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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.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
I often see Tui having arguments but never have a camera. This time I did but the settings were not quite right. The whole event took about seven seconds!
Some background:
The VF-1 was developed by Stonewell/Bellcom/Shinnakasu for the U.N. Spacy by using alien Overtechnology obtained from the SDF-1 Macross alien spaceship. Its production was preceded by an aerodynamic proving version of its airframe, the VF-X. Unlike all later VF vehicles, the VF-X was strictly a jet aircraft, built to demonstrate that a jet fighter with the features necessary to convert to Battroid mode was aerodynamically feasible. After the VF-X's testing was finished, an advanced concept atmospheric-only prototype, the VF-0 Phoenix, was flight-tested from 2005 to 2007 and briefly served as an active-duty fighter from 2007 to the VF-1's rollout in late 2008, while the bugs were being worked out of the full-up VF-1 prototype (VF-X-1).
The space-capable VF-1's combat debut was on February 7, 2009, during the Battle of South Ataria Island - the first battle of Space War I - and remained the mainstay fighter of the U.N. Spacy for the entire conflict. Introduced in 2008, the VF-1 would be out of frontline service just five years later, though.
The VF-1 proved to be an extremely capable craft, successfully combating a variety of Zentraedi mecha even in most sorties which saw UN Spacy forces significantly outnumbered. The versatility of the Valkyrie design enabled the variable fighter to act as both large-scale infantry and as air/space superiority fighter. The signature skills of U.N. Spacy ace pilot Maximilian Jenius exemplified the effectiveness of the variable systems as he near-constantly transformed the Valkyrie in battle to seize advantages of each mode as combat conditions changed from moment to moment.
The basic VF-1 was deployed in four minor variants (designated A, D, J, and S) and its success was increased by continued development of various enhancements including the GBP-1S "Armored" Valkyrie, FAST Pack "Super" Valkyrie and the additional RÖ-X2 heavy cannon pack weapon system for the VF-1S for additional firepower.
The FAST Pack system was designed to enhance the VF-1 Valkyrie variable fighter, and the initial V1.0 came in the form of conformal pallets that could be attached to the fighter’s leg flanks for additional fuel – primarily for Long Range Interdiction tasks in atmospheric environment. Later FAST Packs were designed for space operations.
After the end of Space War I, the VF-1 continued to be manufactured both in the Sol system and throughout the UNG space colonies. Although the VF-1 would be replaced in 2020 as the primary Variable Fighter of the U.N. Spacy by the more capable, but also much bigger, VF-4 Lightning III, a long service record and continued production after the war proved the lasting worth of the design.
The versatile aircraft also underwent constant upgrade programs. For instance, about a third of all VF-1 Valkyries were upgraded with Infrared Search and Track (IRST) systems from 2016 onwards, placed in a streamlined fairing on the upper side of the nose, just in front of the cockpit. This system allowed for long-range search and track modes, freeing the pilot from the need to give away his position with active radar emissions, and it could also be used for target illumination and guiding precision weapons.
Many Valkyries also received improved radar warning systems, with receivers, depending on the systems, mounted on the wing-tips, on the fins and/or on the LERXs. Improved ECR measures were also mounted on some machines, typically in conformal fairings on the flanks of the legs/engine pods.
After joining the global U.N. Spacy union, Germany adopted the VF-1 in late 2008, it replaced the Eurofighter Typhoon interceptors as well as Tornado IDS and ECR fighter bombers. An initial delivery of 120 aircraft was completed until 2011, partially delayed by the outbreak of Space War One in 2009. This initial batch included 85 VF-1A single seaters, fourteen VF-1J fighters for commanders and staff leaders, and twenty VF-1D two-seaters for conversion training over Germany (even though initial Valkyrie training took place at Ataria Island). These machines were erratically registered under the tactical codes 26+01 to 26+99. Additionally, there was a single VF-1S (27+00) as a personal mount for the General der Luftwaffe.
The German single-seaters were delivered as multi-role fighters that could operate as interceptors/air superiority fighters as well as attack aircraft. Beyond the standard equipment they also carried a passive IRST sensor in front of the cockpit that allowed target acquisition without emitting radar impulses, a LRMTS (Laser Rangefinder and Marked Target Sensor) under the nose, a Weapon Delivery and Navigation System (WDNS) and an extended suite of radar warning sensors and ECM jammers.
After Space War I, attritions were replaced with a second batch of VF-1 single seaters in 2015, called VF-1L (for “Luftwaffe”). These machines had updated avionics and, among modifications, a laser target designator in a small external pod under the cockpit. About forty VF-1 survivors from the first batch were upgraded to this standard, too, and the VF-1Ls were registered under the codes 27+01 – 90.
The VF-1 was without doubt the most recognizable variable fighter of Space War I and was seen as a vibrant symbol of the U.N. Spacy even into the first year of the New Era 0001 in 2013. At the end of 2015 the final rollout of the VF-1 was celebrated at a special ceremony, commemorating this most famous of variable fighters. The VF-1 Valkryie was built from 2006 to 2013 with a total production of 5,459 VF-1 variable fighters with several variants (VF-1A = 5,093, VF-1D = 85, VF-1J = 49, VF-1S = 30, VF-1G = 12, VE-1 = 122, VT-1 = 68)
However, the fighter remained active in many second line units and continued to show its worthiness years later, e. g. through Milia Jenius who would use her old VF-1 fighter in defense of the colonization fleet - 35 years after the type's service introduction!
General characteristics:
All-environment variable fighter and tactical combat Battroid,
used by U.N. Spacy, U.N. Navy, U.N. Space Air Force
Accommodation:
Pilot only in Marty & Beck Mk-7 zero/zero ejection seat
Dimensions:
Fighter Mode:
Length 14.23 meters
Wingspan 14.78 meters (at 20° minimum sweep)
Height 3.84 meters
Battroid Mode:
Height 12.68 meters
Width 7.3 meters
Length 4.0 meters
Empty weight: 13.25 metric tons;
Standard T-O mass: 18.5 metric tons;
MTOW: 37.0 metric tons
Power Plant:
2x Shinnakasu Heavy Industry/P&W/Roice FF-2001 thermonuclear reaction turbine engines, output 650 MW each, rated at 11,500 kg in standard or in overboost (225.63 kN x 2)
4x Shinnakasu Heavy Industry NBS-1 high-thrust vernier thrusters (1 x counter reverse vernier thruster nozzle mounted on the side of each leg nacelle/air intake, 1 x wing thruster roll control system on each wingtip);
18x P&W LHP04 low-thrust vernier thrusters beneath multipurpose hook/handles
Performance:
Battroid Mode: maximum walking speed 160 km/h
Fighter Mode: at 10,000 m Mach 2.71; at 30,000+ m Mach 3.87
g limit: in space +7
Thrust-to-weight ratio: empty 3.47; standard T-O 2.49; maximum T-O 1.24
Design Features:
3-mode variable transformation; variable geometry wing; vertical take-off and landing; control-configurable vehicle; single-axis thrust vectoring; three "magic hand" manipulators for maintenance use; retractable canopy shield for Battroid mode and atmospheric reentry; option of GBP-1S system, atmospheric-escape booster, or FAST Pack system
Transformation:
Standard time from Fighter to Battroid (automated): under 5 sec.
Min. time from Fighter to Battroid (manual): 0.9 sec.
Armament:
2x internal Mauler RÖV-20 anti-aircraft laser cannon, firing 6,000 pulses per minute
1x Howard GU-11 55 mm three-barrel Gatling gun pod with 200 RPG, fired at 1,200 rds/min
4x underwing hard points for a wide variety of ordnance, including
12x AMM-1 hybrid guided multipurpose missiles (3/point), or
12x MK-82 LDGB conventional bombs (3/point), or
6x RMS-1 large anti-ship reaction missiles (2/outboard point, 1/inboard point), or
4x UUM-7 micro-missile pods (1/point) each carrying 15 x Bifors HMM-01 micro-missiles,
or a combination of above load-outs
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional VF-1 is more or less “only” a camouflage experiment, spawned by a recent discussion about the German Luftwaffe’s so-called “Norm ‘81” paint scheme that was carried by the F-4Fs during the Eighties and the early Nineties. It is one of the most complex standardized paint scheme I am aware of, consisting of no less than six basic shades of grey and applied in two different patterns (early variant with angled/splinter camouflage, later this was changed into more organic shapes).
I have built a fictional post-GDR MiG-21 with the Norm ’81 scheme some years ago, but had always been curious how a Macross VF-1 would look with it, or how it could be adapted to the F-14esque airframe?
Concerning the model, it’s another vintage ARII VF-1, in this case a VF-1J, built OOB and with the landing gear down and an open canopy. However, I added some small details like the sensors in front of the cockpit, RHAWS sensors and bulges for ECM equipment on the lower legs (all canonical). The ordnance was subtly changed, with just two AMM-1 missiles on each outer pylon plus small ECM pods on the lo hardpoint (procured from an 1:144 Tornado). The inner stations were modified to hold quadruple starters for (fictional) air-to-ground missiles, left over from a Zvezda 1:72 Ka-58 helicopter and probably depicting Soviet/Russian 9M119 “Svir” laser-guided anti-tank missiles, or at least something similar. At the model’s 1:100 scale they are large enough to represent domestic alternatives to AGM-65 Maverick missiles – suitable against Zentraedi pods and other large ground targets. The ventral GU-11 pod was modified to hold a scratched wire display for in-flight pictures. Some blade antennae were added as a standard measure to improve the simple kit’s look. The cockpit was taken OOB, I just added a pilot figure for the scenic shots and the thick canopy was later mounted on a small lift arm in open position.
Painting and markings:
This was quite a challenge: adapting the Norm’ 81 scheme to the swing-wing Valkyrie, with its folded legs and the twin tail as well as lacking the Phantom’s spine and bulged air intakes, was not easy, and I went for the most straightforward solution and simplified things on the VF-1’s short spine.
The Norm ‘81’s “official” colors are all RAL tones, and I decided to use these for an authentic lokk, namely:
RAL 7009 Grüngrau: Revell 67 (acrylic)
RAL 7012 Basaltgrau: Revell 77 (acrylic)
RAL 7039 Quarzgrau: Xtracolor X259 (enamel)
RAL 7037 Staubgrau: Xtracolor X258 (enamel)
RAL 7030 Steingrau: Revell 75 (enamel)
RAL 7035 Lichtgrau: Humbrol 196 (enamel)
This basically plan worked and left me with a very murky aircraft: Norm ’81 turned out to be a kind of all-propose camouflage that works well against both sky and ground, at least in the typical German climate, and especially good at medium to low altitude. RAL 7030, 7037 and 7039 appear like gradually darker shades of the basically same brownish grey hue, framed with darker contrast areas that appear either greenish or bluish.
However, the Xtracolor enamels turned out to be total sh!t: they lacked pigments in the glossy and translucent base and therefore ANY opacity, esp. on any edge, at least when you use a brush like me. Not certain if using an airbrush improves this? The result were uneven and rather thick areas of paint, not what I had hoped for. And the Revell 75 just did what I hate about the company's enamels: drying up prematurely with a gooey consistency, leaving visible streaks.
After a black ink wash, very light post-shading was added. I should have from the start tried to stick to the acrylics and also mix the Xtracolor tones from Revell acrylics, a stunt that turned during the weathering process (trying to hide the many blemishes) out to be quite feasible. RAL 7037 was mixed from Revell 47 plus 89 in a ~1:1 ratio, and RAL 7039 from Revell 47, 77 and 87 with a touch of 09. Nevertheless, the paint finish turned out sub-optimal, but some shading and weathering saved most of the mess – even I am not satisfied with the outcome, the model looks more weathered than intended (even though most operational German F-4Fs with this paint scheme looked quite shaggy and worn, making the different shades of grey almost undiscernible).
After some consideration I gave this German VF-1 full-color (yet small) "Kite" roundels, together with a German tactical code. German flags and a vintage JaboG 32 squadron badge decorate the fin - a plausible move, because there are British Valkyries in source books that carry RAF fin flashes. Stencils and other markings came from VF-1 OOB sheets.
Finally, after some typical highlights with clear paint over a silver base were added, and the small VF-1 was sealed with a coat of matt acrylic varnish.
A spontaneous interim project, with interesting results. The adapted Norm ’81 scheme works well on the VF-1, and it even is a contemporary design from the era when the original TV series was conceived and aired. With the authentic tones I’d call it quite ugly – even though I was amazed during the photo session how well the different shades of grey (four from above!) blend into each other and break up the aircraft’s outlines. If there were no red-and-white roundels or the orange pilot in the cockpit (chosen intentionally for some color contrast), the camouflage would be very effective! Not perfect, but another special member in my growing VF-1 model fleet. ^^
This September I was able to fulfil a lifelong dream of mine, to see killer whales in the wild. In fact I was extremely lucky to them them on four occasions over my 10 days in Canada.
This was the 4th and final one of those trips. At first I thought the container ship ruined this photo, but looking at it again I think it actually adds something. A creature that had evolved over millions of years to rule the ocean, and an alien beast invading its territory... or something like that.
This individual is T49C, and he was all alone - quite an usual sight for orca but not for this guy who normally travels alone.
Orca, T49C - Strait of Juan de Fuca
Please do not repost, this image is quite dear to me.
Rough Housing Series
This one has a "Please use the back door" sign, a "Beware of Dog" sign in a front window and a Guard Dog sign on the back fence. Going to that back door may not be the best idea if the dog warnings are believed.
Not sure what is going on with the concrete slabs on one side and the openness on the other re a foundation. Perhaps the porch was added later?
"Conflicting Economic Indicators Challenge Fed’s Policy Makers" by BINYAMIN APPELBAUM via NYT t.co/H3SZC6RjoG (via Twitter twitter.com/felipemassone/status/695770353348571137)
In 1938 Czechoslovakia mobilized against the German threats of war, but hat to give in to the Munich Agreement and withdraw from the border fortifications, even if the army was fully capable to stand against the Wehrmacht. After this not only Germany, but also Poland and Hungary ripped pieces of land from the country, and there were also extensive fights with insurgents, which cost lives of many Czechoslovak soldiers and gendarmes. Today it´s a tradition to reenact how the situation could be, when we would have defended ourselfs. It´s a fact that Hitler was affraid of the Czechoslovak military, which at that time had better tanks, more heavy guns, and a very effective fortification system. Of course we win in the reenactments :-)
This morning on the ferry to NDSM, this man awoke my inner ethical conflict about candid street photography. Since I started something nibbles at me saying that is it not right to photograph people without them knowing. Of course it's perfectly allowed legally and I keep telling myself that when I'm in doubt. But when this man stared right into the lens I hestitated for at least a tenth of a second before hitting that shutter button. And looking at this particular portrait, I think this man will now represent the doubt in me to continue with the way I work.
Introduction.
William Julian Light has to be considered as one of the main founders of our city and state although he lived here for only three years until his death in October 1839. His vision, planning and surveying has left an indelible mark across the state. Sadly his time here was fraught with conflict, disrespect by many and ill health. He clearly knew that he was dying of tuberculosis for some time but he could not return to England so he died at his house in Thebarton. The South Australian newspaper in 1839 reported in mid September that “this highly esteemed colonist still continues in a very precarious state” and that there was little hope of recovery. When he died the government arranged a state funeral with the body carried from his home at Thebarton to Trinity Church where the service was conducted by the Colonial Chaplain Rev C Howard. Shops and banks closed for the day. The government offered £100 before the funeral to start a public memorial fund. The funeral was the largest congregation of people in the colony to that time. 423 gentlemen and state officials took part in the funeral procession and around 3,000 colonists followed. The body was appropriately interred in Light Square. Left is a
1904 painting of William Light owned by the Royal Geographical Society of SA.
Colonel William Light – his family heritage.
Francis Light, the father of William, was in the British navy and began the British settlement of Malaysia when he leased the Island of Penang from 1786. Francis Light founded the town of Georgetown and British Penang for the East India Company. Francis took a princess of Thai (Siamese) and Portuguese heritage from neighbouring Kedah as his bride whom he married in a local ceremony not recognised by the British. He had four daughters and two sons with Marina Rozells including William Light. Francis died in 1794 in Penang. Young William was born in 1786 in Penang and sent back to England for his schooling in 1792 to Theberton in Suffolk where he stayed in Theberton Hall owned by the aristocratic Doughty family. Francis Light’s Penang had a street grid pattern around a swamp, drains and a couple of hills. Church and mosque were allocated a zone with a cemetery further away etc and open ground was left around the fort and the public buildings. Undoubtedly Colonel William Light was very aware of his father’s design of Penang.
William Light joined the navy early and then the British Army from 1808-1814 when he served in Spain and elsewhere in the Napoleonic Wars under the Duke of Wellington. He was a brave leader and highly respected. When he left the Army in 1821 he married 19 year old E Perois in Northern Ireland. Her parents were probably Caesar and Mary Perois who are buried in the Londonderry Protestant Cathedral. She probably died a short time afterwards but nothing is known about her demise. He remarried in 1824 to nineteen year old Mary Bennet the illegitimate daughter of the Duke of Richmond. At that time Light was 38 years old. Light and Mary moved in literary and artistic circles. Light and his wealthy bride bought a yacht and sailed the Mediterranean for several years. They finally explored Egypt. Light painted, wrote and published his work. When he returned to England on business his wife took up a new lover and the Light marriage ended in 1832. She later had three children with the surname of Light but they were fathered by two other men. William Light in 1832 began an affair with Maria Gandy who was 21 years old when Light was 45 years old. William Light returned to Egypt in 1834 to captain the steamer the Nile and it was at this time that he met John Hindmarsh and John Morphett. In fact it was in Egypt that Hindmarsh heard that Light was going to be offered the post of governor of the new colony. Hindmarsh returned to England with a letter of introduction to Sir Charles Napier, a friend of Light, who was going to be involved in the decision about the governorship and Hindmarsh put himself forward- successfully. Light was then offered the position of Surveyor-General. Maria voyaged out to South Australia in 1836 on the Rapid with Colonel Light and others as his housekeeper. Her two brothers Edward and William were on the Rapid. Another brother George who arrived in 1838 named his child William Light Gandy in 1840. Maria stayed with Light until his death in Adelaide when she inherited his estate. Her brothers stayed in Thebarton with William being the Hindmarsh pound keeper. Edward went to California and then the Victorian gold fields and was quite successful. He bought two hotels which he managed for the rest of his life. He was mourned when he died as an 1836 pioneer of SA. In 1840 a few months after Light’s death Maria Gandy married Dr George Mayo. She had four children with Dr Mayo before her own death of tuberculosis, probably caught from Colonel Light, in 1847. It was the Mayo family who inherited William Light’s land portfolio, his papers and paintings etc and they benefited from the sale and development of Lights section 1. A granddaughter of Dr Mayo and Maria Gandy was the well-known South Australia Dr Helen Mayo. Dr George Mayo became the chief surgeon at the Royal Adelaide Hospital for most of his life. He remarried in 1853.
Light – the man and his personal life.
William Light had an excellent balance of practical expertise, a good geographical eye, common sense and vision. He was a painter and writer. He kept meticulous diaries. He was known for his hard work, loyalty and commitment to his tasks in South Australia. He persisted against the wishes of Governor Hindmarsh who instigated a public meeting to have the site of Adelaide changed to Port Adelaide and the constant backstabbing and lies of his Deputy Surveyor General George Kingston and public criticism of his choice of the Adelaide site and the slow rate at which land was trigonometrically surveyed ready for sale. Unable to cope with the frustrations of his office and the lack of surveyors to speed up the work he resigned in June 1838 just before Governor Hindmarsh was recalled in July 1838. Colonel Light then established his own private surveying firm with Boyle Travers Finniss (who became in effect the first SA premier although that term was not used then). One of their major employees from the original survey team was Henry Nixon. When Governor Gawler arrived in October 1838 the survey department under the control of the incompetent Kingston was in disarray and Gawler appointed Captain Charles Sturt as Surveyor General. William Light was a religious man and along with Maria Gandy they were both among the original 32 subscriber donors to Trinity Church on North Terrace. Yet when Light was on his death bed Reverend Charles Howard of that church refused to visit Colonel Light. Colonel Light established Light Finniss and Co in July 1838 with their offices in Stephen’s Place. The new company received private commission to lay out several important SA towns namely Gawler which still has a Light Square and an Anglican Church in a central square (Orleana Square); and Glenelg which was a private town on the land of William Finke. Light’s company laid out Glenelg by 30 March 1839 with a central square (Torrens Square) for the Church of England (Anglican) as he had done in Gawler. Governor Gawler approved this town plan of Glenelg on 18 May 1839 and his wife proposed the name of St Peters for the church. Glenelg had earlier been set aside as a town reserve but it was thrown open to selection by ballot in February 1839 when Finke and others won the ballot. Light Finniss and Co also laid out the village of Marion along the banks of the Sturt River. Colonel Light died in October 1839 and Boyle Finniss returned to the public service as Deputy Surveyor General also in late 1839 under direction of Edward Charles Frome who was Surveyor General from October 1839 to February 1849. Frome reported his early work was redoing the sections around Adelaide which had been inaccurately surveyed by George Kingston.
Light - Surveying, Mapping, Military Skills and Planning.
Colonel Light between September and December examined at least six possible sites for the siting of Adelaide. He chose the Adelaide Plains after his explorations of the harbour at Port Adelaide area at the end of September 1836 but not the actual location of the city as the River Torrens had not been discovered at that time. Kingston and John Morphett and others discovered the River Torrens in November as Holdfast Bay had also been discovered. Light then favoured the current Adelaide site but the final decision was not made until December 1836. Light’s assistant surveyor was George Kingston who lied about being a surveyor and had no skills at surveying. The areas of the city which Kingston surveyed were redone by Light because of the numerous errors. Surveying of Adelaide began on 11 January 1837 covering areas north and south of the River Torrens and covering 1,042 town acres surrounded by 2,300 acres of figure eight parklands exclusive of 32 acres for the cemetery and a further 38 acres for public squares. The city lands were sold in March 1837. The areas surrounding the city area were also surveyed in 1837 and put up for public sale. All these surveys were done by trigonometrical surveying which is the most accurate and Colonel Light’s theodolite is pictured left. All started from trig point one on the corner of North and West Terraces. This was also the location of Resident Commissioner James Hurtle Fisher’s cottage and the Surveying Office occupied by Light and Light’s cottage. Both these cottages were destroyed by fire in January 1839 when Light lost most of his papers and drawings. January 1839 was also the time when Light moved into his new house on his Thebarton lands. Most of the Adelaide metropolitan area was surveyed in 1837 creating 137 sections of land each of 134 acres. Those who bought land orders in England before colonisation at the reduced price of 12 shillings per acre could then purchase 134 acres instead of the advertised 80 acre sections which were to apply elsewhere. On 18 May 1838, just over a year since the sale of Adelaide town lots, Light declared that 150,000 acres of land was ready for settlement, or almost so. They were:
69,000 acres around Adelaide; 27,000 acres at Rapid Bay; 5,400 acres at Yankalilla; 20,000 acres on Kangaroo Island; and 28,000 acres in the Onkaparinga Valley. But a month later Colonel Light resigned as Surveyor General.
Light and Adelaide.
Edward Gibbon Wakefield who had played a role in promoting the concept of the colony and had had help from the Duke of Wellington to get the SA Act passed in the British parliament hoped the capital of the new colony would be named Wellington. But King William IV was asked if he wanted the capital named after himself. He declined and asked for it to be named after his wife Adelaide. Not to be deterred when Edward Gibbon Wakefield established his New Zealand Company in 1839 his first settlement was named Wellington. It later became the capital of New Zealand. Colonel William Light was given the task of selecting the site for the new capital in line with set criteria and his own expertise. The capital had to have a nearby port, a river for a water supply and a hinterland of good arable land for farmers etc. Light discounted other sites including Rapid Bay, Port Lincoln and Encounter Bay because they did not meet all of these criteria and he chose the current site. It was a few miles from a safe port at Port Adelaide, had extensive fertile lands to the north and south, and as he had spent years in the Mediterranean he knew the orthographic effect would increase the rainfall of the Mount Lofty Ranges to provide adequate water in the River Torrens and other streams. Ground water was also available from wells and bores under the proposed city. He chose a spot safe from flooding which was a problem below the city site and also one with a zone of higher rainfall between it and the foothills. Although the site was criticised by some led by Governor Hindmarsh, hindsight has shown that Light could not have chosen a better location. He sited the cemetery below the residential areas on West Terrace and he selected North Adelaide for grander residences away from the commercial areas.
But it was his actual plan for the city which earned him a great place in urban history. He knew from his days in the British Army that grid patterns worked well. But he introduced numerous squares and an encircling belt of parklands or green space. Colonel light was a well-read educated man and undoubtedly drew on the work of previous town planners. Perhaps he drew inspiration from the planners of beautiful Georgian Bath in the late 1700s with its grand boulevards, parks, terrace houses and arcs and curves. Or perhaps he was influenced by General James Oglethorpe, the designer of Savannah, Georgia which was done in 1733. Savannah has a grid plan, with each block divided by a narrow street and with 18 town squares. The wide main street of Savannah crosses five of the town squares, whereas in Light’s plan for Adelaide the wide main street (King William Street) only crosses Victoria Square. Savannah is not surrounded by a parkland belt. Colonel light was a world leader with this brilliant idea. At the end of the 19th century Light’s ideas were used in the garden city movement in Britain and America. Serendipitously these ideas were used by Charles Reade in the planning of Colonel Light Gardens.
Conflict, a basic tenet of nature, as seen in the battle of the sea and shoreline and the old man and his struggle to walk on the sand.
OK, here's how you do this. 1) Find a suitable Christmas tree or set of lights.
2) Set your camera to "Night Shooting" mode, or the shutter speed to a couple of seconds.
3) Hold the camera in front of the tree and focus on the nearest light.
4) Click the shutter
5) Just before the shutter is about to open, toss the camera up in front of the tree with a flick of your wrist so that it spins in the air while the lens remains pointing at the lights.
6) Catch the camera before it falls!
Another great way to avoid doing anything meaningful and productive so you can waste time on Flickr!
I like photographs that are candid and not arranged but when I saw these two elements separated, I knew I have to bring them together.
While walking around Bethlehem Steel, I decide to go down an alley that I've never been down before. Looking ahead of me I saw this dumpster sitting next to a building. I also noticed the writing on it and thought it would make a nice picture. After walking a few feet I stumbled across this rose laying on the ground and knew that this element would make the photograph. I've been trying to take more selective colour photographs and I knew that the red rose would contrast nicely with the dull dumpster.
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The Cola Wars are a campaign of mutually-targeted television advertisements and marketing campaigns since the 1980s between soft drink manufacturers Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo Incorporated.
After listening to Unkle Murda all morning, I decided to get all Lex Diamond on this motherfucker and put conflict diamonds in the background blood! The aftermath of having spent all day in the sun left us all looking and feeling a bit Kevin Bacon.
When I first saw this building I knew I had to return during sun set to get some real contrast in the colours. In the end I went black and white with it.
Children displaced by conflict at Camp Buhimba in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Photo ID 185397. 16/02/2008. North Kivu, DRC. UN Photo/Marie Frechon. www.unmultimedia.org/photo/