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Huh,I'm fed up with these final exams I've been giving for the past few days.Don't have much time for clicking :'(
Took this shot using reverse lens technique!!!
Have a great weekend everyone :-)
Press L and F11 to view large and on black!!!
"A Bit of Craic" 29x47cm
Painted onto metal found in a skip on Ravenhill Road, Belfast
Asbestos Boxing Club
Everybody still talks about 'The Troubles' in Northern Ireland. But as I approached the Ligoniel Amateur Boxing Club in North Belfast on a cold November evening, I was at an advantage because I had no preconceived ideas as to whether the boxers were Protestant, Catholic or Hindu for that matter. I hadn't even thought about asking before that night, and as my visit wore on, I started to assume from their names that they were catholic (Sean, Joe, Paddy). You see, there's been so much conflict in Belfast over the last thirty or so years, that both communities have become isolated in their own suburbs. So for me, this boxing club in the suburbs in North Belfast and the men who give their time for free intrigued me.
I was introduced to this boxing club by the guys who run the Safehouse Gallery and on my way to Belfast on the train that day, the usual images and preconceptions of 'The Troubles' in Northern Ireland came to mind. But I wasn't interested in adding to a landscape of film, painting and literature that couldn't escape the images of violence and division from the past. It was my intention to create a body of work focusing on people who're making a difference in their community despite all the shit that goes on around them.
I photographed the boxers training and sparring in Ligoniel Amateur Boxing Club (it's been on the go since 1971 and has been funded by the boxers and the community around Ligoniel) late one Wednesday evening. Upon arriving I was welcomed in by Eddie, who stood in the doorway eclipsed in the stark boxing hall light, his hand, decked out in gold rings reached out to greet me and welcome me into a club he's been volunteering in for over thirty years.
I got to know the guys from the club, each had a story, each had a reason to be drawn to boxing and the small club that was a home and a safe family. I came away from that club with a head full of stories and a meaningful idea for an exhibition in Belfast. My initial fear was that these guys would treat me with suspicion, but each was open and honest, happy to talk while I photographed.
The following day, I scoured the streets in different parts of Belfast for the signature yellow Ace Bates skips (he's the king of the Belfast skip world). I hoped that they might contain the detritus of the city; wood, metal and any other objects that told the cities history for me to paint on. I pulled pieces from skips in the Holy Land, the Shankill Road, the Lisburn Road and the Falls, then I hauled them home to the studio in Dublin to paint.
Back in Belfast on the night of the show, it was a very humbling experience for me to see each boxer come to see his portrait. It was singularly, the most rewarding and emotional moment in my entire art career. One boxer told me that it's usually "generals or dead politicians that get their portraits painted, not amateur boxers from north Belfast". But to me, these guys are the heroes of the community, they're the guys who keep the kids off the steets, training three nights a week, they're the guys who get screamed at by their wives "for volunteering more time at the club than at home". It was a privilege for me to spend time with and paint the portraits of these contemporary heroes.
The whole process was filmed by King Adz and will be online in the next couple of weeks at www.theartofasbestos.com
As a supplement to the Unsung Joe piece on Franklin Parker, a bit-part actor who had tiny roles as newspaper reporters in 30 or so films in the 30s and 40s, here's a front-page news story from 1938 that he featured in, which represents the peak of his fame.
The movie star of the headline is Lyle Talbot, a B-movie actor who you probably haven't heard of (I certainly hadn't). He was in "Plan 9 From Outer Space" (1959), though, so he probably counts as one of Hollywood's immortals.
Franklin and Lyle, both Nebraska boys, had met when Lyle was the leading man in the stock theatre company in Lincoln, Nebraska. Their friendship survived the transition to Hollywood and the fact that Lyle got plenty of decent work while Franklin made do with walk-ons.
Here's what appeared under that headline in the October 25, 1938, edition of the Centralia Daily Chronicle:
"BEVERLY HILLS, Calif -- Trapped by fire on the second floor of his pretentious home here early today, Lyle Talbot, handsome leading man of the films, and his house guest, Franklin Parker, also an actor, leaped to safety early today.
They were taken to the Beverly Hills receiving hospital suffering painful burns. Their condition was declared by attendants to be serious."
Did 'pretentious' have a different meaning in 1938? If not, that would seem to be a needlessly harsh thing to say about the house of a guy who's lying in hospital with serious burns. The article continued:
"Talbot's hair was burned from his scalp and Parker's back was severely burned. The house was nearly demolished by the flames after the pair made their 20-foot leap ... Police theorized the fire may have been started by a burning cigarette, left in the living room. Talbot had entertained last night, authorities said they had learned, but all of the guests except Parker had left the home when the fire broke out."
The following day's papers carried another AP wire story about Parker and Talbot, to which the Galveston Daily News gave the headline: "Burns Inflicted Rescuing Friend From Fire May End Talbot's Screen Career". The story read:
"The red badge of courage belonged tonight to Screen Actor Lyle Talbot, hero of a fire that destroyed his $50,000 home, but the penalty of his heroism probably is a blighted screen career.
Talbot's hands, neck, arms and head were burned so severely he may never appear again before the cameras. He saved the life of his house guest, Franklin D Parker, also an actor, by dragging him from a fiery, smoke-filled bedroom to a second-storey ledge and safety.
Witnesses saw Talbot, trapped on the second floor by flames that started at ground level, trying desperately to drag Parker's unconscious form out on a porch roof from a bedroom. Talbot, choking with smoke, his pajamas aflame, finally got Parker to safety and then leaped 20 feet to the ground to assist firemen who had been summoned by neighbors.
The condition of both men was critical, said physicians at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital."
The story went on to say that Talbot's wife was staying with a friend whose husband was out of town (so perhaps the party at Talbot's house had been a sort of gals-free stag-do sort of affair) and then recounted Talbot's career to date, noting that his last role was in "I Stand Accused" (1938), in which he played a gangster "and met the usual screen death at the hands of the law."
Of Franklin, it said only: "Parker played on the New York stage several years ago. He has had several bit roles and a few featured parts since coming to Hollywood."
Franklin Parker: even when he makes the front page, it's in a bit part.
It seems that the pair's burns were less serious than they appeared to be, because they both continued to work as steadily as they had ever done, and photographs of Lyle Talbot in later years show him with a full head of hair and no visible scars.
Franklin died of a heart attack in 1962, at the age of 60, and Lyle lived until he was 92, in 1996, when he died of 'natural causes'.
A bit of Karl Blossfeldt about this one!
This is a reprocessed version of an earlier post - originally Day 20 of my 365pix project 01 Aug 08 - 31 Jul 09. This version processed using Nik Sliver Efex software and split toned using Adobe Lightroom 2.
Natural light - shot against the grey sky.
San Mateu, Spain
Hmmm.... By far my best work... Its a panograph constructed using over 35 snaps by merging pics in photoshop.. (I lost count of the snaps :-)
I spent over 16 hours to put all the pics together and make sure they merge properly..
Please view it on Black
Now something about the subject..
This is my college BITS-Pilani where I am doing my engineering in Electronics & Electrical...
This place is the reason why I am what I am today ! I stepped in this institution during the early monsoons of 2004 and its been almost 4 years here..
When I came here I didn't know what to expect.. Felt I won't enjoy this place and just wanted to spend my four years & move ahead.. But God had other plans..
Time flew and I feel in love with this place.. Though its a very boring place to live but still it taught me a lot.. Met lots of people... Made lots of friends.. Today I am almost on the verge of passing out.. Though I am looking forward to the life I have after this but there is a feeling of sadness coz I will have to move ahead.. All the fun I have had, friends, the enthu... I will miss it.. :-(
IMO: 9256432
Name: BIT POWER
Vessel Type - Generic: Tanker
Vessel Type - Detailed: Asphalt/Bitumen Tanker
Status: Active
MMSI: 244944000
Call Sign: PDSV
Flag: Netherlands [NL]
Gross Tonnage: 6556
Summer DWT: 6719 t
Length Overall x Breadth Extreme: 116.9 x 18 m
Year Built: 2003
Home Port: DORDRECHT
They look to be spending a fair bit of money on the old stadium - there is a brand new one a few miles away, meant to seat around 75000 but they ran out of money in the recession and it has sat there like a giant doughnut clad in aluminium for years. There have been several attempts to raise funds and it has been scaled back - no closing roof and less seats.
We decided to go for a city break rather than sun in Tenerife again this September. Other than a few days in the North East we haven’t been away since last March and wanted a change and hopefully some sun. The problem is getting flights from the north of England to the places we want to go to. We chose Valencia as we could fly from East Midlands – which was still a pain to get to as it involved the most notorious stretch of the M1 at five in the morning. In the end we had a fairly good journey, the new Ryanair business class pre-booked scheme worked quite well and bang on time as usual. It was dull when we landed with storms forecast all week, the sky was bright grey – the kiss of death to the photography I had in mind. I was full of cold and wishing I was at work. It did rain but it was overnight on our first night and didn't affect us. There has been a drought for eleven months apparently and it rained on our first day there! The forecast storms didn't materialise in Valencia but they got it elsewhere.
You May notice discrepancies in the spelling of some Spanish words or names, this is because Valencian is used on signs, in some guide books and maps. There are two languages in common use with distinct differences. There may also be genuine mistakes - it has been known!
Over the course of a Monday to Sunday week we covered 75 miles on foot and saw most of the best of Valencia – The City of Bell Towers. The Old City covers a pretty large area in a very confusing layout. There was a lot of referring to maps – even compass readings! – a first in a city for us. The problem with photography in Valencia is that most of the famous and attractive building are closely built around, some have poor quality housing built on to them. Most photographs have to be taken from an extreme angle looking up. There are no high points as it is pan flat, there are a small number of buildings where you can pay to go up on to the roof for a better view and we went up them – more than once!
The modern buildings of The City of Arts and Sciences – ( Ciutat de Las Arts I de les Ciencies ) are what the city has more recently become famous for, with tourists arriving by the coachload all day until late at night. They must be photographed millions of times a month. We went during the day and stayed till dark one evening, I gave it my best shot but a first time visit is always a compromise between ambition and realism, time dictates that we have to move on to the next destination. I travelled with a full size tripod – another first – I forgot to take it with me to TCoAaS! so It was time to wind up the ISO, again! Needless to say I never used the tripod.
On a day when rain was forecast but it stayed fine, albeit a bit dull, we went to the Bioparc north west of the city, a zoo by another name. There are many claims made for this place, were you can appear to walk alongside some very large animals, including, elephants, lions, giraffe, rhino, gorillas and many types of monkey to name a few. It is laid out in different geographical regions and there is very little between you and the animals, in some cases there is nothing, you enter the enclosure through a double door arrangement and the monkeys are around you. It gets rave reviews and we stayed for most of the day. The animals it has to be said gave the appearance of extreme boredom and frustration and I felt quite sorry for them.
The course of The River Turia was altered after a major flood in the 50’s. The new river runs west of the city flanked by a motorway. The old river, which is massive, deep and very wide between ancient walls, I can’t imagine how it flooded, has been turned into a park that is five miles long. There is an athletics track, football pitches, cycle paths, restaurants, numerous kids parks, ponds, fountains, loads of bridges, historic and modern. At the western end closest to the sea sits The City of Arts and Sciences – in the river bed. Where it meets the sea there is Valencia’s urban Formula One racetrack finishing in the massive marina built for The Americas Cup. The race track is in use as roadways complete with fully removable street furniture, kerbs, bollards, lights, islands and crossings, everything is just sat on the surface ready to be moved.
We found the beach almost by accident, we were desperate for food after putting in a lot of miles and the afternoon was ticking by. What a beach, 100’s of metres wide and stretching as far as the eye could see with a massive promenade. The hard thing was choosing, out of the dozens of restaurants, all next door to each other, all serving traditional Paella – rabbit and chicken – as well as seafood, we don’t eat seafood and it constituted 90% of the menu in most places. Every restaurant does a fixed price dish of the day, with a few choices, three courses and a drink. Some times this was our only meal besides making the most of the continental breakfast at the hotel. We had a fair few bar stops with the local wine being cheap and pleasant it would have been a shame not to, there would have been a one woman riot – or strike!
On our final day, a Sunday, we were out of bed and down for breakfast at 7.45 as usual, the place was deserted barring a waiter. We walked out of the door at 8.30 – in to the middle of a mass road race with many thousands of runners, one of a series that take place in Valencia – apparently! We struggled to find out the distance, possibly 10km. The finish was just around the corner so off we went with the camera gear, taking photos of random runners and groups. There was a TV crew filming it and some local celebrity (I think) commentating. Next we came across some sort of wandering religious and musical event. Some sort of ritual was played out over the course of Sunday morning in various locations, it involved catholic priests and religious buildings and another film crew. The Catholic tourists and locals were filling the (many) churches for Sunday mass. Amongst all of this we had seen men walking around in Arab style dress – the ones in black looked like the ones from ISIS currently beheading people – all carrying guns. A bit disconcerting. We assumed that there had been some sort of battle enactment. We were wrong, it hadn’t happened yet. A while later, about 11.30 we could hear banging, fireworks? No it was our friends with the guns. We were caught up in total mayhem, around 60 men randomly firing muskets with some sort of blank rounds, the noise, smoke and flames from the muzzles were incredible. We were about to climb the Torres de Serranos which is where, unbeknown to us, the grand, and deafening, finale was going to be. We could feel the blast in our faces on top of the tower. Yet again there was a film camera in attendance. I couldn’t get close ups but I got a good overview and shot my first video with the 5D, my first in 5 years of owning a DLSR with the capability. I usually use my phone ( I used my phone as well). Later in the day there was a bullfight taking place, the ring was almost next to our hotel, in the end we had other things to do and gave it a miss, it was certainly a busy Sunday in the city centre, whether it’s the norm or not I don’t know.
There is a tram system in Valencia but it goes from the port area into the newer part of the city on the north side, it wouldn’t be feasible to serve the historic old city really. A quick internet search told me that there are 55,000 university students in the city, a pretty big number. I think a lot of the campus is on the north side and served by the tram although there is a massive fleet of buses as well. There is a massive, very impressive market building , with 100’s of stalls that would make a photo project on its own, beautiful on the inside and out but very difficult to get decent photos of the exterior other than detail shots owing to the closeness of other buildings and the sheer size of it. Across town, another market has been beautifully renovated and is full of bars and restaurants and a bit of a destination in its own right.
A downside was the all too typical shafting by the taxi drivers who use every trick in the book to side step the official tariffs and rob you. The taxi from the airport had a “broken” meter and on the way home we were driven 22 km instead of the nine that is the actual distance. Some of them seem to view tourists as cash cows to be robbed at all costs. I emailed the Marriot hotel as they ordered the taxi, needless to say no answer from Marriot – they’ve had their money. We didn’t get the rip off treatment in the bars etc. that we experienced in Rome, prices are very fair on most things, certainly considering the city location.
All in all we had a good trip and can highly recommend Valencia.
A shame they didn't put a shilling in the meter and switch them on!
Manchester on a wet and gloomy day, with this art installation adding a splash of colour. There are five of these sculptures showing lamps through the ages, designed by Acrylicize studio.
(My thanks to Lord Lucan for the info. Yes he's alive and well and posting on Flickr!)
Credits: Anita Designs - Field of Dreams and Country Girl; Gibby Frogett Craftations - Maelstrom; Pixabay; Unsplash Effects PhotoMania and CraftArtist 2
Bit surprised to see this female venturing into the sun to take advantage of the warmth reflected from the post.
Wings like leaded windows and more confirmation that Spring is on the way.
Chiff chaff was singing his monotonous notes from a nearby silver birch but it was great to hear after a long absence.
Bit of botanical trivia for the day, Bear Grass (Xerophyllum tenax) is closely related to the lily family.
I am getting a fat head. I feel compelled to brag a bit. I don't usually show more than Page 1 of my photos that were/are Explored by Flickr, and I don't even necessarily show Page 1 every time a new photo gets added. But this time, I have a *first* in 9 ½ years on Flickr. I had three of my photos chosen in a single day (November 20, 2014)! Almost always it is none or one, very rarely two, but three for me is amazing. So I am showing all 3 pages. Page 1 is the one with three in one day on it. I hope my viewers enjoy some of them.
1. Elderly Couple Walking Into the Fog, 2. Gorgeous Great White Egret, 3. I Like My Hawks Unleaded..., 4. Blue Pickup Truck with Taillights ~ a Rainting, 5. Two Little Girl Kittens, 6. Hooray! Arctic Tundra Swans are Back!, 7. Ribbon of Fog from Green Peak on to the North, 8. Autumn Trees Near Maple Ridge,
9. Big Fluffy Clouds & Reflections in McFadden Marsh, 10. Scrawny Tree Hill a Bit Somber & Spooky for Halloween, 11. Abandoned Store Window at Disston, Oregon USA, 12. Sweet Gum Tree (I think) from a Distance ~ Painterly, 13. McKenzie River, Lane County, Oregon ~ Painterly, 14. Sun Rays with Sort of Hidden Little Red Orb, 15. Vintage Metal Farm Equipment (Amazing), 16. One of My Favorite Shots Ever ~ 3 Beautiful Dogs Swimming & Fetching Cooperatively,
17. Caps for Toy Pistols, 18. Beautiful Fuzzy Weeds, 19. Great Blue Heron Catches Late Dinner, 20. Great Blue Heron Just Prancing Right Along, 21. Sunset Out My Rear Window ~ SOOC, 22. A Gazillion Gorgeous Pink, Red & White Poppies, 23. Sunrise with Red Orb and One Dark Duck, 24. Sunset with Red Orb,
25. Elk Family ~ Maybe Cow, Calf & Daddy?, 26. Quilt with Bare Trees (No Leaves Trees) ~ Best Viewed Large, 27. German Shepherd Looking Right at Me, 28. The Third Little Pig Foiled the Big Bad Wolf ~ But then Came that Darned Hurricane, 29. Sunrise from Out Back ~ July 8, 2014, 30. 5 Ducklings ~ I Like the One in Front with His Beak Open, 31. Male American Goldfinch ~ Carduelis tristis, 32. Female American Goldfinch ~ Carduelis tristis,
33. Grass is Great for Elk ~ They Eat Several Blades of It while They Hide Behind One, 34. Great Blue Heron in Flight ~ Looks Painterly but it is SOOC, 35. Gorgeous and Exotic Looking Flowers ~ Showy Milkweed, Asclepias speciosa, 36. More Grasses in Black & White, 37. Snake Like the One a Bittern Ate in One of My Photos Years Ago, 38. Magenta or Cerise Wildflowers with Yellow Centers, 39. Guess What I Saw at the Hospital Yesterday ~ 2 Deer with Cute Antlers, 40. Best Viewed Large to Spot all the Creatures Here,
41. Poppies Sandwiched Between Earth and Sky ~ Painterly, 42. Field of Poppies and Orchard with Tiny Specks of Sheep, 43. More Poppies Swaying in the Breeze, 44. Bittern Stalking the Next Meal ~ Get a Load of that Right Foot, 45. Female Cinnamon Teal Duck Shows Off Pure White Feathers Under Her Wing, 46. Male Cinnamon Teal Duck Stretching & Fanning Out Some of His Feathers ~ EXPLORED, 47. Part of a Large Herd of Elk ~ Best Viewed Large, 48. Cutest Cinnamon Teal Duck Pair Ever!,
49. Used to Be Quaint Little Pink House ~ Now Entrance is Boarded Up, 50. Don't Laugh ~ It's My First Time Photographing a Hummingbird, 51. Sunrise at McFadden Marsh with Guardrail and Fence, 52. Which 2 out of these 4 do you like the best? This is #6993, 53. Which 2 out of these 3 do you like the best? This is #7004, 54. Matt & Thomas Bringing Down a Huge Tree, 55. Pigeon Butte & Queen Anne's Lace or Wild Carrot, 56. Hey Man, We Have Here a Barn, a Marsh and a Rainbow with Like Some Way Weird Processing, Ya Know?,
57. Canada Geese, One Show-Off & Some Small Birds, 58. Quaint Old Barn that I Like, 59. Gorgeous Hawk at William L Finley National Wildlife Refuge, 60. Sunset out My Window, 61. Swans in Flight (Parts of Seven of Them), 62. Tchaikovsky ~ A Noble Looking Long-Haired Cat, 63. Christmas Tree Made Out of Books, 64. Trees in Front Yard ~ Almost Black & White ~ Some Specks of Color,
65. Blueberry Bushes & Poplar Windbreak on the Way Out ~ Painterly, 66. Bulldog in Muddy Black Truck ~ Light Rain, 67. Freshly Painted Fence Ornamentation at US Post Office, Corvallis, Oregon, 68. ************************************************ Some of the 29,000 Canada Geese Coming Back for the Winter, 69. It's Not Snow! It is Super Artsy Techniques on my Photo of a Very Hard Rain, 70. Concrete Cluster Benches at Corvallis Riverfront Park, 71. Sunlit Clouds & Douglas Fir Trees in My Back Yard, 72. Giant Marshmallow Farm
Created with fd's Flickr Toys
20 pence piece used for scale for this copper bit-coin.
Highlighted the shot for the detail on the coin.
abstracted design....was called Blenkinsopp's Columns till it was shaken up a bit.....thanks for looking.....best bigger....hope you have a great wekend
A bit of hopeful blue sky this morning viewed in the garden.
It turned out to be a glorious day, but unfortunately Graham fell while out and the Pompiers took him off to Lannion to the Emergency Department for a check up.
Everything OK, other than a grazed knee but it put a stop on photo taking for me for today.
Thank you for your favourites. :O)
this morning my plan was to "catch" some morning-fog..so the alarm at 6.15 and that really hurts on your day off, but ok ..and i drove around in search for that fog...nothing..only this tiny bit..;D..so the end of the morning soaking feet from the wet fields, and with some gooodmorning pics..so the coming pics i bore you with are made with little eyes and wet feet..;D
A tiny home-style restaurant which can only be entered from the back of the building. Be patient with the queue.
Supertramp performing Give A Little Bit at Reitstadion Riem near Munich, Germany. Recorded live on July 23rd, 1983. This being the final concert with Roger Hodgson as member of Supertramp. Richard Davies, Roger Hodgson, John Anthony Helliwell, Bob Siebenberg, Dougie Thomson, Scott Page, Fred Mandel.
He died at the age of 11, I was 10, my cousin Darren, of leukemia. Diagnosed in kindergarten, the age my daughter is now, all I could think in my 5 year old mind was "How could God be so damn cruel!" Darren was so beautiful, giant roly-poly curls like a black halo around his head. We were in my aunt's wedding together, he the ring bearer, I the flower girl. It was the last time I saw him well. When he died I cried every night for about a year...and talked to him. We didn't see each other very often before he passed, a few times a year at major holidays, but i always thought he must be perfect, an angel; God gave all perfect children curls AND freckles like Darren...I only had freckles.
Darren collected miniature toys and bits of odds and ends before he died. When I went back to Ohio this summer to visit my aunt, I stood and looked at his collection hanging on the wall of her log cabin. Little itty-bitty spiderwebs had tendril-ed their way amongst the trinkets. Each little bit lovelier than that next...all together a magical collection. The little rabbit's head and tiny box of tools were by far my favorite....maybe they were his favorite too...and I felt him there!