Gifts for Christmas

Posted on 06/11/201206/11/2012 by Alastair

It still seems quite early to me for this kind of thing but I know how fast time passes and before you know it, we’ll be running around trying to think of gifts for people at the last minute.

Buy a DVD at the gift fair for just £10. Buy two and get a free gift voucher worth £3.00 – only at the gift fair.

This weekend StillWalks will be at the first of two Christmas Gift Fair weekends. The first is at the National Botanic Garden of Wales in the Great Glass House and runs from Saturday 10th – Sunday 11th November.

We will have DVD Collections 1 and 2, framed and unframed prints from some of the walks plus gift vouchers and greetings cards.

Individual StillWalks, DVD Collections, gift vouchers and prints are always available on the StillWalks website but you’ll only get the gift fair prices and offers at the gift fair.

“My sister bought me one of the StillWalks DVDs and I really enjoy it. I look forward to new collections coming out.” Reg Wadsworth

“Great idea. Have bought 2 DVDs for my sons.” Helen (formerly of Belfast)

from Forest Walk – Winter

Forest Walk

Giving it Away

Posted on 02/11/201202/11/2012 by Alastair

Don’t worry, no plot spoilers here 🙂 Just a great StillWalk at it’s full length (5:32 mins) rather than the short clips you get on the website.

Autumn Lakeside Walk is now up on Vimeo. In fact, you’ll find others there as well including those from the Josef Herman Art Foundation residency project.

OK, it’s not entirely free – i.e. it’s only in standard definition and whilst it looks great, the StillWalks videos look fantastic in Full HD. If you want an HD version you’ll have to go to the website and pay all of £2.99 to download it or any of the growing collection . . . and of course you’ll have the advantage of not having to wait for the online version to buffer. You can even transfer them to your mobile device and watch them any time you like – anytime, anywhere.

from Autumn Lakeside Walk, Gnoll Park, Neath.

Just one more thing – StillWalks will be at the National Botanic Garden of Wales Christmas Gift Fair on 10th and 11th November with DVD Collections 1 and 2 plus printed images from selected StillWalks, (framed and unframed) as well as gift vouchers and cards.

Photos from StillWalks – Autumn

Posted on 31/10/201231/10/2012 by Alastair

It’s not always obvious that the images used in my StillWalks are from the named season but all photos, just as with the sound recordings are unique to the time and place of the walk.

from Abertawe Walk – Autumn

from Woodland River Walk

Images are available to purchase as prints from Photobox/StillWalks. If you would like to buy high or low resolution jpeg downloads, please visit the Prices page of StillWalks Equestrian for instructions and then return to the Photobox/StillWalks to identify the images you would like.

Berry Woods

Posted on 28/09/201228/09/2012 by Alastair

Last week I visited Berry Woods on the Gower. The purpose of the visit was to explore the the area to be used as the production location for Knelston Primary School and the Sights and Sounds of the Countryside project (mentioned in a previous post) which is due to start next month.

I am really looking forward to going out with the children and the other project workers, Emily Hinshelwood and Julie Brunskill, to investigate the landscape in detail.

Here are some pics from my visit to the woods.

En route to Berry Woods

Moss in Berry Woods

Berry Woods

A friendly face near Berry Woods

Heading back from Berry Woods

I spotted four of these Buzzards while around Berry Woods

logos

Walking with Josef Herman

Posted on 15/09/201215/09/2012 by Alastair

“Brilliant” “The very best schools project ever!”, Betty Rae Watkins (Josef Herman Art Foundation Cymru).

The “Walking with Josef Herman” DVD, made with Alastair Duncan and StillWalks is to be screened on the BBC Big Screen in Castle Gardens, Swansea next week (see invitation below). The videos produced on the project (see below) are what I would describe as bespoke StillWalks – bespoke because they use voiceovers. These are recordings of the school children reading the poetry they wrote with Emily Hinshelwood as a part of the project following our production day on location in Ystradgynlais. The project was the ninth annual artists’ residency organised by the Josef Herman Art Foundation Cymru and Caron McColl and Lynne Bebb from Swansea Arts in Education, part of Swansea Education Effectiveness Service.

Screening – Castle Gardens, Swansea. Wednesday 19th September, 2012 from 11.00 – 12.00.

Josef Herman DVD

The DVD contains more than videos made with the schools but the videos can be viewed individually below.

Llanfaes Josef Herman Walk – Rainy Day in Ystrad from Alastair Duncan on Vimeo.

Ynysmaerdy Herman Walk 480p from Alastair Duncan on Vimeo.

St Thomas Herman Walk 480p from Alastair Duncan on Vimeo.

Parcyrhun Herman Walk 480p from Alastair Duncan on Vimeo.

Mumbles Promenade and Street Photography

Posted on 08/09/201208/09/2012 by Alastair

Some people get nervous, uncomfortable, even angry when they see a photographer taking shots in the street or other busy public place. However, as I walked along Mumbles Promenade at the start of the Gower Peninsula the other day, I not only had my camera but also my sound kit with its “dead cat” furry cover on the microphone windshield. It’s the dogs that take exception to this, wondering no doubt, what strange creature it is.

People tend to be more interested and wonder what programme I am making and smile or ask if I am from the BBC. I am not sure that I will be able to get a StillWalk from this impromptu stroll along the promenade but if I need to do a full production day there, I’ll make sure I have the StillWalks logo printed on my T-shirt first.

The interest of dogs in the “Dead Cat” is understandable!

And here on the blog is some of the sound recorded or you can hear these and others on SoundCloud.

Mumbles Promenade and Oystermouth Castle

Mumbles Promenade – a popular place for joggers!

Mumbles Promenade – a popular place for children

Mumbles Promenade – a popular place for cyclists!

Mumbles Promenade – a popular place for walking

Stress Signal Status

Posted on 31/08/201231/08/2012 by Alastair

Aching, painful muscles?

Tinnitus?

Headaches?

My stress signals include these three symptoms and probably in that order. StillWalks or walking are my most immediate remedies.

Tinnitus – The tinnitus comes second in the list even though it is a constant in my left ear. It is when it becomes a textured and vibrating whine that it gets more difficult to accept and it does this at times of greater stress . . . and then, of course, I get more stressed as a result.

Muscles – It’s the same situation with the muscles – the pain in the muscles (often my neck, currently my shoulders) may be the cause of stress or something else but the result is the tensing of those and other muscles which only makes things worse.

Headaches – These come last on the list for me because I do not generally get headaches. When I do, it is usually the result of stress. I have only ever had a couple of migraines but that is two too many. A good description for them was put up here at the A Word in Your Ear blog last week.

It’s Amazing – I’ve just watched a StillWalk and it’s amazing how well can work! The Garden Park Walk is a full length example – you’ll find it on the Spring Walks page of StillWalks and it is recommended that you watch it full screen.

Here are a few images from this short 6 minute video.

Magnolia, Clyne Gardens, Swansea

Clyne Gardens, Swansea

Rhododendron, Clyne Gardens, Swansea

Time to Pause

Posted on 24/08/201224/08/2012 by Alastair

Time to Pause – This is largely what StillWalks is about – taking the time necessary to keep calm and not get too stressed. Whether it be relaxing at the end of the day or taking 5 minutes out in the middle of the working day, StillWalks can be both enjoyable and a useful alternative to actually getting out there for a real walk.

The queue of things to do – There never seems to be enough time to do all that I want or is necessary. So, considering what I have just said about StillWalks, I have decided to make a priority completing the four or five StillWalks that are half way through the post production stage by the end of September. The production days for these walks date back to the middle of March and completing them should be a priority because this is work I enjoy doing and, like taking a real walk or watching a StillWalk, has it’s therapeutic value.

Current explorations – In the meantime I have been enjoying finding a new place to produce a StillWalk – Singleton Park in Swansea and its botanic garden. I joined Martin Humphreys and others last Wednesday for a Bees and Butterflies walk through the botanic garden – it was very enjoyable and relaxing. The walk will take place again next Wednesday at 10 AM – anyone interested should meet at the botanic garden entrance in the park. Enjoy the photos from my phone below.