Category Archives: Travel

Proportional Representation – Two Views

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I don’t know what proportion (if any) of the people of Mumbles would go for proportional representation if it were available in the forthcoming May election in the UK. Disregarding politics, below is another take (or two) on the term that is more akin to  cropping in photography.

It was a dreary day when I took these photos but, for me, that is no reason not to take them. The range of textures in the scene is what interests me most, from the finer grain of the concrete in the sea wall to the lumpy rocks and stones on the foreshore, to the fuzzy grey textures of the trees on the hill. All of this interspersed with the softer green moss on the wall and the sand separating the stones on the beach. And then there are the patterns and colours of buildings and people stretched across the centre of the frame.

At least it wasn’t raining!

Mumbles Promenade

Mumbles Sea Wall

A Visit to Mumbles

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Last week I had to visit Mumbles – a very popular place at the western end of Swansea Bay and at the gateway to the Gower Peninsula. It is a major tourist attraction and I enjoyed my short visit despite the dreary weather. Unfortunately my reason for visiting was to collect some videos from the Tourist Information Centre or TIC which had just closed.

It seems illogical to me to do this. I imagine it is partly because it is so much cheaper to deliver these services online. However, a balance of digital and “hard copy” is what I have always believed to be the best and most cost effective means of delivering a service or resource. I suspect that both visitors and town will loose out as a result of this change and I hope that the centre is able to set up afresh in a new premises.

The structures in the first image are Mumbles Pier and the new RNLI Lifeboat Station.

Mumbles lifeboat station

Mumbles seagulls

Liquid Gold

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There has been no temperature adjustment or colour cast put on these images. whatever you do the liquid gold stays gold, it’s just the carat that changes!

Obviously I am exaggerating but it is true that I had no desire to make changes. The photos capture something of the beauty and peace that I enjoyed on a late afternoon Winter walk around this Middlesbrough lake. The Coots had found an area without ice and as I walked I was in continual awe at the ever changing light.

Lake Sunset-7

Lake Sunset-10

Solitary Reflection

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The context for these images can be seen in the second photo. The surface of the lake was frozen but by the end of the day the ice had melted enough for large areas of it to appear completely liquid. Some of the birds seemed a little confused, which made my late afternoon walk around this urban lake in Middlesbrough all the more entertaining.

bird on water

Lake surface

Surface Tension and Reviewing the Week 8

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Without clicking on the landscape version of this image, I find I have a preference for the portrait crop. However, that is partly because it is easy to see the dimples created by the surface tension between the water and the pine needles and in the second image that is the most important aspect of the shot. The first image composition or crop includes more space which changes my perception to one more focused on the reflected depth of the sky.

floating needles

floating needles

Grass Reflection

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The marsh water beside the lake at Llyn Llech Owain in Carmarthenshire, Wales, was almost like glass when this shot was taken. The reflection of grass and clouds in its surface is only distorted by the slightest of movements on a cold Winter day.

Do you have a preference for the landscape or portrait crop?

grass reflection

grass reflection

Tree and Lake

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Two alternative crops of one of the images from the StillWalks video “Winter Lakeside Walk” (see below).

tree and lake

tree and lake

One Point of View – Multiple Options

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Which structure to focus on? That was the question for me with this view over the lake at Llyn Llech Owain in Carmarthenshire. The portrait view could only include one tower. My choice was less about the scale of the architecture and more about the fact that the larger structure was partly hidden by the small trees in the middle distance. With the lake being partly hidden by the trees, there seems to me to be a greater sense of mystery about the scene.

lake

lake