Tag Archives: rain

My Walk this Week 20 – Bay Walk

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My walk this week sees more changeable weather. There were plenty of other people walking and running in spite of the wintry wet conditions which says something for the attraction of Swansea Bay. Fortunately, from the point of view of photography, what can feel like miserable weather for walking, can produce some “atmospheric” images.

Looking out for those shots can also help with the mental attitude to walking in this weather and as it didn’t continue raining for too long, the walk was in fact very refreshing and entertaining.

It wasn’t just the able bodied who were using the promenade – having said that, take a close look and you will see that the runner below is clearly very able bodied!

Swansea Bay

If you listen carefully to the sound clip below, you should hear the intermittent tone of Mumbles lighthouse in the distance as well as footsteps and an intrepid cyclist.

Windy Seafront

If viewing this in an email, to see the sound player you will need to visit the blog – please click the post title to view the full post.

Looking Down at the Sky

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When I drove over to The Waterside – Felindre I had an expectation of taking this walk, but on arrival it was pouring rain. I thought, “I must get my recording kit out and capture the sound of the rain on the cabin decking and the lake surface“. However, by the time I was set up and ready to go outdoors, the rain stopped! Strangely, it did not rain again that day.

There were clouds in the sky as can be seen in the images below, but it was also quiet and calm, at least from time to time, and so the surface of the water was unbroken by anything other than very gentle ripples.

That is one of the exciting things about The Waterside – the weather being unpredictable means that the views and the sounds, the whole atmosphere of this small, South Wales valley, can change constantly throughout a day. Having the optional warmth of the log burner in the comfort of the cabin means that you can always view the scene from a dry place. But if you have come equipped for wet weather (as we must do in this part of the world), then the rain need not stop you enjoying everything else the valley offers.

Tomorrow (Friday) StillWalks will be at The Waterside running presentations  about the StillWalks package for businesses and organisations. If anyone is interested in coming along to this regular open day at The Waterside, please check out the website above and contact us in advance.

sky reflection

Peace at The Waterside

If viewing this in an email, to see the sound player you will need to visit the blog – please click the post title to view the full post.

Dark Images – Photos of the Night

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As my walk extended round to the unlit side of Hemlington Lake my photos became still darker. At this point I am facing away from the town and much of the light and colour reflected on the clouds is hidden by the trees behind me.

In the first image you can just see the near side of the footbridge with the railings of its far side silhouetted against the street light. Below is a short sound clip of my footsteps crossing the bridge and it is after this that a gentle rain starts.

Footsteps and Rain

If viewing this in an email, to see the sound player you will need to visit the blog – please click the post title to view the full post.

dark footbridge

Blue Bell Beck at night

Hemlington Lake at Night

Winter Colours

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Changeable weather can make it difficult to predict the conditions and therefore what to wear on a walk – rain and sunshine can be expected as well as rapidly changing temperatures. It can also mean that the colours to be seen in the landscape change dramatically and so winter colours can include the deep shadows of cloud and simultaneously the bright colours of nature reflected in sunlight.

These images just begin to show this effect with the colour in the bare branches and twigs of the tree or the reflective feathers of the ducks set against the slate grey of the water

Hemlington Lakeside

Mallard

Ducks

Passing Underneath

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The puddle below tells the story of the weather and the long horned cows underneath the M4 motorway bridge know that story as well as the farmer and I do. Having constructed a coral for his cattle the farmer has given some convenient shelter to these mothers with their calves and allowed me to walk without fear of being pronged by one of those sharp looking objects.

The railway bridge which also crosses this footpath is made of older material than concrete and the various colours of the stone used create a fascinating pattern within pattern in the construction of the bridge. You will have to watch the video at the end of the week to see more.

Under the motorway

puddle reflection

colourful railway bridge stone

Day To Day Walk

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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.

Coedbach Park

mossy tree

lichen

Walking To The Sunrise

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My photos for today are in reverse order! The turning point for my morning walk is in the first shot and is a great place to see the sun come up behind some woodland to the left of the frame.

In Wales it is often said that “it has been raining, is raining or is about to rain” – see the last photo. I fact I would say the weather here is changeable, frequently changeable. In all the walks I have taken over the last 10 or 12 days, I have only got wet once – though I have had to put Dubbin on my boots frequently.

Photos 1 and 3 are from my iPhone, 2 and 4 were taken with my Canon 550D. The sound clip at the bottom was recorded on my iPhone.

fields at sunrise

sheep at sunrise

sun rays on footpath

wet woodland footpath

Fforest Rain iPhone 3

Windblown and Wondering

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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.

wild trees

brambles and reeds