Down by the Riverside
Belinda by the river Casaño, Asturias. I’m not sure what she is looking at but it could have been checking my life insurance policy whilst I was balancing on the rocks.
The weather this spring has been very mixed but we are very much in full-on ‘Green Spain’ now.
- John
Light painting at home…
The worst bank holiday weekend ever! Last week I came down with a bad stomach bug but I recovered well with professional nursing care from Belinda. Then, as a reward I passed the virus on to her (though apparently it must have mutated into something more serious 
)
We had plans to go out that night and try some ‘landscape light painting’ after sunset. This involves making a long exposure at night (e.g. 30 seconds) and then using a torch or spot light ‘paint’ the light on to the scene.
So, we were confined to the living room, ill, bored and frustrated, when I thought why not try this on a smaller scale …. like here!
I grabbed some nearby things and arranged them on the coffee table, closed the window shutters for complete darkness and clicked away. There is definitely a knack to it and I’m sure you get better with practice. I had no idea what I was doing and using an old Maglite mini torch that was too big and only worked intermittently. Not ideal.
It’s not quite the old Asturian barn with mountains and a star filled sky in the background that I imagined but still good fun. A first attempt!
- John
Sea of Clouds
Taken from El Mirador del Fito in Caravia, Asturias. El Sueve is one of the highest coastal mountain ranges in Europe at 1100 metres, . We were waiting for the full lunar eclipse but were unlucky with cloud cover. However, the sunset and incoming sea mist provided an interesting shot.
- John
Living in the Now
I’d also like to share a talk by Trey Ratcliff from Stuck in Customs.com – He’s a photographer I keenly follow, not just for his images but also he’s views on art and creativity. I think you guys might appreciate it. It’s worth a full viewing but the from the 12 minute 45 second mark is particular interesting.
Watching and waiting
Taken at Playa Gueirúa in Asturias
Belinda waiting for sunset on my now favourite beach in Asturias, northern Spain. La Playa de Gueirúa. It took a little bit of effort to find it and a 20 minute walk from the nearest village where we left the car, walking down a steep cliff. That was fine until we had to head back in the dark!
Apparently I wasn’t allowed passed the green algae with the tripod and camera for safety reasons. I think Belinda might have been deliberately blocking my path. She did sit in that spot for a long while
- John
Moments in between
John at La Playa Campiecho, Valdes in Asturias
Last weekend we visited western Asturias. Although we’ve explored there many times before, this time we discovered some new interesting beaches. It took a little effort to find some special places that we’d researched beforehand. Signs and directions to the beaches were the biggest challenge! At this beach there was a particularly interesting rock formation which we went to photograph at sunset. I’m sure John will share the shots we made in a later post. Quite unique. It was nice to see the sun dip below the horizon, where we live the mountains blocked the view.
I took this shot as we headed back along the rocky beach towards to the car. It was getting pretty dark and the tide was coming in but apparently we were okay “for at least another 10 minutes”. I allowed him 5 minutes and told him to hurry up :)
- Belinda
Spring finally here!
It’s seemed like a long winter this year. Longer than usual. I’m a big fan of watching the changing seasons but this year I’m very happy to see Spring arrive.
The swallows arrived in Asturias a few weeks ago. The weather was still quite cold then and they must have had a shock. Still, now we are enjoying a sunny weekend of 20+ degrees. Time for cool beers on bar terraces and long evenings spent outside. We cannot complain.
- John
Black Swan, a new visitor
I took this Black Swan along River Piloña – borrowing John’s camera!
At least twice a day, come rain or shine, we walk along the River Sella and Piloña in Asturias. We are lucky to be able to watch some of the river wildlife. Otters, kingfishers, dippers are the normal highlights. Last week, I thought I spotted a moorhen moving along the riverbank. The moorhen is small black bird with a red beak. But hang on a minute! ”This is an enormous moorhen!” Fortunately, I didn’t say that out loud. Well, after a little confusion we realised it was a black swan. It’s certainly not a Spanish bird, originally from Australia, it must have escaped from a collection in Gijón or Avilés.
Many people in the town noticed this unusual sight. We’ve been stopped numerous times by locals “¿visteis el cisne negro?” Chatting about black swans in Spanish. It’s a first!
- Belinda
Join Our Network!
