Photography: Sandwell Valley

The Black Country isn’t known for beautiful landscapes, but I only had to go about a mile and a half to take this photo. I added a border and title with PhotoScape. The winter colours were interesting with the sun quite low.

Then it was off to Sandwell Valley Countryside Park which isn’t too far for me either about 4 miles.

I’m not sure if the border helps on this one. I used a flash to add more light for this shot. It’s under a road bridge and it’s a bridleway. It looks like the river has flooded recently. It’s a little artistic!

I used the sports setting for this shot because although it’s landscape the camera will keep adjusting to take account of the changing light and it’s a relatively fast setting. The fast setting will capture the birds moving without blurring them. It was also freezing cold and I was starting to shiver, so a fast setting will compensate for camera shake too. The winter colours are interesting now, especially the lakeside reeds that are almost white when the sun comes out.

This is the river at Sandwell Valley. This is the canalised section and not quite as scenic as a shot zoomed in on the more natural section. It’s an interest picture though because of the patterns made by the railings. I have half of a sign on the right of the picture, that I was advised to crop off the picture; but even that give the shot depth. The trees silhouette against the sky too; adding more patterns.

Photography can be quite therapeutic, even on a really cold day. Going out and seeing nature coping with the depths of winter can remind us of the renewal that takes place in spring. In spring it will all start again, new leaves on those trees, and trillions of flowers will line the river right through the Black Country. That’s a spectacle I will be out photographing in May and June.

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