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Sometimes I feel as if my guitars have thier own toy story going on. Showed my old Ovation some proper lovin' today and got the pictures to prove it.
Nikon D700
Nikkor Micro 60mm f/2.8D
1/40, f/3.5 ISO 800
www.spurnpoint.com/Spurn_Point.htm
Spurn is a very unique place in the British Islands. Three and a half miles long and only fifty metres wide in places.
Extending out in to the Humber Estuary from the Yorkshire coast it has always had a big affect to the navigation of all vessels over the years. Help to some and a danger or hindrance to others. This alone makes Spurn a unique place.
Spurn is made up of a series of sand and shingle banks held together with mainly Marram grass and Seabuckthorn. There are a series of sea defence works built by the Victorians and maintained by the Ministry of Defence, till they sold Spurn to the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust in the 1950s. The defences are in a poor state, breaking down and crumbling. This is making Spurn a very fragile place wide open to the ravages of the North Sea.
One of the most striking features of Spurn is the black and white lighthouse near to the end of Spurn. Now just an empty shell not used since it was closed down at dawn on the thirty first of October 1986.
There have been many Lighthouses on Spurn over the years the first recorded at around 1427. The present light was built from 1893 TO 1895. The small tower on the beach on the Estuary side was originally the low light. It was built and put in to operation at around 1852. This light was no longer needed when the present lighthouse was opened in 1895.At a later date the light was removed and it was used as a store for explosives and later as a water tower. The tank can still be seen on the top. When it was operational there was a raised walkway from the shore to the lighthouse so it could be reached at all stages of the tide.
The present lighthouse was built to replace an old lighthouse that was positioned just to the south of the present one. You can still see the round perimeter wall surrounding the old keepers cottages and the base of the old lighthouse which had to be demolished due to it settling on it's foundations making it unsafe.
The only light on Spurn today is a flashing green starboard light on the very end of the point and the fixed green lights marking the end of the Pilots jetty.
Because of Spurns ever moving position there have been many Lighthouses over the years. There is a very good book by George.de.BOAR, called History of the Spurn Lighthouses, produced by the East Yorkshire Local History Society. This is one of a series of books on local history.
www.spurnpoint.com/Around_and_about_at_Spurn.htm
Around and about there are plenty of places to eat and drink. Starting from the north of Spurn at Kilnsea there is the Riverside hotel offering good quality food drink and accommodation. Coming south towards Spurn and still in Kilnsea there is the Crown and Anchor pub. A welcoming place serving bar meals fine beers and offering bed and breakfast at very reasonable rates. At the crossroads before you turn towards Spurn there is the Spurn heritage coast visitors centre. Where there is a small cafe and exhibition. At the entrance Spurn point nature reserve is an information centre and bird observatory selling books pamphlets, etc., and the last toilet on Spurn.
Past the lighthouse is the last car park. Two hundred metres further on you find the Humber Lifeboat and Pilot stations. Near the houses is a Small caravan selling tea, coffee, cold cans, hot and cold food, crisps and sweets.
All are open all year round apart from the heritage centre which is open thought the season.
BIRD WATCHING.
Is a very popular pastime as Spurn is internationally famous for birds. There are up to two hundred species recorded at spurn every year. Some of which are extremely rare. The Marmora's Warbler seen at Spurn In June 1992 was only the third recorded in Britain.
SEA FISHING.
The beaches of Spurn provide some of the best sea fishing in the area, with Cod and Whiting and Flats being caught through the winter and Skate, Flats and Bass through the summer. There is sport to be had all the year.
At the very end of Spurn is deep water ideal for Cod but this only fishes best two hours either side of low water, the tide is to strong at other times. All along the seaward side of Spurn is good for all species of fish at all times though over high water being the better. The riverside of Spurn is very shallow and only produces Flats and the bass over high water.
THE BEACH.
The beaches at Spurn are of soft sand and shingle. Whichever way the wind is blowing you can just pop over the dunes to the outer side. There are fossils and all manners of things to find beach combing. Swimming is not safe any were near the point end as there are very strong tides at up to six knots at times. But in side Spurn around the point car park is perfect at high water. The beach does not shelf to fast and very little tide. You can have the place to your self at times, as Spurn is never really busy weekdays.#
A very popular pastime at Spurn is Fossil hunting. There is a good abundance of fossils to be found in amongst the pebbles and shingle.
The Shark Trust has a very interesting PDF file tell you all about Shark Skate and rays the mermaids purses you find on the beach are egg shells from sharks and Rays. Click the link to down load the Shark Trust Brochure.
WALKING.
Walking or strolling at spurn is very easy, as there are no hills. There are various sign posted paths up and down the point. For the fit a complete walk round the whole point is about 8 miles, taking in all the point round the point end and back to the "warren" information place at the start of Spurn. You will need good footwear, as much of the paths are sand. There is limited access for disabled, but not to the point end, as you have to go via the beach.
You can park your car at the point car park and walk round the point end and back to the car park about a mile, or just stroll around the point were you choose. The only place you are not allowed to go are down the pilot's jetty and the centre square of the Lifeboat houses.
In spring and early summer Spurn is covered with a large amount of wild flowers of all species.
There are common to the not so common; from Orchids to bluebells. I must remind you Spurn is a nature reserve and the picking of all flowers is prohibited. When visiting please enjoy Spurn, as it is a very beautiful place and leave only your footprints.
Horse Riding.
There is riding available nearby at the North Humberside Riding Centre. The stables are ideally located with rides along quiet country lanes, by-ways, plus miles of sandy beach and riverbanks. The cross-country course offers a variety of fences for both the novice and the more experienced rider.
www.spurnbirdobservatory.co.uk/
A Brief History of Spurn Bird Observatory
Following visits to Spurn by several members of the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union in the late 1930's, a communal log for ornithological observations was instituted in 1938. This included a roll-call of species, the beginnings of a recording system, which later became standard in bird observatories. Realising the potential of the Spurn peninsula for the regular observation of bird migration a group of enthusiasts, notably Ralph Chislett, George Ainsworth, John Lord and R.M. Garnett, had the idea of setting up a bird observatory, with the Warren Cottage at the northern end of the peninsula as an ideal headquarters. Unfortunately the outbreak of war forced them to put their plans on hold but shortly after hostilities ceased a lease for Warren Cottage was obtained from the War Department and the observatory was established shortly afterwards under the auspices of the Y.N.U. with the four members mentioned above forming the first committee. A preliminary meeting was held in September 1945 to decide on the site for a Heligoland trap, work on which was begun almost immediately and the first bird (a Blackbird) was ringed on November 17th. The first minuted committee meeting was held on March 9th 1946 and the observatory was opened to visitors at Whitsuntide that year.
Initially coverage was limited to the main migration seasons, being extended to winter weekends in the early 1950's to trap and ring some of the large numbers of Snow Buntings which used to occur at that time of year and gradually coverage was increased (whenever possible) to cover the late spring and summer. In 1959 there was an important development when the Yorkshire Naturalists' Trust (now the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust) became the owners of the peninsula and thus the observatory's landlord. In 1960 a full time warden was appointed by the Trust, and although having no official connection with the observatory the fact of having an observer on the peninsula year-round inevitably helped to improve the ornithological coverage. This was especially the case from 1964 when the current warden, Barry Spence, was appointed, in conjunction with the fact that an interest in birds and their migrations was steadily growing and more bird-watchers were staying at the observatory, often for longer periods.
When the observatory opened there was accommodation for seven visitors in Warren Cottage and facilities included two chemical toilets, the Warren Heligoland trap and an ex-army hut as a ringing hut. Over the next ten years a further five Heligoland traps were constructed along the peninsula, although today only three remain in existence. In 1959 the observatory gained the use of the Annexe, one of two ex W.D. bungalows built at the Warren during the early 1950's, thus increasing the accommodation capacity to seventeen and providing much improved toilet facilities. Over the years the accommodation and facilities have been gradually improved to try to make the visitor's stay at Spurn as comfortable as possible. Other improvements have also taken place, in 1968 part of one of the derelict buildings at the Point was converted into a ringing laboratory ready for the first B.T.O. Ringing Course, held in autumn of that year and in 1971 part of one of the derelict buildings at the Warren was also converted into a ringing laboratory. The other part of this building became a laboratory for the use of students of Leeds University but this also became available to the observatory in the mid 1980's when the University no longer had a use for it. Subsequently it was converted into a self-contained accommodation unit for two, complete with kitchen facilities, and although officially known by the somewhat unimaginative name of Room F (the rooms in the Annexe being known as Rooms A, C, D & E, - whatever happened to Room B?), it was somewhat irreverently christened "Dunbirdin" by regular visitors to Spurn.
In 1965 a sea-watching hut was erected east of the Warren beyond the line of the former railway track. Due to coastal erosion it became necessary to move this in late 1974, when it was hoped that it would last at least as long as it had in its first position. Alas this was not to be, as the rate of erosion increased dramatically in the mid 1970's, necessitating a further move in early December 1977. In that year a clay bank had been built across the field behind Warren Cottage (Clubley's field) to prevent the flooding of arable land by wind-blown sea water, but on January 11th 1978 Spurn suffered its worst flooding ever when a strong to gale-force north-westerly wind combined with a spring tide. In late 1981 due to extensive construction works at Easington a large quantity of boulder clay became available and this was used to build up and extend the bank across Clubley's field, south towards Black Hut and north beyond Big Hedge to join up with an existing bank (which had been built in 1974) behind the scrape. In 1982 the sea-watching hut was repositioned on top of this bank, where it remained until the bank itself was washed away in the early 1990's.
A number of other changes to the observatory recording area began to take place from the early 1970's, including extensive building operations at the Point, commencing in 1974, with the construction of a new jetty for the Humber Pilot boats, new housing for the Spurn Lifeboat crew and the conversion and renovation of various existing buildings for use by the Coastguard and the Pilots. In 1978 following damage to the existing road south of the Warren area a new tarmac road was laid to the west of the original one, this lasted until 1988 when a second "new road" loop had to be laid, followed in 1991 by the construction of the existing loop road running along the Humber shore from just south of the Warren to just beyond Black Hut. The construction of this road resulted in the destruction of the actual Black Hut, although the area still bears the name. In 1981 the lines of wartime concrete anti-tank blocks running from the seashore to the Canal Zone were removed to fill in a breach at the Narrow Neck. This resulted in the southward extension of the Scrape field by the farmer up to Big Hedge and the start of a gradual decline in the condition of this hedge and its attractiveness to birds. In 1982 a local resident excavated a pond for shooting purposes in the wet area adjoining the Canal Zone. This never really proved successful and the land was later purchased by the Y.W.T. and the pond enlarged to become what is now known as Canal Scrape. In 1984 a famous Spurn landmark, the Narrows "Hut", a wooden migration watch shelter which had stood at the Narrow Neck for twenty-three years, was set fire to by person or persons unknown and completely destroyed, it was replaced the following year by a more solid construction made from breeze-blocks.
A period of considerable change began in 1988 when the Spurn peninsula was designated as part of the Spurn Heritage Coast. Projects undertaken include the enlargement of the Canal Scrape mentioned above and the erection of a hide overlooking it, a hide overlooking the Humber wader roost at Chalk Bank, a public sea-watching hide alongside the observatory one, provision of additional car-parking space, the restoration of the short-turf habitat in the Chalk Bank area, provision of footpaths, etc. A major project was the renovation of the Blue Bell in Kilnsea for use as offices, an information centre and a small cafe, which became fully operational in 1995. Another fairly recent project has been the creation of another scrape/pond on Clubley's field.
In 1996 the observatory celebrated its fiftieth anniversary, and for the first time in its history SBO employed a full time seasonal warden. This position has since been expanded and the observatory now enjoys the services of a year- round warden. In 1998, with a view to the future, a small bungalow in Kilnsea was purchased with money bequeathed by the late John Weston, a long time committee member, who regrettably died in 1996. This was followed in 1999 by the purchase of a strip of land adjacent to the property and is now known as the ‘Church Field’, this is planted with a sacrificial crop every year, and has also had several groups of trees planted and a feeding station placed in the north-east corner. Access to this field is available by becoming a member of ‘Friends of Spurn Bird Observatory’, a venture set up in 2003 to eventually help with the building of a new observatory when the old one falls way to the sea.
EXPLORED! Highest position: 147 on Thursday, July 9, 2009
Still busy, these next two weeks will probably be even worse...
Getting stronger, on Thursday they scheduled me the final job interview (already succesfully passed through two) for a really interesting opportunity.
I will be meeting the General Manager of the company. Sounds good!
The shot
Another sunrise from my April Tuscany trip. Taken some minutes before "Tuscany Sunrise @75mm". Tighter crop, less contrasty.
I'm in love with that place.
The Processing
Photoshop: (SINGLE EXPOSURE)
- Duplicated the background layer, switched to soft light mode and applied a gradient mask (sky only)
- Switched to LAB mode and applied two curves to improve contrast and tones
- Back to RGB, added a vibrance layer to boost up minor tones
- Used color balance tool to improve colors
- Duplicated the background layer, switched to linear add and applied a gradient mask (foreground only)
- Created an Overlay layer to adjust light
- Resized
- Run Noise Ninja to reduce Noise
- Sharpening (Smart Sharpen + more accurate)
- Framing and signature.
Take a look at it, LARGE on Black :
The best is yet to come, on Black
@ You all
Comments, faves and critiques are always welcomed!
I wish you all a splendid sunday and a marvellous week ahead.
I will be checking your streams out tonight.
#AbFav_BRIDGES_🌉
#AbFav_PHOTOSTORY
The New Little Belt Bridge (Nye Lillebæltsbro).
Getting closer to our destination, we cross a beautiful bridge.
The New Little Belt Bridge (Nye Lillebæltsbro) is a suspension bridge that crosses the Little Belt strait between Jutland (Jylland) and the island of Funen (Fyn) in Denmark.
The bridge is 1700 metres long, the main span is 600 metres, the pylons reaching a height of 120 metres, and the maximum clearance from the sea is 44 meters.
Opened:October 21, 1970, the bridge was constructed to alleviate congestion on the Old Little Belt Bridge due to the increasing car traffic between Jutland and Funen.
It is a motorway on the E20 bridge with three-lane carriageways as opposed to the single lanes of the old bridge.
The bridge has heating in the road deck, so it can be kept free of ice and snow in winter.
Passing through Little Belt Bridge is toll free… amazing.
Hope you enjoy?
Thank you for your visits and comments, M, (*_*)
For more of my other work visit here: www.indigo2photography.com
Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved
"New Little Belt Bridge", "Nye Lillebæltsbro", Denmark, Bridge, day, night, road, COLOUR, HORIZONTAL, "Magda Indigo", "NIKON D7000"
72/365 - In The Colors - Ben Harper
Tough start of a new week. Bad results in several stupid tests at school lately and a lot of work to finish before intense days of practice tests next week. You see what I'm talking about ?
So after courses me and Loic had to made a new shot for the school project we've been working on all the weekend. The theme is "Do it as..." a (famous or not so) photographer.
The original feelings we had with this work were very great, we found we had to understand the style of a photographer and shot new pictures with this particular style. We also have to redact about this photographer, define his style and explain his pictures.
In fact, that's basically less interesting, we have to purely copy two pictures of a photographer like a xerox and describe "technically" the original pictures.
Whatever, it's been several weeks that I wanted to make a tribute to Dustin Diaz with this theme, cause he has been inspiring for me. But in the end, I was really unmotivated to just copy his work.
Don't think that's the better way to learn something...
I've been working on learning how Dustin does his pictures for few months to inspire my own ones and be able to shoot something decent for this theme.
Finally I decided to change and try some new things, I wanted to make fashion pictures outdoor with the spring feeling, I found great fashion pictures by Ted Grambeau, but that was not really what I wanted to do. I've shot some pics as Ted Grambeau this Sunday with Emmeline, but finally we ended with the Dustin like picture in the subway that I really liked.
With no fashion photographer name found, I decided to get back on my first idea, that's why we had to shot another one this Monday with Loic.
First we went to a lake outside Toulouse with Melissa and Florent where Loic wanted to shoot his theme picture. Found the place interesting and decided to go for a fashion shoot with Melissa for today's shot. After that, we went back to my place to pack the rest of the things we needed for my DD shot and we went to the center to find the right spot.
A lot of hard work. Hope you'll enjoy it cause we don't have that much sleep theese days...
Love to read your comments. Take care, see ya tomorrow.
Link to In The Colors - Ben Harper live music video.
Light :
- 1 flash Canon speedlite 540EZ through 24" square softbox 35mm on the left of Melissa
- 1 flash Canon speedlite 540EZ backlighting
Fired by Cactus V4.
Canon EOS 7D - EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
Sébastien Huruguen
Decided to cycle to the airport to watch the Red Arrows leave for today's airshow. They always put on a display when returning back to the airport and didn't disappoint today
I went to the Dahlia garden.
there were hundreds of kinds of dahlias there.
so impressed in front of these flowers,
I tried to take all kinds of them. ...yes, STUPID, I was :D
I have just determined to be more selective,
well, at least, now I suppose so ;-)
4O55 Leeds to Southampton containers, crossing the River Calder at Woodnook near Methley junction 23/04/17, never been for a shot at this location before. Lovely breezy day, but cool in the wind.
These photos have absolutely no artistic merit and after fiddling a bit with them found that I couldn't even improve upon their mediocrity in processing. Nevertheless, I do want to share the experience so here are the best of a very poor batch which hopefully will serve to convey the experience. In my defense, I was in the canoe with a relatively stiff breeze inevitably quickly blowing me away from the subject resulting in some frantic over the shoulder clicks....;-))
The comment photo reflects what I had been watching from my deck all morning: two loons rapidly skittering across the surface of the lake from one end to the other. I wasn't sure but I assumed it was part of the mating ritual of the pair though I hadn't witnessed it in previous years. They were still going at it when I went out in the canoe determined to figure it out...which after a closer look, I did.
As it turns out, a male interloper had decided to try his chances and all the activity was by the two males while the female demurely observed between her dives for food. This had been going on for hours and the energy expended must have been remarkable. Never once did they actually go at each other but merely seemed to challenge each other to a series of races.
Eventually, what I believe to be the younger male based on size (the challenger) skulked away...literally. I finally noticed him with just his eyes and tail showing above the water in what was clearly a posture of submission and avoidance. Interestingly, the victor and the female seemed to be seeking him out in precisely the opposite posture, looking with tall extended necks, unusual for the normally low-lying loons. The vanquished remained in hiding for the rest of my stay on the lake and I have not seen him since. Hopefully, he'll find romance on another local waterway.
In the lead photo, the male boasts his victory while the prize does not seem particularly overwhelmed...;-)
New Haven Railroad EMD FL-9 locomotive 2051 & another FL-9 lead what appears to be the Pennsylvania Railroad Senator in yard at Boston, Massachusetts, ca 1960's. As you can see this is a very large passenger car yard. In the background I see a Schlitz Beer Ad sign.
This photo came from the Internet and the photographers name was not provided. Any credit for this photo must be provided to the original photographer.
Copyright Disclaimer under Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for the purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
And that is what it is , the Grandstand at Epsom Downs Racecourse - home of the Derby . Come June this place will be heaving with people here to watch the races .
The first race at Epsom Downs was recorded in 1661 and the predominantly flat course was mentioned in the diary of Samuel Pepys. Similarly, Charles II was said to be a regular attender of races. Epsom houses the third largest racehorse training facility in the country and the course featured heavily in the 1952 film ‘Derby Day’. Epsom Downs is situated on the largest remaining public space south of London, and as it is a public area people can watch the Derby for free – a race that used to be the most attended sporting event of the year.
With an overall course capacity of 120,000, Epsom also opened a new Duchess’s stand in 2009, which holds 11,000 people and cost a total of £23.5 million to build. Just a few minutes down the road from Epsom town centre, Epsom Downs is extremely easy to get to by car, accessible by coming off Junction 9 of the M25.
During the racing season AA signs direct racegoers from the motorway to the course. If travelling by train, there are three stations all with very good access to the track. Epsom train station is just a ten-minute taxi or bus ride away, with a shuttle bus service available on Derby day. Epsom station is well served by services from London Waterloo and London Victoria. Alternatively, Tattenham Corner station is a half mile walk from the course, with Epsom Downs station slightly further away.
The grade 1 course at Epsom Downs is one of the best in the country as you would expect of a track that hosts two Classics. Shaped like a horseshoe and measuring 1m4f in circumference, Epsom hosts flat racing only.
The grandstand is positioned to the left of the open end of the left-handed horseshoe which is stiff and undulating in nature. Although the home straight at Epsom is 3½f in length, a chute coming off Tattenham Corner allows for 5f straight races to take place. There are two other chutes that allow for six and seven furlong contests with a slight left bend prior to the reasonably sharp left turn onto the home stretch. There is a minor elevation on the right hand side but the hint of bias is largely cancelled out by the slightly better ground usually being on this side of the course.
Horses at Epsom have to deal with the difficult undulations, with a rise of 105ft in the first 5f of the course alone. The second last turn goes into an incredibly steep downhill, with a 92ft decline spread out over 3½f. This makes the final part of the course exceptionally fast paced with the result being exceptionally exciting finishes in tightly contested events.
An absences of long distance races means that this is far from an uncommon sight either. As there’s no complete circuit at Epsom, the course cannot hold races greater than a mile and a half.
Five Furlongs at a Rapid Pace
The straight 5f course at Epsom is virtually downhill all the way, bar the final 100 yards, making it the fastest of its kind anywhere in the world. The high-standing of the course also allows it to attract some very talented sprinters, ensuring some rapid times are posted for minimum distance races.
In 2012, this was something officially recognised in the Guinness World Records as Stone of Folca won the Epsom Dash in an incredible time of 53.69s. Some still believe that the course record belongs to Indigenous though, who clocked 53.60s in June 1960 but this was prior to the introduction of electronic timing. Stone of Folca was a 50/1 outsider when storming to a record-breaking win. He started from stall number two, trailed by Desert Law and Catfish who began out in gates 16 and 15 respectively.
There aren’t a huge number of contests over the minimum distance. A lack of five furlong races means it’s hard to get a real sense if there’s any bias but from the little info we do have, a spot away from the middle appears to be preferable.
This didn’t always used to be the case as research published in 1983 found that for the preceding seven years, there were three times as many winners from the top four stalls than the bottom four stalls. Whether the drainage has trained or this was just a statistical anomaly is unclear but for now there isn’t much bias over the straight five furlong course.
In terms of races over six to eight furlongs, once again there is little in the way of bias. Whilst there is a left-handed turn to contend with, there have been a number of wins for horses with high draws, suggesting the vagaries of the going tend to equal things out.
An Ultimate Thoroughbred Test
When looking at shape, distance and undulations, Epsom has certain similarities with Brighton but there’s nothing else that really compares with the test the Surrey course offers. Its turns, hills and cambers mean that horses must work every muscle when competing here. A fine sense of balance is an absolutely essential trait too, as is plenty of raw speed in the shorter races as those setting the early pace often end up being difficult to catch on the downhill finish.
The stiffness of the test produces shocks here and there (see 50/1 Qualify in the 2014 Oaks) but, ultimately, Epsom is a course that continues to identify some of the best colts and fillies around. A long list of truly great names have claimed glory on the switchback course and this will continue to be the case.
The biggest race every year at Epsom is without doubt the Epsom Derby. Scheduled to run each June, the Derby was first contested in 1780 and runs over a distance of 1m4f. Widely known as Britain’s richest race, the Derby is the most prestigious of the five ‘Classics’, and is the middle leg of the Triple Crown.
Trainer Aidan O’Brien has seen his horses win the previous three, becoming the first person to train three consecutive winners at the Derby (2012-2014). Two other famous races also run at Epsom every June are the Epsom Oaks and the Coronation Cup. The Oaks was established in 1779 and measures 1m4f, whilst the Coronation cup wasn’t run until 1902, and measures the same distance.
HTT Folks
Direct Rail Services Class 37/0 37229 'Jonty Jarvis 8-12-1998 to 18-3-2005' diesel-electric locomotive approaches Caldew Junction at Willowholme in Carlisle on the west coast main line with 6C42 the 13:38 BNFL Sellafield to Kingmoor depot nitric acid and Caustic Soda tank train.
A vertorama I made a while back - The clouds were awesome this day and seemed to come to a point right at the tip of the fence-post. With the lack of color in January in Colorado and the textures revealed by the low light, this scene definitely works best in black and white.
Happened to notice this small Gaillardia flower just beginning to open, when I was on a three-hour walk in a local park yesterday morning. It was on the edge of the creek bank, overlooking the water. I like these flowers at all stages of their life : ) Thanks, Rebecca, I meant to say that I was posting early today because I have a long, afternoon walk and then, if it doesn't rain, I might drive a few of the gravel roads south of the city this evening. Later: no, I just collapsed at home for the day, after all.
I've always wanted to photograph the 2 waterfalls in Kanarra Creek but there are so many amazing spots to visit in Zion that I had never managed to make a visit. On my last day in Zion, Rebecca and I decided to drive to Kanarraville to finally visit Kanarra Creek. The hike starts out along a dirt trail, starts crossing the stream back and forth a hundred times, until eventually you come to a small slot canyon. The photogenic waterfalls are here. Here you can see the first of two wooden "step ladders" along the hike.
This step ladder used to have wooden slats, and was much prettier, but was replaced with this metallic one for safety / maintainability. Boo! It's still a beautiful place to visit and well worth the great hike. The glowing back wall makes it hard to leave but if you do, crawl up the ladder and hike another half mile and you'll come to a second waterfall!
A little bird decided to hang out with us while we sat and photographed here. It would hop from rung to run until it got to the top, hop onto the rock, then fly back to the bottom. That is until we interrupted him to crawl up the ladder ourselves.
Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8:
16mm, f/9, 1.6 sec, ISO 160
Viewed best nice and large
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Absolutely thrilled to capture the conjunction ;0)
The waxing crescent moon and the planet Venus – the brightest and second-brightest orbs of nighttime, respectively – will be the first two celestial bodies to pop out after sundown. Look westward, starting around 30 to 45 minutes after sunset. Then as dusk ebbs into darkness, watch for the planet Mars to join the brilliant twosome. If you have binoculars, aim them at Venus to spot Mars all the sooner in the darkening sky.
I would like to share with you this Christmas song by the talented Ukrainian bard and kobzar Vasyl Zhdankin (1958–2019), which he recorded based on a poem by the brilliant poet Bohdan-Ihor Antonych (1909–1937).
The fragment featuring the song is part of the documentary film “My Kobza” (1989), dedicated to the revival of the kobzar tradition in Ukraine — a tradition that suffered total destruction under Soviet rule. Kobzars were itinerant musicians (usually blind, accompanied by a young guide) who for centuries traveled between Ukrainian villages, introducing people to various forms of folklore, including 'dumy' - songs about historical events, Cossack songs, and more.
Vasyl Zhdankin was one of the enthusiasts of this cultural revival, although his kobza was somewhat modernized and tuned similarly to a modern six-string guitar. Zhdankin was the first person to publicly perform the song “Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished” (our current official national anthem), doing so at the Chervona Ruta festival in Chernivtsi in the summer of 1989. It was still the USSR at the time, and this act was quite courageous.
He was also a deeply religious man, which is why spiritual songs make up a significant part of his artistic legacy. Sadly, the renowned bard died in a car accident in 2019.
The brilliant poet Bohdan-Ihor Antonych lived a short life — he was weakened by tuberculosis, which at that time could not yet be treated effectively. Nevertheless, the final years of his life were marked by an extraordinary creative output, mainly lyrical in nature. He came from Lemkivshchyna, an ethnic Ukrainian mountainous region that today is divided between Poland and Slovakia.
The song is symbolic, since we all know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. I believe Antonych wanted to bring this event closer to local people — to his fellow countrymen and to their traditions.
I would also like to note that in Ukraine, until 2023, Christmas was officially celebrated on January 7. Immediately after the Baptism of Rus’ in 988, the feast was celebrated on December 25 according to the Julian calendar. In 1582, Europe switched to a new calendar — the Gregorian one — but the Orthodox Church of Rus’ (Ukrainian) remained on the Julian calendar.
Muscovy also stayed on the Julian calendar — not only the Church, but the entire state system of timekeeping — as did the Russian Empire later on. In 1918, the Bolsheviks finally adopted the Gregorian calendar, but the Church did not recognize this change and continued to celebrate Christmas according to the Julian calendar (that is, December 25 in the Julian calendar falls on January 7 in the Gregorian calendar).
And now, in 2023, due to the war and for reasons that are more political than religious, the Ukrainian parliament decided that Christmas would be officially celebrated together with Europe. However, ordinary people celebrate it in different ways: some according to the new calendar, some according to the old one, some celebrate both, and some do not celebrate at all.
Since Flickr provides only three minutes for free, the end of the song was slightly cut. At the end, Zhdankin proclaims: “Christ is born — let us glorify Him!” In Ukraine, Orthodox Christians greet each other in this way, and on the eve of Christmas they say when meeting: “Christ is being born!”
The full documentary film 'My kobza' can be watched on YouTube. Here is one of the links: youtu.be/oUCPKsa_Lpk?si=yAvKRBd1TnkGc8sh
To view more of my images, of Orford, in Suffolk, please click "here"!
I would be most grateful if you would refrain from inserting images, and/or group invites; thank you
Orford is a small town in Suffolk, England, within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB. Like many Suffolk coastal towns it was of some importance as a port and fishing village in the Middle Ages. It still has a fine mediaeval castle, built to dominate the River Ore. The main geographical feature of the area is Orford Ness, a long, wide shingle spit at the mouth of the Ore. Orford Ness has in the past been used as an airstrip testing facility and in the early 1970s it was the site of a powerful radar station as part of the Cold War defences against low flying attacking aircraft; today it is a nature reserve run by the National Trust. Orford provides the only point of access to the nature reserves of Orford Ness and Havergate Island. Both sites can only be accessed via ferry boat from Orford quay. The Orford Ness ferry runs on selected days between April and October and the Havergate Island ferry on selected Saturdays. The population of Orford greatly increases during the summer months due to its flourishing sailing club. As well as the Castle, Orford's attractions include river cruises, three pubs, a traditional post office which sells fresh bread, a traditional bakery, a smokehouse and a restaurant; the Butley-Orford Oysterage.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The photograph is courtesy of the fabulous and amazing Miss Julie Hastings.
I have a lot of wonderful things to say about Julie, and what a pleasure it has been to have known her. You can read an interview I had with her a couple of years ago here.
Merci beaucoup, Julie. ♥♥♥
It was hard to accept. I wanted to hold out for hope but time was running out. We were cold and abandoned. A fresh wave of snow filled cloud made it's way up the valley and was now upon us. It was well past the agreed time and I had to face the unwanted reality that the chopper wasn't coming.
Just why it had happened this way I couldn't say. The weather was perfect right at the agreed time but it didn't matter now. I wanted to delay the decision to head back to the hut just in case, but, frustrating as it was, it was time to leave. The weather quickly deteriorated as we reorganised the gear.
Packs shouldered and ropes reattached once again we would retrace our steps. We were parched and tired and deflated. All our celebrations were left behind as we turned once again for the Hut. Not much was said on the return trip. It was quiet. No photos were taken.
Losing your creative spark and sense of awe is the worst. Don't worry, Flickr, I've still been taking photos in the last three months, but I find myself feeling less and less inspired. I see pretty things but know they won't photograph well so I don't even pick up the camera, glance at nice mountains and think "Eh, I've seen better," carry a tripod around on a hike and never once use it because I don't see anything worth it.
Personal standards get higher. Thresholds for jaws dropping get higher. And motivation gets lower.
Unless you have something to start that spark again, maybe. Mono Lake was on my Places to Go list for a few years and I finally got out there last week. Two hours there in broad daylight; two hours more that evening for sunset and Blue Hour. It's not a "pretty" place, exactly. It's eerie, it's uninviting, to be fair the swarms of flies and couple dead birds on the lakeshore weren't too pleasant. But those ghostly tufa columns, jagged islands, and above all a beautiful sunset? This was one place unlike any I'd seen before that was looking even better in photos than to the naked eye.
The photography workshop (mostly male and twice my age) also hanging out on the water's edge just out of frame at camera right probably all thought I was a nutcase. But who cares? If they didn't think to bring water sandals or even go barefoot and are sold on straight landscapes with no human element, well, I think I was having more fun than they were. I remembered the kind of things I love that make photography worth taking seriously, even if it means driving back to Mammoth Lakes at 9:30 in the dark and having a microwave dinner at 10. Worth it.
Never an easy working to capture in the Eastern docks complex due to sticking out like a sore thumb and being spotted by the docks security. However, luck was on my side on this occasion. 67008 arrives from Eastleigh East yard with the barriers (additional brake force) and translator coaches for a Javelin move, following import and assembly on the quayside from Japan. Image dated August 13 2009
This is from my archives, going to be digging or mining the archive for a few days as my arthritis has flared up in my knees up badly enough that I can't walk more than a few steps. Hopefully by the weekend things will settle down.
Thank-you one and all for your visits and very gracious comments, all are very much appreciated.
taxi to my booth for when the fair opens:
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hair%20Fair%20-%20Garden/4...
HI ALL, To my AMAZEMENT!! I was able to get on the internet right now!! No clue why I haven’t been able to for more then a month. No clue how long I can stay on or if I will be able to get back on anytime soon.
My health is oretty lousy with allergies on top and pretty bad to. No covid I have been tested more then once. The guy in the next apartment seems likely to have covid, but refuses to be tested or mask up or isolate and the building doesn’t seem to be able to do anything. Guy next door says it isn’t his problem if anyone gets it they were ment to get it.
Anyway I have been stuck in my apartment due to health so I haven’t encountered him much so that is a good thing.
How are you all doing?? I hope well!! Enjoying life?? Doing anything fun this summer??
I better send this while I hopefully can.
Please take care and prayers for you all.
I hope you are all well. :)
Charles.
I do force this old body out for walks when i can and of course I need food so to get grocerys a very painful difficult thing to do. Ordering them to be dilivered is not affordable for me and not have internet accesse makes that not possible even if i could. But getting out some is good and thus these two pictures.
Hugs all. No clue when I'll be on again.
Charles.
I’ll admit I don’t know much about music. And I know less about how to photograph bands for their cover art, inserts, etc. So I went out and spent about an hour at a local music store just looking at album covers. What I learned was there was absolutely NO continuity between concepts artistic or otherwise for album covers. Some just have half of a guys head and a bunch of space next to him. Others will be some erroneous object that has nothing to do with anything related. While band shots usually have 3 of 4 band members looking at the camera, while the 4th person (usually the deranged drummer) looking to the side peeling carrots or yelling at a tree. Typically harsh lighting, vignette & some sort of faded texture or coloring.
I was asked to shoot an LA band this weekend, so I went to a house in the LA underground suburbs and using this as my only location, tried out some concepts. So this is the one I liked most. And everything in this photo is exactly as planned. Lots of visual things to look at. So much so, that we should play a game of I SPY
If viewed LARGE can you spy:
1. An alligator head
2. Battle ax
3. Whiskey bottle
4. Ten stinky toes
5. A child’s neck tie
6. Jesus candle
7. Old craggily boat captain
8. Strategically Placed half-naked Filipino
9. Mississippi Mud Black & Tan bottle
10. Road to Bremen “RTB” stamp
11. Hand-held accordion
12. Walking cane
First one to find all these items wins a free 4x6 of any photo I’ve ever shot in 2004.
Add their Myspace Group here
Plenty more photos from this session, including outtakes and someone getting blasted by champagne in their eyes on my updated blog
This movement of a new c2c Aventra back to Wembley was my other main target for the day but at one stage I didn't think it was running, with the 720 eventually departing from Shoeburyness 34 minutes late but thankfully it was following directly behind my train from Upminster! I knew I had plenty of time to walk the short distance here as the connector loop was already occupied by the 3S70 RHTT ahead of it.
The introduction of the small fleet of 8 class 720s for c2c has become a very protracted affair with many mileage accumulation runs on the WCML in order to attain fault free running and the return of units to Litchurch Lane for modifications. The North Thameside commuters have been complaining vociferously about overcrowding in the peaks partly thanks to the removal of the small fleet of 387/3s that initially were loaned to Great Western for Newbury services and are now at work for Great Northern and have been pressing hard for the introduction of the Aventras as soon as possible.
I know this sounds terrible, but since around the time of this trip, Rohingya refugee boats were hugely on everyone's mind while I was living on the Thai-Burma border, I felt like I was getting a tiny taste of what it's like to be overcrowded and exposed to sun.
i dont know what its called but the only thing i know tha its related to the opium plant... in iceland we call it (valmói)... :)
Deer, porcupine, rabbits and squirrels eat most cultivated plants here, but these seem to show up first in spite of all the dangers.
Your sweet Alana is feeling a bit dirty, had to drag my ass to this photo shoot after dancing on stage all evening long.
I've been to Redwood
I crossed the ocean for a heart of gold
I've been in my mind
It's such a fine line
That keeps me searching for a heart of gold
This was from a day that seemed forever in coming. I have been following Zora on Instagram since I first joined. So many things about her feed attracted me. Of course, she is beautiful, but that was the least of it. Her energy, kindness, care about others, love of food and culture and just her good spirit are just so obvious in every post. Zora doesn't consider herself to be a model and this was her first shoot. I am so thrilled it was with me.
I have to say that I had huge hopes about the shoot going in. I've been looking forward to it for so long, and that probably put more pressure on Zora than is really fair. The truth is that she exceeded all expectations. She absolutely couldn't have been nicer, more fun, nor a better model. It was fantastic.
I was also thrilled to have Echo there to do the hair and makeup. Zora and Echo had actually met a number of years ago and they got on like old friends. That added so much to the experience
Lyrics: Heart of Gold by Neil Young
The monsoon season is upon on us bringing moisture to the desert but leaving Jasper to play indoors with his boring old humans who don't have nearly the stamina he does. BORING!
I can't stop missing you
but I must try to forget
I don't want to hurt again
So hurt, really
Do you know?
Of course, you will never know, 4ever.
I'm SO SAD
Be stupid person, I won't know, you too.
I don't think I will ever get over this shock
Try to forget. Doing whatever you like.
I won't think of you everyday.
more ever, I'll delete all.
add my Y!M : glom_angel12, I'm so busy but please mess if you want, I'll reply later
This old tree stands in the middle of a construction site in Bruges, where a new underground parking lot is to arise. Rather than allowing it to be chopped, the city council ordered the building company to work around it. A tree surgeon pays a daily visit to the tree to see how it is coping.
Credits to Spino Gaming on youtube for introducing to me this game Little Nightmares....feel in love with the atmosphere and character design :D This is the scene where little 6 is hiding from the Janitor ^^ Youtube vid is up as well youtu.be/gFq5g5agSXM