The weather we enjoyed while in Scotland was very mixed, but that is OK because whether the sunsets are with clear skies or the days are wild and windy, the constantly changing conditions are one of the main attractions. Continue reading
Tag Archives: lichen
Local Lichen and Spirit of Place
The local lichen on the rocks along the shore where we stayed in Scotland recently, seems to me to capture the spirit of the place (tough and hairy!?!). Then there is also the hawthorn and the things people do with stones on the beach Continue reading
Marking the Gower on the Mawr
The first stone (concrete) way marker I reached on my walk this week on the Mawr was marking The Gower Way or Llwybr Gwyr. With my short route marked this clearly (!?), I lost much of my concern for being enveloped by cloud and happily carried on towards the top.
Perspective on a Rusty Railing
Having descended from the hills on my walk this week, I came eventually to the River Dulais. The footbridge across the river at this point in the valley is not the most attractive of bridges, being more functional than decorative, but it still has an attraction for me and not least for the old but solid rusty, mossy colour and texture.
Day To Day Walk
My walk this week is another one I take quite frequently – I know it well but there is always something new to look at or listen to. The start of the walk goes through our local park and as can be seen, the rain has finally arrived with the colours of Autumn.
You must not let a little rain put you off walking in this country (or a lot of rain for that matter). Indeed, it is the damp weather we so often seem to have that provides us with so many wonderful mosses and lichens.
Environmental Range
The walks I have been taking each morning recently, include a range of environments – urban, coniferous forest, deciduous woods and open farm land.
Although I prefer the natural woodland environments on these walks, I also enjoy the faster, more even pace of walking through the (semi) urban area. Even in the woods there is still the background sound of traffic on the motorway – except at one point along the footpath where the sound from the motorway (see last photo) almost completely disappears and there is only the sound of individual vehicles occasionally passing on the road below.
The sounds as well as the plants and animals of these places are many and varied. The field recording I have posted below and in previous posts this week illustrate something of that variety.
There is an intrusion into the sound clip below. I was recording on my Edirol R09 and had forgotten to switch off my phone! So there is another element of the urban environment unintentionally included.
The Rough and the Smooth – iPhonography at the Botanic Gardens
Last week we had a walk at the National Botanic Garden of Wales (NBGW), taking advantage of free entry during January. It is easy to think that there is not so much to see in a place like the Botanic Gardens at this time of year but, of course, that is not true – it is just that things look different.
I had downloaded a new app for my iPhone 5c, namely PureShot, and I was keen to try it out. This camera app allows more control than the standard iPhone Camera app as well as having options to use TIFF images and different quality JPEGs. The photos below were both taken using PureShot and it gave good results. However, as will be seen through other shots I will be posting this week, it is not always the best app to use.
I discovered PureShot through the a post by Emil Pakarklis and the iPhone Photography School and would recommend his website as an excellent aid to anyone interested in improving their phone photography.
Another discovery I made when looking at images of Silver Birch bark was esdesigns – I liked the silver birch bracelet in particular!
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