Welsh RNLI pictures preserved in national collection

Unique photographs of RNLI crew and lifeboat stations in Wales have been acquired by the National Library.

The images made at Aberystwyth and New Quay RNLI stations were created by photographer Jack Lowe using Wet Plate Collodion, a Victorian process that captures images on glass.

They form part of The Lifeboat Station Project, Jack’s epic mission to photograph all 237 stations in the UK and the Republic of Ireland — one of the largest photographic projects ever undertaken and currently scheduled to be completed in 2020.

The 20 limited edition prints will now be housed within the National Collection of Welsh Photographs, which comprises over a million photographs connected to Wales.

These range from works by pioneering photographers from the earliest days of photography to portfolios by contemporary practitioners of the art.

The Lifeboat Station Project, which began in January 2015, is one of the biggest photographic projects ever undertaken and, when finished, will be the first complete photographic record of every single lifeboat station on the RNLI network.

Jack travels in Neena — his decommissioned NHS ambulance converted into a mobile darkroom.

He looks set to reach the half-way point in late 2017 – and 2017 will also include the Project’s first visit to Ireland.

Watch Tom Brown-Lowe's report here.