Feathered Friends – Lakeside Residents

Posted on 05/01/201605/01/2016 by Alastair

Walking round this suburban lake during the winter months can be very entertaining for many reasons. The main performers providing the entertainment are of course our feathered friends, the local avian residents. The variety of birds here may be common but are of no less interest for that.

Judging by the shot below it seems that size is relevant, with the small gulls waiting patiently and hopefully for a share of the fare on offer.

The entertainment is not only in the shape, colour and behaviour of the birds – it also comes in the form of sound. Listen to the sound clip below for a taste of the calls and conversations in the bird community at the lakeside.

Suburban Lakeside Birds

If viewing this in an email, to see the sound player you will need to visit the blog – please click the post title to view the full post.

My Walk this Week 15 – Suburban Lakeside

Posted on 04/01/201604/01/2016 by Alastair

My walk this week is another from my archive of StillWalks® videos. I have chosen it because (writing in advance) this is where I will be during the transition to 2016 and I will certainly be taking at least one walk around this lake at that time.

Blue sky and crisp coldness – if there is no snow or ice to denote the season, the bare trees at least should prove the time of year. These photos are clearly from a less damp winter than we have experienced in Britain this year, even allowing for the fact that the north east is drier than the south west.

One Last Tree and Reviewing the Week 51

Posted on 03/01/201603/01/2016 by Alastair

My walk this week may have been from a different year but that winter was almost as mild as this one has been. Had these photos been taken in 2015/16, there would probably have been more rain than mist but hopefully that would not have stopped me doing the walk. I am, however, looking forward to some drier walks in the coming year!

Try listening to this soundscape of the walk while viewing the images in sequence – click the play button and then the first thumbnail below.

Misty Walk Soundscape

If viewing this in an email, to see the sound player you will need to visit the blog – please click the post title to view the full post.

Blown in the Wind

Posted on 02/01/201602/01/2016 by Alastair

While many trees, if not all, can show the direction of the prevailing wind, I think these hardy specimens may have more to challenge them than those in places of greater shelter. They make wonderful sculptures and although it’s certainly not the first time I have photographed trees like these, they never loose their interest for me.

Crossing back over the fields to return to the starting point of my walk this week, the mist never really lifted, not properly, and the damp atmosphere continued to hang in the air but without the wind suggested by the trees.

Back to the Top Again – Happy New Year

Posted on 01/01/201601/01/2016 by Alastair

The mist is still there as I climb back up the bracken covered side of Ryer’s Down on the Gower Peninsula. It could be said that yesterday’s magical atmosphere in the woods has come with me into the new year – mist can certainly have a mystical effect on things (sorry about the pun).

The landscape can look very different depending on the conditions. Trying always to look at things with a fresh eye helps me see what is there and appreciate the subtle differences.

Happy New Year to everyone.

My Walk this Week 10 – Maritime Observations

Posted on 30/11/201530/11/2015 by Alastair

It seems I am observing the observers at the start of this walk around the marina in Swansea. My walk this week spans both daytime and evening and a couple of the shots I am using I have previously posted on Instagram.

It looks like bath time for sea gulls is the order of the day for this sunny afternoon amongst the boats. You would think the birds on the floats were lining up to take their turn!

Waves of Grey and Lack of Light

Posted on 28/11/201528/11/2015 by Alastair

The waves breaking on the South Gower coast near Southgate may not be the huge breakers that can be seen on some coastlines around the world, but I wouldn’t fancy falling in there on a day like this!

In writing this post about my walk between Southgate and Three Cliffs Bay on this wild and windy day, I realised that I had made the third image monotone. The strength of colour in our surroundings comes from reflected light and as there is so little light on a day like this, there is consequently very little obvious colour. In reality of course there is colour and even in the sea, if you focus your attention, there is a range of subtle colours to be seen. The trouble is that in weather like this the inclination to stand still and observe intently is rather weak and the sensation instead, is that the day is dark, the wind is wild, the rain is wet and it is time to get back inside, not linger too long on the edge of the cliffs however many colours there may or may not be.

And so I headed back to the Three Cliffs Coffee Shop at Southgate for another cuppa and to calm the wind that had been blasting my brain for the last hour or two.

Blown Away at the Point of Return

Posted on 26/11/201526/11/2015 by Alastair

This was the point the group reached on the Taste of Gower walk at Southgate. Looking over the edge to Three Cliffs Bay, it was disappointing not to go any further but the wind was very wild and this was causing difficulty for some in the group.

Having gone out again on my own afterwards, this was again the point I reached with my cameras and sound kit before deciding to turn back. I may have found the wind exhilarating but the rain which had started to blow in from the sea was less so.

All of the photos taken on this outing are rather grainy and in some cases they were a bit blurred. Considering the weather conditions, even if I had taken my tripod I would not have faired any better – it would simply have been blown away just as I was on one or two occasions!

Below is another short sound clip from my walk. For those of you with an interest in these things, the strength of the wind is evident in this clip recorded with my RODE NTG-3 shotgun mic with a Blimp windshield and dead cat fluffy cover onto a Fostex FR-2LE.

Wild Wind at Southgate 2