The Snowdonia (now called Eryri) National Park in North Wales boasts some pretty impressive scenery, all crammed into a relatively small area.
Mountains, coastline, forests, rivers and, of course, waterfalls.
Some of these features require a strenuous hike to reach, whle others can be accessed from a convenient layby.
Swallow Falls, near Betws-y-Coed, is in the latter catergory, and thus, is a very popular attraction for day-trippers and tourists who throng the park in the summer holiday months.
But out of season, and the the weather decidedly iffy, visiting the falls is a much more rewarding experience, as my wife Liz and I appreciated during our stop here in late September 2024.
It had been at least twenty years since we'd actually made the effort to stop and look at the falls, but with very few cars parked in the nearby layby and a prolonged period of heavy rain just finished, we reckoned conditions to view the falls would be as good as they could get.
And we weren't disappointed, with the falls performing mightily under the huge amount of water coming down river, and the viewing platforms blissfully empty of the smartphone wielding selfie seekers.
I even had enough room to set up my tripod and shoot several video sequences of the falls from different angles - what a luxury!
Maybe we'll visit again in the depths of winter - that should be a sight to see.
Filename - swallow falls video 01
Camera - Canon EOS250D
Lens - 17-40mm zoom - various focal lengths
Exposure - Aperture and ISO automatically adjusted to give 1/50 sec shutter speed in Tv mode.
Filters - Polarising filter used to reduce glare and enhance colours.
Location - Swallow Falls, Snowdonia National Park, North Wales
This clip - HD 720p, 25fps (4K and 1080p format also available)
Clip duration - 61 seconds
All content copyright © Howard Litherland 2009-2024 unless otherwise stated.