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.
My walk this week is the first Taste of Gower walk of 2017 and took place at Oxwich where we walked through the burroughs (sand dunes with vegetation). The walk was led by James Malatynski and we had Charlotte Toft and Helen Nicholas from Gower Unearthed giving some informative talks along the way about the heritage of the area.
To mark the end of each Taste of Gower walk we visit a local cafe, hence the name “Taste of Gower”. The Gower Landscape Partnership pays for the teas and coffees but there are always many other good things to be eaten as well, and that was no less the case for the Cariad Cafe in Penclawdd as it is for any of the other Taste of Gower walk locations.
The next Taste of Gower walk will be at Port Eynon on Friday 30th September (that’s next week). Details can be found here.
Cup of tea time at Cariad Cafe
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Taste of Gower – Penclawdd Soundscape
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Always on the Taste of Gower walks there is a welcome cafe to be enjoyed at the end of the walk. Many of the walks have given me a first visit to the cafes associated with them and do an excellent job of persuading me and others to return in the knowledge that refreshments are available as well as beautiful views, wonderful habitats and enjoyable exercise. Nicholaston Farm Cafe was no exception and everybody enjoyed the fayre they provide.
The next walk will be next week on Friday 29th July and starts from Gower Heritage Centre – I’m looking forward to it!
Nicholaston Farm Cafe
Listen to the walk soundscape below while viewing the image sequence, just click the play button and then the first thumbnail image.
Nicholaston Walk Soundscape
If viewing this in an email, please click the post title to see other photos in this post, thank you.
