I said the other day that my posts will have a watery theme for a while following my visit to Aberglaslyn Gorge in North Wales.
I love being near water, the sounds and smells and the sights combine to please my senses and capturing some of the essence of that in a photo is a challenge I like to take on. I love the sense of movement and I love the wonderful colours.
Fast moving water frozen in a photograph can produce a great abstract image like the one below...
You can see from this picture how cold it was by looking at the sides of the crevice cut out by the falls, which are coated with ice.
I have used a long exposure here to freeze the motion and to give a sense of the force of the water pouring over the rocks.
The other day I shared a couple of shots of a bracken heart which I think looked quite lovely. Today I have selected another shot of some bracken coming into life but from a side on perspective.
I just love the way this plant develops from tight little green balls, coiled up, covered in fine tendrils, slowly unfurling one stage at a time until it produces lush green fronds giving ground cover and a haven for birds, insects and small mammals. Even from a static image I think there is a real sense of movement or at least potential to spring into motion at any moment.
I like the lighting in this shot too, moments before I had tried to capture an image but a cloud had passed in front of the sun and so the fern was in shadow but as the sun appeared from behind the cloud so this lovely curl became illuminated giving light, and depth to the image.
Here's another of my abstract ripples and reflections pictures.
I love the light, depth and motion in this image.
I am loving these images and hope you are too.
This rush of water is just below the Trowbridge Falls in Centennial Park just outside of Thunder Bay.
I shot these pictures on a cold Sunday afternoon. The previous day we had all hiked up the Giant and while everyone else stayed at home relaxing I went out to explore the park on my own. I had gone mainly to look for fungi and I wasn't disappointed but before I got into the forest I had to cross the river and so I took a few minutes to enjoy the rushing water. It was cold and slippery on the rocks but there is always something satisfying being near water so it was worth the effort and the risk of getting wet.
I have made a slight adjustment to the exposure in each of these images and applied a high contrast to bring out the energy of the rapids. I like the first black and white image best, I think that in landscape mode you get a better sense of movement and depth compared to the portrait orientation of the second shot which cuts the motion short.
A short while ago I was able to visit Martin Mere courtesy of a friend in order to see some of the first geese arriving to winter here. There were large numbers of Canada Geese, Pink Footed Geese and these wonderful Greylag Geese. I love the way they fly together each one playing its part in the formation to support the others. I also love the shapes of the birds in the air and the sense of motion.
As autumn progresses there will be lots more birds arriving and so I will have to go back and spend some more time there.
Today's picture is taken in the shadow of Mount McKay looking out across Squaw Bay towards Pie Island. Beyond the island is the border with the USA.
This land is part of the Fort William First Nation Reservation.
As you can see it was overcast on this particular day and there were a few spots of rain. The clouds were really low and the tops of the hills were enveloped in mist. I used a slow shutter speed to soften the motion in the water and I chose to take this shot in black and white because I felt it would add a little more atmosphere. I really like this picture and hope you do too.
Obviously the title for today's post relates to just the first picture. Later this year I will be going to Canada and for some of the time will be camping with friends in Sleeping Giant National Park. Last weekend I discovered that North Wales has it's own Sleeping Giant as can be seen in the first shot which is of the tip of Anglesey as seen from the beach at Gyrn Goch.
The next three pictures are focused on a group of three rocks but from slightly different viewpoints. I like the sheen on the rocks, I like the motion in the water and the soft colours in the sky. These pictures were taken just after the sun had finally dipped below the horizon giving a pinky glow.
This sequence of four shots shows one of the surfers at Runswick Bay building up to and executing a flip. I could see that he was building up to something so I was really pleased when he pulled it off and I managed to capture the move.
At this point in the day the tide had started to come in and there were pretty big waves and a big swell further out to sea and you can see other surfers waiting for the next big one in the background. It's funny how from the beach the sea looks fairly flat but when you watch these guys disappearing behind the waves you realise just how much motion there is.
I like pictures three and four as he completes the move. This guy had a camera mounted to the side of his head (unlike the mouth held go pro from the pictures the other day), I would be interested to see how the move looked from his point of view.
After a week of pictures from Preston's Avenham Park I have moved on to a different part of the country today. With the promise of dry and mild weather conditions I headed up to the Lake District. Of course it being the Lake District the weather forecast didn't really count for anything and when I arrived at my first planned destination at Glen Mary Bridge between Skelwith Bridge and Coniston it was absolutely heaving down. After a short delay I decided to head out anyway and I walked up to Tarn Hows via Tom Gill which is a series of waterfalls from Tarn Hows down to Yew Tree Beck.
It was a fantastic walk up the path alongside the beck and I took my time getting a number of shots, so over the next few days I will be posting several more which I hope you will enjoy.
