35 YEARS OF SANTA SNAPS
A SOUTH Wales photographer has revealed an incredible archive of photographs of Father Christmas stretching back 35 years.
Walter Waygood, from Merthyr Tydfil, first started taking photographs of Santas at department stores around South Wales in the early ’80s.
Then he was asked to document life on the shop floor at well-known, but now sadly long-gone store Allders.
As part of his role, he would also take posed pictures of the Santas in their grotto. Back then no Christmas would be complete without a visit to Father Christmas in one of the many department stores around the local area.
“I started taking photographs at Allders and then I went to another store to ask if I could take pictures of their Santa, they said yes, and it just snowballed from there,” says Walter.
“Every Christmas I carried on this journey documenting Santa. People in the stores knew me as the official Santa photographer.”
The snapper says his fascination with Santa began as a youngster when he made his first Christmas time visit to a department store.
“As a young boy I used to love to go and see Santa Claus in the department stores. I remember my first visit was Santa at a department store in Newport called Owen Owen,” he says.
“I’ve always had a fascination with Santa Claus. There was a song by Kate Bush called The Man With The Child In His Eyes and I’ve never really grown up.
“The photographs take me back to my childhood and it takes me back to the tradition and the culture I was brought up in. It’s just massively great fun to do.”
Renowned for his documentary photography work, Walter says the Santa photographs are something of a departure for him.
“It is something I’ve loved to carry on doing over that last 35 years. It not only provides a historical record but there is a lovely humour attached to it too.”
The photographer admits he’s still keen to carry on his Christmas tradition.
“With the closure of many department stores there’s been a move to now seeing Santas at garden centres and heritage railway lines,” he says.
“But the magic of Christmas and the magic of Santa Claus never disappears.”