Some photographs, some exercise and a little bit of history.

Hey there,
I hope the weekend is treating everyone well.  Friday I went to Llangollen with my dad and brother-it's a lovely little village/town (they call it a town but it's so much smaller than where I am from that, to me, it's a village!)-very picturesque and a photographer's dream.  I have many photos from there but I have not yet gone through and selected the images to print, but a print run will be done soon.  There is a varied selection of things to do in the town and its surroundings-it is the closest place to the Abbey I camped by in my first post!  There are a number of walks around this part of the country and I was told that from the town to the top of the nearby hill is only a mile so I figured I would give it a go!
From around halfway up, you can make out the ruins on the top of the hill:

My brother and I climbed the steep and winding path up to Dinas Brân castle-a walk in total of less than 5k (we went around, coming back a different route than we went up) but so steep in places that I was not sure I would manage it!  My painful back and joints were complaining-as were my completely unfit lungs, but with the encouragement of my brother, I did make it to the top-and it was well worth it!  The views are magnificent.  Dinas Brân is Welsh for City of Crows (or Crow City), I imagine it was so named due to its location perched above all else for miles around.



Once we made it to the top, the camera came out! You really can see for miles around.

I think it would be an ideal spot for a picnic-like dining on the world's mezzanine!  I shall take one with me next time (and some water and some spare batteries for my camera).

As castles go, there is not much that remains of this one but there is enough to get a sense of how spectacular it would have been-plus this is one you can visit again and again without it costing you a penny.  The castle that stood here was built in the 13th century and used as a dwelling after it ceased to be used as a strong hold.  It was burnt down by the Welsh to prevent the English from taking it, yet the parts which escaped the fire stand against the elements all these centuries later.

I think an earlier start next time to get the light to take the above shot in black and white-I think that would look awesome.
None of these images have a name at present, so any suggestions will be welcomed :) 

I am off now to get back to work but I will be walking more as I aim to make the climb less difficult for me when I go back to the ruins of Dinas Brân castle next month, so expect more images of the area in which I live-particularly the coast! I would love to hear your comments about this location, or for you to share the story of your climb to the top-it was the hardest thing I have done in a long time but the sense of achievement was immense.

Have a great day and I will be back on Wednesday.

Photographic Trilogy

Happy middle-of-the-week to everyone!

We have come full circle back to photography now (although that is mostly what I do so it is to be expected that it will outnumber all other posts here!).

Three photographs today, as I am selling them-not just the images, but the actual mounted photo seen here.  These are the first ever photographs I mounted and displayed.  In each of these, the photographic image is around 10x12 inches (25cm x 30cm) and the mount measures 12x16 inches (approximately 30cm x 40cm).  Mount is ivory and finely textured, professionally cut with a stiff back board to ensure photograph remains undamaged.

 

The first: Tunisian Sunrise.  This was taken in March 2007, at around 5am, as the sun rose over the salt flats not far from the Sahara in Tunisia.  I have to confess that sunrise is not something I see often, in fact, I have only actually witnessed a handful times in my life (I am just not a morning person!) but this was definitely worth getting up to see.  There was not a soul around for as far as the eye could see and no sound could be heard, the sun rises much faster than I expected it would!  Caught here as it reflects in the water, I think is the nicest shot I got that morning.  No editing has been done, the picture you see is the picture I took on that day-nature at its best J

 

2. Majestic Cascade.  One of my absolute favourite subjects to photograph is waterfalls and I have been fortunate enough to witness the magnificence that is Niagara Falls.  I prefer to work in black and white but getting the light right is often a gamble!  I like to think that this one worked though.  Taken from the American side of the border, the American Falls is seen in the foreground, with Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side off in the distance towards the upper right of the image.  A breath taking vista with the thunderous accompaniment of the water hurtling over the edge, this is one of my favourites of all my photos.

 

3. Sunset on the Nile.  From daybreak in Tunisia, we come to the setting of the sun in Egypt!  Taken in October 2007 during a short trip to Luxor, this (believe it or not) was taken from my sun lounger by the pool!  The first body of water seen in the photo is that swimming pool, and the second-further away so seeming narrower, is The Nile.  As the sun sets each evening, the hotel plays classical music to accompany it-I thought it was a brilliant idea.  This hotel is on its own island in the Nile and so guests get to view the awesome sunset every single day.  You may have noticed that I am fond of reflections!  This was the shot I preferred of all the ones I took of that scene-mainly because of the sun being reflected in both the Nile and the pool.

Originally displayed mounted and wrapped in cellophane, they were in a browser in a gallery in Rhyl for sale at £25 each.  Now asking just £12 for each one.  I  have only one of each available at this price (I have since changed the size of both printed image and mount that I use) so it will be first come, first served to my email. craftyshutterbug@gmail.com.