Broken Boat

Posted on 12/03/201412/03/2014 by Alastair

Black and white or colour? That was the question.

The light at the time of taking these two shots suggested the results you see below. It was typical of the days through the back end of this Winter (when it wasn’t rainy or blowing a gale) – the light was constantly changing and although the sun was always there, the clouds that regularly obscured it and the wide expanse of the view across the salt marshes of the Loughor Estuary in South Wales provided me with a photographic challenge.

This week’s featured StillWalks video is set a few weeks ahead of the current date in terms of the time of year but the flowers and activity of the birds celebrate the beautiful sunny weather of Spring with gusto and are a welcome change to the wild, wet and windy weather we had through Winter.

The video above is in 480p quality. You can use the Donate button below to pay however much you want and receive a high quality (720HD) download of this week’s featured StillWalks video – “Garden Park Walk – Spring” which features Clyne Gardens in Swansea, South Wales. Click the image above to watch the video. DVD Collections are also available to order in the StillWalks Shop.

Pools of Light

Posted on 11/03/201411/03/2014 by Alastair

A network of salt water gullies and holes on the Loughor Estuary.

Pools of light is a bit more poetic than puddles near Llanrhidian. Living at the northern most point of the Loughor Estuary in South Wales, I can travel up either side of the salt marshes that make up the estuary and get beautiful and spacious views across from either the Gower Peninsula on the eastern edge or the Carmarthenshire shore on the western edge.

I have heard that if any of the ponies that graze there are caught on the marshes when the tide comes in, they simply stand where they are until the tide goes out again because of the danger of falling into one of the gullies or holes.

Architectural Scale – Is Perspective Real?

Posted on 17/01/201417/01/2014 by Alastair

I like this photo largely for its composition and the perspective of the buildings, both real and apparent. I say real and apparent because the buildings themselves are in fact taller than each other going from foreground to background – it’s not just the effect of perspective. I must make a point of taking a photo from the opposite end of the beach and see how they appear in perspective when the most distant building is the tallest!

The photos I have been posting this week were all taken on my iPhone. I seem to be doing this more often now but whether my iphonography is improving is another matter. It is a very convenient way to record observations (and sounds when I don’t have my kit with me) but in order to get effective images with the phone, you have to look at things differently. Angle of shot is probably the most important point . . . but that could be said for DSLR photography as well, I guess!

The photo below would have been grainy anyway, given the time of day and the fading light but there is a tendency for the iPhone camera to over expose when the light is dim. The image you see below is the result of post processing. Unlike a DSLR camera, you have pretty limited options in these circumstances when it comes to telling the camera what to do.

Update – Thanks to Emil Pakarklis and his iPhone Photography School, I have discovered the PureShot app which allows much more flexibility in shooting from the phone.

The buildings are on Swansea seafront – all apartment buildings, the closest being Meridian Tower. The lights in the background are those of the Swansea / Cork Ferry.

Effects of the Sun

Posted on 27/12/201327/12/2013 by Alastair

Taking a photo into the sun is not usually recommended if you want a half decent shot but having an idea of what was going to happen doing this with my iPhone, I went ahead and broke the rules. A very important rule in photography is first to understand the rules – and then to try breaking them.

The resulting photograph was not what you see below – that has had the darker areas adjusted (minimally) but I made no other changes as I actually like the strange light the image has. The thing that is frustrating though, is the effect of the sun itself and without lens filters, I don’t I have much control over that. I don’t mean the lens flare – I like that too. I mean the uneven edge to the white area . . . but the more I look at it, the more I like that too. To each their own – you can make up your own mind about it!

And the shell? This is a very common and fascinating object on Swansea Beach.

Photos taken and adjusted on my iPhone 5c. Check out StillWalks on Instagram for more of my iPhonography.

This week’s featured StillWalks video is the introductory welcome video to the StillWalks website. On this you will meet me and see just a little of what goes into making a StillWalks video.

You can use the Donate button below to help StillWalks. Pay how much you want and receive a high quality download of this week’s featured StillWalks video. DVD Collections are available to order in the StillWalks Shop.

Light and Shade – Morlais Patterns

Posted on 01/10/201301/10/2013 by Alastair

On a sunny day the patterns are easy to find, particularly around mid morning when the sun is at its most creative angle in this respect.

I was taking photos of fences last Sunday morning . . . not these ones though. These are from the end of my walk along the River Morlais. I had been thinking ahead and wondering how I was going to get good photos to finish with, knowing that the short section of footpath that returns to the road is not the most attractive feature in the area.

However, the sun was shining, it was mid morning in July (I started at 5.00 AM), and the patterns created left me in no doubt as to how the video for this walk would end!

You can use the new Donate button below to help StillWalks, pay what you want and receive a download of the completed StillWalks video from this area – “Troserch Woodland Walk“, this week’s featured walk.

Tunnel of Trees

Posted on 21/09/201321/09/2013 by Alastair

Looking for the light in the Ynystawe woodland before going to photograph the dressage riders at the Clydach Riding Club show last weekend, I peeked out from the trees to the fields and the River Tawe and finally headed back to the show field through a tunnel of trees. The dressage show photos can be found at StillWalks Photography.

Soggy Seeds

Posted on 20/09/201320/09/2013 by Alastair

The woodland at Ynystawe through which I was walking last weekend really was wet! The day was nice but the rain from previous days had had its effect on the plants at the end of Summer.

The colours of flowers are on their way out and we have not yet reached that stage of Autumn that brings so much colour again in the leaves. But there is still pattern and texture and light (perhaps less of the light) – you just have to look around you 🙂

Dragonfly Hunt – People and Paths

Posted on 18/08/201318/08/2013 by Alastair

Visit the StillWalks website for videos and more

Those dragonflies from yesterdays post were hunted and found in two places – Three Crosses Community Woodland near Swansea and Gelli Hir Woodland on the northern side of the Gower Peninsula.

Both places are beautiful and the weather was perfect for finding what we were after. I wasn’t doing any sound recording on this visit but I will be going back, so yet again, watch this space!

StillWalks is about promoting a sense of health and wellbeing, enjoying the sights and sounds of your local environment. Both the Three Crosses and the Gelli Hir woodlands are places that I will be visiting again with the assurance that, whatever the weather, I will enjoying a sense of wellbeing while I am there.

Images from this series are available on the StillWalks Photography website.

Tag Archives: light