It was when snapper Dan Wood was travelling the world with a friend that he tired of his usual travel photography and decided his next project would be to focus on his home country.
Fed up with Welsh stereotypes and jokes that made digs at the nation he is so proud of, he set off with the aim of documenting the real Wales and what makes it unique in a series of candid shots.
Photo: Dan Wood
The result is a collection of 52 black and white hand printed photographs that explore cultural identity under the title What Is Welsh.
Currently being shown at the Cynon Valley Museum and Gallery in Aberdare until 5 January, the project is funded by the Arts Council of Wales.
Photo: Dan Wood
Dan, who works out of a studio at his home in Bridgend, said: "I was out in Morocco documenting all these different things and it suddenly hit me that I needed to find out what was going on in my own country.
"I decided my next project would be concerned with recording Welsh people in a positive way as I'd seen enough shots of council estates and men sitting around in string vests. We don't need anymore depictions of Wales as rural and insular when it is cosmopolitan and diverse.
"I wanted something more affirming and that moved away from clichés and daffodil shots."
Photo: Dan Wood
Last year Dan went on a long road trip of Wales with his English girlfriend, documenting the scenes as he saw them.
Many of the shots are environmental portraits or snapshots of people he met and spent time with along the way.
"It was the first time I had really appreciated the north-south divide in Wales," he said.
"It was really interesting delving deep into different people's worlds and their interest and I also tried to incorporate a lot of street photography into the collection as well which isn't an easy thing to do in your home country."
Photo: Dan Wood
Dan shot the photos exclusively with film and then developed them all during a seven-week toil in his darkroom.
He hopes to take the exhibition elsewhere when it has finished its run in Aberdare.
He added: "I want my photos to depict a Wales that is as multi-cultural and interesting as anywhere else on earth. To explore what it is that makes people Welsh is to explore what it is that makes people unique."
To find out more about Dan's work visit danwoodphoto.com.
