Travelling Back in Woodland Time

Posted on 15/12/201415/12/2014 by Alastair

I have had a couple of walks in Carmarthenshire recently in spite of wet weather. During these excursions I found this dinosaur-like mossy monster. I don’t know if this woodland should be described as ancient, but it certainly seemed like it to me, and with this “creature” lurking there it seemed even more as though I had gone back in time.

Complementary images to my walks this week can be found directly on Instagram or via the sidebar images on the StillWalks blog. Images displayed here and on Instagram are a mixture of iPhone and Canon DSLR photography.

Simply Reflection and Reviewing the Week 5

Posted on 14/12/201414/12/2014 by Alastair

Rosebay Rockets

Posted on 13/12/201413/12/2014 by Alastair

I love these wild flowers – Rosebay Willow Herb. In every season they have so much to offer the eye. An explosion of tiny rockets like a firework going off. Whether there be colour in them during the Spring and Summer or the patterns of curly lines in the Autumn and Winter, they always have attraction for me.

Complementary images are posted on Instagram through the week and can also be seen on the sidebar of the StillWalks blog.

Swans in the Distance

Posted on 12/12/201412/12/2014 by Alastair

A Hint of Sunlight

Posted on 11/12/201411/12/2014 by Alastair

A hint of sunlight forms part of the reflection in the lower section of this image and is a subtle reminder of the Autumn weather on the day of my walk along the Tennant Canal near Swansea.

It is the pattern and direction of lines and the texture in this photo that I enjoy. The banks of the canal are having a bad hair day – or would it be thought of by some as a distinctive style.

Complementary images are posted on Instagram through the week and can also be seen on the sidebar of the StillWalks blog.

What I Like – Image Composition

Posted on 10/12/201410/12/2014 by Alastair

When selecting images to post on this blog I try to pick photos that I like for a range of different reasons – composition, texture, pattern – perhaps most importantly, how well they depict my memory of the place they represent.

My main reason for choosing the images below is composition. In the first shot I particularly like the combined shapes of the light – the oblique oval of reflected light on the water of the canal and the quarter oval of light in the sky. The image, for me, is not so much about the reflection of land on water as the abstract shapes of light and dark, hence my rendering of the second image.

The composition of the last photo has nothing to do with manipulation. This was simply the way the reflection appeared with the apparent shape mask being created by the reflection of the wall and underside of a bridge over the canal. The shot was a little underexposed but this made for a more dynamic and abstract composition.

Complementary images are posted on Instagram through the week and can also be seen on the sidebar of the StillWalks blog.

A Well Kept Secret – Exploring Tennant Canal

Posted on 08/12/201408/12/2014 by Alastair

The Tennant Canal at Jersey Marine is just a few miles from the centre of Swansea. The area is surrounded by works and roads, developments and housing, but before you reach any of those things, you would have to climb over the small hills that surround Pant-y-Sais Fen alongside which the canal flows.

This haven of (relative) peace and nature is like a well kept secret – if you didn’t know it was there, you wouldn’t think to take a look. The M4 motorway twists past at one end and there is currently a major development for Swansea University being carried out on the seaward side. But the sound of this activity is not to be heard such is the noise absorbing effect of the topography along with trees and other vegetation. The wind in the reeds and the more noticeable and pleasurable sound.

Complementary images are posted on Instagram through the week and can also be seen on the sidebar of the StillWalks blog.

Welsh Valley – Review of the Week 4

Posted on 07/12/201407/12/2014 by Alastair

The view looking north up the small welsh valley where Welsh Valleys Alpacas is situated. It is a beautiful spot in the welsh countryside and features not only the alpacas (see the review of the week gallery below), but also this lake and some great woodland.