Out of the Light and Into a Rhododendron Tunnel

Posted on 19/01/201812/01/2018 by Alastair

Having risen towards the sunlight at the start of this walk, I then had to descend again, and in doing so took a route that led me through a natural tunnel rhododendron tunnel.

This is the final part of my walk this week and a slight change of format. I am no longer going to post a review of the walk each week so if you want top see the rest of the walk you will have to visit the two previous posts.

The tunnel is dark but feels fabulous and the middle of it is the quietest section of the walk. While the images below cover only the last part of this walk, the soundscape is from the whole walk which starts and ends with the sounds of the Dulais River or Afon Dulais.Continue reading→

Tree Ghoul in the Gloom

Posted on 10/01/201804/01/2018 by Alastair

The darkness of my walk this week in the rain provided me with a creepy atmosphere from time to time. This tree was one of those presenting itself as a ghoul in the gloom of the woodland as I climbed the footpath to Swiss Valley Reservoir.

Even the more open areas of the valley floor were gloomy and what light there was created and aged effect on the subtly coloured branches of an orchard.Continue reading→

Distant Horizon – Reviewing the Walk

Posted on 23/12/201714/12/2017 by Alastair

In reviewing my walk this week I can see that I have posted another set of very dark images – it must be the time of year! The selected photos from my posts about this walk illustrate both the urban start in a multi-story carpark and the approaching light of dawn on the horizon in a windy Swansea Bay.

The soundscape for this week backs up the images as always but while it includes the sound of crashing waves towards the end, it does not include the noise pollution of street cleaners and leaf blowers being used at 6 AM. Continue reading→

Approaching Dawn Down on the Seafront

Posted on 22/12/201714/12/2017 by Alastair

The darkness lifted ever so slowly as I proceeded on my walk this week from city centre to seafront in the approaching dawn. Having traversed the Maritime Quarter with its shadow patterns and reflections (see previous post) and experiencing a hint of the cold wind to come, I emerged onto the seafront behind a stainless steel sail sculpture and quickly retreated back behind the corner of the building by my side.

It was cold and wild and the distant blue-grey light on the eastern horizon gave no hint of how the day may turn out. The tide was high and the waves crashed against each otherContinue reading→

My Walk this Week – Early Bird

Posted on 18/12/201714/12/2017 by Alastair

My walk this weeks starts in a multi-storey carpark in town. By early I mean about 5.55 am, which is why I was surprised that the first sound I heard on getting out of my car in this empty urban space was an early bird chirruping away! It was still dark and I was in an environment as far from natural as possible.

It was interesting to experience the ambience and light (or lack of it) in this structure in its unusual empty state and I was able to check out the patterns revealed in the gloom. The background soundContinue reading→

From Light to Dark – Reviewing the Walk

Posted on 09/12/201702/12/2017 by Alastair

My walk this week took me from light to dark in Brynmill Park in Swansea. I had visited the park on many previous occasions and so was interested in capturing some of the details of the place rather than a more open view of its land and waterscape.

It was good to start my short walk in the afternoon sunlight and watch the squirrels gathering their winter stores and the swans and ducks on the dark water of the lake, even though there was the most terrific fight between two of the ducks (not included in the soundscape below).Continue reading→

Dark Park

Posted on 08/12/201702/12/2017 by Alastair

Looking at and photographing Brynmill Park on my walk this week was a most interesting challenge. While my walk had started in sunlight, by the time the walking forum meeting I was there to attend finished, the light was fading fast and making for an increasingly dark park.

So none of these images are under-exposed – it was dark, but not so much so that my surroundings could not be seen. The complexity of form was flattened as the intricacy ofContinue reading→

Dark Still Mirror and Expanding Ripples

Posted on 29/11/201727/11/2017 by Alastair

My walk this week took me under and over a number of structures spanning the Tennant Canal – railway track, vehicle track, road, motorway, footbridge and gantry. Underneath these the sound changed and the dark mirror that was the still water of the canal was broken by expanding ripples as drips dripped from the structures above.

Walking over the gantry and footbridge gave me a slightly elevated view of the of the woodland reflections in the dark water. That does not mean the water was dark, in fact it was beautifully clear.Continue reading→

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