Richard Williams Photographer - Richphotowales

07/12/2025

It is with real sadness that I’ve learned of Martin Parr’s passing. A giant of documentary
photography and someone whose work shaped the way many of us see Britain. I feel very fortunate to have met him and to have spent time at the Martin Parr Foundation earlier this year, going through my own photographs of the years around the 84–85 miners’ strike. To have that work welcomed into the Foundation’s collection was an unexpected honour and something I will always treasure.

Martin’s eye, curiosity and humour changed the landscape of photography. He encouraged us to look closer at ordinary lives and to take them seriously. My thoughts are with his family, friends and everyone at the Foundation who carry his vision forward.

📷 Rest well, Martin

07/12/2025

It is with real sadness that I’ve learned of Martin Parr’s passing. A giant of documentary
photography and someone whose work shaped the way many of us see Britain. I feel very fortunate to have met him and to have spent time at the Martin Parr Foundation, going through my own photographs together from the years around the 84–85 miners’ strike. To have that work welcomed into the Foundation’s collection was an unexpected honour and something I will always treasure.

Martin’s eye, curiosity and humour changed the landscape of photography. He encouraged us to look closer at ordinary lives and to take them seriously. My thoughts are with his family, friends and everyone at the Foundation who carry his vision forward.

📷 Rest well, Martin

24/11/2025

Going back to meet people like Kath Morgan was one of the great privileges of making Coal and Community in Wales. I first photographed her in 1984, when she was volunteering tirelessly in a miners’ support group. Hearing her reflections 40 years on, especially about that remarkable Christmas, was humbling and unforgettable ❤️

If you have someone in your life who lived through it, or who treasures the history of coal mining or the Valleys, the book makes a meaningful Christmas present 📘🎄

Publishers Y Lolfa are now out of stock, but a handful of bookshops and online sellers still have copies. As far as we know, there's not going to be a second print run - to everyone who already has a copy and is keeping this history alive.

14/11/2025

Thank you to everyone who bought Coal and Community in Wales ❤️. At the time of writing, Amazon had only 9 copies left 📚 and publisher Y Lolfa is now out of stock. It means the first edition is very close to selling out with no promise of another print run.
If you'd thought about picking up a copy as a Christmas present for your father, grandfather or anyone who loves social history, please don't wait . (If you do miss out in bookshops or online and you're in the UK, I have just a couple of spare copies here at home, so you're welcome to try contacting me).

Once again, thank you for supporting this project. It has been our small way of helping record these emotional, humbling and important stories from 40-plus years ago.❤️🙏📷

07/09/2025

Were you there today?

There was something very special about capturing Geraint Thomas in Cardiff on his final professional race - the end of an incredible journey with his INEOS Grenadiers team. 👏🚴‍♂️📸

I’ve photographed Geraint many times over the years, but this one was extra special. The excitement of the crowd and the emotion of a career’s final pedal strokes all came together in moments I’ll never forget.

What a career. What a rider. What a legacy. 🚴‍♂️🔥

09/06/2025

🖤 Looking for a proper Fathers' Day present? Something with real meaning – not just another pair of socks?

⚒️ Coal and Community in Wales: Images of the Miners’ Strike – Before, During and After is a powerful collection of photographs I took during one of the most defining times in modern Welsh history with words by award-winning writer (and my wife!) Amanda Powell.

It’s not just a book – it’s our story.
The men. The women. The picket lines. The humour, the heartbreak – the strength of communities that refused to be broken.

If your dad or grandad remembers the strike, worked down the pit, still talks about what the Valleys stood for or has an interest in social history – this will speak to him in a way few gifts can.

👉 Support a Welsh business and order directly from publisher Y Lolfa https://www.ylolfa.com/products/9781800995031/coal-and-community-in-wales-images-of-the-miners-strike-before-during-and-after (Order From Y Lolfa by Wednesday 11 June 2025 and it should be with you in time for Fathers' Day)
👉 Or ask your local bookshop
👉 Or from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Coal-Community-Wales-Images-Miners/dp/1800995032/

Let’s keep these stories alive. They matter.

06/06/2025

📸Join me at this powerful tribute to Wales' mining communities

🗓 Monday 9 June, from 11.30-2.30pm
📍 Afan Forest Park, Port Talbot SA13 3HG

I'm delighted to be taking part in this exhibition marking the 40th anniversary of the 1984-85 Miners’ Strike organised by South Wales Miners' Museum ⚒️

Some of my photos from my book 𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬: 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬’ 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞 – 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 will be on display, and I’ll be there in person to sign books and talk about the stories behind the photos.

These are stories of grit, grief, laughter and love – the real lives behind the headlines. Come and say hello if you’re nearby.

👉 More info: https://www.swminers.co.uk/post/miners-strike-exhibition

📖 Books available on the day (or order from Y Lolfa if you can't come along on Monday)
🖊 On the day - Signing and chat

Come and join us at South Wales Miners Museum

04/06/2025

I'm looking forward to seeing old and new friends at this exciting event in the beautiful Afan Valley on Monday, 9 June.🌲
And I'll be bringing my book Coal and Community in Wales if you're looking for a signed copy. ⚒️

Come and join us at South Wales Miners Museum

16/05/2025

🎥 ITV feature on Ffordd-y-Gyfraith – A village lost to King Coal

🏡 The vibrant Welsh community of Ffordd-y-Gyfraith has vanished. But it lives on in memory, in 𝐦𝐲 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐬, and in a whole, emotional chapter of my recent book, 𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 – 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬' 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞: 𝐁𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞, 𝐃𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫📖

I was just a teenager when I slipped past the demolition barriers to document its final days. I wasn’t there for a commission, or an assignment. I was there because I couldn’t bear the thought that no one would remember what that village was - and what it meant. 📷

This Friday (16 May), I speak about that time on ITV Wales ' Vanished Wales at 7pm - but the episode is already available to watch online if you’d like to see it now:
👉 Go to the ITVx app and search for 'Vanished Wales' then find series 4, episode 3

The book is a tribute to all the mining communities we’ve lost - and those still fighting to be remembered.
Available now in bookshops and online, including from publishers Y Lolfa 📚

07/03/2025

Free Entry Weekend!
📸 I'm so honoured that some of my photos commemorating the 1984-85 Miners' Strike are part of the 'Streic 84-85 Strike!' exhibition at Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd - National Museum Cardiff🙌
This weekend ONLY (March 8th-9th) entry is completely FREE! The exhibition runs until April 27th, but this is your chance to see it am ddim (for free).⛏️
It's a truly moving collection capturing the solidarity, struggle and spirit of our mining communities while not shying away from the difficult reality of defining moments in our history.
Grab your free tickets here:
https://museum.wales/whatson/12346/Streic-84-85-Strike/
Hope to see some familiar faces there! (And if I do see you, I'm happy to sign a copy of our book Coal and Community in Wales - Images of the Miners' Strike - before, during and after which is on sale at the museum. Y Lolfa

05/03/2025

40 years ago, miners returned to work at the end of the 1984-85 strike. While some marched behind their lodge banners, others slipped back quietly, knowing they had lost.

At Garw/Ffaldau colliery in south Wales, it was a low-key return. Lodge chairman John Jones said afterwards: “We went back with heads down. We are realists – there was nothing to celebrate.”

⛏️ The fight to save jobs had lasted a year. The closures that followed lasted for decades. This scene - the winding gear at Wyndham Western Colliery being demolished later in 1985 - became heartbreakingly familiar. And the end of the strike wasn’t the end of the struggle.

📷 Our book Coal and Community in Wales: Images of the Miners’ Strike - Before, during and after captures that story through the voices and photographs of those who lived through the dying years of the industry - miners and their families who fought so hard to preserve everything around them. Published by Y Lolfa .

📷 Copyright Richard Williams Photography, All rights reserved.

⛏️ 📷 🏴 📜

03/03/2025

Even though it was almost 40 years ago, the events of that time are still fresh in my memory - and the memories of many who were there.

The full story (and others) is told in our book Coal and Community in Wales published and available from Y Lolfa as well as bookshops and online.

in 1985, the Miners' Strike came to an end.

Many miners marched back to their pits, banners held high and brass bands playing, as a show of solidarity after a year of hardship and sacrifice.

However, tensions ran deep in some areas between those who remained on strike and those who returned to work. For many mining communities, the strike’s aftermath brought lasting economic decline, widespread unemployment, and the collapse of local businesses.

This image by Richard Williams, shows the procession to mark the end of the Strike, marching back to the Garw Ffaldau Colliery.