The Rough and the Smooth – iPhonography at the Botanic Gardens

Posted on 28/01/201428/01/2014 by Alastair

Last week we had a walk at the National Botanic Garden of Wales (NBGW), taking advantage of free entry during January. It is easy to think that there is not so much to see in a place like the Botanic Gardens at this time of year but, of course, that is not true – it is just that things look different.

I had downloaded a new app for my iPhone 5c, namely PureShot, and I was keen to try it out. This camera app allows more control than the standard iPhone Camera app as well as having options to use TIFF images and different quality JPEGs. The photos below were both taken using PureShot and it gave good results. However, as will be seen through other shots I will be posting this week, it is not always the best app to use.

I discovered PureShot through the a post by Emil Pakarklis and the iPhone Photography School and would recommend his website as an excellent aid to anyone interested in improving their phone photography.

Another discovery I made when looking at images of Silver Birch bark was esdesigns – I liked the silver birch bracelet in particular!

You can use the Donate button below to help StillWalks. Pay how much you want and receive a high quality download of this week’s featured StillWalks video – “Winter Lakeside Walk” which features Llyn Llech Owain Country Park in Carmartheshire. Click the image below to watch the video. DVD Collections are available to order in the StillWalks Shop.

Forres Whin and Forres Puddle

Posted on 25/01/201425/01/2014 by Alastair

You can use the Donate button below to help StillWalks. Pay how much you want and receive a high quality download of this week’s featured StillWalks video – “Winter Woodland Walk” which features woods in Forres, North East Scotland. Click the image below to watch the video. DVD Collections are available to order in the StillWalks Shop.

A Comparison of Stones and Shells in Time

Posted on 13/01/201413/01/2014 by Alastair

A couple of weeks ago I posted photos from a similar position to the image you see below – Keeping Things in Perspective

Now, following the crazy weather and high tides that we have had in the south and west of the UK (to say nothing of the rest of the country), the landscape has been changed. The coast has seen massive stacks and arches disappear. Here in Swansea, the scene on the beach perhaps bears no comparison to those fallen stacks, but it is still notably different to that which I photographed a fortnight ago.

Hundreds of tons of stones now sit at the bottom of these steps where before there was a water filled trench. The solitary shell I photographed in the sand two weeks ago now has hundreds of companions.

Sorry to those who expect it but there is no featured StillWalks video this week. It will be back next week.

Facing Into the Wind

Posted on 10/01/201410/01/2014 by Alastair

Can anyone tell me if this is something ducks do instinctively? Facing into the wind suggests a desire or need to reduce wind resistance, but considering there are plenty of places on Hemlington Lake in Middlesbrough, that they could shelter, why not make use of them rather than facing into the wind?

I suppose they might just not want their feathers ruffled – due to a sense of style?!

This week’s featured StillWalks video is from Middlesbrough. Although the production for “Suburban Lakeside Walk” was done in the Winter, it was clearly much better weather than is evident in the iPhone photos I took around the lake this winter.

You can use the Donate button below to help StillWalks. Pay how much you want and receive a high quality download of this week’s featured StillWalks video – “Suburban Lakeside Walk” which features Hemlington Lake in Middlesbrough. Click the image below to watch the video. DVD Collections are available to order in the StillWalks Shop.

Spotted Being Sheepish

Posted on 21/12/201321/12/2013 by Alastair

I was sitting quietly on my collapsible stool in amongst the bracken with the tripod and camera set up in from of me. Having mooched around the spot a bit, I had noticed that the camera nestling in the surrounding vegetation was not easily spotted.

This arrangement was not in order to hide from the sheep but simply for my own comfort in my endeavours to get some good shots of the landscape I have been posting about the last couple of weeks.

Waiting for the sun to rise and come round in the hope that the light would be good for the shots I wanted proved frustrating as the conditions never developed in the way I was hoping for. However, I won’t be sheepish about going up again any number of times – oh dear, sorry about that 😉

This week’s featured StillWalks video shows another representation of the woods in the previous featured video – the woods at Fforest in a snowy Winter.

You can use the Donate button below to help StillWalks. Pay how much you want and receive a high quality download of this week’s featured StillWalks video – “Forest Walk – Summer” which is at Fforest, Carmarthenshire, South Wales. Click the image below to watch the video. DVD Collections are available to order in the StillWalks Shop.

Gnarled and Knuckled – The Determination of Trees

Posted on 20/12/201320/12/2013 by Alastair

Trees amaze me sometimes with their determination to grow. So often I have seen fallen trees carry on growing regardless. This tree appears to be suffering from arthritis with bones and joints sticking out at awkward angles.

For all I love trees, I am not one to personalise or humanise them, but despite the strange growth patterns on this birch, I do not think it appears uncomfortable in its crooked shape. It seems to have been determined to grow enough to be able to see over those in front of it to the view over the Loughor Estuary and the Gower Peninsula.

This week’s featured StillWalks video shows another representation of the woods in the previous featured video – the woods at Fforest in a snowy Winter.

Twisted Details – Oak Trees After Autumn

Posted on 13/12/201313/12/2013 by Alastair

Zooming in from the Welsh landscape overview in my previous post, I can reveal some of the twisted details of our local park. The oak trees of Coedbach Park in Pontarddulais, are wonderful in all seasons, but when the leaves are gone they truly reveal their twisted, crooked forms.

Photo taken on my iPhone 5c. Click the photo to enlarge.

This week’s featured StillWalks video started out as an experiment to see if I could produce an acceptable video using only my iPhone 4s to take the photos and record the sound. Here is the result – Forest Walk – Summer”

Swiss Valley, Llanelli

Posted on 04/12/201304/12/2013 by Alastair

Why the area is called Swiss Valley, I do not know! It is clearly not in Switzerland but a beautiful area in South West Wales. The photos were taken on my iPhone – I love the snaking shape of the reservoir overflow but that particular image needed some work on it.

Category Archives: Nature