This photo reminds me that StillWalks is going to be at the Tree Festival in the Botanic Garden of Wales this weekend, but actually . . .
The park at Richelieu
. . . it’s from a small selection of images about ceilings (!) I arranged from a recent trip to France. Here a couple more of the natural ones and a sound clip to prove my mother wrong about there being no sounds at night !?!
French Evening Sky
Evening Sky over Faye la Vineuse
And here are the real (if not natural) ceilings from the Chateau d’Oiron, an amazing place full of contemporary art and crazy ceilings. These pics were taken on my iPhone.
Sunshine and rain– We’ve been away to foreign parts recently – well, France! More importantly, we managed to avoid much of the torrential rain in Britain during that period. Unbelievably, we arrived home to Britain and Wales to dry, sunny, hot weather – amazing 🙂 Here’s a lovely sunset from the other night to prove it.
Sunset Over the Marshes
Eerie Sounds – There were some strange sounds coming from the marshes and so I went to investigate . . .
Adverse Weather Conditions led a scheduled day of equestrian photography to be cancelled at short notice. I didn’t check the website for updates before hand and so ended up down at the show field anyway. The day was dry but the previous week had been very wet. So I took the opportunity to go for a walk along a section of the River Tawe and quickly found myself under a bridge!
Under Bridges – My interest and curiosity about the underside of bridges goes back a long way now. About 14 years ago I was taking photographs of the underside of the second Severn crossing, a striking suspension bridge of the Severn Estuary between Wales and England. It was all part of my research towards designing and weaving a major tapestry commissioned for Caldicot Library in Monmouthshire.
Secret Places – Since then, I have looked at the underside of many other bridges and find them to be quite secret places, even when they are busy with people, it is the side away from public view.
Last Sunday was a beautiful day here in South Wales which encouraged me to take a walk up Graig Fawr. The views over the surrounding countryside are uplifting . . . when the sun is out. Looking west you can see over to Carmarthenshire and looking south the view takes in the Loughor Estuary and the Gower Peninsula.
The wind was blowing and the Skylarks were singing and I needed to get to the top. Here are a few of the photos I took and also a sound clip of those Larks in the wind.
View from the Top
View from the Top 1Loughor Estuary and the Gower
Foxgloves and the Gower
You can hear those Skylarks in the wind here or you can play the clip below if you are already on the blog.
I have been travelling about Wales recently – not too far from home but thoroughly enjoyable. The trips I have had to schools as the Josef Herman Foundation Award Artist for 2012, have taken me over the Beacons to Brecon as well as to Ystradgynlais and back over the hills to home where the Spring / Summer sounds of a Blackbird in Coedbach Park are a welcome end to the day. You’ll need to visit the blog to listen to the Blackbird.
Screening and Exhibition – there will be a celebratory screening and exhibition in the Autumn of the work produced by the children. The children are doing a great job, so watch here later in the year to see examples of their videos and other work.
Last week’s production day on Ryer’s Down on the Gower in South Wales was a challenge. The weather suggests that the StillWalk to be produced will be “A Misty Gower Walk”. Fortunately, rain covers were not needed for the cameras but I was glad to have the waterproof case for the recorder.
I had all the sound and photography kit with me and alternated between them throughout the walk. This still meant that, for a relatively short walk, I was out recording and taking photos for 6.5 hours.
All this plus a small collapsible stool (essential piece of kit), food, water, spare batteries, filters, etc. all in a great Lowepro kit bag, meant I was pretty weighed down. The trick is to be patient, take your time and not try to fit too much into the day. The recce walks are essential to ensure this can be achieved.
The mist never lifted as I had hoped it would, and the day was not as peaceful as on the previous recce visit when the Skylarks sang for us and traffic was non existent. Instead, normal farm life was ever present with the sound of tractors and other farm equipment in the distance. The Larks, however, sang through it all and their sound was as beautiful as ever.
Virtual Walks – I hope, with StillWalks, to provide realistic virtual walks. We don’t always want to wait until a beautiful Spring day to go for a walk and sometimes the sights and sounds around us are not what we would wish. However, these things don’t stop us, and wherever or whenever we decide to go for a walk, there are always a multitude of fascinating things to see and hear. Producing StillWalks helps me to recognize and focus on these things and enjoy the surroundings wherever I may be. I hope that they do this for you as well.
Technical Problems – During the Ryer’s Down production day I came up with a problem on the Fostex recorder and had to temporarily revert to the Edirol. I can only guess that the problem was electrical interference of some sort. The problem is illustrated in the sound clip and image below. I tried switching my phone to airplane mode and then off altogether but to no avail. I checked all my settings in case I had inadvertently knocked something but found everything as it should be.
interference1
Fortunately, I was able to use the Edirol instead – it’s not as good but very useful as a back up recorder. The problem, however, was temporary as, when I tried the Fostex again about 15 minutes later and another 100 yards further on, there was no problem at all and I was able to continue using it for the rest of the day.
Spectral Display – When viewing the sound files afterwards I find the spectral display a valuable element in Adobe Audition when it comes to identifying various aspects of the sounds I record. The image above shows the pattern created by the sound of what I guessed was electrical interference – the bright, gentle curve of the sound at the higher frequency is inaudible to the human ear but the broader curve downwards into the lower frequencies and then up again is easily seen and heard.
Skylark Song – The image below shows the pattern revealed through spectral display in Audition by a Skylark – and, of course, you must listen to the 10 second clip to which the image relates – enjoy 🙂
Ryers Down Lark Spectral Display
More to come in the future about both the production and post-production element of StillWalks.
I guess I’m a bit behind with this but, gradually, I am getting better organised with things and will be trying to put up more regular blog entries as well as a Facebook page and more.
The news is that there are now links to the locations for some of the StillWalks. The full length walks (5 – 7 minutes each) have all got location links for anyone who is interested and these will take you to a Google map. In time, all of the StillWalks on the website will be full length and linked to the full HD versions on Youtube with smaller files available in a separate browser window for those not allowed to access Youtube – such as schools.
More new StillWalks are on their way but the weather here in Wales, lately, has not been what you would call scorching hot! Also to come is a more detailed description of what is involved in putting the StillWalks together – they’re not just a bunch of photos thrown together as a slide show you know!
