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→
The darkness lifted ever so slowly as I proceeded on my walk this week from city centre to seafront in the approaching dawn. Having traversed the Maritime Quarter with its shadow patterns and reflections (see previous post) and experiencing a hint of the cold wind to come, I emerged onto the seafront behind a stainless steel sail sculpture and quickly retreated back behind the corner of the building by my side.
It was cold and wild and the distant blue-grey light on the eastern horizon gave no hint of how the day may turn out. The tide was high and the waves crashed against each otherContinue reading→
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 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→
Looking through the sights and sounds from my walk this week at The Waterside, Felindre, I find I am already looking forward to my next visit. On this walk I have focused on some of the details of the place, in particular the different effects of water, both in sight and sound.
It can be a challenge to keep seeing things afresh, but however familiar we become with a place or situation, the conditions are always different from day to day, both in our surroundings and in ourselves. Taking the opportunity to try and see and think about things from a different perspective, both the big picture and the details, can be very helpful and The waterside is one of the places, for me, where I can do this.
It is different to the many other places I walk because a visit to Sue and Steve in this small, secluded Welsh valley involves connection and conversation with others as well as observation and appreciation of the beautiful surroundings.
Walking is important to me for many reasons – one of which is free-thinking time and exploration of ideas. Creative conversation with others as a part of the exploration can be a helpful consolidation of thoughts or a chance to further explore alternative mental routes and this is one of the things I get from The Waterside and Collective Headspace.
Lingering around the lake at The Waterside is a very easy thing to do. On my walk this week the weather was good – sunny and almost still with just the lightest of breezes from time to time.
A walk here is more about wellbeing than exercise and whatever the weather conditions, there is huge advantage to be gained from a quiet contemplation of the place and the space.Continue reading→
The dancing reflections of sunlight on puddles in an old reservoir overflow tunnel is just one of the watery effects to be found at The Waterside where my walk is this week.
It is not just the effects of water that creates the patterns and structures I am looking at in the images below, it is the interaction between the water and the sunlight that choreographs the changing rhythms of the light and shade. The interaction of draining waterContinue reading→
My walk this week is somewhere I visit regularly. The first Friday of the month I go to The Waterside, Felindre where Sue and Steve Heatherington welcome all who come along for creative conversation. Sue has also been posting about water in the valley this past week at Sue Waterside!
You never know who you are going to meet but there are often faces I have become familiar with over the last couple of years. The conversation is often philosophical but also casual and so it is easy to talk. The place itself helps to prompt this and alongside Sue and Steve’s hospitality and their entertaining alpacas (yes, that’s right, alpacas!), this secluded Welsh valley is a fantastic place, whatever the weather, to clear the mind, explore and develop new thoughts and ideas and take a contemplative walk around the lake.Continue reading→
