The Log Blog

 

Vlog Or Not To Vlog?

It's  early 2023, my birthday is coming up in a few days and Jo arranged for us to go away for one night, destination: North Wales. I don't think we've ever had a bad trip to Wales, North Wales in particular. North Wales is quite a mountainous region full of hills and valleys, plenty of green fields and woodland. We departed on Friday straight after work and got to our hotel just after 8pm, had a lovely dinner and went to sleep. Most of the time when we go hiking or just somewhere new, I take the vlogging camera with the idea of documenting the trip for our YouTube channel. This time was no different, batteries were charged, vlogging camera and the gimbal packed. On the day however, I just didn't feel like I was in the mood to vlog, I thought about it over breakfast and decided to leave the gimbal in the car, but to take the vlogging camera and the mic in the camera bag I was taking anyway as I had the space so it was no bother. Although I decided against vlogging at that point, my trusty Nikon D800, a tripod and a couple of lenses were definitely coming with me.

  Because You Never Know

I have decided, a few years ago now, that I will always make an effort to take the stills camera whenever Jo and I go for even a short walk. This time was no exemption. We left the car and started hiking up a sizeable hill nearby, the temperature was a little on the low side but as we were walking uphill we didn't struggle to stay warm. Although it was really nice to be in the countryside, for the first couple of hours nothing caught my eye enough for me to reach for the DSLR. Although I had the camera with me, I didn't actually set out to capture any images, no pressure, just enjoying the hike and being in the moment. Jo and I were just walking along the empty trail and talking, at which point we came across a stack of logs from the trees that will have been felled nearby. One of the logs in particular caught my attention as it was partially covered in nice green moss and had a pattern carved into it. It immediately made me think of Elves and it was as if my imagination had just woken up. At that point, I knew that this was going to be the first image of the day.

Being In The Moment

With the fast pace of life these days, it's very easy to let the stress, targets (self-imposed or otherwise) and other pressure (be it work or social) mount up and get on top of us. The difficult subject of mental health is something that has in recent years surfaced and it feels like a lot of people are trying to take a step back and re-evaluate their life. Covid brought along a drastic expansion of working from home, furlough where some were paid whilst staying at home but not working with spare time to develop and work on their hobbies, with time to work on themselves. Although various aspects of what became "a new normal" for a couple of years will undoubtedly stay with us, I think it's fair to say that the world is well and truly on its way back to how things were in the past. The reason why I think this is relevant, is because I feel that although many restrictions will have been in place, many people used that time to take a step back and think about their priorities in life. Was their life truly meaningful or were they just existing from one day to the other whilst being one of many generic cogs in a big system that didn't / doesn't necessarily focus on their wellbeing? The distraction of work wasn't there for many, or if you were working from home you didn't spend the time and money on a lengthy expensive regular commute to a place where you spent a significant portion of your life. Basically, that part of the world was switched off for a while for some and that's how I feel when I'm out hiking in nature, walking along a forest trail, in the valleys or hiking up hills. It's just me (or Jo and I usually), nature and the camera for me to document our discoveries and experiences with. Nothing else matters and the noise of the modern world is switched off. 

The Forest & The Water

As the day went on, we hiked up the hill and followed a wider logging road and then a wider walking trail which came off it, eventually completing a loop around the top of the hill. As we left the hotel in the morning and headed straight out, despite being out for a while at this point we still had half of the day left. The area in which we were had various mountain biking trails as well as walking trails, we therefore decided to follow the signs for a yellow walking trail. This quite quickly took us down a nice forest trail.

There's something nice about being in a forest with just the sound of birds chirping away in the distance. That sense of solitude, peace and tranquillity surrounding you. As we walked along the trail we passed a few overturned trees which added a sense of drama to the scenery and reminded you that although the forest is a peaceful and welcoming place right now, that's not always the case and nature can be quite brutal at times.

Further down the track we reached a llyn (tarn / pond at an altitude). The specific area where we ended up had a large group of coal, long tailed and blue tits amongst other birds high up in the trees. The place was filled with the sound of light breeze blowing through the trees and bird song, a perfect happy place. Although I didn't bring my wildlife lens, there was plenty to cast my eyes upon. The two images that I will share with you are of the reeds on the llyn and the lovely water edge which glistened in the golden light that pushed through the clouds every now and then. Two very simple scenes, yet so beautiful. Close your eyes and imagine being sat on that rock by the water, cup of coffee of hot chocolate in your hand, warm sunlight resting on your face and the sound of the reeds shimmering nearby.

  

The Detail

Although it's quite easy to focus on the grand vistas, the large impressive things and open spaces that you come across when out walking in the hills, make sure not to miss the little things. It's the detail that adds another level of interest to anything in life and it's no different when it comes to your surrou8ndings when hiking. Lichen is something that is associated with clean air for example. The variety of lichen around you is one of the signs which lets you know if you're in an area with high air quality. The more varieties you see around, the cleaner the air is that surrounds you. Not only is it good to know that your lungs are filled with clean air, I also find lichen to be one of those things that can develop into very interesting shapes and enrich the scenery around you. It's like a little cherry on a cake, only a small part of a larger subject matter and yet I find that it adds so much interest and value.

Sometimes it's not the obvious things that add interest, like leaves or moss. I mean, they're everywhere, right? If you haven't done this in the past then next time you're in the forest, just try to look at the variety and the arrangement of the two on the ground, on the rocks and on the trees. They're the sort of things that most of us dismiss and not really pay much attention to on day to day basis, but I think when you start paying attention you will be surprised at what you will see. It's very easy to look, but it's not always easy to see at the same time, especially when your mind is working overtime thinking about a million things that are currently on your list of things to do. Slow down and see the detail, see the little things.

Thanks for reading, now go for a walk :)

Location: Gwydir Mawr & Bach in North Wales