October is often the wettest month for us here in Wales but whether the cloudscape below is evidence of this I could not say – I simply found it an interesting arrangement. In reality the weather conditions these days are seemingly so erratic, it is sometimes difficult to know which season we are in or what month it is. It is not easy to tell from these photos or the sound clip if the weather on my forest walks in October were wet or not.
On my forest walks in August I mostly used my iPhone for my photography and sound recording. It seems I was focusing on colour and texture on those occasions, but not only in what I could see but also in what was to be heard – not that I had any particular influence over that, other than to be there.
Back in March I was enjoying one of my many walks up through the forest and enjoying the sunny views up the valley at the foot of the forest and then again across the Welsh landscape to the Gower Peninsula from the hill at the top of the forest. No camera or sound kit with me, these shots were taken on my iPhone and it seems I did no sound recording there during that month, so no sound clip today.
Edge of the forest in March
View across fields to the Gower from the forest
View up the valley from the foot of the forest
Returning to the carpark at the end of my walk this week around the urban lake in the enterprise zone at Llansamlet in Swansea, I was met by one of the lake’s inhabitants! Knowing the reputation for swans being not entirely friendly towards humans, I was slightly cautious when approaching him – but he wasn’t the least bit concerned about me or anyone else!
Whether floating in the wind or on the water, there were plenty of leaves to be enjoyed on my urban lakeside walk this week. My favourites are the banner-like leaves of the tall lakeside reeds.
They are central to the image and framed by the tree but the gulls admiring the view towards the low afternoon sun across the lake are not a big enough in this shot to argue that they were the main feature of my focus – but they were to begin with! Without a longer lens than that provided by my iPhone I had no choice but to consider the composition of the wider scene – but that’s OK because I like the tree as well.
Fallen Autumn leaves were well spread out on the ground underfoot on my walk this week around the enterprise zone lake in Swansea and it was a pleasure to walk through them. The soundscape around the lake held the things you might expect in this environment including the voices of various ducks, geese, swans, gulls and other birds.
Continuing on my walk this week around an urban lakeside I found that low angle shots often provided the best viewpoint. Looking at things from another viewpoint often provides a different understanding of the subject and allows you to see things you might otherwise have ignored and passed by.
