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Dead Can Dance - 'Anabasis'

 

Right-click link. Select "Open in New Window"

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gvu8JO4vm-A

Body Painting by Flick / Flick Photographic / Carl Flick

Websites:

www.carlflick.com/

www.carlflick.com/bodypainting www.modelmayhem.com/flick

www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/533915/viewall

my.opera.com/CAFlick/blog/

P. O. Box 432, West Palm Beach, Florida 33402, USA

Land line phone: 561-844-5488

USCGC Sturgeon Bay upbound on the Hudson River during an Ice Patrol near Newburgh, NY

 

STURGEON BAY (WTGB-109)

 

The 140-foot Bay-class Cutters are state of the art icebreakers used primarily for domestic ice breaking duties. They are named after American Bays and are stationed mainly in Northeast U.S. and Great Lakes. WTGBs use a low-pressure-air hull lubrication or bubbler system that forces air and water between the hull and ice. This system improves icebreaking capabilities by reducing resistance against the hull, reducing horsepower requirements

 

They can proceed through fresh water ice up to 20 inches (51 cm) thick, and break ice up to 3 feet (0.91 m) thick, through ramming. These vessels are equipped with a system to lubricate their progress through the ice, by bubbling air through the hull.

 

Length: 140 feet

Beam: 37.5 feet

Displacement: 662 tons

Power plant: Two diesel engines

Builder: Bay City Marine, Inc.

Launched: 1987

Commissioned: 1988

Recently announced is the closure of Aberystwyth's Arriva depot and the final retreat of the former Crosville/Arriva operations from the South Cambrian region.

 

The much reduced operation is confined to one tendered service and the Aber to Aberaeron corridor with projections to Synod Inn, Lampeter and Carmarthen.

 

2664 CX58EUE is a standard Arriva Pulsar, a bit of a comedown from the previous WAG supplied Optare Tempos. It is heading back to Lampeter and Aber from the rail station in Carmarthen on Saturday 16th Nov as the curtain is about to fall in 6 weeks time.

Tonight I cooked miso soup with hokkien noodles and chicken.

 

The recipe:

6 cups of water, 2 teaspoons of fish sauce, 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce, and 4 tablespoons of miso paste brought to a boil in a saucepan, then reduced to a simmer.

 

I added 2 chicken breasts, finely sliced, and cooked for a minute.

 

Then I added 1 baby bok choy, and a couple of stems of chinese broccoli, roughly chopped. Lastly, 200g or so of fresh hokkien noodles.

 

Once the noodles were soft, I served.

 

All up, took about 10 minutes. That makes me happy.

Aperture: f/6.7

Shutter Speed:140s

Exposure Mode:Manual

ISO Sensitivity:ISO 100

 

Body Painting by Flick / Flick Photographic / Carl Flick

Websites:

www.carlflick.com/

www.carlflick.com/bodypainting www.modelmayhem.com/flick

www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/533915/viewall

my.opera.com/CAFlick/blog/

P. O. Box 432, West Palm Beach, Florida 33402, USA

Land line phone: 561-844-5488

My attempt at keeping was was left intact which was pretty much useless but

at least it's still somewhat there.

This glass reduces rather than magnifies. Cartographers often produced a final map at 50-75 percent of its draft size, and this tool allowed them to visualize how their draft line work would appear at the final size.

 

IR HDR. Pikes Peak in the background. IR converted Canon Rebel XTi. AEB +/-2 total of 3 exposures processed with Photomatix.

 

High Dynamic Range (HDR)

 

High-dynamic-range imaging (HDRI) is a high dynamic range (HDR) technique used in imaging and photography to reproduce a greater dynamic range of luminosity than is possible with standard digital imaging or photographic techniques. The aim is to present a similar range of luminance to that experienced through the human visual system. The human eye, through adaptation of the iris and other methods, adjusts constantly to adapt to a broad range of luminance present in the environment. The brain continuously interprets this information so that a viewer can see in a wide range of light conditions.

 

HDR images can represent a greater range of luminance levels than can be achieved using more 'traditional' methods, such as many real-world scenes containing very bright, direct sunlight to extreme shade, or very faint nebulae. This is often achieved by capturing and then combining several different, narrower range, exposures of the same subject matter. Non-HDR cameras take photographs with a limited exposure range, referred to as LDR, resulting in the loss of detail in highlights or shadows.

 

The two primary types of HDR images are computer renderings and images resulting from merging multiple low-dynamic-range (LDR) or standard-dynamic-range (SDR) photographs. HDR images can also be acquired using special image sensors, such as an oversampled binary image sensor.

 

Due to the limitations of printing and display contrast, the extended luminosity range of an HDR image has to be compressed to be made visible. The method of rendering an HDR image to a standard monitor or printing device is called tone mapping. This method reduces the overall contrast of an HDR image to facilitate display on devices or printouts with lower dynamic range, and can be applied to produce images with preserved local contrast (or exaggerated for artistic effect).

 

In photography, dynamic range is measured in exposure value (EV) differences (known as stops). An increase of one EV, or 'one stop', represents a doubling of the amount of light. Conversely, a decrease of one EV represents a halving of the amount of light. Therefore, revealing detail in the darkest of shadows requires high exposures, while preserving detail in very bright situations requires very low exposures. Most cameras cannot provide this range of exposure values within a single exposure, due to their low dynamic range. High-dynamic-range photographs are generally achieved by capturing multiple standard-exposure images, often using exposure bracketing, and then later merging them into a single HDR image, usually within a photo manipulation program). Digital images are often encoded in a camera's raw image format, because 8-bit JPEG encoding does not offer a wide enough range of values to allow fine transitions (and regarding HDR, later introduces undesirable effects due to lossy compression).

 

Any camera that allows manual exposure control can make images for HDR work, although one equipped with auto exposure bracketing (AEB) is far better suited. Images from film cameras are less suitable as they often must first be digitized, so that they can later be processed using software HDR methods.

 

In most imaging devices, the degree of exposure to light applied to the active element (be it film or CCD) can be altered in one of two ways: by either increasing/decreasing the size of the aperture or by increasing/decreasing the time of each exposure. Exposure variation in an HDR set is only done by altering the exposure time and not the aperture size; this is because altering the aperture size also affects the depth of field and so the resultant multiple images would be quite different, preventing their final combination into a single HDR image.

 

An important limitation for HDR photography is that any movement between successive images will impede or prevent success in combining them afterwards. Also, as one must create several images (often three or five and sometimes more) to obtain the desired luminance range, such a full 'set' of images takes extra time. HDR photographers have developed calculation methods and techniques to partially overcome these problems, but the use of a sturdy tripod is, at least, advised.

 

Some cameras have an auto exposure bracketing (AEB) feature with a far greater dynamic range than others, from the 3 EV of the Canon EOS 40D, to the 18 EV of the Canon EOS-1D Mark II. As the popularity of this imaging method grows, several camera manufactures are now offering built-in HDR features. For example, the Pentax K-7 DSLR has an HDR mode that captures an HDR image and outputs (only) a tone mapped JPEG file. The Canon PowerShot G12, Canon PowerShot S95 and Canon PowerShot S100 offer similar features in a smaller format.. Nikon's approach is called 'Active D-Lighting' which applies exposure compensation and tone mapping to the image as it comes from the sensor, with the accent being on retaing a realistic effect . Some smartphones provide HDR modes, and most mobile platforms have apps that provide HDR picture taking.

 

Camera characteristics such as gamma curves, sensor resolution, noise, photometric calibration and color calibration affect resulting high-dynamic-range images.

 

Color film negatives and slides consist of multiple film layers that respond to light differently. As a consequence, transparent originals (especially positive slides) feature a very high dynamic range

 

Tone mapping

Tone mapping reduces the dynamic range, or contrast ratio, of an entire image while retaining localized contrast. Although it is a distinct operation, tone mapping is often applied to HDRI files by the same software package.

 

Several software applications are available on the PC, Mac and Linux platforms for producing HDR files and tone mapped images. Notable titles include

 

Adobe Photoshop

Aurora HDR

Dynamic Photo HDR

HDR Efex Pro

HDR PhotoStudio

Luminance HDR

MagicRaw

Oloneo PhotoEngine

Photomatix Pro

PTGui

 

Information stored in high-dynamic-range images typically corresponds to the physical values of luminance or radiance that can be observed in the real world. This is different from traditional digital images, which represent colors as they should appear on a monitor or a paper print. Therefore, HDR image formats are often called scene-referred, in contrast to traditional digital images, which are device-referred or output-referred. Furthermore, traditional images are usually encoded for the human visual system (maximizing the visual information stored in the fixed number of bits), which is usually called gamma encoding or gamma correction. The values stored for HDR images are often gamma compressed (power law) or logarithmically encoded, or floating-point linear values, since fixed-point linear encodings are increasingly inefficient over higher dynamic ranges.

 

HDR images often don't use fixed ranges per color channel—other than traditional images—to represent many more colors over a much wider dynamic range. For that purpose, they don't use integer values to represent the single color channels (e.g., 0-255 in an 8 bit per pixel interval for red, green and blue) but instead use a floating point representation. Common are 16-bit (half precision) or 32-bit floating point numbers to represent HDR pixels. However, when the appropriate transfer function is used, HDR pixels for some applications can be represented with a color depth that has as few as 10–12 bits for luminance and 8 bits for chrominance without introducing any visible quantization artifacts.

 

History of HDR photography

The idea of using several exposures to adequately reproduce a too-extreme range of luminance was pioneered as early as the 1850s by Gustave Le Gray to render seascapes showing both the sky and the sea. Such rendering was impossible at the time using standard methods, as the luminosity range was too extreme. Le Gray used one negative for the sky, and another one with a longer exposure for the sea, and combined the two into one picture in positive.

 

Mid 20th century

Manual tone mapping was accomplished by dodging and burning – selectively increasing or decreasing the exposure of regions of the photograph to yield better tonality reproduction. This was effective because the dynamic range of the negative is significantly higher than would be available on the finished positive paper print when that is exposed via the negative in a uniform manner. An excellent example is the photograph Schweitzer at the Lamp by W. Eugene Smith, from his 1954 photo essay A Man of Mercy on Dr. Albert Schweitzer and his humanitarian work in French Equatorial Africa. The image took 5 days to reproduce the tonal range of the scene, which ranges from a bright lamp (relative to the scene) to a dark shadow.

 

Ansel Adams elevated dodging and burning to an art form. Many of his famous prints were manipulated in the darkroom with these two methods. Adams wrote a comprehensive book on producing prints called The Print, which prominently features dodging and burning, in the context of his Zone System.

 

With the advent of color photography, tone mapping in the darkroom was no longer possible due to the specific timing needed during the developing process of color film. Photographers looked to film manufacturers to design new film stocks with improved response, or continued to shoot in black and white to use tone mapping methods.

 

Color film capable of directly recording high-dynamic-range images was developed by Charles Wyckoff and EG&G "in the course of a contract with the Department of the Air Force". This XR film had three emulsion layers, an upper layer having an ASA speed rating of 400, a middle layer with an intermediate rating, and a lower layer with an ASA rating of 0.004. The film was processed in a manner similar to color films, and each layer produced a different color. The dynamic range of this extended range film has been estimated as 1:108. It has been used to photograph nuclear explosions, for astronomical photography, for spectrographic research, and for medical imaging. Wyckoff's detailed pictures of nuclear explosions appeared on the cover of Life magazine in the mid-1950s.

 

Late 20th century

Georges Cornuéjols and licensees of his patents (Brdi, Hymatom) introduced the principle of HDR video image, in 1986, by interposing a matricial LCD screen in front of the camera's image sensor, increasing the sensors dynamic by five stops. The concept of neighborhood tone mapping was applied to video cameras by a group from the Technion in Israel led by Dr. Oliver Hilsenrath and Prof. Y.Y.Zeevi who filed for a patent on this concept in 1988.

 

In February and April 1990, Georges Cornuéjols introduced the first real-time HDR camera that combined two images captured by a sensor3435 or simultaneously3637 by two sensors of the camera. This process is known as bracketing used for a video stream.

 

In 1991, the first commercial video camera was introduced that performed real-time capturing of multiple images with different exposures, and producing an HDR video image, by Hymatom, licensee of Georges Cornuéjols.

 

Also in 1991, Georges Cornuéjols introduced the HDR+ image principle by non-linear accumulation of images to increase the sensitivity of the camera: for low-light environments, several successive images are accumulated, thus increasing the signal to noise ratio.

 

In 1993, another commercial medical camera producing an HDR video image, by the Technion.

 

Modern HDR imaging uses a completely different approach, based on making a high-dynamic-range luminance or light map using only global image operations (across the entire image), and then tone mapping the result. Global HDR was first introduced in 19931 resulting in a mathematical theory of differently exposed pictures of the same subject matter that was published in 1995 by Steve Mann and Rosalind Picard.

 

On October 28, 1998, Ben Sarao created one of the first nighttime HDR+G (High Dynamic Range + Graphic image)of STS-95 on the launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. It consisted of four film images of the shuttle at night that were digitally composited with additional digital graphic elements. The image was first exhibited at NASA Headquarters Great Hall, Washington DC in 1999 and then published in Hasselblad Forum, Issue 3 1993, Volume 35 ISSN 0282-5449.

 

The advent of consumer digital cameras produced a new demand for HDR imaging to improve the light response of digital camera sensors, which had a much smaller dynamic range than film. Steve Mann developed and patented the global-HDR method for producing digital images having extended dynamic range at the MIT Media Laboratory. Mann's method involved a two-step procedure: (1) generate one floating point image array by global-only image operations (operations that affect all pixels identically, without regard to their local neighborhoods); and then (2) convert this image array, using local neighborhood processing (tone-remapping, etc.), into an HDR image. The image array generated by the first step of Mann's process is called a lightspace image, lightspace picture, or radiance map. Another benefit of global-HDR imaging is that it provides access to the intermediate light or radiance map, which has been used for computer vision, and other image processing operations.

 

21st century

In 2005, Adobe Systems introduced several new features in Photoshop CS2 including Merge to HDR, 32 bit floating point image support, and HDR tone mapping.

 

On June 30, 2016, Microsoft added support for the digital compositing of HDR images to Windows 10 using the Universal Windows Platform.

 

HDR sensors

Modern CMOS image sensors can often capture a high dynamic range from a single exposure. The wide dynamic range of the captured image is non-linearly compressed into a smaller dynamic range electronic representation. However, with proper processing, the information from a single exposure can be used to create an HDR image.

 

Such HDR imaging is used in extreme dynamic range applications like welding or automotive work. Some other cameras designed for use in security applications can automatically provide two or more images for each frame, with changing exposure. For example, a sensor for 30fps video will give out 60fps with the odd frames at a short exposure time and the even frames at a longer exposure time. Some of the sensor may even combine the two images on-chip so that a wider dynamic range without in-pixel compression is directly available to the user for display or processing.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-dynamic-range_imaging

 

Infrared Photography

 

In infrared photography, the film or image sensor used is sensitive to infrared light. The part of the spectrum used is referred to as near-infrared to distinguish it from far-infrared, which is the domain of thermal imaging. Wavelengths used for photography range from about 700 nm to about 900 nm. Film is usually sensitive to visible light too, so an infrared-passing filter is used; this lets infrared (IR) light pass through to the camera, but blocks all or most of the visible light spectrum (the filter thus looks black or deep red). ("Infrared filter" may refer either to this type of filter or to one that blocks infrared but passes other wavelengths.)

 

When these filters are used together with infrared-sensitive film or sensors, "in-camera effects" can be obtained; false-color or black-and-white images with a dreamlike or sometimes lurid appearance known as the "Wood Effect," an effect mainly caused by foliage (such as tree leaves and grass) strongly reflecting in the same way visible light is reflected from snow. There is a small contribution from chlorophyll fluorescence, but this is marginal and is not the real cause of the brightness seen in infrared photographs. The effect is named after the infrared photography pioneer Robert W. Wood, and not after the material wood, which does not strongly reflect infrared.

 

The other attributes of infrared photographs include very dark skies and penetration of atmospheric haze, caused by reduced Rayleigh scattering and Mie scattering, respectively, compared to visible light. The dark skies, in turn, result in less infrared light in shadows and dark reflections of those skies from water, and clouds will stand out strongly. These wavelengths also penetrate a few millimeters into skin and give a milky look to portraits, although eyes often look black.

 

Until the early 20th century, infrared photography was not possible because silver halide emulsions are not sensitive to longer wavelengths than that of blue light (and to a lesser extent, green light) without the addition of a dye to act as a color sensitizer. The first infrared photographs (as distinct from spectrographs) to be published appeared in the February 1910 edition of The Century Magazine and in the October 1910 edition of the Royal Photographic Society Journal to illustrate papers by Robert W. Wood, who discovered the unusual effects that now bear his name. The RPS co-ordinated events to celebrate the centenary of this event in 2010. Wood's photographs were taken on experimental film that required very long exposures; thus, most of his work focused on landscapes. A further set of infrared landscapes taken by Wood in Italy in 1911 used plates provided for him by CEK Mees at Wratten & Wainwright. Mees also took a few infrared photographs in Portugal in 1910, which are now in the Kodak archives.

 

Infrared-sensitive photographic plates were developed in the United States during World War I for spectroscopic analysis, and infrared sensitizing dyes were investigated for improved haze penetration in aerial photography. After 1930, new emulsions from Kodak and other manufacturers became useful to infrared astronomy.

 

Infrared photography became popular with photography enthusiasts in the 1930s when suitable film was introduced commercially. The Times regularly published landscape and aerial photographs taken by their staff photographers using Ilford infrared film. By 1937 33 kinds of infrared film were available from five manufacturers including Agfa, Kodak and Ilford. Infrared movie film was also available and was used to create day-for-night effects in motion pictures, a notable example being the pseudo-night aerial sequences in the James Cagney/Bette Davis movie The Bride Came COD.

 

False-color infrared photography became widely practiced with the introduction of Kodak Ektachrome Infrared Aero Film and Ektachrome Infrared EIR. The first version of this, known as Kodacolor Aero-Reversal-Film, was developed by Clark and others at the Kodak for camouflage detection in the 1940s. The film became more widely available in 35mm form in the 1960s but KODAK AEROCHROME III Infrared Film 1443 has been discontinued.

 

Infrared photography became popular with a number of 1960s recording artists, because of the unusual results; Jimi Hendrix, Donovan, Frank and a slow shutter speed without focus compensation, however wider apertures like f/2.0 can produce sharp photos only if the lens is meticulously refocused to the infrared index mark, and only if this index mark is the correct one for the filter and film in use. However, it should be noted that diffraction effects inside a camera are greater at infrared wavelengths so that stopping down the lens too far may actually reduce sharpness.

 

Most apochromatic ('APO') lenses do not have an Infrared index mark and do not need to be refocused for the infrared spectrum because they are already optically corrected into the near-infrared spectrum. Catadioptric lenses do not often require this adjustment because their mirror containing elements do not suffer from chromatic aberration and so the overall aberration is comparably less. Catadioptric lenses do, of course, still contain lenses, and these lenses do still have a dispersive property.

 

Infrared black-and-white films require special development times but development is usually achieved with standard black-and-white film developers and chemicals (like D-76). Kodak HIE film has a polyester film base that is very stable but extremely easy to scratch, therefore special care must be used in the handling of Kodak HIE throughout the development and printing/scanning process to avoid damage to the film. The Kodak HIE film was sensitive to 900 nm.

 

As of November 2, 2007, "KODAK is preannouncing the discontinuance" of HIE Infrared 35 mm film stating the reasons that, "Demand for these products has been declining significantly in recent years, and it is no longer practical to continue to manufacture given the low volume, the age of the product formulations and the complexity of the processes involved." At the time of this notice, HIE Infrared 135-36 was available at a street price of around $12.00 a roll at US mail order outlets.

 

Arguably the greatest obstacle to infrared film photography has been the increasing difficulty of obtaining infrared-sensitive film. However, despite the discontinuance of HIE, other newer infrared sensitive emulsions from EFKE, ROLLEI, and ILFORD are still available, but these formulations have differing sensitivity and specifications from the venerable KODAK HIE that has been around for at least two decades. Some of these infrared films are available in 120 and larger formats as well as 35 mm, which adds flexibility to their application. With the discontinuance of Kodak HIE, Efke's IR820 film has become the only IR film on the marketneeds update with good sensitivity beyond 750 nm, the Rollei film does extend beyond 750 nm but IR sensitivity falls off very rapidly.

  

Color infrared transparency films have three sensitized layers that, because of the way the dyes are coupled to these layers, reproduce infrared as red, red as green, and green as blue. All three layers are sensitive to blue so the film must be used with a yellow filter, since this will block blue light but allow the remaining colors to reach the film. The health of foliage can be determined from the relative strengths of green and infrared light reflected; this shows in color infrared as a shift from red (healthy) towards magenta (unhealthy). Early color infrared films were developed in the older E-4 process, but Kodak later manufactured a color transparency film that could be developed in standard E-6 chemistry, although more accurate results were obtained by developing using the AR-5 process. In general, color infrared does not need to be refocused to the infrared index mark on the lens.

 

In 2007 Kodak announced that production of the 35 mm version of their color infrared film (Ektachrome Professional Infrared/EIR) would cease as there was insufficient demand. Since 2011, all formats of color infrared film have been discontinued. Specifically, Aerochrome 1443 and SO-734.

 

There is no currently available digital camera that will produce the same results as Kodak color infrared film although the equivalent images can be produced by taking two exposures, one infrared and the other full-color, and combining in post-production. The color images produced by digital still cameras using infrared-pass filters are not equivalent to those produced on color infrared film. The colors result from varying amounts of infrared passing through the color filters on the photo sites, further amended by the Bayer filtering. While this makes such images unsuitable for the kind of applications for which the film was used, such as remote sensing of plant health, the resulting color tonality has proved popular artistically.

 

Color digital infrared, as part of full spectrum photography is gaining popularity. The ease of creating a softly colored photo with infrared characteristics has found interest among hobbyists and professionals.

 

In 2008, Los Angeles photographer, Dean Bennici started cutting and hand rolling Aerochrome color Infrared film. All Aerochrome medium and large format which exists today came directly from his lab. The trend in infrared photography continues to gain momentum with the success of photographer Richard Mosse and multiple users all around the world.

 

Digital camera sensors are inherently sensitive to infrared light, which would interfere with the normal photography by confusing the autofocus calculations or softening the image (because infrared light is focused differently from visible light), or oversaturating the red channel. Also, some clothing is transparent in the infrared, leading to unintended (at least to the manufacturer) uses of video cameras. Thus, to improve image quality and protect privacy, many digital cameras employ infrared blockers. Depending on the subject matter, infrared photography may not be practical with these cameras because the exposure times become overly long, often in the range of 30 seconds, creating noise and motion blur in the final image. However, for some subject matter the long exposure does not matter or the motion blur effects actually add to the image. Some lenses will also show a 'hot spot' in the centre of the image as their coatings are optimised for visible light and not for IR.

 

An alternative method of DSLR infrared photography is to remove the infrared blocker in front of the sensor and replace it with a filter that removes visible light. This filter is behind the mirror, so the camera can be used normally - handheld, normal shutter speeds, normal composition through the viewfinder, and focus, all work like a normal camera. Metering works but is not always accurate because of the difference between visible and infrared refraction. When the IR blocker is removed, many lenses which did display a hotspot cease to do so, and become perfectly usable for infrared photography. Additionally, because the red, green and blue micro-filters remain and have transmissions not only in their respective color but also in the infrared, enhanced infrared color may be recorded.

 

Since the Bayer filters in most digital cameras absorb a significant fraction of the infrared light, these cameras are sometimes not very sensitive as infrared cameras and can sometimes produce false colors in the images. An alternative approach is to use a Foveon X3 sensor, which does not have absorptive filters on it; the Sigma SD10 DSLR has a removable IR blocking filter and dust protector, which can be simply omitted or replaced by a deep red or complete visible light blocking filter. The Sigma SD14 has an IR/UV blocking filter that can be removed/installed without tools. The result is a very sensitive digital IR camera.

 

While it is common to use a filter that blocks almost all visible light, the wavelength sensitivity of a digital camera without internal infrared blocking is such that a variety of artistic results can be obtained with more conventional filtration. For example, a very dark neutral density filter can be used (such as the Hoya ND400) which passes a very small amount of visible light compared to the near-infrared it allows through. Wider filtration permits an SLR viewfinder to be used and also passes more varied color information to the sensor without necessarily reducing the Wood effect. Wider filtration is however likely to reduce other infrared artefacts such as haze penetration and darkened skies. This technique mirrors the methods used by infrared film photographers where black-and-white infrared film was often used with a deep red filter rather than a visually opaque one.

 

Another common technique with near-infrared filters is to swap blue and red channels in software (e.g. photoshop) which retains much of the characteristic 'white foliage' while rendering skies a glorious blue.

 

Several Sony cameras had the so-called Night Shot facility, which physically moves the blocking filter away from the light path, which makes the cameras very sensitive to infrared light. Soon after its development, this facility was 'restricted' by Sony to make it difficult for people to take photos that saw through clothing. To do this the iris is opened fully and exposure duration is limited to long times of more than 1/30 second or so. It is possible to shoot infrared but neutral density filters must be used to reduce the camera's sensitivity and the long exposure times mean that care must be taken to avoid camera-shake artifacts.

 

Fuji have produced digital cameras for use in forensic criminology and medicine which have no infrared blocking filter. The first camera, designated the S3 PRO UVIR, also had extended ultraviolet sensitivity (digital sensors are usually less sensitive to UV than to IR). Optimum UV sensitivity requires special lenses, but ordinary lenses usually work well for IR. In 2007, FujiFilm introduced a new version of this camera, based on the Nikon D200/ FujiFilm S5 called the IS Pro, also able to take Nikon lenses. Fuji had earlier introduced a non-SLR infrared camera, the IS-1, a modified version of the FujiFilm FinePix S9100. Unlike the S3 PRO UVIR, the IS-1 does not offer UV sensitivity. FujiFilm restricts the sale of these cameras to professional users with their EULA specifically prohibiting "unethical photographic conduct".

 

Phase One digital camera backs can be ordered in an infrared modified form.

 

Remote sensing and thermographic cameras are sensitive to longer wavelengths of infrared (see Infrared spectrum#Commonly used sub-division scheme). They may be multispectral and use a variety of technologies which may not resemble common camera or filter designs. Cameras sensitive to longer infrared wavelengths including those used in infrared astronomy often require cooling to reduce thermally induced dark currents in the sensor (see Dark current (physics)). Lower cost uncooled thermographic digital cameras operate in the Long Wave infrared band (see Thermographic camera#Uncooled infrared detectors). These cameras are generally used for building inspection or preventative maintenance but can be used for artistic pursuits as well.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared_photography

 

Update: 23Dec2023 - An image of this object using this and additional data, including that in Sulfur II wavelengths, and rendered in a combination of alternate palettes to produce the type of surreal imagery I tend to have an affinity for can be found at the link attached here: www.flickr.com/photos/homcavobservatory/53416452946/

 

Object Details: The Eagle Nebula (Messier 16 / NGC 6611) is a diffuse emission nebula in the constellation of Serpens. A star forming region located about 7000 light-years from Earth, it spans approximately 70 light-years in diameter along it's longest dimension. Visible in binoculars and a spectacular sight in larger telescopes. Although the extensive nebulosity is obvious in images, visually the embedded star cluster is dominate and the nebula can be greatly enhanced via the use of a proper filter. The center of the nebula contains huge columns of interstellar hydrogen gas and dust which were made famous in the Hubble 'Pillars of Creation' image (visible near the center of the attached image). Recent evidence indicates these pillars may actually have been destroyed by a supernova 8 to 9 thousand years ago, however the light confirming the event (i.e. the supernova's shock-wave destroying the columns) is not scheduled to reach Earth for another 1000 years (keep watching ;) ).

 

Image Details: Taken by Jay Edwards from the scope field of Cherry Springs State Park in PA during both CSSP's 2023 summer star party in June & the Black Forest SAtar Party held there in September. The image utilized an Orion ED80T CF (i.e. an 80mm, f/6 carbon-fiber, triplet apochromatic refractor) connected to a Televue 0.8x field flattener / focal reducer with a dual band IDAS Hydrogen-alpha / Oxygen III filter and an ASI2600MC Pro camera running at -10 degrees centigrade and controlled by an ASIair running on an IPad Air. Guided by an ASI290MC autoguider / planetary camera in an Orion 60mm, f/4 guidescope; they ride on a Losmandy G-11 mount running a Gemini 2 control system.

 

This is one of two Losmandy G-11's in my observatory and in June it was the first time this G-11 mount was away from the observatory I built at my home here in upstate, NY in the past 20 or so years. Since I have two G-11's I am leaving the newer one in my observatory while using this one as a new portable / transportable system for on-the-road events like this summer's trips to CSSP.

 

Due to the large brightness difference between the inner portions of the Eagle Nebula and the fainter nebulosity in the image I would normally use an HDR approach varying the exposure, but since I was also testing out a second IDAS dual-band (Sulfur II / Oxygen III) filter I recently purchased, I kept it somewhat simple and the data is just from two separate nights (months apart) using just the H-a / OIII filter and a stack of sixty, three minute exposures for a total integration time of three hours (not including applicable flat, dark, and flat dark calibration frames of course). I did manage to capture an hour of data on this object with the SII / OIII filter when there for BFSP in September but have not yet processed or incorporated it yet. Therefore the attached was processed in a more 'natural' palette mapping Hydrogen-alpha to the red channel and Oxygen III to green and blue channels. Using a combination PixInsight and PaintShopPro, as shown here the filed-of-0view has been cropped to emphasize the nebula itself and the entire composite has been re-sized down to HD resolution and the bit depth lowered to 8 bits per channel.

 

Having been going to Cherry Springs with many of my best friends for over 20 years now, for those not familiar it is a wonderful state park under Bortle 2 skies which also caters to amateur astronomers. In addition to viewing and imaging a plethora of objects there over the decades, I have also been fortunate to be there during some wonderful transient events

(e.g. As can be seen in the aurora images at the attached links that I took there back in 2002 - in that case using film of course -

 

www.flickr.com/photos/homcavobservatory/32749047085/in/al...

 

www.flickr.com/photos/homcavobservatory/32113365204/in/al...

 

while a shot from the 2023 CSSAP of the Lagoon & Trifid nebulae can be found at the link attached here :

 

www.flickr.com/photos/homcavobservatory/53012789409/

 

and a shot of the same area from 2019 that I also took at CSSP with the same scope but using a slightly different framing and utilizing an unmodded (and uncooled) Canon 700D DSLR on a SkyView Pro mount can be found here -

 

www.flickr.com/photos/homcavobservatory/48274270732/in/al...

 

During my trips to Cherry Springs this summer I also managed to capture Ha/OIII and SII/OIII data on a variety of other objects and am looking forward to seeing what details I can pull out of the data once processed as well as trying to process this and the other objects in alternate palettes.

 

Wishing clear, dark & calm skies to all !

The colourful second-hand U.S Bluebird school buses have been an integral part of the Panama public transport network for years but are becoming a rarer sight.

 

According to local media, with a new transport system being developed, the traditional Red Devils imported to Panama throughout the last 40 years are now disappearing and are only used for a few specific routes.

Small little Power Miners drill thing. For some reason I really like things with drills.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

 

Some background:

Bell's P-76 had its roots in the P-39 Airacobra, one of the principal American fighter aircraft in service when the United States entered World War II.

 

The Airacobra had an innovative layout, with the engine installed in the center fuselage, behind the pilot, and driving a tractor propeller via a long shaft. It was also the first fighter fitted with a tricycle undercarriage.

 

Although its mid-engine placement was innovative, the P-39 design was handicapped by the absence of an efficient turbo-supercharger, limiting it to low-altitude work. As such it was rejected by the RAF for use over western Europe and passed over to the USSR where performance at high altitude was less important.

 

Bell permanently tried to improve the aircraft. Trials of a laminar flow wing (in the XP-39E) and several alternative engines were unsuccessful, so the basic concept was taken into two directions: The mid-engine, gun-through-hub concept was developed further in the overall larger Bell XP-63 Kingcobra, and a radical re-design of the whole aircraft around its basic structure and its power unit, which became the XP-76.

 

The basic concept was simple: the proven Allison V-1710 engine was to be retained, but the rest of the aircraft was to be lightened and "minimized" wherever possible in order to improve its performance - a similar way Grumman went with the F8F Bearcat.

 

Anyway, Bell's construction team did not find much options, at least without compromising other factors like rigidity or armament. In a almost desperate move the decison was made to change the aircraft's layout altogether - making the P-39 a pusher aircraft! The Allison V-1710 allowed a simple switch from a pull to a push arrangement, and with a canard layout lots of weight could be saved: the tail section was competely deleted, and the heavy extension shaft and the respective gears for the front propeller became obsolete, too.

 

Wind tunnel tests confirmed the basic idea, even though the new layout called for several major innovations and new constructions which postponed development and service introduction considerably until late 1943.

These innovation comprised, for instance, the first (moderately) swept wings on an USAAF aircraft, due to CG and atability reasons. Unlike the very similar but bigger Curtiss XP-55 Ascender the XP-76 "Airaconda" had a very good performance, compared to the standard P-39. It was more agile, had a better rate of climb and retained the powerful 37mm cannon, which was highly effective against large air targets as well as ground targets. The gun was complemented by foud 0.5" machine guns, all grouped into the aircraft's nose.

 

By January 1944 the first service machines, designated P-76A, were delivered to homeland defence units for evaluation, especially against the P-39 as well as the P-40. Anyway, pilots distrusted the very different aircraft. The high tricycle landing caused frequent problems, especially on soggy ground, and several accidents with propeller contacts during exagerrated take-offs did not build the P-76's reputation - even the though the aircraft was basically good and a true step forward from the P-39. But to no avail: no ally would take it, neither Great Britain (having the disappointing P-39 still in mind) nor the Soviet Union.

 

The P-76's career was short, though. The machines were too late for the Aleutian Campaign, and none saw real combat action. Furthermore, more capable aircraft had entered the scene in the meantime, like the P-47 and the P-51, so the P-76 was primarily used for combat training on the USA mainland.

 

Only about 80 of this unique aircraft were built, before production switched to the more conventional P-63 Kingcobra.

  

General characteristics:

Crew: One

Length: 26 ft 10 1/2 in (8.2 m)

Wingspan: 31 ft 3 in (9,54 m)

Height: 13 ft (3.96 m)

Wing area: 190 sq ft (17.71 m²)

Empty weight: 4.900lb (2.225 kg)

Loaded weight: 6.530 lb (2.965 kg)

Max. takeoff weight: 7.709 lb (3.500 kg)

 

Powerplant:

1× Allison V-1710-47R liquid-cooled V12 engine, 1,325 hp (955 kW),

driving a four-blade pusehr propeller

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 390 mph at 19,300 ft (628 km/h)

Range: 635 mi (1,020 km)

Service ceiling: 35,000 ft (10,700 m)

Rate of climb: 3,750 ft/min (19 m/s)

Wing loading: 34.6 lb/sq ft (169 kg/m²)

Power/mass: 0.16 hp/lb (0.27 kW/kg)

Time to climb: 15,000 in 4.5 min at 160 mph (260 km/h).

 

Armament:

1x 1.5 cal. (37 mm) M4 cannon in the nose with 30 rounds of HE-T ammunition

4x .50 cal. (12.7 mm) Browning M2 machine guns, nose-mounted with 200 RPG

Up to 1.000 lb or ordnance, including a drop tank or (rarely used) a single 1.000 lb bomb on

a centerline pylon; alternatively two 500 lb (230 kg) bombs under the wings or six unguided

HVAR missiles.

  

The kit and its assembly:

This shinden-esque whif aircraft was spawned by a series of P-39 CG illustrations - modified skins for a flight simulator which depicted the Airacobra as a pusher with a canard layout. This looked very interesting, and since I had a Hobby Boss P-39Q in the stash with no real plan until now, I gave the inspiration green light and turned on the saw.

 

The CGs already showed some inplausibilities, though - all perspectives were carefully taken from a shallow side perspective, hiding problematic areas! So, soon it became clear that my build could not be a 1:1 copy of the virtual art, because that would either not be possible, or simply look poor in hardware form.

 

As consequence, the simple P-39 pusher conversion idea turned into a major kitbash and body sculpting job, that somehow looked more and more like a diminuitive Kyushu J7W Shinden!?

 

What went into the thing:

● Central fuselage with engine, cockpit and front end of a Hobby Boss P-39

● Wings from a revell Me 262

● Horizontal stabilizers from an Italeri Fw 190

● The twin fins are stabilizers from the Me 262, too

● The propeller comes from the MPM P-47H kit

● Landing gear was scratched from the spares box

 

A lucky find were the Me 262 wings: they perfectly fit in depth onto the Airacobra's fuselage, and they added the "modern" look I was looking for. The original wings were simply to straight and deep, proportions would hardly work. Unfortunatly this meant that the cutouts on the wings for the Me 262's engine nacelles had to be filled, and that the landing gear wells had to be improvised, too. The wings roots had to be re.sculpted, too, since the Me 262 wings are much thinner than the P-39's.

 

Another problem was the fuselage's relative length - with the tail cut off, it's just too short in order to take canards on the nose - that was already recognizable in the CGs where the front fuselage had been stretched.

 

I did the same, with two measures: Firstly, a 10mm plug was inserted in front of the cockpit - a massive lump of putty that was sanded into shape. Furthermore, just glueing the spinner onto the nose would not yield a proper look. So I added a P-38 nose (Airfix kit) that was reduced in height and re-scuplted the lower fuselage, adding depth. As a consequence, the front wheel well moved forward and had to be re-shaped, too. Lots of messy putty work!

 

A third dubious section was the propeller, or better its interesction with the fuselage. Again, the CGs did not yield any potential solution. Since pusher props call for ground clearance I decided to fix the propeller axis so high that the spinner would be flush with the aircraft's spine - the pointed XP-47H propeller (It's one massive piece, with lots of flash...) was perfect and finally found a good and unexpected use. As per usual I built a metal axis construction with a styrene tube adapter inside the fuselage for the propeller, so that it can spin freely.

 

In order to shape a more or less elegant transition from the oval P-39 fuselage to the round spinner I added another plug, about 5mm long and again sculpted from putty.

 

With that in place the overall proprotions became clearer. Next step was to clip the Me 262 wings, so that the span would match the fuselage length, and I had to devise a way to mount fins. The CG just used the P-39's stabilizers, vertically placed on the wings' trailing edge. But, again, this does not work well in hardware form. These "fins" are much too tall, and just mounting them in that place looks rather awkward.

 

My solution was then to add small carrier booms - actually these a massive, modern 500 lb bombs without fins, placed on the trailing edges and protruding. This makes a more plausible and stable-looking base for fins, IMHO, and after several options (including P-51 and P-47 stabilizers)I used trimmed Me 262 stabilizers. Their sweeped leading edge matches the wings' shape just well - and the Fw 190 stabilizers which were glued to the nose as canards also look in-style, and overall more modern than the P-39's rounded wing shapes.

 

Slowly the P-76 took more and more shape, and I was surprised how much it started to resemble the Kyushu Shinden, which was a bigger aircraft, though.

  

Painting and markings:

A weird aircraft needs IMHO a rather subtle paint scheme, so I settled for a standard USAAF livery with overall Olive Drab upper sides, some Medium Green blotches on all wing surfaces and Neutral Grey undersides.

 

As basic colors I used Modelmaster's ANA 613 for the upper surfaces and FS 36231 (instead of the true Neutral Grey FS 36173) for the lower sides; the green blotches are frequently quoted as FS 34096, but this is IMHO too "green", the tone has a rather blue-ish hue. So I went for a more a yellow-ish tone and settled for Humbrol 102 (Army Green). All tones were later lightened and weathered through dry-painting (also highlighting some panels) and a black ink wash - both tones somewhat came closer to each other through this treatment, but I think this happened on real world aircraft, too?

 

The only colorful highlight is a yellow nose.

 

All interior surfaces were painted in zinc chromate primer: on top of an olive green base (Humbrol 159) some dry-painting with Modelmaster's Zinc Chromate Green was added.

Markings were puzzled together from various sources. The red-rimmed Stars-And-Bars were AFAIK still in use in late 1943, and they add some contrast to the otherwise simple aircraft. The white stripes were used as ID markings in the Aleutian theatre - another small individual note. Otherwise, P-40's of the 344th FS/343rd FG were used as benchmarks.

  

In the end, and interesting experiment that shows that CG ideas must not translate well into model kit hardware form. Nevertheless, the P-76 looks interesting - at some times I thought it would look rather German or like an aircraft from Captain America or the 'The Sky Crawlers' anime movie?

 

Body shaper - girdles - waist reducer

Tatsächlich, reduziert

This is one shot jpg image of the comet. North is up.

  

equipment: FSQ-106ED, reducer QE 0.73x, and EOS 5Dmk2-sp2, modified by Seo san on EM-200 temma 2 jr equatorial mount, autoguided at the coma with FS-60C, Starlightxpress Lodestar Autoguider, and PHD guiding

 

exposure: 1x15 sec at ISO 3200 and f/3.6

 

site: 11,000 feet above sea level near the public parking of MLO, Mauna Loa Observatory

 

processing: none

  

Here is a short timelapse movie including this frame.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMq27KvVz4o

 

Here is another timelapse movie taken with 90mm lens.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZc_Mbx1ZQA

To reduce adversarial attitudes between Arabs and Jewish youth living in Israel, the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv has supported a Negotiation Project for the past 3 years in cooperation with the Amal Educational Network and the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School with the aim encouraging good communication and team work and to learn how to understand each other’s interest, think openly and creatively, build trust, and learn how to deal with conflicts as a shared problem-solving challenge. This year’s project which was funded by the Middle East Partnership Initiative brought together 350 high school students from diverse cultures, communities, and religions to learn practical negotiation skills instructed by professional facilitators using Harvard’s interest-based / joint problem solving negotiation methodology. On October 1st students from 12 Arab and Jewish schools celebrated the culmination of the year-long program and participated in a full day of workshops led by well-known experts from the U.S., Israel and Jordan, who shared their personal and professional negotiation narratives. The students were divided into breakout discussion groups facilitated and moderated by the guests. Actress, singer songwriter and activist Mira Anwar Awad closed the day with several ballads in English, Arabic and Hebrew.

 

The goal of the Negotiation Program is to create a network of young adults, representing Israel’s varied geographic, cultural, religious and ethnic groups, who are able to negotiate constructively, to analyze the situation critically, examine and challenge their own and others’ assumptions, listen to other parties’ needs and interests, and cooperate in seeking and developing mutually beneficial, legitimate and sustainable solutions.

   

The DISNEY MAGIC Leaving Liverpool Cruise Terminal,

for a very short Cruise.

With the Mananan Ferry following it,

Also the Floating Platform Crain LARA 1

which is dismantling the Seacombe ferry terminal

and replacing it with a new one.

This video is taken at 1 frame per second,

and it has been reduced in size to 720p.

Created using Linux and WinFF.

© Kevin A Urquhart Photography.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

 

Some background

The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and other conflicts. The Mustang was conceived, designed and built by North American Aviation (NAA) in response to a specification issued directly to NAA by the British Purchasing Commission. The prototype NA-73X airframe was rolled out on 9 September 1940, 102 days after the contract was signed and, with an engine installed, first flew on 26 October.

 

The Mustang was originally designed to use the Allison V-1710 engine, which had limited high-altitude performance. It was first flown operationally by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a tactical-reconnaissance aircraft and fighter-bomber (Mustang Mk I). The addition of the Rolls-Royce Merlin to the P-51B/C (Mustang Mk III) model transformed the Mustang's performance at altitudes above 15,000 ft, giving it a much better performance that matched or bettered almost all of the Luftwaffe's fighters at altitude. The definitive version, the P-51D (Mustang Mk IV), was powered by the Packard V-1650-7, a license-built version of the Rolls-Royce Merlin 60 series two-stage two-speed supercharged engine, and armed with six .50 caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns.

 

The Mustang VI (later re-designated FR.6; the Mustang V was a lightweight fighter of which only one prototype reached England) was an indigenous, British project that was based on the P-51D. It was to meet Air Ministry Specification F.4 of 1940 for a high altitude fighter, designed to fight at extremely high altitudes, in the stratosphere.

 

Background was that Great Britain feared, with an ever increasing air superiority over the British Isles, that German bomber raids might come in at very high altitudes in the near future, staying out of reach from conventional defense measures. Earlier reconnaissance flights of Ju 86P aircraft had already shown that this was a realistic scenario. Additionally, the domestic development progress of pressurized cockpits for high altitude fighters convinced authorities that Germany would easily be on the same technical level, so that a high altitude interceptor was indeed needed.

 

While Westland and Vickers responded with twin-engined designs, North American was also requested to modify the relatively new Mustang (which was designed for medium to high altitudes) for extreme altitudes, as F.4/40 specification was revised into F.7/41 in early 1941. British pressurized cabin technology was to be incorporated, but the engine could be based on US technology.

North American was quick to respond and modified a P-51D airframe. This prototype was internally coded NA-73HK and ready for inspection in mid-late 1942.

 

The NA-73HK’s most obvious feature was the enormous high aspect ratio wing, achieved by extended wing tips, together with a fortified internal wing structure and weight saving measures (which had already been designed for the lightweight Mustang V). This new wing necessitated enlarged tail surfaces and a slightly elongated fuselage to provide a longer moment arm.

 

The aircraft was powered by a Packard V-1650-20 engine that delivered 1.233 hp (920 kW) at 35,000 ft (10,668 m). It was based on the Rolls Royce Merlin 76 (RM 16SM), but instead of the standard two-speed, two-stage supercharger it was coupled with a General Electric C-23 turbo-supercharger. The system was fitted with A.D.I and a General Electric ignition system with a tubular ignition harness developed by the Scinitilla company. A water injection system was added for short-term power boosting, too. The original Bendix-Stromberg carburetor was retained, even though optimized for lower air density use and a higher air mass flow. It drove a new, four-bladed propeller with increased diameter and enlarged single blade area.

 

Since the slender P-51 airframe did not allow the placement of the turbo-supercharger in front of the cockpit it was re-located into a large ventral fairing which replaced the original radiator tunnel – the basic layout resembled that of the P-47 Thunderbolt. But due to lack of internal space the system had to be connected through external exhaust pipes running along the fuselage flanks. This was a draggy arrangement, but it would not matter much anymore once the aircraft was at its intended operating altitude of 40.000 ft (~12.000m) and beyond.

 

The cockpit retained an aft-sliding bubble canopy, even though it had to be reinforced and was quickly recognizable through its stiffener bars. The cockpit pressurization system was driven by a separate Rotol supercharger attached to the engine, providing a constant pressure of 3.5 psi (24 kPa) over the exterior pressure. This resulted in an apparent cabin altitude of 24,000 feet (7,300 m) when the aircraft was operating at its design altitude of 45,000 ft (14,000 m).

This cabin altitude was still too high for normal breathing, so the pilot had to wear an oxygen mask during flight. A rubber gasket filled with the pressurized air sealed the canopy when the system was turned on, and a valve ensured the pressure was controlled automatically. Moreover, the pilot also had to wear a high altitude suit as he might have been required to bail out at altitude.

 

Detail work turned into time-consuming process, though. For instance, the Mustang VI, how the type was called by the RAF, and “The White Horse” by its pilots and service drews, required a new, sophisticated electrical system. This was necessary in order to minimize the number of seals and points of entry into the cockpit for the controls and instrumentation. It worked, but it was complicated: it took an electrician experienced in the features of the Mustang VI almost four hours to undertake a pre-flight check of this system!

 

The armament was modified, too. The original six 0.5" machine guns were to be replaced by four long-barreled Hispano 20 mm cannon in the wings. These offered greater range and ensured more damage against the expected, big targets.

 

Five prototypes were used in the development process in early 1943. Despite its complexity the White Horse proved to be successful, as it easily reached 50.000 ft. (15.000 m) altitude and handled well. But production was delayed as the standard P-51D had priority and no immediate high altitude threat from Germany materialized.

Serial production eventually started in mid-1944, but at a much smaller scale than initially planned: the original production plan from late 1942 demanded no less than 500 specimen, but towards late 1943 this drastically reduced to 100, and eventually only a mere 50 of these aircraft actually reached its exclusive user, the Royal Air Force, until early 1945.

 

When the Mustang VI arrived at the frontline in January 1944, there was virtually no sign of high altitude aircraft to be intercepted – and there was hardly any other use for this specialized aircraft. As a consequence most of the almost new airframes were modified to carry cameras for high altitude reconnaissance missions. These machines were converted by the Forward Repair Unit (FRU) to have two camera compartments fitted: one behind the cockpit cabin, facing to port or starboard, with respective windows added behind the cockpit and above the turbocharger compartment, and another in the extension segment in front of the tail wheel, where up to two vertical cameras could be mounted (even though the location proved to be rather unsuitable, as hot air from the radiator and oil leaking from the turbocharger frequently obscured clear vision). These modified aircraft were re-designated Mustang PR.VI, which turned into FR.6 from late 1944 on.

 

After WWII hostilities ended, a small number of Mustang FR.6 was kept in RAF service and allocated to squadrons in Germany and in the Far East, where the aircraft were exclusively used for reconnaissance duties.

 

One of the type's last missions took place in 1951, when Hainan Island (People's Republic of China) was targeted at the behest of U.S. Naval Intelligence for RAF overflights. RAF Mustang FR.6 of 80 Squadron, based at Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong, were deployed, together with Spitfire PR.19 from 81 Squadron.

  

General characteristics

Crew: 1

Length: 34 ft (10,37 m)

Wingspan: 48 ft 9½ in (14.90 m)

Height: 14 ft 7½ in (4.46 m) w. tail wheel on ground & vertical propeller blade

Empty weight: 4,870 kg (10,737 lb)

Loaded weight: 5,100 kg (11,244 lb)

Max. take-off weight: 6,020 kg (13,272 lb)

Fuel capacity: 1,200 l (264 imp gal)

 

Powerplant:

1 × Packard V-1650-20 liquid-cooled piston engine, rated at 1.233 hp (920 kW) at 35,000 ft (10,668 m)

 

Performance

Maximum speed: 420 km/h (261 mph; 227 kn) at sea level, 660 km/h (409 mph) at 15.000 m (49.130 ft)

Cruise speed: 362 mph (315 kn, 580 km/h)

Range: 460 km (286 mi; 248 nmi) at maximum continuous power with 595 l (131 imp gal) of fuel at sea level; 1,440 km (895 mi) with 1,200 l (264 imp gal) of fuel at 15.000 m (49.130 ft)

Service ceiling: 50.500 ft (15.420 m)

Maximum ceiling: 55,610 ft (16,950 m)

Rate of climb: 11.5 m/s (2,260 ft/min) at sea level, 3.92 m/s (13 ft/s) at 15.000 m (49.130 ft)

  

Armament

4× 0.787 caliber (20mm) Hispano cannons with 200 RPG in the outer wings; some aircraft only carried a pair or these or were completely unarmed to save weight

2× hardpoints for up to 2.000 lb (907 kg) of external ordnance under the wings, typically only two drop tanks were carried.

  

The kit and its assembly

I've always been a big fan of the Westland Welkin and its elegant high altitude livery in PRU Blue and Medium Sea Grey, but lacking a suitable kit this had always been just a plan - until you build a suitable aircraft on your own! The plan for a high altitude Mustang had also been lingering for some time, as I found good donation parts in the stash (see below).

 

So... why not combine these into a whif model? Specification F.4/40 was a good real world background, and maybe a single-engined aircraft in the style of the Bv 155 would have been a better answer than the twin-engined Welkin or its competitor, the Vickers 432?

 

The basis is the Hasegawa P-51D. It's a decent kit with good detail but only of average fit. It's an old casting, but for this conversion it was a very good basis.

 

Many things were changed in order to create the FR.6, though:

● Wing tips extended with parts from a HUMA Me 309 (leading and training edge sweep match perfectly!)

● Extended rear fuselage, with a 2C putty plug (about 1 cm) inserted

● Elongated fin, the upper half comes from a Special Hobby He 100D

● New stabilizers, taken OOB from an ART Model Bv 155

● New ventral fairing; it's a seriously trimmed radiator from the aforementioned ART Model Bv 155 with scratch parts

● New/larger carburetor air intake, from a Matchbox Martin Marauder

● Camera windows on the real fuselage - simply drilled holes, filled with black glass paint and Humbrol Clearfix

● New propeller; the spinner is OOB, the blades come from the ART Model Bv 155, too

● New canopy; it's a vacu piece, also leftover from the ART Model Bv 155 (it fits almost perfectly!)

● Long-barreled Hispano cannons from a late Spitfire kit from Special Hobby

 

Fortunately I had everything at hand, true spare-parts recycling. Building the thing was pretty straighforward, the biggest issue were the fuselage with its extension and the bulbous, dorsal fairing, and the extended fin.

 

The exhaust system was completely scratched from styrene profiles. I used the Bv155 and a P-47 explosion sketch as design benchmarks – but I give NO guarantee for realism! Some small details were added with white glue, which was also handy as a kind of fluid putty that would bridge some gaps in the piping.

  

Painting and markings

I had a clear benchmark, to my Mustang FR.6 ended up with upper sides in uniform Medium Sea Grey (Humbrol 165) and lower sides in PRU Blue (Humbrol 230). Since the Mustang has a similar layout as the Spitfire, I went for a high waterline - I think that this makes the aircraft more interesting than an all-grey upper side?

 

The basic tones were later highlighted through dry-brushing with lighter shades (Humbrol 145 and 167) and a thin black ink wash.

 

The interior incl. the landing gear was painted in Interior Green (Humbrol 78). The complex exhaust system received special attention with some graphite, as I wanted to present the pipes as painted, yet totally scorched and worn from the hot gases inside, so that they stand out in front of the all-blue background.

 

The markings come from a Special Hobby Spitfire F.23 which contains markings for several RAF 80 Squadron machines based in Hong Kong. I kept the aircraft rather sober, with minimal markings and just the 80 Squadron ‘Bell’ badge as individual highlight.

 

After some additional dry-brushing with medium grey overall, the kit was sealed with a coat of matt acrylic varnish.

  

A quick one and everything was kept very simple and straightforward, even though it might appear different. In the end the modified Mustang looks very nice and elegant, despite the extra plumbing and slightly distorted proportions. It actually looks like the illegitimate offspring between a P-51D and a Bv 155 in a dark night over the Channel...?

And so to the weekend again. And what might be the last orchid-free weekend until well into June or even August.

 

So, enjoy the churches while you can.

 

Saturday, and not much really planned. We get up at half six with it fully light outside. The cloud and drizzle had not arrived, instead it was pretty clear and sunny.

 

No time for thinking about going out to take shots, as we had hunter-gathering to do.

 

In fact, we didn't need much, just the usual stuff to keep us going. That and the car was running on fumes. So we will that up first, and then into Tesco and round and round we go, fully the trolley up. It being Mother's Day on Saturday, we were having Jen round on Sunday, we were to have steak, so I get mushrooms.

 

And once back, we have breakfast then go to Preston for the actual steak, three ribeyes, all cut from the same stip. Jools had gone to look at the garden centre for ideas as we're going to dig up the raspberries, so just wondering what to put in their place.

 

By then the rain had come, and so we dashed back to the car, and on the way home called in at two churches.

 

First off was Goodnestone, just the other side of Wingham.

 

Its a fine estate church, covered in wonderfully knapped bricks, giving it an East Anglian feel. Before we went in, we sheltered under a tree to much on a sausage roll I had bought at the butcher, that done, we go to the church, which is open.

 

I have been here quite recently, five years back, and in truth no much glass to record, but I do my best, leave a fiver of the weekly collection and we drove over the fields to Eastry.

 

St Mary is an impressive church, with carved and decorated west face of the Norman tower, at its base an odd lean-to porch has been created, leading into the church, which does have interest other than the 35 painted medallions high in the Chancel Arch, once the backdrop to the Rood.

 

I snap them with the big lens, and the windows too. A warden points out what looks like a very much older painted window high among the roof timbers in the east wall of the Chancel.

 

I get a shot, which is good enough, but even with a 400mm lens, is some crop.

 

I finish up and we go home, taking it carefully along nearly flooded roads.

 

Being a Saturday, there is football, though nothing much of interest until three when Norwich kick off against Stoke: could they kick it on a wet Saturday afternoon in the Potteries?

 

No. No, they couldn't.

 

Ended 0-0, City second best, barely laid a glove on the Stoke goal.

 

And then spots galore: Ireland v England in the egg-chasing, Citeh v Burnley in the Cup and Chelsea v Everton in the league, all live on various TV channels.

 

I watch the first half of the rugby, then switch over when England were reduced to 14, so did enjoy the lad Haarland score another hat-trick in a 6-0 demolition.

 

And that was that, another day over with.....

 

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Set away from the main street but on one of the earliest sites in the village, flint-built Eastry church has an over restored appearance externally but this gives way to a noteworthy interior. Built in the early thirteenth century by its patrons, Christ Church Canterbury, it was always designed to be a statement of both faith and power. The nave has a clerestory above round piers whilst the east nave wall has a pair of quatrefoils pierced through into the chancel. However this feature pales into insignificance when one sees what stands between them - a square panel containing 35 round paintings in medallions. There are four deigns including the Lily for Our Lady; a dove; Lion; Griffin. They would have formed a backdrop to the Rood which would have been supported on a beam the corbels of which survive below the paintings. On the centre pier of the south aisle is a very rare feature - a beautifully inscribed perpetual calendar or `Dominical Circle` to help find the Dominical letter of the year. Dating from the fourteenth century it divides the calendar into a sequence of 28 years. The reredos is an alabaster structure dating from the Edwardian period - a rather out of place object in a church of this form, but a good piece of work in its own right. On the west wall is a good early 19th century Royal Arms with hatchments on either side and there are many good monuments both ledger slabs and hanging tablets. Of the latter the finest commemorates John Harvey who died in 1794. It shows his ship the Brunswick fighting with all guns blazing with the French ship the Vengeur. John Bacon carved the Elder this detailed piece of work.

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Eastry

 

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Above the Chancel Arch, enclosed within a rectangular frame, are rows of seven "medallion" wall paintings; the lower group was discovered in 1857 and the rest in 1903. They remained in a rather dilapidated state until the Canterbury Cathedral Wall Paintings Department brought them back to life.

 

The medallions are evidently of the 13th Century, having been painted while the mortar was still wet. Each medallion contains one of four motifs:

 

The trefoil flower, pictured left, is perhaps a symbol of the Blessed Virgin Mary to whom the church is dedicated; or symbolic of Christ.

 

The lion; symbolic of the Resurrection

  

Doves, either singly, or in pairs, represent the Holy Spirit

  

The Griffin represents evil, over which victory is won by the power of the Resurrection and the courage of the Christian.

 

www.ewbchurches.org.uk/eastrychurchhistory.htm

 

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EASTRY,

THE next parish north-eastward from Knolton is Eastry. At the time of taking the survey of Domesday, it was of such considerable account, that it not only gave name, as it does at present, to the hundred, but to the greatest part of the lath in which it stands, now called the lath of St. Augustine. There are two boroughs in this parish, viz. the borough of Hardenden, which is within the upper half hundred of Downhamford, and comprehends the districts of Hardenden, Selson and Skrinkling, and the borough of Eastry, the borsholder of which is chosen at Eastry-court, and comprehends all the rest of the parish, excepting so much of it as lies within that part of the borough of Felderland, which is within this parish.

 

THE PARISH OF EASTRY, a healthy and not unpleasant situation, is about two miles and an half from north to south, but it is much narrower the other way, at the broadest extent of which it is not more than a mile and an half. The village of Eastry is situated on a pleasing eminence, almost in the centre of the parish, exhiblting a picturesque appearance from many points of view. The principal street in it is called Eastrystreet; from it branch off Mill street, Church-street and Brook-street. In Mill street is a spacious handsome edisice lately erected there, as a house of industry, for the poor of the several united parishes of Eastry, Norborne, Betshanger, Tilmanstone, Waldershare, Coldred, Lydden, Shebbertswell, Swynfield, Wootton, Denton, Chillenden and Knolton. In Churchstreet, on the east side, stands the church, with the court-lodge and parsonage adjoining the church-yard; in this street is likewise the vicarage. In Brook-street, is a neat modern house, the residence of Wm. Boteler, esq. and another belonging to Mr. Thomas Rammell, who resides in it. Mention will be found hereafter, under the description of the borough of Hernden, in this parish, of the descent and arms of the Botelers resident there for many generations. Thomas Boteler, who died possessed of that estate in 1651, left three sons, the youngest of whom, Richard, was of Brook-street, and died in 1682; whose great-grandson, W. Boteler, esq. is now of Brook-street; a gentleman to whom the editor is much indebted for his communications and assistance, towards the description of this hundred, and its adjoining neighbourhood. He has been twice married; first to Sarah, daughter and coheir of Thomas Fuller, esq. of Statenborough, by whom he has one son, William Fuller, now a fellow of St. Peter's college, Cambridge: secondly, to Mary, eldest daughter of John Harvey, esq. of Sandwich and Hernden, late captain of the royal navy, by whom he has five sons and three daughters. He bears for his arms, Argent, on three escutcheons, sable, three covered cups, or; which coat was granted to his ancestor, Richard Boteler, esq. of Hernden, by Cooke, clar. in 1589. Mr. Boteler, of Eastry, is the last surviving male of the family, both of Hernden and Brook-street. Eastry-street, comprizing the neighbourhood of the above mentioned branches, may be said to contain about sixty-four houses.

 

At the south-east boundary of this parish lies the hamlet of Updown, adjoining to Ham and Betshanger, in the former of which parishes some account of it has been already given. At the southern bounds, adjoining to Tilmanstone, lies the hamlet of Westone, formerly called Wendestone. On the western side lies the borough of Hernden, which although in this parish, is yet within the hundred of Downhamford and manor of Adisham; in the southern part of it is Shrinkling, or Shingleton, as it is now called, and the hamlet of Hernden. At the northern part of this borough lie the hamlets and estates of Selson, Wells, and Gore. Towards the northern boundary of the parish, in the road to Sandwich, is the hamlet of Statenborough, and at a small distance from it is that part of the borough of Felderland, or Fenderland, as it is usually called, within this parish, in which, adjoining the road which branches off to Word, is a small seat, now the property and residence of Mrs. Dare, widow of Wm. Dare, esq. who resides in it. (fn. 1)

 

Round the village the lands are for a little distance, and on towards Statenborough, inclosed with hedges and trees, but the rest of the parish is in general an open uninclosed country of arable land, like the neighbouring ones before described; the soil of it towards the north is most fertile, in the other parts it is rather thin, being much inclined to chalk, except in the bottoms, where it is much of a stiff clay, for this parish is a continued inequality of hill and dale; notwithstanding the above, there is a great deal of good fertile land in the parish, which meets on an average rent at fifteen shillings an acre. There is no wood in it. The parish contains about two thousand six hundred and fifty acres; the yearly rents of it are assessed to the poor at 2679l.

 

At the south end of the village is a large pond, called Butsole; and adjoining to it on the east side, a field, belonging to Brook-street estate, called the Butts; from whence it is conjectured that Butts were formerly erected in it, for the practice of archery among the inhabitants.

 

A fair is held here for cattle, pedlary, and toys, on October the 2d, (formerly on St. Matthew's day, September the 21st) yearly.

 

IN 1792, MR. BOTELER, of Brook-street, discovered, on digging a cellar in the garden of a cottage, situated eastward of the highway leading from Eastrycross to Butsole, an antient burying ground, used as such in the latter time of the Roman empire in Britain, most probably by the inhabitants of this parish, and the places contiguous to it. He caused several graves to be opened, and found with the skeletons, fibulæ, beads, knives,umbones of shields, &c. and in one a glass vessel. From other skeletons, which have been dug up in the gardens nearer the cross, it is imagined, that they extended on the same side the road up to the cross, the ground of which is now pretty much covered with houses; the heaps of earth, or barrows, which formerly remained over them, have long since been levelled, by the great length of time and the labour of the husbandman; the graves were very thick, in rows parallel to each other, in a direction from east to west.

 

St. Ivo's well, mentioned by Nierembergius, in Historia de Miraculis Natureæ, lib. ii. cap. 33; which I noticed in my folio edition as not being able to find any tradition of in this parish, I have since found was at a place that formerly went by the name of Estre, and afterwards by that of Plassiz, near St. Ives, in Huntingdonshire. See Gales Scriptores, xv. vol. i. p.p. 271, 512.

 

This place gave birth to Henry de Eastry, who was first a monk, and then prior of Christ-church, in Canterbury; who, for his learning as well as his worthy acts, became an ornament, not only to the society he presided over, but to his country in general. He continued prior thirty-seven years, and died, far advanced in life, in 1222.

 

THIS PLACE, in the time of the Saxons, appears to have been part of the royal domains, accordingly Simon of Durham, monk and precentor of that church, in his history, stiles it villa regalis, quæ vulgari dicitur Easterige pronuncione, (the royal ville, or manor, which in the vulgar pronunciation was called Easterige), which shews the antient pre-eminence and rank of this place, for these villæ regales, or regiæ, as Bede calls them, of the Saxons, were usually placed upon or near the spot, where in former ages the Roman stations had been before; and its giving name both to the lath and hundred in which it is situated corroborates the superior consequence it was then held in. Egbert, king of Kent, was in possession of it about the year 670, at which time his two cousins, Ethelred and Ethelbright, sons of his father's elder brother Ermenfrid, who had been entrusted to his care by their uncle, the father of Egbert, were, as writers say, murdered in his palace here by his order, at the persuasion of one Thunnor, a slattering courtier, lest they should disturb him in the possession of the crown. After which Thunnor buried them in the king's hall here, under the cloth of estate, from whence, as antient tradition reports, their bodies were afterwards removed to a small chapel belonging to the palace, and buried there under the altar at the east end of it, and afterwards again with much pomp to the church of Ramsey abbey. To expiate the king's guilt, according to the custom of those times, he gave to Domneva, called also Ermenburga, their sister, a sufficient quantity of land in the isle of Thanet, on which she might found a monastery.

 

How long it continued among the royal domains, I have not found; but before the termination of the Saxon heptarchy, THE MANOR OF EASTRY was become part of the possessions of the see of Canterbury, and it remained so till the year 811, when archbishop Wilfred exchanged it with his convent of Christchurch for their manor of Bourne, since from the archbishop's possession of it called Bishopsbourne. After which, in the year 979 king Ægelred, usually called Ethelred, increased the church's estates here, by giving to it the lands of his inheritance in Estrea, (fn. 2) free from all secular service and siscal tribute, except the repelling of invasions and the repairing of bridges and castles, usually stiled the trinoda necessitas; (fn. 3) and in the possession of the prior and convent bove-mentioned, this manor continued at the taking of the survey of Domesday, being entered in it under the general title of Terra Monachorum Archiepi; that is, the land of the monks of the archbishop, as follows:

 

In the lath of Estrei in Estrei hundred, the archbishop himself holds Estrei. It was taxed at Seven sulings. The arable land is . . . . In demesne there are three carucates and seventy two villeins, with twenty-two borderers, having twenty-four carucates. There is one mill and a half of thirty shillings, and three salt pits of four shillings, and eighteen acres of meadow. Wood for the pannage of ten hogs.

 

After which, this manor continued in the possession of the priory, and in the 10th year of king Edward II. the prior obtained a grant of free-warren in all his demesne lands in it, among others; about which time it was valued at 65l. 3s. after which king Henry VI. in his 28th year, confirmed the above liberty, and granted to it a market, to be held at Eastry weekly on a Tuesday, and a fair yearly, on the day of St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist; in which state it continued till the dissolution of the priory in the 31st year of king Henry VIII. when it came in to the king's hands, where it did not remain long, for he settled it, among other premises, in the 33d year of his reign, on his new created dean and chapter of Canterbury, part of whose possessions it continues at this time. A court leet and court baron is held for this manor.

 

The manerial rights, profits of courts, royalties, &c. the dean and chapter retain in their own hands; but the demesne lands of the manor, with the courtlodge, which is a large antient mansion, situated adjoining to the church-yard, have been from time to time demised on a benesicial lease. The house is large, partly antient and partly modern, having at different times undergone great alterations. In the south wall are the letters T. A. N. in flint, in large capitals, being the initials of Thomas and Anne Nevinson. Mr. Isaac Bargrave, father of the present lessee, new fronted the house, and the latter in 1786 put the whole in complete repair, in doing which, he pulled down a considerable part of the antient building, consisting of stone walls of great strength and thickness, bringing to view some gothic arched door ways of stone, which proved the house to have been of such construction formerly, and to have been a very antient building. The chapel, mentioned before, is at the east end of the house. The east window, consisting of three compartments, is still visible, though the spaces are filled up, it having for many years been converted into a kitchen, and before the last alteration by Mr. Bargrave the whole of it was entire.

 

At this mansion, then in the hands of the prior and convent of Christ-church, archbishop Thomas Becket, after his stight from Northampton in the year 1164, concealed himself for eight days, and then, on Nov. 10, embarked at Sandwich for France. (fn. 4)

 

The present lessee is Isaac Bargrave, esq. who resides at the court-lodge, whose ancestors have been lessees of this estate for many years past.

 

THE NEVINSONS, as lessees, resided at the courtlodge of Eastry for many years. They were originally of Brigend, in Wetherell, in Cumberland. They bore for their arms, Argent, a chevron, between three eagles displayed, azure. Many of them lie buried in Eastry church. (fn. 5)

 

THE FAMILY of Bargrave, alias Bargar, was originally of Bridge, and afterwards of the adjoining parish of Patrixbourne; where John Bargrave, eldest son of Robert, built the seat of Bifrons, and resided at it, of whom notice has already been taken in vol. ix. of this history, p. 280. Isaac Bargrave, the sixth son of Robert above-mentioned, and younger brother of John, who built Bifrons, was ancestor of the Bargraves, of Eastry; he was S. T. P. and dean of Canterbury, a man of strict honour and high principles of loyalty, for which he suffered the most cruel treatment. He died in 1642, having married in 1618 Elizabeth, daughter of John Dering, esq. of Egerton, by Elizabeth, sister of Edward lord Wotton, the son of John Dering, esq. of Surrenden, by Margaret Brent. Their descendant, Isaac Bargrave, esq. now living, was an eminent solicitor in London, from which he has retired for some years, and now resides at Eastry-court, of which he is the present lessee. He married Sarah, eldest daughter of George Lynch, M. D. of Canterbury, who died at Herne in 1787, S.P. They bear for their arms, Or, on a pale gules, a sword, the blade argent, pomelled, or, on a chief vert three bezants.

 

SHRINKLING, alias SHINGLETON, the former of which is its original name, though now quite lost, is a small manor at the south-west boundary of this pa Kent, anno 1619. rish, adjoining to Nonington. It is within the borough of Heronden, or Hardonden, as it is now called, and as such, is within the upper half hundred of Downhamford. This manor had antiently owners of the same name; one of whom, Sir William de Scrinkling, held it in king Edward I.'s reign, and was succeeded by Sir Walter de Scrinkling his son, who held it by knight's service of Hamo de Crevequer, (fn. 6) and in this name it continued in the 20th year of king Edward III.

 

Soon after which it appears to have been alienated to William Langley, of Knolton, from which name it passed in like manner as Knolton to the Peytons and the Narboroughs, and thence by marriage to Sir Thomas D'Aeth, whose grandson Sir Narborough D'Aeth, bart. now of Knolton, is at present entitled to it.

 

There was a chapel belonging to this manor, the ruins of which are still visible in the wood near it, which was esteemed as a chapel of ease to the mother church of Eastry, and was appropriated with it by archbishop Richard, Becket's immediate successor, to the almory of the priory of Christ-church; but the chapel itself seems to have become desolate many years before the dissolution of the priory, most probably soon after the family of Shrinkling became extinct; the Langleys, who resided at the adjoining manor of Knolton, having no occasion for the use of it. The chapel stood in Shingleton wood, near the south east corner; the foundations of it have been traced, though level with the surface, and not easily discovered. There is now on this estate only one house, built within memory, before which there was only a solitary barn, and no remains of the antient mansion of it.

 

HERONDEN, alias HARDENDEN, now usually called HERONDEN, is a district in this parish, situated about a mile northward from Shingleton, within the borough of its own name, the whole of which is within the upper half hundred of Downhamford. It was once esteemed as a manor, though it has not had even the name of one for many years past, the manor of Adisham claiming over it. The mansion of it was antiently the residence of a family of the same name, who bore for their arms, Argent, a heron with one talon erect, gaping for breath, sable. These arms are on a shield, which is far from modern, in Maidstone church, being quarterly, Heronden as above, with sable, three escallop shells, two and one, argent; and in a window of Lincoln's Inn chapel is a coat of arms of a modern date, being that of Anthony Heronden, esq. Argent, a heron, azure, between three escallops, sable. One of this family of Heronden lies buried in this church, and in the time of Robert Glover, Somerset herald, his portrait and coat of arms, in brass, were remaining on his tombstone. The coat of arms is still extant in very old rolls and registers in the Heralds office, where the family is stiled Heronden, of Heronden, in Eastry; nor is the name less antient, as appears by deeds which commence from the reign of Henry III. which relate to this estate and name; but after this family had remained possessed of this estate for so many years it at last descended down in king Richard II.'s reign, to Sir William Heronden, from whom it passed most probably either by gift or sale, to one of the family of Boteler, or Butler, then resident in this neighbourhood, descended from those of this name, formerly seated at Butler's sleet, in Ash, whose ancestor Thomas Pincerna, or le Boteler, held that manor in king John's reign, whence his successors assumed the name of Butler, alias Boteler, or as they were frequently written Botiller, and bore for their arms, One or more covered cups, differently placed and blazoned. In this family the estate descended to John Boteler, who lived in the time of king Henry VI. and resided at Sandwich, of which town he was several times mayor, and one of the burgesses in two parliaments of that reign; he lies buried in St. Peter's church there. His son Richard, who was also of Sandwich, had a grant of arms in 1470, anno 11th Edward IV. by Thomas Holme, norroy, viz. Gyronny of six, argent and sable, a covered cup, or, between three talbots heads, erased and counterchanged of the field, collared, gules, garnished of the third. His great-grandson Henry Boteler rebuilt the mansion of Heronden, to which he removed in 1572, being the last of his family who resided at Sandwich. He had the above grant of arms confirmed to him, and died in 1580, being buried in Eastry church. Richard Boteler, of Heronden, his eldest son by his first wife, resided at this seat, and in 1589 obtained a grant from Robert Cook, clarencieux, of a new coat of arms, viz. Argent, on three escutcheons, sable, three convered cups, or. Ten years after which, intending as it should seem, to shew himself a descendant of the family of this name, seated at Graveney, but then extinct, he obtained in 1599 a grant of their arms from William Dethic, garter, and William Camden, clarencieux, to him and his brother William, viz. Quarterly, first and fourth, sable, three covered cups, or, within a bordure, argent; second and third, Argent, a fess, chequy, argent and gules, in chief three cross-croslets of the last, as appears (continues the grant) on a gravestone in Graveney church. He died in 1600, and was buried in Eastry church, leaving issue among other children Jonathan and Thomas. (fn. 7) Jonathan Boteler, the eldest son, of Hernden, died unmarried possessed of it in 1626, upon which it came to his next surviving brother Thomas Boteler, of Rowling, who upon that removed to Hernden, and soon afterwards alienated that part of it, since called THE MIDDLE FARM, to Mr. Henry Pannell, from whom soon afterwards, but how I know not, it came into the family of Reynolds; from which name it was about fifty years since alienated to John Dekewer, esq. of Hackney, who dying in 1762, devised it to his nephew John Dekewer, esq. of Hackney, the present possessor of it.

 

THIS PARISH is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Sandwich.

 

The church, which is exempted from the archdeacon, is dedicated to St. Mary; it is a large handsome building, consisting of a nave and two side isles, a chancel at the east end, remarkably long, and a square tower, which is very large, at the west end, in which are five very unmusical bells. The church is well kept and neatly paved, and exhibits a noble appearance, to which the many handsome monuments in it contribute much. The arch over the west door is circular, but no other parts of the church has any shew of great antiquity. In the chancel are monuments for the Paramors and the Fullers, of Statenborough, arms of the latter, Argent, three bars, and a canton, gules. A monument for several of the Bargrave family. An elegant pyramidial one, on which is a bust and emblematical sculpture for John Broadley, gent. many years surgeon at Dover, obt. 1784. Several gravestones, with brasses, for the Nevinsons. A gravestone for Joshua Paramour, gent. buried 1650. Underneath this chancel are two vaults, for the families of Paramour and Bargrave. In the nave, a monument for Anne, daughter of Solomon Harvey, gent. of this parish, ob. 1751; arms, Argent, on a chevron, between three lions gambs, sable, armed gules, three crescents, or; another for William Dare, esq. late of Fenderland, in this parish, obt. 1770; arms, Gules, a chevron vaire, between three crescents, argent, impaling argent, on a cross, sable, four lions passant, quardant of the field, for Read.—Against the wall an inscription in Latin, for the Drue Astley Cressemer, A. M. forty-eight years vicar of this parish, obt. 1746; he presented the communion plate to this church and Worth, and left a sum of money to be laid out in ornamenting this church, at which time the antient stalls, which were in the chancel, were taken away, and the chancel was ceiled, and the church otherwise beautified; arms, Argent, on a bend engrailed, sable, three cross-croslets, fitchee, or. A monument for several of the Botelers, of this parish; arms, Boteler, argent, on three escutcheons, sable, three covered cups, or, impaling Morrice. Against a pillar, a tablet and inscription, shewing that in a vault lieth Catherine, wife of John Springett, citizen and apothecary of London. He died in 1770; arms, Springett, per fess, argent and gules, a fess wavy, between three crescents, counterchanged, impaling Harvey. On the opposite pillar another, for the Rev. Richard Harvey, fourteen years vicar of this parish, obt. 1772. A monument for Richard Kelly, of Eastry, obt. 1768; arms, Two lions rampant, supporting a castle. Against the wall, an elegant sculptured monument, in alto relievo, for Sarah, wise of William Boteler, a daughter of Thomas Fuller, esq. late of Statenborough, obt. 1777, æt. 29; she died in childbed, leaving one son, William Fuller Boteler; arms at bottom, Boteler, as above, an escutcheon of pretence, Fuller, quartering Paramor. An elegant pyramidal marble and tablet for Robert Bargrave, of this parish, obt. 1779, for Elizabeth his wife, daughter of Sir Francis Leigh, of Hawley; and for Robert Bargrave, their only son, proctor in Doctors Commons, obt. 1774, whose sole surviving daughter Rebecca married James Wyborne, of Sholdon; arms, Bargrave, with a mullet, impaling Leigh. In the cross isle, near the chancel called the Boteler's isle, are several memorials for the Botelers. Adjoining to these, are three other gravestones, all of which have been inlaid, but the brasses are gone; they were for the same family, and on one of them was lately remaining the antient arms of Boteler, Girony of six pieces, &c. impaling ermine of three spots. Under the church are vaults, for the families of Springett, Harvey, Dare, and Bargrave. In the church-yard, on the north side of the church, are several altar tombs for the Paramors; and on the south side are several others for the Harveys, of this parish, and for Fawlkner, Rammell, and Fuller. There are also vaults for the families of Fuller, Rammell, and Petman.

 

There were formerly painted in the windows of this church, these arms, Girony of six, sable and argent, a covered cup, or, between three talbots heads, erased and counter changed of the field, collared, gules; for Boteler, of Heronden, impaling Boteler, of Graveny, Sable, three covered cups, or, within a bordure, argent; Boteler, of Heronden, as above, quartering three spots, ermine; the coat of Theobald, with quarterings. Several of the Frynnes, or as they were afterwards called, Friends, who lived at Waltham in this parish in king Henry VII.'s reign, lie buried in this church.

 

In the will of William Andrewe, of this parish, anno 1507, mention is made of our Ladie chapel, in the church-yard of the church of Estrie.

 

The eighteen stalls which were till lately in the chancel of the church, were for the use of the monks of the priory of Christ church, owners both of the manor and appropriation, when they came to pass any time at this place, as they frequently did, as well for a country retirement as to manage their concerns here; and for any other ecclesiastics, who might be present at divine service here, all such, in those times, sitting in the chancels of churches distinct from the laity.

 

The church of Eastry, with the chapels of Skrinkling and Worth annexed, was antiently appendant to the manor of Eastry, and was appropriated by archbishop Richard (successor to archbishop Becket) in the reign of king Henry II. to the almonry of the priory of Christ-church, but it did not continue long so, for archbishop Baldwin, (archbishop Richard's immediate successor), having quarrelled with the monks, on account of his intended college at Hackington, took this appropriation from them, and thus it remained as a rectory, at the archbishop's disposal, till the 39th year of king Edward III.'s reign, (fn. 10) when archbishop Simon Islip, with the king's licence, restored, united and annexed it again to the priory; but it appears, that in return for this grant, the archbishop had made over to him, by way of exchange, the advowsons of the churches of St. Dunstan, St. Pancrase, and All Saints in Bread-street, in London, all three belonging to the priory. After which, that is anno 8 Richard II. 1384, this church was valued among the revenues of the almonry of Christ-church, at the yearly value of 53l. 6s. 8d. and it continued afterwards in the same state in the possession of the monks, who managed it for the use of the almonry, during which time prior William Sellyng, who came to that office in Edward IV.'s reign, among other improvements on several estates belonging to his church, built a new dormitory at this parsonage for the monks resorting hither.

 

On the dissolution of the priory of Christ-church, in the 31st year of king Henry VIII.'s reign, this appropriation, with the advowson of the vicarage of the church of Eastry, was surrendered into the king's hands, where it staid but a small time, for he granted it in his 33d year, by his dotation charter, to his new founded dean and chapter of Canterbury, who are the present owners of this appropriation; but the advowson of the vicarage, notwithstanding it was granted with the appropriation, to the dean and chapter as above-mentioned, appears not long afterwards to have become parcel of the possessions of the see of Canterbury, where it continues at this time, his grace the archbishop being the present patron of it.

 

This parsonage is entitled to the great tithes of this parish and of Worth; there belong to it of glebe land in Eastry, Tilmanstone, and Worth, in all sixtynine acres.

 

THERE IS A SMALL MANOR belonging to it, called THE MANOR OF THE AMBRY, OR ALMONRY OF CHRIST-CHURCH, the quit-rents of which are very inconsiderable.

 

The parsonage-house is large and antient; in the old parlour window is a shield of arms, being those of Partheriche, impaling quarterly Line and Hamerton. The parsonage is of the annual rent of about 700l. The countess dowager of Guildford became entitled to the lease of this parsonage, by the will of her husband the earl of Guildford, and since her death the interest of it is become vested in her younger children.

 

As to the origin of a vicarage in this church, though there was one endowed in it by archbishop Peckham, in the 20th year of king Edward I. anno 1291, whilst this church continued in the archbishop's hands, yet I do not find that there was a vicar instituted in it, but that it remained as a rectory, till near three years after it had been restored to the priory of Christchurch, when, in the 42d year of king Edward III. a vicar was instituted in it, between whom and the prior and chapter of Canterbury, there was a composition concerning his portion, which he should have as an endowment of this vicarage; which composition was confirmed by archbishop Simon Langham that year; and next year there was an agreement entered into between the eleemosinary of Christ-church and the vicar, concerning the manse of this vicarage.

 

The vicarage of Eastry, with the chapel of Worth annexed, is valued in the king's books at 19l. 12s. 1d. and the yearly tenths at 1l. 19s. 2½d. In 1588 it was valued at sixty pounds. Communicants three hundred and thirty-five. In 1640 here were the like number of communicants, and it was valued at one hundred pounds.

 

The antient pension of 5l. 6s. 8d. formerly paid by the priory, is still paid to the vicar by the dean and chapter, and also an augmentation of 14l. 13s. 4d. yearly, by the lessee of the parsonage, by a convenant in his lease.

 

The vicarage-house is built close to the farm-yard of the parsonage; the land allotted to it is very trifling, not even sufficient for a tolerable garden; the foundations of the house are antient, and probably part of the original building when the vicarage was endowed in 1367.

 

¶There were two awards made in 1549 and 1550, on a controversy between the vicar of Eastry and the mayor, &c. of Sandwich, whether the scite of St. Bartholomew's hospital, near Sandwich, within that port and liberty, was subject to the payment of tithes to the vicar, as being within his parish. Both awards adjudged the legality of a payment, as due to the vicar; but the former award adjudged that the scite of the hospital was not, and the latter, that it was within the bounds of this parish. (fn. 12)

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol10/pp98-121

Chhattisgarh is a very young state, only 19 years old, and is currently on a growing trajectory. Its education system is catching up with the other states. The lack of proper educational infrastructure is definitely a problem but the government has joined hands with private players in the state and together they are uplifting higher education in the state. Among these private players is one of the Best University in Chhattisgarh, Dr CV Raman University, Bilaspur.

 

The 21st century is rightly named as the digital era and the internet has clearly taken over every aspect of our life, including education. Technology is the biggest driver of the education sector of any country and this college has definitely leveraged the use of the internet. From providing full-fledged computer labs to fully functional digitized libraries, the college has taken care of everything.

 

Technological evolutions like AI, ML, Data Science have had a resounding impact on the education sector and this college has included all these topics in their management courses Chhattisgarh. They are making sure that the state is at par with the changing scenario of the world around. Their curriculum also focuses on technology, innovation, general skills and business management which other colleges generally overlook.

 

According to the world economic forum, by 2025, demand for critical thinking and computer skills would increase by 20% which in turn would create 2.1 million jobs by 2020 in all related domains. Incorporation of digitized courses by the university helps its students learn critical thinking, innovation, problem solving and collaboration.

 

Exams from pen and paper have now moved to online portals, powerpoint presentations have taken the place of projects and the computer is taking over everything. This college has signed up for many online portals such as LMS, MOOC, KConnect and many more. Students directly get quizzes to solve, submit projects, divide into groups through online platforms are now getting the gist of technology.

  

CV Raman University is emerging as the Top Private College in Chhattisgarh and it is making sure that its students walk that path with them. They have clearly understood the outcomes of digitized education and have taken up the challenge to ensure that everyone gets to reap the benefits of it. The students of this college are involved in a more research-oriented and thought based learning process. The business world is rapidly moving towards newer technologies like IOT and Block Chain and the college organizes regular guest lectures from experts in the industry to keep the students up-to-date with the latest trends. The students, while graduating, are industry ready and take upon new challenges.

 

With the pace technology is moving at, the future of jobs will be defined by speed, scale and digitization. In order to embrace this change, India needs to skill their youth to ensure that we excel in it. This will help us raise the living standards of people in our country. All these transformational changes are bound to take higher education of the country to another level.

 

To Know More: cvru.ac.in/

   

I can just about remember the Cathedral being opened. Certainly I saw a TV program about it soon after it was completed, it has stayed with me since then.

 

By the time we left The Phill having had lunch, the weather was grim, driving rain in a keen breeze.

 

We rushed along Hope Street and up the steps to the cathedral.

 

I dried my camera off, and went about taking shots.

 

Being a heavily overcast day, it was dark inside, the lighting showed up well.

 

-------------------------------------------

 

Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, officially known as the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King,[2] is the seat of the Archbishop of Liverpool and the mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Liverpool in Liverpool, England.[3][4] The Grade II* Metropolitan Cathedral is one of Liverpool's many listed buildings.

 

The cathedral's architect, Frederick Gibberd, was the winner of a worldwide design competition. Construction began in 1962 and was completed in 1967. Earlier designs for a cathedral were proposed in 1933 and 1953, but none were completed.

 

During the Great Irish Famine (1845–1852) the Catholic population of Liverpool increased dramatically. About half a million Irish, who were predominantly Catholic, fled to England to escape the famine; many embarked from Liverpool to travel to North America while others remained in the city.[5] Because of the increase in the Catholic population, the co-adjutor Bishop of Liverpool, Alexander Goss (1814–1872), saw the need for a cathedral. The location he chose was the grounds of St. Edward's College on St. Domingo Road, Everton.[6]

 

In 1853 Goss, then bishop, awarded the commission for the building of the new cathedral to Edward Welby Pugin (1833–1875).[7] By 1856 the Lady chapel of the new cathedral had been completed. Due to financial resources being diverted to the education of Catholic children, work on the building ceased at this point and the Lady chapel – now named Our Lady Immaculate – served as parish church to the local Catholic population until its demolition in the 1980s.

 

Following the purchase of the 9-acre (36,000 m2) former Brownlow Hill workhouse site in 1930,[6] Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869–1944) was commissioned to provide a design which would be an appropriate response to the Giles Gilbert Scott-designed Neo-gothic Anglican cathedral then being built further along Hope Street.[9]

 

Lutyens' design was intended to create a massive structure that would have become the second-largest church in the world. It would have had the world's largest dome, with a diameter of 168 feet (51 m) compared to the 137.7 feet (42.0 m) diameter on St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.[10] Building work based on Lutyens' design began on Whit Monday, 5 June 1933,[10] being paid for mostly by the contributions of working class Catholics of the burgeoning industrial port.[11] In 1941, the restrictions of World War II wartime and a rising cost from £3 million to £27 million[12] (£1.31 billion in 2018),[13] forced construction to stop. In 1956, work recommenced on the crypt, which was finished in 1958. Thereafter, Lutyens' design for the Cathedral was considered too costly and was abandoned with only the crypt complete.[10] The restored architectural model of the Lutyens cathedral is on display at the Museum of Liverpool.

 

After the ambitious design by Lutyens fell through, Adrian Gilbert Scott, brother of Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (architect of the Anglican Cathedral), was commissioned in 1953 to work on a smaller cathedral design with a £4 million budget (£110 million in 2018).[13] He proposed a scaled-down version of Lutyens' building, retaining the massive dome. Scott's plans were criticised and the building did not go ahead.

 

The present Cathedral was designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd (1908–84). Construction began in October 1962 and less than five years later, on the Feast of Pentecost 14 May 1967, the completed cathedral was consecrated.[6] Soon after its opening, it began to exhibit architectural flaws. This led the cathedral authorities to sue Frederick Gibberd for £1.3 million on five counts, the two most serious being leaks in the aluminium roof and defects in the mosaic tiles, which had begun to come away from the concrete ribs.[15] The design has been described by Stephen Bayley as "a thin and brittle take on an Oscar Niemeyer original in Brasilia,"[16] though Pevsner notes that the resemblance is only superficial.

 

The competition to design the Cathedral was held in 1959. The requirement was first, for a congregation of 3,000 (which was later reduced to 2,000) to be able to see the altar, in order that they could be more involved in the celebration of the Mass, and second, for the Lutyens crypt to be incorporated in the structure. Gibberd achieved these requirements by designing a circular building with the altar at its centre, and by transforming the roof of the crypt into an elevated platform, with the cathedral standing at one end.[18] The construction contract was let to Taylor Woodrow.[

 

The Cathedral is built in concrete with a Portland stone cladding and an aluminium covering to the roof.[20] Its plan is circular, having a diameter of 195 feet (59 m), with 13 chapels around its perimeter.[21] The shape of the Cathedral is conical, and it is surmounted by a tower in the shape of a truncated cone.[20] The building is supported by 16 boomerang-shaped concrete trusses which are held together by two ring beams, one at the bends of the trusses and the other at their tops. Flying buttresses are attached to the trusses, giving the cathedral its tent-like appearance. Rising from the upper ring beam is a lantern tower, containing windows of stained glass, and at its peak is a crown of pinnacles.[21]

 

The entrance is at the top of a wide flight of steps leading up from Hope Street. Above the entrance is a large wedge-shaped structure. This acts as a bell tower, the four bells being mounted in rectangular orifices towards the top of the tower. Below these is a geometric relief sculpture, designed by William Mitchell, which includes three crosses. To the sides of the entrance doors are more reliefs in fibreglass by Mitchell, which represent the symbols of the Evangelists.[20][22] The steps which lead up to the cathedral were only completed in 2003, when a building which obstructed the stairway path was acquired and demolished by developers.[23]

 

A much smaller version of the Cathedral, also designed by Sir Frederick Gibberd, was constructed in 1965 as a chapel for the former De La Salle College of Education, Middleton, Lancashire, a Catholic teacher-training college. The site is now occupied by Hopwood Hall College, a further education college of the Borough of Rochdale and the chapel may still be seen.

 

The focus of the interior is the altar which faces the main entrance. It is made of white marble from Skopje, Macedonia, and is 10 feet (3 m) long. The floor is also of marble in grey and white designed by David Atkins. The benches, concentric with the interior, were designed by Frank Knight. Above is the tower with large areas of stained glass designed by John Piper and Patrick Reyntiens in three colours, yellow, blue and red, representing the Trinity. The glass is 1 inch (3 cm) thick, the pieces of glass being bonded with epoxy resin, in concrete frames. Around the perimeter is a series of chapels. Some of the chapels are open, some are closed by almost blank walls, and others consists of a low space under a balcony. Opposite the entrance is the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, above which is the organ. Other chapels include the Lady Chapel and the Chapel of Saint Joseph. To the right of the entrance is the Baptistry.[24]

 

On the altar, the candlesticks are by R. Y. Goodden and the bronze crucifix is by Elisabeth Frink. Above the altar is a baldachino designed by Gibberd as a crown-like structure composed of aluminium rods, which incorporates loudspeakers and lights. Around the interior are metal Stations of the Cross, designed by Sean Rice. Rice also designed the lectern, which includes two entwined eagles. In the Chapel of Reconciliation (formerly the Chapel of Saint Paul of the Cross), the stained glass was designed by Margaret Traherne. Stephen Foster designed, carved and painted the panelling in the Chapel of St. Joseph. The Lady Chapel contains a statue of the Virgin and Child by Robert Brumby and stained glass by Margaret Traherne. In the Blessed Sacrament Chapel is a reredos and stained glass by Ceri Richards and a small statue of the Risen Christ by Arthur Dooley. In the Chapel of Unity (formerly the Chapel of Saint Thomas Aquinas) is a bronze stoup by Virginio Ciminaghi, and a mosaic of the Pentecost by Hungarian artist Georg Mayer-Marton which was moved from the Church of the Holy Ghost, Netherton, when it was demolished in 1989. The gates of the Baptistry were designed by David Atkins.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverpool_Metropolitan_Cathedral

GB Railfreight Class 92, 92043 does its best to make up some time as it works the Caledonian Sleeper Up Highlander through Hartford.

 

The service was running around an hour late (and was similarly delayed on arrival at Euston) due to issues with the Mk5s during the shunt at Edinburgh.

 

This was also the first night of the reduced service in response to the second national lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In the latest revision to the timetable, only one train ran in each direction, serving Edinburgh and Inverness. The usual services to Glasgow, Aberdeen and Fort William were cancelled.

Nada es blanco o negro; todo se reduce a luces y sombras.

Nothing's black or white; everyting's reduced to lights and shadows.

Res és blanc o negre; tot es redueix a llums i ombres.

Nulla è bianco o nero; si tratta di luci e ombre.

Nihil est albus aut niger est; descendit ad luminae et umbrae.

ничего не черный или белый, дело доходит до света и тени

 

SOOC.

Manufactured Landscapes

 

An interesting set of photographers with similar grand styles and a somewhat common theme. I managed to find the subjects I wanted for the assignment but did not have any opportunity for higher vantage points. Instead I opted for a closer view that spanned the entire frame in an effort to follow a few of the examples by Burtynsky. I also integrated the order and repeating pattern of Gursky. So in essence I blended their styles to get my product.

 

I also used this assignment to show my young daughters what grand things humans can make and what the cost is beyond money. Perhaps a bit like showing someone how a yummy sausage is made.

 

View on black

 

Jose Rojas, North American Division Volunteer Ministries director, visits with audience members following a Check Him Out program.

Former Anchor Hocking building in Clarksburg, WV. See the attached photo of what it used to look like.

April 19, 2012 - Washington DC., World Bank / IMF 2012 Spring Meetings. Forum: Reducing Murder Rates in Central America: Searching for Practical Solutions, with Robert B. Zoellick, President of the World Bank Group. Photo: Deborah W. Campos / World Bank

Street art by Aspire. Daily exercise walk - lockdown day 53.

15 May 2020

Hiked up Mt. Wachusett in Spencer, MA last night. The glow of Worcester hangs on the horizon, but it is the darkest place within a reasonable distance for astrophotography. This photo is a composite of 23 images stacked in photoshop to compound the light of the stars and reduce noise. Other than that, only contrast and curves adjustments were made. I was surprised to be able to see the band of the Milky Way on top of Wachusett. I highly suggest taking a hike up during a new moon, or before the moon rises one evening.

A chest freezer opens from the top, which lessens cold air from escaping.

Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan

Start of our walk through the tea planations.

I dropped off our recycling today and grabbed this shot.

 

One man's trash is another's treasure. Make a photo of something discarded or abandoned today.

 

Sustainable Development Goal

CrossFit Auckland fitness community do CrossFit Games Open 18.2

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