The Reflection and Deflection of Light

Concrete, glass and pebble dash – the outer materials of the Civic Centre building in Swansea. It is in a beautiful position on the seafront in Swansea bay and those working there may sometimes find the view somewhat distracting.

These are photos I have posted on Instagram recently and although, on this occasion, the quality of the photos leaves something to be desired, the images themselves are ones I find interesting – that’s why I took them I guess!

One reason for my interest is the effect the different surfaces have on the light that hits them. Whilst the the glass reflects the light and colour in a very direct way, the (originally) white surface of the walls deflects the direct sunlight from dazzling the eye too much because it has been textured with pebble dash. In the second shot the walls have also been given a vertical line pattern which further deflects the light.

Swansea Architecture

Swansea Architecture

Swansea Architecture

Architectural Patterns

Vertical, horizontal and diagonal lines, circles, squares, rectangles – these are the elements that make up the structures of so much, if not all architecture. Add in a bit of colour and some more angles and curves and the combinations of pattern are endless.

Symmetry seems sometimes to be a prerequisite in architectural design but it is when asymmetry is used that things get really exciting and no doubt, from the architects point of view, prohibitively expensive.

Personally, I don’t have a problem with the look of these buildings in Swansea’s maritime Quarter – there are plenty of those pattern combinations to be discovered. I do, however, think that it is a shame that imagination seems to come at a price.

Swansea Maritime Quarter

Swansea Maritime Quarter

Swansea Architecture – Salubrious Place

This silhouette shot of Salubrious Place could be mistaken for somewhere other than Swansea, but of course there are clues that might help to direct you towards Britain if not specifically Wales or Swansea.

Swansea Architecture

Salubrious Place

Abstract and Monochrome

If you have seen the posts earlier this week showing various aspects of the architecture of the ATRiuM building in Cardiff, you may recognise these images.

The first is one of the negative shapes formed by the spiral staircase – I darkened the form itself in order to emphasise the shape.

The second is a section of the buildings around The Big Sleep hotel building – changing from colour to monochrome in Adobe Lightroom didn’t make much difference but I did add the grain effect.

Monochrome-1

Monochrome-2

StillWalks featured walk videos, until now, have been changed at the start of the week on Mondays. It is now my intention to change these over on Sundays. Therefore this week’s featured StillWalks video, “Deer Park Walk” will be available to watch at full length and 480 resolution until tomorrow. It will revert back to a low resolution sample length on the Monday.

The video features the sights and sounds of the Deer Park in Spring at Golden Grove / Gelli Aur Country Park in Carmarthenshire, Wales.

The video above is in 480p quality. You can use the Donate button below to pay however much you want and receive a high quality (720HD) download of this week’s featured StillWalks video – “Deer Park Walk” which features part of Gelli Aur / Golden Grove Country Park in Carmarthenshire Wales. Click the image above to watch the video. DVD Collections are also available to order in the StillWalks Shop.

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Architecture and Trees

I enjoy both natural and urban environments but when it comes to the urban environment, it is an absolute certainty that it will be enhanced by including natural elements, particularly trees.

Architecture Patterns-2

Cardiff architecture

Architecture Patterns-3

Cardiff architecture

StillWalks featured walk videos, until now, have been changed at the start of the week on Mondays. It is now my intention to change these over on Sundays. Therefore this week’s featured StillWalks video, “Deer Park Walk” begins its run today and will be available to watch at full length and 480 resolution until next Sunday. It will revert back to a low resolution sample length on the Monday.

The video features the sights and sounds of the Deer Park in Spring at Golden Grove / Gelli Aur Country Park in Carmarthenshire, Wales.

The video above is in 480p quality. You can use the Donate button below to pay however much you want and receive a high quality (720HD) download of this week’s featured StillWalks video – “Deer Park Walk” which features part of Gelli Aur / Golden Grove Country Park in Carmarthenshire Wales. Click the image above to watch the video. DVD Collections are also available to order in the StillWalks Shop.

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ATRiuM on the Outside

ATRiuM

ATRiuM

ATRiuM

ATRiuM

StillWalks featured walk videos, until now, have been changed at the start of the week on Mondays. It is now my intention to change these over on Sundays. Therefore this week’s featured StillWalks video, “Deer Park Walk” begins its run today and will be available to watch at full length and 480 resolution until next Sunday. It will revert back to a low resolution sample length on the Monday.

The video features the sights and sounds of the Deer Park in Spring at Golden Grove / Gelli Aur Country Park in Carmarthenshire, Wales.

The video above is in 480p quality. You can use the Donate button below to pay however much you want and receive a high quality (720HD) download of this week’s featured StillWalks video – “Deer Park Walk” which features part of Gelli Aur / Golden Grove Country Park in Carmarthenshire Wales. Click the image above to watch the video. DVD Collections are also available to order in the StillWalks Shop.

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Spiral Staircase

Another view of ATRiuM, Cardiff.

ATRiuM Staircase

ATRiuM Staircase

StillWalks featured walk videos, until now, have been changed at the start of the week on Mondays. It is now my intention to change these over on Sundays. Therefore this week’s featured StillWalks video, “Deer Park Walk” begins its run today and will be available to watch at full length and 480 resolution until next Sunday. It will revert back to a low resolution sample length on the Monday.

The video features the sights and sounds of the Deer Park in Spring at Golden Grove / Gelli Aur Country Park in Carmarthenshire, Wales.

The video above is in 480p quality. You can use the Donate button below to pay however much you want and receive a high quality (720HD) download of this week’s featured StillWalks video – “Deer Park Walk” which features part of Gelli Aur / Golden Grove Country Park in Carmarthenshire Wales. Click the image above to watch the video. DVD Collections are also available to order in the StillWalks Shop.

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