The Meaning of Tree Branches
In nature, shapes are stories. There are always a hundred stories in every tree, because there are a hundred branches, each with its own tale…
Tag: light
Reading Water
A video excerpt from some recent TV work. You might also enjoy: David Hockney Reads About Reading Water Water Reading – An Animation How to…
What is a Temperature Inversion?
A temperature inversion occurs when a layer of warmer air traps a layer of cooler air near the surface. Temperature inversions are most common after…
Tree Trunks Lean Away From Buildings
Tree trunks lean away from the shade of buildings and towards the light. This habit tends to override the normal biases towards southern light, because…
Halos, Sun Dogs and Circumzenithal Arcs
What are those bright rainbow colours in the sky, if not rainbows? My thanks to Giel Spierings for the following email and permission to share…
Reading Trees for Navigation – A Tip
I recently returned from a natural navigation exercise in the New Forest, Hampshire. On leaving a patch of woodland I was reminded of a common…
Choose Lichens Over Mosses for Effective Navigation
Mosses get all the press, but lichens are the stars when it comes to effective natural navigation. In the video above I look at the…
Sun, Light and Mont Sainte-Victoire
Yesterday I visited the National Gallery with my sister to view the paintings in their latest exhibition, After Impressionism: Inventing Modern Art. I can recommend…
How To Tell Which Tree is Older?
Which is the older of these two large trees? Clue: there are a few ways we can age trees, including one related to natural navigation.…
The Scintillating Secrets of Twinkling Stars
A guest blog about the secrets of scintillating stars by Dan Bennett Most of us know what stars are (“I always thought they were balls…
How to Take Great Landscape Photographs
I’m not a professional photographer, which makes it all the more helpful to know a few tricks that help create great landscape photographs. If you…
Wayfinding with Weld – Reseda luteola
Weld (Reseda luteola) is a tall, hairless biennial plant found on dry ground. It grows up to 1.5m tall and has green-yellow flowers. It thrives…
Which Way Are We Looking? Ivy Edition
Which direction are we looking in the image above? Answer: We are looking… West. The five best clues are: The ivy stem has grown away…
How to See Through Reflections on Water
Anyone who spends time on or near the water will have noticed that sometimes we can see through water, but often we can’t. For those…
The ‘Escape from the Woods Effect’ in Trees
Have a look at the trees at the edge of any woodland and you’ll notice that the branches appear to grow away from the wood…
Water-pepper, Persicaria hydropiper
Water-pepper, Persicaria hydropiper, is a bitter tasting map-maker. It is an inconspicuous annual plant, but it is useful to natural navigators. It grows up to…
Which Way Are We Looking?
Tough one today! This picture was taken a few days ago, so still very much in spring. Which direction are we looking? Cryptic clue: why…
Which Way Are We Looking? – Australian Edition
I receive lots of emails asking whether the natural navigation signs in the books, newsletter and on the website work in the southern hemisphere. The…
The Glitter Path
A ‘glitter path’ is light reflected off water from a low sun, moon or other bright object. Glitter paths help us to read water because…
The Avenue Effect in Trees
My thanks to Alun for sending in this photo of autumn colour near the Kitano Tenman-Gu Shrine in Kyoto. And the following question: “I saw…
Reflections and Ripples
We see the most detail in relatively calm water when we look at the places where light and dark reflections meet. Look at the line…