Song of Audhn

‘Song of Audhn’

The Vikings named me Audhn – ‘of a bleak place on the moor’.
For long I have tumbled from that hill, towards a far-flung shore.


Over ledges, falls, through gorge and vale my evolving song is heard,
Roar & babble, gurgle & gush join the chorus of the bird.


In Spring I feed the verdant woods, the reeds, the ferns and all,
In Summer I meander past the Rowan trees and each hushed waterfall.


Then the cloak of opulence wreathes Oak in golden gown,
'Til icicles and hoar-frost will bring forth my Winter crown.

Eventually, I move as one - on to the distant sea,
As rains upon majestic moors will feed and nourish me.



(By Phil Hemsley)




The swift waters of the Aune, tumbling over the bedrock shelves of Dartmoor, late on an autumn afternoon. The woods are Black Brake.



Technical info:

Pentax K-x
Pentax 18-55mm SMC/ DAL lens
Cromatek Circular Polarizer
Manfrotto 190XProB tripod
Manfrotto 498RC2 panoramic ball-head

* A panoramic stitch of three overlapping frames – stitched by using Microsoft Research’s Image Composite Editor

Aperture = f/10
Exposure duration = 0.7 seconds
Focal length = 38mm
ISO = 200
Manual mode
Matrix metering