Reflections, Angles and Timing

The photo below does not show the “Elysi m Galley”. It shows the building which houses artists’ studios which are part of the Elysium Gallery with the gallery itself being down the street and round the corner (so to speak). If I had chosen a different angle I might have been able to capture the whole name.

I found an angle In the photo sequence below to capture a reflected conversation in the street but the timing of my walk this week proved a bit rubbish – it was rubbish collection day and inevitably the gulls had taken advantage and managed to spill some of it across the pavement.

Elysium Gallery

I like the mixture of signage and reflection on the doorway shot and although I cannot remember what the shop is open for, looking at the details I can see that they are advertising English lessons. And thinking of languages, the trees lining the street in the last image, and their bark, remind me of France and the profusion of plane trees they have lining so many of their streets.

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My Walk this Week – Street Recce

My walk this week is along a short street near the centre of town. It could be any street with mostly businesses lining each side in what were once houses. There is plenty of traffic but as I have claimed with StillWalks, there is as much to listen to and hear in an urban setting as there is in a rural one.

The sounds may be different, and it could be argued less attractive, but focusing my attention on different aspects of the soundscape allowed me to hear and see things that I would often pass over unnoticed – colours, patterns, textures to be both seen and heard.

So my walk this week is an exploration of an everyday urban location with the intention of familiarising my self to some of the visual and aural details in preparation for a full StillWalks production walk in the future.

Street Walk-1

The sound clip below is a bit longer than those I normally post through the week but on this occasion it seemed appropriate. There are many layers of of activities, starting  with the sound of me closing the car boot and progressing from the car park onto the street. The sound of a drill as I round a corner is also associated with a smell for me – as I returned to the carpark later on, passing this same spot the pungent smell of sealant was powerful and made me pass by quickly.

Street Walk – Clip 1

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No Fishing

This sign and its distorted reflection may say “No Fishing”, but the next photo below shows that there are fishing boats just round the corner from this entry point to the inner marina at Swansea.

no fishing

The other vessels in Swansea’s Maritime Quarter range from small to large sailing and motor boats of all types. The modern catamaran and the older style of sailing vessel below suggest something of this range – and all of the owners rely on the security the marina offers to keep them safe. However, I was a little taken aback when I saw the razor wire!

Lapping Water

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Eight Men and Four Women

It was a good day for my walk this week and the local rowing club obviously though it was good for them as well. They rowing up and down the river regularly – I don’t know how high up the river they go but in the past I have seen them up near the Liberty Stadium at Morfa where I enjoyed my walk last week.

rowing team of eight

I wasn’t able to capture the sounds of the rowers as well as take these photos but one of the sounds I did record at this stage of my walk can be heard below.

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Old and New

It’s quite common these days to transform the local docks into a fancy marina or other such housing and / or business development. In the case of Swansea people were not being moved out to make way for the new build and the docks are in diminished use in comparison to Swansea’s industrial heyday.

The SA1 area, as it is known, is situated across the river from the marina but the two developments are linked by the well designed millennium footbridge and a more functional footbridge at the lock from the marina to the river mouth.

old redbrick SA1 building

The old redbrick building above used to be one of the dock buildings of course and it along with the few other older dockside buildings in the area, sit well beside the wide range of modern architecture.

I have taken photographs of this architecture in the past but the images below function more as a contribution to my walk this week than a means of showing the architectural design of the area. If you do a search on the blog for SA1, you will be able to see some of those other images.

Swansea Millennium Footbridge

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Riverside Trees and Buidlings

Trees and buildings, urban sounds and natural sounds, those are the defining features of my walk this week. The buildings were always there but were often well hidden by the trees.

buildings and trees

The birds were always there but they too were well hidden in the trees. People and dogs were evident as well but until writing this post I had not included them in the images I selected for any of my posts this week – what does that say about me?

There were walkers (adults and children), dog walkers, joggers and cyclists using the footpath and as can be seen in the one photo I have now included with people, they are very conscientious dog owners who have all cleared up after their dogs..

Walking the Dogs

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Bay Campus – Reviewing the Walk

During my walk this week at Swansea University Bay Campus there were some beautiful sunny spells which allowed me to enjoy the campus at its best. However, below is the proof that bad weather will set in eventually! Even when the prospects look good for sunshine, these unpredictable days can so easily change and suddenly bring in wind and rain, even hail or snow.

dark clouds

My apologies for not providing any sound clips this week and similarly no soundscape to listen to along with the image sequence below.

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Campus Reflections

I may have been a little critical of the architecture on my walk this week around the new Swansea University Bay Campus. Perhaps I should have remembered my own words and simply looked a little more carefully. In fact I did do this – I looked at different aspects of the buildings from various angles and noticed a wide range of patterns and shapes, particularly in the windows.

Swansea Uni new campus-31

Glass always provides reflection and this can also be fascinating but sometimes confusing. With the sun shining, the reflections in the windows were emphasised but I am sure when the clouds are dark andContinue reading