I shot that the choir at the Port Talbot Comic Choir is. I think it's the longest, oldest male choir in Wales still going today and I went to go and visit them.
00:21:01 Roo Lewis
And they rehearsed a place called uh Wesley Chapel in Taipei.
00:21:07 Roo Lewis
And you drive up there and I I didn't get any e-mail response so I couldn't get them on the phone. Nothing like that. So I just drove up to rehearsal that I.
00:21:14 Roo Lewis
Saw was happening.
00:21:16 Roo Lewis
And but I got out the car. You could hear the industry in the background and that's still worth chugging away 24/7. And I could hear it.
00:21:23 Roo Lewis
The choir. I could hear them sort of. And I just sort of followed the noise to the back of the Chapel, went through and inside there was this circle.
00:21:31 Roo Lewis
You know, probably 30-40 men all in their 60s singing to one another. And I was like, wow, what a, what a moment this is, you know, I've got, I've got to photograph these men. And these are all boys that used to work and still still works, you know, and and and and and do this in this spare time. And we ended up going up at the top of the mountain. And there's one gentleman there whose job was to.
00:21:52 Roo Lewis
Make sure everyone's tie was straight and there was a real sort of proud moment where everyone was in these beautiful green Blazers they had overlooking the steelworks and I got the 16 mil actually. Then then doing this hymn but the image shows and the bit was just then sort of having a laugh for one another and it was a real sort.
00:22:09 Roo Lewis
I don't know. It's a real moment. That's that's. That's hard to explain. But when you experience it and and that's why you should not thought Talbert. Because it's there's something there. Everyone talks about it. Why does Anthony Hopkins, Michael Sheen, Richard Burton, they they all come from this relatively small town.
00:22:29 Roo Lewis
You know, there's been decline since the sort of late 60s. It it used to be quite a affluent place used to have casino there sort of beach rider sort of beach entertainment. Miami Beach used to be called lots of clubs and pubs.
00:22:45 Roo Lewis
But that sort of declined, and it was it was kind of result after building the M4 they they destroyed half the town, which is very, very sort of odd sort of town planning to sort of take away half the town. Lots of lots of schools and churches and houses were demolished. Force sort of buy out. And they built this.
00:23:04 Roo Lewis
This huge raised motorway concrete structure and there's actually a few streets where people looking out used to look onto another house at the other side of the street, and now they're looking into this huge reinforced wall.
00:23:15 Roo Lewis
Which is very odd, but that what sort of psyche? That what that does to a town that that you know what it.
00:23:20 Roo Lewis
Does to your.
00:23:21 Roo Lewis
Mind, but it became .66. I think the M4 was built and and people just they would used to go through it, you know, stop off if they're visiting other parts of the world. But now.
00:23:32 Roo Lewis
They could just.
00:23:32 Roo Lewis
Bypass it and it it's quite a weird feeling.
00:23:36 Roo Lewis
To to, to feel bypassed by everyone, and a lot of the clubs working, men's clubs may not have been updated since that time. It's a bit of a time warp, so I think you mentioned.
00:23:47 Roo Lewis
Pool that you sort of go in to these clubs and it it. It is like something else, you know something.
00:23:53 Paul Bence
But there's, I think there's there's some that photograph that you talked about with the choir, something about.
00:24:01 Paul Bence
I don't know people looking after each other again. You know the the smoothness, this togetherness, this camaraderie, this, this resilience, I suppose, is the resilience. You know, the South Wales minds growing in the steel works is in not in a good place at this moment in time. And and I think.
00:24:15 Paul Bence
Having I think in Wales your friends are really important and and it's interesting. I was having a chat with my wife about like she went to university in and I didn't really. I'm not a university educated man unfortunately, but she she had that university education and she's still friend really friendly with a lot of her friends.
00:24:34 Paul Bence
He was in university with.
00:24:38 Paul Bence
And I was like, I was interested in it like that. How how those connections are made and how you maintain those connections over a period of time. And I think like, I'm still friendly with maybe, you know, a handful of friends from South Wales, I'm still really close with them and we look out for, but I don't. I don't.
00:24:54 Paul Bence
Have that that.
00:24:56 Paul Bence
I suppose what's the word long term?
00:24:59 Paul Bence
Friendship that you get from.
00:25:03 Dan Higginson
Help me, Dan. Staying in the place.
00:25:06 Paul Bence
Yeah, yeah, you know like.
00:25:06 Paul Bence
Like, yeah.
00:25:07 Dan Higginson
If you've said that you said that before that you you go home and there's whole groups of people that you went to school with that are.
00:25:14 Dan Higginson
Still best mates.
00:25:16 Dan Higginson
And you you feel like you're slightly outside.
00:25:18 Dan Higginson
Of that now.
00:25:19 Paul Bence
Yeah, because you've you've moved away from it. I suppose that's what it is. And because you like, when you go back and you see it and you can see it in that photograph and there's a bit of, there's a bit of, like, there's a bit jealousy there, you know, because of that, like, I think it's really hard, especially in London, because it's the way London is, right.
00:25:35 Paul Bence
You know, everything is an hour away basically and and so keeping those really close contact friendships is really hard. I I mean, we and I think in South Wales and naturally happens. It's like everybody here like you, you know, walk that down the street and you.
00:25:49 Paul Bence
Doing Paul, you know.
00:25:50 Paul Bence
You, you, your friendships are much more, maybe tighter is the wrong word. But I I mean it feels much more.
00:25:56 Dan Higginson
You bump into each.
00:25:57 Paul Bence
Other yeah. You bump into each other and people know your life. And I think that's what made me want to leave initially. You know, that's why I came to London because it felt claustrophobic in a way.
00:26:06 Paul Bence
I felt like like, you know, you were living. I lived in a small town, which end is relatively small and everybody knew everything about your life. And there was no escape from that and I think.
00:26:17 Paul Bence
Coming to a massive city and moving away from it.
00:26:22 Paul Bence
It totally gave me that like I could be anonymous here and that was great. I like. I like that idea. And I mean, but going back to it now, I kind of realised what I've missed as well. Like I see, you know it's it's it's a dual edged sword in a way, right. It's like the there's the closeness and the bonding that you get from living in a small community where you don't. If you live in a big city, I think that's.
00:26:42 Paul Bence
Maybe I'm wrong, but I I kind of that's what I was thinking.
00:26:46 Roo Lewis
Yeah, I I totally get that. And it is, I mean, all the book is about community, you know and hope. And I I think we.
00:26:55 Roo Lewis
We do sort of yearn to connect to one another. I think maybe London. There's almost too many people to to form, you know, meaningful connections with too many. Obviously you have communities within the larger London life, of course. Yeah. But it, yeah, in in Wales, they're they're there is a strong sense of community.
00:27:10 Paul Bence
Yeah, Toby.
00:27:15 Roo Lewis
There's some.
00:27:17 Roo Lewis
It's a Pantone which I'm going to next week.
00:27:20 Roo Lewis
Tybalt Rugby Football club. Uh. Yeah. Have you ever been?
00:27:22 Paul Bence
Amazing night.
00:27:24 Paul Bence
I haven't been, but I'm just. I know I haven't been to.
00:27:26 Roo Lewis
You have an edge you haven't. There's there's. It's taken very seriously, BBC actually a documentary on it called Balls of Steel. OK. And there's a lot of rugby clubs. I forget how many. I think maybe 11 rugby clubs in Port Talbot, which is a lot for a small town.
00:27:43 Speaker 3
That has a lot. It is a lot.
00:27:44 Roo Lewis
Yeah, and and it's a big so culturally big, isn't it, sport in in Wales and the time about Rugby Football club, they they start rehearsing I think at the start of September for the pantomime.
00:27:57 Roo Lewis
And last year it was called Beauty and the Beast, and it was I I emailed them and they were really nice. Like I met them all and they were very kind. They invited me to be backstage, photographing them and rehearsals. And I got lazy good photos. I think only one or two made it into the book. But it was. So I've never seen.
00:28:17 Roo Lewis
So many big hard men, basically rugby players, you know, front row, uh steel workers, you know? But how? As you can get talk, talk about this love of community and basically loving one another without using those words and.
00:28:32 Roo Lewis
It really does mean a lot, a lot to them, because they the the whole town comes to see it. You know it it's sold out every night. It raises a lot of money for.
00:28:40 Roo Lewis
The club and it's just it, it's a great. It's so much fun. You know, a lot of the jokes. I didn't get some of some of them I got I.
00:28:47 Roo Lewis
Got some.
00:28:48 Roo Lewis
Of the in jokes. But again, it's that real sort of pride and.
00:28:52 Roo Lewis
Willing to look a bit silly and and go with it and and it's been going. It's it's a very serious I think it started at the YMCA.
00:28:59 Roo Lewis
The, which is where Anthony Hopkins first went. And so, you know, some Anthony Hopkins went to Hollywood and the the other boys start the tie bar, the Football Club pantomime. But I would recommend going.
00:29:12 Paul Bence
I've gotta go. I really wanna go now. I really do.
00:29:14 Roo Lewis
Yeah, you definitely, definitely go. I I think it's at start December, I'm going next week with I mentioned before, Nigel and and Pancho.
00:29:23 Roo Lewis
And I'm really looking forward to it and it's very rugby. You know, there's a lot of drinking involved and.
00:29:28 Speaker 3
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:29:28 Roo Lewis
A lot of.
00:29:30 Roo Lewis
Winding each other up.
00:29:32 Roo Lewis
But it's it's such a nice community spirited event and a lovely thing to do. And yeah, I've I've really enjoyed it. I'll probably take a camera.
00:29:41 Speaker 3
Yeah, yeah.
00:29:42 Dan Higginson
So you have to take a camera.
00:29:43 Dan Higginson
Really whereabouts from the world are you?
00:29:44 Roo Lewis
Yes, it's.
00:29:46 Roo Lewis
I'm in London now. So, uh, I've got a studio in Bethnal Green. OK, East London and uh, I live in north London. So uh, it's. But I'm. Yeah, I I do try and go back. I've been back a couple of times since the books come out because I made such good friends. They're they.
00:30:01 Roo Lewis
Are my friends and I do love the town and.
00:30:02 Paul Bence
What? What's the what's what's the typical working week like for you then? You. What's like like Monday to Friday? What's what's?
00:30:08 Roo Lewis
Ohh God well, I've got a toddler now. So yeah 2 1/2.
00:30:11 Paul Bence
How old? How old?
00:30:13 Paul Bence
OK, wow.
00:30:13 Roo Lewis
And yeah, I'm really enjoying it. But, you know, before, as a photographer, I thought I was busy. You know, you gotta do like.
00:30:21 Roo Lewis
One maybe 2 sheets a month, you know? Totally mental, really busy. But now I realise what busy is a kid, so I've got better at times. But yeah, I've been. I've been shooting quite a lot recently, which is good.
00:30:36 Dan Higginson
Shooting in in London for work.
00:30:39 Roo Lewis
Yeah, I I did this thing for Bell staff, which is, which was quite a good project. And then I'm working on another book with a writer in Chichester, which I don't know about Chichester, but amazing, beautiful place.
00:30:39 Dan Higginson
Or going back to.
00:30:52 Roo Lewis
I used to do a bit of colour of nature photography and gardens. Uh, But I've always seen myself as a a portrait photographer primarily, but this has been really good. I did the Pets at Home campaign.
00:31:05 Speaker 5
He's nice.
00:31:05 Roo Lewis
Good. You know that.
00:31:07 Roo Lewis
Which is really good fun. Just photographing people and their animals and their dogs.
00:31:12 Roo Lewis
If you know the photographer Mark Lebon, but he actually photographed him with Lee for with his dog, hang for for Pets at Home, which is really good fun. So yeah, typically I I share a dark room with another photographer and that's private cause a lot of my sort of.
00:31:30 Roo Lewis
My work it is hand printing is that that's how I get those sort of colours. I make the printed.
00:31:34 Roo Lewis
Out and then.
00:31:35 Roo Lewis
I scan it.
00:31:36 Roo Lewis
And and that that's how I like working. So I share dark room, so I'll go to the studio twice a week, say, and then I've got the kid. The other half of the week and shooting. It's it's all a bit over the place all over the place really.
00:31:50 Dan Higginson
It sounds like you spend a lot of time trying to find other people like communities. Are you feeling quite isolated in that bit of love?
00:32:00 Roo Lewis
Yeah. I'm. I'm. I'm that age now. I think a lot of my friends have moved out. They're they're sort of moving out. They've done the London thing and moving out they've got, they might have kids and wanna a bigger house or something or or.
00:32:12 Roo Lewis
A different school.
00:32:14 Roo Lewis
UM.
00:32:15 Roo Lewis
I've never really felt isolated.
00:32:18 Roo Lewis
As a photographer, I I think quite the opposite really cause cause cause I do portraits like it to meet all sorts of people. You know. I do see portraits as a a collaboration.
00:32:28 Roo Lewis
And you sort of learn so much about someone, and I think that's important. You know the 1st.
00:32:34 Roo Lewis
40 minutes or so you've you've just basically talked to that person looking about. They're trying to work out who they are. I mean, you might have an idea about how to shoot someone with all these Jamie Hawkesworth preferences or something like that, but when you meet them, you're like, well, why can't you like that at all? I have to shoot them like this. You know, they tell you something.
00:32:52 Roo Lewis
And and certainly that was a big.
00:32:54 Roo Lewis
Big part, but tell that your phone investigation club.
00:32:57 Dan Higginson
Do you think sometimes, though, that that conversation that you have with people as a photographer feels slightly different? It's not the long term relationship that Paul's talking about. It's not like a fling, right?
00:33:07 Dan Higginson
Where you don't necessarily.
00:33:10 Dan Higginson
I don't know. You're not. You're not embedded. You're.
00:33:11 Dan Higginson
Not one of the guys you just.
00:33:14 Roo Lewis
Yeah, I I guess there's. Yeah, there's quite a lot of that, isn't there, I guess maybe.
00:33:15 Dan Higginson
In and out.
00:33:21 Roo Lewis
I'm I'm forming real relationships with everyone I meet, you know, because I I am interested in people.
00:33:26
Of course you.
00:33:27 Dan Higginson
You can see it in the photos as well, right? They're they're genuine.
00:33:31 Paul Bence
Yeah, I think that I think you can I. That's why I thought I was going to say exactly that there's a real connection. I don't, I don't think you create those connections without being interested in somebody, right? Like the there's the those. Those photographs come from listening from, from taking time to listen to somebody and and then reflect.
00:33:47 Dan Higginson
Absolutely sorry I wasn't for a SEC.
00:33:49 Dan Higginson
Trying to say that those connections.
00:33:52 Dan Higginson
That were in any way fake, but the connection that you have with say, that choir, that's that connection you have with them is very different to the connection they have with each other.
00:34:01 Roo Lewis
Ohh definitely yeah I I mean I suppose you gotta accept that the situation is.
00:34:07 Roo Lewis
Created right? You're you're curating and creating a situation.
00:34:10 Roo Lewis
And and so you do. You do have that first when you're you are trying to connect you are.
00:34:16 Roo Lewis
Creating that situation, it's not a natural meeting in the pub or on a train pool that you know, like you. You were earlier, but you know you are. You are connecting and.
00:34:26 Roo Lewis
Yeah, I've never. I've I'll never be one.
00:34:27 Roo Lewis
Of the Port Talbot boys.
00:34:30 Roo Lewis
That's not wanna be.
00:34:32 Dan Higginson
You might have an honorary key to the town at this point, right?
00:34:35 Roo Lewis
Yeah, I hope so, I hope.
00:34:37 Paul Bence
Have you taken the book back and shown people have?
00:34:39 Paul Bence
Of the I I.
00:34:40 Roo Lewis
Do you know what it's had really? It's had a really good reaction. I was worried about offending 3 different communities, you know, cause it's, you know, I'm not Welsh. I was born in England. My granddad was Welsh. But.
00:34:51 Roo Lewis
So I was worried about offending this sort of Welsh community and then the UFO community, which could be quite fractious. OK, so, but they seem to.
00:35:02 Roo Lewis
I've always said it's not a study of UFO sightings. I've done a lot of those deep dives and done those holes. I've long history of listening to UFO stories because I just love stories and.
00:35:15 Roo Lewis
You know well comments to the truth of that in the minute.
00:35:17 Roo Lewis
You know what?
00:35:17 Roo Lewis
That means, and I was also worried about the the photo book community, you know, because that's that's that's a real thing. There's I love photo books, I love.
00:35:27 Roo Lewis
How pure they can be. I I see it as photography in the purest form where you can really.
00:35:32 Roo Lewis
There's no compromises. As a photographer, you make your photo book, you're sequencing your photos.
00:35:38 Paul Bence
Yeah. I was gonna ask you. You sequenced all yourself? Yeah, you.
00:35:40 Roo Lewis
No, I mean a lot of it was with with Gost Stu.
00:35:44 Roo Lewis
Steve Smith, who who, who's amazing and and I think you have to know when to let go of it because you can.
00:35:50 Roo Lewis
Be so in.
00:35:50 Roo Lewis
A project and certainly photos, didn't make it in the book, which I love, but.
00:35:56 Roo Lewis
You know, your initial reaction is to be like, get annoyed and he says you can't.
00:35:59 Roo Lewis
Have this one in.
00:36:01 Roo Lewis
But then when you see it together, you see why it makes.
00:36:04 Roo Lewis
And and that's partly why I get annoyed is, you know, he's.
00:36:07 Dan Higginson
Right.
00:36:08 Speaker 3
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:36:09 Roo Lewis
Yeah, there's a couple who maybe reshoot at show I went. I went back. There's one of Terry. Who is this older gentleman who was homeless for about 30 years, 40 years.
00:36:18 Roo Lewis
He's got a long beard and he's always weared, wears a kilt and the cowboy hat and the town, sort of.
00:36:23 Roo Lewis
Petition. Petition to.
00:36:24 Roo Lewis
Get him a house. So they got him a house now? Uh, and that's been the 70s. They can't read or write. He's got loads of stories, you know, on the streets for so long. And actually he spends most of the time just hanging out in the street. That's what he's used to.
00:36:39 Roo Lewis
He he talks about sort of helping build the motorway and then he would then live under that motorway for for years afterwards but.
00:36:46 Paul Bence
It was so interesting because let me tell you a story where I lived in Bridgend and then went away. The motorway bridge went literally through my village pretty much right? And as kids we used to. There was basically you could walk up these steps and you could. There's like a massive metal doorway which you could go.
00:37:02 Paul Bence
In and walk.
00:37:03 Paul Bence
Through like a tunnel that goes under.
00:37:05 Paul Bence
The motorway and but there there used to be this story that there is a guy that used to live underneath the bridge.
00:37:11 Paul Bence
And you abducted children like so. That's, like, really scary. That's weird, right?
00:37:17 Roo Lewis
Is there any truth to it?
00:37:19 Paul Bence
I don't mean I don't think it's.
00:37:21 Paul Bence
Urban myths, yeah.
00:37:23 Roo Lewis
Yeah, but that's it. I mean, that's what I mean by that. Truth is.
00:37:26 Roo Lewis
I don't care what the truth is. Like a lot of the time, people say I do believe these people's stories about UFO's and I don't care. I.
00:37:34 Roo Lewis
Don't care you.
00:37:34 Roo Lewis
Know right? It doesn't matter because it's storytelling and and pull tab is full of these amazing stories. You know you've got, I remember going to a pub.
00:37:41 Roo Lewis
And someone saying, Oh well, you know where Ridley Scott stayed in Port Talbot and but oh, really? I'm already this doesn't sound true. Right. But he was influenced by the flaring and still works for Blade Runner. And there might be some truth to that. You don't know, but it it it.
00:37:55 Roo Lewis
Doesn't matter that the truth that then extended to George Lucas, who also stayed in Port Talbot.
00:38:02 Roo Lewis
And he saw the dock cranes and the dock cranes look like they they really do look like the walkers in Star Wars. And if you've seen those, they're called walkers.
00:38:12 Speaker 3
That's right. Yeah, yeah.
00:38:12 Roo Lewis
That's right. And he saw those and he was influenced and he called the matter.
00:38:17 Roo Lewis
There's ATA is tartar backwards and tarpa works. If that's incredible, of course tarta.
00:38:25 Roo Lewis
I still works for the 90s and Star Wars in the 70s and whatever. OK that is.
00:38:29 Roo Lewis
Not true, but.
00:38:30 Roo Lewis
The best is and you know, like all these things, there is some truth to that. You know, in it was in Pembrokeshire, the Millennium Falcons themselves was built. So they they they they would have driven past Port Talbot and who knows like what went in that into that model making.
00:38:45 Roo Lewis
But the truth is.
00:38:47 Roo Lewis
It's weird that you know it.
00:38:48 Roo Lewis
I always think there's always battle this with photography. I I used to think photography was about.
00:38:54 Roo Lewis
Uh taking photos of what's there, but now I understand to be something quite different. I understand. I think you should sort of say something with it. Create a universe or make someone feel something, you know, do all of those things together.
00:39:09 Roo Lewis
Because I because I certainly can't. I don't know about anyone else, but I I cannot be objectively true. In fact, in photography there's always a a bias. Right? You know why you chose that scene? Why you chose that focal length? That film stock where you created it that way. Whatever it is, there's always a bias.
00:39:26 Roo Lewis
So I don't think we can ever. Well, I can't be objectively true in photography so. So it's not much more interesting to me for people saying something and.
00:39:36 Roo Lewis
I think the photo book is the perfect way to do that because I.
00:39:42 Roo Lewis
And again, as I've got older, I've realised it doesn't matter if.
00:39:45 Roo Lewis
I don't think it means if you like the photos or not. It's more about do you like the project and do you think the project is saying something? Is it success and saying.
00:39:52 Roo Lewis
What it's meant to say?
00:39:55 Roo Lewis
And those books just do a wonderful job of that. You know, you can eat someone's photo book and and sort of understand.
00:40:01 Roo Lewis
What they're saying. And so yeah, I I do love that.
00:40:05 Paul Bence
Your favourite photo books. What books do you like? What's what's your take? Desert Island 3 Desert Island. Photo books you can take with you. 2 Desert island.
00:40:09 Paul Bence
I'm really going.
00:40:13 Roo Lewis
OK.
00:40:16 Roo Lewis
It's a difficult one. Is it? I I would say by the Mississippi Classic though.
00:40:22 Paul Bence
That's right.
00:40:23 Roo Lewis
Yeah. Wonderful. So to the wonderful again, the rhythm to it. And the second thing colour. All right, up my street. I really like, UM, field studies by Stephen Gill.
00:40:34 Paul Bence
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:40:35 Paul Bence
I don't.
00:40:37 Paul Bence
Is that the one is that that's not that. That's the pillar. The one with the.
00:40:40 Roo Lewis
Beard roll on the pillar. Yeah, it's more more recent, I think. Yeah. I mean, he's just he's used.
00:40:44 Roo Lewis
To so much amazing.
00:40:45 Roo Lewis
Yeah. And and I would just sort of support my point, I would say X Photo by Alice Tomlinson.
00:40:55 Paul Bence
Hmm, interesting.
00:40:55 Roo Lewis
Because it's a very beautiful book and.
00:41:00 Roo Lewis
Everything's beautiful.
00:41:01 Roo Lewis
About it the the the printing is very beautiful. The design and I think it's a real success as a photo book and it's not about whether I like the images or because it's all black and white, right? If you know the book, but it's all black and white. It's not like my work at all, but it it's about a pilgrimage and it's shot over.
00:41:20 Roo Lewis
In a few years, I think or large format and it's just so beautifully executed, I think that's.
00:41:28 Roo Lewis
That that's why I want a book on Ghost. That's why I've used them basically.
00:41:32 Dan Higginson
Because of that, then.
00:41:34 Roo Lewis
Because of that, though, yeah.
00:41:34 Paul Bence
Can I? Can I ask you a question? Imagine you shoot digital. You should digital a lot for your commissioned work or not. Or you should everything from.
00:41:43 Roo Lewis
I do shoot digital a lot of advertising digital, but I am getting a lot of film commissions too at the moment. Yeah. But I always shoot.
00:41:51 Roo Lewis
Digital long slide.
00:41:53 Paul Bence
Do you think I'm? I'm just questioning the in terms of your personal work and and why you choose film to shoot your personal work predominantly on film. You got your own dark room. And why that's important to you.
00:42:06 Roo Lewis
UM, it's.
00:42:09 Roo Lewis
I mean there is a.
00:42:11 Roo Lewis
When taking a portrait, there was a certain theatre to shooting on film. I I shoot like medium format 6-7 and you when you set up and you might be on a tripod or you still have all these old cameras and and film, there is a certain theatre you're creating.
00:42:27 Roo Lewis
And quite often the cameras away from your face, you can sort of connect.
00:42:31 Roo Lewis
Everything's slower.
00:42:33 Roo Lewis
You're not just snapping away. I think people are quite familiar with the DSLR, like nothing with that, but people are quite familiar with that. People are less familiar with.
00:42:41 Roo Lewis
And our Z67 looking down or or a Pentax and.
00:42:47 Roo Lewis
Yeah. As I say, it creates this theatre and you think people give you less, you know, like bright lights, rabbit in the headlights or something. But they actually give you more. They give you more there. There's this a sense of let's do this together. Let's collaborate. This is this is a special.
00:43:02 Roo Lewis
Thing and and I I I don't. I don't shoot loads. I I sort of.
00:43:07 Roo Lewis
And let's be quite considered, and there's definitely a cost factor in that certainly nowadays.
00:43:13 Roo Lewis
But you don't need to take loads of photographs. I don't think. I think you sort of once you've worked out your angles.
00:43:19 Roo Lewis
And then your tests. You really can nail it quite, quite quickly I think. And and you might do several sort of looks or angles and I I say do that in portal, but we did several different.
00:43:33 Roo Lewis
Maybe areas quite often with people. I would have a place in mind where I talked to them about a location and then we would, you know, work that out, how that would represent and.
00:43:46 Roo Lewis
Yeah, I think that's why I like film. Is that sort of other than the other sort of colour aesthetic and feel to it? I'm I'm not a purist by it, by any means. I think it's. If I could do that on a digital camera, I certainly would. But I can't it it. It just looks like.
00:44:00 Paul Bence
Do you think there's a?
00:44:01 Paul Bence
Different emotional attachment between a a digital photograph and a film photograph.
00:44:05 Roo Lewis
I I do. Yeah. There's certainly a feel to it. And for me it's colours I I love.
00:44:11 Roo Lewis
Colour. I spend a lot of time in colour.
00:44:14 Paul Bence
You and you and Dan will get on.
00:44:16 Roo Lewis
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I obsessed with it. And there is a there is a feeling in that that sort of colour, which I can. I'm not skilled enough to do that digitally, but I can do it in the dark room. And I think when an image is sort of.
00:44:34 Roo Lewis
Beautiful. You're you're. You're naturally inclined.
00:44:38 Roo Lewis
To be more drawn into it and try and understand it.
00:44:40 Roo Lewis
Ohh, so yeah, that's why I like it it it's not a it's not be pure thing. It's just it's just it's kind of it just looks better, but it it it is very expensive. I'm shooting a lot of there.
00:44:53 Roo Lewis
Six or five channels in just six or five at the moment because you get 60% more photos on on.
00:44:58 Roo Lewis
The role and and none of.
00:45:01 Dan Higginson
That much different is it either.
00:45:03 Roo Lewis
Well, you get 10 on RZ and 16 on my. I've got a contact 645 and it's slightly sort of faster pace, but there is something special about that.
00:45:13 Roo Lewis
6/7 negative 8.
00:45:15 Roo Lewis
I I I guess I can't. I don't know what it is. It's just look to me. It's like night and day when you shoot a portrait and 6-7 and handprint it.
00:45:22 Dan Higginson
Have you done much stuff on bad format?
00:45:24 Roo Lewis
I haven't you. I've never done a large format, but have you guys done any of?
00:45:28 Paul Bence
That I've I.
00:45:29 Dan Higginson
Haven't got stolen Paul's camera, so I've I've got a large format camera.
00:45:34 Dan Higginson
Just out of frame up there.
00:45:36 Paul Bence
I don't have you not used it yet.
00:45:38 Dan Higginson
So, do you know Roy Mehta? No.
00:45:42 Dan Higginson
OK so.
00:45:43 Paul Bence
I'm just going to let my dog out. Sorry my dog wants to go.
00:45:45 Dan Higginson
Blessing seen lemon pacing up by the door, so I I'm a mature student at 38. I've gone back to university anyway. I'm I'm kind of using it as a I just want to start fresh. You know, I've I've approached it with a open mind as I possibly can to just make sure that I'm kind of unlearning a lot of the bad habits that I'm in.
00:46:06 Dan Higginson
And and and really trying to get the most from these brilliant, amazing tutors that we have, like really experienced tutors. Roy Mehta is one of them and he's done a fair amount of work on large format. So I'm working with Roy at the minute to to upskill myself to actually.
00:46:21 Dan Higginson
Me knocking.
00:46:21 Paul Bence
Have you used? Have you used it actually? Have you?
00:46:23 Paul Bence
Done any pictures of.
00:46:24 Dan Higginson
It I've I've got a couple.
00:46:25 Dan Higginson
Of frames that.
00:46:27 Dan Higginson
Need to go into the dark room? Need to be developed black and white.
00:46:31 Dan Higginson
All of it is black and white so far, but yeah, I I kind of, I really want to have a play with it. But but Barry, like the cost, because obviously I know that the 1st.
00:46:40 Dan Higginson
Bunch of stuff that I do with.
00:46:42 Dan Higginson
It can be.
00:46:42 Dan Higginson
Absolute *** **** and knowing that I'm paying.
00:46:46 Paul Bence
So much for every crap.
00:46:47 Dan Higginson
Frame. I don't know. It scares me particularly as a mature student. Yeah, I really like the idea.
00:46:52 Roo Lewis
Do do you find it too slow? I I just.
00:46:55 Dan Higginson
I've not. I mean I've. I've literally got a couple of test frames off and maybe they're like more landscaping than anything.
00:47:01 Paul Bence
Else I think it it it takes a lot of skill to.
00:47:04 Paul Bence
I like. Well, I I I I so my, my, my, my, my French buddy Roman, he's really like he's the most technical geeky guy you could ever meet in your life. While he's super geek. And he we bought it about 10 years ago and we we used to take it and then shoot progress with each other and try and go out on.
00:47:05 Dan Higginson
I don't have that skill.
00:47:23 Paul Bence
The street and just shoot.
00:47:24 Paul Bence
And St poultries.
00:47:26 Paul Bence
And I think it just takes that it it does take that that that length of time longer to just to get it. But maybe if you become really good at and you use it all the time you know maybe you do get quicker on it, but we you know we were slow really slow. I'm up yours on Monday for one.
00:47:39 Speaker 5
Not being these guys.
00:47:41 Dan Higginson
Why aren't I? I'm gonna bring it with me. I'm gonna make a portrait of.
00:47:44 Dan Higginson
You and I'll.
00:47:44 Dan Higginson
Get it in.
00:47:44 Dan Higginson
Dark room. I'll let's see how.
00:47:47 Roo Lewis
Thanks. I can't quite. Yeah, there's probably a bit too far for me.
00:47:53 Roo Lewis
I I I I don't like being limited by I assume you always have to use on the tripod, right?
00:47:59 Paul Bence
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, you can. Yeah.
00:48:00 Paul Bence
Can't hold calendar actually yet.
00:48:01 Dan Higginson
Yeah, those those ******* very nice. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:48:03 Paul Bence
Steve master.
00:48:05 Dan Higginson
But it's not press camera right? So.
00:48:07 Paul Bence
We we used to shoot with it. You know, we you, the New York photographer we shot like all of the like, you know, the New York sort of. Yeah that camera basically and I used to walk around with it.
00:48:14 Dan Higginson
It's that camera, right?
00:48:18 Paul Bence
And hold it and.
00:48:19 Dan Higginson
There's a huge flash, it says portable on it. That's what it says in big writing cause I guess this thing's from the ******* 40s or something. And it said that's one of.
00:48:27 Dan Higginson
Its selling points portable portable corner.
00:48:31 Dan Higginson
It's got a big leather handle on the side of it. Yeah, massive.
00:48:34 Paul Bence
But I still think you need to put.
00:48:35 Dan Higginson
On a tripod? Yes, absolutely. Particularly because I guess back then as well that the film probably didn't cost that much. So all those far away shots.
00:48:43 Roo Lewis
It wasn't just your brain. Yeah, luckily it's he's.
00:48:46 Dan Higginson
Had these speed loaders, I don't know if you ever seen anybody use them. They're like a big, almost like an organ, you know, like a is that they called.
00:48:52 Dan Higginson
Like the.
00:48:52 Dan Higginson
Squeeze box organ things. So there you would like rip a thing out and push it back in and it would like load in the next film and they'd be able to do like 10 frames really quick.
00:49:02 Dan Higginson
That's what the press guys were doing, yeah.
00:49:04 Paul Bence
They weren't using.
00:49:05 Dan Higginson
A viewfinder as well. There's like a little metal thing on top with a square in front and they just line it up so.
00:49:10 Dan Higginson
It's all approximate.
00:49:11 Paul Bence
Amazing, right? You know, I can't imagine.
00:49:12 Roo Lewis
Yeah. And when you say you wanna go into education after you doing a, you say back at uni.
00:49:13 Dan Higginson
What he must have done?
00:49:19 Dan Higginson
Yeah. Yes, I'm studying for a for a BA in documentary photography and photojournalism. One day. Yeah, yeah, probably for verification.
00:49:26 Paul Bence
And you wanna go teach a bunch of these?
00:49:31 Dan Higginson
One day, one day, not yet, not yet. I don't think I've got anything to teach people just yet one day.
00:49:36 Roo Lewis
There I'd like the idea that I didn't do photography at university and I like the idea of sort of almost being made.
00:49:43 Roo Lewis
To study something you know.
00:49:46 Speaker 3
Me too.
00:49:47 Roo Lewis
And need to do a project and how far you take that. You know a lot of.
00:49:52 Roo Lewis
Lot of photographers. You see what? What you see? They're they're quite often their best work might be their university or their masters that they that single study.
00:50:02 Roo Lewis
And yeah, and that's those books. I like that idea of a of a true monograph, like that specialised.
00:50:08 Roo Lewis
Single study of of an area. You become a. There's this writer called Johnson love his big influence on my work. Even though the writer and I'm a photographer that he said, you know, you become an expert when you're writing about something you you become an expert in that field which you then forget about. And I think that's true in photography you become obsessed with.
00:50:29 Roo Lewis
Once you find.
00:50:31 Roo Lewis
If you're investigating something and and you find that Channel that's, that's something that. That hook. Yeah. You become obsessed and study it. And that that happened with me and Port Talbot.
00:50:44 Dan Higginson
So what else are you an expert in now that you've subsequently forgotten well.
00:50:50 Roo Lewis
Well, in general in general, uh, I I thought it through it for a while. I followed through.
00:50:55 Paul Bence
OK, I I saw that work as well. Yeah, you've done a few. You've done a few books, right? You've done a few.
00:50:59 Paul Bence
Books or a few was that your first book and then you did a few projects.
00:51:02 Roo Lewis
That was just. Yeah, that was a project books I've done previously and sort of more sort of commercial oriented books.
00:51:08 Roo Lewis
That not more.
00:51:09 Roo Lewis
The grass.
00:51:11 Roo Lewis
But Druids was was a great one because I didn't know anything about it. I grew up in the West Country and you sort.
00:51:18 Roo Lewis
Of see him around. But yeah, again, I like that idea of as folklore again. And and faith, you know, it's their religion. And and they again they were very sort of hard to contact our but I visited Stonehenge.
00:51:32 Roo Lewis
On the solstice. And that wasn't.
00:51:34 Roo Lewis
A lot of people there weren't sort of, you'd say true Druids, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Well, yeah, they're sort of. They're sort of raving maybe. And so I ended up going to Glastonbury and meet meeting the rainbow people. Uh, Steve snake, grey Wolf, all these amazing people. And they don't have.
00:51:53 Roo Lewis
Facebook or Instagram profiles or anything like that, but it was very sweet that I was invited to their UM, that's all personal religious ceremonies. And you know, the first few times I went, I didn't actually take any photos because you I think you gotta be careful and photograph your community, not to sort of.
00:52:12 Roo Lewis
It sounds really obvious, but not to take too much from them. You're sort of using them. Yeah. You wanna? You wanna work with them or or celebrate them? And I think in general is quite hard to tell good positive stories. It's very easy to tell a negative story and and take the mic out of someone. And I.
00:52:15 Dan Higginson
Yeah. No, no. Good morning to you.
00:52:31 Paul Bence
Where'd you find that? Where'd you find that line is then where it's like. And how are you working that? Are you getting device from peers? Friends, family. Or did you do that yourself?
00:52:41 Roo Lewis
Yeah, I think I think it's all motivation. You know, if if you people work you out quite quickly, your motivation, if you if you're.
00:52:51 Roo Lewis
Trying to take from the community.
00:52:54 Roo Lewis
Or be in any way exploitative? I think that's quite clear. Whereas if you're interested, I I think a lot of.
00:53:03 Roo Lewis
Great. Sort of photography is comes from a genuine interest in the subject and wanting to explore it.
00:53:09 Roo Lewis
In a way which you're able, which is photography.
00:53:13 Roo Lewis
I think that.
00:53:14 Roo Lewis
Shows quite quickly.
00:53:16 Roo Lewis
Uh, and yeah, I I mean, I used to do work for.
00:53:18 Roo Lewis
Like Vice magazine.
00:53:19 Roo Lewis
And and people like that. And it it's too easy to be negative and take the ****. It's too easy.
00:53:26 Dan Higginson
Was that something you felt pressure from them to do?
00:53:29 Dan Higginson
Maybe I'm speaking out and.
00:53:29 Roo Lewis
No, it it wasn't. There were never really pressuring me to do that. It was.
00:53:34 Roo Lewis
That's the quick, easy way out is to get a quick sort of laugh was to try and understand something. It's it's like when you.
00:53:44 Roo Lewis
You know, not everyone's great communicators. Sometimes you have to actually listen to what someone's saying and and understand what.
00:53:51 Roo Lewis
What they mean?
00:53:52 Roo Lewis
Not just listen to the words they're saying and take them out of context. And and that's quite sort of mean spirited sometimes when people do that and.
00:54:01 Dan Higginson
I think superpower to be able to do.
00:54:02 Roo Lewis
That though, right? Yeah.
00:54:04 Roo Lewis
Yeah, I was just taking time, isn't it? It's just it's not going for that quick, quick sort of laugh and that drive for content I've bought. I've always been terrible on Instagram. I, you know, I don't post enough.
00:54:18 Roo Lewis
Yeah, it I, I do think it's hard to tell positive stories well and when when you find one, it's I think we have that responsibility as photographers to to tell it for what it is you know and and look for that truth.
00:54:33 Roo Lewis
Yeah, that's that's where supports are. It is, it's a positive story. It's it is a love letter and I'm I'm not shying away from.
00:54:42 Roo Lewis
Any of the challenges the town has, you know it was once labelled most polluted in the UK it it doesn't. There isn't a lot of money there, but there there is a lovely.
00:54:53 Roo Lewis
Attitude there pride. There's something about it and and and the.
00:55:00 Roo Lewis
I'm not ignoring the bullet points, but everyone's done that you know fast black and white photos that they're still works and.
00:55:07 Roo Lewis
Of trolleys in in where there's that sort of thing and.
00:55:11 Dan Higginson
It it's the softness that I think, yeah.
00:55:14 Paul Bence
We haven't got a lot, but we've got each other, right? Yeah. It's kind of. I think that is a big part of it, right. I think you know, and I, it's amazing. I was. I was thinking with my honeymoon, I went to Tanzania and it was.
00:55:16 Roo Lewis
Yeah. There you go. There you good.
00:55:26 Paul Bence
One of the things that.
00:55:28 Paul Bence
Again, it was weird. It was like a weird moment where I'm away and there's these kids with absolutely nothing but the happiest kids I've ever seen in my life. They're absolutely like, you know, like, I've never seen happier children like and. And I think that sometimes you it it takes you to go away from someone to to to see that like it.
00:55:47 Paul Bence
Love, love reflection. But I think it is you, don't you? I think having each other is probably the most important thing. Connection with each other and.
00:55:57 Dan Higginson
I think priorities, though, isn't.
00:55:58 Dan Higginson
It we go up, we're all.
00:56:00 Dan Higginson
In or around London.
00:56:02 Dan Higginson
And there is this weird kind of.
00:56:05 Dan Higginson
I don't wanna sound like a like a weirdo political person, cause I don't really care that much, but there's this weird like capitalism thing, and it's kind of pervasive and it it gets under your skin and it makes you wanna do stuff. But the reality is is like, you know, just like you said, Paul, like that priority shift of.
00:56:25 Dan Higginson
Being more interested in each other than stuff.
00:56:29 Dan Higginson
I don't know it it changes a community.
00:56:32 Paul Bence
But I do think I think I think as a society, as as a on.
00:56:37 Paul Bence
The whole we've.
00:56:37 Paul Bence
We've we've, there's almost been this divide put through simple Brexit, like this massive lines being like, drawn like you're either for Brexit or against it and they were kind of.
00:56:46 Paul Bence
We've forgotten what it is. Maybe to be kind is and look after each other and that the whole millions and millions of small communities. And when you do a book like yours, which is on South Wales and it highlights this closeness between people, it just makes you reflect and think. You know, maybe why? Why can't we all be a bit like that? Why can't we will be a bit like South Wales. So, you know, it's not a bad place to be.
00:57:07 Paul Bence
And and like you say, money doesn't matter. It doesn't know.
00:57:09 Paul Bence
So I think class doesn't matter in South Wales. It's something like I never, you know, I've been working. I was grew up in a working class family in South Wales and you don't realise you're growing up in a working class family even when you're growing up in a working class family until you leave. It's this reflection afterwards and and how hard my family worked. And you know, my dad sometimes hit my paper.
00:57:29 Paul Bence
On for me?
00:57:31 Paul Bence
You know, but it's these things that, you know it's it's, it's amazing, it is. It is an amazing place and I think.
00:57:38 Paul Bence
We, we we we get so much negative news and so much **** and so much, you know, the world is a horrible place, but there are there, there's communities like that all over the world, right. There's people give a **** about each other and I think we should highlight that more. I think that's like an amazing thing. And honestly I like I like of all the books I've seen this year. I've seen a lot.
00:57:58 Paul Bence
The books as your roses and maybe I'm Welsh as well too resonates with me more. I'll give it that bias, but I think it's magical. It's really magical.
00:58:06 Roo Lewis
Ohh thanks mate. I'm I mean I've I've received so many lovely messages. It's really sort of. It's has some great press as well.
00:58:15 Roo Lewis
I didn't. Obviously I didn't make it funny that, but uh, it. Yeah, it's been really well received and I'm I'm pleased.
00:58:22 Roo Lewis
People get it.
00:58:23 Roo Lewis
I was worried it wouldn't.
00:58:26 Roo Lewis
People think that's a weird UFO thing or not. That's weird. Just, you know, think it's a bit voyeuristic, perhaps.
00:58:32 Speaker 3
No, it's not weird though, right?
00:58:35 Paul Bence
I would. I was. I was have.
00:58:36 Paul Bence
You had. Have you had anything like, have you had any like, you know, people from saying this? Why have you done this? Why have you know? Have you had any bad **** from it or not? Have you all been positive yet?
00:58:44 Roo Lewis
No, I I really haven't. I I think I've got a couple of messages from people from the town.
00:58:54 Roo Lewis
He didn't didn't see it the same.
00:58:57 Roo Lewis
They couldn't wait to get out of it, you know.
00:59:01 Dan Higginson
To get out of town.
00:59:02 Roo Lewis
Yeah, but apart from that it's I mean that's two of about.
00:59:07 Roo Lewis
You know, hundreds of, like, literally hundreds of messages of people messaging me about it. Yeah, that, that. I mean, that was it, I think.
00:59:16 Roo Lewis
I think maybe like.
00:59:20 Roo Lewis
People. So some people might have seen it as.
00:59:24 Roo Lewis
Raised into glass is about the town. If you're from the.
00:59:27 Roo Lewis
Town and and.
00:59:27 Paul Bence
Yeah, yeah.
00:59:27 Roo Lewis
You didn't, you know, but it.
00:59:30 Roo Lewis
Generally, yeah, the messages that are are have been really good.
00:59:34 Dan Higginson
It feels like that's something they're putting on it, though, right? The the the fact that they felt trapped in that place doesn't necessarily mean that there was nothing.
00:59:41 Paul Bence
About it, I think I think they all have felt trapped in a small town and we we've all felt that feeling of what it's like where you know, I've got friends who've lived in Bridgend for all their life and never left, you know, and they love the place, they love it. They think it's the best.
00:59:54 Paul Bence
Based on this, they realise that that that there it.
00:59:57 Paul Bence
Is, you know.
00:59:58 Roo Lewis
The horse has broke downward. Did.
01:00:00 Dan Higginson
So sign machine.
01:00:02 Paul Bence
Suicide machine. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:00:06 Paul Bence
I just it's it's it's, it's difficult, isn't it, to make a body of work on on a place and and really connect to what it means to be from that place. And like I'm I'm there's a few images in your book I I like. I really love. I'm going to just pick you up on it before you leave me.
01:00:28 Paul Bence
I wanted to ask you about it is the woman this one?
01:00:31 Paul Bence
As the woman? Yeah. Drink drinking the can of lager is it?
01:00:36 Roo Lewis
That's right. That's that's from beauty and the beast. That's beauty from the type of the.
01:00:40 Speaker 5
This one.
01:00:42 Paul Bence
OK, amazing. And this one as well like this is amazing, I really love.
01:00:46 Roo Lewis
This photo. Ohh yeah, that's Lindsay. So she's a descendant of Richard Burton. Forget that. And so that's photographed on the.
01:00:54 Roo Lewis
But the.
01:00:56 Paul Bence
I suppose another one, one more final question. I've got you use research. How much of your project is research and how much of your time you spend in researching before you actually go and take a picture like what's?
01:01:04 Roo Lewis
Oh my God, so nice.
01:01:06 Dan Higginson
Can I can I guess before you answer? Alright, you've you've already said you've already said I I was going to say a lot. Listening to you talk about Druids about etats about going to Glastonbury like it, it sounds like you're very well read on the subjects you're photographing.
01:01:24 Roo Lewis
I I just get obsessed with the place.
01:01:26 Roo Lewis
I I just have to know about it, and it's partly I wanna hit find these locations.
01:01:31 Roo Lewis
Things that.
01:01:32 Roo Lewis
You know you can't find unless you do the research, but partly I actually want to try and connect with the town and I I think with Port Talbot because it's a industrial town, there's there's a real sort of human history, right? I I find history quite hard to comprehend when you talk about millions of years and sauna and rocks.
01:01:53 Roo Lewis
But it puts all that you've got a steelworks and we'll meet someone that works, that still works and that work there, their granddad work there, great Granddad. And it's a real human history, you know, in in the landscape you can see it. And that Chapel was built in 1879 to service that, that part of the community.
01:02:10 Roo Lewis
And and and how things change and move on.
01:02:13 Roo Lewis
And expand and that's what I like. I I really understand the human history and and. And that goes back to the folklore and talking about these stories and and what's true and what's not and what matters.
01:02:25 Roo Lewis
UM.
01:02:27 Roo Lewis
Yeah, I I I I've lost count. I had spreadsheets of countless books I've read the Burton Diaries, you know, I've read around the subject any sort of mention of thought told that I I was reading about it. I I went to the library, they got archives there and all community papers and and and again it's a good exercise because you could you.
01:02:47 Roo Lewis
This stuff isn't online, you just have to talk to people. You have to read about it. You have to visit these places there. There's a church or phone called the Zion Church, and it's been long demolished. And I think it was built for the tin workers at the.
01:03:01 Roo Lewis
Time in in Carmarthen and it's not there anymore, but there is if you go into the woods you can find the sign. The stone carving Zion and I read about it in this book. And so I've got to get a photo of that Zion in the woods and it's it's so. So sort of.
01:03:21 Roo Lewis
Strange and surreal.
01:03:25 Roo Lewis
And and of course with the the the workingmen's clubs, there's lots of different workingmen's clubs there, and they all have their own individual history and sports teams and that sort of thing. So yeah, I felt the more the more read about it the the more I had to continue reading about it and talking about it and learning about it.
01:03:46 Roo Lewis
And I still I still read things today. I've got these alerts and my phone's.
01:03:49 Roo Lewis
Been popped up.
01:03:50 Roo Lewis
In the news and I still. Yeah, I still like to stay in touch. What's going?
01:03:55 Dan Higginson
Just like a rabbit hole.
01:03:57 Roo Lewis
Rabbit hole? Yeah, down it still down it.
01:04:02 Paul Bence
Any any new projects, anything new coming up? You said you deserve at Chichester, right?
01:04:06 Roo Lewis
And that. Yeah, that's. Yeah, that's sort of someone else's but. But yeah, I've got a few ideas. I think I want to concentrate.
01:04:16 Roo Lewis
My work in South Wales, to be honest, I do love it. I think there's.
01:04:23 Roo Lewis
I I do think it's the last sort of bastion of.
01:04:27 Roo Lewis
Where you can.
01:04:29 Roo Lewis
Because where I grew up right in Dorset is it used to be very sort of agricultural and disconnected and now all the pubs, they're not skittle alleys.
01:04:38 Roo Lewis
And you know.
01:04:38 Roo Lewis
Horrible carpets. They're all quite sort of gastro now. Yeah, and so it's all quite sort of London. Any do you know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah, as well as well as you can go there and it's it's Wales, man. It's the valleys.
01:04:49 Roo Lewis
To meet these characters, no one cares about London.
01:04:53 Speaker 3
Yeah. Nobody. Yeah, absolutely.
01:04:55 Roo Lewis
And it's and because of my personal connection, I'm sure there's plenty of places like that around the UK, but.
01:05:02 Roo Lewis
That's what I'm interested in right now is.
01:05:06 Roo Lewis
Is Wales actually and I I wanna do something with?
01:05:10 Roo Lewis
Acting at in particular, amateur dramatic society, that's not.
01:05:17 Roo Lewis
That's, but that's all I've been thinking about, so I'm trying to work work out how that I've got a few ideas.
01:05:23 Roo Lewis
Talking to myself for now, but I'll.
01:05:25 Speaker 3
Yeah, yeah.
01:05:26 Paul Bence
This this weekend.
01:05:27 Dan Higginson
When you go down to the Panther, you might meet the very next Anthony Hopkins.
01:05:30 Roo Lewis
Yeah. Well, that's it. Yeah, I think that's.
01:05:32 Roo Lewis
What I'm for that idea.
01:05:35 Dan Higginson
You'll have the third portrait that.
01:05:36 Roo Lewis
First, yeah, I I like this idea of things being so important to some people and I'm not others. And taking things very seriously. I love that idea and Wales has a like like a long history of acting.
01:05:50 Roo Lewis
And my parents were actors and that's how they met, so.
01:05:55 Roo Lewis
Yeah, there's there's something along those lines. I think it's definitely more in Wales. I I like exploring this scene. There's lots going on like so downward. I think he's done amazing stuff, 30 foot junkies and and his work.
01:06:09 Paul Bence
You've done. You've done Elvis as well. Have you? Did put in an Elvis?
01:06:12 Roo Lewis
As right. Yeah. Yeah. And post cool. Have you have you been Elvis?
01:06:14 Paul Bence
Yeah, I you know what? I'm going to go this, this terrible. It's terrible, isn't it? Like like.
01:06:17 Roo Lewis
What is this? What's going on?
01:06:20 Dan Higginson
It's basically not even well, she puts this accent.
01:06:22 Roo Lewis
On, I mean that's I could go on all day about wells, but that that.
01:06:25 Roo Lewis
You should go.
01:06:30 Roo Lewis
So that's a good example of real positivity, the.
01:06:32 Roo Lewis
Elderly, which is it doesn't know is is one of the biggest ETA's that Elvis tribute artist, not impersonators, that the artists in their own right that played tribute to the king and they come and perform and you're judged based on how you look, how you dance, how you sound. So the pitter patter between songs.
01:06:50 Roo Lewis
What? What sort of state? Elvis had different sort of generations to him and that there's this appeal of Elvis which is cross creed and generation still very popular today.
01:07:00 Roo Lewis
But you go then people would be fully dressed up. They go on stage, they'll perform, and as soon as they finish, they run round to watch the next person I thought was great. Cause I I do think sometimes in London like everyone wants to do well, which is fine. But you meet some people that they want to do well and they they might not.
01:07:17 Roo Lewis
Want you to do well, or is it?
01:07:19 Paul Bence
Yeah, yeah.
01:07:20 Roo Lewis
In Wales, I think there's.
01:07:22 Roo Lewis
Certainly at the LV's everyone's there to celebrate something. It doesn't matter if it's the Apple keynote you know or God, but it was it's it was, UM, Elvis and everyone wants everyone else to do well there to celebrate Elvis. And it's that real positivity. I've really sort of connected.
01:07:37 Roo Lewis
With it actually.
01:07:38 Paul Bence
Yeah, I I'm gonna take you down. We're gonna go, mate. Me and you are going to go down.
01:07:42 Paul Bence
To the Elvis festival.
01:07:43 Dan Higginson
OK, when is it?
01:07:45 Speaker 3
Let's make it since September. OK. Next September. Let's make out. Yeah.
01:07:48 Dan Higginson
We we could let's start planning.
01:07:50 Roo Lewis
It I would highly recommend it. I would highly recommend it because it it was Paul cool right between Richland and Port Talbot. And you gotta remember like that that area you've got the Mumbles and Swansea, Bridgend, both cool. You know Kenfig because the area is about standing natural beauty.
01:07:56 Speaker 3
To talk about, yeah.
01:08:06 Roo Lewis
You know, they're full of beautiful sand dunes, waterfalls, lakes, mountains.
01:08:10 Paul Bence
Have you been to have you been to witches point in southern land? You know this this local story, there's a. So in southern down Dunraven Castle is just off the top of the Bay and there's the cliffs called which is point and the ponies where they used to push push which is off doing.
01:08:26 Roo Lewis
What's a good story like that?
01:08:28 Dan Higginson
Yeah, that photo I took of you, Paul, you flashed up at me the other day, and I was like, oh, that's a really gorgeous.
01:08:34 Dan Higginson
Photo and I've literally forgotten to send it.
01:08:37 Dan Higginson
To you. Sorry, yes.
01:08:38 Roo Lewis
I've definitely checked that out, so I was right. My street. But yeah, I mean, Port Talbot is in the middle of this area. It's this. It's the same bit of land as when people knock it. You know, you you're only 6 miles from the bumbles, you're only a mile from Kenfig. It's the same bit of beach and.
01:08:44 Paul Bence
Yes, right.
01:08:57 Roo Lewis
It's just the still works is there, but you know look the other way, I think that's what the book is. Just look the other way and look at the people and not everything's about the still works.
01:09:07 Paul Bence
Yeah, it's. It's like again, like I think it it's like.
01:09:10 Dan Higginson
Miss Mission accomplishment, right? Mission accomplished.
01:09:12 Paul Bence
I I think what what I think and then this is I was I was you know I'm gonna open brain thought but I think it's really difficult to.
01:09:23 Paul Bence
Make an intimate portrait of a place within two years when you're not from the place. And I think how? How you've done that is a real skill and you think it's something you should be super proud of because I think it's really difficult. I don't think. I don't think a lot of people can, you know, create connections with with.
01:09:40 Paul Bence
Strangers fundamentally and and and show the intimacy in their work like that. I think it's a really.
01:09:45 Paul Bence
Magical thing honestly like.
01:09:47 Roo Lewis
Thank you. That's why can't you say? And I. Yeah, it's two year period but it was I I spent a.
01:09:53 Roo Lewis
Lot of time there, a lot of time it.
01:09:56 Dan Higginson
Was totally worth it.
01:09:57 Paul Bence
Your granddad's Welsh. You may if if you, you know, had to play for England or Wales. Imagine you were an international. Would you be a Welsh player or?
01:10:04 Paul Bence
An English player.
01:10:04 Roo Lewis
What? What? What? Play what football, rugby.
01:10:07 Paul Bence
Rugby rugby for Wales or England?
01:10:08 Roo Lewis
I would break if I play, but I'm like I'm like.
01:10:10 Paul Bence
No. But imagine imagine you were an international athlete and you were. You're 16 and you could have chose. Right now you're going to go play for your grand.
01:10:17 Paul Bence
That's team.
01:10:19 Roo Lewis
Yeah, it's true, isn't it? Do you know what I would after hearing if you ever heard my machines read Miss Speech? Yes. Words in the world.
01:10:25 Speaker 3
Yeah. Yeah, see.
01:10:27 Speaker 3
Absolutely done.
01:10:28 Roo Lewis
Like. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I definitely would.
01:10:31 Paul Bence
Me and Dan are the connection with Michael Sheen. Actually, do you know this is? Yeah. Yeah. Because we shoot this thing called the homeless World Cup, which is.
01:10:38 Paul Bence
Like ohh yeah.
01:10:40 Paul Bence
And so he, when he did it in Cardiff and we got quite well, I've got quite friendly with him. He's really nice bloke.
01:10:46 Roo Lewis
Like he's a top man. He's everywhere. I went in Port Talbot. I think he does a lot which doesn't get in the news. He really does. And he just love the town.
01:10:54 Paul Bence
He put his house on the market to to to fund the homeless World Cup in Cardiff. He basically sold a house.
01:11:01 Roo Lewis
Yeah, I can. I can be the guys, the Hollywood star. He moved back to Port Talbot. I mean, that's that's commitment.
01:11:04 Paul Bence
Are you?
01:11:07 Roo Lewis
And yeah, I've got nothing with respect to him. He gave his knighthood back, which I thought was cool as well.
01:11:11 Paul Bence
Did you did he did? Did he do that as well?
01:11:14 Roo Lewis
That's amazing. Yeah. His dad's actually in the book Meyrick Sheen. He's a was a Jack Nicholson impersonator for most of his life. So I've got a fair to him. And he he was like the Godfather. Like everyone, he would talk to would know him, know him. He ever.
01:11:29 Speaker 3
You know, you know, maybe.
01:11:33 Roo Lewis
Yeah. Yeah, basically. Yeah, he's he's the right character. So yeah, very funny. Then Mark and Irene. But yeah, with with she we we were in contact a bit for the.
01:11:42 Roo Lewis
We just couldn't make, we couldn't make it work. OK. OK. And I I've sent him one I haven't heard.
01:11:48 Roo Lewis
Back yet so.
01:11:50 Paul Bence
OK, OK. We do a little thing called shout out. So we ask you to maybe show this. I mean, you've seen recently something you've heard, maybe something you've read anything that you like, I mean, you know, we put you on the spot. So Dan you?
01:12:02 Paul Bence
Do first if you want do you want.
01:12:03 Dan Higginson
Me to go first. I normally do a a record.
01:12:06 Dan Higginson
Right this time.
01:12:07 Roo Lewis
More like that, no?
01:12:08 Dan Higginson
So more panic. But yeah, you for that age and.
01:12:11 Dan Higginson
Life without death.
01:12:13 Dan Higginson
I'm. I'm not going to buy it. I think it's kind of older work at this point, but it's just been put in. Who did this? Ghost guest? Guest guest. Yeah, it is. It's guest. It's just really bloody nice. Like, I've been a big fan of Laura's work for a while, like I just.
01:12:31 Dan Higginson
I think what she's doing is really incredible. So yeah, it's it's really nice to finally have a book with her work in it, because I've only really seen it on.
01:12:39 Dan Higginson
A screen, so really.
01:12:40 Roo Lewis
Yeah, that's uh, that's always good. Yeah, very good. I didn't know that. Yeah, I've seen it advertised. So you you forgot that straight away.
01:12:46 Dan Higginson
Yeah, yeah, I saw it.
01:12:47 Dan Higginson
And then immediately got it. But Paul, you're gonna like this.
01:12:51 Dan Higginson
Right. So there's this like tracing paper with these kids, drawings on it in the.
01:12:57 Paul Bence
Middle she copied my idea.
01:13:00 Dan Higginson
Yeah, sure. You you had full ownership of that idea. It's like.
01:13:02 Speaker 3
Oh God. Somebody stolen.
01:13:03 Speaker 3
It look, I shouldn't on that, Laura. Come on.
01:13:04 Dan Higginson
Come on, Laura. Like you know, intellectual property. And that. Yeah. Yeah, just it. It's fine. You can use it. But you gotta give a bit of the proceeds to Paul now.
01:13:12 Dan Higginson
Because that was his idea, yeah.
01:13:15 Paul Bence
I I don't think it was a fair. I don't think it.
01:13:15 Paul Bence
He's not angry, he's just he's just disappointed. No, it's fantastic. It's a really good book.
01:13:18 Paul Bence
Was a fair.
01:13:20 Paul Bence
OK, I'm going to focus on this week.
01:13:24 Dan Higginson
Absolutely. You should go and get it.
01:13:25 Paul Bence
Through because it's before before, it's just too difficult to get.
01:13:27 Roo Lewis
Yeah, I'm. I'm gonna pick one up.
01:13:29 Paul Bence
My name is Abby.
01:13:33 Paul Bence
Victor Diop, the anonymous project Paul. That's good.
01:13:37 Paul Bence
It's good to really good.
01:13:39 Paul Bence
Yeah, and and basically what he does is he takes scenes from the past like this. Can you see that or is that out of. But he places himself in these in these photographs from the 60s and the 70s, like typical family photographs. I mean, I can't really.
01:13:57 Dan Higginson
Yeah, I've seen these though because it it looks legit, right? It doesn't look like he's just scalpelling himself.
01:13:58 Speaker 3
Ice cream.
01:14:02 Dan Higginson
Out of a.
01:14:02 Paul Bence
No, no, no. He's really life.
01:14:02 Dan Higginson
Picture of like he he's really gone to some effort to make it look like he was.
01:14:06 Paul Bence
Really. There, right. Yeah. Yeah. And it's it's they were writing on is really interesting as well sometimes. You know, I don't. I always look at the pictures first, then go back to the writing. But it's really the writing on is really interesting as well. It's really.
01:14:19 Paul Bence
Really good. Really good. So that's me.
01:14:23 Roo Lewis
Well, I haven't. I haven't got a bit talked about. I definitely am. Seems like I'm a bit late to the game, but the Martin Parr Foundation, I don't know if you guys have ever been there.
01:14:32 Paul Bence
We went recently, actually. So the yeah, the OT. But you.
01:14:34 Dan Higginson
We we were just there.
01:14:38 Roo Lewis
Oh, yeah, well, it's I I love it. I I really think what they're doing for photography is amazing. Everything about their sort of exhibition schedule, their book pop obviously was down there right next to the Royal Photographic Society. So I'm slightly ashamed.
01:14:53 Roo Lewis
It's taking me so long to get down there, but I really love what they're doing for British photography. Everyone and parkour.
01:15:02 Roo Lewis
So yeah, I I've become a member now. I highly recommend going and that hasn't been get down there, not on path.
01:15:09 Dan Higginson
Foundation or the perks of being a member?
01:15:12 Roo Lewis
I think you get access and exhibition tickets 10% off at a photo store. It's only like £30 a year.
01:15:22 Roo Lewis
OK. I mean, if you buy photo books, I I I do a lot that you save your money in the first two days so.
01:15:30 Roo Lewis
Yeah, there's different levels and you know, even more expensive ones. You can get a mountain par print signed. I don't work for them, by the way.
01:15:39 Speaker 3
No, no, no, no. No. You sure? Yeah. Just be right at the end. We get it.
01:15:42 Dan Higginson
This this whole this whole chat has just.
01:15:44 Dan Higginson
Been revolved around this.
01:15:49 Roo Lewis
Yeah, I do that. Yeah, I do. I do go to. I go to more exhibitions and yeah, and that's going to be my new resolution.
01:15:57 Dan Higginson
Any exhibitions that you're recommending in the minute?
01:16:00 Roo Lewis
Taylor Wessing uh captain bean. Ethan. My book is in Taylor.
01:16:03 Paul Bence
Ohh where is Taylor wessing? Where is it? Is it the National Portrait Gallery? Is it?
01:16:10 Paul Bence
I'm going to go see that I.
01:16:11 Paul Bence
Am might.
01:16:12 Roo Lewis
Yeah, I can see it. It's really.
01:16:12 Paul Bence
Go. I might go this afternoon. Actually, I've got this nice afternoon. Take the camera.
01:16:16 Roo Lewis
Yeah, I I recommend it. I I I do like the competition and stuff they do. And yeah, I've. I've never got in before but this year and very fortunately I've I've got in. So yeah, I.
01:16:26 Roo Lewis
Can have a.
01:16:27 Roo Lewis
Look, I actually bought Captain Beanie up from Port Talbot. They did a, had an opening night.
01:16:32 Roo Lewis
And uh, he came up uh Captain beany, of course, his Tony Museum from his council flat in Stanfield to Port Talbot. And he dresses as a superhero with the orange paint. Everything he came up and met everyone still for his portrait. So it was a really good night, actually.
01:16:35 Dan Higginson
The man himself.
01:16:48 Roo Lewis
It was good to see you.
01:16:50 Paul Bence
It's really good though. It's really.
01:16:51 Paul Bence
Good you could do that as.
01:16:52 Roo Lewis
Well, right, like, yeah, it was just. It's really last minute and and it's really nice to come up and. Yeah, of course, everyone loves him and he he raised an awful lot of money for charity. He's a well known character in the village. So village import town that.
01:17:08 Roo Lewis
I didn't talk foundation. Get a get a membership.
01:17:11 Speaker 3
OK, I'm going to do it using my.
01:17:12 Dan Higginson
Have you seen the a world in common thing yet? The exhibition at Tate Modern, a world in common, is that, am I getting it wrong?
01:17:16 Paul Bence
A what?
01:17:18 Paul Bence
It's not well.
01:17:21 Paul Bence
A world in common, a a world in common.
01:17:24 Dan Higginson
Yeah, it's showing at Tate Modern the minute it's I went the other.
01:17:28 Dan Higginson
Day. It's all really, really good.
01:17:30 Paul Bence
Is it OK?
01:17:32 Roo Lewis
If you can put on your holiday, have.
01:17:34 Roo Lewis
You seen that one?
01:17:35 Dan Higginson
No, I've not seen that one.
01:17:36 Roo Lewis
Where's that? That's it. The centre of British photography in on German St St.
01:17:40 Paul Bence
OK.
01:17:43 Paul Bence
Yeah, I don't think I've ever been there.
01:17:45 Speaker 3
Is that the?
01:17:45 Roo Lewis
New place? Yeah, it's quite new. I don't know much about it, but yeah, it's on German street. So. Uh, yeah, I think it's great. It looks really good.
01:17:47 Speaker 3
Yeah, yeah.
01:17:55 Dan Higginson
OK, I might add that to my list for in a couple of weeks.
01:18:00 Dan Higginson
Maybe I am.
01:18:01 Dan Higginson
Maybe after we do our podcasts on Monday. Paul.
01:18:03 Dan Higginson
We'll go for a little.
01:18:05 Dan Higginson
Saunter. Is it done? Sorry. A saunter. Saunter. A saunter down? German. Maybe? Maybe.
01:18:13 Roo Lewis
Yeah. Yeah, that'd be nice.
01:18:14 Dan Higginson
So route where's the best place for people to keep up to date with all the stuff you're doing? I know you said you're not particularly active on social media. There's that still.
01:18:22 Roo Lewis
The best sport or yeah, Instagram room. Lewis website I I do post but I just don't.
01:18:29 Roo Lewis
I think maybe I over think it too much, but yeah, that's probably the best place. I I I am on it. I do post just every couple of weeks.
01:18:37 Dan Higginson
Maybe I was literally on the train home and I sat opposite a guy and after a phone conversation I had with a friend, he was like, what do you do for a job? And I was telling I was a photographer. Anyway, we got chatting.
01:18:40 Paul Bence
It's the wave. It's the wave.
01:18:50 Dan Higginson
Social media because he's like a marketing guy.
01:18:52 Dan Higginson
And he was just like, you just need to stop over thinking it and just put something up where I work. He's like, you're just this is what's getting in the way. You're overthinking it. You're going into the rabbit hole of, like, now you're watching a real is that sort?
01:19:05 Dan Higginson
All that off.
01:19:05 Dan Higginson
Just just post something. Don't worry about what you're writing next. We're just banging out. So anyway, bro, I'm passing on the information.
01:19:12 Roo Lewis
There's a truth to that I think is, yeah, get.
01:19:13 Roo Lewis
Over yourself and just.
01:19:16 Paul Bence
This is.
01:19:16 Dan Higginson
Yeah. No one ******* read in anyway, mate. Just.
01:19:19 Paul Bence
You just fell into the void, yeah.
01:19:21 Dan Higginson
Yes, yes, this is coming from a man that I don't think I've put anything.
01:19:22 Dan Higginson
Just post it, just get.
01:19:24 Dan Higginson
Just get out there.
01:19:28 Dan Higginson
On social media that he's nobody, nobody cares.
01:19:29 Paul Bence
In the last ******* three months.
01:19:33 Paul Bence
Like it goes, just get.
01:19:33 Paul Bence
It out there just get.
01:19:34 Dan Higginson
Out there. Listen, thank you so much. You can catch up with everything we're doing at idle hands society.
01:19:41 Dan Higginson
Can I sign up to our newsletter cause Paul's been beavering away and?
01:19:45 Dan Higginson
He's he's giving you the the 10 top things that he's been looking at every month, is it?
01:19:50 Dan Higginson
Paul is a month.
01:19:51 Roo Lewis
I must have said.
01:19:51 Dan Higginson
That's the first one come out I.
01:19:52 Paul Bence
Haven't had it yet because we're waiting for the.
01:19:54 Paul Bence
Time to finish the design of the website and then we're gonna.
01:19:57 Dan Higginson
OK, in inside baseball stuff, we're gonna do a rebrand, right? Because we're really professional now.
01:20:06 Dan Higginson
OK, everyone, just just a new.
01:20:06 Paul Bence
Please don't.
01:20:09 Dan Higginson
Form muscle is couple of new.
01:20:10 Dan Higginson
Colours, new form. That's home. Thank you. Thank you.
01:20:14 Roo Lewis
Thank you so much having you guys.
01:20:14 Speaker 5
Time you really, really do. Thank you. Thank you.
01:20:17 Roo Lewis
I'm going to really enjoyed it, really enjoyed it here.
