The Sound of Snow – “Forest Walk – Winter”

Posted on 18/09/201318/09/2013 by Alastair

This last post on my StillWalks video from a previous winter features a sound that we don’t often hear in the part of South Wales where I live. The sound of footsteps in deep, dry snow is quite different to that which is made by footsteps in wet snow which is slightly more common here.

I cannot vouch for the accuracy of that old adage about the Inuits having fifty words for snow but I do know that whatever the state of the snow under your feet, the sound your footsteps make in it will be different, and I suspect this range extends at least as far as fifty!

Click the image below to play the video.

from “Forest Walk – Winter” – Coming Out of the Woods

Posted on 17/09/201317/09/2013 by Alastair

from “Forest Walk – Winter”

Posted on 16/09/201316/09/2013 by Alastair

More images from the StillWalks video “Forest Walk – Winter” which is from the forest at Fforest, carmarthenshire, South Wales.

Seasonal Shift

Posted on 15/09/201315/09/2013 by Alastair

I know I am skipping a season by posting these photos now, but they are from a completed StillWalk of the same forest in Fforest, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is a prompt to myself to produce a new video of the same place this Autumn.

Unlike the Fforest walk I am producing from recordings and photography on my iPhone (see this past week’s posts), “Forest Walk – Winter” is a StillWalks video properly produced albeit with my Edirol RO9 recorder rather than the Fostex FR-2LE and the RODE NTG3 Shotgun mic I normally use these days.

Phone Photography From Fforest

Posted on 09/09/201309/09/2013 by Alastair

Fforest – for those of you unfamiliar with the Welsh language, the name of the place, Fforest, is only pronounced with an “F” sound rather than a “V” because there are two “F”s in the spelling. There seems more logic to this than spelling phone or photography with a “ph” but then that’s the English language for you!

I have picked out these two scenic views from the area I live because I intend them to take their places at the beginning and end of the StillWalks video I am working on using only my phone. The field recording that will be used was done on my phone as well.

I know that I cannot expect to achieve the same quality as with my DSLR cameras and lenses or the sound kit I normally use, but considering so much web content is viewed on mobile devices these days, I thought it would be worth testing this mobile kit in the context of StillWalks production and make a comparison. So I will be reporting back on this project with my conclusions.

The photos below are the HDR versions from my iPhone 4S. They have also had some adjustments made in Adobe Lightroom.

Is This The Last Day of Summer?

Posted on 30/08/201330/08/2013 by Alastair

A couple of days ago we went to meet some friends for a picnic on Broughton Beach at the end of the Gower Peninsula. The weather was not as good as it had been but good enough for us to brave the odd mini shower.

One of the nicest things about a large beach is that it never seems crowded however many people are there, but in fact there were not many people around on that day, so we almost had the whole place to ourselves.

I love the space in places like this and if there is a bit of wind as well, that just adds to it!

The panorama shot below was taken on my iPhone and worked out pretty well. The video clips were also done on my phone and prove at least two things. First, there were children there obviously enjoying themselves. Second, the lack of sound on the other clip is because the phone mic didn’t like the wind, so I just took it out altogether. I love the patterns in the water though I miss the audio.

Click the image to view larger.

Broughton Bay, Gower

Fungi Challenge

Posted on 29/08/201329/08/2013 by Alastair

Walking in the woods the other day revealed a range of fungi, but I am no expert in the identification of the various species. Can anyone name all these fungi?

All photos taken on my iPhone 4S.

Signs, scenery and a pony in the woods

Posted on 22/08/201322/08/2013 by Alastair

This was the view I had from Three Crosses Community Centre whilst waiting for the rest of the dragonfly hunting group I was with last week. It was very pleasant sitting in the sun with a light breeze to cool me.

Looking across the Gower Peninsula, it struck me that there were a lot of signposts. However, they did not spoil the view but rather created an interesting mix of patterns and structures through which I could see the natural beauty of the landscape.

We accept or learn to accept a lot of things in our need for order in society and the power we want to run our lives – like the millions of electricity pylons and increasing number of wind mills, sky scraper skylines and network of roads to name but a few of the interruptions to our views. We want what they bring and they do not necessarily spoil the view – it is more a matter of how you think about them.

Having said that, there should be balance in everything and we cannot afford to lose much more of our natural habitat – after all, the horses need their shade!