PHOTOS-Blaen y Glyn trip

It was Saturday the 4th February and the weather forecasters had predicted a band of warm air coming in from the West forcing the current cold air to push back – thus creating the first decent snowfall of 2012. As this snow wasn’t predicted to fall until late afternoon it seemed a great idea to take a photography session with expert Nick Jenkins up to the Brecon Beacons area to test out our skills.

So a 7am rise in Cardiff and heading straight out to a glorious sunrise over the Millennium Stadium. Oh how the weather was going to be such a contrast today! Even though it was bright and cheery to look at it was bitingly cold but luckily the heaters in the car kept us warm and ready for the journey to the small village of Talybont on Usk.

It did snow a little on the way up so it took slightly longer than planned for but arriving just after 9 am we set off past Talybont Reservoir and began our walk upto Blaen Y Glyn.

Our first stop was a quick lesson on how to take an interesting photo of this tree!


Whilst listening to Nick’s advice and general hints and tips we were visited by this Robin Red Breast but he was jumping around so quickly that I only managed to get one quick snap of him (no textbook hints from Nick on this as we were all concentrating on the tree!)

I think we had exhausted every possible shot of the tree so it was time to traverse up the hill and make our way over a few frozen streams and a slippery style to find a very frozen Blaen Y Glyn waterfall! On first viewing it looked totally magical and delightful. There was flowing water, icicles, frozen bits of waterfall and a lovely dusting of snow capping off the rocks.

Here we experimented with longer exposure times which led to the water creating more silky streams and a smoke-like effect. This added to the overall mystical feel of the whole area.


The northern face of the area was a wall of icicles. Some sunlight hitting these would’ve really brought them to life but they were still spectacular to see but harder to capture on camera.


The next tip given out was that even though we were totally engrossed in photographing this amazing frozen waterfall and everything the area had to offer – it’s always worth seeing what you have turned your back on! On first viewing there didn’t seem much going on in comparison to what we originally saw around this waterfall.


It looked like more rapidly flowing water with loads of frozen patches clinging to the rock formations. But on closer inspection there were some great natural patterns forming and areas of interest starting to pop out. Once again playing about with the aperture settings was giving different results. I’ve framed two shots just that it seems to make the photo make more of a statement and (obviously) frame them better!



Here we got closer to fast moving water and I liked the contrast of movement with the frozen water (icicles) ((Oh he’s getting all arty and using juxtaposition now!))

It had began to start snowing (twas only midday!) but a dusting had already covered most surfaces and other people had told us that it was sticking to the road we had previously driven up so it was time to leave and head back to safety! (Very sensible decision I think!)

After a quick coffee and refuel in the local Talybont cafe we bid our farewells and planned our journeys ahead. Leaving here it didn’t actually look too bad until we hit the stretch before the Storey Arms!





The obligatory Lego character had a quick surf in the snow before we felt we couldn’t stick around any longer (unlike the snow!)
Hence we headed for some quick snaps at the frozen and wintry looking Beacons Reservoir. We didn’t actually find that much worth snapping as everything was covered in snow and just a bit white! (#SurpriseFace) As interesting as it got was a small tree in a fence, a life buoy and the water tower!




And then the continuation of the two hour journey home! There was a long convey of cars all travelling at 20mph traversing these difficult conditions but as many of us that were making a mass exodus there was an equal amount flocking to the area to take advantage of the snowfall that was falling on the gentler slopes!


The full set of photographs can be viewed via the set on Flickr or by clicking play on the slideshow below.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/djleekee/sets/72157629182288667/
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Overall it was a beneficial day to get out and pick up some hints and tips about my newly acquired camera. It’s always great to take a visit to the Brecon Beacons national park regardless of the weather as it conjures us something so special on every visit! A big thanks to Nick and everyone else that took part! Hope to see all your pics soon!
To book yourself on the next photography session with Nick Jenkins check out further details on his website :- http://www.freespiritimages.com/