The Phoenix has risen from the ashes.: April 2014

Monday 7 April 2014

Fossil Hunt with LLangollen camera club 26.3.2014

This view is of Dinas Bran also known as "Crow Castle"

The LLangollen camera club every January at the A.G.M. meeting, we all discuss the year to come and anything else that members may want to bring up. Our day trips out are something we all look forward to but due to the unpredictability of the British weather, last year the fossil hunt didn't go ahead. I had been disappointed as it sounded a great experience and exciting to think what had been there so many years before.

A view of The Panorama

This year we had arranged to meet at the Sun Trevor pub. I had my hiking sticks ready in the car from previous walks. We all started to walk slowly up the inclining road until we eventually got to the cattle grid. A club member Joan often goes to this location with her grandchildren so was familiar with the area and what dangers we could encounter.Once we had arrived at the first area we all started to look for fossils and get our cameras out. We were blessed with good weather as the day before it had been dull with rain, but we had sun between the clouds and little wind.

Some of the group fossil hunting

Joan took us all a little further and what a sight for sore eyes - we all were there with our bottoms in the air, hunched over, eagerly searching within the rocks to see what each of us could find and then - who had found the best fossil. As Joan had more experience many of us were asking if we had found anything we could class as a good find.

A collection of sheep skulls we found

Time soon passed by. We all gathered for a couple of group photos of our trip out and Colin, who is a joker among many in the club, happened to say he had found a great fossil. Many quickly dismissed his comment as a prank until he produced a large rock which was the best find out of the group.

Colin's great fossil find of the day

We were all feeling hungry and looked forward to a meal in the Sun Trevor. This is where our outing finished with us all having a look at what images everyone had taken. As always, finished the day with great memories and smiles on our faces. I enjoy being a part of this club and being in the company of such great individuals.

Club members who attended heading back towards the pub for lunch

Layers of different colours can be seen

"Eglweseg Rocks near Llangollen are formed from vast thicknesses of Silurian rocks. During most of the Silurian Period, Wales was covered by a narrowing ocean basin. Scotland was joined to part of North America and separated from us by the Iapetus ocean. The continents on either side of this ocean had been gradually moving together and met during the latter part of this period. The sediments in the lower part of the Silurian in Wales consist of vast thicknesses of muds, sands and grits. The upper part of the Silurian is represented by shallow water and deltaic sediments. The whole system was extensively studied by Roderick Impey Murchison who named it, in 1839, after an ancient South Wales tribe the Silures. The fossils represent a diverse fauna, with many new forms of trilobites, graptolites and brachiopods. The closure of the ancient ocean basin late in the Silurian created mountain ranges, river systems and coastal plains that provided ideal environments for the emergence and diversification of terrestrial land plants. The fossilised remains of these tiny plants are found in a few classic localities in mid Wales."

Info above taken from web link below

http://education.gtj.org.uk/en/item1/28880

Two images of patterns in wood that I liked, the bottom image reminding me of a dogs paw

The image above was also taken by a few other club members for one our our monthly competitions. Urban decay was on the agenda for April.

Tom Wood exhibition Mostyn Gallery LLandudno 29.3.2014

I had been excited to go and see this exhibition after discovering Tom's work in a previous exhibition in Liverpool, which was joint with Martin Parr entitled "Every Man and Woman is a Star". I find that viewing Tom's work has given me more direction in my own photography, by making me view my own street photography and people images in a different light.

In some ways to me it almost felt like a visual family tree that took the viewer on a journey,which at the same time gave you an insight into Tom's life.There were many images I liked within this exhibition. I find it hard not to draw on my own experiences and memories that could influence my reasoning as to why I could feel a connection to some of his images more than others.

My image above shows Tom's work on display at the Gallery

I had not been to the Mostyn Gallery before and liked the way that it was relaxing, spacious and to a certain degree light. I would have liked to have spent more time there and viewed upstairs but I had parked in a space that only allowed me an hour of parking time.I am looking forward to receiving my book of the exhibition entitled landscapes that I had pre-ordered whilst there.

I like how the colours are vibrant, how mother nature seems to have claimed back her environment since human departure. I also feel a little sadness with the old saying strong in the forefront of my mind " If these walls could talk" .

Many memories were made in this home pictured above, maybe good and bad.

This image reminds me of the different generations I would see as a child, where people would stand or sit watching the children play and the world go by.

Above, in the photo on the left, I like the fact that all the images of generations past and presumably present are on display. In the one on the right I like the image of the simplicity of the room which is so different to how many of us live. The half painted walls of the room give it a cold appeal.

I like the colours in the image above it reminds me of the many relaxing country walks I have been on.

The image above reminds me of the small back allies I found whilst out photographing in Cefn Mawr

Below are more images from Tom's exhibition

The Biscuit Tin Photo Archive

I also enjoyed the Community project which was an idea of Tom Wood's. It came to him while in Ireland researching his own rural background. A faded biscuit was handed to him which held old black and white faded images. This made him wonder how many other families have images stashed away in the same way.

It was great to see on show so many old photos of other peoples' generational images of family members that once made a mark in the world. This I felt was a way to show younger viewers to the exhibition about photography and an insight into how times have changed in style and culture.

Link below for Mostyn Gallery LLandudno

http://www.mostyn.org/whats_on/tom_wood_-_landscapes

http://www.mostyn.org/