The arch in this photograph adds a beautiful frame to this fall image.

A raised fisted arm to express support.

I've never noticed these cool stickers on the back of this handicap scooter at the Kmart in North Plaza Mall in Parkville. By seeing the "do not liquidate" sticker, I figure this may have come from a closed store.

After a busy week, what better thing to do then check out your local Kmart.

Justice for Jordan Neely.

Support the disasters emergency committee appeal www.oxfam.org.uk/

Inside the Nef of the Grand Palais, Paris. It was built for the Universal Exhibition in 1900. Read more about it here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Palais

© All Rights Reserved. Please do not use or reproduce this image on Websites/Blog or any other media without my explicit permission.

Supporting Dublin Gaelic Football

Enjoying some Leggs Sheer Energy Active Support Suntan Pantyhose time.

We all like to think we are in control of our lives, that everything is great

But despite these ups you'll have downs, when you'll need a really good mate

ODC: I'm thankful for...FRIENDS

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may her feet never touch the ground

let her ankles support only the weight of her heart

should I ever have been so fortunate

i wish never to escape the grasp of her love

i might be king for a lifetime

but a prisoner of her grace for an eternity

Support me by following on Instagram @meridio.photography

Lime Street, City Of London

A woman traveling with an emotional support animal.

Sony NEX-7 | Minolta MD 28mm f2.8 | RNI Iconic Films

New parts, new versions of Batman characters!

Left to right:

Red Hood - new red hood! Had to do it.

Man-Bat - "new" head and legs - had a moment after I saw someone use the legs for Beast, I think.

Jim Gordon - new torso and "new" head - I actually found the head pretty used and scratched up, but a little editing and y'all will never know.

Spoiler - I finally have a purple hood!!! Literally have been waiting to use this piece for this character for years.

Alfred Pennyworth - "new" torso combined with the legs was a combo that came up in reference to a version from the LEGO Batman game I think? I've had this built for a while, IDK.

Tactical Support Unit 1 - 2016 International 7500/Seagrave 4x4

As usual with reflective tape and logos. Custom chromed parts for the compartment door handles and the grille. Really hope you like this new beast. I'm very proud on how the design turned out, especially of the cab.

ukrainianfestival.com/index.html

Canada is home to the largest Ukrainian heritage population outside of Europe. There has been an annual weekend-long Ukrainian festival in Toronto for decades. Following two years of hiatus due to Covid, the much anticipated Ukrainian Festival is back in 2022. The theme this year no doubt is to celebrate Ukrainian culture and to drum up support to defeat the Russian invasion.

This year’s festival poster thanks the ally nations that have lent support to Ukraine. It features a large sunflower with the national colours of Ukraine at the centre, formed by many smaller sunflowers with the national flags replacing where the disc florets usually are.

Flags featured in this poster, starting from the top going clockwise:

Canada

United States of America

Finland

Norway

Sweden

Switzerland

France

Czech Republic

Germany

Turkey

Belgium

Slovakia

Estonia

Lithuania

Latvia

Poland

Moldova

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

New Zealand

Japan

South Korea

Australia

Seen on a subway/ metro train in Toronto.

South and East Wales Police Helicopter Support Unit. Aircraft outbound to search for missing person.

Jaguar XJR Fire Event Support British Motor Museum Gaydon

Thanks for viewing my photos on Flickr. I can also be found on Twitter and You Tube

ENGLISH CIVIL WAR RE-ENACTOR IN CROMWELL ERA COSTUME TIE'S HIS SHOE LACES USING A MUNICIPAL PARK SEAT FOR SUPPORT. AT AN EAST LONDON BOROUGH SUBURB STREET PARK VENUE EVENT LONDON ENGLAND

Started work on the base of the support legs. As there'll be four legs, and being a four-sided design, every time I take a brick out I have to consider if I've got 16 or 32 of them, which is really annoying. But I'm happy with the second revision although you can't see most of the detail because my phone thinks black bricks are an empty void from which light does not escape : (

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Caleb Estrada, right, a landing support specialist with 2nd Transportation Support Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 25, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, provides security for a convoy during improvised explosive device training at Luck Boy Pass Training Area, Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center, Bridgeport, Calif., Feb. 9, 2018. Marines with CLR-25 took part in mountainous tactical convoy training designed to provide the Marines experience in IED recognition, navigation in mountainous terrain, enemy contact drills, and casualty treatment and evacuation. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Sean M. Evans)www.dvids.hub.net

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

Some background:

The OV-10 Bronco was initially conceived in the early 1960s through an informal collaboration between W. H. Beckett and Colonel K. P. Rice, U.S. Marine Corps, who met at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California, and who also happened to live near each other. The original concept was for a rugged, simple, close air support aircraft integrated with forward ground operations. At the time, the U.S. Army was still experimenting with armed helicopters, and the U.S. Air Force was not interested in close air support.

The concept aircraft was to operate from expedient forward air bases using roads as runways. Speed was to be from very slow to medium subsonic, with much longer loiter times than a pure jet. Efficient turboprop engines would give better performance than piston engines. Weapons were to be mounted on the centerline to get efficient aiming. The inventors favored strafing weapons such as self-loading recoilless rifles, which could deliver aimed explosive shells with less recoil than cannons, and a lower per-round weight than rockets. The airframe was to be designed to avoid the back blast.

The MV-10Hs are expected to provide support for these ground units in the form of all-weather reconnaissance and observation, close air support and also forward air control duties for supporting ground units. Precision ground strikes and protection from enemy helicopters and low-flying aircraft were other, secondary missions for the modernized Broncos, which are expected to serve well into the 2040s. Exports or conversions of foreign OV-10s to the Black Pony standard are not planned, though.

General characteristics:

Crew: 2

Length: 42 ft 2½ in (12,88 m) incl. pitot

Wingspan: 45 ft 10½ in(14 m) incl. tip sails

Height: 15 ft 2 in (4.62 m)

Wing area: 290.95 sq ft (27.03 m²)

Airfoil: NACA 64A315

Empty weight: 9,090 lb (4,127 kg)

Gross weight: 13,068 lb (5,931 kg)

Max. takeoff weight: 17,318 lb (7,862 kg)

Powerplant:

2× General Electric CT7-9D turboprop engines, 1,305 kW (1,750 hp) each,

driving 8-bladed Hamilton Standard 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) diameter constant-speed,

fully feathering, reversible contra-rotating propellers with metal hub and composite blades

Performance:

Maximum speed: 390 mph (340 kn, 625 km/h)

Combat range: 198 nmi (228 mi, 367 km)

Ferry range: 1,200 nmi (1,400 mi, 2,200 km) with auxiliary fuel

Maximum loiter time: 5.5 h with auxiliary fuel

Service ceiling: 32.750 ft (10,000 m)

13,500 ft (4.210 m) on one engine

Rate of climb: 17.400 ft/min (48 m/s) at sea level

Take-off run: 480 ft (150 m)

740 ft (227 m) to 50 ft (15 m)

1,870 ft (570 m) to 50 ft (15 m) at MTOW

Landing run: 490 ft (150 m)

785 ft (240 m) at MTOW

1,015 ft (310 m) from 50 ft (15 m)

Armament:

1x M197 3-barreled 20 mm Gatling cannon in a chin turret with 750 rounds ammo capacity

7x hardpoints for a total load of 5.000 lb (2,270 kg)

2x wingtip launch rails for AIM-9 Sidewinder AAMs

The kit and its assembly:

This fictional Bronco update/conversion was simply spawned by the idea: could it be possible to replace the original cockpit section with one from an AH-1 Cobra, for a kind of gunship version?

The basis is the Academy OV-10D kit, mated with the cockpit section from a Fujimi AH-1S TOW Cobra (Revell re-boxing, though), chosen because of its “boxy” cockpit section with flat glass panels – I think that it conveys the idea of an armored cockpit section best. Combining these parts was not easy, though, even though the plan sound simple. Initially, the Bronco’s twin booms, wings and stabilizer were built separately, because this made PSR on these sections easier than trying the same on a completed airframe. One of the initial challenges: the different engines. I wanted something uprated, and a different look, and I had a pair of (excellent!) 1:144 resin engines from the Russian company Kompakt Zip for a Tu-95 bomber at hand, which come together with movable(!) eight-blade contraprops that were an almost perfect size match for the original three-blade props. Biggest problem: the Tu-95 nacelles have a perfectly circular diameter, while the OV-10’s booms are square and rectangular. Combining these parts and shapes was already a messy PST affair, but it worked out quite well – even though the result rather reminds of some Chinese upgrade measure (anyone know the Tu-4 copies with turboprops? This here looks similar!). But while not pretty, I think that the beafier look works well and adds to the idea of a “revived” aircraft. And you can hardly beat the menacing look of contraprops on anything...

The exotic, so-called “tip sails” on the wings, mounted on short booms, are a detail borrowed from the Shijiazhuang Y-5B-100, an updated Chinese variant/copy of the Antonov An-2 biplane transporter. The booms are simple pieces of sprue from the Bronco kit, the winglets were cut from 0.5mm styrene sheet.

For the cockpit donor, the AH-1’s front section was roughly built, including the engine section (which is a separate module, so that the basic kit can be sold with different engine sections), and then the helicopter hull was cut and trimmed down to match the original Bronco pod and to fit under the wing. This became more complicated than expected, because a) the AH-1 cockpit and the nose are considerably shorter than the OV-10s, b) the AH-1 fuselage is markedly taller than the Bronco’s and c) the engine section, which would end up in the area of the wing, features major recesses, making the surface very uneven – calling for massive PSR to even this out. PSR was also necessary to hide the openings for the Fujimi AH-1’s stub wings. Other issues: the front landing gear (and its well) had to be added, as well as the OV-10 wing stubs. Furthermore, the new cockpit pod’s rear section needed an aerodynamical end/fairing, but I found a leftover Academy OV-10 section from a build/kitbashing many moons ago. Perfect match!

All these challenges could be tackled, even though the AH-1 cockpit looks surprisingly stout and massive on the Bronco’s airframe - the result looks stockier than expected, but it works well for the "Gunship" theme. Lots of PSR went into the new central fuselage section, though, even before it was mated with the OV-10 wing and the rest of the model.

Once cockpit and wing were finally mated, the seams had to disappear under even more PSR and a spinal extension of the canopy had to be sculpted across the upper wing surface, which would meld with the pod’s tail in a (more or less) harmonious shape. Not an easy task, and the fairing was eventually sculpted with 2C putty, plus even more PSR… Looks quite homogenous, though.

After this massive body work, other hardware challenges appeared like small distractions. The landing gear was another major issue because the deeper AH-1 section lowered the ground clearance, also because of the chin turret. To counter this, I raised the OV-10’s main landing gear by ~2mm – not much, but it was enough to create a credible stance, together with the front landing gear transplant under the cockpit, which received an internal console to match the main landing gear’s length. Due to the chin turret and the shorter nose, the front wheel retracts backwards now. But this looks quite plausible, thanks to the additional space under the cockpit tub, which also made a belt feed for the gun’s ammunition supply believable.

To enhance the menacing look I gave the model a fixed refueling boom, made from 1mm steel wire and a receptor adapter sculpted with white glue. The latter stuff was also used add some antenna fairings around the hull. Some antennae, chaff dispensers and an IR decoy were taken from the Academy kit.

The ordnance came from various sources. The Sidewinders under the wing tips were taken from an Italeri F-16C/D kit, they look better than the missiles from the Academy Bronco kit. Their launch rails came from an Italeri Bae Hawk 200. The quadruple Hellfire launchers on the underwing hardpoints were left over from an Italeri AH-1W, and they are a perfect load for this aircraft and its role. The LAU-10 and -19 missile pods on the stub wings were taken from the OV-10 kit.

Painting and markings:

Finding a suitable and somewhat interesting – but still plausible – paint scheme was not easy. Taking the A-10 as benchmark, an overall light grey livery (with focus on low contrast against the sky as protection against ground fire) would have been a likely choice – and in fact the last operational American OV-10s were painted in this fashion. But in order to provide a different look I used the contemporary USAF V-22Bs and Special Operations MC-130s as benchmark, which typically carry a darker paint scheme consisting of FS 36118 (suitably “Gunship Gray” :D) from above, FS 36375 underneath, with a low, wavy waterline, plus low-viz markings. Not spectacular, but plausible – and very similar to the late r/w Colombian OV-10s.

The cockpit tub became Dark Gull Grey (FS 36231, Humbrol 140) and the landing gear white (Revell 301).

The model received an overall black ink washing and some post-panel-shading, to liven up the dull all-grey livery. The decals were gathered from various sources, and I settled for black USAF low-viz markings. The “stars and bars” come from a late USAF F-4, the “IP” tail code was tailored from F-16 markings and the shark mouth was taken from an Academy AH-64. Most stencils came from another Academy OV-10 sheet and some other sources.

Decals were also used to create the trim on the propeller blades and markings on the ordnance.

Finally, the model was sealed with a coat of matt acrylic varnish (Italeri) and some exhaust soot stains were added with graphite along the tail boom flanks.

A successful transplantation – but is this still a modified Bronco or already a kitbashing? The result looks quite plausible and menacing, even though the TOW Cobra front section appears relatively massive. But thanks to the bigger engines and extended wing tips the proportions still work. The large low-pressure tires look a bit goofy under the aircraft, but they are original. The grey livery works IMHO well, too – a more colorful or garish scheme would certainly have distracted from the modified technical basis.

West Mercia Police | Police Support Unit | Mercedes-Benz Sprinter | VX10 DTO passing Worcester Fire Station

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Thankyou to all emergency services!!!

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Part of the Regional Support unit based in cork city

The full Moon setting as the sun is rising in Sabino Canyon Arizona. It almost appeared as if these large Saguaro's were supporting the Moon in the sky.

Canon 6D

Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS II + 1.4x TC

Please support my Lego Ideas project here: ideas.lego.com/projects/288c4bd9-7d28-412a-8856-215192d82c34

Packing five games in one, the Game Box is the perfect choice for any occasion! Thanks for your support! :D

Support wires of tram power lines

Leggs Sheer Energy Active Support Suntan Pantyhose making my feel better despite nerve pains.

Nikon D700, Sigma 50-500mm f4-f6.3

At the time, Toronto Fire Service's Hazmat Support 332, a Ford LCF. Now Hazmat Support 326.

c. 2013

Corroded supports of Brighton Palace Pier

Foresters and other Friendly societies were formed in Australia in the nineteenth century as support societies for their mainly working-class members. The societies provided insurance against sickness, death and misfortune which included sick pay, funeral expenses and financial support for families of deceased members. Despite its name, the Ancient Order of Foresters was a relatively young society, formed in Britain in 1834 as a splinter group from the Royal Foresters. Branches, known as courts, were established in Sydney and Adelaide in the 1840s. The Fortitude Valley branch, ‘Court Fortitude’ was inaugurated on 7 March 1859 at the Alliance Hall. When Queensland separated from NSW later in 1859, it became the first Foresters court in Queensland. Founding members of the court include George Warren and Thomas Skyring. By the end of 1859 the court had 90 members, with George Warren Chief Ranger and John Heal as secretary. Honorary members, who contributed funds but did not intend to use them, included politician and later Chief Justice, Charles Lilley.

The first Foresters Hall opened five months after the court’s inauguration with about forty members and friends present. The hall was attached to the Foresters’ Arms Hotel, whose publican George Warren was the court’s Chief Ranger. The old Hall was intended for use for concerts, lectures and was ‘available in many ways to meet the demands of a progressive community’. The hall also enabled the Foresters to provide a free reading room, open to the public. However, in 1861 the Foresters Hall was adopted for use as the Fortitude Valley primary school. A new Foresters Hall was constructed by George Warren in January 1862, but from April 1863 Court Fortitude Foresters’ meetings were held in Harvey’s Castle Hotel.

The benefits of membership of the Foresters society were varied and numerous. Primarily, the Friendly societies were charitable institutions, guaranteeing financial security for members in hard times. The object of the ‘Foresters’ Benefit Investment Society’, noted in the Moreton Bay Courier on the inauguration of Court Fortitude, was, ‘to give its members independency from the cold frown of the world’s scorn, at a time when the father and husband may not through the vicissitudes of life be able to pursue his calling.’ Court Fortitude, in accordance with this objective, held benefit balls for the widows and families of former members in 1882 and 1885. In addition were preventative measures: the provision of medical services. Many courts, including Court Fortitude, contracted with a medical professional who would provide medical attendance to its members and their families. Without the society, these services would be unattainable luxuries to many of those within the working-class in the nineteenth century.

The societies also performed a social function for their members: annual balls and reunions of the Court Fortitude throughout the 1870s and 1880s were frequently reported as great successes, with meals, speeches, musical entertainment and dancing (sometimes until 4am). Chief Justice Lilley affirmed this role in his speech at the opening of the new Foresters Hall, describing Court Fortitude as the working-class equivalent of a members’ club.

Court Fortitude’s first three decades were marked by prosperity and success: by 1871 400 members had joined, although due to death and transfers only 120 members were active. There were 200 active members in 1880 and in 1888 this had leapt to 280 financial members. The court’s stable financial position mirrors its popularity: the court’s bank balance rose from £300 or £400 in 1871 to £3,592 in 1888. Of Queensland’s 345 Foresters in 1880, 220 were from Court Fortitude. The rise of the Valley Foresters’ popularity coincides with the development of the Valley itself a small residential population, growing slowly until the economic boom of the 1880s which created dense working class settlement in the Valley. Membership of Foresters in the 1870s and 1880s was around four percent of the population of Fortitude Valley which in 1881, for example, was 5,148. Effectively, however, a much larger proportion of the population was covered by Foresters membership, as the families of the men of Foresters were also cared for by the court.

Given its increasing membership and stable finances, a new and permanent meeting-place was highly desirable. Tenders were called for a new Foresters Hall in February 1880. The hall’s architect, John Richard Hall, was a member of the Oddfellows Society and had designed alterations to the Oddfellows Hall in 1879. After the death of the original contractor, the hall was constructed by John Daniel Heal. Heal, as well as being one of the court’s founding members and for many years its secretary, was a prominent Valley publican, Alderman (1870-1894) and former Mayor of Brisbane. He had been a member of several of the Brisbane Municipal Council’s committees and was the original owner of the land on which the hall was constructed. Heal remained a trustee of Court Fortitude until his death in 1908.

The new Foresters’ Hall was built for in a surprisingly short amount of time for such a substantial building – the call for tenders closed in March 1880 and the hall was opened in October that year. Its size (90ft x 40ft) and position close to public transport were proudly highlighted when the hall was advertised for rentals.

Following the construction of the new Foresters Hall, both the United Brisbane District of the Ancient Order of Foresters and the Fortitude District held their meetings there. The Hall became a popular venue for balls, concerts, fundraisers, lectures and public and political meetings and meetings of other societies, such as the Oddfellows. It was also used as a Fortitude Valley polling station. Extensions in 1887 added a second storey, so the ground floor could be let to other groups while Foresters meetings were held on the second floor. Further improvements in 1888 extended the length of the hall and added extra facilities. It also meant that Court Fortitude owned two-thirds of the wealth in the United Brisbane District.

The court had enjoyed success, but by the 1890s it was not without troubles. Secretary Alexander Bell was prosecuted for embezzling nearly £300 from the court’s funds in 1896. As industry moved into the Valley, assisted by the progress of the railway line, the residential nature of the Valley began to be eroded. Instead, courts established in suburban areas thrived, including ‘Court Foresters Hope’ in Paddington ([601662]). The Fortitude Valley Foresters Hall was offered for sale in major newspapers in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne in late 1900 by the court’s trustees, and again in 1902. The court however maintained possession of the hall and hosted its meetings there until 1923, but from 1910 the hall was primarily used for other purposes. Gradually, improvements to State-provided social security diminished the appeal of the societies. In the 1930s the focus of Foresters shifted away from its original social and mutual aid functions. Foresters’, amalgamated with other friendly societies, exists today as a financial institution.

Foresters Hall continued to be a meeting place for Valley residents and visitors when it began its new life as a picture theatre. Foresters Hall was leased to Sidney Cook, who renamed it ‘Cook’s Picture Palace’ and, after some internal alterations, opened it on 4 June 1910. This was the first picture theatre in Fortitude Valley and the inaugural sessions played films including the Sydney memorial service for King Edward VII to crowded houses. The hall was still rented out for meetings and even religious services. In March 1913 alterations to the building submitted by Mr S. Cook were approved. These alterations were designed by respected Brisbane architect H.G.O Thomas. It is believed that the internal pressed metal sloped ceiling was installed at this time. The alterations probably consisted of two single-storey brick buildings flanking the hall, as shown in a 1911 photograph. Both wings were sold and removed in 1924.

The picture theatre ran until 1922 when Cook subleased it. In 1923 the land was sold to Francis Bruce Charlton for £7,250, subject to a lease. The hall’s additional brick wings, comprised of approximately 10,000 bricks, were removed and sold in 1924, as they were projecting onto the land that had been resumed for Barry Parade. Various lessees have occupied the building since then, plying trades as diverse as hairdressing and running a wine saloon. The building has also been used as a café, a millenary factory, the ‘Shamrock Billiard Saloon’ in the early 1930s, when the site was used for illegal gambling, cabaret hall and nightclub. Alterations were completed in 1974 and 1979. Title passed to the current owners in 1994 and permission was granted in 2009 for further alteration work, primarily to the interior, in order to refit the building as a live music venue.

Today Forester's Hall has been incorporated into the Flatiron and Valley House development, where it serves as a street-front restaurant. It is interesting to note that the terrace facades several meters up the street were not deemed significant for heritage listing but the developer, GURNER™, insisted to restore and repurpose them.

Source: Brisbane City Council Heritage Register & broadsheet.com.au

Supported by the EKMRC

Dutch postcard by Int. Filmpers, Amsterdam, no. 363 / 817.

American actress Natalie Wood (1938-1981) was one of Hollywood's most valuable and wanted actresses in the early 1960s. At 4, she started out as a child actress and at 16, she became a star, when she co-starred with James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause (1955). For this role, she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. In 1961, she played Maria in the hit musical West Side Story. She was nominated twice for an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, for Splendor in the Grass (1961) and Love with the Proper Stranger (1963). Only 43, Wood drowned during a boating trip with husband Robert Wagner and Brainstorm (1983) co-star Christopher Walken.

Natalie Wood was born Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko in San Francisco, USA, in 1938. Her parents were Russian immigrants. Her father Nikolai Stepanovich Zakharenko was a day laborer and carpenter and her mother Maria Zudilova was a housewife. Wood's parents had to migrate due to the Russian Civil War (1917-1923). Maria had unfulfilled ambitions of becoming an actress or ballet dancer. She wanted her daughters to pursue an acting career, and live out her dream. Maria frequently took a young Wood with her to the cinema, where Maria could study the films of Hollywood child stars. The impoverished family could not afford any other acting training to Wood. The Zakharenko family eventually moved to Santa Rosa, where young Wood was noticed by members of a crew during a film shoot. The family moved to Los Angeles to help seek out roles for her. RKO Radio Pictures' executives William Goetz and David Lewis chose the stage name "Natalie Wood for her. The first name was based on her childhood nickname Natalia, and the last name was in reference to director Sam Wood. Natalia's younger sister Svetlana Gurdin (1946) would eventually follow an acting career as well, under the stage name Lana Wood. Natalie made her film debut in the drama Happy Land (Irving Pichel, 1943) starring Don Ameche, set in the home front of World War II. She was only 5-years-old, and her scene as the 'Little Girl Who Drops Ice Cream Cone' lasted 15 seconds. Wood somehow attracted the interest of film director Irving Pichel who remained in contact with her family over the next few years. Wood had few job offers over the following two years, but Pichel helped her get a screen test for a more substantial role opposite Orson Welles as Wood's guardian and Claudette Colbert in the romance film Tomorrow Is Forever (Irving Pichel, 1946). Wood passed through an audition and won the role of Margaret Ludwig, a post-World War II German orphan. At the time, Wood was "unable to cry on cue" for a key scene. So her mother tore a butterfly to pieces in front of her, giving her a reason to cry for the scene. Wood started appearing regularly in films following this role and soon received a contract with the film studio 20th Century Fox. Her first major role was that of Susan Walker in the Christmas film Miracle on 34th Street (George Seaton, 1947), starring Edmund Gwenn and Maureen O'Hara. The film was a commercial and critical hit and Wood was counted among the top child stars in Hollywood. She received many more to play in films. She typically appeared in family films, cast as the daughter or sister of such protagonists as Fred MacMurray, Margaret Sullavan, James Stewart, Joan Blondell, and Bette Davis. Wood appeared in over twenty films as a child actress. The California laws of the era required that until reaching adulthood, child actors had to spend at least three hours per day in the classroom, Wood received her primary education on the studio lots, receiving three hours of school lessons whenever she was working on a film. After school hours ended, Wood would hurry to the set to film her scenes.

Natalie Wood gained her first major television role in the short-lived sitcom The Pride of the Family (1953-1954). At the age of 16, she found more success with the role of Judy in Rebel Without a Cause (Nicholas Ray, 1955) opposite James Dean and Sal Mineo. She played the role of a teenage girl who dresses up in racy clothes to attract the attention of a father (William Hopper) who typically ignores her. The film's success helped Wood make the transition from child star to ingenue. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, but the award was instead won by Jo Van Fleet. Her next significant film was the Western The Searchers (John Ford, 1956), playing the role of abduction victim Debbie Edwards, niece of the protagonist Ethan Edwards (John Wayne). The film was a commercial and critical hit and has since been regarded as a masterpiece. Also in 1956, Wood graduated from Van Nuys High School, with her graduation serving as the end of her school years. She signed a contract with Warner Brothers, where she was kept busy with several new films. To her disappointment, she was typically cast as the girlfriend of the protagonist and received roles of little depth. For a while, the studio had her paired up with teenage heartthrob Tab Hunter as a duo. The studio was hoping that the pairing would serve as a box-office draw, but this did not work out. One of Wood's only serious roles from this period is the role of the eponymous protagonist in the melodrama Marjorie Morningstar (Irving Rapper, 1958) with Gene Kelly, playing a young Jewish girl whose efforts to create her own identity and career path clash with the expectations of her family. Wikipedia: "The central conflict in the film revolves around the traditional models of social behavior and religious behavior expected by New York Jewish families in the 1950s, and Marjorie's desire to follow an unconventional path." The film was a critical success, and fit well with other films exploring the restlessness of youth in the 1950s. Wood's first major box office flop was the biographical film All the Fine Young Cannibals (Michael Anderson, 1960), examining the rags to riches story of jazz musician Chet Baker (played by Robert Wagner) without actually using his name. The film's box office earnings barely covered the production costs, and film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer recorded a loss of 1,108,000 dollars. For the first time. Wood's appeal to the audience was in doubt.

With her career in decline following this failure, Natalie Wood was seen as "washed up" by many in the film community. But director Elia Kazan gave her the chance to audition for the role of the sexually-repressed Wilma Dean Loomis in Splendor in the Grass (Elia Kazan, 1961) with Warren Beatty. The film was a critical success and Wood for first nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. The award was instead won by rival actress Sophia Loren. Wood's next important film was West Side Story (Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise, 1961), where she played Maria, a restless Puerto Rican girl. Wood was once again called to represent the restlessness of youth in a film, this time in a story involving youth gangs and juvenile delinquents. The film was a great commercial success with about 44 million dollars in gross, the highest-grossing film of 1961. It was also critically acclaimed and is still regarded among the best films of Wood's career. However, Wood was disappointed that her singing voice was not used in the film. She was dubbed by Marni Nixon, who also dubbed Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady (George Cukor, 1964), and Deborah Kerr in The King and I (Walter Lang, 1956). Wood's next leading role was as burlesque entertainer and stripper Gypsy Rose Lee in the Biopic Gypsy (Mervyn LeRoy, 1962) alongside Rosalind Russell. Some film historians credit the part as an even better role for Wood than that of Maria, with witty dialogue, a greater emotional range, and complex characterisation. The film was the highest-grossing film of 1962 and well-received critically. Wood's next significant role was that of Macy's salesclerk Angie Rossini in the comedy-drama Love with the Proper Stranger (Robert Mulligan, 1963). In the film, Angie has a one-night-stand with musician Rocky Papasano (Steve McQueen), finds herself pregnant, and desperately seeks an abortion. The film underperformed at the box office but was critically well-received. The 25-year-old Wood received her second nomination for the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role, but it was won by Patricia Neal. Wood continued her successful film career and made two comedies with Tony Curtis: Sex and the Single Girl (Richard Quine, 1964) and The Great Race (Blake Edwards, 1965), the latter with Jack Lemmon, and Peter Falk. For Inside Daisy Clover (Sydney Pollack, 1965) and This Property Is Condemned (Sydney Pollack, 1966), both of which co-starred Robert Redford, Wood received Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress. However, her health status was not as successful. She was suffering emotionally and had sought professional therapy. She paid Warner Bros. 175,000 dollars to cancel her contract and was able to retire for a while. She also fired her entire support team: agents, managers, publicist, accountant, and attorneys. She took a three-year hiatus from acting.

Natalie Wood made her comeback in the comedy-drama Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (Paul Mazursky, 1969), with the themes of sexual liberation and wife swapping. It was a box office hit. Wood decided to gamble her 750,000 dollars fee on a percentage of the gross, earning a million dollars over the course of three years. Wood was pregnant with her first child, Natasha Gregson (1970). She chose to go into semi-retirement to raise the child, appearing in only four more theatrical films before her death. These films were the mystery-comedy Peeper (Peter Hyams, 1975) starring Michael Caine, the Science-Fiction film Meteor (Ronald Neame, 1979) with Sean Connery, the sex comedy The Last Married Couple in America (Gilbert Cates, 1980) with George Segal and Valerie Harper, and the posthumously-released Science-Fiction film Brainstorm (Douglas Trumbull, 1983). In the late 1970s, Wood found success in television roles. Laurence Olivier asked her to co-star with him in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Robert Moore, 1976). After that, she appeared in several television films and the mini-series From Here to Eternity (Buzz Kulik, 1979), with William Devane and Kim Basinger. For From Here to Eternity, she received a Golden Globe Award and high ratings. She had plans to make her theatrical debut in a 1982 production of 'Anastasia'. On 28 November 1981, during a holiday break from the production of Brainstorm (1983), Natalie Wood joined her husband Robert Wagner, their friend Christopher Walken, and captain Dennis Davern on a weekend boat trip to Catalina Island. The four of them were on board Wagner's yacht Splendour. On the morning of 29 November 1981, Wood's corpse was recovered 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) away from the boat. The autopsy revealed that she had drowned. Wikipedia: "The events surrounding her death have been the subject of conflicting witness statements, prompting the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, under the instruction of the coroner's office, to list her cause of death as 'drowning and other undetermined factors' in 2012. In 2018, Wagner was named as a person of interest in the ongoing investigation into Wood's death." Natalie Wood was buried in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. Her would-be comeback film Brainstorm (Douglas Trumbull, 1983) was incomplete at the time of her death. It was ultimately finished and released, but Wood's character had to be written out of three scenes while a stand-in and changing camera angles were used for crucial shots. Natalie Wood was married three times. Her second husband was the British film producer and screenwriter Richard Gregson (1969-1972). She was twice married to actor Robert Wagner, from 1957 till 1962 and from 1972 till her death in 1981. She had two daughters, Natasha Gregson Wagner (1970) with Richard Gregson, and Courtney Wagner (1974) with Robert Wagner. The 2004 TV film The Mystery of Natalie Wood chronicles Wood's life and career. It was partly based on the biographies 'Natasha: the Biography of Natalie Wood' by Suzanne Finstad and 'Natalie & R.J.' by Warren G. Harris. Justine Waddell portrays Wood.

Sources: Dimos I (IMDb), Wikipedia, and IMDb.

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The last tulip of the season, I saw this one. It had a sense of wonder, curiosity and inquisitiveness. It looked so pure, just organic shapes and I felt there was no other way for me than to photograph it in the purest photography, black and white... to bring out what I love, the subtle and varied tones, that give the flower/petals/stems their texture, depth and form, their delectable shapes accentuated, extracted and emphasized without the colour. Don't you agree? Mono photography at its best, from a pure black to a pure white and all the grays in between!

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Taken in Lafayette Park across from the White House in Washington DC.

Leica Monocrom (Typ 246), 35mm Summicron

ISO 400, f/11 at 1/2000 second