A Field of Colour Variations

Posted on 05/09/201305/09/2013 by Alastair

The other evening I was walking across this field and remembered a couple of photographs (phono photos) I had taken of it on previous walks.

The first was in June and the field was yellow with buttercups. The second was in July and it was white with clover. The third was a few nights ago and it was back to green again!

My last few posts have been about how natural things change over a relatively long time (30 years). This one is more about the wonderful changes we see in nature over a relatively short period of time.

Yellow Field

White Field

Green Field

Wildlife Habitat

Posted on 02/09/201302/09/2013 by Alastair

All images from this series of posts are available at StillWalks Photography.

The StillWalks video “Old Railway Track Walk” features many of the things you will find in a habitat like this – one that has been left to its own devices.

Over more than thirty years the trees have grown up, the brambles thickened, the wild flowers spread and I imagine the unseen wildlife is many times more abundant than that which we can see.

The photos below follow from yesterday’s post and are some of those taken for the StillWalks video.

Is This The Last Day of Summer?

Posted on 30/08/201330/08/2013 by Alastair

A couple of days ago we went to meet some friends for a picnic on Broughton Beach at the end of the Gower Peninsula. The weather was not as good as it had been but good enough for us to brave the odd mini shower.

One of the nicest things about a large beach is that it never seems crowded however many people are there, but in fact there were not many people around on that day, so we almost had the whole place to ourselves.

I love the space in places like this and if there is a bit of wind as well, that just adds to it!

The panorama shot below was taken on my iPhone and worked out pretty well. The video clips were also done on my phone and prove at least two things. First, there were children there obviously enjoying themselves. Second, the lack of sound on the other clip is because the phone mic didn’t like the wind, so I just took it out altogether. I love the patterns in the water though I miss the audio.

Click the image to view larger.

Broughton Bay, Gower

Early Morning Sounds

Posted on 30/08/201330/08/2013 by Alastair

I am currently working on the photography and sound from a production day in mid Summer at Troserch Woodland, Carmarthenshire, South Wales.

The unique field recording of the walk is absolutely essential if a sense of the location is to be conveyed. This sound clip near the start of the walk has a time stamp of 4:43 on the morning of 20th July and whilst the the images remind me of what the sky looked like and that there was a horse in the field, the recorded sounds take me (and you too, I hope) straight to the time and place and give me so much more information.

Sunrise at Troserch

Good Morning, you’re up early!

Fungi Challenge

Posted on 29/08/201329/08/2013 by Alastair

Walking in the woods the other day revealed a range of fungi, but I am no expert in the identification of the various species. Can anyone name all these fungi?

All photos taken on my iPhone 4S.

Art and the Environment – Julie Brunskill, Ceramicist

Posted on 28/08/201328/08/2013 by Alastair

My wife, the ceramic artist Julie Brunskill, has a new gallery on her website – www.juliebrunskill.co.uk

It is a selection of new work from 2013 and explores the relationship between urban developments, the natural environment and climate change.

Mint, Mint and More Mint

Posted on 23/08/201323/08/2013 by Alastair

I was going to post a picture of last night’s orange moon but the photos didn’t work out as well as I would have liked – I wasn’t using a tripod and that was a mistake.

So here is something I cooked up earlier! You can’t have too much fresh mint in my opinion! If a recipe says to add mint, I always add probably twice as much as the recipe says – just because I love it!

Courgettes, peas and mint with pasta and parmesan cheese has got to be one of my favourites. This is a recipe from Rose Elliot’s “Little Book of Pasta”.

Signs, scenery and a pony in the woods

Posted on 22/08/201322/08/2013 by Alastair

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!