Waves of Grey and Lack of Light

The waves breaking on the South Gower coast near Southgate may not be the huge breakers that can be seen on some coastlines around the world, but I wouldn’t fancy falling in there on a day like this!

In writing this post about my walk between Southgate and Three Cliffs Bay on this wild and windy day, I realised that I had made the third image monotone. The strength of colour in our surroundings comes from reflected light and as there is so little light on a day like this, there is consequently very little obvious colour. In reality of course there is colour and even in the sea, if you focus your attention, there is a range of subtle colours to be seen. The trouble is that in weather like this the inclination to stand still and observe intently is rather weak and the sensation instead, is that the day is dark, the wind is wild, the rain is wet and it is time to get back inside, not linger too long on the edge of the cliffs however many colours there may or may not be.

And so I headed back to the Three Cliffs Coffee Shop at Southgate for another cuppa and to calm the wind that had been blasting my brain for the last hour or two.

waves

waves

waves

Cold Steel or Molten Metal?

The water flowing down over the huge stainless steel monolith in Cardiff Bay looks in close up like it could be the steel itself , solidified after a melt down. These images make the patterns of water look like solid metal, but I have done nothing with the colour – it is purely the effect of clear water flowing over cold steel. Any light or colour is a reflection of the grey sky. I guess if the weather had been warmer, the colour may have been warmer too.

Click the lower image to enlarge and see the patterns in more detail. Just to confirm, these are colour images!

These images can also bee seen on Leanne Cole’s Photography blog along with lots more “Monochrome Madness”.

water flow detail

Cardiff Bay Architecture-8Click the image to enlarge.

 

Somewhere in Between – Going Black and White

At first glance these images may appear to be black and white – but of course, there is colour in there, it’s just very subtle. The view looks across Swansea Bay and towards Mumbles Lighthouse in South Wales. The weather, being wild and windy with a lot of changing sunlight and shade, made the sea a range of greys and it was the intermittent clouds that created much of the contrast.

I debated whether or not to make them monotone and I tried it out as it seemed the obvious thing to do. I made the necessary adjustments as best I could to ensure they worked, and tried out some whackier filters and balances. However, in the end I found I prefer that subtlety of colour that is there if you look closely, and gives a different atmosphere to the images than was the case when converted to black and white.

I made small adjustments to all the images. They could all have been made much more dramatic but I guess I am a lover of nuance, and so decided to stick with what you see!

Swansea Bay

Black and white sea

View to Mumbles

High Winds in Swansea Bay-35

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Lifting the Mood – Last of the Monotone

Yesterday’s official opening of the StillWalks project exhibition “Sights and Sounds of the Countryside” went very well. It was busy enough for me to forget to get photographs and with the preparations beforehand, I also forget to arrange for photos to be taken. If you want to find out a little more, please visit the StillWalks Facebook page (and Like!). I will be reporting more on the exhibition when it finishes on 10th July.

In the meantime, here are the last of the apparently black and white photos from around the exhibition space – these first three being of the lift doors – and then on to a splash of colour from one of the chairs.

Brushed Aluminium

Brushed Aluminium

Metal Perspective

Metal Perspective

Corner Joint

Corner Joint

Another language

Another language

Colour Mesh

Colour Mesh