My walk this week was more of a lazy wander. The warm sunshine and the relaxed atmosphere at the Welsh Valley Alpacas Open Day prompted a meander more than a walk and that is what we did (see the two previous posts for this week).
Returning from the top of the valley at The Waterside – Felindre we first met some of the male alpacas with their new shorn hair-dos. Then, sitting on a perfectly placed bench, I soaked up the atmosphere and photographed (yet again) one of my favourite wildflowers,Continue reading→
Ending my observations on this first part of my walk around one of the old industrial sites of Swansea’s Copperopolis history, you only get a glimpse of that industrial past. The abandoned metal swizzle below is not necessarily a part of that past but it was there and made me think of some of the natural forms to be seen in the nature that is gradually taking over here.
The natural twizzles had in fact almost completed unfurled themselves in the new growth of yellow broom or green ferns growingContinue reading→
The last part of my walk this week is looking at the River Nene as it flows past Beckets Park in Northampton. Swans, Canada Geese and Mallards were the order of the day.
Reflections were also an expected theme of the day – not only in the river and marina water, but also looking back at the trip at the end of the day. The time spentContinue reading→
My walk this week through the woodland of my local park was early in the morning and the Springtime birds were still singing their morning chorus. The sun was up and the day was bright and there is nothing like woodland sights and sounds to lift the heart.
As I circled round the far side of the pond and approached the children’s playground the birds and squirrels were going crazy. There were no children up early to play on the hoops and bridges, swings and slides of the playground, but a Blue Tit hopped around the bright painted apparatus andContinue reading→
I think the shot below is probably my favourite from my walk this week down on our local marshes during the sunset and moon rise. The flat water of the high tide filling the river and reflecting the fading light and lunar crescent like a mirror was so peaceful and calming.
The soundscape for the walk also reflected the evening peace, even with the backdrop of motorway traffic. The birds sang and along with the bubbling of a small stream flowing into the river, they allowed me to ignore the trundle of tyres on tarmac. The soundscape is in three sections – Continue reading→
When I crossed the Millennium Footbridge in York at the start of my walk this week I was interested in the arrangement of the half submerged objects in the flooded River Ouse. In post production I also saw the potential for the use of monochrome in many of the photographs I shot with the result that this week I have been posting parallel image galleries in colour and black and white (and one or two in sepia).
There were some images which would have been pointless in monochrome, such as the one above or those below of the primroses. But there are others where the colour was almost pointless such as those of the bridge itself and its wet railing. And then there is the sound . . .Continue reading→
My walk this week has been around the area next to Bristol Temple Meads and at the end of this architectural walk I entered the railway station, not just to view its structure and design but talso to listen to its sounds.
The start of my soundscape for this walk, like the photos posted at the start of the week, provide some evidence of people – footsteps and voices – but not nearly as much as you might expect for the number of people that were actually there. Perhaps the sounds of human voices and the actions of individuals were being absorbed or muffled by the three dimensional complexity of the city’s architecture and the activities taking place, such as building construction, trains, traffic, etc.
The sounds inside the station were, as you would expect, different. Aside from the echo and reverberation of the cavernous space, the density of people and subsequently their voices and conversations rose to another level. And then the trains arrived and the background ambience changed again – until the train left.
This walk did not involve much in the way of nature and for me there is no question about which is more pleasant and relaxing (a natural environment), but I still find the urban environment of huge interest and I am just as fascinated by the textures, patterns, shapes and colours to be seen and heard around me in the city as I am in a wood or on a mountain – less relaxed but still interested.
My walk this week has been through a space between, a space on the edge of both nature and industry – and nature, of course, wins every time and in so many ways.
Looking at the evidence of man is perhaps not the best way to finish my posts on this walk but there are other elements to the landscape apart from the old tyres and wires. The profusion of old Buddleia bushes will soonContinue reading→
