Week 2 Mountain hikes and minimalism

Determined this week to get out as much as possible before the threatened wintery weather appears. I am quite happy to hike in all sorts of conditions, but I do hate it when its icy. I have absolutely no sense of balance and it only takes the smallest patch of something slippy to send me head over heels. One of my life's regrets is that I have never been able to ice skate or roller skate, and that surfing will always only ever be a spectator sport. (Although if I am honest, that might be more to do with the thought of trying to squeeze myself into a wetsuit!)

So, with this in mind I head into the mountains. I knew there was snow on the higher ground but I thought I'd be ok. It is the most amazing approach, you turn a corner and suddenly the snow capped mountains are spread out in front of you. It is really completely breathtaking.

My photo doesn't do it justice at all, but if you want to see one that does, follow this link to see one of Stewart's. I can only aspire!

The weather was ok so I thought I would head to Llyn Idwal and walk around the lake to get some miles in, plus some wonderful photo opportunities. I had one of those brainwaves you have when it seems like such a good idea at the time. I parked at the very far end of Llyn Ogwen and walked a mile or so to the visitor centre at Llyn Idwal and then up to the bridge over the waterfall.

I love this bridge and the walk to Idwal is beautiful and quite forgiving to the lapsed hiker! In the dull light, the colours were very dramatic. I have tweaked a bit in Lightroom just to enhance the clarity, but haven't done a lot. Continued up to the lake which was looking fabulous.

However at this point the wind came up and it started to rain, as you can see from the splodges on the lens! Raindrops on roses, fine. Raindrops on lenses, not so much. So decision to make. Take a chance and walk round the lake or wimp out and head back to a flask of soup in the car. Wimped out.

Actually it was a good thing I did as the weather got steadily worse and I walked most of it in hail and horizontal wind. Now this is going to surprise regular readers, but I actually had a complete change of clothes in the car, all the way from ladies "unmentionables", to another coat (the one I bought last time I forgot a coat). So after a certain amount of undignified wriggling in a confined space (well you try changing trousers in a car!) I sat there warm and dry sipping on piping hot soup. Smug doesn't even come close!

On the way home I even managed to take a photo ready for Derelict Sunday on Blip. One of the disused farm buildings on the road from Capel Curig.

All in all a pretty fabulous day with well over 5 miles walked.

In the 52 in 2016 challenge, this week's theme is minimalism. I've never really had a go at this and not sure if I really understand the brief, but here is my effort.

It's hard enough trying to take a good photo with what's in front of you, but to have to put it there yourself in the first place is a whole new challenge. I had a go at a few different things but nothing worked until I found my bottles. It's the positive side effect of being a crafter and hoarder, there is all sorts of junk treasure in the house to shoot!

Lessons Learned: Remember to put the clean dry clothes back in the car for next time!
Never throw anything away as you never know when you might need to photograph it!

Diet Diary: Still feeling determined, so its going well. The trouble is that the hiking makes me hungry, so it's hard trying to find the balance.

Rambling Record: At the end of week 2 I have done nearly 47 miles, with a target of just 40, so well ahead. Gives me a bit of wobble room.

Much Wenlock

The rain stopped raining and the sun started shining so I grabbed the camera bag and headed out.

Had to drop Maisie off in Shrewsbury for a bit of shopping so had 4 hours to kill. Thought it would be nice to go somewhere new so headed to Much Wenlock. 

This is a beautiful little town about 11 miles from Shrewsbury and is what I believe the Americans would call quaint! It is. It has charm and character and is a joy to photograph. You can do the Wenlock Edge which is a National Trust maintained countryside walk and that is certainly pencilled in for the next visit. Today, concentrating on the town.

This pic was a bit tricky to take. On the right hand side of the road a car was parked which spoiled the picture so I had to keep moving round and down until the wall hid it. I am getting better at looking at everything in the viewfinder. Many times I have taken what I thought to be a great photo only to find a wheelie bin left of centre! My autofocus is in the centre and so that was where I was tending to look. Doesn't always work, but certainly getting a bit more aware now.

 I have also found that I am definitely looking more at detail and I feel more aware of my surroundings. The above pic has got to be the poshest post box I have ever seen!

The bakery pictured below was so gorgeous. It was like it was stuck in a time warp and all the bread in the window looked and smelled gorgeous. The slices in the bagged bread to the right of the window were an inch thick! But just to give an indication of how completely sad I am getting, I was concentrating so much on getting a good photo I never even thought about going in and sampling its delights. How crazy and yes, lets face it, sad is that!

I have really discovered a liking for black and white photography and some pictures just work with it. It gives a timeless feel to an image I think which I am really starting to enjoy. This building is the Guildhall and was really impressive.

I liked the following picture, not because it has any particular artistic merit, but because I would love to know the story of it. Taken behind the church in the graveyard, there is one lonely solitary gravestone. Was he the most hated man in the village, or is there another, more mundane reason. Will have to Google!

The only difficulty I had was avoiding people in my shots. As the sun was out and Much Wenlock is a bit of a tourist mecca, there were a lot of them around. I will definitely have to go back later in the year when the season is over. 

Just loved this little street. Cobble stones and flowers. So beautiful, so charming. This one didn't work so well black and white, needed to see the colours of the flowers. Managed to avoid most of the wheelie bins, but one just crept in at the top!

Apart from its beauty, Much Wenlock is also famed for being the birthplace and home of William Penny Brookes, who is credited with being the inspiration behind the modern Olympic Games. He was a keen advocate of having physical education as part of the school curriculum and arranged competitions between schools and groups based on the original Greek Olympics. This was picked up by French aristocrat Pierre de Coubertin who formed the International Olympic Committee and the rest is history!

The streets are very narrow and it can be difficult to get a good angle on the buildings, but you get a rough idea of just how lovely it is there. Worth a visit!

Lessons Learned: I am not a tourist. I am a visiting serious photographer. Tourists are other people!

Diet Diary: I am finding it impossible during the holidays because of all the trips we are doing. So am having a bit of a break and will be back full tilt in September.