Flowers in Wales

The generally poor weather this Spring, combined with us being a bit on the busy side, has meant that we haven't done much in the way of landscape/outdoor photography.

Usually we try and get out a bit in the Spring to get some wildlife, and especially flower shots.  Finally, whilst we were in Wales, we had a chance for some snaps whilst we were out mid-week.

We probably should have made some notes of the flowers so we knew what we'd been photographing, but at the end of the day this was just more about getting some nice shots.

Experimenting a bit with filters, and some greyscale shots.

 

Abstract shooting at the Sea Zoo

Whilst in Wales, we paid a return to the Anglesey Sea Zoo, fast becoming one of our regular haunts.

To be honest, we didn't do much in the way of photography, but did end up getting some slightly more abstract shots around the place.

 

At Llangollen

May saw us take two consecutive trips to Llangollen, once for a Scout camp, and the following weekend for a model railway show.

We took the Scout group on a trip on the Llangollen Railway, and naturally we got a few shots in whilst we were there.

Some nice DMU action around Llangollen station.

A week later, we were back for the Garden Railway show.

I've covered that in more detail on the model-making blog, so here's a token shot of the (very good) event.

We decided to enjoy the sunshine with a break down to the town, via the station, for an ice cream.

View over the river towards the station.

We didn't stop for much in the way of railway photography this time, mainly because this was a Wedding special, and the main station was a bit busy.

Surprisingly I worked out this is the first railway photography I've done since the KWVR Gala; I'm going to have to make an effort to get a bit more done now the nicer weather has arrived.

A busy May; Cox Wood, Wrexham

Blimey, May turned up to be a busy month indeed.  Several open calls and exhibitions entered, two articles sent off for publication, and multiple shoots over multiple weekends away.

Kicking things off where we started May, and a Scout Camp to Cox Wood, near Wrexham.

Obviously, we were mainly there as Scout Leaders, but there was an opportunity for a few photographs of the area one evening, when there was a particularly interesting sky.

More to follow from May, and quite a variety of shoots and projects.

 

Captain Scarlet

I (Ben) am a massive fan of Gerry Anderson tv shows, and with Gerry Anderson Day 2024 coming up just after Easter, I thought I'd take the opportunity to build some models, and shoot some pictures out on location in Wales over Easter.

Building the models was a saga in and of itself, covered in exhaustive detail as usual over on the model making blog (link on the right-hand-side, over yonder)

Sufficed to say that trying to shoot outdoors during a named storm was a pain in the backside.

With the assistance of Elder Child, I tried to get some pics, but the weather really was appalling; really irritating after some nice weather earlier in the week, but the models weren't quite finished.

A last attempt, up on the hill above where we were staying, and this shot taken with the mountains hidden by cloud and the model about ten seconds from blowing off the top of the tripod.

The solution was a very, very hastily improvised shoot the Saturday we were home, using my sky-painted backdrops, and a lot of cotton wool.

As it happened, the shoot turned out very well, better than I might have hoped for a last-minute idea.  I'll be more prepared next year...

 

Ffestiniog Holiday

Of the railway photography goals for me (Ben), one was the Cambrian Coast Express, the other was to get some pics of the new Double Fairlie on the Ffestiniog.

James Spooner is a new-build, a replica of the open-cab early locomotives on the line, but built to modern standards.

Welsh Highland service passing the car park.

We spend a lot of time in Porthmadog, and we always go to the station as it has a decent shop, a very good cafe, and (crucially when you have Childs) a free toilet, something of a rarity these days.

Hunslet "Linda" simmering on the sidings.

James Spooner running-round, attempt at some arty shots.

The weather was pretty poor during the week, whilst out getting some miniatures shoots (or trying to anyway) during the fun and games of Storm Kathleen, I managed a shot of the Fairlie at Penrhyn.  An attempt to get some more pics in the woods near Tanybwlch went predictably badly, a combination of the weather and operator error with the camera.

A final shot, another from the Welsh Highland, finishing where we began earlier in the week.