Alistair Baird describes himself as printer first and photographer second. His knowledge of photography goes back 25 years when, as an assistant, he cut his teeth in the world of commercial and advertising photography, covering anything from pit-props to aircraft components. After ten years behind the lens he moved into photographic processing and is a founding director of The Darkroom UK Ltd, based in Cheltenham which offers film-based and digital services.
He is more widely known as an expert contributor to Black & White Photography Magazine, where his down to earth approach and practical skills in traditional printing bring illumination to the darkroom.
More recently he has begun to travel widely and has been showing personal photographs from countries as far afield as Canada and Nepal. In the ‘I AM Cambodia’ exhibition he focuses on Cambodia: a country he felt compelled to visit twice. “I wasn’t sure quite what to expect on my first tour in 2006 but I quite simply ran out of film covering the temples around Angkor Wat,” said Alistair. “In January 2008 I returned and whilst the prints on show in Bath capture the spirit of history and mystery of the Khmer civilisation, one could spend a lifetime exploring not just the temples, but every aspect of Cambodian life.”
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