June 30, 2022

Mudiad Meithrin: Dathlu 50 mlynedd o gynnig profiadau dysgu a chwarae Cymraeg i blant

MUDIAD MEITHRIN: DATHLU 50 MLYNEDD O GYNNIG PROFIADAU DYSGU A CHWARAE CYMRAEG I BLANT

Mae Mudiad Meithrin yn fudiad gwirfoddol a sefydlwyd yn 1971 er mwyn ‘cynnal tirwedd gyfoethog o brofiadau chwarae a dysgu trwy gyfrwng y Gymraeg i blant o’u genedigaeth hyd oedran ysgol’.

Fel rhan o’u dathliadau pen-blwydd yn 50 yn 2021, hysbysebodd y mudiad brosiect ffotograffiaeth. O’n nhw am gomisiynu ffotograffwyr i greu delweddau o blant i’w defnyddio yn eu hymgyrch dathlu pen-blwydd, a ro’n nhw eisiau 10-20 o luniau i’w defnyddio er mwyn adrodd stori.  

Pan weles i hwn yn cael ei hysbysebu ar Facebook y llynedd, feddylies i’n syth – “ma’n rhaid i fi fynd am hwn!” Fel ffotograffydd teulu, dwi wir yn joio tynnu llunie o blant a neidio mewn i’w byd nhw.  

Darllen cysylltiedig: ffotograffiaeth ysgol Abertawe: saethu lluniau dogfen i ysgol Tan-y-lan

Y newyddion da yw bo fi ’di cal y comisiwn! 

Mudiad Meithrin: Celebrating 50 years of providing Welsh play and learning experiences for children

Mudiad Meithrin is a voluntary organisation that was first established in 1971 and set out to “nurture a rich landscape of Welsh-medium play and learning experiences for children from birth to school-age”.

As part of their 50th year celebrations in 2021, the organisation advertised a photography project. They were looking to commission photographers to create images of children to use in their anniversary campaign and wanted approximately 10-20 images to use as a photo essay.  

When I saw this advertised on Facebook last year, I immediately thought to myself, “I have to try for this!”. As a family photographer, I do love photographing children and jumping into their world. 

Related reading: School photography: A documentary style shoot for Welsh language school Tan y Lan blog

The great news is that I got the commission! 

Dal bwrlwm boreol teulu ifanc 

Y syniad ges i ar gyfer prosiect ffotograffiaeth dathlu pen-blwydd y Mudiad oedd defnyddio delweddau i adrodd stori bwrlwm boreol teulu sydd â phlant bach wrth iddyn nhw baratoi i adael y tŷ i gyrraedd meithrinfa’r plentyn. 

O’n i ishe dal bore arferol y rhai sy’n gorfod paratoi plant bach ar gyfer diwrnod yn y feithrinfa. O’n i’n gwybod, cyn gofyn iddyn nhw, pwy fydde’r teulu perffaith ar gyfer y prosiect.


Capturing the morning routine of a family with young children

My idea for the anniversary photography project was that I wanted to use imagery to tell the story about morning preparations that a Welsh family with young children make before heading out to their child’s nursery.

I wanted to capture what a typical morning is like for those who must prepare young children for a day at a nursery, and I knew in my head, before asking them, who could be the perfect family for this project. 

Cyflwyno Lee a Simon

Yn ôl yn 2014, fe wnes i dynnu lluniau o briodas Lee a Simon. Dyma’r flwyddyn y cyfreithlonwyd priodasau o’r un rhyw. 

Pan nes i briodi yn 2012, dim ond partneriaeth sifil oedd hawl gyda fy ngwraig a finne ei gael. Mae hi dal yn anodd credu bod priodas hoyw yn erbyn y gyfraith ar y pryd!  

Ta beth, imi, mae priodas Lee a Simon yn y 10 uchaf o ran y diwrnodau priodas gorau erioed, a dyma fy hoff lun o’r briodas, isod. Fe wnaethon nhw briodi yng nghastell hyfryd Craig y Nos. O’n i’n dwlu bod eu gwasanaeth priodas yn y theatr, a oedd yn eu siwtio nhw i’r dim, gan fod y ddau wrth eu bodd â theatr cerdd. 

Mae Lee a Simon wedi cadw mewn cysylltiad â fi dros y blynyddoedd, a dwi wedi gwneud sawl portread teulu iddyn nhw yn ddiweddar. Gwnaethon nhw fabwysiadu eu plentyn cynta’ rai blynyddoedd yn ôl, gan fabwysiadu brodyr eu plentyn y llynedd - efeilliaid!  

Mae’r tri o blant yn gorjys ac o’n i mor falch bo nhw wedi cytuno i fod yn rhan o'r prosiect pan nes i eu holi amdano. 


Introducing Lee and Simon

Back in 2014, I photographed Lee and Simon's wedding. It was the first year for same sex marriage to be legal. 

When I got married in 2012, my wife and I could only have a civil partnership. It’s still hard to believe that gay marriage was illegal at the time! 

Anyway, Lee and Simon's wedding is in my top 10 weddings of all time and below is my favourite shot from their wedding day. They got married at the beautiful Craig y Nos Castle. What I loved was that their wedding ceremony was in the theatre, which suited them down to the ground as they both love musical theatre. 

Lee and Simon have kept in touch with me over the years and I’ve done several family portraits for them recently. They adopted their first child a few years ago and then last year adopted the siblings of their child – twins!

All three of the children are gorgeous and I was delighted that they agreed to be a part of this project when I approached them about it. 


Saethu lluniau Mudiad Meithrin 

Ar ddiwrnod tynnu lluniau Mudiad Meithrin, fe wnes i drefnu cyrraedd tŷ Lee a Simon tua chwarter awr cyn i’r bois ddihuno, fel fy mod yn gallu dal dechrau’r diwrnod.

Roedd hi dal yn dywyll pan gyrhaeddes i’r tŷ. O’n i ddim yn siŵr pa ddrws tŷ o’n i fod ei gnocio, a dyma fi’n cnocio ar y drws dy’n nhw fyth yn ei ddefnyddio. Ond, agoron nhw’r drws, a dwi’n credu i fi ddringo dros gwpwl o fwcedi er mwyn cyrraedd y tŷ! O leia’ nes i lwyddo i beidio â dihuno’r plant!

Pan gyrhaeddes i’r tŷ, roedd hi’n dawel neis yn y lolfa. Roedd tair sedd uchel o flan y teledu, ac wedi’u plygu’n daclus ar fwrdd wrth eu hochr, o flaen y soffa, oedd dillad y bois, wedi’u trefnu yn barod iddyn nhw eu gwisgo. O’n i mor impressed gyda pha mor drefnus oedd Lee a Simon! 

Gyda’n gilydd, aethon ni lan i ddihuno’r bois. Er bod hyn yn drefn arferol iddyn nhw, i fi, roedd hwn yn rhywbeth hudol i’w weld a’i ddal mewn llun! O’n i'n methu credu bod y bois mor chilled a ddim yn becso bo fi yno - dieithryn â chamera yn eu cartref!  

Unwaith o’dd y bois i gyd wedi dihuno a mas o’r gwely, dyma ni’n mynd lawr llawr i’r lolfa. Roedd Simon a Lee yn dal George ac Arthur yn eu côl, gan ddechrau eu gwisgo, ac o’dd Thomas, yr hynaf yn aros yn hamddenol i’w dro ef i gael ei wisgo, ac yn potshan rownd o’n cwmpas.

The Mudiad Meithrin shoot

On the day of the Mudiad Meithrin photoshoot, I arranged with Lee and Simon to arrive at their house about 15 mins before they woke up the boys so that I could capture the very start of their day. 

When I got to the house it was still dark. I got confused about which door of the house I was supposed to knock, and it turned out to be the door they hardly used but, still, they opened it anyway and I climbed over a bucket or two if I remember rightly to get into the house! Luckily, I didn’t wake the kids!

When I entered the house, it was all nice and quiet and in the lounge. There were three highchairs in front of the TV and neatly folded on a table to the side, in front of the sofa, were the boy's clothes all neatly organised and ready for them to be dressed into. I was very impressed with how organised Lee and Simon were!

Together, we then went up to wake up the boys. Although this is a normal routine for them, for me it was magical to watch and capture in photographs! I couldn’t believe that the boys were so chilled and did not mind that I was there - a stranger with a camera in their home! 

With all the boys woken and out of bed, we then all went down the stairs into the lounge. Simon and Lee had George and Arthur on their laps and started to change them whilst Thomas, the oldest boy, was just very chilled waiting for his turn to be changed, just pottering around us. 


Amser brecwast!

Unwaith roedd yr efeilliaid wedi’u gwisgo, roedd hi’n amser iddyn nhw fwyta brecwast yn eu cadeiriau uchel. Roedd Tomos y Tanc ar y teledu yn y cefndir i’w diddanu. Yna, tro Thomas oedd gwisgo, gan roi amser i Simon baratoi i fynd i’r gwaith. 

Ar ôl bach, dyma Simon yn rhoi cusan i’r plant cyn mynd i’r gwaith, ac wedyn roedd hi’n amser i’r plant frwsio eu dannedd a’u gwallt.  

Unwaith roedd y plant wedi bwyta, golchi a gwisgo, roedd hi’n amser eu rhoi yn y car, a bant â nhw i’r ysgol a’r feithrinfa. Fe wnes i eu dilyn i’r ysgol er mwyn gallu dal eiliad hudol wrth iddynt roi cusan hwyl fawr, ac er mwyn dal Lee yn cerdded yr efeilliaid i’w dosbarth. 

Breakfast time!

Once the twins were dressed, they then were placed into their highchairs and were given their breakfast. Thomas the Tank engine was on the TV in the background to keep them entertained. Then, it was Thomas’ turn to get dressed and this freed Simon up to go and get himself ready for work. 

A short time later, Simon kissed the children goodbye and off he went, and then for the children it was hair and teeth brushing time.  

Once all the children had been dressed, fed and washed it was time to get them all into the car and off to school and nursery. I followed them to the school to be able to capture a magical moment of a kiss goodbye and to photograph Lee walking the twins into their class. 


Lluniau ychwanegol o sesiwn tynnu lluniau Mudiad Meithrin 

Fel arfer, dwi’n tynnu cannoedd o luniau mewn sesiwn tynnu lluniau, ac yn eu golygu i lawr, gan ddewis y goreuon ar gyfer y prosiect. Ar gyfer sesiwn tynnu lluniau Mudiad Meithrin, roedd gen i tua 90 o luniau yr oedd yn rhaid i fi eu golygu i lawr er mwyn cael tua 20 ohonynt.

Un fantais o dynnu lot o luniau yw eich bod chi, ddarllenwyr y blog, yn cael gweld rhai o’r lluniau nad oedd wedi eu dewis ar gyfer cam olaf y prosiect, ond sydd dal yn werth eu gweld. Gallwch weld rai o’r rheini yn y blog yma.  

Cyflwynwyd yr 20 llun terfynol i’r tîm ym Mudiad Meithrin drwy oriel breifat ar-lein, sef y ffordd dwi fel arfer yn cyflwyno fy lluniau i gleientiaid fel eu bod yn gallu gweld a lawrlwytho’r rhai y maen nhw’n eu hoffi. Ar ôl eu gweld, penderfynodd y tîm eu bod am wneud sioe sleidiau o gasgliadau pob ffotograffydd a oedd yn cymryd rhan, a’u rhoi ar eu gwefan. 

Gan fy mod i’n hoffi rheoli’r ffordd y mae fy lluniau’n cael eu cyflwyno, o’n i’n falch bo fi’n cael cadw rheolaeth greadigol dros y lluniau ro’n i wedi eu creu ar gyfer y prosiect. Y rheswm am hynny yw bod platfformau cymdeithasol yn gallu cywasgu delweddau’n ormodol os nad ydyn nhw’n cael eu paratoi’n iawn ar gyfer y platfform, sy’n gallu arwain at luniau wedi’u picseleiddio a dy’n nhw ddim yn edrych fel y disgwyl.

Drwy wneud y sioe luniau fy hunan, ro’n i’n gallu dewis cerddoriaeth heb royalties a oedd yn siwtio teimlad y lluniau. O’n i hefyd yn gwneud yn siŵr fod y lluniau’n cael eu golygu fel bod y lluniau’n symud i gyd-fynd â’r gerddoriaeth. Pethe bach yw’r rhain, ond dwi wir yn credu eu bod yn gwneud gwahaniaeth mawr.

Pan nes i gyflwyno’r montage fideo terfynol i’r cleient, roedden nhw wrth eu bodd, a dwi mor falch o hynny. O’n nhw mor hapus ac wedi sôn pa mor dda roedd y gerddoriaeth yn cyd-fynd â’r lluniau, a’i fod wedi creu ymateb emosiynol - sef yn union yr hyn yr oeddwn am ei greu!  

Isod gallwch gweld fy mrosiect i a os hoffech lluniau y ffotograffwyr eraill ewch draw i wefan Mudiad Meithryn

Unseen images from the Mudiad Meithrin photoshoot

Typically, on a shoot I capture hundreds of photographs and then edit those down, choosing the very best for the project. On the Mudiad Meithrin photoshoot, I ended up with around 90 images which I then had to edit down further to approximately 20.

One advantage of to me having taken lots of images is that you, my blog readers, get to see some of the photographs that didn't make the final cut for the project, but that are still well worth a look. You can see some of those here in this blog. 

The final 20 images were presented to the team at Mudiad Meithryn via a private online gallery, which is the way I usually present my images to clients so that they can view and download those they want. Having seen these, the team then decided that they wanted to make a slide show of each participating photographer's collections and present them on their website.

Because I like to be in control of how my images are presented, I was pleased to be able to retain creative control over the images I had created for the project. My reasoning for doing so was that social platforms can overly compress images if they are not prepared correctly for the platform, which can lead to very pixelated images which don’t look as they were intended. 

By making the slideshow myself, I was also able to choose royalty-free music which I felt best suited the mood of the images and I ensured that the images were edited so that the picture transitions were in time with the music. These are small details, but I believe that they make a big difference. 

To my delight, when I presented the final video montage to the client, they loved it and commented on how well the music fitted the photography and evoked an emotional response – exactly what I had hoped for!

Below you'll be able to watch my slide show. And if you fancy head over to Mudiad Meithryn's website where you'll be able to see the other photographers' work.

Teulu Cymreig ysbrydoledig

Felly, i gloi, o’n i wrth fy modd â’r prosiect yma! O’n i wedi rhyfeddu â system Lee a Simon yn y bore, a’r ffordd roedden nhw wedi gwneud yn siŵr bod dillad y bois yn barod cyn mynd â nhw lawr llawr.

Mae Lee a Simon yn rhieni ysbrydoledig, a dwi wrth fy modd fy mod wedi gallu tynnu lluniau teulu hapus, annwyl ar gyfer prosiect dathliad pen-blwydd Mudiad Meithrin. 


An inspirational Welsh family

So, to wrap up, I absolutely loved this project! I was amazed with Lee and Simon’s morning system, and how they made sure all the boys’ clothes were ready before they were taken downstairs. 

Lee and Simon are inspirational parents and I love that I’ve been able to capture such a loving happy family for the Mudiad Meithrin anniversary project.