Pembrokeshire by David Wilson is an intriguing book of 50 Pembrokeshire landscape views photographed in black and white. The photographs range from pictures of chapels and farms to mountains, bays and beaches, and take in spectacles from most of the county, varying from the more familiar Pembrokeshire sights, such as St Davids Cathedral, to some enigmatic wilderness scenes.The book opens with a rather gushing foreword by Jamie Owen; however, this is counteracted by the mildly self-effacing manner in which David Wilson introduces his work, describing his enthusiasm for both photography and the Pembrokeshire landscape. This dialogue continues throughout, accompanying each plate with a short description of the circumstances surrounding the composition of the picture. In many cases there is an interesting explanation of the photographic techniques used to achieve the desired effect and often a snippet of local history is included also. The narrative serves only to set the scene and does not interfere with or influence the reader’s enjoyment.The photographs themselves are wonderfully detailed and clearly demonstrate David Wilson’s empathy for his subject. The lack of colour does not appear to provide any kind of obstacle to the evocation of mood or texture and despite being monochrome the pictures are brimming with life and emotion. The pictures are all taken in the late autumn, winter and spring and many are shot early in the morning. As a consequence of this there are very few people found anywhere and yet the importance of man’s presence in the landscape is by no means ignored. The weather also features strongly throughout and is always used to maximum effect.This book will be enjoyed by anybody interested in photography or in Pembrokeshire, or indeed both. At the end of the book there is an index of the plates together with the camera and film specifications used by the photographer. There are no secrets here; this is not a glossy portfolio of subversive publicity shots but a conscientious demonstration of David Wilson’s passion for capturing the landscapes that define Pembrokeshire. His wish is clearly just to share this mixture of bucolic beauty and mystery with those familiar with and alien to Pembrokeshire alike, and thus we can probably forgive Jamie Owen for his exuberant use of superlatives!
