Architecture and Sleeping

Posted on 24/03/201424/03/2014 by Alastair

This week I am posting about different aspects of some of the architecture in central Cardiff. It will be clear what some of the photos are showing. Others are more abstract.

StillWalks featured walk videos, until now, have been changed at the start of the week on Mondays. It is now my intention to change these over on Sundays. Therefore this week’s featured StillWalks video, “Deer Park Walk” begins its run today and will be available to watch at full length and 480 resolution until next Sunday. It will revert back to a low resolution sample length on the Monday.

The video features the sights and sounds of the Deer Park in Spring at Golden Grove / Gelli Aur Country Park in Carmarthenshire, Wales.

The video above is in 480p quality. You can use the Donate button below to pay however much you want and receive a high quality (720HD) download of this week’s featured StillWalks video – “Deer Park Walk” which features part of Gelli Aur / Golden Grove Country Park in Carmarthenshire Wales. Click the image above to watch the video. DVD Collections are also available to order in the StillWalks Shop.

Architecture – In the Abstract

Posted on 15/02/201415/02/2014 by Alastair

The Senedd by Richard Rogers – The National Welsh Assembly building in Cardiff was opened in 2006 but until recently I had only viewed it from the outside. There have been many photographs taken of it, most of them showing the exterior or the mushroom like ceiling of the interior. The photos below are mine.

Different Events – The architecture I have featured this week has all been different as have the events that have taken me to the various venues. The event at the Senedd was the launch of a community solar PV co-operative by friends – www.egni.coop – and are looking for people to invest. We already enjoy reduced bills as a result of solar PV panels on our roof.

Eyes and ears open – I said at the beginning of the week that I always try to have my eyes and ears open for potential StillWalks locations. In fact a StillWalks video could be produced for any location, but because I am looking and listening to the things around me with this potential in mind, I feel I am able to see and hear better than I would otherwise. Using the camera (DSLR, compact or iPhone) helps me to focus in on different aspects of my surroundings and in time you begin to do this anyway. It is the same with sound – listening through headphone helps you focus your hearing and in time I believe you become more perceptive. Now I just need to prove it lol!

Featured SillWalks Videos – I’m afraid this is going to be another week without a featured StillWalks video. I have a number of productions to complete and I look forward to adding these to the StillWalks collection. For now there is, as always, access to sample length videos is available through the Walks menus and you can always buy them at anytime for as little as £1.50.

Architecture – Cardiff ATRiuM

Posted on 14/02/201414/02/2014 by Alastair

A wide range of places – The various meetings, seminars and workshops I go to take place in a wide range of places. Yesterday’s post showed the venue for some first aid training. Today’s shows the ATRiuM building in Cardiff. It is part of University of South Wales and I was on the top floor there last week for a workshop run by the Creative Exchange Wales Network (CEWN).

Contrasts of architecture – The architecture here is quite different to that of the Guildhall in Swansea (see previous pos). Quite recently built, it has elements of the abstract about it and a lot of glass! The spiral staircase was one feature pointed out to me and liked its viewpoint as well as using it. Despite the vague reference to the Guggenheim Museum, the angle I viewed it from on the ground floor could have been more interesting.

Just like New York? – Over coffee, before the start of the workshop, a couple of people suggested that the view from the top floor resembled New York! I made a point of getting a quick photo on my phone at the end of the day and although I have not been to New York, I could not honestly say that I could see the resemblance. I may well be wrong of course – you tell me (anyone that knows New York).

Architecture – There ain’t nothing like a vaulted ceiling!

Posted on 12/02/201412/02/2014 by Alastair

Moving forward from the Victorians with this week’s architecture theme, the Guildhall in Swansea was built in the early 1930s. I was recently there for emergency first aid training – I hadn’t been there for quite a while and was pleasantly reminded of its impressive design. There ain’t nothing like a vaulted ceiling!

Architectural Scale – Is Perspective Real?

Posted on 17/01/201417/01/2014 by Alastair

I like this photo largely for its composition and the perspective of the buildings, both real and apparent. I say real and apparent because the buildings themselves are in fact taller than each other going from foreground to background – it’s not just the effect of perspective. I must make a point of taking a photo from the opposite end of the beach and see how they appear in perspective when the most distant building is the tallest!

The photos I have been posting this week were all taken on my iPhone. I seem to be doing this more often now but whether my iphonography is improving is another matter. It is a very convenient way to record observations (and sounds when I don’t have my kit with me) but in order to get effective images with the phone, you have to look at things differently. Angle of shot is probably the most important point . . . but that could be said for DSLR photography as well, I guess!

The photo below would have been grainy anyway, given the time of day and the fading light but there is a tendency for the iPhone camera to over expose when the light is dim. The image you see below is the result of post processing. Unlike a DSLR camera, you have pretty limited options in these circumstances when it comes to telling the camera what to do.

Update – Thanks to Emil Pakarklis and his iPhone Photography School, I have discovered the PureShot app which allows much more flexibility in shooting from the phone.

The buildings are on Swansea seafront – all apartment buildings, the closest being Meridian Tower. The lights in the background are those of the Swansea / Cork Ferry.

Art and Architecture in Belfast

Posted on 04/01/201404/01/2014 by Alastair

You will have to watch this weeks featured video to see more of the architecture of Belfast than is shown in the image below.

And the art? Some is intentional and some coincidental. Either way, how you look at something will affect how you see it. How you see something will affect how you understand it – and its possibilities!

You can use the Donate button below to help StillWalks. Pay how much you want and receive a high quality download of this week’s featured StillWalks video – “City Walk” which features Belfast, Northern Ireland on Boxing Day. Click the image below to watch the video. DVD Collections are available to order in the StillWalks Shop.

Bridging the Gap – Reflections on Time

Posted on 03/01/201403/01/2014 by Alastair

It is a few years now since I was last in Belfast but the images I am posting this week from my StillWalks video “City Walk” still stand as a fair representation of Belfast on Boxing Day in Northern Ireland.

Over the years the city has changed as any city does with new architectural developments. There are, however, aspects of all cities that remain for longer and in doing so help to set the character of the place. One such spot in Belfast for me is the Albert Bridge. Being next to Central Station, it was the starting point for visiting the city on foot and in my case, walking to college.

Lines and Blocks – Cardiff Bay Architecture

Posted on 06/12/201306/12/2013 by Alastair

I wouldn’t describe these images as Christmasy but I was in Cardiff Bay the other day and happened to have an hour to spare. The architecture there creates some interesting patterns and I had taken my camera.

I had a bit of an argument with the security guard for the building with the lines and bars (he wasn’t very polite!) but that just added to the interest. Personally, I really like the concrete wedge! More of these photos are available on the StillWalks PhotoShelter site.