Avon & Somerset Search and Rescue (ASSAR)
The Avon & Somerset Search and Rescue (ASSAR) is an emergency service that serves as our local mountain rescue team. I came to work with this fascinating and important organisation through my accountant, who was one of its dedicated, highly trained volunteers.
In 2016, I photographed ASSAR’s work to support its public outreach, including training sessions in ropework, navigation and tracking. One navigation exercise took place at night on a Somerset hilltop with almost no light, creating an unusual technical challenge. As you can see below, I relied on the volunteers’ head torches for illumination. The tracking exercise was particularly fascinating, with volunteers following a deliberately laid trail and searching for signs such as footprints and broken twigs.
My aim was to document ASSAR’s work, showing both the volunteers’ high level of skill and the experience of taking part. It was an inherently dramatic subject, and the Somerset countryside provided a striking setting, helping me produce several strong sets of images.
ASSAR used the photographs in its online outreach, helping to raise funds and attract new volunteers. The team also provided a lovely testimonial:
“Tony performed throughout with the highest standards of professionalism and dedication, including operating in some challenging weather conditions, and produced a portfolio of pictures essential in helping to convey the Team’s scope of work.”
