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The internet has made churchcrawling easier, and so some churches that prooved difficult to see inside can be contacted and visits arranged.
Over the years, several have taken a couple of years or more to see inside: Thannington, Hinxhill, Preston and Betteshanger just off the top of my head. But most difficult have been Barming.
We first visited here one Good Friday over a decade ago, one of several along the valley that were either closed or had services on. Since then I have been insde Mereworth and Waterningbury, but each time we went past Barming, it has been closed.
Then a few weeks ago, a friend posted pictures from inside, and told me he had arranged a visit from their website. I did the same, though one visit a few weeks back had to be postponed, a few weeks later I was back, hoping to meet a warden at ten.
It was at least a fine sunny and warm spring morning, perfect for snapping the churchyard and finding yet more details on the body of the church to record.
St Margaret sites halfway between the River Medway and the old high road out of Maidstone, and once might have been a separate village from Maidstone, but is now just a suburb of the town. The church sits down a dead end lane, and is really a wonderful location overlooking the valley to East Farleigh on the other bank.
The churchyard is filled with spring bulbs, and so in spring it is a riot of colour.
I saw the warden park her car, and walk towards me, so I get up from the bench near the porch to meet her, and than her warmly for opening up.
Unusually, I had read up on the church before my visit, and so was aware of the 14th century bench ends in the Chancel. They did not disappoint.
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An isolated church at the end of a lane above the River Medway. Norman origins are obvious - three windows in the east wall indicate the earliest work. The nave is also early and to this was added the fifteenth century tower with stair turret and needle-like spire. The north aisle was a nineteenth century addition and the chancel was restored by Sir Ninian Comper and represents some of his earliest work. Later generations have, unfortunately, undone much of his original design. The memorable feature of the church is the set of fourteenth century Rhenish carvings showing St Michael, Samson and Our Lord worked into bench ends in the chancel.
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Barming
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BARMING.
CALLED in antient records, Bermelinge, lies the next parish to East Farleigh, on the opposite or northern side of the river Medway.
THE PARISH of East Barming lies on high ground, declining southward to the valley, through which the river Medway flows, being its southern boundary. It is situated opposite to East Farleigh, than which it has a far less rustic and more ornamented appearance. The soil like that is a fertile loam, slightly covering the quarry rock, from under which several small springs gush out, and run precipitately in trinkling rills into the Medway; it is enriched too with frequent hop and fruit plantations; the fields are in general larger, and surrounded with continued rows of lofty elms and large spreading oaks, which contribute greatly to the pleasantness of the place. The situation of it, as well as of the neighbouring parishes, from Maidstone as far as Mereworth, is exceedingly beautiful, the river Medway meandering its silver stream in the valley beneath, throughout the greatest part of the extent of them; the fertility of soil, the healthiness of air, the rich variety of prospect, adorned by a continued range of capital seats, with their parks and plantations, form altogether an assemblage of objects, in which nature and art appear to have lavished their choicest endeavours, to form a scene teeming with whatever can make it desirable both for pleasure and profit.
The high road from Maidstone to Tunbridge crosses the upper part of the parish of East Barming, over a beautiful, though small plain, called Barmingheath, part of which is in Maidstone parish, a little distance below which is a modern, and rather elegant seat, built by John Whitaker, gent. second son of Mr. Tho. Whitaker, of Trottesclive, since whose death it has come to his nephew, Thomas Whitaker, esq. of Watringbury; but Mr. William Rolfe resides in it. Farther on is the village of Barming, in which is a pleasant seat, called the Homestall, built about the year 1720, by Mr. James Allen, whose heirs are now entitled to the see simple of it; but by the foreclosure of a mortgage term, the possession of it became vested in Arthur Harris, esq. who kept his shrievalty here in 1746; his brother Thomas resided likewise here, and dying unmarried in 1769, gave this seat to Mrs. Mary Dorman for life; remainder to Mr. John Mumford, of Sutton-at-Hone, whom he made heir to the bulk of his fortune; she now possesses and resides in it. A small distance from hence is the seat of Hall-place; hence the ground rises to the coppice woods, part of which lie within this parish, and adjoin to a much larger tract northward. About a quarter of a mile on the other side of the road is the church, standing by itself among a grove of elms, the slight delicate white spire of which rising above the foilage of the grove, affords a pleasing prospect to the neighbouring country. From the above road the village extends southward down the declivity of the hill, almost to the river, over which there is a wooden bridge, built at the expence of the commissioners of the navigation. It is called St. Helen's bridge, from its contiguity to that manor, situated at a very small distance from it; about a mile from the village, close to the eastern boundary of the parish, adjoining to that of Maidstone, on the declivity of the hill, leading down to East Farleigh bridge, is the parsonage, lately almost rebuilt by the present rector, the Rev. Mark Noble, who resides in it, and by his judicious management and improvements has made this benefice, perhaps one of the most desirable in the diocese.
A few years ago several Roman urns, pieces of armour, and skeletons, were dug up within the bounds of this parish; the latter were no doubt belonging to those who fell in the skirmish between the Royalists and Oliverians at Farleigh bridge, in 1648; and the former serves to shew, that the Roman highway, a different one from the larger one of the Watling-street, and directing its course towards Oldborough, in Ightham, led near this place, of which more will be noticed hereafter.
THERE GROWS on Barming heath, the plant, Chamæmelum odoratissimum repens flore simplici, common camomile, in great plenty; and verbascum album vulgare five thapsus barbatus communis, great mul lein, or hightaper, more plentifully, and of a larger size than I have met with elsewhere.
THE MANOR of East Barming was given by king William the conqueror to Richard de Tonebrege, the eldest son of Gislebert earl of Brion, in Normandy, the son of Geffry, natural son of Richard, the first of that name, duke of Normandy, whence he bore the name of Richard Fitz Gilbert at his coming hither; (fn. 1) he was one of the principal persons who came into England with duke William, to whom he gave great assistance in that memorable battle, in which he obtained the crown of this realm. He had for that service, and in respect of his near alliance to him in blood, great advancements in honour, and large possessions both in Normandy and England, bestowed upon him; among the latter he possessed thirty-eight lordships in Surry, thirty-five in Essex, three in Cambridgeshire, three in Kent, one in Middlesex, one in Wiltshire, one in Devonshire, ninety-five in Suffolk, and thirteen burgages in Ipswich, of which Clare was one, besides others in other counties; accordingly, in the survey of Domesday, taken about the year 1080, being the 15th of the Conqueror's reign, this estate is thus entered under the title of, Terra Ricardi F. Gisleb'ti, the land of Richard, the son of Gislebert.
In Medestan hundred the same Richard (de Tonebrige) holds Bermelinge. Alret held it of king Edward (the Confessor) and then and now it was and is taxed at one suling. The arable land is four carucates. In demesne there are two carucates and five villeins, with eight borderers, having five carucates. There are thirteen servants, and one mill of five shillings, and four acres of meadow. Wood for the pannage of ten hogs. In the time of king Edward it was worth four pounds, and afterwards 100 shillings, now four pounds.
This Richard Fitz Gilbert, at the latter end of the Conqueror's reign, was usually called Rich. de Tonebrige, as well from his possessing that town and castle, as from his residence there; and his descendants took the name of Clare, from the like reason of their possessing that honour, and were afterwards earls of Clare, and of Gloucester and Hertford. Of this family, as chief lords of the fee, Barming was afterwards held in moieties by Fulk Peyforer and Roger de Kent, each of whom held their part of the honour of Clare.
In the reign of king Edward II. the heirs of Lora Peyforer and those of Roger de Kent, being Thomas de Barmeling and Wm. de Kent, held these moieties as above mentioned; and in the 20th year of the next reign of king Edward III. John Fitz Jacob, Thomas and John de Kent, held these moieties of this estate, in East Barmeling, of the earl of Gloucester.
THE FORMER OF THESE MOIETIES, held by the family of Peyforer, seems to have comprised the MANOR of EAST BARMING, and to have been given afterwards to the Benedictine nunnery of St. Helen's, in Bishopsgate street, London, whence it acquired the name of ST. HELEN'S, alias East Barming manor, by the former of which only it is now called; with the above priory this manor remained till its dissolution, in king Henry VIII.'s reign, when it was surrendered into the king's hands, who, in his 35th year, granted his manor, called St. Elen's, among other premises, to Richard Callohill, to hold in capite by knights service, who that year sold it to Gabriel Caldham, freemason, of London; and he next year sold it to Tho. Reve, (fn. 2) whose grandson of the same name, in the 4th year of queen Elizabeth, levied a fine of it, and then passed it away by sale to Mr. Stephen Pearse, who some years afterwards alienated it to Sir Robert Brett, on whose death, without surviving issue, in 1620, (fn. 3) this manor came by will to Robert Lynd, esq. who bore for his arms, Argent a cross ingrailed gules; and he sold it to Sir Oliver Boteler, of Teston, in whose descendants it continued down to Sir Philip Boteler, bart. who died in 1772, s. p. and by will gave one moiety of his estates to Mrs. Elizabeth Bouverie, of Chart Sutton; and the other moiety to Elizabeth viscountess dowager Folkestone, and Wm. Bouverie, earl of Radnor; and on a partition afterwards made between them, this manor was allotted to lady Folkestone, who died in 1782, on which it came to her only son, the Hon. Philip Bouverie, who has since taken the name of Pusey, and he is the present owner of it.
This manor extends its jurisdiction over the whole of this parish; the antient house of it, as well as the dove cote, stood nearly at the foot of the hill near St. Helen's bridge; both have been pulled down not many years since.
THE OTHER MOIETY of the estate of East Barming, held by John Fitz Jacob and John de Kent, seems to have passed afterwards into the family of Fremingham; for John, son of Sir Ralph de Fremingham, of Lose, died possessed of it about the 12th year of king Henry IV. and leaving no issue, he by his will gave it to certain feoffees, who, in compliance with it, next year assigned it to John Pimpe, and his heirs male, for the finding and maintaining of two chaplains, one in the monastery of Boxley, and the other in the church of East Farleigh, to celebrate for the souls of himself, his wife, and others their ancestors and relations therein mentioned. From the family of Pimpe this estate came, in king Henry VIII.'s reign, to Sir Henry Isley, who by the act of the 2d and 3d of king Edward VI. procured his lands in this county to be disgavelled.
Being concerned in the rebellion raised by Sir Tho. Wyatt, in the 1st year of queen Mary, he was attainted, and his lands were consiscated to the crown, whence this estate was granted that year to Sir John Baker, the queen's attorney general, to hold in capite by knights service; (fn. 4) in whose descendants it continued down to Sir John Baker, bart. of Sissinghurst, of whom it seems to have been purchased in the reign of king Charles II. by Golding, who died possessed of it in 1674, and was buried in this church, bearing for his arms, A cross voided, between four lions passant guardant. His son, Mr. Henry Golding, gent. about the year 1700, alienated this estate to Nicholas Amhurst, gent. of West Barming, who died possessed of it in 1715; and his grandson, John Amhurst, esq. is the present possessor of it.
HALL PLACE is a reputed manor in this parish, the antient mansion of which is situated at a small distance westward of the present seat, and is little more than an ordinary cottage, serving as a farm house to a small parcel of land. It formerly gave both residence and surname to a family, written in antient deeds, At-Hall, who before the end of the reign of king Edward III. had alienated their interest in the greatest part of it to one of the Colepepers, of Preston, in Aylesford, and the rest of it to Clive; and this part was by John Clive, about the 7th year of king Henry IV. likewise conveyed to Colepeper, who in the 10th year of that reign passed away the entire fee of it to Sampson Mascall, whose family was originally of Mascall's, in Brenchley, and in his descendants Hall-place continued till the latter end of queen Elizabeth's reign, when it was conveyed to Alchorne, whose ancestors were possessed of Alchorne in Rotherfield, in Sussex; in which name the fee of this estate remained at the time of king Charles II.'s restoration, but the use and profits of it were made over, for a long series of years, to Mr. Cook, of Stepney; and he, in 1656, alienated his interest in it to Mr. Rich. Webb, rector of this parish, who in 1667, gave it to his grandson, Richard Webb, gent. who, in 1726, conveyed it by sale to Mr. Peter Smart, who bore for his arms, Argent, a chevron between three pheons sable; about which time Christopher Smart, the poet, is said to have been born in this parish; at length, Mr. Peter Smart's widow, and their children, in 1746, passed away their interest in it to John Cale, esq. who resided here, and dying in 1777, was buried in this churchyard, having been a benefactor to the poor of this parish; and by his will he devised this, among the rest of his estates in this county, to the heirs of Tho. Prowse, esq. of Axbridge, in Somersetshire; in consequence of which his two daughters and coheirs became intitled to it; the youngest of whom married Sir John Mordaunt, bart. of Walton, in Warwickshire, and they became possessed of this estate in undivided moieties, and in 1781, joined in the sale of it to John Amhurst, esq. of Barnjet, the present owner of it.
CHARITIES.
THOMAS HARRIS, esq. of this parish, in 1769, gave by will, 5l. per annum for fifty years, 2s. of it to be given to the poor of this parish in bread, on each Sunday in the year, excepting Easter and Whitsunday.
JOHN CALE, esq. of this parish, in 1777, gave by will the sum of 200l. in East India annuities, the interest of it to be given to the poor yearly at Christmas, in linen and bread, vested in trustees, of the annual produce of 61.
THIS PARISH is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Rochester and deanry of Malling.
The church, which is dedicated to St. Margaret, is a small building, consisting of one isle and a chancel, with an elegant spire steeple. The present rector, Mr. Noble, about twelve years ago, at his own expence, entirely repaired and ornamented the chancel; he gave likewise a new altar and pulpit cloth, and cushion; and the parishioners, followed his example, in the repair and ornamenting of the church itself; so that from being one of the most neglected, it is become equal to most of the neighbouring churches in those respects.
Walter, bishop of Rochester, in the reign of king Stephen, confirmed to the prior and canon of Ledes the patronage of the church of Barmyng, as it was granted to them by the lords of the soil, and confirmed to them by their charters.
Gilbert, bishop of Rochester, in the reign of king Henry II. granted to the prior and canons two shillings, to be received by them yearly, as a pension from this church, saving the episcopal right of the bishop of Rochester, &c. (fn. 5) The patronage of the church of Barming, together with this pension, remained part of the possessions of the above mentioned priory till the dissolution of it in the reign of king Henry VIII. when it came into the king's hands. Since which, the patronage of this rectory has continued vested in the crown, but the above mentioned yearly pension of two shillings was, by the king's dotation charter, in his 33d year, settled on his new erected dean and chapter of Rochester, who are now intitled to it.
¶In the 15th year of king Edward I. the church of Barmelyng was valued at twelve marcs. It is valued in the king's books at 12l. 7s. 1d. and the yearly tenths at 1l. 5s. 8½d.z The glebe land belonging to this rectory contains eighty-three acres.
Difficult to capture this moment with so much light. Even so, I tried ... this moment is so beautiful that I couldn't say no! I looked around and saw the sun spreading its light through the woods... The place, any place, changes for the better at this time of the day...
Two revising children in this house. Imogen has her AS mocks when she goes back to school and Toby starts his GCSEs in a little over a month. Eek.
I don't even know what a 'discriminant' is!
This was a difficult subject to shoot. The difference between the lights and shadows was such that I was afraid that I would lose detail in both extremes, which was most of the picture. So, I decided to add one stop of light when I took the picture, and subtracted 2 during development. To further support the shadow detail, I used PMK Pyro as a developer. I think that this is the closest I've ever gotten to infrared without actually shooting infrared.
Note 12/14/19: This one needed a makeover in the worst way. The original left a lot to be desired when I looked at it on my Mac with a Retina display. I re-scanned the negative, and played with the levels until I liked the results. The ortho film makes it look almost infrared, but not quite. It's a difficult negative to print, but I think I made it a little better.
Camera: Super Speed Graphic 4x5.
Lens: 135mm Wollensak Optar.
Film: Ilford Ortho Plus developed in PMK Pyro.
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I needed to make a trip to Worcester this past Saturday but had most of the late morning and afternoon free so I decided to get a First Worcestershire Network Day ticket and explore some places I'd not been to before. Unfortunately for me, the weather started poorly and gradually got worse as the day went on.
67438 is pictured here in Bromsgrove, where I threw the towel in and basically started the return journey home as soon as I arrived. Wet feet and it being dark by 4pm had sapped my enthusiasm somewhat...
I'd had a nice trip trying to dry out beforehand from Droitwich on this former First Cymru Enviro 300 though and it's seen in rough conditions before it continued on to Catshill. This bus is one of several that carry an amended version of the Cymru Clipper livery - it's difficult to tell from here but the "Cymru" on the sides has had a black and pink "Worcester" slapped over it.
Will probably recreate this day when some nicer weather is on the cards!
Operator: First Worcester
Vehicle: ADL Enviro 300
Reg: SL63 GCF
Fleet No: 67438
Location: Bromsgrove Bus Station
Route: 144: Worcester - Catshill
Date: November 23, 2024
Difficult to believe what I was seeing when I caught sight of this driving along a bit further up the road. Luckily it pulled into a supermarket car park....
Difficult from the start to the finish.
I thought I was choosing a quick small puzzle while waiting for the Night Watch group project but it turned out to more difficult than I expected by an extra ten hours.
Actual pieces: 1998
Time spent: 24hrs 17mins
Avg. time/piece: 44 secs
Many violets share numerous attributes and are difficult to differentiate from one another. Botanists estimate that there are between 500 and 600 species worldwide, approximately 85 of which can be found in North America. Luckily for the casual wildflower enthusiast, only about half of these are common in New York. There's tremendous variation among the community, with many varieties garnering oxymoronic names, such as round-leaved yellow violet and sweet white violet. While a majority live up to their names in appearance, more than a few are anything but violet, being completely white, pink and even the brightest shade of yellow, with numerous combinations and levels of mixing. All of these attributes aid in their identification.
Yellow violets appear to be the most primitive, with their flowers being the first shift away from the ancestral green. Purple, in contrast, is thought to be one of the most advanced colors. Evolution in progress can be witnessed in the tall, white, Canada violet (Viola canadensis), a native to Canada and the eastern U.S.. Many botanists speculate that the mostly white flower, often dabbed with minor purplish tingeing on the back of the petals, is transitioning from entirely white to "violet." The Canada violet grows throughout the Mohawk Valley in association with the large white trillium.
Violets can be separated into two general categories: those with stems from which leaves and flowers protrude, and those that are stemless, having appendages emanating directly from the roots, with flowers being supported on a thin and usually low, leafless stalk.
In addition to having showy blossoms, certain species possess a trait known as cleistogamy, meaning they are capable of self-pollination by means of tiny, barely noticeable flowers that resemble unopened buds. The term "cleistogamy" combines the Greek 'kleistos' meaning 'closed' with 'gamy' meaning 'marriage.' Once fertilization has occurred by means of insects or self-pollination, the seeds are ready for explosive dispersal. After the seeds are fully developed, the pods they're stored in slowly dry out, with the pod gradually tightening around the seeds, building up tension in the process, similar to the action of a spring. Later, when the pods are disturbed, or sometimes just randomly, the pressure becomes too great and the seeds are shot out like miniature cannonballs. Amazingly, seeds are capable of flying up to 15 feet away from the parent plant. Pretty impressive for such a tiny plant!
Once on the ground, the seeds are further dispersed by ants. Attached to each tiny seed is a fleshy appendage called an elaiosome that's rich in protein and lipids, but serves no direct impact to the seed's survival. Like the sweet nectar of a flower, these elaiosomes are tempting treats to insects, and ants in particular are readily enticed to collect them. Once dragged back to the colony, the energy-laden accessory is removed for consumption, and the hard seed body is dumped in a waste pit where it may ultimately sprout. This dual dispersal technique, using both physiological and biological mechanisms for seed movement, proves to be an effective evolutionary strategy, ensuring rapid colonization of available habitat.
Insects aren't the only ones that appreciate violets' tasty nature. In fact, humans find nearly all parts of the plants edible. The leafy greens can be collected to create a salad high in vitamins A and C, superseding that of an equivalent amount of oranges. Beginning in the nineteenth century, candied violets gained favor as a dessert garnishment and were widely served. Though their popularity has decreased over the years, in some circles they're still a favorite for topping sweet dishes of cake or ice cream. Traditionally, a syrup was also made by boiling the flowers in a concoction of sugar. Apart from sweetening the lips, the syrup is useful as a substitute for litmus paper. The solution turns red in the presence of an acid, green for a base.
To the Haudenosaunee and other eastern Native Americans, the flower is revered as a symbol of love. An Iroquoian myth, akin to the tragic Shakespearian Romeo and Juliet, tells of how two lovers of warring tribes were slain while trying to elope, and where each drop of blood hit the ground, a violet sprouted to commemorate their boundless passion.
While on the topic of romance, it's also interesting to note that violets used to be the traditional flower of Valentine's Day. Almost all bouquets given to loved ones sported purple rather than red. It wasn't until the 1930's that violets began to be supplanted by the thorny rose.
Violets were substantial money makers during the early part of the twentieth century. Like other popular flowers that are added to bouquets or home gardens today, violets were prodigiously cultivated in greenhouses by the millions. Rhinebeck, a quaint, pastoral town located along the shores of the Hudson River in southeastern New York, cornered this unusual market. Growers made sizable profits by shipping flowers to New York City, where there was an especially high demand. Rhinebeck's proximity to the city market, and its easy access to the railroad paralleling the Hudson helped make it the "Violet Capital of the World." At its peak, hundreds of greenhouses routinely cranked out thousands of violets per day in the spring-a fast worker could pick as many as 5,000 during a single shift. Eleanor Roosevelt herself often purchased copious amounts of various exotic cultivar varieties from nearby nurseries to line the gardens at her riverfront estate in Hyde Park, just south of the violet hotbed. She was frequently seen wearing intricate violet arrangements, making it a habit to do so at her husband's numerous inaugurations.
Small white violets are sweet-scented.
Next time you're outside in spring, keep your eyes open for the cosmopolitan violets, which can be found growing just about anywhere-from open and sunny backyards to rich, sheltered woodlands, and even in the dampest wetlands. Though small and unassuming, they nevertheless provide a cheerful reminder of the fecundity and diversity of the spring season. As English philosopher Bernard Williams succinctly said, "We may pass violets looking for roses. We may pass contentment looking for victory."
Difficult to pick any faults in terms of Image quality from this lens. Excellent micro contrast. Pleasing sun stars seen in the specular highlights in the lower right corner. Only real challenge is having to open the aperture via the adapter, carefully focusing and then stopping down as required. I'm not really accustomed to manually focusing and AF lens - one that will focus well past infinity.
[As Buzz would say, to infinity and beyond]
2012 has been difficult for me, I hope I can clear away some of the clutter it created so I don't end up carrying it along with me this whole year.
Things that will probably happen this year:
*grow more food
*preserve more food
*complete another 365 project
*turn 40
*learn to take better pictures
*live more, not be so scared
*knit more things
*finally finish the 100 strangers thing (I need to examine why I am dragging my feet on this)
*leave the house more (I found my reason why I have not finished the strangers thing)
*be kinder to myself
*make my own happiness a priority over what others will think
*ask for help
*let go
That is all for now I guess. It is enough.
Happy New Year to everyone out there. :)
This Shot Taken
By Canon 7D with
Canon EF-S 18-135mm..........
صورة لتواصل فقط ..
اهدا لـ متابعين الصفحه.
|
Please if you like working press FAV .
لكـل من أعجبته .. لاتنسى الفاف
Feel free to add the picture to your favorite, it is my pleasure :)
خذ راحتك في اضافة الصورة الي مفضلتك، وكلي شرف وامتنان
لا أسمح نهائياً بإستخدام صوري بأي شكل من الأشكال
الا بعد موافقه مني شخصيا
A colourful sunset at the beach of IJmuiden, the Netherlands. The strong winds made it difficult to get this shot as I tried to prevent my camera from movement by shielding it with my body.
It's difficult to find a good angle to take pictures of the Gherkin which is probably my favourite modern building in London but I think this looks ok...
When we went to Meiji-jingu for the Autumn festival, there were many families bringing their children to celebrate 7-5-3, a traditional rite of passage for girls aged 3 and 7 and boys aged 3 and 5.
This little girl is trying to make the double V sign, which many Japanese girls hold up when having their photo taken. She was having some difficulties...(and in the end just threw her hands in the air laughing)
(This photo featured in Flickr's explore interestingness for 11 November 2007)
When temptation is difficult to resist or the great puppets that appear in the shows of the Spanish theater group "La Tartana Teatro".
Cuando la tentación es difícil de resistir o las geniales marionetas que aparecen en los shows del grupo de teatro español "La Tartana Teatro".
1/10 sec, F/8, ISO 400
I am having a difficult time finding new and creative ways to process images. I tried something new for this shot (see first comment), but ultimately I don't think it worked too well.
Click Here to read our (unnecessary long) October 2009 trip report. It contains many pictures of us as well as many "Flickr-type" pictures that will probably never make it over here. Thanks for reading/viewing!
To all my flickr friends, I wish love and healthy for the new year. Kisses ^^
Last picture of Babbet and Reuel before they move to Spain...for a new make up ;)
but as opposed to this one I win since she is actually looking at me. HA HA (that was intended to be annoying simpson-esque laugh).
I couldn't get my color right so then I tried a BW, looked too flat and I kept messing with it. Like? If so, i'm screwed. I have no clue what I did.
Yah, i know the watermark is aggressive. But there has been alot of bad photo stealing juju going around flickr lately. I nearly put it right across her forearm.
Looks better on black: View On Black
Difficult to date this but the general 'feel' is possibly 1930s - it coild be post-war however. Bass were well known for their bottled beer and Blue Triangle was used for the filtered non-bottle conditioned version of the more famous Red Triangle beer.
This was a very difficult photo to make. The background is a light painted bank vault that was in the basement of my old studio in Caldwell, Idaho and the foreground was shot of the tango dancers in the studio on a gray background. Then, the photos were composited together.
There is a little mistake on the ground near the dancers' feet where you can tell the shadows don't line up perfectly. I should run this into photoshop and finish it up.
Difficult to get these panoramas true and this seems to bend up at the ends like a British Rail sandwich ... I wonder how they solve the problem ...
One of the 6 2009 National Risk and Resilience Department, Special Operations Response Team marked Landrovers in action on the extreme course at Glentarkie in 2010. Equipped for Paramedic Response to Difficult Access, Inland Water Operations and Urban Search and Rescue. Photo prior to being fitted with front winch and additional LED scene lighting.
Difficult time for birds as they go through their moult,
This juvenile starling is well into its moult but you can still see the juvenile feathers on its crown while the iridescent adult feathers can also be seen on the body.
They undergo a fantastic transformation and its all happening our gardens.
Today is 15 April 2019 - such unfortunate news from Paris, France. Historic Notre Dame Cathedral has been heavily damaged by a devastating fire today. Such an icon for that city/country, and so beautiful.
I am finding it so difficult to tell which Terns are Royal Terns and which are Caspian Terns! I know I saw both species, and I think I have a photo of each kind.
Tonight, I have added another 9 photos, again from Day 3 of our 13-day birding trip to South Texas, 19-31 March 2019. This was our second full day there, a day on a tiny boat, called Lady Lori, watching Whooping Cranes and other species. Having posted so many images from basically our first full day, I rather think I will have to be somewhat more 'disciplined" in my choices, or I will never finish : ) Mind you, I had a quick look through Day 3 photos last night, and discovered that a good many of them, especially of the Whooping Cranes, are very blurry - one disadvantage of taking photos from a little boat that is bobbing up and down. Thankfully, enough of them seem to be sufficiently sharp.
The previous morning, Day 2 of our holiday, 20 March 2019, after our drive to The Big Tree and then along the Lamar Beach Road area, we went to the Connie Hagar Cottage Sanctuary. This is a small, 6.25 acre nature sanctuary that exists in Rockport itself. Such a peaceful place to wander, watching for plants and butterflies as well as birds. There is a small pond, where we watched a young White Ibis, a Great Egret and a Snowy Egret all feeding together. Lovely to see their reflections in the water, too. A couple of nights ago, I was Googling and came across an article from 19 March 2019, telling about a group of students who chose to spend their Spring Break week helping to tidy the Sanctuary. Good for them!
After spending some time at this Sanctuary, we went to the Aransas First Cove Harbor Wetlands Sanctuary, followed by eventually finding the Newbury Park Hummingbird Garden. This was definitely not what we were expecting - just a small area of grass and trees with picnic tables. However, we did see a beautiful Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly and a small, purple Winecup flower. Afterwards, a repeat drive along Cape Velero Drive and area turned up some nice birds, too.
Day 3 was a very different kind of day, spent on board a small boat with just my four friends (and the captain/guide) on board. This private tour was arranged in Calgary beforehand. I would definitely recommend this trip to anyone!
Aransas Bay Birding Charters:
texasbirdingphotos.net/cgi-bin/p/awtp-home.cgi?d=aransas-...
It was a very early start to the day, before sunrise, as we had a lot of water to cross in order to reach the area where the Whooping Cranes were. When we first arrived at the location, the Cranes were either asleep or just beginning their morning preening session, before becoming active. Too dark to get any decent shots of them in the dark, though I did post one yesterday morning. The sunset was absolutely gorgeous! I couldn't make up my mind which one or two photos to post yesterday, so I ended up adding a number of them.
After a while, the Whooping Cranes starting slowly walking and eventually took flight. A bit later in the day, we came across three of them, in the sunshine, busily feeding. This little family consisted of Mom, Dad and junior (their colt). Junior was hungry and eventually, Dad found a crab, which the colt was determined to snatch and eat. Dad was wearing a numbered leg band on one leg; on the other leg was a tracking device. A delightful family group, that was so fascinating to watch from the boat. My photos taken of these three are nicer that the ones I've just posted.
As well as seeing these amazing, endangered Cranes, Lori found all sorts of other bird species for us, including a pair of Oystercatchers (female was on a nest), Whimbrel, Long-billed Curlew, Belted Kingfisher, Pelicans, Great Blue Herons, Royal Terns, Caspian Terns, Ruddy Turnstone, Skimmers, and Cormorants, to name just some of them. One area, which was a rookery, had been badly destroyed by Hurricane Harvey, Wooden nesting platforms have been built to replace most of the original nests, and it was great to see Herons nesting on them.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that we saw a family of three Dolphins, too.
Rather difficult to shoot, as they were blowing in the wind. They were at my eye level, though, so that made it somewhat easier.
Shot at "Garden of Memories Cemetery" in Salinas, California, which is where John Steinbeck and some of his family are buried.
It can be difficult for me to cope with fall after the annual trip to the NC Highlands. The color is vastly more dramatic down there and occurs much earlier than my area of VA. The widespread color down south is where I seek my grand landscape scenery, and after returning home it seems a little pointless to further pursue similar shots. My solution has always been to seek out the smaller scenes under the canopy, and nothing brings that to life as well as some nice fog. I rode the parkway this morning from Roanoke to Apple Orchard Mountain. The best color to be seen is right now, sporadic, and rapidly leaving. The high ridges south of the Peaks of Otter have been mostly stripped of leaves and sporting a mostly winter look. This shot was 3 RAW images blended using luminosity masking. I corrected the white balance, de-noise, darkened the background trees -.7 EV for contrast while leaving the fog alone, and brightened the colorful foreground foliage +.7 EV while leaving everything else alone. The contrast built solely using exposure blending. After that levels, some vibrance, sharpen. Looks a little too sharp for me on Flickr. This type of scene isn't super easy to find, a red tree is hard up my way, and best shot up a steep hollow with no sky for the infinity look of the fog.
I was actually snowing during this shot as visibility was difficult to the other side of the lake. The tree limbs and plant growth on the water were covered with snow. It's awesome when that happens and you catch it before the melt. Most of this snow had happened the night before but it continued throughout the next day and the cold was a major factor also.
Lake Arthur, Moraine State Park, PA