Protecting the Dead

Posted on 20/02/201320/02/2013 by Alastair

They say time heals all wounds. Time is having a different effect on these railings around an old grave in St Teilo’s churchyard down on the marshes near Pontarddulais – unless you consider that nature is healing by gradually taking over.

The trees below will not, I think, be healed by time. These magnificent trees were cut down as part of the restoration of the walls of this old churchyard. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I went there one day to find them gone completely, and I wondered how the residents of the graves felt about it.

Protecting the Dead

Churchyard Trees

Warmer Days

Posted on 20/02/201320/02/2013 by Alastair

These photos prove the time of year down on the marshes for the Old Churchyard Walk on the Loughor Estuary. The sheep scene looks as though it could be from ancient times!

Water Droplets

Lazing Around

Tufting and Textures

Posted on 19/02/201319/02/2013 by Alastair

I used to use tufting in my tapestry weaving – the long tufts of wool would hang down over the surface of the weaving. Sometimes I would wrap them with bright, lustrous cotton.

The textures I have used in my more recent weaving are rather different! Barbed wire is often the main textural feature of my weaving and although the reason for using it lies in the theme of “conflict”, we see it in many places around us.

The photos I take for StillWalks are often informed by my interest in texture. The images below illustrate different kinds of tuft and barb to those I have used in my tapestries.

You can see my tapestries at Design Fibre ICT and the StillWalk these images are from in the Old Churchyard Walk.

Tufted

Wool and Barbs

Meat on the Marshes

Posted on 18/02/201318/02/2013 by Alastair

The walk from Coedbach Park across the marshes to the old St Teilo’s churchyard is one of my local favourites. You can see it in the Old Churchyard Walk. The marshes on the River Loughor are tidal and therefore salty.

I don’t know what this sheep thinks about it all and I can’t say that it is specifically a Salt Marsh sheep but it is one of the flock from the marshes.

Given the recent news about the mix up of meats – beef? horse? – people may be looking at other meats at the moment and I know the salt marsh lamb I have tasted is pretty good stuff. One place to get it is Gower Salt Marsh Lamb. Whether it is meat or veg, I cannot recommend highly enough the taste of your own home grown or locally produced food.

Marsh Sheep

Down on the Marshes

Posted on 17/02/201317/02/2013 by Alastair

I managed to get a short walk out at lunchtime on Friday – down to our local marshes. I hadn’t been there for a little while and was reminded of the StillWalks I have produced such as the Old Churchyard Walk (on the Summer Walks page). Despite the sound of traffic in the background, it still one of my favourite local walks.

This week I am going to focus on some of the images from that video but start with the couple of shots I took on my iPhone yesterday.

Loughor River

marshes

Old Fences

Posted on 16/02/201316/02/2013 by Alastair

Lliw Valley in the rain – the last of my images this week on this subject, these photos seem to prove the resilience of wood over metal.

The first two along with a number of others taken recently, can also be seen on the Ambiguity of Fences blog. Other Fence Post Garden images from Lliw Valley can be seen on Facebook at the Moss Appreciation Society.

Succumbing to time and the rain

Hanging Around

Fence Post Garden

Singing in the Rain

Posted on 15/02/201315/02/2013 by Alastair

The sound of a Song Thrush singing in the rain in Lliw Valley – what more can I say!

Song Thrush

Lliw Valley in the Rain

River Torrents

Posted on 14/02/201314/02/2013 by Alastair

There was plenty of water flowing at the Lliw Reservoirs recently and during my walk in the rain I took a number of shots of the fast flowing rivers, trying out different settings and shutter speeds.

I have never been a great fan of slow shutter speeds and the “smooth water” effect it gives with flowing water. However, whilst using a fast shutter speed may show the explosive nature of fast moving water, slower shutter speeds will certainly help to represent the flow.