JIM Cousins, an important member of the South Wales Argus camera club, has passed away at the age of 71.
Jim Cousins had been a keen photographer member for the past decade and many of his nature-based photographs were enjoyed by many.
Jim’s son Adam Cousins, 36, paying tribute to his father, said: “He was part of a community. He just got joy from sharing his photography with people.”
Adam said that his father, who had been an engineer, liked to live a structured life.
Jim was Scottish and moved to Wales as a child with his mum, dad, twin brother and sister, as his dad started a job at Llanwern Steel Works.
After Jim’s wife, Penny, passed away 6 years ago, he wanted to find a routine that got him out of the house and kept him busy.
Photography did just that. And so did the community around it.
Jim used Facebook as a way of sharing his photography and a way to connect to friends and family and build a community.
Including Adam, Jim and Penny had 5 sons: Matthew, Andrew, Lewis, and Robert.
Adam said he father loved sports, particularly rugby, cars and, of course, photography.
One of his favourite places to go and take photos was Blaenavon but Adam said: “There was not a place he did not know in South Wales.”
But it was not just nature photography that Jim excelled at. He also did photography at birthdays and weddings.
Adam said: “You never saw him without a camera in his hand.
“He had a shelf full of camera equipment.”
Penny passed away from cancer. At the time Jim was also suffering from the illness.
Adam said they helped each other when they were both ill and he had been worried about his father when his mother passed away. But he saw how his father threw himself into his photography.
“It was a reason to get out to experience stuff,” said Adam.
Adam said it also kept Jim busy in the evenings as he would be uploading and sharing his work in Facebook groups like the South Wales Argus camera club.
Adam said his father’s passing came out of the blue after a short illness.
Everyone from the Argus would like to send our thoughts to the Cousins family and pay tribute to the Jim and to his photography that we were fortunate to be involved with.