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Category Archives: Landscape
Tunnel of Trees
Looking for the light in the Ynystawe woodland before going to photograph the dressage riders at the Clydach Riding Club show last weekend, I peeked out from the trees to the fields and the River Tawe and finally headed back to the show field through a tunnel of trees. The dressage show photos can be found at StillWalks Photography.
from “Forest Walk – Winter”
More images from the StillWalks video “Forest Walk – Winter” which is from the forest at Fforest, carmarthenshire, South Wales.
Phone Photography From Fforest
Fforest – for those of you unfamiliar with the Welsh language, the name of the place, Fforest, is only pronounced with an “F” sound rather than a “V” because there are two “F”s in the spelling. There seems more logic to this than spelling phone or photography with a “ph” but then that’s the English language for you!
I have picked out these two scenic views from the area I live because I intend them to take their places at the beginning and end of the StillWalks video I am working on using only my phone. The field recording that will be used was done on my phone as well.
I know that I cannot expect to achieve the same quality as with my DSLR cameras and lenses or the sound kit I normally use, but considering so much web content is viewed on mobile devices these days, I thought it would be worth testing this mobile kit in the context of StillWalks production and make a comparison. So I will be reporting back on this project with my conclusions.
The photos below are the HDR versions from my iPhone 4S. They have also had some adjustments made in Adobe Lightroom.
Is This The Last Day of Summer?
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
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Signs, scenery and a pony in the woods
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!
Dragonfly Environments
Following on from my weekend posts on the Countryside Connections dragonfly and damselfly hunt at Three Crosses community woodland, these photos are about the environment in which we found the creatures.
The pictures say almost everything about the kind of environment you are likely to find dragonflies but every time I see these wonderful creatures, I am reminded of another environment.
During my childhood in Northern Ireland we had regular visits to a cottage in the Annalong Valley of the Mourne Mountains. The riverbed of the Annalong River was pretty dry a lot of the time because the water was diverted to the Silent Valley reservoir, but it was a perfect place for dragonflies and my memories of those days, playing among the rocks and boulders of the river, are marked by the fantastic colours of the numerous dragonflies that also enjoyed that environment.
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