Swiss Valley, Llanelli

Why the area is called Swiss Valley, I do not know! It is clearly not in Switzerland but a beautiful area in South West Wales. The photos were taken on my iPhone – I love the snaking shape of the reservoir overflow but that particular image needed some work on it.

Swiss Valley

Swiss Valley Reservoir

Swiss Valley Reservoir

Misty Walk, Gower

This week’s featured StillWalks video is “Misty Walk”. The title tells you a bit about what to expect.

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 – “Misty Walk” which is at Ryers Down on the Gower Peninsula near 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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A Change of Scene

Today is your last opportunity to watch this week’s featured StillWalks video, “Moss Wood Walk” from Gnoll Park in Neath, South Wales. You can see it at the bottom of this post.

Tomorrow the featured video will change to “After the Tide” which is from the marshes near my home and a walk I often enjoy. The photos below are not from the video but do feature some of the texture of the marshes in Autumn.

Marshes AtT

Marshes AtT

You can use the new Donate button below to help StillWalks. Pay how much you want and receive a high quality download of this week’s featured StillWalks video – “Moss Wood Walk” which is from Gnoll Park in Neath, South wales. Click the image below to watch the video.

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Footpath Through the Woods – The Changing Season

The end of my walk through Cwm Green Woods brought me back to the clearing and car park where I heard so many pheasants earlier in the morning.

I started this week’s posts writing about the rolling out of Autumn across different areas. The leaves on the ground in the last photo of this post show the difference of change between one kind of tree and another, and the conditions of their immediate surroundings. Even within quite a small area, there can be significant difference.

The trees shown at the start of this series were just beginning to change colour whilst these ones, just a few hundred yards away, are well on their way through the season.

Cwm Green Footpath-1

Cwm Green Footpath-2

Cwm Green Footpath-3

Cwm Green Footpath-4

You can use the new Donate button below to help StillWalks. Pay how much you want and receive a high quality download of this week’s featured StillWalks video – “Woodland Walk” which is from Penllergaer Woods near Swansea, South wales. Click the image below to watch the video.

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The Grain of Woodland Details

Starting with a close up, this first photograph is a very close crop of the second shot. I particularly liked the grain effect of the exposure with a very high ISO. It seemed to suit the atmosphere of the dark place in those ancient woods by Cwm Green on the Gower Peninsula.

Most of my photography in these woods needed a high ISO as much of this environment was quite dark. Whilst I have both a monopod and a tripod, when carrying the field recorder and mic as well as kit bag and two cameras, it is just not practical to take a tripod as well and on this occasion I had not included the monopod.

However, as I say above, I think the graininess of some of the shots I took are very appropriate for the subject matter and I would be happy, as with this first shot, to emphasise it.

Cwm Green Seed Heads

Cwm Green Seed Heads

Cwm Green Seed Heads

Cwm Green Moss

Cwm Green Moss and Ferns

You can use the new Donate button below to help StillWalks. Pay how much you want and receive a high quality download of this week’s featured StillWalks video – “Woodland Walk” which is from Penllergaer Woods near Swansea, South wales. Click the image below to watch the video.

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Light and Shade Amongst the Trees

On my walk through the woods at Cwm Green on the Gower in South Wales, I felt like I was walking through ancient woodland. I cannot say how long the trees have been there but I know, from the evidence, that they are managed – there was even a footpath, thought not very well defined in places.

The woods are on hilly ground and so there were times when I was deep in the shadowy depths, and others when the effect of the sunlight making its way between the trunks or shining on autumn leaves in the canopy was . . . (searching for a word here) . . . emotional!

The first image I have posted today is one of those few occasions when I felt that a black and white panoramic crop was the best representation of the scene.  The last photo is looking out of the woods and across the fields to Parc-Le-Breos House, a fantastic bed and breakfast hotel in whose grounds the woods are situated.

Cwm Green Trees-4

Cwm Green Trees-2

Cwm Green Trees-3

Cwm Green Trees-5

Cwm Green Trees-1

You can use the new Donate button below to help StillWalks. Pay how much you want and receive a high quality download of this week’s featured StillWalks video – “Woodland Walk” which is from Penllergaer Woods near Swansea, South wales. Click the image below to watch the video.

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The Sounds of Cwmdonkin Park

There are a number of different features to Cwmdonkin Park in Swansea and if it was anything like it is now in Dylan Thomas’ time, then it is hardly surprising that he liked the place.

All the photos I have posted this week from my recce walk of the park have been take on my iPhone and I look forward to returning with my full StillWalks production kit. I had the kit in the car when I was there but neither had the time nor the inclination to go and get it!

Noise pollution – Too much of my time in the park was spent with the aural backdrop of somebody from the parks department using a leaf blower! I cannot think of a more irritating source of noise pollution.

There are two sound clips here, tell me which you prefer.

These and two other clips can also be listened to on SoundCloud.

Cwmdonkin trees

Cwmdonkin trees

Cwmdonkin trees

Cwmdonkin trees You can use the new Donate button below to help StillWalks. Pay how much you want and receive a high quality download of this week’s featured StillWalks video – “Autumn Lakeside Walk” from Gnoll Park, Neath, South Wales. Click the image below to watch the video.

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Cwmdonkin Park Recce, Swansea

Last week I had an unexpected walk around Cwmdonkin Park in Swansea. The park is well known for its association with Swansea’s very own poet Dylan Thomas and it has recently had some work carried out in it with a grant from European funds.

It was a good time to be there as this work had been completed and the colours were changing with the season. The sun was shining and if it hadn’t been for the noise pollution of a park worker blowing leaves away with a noisy machine, it would have been perfect. The noise (which eventually stopped) did not stop me getting a number of photos on my iPhone and I will be posting these here through the week.

This weeks featured StillWalks video can be viewed at the bottom of this post and last week’s video will revert to the sample version.

Cwmdonkin Park, Swansea-1

Cwmdonkin Park, Swansea-2

Cwmdonkin Park, Swansea-3

Cwmdonkin Park, Swansea-4

Cwmdonkin Park, Swansea-5

Cwmdonkin Park, Swansea-6

You can use the new Donate button below to help StillWalks. Pay how much you want and receive a high quality download of this week’s featured StillWalks video – “Autumn Lakeside Walk” from Gnoll Park, Neath, South Wales. Click the image below to watch the video.

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