My walk this week is on Aberystwyth seafront and from the overcast weather depicted you would not believe that half an hour earlier the sun had been shining and the sky blue. Neither was it raining at the time these photos were taken – but I still got soaked as I walked along the beach!
Looking back on this Taste of Gower walk at Oxwich Bay I think we would all agree that we were fortunate with the weather and the photo above, taken at Oxwich Bay Hotel, helps to confirm this.At a time of year when it can still be cold it was remarkably warm when in the shelter of Oxwich Burroughs.
Stripes of water and sand on the beach and stripes of cloud in the sky at Oxwich Bay (see below).
On my walk this week with the Taste of Gower walkers at Oxwich Bay, the walkers ahead of me stretch across the beach and as the sun comes round I find that using my zoom lens (a Canon 70-300 mm 1:4 – 5.6 IS USM for those of you who are interested) brings out the contrast of light and dark. This both emphasises the striped patterns on the beach and the shade of Oxwich point in the background.
During this Taste of Gower walk at Oxwich I had conversations with a couple of people about photography and the “rule” of not taking photographs into the sun or keeping the light behind you. It’s not a bad rule in general and particularly useful for holiday snapshots. Apart from any tricks of the trade which can be used when you need to shoot into the light, deliberately taking a shot against the light can give some very interesting results and indeed, if you want silhouettes this is the way to get them.
This shot of some of the Taste of Gower walkers on Oxwich Beach was take, as I discovered afterwards, at 12.01 or High Noon! For this reason I could not resist having a little play with Photoshop – see the last image below.
Crossing Oxwich Marsh towards the footbridge, the Taste of Gower walkers enjoy the sunshine and their company while I look on and enjoy the textures of the grasses and the colour of their costumes.
My walk this week at Aberavon in south Wales started very gloomy with a strong sea fret masking the views. But it was still and quiet and one or two people were out and about in spite of the weather. As time went by, however, the mist lifted somewhat and a slightly clearer view over the bay to Swansea was revealed. It really was a most enjoyable walk and I went into the Health and Wellbeing fair (which was my original reason for going there) in a very healthy state of mind.
Returning towards the starting point of my walk this week along Aberavon seafront in south Wales I followed the railings along the promenade and at the point where they turned a right angle ahead of me, I found an amazing mosaic of patterns created by them.
