I managed to get a short walk out at lunchtime on Friday – down to our local marshes. I hadn’t been there for a little while and was reminded of the StillWalks I have produced such as the Old Churchyard Walk (on the Summer Walks page). Despite the sound of traffic in the background, it still one of my favourite local walks.
This week I am going to focus on some of the images from that video but start with the couple of shots I took on my iPhone yesterday.
Loughor River
The sounds in my StillWalks are at least as important as the images. I particularly like the creaking movement of the raised boardwalk in “Winter Lakeside Walk”.
Here is a short clip (1 min) from the sound files for this walk plus the spectral display image and the boardwalk itself.
I will include the video itself in the blog at the end of the week but you can see it on the Winter Walks page of the website now if you would like to. If your internet connection is not very fast, you may have to wait for the video to buffer in order for it not to stutter – or you could always buy the download. See the Sales page for prices and instructions.
boardwalk sound clip spectral display
Boardwalk
Llyn Llech Owain
This new StillWalk in Winter from Llyn Llech Owain, “Winter lakeside Walk” is one where I caught the early birds and the sunrise – not difficult when the days are so short.
I uploaded the walk just a week ago and it is one I really enjoy. I am going to put some photos from it on my blog through this week and would love it if people took a look at the video itself. Just click the link above or either of the images to go straight to StillWalks Winter Walks.
The StillWalks videos are free to view on a small scale but if anyone is interested in seeing any of them in full scale high definition, just contact me – the prices are on the website.
Sunrise
Across the Water
The light was going by the time I took this shot – the days seem so short at this time of year.
Hanging Around
See previous posts this week for more from this short series. – just click the post title or the blog link below.
This week I have some sample shots to show from my production day at Lliw Valley Lower Reservoir. A new StillWalk will eventually be published and I look forward to giving you the sound as well as the images.
I really enjoyed doing the work but was thoroughly exhausted by the end.
Number 1
Freezing Again
Potential StillWalk – the other day I took a walk down a footpath I hadn’t been to for a number of years, pre-StillWalks times. Looking with “new” eyes and listening with “new” ears was fascinating.
The sound of water – There can sometimes be a recording issue with the sounds of an environment that includes running water, i.e. a stream or river. The sounds of the flowing water can so easily drown out other sounds of the environment such as birds, and can become wearing if it is permanent.
However, the small Camffrwd River that the footpath follows did not present this problem. The sounds of the river ebbed and flowed in volume with the arrangement of rocks on its bed. The photos below are accompanied by some sound clips recorded on my iPhone, as were the photos.
Recording 2 stream A short clip of the general sounds of the river.
Recording 4 birds ftstps stream The birds make their presence obvious as the sound of water is less dominant and the flow sounds change as I walk along the path.
Recording 5 walking stream This is a longer clip (2:15) which demonstrates very well the changing sound environment as I move along the path and river.
Recording 6 stream tumbling water
Unique sounds – All the sound clips and photos prove the need, in producing a StillWalk, to carry out the sound recording at the same time as the photography. The sounds on any day, at any time of day, at any time of year, will always be specific to conditions at the time . . . makes me think of the chaos theory and the interconnectedness of things! Chaos by James Gleick is a fascinating and very accessible book on this subject.
At last! Finally there is a Welcome to StillWalks video on this website. So if you would like to know a little more about StillWalks and see some production images, please click the link above and explore the site.
Other pages on the website such as the About page and What Are StillWalks will give you the Story of StillWalks as well as information on me with links to some of my other work as an artist.
I’m thinking of making this a new category!
I think all residents of Wales finally give up waiting (either for the first or the umpteenth time) and decide to kit up and get out in spite of the rain.
Today was, unbelievably, dry and even sunny at times – but we had other things to do than go for a walk. However, yesterday was wet and we needed to get out of the house. So off we went to Lower Lliw Reservoir and in spite of the rain, had a really nice walk. It even dried up slightly towards the end as proved by these photos from my iPhone again.
