Egyptian photographer captures adopted homeland of Wales

Mohamed Hassan is an Egyptian photographer who has lived in Wales for the past 12 years.

He lives in Neyland, Pembrokeshire with his wife, who is half Welsh and half English.

When Mo, 36, first came to Wales, he was working in McDonald's and Lidl - but now he has had his photographs of Welsh landscapes and people displayed in galleries around the world, including the National Portrait Gallery, Museum Goch in Germany, Swansea Waterfront Museum and Beit el Sura Gallery in Cairo.

He said: "When I arrived here in Wales, the mountains - Brecon Beacons and Snowdonia - it was so beautiful... it was sort of like I was in a dream.

"There's something surreal about the landscape. Something clicked - I said 'I have to pick up a camera, I have to take picture of what is around me'."

Mo's father Hassan Beshir, died two weeks before Mo moved to Wales. He was a professional photographer in Egypt - so Mo feels he is following in his footsteps.

"It was one of my dreams, just walking with my dad, I show him what I can do. I think he would've felt happy, really happy."

In 2018, Mo received a grant from the Arts Council of Wales to take his work to Beit el Sura gallery.

He said: "The people really loved the landscape, and were thinking 'ah you live in heaven, Wales is really beautiful.

"I really love this country. Its given me a lot of good things and I've achieved a lot of good things here. I didn't grow up here, and I wasn't born here, but I feel inside I'm Welsh."

Mo has undertaken many photography projects in Wales, including black and white stills in "Witnessing Wales" and colour stills in a project called "Made in Wales".