Stuart’s Photography

Bute Park is a great place to escape to during your lunch hour, although even the most determined of walkers will struggle to walk the whole length of the park and make it back in time for the afternoon stint behind a desk. Much nicer to find one of the benches dotted around the park to simply sit, break out the sandwiches, and recharge for a few minutes before heading back to the rat race.

Copyright (c) Stuart Herbert. blog | twitter: (photography) (all) | facebook: (Merthyr Road project) (all).

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If you’re reading this in the RSS feed, my original blog post also includes a Google map showing where this photo was taken. Unfortunately I haven’t managed to get the map to appear yet in the RSS feed, so for now you’ll have to click through to my blog if you want to see the map. Sorry.

Download the full-size picture to use as your desktop wallpaper.

One of the great legacies from the age of coal that gave Cardiff its wealth before the First World War is also one of the great gifts made to the people of Cardiff. Originally flanked by Cardiff Castle to the south, the River Taff to the west, the Glamorganshire Canal to the east and Western Avenue to the north, Bute Park was begun in 1873 by the 3rd Marquess of Bute, and handed over to the people of Cardiff in 1947 by the 5th Marquess.

It is a fabulous place to roam, especially for the many thousands of office workers in Cardiff’s busy city centre who need somewhere to escape to on a lunch time. As well as open playing fields and the arboretum, there are quieter, shaded areas under the trees and by the river banks where you can go and hide with a book for a bit of peace and quiet.

Copyright (c) Stuart Herbert. blog | twitter: (photography) (all) | facebook: (Merthyr Road project) (all).

Download the full-size picture to use as your desktop wallpaper.

As the end of the week approaches, and time runs out to pick out HDR shots in tribute to my Nikon D200, it’s getting harder and harder to pick my wallpaper choice, I don’t mind admitting! But there was no way I could leave this shot out of my selection. For me, like my Calanais At Dusk shot that’s sadly the wrong aspect to ever be a Daily Desktop Wallpaper (but, do try it on an iPad … it’s the wallpaper for the lock screen on mine!), this shot is an example of what HDR can really achieve when it all comes together. The end result looks more like a painting than a photograph, and I could happily stare at it all day.

In fact, that’s exactly what I’m going to do! At least until tomorrow, when I’ll be sharing my last choice from the D200 HDR archives.

Oh, and tonight I’m planning on working on the shots for next week’s wallpaper theme. Mrs H has set me a photographic challenge. I’ve no idea how it will go, but I’m looking forward to doing something a little different (for me). If there’s a photographic challenge you’d like to set me for a future wallpaper theme, drop me a comment on my blog and I’ll certainly consider it

Copyright (c) Stuart Herbert. blog | twitter: (photography) (all) | facebook: (Merthyr Road project) (all).

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If you’re reading this in the RSS feed, my original blog post also includes a Google map showing where this photo was taken. Unfortunately I haven’t managed to get the map to appear yet in the RSS feed, so for now you’ll have to click through to my blog if you want to see the map. Sorry.

This footbridge over the River Taff between Taffs Well and Gwaelod-y-Garth has recently been renovated and restored into a fantastic condition.

Copyright (c) Stuart Herbert. blog | twitter: (photography) (all) | facebook: (Merthyr Road project) (all).

–

If you’re reading this in the RSS feed, my original blog post also includes a Google map showing where this photo was taken. Unfortunately I haven’t managed to get the map to appear yet in the RSS feed, so for now you’ll have to click through to my blog if you want to see the map. Sorry.

One of the surviving pillars (the one you can see from the A470) of the Walnut Tree Viaduct, reflected in the River Taff.

Built in 1901, the Walnut Tree Viaduct (so-called because it crossed the Taff Vale Railway above Walnut Tree Junction, at the southern end of modern-day Taffs Well) carried the Barry Railway 120 feet in the air across the Taff Gap from the Lesser Garth to the other side. What a view it must have been from up there, and certainly what a sight it was until it was dismantled in 1969.

References:

http://webapps.rhondda-cynon-taff.gov.uk/heritagetrail/taff/taffs_well/taffs_well.htm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fray_bentos/362362405/

Copyright (c) 2010 Stuart Herbert. blog | twitter: (photography) (all).

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If you’re reading this in the RSS feed, my original blog post also includes a Google map showing where this photo was taken. Unfortunately I haven’t managed to get the map to appear yet in the RSS feed, so for now you’ll have to click through to my blog if you want to see the map. Sorry.