Talacre beach, North Wales. I had never been to this beach before, imagining all the caravans parks that line this part of the North Wales coast could have somehow killed off all the native vegetation, but once past the cafes and amusement arcades, the beach is obviously well managed. This entry should have been titled ‘THINGS THAT GROW’, that’s how it felt here after a two week diet of monotone snowscapes.
Archive for the ‘Practice’ Category
3rd may 2008
Saturday, May 3rd, 20082nd May 2008
Friday, May 2nd, 2008
1st May 2008
Thursday, May 1st, 2008
30th April 2008
Wednesday, April 30th, 2008
A very cute Husky, outside Haugastøl 1000 moh
We all survived the trip so far, we just have to brave the Norwegians on the ferry home and we are done. The ferry/Newcastle is a popular weekend break destination for Norwegians in search of an affordable three day drinking party. The ferry is the first night of their weekend long drinking session.
Tuesday, April 29th, 2008
Haugastøl 1000 moh accommodation
Today it’s raining. Really raining. No one is complaining after being beaten up by 30mph+ winds yesterday. Since there is little point in going outside just yet, I have used the time to photograph the family run [accommodation] here at Haugastøl. It’s brightening up now though, time to get the kites out…
28th April 2008
Monday, April 28th, 2008
The Hardangervidda plateau
The Hardangervidda plateau, the largest plateau in Scandinavia, with an area of some 2,900 square miles, lies at an average altitude of between 1,200 and 1,600m, with numerous frozen lakes and a meager covering of pasture grazed by large herds of wild reindeer. It is a barren landscape, above the tree-line, but immensely impressive. This is our playground.
27th April 2008
Sunday, April 27th, 2008
26th April 2008
Saturday, April 26th, 2008
Walls of snow. Haugastøl
The roads here are quite an adventure in themselves. When the wind blows snow onto the roads, you have to wait for a passing snowplow and get in line behind it for the journey to base.
Today it snowed all day, and the wind got up to about 25mph at times. It was a rollercoaster ride snowkiting in whiteout conditions, where moving the kite slightly too quickly was sure to produce involuntary airtime for the rider. We all learned a lot today, and came home exhausted and happy.
You might have noticed that there is a lack of snowkiting action shots here. So far we have had only a few days where the wind has been good enough, and only for some of the day, to snowkite at all. The idea running for a camera instead of a kite in these situations seems way beyond the call duty for at present! You can either take my word that there are people spinning around in the air, flying down snowy hillsides and generally looking like masters of this fledgling sport, or see the daily uploads the trip organisers are adding to their website [here].
25th April 2008
Friday, April 25th, 2008
The wind meter sit on a pole by the vans today. When it gets above 10mph, the wind is strong enough get out and ride the white desert. It was above 10mph for only 30 minutes today, but what a 30 minutes. Unfortunately, I had snowkited a mile from the vans when the wind dropped back down to 4.8mph. I now have good experience walking with a kite.
24th April 2008
Thursday, April 24th, 2008
I am quite intimidated by the kite I am using to snowkite on these shots. Its a 12m2 inflatable water (kitesurfing) kite, which I am sure is great fun on water but feels like flying a small house around in a white field at the moment. I am sure I will get used it it’s size and power with a bit more practice. I must confront the fear and fly it again tomorrow.