It seems to me that these stones are an audience in the circle watching the tide –
Watching
– but really it is their balancing act that is the attraction!
Balancing Act
With each StillWalk I produce, I select nine or ten images as stand alone shots and make them available for purchase. These are two more from the “Coastal Walk” in Spring in South West Scotland. The photos are available to buy at PhotoBox.
Looking out to sea and waiting – that is what these “standing stones” appear to be doing!
My StillWalk, “Coastal Walk“, in Scotland in the Spring features these shots. The balanced stones looked as though they were just biding their time and waiting for some spectacular event – or perhaps they were just soaking up the sun while they could.
Sculpture on the Beach
Patterns in the Sand
The mornings are still cold but it’s not going to be long now – the evidence is out there.
These photos are from one of my Spring StillWalks – “Coastal Walk” in Galloway, South West Scotland. You can watch it here.
Chaffinch
Sunlight or cloud, rain or mist – the weather conditions influence, no, create the available light for photography.
A few weeks ago I was at Lliw Valley Reservoirs in the rain and took some photos on my iPhone 4s of what I described as “fence post gardens”. I posted them on the Moss Appreciation Society Facebook page with the comment that I would have to go back on a dry day to photograph them properly. The response from one group member was that moss likes, and is perhaps, at its best in the rain.
The sun was shining when I was up there last week and following my interview with BBC Radio Wales I proceeded to take some photos of the same “fence post gardens” with my Canon 550D. It was difficult to say the least! Sunlight can be very dramatic – usually in the early morning or evening, but it can also be a major problem depending on the subject matter.
I have picked out four photos that I think are not too bad from those I took on the day but it seems I am going to have to wait for a more overcast day or go there at sunrise to get some decent shots of this subject.
Getting to know the subject is also important whatever medium you are working with, and I think that it was not just the light conditions that gave me a problem. It was also time and the need to figure out the best angles. Next time I will go better informed.
Update (22/03/2013) According to a friend of my sister –
“The second photo has some lichens in as well as moss- the silvery flattish ones at the front which may be a Paramelia – and probably the red and silvey grey one – also a brown cupped one in the middle- these last 2 will be Cladonia species.”
Moss Garden
Peristomes
Ghostly Tree
Upper Lliw Reservoir was catching the light last week when I enjoyed a walk up there as part of an interview for BBC Radio Wales about StillWalks.
Hmmm! That’s a good question – you can’t tell what the colour is like from these photos. They were processed in Lightroom on my old Windows PC laptop and the colour is totally different to my old Mac laptop which is dull in comparison to my iMac. But the iMac is on the blink 🙁 – it needs a new graphics card. I calibrate my screens with the Datacolor Spyder 3 but there is only so far you can go with a laptop.
One lesson learned a number of years ago means that I can, at least, still work with the files from the iMac because they were all backed up – phew! However, I’m worried that the laptop is on its last legs as well, as it is old now and has given me one or two hints that it is struggling with the extra work load.
Lower Lliw Reservoir
Upper Lliw Reservoir
Part two of my casual walk about on Sunday.
One from the station
Fungi 1
Fungi 2
Fungi 3
Here is the answer to the question on yesterday’s post.
That’s right – an elephant! We were walking down a path towards Skanda Vale Hospice and Hindu Temple. They keep their elephant by the main temple on the hill and take it for 10 mile walks each day.
Sorry there is no photo of the elephant – maybe next time. However, for those who enjoy listening, here is a sound clip from the recce walk we did – the sound of birds above the Skanda Vale Temple, a beautiful peaceful place.
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Or you can listen through SoundCloud