The bright sunlight on Rhosilli beach seemed to bleach the sand. Originally I darkened these photos as I thought they were over exposed, but although they were made clearer by doing so, they also became less representative of the glare on this part of the beach.
Sunlight has different qualities according to the current atmospheric conditions. I cannot tell you in scientific or meteorological terms what was going on in the atmosphere on this day but I can try to present something of the quality of light that at times was almost blinding
Viewing the rocks and sand ripples from above on my cliff walk at Rhosilli on the Gower peninsula revealed some fascinating patterns. I loved the complex textures of jagged rocks dotted with white gulls and the smoother flat patterns of wave platform structures seen on our way round to Fall Bay from the Worms Head.
The sand ripples may be a common pattern but I liked the subtle sunlight and shade. I thought it might be worth looking at it in black and white and in converting the image I also heightened the contrast quite a lot. The monochrome shot can be seen tomorrow on Leanne Cole’s Photography blog post Monochrome Madness 2-30. I can’t make up my mind which I prefer – subtle colour or contrasty monochrome.
It seems the sweet chestnut is one of the trees that sheds its leaves earliest in Autumn. This one is on its way but the stage I like these leaves best, after they have fallen, is probably into the Spring when they have been lying on the ground for months and have gone thin and papery. Their structure breaks down and their colour becomes pale, almost bleached. I have photographed them like this in the past and you can see the results in one of my previous posts here.
The morning sun does not reach this part of the woodland footpath I was following, but there are advantages to this. The brambles here are still there for the picking, stretching out the brambling season a bit further – and they look very tasty.
The dawn walk I have been posting about this week took me through woods I have often posted about on this blog. Unlike yesterday’s underexposed images this first photo is much more like the reality of the place. The second, however, is again underexposed – the effect of the morning sunlight and shade of the trees on the footpath highlighted the forms and patterns of the leaves and the warmth of colour from the just risen sun produced a real sense of the place at that time.
The walks I have been taking each morning recently, include a range of environments – urban, coniferous forest, deciduous woods and open farm land.
Although I prefer the natural woodland environments on these walks, I also enjoy the faster, more even pace of walking through the (semi) urban area. Even in the woods there is still the background sound of traffic on the motorway – except at one point along the footpath where the sound from the motorway (see last photo) almost completely disappears and there is only the sound of individual vehicles occasionally passing on the road below.
The sounds as well as the plants and animals of these places are many and varied. The field recording I have posted below and in previous posts this week illustrate something of that variety.
There is an intrusion into the sound clip below. I was recording on my Edirol R09 and had forgotten to switch off my phone! So there is another element of the urban environment unintentionally included.
During my second visit to Kidwelly, I took a walk upriver and in doing so disturbed a flock of Jackdaws on the slopes underneath the castle. As can be seen from the dark clouds, it was typical weather for the time of year but this suited the appearance of the birds very well.
The position of the bird in silhouette in the first shot makes it look as though it is about to go in for an attack. In the second shot it could be in stealth mode, swooping low across the ground, ready to wrap its cloak-like wings around its prey!
When I was in the Scouts I was Patrol Leader for Lapwing Patrol – we were well turned out but could never be as smartly dressed as this real lapwing patrolling the edge of the mudflats at Kidwelly.
There are no birds in this next photo but the strange pancake islands of grass that sit amidst the mudflats are still a fascinating feature.
