Looking Through the Ruins

Posted on 07/10/201507/10/2015 by Alastair

The ruined building by the phone mast near the top of my hollow way walk is a fascinating piece of old local architecture but I guess it is the state that it is in that interests me rather than what it was. The big hole in its side wall may have been a window at one time but now the ragged edge of the naked wall provides an interesting frame for views of the surrounding hills.

I find the structures of the hole in the wall, the electricity pylon and the interior of the building juxtaposed with the hillside and tree growth against the chimney brickwork patterns of endless interest. Every time I take this walk I stop at this point for a look around at these and other features of the place.

I thought the pylon shot might also work well in b&w and so the monochrome image can be seen on Leanne Cole’s Photography blog Monochrome Madness post.

Eleven Arches and Some Local Goats

Posted on 06/10/201506/10/2015 by Alastair

The local goats living in the fields near the top of the Goppa hollow way footpath have a great view over the landscape around Pontarddulais to the 11 arched railway bridge and the Louchor estuary. The bridge is a feature of the area which I have been trying to photograph for some time. Getting the best angle at the right time of day and in suitable weather conditions is a challenge. It appears distant in the middle ground of this shot and of course, another factor that I must consider is equipment. I don’t want to take my tripod and zoom lens with me on every time I walk up this hill and so there will always be an element of chance when it comes to getting a photo I feel does the bridge justice.

Welsh Landscape and Reviewing the Week 12

Posted on 08/02/201508/02/2015 by Alastair

This final photo of the week was again taken with my iPhone but shows the view looking north east up the valley before I enter the woods to climb up to the top of the hill and look south towards the Gower Peninsula in the distance.

Click on any image in the gallery to view them in a carousel. The sound clips posted this week can also be found below. These will not be visible in an email – you will have to listen to them on the blog.

Overhead and Under Foot

Posted on 07/02/201507/02/2015 by Alastair

Overhead the sun and clouds were yet again proving the changeableness of the Welsh weather. This morning’s skyscape / landscape is another shot taken using the pano mode of my iPhone camera. I use this most often to widen the lens rather than give a long panoramic view which with this app results in bendy beaches and horizon lines.

Under foot the extent of moss growth also proves the level of dampness in this environment – a rotting fallen tree shows just a tiny bit of it.

The sound today comes courtesy of a Mistlethrush I think. I couldn’t get a good enough sight of it to prove its identity but from what I could see, I would say it was a Mistlethrush rather than a Songthrush.

Fforest Birds 2

Environmental Range

Posted on 06/02/201506/02/2015 by Alastair

The walks I have been taking each morning recently, include a range of environments – urban, coniferous forest, deciduous woods and open farm land.

Although I prefer the natural woodland environments on these walks, I also enjoy the faster, more even pace of walking through the (semi) urban area. Even in the woods there is still the background sound of traffic on the motorway – except at one point along the footpath where the sound from the motorway (see last photo) almost completely disappears and there is only the sound of individual vehicles occasionally passing on the road below.

The sounds as well as the plants and animals of these places are many and varied. The field recording I have posted below and in previous posts this week illustrate something of that variety.

There is an intrusion into the sound clip below. I was recording on my Edirol R09 and had forgotten to switch off my phone! So there is another element of the urban environment unintentionally included.

Fforest Birds 4 and Traffic

Walking To The Sunrise

Posted on 05/02/201505/02/2015 by Alastair

My photos for today are in reverse order! The turning point for my morning walk is in the first shot and is a great place to see the sun come up behind some woodland to the left of the frame.

In Wales it is often said that “it has been raining, is raining or is about to rain” – see the last photo. I fact I would say the weather here is changeable, frequently changeable. In all the walks I have taken over the last 10 or 12 days, I have only got wet once – though I have had to put Dubbin on my boots frequently.

Photos 1 and 3 are from my iPhone, 2 and 4 were taken with my Canon 550D. The sound clip at the bottom was recorded on my iPhone.

Fforest Rain iPhone 3

Sense of Reality

Posted on 04/02/201504/02/2015 by Alastair

If these photos tell a story, it is one of fiction in one sense and of reality in another. The first two shots present the sense I had of this morning’s walk through the woods to the top of the hill where the sun was fighting its way through the clouds. There was a lot more light on the land, the fields and tress, than is apparent in the photos but I decided to direct my iPhone to reveal the atmosphere in the sky rather than the details and colours of the trees or field. The result of course, is a much darker foreground in the images than it was in reality – unless you consider the sense of the scene I had in my mind. Taking that into consideration, the photos are much closer to reality.

The third image is technically more accurate in its presentation of the light seen at a fire break in the forest. If this is not such a dramatic shot, it is still a point on this walk at which I always stop and take in the scene.

More of the atmosphere of the forest can be heard in this sound clip – click the play button or the file name to hear the sounds of my walk through the woods.

Fforest Birds 3 and Walking

Landscape and Light

Posted on 03/02/201503/02/2015 by Alastair

The conditions on this morning’s walk were darker than on the previous day. This did not stop me enjoying the walk just as much and the darker sky meant that this panorama shot taken on my iPhone needed very little adjustment in order to accurately represent the scene over the hill at the highest point of my walk.

Contrasting light can be one of the greatest challenges in photography, so if the purpose is to represent the scene as it was rather than creating a more dramatic view, then it is quite convenient to have more even light.

And so the drama today comes not from the scene but from a detail of the landscape. The scribbled twigs of the tree in the second image could represent a snapshot from a stormy, windy day. That is what the angles, textures and movement say to me in this picture, but in fact the weather was completely still without a breath of wind.