Nature, Photography, Travel |

November 16, 2014

5 Days in Yellowstone NP, USA

I’m playing catch up a bit at the moment. Back in September I had a trip to the USA, when I managed a few days in Yellowstone NP, Wyoming. I’m not sure what I expected, but the park was different from what I thought it would be. I think I was expecting a bit more of a wilderness experience; with the park being very popular for most of the year there are also a lot of other visitors. I think if I had more time, camping in the backcountry would have probably given me more of what I was expecting to feel. Even with that said it was a great experience to be there. With the park the size it is I decided early on that I couldn’t cover it all, so even though I visited all parts of the park, my main focus would be on Hayden valley as it was closest to my accommodation. Bison were the main interest in the valley, but the weather conditions brought mist, frost, fog, hail, rain, thunder and lightning, all producing an opportunity to produce a wide variation of images in the few days I had.

What surprised me the most was that most of the park is densely forested. Without having sign posts to some of the attractions and others being close to the road, you would never see them or know that they existed. The classical view of Yellowstone on TV is of the more open areas near Old Faithful, Hayden and Lamar Valleys. They give a much wider view and tend to be the focus for most of the wildlife activity. It is happening in the rest of the park, but you just can’t see it through the trees!

I was out before dawn to record the sound of bugling male Elk, when the scene above revealed itself. Although I could hear the Elk regularly, I only managed a brief glimpse of three females while driving to Lamar Valley. It seems in the rutting season, the Elk tend to travel to higher ground, so I never managed to see a male actually bugling.

Nature, Personal, Photography, Travel |

July 30, 2014

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Skokholm Island, Pembrokeshire – my annual retreat

Skokholm Island is my ultimate playground; I get to indulge my love of the natural world – expressing myself through photography, video and sound. Being away on an island, isolated from the real world with limited communication links to the daily life and basic but comfortable accommodation, allows me to rest and recuperate with no particular focus or plan in mind.

I have been visiting the island since 2001, every year, except for when the island accommodation was shut, and I find that it still feeds my soul, even though it has become so familiar to me. Every year the same birds breed in roughly the same place, the rabbits are ever present, plus the carcasses of predated Manx Shearwaters litter the ground as usual but even with all this familiarity, it still draws me back.

This familiarity helps me with come up with ideas to try out at each visit and with the feeling that I can always visit again next year, there doesn’t seem any pressure to create a large body of work at each visit. I can adapt with the conditions, so with this year the winds being non existent, sound recording became my main focus. Late nights were spent trying to record the calls of the Manx Shearwater in surround sound, mornings were for a lie in and evenings were for photography. Not a bad life for a week.

Roll on next year.

Mountain Walking, Photography, Travel |

April 15, 2014

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Getting a new perspective – Snowdon, Snowdonia National Park

Almost at the summit of Snowdon

I realised the other day that I hadn’t walked up Snowdon for a while. I don’t know why, it is only four hours from south Wales with quite a pleasant drive up the coast as long as you don’t get stuck behind farm machinery or an HGV. Two weeks ago, while I had a few spare days, I set off to Snowdonia National Park to walk?up Snowdon?and explore a few places that I hadn’t been to for a while. I also realised that I hadn’t taken that may images on previous walks, so that was something I wanted to rectify as well. The weather forecast was okay for my first day in Snowdonia, with the weather getting worse from then on. There was still enough cloud and low enough temperatures for snow to fall at higher altitudes, so being prepared was essential.

Llyn Llydaw and looking towards Bwich y Moch

My chosen route was to walk the Miners Track from Pen y Pass car park to the summit and return by the Pyg Track. Snow was visible above where the two tracks meet just below the main summit ridge. First thing in the bag was an ice axe and crampons, followed by all my safety gear. I tend to be the type of person that travels with two kitchen sinks, just in case one isn’t enough, so at times I felt a bit over prepared compared to some of the other walkers. Was I taking it too seriously or over complicating the situation? When the tube on my water bladder froze at the summit with a temperature of -2 degrees Celcius, I decided I was probably correct with my packing of sleeping bag, emergency storm shelter, spare clothing, extra food, first aid kit and bivi bag, plus the camera gear. I did leave behind my trekking poles, but used my tripod to help out instead.

It never ceases to amaze me what people wear for their waking attempts. Here were people trying to walk up Snowdon, the highest peak in England & Wales, in trainers, canvas shoes, track suit trousers and hoodies, with no thought to what would happen if something went wrong. They were slipping on the compacted snow and ice and shivering from the cold wind that was blowing. I’m surprised that I didn’t see somebody wearing flip flops and shorts; that seems to happen every where I go at the moment. You can see why the Mountain Rescue Team gets called out so much!

Snowdon20140327snowdon panoramic 2 Panorama

panoramic view from the Miners Track towards Bwlch y Moch

Mountain Rescue Helicopter Training

The summit of Snowdon is there some where

The wind at the summit was very strong, so standing at the stone cairn at the top was pretty dicey. The most sensible way of getting off the platform was to crawl done on your bum. Not elegant, but safer! It was impossible to make any photographs, but I found a sheltered spot just down from the summit to grab a bite to eat and make an image or two of the snow covered rocks along the ridge to the summit.

Just down from the summit of Snowdon

Below the summit, the wind had dropped and after getting below the snow line, the clouds cleared exposing the summit and giving wonderful panoramic views for those who were up there. For a moment I thought I would head back up again, but I changed my mind and carried on the Pyg Track back to Pen y Pass?car park. The weather had really cleared and warmed up, so although tiredness was kicking in, I managed?a few more images as the sun came through highlighting the texture of the rocks in the mountain pass. I had started walking at 7:40am and arrived back in the car park at 5:00pm to enjoy a nice flapjack from the caf? to celebrate. Not my quickest attempt of Snowdon, but certainly my most productive photographically.

Panoramic view from the Pyg Track, Snowdon

Looking down Llanberis Pass from the Pyg Track

Typically the heavy rain and lightning that was forecast for the rest of the week didn’t materialise and we were blessed with clear blue skies most of the days and some warm temperatures as well.?I?was tempted to walk back up Snowdon again to get a summit panoramic, but blue skies are a bit boring, aren’t they?

Llynnau Mymbyr and looking towards Snowdon

Snowdon Silhouette