Time and Temptation

Posted on 29/11/201329/11/2013 by Alastair

At the rate I am going it may be next Autumn before I get the StillWalks video wrapped up from the production day I had in Cwmdonkin Park recently. The temptation is always to work on post production as soon as possible after the production walk but this does not often happen.

The number of StillWalks videos pending is mounting but there are only 24 hours in each day and you can’t spend all of them on one task. What I need is a time stretcher! 🙂 Hopefully I will be able to catch up over the next couple of months and expand the existing StillWalks video collection with several new ones from Spring, Summer and Autumn 2013.

Completing the Cwmdonkin video is a priority in this respect as next year is the anniversary of Dylan Thomas’ birth and there is a strong association between him, his poetry and the park.

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 – “Abertawe Walk” which is along the cycle path alongside the River Tawe going into Swansea, South Wales. Click the image below to watch the video. DVD Collections are available to order in the StillWalks Shop.

Less is More

Posted on 25/11/201325/11/2013 by Alastair

I’m back, but with fewer photos and fewer posts – that is my intention anyway!

About a year ago I started posting more frequently because I like doing it and I wanted to show what was going on with StillWalks other than what was being done for video production. I also wanted to present sets or series of photos because that is the way the StillWalks videos work.

However, for the time being, I will be posting fewer images and less often. Different images and sound clips may also be spread across other social media – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr and SoundCloud.

I will also continue to feature individual StillWalks videos from time to time. The current featured video will be the last for Autumn this year and can be seen at the end of this post. Just click the image to play the video.

One of the first frosts in our garden

After the Tide

Posted on 11/11/201311/11/2013 by Alastair

This week’s featured StillWalks video is “After the Tide”. It will be available to watch all week and will then revert to the sample length video.

The marshes in question are tidal and therefore salt marshes. They are near a busy motorway and the sound of the traffic is almost always there to some extent. Having said this, I should also say that it is one of my favourite local walks and the sound of the traffic does not bother me. Yes, I love the peace you can find in quieter rural locations, but on the marshes, I simply don’t listen to the traffic.

The wind in the grasses and the birdsong are the sounds I focus on and on the occasion of this StillWalks production, the sound of my wellington boots in the water as the tide ebbs.

You can use the new Donate button below to help StillWalks. Pay how much you want and receive a high quality download of this week’s featured StillWalks video – “After the Tide” which is from the marshes on the Loughor Estuary, South wales. Click the image below to watch the video.

Sand, Sea and Wind

Posted on 09/11/201309/11/2013 by Alastair

On a windy day in Swansea Bay, watching the movements of the top layer of dry sand getting blown across the seaweed and other debris on the beach is as entertaining as watching the sea itself.

The action of waves in the sea can be mesmerising, but so too can the patterns created by the wind on dry sand as it catches the various objects and undulations of the beach. The sculptures created can be fascinating but watching them be created is even more so.

The camera does not see in the same way as the eye but in these images I think there is some advantage to the relatively narrow depth of field. The areas of blur seem to me to emphasise the atmosphere and effect of the conditions at the time. The textures that show through in the areas of sharpness combined with soft foreground / background, feel much more like it physically was than if everything was clean and crisp and static.

I hope the second sound clip from this photo shoot helps to “put you in the picture”. Even my home made wind shield could not handle the strength of the wind on the beach, but I decided that the distortion and break up of the sound was all a part of the character of the scene.

You can use the new Donate button below to help StillWalks. Pay how much you want and receive a high quality download of this week’s featured StillWalks video – “Moss Wood Walk” which is from Gnoll Park in Neath, South wales. Click the image below to watch the video.

Rattling the Leaves – Out and About in the Wind

Posted on 08/11/201308/11/2013 by Alastair

The effects of the weather can be truly horrendous sometimes, but when it is not so destructive, it can be exhilarating! The high winds in Swansea Bay last week, brought those people out that enjoy that wildness, at least while it is doing no harm.

Perhaps the fact that it was windy but not raining made it enjoyable not just for the humans but also for the dogs which are allowed onto the beach at this time of year. I was there as well of course, taking the photos I am posting this week and also doing a bit of sound recording.

I only had my small Edirol RO9 recorder with me which meant the strength of the wind was a bit of a problem. However, with the use of my home made foam wind shield and the gain not to high, I was able to get a couple of clips that help to bring some extra atmosphere to the photos.

The first clip was taken on the promenade near the plant with the large leaves featured in the first photo. It is the sound of the leaves “rattling” against each other that can be heard, not the sound of rain!

Somewhere in Between – Going Black and White

Posted on 07/11/201307/11/2013 by Alastair

At first glance these images may appear to be black and white – but of course, there is colour in there, it’s just very subtle. The view looks across Swansea Bay and towards Mumbles Lighthouse in South Wales. The weather, being wild and windy with a lot of changing sunlight and shade, made the sea a range of greys and it was the intermittent clouds that created much of the contrast.

I debated whether or not to make them monotone and I tried it out as it seemed the obvious thing to do. I made the necessary adjustments as best I could to ensure they worked, and tried out some whackier filters and balances. However, in the end I found I prefer that subtlety of colour that is there if you look closely, and gives a different atmosphere to the images than was the case when converted to black and white.

I made small adjustments to all the images. They could all have been made much more dramatic but I guess I am a lover of nuance, and so decided to stick with what you see!