The Influence of Rocks on Water

Posted on 18/01/201318/01/2013 by Alastair

Potential StillWalk – the other day I took a walk down a footpath I hadn’t been to for a number of years, pre-StillWalks times. Looking with “new” eyes and listening with “new” ears was fascinating.

The sound of water – There can sometimes be a recording issue with the sounds of an environment that includes running water, i.e. a stream or river. The sounds of the flowing water can so easily drown out other sounds of the environment such as birds, and can become wearing if it is permanent.

However, the small Camffrwd River that the footpath follows did not present this problem. The sounds of the river ebbed and flowed in volume with the arrangement of rocks on its bed. The photos below are accompanied by some sound clips recorded on my iPhone, as were the photos.

Recording 2 stream A short clip of the general sounds of the river.

Recording 4 birds ftstps stream The birds make their presence obvious as the sound of water is less dominant and the flow sounds change as I walk along the path.

Recording 5 walking stream This is a longer clip (2:15) which demonstrates very well the changing sound environment as I move along the path and river.

Recording 6 stream tumbling water

Unique sounds – All the sound clips and photos prove the need, in producing a StillWalk, to carry out the sound recording at the same time as the photography. The sounds on any day, at any time of day, at any time of year, will always be specific to conditions at the time . . . makes me think of the chaos theory and the interconnectedness of things! Chaos by James Gleick is a fascinating and very accessible book on this subject.

StillWalks on the Radio

Posted on 10/01/201310/01/2013 by Alastair

Yey! Listen to the Debbie Evans Arts Show on Radio Tircoed tomorrow (Friday) from 11 am – 12 GMT and you will hear me talking about StillWalks and the projects we do.

Looking forward to it!

Evening Light and the Song Thrush

Posted on 09/01/201309/01/2013 by Alastair

I questioned the accuracy of my studio clock yesterday morning because it said it was 9.30 AM but it felt and looked more like 7.30 to judge by the lack of light.

Today, however, we have had light again 🙂 After so much darkness and rain it was a huge relief and good for the soul. I wasn’t the only one enjoying the evening light and this Song Thrush was out to prove it as well – recorded on the new RODE iPhone app (not on their new iPhone mic though, that will have to wait a little while).

Click below to hear the Song Thrush I recorded this evening.

Evening Sun

Evening Clouds

Evening Sun on the River Loughor

Nature Taking Over

Posted on 07/01/201307/01/2013 by Alastair

We are a week into 2013 now so a belated Happy New Year to all.

Whilst away over the New Year I took a few photos that I hope to use in the near future. They help to show that if we were not around anymore, it would not take long for nature to recover from our antics on this planet. Sometimes (in late Spring usually) I think I’d only have to blink and the bushes and trees would pounce – these images are, perhaps, preparation for that pounce!

Suburbanature 1

Suburbanature 2

Suburbanature 3

Suburbanature 4

Speaking of what we do as humans, some of what has been produced can be seen at MIMA, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, where I saw two great exhibitions – Jannis Kounellis’ Work Unwrapped and Liliane Lijn: Cosmic Dramas – both well worth a visit if you are in the area.

Soggy Walks in Wales

Posted on 27/12/201227/12/2012 by Alastair

I’m thinking of making this a new category!

I think all residents of Wales finally give up waiting (either for the first or the umpteenth time) and decide to kit up and get out in spite of the rain.

Today was, unbelievably, dry and even sunny at times – but we had other things to do than go for a walk. However, yesterday was wet and we needed to get out of the house. So off we went to Lower Lliw Reservoir and in spite of the rain, had a really nice walk. It even dried up slightly towards the end as proved by these photos from my iPhone again.

Quality Walks

Posted on 26/12/201226/12/2012 by Alastair

Misty Walk is a new stillWalk which was actually produced at the end of last winter. There are several more StillWalks in the pipeline but it has proved difficult this last year to complete the post production on these. This is largely because of the project work I have been doing – see Projects.

I have uploaded two versions of the Misty Walk to the Winter Walks page. Both are high quality but one is in HD (720p) and the other is small scale at 480 x 270 pixels. (see also below).

StillWalks should be viewed, if possible in full screen mode and these videos will show the difference between the two versions. The HD button is in the top right of the first video and the full screen button is on the bottom right of each video.

It was supposed to be a dry, sunny day for this production but it turned out otherwise! This misty walk is on Ryer’s down on the Gower Peninsula in South Wales and was very enjoyable and atmospheric (small scale). Walk location

Affected by Atmosphere

Posted on 07/12/201207/12/2012 by Alastair

Walking out along the Loughor Estuary last Sunday morning, the weather was still but overcast and the sound of the M4 motorway was even more evident than usual. I love the marshes on the estuary and the old St Teilo’s churchyard, and I normally find that I suppress the sound of traffic in my head and listen instead to the birds, sheep, cattle and wind along with the sound of my footsteps in the grass or mud and the rustling of the reeds.

These are some of the sounds recorded in the StillWalks I have produced here. I did not do any sound recording on Sunday but I got a few shots of the area and thought about how much the sounds we hear are so unique to the time and place we are in. They are the result of things like the weather conditions before and during our visit as well as the activities of others, like driving along the motorway on a Sunday morning to go shopping or visit family or whatever. Twenty five years ago there was virtually no Sunday morning traffic on the M4 but even now the traffic sound can seem distant if the wind is in the right direction or other environmental aspects such as a high tide, rain or time of year change the conditions.

This is something we’ll be looking at on the Sights and Sounds of the Countryside project which you can find out about here or follow on Facebook.

The StillWalks website is offline at the moment due to malicious hackers but you can see 480p versions of two StillWalks from the Loughor Estuary on Vimeo – After the Tide and the Old Churchyard Walk. They will be available to buy in full HD when the site is back up and running.

Here are some photos of the Loughor Estuary and the marshes. Image prints can be purchase at PhotoBox.

Looking at the Lizard – Lizard Point

Posted on 20/11/201220/11/2012 by Alastair

Travelling down to Falmouth last Friday was difficult and disappointing – there was mist all the way and so, as we crossed Bodmin Moor, we could see nothing of it. We were visiting Falmouth University with my daughter who thought the place was great.

Falmouth, despite the weather, was clearly a very attractive town. We had a walk about after our tour of the Tremough Campus and then enjoyed fish and chips for tea.

Staying overnight at Lizard Point Youth Hostel was fun! “It was a dark and stormy night” as we approached The Lizard along roads that became increasingly narrow and dark. It was only the light from the lighthouse (and the foghorn) that finally guided us to our destination. We kept our fingers crossed that the weather would improve by morning and in the meantime I enjoyed recording the foghorn.

If you don’t see the sound clips below because you’re viewing this in an email, then click the title to go to the blog or the individual links to listen to the Lizard Point set on SoundCloud.

Saturday morning did reveal much better weather which improved through the day. I had never been to this part of Britain before and enjoyed it immensely! I have included a few images below but there are 31 in all on Flickr all of which are available to purchase through the StillWalks PhotoBox site.