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15th January 2018

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Wales Air Ambulance have teamed up with renowned astrophotographer Alyn Wallace to produce breath-taking after dark pictures of Swansea.

The photo-shoot which took place recently during a cold but clear winter evening produced a recipe for spellbinding pictures of Swansea and the Gower as you’ve never seen them before.

Alyn Wallace is a landscape astrophotographer based near the Brecon Beacons Dark Sky Reserve in South Wales. He specialises in photographing the night sky and all its wonders from the stunning landscapes of Wales, a country that boasts the highest percentage area of land protected against light pollution.

Alyn shares his adventures under the stars on social media and has captured stunning sights such as the Northern Lights from the Brecon Beacons and even bioluminescent plankton under the Milky Way at Three Cliffs Bay.

Alyn said: “I love photographing the stars and sharing my adventures with everyone, so I couldn't contain my excitement when Wales Air Ambulance approached me. It was such a humbling experience; these guys are real-life superheroes and it's a service we're so fortunate to have here in Wales.”

The pictures feature one of the charity’s helicopters at Swansea’s Fairwood Common airport and in flight over the city. During the photo-shoot Alyn managed to capture the helicopter against a star scattered background with various members of crew including; pilot, Grant Elgar, critical care practitioner, Tom Archer and helicopter transfer practitioner, Jez James.  

Wales Air Ambulance Fundraising Manager, Mark Stevens said: “We were very excited to team up with Alyn less than a year after acquiring our new fleet of EC145 helicopters which are night-capable.

“It is the vision of the charity to become a 24/7 operation and this puts us one step closer to making it a reality. We would like to thank Alyn for teaming up with us to show the people of Wales what is capable with their continued support. The results are completely breath-taking.”

WAA pilot, Grant Elgar said: “It’s a really important time for us as a charity as we look towards introducing night-time flying. The pictures are key to delivering our future vision and it was very useful to have someone with Alyn’s experience capture our aircraft at night.”

Alyn added: “Flying over the Gower and Swansea was an experience I'll never forget, I might have to start saving up for a helicopter!"

The truly unique photo-shoot and pictures can now be viewed on Alyn’s popular Youtube channel Vlog, which attracts over 2000 followers. Alyn also has his own website featuring some of the amazing photography he has captured which showcases how beautiful the sky can be at night.

https://alynwallacephotography.com / https://youtu.be/o4S0BzX7Pb8