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  • Black Bears are now threatened in these Sandia Mountains, as always by the encroachment of man. Nevertheless, when we walked one of the many trails through these amazing mountains, we were very wary about bumping into a hungry one! <br />
<br />
The highest summit is at an elevation of 10,678 ft (3,255 m) and <br />
is 4201 ft (1,280 m)  above the surrounding plains.
    GD002419.jpg
  • The mountains of South Africa have blown me away. I have never seen so many mountain peaks in one place. These very steep-sided and dramatic peaks could be seen out of our car window for the two solid days of driving East to West through the country. In fact the mountains in this image are much smaller than many others we saw on our journey. It’s a complete guess, but over nearly 20 hours of driving there must have been literally 1000s of summits and I can’t begin to imagine where a mountaineer would begin to start choosing which to climb in this vast area. <br />
<br />
Even more strange is that the clouds you see here form the edge of a gigantic cloud blanket that created pouring rain on the far, coastal side of these hills. We drove in bright sunshine all day until we crossed the range through a gorge and then drove in rain for the next 3 hours!
    GD002354.jpg
  • Looking towards the Carneddau range of mountains (over 3000ft) in Snowdonia, Wales. There was a dramatic light from low afternoon winter sunlight illuminating the mountainsides under gentle clouds above. The steep cliffs drop down to the highly glaciated Nant Ffrancon pass below. The foreground mountain is Carnedd Dafydd and the more rounded peak behind is Carnedd Llewelyn.
    GD001946.jpg
  • Looking towards the Carneddau range of mountains (over 3000ft) in Snowdonia, Wales. There was a dramatic light from low afternoon winter sunlight illuminating the mountainsides under gentle clouds above. The steep cliffs drop down to the highly glaciated Nant Ffrancon pass below. The foreground mountain is Carnedd Dafydd and the more rounded peak behind is Carnedd Llewelyn.
    GD001915.jpg
  • Oh to be a Buzzard right at this moment, with the ability to soar over the mountains and coast and to revel in freedom,.  Having tantalising views of the mountains from where we live is both uplifting and frustrating at the same time. A constant reminder of where we can’t roam. Nevertheless, I think I’d rather take the frustration than not seeing them at all.
    GD002449.jpg
  • Evening light spilled under the clouds to illuminate the incredible and imposing Hottentots-Holland mountain range (part of the Cape Fold Belt) East of Cape Town. These mountains reach 1590 m / 5200 ft at their highest point.
    GD002172.jpg
  • Acres and acres of traditional rock climbing on the huge serrated ridges of the Sandia Mountains, New Mexico.
    GD002400
  • Gentle late morning sunshine dappled across the ancient & eroded Welsh mountains of the Carneddau. I love the way these huge geological structures of solid rock become smoothed, rounded & softened by the elements & the growth of nature
    GD001717.jpg
  • As is the way with my days off these days, there is no rush ever. Jan works long days and even longer nights in an intensive care department and there is NO shift pattern at all to allow a person’s body clock to plan the week. Her need for sleep catch up is vital, so I have learned not to expect a 7am leap out of bed, and instead to respect her body clock readjustment time. It doesn’t stop me getting fidgety however if the light looks amazing, and the day is going by :-)<br />
<br />
It was Sunday however, and for Jan a rare Sunday off, so whatever! The weather forecast was for brightness, light cloud, zero chance of rain and plenty of sunshine later. We could do a lazy leisurely hill walk later with no worries about the elements or timings. I didn’t really absorb the additional information I skimmed through on the mountain weather forecast though, which indicated freezing level at summits and 45mph winds. Nevertheless we threw in our Paramo’s and Rab wind proofs just in case, along with two flasks of steaming hot coffee.<br />
<br />
At about 2pm we started the one hour drive towards the distinctive pyramid shaped mountain called Cnicht. I haven’t done it for couple of years and I love the mountain (approximately 2200 feet). I have done it from the very meandrous North side and also from the shadowy East facing quarry valley of Cwm Orthin, which was today’s plan as I wanted to show Jan the old quarry workings. However, as part of her prep for some bigger mountains in the next few weeks she said she’d prefer a steep ascent, so we headed for Croesor on the brighter West side instead. This was a first for me too which was nice, making our way up the classic West ridge.<br />
<br />
We decided to have a cuppa and a sandwich in the cafe in the tiny, sleepy hamlet of Croesor but the cafe was so asleep it was closed! I was really surprised, this being the Easter break and a car park packed with walkers’ vehicles. We started up the long, bouldery woodland track before exiting right up towards
    GD001736.jpg
  • As is the way with my days off these days, there is no rush ever. Jan works long days and even longer nights in an intensive care department and there is NO shift pattern at all to allow a person’s body clock to plan the week. Her need for sleep catch up is vital, so I have learned not to expect a 7am leap out of bed, and instead to respect her body clock readjustment time. It doesn’t stop me getting fidgety however if the light looks amazing, and the day is going by :-)<br />
<br />
It was Sunday however, and for Jan a rare Sunday off, so whatever! The weather forecast was for brightness, light cloud, zero chance of rain and plenty of sunshine later. We could do a lazy leisurely hill walk later with no worries about the elements or timings. I didn’t really absorb the additional information I skimmed through on the mountain weather forecast though, which indicated freezing level at summits and 45mph winds. Nevertheless we threw in our Paramo’s and Rab wind proofs just in case, along with two flasks of steaming hot coffee.<br />
<br />
At about 2pm we started the one hour drive towards the distinctive pyramid shaped mountain called Cnicht. I haven’t done it for couple of years and I love the mountain (approximately 2200 feet). I have done it from the very meandrous North side and also from the shadowy East facing quarry valley of Cwm Orthin, which was today’s plan as I wanted to show Jan the old quarry workings. However, as part of her prep for some bigger mountains in the next few weeks she said she’d prefer a steep ascent, so we headed for Croesor on the brighter West side instead. This was a first for me too which was nice, making our way up the classic West ridge.<br />
<br />
We decided to have a cuppa and a sandwich in the cafe in the tiny, sleepy hamlet of Croesor but the cafe was so asleep it was closed! I was really surprised, this being the Easter break and a car park packed with walkers’ vehicles. We started up the long, bouldery woodland track before exiting right up towards
    GD001737.jpg
  • I’d been up one of the valleys that climbed to the huge ski-resort in the Rocky Mountains behind, where the temperature dropped 11º in just a mile or so. The huge spurs of mountain sides kept the late afternoon sunshine from reaching the valley itself so I took just one frame, but leaving the mountains took us to a sun-drenched plateau covered in lush vegetation and beautiful trees yellowing in the approaching Fall season.
    GD002407
  • As is the way with my days off these days, there is no rush ever. Jan works long days and even longer nights in an intensive care department and there is NO shift pattern at all to allow a person’s body clock to plan the week. Her need for sleep catch up is vital, so I have learned not to expect a 7am leap out of bed, and instead to respect her body clock readjustment time. It doesn’t stop me getting fidgety however if the light looks amazing, and the day is going by :-)<br />
<br />
It was Sunday however, and for Jan a rare Sunday off, so whatever! The weather forecast was for brightness, light cloud, zero chance of rain and plenty of sunshine later. We could do a lazy leisurely hill walk later with no worries about the elements or timings. I didn’t really absorb the additional information I skimmed through on the mountain weather forecast though, which indicated freezing level at summits and 45mph winds. Nevertheless we threw in our Paramo’s and Rab wind proofs just in case, along with two flasks of steaming hot coffee.<br />
<br />
At about 2pm we started the one hour drive towards the distinctive pyramid shaped mountain called Cnicht. I haven’t done it for couple of years and I love the mountain (approximately 2200 feet). I have done it from the very meandrous North side and also from the shadowy East facing quarry valley of Cwm Orthin, which was today’s plan as I wanted to show Jan the old quarry workings. However, as part of her prep for some bigger mountains in the next few weeks she said she’d prefer a steep ascent, so we headed for Croesor on the brighter West side instead. This was a first for me too which was nice, making our way up the classic West ridge.<br />
<br />
We decided to have a cuppa and a sandwich in the cafe in the tiny, sleepy hamlet of Croesor but the cafe was so asleep it was closed! I was really surprised, this being the Easter break and a car park packed with walkers’ vehicles. We started up the long, bouldery woodland track before exiting right up towards
    GD001735.jpg
  • As is the way with my days off these days, there is no rush ever. Jan works long days and even longer nights in an intensive care department and there is NO shift pattern at all to allow a person’s body clock to plan the week. Her need for sleep catch up is vital, so I have learned not to expect a 7am leap out of bed, and instead to respect her body clock readjustment time. It doesn’t stop me getting fidgety however if the light looks amazing, and the day is going by :-)<br />
<br />
It was Sunday however, and for Jan a rare Sunday off, so whatever! The weather forecast was for brightness, light cloud, zero chance of rain and plenty of sunshine later. We could do a lazy leisurely hill walk later with no worries about the elements or timings. I didn’t really absorb the additional information I skimmed through on the mountain weather forecast though, which indicated freezing level at summits and 45mph winds. Nevertheless we threw in our Paramo’s and Rab wind proofs just in case, along with two flasks of steaming hot coffee.<br />
<br />
At about 2pm we started the one hour drive towards the distinctive pyramid shaped mountain called Cnicht. I haven’t done it for couple of years and I love the mountain (approximately 2200 feet). I have done it from the very meandrous North side and also from the shadowy East facing quarry valley of Cwm Orthin, which was today’s plan as I wanted to show Jan the old quarry workings. However, as part of her prep for some bigger mountains in the next few weeks she said she’d prefer a steep ascent, so we headed for Croesor on the brighter West side instead. This was a first for me too which was nice, making our way up the classic West ridge.<br />
<br />
We decided to have a cuppa and a sandwich in the cafe in the tiny, sleepy hamlet of Croesor but the cafe was so asleep it was closed! I was really surprised, this being the Easter break and a car park packed with walkers’ vehicles. We started up the long, bouldery woodland track before exiting right up towards
    GD001734.jpg
  • As is the way with my days off these days, there is no rush ever. Jan works long days and even longer nights in an intensive care department and there is NO shift pattern at all to allow a person’s body clock to plan the week. Her need for sleep catch up is vital, so I have learned not to expect a 7am leap out of bed, and instead to respect her body clock readjustment time. It doesn’t stop me getting fidgety however if the light looks amazing, and the day is going by :-)<br />
<br />
It was Sunday however, and for Jan a rare Sunday off, so whatever! The weather forecast was for brightness, light cloud, zero chance of rain and plenty of sunshine later. We could do a lazy leisurely hill walk later with no worries about the elements or timings. I didn’t really absorb the additional information I skimmed through on the mountain weather forecast though, which indicated freezing level at summits and 45mph winds. Nevertheless we threw in our Paramo’s and Rab wind proofs just in case, along with two flasks of steaming hot coffee.<br />
<br />
At about 2pm we started the one hour drive towards the distinctive pyramid shaped mountain called Cnicht. I haven’t done it for couple of years and I love the mountain (approximately 2200 feet). I have done it from the very meandrous North side and also from the shadowy East facing quarry valley of Cwm Orthin, which was today’s plan as I wanted to show Jan the old quarry workings. However, as part of her prep for some bigger mountains in the next few weeks she said she’d prefer a steep ascent, so we headed for Croesor on the brighter West side instead. This was a first for me too which was nice, making our way up the classic West ridge.<br />
<br />
We decided to have a cuppa and a sandwich in the cafe in the tiny, sleepy hamlet of Croesor but the cafe was so asleep it was closed! I was really surprised, this being the Easter break and a car park packed with walkers’ vehicles. We started up the long, bouldery woodland track before exiting right up towards
    GD001733.jpg
  • A small flock of sheep huddle together for warmth in winter in the exposed Nant Ogwen Valley in the heart of the Snowdonia mountains.  The impressive triangular dark mountain on the left is Tryfan, one of Snowdonia's most spectatcular but dangerous peaks.
    GD000516.jpg
  • Even from the Isle of Anglesey the clouds over the mountains looked amazing, so I headed for the foothills. Strangely the effects looked better from Ynys Môn than the hills themselves but for a short while, magical moments of light offered themselves up here on the peaks. A huge dark cloud gathered over Garnedd Elidir and remained there even even after I crossed the summit ridge. <br />
<br />
In the background you can see Yr Wyddfa, the highest mountain in Wales & England, amazingly cloud free on its summit, even though much higher than Garnedd Elidir. <br />
<br />
I'd been reading numerous articles about women being anxious about men in the mountains, so it was interesting that bar one man, all my fellow walkers were confident, happy, friendly women, young & old, nothing like the worried women I'd read about in articles. I was pleased that none of these women saw me as a threat in our shared wonderful landscape.
    GD002617.jpg
  • Evening light spilled under the clouds to illuminate the incredible and imposing Hottentots-Holland mountain range (part of the Cape Fold Belt) East of Cape Town. These mountains reach 1590 m / 5200 ft at their highest point.
    GD002246.jpg
  • The imposing and dramatic (almost Alpine like) peak of Tryfan, one of Snowdonia's most impressive and serious mountains. It's popularity has led many less experienced walkers to danger and even death, but it still remains a must-do mountain for many hill walkers. As seen from Elidir Fawr.
    GD001041.jpg
  • Sunshine burning through huge masses of low hill cloud swirling over the Welsh Carneddau mountains of Northern Snowdonia and lake Llyn Ffynnon Llugwy below. Taken from Y Braich mountain
    GD001818.jpg
  • The imposing and dramatic (almost Alpine like) peak of Tryfan, one of Snowdonia's most impressive and serious mountains. It's popularity has led many less experienced walkers to danger and even death, but it still remains a must-do mountain for many hill walkers. As seen from Elidir Fawr.
    GD001042.jpg
  • Stormy weather and incoming waves on the huge long beach at Dinas Dinlle, North Wales. The mountains of Yr Eifl can be seen on the Llyn Peninsula in the far distance.
    GD000524.jpg
  • The sun dropped quite quickly in the evenings here, and the Sandia Mountains soon turned to half shadow. A few small houses caught the last of the light in the foothills.
    GD002402
  • Another evening walk into the mountains to catch the dramatic, changeable light. As so often happens though, clouds came down across the evening sun and over the summits. I sat there drinking coffee in what became a waiting game and then suddenly, a pulse of sunshine illuminated the hillsides of the Glyderau mountains, silhouetting the foreground peaks and creating a drama I liked even if it was not what I’d originally envisaged.
    GD002317.jpg
  • An icy cold but beautiful day in the snowy mountains of the lower Carneddau. The walk which we planned to finish in 5 hours had to be shortened drastically as thick snowdrifts made progress unbelievably slow. We cut out two peaks just below the summits, to save time, but still ended up on dangerous unconsolidated snow which hid treacherous ankle snapping sinks into streams below, as we headed down into the Aber valley in near darkness. Lessons to be learned for sure.
    GD001388.jpg
  • An icy cold but beautiful day in the snowy mountains of the lower Carneddau. The walk which we planned to finish in 5 hours had to be shortened drastically as thick snowdrifts made progress unbelievably slow. We cut out two peaks just below the summits, to save time, but still ended up on dangerous unconsolidated snow which hid treacherous ankle snapping sinks into streams below, as we headed down into the Aber valley in near darkness. Lessons to be learned for sure.
    GD001389.jpg
  • I love the way the virgin snow of the drift seems to funnel upwards like an ice cream cone before exploding outwards across the sky in a 180º spread. <br />
<br />
It was an icy cold but beautiful day in the snowy mountains of the lower Carneddau. The walk which we planned to finish in 5 hours, had to be shortened drastically as thick snowdrifts made progress unbelievably slow. We cut out two peaks and walked just below the summits to save time but we still ended up on dangerous unconsolidated snow, hiding treacherous ankle-snapping drops into streams below. We finally arrived in near darkness at the Aber valley far below, in pain and having learned lessons for sure.
    GD001387.jpg
  • Isn’t the planet just magnificent! From mountains of sand to mountains of rock, Earth’s natural processes are just incredible, and what they create are beautiful.
    GD002575.jpg
  • Isn’t the planet just magnificent! From mountains of sand to mountains of rock, Earth’s natural processes are just incredible, and what they create are beautiful.
    GD002575.jpg
  • There is something truly spiritual and liberating about being completely alone in the mountains. I only saw one person all day and apart from him I was completely undisturbed. I was able to watch cloud shadows scudding across the landscape, blown by bitter Easterly winds. I bathed in beams of sunlight that were lucky enough to break beneath the dark skies. The hills felt like they were mine. The grasses waved at me and the weather offered itself as a theatrical performance for me alone. Every step I took and every breath I made in the clean air connected me more fully with the planet; every downhill slope made me smile and even the tiredness of my leg muscles was a welcome reminder that I was alive and that the world still has beautiful things to offer. Living so close to the mountains, and equally so close to the sea, is almost like living in paradise.
    GD002176.jpg
  • There’s a lot of truth in the suggestion that mountains can actually look far more majestic from below, than from the summits themselves. <br />
<br />
It was a beautiful day today on Anglesey, blue sky & sunshine - photographically a little boring even if the sunshine warmed my heart. At the end of day however the colours began to change and the mountain clouds started to disperse. It was a game of patience and hope, hope that the last of the sunshine would synchronise with the summit of Yr Wyddfa appearing through the clouds. I was delighted to make two exposures where the magic happened.
    GD002574.jpg
  • UNESCO World Heritage Site<br />
<br />
A fleeting burst of light during an overcast, mizzly day in the Welsh mountains.  The light glowed briefly over Llyn Peris before skipping at speed over the levels of the disused Dinorwic slate quarries and then disappearing altogether.<br />
<br />
It’s strange studying these old industrial workings, where men blasted away half a mountainside around half a century ago, but then seeing so many people using the quarried levels for climbing, walking, mountain biking and general sight-seeing. In a way it’s a really positive thing that so much fun has come out of so much destruction, and hardship for the quarrymen of old.
    GD002339.jpg
  • These huge, ancient mountains offer some opportunity for spiritual nourishment from nature & landscape, but almost without exception it's near impossible to find real peace & tranquility here, from high planes and wasp-like drones; the scream of motorbikes racing up the mountain passes; even just outdoor adventurers, chatting, laughing, shouting and calling to each other, to the endless background hum of cars winding their way around the valley lanes.  <br />
<br />
So during lockdown it was an incredible treat, a unique lifetime experience to find myself utterly alone in this magnificent landscape. No planes in the sky, not one vehicle on the road, empty lay-bys and no other sound of human voices. What I did hear, vividly & acutely, were the sounds of the wind in the trees & grasses, the chirping of birds and the trickling of water in tiny brooks. I've rarely felt as close to being at one with the planet. There are few things I will miss about lockdown, but the privilege of finding true solitude in normally busier landscapes, is definitely one of them.
    GD002670.jpg
  • Normally connected to everything, inseparable, a huge cloud inversion temporarily individualises the mountain peaks. They become more like islands distanced by a sea of vapour below. The mountains are suddenly like me, floating in an interspace between the earth and the universe, slightly unreal and utterly magical
    GD002510.jpg
  • Sunset over Aberdesach beach at low tide, on the Northern edge of the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales, revealing rock pools in the wide beach. The mountains of Gyrn Goch, Yr Eifl and Garn For are in the background.
    GD001167.jpg
  • Low cloud rolling in from the Irish Sea wraps around the summit of Mynydd Mawr and adjacent peaks of the Welsh mountains of Snowdonia at sunset. The top of a pine woodland can be seen on the hillside, separated from the background by  sheets of hill fog.
    GD001829.jpg
  • Evening sunlight over 'Gyrn’ in the Carneddau mountains of Snowdonia, Wales.
    GD002110.jpg
  • Early morning at Beaumaris, Anglesey, with views over the Menai Strait towards the mountains of Snowdonia in the background.
    GD000589.jpg
  • This beautiful lake sitting high up in Cwmffynnon in the Carneddau mountains of Snowdonia, North Wales, looks totally natural, but has in fact had a small dam added and is now a reservoir, serviced by a narrow access lane up the hillside.
    GD000866.jpg
  • Evening sunlight over 'Gyrn' and Moel Wnion in the lower Carneddau mountains.
    GD000857.jpg
  • View south over the misty Carneddau mountains and Mynydd Du, over to Elidir Fawr and finally the pointed summit of Snowdon in the far distance.
    GD001902.jpg
  • Huge seas (for Aberffraw, rolled right up to the top of this long flat beach, whilst breakers of cloud rolled over the stormy peaks of the Welsh mountains of the Llyn Peninsula in the background.<br />
<br />
Available in A4 and A3 sizes only
    GD000182.jpg
  • Sun rays over the Welsh mountains of Snowdonia with Bangor Victorian Pier in the foreground, jutting into the Menai Strait. Bangor is a University town and is now almost utterly dependent on the University for the city's economy.
    GD001741.jpg
  • Steep shingle and boulder beach at Aberdesach on the Northern edge of the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales. The mountains of Gyrn Goch, Yr Eifl and Garn For are in the background.
    GD001165.jpg
  • Slopes of the Carneddau mountains in Snowdonia, Wales, in winter, covered in snow, ice, sunlight and shadows from clouds above.
    GD000891.jpg
  • Another fantastic day walking in the Welsh mountains, this time with my gorgeous lady. It was bitterly cold as we started up the hill, and then when we reached the col the breeze chilled it even further. The sun started to come out from beneath a huge blanket of grey cloud and we enjoyed a hint of warmth on the ascent to the frost covered summit. We didn't hang around at the summit at all, as we knew we'd be in the dark on the final freezing leg back down the Northern bluff to the car park. Couldn't resist however, taking these images as we left the summit and faced the setting sun. Beautiful, wonderful, magical afternoon in real Wales, with Jani
    GD002350.jpg
  • A gentle evening light; it didn’t last long.<br />
<br />
A weather front advanced across the horizon and the brilliance of the sunshine subdued and cooled. An army of figures marched the trek from car park to lighthouse, a pilgrimage for many.<br />
<br />
For me however the sheer wonder of Llanddwyn is not the manmade structure on the island of lovers, but the incredible beauty of the natural; the huge wind-formed dunes covered in swaying marram grass, back-dropped by the skyline of wonderful Welsh mountains. <br />
<br />
The lighthouse is an objective but the dunes are true beauty.
    GD002115.jpg
  • This beautiful lake sitting high up in Cwmffynnon in the Carneddau mountains of Snowdonia, North Wales, looks totally natural, but has in fact had a small dam added and is now a reservoir, serviced by a narrow access lane up the hillside.
    GD000865.jpg
  • Dusk in the West, at Aberdesach on the Northern edge of the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales, facing out to the Irish Sea. The mountains of Gyrn Goch, Yr Eifl and Garn For are in the background.
    GD001168.jpg
  • Yr Elen looking magnificent and imposing in the winter vapours. In the summer it’s just an interesting bump preceding the bigger summit of Carnedd Llewelyn behind, but in these conditions it looked like a sunlit stairway to a snowy heaven. <br />
<br />
Over the last few years I have consciously avoided the snow, and hated the idea of going into cold, knackering snow blanketed mountains, but this year I’ve thoroughly enjoyed safe ventures into the low foothills from where I can observe the big peaks. This looks positively alpine but I was only on a low hill, zooming in on the bigger peaks with my telephoto lenses. It was a sense of being a part of it all without facing any real danger. I think next winter, post pandemic, I will be grabbing a mountaineering buddy and heading into the bigger peaks, that’s for sure.
    GD002568.jpg
  • Sunset and clouds over Garn For and Yr Eifl, mountains on the Llyn Peninsula, North Wales. Surf rolls in over the vast shallow beach of Dinas Dinlle in the foreground
    GD001372.jpg
  • In an abandoned quarry village, high up in the windswept mountains of Wales, sits a derelict old chapel with it's roof timbers now collapsing inwards but still pointing skywards. It is only the spirit of the workmen in this busy slate quarry that remains, the valley is silent and desolate.<br />
<br />
Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site
    GD001175.jpg
  • Menai Suspension Bridge (Welsh: Pont Grog y Borth) which is a stone built Victorian suspension bridge between the island of Anglesey and Bangor and mainland of Wales. The 100ft high bridge was designed by Thomas Telford and completed in 1826. Here the floodlit bridge spanning the Menai Strait is backed by snow covered Welsh mountains of Snowdonia
    GD000847.jpg
  • There was a strange beauty in the massive urban sprawl of the hot city of Alicante in Spain, but mostly because of the contrast between it and the towering mountains in the thundery background.
    GD001643.jpg
  • View south over the misty Carneddau mountains and Mynydd Du, over to Elidir Fawr and finally the pointed summit of Snowdon in the far distance.
    GD001884.jpg
  • Dusk in the West, at Aberdesach on the Northern edge of the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales, facing out to the Irish Sea. The mountains of Gyrn Goch, Yr Eifl and Garn For are in the background. <br />
<br />
Clouds built over the horizon but in the last of the sun they looked beautifully dramatic, textural and crisp. In fact there was so much texture in front of me that it was hard to find the minimalist simplicity I've been drawn to recently. For maybe ten minutes the world turned pink, the hue washed over the sky and infused in the gentle waves, even the wet sand threw it back skyward. I stood in the sea, in my walking boots, wave after wave lapping at my shins but amazingly my feet stayed as warm as the sunset colours. I studied the waves smoothing and cleansing the beach before me, back to perfection.
    GD001172.jpg
  • Another fantastic day walking in the Welsh mountains, this time with my gorgeous lady. It was bitterly cold as we started up the hill, and then when we reached the col the breeze chilled it even further. The sun started to come out from beneath a huge blanket of grey cloud and we enjoyed a hint of warmth on the ascent to the frost covered summit. We didn't hang around at the summit at all, as we knew we'd be in the dark on the final freezing leg back down the Northern bluff to the car park. Couldn't resist however, taking these images as we left the summit and faced the setting sun. Beautiful, wonderful, magical afternoon in real Wales, with Jani
    GD002349.jpg
  • Huge volcanic crater landscapes below the summt of Teneriffe's highest mountain, Mount Teidi. Scant plant life exists at this height which appears more like an arid desert landscape. The air is thinner here and is quite noticeable near the summit.
    GD001856.jpg
  • One of 3 winning entries in the 29th SUN (Shot up North) Awards for full time professional photographers<br />
<br />
I had been looking back through some early work and was amazed at how much snow we had in the winter of 2006. Amongst the more natural-looking snowy mountain images I’d taken from the top of Moel Eilio was this one of the Dinorwig Quarries below Elidir Fawr. I was fascinated by the cool purity of the winter snow gently trying to smooth over the vast, ugly, man-made scarring of the mountain’s lower regions.<br />
<br />
The image has almost literally been sliced in half – the softer, wild and windswept upper reaches, and the angular, fractured blackness of the quarries below. Of course, the quarries hold their own fascination in terms of human history, culture and tenacity, but sometimes it’s only from a distance that you realise just how much destruction has gone on. Equally, it’s almost comforting to know just how much beauty still does exist, even within areas that have been so exploited, as here in Llanberis.<br />
<br />
UNESCO World Heritage Site
    GD001235.jpg
  • Stunning views of the surroundings hills and valleys whilst descending from Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) Wales' highest mountain. The effects of glaciation are clearly visible and explains why so many educational groups come to this region to study geography and geomorphology
    GD001499.jpg
  • Crepuscular rays over the dark mountains of the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales
    GD001592.jpg
  • On an otherwise blue sky day, an unusual solitary cloud appeared above the freedom of the mountains. Shortly the cloud intensified and grew much larger, but thankfully it never rained.
    GD002726.jpg
  • Such wonderful contrasts in Winter landscape, bright sunshine against snow covered mountains, cool blue seas against warm toned dunes. In winter everythiung just feels so much more real, vital, timeless. Perhaps the non existent crowds, the sound of the ocean and the wind numbing your face, heighten the reality.
    GD002692.jpg
  • A vast cloud towers over the San Andreas mountains to the West of White Sands National Monument in New Mexico. These are to the South of the same White Sands National Monument where America carried out many of it’s early nuclear weapons tests.
    GD002512-COL.jpg
  • Perhaps the quietest area of Anglesey, being acres and acres of privated land, mostly farmed by tenant farmers. The Bodorgan Estate is understandably a perfect, private location for the royal couple Prince William & Kate after their marriage, with spectacular views of the Snowdonia mountains and a short helicopter taxi ride to his work at RAF Valley.
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  • A vast cloud towers over the San Andreas mountains to the West of White Sands National Monument in New Mexico. These are to the South of the same White Sands National Monument where America carried out many of it’s early nuclear weapons tests.
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  • Blindingly beautiful evening sunshine bathing the expansive dunes on this West Anglesey beach, with snow-capped mountains catching pulses of light between the scudding clouds above.
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  • From Wiki - The roadrunners, also known as chaparral birds or chaparral cocks, are two species of fast-running ground cuckoos with long tails and crests. They are found in the southwestern and south-central United States and Mexico, usually in the desert
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  • UNESCO World Heritage Site<br />
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Stunning rainbows formed behind me as late evening sunset burned through sheets of rain moving across the mountains. It was so tempting to concentrate on the back-lit rain in front of me, but when this was going on behind my back I couldn’t resist a snap :-)
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  • On the mountain plains high above the South Africa coast en route to Mossel Bay
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  • After an unpromising start on a cold grey day, and my hip playing up for the first time in a year, serene sunlight glowed underneath the swirling low cloud shrouding the summits.<br />
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It’s moments like this that make my day, that lify my spirits and paint away the anxiety and anger over the stupidity of human kind. I need the solace that the hills offer those who seek it. I love the solitude as it’s further escape from the nonsense that is current society. Thankfull I didn’t see many fellow walkers, and those I did, bar four, were the grumpiest sods. They never ackowldeged me or my warm greeting, choosing instead to pretend I didn’t exist. Sign of the times. The mountains however welcomed me glady as always, and I felt part of them and utterly connected to them and the elements.
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  • Looking at the eroded mountains of the Llyn Peninsula in the background; watching the tide gently advance over the slabs of tilted rock; studying the two Oystercatchers enjoying the evening warmth; marvelling at the rich yellow lichen growing in the clean air; I couldn’t help but ponder about the purpose of human life. Without us, there would be so much less damage to the planet, no evil, no unnecessary violence, no exploitation of what the planet provides - I just reason that everything would be in order, that the earth would be in balance not plunging into darkness.
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  • The last embers of a burning sunset caught the gable ends of the hillside town of Groeslon on the hillside below the imposing Nantlle Ridge. The clouds were on fire, billowing and swirling, hiding and revealing the majestic hills behind. <br />
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And then within perhaps a minute, a huge fire blanket of cloud on the horizon suffocated the intense flames, and the colours were gone for the night.
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  • Shot whilst I was being filmed for the ITV Series “The Strait” in which I am one of the featured characters. We had been up in the Welsh mountains beforehand, hoping to get some views from the summits back across Anglesey. We raced down to the Foryd Estuary on the Menai Strait just as the sun was setting. The wind was fierce and bitter, and I have allowed the file colour to remain blue rather than correcting everything, as I prefer the colour symbolism of the blue tones. It looks like the conditions that I felt at the time.
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  • Dusk haze from Moroccon trade winds, partially softening Timanfaya National Park (Fire Mountain), Lanzarote
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  • Menai Suspension Bridge (Welsh: Pont Grog y Borth) which is a stone built Victorian suspension bridge between the island of Anglesey and Bangor and mainland of Wales. The 100ft high bridge was designed by Thomas Telford and completed in 1826. Here the floodlit bridge spanning the Menai Strait is backed by snow covered Welsh mountains of Snowdonia
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  • When I arrived at the beach the sun was out and brilliantly bouncing off the sea. You'd have thought it was summer but for everyone wearing their down jackets and hats. <br />
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I crouched down in the orange light and quietly got changed under my warm, towel robe, not really wanting to get out from under as the wind was very chilly indeed. For the first time this Autumn I also noticed a distinct change in the sea temp, now down to just 10.3º a whole degree drop. I nevertheless relished the cold water rising around my neck, forcing the involuntary gasps of excitement. I swam for a short while before enjoying the afterglow walk back up the beach to my kit. <br />
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Now wrapped up warm like the other beach goers, I thoroughly enjoyed making these images after sunset, loving the moon rising over the Eryri mountains on the mainland. What did shock me was the number of huge Barrel Jellyfish washed up on the shoreline, a reminder of what I'd been swimming amongst!
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  • I could sense it in the air, that something had changed, and when I left our street and looked towards the mountains, there it was, the first snow, glistening in the early morning Autumn light. It won't last long I'm sure, but I knew swimming from now on was going to become more of a challenge!
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  • When you see the lush woodland remaining in tiny little patches of Ynys Môn you realise just how lush this country was before man cultivated it for housing & crops. Indeed look to the barren mountains behind & remember most of them would have been forested too. In this little clearing lies a scene that hints back to times that once were, and in so many ways I wish they still existed.
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  • As I approached the edge of the vast fog bank, the early morning sunshine burned orange over Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) and the mountains of Eryri. I had to pull over at the road-side to grab this image.
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  • Normally I avoid taking pictures of the mountains when they only have light patchy snow, as I always think it looks 'messy' but this evening, in the last of the sunlight before dusk, there was something subtly beautiful about it all, so I relented and made an image before a very muddy, squelchy, flooded walk home.
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  • A stunning genuine and unexpected sunset after a stormy afternoon. Different layers of clouds stack high into the sky above the Welsh town of Caernarfon and the mountains of Snowdonia behind. The expansive and dangerously fast Menai Strait lies in the foreground.
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  • Summer 2020, week after week of dreary wet weather in North Wales, occasionally positivity injected with a day or so of sunshine. <br />
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We sat on the front at Dinas Dinlle watching dozens of holiday makers desperately trying to make the most of their staycation in the gloom. As a grandfather near the shore and a young Dad near the top of the shingle beach vainly tried to make damp kites fly for their hopeful kids, a squall of heavy rain slowly moved across the mountains of Yr Eifl - curtains of rain softening the ancient hills of the Hammer Tribes behind.
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  • Tantalisingly close, legally impossible but the lure of the mountains is powerful and emotional - they are a siren calling through the breeze. That’s all, a ten minute breeze separating me from my spiritual sanctuary.<br />
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UNESCO World Heritage Site
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  • Mind blowing colours threaded through thousands of acres of high mountains as we move North in New Mexico. The heat haze is still apparent in all these distant pictures but in a way does show the high 30º temperatures we’re experiencing in this desert landscape.
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  • No idea why the reservoirs were so green up here in the mountains, but they certainly created an incredible compliment to the clear blue skies and hot arid earth.
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  • Under intense sunshine, surrounded by arid plains and distant mountains, we blasted along deserted dust roads in this vast empty space. It was quite a surprise on reaching the brow of an infinite hill, to suddenly see isolated trees dotted around. They were more like surreal incongruous sculptures than any object of normality.  <br />
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This is what we found about Namibia, that the landscapes although huge, do vary. It almost imperceptible at first but you come to realise that you are indeed no longer in the same place you were!
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  • Standing on a buttress high above Cwm Llachar in the Carneddau mountains of Snowdonia, even the patches of sunshine brought little relief from the bitter cold. The ascent to the dark cloud-shackled summit of Carnedd Dafydd was steep, ominous and icy, so in failing evening light we drank a last hot coffee and began our descent in gathering cold dusk
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  • In the approaching dark of heavy rain clouds and a biting cold wind, the beautiful and enticing ridge-walk from Pen yr Helgi Du received an unexpected burst of sunlight along its length.<br />
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We debated all the way to its steep northern ascent, but then the heavens opened and we realised we had been very wise to ignore the siren’s call as we headed down to the dark lake in torrential, skin-soaking rain. Even the Gore-Tex rainwear failed in these conditions and we still only just made the van before complete darkness.<br />
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What has always struck me when looking at this photograph, is just how skin-like the hillside appears, like the hide of a huge animal. When you think of just how thin the ‘living surface’ above mountains of solid rock actually is then, effectively, it is just a ‘skin’ which will be affected by the weather and which will change appearance and colour constantly over time.
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  • The first day of the new year, the first day of the new decade! After a lazy start, relaxing in bed, drinking fresh coffee whilst sunshine poured through the window, we decided to make the most of the beautiful conditions and get a walk in. <br />
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We drove to the Great Orme to maximise exposure to the New Year’s sunshine and scrambled up through the limestone buttresses to reach the summit. The views back across to Snowdonia were stunning, the huge mountains just stopped at the sea and looked more reminiscent of some Greek islands than the Welsh coast. The sea was so calm and the tiny yacht making its way out of the Conwy estuary helped to describe just how huge and magnificent everything looked. <br />
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In terms of climate disaster and self-interested politics worldwide we are in such frightening times, but today’s conditions at the start of the new decade, infused us both with a small dose of happiness and positivity that I hope to God we can still find more of over the next few years.
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  • A simple shot of Bangor Pier taken as the thick fog banks from a temperature inversion cleared in the warm morning sunshine. It was strange to see the Snowdonia mountains appear first, and then slowly but surely Bangor Pier and the Menai Strait, until finally the fog disappeared altogether.
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  • The rain was relentless, falling in vast sheets across the sombre Welsh hillsides, soaking the landscape and everything upon it. I’d just descended from the gale-blown summits where I’d not seen a soul, but I was more than happy in my wet solitude. I could hear a hidden river tumbling through dark rocks in the valley below.<br />
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The wind drove the rain through the back of my waterproofs as I trudged down the tiny path back to habitation. It was near silent, no calls of birds or bleating of sheep, just the drumming of the downpour on my hood. <br />
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I loved it all. Amidst these huge Welsh mountains that one-minute seemed imposing and soft like a watercolour the next, I felt alive in this huge valley, a tiny, isolated figure moving through an ancient glaciated landscape. These are times and conditions when you feel humbled by the elements and connected to the earth.
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  • Such wonderful contrasts in Winter landscape, bright sunshine against snow covered mountains, cool blue seas against warm toned dunes. In winter everythiung just feels so much more real, vital, timeless. Perhaps the non existent crowds, the sound of the ocean and the wind numbing your face, heighten the reality.
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  • Just south of The Three Sisters volcanoes in Western Albuquerque, looking towards the huge Sandia Mountain range of New Mexico. There is so little water in this state, therefore agriculture and arable farming is near impossible, but grasslands seem to abound on the vast open plains. Rattlesnakes however, are quite common, and I was extremely cautious about wandering into these grasslands to find the best foreground for pictures!
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  • A mountain walker stops at a high point of a precipitous crag of Craig y Bera on Mynydd Mawr, to watch banks of cloud roll in from the Irish Sea and curl over the top of the Nantlle Ridge in Snowdonia, North Wales before evaporating again over the Nantlle valley.
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  • A beautifully soft and rounded mountain landscape, grass covered and sensual. Amidst this gentlying blowing softness hard, prominent man made walls graphically divided the landscape. There was warmth today, not to the bare human skin but to the heart and soul...Additional info: These huge but isolated walls, stretching across this windy and exposed Welsh mountain top, simply don't meet! One stops on the left, the other starts further up to the right, it's like a massive error of judgement by the wall builders! Why :-)) Beautiful light for this bizarrely abstract landscape though.
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  • A brilliant white dust road leads out of the Tsitsikamma National Park forest and heads towards peak after knife edge peak of the mountain range beyond.<br />
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I can’t get over how high, serrated and steep these mountain pinnacles actually are.
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  • On top of a bare exposed mountain top, frozen solid with ice, sat this surreal ring of frozen grass, quite different from any other mountain vegetation. It totally surprised me, so perfect, so geomteric, so incongrous !
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  • The narrow lane winding up through the slate quarrying village of Deiniolen, disappears over the ridge but in the distance the Snowdon railway track leads us up to the summit of the highest mountain in England and Wales
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  • A surprisingly rocky, surprisingly ridgy, edgy walk around the Marchlyn Mawr reservoir which feeds the Dinorwic HEP station in Llanberis. The snow was everywhere but the weather was stunning, blue skies and bright crisp sunlight bouncing off brilliant clean white surface. In the distance huge snow clouds raced across the lowland island of Anglesey.
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  • Fit blonde woman starting the famous and difficut hiking trail down the Masca Barranco Gorge in Tenerife which leads from the high mountain village of Masca down to the Atlantic Ocean at Masca Beach.
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