Weekly Photo Challenge: A Day In My Life


Under normal circumstances I write my blog off-line using Windows Live Writer and insert all of my images into posts from Flickr. I just think it gives me better control and more importantly readers can see the EXIF data of an image if they click on the link back to Flickr. However, one thing WLW can’t do is format a gallery of photographs so for this post it’s back to writing live on-line.

I’m not really a fan of the WordPress Gallery Feature and in the past I have resisted using it, preferring to show single images down the page and writing about each as I go on. For this weeks challenge I’m going to do it differently, so here’s the gallery. Apparently if you click on one of the images it will start a slide-show….I leave that up to you.

Snow, What Snow?
Top Of The Horseshoe Pass
Llangollen Station
On The Tracks
Snow Covered Hills
Lakeside View
Sheep And Lambs
Flowers
Dolbadarn Castle
Under The Bridge
High On A Hill
Electric mountain
S No Menu
The Ponderosa
Llyn Padarn

As you can probably see, snow seems to be the common theme to this weeks post. Two weeks ago most of North Wales was hit by snow storms and high winds. 70 mph winds blew the snow off the hills and mountains, blocking roads, cutting off communities, trapping livestock, even at lower levels. Just yesterday I saw a news report about a sheep farmer who has just managed to get to his sheep and lambs. They were buried under 20 foot drifts and as you can guess, they are all dead. At the busy Easter weekend, the Snowdon Mountain Railway is not running, they are still trying to clear the tracks to the summit. Hopefully this link will show you what they are trying to do. The Snowdonia National Park is popular all year round, heck I do a lot of my photography there, but at Easter time it is especially busy, with walkers and climbers heading into the mountains. It’s no wonder that the Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team have been very busy with people caught out by the adverse conditions.  You can read more about that by following this link. Anyway I digress.

My theme was snow and on Saturday, knowing that the main roads and many minor ones were now clear of snow I decided to take a circular route through part of the National Park, stopping off to take photographs, when I could. My journey into the park started from Prestatyn, journeying through Ruthin and driving to the top of the Horseshoe Pass (417 metres or 1,368 ft). The pass is often closed in winter due to snowfall or landslides and had only just opened after being blocked for days. From the pass we would descend into Llangollen, then take the main A5 road to Betwys-y-Coed, don’t you just love these Welsh names, then Capel Curig before taking the Llanberis Pass to Llanberis and eventually back Prestatyn.

Ashampoo_Snap_2013.04.02_09h11m00s_001_

So there you have it. A great day out doing something I love, photography. Beautiful and rugged scenery, a sunny but cold day, lots of fresh air and I even got sun-burnt.

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Another reason I prefer to use WLW is that I can insert more links to other great blogs who are writing about this subject. For some reason when I write a post directly in WP I am limited to inserting only ten links.

15 replies to “Weekly Photo Challenge: A Day In My Life”

  2. Brilliant pics. Do all photographers love snow? Even as a poor amateur with my little digi cam I find distant snow capped mountains irrestible. But c`mon Spring anyway, we`re ready for you now.

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  3. Gorgeous shots, but man, does it look cold!! We’re coming out of the frigid weather. There’s no going back….I hope! When’s spring?

    Thanks too for the pingback!

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    1. It has been cold, worse thing is the camera and tripod get really cold and you can’t really wear gloves….spring is on the way but it does seem to be taking its time here

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  7. I would say that was a good trip. The photography is wonderful as usual. And I really like reading about different areas of Wales. I read all that you had written about the snow. It is really sad about the livestock that was lost due to being trapped in the snow.

    I have a blogging friend who lives in Wales and she had written of farmers losing sheep and cattle. I could not imagine how that was possible. She later wrote that their was a devastating storm that came up suddenly and no one had any idea it would be so awful. But that particular time I think she was writing about happenings in Scotland if I am remembering correctly.

    She is Val of Arty Old Bird and is quite funny in her writings sometimes.A lovely person who volunteered to help fix my blog. Anyhow the photos are wonderful as usual. I enjoy them so much. Take care.

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    1. We did have a warning of this one, the met office issued red and amber warnings for the area. The snow was heavy but what made it worse was the high winds which caused 20 to 30 foot drifts. When we travelled into the parks it was noticeable that the higher hills did not have much snow on them but at lower levels the snow was very thick. Not all the farmers brought their animals down from the hills and that’s how they got caught out.

      Since the storm, which some locals have told me they haven’t seen the likes of in 50 years, there have been a lot of incidents with walkers and climbers getting caught out by the cold and deep drifts. The mountain rescue teams have been busy and tragically there has been several deaths.

      On the brighter side, at the moment the scenery is fantastic and photographs well. I’m staying at the lower levels where it’s safe.

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      1. Thanks Mike for telling ,me about all that took place. I started to ask about people getting caught in the snow and meeting an untimely death. That is so sad unfortunate.

        I am glad that you never take risks just to get a photo. Life is too short and you have a family to think about that you need you.

        The area where you are truly has so much to see and photograph. It was a good day when you decided to move there.

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  8. This is lovely and it does show that you are a busy photog for sure. The dangerous snow drifts make me sad. 😉
    Eliz

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