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  • Tiny drops of sunshine torch-light the dark rolling hills of North Wales' Lleyn Peninsula, and in the middle distance lie the sites of several iron age hill forts.
    GD001538.jpg
  • The iconic and craggy peak of Tryfan, a hill walkers' mecca in the heart of Snowdonia, peaks it's irregular summit in the far distance, but to the right, deceptively looking even higher, is the huge rounded and open peak of Glyder Fawr. <br />
<br />
This was taken following a last minute decision to slog up Mynydd Mawr under inclement weather but it resulted in just the most fantastic hour of weather-watching from it's summit. I was utterly gripped by the continual theatrical change of light being played out across the Snowdonia hills. If it were not for my friend feeling frozen I would have braved another hour or so of just sitting and watching.
    GD001342.jpg
  • A phenomenal temperature inversion in North Wales, leaving only the summits of Snowdonia's hughest peaks in glaring sunshine above the cloud bank. Here we see the first peaks of the Nantlle Ridge, a hill walker's paradise, with Moel Hebog just making an appearance in the far distance.
    GD001792.jpg
  • The huge & imposing massif of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) Wales' highest mountain. This was taken following a last minute decision to slog up Mynydd Mawr under inclement weather but it resulted in just the most fantastic hour of weather-watching from it's summit. I was utterly gripped by the continual theatrical change of light being played out across the Snowdonia hills. If it were not for my friend feeling frozen I would have braved another hour or so of just sitting and watching.
    GD001343.jpg
  • Winner - Honourable Mention in 10th (2017) International Colour Awards (Nature category) <br />
<br />
The huge & imposing massif of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) Wales' highest mountain. This was taken following a last minute decision to slog up Mynydd Mawr under inclement weather but it resulted in just the most fantastic hour of weather-watching from it's summit. I was utterly gripped by the continual theatrical change of light being played out across the Snowdonia hills. If it were not for my friend feeling frozen I would have braved another hour or so of just sitting and watching.
    GD001347.jpg
  • The huge & imposing massif of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) Wales' highest mountain. This was taken following a last minute decision to slog up Mynydd Mawr under inclement weather but it resulted in just the most fantastic hour of weather-watching from it's summit. I was utterly gripped by the continual theatrical change of light being played out across the Snowdonia hills. If it were not for my friend feeling frozen I would have braved another hour or so of just sitting and watching.<br />
<br />
UNESCO World Heritage Site
    GD001344.jpg
  • SUN28 Shot Up North Awards winning entry (2016).<br />
<br />
International Color Awards 2016 - Nominee in "Nature" category<br />
<br />
The huge & imposing massif of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) Wales' highest mountain. This was taken following a last minute decision to slog up Mynydd Mawr under inclement weather but it resulted in just the most fantastic hour of weather-watching from it's summit. I was utterly gripped by the continual theatrical change of light being played out across the Snowdonia hills.
    GD001348.jpg
  • The huge & imposing massif of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) Wales' highest mountain. This was taken following a last minute decision to slog up Mynydd Mawr under inclement weather but it resulted in just the most fantastic hour of weather-watching from it's summit. I was utterly gripped by the continual theatrical change of light being played out across the Snowdonia hills. If it were not for my friend feeling frozen I would have braved another hour or so of just sitting and watching.
    GD001346.jpg
  • Nominated for 11th International B&W Spider Awards<br />
<br />
The huge & imposing massif of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) Wales' highest mountain. This was taken following a last minute decision to slog up Mynydd Mawr under inclement weather but it resulted in just the most fantastic hour of weather-watching from it's summit. I was utterly gripped by the continual theatrical change of light being played out across the Snowdonia hills. If it were not for my friend feeling frozen I would have braved another hour or so of just sitting and watching.
    GD001345.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
  • The summit of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) Wales' highest mountain, as seen from a lower peak of Yr Aran, above the huge bowl of the corrie of Cwm Llan.
    GD001377.jpg
  • Official and hard-wearing footpaths are needed on Wales' highest mountain, Snowdon, simply due to the vast numbers of walkers aiming for it's summit. Nevertheless the hillsides and surrounding peaks are always fantastic, despite the crowds.
    GD001686.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
  • 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
    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
  • GD001032.jpg
  • A phenomenal temperature inversion in North Wales, leaving only the summits of Snowdonia's hughest peaks in glaring sunshine above the cloud bank.
    GD001952.jpg
  • A phenomenal temperature inversion in North Wales, leaving only the summits of Snowdonia's highest peaks in glaring sunshine above the cloud bank.  <br />
<br />
Tryfan & the Glyderau are the high peaks in the background and Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) fill the foreground above the fog
    GD001892.jpg
  • A phenomenal temperature inversion in Snowdonia, North Wales, leaving only the summits of Snowdonia's highest peaks in glaring sunshine above the cloud bank. This ridge of Mynydd Mawr is at cloud level, just before breaking into bright sunshine, the cloud below dark and ominous.
    GD001793.jpg
  • A phenomenal temperature inversion in North Wales, leaving only the summits of Snowdonia's hughest peaks in glaring sunshine above the cloud bank.
    GD001951.jpg
  • There was a draw, I wanted to just leap into the light, to soar like a raven into the void - I wanted the light, I needed the light and the cool vapours swirled around me as the sun tried to warm my face. <br />
<br />
It was caused by a phenomenal temperature inversion in North Wales, leaving only the summits of Snowdonia's highest peaks in glaring sunshine above the cloud bank.
    GD001891.jpg
  • During awful, dreary weather in Snowdonia, a break appeared in the clouds and evening sunshine flooded in an upon this soft and ancient Welsh landscape. It looks as though a theatre spot light has been turned on but the lighting is natural and just the way I saw it.
    GD001579.jpg
  • A phenomenal temperature inversion in North Wales, leaving only the summits of Snowdonia's hughest peaks in glaring sunshine above the cloud bank.
    GD001950.jpg
  • A phenomenal temperature inversion in North Wales, leaving only the summits of Snowdonia's highest peaks in glaring sunshine above the cloud bank but here in the transition zone on Mynydd Mawr the fog created eerie views above steep and craggy mountain cliffs.
    GD001953.jpg
  • A phenomenal temperature inversion in North Wales, leaving only the summits of Snowdonia's highest peaks in glaring sunshine above the cloud bank.  <br />
<br />
Nantlle Ridge peaking above a vast sea of fog in brillian sunshine. Below. it seemed like an awful dull wet day.
    GD001893.jpg
  • The most incredible aerial erosion of granite over eons, forming huge molars of hard rock on the cliff & hill tops of Cornwall. They look so man made, gigantic Hepworth or Moore sculptures, but are completely naturally formed. the granite tors were 'bubbles' of lava that popped up through weaknesses in the earth's crust, and form many of the Cornish hilltops.
    GD002649.jpg
  • Above one of the poorest areas in Cornwall, once a tin-mining heartland, stands a memorial to one of Cornwall's super rich - Francis Basset, 1st Baron de Dunstanville, a prominant politician who made his fortune in tin-mining but seemed mostly against any politcial reform as it would have have eroded his power & wealth in Cornwall. He was the fourth richest landowner in Cornwall. He never had an heir and his Barony is therefore extinct. The superb granite tors atop this hill, eroded over eons, preceeded humanity and will succeed humanity, thankfully.
    GD002653.jpg
  • On the summit in dark swirling cloud. A delicate sun glimmered through the vapour, illuminating shards of quartz-covered, shattered wet rock. <br />
<br />
I was alone on the summit and it helped create the feeling that this pictorial wonder was my privilege alone.
    GD002346.jpg
  • On the summit in dark swirling cloud. A delicate sun glimmered through the vapour, illuminating shards of quartz-covered, shattered wet rock.<br />
.<br />
I was alone on the summit and it helped create the feeling that this pictorial wonder was my privilege alon
    GD002348.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
  • 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
  • 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.
    GD001046.jpg
  • It is said that the distinctive breast-shaped hillside of Mynydd Carnguwch is sometimes aptly referred to as Bron y Ferch (The Girl’s Breast). It was over these hillsides, years ago, that men from the village would have had to walk for many miles to fetch supplies from the nearest towns, bringing everything back by hand.
    GD000803.jpg
  • 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.
    GD001047.jpg
  • A surprisingly rocky, surprisingly ridgy, edgy walk upon Elidir Fawr in Snowdonia. The snow was everywhere but the weather was stunning, bright skies and crisp sunlight bouncing off brilliant clean white surfaces. In the middle distance are the lower slopes of Wales highest mountain, Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa) and in the background, the undulating peaks of the Nantlle Ridge.
    GD001043.jpg
  • Crib Goch (Red comb) under a blue sky.  This is the most precipitous and narrow ridge walk on Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) - 1,085 m (3,560 ft), the highest mountain in Wales, and Snowdon is the highest point in the British Isles outside Scotland. With a café at it's summit, it's also the highest café in the UK. A railway takes some visitors to the summit.
    GD000858.jpg
  • One end of the famous Nantlle Ridge walk starting with Y Garn (highest central peak) before moving to the right and Trum y Ddysgl. The peaks in the distant left, lead to a highest peak of Moel Hebog, Snowdonia
    GD000839.jpg
  • The sun lies, there was NO warmth up here, just a severe and bitterly cold wind blowing from the East over the Carneddau. Slices of sunshine simply skimmed right off the snow surface and was lost in the air. The only compromise was the perfectly rounded and deeply satisfying contour of Moel Wnion in the sunlit distance.
    GD001055.jpg
  • I was feeling ill today, man flu, but the light was so tempting outside that I decided to go for a walk anyway and drove towards the light, Llanddwyn Island. Experienced hailstorms and heavy showers but had the chance to try out my new Slazenger Golf Brolly :-) Ended up alone on the island and made the most of blasts of good light before making my way back to van alone in the dusk.<br />
<br />
© Glyn Davies - All rights reserved.
    GD001112.jpg
  • I was feeling ill today, man flu, but the light was so tempting outside that I decided to go for a walk anyway and drove towards the light, Llanddwyn Island. Experienced hailstorms and heavy showers but had the chance to try out my new golf brolly :-) Ended up alone on the island and made the most of blasts of good light before making my way back to van alone in the dusk
    GD001114.jpg
  • After a disheartening post-lockdown open-day at the gallery, when not one customer came in, I happily closed the door and after a big hug from Jani before she started her latest ITU shift, I decided to go for a last minute walk into the hills. <br />
<br />
I was literally alone on the hill and the light was promisingly dramatic. I reached the summit and started shooting some frames as the light changed by the minute. It was just before sundown when I heard voices and the first of two young couples arrived. There followed a short performance of selfie taking by both couples - on the style, over the style, against the sunset, away from the sunset, on the wall, off the wall, close up shots, distant shots, but I didn't see these couples just sitting (or standing) and just quietly absorbing the absolute beauty of the world around them. <br />
<br />
It was genuinely great to see young loving couples out in the big landscape, it can be such a romantic activity for lovers, but it would be nice to think they loved the natural beauty of the light, land and sounds of nature, as much as the selfie taking. I know this is sign of the times here, and perhaps I'm just too old school!
    GD002626.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
  • 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
    GD001497.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
  • It's August, it looked sunny. The hills are swarming with summer walkers, like mozzys on a sweaty cow. I have to go further and further afield at this time of year to escape the vortex desperation of lemmings sucked towards the highest peaks. Arenig Fawr jumped out at me on the map - The description: "To some, the poor Southern relative of the Snowdonia bigger peaks" - but to me exactly the reason to reach for it's summit. The downside to these hills, is that their very disuse means the paths are not so precise, so trodden or so scarred. Map reading and navigation are worthwhile skills but even with my OS1;25,000 the description of the descent as, 'follows faint, sometimes invisible paths, across boggy vegetated hillsides" did worry me a little, especially as the clouds were already thickening over Snowdonia by the time we'd even reached Capel Curig !
    GD001297.jpg
  • It's August, it looked sunny. The hills are swarming with summer walkers, like mozzys on a sweaty cow. I have to go further and further afield at this time of year to escape the vortex desperation of lemmings sucked towards the highest peaks. Arenig Fawr jumped out at me on the map - The description: "To some, the poor Southern relative of the Snowdonia bigger peaks" - but to me exactly the reason to reach for it's summit. The downside to these hills, is that their very disuse means the paths are not so precise, so trodden or so scarred. Map reading and navigation are worthwhile skills but even with my OS 1:25,000 the description of the descent as, 'follows faint, sometimes invisible paths, across boggy vegetated hillsides" did worry me a little, especially as the clouds were already thickening over Snowdonia by the time we'd even reached Capel Curig!
    GD001294.jpg
  • It's August, it looked sunny. The hills are swarming with summer walkers, like mozzys on a sweaty cow. I have to go further and further afield at this time of year to escape the vortex desperation of lemmings sucked towards the highest peaks. Arenig Fawr jumped out at me on the map - The description: "To some, the poor Southern relative of the Snowdonia bigger peaks" - but to me exactly the reason to reach for it's summit. The downside to these hills, is that their very disuse means the paths are not so precise, so trodden or so scarred. Map reading and navigation are worthwhile skills but even with my OS1;25,000 the description of the descent as, 'follows faint, sometimes invisible paths, across boggy vegetated hillsides" did worry me a little, especially as the clouds were already thickening over Snowdonia by the time we'd even reached Capel Curig !
    GD001292.jpg
  • It's August, it looked sunny. The hills are swarming with summer walkers, like mozzys on a sweaty cow. I have to go further and further afield at this time of year to escape the vortex desperation of lemmings sucked towards the highest peaks. Arenig Fawr jumped out at me on the map - The description: "To some, the poor Southern relative of the Snowdonia bigger peaks" - but to me exactly the reason to reach for it's summit. The downside to these hills, is that their very disuse means the paths are not so precise, so trodden or so scarred. Map reading and navigation are worthwhile skills but even with my OS1;25,000 the description of the descent as, 'follows faint, sometimes invisible paths, across boggy vegetated hillsides" did worry me a little, especially as the clouds were already thickening over Snowdonia by the time we'd even reached Capel Curig !
    GD001293.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
    GD001500.jpg
  • The peak of Yr Elen in the Carneddau range, Snowdonia, covered in shadows of passing cumulus clouds.
    GD001033.jpg
  • This is the upper lake just below the summit of Elidir Fawr, which is streamed into huge pipes which feed the 4 turbines in the power station 500 meters below. The water is pumped back up at night when demand is low and pumping costs are least.
    GD001373.jpg
  • A last minute decision to slog up Mynydd Mawr on a mixed weather day, resulted in just the most fantastic hour of weather watching from it's summit. I was utterly gripped by the continual theatrical change being played out across the Snowdonia Range. If it were not for my friend feeling rather chilly I think I'd have braved another hour or so of just sitting and watching.<br />
<br />
UNESCO World Heritage Site
    GD001534.jpg
  • GD001498.jpg
  • From a shoot alongside the BBC's 'Weatherman Walking' series with Derek Brockway. I was acting as guide for the walk because of my book about the location.<br />
<br />
We had just come up from Tre'r onto the summit of Garn Ganol. The hill fog had been very thick, swirling in a clammy wet blanket about us which was very atmospheric but also blocked all the views. Here however, the cloud suddenly parted and revealed beautiful patches of sunlit Llyn Landscape. Even the cameramen were ecstatic about the weather phenomenon before us - stunning.
    GD000935a.jpg
  • I think most of my family, friends & followers of my work have seen how far I’ve been sinking since lockdown started back in Africa in March. I haven’t coped that well with losing access to one of the main cures for my darkness, getting out into the landscape & nature. It’s been a real battle internally and I felt I was losing a grip on what life was about, so many waves of loss, fear and entrapment. <br />
<br />
So with the latest minimal change to Welsh lockdown rules, and the ability to drive five miles to meet friends or get exercise, it’s been euphoric for me. My first walk up a small hill, just to be in the mountains again, was as if it was my first time! My heart literally was pounding with excitement and I found myself grinning constantly as I ascended the hill. I found it remarkable to just watch my feet in their walking shoes, taking steps up rocks and grass covered slopes. The wind was cold and I’d delayed the start of the walk to allow a heavy hail shower to pass over, but when the June sunshine appeared it bathed me in warmth and joy. <br />
<br />
From the summit I was able to see all the major peaks, the Carneddau, Tryfan, the Glyderau, Yr Wyddfa, Garnedd Elidir, and even Yr Eifel on the Llyn. A couple passed me on their way down and after an awkward, socially distanced acknowledgement as is the way these days, I saw no one for the rest of the time in the hills. It was the sort of solitude I yearn for, the solitude of choice not the solitude of jail.   <br />
<br />
Shortly before another heavy hail shower, which lasted almost half an hour, I found myself enchanted by the morphing dark clouds over the Carneddau, even their ominous depth seemed magical and awesome. Quite suddenly an intense beam of warm sunshine split the sombre scene and caressed its way up and over Foel Meirch until it ticked the shrouded summit of Carnedd Dafydd. It was my perfect light, theatrical and dramatic, a play with no characters, just backdrops. <br />
<br />
I sat on the summit, alone and happy in my own thou
    GD002484.jpg
  • Nominated for 11th International B&W Spider Awards<br />
<br />
Walking in the baking heat of the desert landscape in Northern Fuerteventura, my mouth was dry, my skin burned, the air seemed to suck moisture direct from my lungs. The wind whipped sand across my legs and every step in the soft sand was an effort in the middy sunshine. <br />
<br />
At the back of a beach these would be no more than fun dunes but even in this very small piece of landscape, the distant hills seemed even further away than I’d imagined, and each sandy hill was a mountain that defeated uphill progress. I found a drinks can, so beaten by the ultraviolet radiation and intense conditions that it was completely devoid of its original colours and was breaking down in structure. <br />
<br />
And yet, despite the extreme sensations I was experiencing, there was a beauty in the hostile environment, a delicate aesthetic that lures you in to its heart; unspoiled virginal white sand sculpted by nature into wonderful curvaceous shapes. <br />
<br />
Every time I revisit this island I am drawn back to this mini desert, but it has left me with a thirst to experience more vast and impressive deserts. Is it that the shifting surfaces and the labyrinthine of changing landscape features makes these places more magical, or surreal? It may be that we are visiting Namibia in 2018 so my curiosity and hunger for these places may be sated.
    GD001441
  • Walking in the baking heat of the desert landscape in Northern Fuerteventura, my mouth was dry, my skin burned, the air seemed to suck moisture direct from my lungs. The wind whipped sand across my legs and every step in the soft sand was an effort in the middy sunshine. <br />
<br />
At the back of a beach these would be no more than fun dunes but even in this very small piece of landscape, the distant hills seemed even further away than I’d imagined, and each sandy hill was a mountain that defeated uphill progress. I found a drinks can, so beaten by the ultraviolet radiation and intense conditions that it was completely devoid of its original colours and was breaking down in structure. <br />
<br />
And yet, despite the extreme sensations I was experiencing, there was a beauty in the hostile environment, a delicate aesthetic that lures you in to its heart; unspoiled virginal white sand sculpted by nature into wonderful curvaceous shapes. <br />
<br />
Every time I revisit this island I am drawn back to this mini desert, but it has left me with a thirst to experience more vast and impressive deserts. Is it that the shifting surfaces and the labyrinthine of changing landscape features makes these places more magical, or surreal? It may be that we are visiting Namibia in 2018 so my curiosity and hunger for these places may be sated.
    GD001449.jpg
  • From a shoot with the BBC's Weatherman Walking Series with Derek Brockway...I had just finished the last interview, where I relate one of the legends of Nant Gwrtheyrn to Derek, and they then headed off for Porth Dinllaen but I stayed back a while until almost dark, when I shot this dusk image over the Irish Sea. This is a straight shot, no colour adjustments, and a tweak to the contrast. It was stunning, after a very surreal day of swirling hill fog on the top of Tre'r Ceiri and Garn Ganol.
    GD000937.jpg
  • Walking in the baking heat of the desert landscape in Northern Fuerteventura, my mouth was dry, my skin burned, the air seemed to suck moisture direct from my lungs. The wind whipped sand across my legs and every step in the soft sand was an effort in the middy sunshine. <br />
<br />
At the back of a beach these would be no more than fun dunes but even in this very small piece of landscape, the distant hills seemed even further away than I’d imagined, and each sandy hill was a mountain that defeated uphill progress. I found a drinks can, so beaten by the ultraviolet radiation and intense conditions that it was completely devoid of its original colours and was breaking down in structure. <br />
<br />
And yet, despite the extreme sensations I was experiencing, there was a beauty in the hostile environment, a delicate aesthetic that lures you in to its heart; unspoiled virginal white sand sculpted by nature into wonderful curvaceous shapes. <br />
<br />
Every time I revisit this island I am drawn back to this mini desert, but it has left me with a thirst to experience more vast and impressive deserts. Is it that the shifting surfaces and the labyrinthine of changing landscape features makes these places more magical, or surreal? It may be that we are visiting Namibia in 2018 so my curiosity and hunger for these places may be sated.
    GD001443.jpg
  • Last minute blast for a walk and some snaps after yet another dreary June day. Hints of sunshine broke through blankets of mountain cloud so we went for a coastal walk along the Strait. The clouds opened more and more and pools of sunlight illuminated the hillsides. For just a brief moment, literally seconds, the sunset flood lit Castell Penrhyn in the foreground. The castle was built by Lord Penrhyn, from the profits of the slate industry. Impoverished slate quarry workers worked in horrendous, dangerous conditions to facilitate this.<br />
<br />
UNESCO World Heritage Site
    GD002492.jpg
  • A gentle breeze searched through the undergrowth for me, the ancient burial mound beyond the hill had witnessed me, I had walked in my ancestors footprints. Even as I tried to leave the place I was being watched.
    GD001107.jpg
  • On the eve of another severe lockdown, with my head closing in and the first irregular heartbeats in many months beating in my chest, I raced out to the coast for last minute medication. Since I heard about this mis-targeted lockdown, I’ve been telling myself “it’s just two weeks, it’s just two weeks, you can do it” but I’ve been in panic mode all day. Almost without fail after work, for years, I’ve always had a deep need to escape to the hills or the coast, it’s almost like an addiction because it makes me feel so good, so alive, that there’s a reason I’m on this earth.<br />
.<br />
I think about the little city-men in suits, who seem oblivious to the mental health benefits of people being allowed to continue to get into nature, but who instead blanket legislate without thought about the unnecessary damage they are creating to well-being. Walking on a lonely beach or cliff-top harms no-one. Even at its busiest, Llanddwyn is massive with so much space to avoid others. Instead we are forced to walk the town paths like hamsters on a wheel with 20,000 other trapped souls. Why are they hitting everyone with such severe restrictions, instead of targeting those people & activities that really spread the killer disease?<br />
.<br />
I’m still telling myself that it’s just two weeks and my lovely ITU lady who see the disease at its worst, also tries to calm me down about lockdowns! What an amazing angel, dealing with physically ill patients and a mentally wobbly partner !
    GD002538.jpg
  • On the eve of another severe lockdown, with my head closing in and the first irregular heartbeats in many months beating in my chest, I raced out to the coast for last minute medication. Since I heard about this mis-targeted lockdown, I’ve been telling myself “it’s just two weeks, it’s just two weeks, you can do it” but I’ve been in panic mode all day. Almost without fail after work, for years, I’ve always had a deep need to escape to the hills or the coast, it’s almost like an addiction because it makes me feel so good, so alive, that there’s a reason I’m on this earth.<br />
.<br />
I think about the little city-men in suits, who seem oblivious to the mental health benefits of people being allowed to continue to get into nature, but who instead blanket legislate without thought about the unnecessary damage they are creating to well-being. Walking on a lonely beach or cliff-top harms no-one. Even at its busiest, Llanddwyn is massive with so much space to avoid others. Instead we are forced to walk the town paths like hamsters on a wheel with 20,000 other trapped souls. Why are they hitting everyone with such severe restrictions, instead of targeting those people & activities that really spread the killer disease?<br />
.<br />
I’m still telling myself that it’s just two weeks and my lovely ITU lady who see the disease at its worst, also tries to calm me down about lockdowns! What an amazing angel, dealing with physically ill patients and a mentally wobbly partner !
    GD002539.jpg
  • En route to an afternoon in the Welsh hills, I stopped off to check the state of the snow, and just loved the light over the Strait, and in particular the way it highlighted Ynys Gorad Goch. Having just absorbed the view for a few minutes, it changed my mind from walking Drosgl, to walking Moel Eilio and Foel Goch instead ! :-)
    GD001394.jpg
  • Even as little kids, we would walk the two miles or so from our home on Penmere Hill to this spectacular and popular rocky point of Pendennis Head, just below the famous Henry Eighth Castle. Just below the car park where the ice cream vans prey, there are steep rocks which lead down to very deep gullies. At low tide some of the biggest are exposed and you can look down into deep bottomless chasms of seawater where you can often see huge fish below you. The swell could suddenly raise the water level to swamp your feet and although it used to scare us as kids, it was totally compelling!
    GD000255.jpg
  • En route to an afternoon in the Welsh hills, I stopped off to check the state of the snow, and just loved the light over the Strait, and in particular the way it highlighted Ynys Gorad Goch. Having just absorbed the view for a few minutes, it changed my mind from walking Drosgl, to walking Moel Eilio and Foel Goch instead ! :-)
    GD001393.jpg
  • Generally we didn’t see much in the way of large wildlife as we travelled across the high open roads of Namibia, sometimes Ostrich, sometimes Baboons but here on the Skeleton Coast not much at all.<br />
<br />
As we watched volcanic hills to the right and acres of white sand dunes to the left, slip past us as we motored North along the baking-hot salt roads, I was quite taken aback to see a sudden movement off to our right. There were two Black-backed Jackals, one scampering about, skittish even, but the other almost motionless. We pulled the van over and waited a few moments to see if they’d be bothered by us, but nothing changed. I very gently stepped out of the van and lay on the burning ground so that I could steady the telephoto lens and also include some of the background hills.<br />
Although the active one immediately moved away after I exited the vehicle the other was clearly eating something and confidently remained in place. I was surprised that he’d found anything to eat in the deserted arid landscape, but knowing that they’d even eat spiders an scorpions I suddenly started worrying about what I was lying on! I couldn’t help but see them just as a dog, like a small Alsatian, and I had this urge to call it over and give it a stroke! No chance however, for as soon as I started to move from prone position, it began to walk slowly away. As I lifted the camera to take another pic it shifted further away again. It was clear my Doctor Doolittle dream was just that as soon they were just dots on the dusty horizon.
    GD002268.jpg
  • Once the refuge for renegade tribes, this harsh, jagged-rock landscape is now a place of peace and isolation. The fierce winds whistle and howl their way around the towers of this natural stone fortress, but apart from the occasional call of the Raven, or the drifting chat of the occasional hill walker, this place is more remote than ever, perhaps a days walk from the nearest habitation.<br />
<br />
With the wind blowing her hair, and deliberate careful footsteps, she softly, silently padded up the rough rock pinnacle, as a lioness would, to survey her territory from the highest point in the area. History flooded around her.
    The Fortress
  • Even as little kids, we would walk the two miles or so from our home on Penmere Hill to this spectacular and popular rocky point of Pendennis Head, just below the famous Henry Eighth Castle. To us, the little fortified blockhouse was a castle in it's own right, and although signs have now been erected to prohibit climbing, we would always be finding new ways of getting onto the ramparts. This was pure magic, and this often stormy point still provides a Sunday viewpoint for hundreds of Falmouth locals.
    GD000250.jpg
  • Storm waves batter the West coast of Anglesey near Cable Bay and Rhosneigr. It is rare for such large waves to hit this coast which did create a spectacle.<br />
 The burial mound (looks like a small hill) of Barclodiad y Gawres can be seen in the background <br />
<br />
The biggest waves I've personally ever seen at Porth Tyn Tywyn and I have walked, swam and surfed there many 100s of times over the last 20 years.<br />
<br />
On this particular morning I had gone there with the idea of body boarding what was reported to be a brilliant swell for Anglesey. The day was clear with a strong offshore wind and just a few rapidly clouds. I parked up overlooking the dunes and the sea beyond and I could already see wave tips higher than the dunes (foreshortened perspective of course) and I knew it was going off! I walked down to the reef and two surfers were being thrown about in the white water before finally getting out to the back where a strong rip was pushing them Southwards towards the bay of the burial mound, Barclodiad y Gawres. It was funny in a way watching these guys go for the surf but spend so much time just trying to keep parallel to the shore. At this point, I just knew that I was not going in! I have not body-boarded seriously for years and having had a bit of an epic attempt at Sennen in Cornwall in January in big seas it was all too intimidating for this surf-unfit body !<br />
<br />
Of course the upside to that decision is that I could guilt-freely enjoy taking pictures of the surf instead and it was just so beautiful and powerful to watch. Thankfully the offshore breeze was keeping most of the sea-spray off my lens for a change meaning that I could continue to shoot without minute-apart lens cleans. <br />
<br />
The light on the sea in the bay was sharp and intense, and the lips of the waves were backlit and sparkling against the darker sky in the background. I enjoyed studying the bands of light and dark as they created monochrome Rothko seas, large ocean canvases of abstract landscape. After an hour or
    GD001720.jpg
  • Had no idea that a huge sea of cloud would be building as I summited Garnedd Elidir, but it was such an incredible surprise benefit of this last minute evening walk into the hills. <br />
<br />
Though Yr Wyddfa was packed with 1000s of visitors ever day this week, I was completely alone on my summit and was therefore able to let my mind float at cloud height with all this sumptuous vapour. It’s precious enough being alone on the hill tops, but being presented with such spectacular weather phenomenon is such a heightened privilege. <br />
<br />
Strangely, as I left my perch and headed down the scree slopes, the inversion faded, as if it was purely there for me, at a time when I needed it.
    GD002509.jpg
  • Lost in a dark and very ancient valley, a man gives up hope, wandering barefoot and directionless. He leans back against a tree, his head in his hands and he doesn’t see the trunk bend to accommodate him, to ease the pain, to cradle him. He doesn’t see the hawk like face in the stone of the stream behind him, opening her eyes, aware that another creature had spiritually connected. The dark hills crowd around but he doesn’t realise that they are buffering the cold wind. The grass is short and soft and he is hardly aware of the warm carpet it has provided. He remains curled as the gurgle of trickling water in the brook pacifies him. A blackbird sings a melody in nearby woodland before a silent dark blanket gently pulls overhead. By dusk he finds peace and a sense of direction. He stands up, walks tall and purposefully and is suddenly acutely aware that he’s been comforted by nature, at one with the earth and in his natural element.
    Comforted by Nature
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