Walking Through the Gates

Posted on 20/07/201320/07/2013 by Alastair

A recce walk through recently discovered woodland revealed a number of elements that can be very useful in the production of a StillWalk.

Gates, both the images and the sounds can, in the sequence of a StillWalk, provide a visual and aural way marker and in doing so, give a sense of progression. If the gates are of different design or in different states of repair, this too can be recognised as a way marker if the walk is circular, sending a message to the viewer that they are on the return journey.

There were several gates along the River Morlais leading into Troserch Woods. All were either of different design, at different angles, more or less rusted . . .

The sounds of the gates are also unique, though this is as much because of the surrounding conditions as the type of gate – here is an example from StillWalks on SoundCloud.

Pylons in the Hills

Posted on 19/07/201319/07/2013 by Alastair

Coming down from the hills at the end of the day and heading into the sunlight can provide some remarkable views of the landscape – dependant, of course, on the weather conditions and time of year.

The end of my journey home from Felindre brought me down from the hills towards Pontarddulais in South Wales where there is a vast network of metal giants criss-crossing the land as part of the National Grid.

Electricity pylons seen against the light and the land need not be a blot, but rather a fascinating part of the composition, creating patterns and networks of lines that may not be natural, but are something we are happy to live with in order to have the power we need for modern life.

These and more photos can be seen and purchased at StillWalks PhotoShelter.

Pylons

Abertawe Walk

Posted on 12/07/201312/07/2013 by Alastair

A few weeks ago I started writing a short blog style article for the online version of our local newspaper, the South Wales Evening Post. The articles are about some of the walks I take in the Swansea area and many of them are a little off the beaten track.

My contribution to the paper today (read here) features the River Tawe at Ynystawe but here, on this blog I want to present another part of the river. The StillWalks, “Abertawe Walk”, takes you along the cycle path between the Liberty Stadium and the bridges at SA1 and the Maritime Quarter in Swansea.

The production for this walk was done in the Autumn and the walk takes you through the woods along side the river as well as the cycle path.

The video can be seen here and the photos below are taken from that production.

from Abertawe Walk – Autumn

from Abertawe Walk

Sundown on the River Loughor

Posted on 28/06/201328/06/2013 by Alastair

I may say this quite often, but it never ceases to amaze me how every time I visit a place, in this case the marshes, it is different.

The other evening when I went down there through the park, I was stunned by the sun setting over the river. Though we often see beautiful sunsets, they never seem to lack impact.

A Very Distinctive Voice

Posted on 27/06/201327/06/2013 by Alastair

This bird has a very distinctive voice but I would need my bird expert, Martin Humphreys, to identify it for me.

I thought I was getting better at bird identification from their songs but it seems there doesn’t need to be much of a gap in practice for the knowledge gained to all go out the window.

Bird in Park

Natural and Man-Made from Kilvey Hill, Swansea

Posted on 22/06/201322/06/2013 by Alastair

Kilvey Hill is a large (3 square kilometres) urban woodland in Swansea, South Wales. The hill is surrounded on all sides by housing, industry and businesses and its top is, of course, a perfect site for TV transmitters, mobile phone masts, etc.

It is also a great place for wildlife and plants like bog cotton and blueberries and I understand there are hares to be seen if you are patient enough to wait for them.

There are fantastic views in all directions and here, today, is a taster. I will be putting more up later in the week or you can visit the StillWalks Photography website to view them all now.