Blog: Photography by Dan Santillo

November 9, 2011

Nash Point Micro Landscapes

Tags: coast, coastal, Glamorgan Heritage Coast, Heritage Coast, Nash Point, rock pool, rock pools, rocks — Dan Santillo @ 6:25 pm

My parents are visiting for a few days and, as seems to be the case all too often, the weather isn’t very nice. We decided to take a trip to Nash Point on the Glamorgan Heritage Coast as I’ve only been there once and my parents haven’t been there at all – and this time, the tide was out. It was immediately obvious that it wasn’t the weather for landscapes:

Nash Point, Glamorgan Heritage Coast

As I was wondering around, I noticed that rocks were caught in crevices and pools and decided to forget the traditional landscapes and to concentrate of the micro landscapes. I haven’t moved any rocks or anything else in these photos – they are exactly as I found them.

Nash Point, Glamorgan Heritage Coast

This one, I thought looked rather like an eye

Nash Point, Glamorgan Heritage Coast

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November 2, 2011

Usk Reservoir

Tags: Brecon Beacons, brecon beacons national park, Brecons, Usk Reservoir, Worms Eye Photo — Dan Santillo @ 2:12 pm

Day 2 of my car being serviced and repaired at the garage so I borrowed my wife’s car and drove out to the hills west of Usk Reservoir. On my way to the slight hill overlooking the reservoir, a rather old and gnarled fence post caught me eye.

Fence in the Brecons

As a slight aside, it may interest you to know that this is a “Worm’s Eye” image – the tripod legs were splayed out on the ground to emphasis the fence and get it to break the horizon. Here are some comparison shots:

Left: Tripod at full height; Right: Tripod at half height

I left the fence and crossed boggy ground to get to a slight rise that looked down onto Usk Reservoir. I set the camera up, held onto the tripod to stop it being blown over and waited for a brief patch of sun.

Usk Reservoir

And with that, my time was up and I had to get Paula’s car back to her so she could go to work.

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October 20, 2011

Stormy Brecons

Tags: Brecon Beacons, Brecons, cloudy, Corn Du, Cribyn, Fan y Big, Pen y Fan, storm, stormy — Dan Santillo @ 6:15 pm

Having been out of action for a week or so with a mild chest infection, I decided it was high time I went out to the Brecons. The forecast was for heavy rain showers in the morning and clearing from midday with snow on the peaks. Perfect as I wanted to get a stormy shot or two! I parked near Upper Neuadd Reservoir and walked up the Gap Road where I wanted to shoot a panorama. I set the camera up just as the clouds darkened behind Pen y Fan:

Corn Du, Pen y Fan and Cribyn

Then I attempted the panorama:

Corn Du, Pen y Fan and Cribyn

Before I started moving again, I also shot a self portrait:

Walking the Gap Road

I had spent about 30 minutes in that one spot so headed along the road again so climb Fan y Big where I wanted to get a shot of the Diving Board. It was a long slog up the Gap Road to the base of Fan y Big, but the climb itself to the top was fairly easy. I set the camera up and used the 10 second timer so I could run out onto the Diving Board.

The Fan y Big Diving Board

The weather had been perfect all morning so I sat down for lunch by the shelter on Fan y Big – then it started to rain and hail so I quickly put my waterproofs on and walked to the next location I wanted to shoot from. It had stopped precipitating by the time I got there, but it was still pretty moody!

Corn Du, Pen y Fan and Cribyn

It started to rain again so I started to pack the camera gear away when suddenly a rainbow appeared! I managed to grab this photo before it disappeared:

Fan y Big rainbow

The hail then got too much so I decided to call it a day and walked back to the car, feeling hopeful I had some shots I was happy with. When I loaded them on to the computer, I was very pleased with the day’s work!

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September 29, 2011

Sgwd Eira, Afon Hepste

Tags: Afon Hepste, Brecon Beacons, Brecons, falls, Sgwd Eira, water fall, waterfall, waterfalls — Dan Santillo @ 2:29 pm

Yesterday, I visited Sgwd Eira with Neil Mansfield to do a recce for autumnal shots. I’ve only been to Sgwd Eira twice and hadn’t taken any photos of it – surely I must be one of the last photographers who hasn’t? Straight away, I saw that the best angle would involve getting wet so I got into the river up to my knees! Here is my interpretation of the waterfall and river.

Sgwd Eira, Afon Hepste

Behind Sgwd Eira, Afon Hepste

Afon Hepste

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September 28, 2011

Glamorgan Heritage Coast

Tags: Glamorgan Heritage Coast, Nash Point, sun set, sunset — Dan Santillo @ 8:44 am

Last night, for the first time, I visited the Glamorgan Heritage Coast with Emma Jones. We drove to Nash Point and caught the last 45 minutes of sun. Unfortunately, it was high tide so very little of the beach was left. What a place! I have certainly missed out. I haven’t captured anything worthy of the area, but here is what I did manage.

Nash Point

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September 14, 2011

Nant y Llyn

Tags: Brecon Beacons, Brecons, Nant y Llyn, waterfall, waterfalls — Dan Santillo @ 1:17 pm

This morning I headed out to Nant y Llyn, one of the many tributaries of the Afon Tawe, to see if I could get a waterfall shot with heather. I really struggled to find a shot and don’t think I really achieved what I wanted and I don’t think they really do justice to the landscape. Anyway, here are two of the photos:

Nant y Llyn

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September 12, 2011

Sgwd Gwladus in Full Flow

Tags: angel falls, Brecon Beacons, Brecons, fast flowing, lady falls, pontneddfechan, river, sgwd gwladus, Sgwd Gwladys — Dan Santillo @ 4:04 pm

With the remnants of Hurricane Katia hitting the country right now, I headed down to Mumbles after dropping the children at nursery. But, unfortunately, the waves were disappointing. So I drove back home, made a flask of coffee and drove up the valley to Pontneddfechan. I walked to Sgwd Gwladus and got the camera ready on the tripod – I knew that the best place to shoot from meant getting into the river. Using the tripod to steady myself, I stepped into the river and felt the gentle flow of cold water into my boots as it breached my gaiters – quite pleasant really! The current was pretty fast so I took a few shots and then moved deeper into the river, all the time use the tripod to help brace me against the current. The water was up to my knees and the pressure of the water closed the tripod leg if it wasn’t on the ground. Spray from the waterfall and occasional drizzle meant I had to clean the front of the lens after every photo or so. The final shots taken were at 17mm with the camera about 10cm from the surface of the water. I then carefully got out of the river – it meant going back through a particularly fast flowing channel – and drank my coffee before sloshing my way back to the car.

Sgwd Gwladus, Brecon Beacons National Park

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