Cathays Again

Well, Easter Sunday was a beautiful day - for a change - it seems that winter is never ending as the temperature is still below the yearly average. This time last year we were walking around in shorts and sitting on the beach, this year it has been cold and miserable - but yesterday it seemed like spring had finally arrived (today however, was grey and cold and sun didn't show itself until evening.)

Anyway decided to take another walk around Cathays cemetery and see some more of the tombs and memorials.

 This is the grave of the 'Balloon Girl', Louisa Maud Evans her story is told on the monument and is quite tragic, more information on her can be find by clicking HERE and this is why cemeteries are so fascinating, you just don't know what you are going to find out.

Cathays Cemetery is so large, I have visited it twice now and have only scrapped the surface of the interesting tombs, I will share more photos of  Cathays in the next day or so, but this post is dedicated to the Balloon Girl, her story really made me think about the things we do and how the decisions we make can change our lives - for good or bad. She was brave, I would never be brave enough to jump out of a balloon, even with todays modern parachutes let alone the basic kit that she would have had.

To Louisa Maud Evans

Remembered

The conservatory at Roath Park

The conservatory at Roath Park is a must at only £1.40 entry. From the Terrapins to the exotic plants, from the little waterfall to the Koi Carp in the pond, there is so much to see. Sadly it was so cold outside that when we entered the change in temperature was so much that the cameras steamed up for a while, managed to get a few shots though, and I will visit again later in the year to try and take more

Obviously the photo below was not taken in the conservatory as dogs are not allowed, but in the car, even Misty enjoyed her day out

First visit of 2013 to Roath Park

Today the weather wasn't too bad and so off we went to Roath Park, We even took Misty with us. It wa cold walking around the park, but when the sun came out it was really nice. Once of the reasons for the trip was to try out the new lens I got the other day, and although I didn't use it that much I was pleased with the pictures I did get with it. Most of the time, however I had on my telephoto lens

 It was quite bright today, so I popped on my ND filter to blur the water in this shot

This was taken on the new Sigma 10-20mm lens and I really like this shot and I am looking forward to using this lens more in the near future.

I still have more photos to post of the Conservatory at Roath Park - so stay tuned

New lens is on it's way

Well I know things have been quiet on here lately and I will admit that this is because I hate going out in the dreary damp weather - freezing cold and snowing - yes that's fine but not the wet.
Anyway in order to give myself a kick I have ordered myself a wide angle lens, and I'm hoping the weather will cheer up enough for me to go and give it a test run. I'm really looking forward to going out and trying something new - so you never know - watch this space - I'm hoping that I will be posting new photos soon.

Out in the snow

Well as you may have heard the UK was hit by a snowstorm on Friday and being a lucky resident of South Wales, I found myself right smack bang under a Met Officer Red Alert - now they don't issue those very often, however the snow fall was nothing compared to January 1963 - click HERE to read about it on Wikipedia and me being the crazy Shutterbug that I am - went out for a walk - yes that's right, while it was snowing, in the forest and along the river. Below are a few photos from the walk

It really was like being on another planet out there, the branches of the trees were weighted with snow and on a couple of occasions my Dad and I heard a crack as a branch gave in to the weight and broke away from the tree.

I took over 100 photos and will share more of them with you soon

If you are out and about in this winter weather - please take care

Monmouth

Well I am still catching up with last years pictures - these were taken in Monmouth back in November - I promise to try and do better - but you know me.

Monmouth is a nice town, but the weather wasn't brilliant the day we went but could have been worse.

For information on the town and why you should visit click HERE to visit the website

Tintern Old Station

9km north of Chepstow sits an old railway station - although the trains no longer run through Tintern Station it is still a place to visit - with it's tea rooms and beautiful country walks - a miniature train tuns around the grounds for the children to enjoy - when I was a child I enjoyed the little train and it really is worth a visit. I will be going back in the summer to follow one of the walks and take more photos. If you want to visit the Railway visit the Tintern website by clicking HERE for opening times.