The colour in these night lights and their reflections in the water of Hemlington lake is clear, but whatever colour may be in the branch below as it stretches into the night under a desaturating street lamp, is lost almost entirely – I find it quite ghostly.
As my walk extended round to the unlit side of Hemlington Lake my photos became still darker. At this point I am facing away from the town and much of the light and colour reflected on the clouds is hidden by the trees behind me.
In the first image you can just see the near side of the footbridge with the railings of its far side silhouetted against the street light. Below is a short sound clip of my footsteps crossing the bridge and it is after this that a gentle rain starts.
Footsteps and Rain
If viewing this in an email, to see the sound player you will need to visit the blog – please click the post title to view the full post.
The view of and colours in the night sky over Middlesbrough changed as I walked around the other, unlit side of Hemlington Lake. The shapes and silhouettes of trees enhanced the reflected colour on the clouds and proved there was light to be seen. However, the footpath on this side of the lake was very dark and it was only because I know the path well that I had no problems seeing where I should walk.
As I came round this side of the lake I disturbed some of the birds roosting in the vegetation at the lake side. So at this point in my night walk, there was a little more sound than perhaps there should have been.
Night Birds
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Many of the birds on Hemlington Lake were roosting during my night time walk around its perimeter. Some however, like this swan, thought there might be some food on offer. Unfortunately for him the best I could do was to take his photograph in the wan light of a distant street lamp.
It was darker than I had expected on this night walk. Being a suburban lake I thought there would be more ambient light from the city. It seems the lake and its surrounding grass and trees provide something of an oasis from the hustle and bustle of the urban landscape – just as intended.
The second image in this short sequence shows the fenced off outlet in the lake that featured in one of last week’s posts – you can just see it in the dark
Such as it is, the colour in the sky on this night walk round Hemlington Lake is a reflection of the urban lights in Middlesbrough. Despite travelling north east for the new year, the weather didn’t improve much for us and so the street lamps had plenty of cloud cover to reflect their yellow-orange glow.
It didn’t actually rain much on me during this walk and I really enjoyed the subdued colours, the silhouettes of trees and the night sounds of coots on the water.
My walk this week is in the same place as last week except that it is at night. I had expected that, during the New Year break, I would get the opportunity for a walk here. I had not expected it to be at night but what with all the seasonal activity, our visit was almost over before the chance arose for a short walk.
The footpath lights are only on one side of the lake, so the photos may get darker through the week and were taken on my iPhone.
Whatever you thought about my walk around this suburban lake during daytime, this night time walk is quite different. I wasn’t the only person out for a walk and judging from the sounds there was other local games activity too.
Night Walk Sample
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While my walk this week has not appeared very wintry, the photos were taken and the sound recorded in January and though there is no ice or snow to be seen, it seems that mild winters are now a feature of the seasons in many parts of Britain.
I hope you have enjoyed the first of my walks in 2016 and I look forward to posting many more this year.
Try listening to the soundscape of the walk while viewing the images in sequence – click the play button and then the first thumbnail below.
Suburban Lakeside Soundscape Sample
If viewing this in an email, to see the sound player you will need to visit the blog – please click the post title to view the full post.
Changeable weather can make it difficult to predict the conditions and therefore what to wear on a walk – rain and sunshine can be expected as well as rapidly changing temperatures. It can also mean that the colours to be seen in the landscape change dramatically and so winter colours can include the deep shadows of cloud and simultaneously the bright colours of nature reflected in sunlight.
These images just begin to show this effect with the colour in the bare branches and twigs of the tree or the reflective feathers of the ducks set against the slate grey of the water
