Here is my last selection of shots from my riverside walk last weekend.
The first two images are different views of the stack I shared yesterday and the final two are of the largest and most challenging stack which including the base rock is made from 17 stones and I was really pleased that it stayed upright. I was tempted to put another pebble on top but decided to play it safe.
I really like this one, in colour you can see the stones lit up by a chance ray of sunlight that snuck through the clouds and I think the final image has a really moody quality to it.
I like the fact that these look part of the landscape but they have a fragile quality too which is at odds with the solidity of the rocks themselves.
As well as working on the three stacks that you have seen over the last few days we (my son and I) attempted a stone arch. We failed but I think that if we had selected smaller stones and gave ourselves a little more time we would have succeeded.
I wasn't sure where to start talking about today's pictures. Obviously they are different views of a stone stack on the Wolf River just below the falls. I really like the way they look, particularly the ones with the falls in the background. Slightly out of focus the falls makes a really dramatic backdrop.
I love messing about near water and creating something artistic in the landscape. These stacks use ancient materials but they are very transient structures. I wondered why there is something so satisfying about this, and I know I am not alone as I have seen lots of websites or instagram accounts of people who are far more skilled than me. I think it stems from early childhood when among the earliest toys we play with are building blocks and we are taught, encouraged to build towers and balance blocks to see how high they will go and then have fun knocking them down and starting over.
The realisation hit me... yes I do this now because I can see some artistic merit in the resulting photos but really I am just a big kid.
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.
So when you saw the title of today's post did you expect to see a picture of some heroic figure from the world of rock music? If so I am sorry to disappoint.
This shot was taken yesterday on a walk around Brimham Rocks, close to the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in North Yorkshire. It is a large area of moorland managed by the National Trust with numerous impressive rocky outcrops where the elements have combined to wear away at the grit stone leaving behind hundreds of contorted rock formations.
This is perhaps one of the most unusual and spectacular because it appears balanced on a small conical rock at its base and it is known as the Idol. I have no idea how long it has stood here but as erosion continues it is certain that at some point in the future it will fall.
