It was a wild and windy day . . .

. . . and it had been a dark and stormy night! But it wasn’t actually rainy when I finally went for a much needed walk around Hemlington Lake in Middlesbrough on New Year’s Day. I did two circuits because one was just not enough and was lucky to get back to my inlaws’ house in the nick of time without getting wet.

I had brought my cameras with me but had not taken them out on the walk and so relied on my iPhone 5c yet again. Watch this week’s featured StillWalks video below to see what the place is like in better weather (albeit Winter).

Hemlington Lake

Hemlington Lake

This week’s featured StillWalks video is from Middlesbrough. Although the production for “Suburban Lakeside Walk” was done in the Winter, it was clearly much better weather than is evident in the iPhone photos I took around the lake this winter.

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 – “Suburban Lakeside Walk” which features Hemlington Lake in Middlesbrough. Click the image below to watch the video. DVD Collections are available to order in the StillWalks Shop.

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Bridging the Gap – Reflections on Time

It is a few years now since I was last in Belfast but the images I am posting this week from my StillWalks video “City Walk” still stand as a fair representation of Belfast on Boxing Day in Northern Ireland.

Over the years the city has changed as any city does with new architectural developments. There are, however, aspects of all cities that remain for longer and in doing so help to set the character of the place. One such spot in Belfast for me is the Albert Bridge. Being next to Central Station, it was the starting point for visiting the city on foot and in my case, walking to college.

Albert Bridge, Belfast

Albert Bridge, Belfast

River Lagan, Belfast

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 – “City Walk” which features Belfast, Northern Ireland on Boxing Day. Click the image below to watch the video. DVD Collections are available to order in the StillWalks Shop.

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Peace in the City

There are not many places these days that take a break at any time of the year. Belfast, however, is one city where you can find it relatively quiet on Boxing Day. Unless things have changed in the last few years, the shops would not have opened and the sales would not have started.

That does not mean there is no activity but as you can see from the first photo below, the streets are not crammed with traffic jams and crowds of people rushing all over the place. There’s nothing like taking a little time out once in a while!

Happy New Year everyone 🙂

Belfast Street, Boxing Day

City Hall, Belfast

City Hall, Belfast

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 – “City Walk” which features Belfast, Northern Ireland on Boxing Day. Click the image below to watch the video. DVD Collections are available to order in the StillWalks Shop.

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City Walk – Belfast Boxing Day

Heading for the 2014, I have picked out one of my earliest StillWalks videos to feature this week and will post some of the stills from it as well. These images are not currently available and are in fact screen shots from the HD video.

“City Walk” features Belfast, Northern Ireland on Boxing Day a few years ago. Belfast being the place I grew up, I have always loved it. Unfortunately I don’t get to visit very often these days.

These two shots are of the River Lagan and the scene is in walking distance of the City Centre!

City Walk - River Lagan

City Walk - River Lagan

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 – “City Walk” which features Belfast, Northern Ireland on Boxing Day. Click the image below to watch the video. DVD Collections are available to order in the StillWalks Shop.

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Sea of Sand – Low Level iPhonography

Changing the angle at which you look at things may be an essential rule of life (at least in my life) – see Monday’s post – but it is also invaluable when it comes to photography and perhaps even more so when it come to iPhonography.

Justin Balog of the iPhone Photography School spoke about this recently via Instagram. It was one of his most important tips in my opinion but he has many others. I’m pleased to say that when I discovered the website, I was already incorporating much of his advice and many of his tips. There is always room to learn more though, and even if you already know stuff, the occasional reminder never goes amiss.

So if anyone got a new smart phone for Christmas and you want to learn a bit about using it for photography, the iPhone Photography School wouldn’t be a bad place to start 🙂

Sand Patterns

Sand Patterns

Sand Patterns

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.

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Keeping Things in Perspective

Keeping things in perspective seems to me to be so important. In order to do this I often have to adjust the angle at which I look at things and take into account the current circumstances. Standing back and being more objective can often help but this is not always easy to do.

My main strategy for doing this is walking – and that, of course, is where StillWalks came from and, I hope, may be able to take others as well. With this is mind, I have decided to feature my StillWalks “Welcome” video this week.

Swansea Bay Sea Wall

Swansea BayPhotos 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.

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Looking The Other Way – Local Landscape

To start this week I am looking again at the landscape around me. This early morning shot is looking the other way to that which was posted last week.

Looking north west from Graig Fawr the view takes in Carmarthenshire in late Autumn with the coniferous trees of the forest at Fforest on the left – see this week’s featured video below.

View from Graig Fawr

This week’s featured StillWalks video shows another representation of the woods in the previous featured video – the woods at Fforest in a snowy Winter.

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 – “Forest Walk – Summer” which is at Fforest, Carmarthenshire, South Wales. Click the image below to watch the video. DVD Collections are available to order in the StillWalks Shop.

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Going Backwards – One More from the Park

I am pleased to say that I am not actually going backwards – at least I hope not! Just leaving Cwmdonkin Park in Swansea until I have worked on other StillWalks productions from earlier in the year.

And below is the final sound clip I recorded before leaving the park. Are these squirrels or jays? I know they can sound similar and I know there were plenty of squirrels around but I saw no Jays at all. Also available on SoundCloud.

Cwmdonkin Park

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 – “Abertawe Walk” which is along the cycle path alongside the River Tawe going into Swansea, South Wales. Click the image below to watch the video. DVD Collections are available to order in the StillWalks Shop.

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