Swan on the Thames

Have you ever felt intimidated by swans? I don’t know what I did to deserve the look this one gave me – maybe it just didn’t like being photographed. I suppose I would get the same look from people if I pointed my camera straight at them.

In the second image I think it has resigned itself to the activity and decided to pose more pleasantly rather than stare fiercely.

Swan

Swan

pigeon feeding

Windsor – A Place to Visit

I didn’t know what to expect when I visited Windsor. The only thing I knew about the place was that Windsor Castle is there. However, there is more to it than that and even on a dull day, it is an attractive place to walk around., have a cup of tea and see the swans on the River Thames.

Windsor architecture

Windsor architecture

Swans on the Thames

Lighting Architecture

Windsor station is in there somewhere but the roof architecture and lighting you see below is in fact a shopping centre and cafe complex built within the old station layout. It is a great place and I loved the atmosphere.

Windsor Station

Windsor Station

Windsor Station roof

Windsor Station

Windsor Castle

Even on a dreary day there are plenty of visitors to Windsor and Windsor Castle. It was, of course, the last week of August, so perhaps that is to be expected!

Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle - Henry VIII Gate

Exposure of a Queen

It was a pretty grey day last week when I visited Windsor. I found that my photography was best handled in full manual mode rather than relying on any of the semi-automatic options.

Having experimented with exposure, shutter speed and iso and found a reasonable compromise, the rest of my photography needed fewer adjustments as the weather remained miserable (if not actually raining) for the whole visit.

The photos below of Queen Victoria were deliberately over and under-exposed as I liked the appearance of her profile against the sky, which as you can see in the second shot, was not exactly bright. Having said this, I think the second shot is my favourite! Which is yours?

Queen Victoria statue

Queen Victoria statue

Queen Victoria statue

iPhonography at Lliw Reservoir

Some alternative iPhone shots of Lliw Lower Reservoir. Having finished the new video collection, “StillWalks at Lliw Reservoir“, I recently had a walk there and did some iPhonography at the same time.

The photos were taken using the ProCamera app and edited in the PhotoshopExpress app on the phone and have also been posted on Instagram and EyeEm.

New StillWalks Video Collection

“StillWalks at Lliw Reservoirs” – This new collection of StillWalks videos looks at Lliw Lower Reservoir through all four seasons as well as a Spring walk to the upper reservoir. It also includes a short introduction.

Below is the introduction and a sample from the collection which is available here or can be bought at the  reservoir cafe on disc.

As with all StillWalks videos, the sounds are unique to the time and place of the walk. In the case of this collection, the location is the same in each video, albeit with a slightly different route taken each time. The sounds recorded, however, vary with the conditions and the acoustics of the surrounding landscape are affected by changing weather conditions to give different effects to permanent features such as flowing water or background ambience.

Why buy a StillWalks video or video collection?

 

Shiny Green

I am not a motorcyclist but there is something about the aesthetics of motorbikes that has appeal – or perhaps it is the romantic notion of “riding into the sun”. The bright green of this Kawasaki does not have the same appeal as the shiny red of the Ducati in yesterday’s post but it is still, somehow, a fitting colour for the machine.

Kawasaki

Kawasaki break disc