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Just a bit O' Fiction for anyone interested in that sort of thing
When Connor Flynn applied to join the Army Aircorp in 1942 the recruiter told him no, he'd not be able to see over the dash. Connor suggested that the man stand on the flight line and he'd take his hat off with his wingtip.
He finished training top of his class and a year and a half later he was an ace three times over.
Called Scrappy by his friends for his tenacity in and out of the cockpit, the fiery redhead found himself on yet another bomber escort mission. The Luftwaffe knew just how far his wing could fly and wouldn't rise to engage until he and his cohorts were forced to turn back for lack of fuel. Connor had had enough. Enough of the repeatedly failed missions, enough of this endless war, enough....On this day he feigned engine trouble and backed out of formation, then climbed to 35,000 feet and throttled his Jug back to save some gas for the hungry turboprop and he waited. Soon enough the order to turn back came and still he waited. Then the scattered calls from the airmen in the B-17's could be heard, it was time. Easing the throttles forward and smoothly dropping below the clouds he soon found the melee ahead. He made out about twenty 109's and they were having their way with the lumbering bombers who he knew, if this kept up they would drop bombs and head home nowhere near their target and they'd all have to do it again tomorrow. Scrappy dove into the fray and scored five more kills having taken the German's by surprise all the while getting cheers from the kids in the bombers, but eventually he got raked turning for the next pair ahead. White smoke billowed from the engine cowling, a sure sign that water was getting into the oil, and he turned back toward England. He knew that he wouldn't make it, of course, but the fight was over for him, even now two Messerschmitt's were lined up on his tail, but they didn't fire. They were waiting for him to bail out so that they could drill him in his chute. They'd no doubt seen the rows of swastika's painted on his fuselage and were now toying with him. The engine temp light blared red in his eyes and the nose dipped on the crippled plane, "God, I love flying," thought Scrappy, "There's nothi"
Yes, I know that this isn't a P-47, sadly there were none at the McChord Air Show. I wanted to talk about the processing though. My friend Wayne has a painting that's about 30x60 on his wall by Barrie Clark that is just amazing. It is coming out of daylight to the viewers right and flying into clouds/smoke/certain death, it grabs your heart. Look it up, the link is in the first comment box.
Bit of a Marmite shot I would think.
the bokeh has not been added in post - shot though a dew covered branch in the foreground.,
The heavens opened and most folk took shelter as it didn't look to be improving Stu and myself retired to the pub, just to get out of the rain, honest...........
Have no idea what this act was. They were bit part performers.
Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House, Sydney
Perhaps a bit too pretty for some but a revisit to the Lune valley on Referendum Day prompted a shot from the Fairmile Road which sees a Virgin Voyager working the 11.43 London Euston - Glasgow (9S65) service, and running 27 minutes late as it happened.
Luckily the height of the Fairmile Road hides the worst excesses of the M6 motorway, and interesting too that despite being electrified the railway cuts a pretty small visual footprint in this stunning setting. As always good to see the pink and white foxgloves making an occasional stand in the rampant bracken.
23rd June 2016
Bit of a story here....
Some 29 years ago (yikes!) I arrived in Sheffield having transferred from London Ambulance to take up my new post at Longley Ambulance Station.
I filled a vacancy there due to a chap leaving and going off to Canada to start a new life over there in the ambulance service.
His name was/is Lou Gelsthorpe.
The other day I was sat in Middlewood Ambulance Station when a guy came in and asked if there were any 'old' ambulance men about..
I said no everybody was out bar me and the cleaners.
I asked him what he wanted 'old ambulance men' for and he said that he used to work for South Yorkshire Ambulance a while back but had moved to Canada...
The penny slowly dropped and I asked him his name.....
Yes! It was/is the same guy! Lou Gelsthorpe!
I was amazed at seeing him and then I told him that I was the guy who took his place at Longley Station 29 years ago... It was then his turn to be amazed...!
What a thing eh!
For me to be at Middlewood Station when he called in on the off chance & not even the station we were both at 29 years ago either!.
Amazing..!
We sat down and had a bit of a reminisce and I got out the station photo albums and we looked through them and he saw guys and gals that he recognised and even remembered names of! I had to point out the ones who had not only retired but had unfortunately died as well.. (bit sad but very good too!)
He couldn't stay too long but I asked if I could take a picture of him and put it up here on Flickr..
So I did! There he is in the top one with one of our newest vehicles.....
Plus for a 'context' view I have placed him (in the lower picture) leaning on the very vehicles that both he & I drove & worked from out of Longley Station, but of course not at the same time!
Not a great 'clone' shot but I thought I'd put them together...
Wow what an interesting encounter eh!
Lou said that he had some old photos from his time with SYAS and would email them to me... So watch this space..
I work for Yorkshire Ambulance Service on the RRVs in and around the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire.
It’s a great job and I feel very honoured to be able to help people at their point of need.
Check out the website for all sorts of info re YAS and the work we do.
Opuntia, more commonly known as prickly pear cactus. McDowell Mountains Sonoran Preserve, Scottsdale, AZ, USA.
To say that Marsh Warbler is a bit of a birders' bird is an understatement. They look incredibly similar to the much commoner Reed Warbler, but only keen birdwatchers would get excited about seeing one. It took me years to get a clear photo of a common Reed Warbler because they always hide among reed stems, so I cannot believe how lucky I was to get an unobscured view of this Marsh Warbler on my first attempt, as they are also notorious skulkers. I say lucky because this one only perched momentarily in the open before bolting back to a hidden song perch. But this photo does show all of the subtle diagnostic features of Marsh Warbler; The tips of its primary feathers (wing tips) are edged pale , where these are dark-edged on Reed Warbler. Take a look on this Reed Warbler to compare: www.flickr.com/photos/timmelling/52098887790/in/photolist Also the tertials (those feathers above the primaries on the closed wing) have a more contrasting pale edge on Marsh Warbler. The overall colour of Marsh Warbler has a subtle olive hue, and lacks any rufous tones of Reed Warbler. Finally the legs are noticeably pale whereas they appear dark on Reed Warbler.
There are about 130,000 breeding pairs of Reed Warbler in Britain whereas Marsh Warbler usually has fewer than ten breeding pairs. Two singing males had set up breeding territories less than 100m apart on the Lincolnshire coast near Chapel St Leonards last week and as I had not seen one for over 20 years, and I have never photographed one I thought I'd make the effort. I'm glad I did, though they were elusive and only gave photo-opportunities on a couple of occasions. The habitat was not quite like the previous Marsh Warblers I had seen as this one seemed to inhabit reeds, just like Reed Warbler, whereas the others I have seen have been in tall fen with Meadowsweet and Great Hairy Willowherb rather than reeds.
Canon EOS 5DS with a Canon EF 70-300 f/4-5.6 IS USM lens.
I want to thank you for taking the time to visit my little space here on Fickr and will apologize in advance if I don't get to see your images as quickly as possible for the next week as we are super busy with routine medical appts.
This image may not be copied, reproduced, distributed, republished, downloaded, displayed, posted or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic, mechanical, photocopying and recording without my written consent.
M31, M32 and M110 the Andromeda galaxy
Imaged October 2, 2011 and October 23, 24 and 25, 2014
Imaged from Ocala, FL and Chiefland, Florida
Nikon 180mm ED at f/4 and Orion 80mm EON
Imaging cameras: Canon T1i (Hap Griffin modified) and QSI 683 wsg-8
Losmandy G-11 with Gemini II German equatorial mount
Processed in Photoshop CS5
Registar used to combine galaxies from two different imaging scales.
A bit of beauty leftover from last season.
A Knockout rose, no fragrance, designed to fill in tough spots in a landscape.
A bit later in the morning, the sun broke over the ridge and began making great shadows on the snow. I captured some black and white 35mm here but didn't finish off the roll. Soon enough I will get it processed and upload it here.
I'd like to climb this mountain someday. And I'd also like to get the shot from the Illumination saddle. Soon!
Enjoy! Your comments are appreciated.
Jamey Pyles Photography
Bit of a celebrity on the local car show scene, this Opel Manta is usually the only Manta at shows, although out of the blue another one arrived later on at this show in Sturton le Steeple in Nottinghamshire.
© All Rights Reserved Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission.
click image to view on flickr black or see it on my stream in flickriver: www.flickriver.com/photos/msdonnalee/
LA rose bistro
berkeley, california
Our Daily Challenge ... leading lines.
I could probably have made more use of the leading lines here by moving further away so I'm not sure if they really work in taking the eye to the flowers in this case..
A bit of a sneak peak into my Faction, The Pentastar Alignment for Season 2 of Factions on Eurobricks. For anyone interested in joining the game drop a comment or shoot me a message!
The Pentastar Patrol is the primary military organization in the Pentastar Alignment. The Patrol primarily consists of Ex-Imperial military, however in an attempt to bolster numbers and reduce internal tension within the Alignment's Territory, non-humans were allowed to serve as well. Due to the Isolationist policies of the Alignment, the Pentastar Patrol is primarily responsible for protecting Alignment Worlds and Assets from Mercenary Raids. However, if the need arises, the Pentastar Patrol can be mobilized in galactic scale combat.
I wanted to try out a new white(ish) background yesterday, so I grabbed a couple of miniatures, a few flowers and grasses from the wild bit of the garden, and took a few shots. I had nothing particular in mind, but I quite liked the result, so I thought I'd post one anyway. I afraid I didn't even get as far as choosing a lens. The Lensbaby 56mm just happened to be on the camera at the time. Will I ever actually think things through and plan anything? Probably not. :)