Stand Up

 Some people have commented that the pebble stack in my last post resembled a woman in a large skirt cradling a baby/child, which is what I noticed when I first created the stack. Even though it was unintentional it really does look like that and I was really happy with the way it turned out. It would be impossible to recreate it and I like that the image is unique.

I went on to build a second stack which is is probably more simple in that it is a pile of stones balanced with no special feature but within the landscape it looks really effective and the light play through the water in some of the images is quite cool.

I have included one shot of the background too to provide greater context to the overall setting.

It can be fun playing about on the rivers edge, you should try it sometime.

I have questions...

I love being outdoors and every day I try to get out for a walk. Usually that means in my local area and I will walk between 3 to 5 miles. I maintain a brisk pace and if I am on my own I will have my headphones on and listen to music. The scenery doesn't change too much but the weather does and with the changing tides the walk along the sea front the view is always good. I see lots of people along the way, some other regular walkers; old retirees like me, couples, dog walkers, young mums with kids on scooters, bikes or in prams. Many will return my smiles and say hello while others head down are less keen to engage.

Today was no different however as I was walking along I startled by some joggers who approaching from behind ran so close to me that they almost hit my elbow as if oblivious to my presence. This annoyed me the first time it  happened and even more the second time, Why did they lack basic spatial awareness? Am I invisible? and then as I walked on I started to wonder about other things; Why when I offer a cheery "good morning" do some people just look away? Why when I catch someone looking directly at me and I smile do they scowl and pretend they haven't been caught out? why do some people walk along with their phones on speaker and have conversations that everyone else can hear? As I walked on I noticed that I was starting to feel grumpy and I shouldn't let things like this bother me, I will continue to smile and say hello, and I will try to notice things that will lift and inspire me. What I did notice this morning was a beautiful male pied wagtail in breeding plumage strutting "proudly" and "hopefully" in front of a potential mate, and I also spotted the first pair of Swallows that I have seen this season, swooping low over the beach catching flies and I look forward to seeing more as they arrive over the coming weeks.

I also tried to think about what pictures I would share in my blog post today. I wanted something that would promote calm so I decided on the following images of a stone stack I built on the banks of the river Coe in Scotland last weekend. I had been for a really good walk in the morning and before heading off to explore more of the area in the afternoon I spent a few quiet moments on the riverside next to the campsite. My aim when I build these things (as I do occasionally) is not to build really high or elaborate stacks but to create an object that fits within the landscape so I try to use the light and the backgrounds to create a finished image and then when I am done I return the stones to where they came from (if they don't fall down first). I think that with the stack in these pictures, taken from different angles I met my objective. Have a look and let me know what you think...

  

Hen Borth

 

Just one picture today, it is an image I have worked on this afternoon, trying hard to get it right.

I collected these pebbles from the beach at Hen Borth in Anglesey and originally I photographed them in the boot of my car while I was camping nearby on Friday night. I took the original photo using my mobile phone and I thought it looked really cool. I wanted to print it and hang it on  my wall but no matter how I cropped it or tried to resize it I couldn't get it to fit properly. It was so frustrating and after a while I had to give up. 

That's when I decided to recreate the image, this time using my DSLR and framing the stones a little better. I had to clean out the boot of the car from some of the dirt and grass left over from the camping trip and then referring to the original picture on my phone I organised the stones as closely as possible to how they were first time round, I took three shots using different settings and then selected this one. I had to do some spot removal in lightroom to tidy up the image. I then adjusted the shadows and brought out the blue tones to match with the colour theme of the other pictures this will hang with. I am really pleased with the result and I hope you will agree this picture is a real winner and so worth the effort I went through to create it. It is definitely too good not to share!

Pile On!

 Whenever I stop near a river, as I did recently during a walk near Beddgelert in North Wales, I will try to build stacks of river stones and photograph them, before putting them back in the river or on the river bank where I found them.

I try also to take the photo from an angle that lines up with the background although I try to keep the background out of focus, with just enough detail to make the image work. For example in the second image the angle of the stacked stones lines up with the light rock in the background. Sometimes the images work best in colour, especially if I have managed to find stones that match the colours in the background but for todays images I thing black and white look best.

It doesn't always work and it can take several attempts to achieve the image I want. This sometimes means getting wet too as I  find the right position.

While this is a fun activity for me and | like the stacks I don't like to leave them when I am done. For me it is about capturing a moment and then leaving things as I found them and for other people to enjoy the natural landscape. 

Natural Contrasts

I spotted the lone feather in the grass on the cliff tops at Trefor in North Wales, before descending to the beach where I stood for a while listening and watching the waves of the incoming tide.

The feather is so delicate and I love the way each wispy frond is serrated so that they zip together to complete the structure.

I have chosen to share the image of the pebbles as a contrast to the softness of the feather. Not only is there a contrast in the textures but also the colours with the softness of the feather and the rough and hardness of the pebbles

Heart of Stone

As always I am looking out for hearts in nature and this warm coloured pebble on the beach at Milford on Sea caught my eye. The sea spray in the air was a real nuisance in that I had to continually clean my lens but it added a freshness and shine to the pebbles.

Three Views of Balance Two

Following on from yesterday's post here is another pebble balance from the shore at Duluth. Again I have photographed it from different angle so you have the horizon in one, the rocky backdrop in another and the wooded background in another.

From some angles this looks like quite a simple stack but in the first image you can see just how precariously these pebbles are balanced and you can see that it wouldn't take much to set the whole thing tumbling down.

I like the third shot because of the bokeh which looks really cool and I also like the fact that the biggest pebble looks a bit like a tongue poking out(at least it does to me).

Viewed from all sides

After visiting the park in Duluth I headed down to the lake shore to get a view of the lifting bridge which is really cool and I hoped to see it in action. Yes I know that's pretty geeky but then I'm a geek so what would you expect.

Anyway it was a rocky beach so I built a few pebble stacks and for today I am sharing four different views of the same stack partly to show how carefully it is balanced and partly to show how it looked against different backgrounds. One obviously has the green of the wooded shoreline and the last two have a mixed background. The first one has a view of the bridge which I think frames the stack nicely.

More Than A Pile Of Rocks

The last of my stacking photos, two different views of one and a third which is a combined stack and balance.

I recently read an article complaining about stone stacking and arguing that photographers should leave no trace and while I agree that in some locations it may have got out of hand and in sensitive locations it may be irresponsible and damaging to the ecology however on a rocky beach I don't see that it does any harm and they won't stand for long before returning to the natural chaos of the beach.

I really like the form of the first stack, it has a birdlike quality and it looks good looking right or left.

The final stack/balance was the most challenging even though it is not very tall, the challenge being to get the two uprights to remain upright and balance the top two stones. It was a relief to have it remain standing.

Heart Of Stone

I received some unwelcome news today which has left me feeling flat and out of sorts. I know that other people have been having a tough time recently too and so I thought I would post this picture of one of nature's hearts to send out some love to everyone who needs it.

All Stacked Up

I should have had hundreds of photos from the past five days but sadly I had to cancel my holiday and all of the photo opportunities with it. So today I popped out for an hour and went down to the beach at Caldy looking out onto the Dee Estuary.

My youngest son joined me and together we built a number of stacks using pebbles from the beach. We started off quite simple and gradually got a little more adventurous. The first image is my first stack which I have lined up against the rotting stumps in the background, the second is my son's first which I think is really cool; sadly it was knocked down (twice) by inquisitive dogs

Bridging the Years

So the culmination of our stacking efforts last weekend was this stone arch. It took a couple of attempts to get it right and the construction was a real team effort but it was the first time we had tried to build an arch so I was very pleased with the result.

I have taken pictures from slightly different angles and from both sides to try and get the best image. In the final picture you can see the tree from yesterdays shots reaching across the river with the two small stacks balanced on it. I have deliberately used the depth of field to keep the background just out of focus so that the eye is drawn to the arch in the foreground.

I really like all of today's pictures; I would be hard pressed to pick a favourite. All of them are good reminders of a great day out with my kids, moments to treasure.

Sticks and Stones

Walking along the river bank we found a large fallen tree that stretched out into the river and I had the idea to balance a small stack of pebbles on the trunk. 

To begin with I took an easy option and built it close to the edge as you can see in the first of today's pictures. Taken from a different angle it actually looks like quite a stable and really easy stack but from this angle you can see just how precariously the stones are perched and I have tried to get them angled to reflect the line of the tree as it stretches out behind.

For the next two pictures I wanted to do something a bit different and so I framed the small stacks with the ferns and built them against a darker background with the moss and the spaces between the rocks, I think it works quite well.

So far these have been fairly simple stacks and so we decided to ramp up the pressure and so I suggested building a stack on the end of the tree. This involved standing on some fairly slippery rocks out in the river and it was eldest son as you can see who drew the short straw (to be fair he volunteered). He had to catch each stone one handed as I threw them from the river bank as he held onto the tree and then he carefully balanced them one by one.

You can see the sliver of daylight beneath the bottom stone and in the final image you can see just how finely balanced they are.  I am really pleased with our day's work and the pictures that resulted from it.

After this we took things a bit further and for that you will have to come back tomorrow, I promise it will be worth it...

Standing Tall

So here are a few more pictures of the pebble stacks that I built with my boys down in Betws y Coed last weekend. Each one got slightly taller than the last, or if not taller it had more stones.  The final one in today's selection was 13 stones (14 if you count the boulder it was built on) You might think that with flat pebbles it would be quite easy to get them balanced but it is not and try as I might I couldn't get an extra stone on the last stack.

I have a few more cool shots to share over the next few days so if you like these come back tomorrow...

Rock and River

I suffered to get these pictures, I have so many bites from the midges, on my arms, legs and face and a nice big bruise on my arm from when I slipped on the rock but regardless of all that I had loads of fun down by the river building these stacks and finding the best angle to photograph them.

These shots were taken on the banks of Afon Llugwy just below the Miners Bridge at Betws y Coed in North Wales. It is a great place to visit, a nice easy walk and some lovely scenery. I love the sound of the river just below the waterfalls and I love the shapes, colours and textures of the pebbles. 

I have some more pictures to share over the coming days and hope you will come back to have a look.

Creating Rainbows

Having been walking and taking pictures for several hours I decided to take a few moments to sit on the shore of a small inlet of Llyn Llydaw. I started tossing pebbles into the water as I find this a really satisfying thing to do. I like to watch the stone arc through the air and then hit the water with a reassuring "ploosh!" and then I like to see the water splash creating all manner of shapes and patterns.

After a couple of minutes the stones and the resulting splashes got bigger and I decided to try and capture some pictures. I recalled how at this time last year I was stood on the shore of Attersee in Austria with my son doing exactly the same thing and taking pictures of the splash while my son threw the rocks, so I decided to try and take pictures but this time throwing the stones myself. It was a little tricky but I found I was better able to predict where the stones would hit the surface when I was doing the throwing.

In the first image I like the colours of the rainbow as the sunlight captures the water droplets as they rise through the air.

I really like the second image which is cropped to show some of the detail of the water droplets, I love the way they change shape as they wobble through the air, in a matter of seconds they are gone so capturing them reveals the beauty of the moment.

In the third picture there is so much going on with the ring of water expanding from the hollow at point of impact as well as the fountain rising up from the centre and the rain of droplets thrown out from this central column.

Pebbles

A couple more shots from the beach at Runswick Bay. They're just simple images of pebbles and sea coal glistening in the morning sun, and footprints in the sand. As you can see in the second image the sand is mixed with fine grains of coal