Definition of Pattern

If the Swansea Uni students using the new Bay Campus have the chance to enjoy the beach in front of them, they will find, as I did on my walk this week, that some of the sand of the beach is made up of what appears to be old coal dust. This is entirely possible of course, given the industrial history of the area.

beach with black sand or coal dust

What I enjoyed about this aspect of the beach was the contrast in colour betweenContinue reading

My Walk this Week – Bay Campus

My walk this week took me round Swansea University’s new Bay Campus on the seafront along the eastern approach to Swansea. It was a sunny(ish) Saturday morning and the place was fairly quiet. As I strolled through the large open spaces between the buildings I thought “this is very nice and new in the sunshine, but they’re not going to like it much when the bad weather blows in!”

The Great Hall, Swansea University Bay CampusI started my photography of the walk on the seaward side of the campus and found, down on the beach looking out across Continue reading

Reviewing the Walk – Colwyn Bay

My walk across Colwyn Bay beach was fairly brief but gave me some sense of the place in favourable conditions. The low sun revealed classic line patterns in the sand and it seemed to me that these were reflected in the patterns of the encrusted fence that surrounded the old pier.

Colwyn Bay

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Familiar Patterns – Lines in the Sand

The sand of Colwyn Bay beach was full of linear patterns familiar to anyone living near the sea. As the sun dipped lower and lower on my walk this week, the patterns became more pronounced and however often I may have seen these kinds of sand patterns, they are not something of which I could ever grow tired.
sand patterns

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Clinging to the Wire

While the seaweed was doing a good job of clinging to the wire of the barrier fence around Colwyn Bay’s dilapidated pier (see yesterday’s post), the crustaceans that collected on the fence further towards the sea line, were being super-efficient about it!

Colwyn Bay reflections

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Poles and Perspective

The fencing, and scaffolding poles holding it up, create what I am sure would be a beautiful mathematical formula, if you are that way inclined. The poles themselves may not be the most beautiful objects on their own, but seen together in perspective and with the gentle twist from where they have collapsed creates, for me, a distinct beauty of line, pattern and the mathematical dynamics of nature . . . to say nothing of the colours and reflections!

Colwyn Bay fencing

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Collecting Seaweed

My short walk this week across the beach at Colwyn Bay in North Wales presented some fabulous patterns. The dilapidated state of the old pier was protected by these barriers which have clearly been there long enough to gather a healthy collection of seaweed.

seaweed and fencing

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Changing Light and Patterns in the Pier

The sun was going down on my walk across the beach at Colwyn Bay and as it did so, the light subtly changed. There was some hazy cloud cover in the west and so the contrast of light and shade quite never disappeared, but still had an effect on the atmosphere as well as my camera settings. The patterns in the construction of the pier were always there along with the colour, more or less strengthened by the sunlight.

Colwyn Bay-28

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