Category Archives: Walks

Natural and Man-Made from Kilvey Hill, Swansea

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Kilvey Hill is a large (3 square kilometres) urban woodland in Swansea, South Wales. The hill is surrounded on all sides by housing, industry and businesses and its top is, of course, a perfect site for TV transmitters, mobile phone masts, etc.

Kilvey Transmitter Swansea Cranes

It is also a great place for wildlife and plants like bog cotton and blueberries and I understand there are hares to be seen if you are patient enough to wait for them.

Bog Cotton

There are fantastic views in all directions and here, today, is a taster. I will be putting more up later in the week or you can visit the StillWalks Photography website to view them all now.

Swansea Valley

Ticking the List – A Walk up Kilvey Hill, Swansea

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Finally, at last, after nearly 30 years, I have climbed Kilvey Hill in Swansea! It is one of those things I have meant to do since moving to the area but just never managed to get round to, even though it is almost on my doorstep.

The Transition Swansea group, which I signed up to last November, arranged a walk up the hill on Wednesday evening and it was all I needed to make the move. I had spent most of the day driving and so it was a welcome change of activity and well worth it for the views.

Over the next few days I am going to post some of the photos I took on the walk but they can all be seen (and bought) anytime through the StillWalks Photography website.

Swansea from Kilvey Hill-

Swansea Harbour

Swansea from Kilvey Hill-

Swansea Bay

Swansea from Kilvey Hill-

Mumbles Lighthouse

Swansea from Kilvey Hill-

Walking up the Kilvey Hill

A Walk Through Marsh Grass and Across a Yellow Field

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This post is pretty much just what it says on the tin!

Using the excellent RODE recording app for iPhone (though not their iPhone mic) I got, precisely, the sound of the wind in the marsh grass when out walking in the evening recently. I held the iPhone right in amongst the grasses which had the added advantage of muffling the sound of traffic on the motorway as well as stopping the rumble effect of the wind directly on the mic.

These field recordings on their own are not going to be for everyone but I enjoyed listening to the changing sounds of the grasses as the wind strength changed and find, as with the recording I do for StillWalks videos, that the sound does so much to help visualize the memory.

Marsh Grass

Marsh Grass

Yellow Field

Late Evening Light

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These were the first shorts I took during my late evening walk down on the marshes. I enjoyed the walk and doing the photography – say no more 🙂

That After Sun Glow

That After Sun Glow

That After Sun Glow

Vapour Trail

Sunset Reflection

Bull’s Eye

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I wasn’t the only one out for a late evening stroll on the marshes last weekend.

You can click the images to enlarge but if you could zoom in on the originals, you would see just how grainy they are from the high ISO.

First shot – ISO3200, f4.5, 1/30. Second shot – ISO3200, f5, 1/30

Horns in the Night

Horns in the Night

Bull's Eye

Bull’s Eye

Going Home

Going Home

The Flags Are Out

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A late evening walk down on the marshes (last weekend before the rain returned) revealed some colour through the dim light after sunset in the form of an Iris or Flag, whichever you like to call them.

The light really was fading a lot by the time I took these photos which required full manual mode on the camera as any automation tried to over-compensate for the lack of light.

A high ISO of 3200 was needed, f11 at 1/60 for the first shot and ISO3200, f7.1, 1/25 for the second. A good job my Canon EF70-300 lens has image stabilisation.

Flag

IMG_4630

Summer Walk in Scotland

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These images are from the StillWalk “Flora and Fauna Walk” which is another walk from Galloway in South West Scotland. These are obviously three examples of the fauna.

In fact there is more than just birds and butterflies in the video but I wasn’t able to photograph some of the fauna we have seen there such as the deer on the beach or the red squirrel in the woods or the fox cubs playing on the beach in the moonlight at 3 AM . . . or the rabbits or stoats or voles . . . .

Butterfly

Butterfly – Painted Lady

Oystercatcher

Oystercatcher

Blackbird

Blackbird

Blind Determination

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Sam is blind, has only three legs and diabetes but on a hot day in this beautiful secret (see yesterdays post) woodland, he enjoyed his swim and was determined to get the sticks thrown for him.
Click the image or play buttons to view the videos.

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