What’s Left Behind – Jetsam and Ice

Posted on 09/03/201805/03/2018 by Alastair

In this my third and last post for my walk this week I am looking at some of what is left behind by both recent weather conditions and humans – the ice and jetsam scattered in the river and around the frozen woodland in a semi urban / industrial area.

The ice was not yet melting but had created strange bubble-like forms around old reeds at the river’s edge. Also at the edge of the Afon Llan was a collection of abandoned shopping trolleys tangled up with bits of wood swept downstream and caught up in their old metal mesh.Continue reading→

Frozen!

Posted on 07/03/201803/03/2018 by Alastair

The rest of the UK had snow but our little pocket of the country somehow managed to avoid it and so my walk this week was freezing but no more than that. The images of frozen water below may not be as dramatic as some of those to be found in countries closer to the arctic circle, but they are different to our normal situation here in South West Wales where, since taking these photos, we have returned to rain!

My walk this week was, however, one I had not taken before and although short, allowed me to view an area that combinesContinue reading→

My Walk this Week – Freezing Over

Posted on 05/03/201803/03/2018 by Alastair

My walk this week braves the bitter wind blowing across Britain from Siberia. I have never seen ice like this on our local river, the Afon Dulais, but despite this and the fact that the rest of the country was under thick snow, we had next to none of it! The “beast from the east” and Storm Emma brought high winds and bitter cold but we were disappointed not to get any snow when seemingly all around us a colour, texture and acoustic change was taking place across the land.

Never mind, despite the ice feeling like it was inside my fingers, I still enjoyed my walk and the sights and sounds were still different to normal, but more of that later in the week. There was still someContinue reading→

Alternative Details – Route Taken or Root Taken

Posted on 23/02/201819/02/2018 by Alastair

Having looked at some of the natural details on the short walk home with my niece (see previous post), we then started looking at some of the alternative details of our surroundings. The patterns created by dirt and moisture in the air and by the remains of roots on surfaces along our route.

This route took us past the dry crinkled textures of a brown beech hedge and onto a parking area where my niece said all she could see was cars and vans. So we took a closer lookContinue reading→

Still Travelling but Walking in Circles

Posted on 21/02/201819/02/2018 by Alastair

Still in York on my walk this week I found myself getting lost! I wasn’t actually lost in that I knew where I was, but I could not find the place I was looking for. I was full of a rotten cold and blame this for being unable to read the sat nav map I tried using on my phone to navigate on my walk to the required shop. I started out from the car park at Clifford’s Tower and passed by St. Mary’s church but then ended up going round and round in circles in the intricate layout of small central streets and passages.

I did a better job of finding my way to meet my niece and walk with her back to my parents’ house. While waiting I found the these gates of interest Continue reading→

Distant Horizon – Reviewing the Walk

Posted on 23/12/201714/12/2017 by Alastair

In reviewing my walk this week I can see that I have posted another set of very dark images – it must be the time of year! The selected photos from my posts about this walk illustrate both the urban start in a multi-story carpark and the approaching light of dawn on the horizon in a windy Swansea Bay.

The soundscape for this week backs up the images as always but while it includes the sound of crashing waves towards the end, it does not include the noise pollution of street cleaners and leaf blowers being used at 6 AM. Continue reading→

Christmas Lights and Lights at Christmas

Posted on 20/12/201714/12/2017 by Alastair

My walk this week, being in an early morning urban landscape, remained dark almost to the end of the walk. Some of the Christmas lights of Swansea were to be seen creating abstract growth patterns against the night sky, but there were more abstract patterns than this to be seen in the lighting at this early hour.

Some long exposure and movement of the lens allowed the traffic to create light trails en route to daytime and the darkness in other areasContinue reading→

My Walk this Week – Early Bird

Posted on 18/12/201714/12/2017 by Alastair

My walk this weeks starts in a multi-storey carpark in town. By early I mean about 5.55 am, which is why I was surprised that the first sound I heard on getting out of my car in this empty urban space was an early bird chirruping away! It was still dark and I was in an environment as far from natural as possible.

It was interesting to experience the ambience and light (or lack of it) in this structure in its unusual empty state and I was able to check out the patterns revealed in the gloom. The background soundContinue reading→

Tag Archives: urban