Still Waters

The cascade in Highfields has been off limits for some time now. But I was pleased to see that the gates are open again, and you can once again walk across the stepping stones to see the lovely waterfall. T's a real attraction to the park.

So I've done exactly that, and setting a slow shutter speed, I've captured the water tumbling down the rocks, as though it's frozen in time.

Poise

Something from the archive today, in the form of this model who was posing for a photographer (not me) at the 1940s weekend at the Brewhouse Yard near the castle in May.

High And Dry

It's not everyday that you come across a life saving ring in the middle of the countryside. But this one is  at the farmed at Beauvale Priory.

Maybe it is used for something different other than saving people from drowning. There is a lake on the farm which I think has fish in it. But it's quite a distance away, so hopefully it may never be needed.

Review Of The Year - January & February

The countdown to Christmas is well and truly underway, so I thought it would be a good time to reflect on the past year through some photographs taken on the Olympus OMD, which I now use as my main camera.

January saw some bad weather in snow, fog and just generally very cold.  So here's the bell tower of the Council House shrouded in mist. Not quite the pea soupers of the 1940s & 50s, but still quite bad.

February was a lot better, and it also heralded my 50th birthday & 7th wedding anniversary. For a treat, Gail and I went to Portmeirion in North Wales for a weekend break. It was lovely and sunny, but sadly not warm enough to leave our coats off.

The remains of this child's bike was situated on the beach at Criccieth. I like the various textures of the rocks, the sand and the rust on the bike, all brought to life through the dramatic tone filter.

Leaf It Alone

The layers of dead leaves are certainly building up along the walls of the castle, as the road sweepers don't seem to be clearing them as often as they used to.

Maybe it's down to the cuts, as road-sweeping isn't as high on the council's spending plans as it once was, as the money is used for more urgent things like education and Social Services.

In a way, I prefer the leaves to be there, as it makes my photo more photogenic, rather than just seeing grass at the bottom of the picture. What do you think?

Water Feature

I've not cycled through Highfields for about a week, so I was amazed and highly delighted to see that the cascade had been reinstated after so long.

The whole area had become neglected. Even the pool where the waterfall is had no water in it, although there is a great big boating lake adjoining it.

It was great to see it in action again. So I laid my OMD on one of the stepping stones and turned the shutter speed down slow, so the water looks frozen.

Hopefully it will remain switched on for a long long time so users of the park can enjoy its serenity.

A Touch Of Summer

The start of another week, and a cold, dull one at that. I don't know what it is with the poor weather at the moment, but it just seems to be going on for ever.

So I've haven't really got any new shots to show you. I certainly didn't take anything today. So here's a photograph that I took at Portmeirion, late last month.

I love the muted colours of this building, which incidentally was Number Two's house in the Prisoner, but in real life is an art gallery. Although closed when we were there.

Looking at this picture, you would think that you were in southern Europe, rather than north west Wales.

Seaside Ride

Whilst staying at Portmeirion, we took a little trip to Porthmadog, and ended up at the little seaside town of Criccieth.

We saw a castle on a hill, but drove round trying to find out how to get to it. We couldn't work it out, so parked opposite the lifeboat station and had a stroll on the very stoney beach, and took some photos from there.

While wandering about I came across this very rusty and decomposing child's bike. A great subject for a photograph I said to Gail. Something that Derek Jarman collected at Dungeness. So I took several, at various different angles. But I like this one the best.

Also on the beach were three girls. Probably friends, rather than sisters. They all wished me a 'Happy Birthday' as I was wearing a very large "I am 50" badge, which Gail gave me at breakfast. They were very cold, as they didn't seem to be dressed very well for the cold & windy weather.

We chatted to them for a while, and Gail took some photos of them jumping off some old rowing boats. We then watched them stroll off onto the pier for some very strong sea breezes.

It's Snow Time

Well we had a little dusting of snow last night, so work up to more whiteness, as it had settled on the compacted snow from the last couple of days.

So here's a couple more photos taken today. Above is the castle. I'm not sure if it the front, back or one of the sides, as the building has no clear demarcation of what side is what. But this is the side that has the cafe in it and the main viewing area towards the west of the city.

Below is a bit of the canal towpath, not far from the Broad Marsh shopping centre. It runs parallel to the road above, although more in line with the castle itself.