You can see the rain clouds moving away into the distance at this stage of my walk along Swansea Bay. The scene doesn’t lighten much but at least the rain is gone.
These different views from the promenade show where my walk is headed and as I descended to the beach, the patterns of stones and ripples in sand and water caught my eye.
Approaching Belfast city centre on this Boxing Day walk in 2011 the architecture becomes abstract when superimposed against the big ferris wheel situated beside City Hall. Seen behind one of the columned towers of the building, the scene takes on a Christmassy or religious appearance – ironic considering the role that religion still plays in Northern Ireland politics. So are the punters wheeling while the politicians are dealing?
This shot can also be seen in black and white on Monochrome Madness MM 2-41 at Leanne Cole Photography.
Exposed as I was to the weather on my walk at Southgate, I again used less exposure in these shots of the cliffs at Three Cliffs Bay on South Gower than was technically correct. However, as on previous occasions, this was deliberate and the result is definitely more realistic in terms of how it felt than if I had used the correct exposure. The result is quite Gothic in atmosphere.
The second shot is monochrome and can be seen on Leanne Cole’s Photography blog post Monochrome Madness MM 2-34.
Most walking routes have various twists and turns to them and my walk this week is no exception. Initially the twists in the footpath come as it follows the river Loughor across the marshes, but there are other twists and turns to be seen en route as well as those in the grass or mud.
The twisted roots of the tree below can be seen in monochrome at Leanne Cole’s Photography blog post Monochrome Madness MM 2-32.
This photo is the only one throughout this week that is in portrait format. The reason for this is that I have been working on an experimental StillWalks video (which requires all images to be in 16:9 widescreen format). It was not my intention to do any production on this walk and so I only had my iPhone 6s with me. Therefore all the images you see are from my phone and the video I have been working on also uses video and sound recording from the same device.
I will post the finished video at the end of the week and you can judge for yourselves whether or not it was worth my while.
Viewing the rocks and sand ripples from above on my cliff walk at Rhosilli on the Gower peninsula revealed some fascinating patterns. I loved the complex textures of jagged rocks dotted with white gulls and the smoother flat patterns of wave platform structures seen on our way round to Fall Bay from the Worms Head.
The sand ripples may be a common pattern but I liked the subtle sunlight and shade. I thought it might be worth looking at it in black and white and in converting the image I also heightened the contrast quite a lot. The monochrome shot can be seen tomorrow on Leanne Cole’s Photography blog post Monochrome Madness 2-30. I can’t make up my mind which I prefer – subtle colour or contrasty monochrome.
I have no idea what these objects in the sea are! I imagine the distant ones are buoys for shipping. I am pretty sure the larger structure also has something to do with shipping but as it is so close to the Cardiff Bay barrage, where we were walking, I am not sure what its purpose is. It has meteorological equipment on it and clearly it is a convenient pirch for birds – other than that all I can say is that I like the composition of uprights, horizontals and perspective in this shot.
This image can also be seen in black and white on Leanne Cole’s Photography blog post Monochrome Madness 2-29.
The second photo includes Flat Holm and Steep Holm islands in there Bristol Channel.
The ruined building by the phone mast near the top of my hollow way walk is a fascinating piece of old local architecture but I guess it is the state that it is in that interests me rather than what it was. The big hole in its side wall may have been a window at one time but now the ragged edge of the naked wall provides an interesting frame for views of the surrounding hills.
I find the structures of the hole in the wall, the electricity pylon and the interior of the building juxtaposed with the hillside and tree growth against the chimney brickwork patterns of endless interest. Every time I take this walk I stop at this point for a look around at these and other features of the place.
I thought the pylon shot might also work well in b&w and so the monochrome image can be seen on Leanne Cole’s Photography blog Monochrome Madness post.
My recent walks at Kidwelly in Carmarthenshire revealed to me a number of aspects of the local environment. The old canal, mudflats and birds of the Towe Estuary were among the first of my discoveries, but there were other elements of this area that contributed to the atmosphere of the place just as much as those more obvious features.
These trees had a particularly dry looking bark and colour to them along with their windblown direction of growth. These as well as the brambles and dry reeds through which the footpath led me, all contributed to my perception of the environment – one that suggested a much dryer place than could be the case.
I wonder about that apparent contradiction? Even the dampness in the cold air could not defeat the sense of a lack of water that I felt from the colours and textures around me.
For all the lack of colour in this image of the trees, there is a monochrome version of it featured on Monochrome Madness 47 at Leanne Coles Photography blog.
