The quiet by the falls
Description
Sgwd Y Ddwli – Pontneddfechan, Wales
Pontneddfechan (Welsh language meaning : bridge over the lesser River Neath)
Another update then, this time from a shoot I did a few days ago. Continuing with my attempts to stay out of auto(matic) modes and into the manual more often, I did probably make a few blunders taking a few photos from that excursion. No matter however, because whilst being an incredibly beautiful place it also happens to be less than an hour’s drive away. I’ll be going back there often. I just can’t wait to get out there when Autumn comes around!
The trek from the village of Pontneddfechan through the woods takes you steadily uphill, and at times is slightly perilous, for those whose choice of footwear is more suited to the beach than the undergrowth. It did feel at times as if you are following the course of the river on a well-trodden, perhaps even medieval track. Not sure I can substantiate that claim, but as I’m just relating my experience of the place in words, that’s fine! I tend to like thinking of it like that too.
Back to the falls themselves, well there are several along differing routes, and we visited some of the most popular on this trip. The one featured here is “Sgwd Y Ddwli”, Pontneddfechan, Wales. This waterfall is one further up this particular route. This photograph is actually taken from the top of “Sgwd Y Ddwli”, as I didn’t think I’d have time to get down where the falls would presumably look more impressive, but that’s one to look forward to.
Now on to matters of photography, if this trip has told me anything I need a few filters; it was sunny weather that day, which ironically I wasn’t hoping for – I wanted clouds!. A few pics I shot have irreversible blow-out on highlights, and as such did finally convince me of the need to have some filters to work with the environment. Also, from now on I’m always going to shoot RAW on trips like these. N00b mistake, but I did shoot the first half of the trip in JPG mode, and this camera does suck on its compression I’m afraid to say. If I didn’t have much, much more to learn still, I’d be itching to buy a decent entry-level SLR right now. As it is, I still want to explore further with this camera for now. I just have to put up with a few faults which I’m now beginning to notice as I delve further into this positive addiction.
One other thing about these falls, is the sound. It simply fills your ears; only after a while can you begin to hear other background sounds again. If you wait further, eventually you adjust to the sound and begin to hear perfectly again. It’s like tuning into nature, as cliché as that sounds, because you don’t want to leave these places once you are there.
I can’t say how grateful I am to have found such a beautiful place nearby to take such a wide range of shots. I’m a sucker for the delights of the forest or river, and I do like places where I can tend my preference for portraying a sense of isolation and quiet, and I want to expand that theme in my photography. Finally, if you want a tip on how to find places of interest to visit with your camera, then google earth is a good one to use.
Some Links and Resources on Pontneddfechan
- Wiki Link about this area of Wales
- A photographer’s guide to Ponteddfechan.
2 Comment to “The quiet by the falls”
Hi Andy,
Fantastic photograph! The small waterfall looks lovely with the rockery and greenery around it. I’m also a sucker for forests and small rivers, it reminds me of J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of The Rings which is brilliant. Do you have any other photographys of the same place you could show or send to my E-Mail please?
Kind regards,
Andrew Cooper
Hey Andrew,
Thanks for the compliment, and yes it was an incredible place! Again, this is probably the best shot from the entire trip, so while I do have others there are none which match this. The lighting at the time was just right, and so the picture almost took itself!
I’m itching to go back and correct some failed shots I took from earlier in that day, at the more impressive Swgd Gwladys falls – the lighting t those falls had much too much contrast between the highlights and lowlights, so I need to pick up a Neutral Density filter and go back and shoot with that.
I do have other pics from the trip I might put up. And to be honest I post more of the less-than-awesome shots up on my flickr.
best,
Andy