My Walk this Week – A Day in Northampton

Posted on 14/05/201816/05/2018 by Alastair

My walk this week is from a day trip we had to Northampton a few weeks ago. We were there for the opening of an exhibition in which my daughter (Hannah Duncan Creations) had be invited to take part – Enamel Today by the British Society of Enamellers. The exhibition is at 78 Derngate, the only Charles Rennie Mackintosh house in England.

Apart from the obvious interest I have in my daughter’s work I also had an interest in the Northampton architecture, and not just the Rennie mackintosh house.Continue reading→

Sunlight, Sheep and Fog

Posted on 17/01/201812/01/2018 by Alastair

Gaining the top of the hill on my walk this week from fog to sunlight, I was followed by a flock of hopeful sheep looking expectantly at me – I suspect the farmer was due or perhaps the sheep though he was overdue!

My route took me past familiar objects both natural and man made. The rhododendrons perhaps have an element of both – they are natural but not native to the UK and can take over a whole hillside as they have in this location.Continue reading→

Miniature Mountains – A Confusion of Scale and Having Fun With Photos

Posted on 31/10/201531/10/2015 by Alastair

If the walkers on Rhosilli beach (see Thursday’s post) gave a true sense of the scale of the space the beach and cliffs occupy, then these photos of the remnants of a sand castle could be said to confuse scale completely.

The way the sand had slipped and created miniature cliffs and mountains fascinated me. I thought there may be an even greater sense of a larger landscape if I converted to monochrome . . . and then I wondered if over exposure and increased contrast might create the conditions for a “white out” on the “mountainside”.

Rocks and Ripples

Posted on 27/10/201527/10/2015 by Alastair

Viewing the rocks and sand ripples from above on my cliff walk at Rhosilli on the Gower peninsula revealed some fascinating patterns. I loved the complex textures of jagged rocks dotted with white gulls and the smoother flat patterns of wave platform structures seen on our way round to Fall Bay from the Worms Head.

The sand ripples may be a common pattern but I liked the subtle sunlight and shade. I thought it might be worth looking at it in black and white and in converting the image I also heightened the contrast quite a lot. The monochrome shot can be seen tomorrow on Leanne Cole’s Photography blog post Monochrome Madness 2-30. I can’t make up my mind which I prefer – subtle colour or contrasty monochrome.

Dockland Buffers – Comparing Colour and Monochrome

Posted on 24/10/201524/10/2015 by Alastair

Aha! Those objects I couldn’t clearly identify earlier in the week on our walk across Cardiff Bay barrage, are buffers for ships using the docks.

Although I find these scenes interesting and those buffers fascinating, I wondered what they might be like in black and white. It is perhaps best to say b&w rather than monochrome because I deepened the darker areas, strengthened the contrast, added some grain and left no hint of colour in any spectrum.

Monochrome Madness

Posted on 07/01/201507/01/2015 by Alastair

This image relates to a colour version of the photo I posted here recently from a winter walk at Lliw Lower Reservoir – there is not a lot of difference! The image is included in Monochrome Madness 44 on Leanne Cole Photography blog.

Monochrome Proportions and Light

Posted on 19/11/201419/11/2014 by Alastair

The first image below is not monochrome but you would be forgiven for thinking it is. I admit to taking the saturation down a bit but most of the effect comes from the direction of sunlight (yes, sunlight) and the angle of the camera. There was also quite a weird light in the sky anyway (as can be seen in my first post this week), and this has also contributed to these images.

The bottom two photos are monochrome and the last one is also included in Leanne Cole’s Photography blog post Monochrome Madness.