Admiring the View and Composing the Picture

They are central to the image and framed by the tree but the gulls admiring the view towards the low afternoon sun across the lake are not a big enough in this shot to argue that they were the main feature of my focus – but they were to begin with! Without a longer lens than that provided by my iPhone I had no choice but to consider the composition of the wider scene – but that’s OK because I like the tree as well.

urban lakeside tree

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Seat with an Evening View

It was very cold (for Wales) on this Winter afternoon walk and I didn’t sit on this perfectly placed seat, but I did enjoy the last of the light. I know I posted shots of this sky at a slightly earlier stage of its cycle yesterday, so please excuse me, but I could not resist posting again as the light faded and the colours deepened.

I met my friend David Wibberly – Photographer just after taking these photos and he was commenting on the bad light for photography. I explained that as my intention is to try to present what you would see and hear on a walk, whenever it is taken, the issue of light is something I just have to deal with.

Penclawdd seat

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Vague Vista

As I climbed above the valley floor along a moss-lined lane, it would have been good to get a better view of the distant mountains around Blaenau Ffestiniog in North Wales. Alas, on a day such as this, that was never going to be possible.

Lledr Valley

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View from Llansteffan Castle

Welcome to Day One

Hello to everyone, existing and new visitors to the new StillWalks blog. Thank you for visiting anew and thank you for relocating with me if you are already a follower.

Insert your email to the subscription box in the side bar on the right to receive StillWalks images and sound clips on blog posts every morning – it’s a great way to start the day (or end it!).

NB If viewing this on a mobile device, the registration to receive emails at the bottom of this post.

Things should look very much the same on the blog and hopefully our migration here will be seamless. However, other aspects of the website have changed and there is now a new StillWalks package to which you can sign up or register an interest. To find out more about “Walking The StillWalks Way”, click the link to view a short presentation.

My Walk this Week continues

Meanwhile, back on my walk this week at Llansteffan Castle in Carmarthenshire, I thought I would start with a photo from the beginning of the walk because the view from the castle allows you to see into the distance, albeit hazy, and of course this is what I have been trying to do with StillWalks – see into the future.

Following on from yesterday’s post, a more detailed look at the stonework of Llansteffan Castle reveals all sorts of fascinating patterns, textures and colours. I’m not sure what is going on in with the surface patterns on the last shot, but it looks as though it may be additional to the actual stone itself.

 

Signs, scenery and a pony in the woods

This was the view I had from Three Crosses Community Centre whilst waiting for the rest of the dragonfly hunting group I was with last week. It was very pleasant sitting in the sun with a light breeze to cool me.

Looking across the Gower Peninsula, it struck me that there were a lot of signposts. However, they did not spoil the view but rather created an interesting mix of patterns and structures through which I could see the natural beauty of the landscape.

We accept or learn to accept a lot of things in our need for order in society and the power we want to run our lives – like the millions of electricity pylons and increasing number of wind mills, sky scraper skylines and network of roads to name but a few of the interruptions to our views. We want what they bring and they do not necessarily spoil the view – it is more a matter of how you think about them.

Having said that, there should be balance in everything and we cannot afford to lose much more of our natural habitat – after all, the horses need their shade!

Signs and Scenery

Signs and Scenery Pony in the Woods

Pony in the Woods