The digital home of author, artist & photographer Chris Elphick | All content, unless otherwise stated, is copyrighted © Chris Elphick
Sunday, 20 October 2019
Field Recording - London Underground
Stick a good pair of headphones on, close your eyes, and immerse yourself in the chatter and ambient sounds of the London Underground:
Friday, 18 October 2019
Off on a weekend break...
Leaving rainy old Wales for the weekend. And as we cross the Severn Bridge, lo and behold, out comes the sunshine :)
Wednesday, 16 October 2019
Halloween 2019 Theme ~ Pop Funko #9
Finally found a spare ten minutes to take another photograph for my Halloween 2019 Pop Funko series. Tonight featuring the magickal faun from the Del Toro's classic Pan's Labyrinth:
Gower ~ Fading Light #13
Passing through Penclawdd after visiting my brother on his birthday, I stopped of at a couple of the village car parks, which are located along the edge of marsh there, to take some photographs of the setting sun. I think they might well be good candidates for my upcoming Gower ~ Fading Light photobook :)
Monday, 14 October 2019
The Sounds of Hakin
I really really enjoyed my weekend holiday in the old fisherman's cottage in Hakin and have harvested some truly lovely memories from the few days I spent there. Perhaps my most haunting memory of the location though was the sounds of the sea, the coastal bird-life and the distant mechanical hum of Milford Haven port that permeated the house and which I was lucky enough to record for posterity here :) As usual, this was recorded in stereo on my Tascam DR40 field recorder and is best listened to with a good pair of headphones :)
Sunday, 13 October 2019
Berserk! Chapter Four. Draft 3.
Woke early to make the most of my last few hours in our weekend holiday retreat and used the time to start the third draft of Chapter 4 of Berserk!
Berserk! Chapter 3. Draft 3 Completed.
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Writing as my son plays his Nintendo Switch |
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Completed the third draft of Chapter 3 of Berserk! |
During my stay at our weekend retreat at Hakin (you can book the cottage for yourself here if you fancy it yourself), I was particularly fond of sitting on the large windowsill looking out over the northern aspect of the sea. Writing in this spot was a difficult endeavour however, given the dramatic view that demanded my attention of the opposite side of the window pane:
Having a Quiet and Creative Afternoon
Returning to our our coastal cottage after exploring Hakin Cove, my wife and I settled down to a quiet and creative afternoon attending our various individual projects.
Beachcombing at Hakin
I have been truly spoiled on our weekend retreat :) Taking stroll along the cove below our weekend holiday cottage (pictured below), I was delighted to discover the place was a beachcomber's dream!
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Yours truly beach-combing in Hakin |
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Hakin Cove - a beach-comber's dream |
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A Portuguese Man o' war |
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Close-up of the Portuguese Man o' war |
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A large chunk of black sea-glass |
And the rarities did not stop there! Check out this beautiful piece of yellow sea-glass I happened upon there too!
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Rare yellow sea-glass found at Hakin Cove |
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Close-up of my yellow sea-glass discovery |
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Amber sea-glass |
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Amber sea-glass |
I found this one first - a glass marble, which would have originally been found within a vintage cod-neck drink's bottle.
And just a few metres away from this lovely find, I stumbled across this beautifully frosted gaming sea-marble. Just look at the weathering on this gorgeous item - the marble would have needed to have been tumbled in the sea for a good few decades to get that degree of frosting:
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A gorgeously frosted sea marble |
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My two sea marble finds from Hakin Cove |
And lastly, there was this odd little find:
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An odd little find along the shore-line of Hakin Cove |
After much research, I discovered this to be a Canister Ball, a.k.a. a Case Shot Ball. A number of these items would have been packed into a metal cylinder and fired from a canon during 18th and 19th Century warfare. When fired, the soft metal container would disintegrate, leaving the shrapnel balls inside to spread out at high velocity in a conical formation towards their target. These weapons caused a great deal of widespread damage to the enemy and were particularly effective during the Napoleonic War and the American Civil War. A somewhat grisly yet somewhat fascinating find, eh?
Hakin Cove turned out to be the best beach-combing beach I have ever explored. Despite being a rather diminutive cove, I gathered more sea-glass and other interesting artefacts during my short time there than every other beach I have visited combined over the last ten or so years. If you a beachcomber and happen to be visiting West Wales, then do yourself a favour and pay this place a visit. One word of warning though, check the tide times as the cove disappears completely at high tide!
Saturday, 12 October 2019
Early Morning Writing
An early morning writing session on the balcony of my weekend holiday retreat, overlooking River Cleddau, Hakin:
Friday, 11 October 2019
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