A New Dawn

Posted on 23/07/201323/07/2013 by Alastair

I am going to ask you a favour but first, for the sake of the title of this post I am including an image of the dawn I watched on Saturday morning at the start of a StillWalks production day – I might even call the finished video “Dawn Walk”.

The favour? Please buy a StillWalk video. It will only cost you a couple of pounds / dollars / Euros and I need to test the system and get some feedback.

I have changed all the StillWalks on this website to low resolution, sample length videos and added a “Buy now” facility to enable purchase of the full length, high definition versions. Visit the Walks pages and follow the simple instructions to buy now.

Why do it like this? Last year I had an unpleasant and very costly experience with the original StillWalks automated shop facility. This way, I have complete control of it – at least until I have arranged for a new automated shop, which will only happen if I sell some videos in the first place.

Other things have changed on the website too. Please take a look around and see what you think. The design is the same but some of the content has changed.

Thanks very much for stopping by and I hope you enjoy what you see (and hear).

Crossing the Bridges

Posted on 21/07/201321/07/2013 by Alastair

Yesterday I went through gates, today I am crossing bridges.

Foot bridges can serve a similar role to gates in a StillWalk. Useful as way markers both visually and aurally, the design, materials, condition, sounds – all play a part in identifying a stage in the walk.

Here are two of the foot bridges I encountered on my recce walk of the River Morlais and Troserch woodland with a view to producing a new Summer time StillWalk.

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.

World Listening Day

Posted on 18/07/201318/07/2013 by Alastair

I posted these sounds to all my other social media platforms this morning but held back until now to post it here.

The sounds were recorded during my recce walk for a new StillWalk video along a stretch of recently discovered river and woodland near where I live.

The video will obviously not include the Lancaster Bomber as it won’t be around when I do the actual production walk but it was good to hear on its way home from the annual air show at Swansea.

Click here or above to listen.

Over the Hills and Quite Close By – Felindre and Lliw Valley

Posted on 16/07/201316/07/2013 by Alastair

Following the recent StillWalks project exhibition, “Sights and Sounds of the Countryside”, I was delivering some the display screens back to Felindre Primary School who had generously loaned them for the purpose.

Being a beautiful, sunny day and quite different to the weather we had on the project production days, I was tempted to walk some way along the footpath we had taken up to Lliw Reservoir. It is a part of the Gower Way and the photo below shows the start of the walk.

I would love, over time, to produce more StillWalks along here and at Lliw Reservoirs in different seasons. All I have to do is find the time or someone to pay for it!

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

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

End of a French Evening Walk

Posted on 11/07/201311/07/2013 by Alastair

My French evening walk took me so far along the road to St Christophe and then I did an about turn and headed back to Faye la Vineuse the way I had come.

It was getting quite late by this time and the light was going fast but what an evening! And the sounds I recorded . . . you will just have to wait for me to complete the StillWalk.