Old Fences

Lliw Valley in the rain – the last of my images this week on this subject, these photos seem to prove the resilience of wood over metal.

The first two along with a number of others taken recently, can also be seen on the Ambiguity of Fences blog. Other Fence Post Garden images from Lliw Valley can be seen on Facebook at the Moss Appreciation Society.

old fence

Succumbing to time and the rain

old fence

Hanging Around

fence post garden

Fence Post Garden

Singing in the Rain

The sound of a Song Thrush singing in the rain in Lliw Valley – what more can I say!

Song Thrush

Song Thrush

Lliw Valley

Lliw Valley in the Rain

River Torrents

There was plenty of water flowing at the Lliw Reservoirs recently and during my walk in the rain I took a number of shots of the fast flowing rivers, trying out different settings and shutter speeds.

I have never been a great fan of slow shutter speeds and the “smooth water” effect it gives with flowing water. However, whilst using a fast shutter speed may show the explosive nature of fast moving water, slower shutter speeds will certainly help to represent the flow.

River Torrents

River Torrents

For the shot above the ISO had to be super high (6400) to allow a shutter speed of 1/1250 at f4.

River Torrents 2

River Torrents 2

Whereas with this shot the ISO was 100 and shutter speed 1/25 at f4.5.

River Churning

River Churning

Again, the shot above was taken ISO 6400 with a shutter speed of 1/1250 at f9.

River Churning 2

River Churning 2

And this one was taken at ISO 100 and a shutter speed of 1/25 at f7.1

The camera was a Canon 550D and the lens was the Canon EF70 – 300mm IS USM.

And for those who are interested, the changing sounds of the river as the flow varies  alongside the footpath (4:22 mins).

Looking and Listening . . .

. . . seeing and hearing, that’s what StillWalks is all about.

As I walked through the woods on Sunday on my way towards Upper Lliw Reservoir, it was quite clear that the birds were perfectly happy with the rain. Although they were hard to spot, they were very easy to hear.

Can anybody identify the birds or the fungi?

tree growths

Tree Growths

Tree Growth

Tree Growth

A Walk in the Rain

We’ve had everything at Lliw Reservoir now except the sun – hopefully I will be able to get there if it ever appears again. In the meantime, following the snow and the mist, this week’s photos are from a walk up there in the rain. More pics to come through the week.

Lower Lliw Reservoir

Rain on the Water

Raindrops

Raindrops

ducks

At least the duck seem to like it

 

 

 

Looking back through the mist

Looking back at the recce walk we did at Lower Lliw Reservoir for the StillWalks “Sights and Sounds of the Countryside” project, when the weather made us hesitate about going ahead the next day, the theme of mixed and unpredictable conditions stayed with us for the rest of the work.

On the pre-production recce, we had thick snow . . . which was gone the next day. The following week the weather looked promising with a beautiful sunny Saturday . . . only to be followed on Sunday by what you see below. Very atmospheric but not quite in keeping with the rest of production.

Mist over Lower Lliw Reservoir

Mist over Lower Lliw Reservoir

Mist

Mist over the dam

Mist

On the edge

Mist

Reflecting the gloom

Drips in the Mist

Drips in the Mist

Mist over Lliw Valley

Mist over Lliw Valley

Winter Lakeside Walk – see the video

This is the last post featuring this StillWalk. I am not sure how WordPress delivers video posts by email and so if the link below does not show up in an email, then clicking the image will take you to the web page where you can play it.

At just 6.00 minutes long, a typical length for a StillWalks video, it won’t take too much time out of your busy lives and may be just what you need. Just remember to put other things aside (phones, etc.) and allow yourself to be absorbed by the sights and sounds of Llyn Llech Owain (pronunciation in the previous post). Maybe it will prompt you to take a local walk yourself and listen out for all that is around you. Full scale high definition versions of StillWalks can be purchased online, just contact me through the StillWalks website.

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