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Outside of Merzouga, Morocco.
I wanted to spend a night in the desert. Between the fabled red Moroccan dunes.
It was not what I wanted as the location was not far enough from the world (only just about 1 km far from the tarmac).
These images are at the beginning of the dunes and yet they offer something so special when the sun sets.
Made with Minolta 135/2.8 (1977) with Fotodiox MD/A adapter.
Shot it from the hand, through the glass window, expecting shaky blurr and lack of contrast. When I looked at it - I was surprised how sharp and cherish was it. Added vintage preset in Lightroom.
esto no salió como esperaba / this didn't work as I expected
.más intentos fallidos en comentarios / more failures in comments.
Not what you’d expect….
Alexander’s in the 1970s revamped its AL-body to incorporate peaked domes, fashionable at the times. However the rounded domes, ordered by Greater Glasgow, Lothian and Tyneside remained an option. Although the AL-body is more commonly associated with the Atlantean, some were also built on the Fleetline too as seen here by NCS16P.
The AD-body, more common on the Fleetline, continued though and was the only option for lower-height buses. Although by this stage Leyland had modified the Atlantean to accept lower-height bodywork with the addition of a drop-centre rear axle, it tended to push people who wanted a lower-height body towards the Fleetline, designed from the outset for lower heights, which by this stage was even available with Leyland power-units.
We're expecting a cow to arrive at our farm some time this week so I figured it would be a good time to check the fences & make sure everything is intact before its arrival.
While testing the electric fence, I came across this birds nest between a strand of barbed wire and some tall weeds. It's not often I come across a nest in such a location like so.
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I have had a busy week, three previews and a full session on the blog! This is the last for now. Meet Kelly, Eric, and their baby to be. Oh yeah and that is Marco staring at Kelly. We had a beautiful evening this past week at Tinley Park's Centennial Park. The light was great and I cannot wait to sift through the photos. Check out the full preview below!
Also, probably be shooting around the city this evening and maybe catch a sunrise this weekend if anyone is interested!! Hit me up.
View the full preview here: Preview: Kelly + Eric {Expecting}!
Enjoy and don't forget to check out my website for Prints: Christopher|F Photography
My facebook fanpage: Christopher|F Photography fanpage
exciting! they're alive and - literally - kicking. due in july!
spannend! ze zijn - letterlijk - springlevend. uitgerekend in juli!
view large | atom xml | handcastle | no notes on my pictures please
Bit of an oldie - but I still like it. Thanks for looking!
If you're on facebook come and give me a "like" HERE
Really wasn't expecting to see this in Assford today, and this vehicle was on SouthEastern Trains Rail Replacement Service to and from Tonbridge.
And be sure to check by my other acount: www.flickr.com/photos_user.gne?path=&nsid=77145939%40..., to see what else I saw This week!!
There is a line of churches beside the A2 and along the Nailbourne, which winds its way along the bottom of the valley just down the hill from St Giles.
I have been here before, but looking at my shots, I see I took just three shots of the church, none of the building, and so a serious oversight on my part.
St Giles sits in a sharp bend in Church Lane, and there are fierce signs demanding that there is no parking, ut where else to park? One of the signs had been knocked over, so I parked in front of that. I was expecting someone to come out and yell at me, but none came, maybe the weather forcing people to stay inside.
It has been a dreary day in the Garden of England, and it would have been easy not to go out, but a 20 minute run up the A2, and a sharp turn off it into the Nailbourne valley brings you to a sleepy a village as you could want.
I never visit churches not knowing what to expect, and with no plan, so I amble round the church seeing what takes my fancy; sometimes I see things of interest or rarity, sometimes not. But what I did see at Kingston were two roof angels, I am pretty sure the first I have seen in Kent, and ticked away in the far eastern end of the Chancel beside the east window.
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A flint church dating from the early Norman period, when imported stone for quoins was expensive. This is one of the handful of churches in the county where the corners were rudely formed of flint. In the fourteenth century the chancel was extended to the east and a tower added at the west end. Three well-known nineteenth-century designers were involved at Kingston. The east window is by Heaton, Butler and Bayne, the chancel roof by William White and the choir stalls by Norman Shaw. Of medieval date is a plain Perpendicular piscina and a good aumbry, whilst the pulpit is a typical example of sixteenth-century work.
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Kingston
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A small church with a simple unaisled nave and chancel (no chapels, though a Lady Chapel is, oddly, mentioned in a 1525 will), and an added 15th century W. tower. There are also a 19th century vestry and N. porch.
As Elliston Erwood has shown, the plan of the nave and western part of the chancel (and the whole flint quoins) suggest an early Norman date for the earliest part of the church. The chancel was probably extended about 10 feet eastwards in the early 13th century.
Early in the 14th century four new windows were inserted into the east end of the nave (and by this time, any chancel arch had gone, and the east end walls of the nave cut back. On either side are 2-light windows with trefoiled heads and 'daggered bottomed' quatrefoils over - all under 2 centred arched hoodmoulds (ie just reticulated). The eastern windows in the nave are single-light cinquefoil headed windows which light the E. end of the nave very well. The window on the north is very low, and that on the south has internal shutter hooks at the bottom. Were these windows to light an altar or an early rood screen? There is a corbel (bracket) just west of the S.E. window. In the centre of the S. wall of the nave is a shallow niche under a wide pointed arch. It perhaps blocks an earlier doorway (see scar in render outside), and was perhaps originally for a tomb (Hasted says that there was a flagstone here from which the brass was gone). There was also apparently a 'Decorated' period E. window with a Rose until replaced by the present 3-light E. window in 1897 (?frags. over gateway in churchyard wall west of tower).
In the later part of the 15th century, a massive but small tower, with western angle-buttresses, was added to the west end of the nave after its west wall had been demolished. The tower arch is perhaps earlier. It has a fine 3-light trefoil-headed window over its W. doorway. The top stage of the tower has debased round-headed windows suggesting an early 16th century date. The large Ragstone quoins for the tower are still largely intact - most of the rest of the flint face is covered in render. There is a simple corbelled top. Inside the tower, in the S.W. corner, is a fine 14th century corbelled head.
A pair of two-light perpendicular windows, with square heads (and hoodmould on S.), were added at the west end of the nave on the N. and S. sides, and a fine new doorway with a square head and decorated spandrels inscribed (very worn):
"Pray for the soules of .... Thomas .... and Alys his wyf". This must also be later 15th century (no related will is known), and there is a fine holy water stoup immediately west of the doorway with a square hoodmould. (The porch is 19th century)
The chancel windows and fittings (Sedilia, Piscina and Aumbry) were also renewed in the 15th century. There are single-light windows one either side to the east, and 2-light windows on either side to the west. These have internal side jambs that come down much lower with a bench on the north - that on the south was cut away for the door into the vestry in the later 19th century. The door into the aumbry on the north was acquired, and put in, in 1928, by the Rector.
The nave and chancel both have fine surviving (c. 15th century) crown-post roofs that butt each other. The carved angel truss at the E. end of the chancel was inserted in 1873 when the lath and plaster ceilings were removed by William White.
There is a fine early 17th century pulpit at the S.E. corner of the nave.
Many alterations and repairs were carried out in the 19th century. In 1846, after repair and redecoration, a new floor was laid and new pews were put in. At the same time the W. gallery and chancel screen were removed.
In 1973, as mentioned above, the ceilings were removed, then in the 1880s more repairs were undertaken (another reflooring and reseating in 1886, with new choir stalls by Norman Shaw). The floor tiles in the chancel, also by Norman Shaw, were put in at the same time (see Newman B.O.E. (N.E.+E. Kent), 367).
Finally the east window was renewed in 1897 and the gable top was rebuilt and heightened with a coping.
BUILDING MATERIALS (Incl. old plaster, paintings, glass, tiles etc.):
The original material was local flint, but most of this is now covered by the external render used all over the building. There is some use of Caen in windows, etc., and, for the later work, Kentish Rag (from the Sandgate, etc. - boring mollusc holes), best seen in the tower buttress quoins.
Under the tower is an early 13th century octagonal font bowl (unusual at this date) on a new base (returned to the church in 1931 after have been discarded over 150 years earlier. (Glynne visiting in 1846 saw a wooden font!).
There are 3 bells in the tower, hung for chiming only : one by William le Belyetere (c. 1350) but cracked; one by Joseph Hatch, 1610 and a treble (blank).
There is a brass indent on the S. side of the chancel (by vestry door) with only two brass shields in situ.
EXCEPTIONAL MONUMENTS IN CHURCH: Monument to John Nethersole (ob. 1627) with small kneeling figures. There are also several fine wall monuments.
At the beginning of this century, Oyler mentions many hatchments in the church.
CHURCHYARD AND ENVIRONS:
Size: Small area N+E+S of church with larger extension to S.E.
Condition: Good
Apparent extent of burial: Churchyard burials recorded from 1481 (Wills).
Exceptional monuments: Some fine 18th century monuments and
headstones (from 1740) around church and still in situ.
HISTORICAL RECORD (where known):
Patron: The Lord of the Manor of Kingston.
Other documentary sources: Test. Cant. (E. Kent, 1907), 183 - Rood light (1472, 1475, 1479, 1491 wills). Also light of B.V.M. and a chapel of Our Lady (1525), and Image of St. Christopher (1472), and Lights of St. Giles (1475) 1491-1499 and St. Margaret (1525). Tabernacle of St. Giles (1478). Also paving the church (1479) and reparation of nave (1505). N.B. also Parish Register No. 2(1744-1812) also contains notes relating to repairs/alterations in 1846, 1873, 1881, 1882, 1886 and 1897.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD:
Reused materials: Above a gate into the old Rectory garden (N.W. of the tower) are various architectural fragments set up (? from the earlier E. window).
SURVIVAL OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL DEPOSITS:
Inside present church: ?Quite good.
Outside present church: Narrow trench cut all the way round the outside of the church (except N. and W. of Tower).
Quinquennial inspection (date\architect): 1989 ANDREW CLAGUE
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL ASSESSMENT:
The Church and churchyard: A small but fine parish church with fine later medieval roofs, and some good monuments in, and around, the church.
REFERENCES: Notes by F.C. Elliston Erwood in Arch. Cant. 59 (1946), 1-2 (and plan of 1927). Also by G.R. Glynne Notes on the Churches of Kent (1877), 130, and Hasted IX (1800), 348-9.
Guide book: Leaflet by Margaret Smith (n.d.)
Plans & drawings: Plan in Elliston Erwood (above).
DATES VISITED: 26th November 1991 REPORT BY: Tim Tatton-Brown
www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/01/03/KIN.htm
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KINGSTON
LIES the next parish eastward from Bishopsborne, in the upper half hundred of Kinghamford. There is but one borough in it, which extends likewise over the whole of this half hundred.
KINGSTON is situated in the same fine healthy and pleasant country of East Kent, the Bourne valley continues through the centre of it, where it is very narrow, not more than a mile from east to west, but the other way it is more than four in length. The village, having the church and parsonage within it stands on the southern side of Barham downs, just on the rise of the hill, on the opposite side of the valley, through which the Nailbourne runs at times, near which the land is very good and fertile. Just above the village is a neat house, sitted up a few years since by Capt. Chicke, and now occupied by Edwin Humphry Sandys, esq. who married Helen, his only daughter and heir, by whom he has five sons and two daughters; the whole of it, with the woods and hills above, forming a part of that beautiful prospect along this vale, so conspicuous from the downs and the high Dover road over them. Above the village the hills rise pretty high to a poor barren and stony country, covered with woods, among which, on the summit of the hill, is that large tract of them called Covert wood, accounted a manor, and belonging to the archbishop; beyond this the parish extends to Parmsted and Linsey bottom, joining the parishes of Upper Hardres, Stelling, and Eleham. On the other side of the Bourne valley northward, the ground rises to an open uninclosed country, taking within its bounds great part of Barham downs, and Ileden and Dennehill, beyond the opposite side of them, and it extends beyond the latter to the scite of Nethersole-house, which stood partly within it. The soil from the vale towards the downs, and on great part of them, is but poor and barren, being chalk, and covered with flints, but the soil on the upper part of the downs, towards Ileden and thereabouts, inclines to a loam, and is more fertile.
BARHAM DOWNS, a part of this county so well known by name to almost every one, is a most pleasant range of pasture ground, of considerable extent; for though it is not more than half a mile wide on a medium, yet it is in length upwards of four miles. It is in general high ground, especially towards the east end, where it rises to a pretty high hill. It lies sloping to the south, towards which, along the whole of it, there is the most pleasing prospect as above-mentioned, of the adjacent country, interspersed with the several villages and gentlemens seats, with which it abounds on both sides. On these downs are the county races, and the king's plate is annually run for here in the month of August.
On that part of the downs within this parish, there are many remains of Cæfar's works, in his progress through this county, particularly one of his small advanced camps, made square, with the corners a little rounded, and a single agger and vallum on three sides of it, the upper or northern side being left open. It lies on the slope of the hill, facing Kingston-church to the south-west; and from this camp westward there continue several lines of entrenchments, as there do again round and about Dennehill eastward, contiguous to all which there are great numbers of tumulior barrows interspersed over the downs, some of which are of a considerable size, but all of them have been opened, and plundered of their contents. The late Rev. Mr. Faussett, of Heppington, opened upwards of 300 of these tumuli, and greatly enriched his valuable collection of Roman antiquities with the contents of them; among which were discovered several coins of the first and second brass, viz. Claudius, Gallienus-Probus, Carausius, Allectus, and Constantine the Great. He was firmly of opinion, that these tumuli were the graves of the inhabitants of the neighbouring villages, of men and women promiscuously buried in them at different times; and that those with military appearances in them were of those who had at some time been soldiers. A denarius of Tiberius was found among the entrenchments near them.—Twine, in his treatise De Rebus Albionicis, p. 75, says, there was a barrow of an immense size opened on these downs, in king Henry VIII.'s time, by Mr. William Diggs, and that there was dug out of it a very large urn, full of ashes and bones of the largest size, with brass and iron helmets and shields of an unusual bigness, but almost wasted away; yet there was nothing to judge by, either of its time, or whom it belonged to. The Roman military way, or Watling-street, runs, along the lower side of the downs, the whole length of them, in a strait line from Canterbury towards Dover. It is made circular, and composed of the soil of the country, chalk and flints blended together, and is at this time the greatest part of it entire, being made use of as the common high road.
On these downs, anno 1213, king John encamped with a mighty army of 60,000 men, to oppose Philip, king of France, who was marching to invade this kingdom; but Pandulph, the pope's legate, who was then at the house of the knights templars in this neighbourhood, sent two of them to persuade the king to come to him there, where the king, in the presence of his principal nobles and the bishops, resigned his crown to the legate, as the pope's representative; (fn. 1) and here, in king Henry III.'s reign, Simon Montfort, earl of Leicester, being declared general of their army by the discontented barons, arrayed a numerous army to oppose the landing of queen Eleanor, whom the king had left behind in France.
THE MANOR OF KINGSTON was part of those lands which were given by the Conqueror to Fulbert de Dover, and made up together the barony of Fulbert, or Fobert, being held in capite by barony; and Chilham being made the chief seat of it, or caput baroniæ, it came afterwards to be called the barony of Chilham. In his descendants, and in the Strabolgie's, earls of Athol, this manor continued, in like manner as Chilham, till it was forfeited by one of them to the crown, whence it was granted by Edward II. in his 5th year, to Bartholomew de Badlesmere, (fn. 2) who in the 9th year obtained the grant of a fair here, on the feast of St. Leonard the abbot, and free-warren within all his demesne lands in this manor; but his son Giles de Badlesmere died s. p. in the 12th year of king Edward the IIId.'s reign, leaving his four sisters his coheirs, (fn. 3) and upon the division of their inheritance, this manor, with the advowson of the church, was assigned to Sir John Tiptoft, in right of his late wife Margaret, one of them. His son Robert Tiptoft dying in the 46th year of it, without male issue, his three daughters became his coheirs, of whom Elizabeth, married to Sir Philip le Despencer, on the partition of his estates, had this manor, with the advowson, inter alia, assigned to her. Sir Philip died possessed of it anno 2 Henry VI. upon which it descended to his daughter Margery, then the wife of Roger Wentworth, esq. whose descendant Thomas, lord Wentworth, of Nettlested, alienated it, in the 35th year of that reign, to Thomas Colepeper, esq. of Bedgbury, who soon afterwards conveyed it to Sir Anthony Aucher, of Bishopsborne, in whose descendants it conti nued down to Sir Anthony Aucher, of Bishopsborne, who in 1647 passed away this manor, with the advowson, to Thomas Gibbon, gent. of Westcliffe, who next year settled it on his second son Richard Gibbon, M. D. whose two daughters and coheirs, Dorothy Gibbon, and Anne, wife of the Rev. John Stoning, whose window, her sister Dorothy being deceased unmarried, then became entitled to the whole of it. She left a sole daughter and heir Elizabeth, then the wife of Peter Peters, M. D. of Canterbury, who died possessed of it in 1697. The family of De la Pierre, or Peters, was originally of Flanders. The first of of them who came into England to reside, was Peter Peters, alias De la Pierre, who two years before the restoration purchased the Blackfriars, in Canterbury, where he and his descendants afterwards resided, and practised as physicians with much reputation there, they bore for their arms, Or, three roses, gules. Upon Dr. Peters's death, the inheritance of it descended to his sole daughter and heir Elizabeth, who in 1722 carried it in marriage to Thomas Barrett, esq. of Lee, whose second wife she was. He died possessed of it in 1757, upon which it descended to his only daughter and heir by her, Elizabeth, who entitled her husband the Rev. William Dejovas Byrche, to this manor, with the advowson appendant of the church of Kingston; his arms, Azure, on a chevron, argent, between three fleurs de lis, or, a cross clechee, gules, on a chief of the last, a portcullis, chained of the second, were granted to him in 1758. He died in 1792, as did his widow in 1798, possessed of it, on which it came to SamuelEgerton Brydges, esq. of Denton, who had married their only daughter Elizabeth, and he is the present owner of it. A court leet and court baron is held for this manor.
ILEDEN, or Ilding, as it was antiently written, is a seat in this parish, situated below the hill, on the opposite or northern side of Barham downs, which was antiently part of the possessions of the family of Garwinton, of Garwinton, not far distant from it; in which name it continued down to William Garwinton, who dying s. p. Joane his kinswoman, married to Richard Haut, was, anno 11 king Henry IV. found to be his heir, and their son Richard Haut having an only daughter and heir Margery, she carried it in marriage to William Isaac, esq. of Patrixborne, whose descendant James Isaac, about the middle of king Henry VII.'s reign, alienated this seat, which had now lost all reputation of being a manor, to Diggs, of Diggs-court, in Barham, in which it staid till the reign of queen Elizabeth, when it was at length sold to Sir Thomas Wilsford, who afterwards rebuilt this seat, and resided at it. He was only son of Thomas Wilsford, of Hartridge, in Cranbrook, and married Mary, daughter and heir of Edward Poynings, by whom he had Sir Thomas Wilsford, of Ileden, and other children. Sir Thomas married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Edwin Sandys, of Norborne, by whom he had James and three other sons; of whom, Edward, the third, was captain of a troop of horse, and in holy orders, which was somewhat remarkable; but being a faithful royalist, he was present at the famous battle of Worcester, and among those who courageously fought at one gate of that city, where he was dangerously wounded in the shoulder, whilst the king made his escape at another part of the city; and the university of Oxford soon afterwards, in compliment to the king, conferred on him the degree of D. D. and the king gave him in recompence the vicarage of Lid, where he died, and lies buried in that church. They bore for their arms, Gules, a chevron, ingrailed, between three leopard's faces, or; which coat, impaled with Sandys, is in several of the windows at Ileden; and in the hall of it is the coat of Wilsford, quartering those of Corney, Poynings, Fitzpain, Bryan, Rokesley, Criol, Crevequer, and Averenches. In whose de scendants it continued down to his great-grandson Sir James Wilsford, of Ileden, who in 1668 sold this seat to Sir Robert Faunce, of Maidstone, who afterwards resided here. He was first of St. Margaret's, Rochester, and resided afterwards at different times at Cosington, in Aylesford, Ileden, the Precincts in Canterbury, Bekesborne, Betshanger, and Maidstone, and lies buried at Aylesford. He bore for his arms, Argent, three lions rampant, sable, collared, or. In 1679 he alienated this seat to John Cason, esq. afterwards of Ileden, and he about the year 1690 passed it away to Thomas Turner, esq. of London, descended from William Turner, of Sutton Valence, of the houshold to king Henry VII. being the son of William Turner, alderman of Canterbury. He was clerk of the drapers company. and was a benefactor to the poor of this parish. He had a daughter Elizabeth, married to Sir Thomas Lombe, of London. He died possessed of it in 1715, whose grandson Thomas Turner, esq. changed his name to Payler, for which an act passed, and resided at Ileden, and died possessed of it in 1771. He left one son Thomas, and a daughter Margaret, married to the Rev. Edward Taylor, of Bifrons. Thomas-Watkinson Payler, the son, married Charlotte, one of the daughters of William Hammond, esq. late of St. Albans, by whom he has seven sons and one daughter. They bear for their arms, Turner, per fess, ermine and sable, a pale counterchanged, three fer de molines, two and one, or, quartering Payler, gules, on a bend, or between three lions, passant-guardant, argent, three mullets of six points, pierced, sable. He was succeeded in it by his son Thomas-Watkinson Payler, esq. now of Ileden, the present owner of it.
DENNEHILL is another seat on the same side of Barham downs, at the eastern boundary of them, which took its name from the family of Dene, or Denne, of eminent note in this county, the possessors of it in very early times. One of them, Ralph de Den, held much land in Romney Marsh, and at Buckhurst, in Sussex, in the 20th year of William the Conqueror, as appeared by an old roll in the earl of Dorset's possession, being written in the record, son of Robtus Pincerna, a name probably given him from his being butler or sewer to one of our kings before the conquest. Sir Alured de Den was chief steward of the priory of Christ-church in the 29th year of king Henry III. and was a person so singularly esteemed for his wisdom, that when the laws and ordinances of Romney Marsh were compiled, by that venerable judge Henry de Bath, in the 42d year of that reign, this Sir Alured and Nicholas de Handloe were joined with him for that purpose; and what is remarkable, he at that early time sealed with three leopards faces, the antient paternal coat of this family, which afterwards continued owners of this seat, and resided here with much reputation as justices of the peace and other honourable employments of public concern, down to Michael Denne, esq. who lived here in the reigns of king Edward IV. and king Henry VII. being descended by the marriages of his ancestors from the families of Apulderfield, Earde, Arderne, and Combe, among others, whose posterity spread in several branches resident not only in Canterbury and the several neighbouring parishes, but in West Kent likewise. But after this seat had continued in an uninterrupted descent to him from Sir Alured de Denne above-mentioned, and from him again down to Thomas Denne, esq. who was recorder of Canterbury, and died possessed of it in 1655, it went by Mary, his youngest daughter and coheir, in marriage to Vincent Denne. esq. of Canterbury, sergeant-at-law, descended, as has been above-related, from the same stock of ancestry, but he bore for his arms, Argent, on two flaunches, sable, two leopard's faces, or, being the bearing of this younger branch of this family. The elder branch, of Dennehill, bore Sable, three leopards faces, or. (fn. 4) He died possessed of it in 1693, leaving four daughters his coheirs, viz. Dorothy, married to Mr. Thomas Ginder; Mary, to Mr. Stephen Nethersole; Bridget, to Mr. Robert Beake; and Honywood, to Gilbert Knowler, esq. who the next year vested their several interests in this seat by sale in Mr. Robert Beake before-mentioned, who died possessed of the whole of it in 1701, whose heirs, Thomas, Robert, and William Beake, in 1725 sold it to lady Hester Gray, whose husband Sir James Gray had, in 1707, been created a baronet of Scotland, bearing for his arms, Gules, a lion rampant, within a bordure wavy, argent. She conveyed it to her eldest son Sir James Gray, bart. and K. B. who died in 1775, and was succeeded in it by his brother lieutenant-general Sir George Gray, bart. who dying soon afterwards, it came again to his mother lady Hester Gray, and her daughters, Elizabeth Nicholl, widow, and Carolina Gray, who in 1774 joined in the sale of it to John Morse, esq. of London, merchant, who at no small expence greatly improved this seat, and the adjoining grounds belonging to it, and afterwards in 1777 alienated it to Hardinge Scracey, esq. late on of the clerks of the house of commons, who is the present possessor and resides in it, bearing for his arms, Argent, a cross engrailed, gules, between four eagles displayed, sable.
PARMESTED, usually called Parmsted, is a manor situated obscurely among the woods, on the opposite side of the parish, more than two miles from the church, close to the boundaries of Upper Hardres, in which parish great part of it lies, south-westward from Kingston church. It was, as early as any evidence drawn from record can discover, the inheritance of a family of the same name; for in several old deeds relating to lands contiguous to it, Hugh de Parmested is named among other witnesses, and most probably he was owner of this manor; but before the end of king Edward II.'s reign this name was become extinct here, and the family of Garwinton were proprietors of it, as appears by an old fine levied anno 8 Edward III. by Hugh Garwinton, in which he passed away his estate at Permested, to Thomas Garwinton, whose greatgrandson William Garwinton, dying s. p. Joane his kinswoman, married to Richard Haut, was anno 11 Henry IV. found to be his next heir, and their son Richard Haut leaving an only daughter and heir Margery, she carried it in marriage to William Isaac, esq. of Patrixborne, whose descendant James Isaac, about the beginning of king Henry VII. alienated it to Edward Knevet, esq. of Stanway, who died in the 16th year of it, leaving an only daughter and heir, married to Sir John Rainsford, but she died s. p. anno 1507, upon which it devolved to her next heir Elizabeth, wife of John Clopton, esq. and only daughter of Margaret, the eldest of the two sisters and coheirs of Edward Knevet, esq. above-mentioned, and they, anno 27 Henry VIII. passed it away by sale to Thomas, lord Cromwell, afterwards earl of Essex, who the next year sold it to Sir Christopher Hales, the king's attorney-general, who died possessed of it anno 33 Henry VIII. and his three daughters and coheirs conveyed it by sale to Thomas Alphew, otherwise Alphy, yeoman, who in the 5th of Elizabeth, alienated it to William Denne. draper, of Maidstone, who again passed it away to Vincent Denne, LL. D. whose grandson Vincent Denne, sergeant-at-law, of Canterbury, died possessed of it in 1693, without male issue, leaving four daughters his coheirs, the youngest of whom Honywood, on the partition of his estates, became entitled to it. She afterwards married Gilbert Knowler, esq. of Herne, whose second wife she was; they afterwards conveyed this manor to Tho. Harris, hopfactor, of Canterbury, who by his last will in 1726, gave it to his grandson Richard Barham, gent. whose son Mr. Richard Harris Barham, of Canterbury, and an alderman of that city, died possessed of it in 1795, and in the trustees of his will the possession of it is now vested.
Charities.
WILLIAM TURNER, by will in 1746, gave the yearly sum of 6l. 10s. to purchase wheaten bread, to be distributed to the amount of 2s. 6d. weekly, every Sunday after divine service, to the poor; and he charged the same on his estate in St. Martin'slane, in Bedfordbury; and 10s. likewise yearly to the clerk for his trouble in distributing it. Which is now paid by T. W. Payler, esq.
The poor constantly maintained are about twenty, casually ten.
THIS PARISH is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Canterbury, and deanry of Bridge.
The church consists of one isle and one chancel, having a square tower at the west end, in which are three bells. It is dedicated to St. Giles. This church, though small, is neat. In the chancel is a small monument, with two figures kneeling, and inscription, for John Nethersole, esq. of Nethersole, obt. 1546. A monument for Gilbert Boroughs, A. M. twenty-six years rector of this parish, and master of the king's school, Canterbury, obt. 1718. A memorial within the altar-rails, for Margaret, wife of Thomas Turner, esq. of Ileden, obt. 1698. He died in 1718, and lies in the same vault. A monument within the altarrails, for Vincent Denne, sergeant-at-law, and Mary his wife, daughter of Thomas Denne, esq. deceased. He died in 1693; arms, Three leopards saces, which coat in her hatchment is the first, and argent, on two flaunchee, sable, two leopards faces, or, the second. A memorial for John Haslyn, parson of this parish 26 years, obt. August 24, 1600. A memorial for Robert Denne, obt. 1594. In the south wall is a very antient flat stone, under an arch, the brass gone. The altarpiece was given by Thomas Barrett, esq. patron of this church. In the body is a monument for the Turner's, of Ilden, A stone on the pavement, on which were the figures of a man and woman, and inscription in brass, now gone, which was for Thomas Botiller. Four shields of arms; on one an ox, and on another a sheep, the other two gone.
This church has always been appendant to the manor of Kingston, and continues so at this time, SamuelEgerton Bridges, esq. lord of that manor, being the present patron of it.
¶It is a rectory, and valued in the king's books at sixteen pounds, and the yearly tenths at 1l. 12s. It is now of the yearly certified value of 77l. 3s. In 1588 it was valued at eighty pounds, communicants 123; in 1640 the same. There was formerly a chantry in this church.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The Sondergerät SG104 "Münchhausen" was a German airborne recoillless 355.6 mm (14-inch) caliber gun, intended to engage even the roughest enemy battleships, primarily those of the Royal Navy. The design of this unusual and massive weapon began in 1939. The rationale behind it was that a battleship’s most vulnerable part was the deck – a flat surface, with relatively thin armor (as typical hits were expected on the flanks) and ideally with vital targets underneath, so that a single, good hit would cripple of even destroy a ship. The purpose of such a high angle of attack was likely to allow the projectile to penetrate the target ship's deck, where the ship's armor, if there was any, would have been much thinner than the armor on its sidesHowever, hitting the deck properly with another ship’s main gun was not easy, since it could only be affected through indirect hits and the typical angle of the attack from aballistic shot would not necessarily be ideal for deep penetration, esp. at long range.
The solution to this problem: ensure that the heavy projectile would hit its target directly from above, ideally at a very steep angle. To achieve this, the gun with battleship caliber was “relocated” from a carrier ship or a coastal battery onto an aircraft – specifically to a type that was capable of dive-bombing, a feature that almost any German bomber model of the time offered.
Firing such a heavy weapon caused a lot fo problems, which were severe even if the gun was mounted on a ship or on land. To compensate for such a large-caliber gun’s recoil and to make firing a 14 in shell (which alone weighed around almost 700 kg/1.550 lb, plus the charge) from a relatively light airframe feasible, the respective gun had to be as light as possible and avoid any recoil, which would easily tear an aircraft – even a bomber – apart upon firing. Therefore, the Gerät 104 was designed as a recoilless cannon. Its firing system involved venting the same amount of the weapon's propellant gas for its round to the rear of the launch tube (which was open at both ends), in the same fashion as a rocket launcher. This created a forward directed momentum which was nearly equal to the rearward momentum (recoil) imparted to the system by accelerating the projectile itself. The balance thus created did not leave much net momentum to be imparted to the weapon's mounting or the carrying airframe in the form of felt recoil. A further share of the recoil induced by the moving round itself could be compensated by a muzzle brake which re-directed a part of the firing gases backwards. Since recoil had been mostly negated, a heavy and complex recoil damping mechanism was not necessary – even though the weapon itself was huge and heavy.
Work on the "Münchhausen" device (a secret project handle after a fictional German nobleman created by the German writer Rudolf Erich Raspe in the late 18th century who reputedly had ridden on a cannonball between enemy frontlines), was done by Rheinmetall-Borsig and lasted until 1941. The first test of a prototype weapon was conducted on 9th of September 1940 in Unterlüss with a satisfactory result, even though the weapon was only mounted onto an open rack and not integrated into an airframe yet. At that time, potential carriers were the Ju 88, the Dornier Do 217 and the new Junkers Ju 288. Even though the system’s efficacy was doubted, the prospect of delivering a single, fatal blow to an important , armored arget superseded any doubts at the RLM, and the project was greenlit in early 1942 for the next stage: the integration of the Sondergerät 104 into an existing airframe. The Ju 88 and its successor, the Ju 188, turned out to be too light and lacked carrying capacity for the complete, loaded weapon, and the favored Ju 288 was never produced, so that only the Dornier Do 217 or the bigger He 177 remained as a suitable carriers. The Do 217 was eventually chosen because it had the biggest payload and the airframe was proven and readily available.
After calculations had verified that the designed 14 in rifle would have effectively no recoil, preliminary tests with dumm airframes were carried out. After ground trials with a Do 217 E day bomber to check recoil and blast effects on the airframe, the development and production of a limited Nullserie (pre-production series) of the dedicated Do 217 F variant for field tests and eventual operational use against British sea and land targets was ordered in April 1942.
The resulting Do 217 F-0 was based on the late “E” bomber variant and powered by a pair of BMW 801 radial engines. It was, however, heavily modified for its unique weapon and the highly specialized mission profile: upon arriving at the zone of operation at high altitude, the aircraft would initiate a dive with an angle of attack between 50° and 80° from the horizontal, firing the SG 104 at an altitude between 6,000 and 2,000 meters. The flight time of the projectile could range from 16.0 seconds for a shot from an altitude of 6,000 meters at a 50° angle to just 4.4 seconds for a shot from 2.000 meters at an almost vertical 80° angle. Muzzle velocity of the SG 104 was only 300 m/s, but, prior to impact, the effective velocity of the projectile was projected to range between 449 and 468 m/s (1,616 to 1,674 km/h). Together with the round's weight of roughly 700 kg (1.550 lb) and a hardened tip, this would still ensure a high penetration potential.
The operational Sondergerät 104 had an empty mass of 2.780 kg (6,123 lb) and its complete 14 inch double cartridge weighed around 1.600 kg (3,525 lb). The loaded mass of the weapon was 4,237 kg, stretching the limits of the Do 217’s load capacity to the maximum, so that some armor and less vital pieces of equipment were deleted. Crew and defensive armament were reduced to a minimum.
Even though there had been plans to integrate the wepaon into the airframe (on the Ju 288), the Gerät 104 was on the Do 217 F-0 mounted externally and occupied the whole space under the aircraft, precluding any use of the bomb bay. The latter was occupied by the Gerät 104’s complex mount, which extended to the outside under a streamlined fairing and held the weapon at a distance from the airframe. Between the mount’s struts inside of the fuselage, an additional fuel tank for balance reasons was added, too.
The gun’s center, where the heavy round was carried, was positioned under the aircraft’s center of gravity, so that the gun barrel markedly protruded from under the aircraft’s nose. To make enough space, the Do 217 Es bomb aimer’s ventral gondola and his rearward-facing defensive position under the cockpit were omitted and faired over. The nose section was also totally different: the original extensive glazing (the so-called “Kampfkopf”) was replaced by a smaller, conventional canopy, similar to the later Do 217 J and N night fighter versions, together with a solid nose - the original glass panels would have easily shattered upon firing the gun, esp. in a steep high-speed dive. A "Lotfernrohr" bomb aiming device was still installed in a streamlined and protected fairing, though, so that the navigator could guide the pilot during the approach to the target and during the attack run.
To stabilize the heavy aircraft during its attack and to time- and safely pull out of the dive, a massive mechanical dive brake was mounted at the extended tail tip, which unfolded with four "petals". A charecteristic stabilizing dorsal strake was added between the twin fins, too.
The ventral area behind the gun’s rear-facing muzzle received additional metal plating and blast guiding vanes, after trials in late 1940 had revealed that firing the SG 104 could easily damage the Do 217’s tail structure, esp. all of the tail surfaces’ rudders and the fins’ lower ends in particular. Due to all this extra weight, the Do 217 F-0’s defensive armament consisted only of a single 13 mm MG 131 machine gun in a manually operated dorsal position behind the cockpit cabin, which offered space for a crew of three. A fixed 15 mm MG 151 autocannon was mounted in the nose, too, a weapon with a long barrel for extended range and accuracy. It was not an offensive weapon, though, rather intended as an aiming aid for the SG 104 because it was loaded with tracer bullets: during the final phase of the attack dive, the pilot kept firing the MG 151, and the bullet trail showed if he was on target to fire the SG 104 when the right altitude/range had been reached.
The first Do 217 F-0 was flown and tested in late 1943, and after some detail changes the type was cleared for a limited production run of ten aircraft in January 1944. The first operational machine was delivered to a dedicated testing commando, the Erprobungskommando 104 “Münchhausen”, also known as “Sonderkommando Münchhausen” or simply “E-Staffel 104”. The unit was based at Bordeaux/Merignac and directly attached to the KG 40's as a staff flight. At that time, KG 40 operated Do 217 and He 177 bombers and frequently flew reconnaissance and anti-shipping missions over the Atlantic west of France, up to the British west and southern coast, equipped with experimental Henschel Hs 293 glide bombs.
Initial flights confirmed that the Do 217 airframe was burdened with the SG 104 to its limits, the already rather sluggish aircraft (the Do 217 had generally a high wing loading and was not easy to fly) lost anything that was left of what could be called agility. It needed an experienced pilot to handle it safely, esp. during start and landing. It is no wonder that two Do 217 F-0s suffered ground accidents during the first two weeks of operations, but the machines could be repaired, resume the test program and carry out attack missions.
However, during one of the first test shots with the weapon, one Do 217 F-0 lost its complete tail section though the gun blast, and the aircraft crashed into the Bay of Biscay, killing the complete crew.
On 4th or April 1944 the first "hot" attack against an enemy ship was executed in the Celtic Sea off of Brest, against a convoy of 20 ships homeward bound from Gibraltar. The attack was not successful, though, the shot missing its target, and the German bomber was attacked and heavily damaged by British Bristol Beaufighters that had been deployed to protect the ships. The Do 217F-0 eventually crashed and sank into the Atlantic before it could reach land again.
A couple of days later, on 10th of April, the first attempt to attack and destroy a land target was undertaken: two Do 217 F-0s took off to attack Bouldnor Battery, an armored British artillery position located on the Isle of Wight. One machine had to abort the attack due to oil leakages, the second Do 217 F-0 eventually reached its target and made a shallow attack run, but heavy fog obscured the location and the otherwise successful shot missed the fortification. Upon return to its home base the aircraft was intercepted by RAF fighters over the Channel and heavily damaged, even though German fighters deployed from France came to the rescue, fought the British attackers off and escorted the limping Do 217 F-0 back to its home base.
These events revealed that the overall SG 104 concept was generally feasible, but also showed that the Do 217 F-0 was very vulnerable without air superiority or a suitable escort, so that new tactics had to be developed. One consequence was that further Do 217 F-0 deployments were now supported by V/KG 40, the Luftwaffe's only long range maritime fighter unit. These escorts consisted of Junkers Ju 88C-6s, which were capable of keeping up with the Do 217 F-0 and fend of intercepting RAF Coastal Command’s Beaufighters and later also Mosquitos.
In the meantime, tests with the SG 104 progressed and several modifications were tested on different EKdo 104's Do 217 F-0s. One major upgrade was a further strengthening of the tail section, which added another 200 kg (440 lb) to the aircraft's dry weight. Furthermore, at least three aircraft were outfitted with additional dive brakes under the outer wings, so that the dive could be better controlled and intercepted. these aircraft, however, lost their plumbed underwing hardpoints, but these were only ever used for drop tanks during transfer flights - a loaded SG 104 precluded any other ordnance. On two other aircraft the SG 104 was modified to test different muzzle brakes and deflectors for the rear-facing opening, so that the gun blast was more effectively guided away from the airframe to prevent instability and structural damage. For instance, one machine was equipped with a bifurcated blast deflector that directed the rearward gasses partly sideways, away from the fuselage.
These tests did not last long, though. During the Allied Normandy landings in June 1944 E-Staffel 104 was hastily thrown into action and made several poorly-prepared attack runs against Allied support ships. The biggest success was a full hit and the resulting sinking of the Norwegian destroyer HNoMS Svenner (G03) by "1A+BA" at dawn on 6th of June, off Sword, one of the Allied landing zones. Other targets were engaged, too, but only with little effect. This involvement, however, led to the loss of three Do 217 F-0s within just two days and four more heavily damaged aircraft – leaving only two of EKdo 104's Do 217 F-0s operational.
With the Allied invasion of France and a worsening war condition, the SG 104 program was stopped in August 1944 and the idea of an airborne anti-ship gun axed in favor of more flexible guided weapons like the Hs 293 missile and the Fritz-X glide bomb. Plans for a further developed weapon with a three-round drum magazine were immediately stopped, also because there was no carrier aircraft in sight that could carry and deploy this complex 6.5 tons weapon. However, work on the SG 104 and the experience gained from EKdo 104's field tests were not in vain. The knowledge gathered from the Münchhausen program was directly used for the design of a wide range of other, smaller recoilless aircraft weapons, including the magnetically-triggered SG 113 "Förstersonde" anti-tank weapon or the lightweight SG 118 "Rohrblock" unguided air-to-air missile battery for the Heinkel He 162 "Volksjäger".
General characteristics:
Crew: 3 (pilot, navigator, radio operator/gunner)
Length: 20,73 m (67 ft 11 in) overall
18,93 m (62 ft 3/4 in) hull only
Wingspan: 19 m (62 ft 4 in)
Height: 4.97 m (16 ft 4 in)
Wing area: 57 m² (610 sq ft)
Empty weight: 9,065 kg (19,985 lb)
Empty equipped weight:10,950 kg (24,140 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 16,700 kg (36,817 lb)
Fuel capacity: 2,960 l (780 US gal; 650 imp gal) in fuselage tank and four wing tanks
Powerplant:
2× BMW 801D-2 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, delivering
1,300 kW (1,700 hp) each for take-off and 1,070 kW (1,440 hp) at 5,700 m (18,700 ft),
driving 3-bladed VDM constant-speed propellers
Performance:
Maximum speed: 475 km/h (295 mph, 256 kn) at sea level
560 km/h (350 mph; 300 kn) at 5,700 m (18,700 ft)
Cruise speed: 400 km/h (250 mph, 220 kn) with loaded Gerät 104 at optimum altitude
Range: 2,180 km (1,350 mi, 1,180 nmi) with maximum internal fuel
Ferry range: 2,500 km (1,600 mi, 1,300 nmi); unarmed, with auxiliary fuel tanks
Service ceiling: 7,370 m (24,180 ft) with loaded Gerät 104,
9,500 m (31,200 ft) after firing
Rate of climb: 3.5 m/s (690 ft/min)
Time to altitude: 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in 4 minutes 10 seconds
2,000 m (6,600 ft) in 8 minutes 20 seconds
6,100 m (20,000 ft) in 24 minutes 40 seconds
Armament:
1x 355.6 mm (14-inch) Sondergerät 104 recoilless gun with a single round in ventral position
1x 15 mm (0.787 in) MG 151 machine cannon with 200 rounds, fixed in the nose
1x 13 mm (0.512 in) MG 131 machine gun with 500 rounds, movable in dorsal position
Two underwing hardpoints for a 900 l drop tank each, but only used during unarmed ferry flights
The kit and its assembly:
This was another submission to the "Gunships" group build at whatifmodellers.com in late 2021, and inspiration struck when I realized that I had two Italeri Do 217 in The Stash - a bomber and a night fighter - that could be combined into a suitable (fictional) carrier for a Sondergerät 104. This mighty weapon actually existed and even reached the hardware/test stage - but it was never integrated into an airframe and tested in flight. But that's what this model is supposed to depict.
On the Do 217, the Sg 104 would have been carried externally under the fuselage, even though there had been plans to integrate this recoilless rifle into airframes, esp. into the Ju 288. Since the latter never made it into production, the Do 217 would have been the most logical alternative, also because it had the highest payload of all German bombers during WWII and probably the only aircraft capable of carrying and deploying the Münchhausen device, as the SG 104 was also known.
The fictional Do 217 F-0 is a kitbashing, using a Do 217 N fuselage, combined with the wings from a Do 217 K bomber, plus some modifications. What initially sounded like a simple plan soon turned into a improvisation mess: it took some time to realize that I had already donated the Do 217 K's BMW 801 engines to another project, an upgraded He 115... I did not want to use the nightfighter's more powerful DB 603s, and I was lucky to have an Italeri Ju 188 kit at hand which comes with optional BMW 801s and Jumo 211s. Transplanting these engines onto the Do 217's wings took some tailoring of the adapter plates, but was feasible. However, the BMW 801s from the Ju 188 kit have a flaw: they lack the engine's characteristic cooling fans... Another lucky find: I found two such parts in the scrap box, even though from different kits - one left over from another Italeri Do 217 K, the other one from what I assume is/was an Italeri 1:72 Fw 190 A/F. To make matters worse, one propeller from the Ju 188 kit was missing, so that I had to find a(nother) replacement. :-/
I eventually used something that looked like an 1:72 F6F Hellcat propeller, but I an not certain about this because I have never built this model...? With some trimming on the blades' trailing edges and other mods, the donor's overall look could be adapted to the Ju 188 benchmark. Both propellers were mounted on metal axis' so that they could also carry the cooling fans. Lots of work, but the result looks quite good.
The Do 217 N's hull lost the lower rear gunner position and its ventral gondola, which was faired over with a piece of styrene sheet. The pilot was taken OOB, the gunner in the rear position was replaced by a more blob-like crew member from the scrap box. The plan to add a navigator in the seat to the lower right of the pilot did not work out due to space shortage, but this figure would probably have been invisble, anyway.
All gun openings in the nose were filled and PSRed away, and a fairing for a bomb aiming device and a single gun (the barrel is a hollow steel needle) were added.
The SG 104 was scratched. Starting point was a white metal replacement barrel for an 1:35 ISU-152 SPG with a brass muzzle brake. However, after dry-fitting the barrel under the hull the barrel turned out to be much too wide, so that only the muzzal brake survived and the rest of the weapon was created from a buddy refueling pod (from an Italeri 1:72 Luftwaffe Tornado, because of its two conical ends) and protective plastic caps from medical canulas. To attach this creation to the hull I abused a conformal belly tank from a Matchbox Gloster Meteor night fighter and tailored it into a streamlined fairing. While this quite a Frankenstein creation, the overall dimensions match the real SG 104 prototype and its look well.
Other cosmetic modifications include a pair of underwing dive brakes, translanted from an Italeri 1:72 Ju 88 A-4 kit, an extended (scratched) tail "stinger" which resembles the real dive brake arrangement that was installed on some Do 217 E bombers, and I added blast deflector vanes and a dorsal stabilizer fin.
In order to provide the aircraft with enough ground clearance, the tail wheel was slightly extended. Thanks to the long tail stinger, this is not blatantly obvious.
Painting and markings:
This was not an easy choice, but as a kind of prototype I decided that the paint scheme should be rather conservative. However, German aircraft operating over the Atlantic tended to carry rather pale schemes, so that the standard pattern of RLM 70/71/65 (Dunkelgrün, Schwarzgrün and Hellblau) with a low waterline - typical for experimental types - would hardly be appropriate.
I eventually found a compromise on a He 177 bomber (coded 6N+BN) from 1944 that was operated by KG 100: this particular aircraft had a lightened upper camouflage - still a standard splinter scheme but consisting of RLM 71 and 02 (Dunkelgrün and Grau; I used Modelmaster 2081 and Humbrol 240), a combination that had been used on German fighters during the Battle of Britain when the standard colors turned out to be too dark for operations over the Channel. The aircraft also carried standard RLM 65 (or maybe the new RLM76) underneath (Humbrol 65) and on the fin, but with a very high and slightly wavy waterline. As a rather unusual feature, no typical camouflage mottles were carried on the flanks or the fin, giving the aircraft a very bleak and simple look.
Despite my fears that this might look rather boring I adapted this scheme for the Do 217 F-0, and once basic painting was completed I was rather pleased by the aircraft's look! As an aircraft operated at the Western front, no additional markings like fuselage bands were carried.
To set the SG 104 apart from the airframe, I painted the weapon's visible parts in RLM 66 (Schwarzgrau, Humbrol 67), because this tone was frequently used for machinery (including the interior surfaces of aircraft towards 1945).
RLM 02 was also used for the interior surfaces and the landing gear, even though I used a slightly different, lighter shade in form of Revell 45 (Helloliv).
A light black ink washing was applied and post-shading to emphasize panel lines. Most markings/decals came from a Begemot 1:72 He 11 sheet, including the unusual green tactical code - it belongs to a staff unit, a suitable marking for such an experimental aircraft. The green (Humbrol 2) was carried over to the tips of the propeller spinners. The unit's code "1A" is fictional, AFAIK this combination had never been used by the Luftwaffe.
The small unit badge was alucky find: it actually depicts the fictional Baron von Münchhausen riding on a cannonball, and it comes from an Academy 1:72 Me 163 kit and its respective sheet. The mission markings underneath, depicting two anti-ship missions plus a successful sinking, came from a TL Modellbau 1:72 scale sheet with generic German WWII victory markings.
After some soot stains around the engine exhaust and weapon muzzles had been added with graphite, the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish and final details like position lights and wire antennae (from heated black plastic sprue material) were added.
Well, what started as a combination of two kits of the same kind with a simple huge pipe underneath turned out to be more demanding than expected. The (incomplete) replacement engines were quite a challenge, and body work on the hull (tail stinger, fairing for the SG 104 as well as the weapon itself) turned out to be more complex and extensive than initially thought of. The result looks quite convincing, also supported by the rather simple paint scheme which IMHO just "looks right" and very convincing. And the whole thing is probably the most direct representation of the inspiring "Gunship" theme!
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The Sondergerät SG104 "Münchhausen" was a German airborne recoillless 355.6 mm (14-inch) caliber gun, intended to engage even the roughest enemy battleships, primarily those of the Royal Navy. The design of this unusual and massive weapon began in 1939. The rationale behind it was that a battleship’s most vulnerable part was the deck – a flat surface, with relatively thin armor (as typical hits were expected on the flanks) and ideally with vital targets underneath, so that a single, good hit would cripple of even destroy a ship. The purpose of such a high angle of attack was likely to allow the projectile to penetrate the target ship's deck, where the ship's armor, if there was any, would have been much thinner than the armor on its sidesHowever, hitting the deck properly with another ship’s main gun was not easy, since it could only be affected through indirect hits and the typical angle of the attack from aballistic shot would not necessarily be ideal for deep penetration, esp. at long range.
The solution to this problem: ensure that the heavy projectile would hit its target directly from above, ideally at a very steep angle. To achieve this, the gun with battleship caliber was “relocated” from a carrier ship or a coastal battery onto an aircraft – specifically to a type that was capable of dive-bombing, a feature that almost any German bomber model of the time offered.
Firing such a heavy weapon caused a lot fo problems, which were severe even if the gun was mounted on a ship or on land. To compensate for such a large-caliber gun’s recoil and to make firing a 14 in shell (which alone weighed around almost 700 kg/1.550 lb, plus the charge) from a relatively light airframe feasible, the respective gun had to be as light as possible and avoid any recoil, which would easily tear an aircraft – even a bomber – apart upon firing. Therefore, the Gerät 104 was designed as a recoilless cannon. Its firing system involved venting the same amount of the weapon's propellant gas for its round to the rear of the launch tube (which was open at both ends), in the same fashion as a rocket launcher. This created a forward directed momentum which was nearly equal to the rearward momentum (recoil) imparted to the system by accelerating the projectile itself. The balance thus created did not leave much net momentum to be imparted to the weapon's mounting or the carrying airframe in the form of felt recoil. A further share of the recoil induced by the moving round itself could be compensated by a muzzle brake which re-directed a part of the firing gases backwards. Since recoil had been mostly negated, a heavy and complex recoil damping mechanism was not necessary – even though the weapon itself was huge and heavy.
Work on the "Münchhausen" device (a secret project handle after a fictional German nobleman created by the German writer Rudolf Erich Raspe in the late 18th century who reputedly had ridden on a cannonball between enemy frontlines), was done by Rheinmetall-Borsig and lasted until 1941. The first test of a prototype weapon was conducted on 9th of September 1940 in Unterlüss with a satisfactory result, even though the weapon was only mounted onto an open rack and not integrated into an airframe yet. At that time, potential carriers were the Ju 88, the Dornier Do 217 and the new Junkers Ju 288. Even though the system’s efficacy was doubted, the prospect of delivering a single, fatal blow to an important , armored arget superseded any doubts at the RLM, and the project was greenlit in early 1942 for the next stage: the integration of the Sondergerät 104 into an existing airframe. The Ju 88 and its successor, the Ju 188, turned out to be too light and lacked carrying capacity for the complete, loaded weapon, and the favored Ju 288 was never produced, so that only the Dornier Do 217 or the bigger He 177 remained as a suitable carriers. The Do 217 was eventually chosen because it had the biggest payload and the airframe was proven and readily available.
After calculations had verified that the designed 14 in rifle would have effectively no recoil, preliminary tests with dumm airframes were carried out. After ground trials with a Do 217 E day bomber to check recoil and blast effects on the airframe, the development and production of a limited Nullserie (pre-production series) of the dedicated Do 217 F variant for field tests and eventual operational use against British sea and land targets was ordered in April 1942.
The resulting Do 217 F-0 was based on the late “E” bomber variant and powered by a pair of BMW 801 radial engines. It was, however, heavily modified for its unique weapon and the highly specialized mission profile: upon arriving at the zone of operation at high altitude, the aircraft would initiate a dive with an angle of attack between 50° and 80° from the horizontal, firing the SG 104 at an altitude between 6,000 and 2,000 meters. The flight time of the projectile could range from 16.0 seconds for a shot from an altitude of 6,000 meters at a 50° angle to just 4.4 seconds for a shot from 2.000 meters at an almost vertical 80° angle. Muzzle velocity of the SG 104 was only 300 m/s, but, prior to impact, the effective velocity of the projectile was projected to range between 449 and 468 m/s (1,616 to 1,674 km/h). Together with the round's weight of roughly 700 kg (1.550 lb) and a hardened tip, this would still ensure a high penetration potential.
The operational Sondergerät 104 had an empty mass of 2.780 kg (6,123 lb) and its complete 14 inch double cartridge weighed around 1.600 kg (3,525 lb). The loaded mass of the weapon was 4,237 kg, stretching the limits of the Do 217’s load capacity to the maximum, so that some armor and less vital pieces of equipment were deleted. Crew and defensive armament were reduced to a minimum.
Even though there had been plans to integrate the wepaon into the airframe (on the Ju 288), the Gerät 104 was on the Do 217 F-0 mounted externally and occupied the whole space under the aircraft, precluding any use of the bomb bay. The latter was occupied by the Gerät 104’s complex mount, which extended to the outside under a streamlined fairing and held the weapon at a distance from the airframe. Between the mount’s struts inside of the fuselage, an additional fuel tank for balance reasons was added, too.
The gun’s center, where the heavy round was carried, was positioned under the aircraft’s center of gravity, so that the gun barrel markedly protruded from under the aircraft’s nose. To make enough space, the Do 217 Es bomb aimer’s ventral gondola and his rearward-facing defensive position under the cockpit were omitted and faired over. The nose section was also totally different: the original extensive glazing (the so-called “Kampfkopf”) was replaced by a smaller, conventional canopy, similar to the later Do 217 J and N night fighter versions, together with a solid nose - the original glass panels would have easily shattered upon firing the gun, esp. in a steep high-speed dive. A "Lotfernrohr" bomb aiming device was still installed in a streamlined and protected fairing, though, so that the navigator could guide the pilot during the approach to the target and during the attack run.
To stabilize the heavy aircraft during its attack and to time- and safely pull out of the dive, a massive mechanical dive brake was mounted at the extended tail tip, which unfolded with four "petals". A charecteristic stabilizing dorsal strake was added between the twin fins, too.
The ventral area behind the gun’s rear-facing muzzle received additional metal plating and blast guiding vanes, after trials in late 1940 had revealed that firing the SG 104 could easily damage the Do 217’s tail structure, esp. all of the tail surfaces’ rudders and the fins’ lower ends in particular. Due to all this extra weight, the Do 217 F-0’s defensive armament consisted only of a single 13 mm MG 131 machine gun in a manually operated dorsal position behind the cockpit cabin, which offered space for a crew of three. A fixed 15 mm MG 151 autocannon was mounted in the nose, too, a weapon with a long barrel for extended range and accuracy. It was not an offensive weapon, though, rather intended as an aiming aid for the SG 104 because it was loaded with tracer bullets: during the final phase of the attack dive, the pilot kept firing the MG 151, and the bullet trail showed if he was on target to fire the SG 104 when the right altitude/range had been reached.
The first Do 217 F-0 was flown and tested in late 1943, and after some detail changes the type was cleared for a limited production run of ten aircraft in January 1944. The first operational machine was delivered to a dedicated testing commando, the Erprobungskommando 104 “Münchhausen”, also known as “Sonderkommando Münchhausen” or simply “E-Staffel 104”. The unit was based at Bordeaux/Merignac and directly attached to the KG 40's as a staff flight. At that time, KG 40 operated Do 217 and He 177 bombers and frequently flew reconnaissance and anti-shipping missions over the Atlantic west of France, up to the British west and southern coast, equipped with experimental Henschel Hs 293 glide bombs.
Initial flights confirmed that the Do 217 airframe was burdened with the SG 104 to its limits, the already rather sluggish aircraft (the Do 217 had generally a high wing loading and was not easy to fly) lost anything that was left of what could be called agility. It needed an experienced pilot to handle it safely, esp. during start and landing. It is no wonder that two Do 217 F-0s suffered ground accidents during the first two weeks of operations, but the machines could be repaired, resume the test program and carry out attack missions.
However, during one of the first test shots with the weapon, one Do 217 F-0 lost its complete tail section though the gun blast, and the aircraft crashed into the Bay of Biscay, killing the complete crew.
On 4th or April 1944 the first "hot" attack against an enemy ship was executed in the Celtic Sea off of Brest, against a convoy of 20 ships homeward bound from Gibraltar. The attack was not successful, though, the shot missing its target, and the German bomber was attacked and heavily damaged by British Bristol Beaufighters that had been deployed to protect the ships. The Do 217F-0 eventually crashed and sank into the Atlantic before it could reach land again.
A couple of days later, on 10th of April, the first attempt to attack and destroy a land target was undertaken: two Do 217 F-0s took off to attack Bouldnor Battery, an armored British artillery position located on the Isle of Wight. One machine had to abort the attack due to oil leakages, the second Do 217 F-0 eventually reached its target and made a shallow attack run, but heavy fog obscured the location and the otherwise successful shot missed the fortification. Upon return to its home base the aircraft was intercepted by RAF fighters over the Channel and heavily damaged, even though German fighters deployed from France came to the rescue, fought the British attackers off and escorted the limping Do 217 F-0 back to its home base.
These events revealed that the overall SG 104 concept was generally feasible, but also showed that the Do 217 F-0 was very vulnerable without air superiority or a suitable escort, so that new tactics had to be developed. One consequence was that further Do 217 F-0 deployments were now supported by V/KG 40, the Luftwaffe's only long range maritime fighter unit. These escorts consisted of Junkers Ju 88C-6s, which were capable of keeping up with the Do 217 F-0 and fend of intercepting RAF Coastal Command’s Beaufighters and later also Mosquitos.
In the meantime, tests with the SG 104 progressed and several modifications were tested on different EKdo 104's Do 217 F-0s. One major upgrade was a further strengthening of the tail section, which added another 200 kg (440 lb) to the aircraft's dry weight. Furthermore, at least three aircraft were outfitted with additional dive brakes under the outer wings, so that the dive could be better controlled and intercepted. these aircraft, however, lost their plumbed underwing hardpoints, but these were only ever used for drop tanks during transfer flights - a loaded SG 104 precluded any other ordnance. On two other aircraft the SG 104 was modified to test different muzzle brakes and deflectors for the rear-facing opening, so that the gun blast was more effectively guided away from the airframe to prevent instability and structural damage. For instance, one machine was equipped with a bifurcated blast deflector that directed the rearward gasses partly sideways, away from the fuselage.
These tests did not last long, though. During the Allied Normandy landings in June 1944 E-Staffel 104 was hastily thrown into action and made several poorly-prepared attack runs against Allied support ships. The biggest success was a full hit and the resulting sinking of the Norwegian destroyer HNoMS Svenner (G03) by "1A+BA" at dawn on 6th of June, off Sword, one of the Allied landing zones. Other targets were engaged, too, but only with little effect. This involvement, however, led to the loss of three Do 217 F-0s within just two days and four more heavily damaged aircraft – leaving only two of EKdo 104's Do 217 F-0s operational.
With the Allied invasion of France and a worsening war condition, the SG 104 program was stopped in August 1944 and the idea of an airborne anti-ship gun axed in favor of more flexible guided weapons like the Hs 293 missile and the Fritz-X glide bomb. Plans for a further developed weapon with a three-round drum magazine were immediately stopped, also because there was no carrier aircraft in sight that could carry and deploy this complex 6.5 tons weapon. However, work on the SG 104 and the experience gained from EKdo 104's field tests were not in vain. The knowledge gathered from the Münchhausen program was directly used for the design of a wide range of other, smaller recoilless aircraft weapons, including the magnetically-triggered SG 113 "Förstersonde" anti-tank weapon or the lightweight SG 118 "Rohrblock" unguided air-to-air missile battery for the Heinkel He 162 "Volksjäger".
General characteristics:
Crew: 3 (pilot, navigator, radio operator/gunner)
Length: 20,73 m (67 ft 11 in) overall
18,93 m (62 ft 3/4 in) hull only
Wingspan: 19 m (62 ft 4 in)
Height: 4.97 m (16 ft 4 in)
Wing area: 57 m² (610 sq ft)
Empty weight: 9,065 kg (19,985 lb)
Empty equipped weight:10,950 kg (24,140 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 16,700 kg (36,817 lb)
Fuel capacity: 2,960 l (780 US gal; 650 imp gal) in fuselage tank and four wing tanks
Powerplant:
2× BMW 801D-2 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, delivering
1,300 kW (1,700 hp) each for take-off and 1,070 kW (1,440 hp) at 5,700 m (18,700 ft),
driving 3-bladed VDM constant-speed propellers
Performance:
Maximum speed: 475 km/h (295 mph, 256 kn) at sea level
560 km/h (350 mph; 300 kn) at 5,700 m (18,700 ft)
Cruise speed: 400 km/h (250 mph, 220 kn) with loaded Gerät 104 at optimum altitude
Range: 2,180 km (1,350 mi, 1,180 nmi) with maximum internal fuel
Ferry range: 2,500 km (1,600 mi, 1,300 nmi); unarmed, with auxiliary fuel tanks
Service ceiling: 7,370 m (24,180 ft) with loaded Gerät 104,
9,500 m (31,200 ft) after firing
Rate of climb: 3.5 m/s (690 ft/min)
Time to altitude: 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in 4 minutes 10 seconds
2,000 m (6,600 ft) in 8 minutes 20 seconds
6,100 m (20,000 ft) in 24 minutes 40 seconds
Armament:
1x 355.6 mm (14-inch) Sondergerät 104 recoilless gun with a single round in ventral position
1x 15 mm (0.787 in) MG 151 machine cannon with 200 rounds, fixed in the nose
1x 13 mm (0.512 in) MG 131 machine gun with 500 rounds, movable in dorsal position
Two underwing hardpoints for a 900 l drop tank each, but only used during unarmed ferry flights
The kit and its assembly:
This was another submission to the "Gunships" group build at whatifmodellers.com in late 2021, and inspiration struck when I realized that I had two Italeri Do 217 in The Stash - a bomber and a night fighter - that could be combined into a suitable (fictional) carrier for a Sondergerät 104. This mighty weapon actually existed and even reached the hardware/test stage - but it was never integrated into an airframe and tested in flight. But that's what this model is supposed to depict.
On the Do 217, the Sg 104 would have been carried externally under the fuselage, even though there had been plans to integrate this recoilless rifle into airframes, esp. into the Ju 288. Since the latter never made it into production, the Do 217 would have been the most logical alternative, also because it had the highest payload of all German bombers during WWII and probably the only aircraft capable of carrying and deploying the Münchhausen device, as the SG 104 was also known.
The fictional Do 217 F-0 is a kitbashing, using a Do 217 N fuselage, combined with the wings from a Do 217 K bomber, plus some modifications. What initially sounded like a simple plan soon turned into a improvisation mess: it took some time to realize that I had already donated the Do 217 K's BMW 801 engines to another project, an upgraded He 115... I did not want to use the nightfighter's more powerful DB 603s, and I was lucky to have an Italeri Ju 188 kit at hand which comes with optional BMW 801s and Jumo 211s. Transplanting these engines onto the Do 217's wings took some tailoring of the adapter plates, but was feasible. However, the BMW 801s from the Ju 188 kit have a flaw: they lack the engine's characteristic cooling fans... Another lucky find: I found two such parts in the scrap box, even though from different kits - one left over from another Italeri Do 217 K, the other one from what I assume is/was an Italeri 1:72 Fw 190 A/F. To make matters worse, one propeller from the Ju 188 kit was missing, so that I had to find a(nother) replacement. :-/
I eventually used something that looked like an 1:72 F6F Hellcat propeller, but I an not certain about this because I have never built this model...? With some trimming on the blades' trailing edges and other mods, the donor's overall look could be adapted to the Ju 188 benchmark. Both propellers were mounted on metal axis' so that they could also carry the cooling fans. Lots of work, but the result looks quite good.
The Do 217 N's hull lost the lower rear gunner position and its ventral gondola, which was faired over with a piece of styrene sheet. The pilot was taken OOB, the gunner in the rear position was replaced by a more blob-like crew member from the scrap box. The plan to add a navigator in the seat to the lower right of the pilot did not work out due to space shortage, but this figure would probably have been invisble, anyway.
All gun openings in the nose were filled and PSRed away, and a fairing for a bomb aiming device and a single gun (the barrel is a hollow steel needle) were added.
The SG 104 was scratched. Starting point was a white metal replacement barrel for an 1:35 ISU-152 SPG with a brass muzzle brake. However, after dry-fitting the barrel under the hull the barrel turned out to be much too wide, so that only the muzzal brake survived and the rest of the weapon was created from a buddy refueling pod (from an Italeri 1:72 Luftwaffe Tornado, because of its two conical ends) and protective plastic caps from medical canulas. To attach this creation to the hull I abused a conformal belly tank from a Matchbox Gloster Meteor night fighter and tailored it into a streamlined fairing. While this quite a Frankenstein creation, the overall dimensions match the real SG 104 prototype and its look well.
Other cosmetic modifications include a pair of underwing dive brakes, translanted from an Italeri 1:72 Ju 88 A-4 kit, an extended (scratched) tail "stinger" which resembles the real dive brake arrangement that was installed on some Do 217 E bombers, and I added blast deflector vanes and a dorsal stabilizer fin.
In order to provide the aircraft with enough ground clearance, the tail wheel was slightly extended. Thanks to the long tail stinger, this is not blatantly obvious.
Painting and markings:
This was not an easy choice, but as a kind of prototype I decided that the paint scheme should be rather conservative. However, German aircraft operating over the Atlantic tended to carry rather pale schemes, so that the standard pattern of RLM 70/71/65 (Dunkelgrün, Schwarzgrün and Hellblau) with a low waterline - typical for experimental types - would hardly be appropriate.
I eventually found a compromise on a He 177 bomber (coded 6N+BN) from 1944 that was operated by KG 100: this particular aircraft had a lightened upper camouflage - still a standard splinter scheme but consisting of RLM 71 and 02 (Dunkelgrün and Grau; I used Modelmaster 2081 and Humbrol 240), a combination that had been used on German fighters during the Battle of Britain when the standard colors turned out to be too dark for operations over the Channel. The aircraft also carried standard RLM 65 (or maybe the new RLM76) underneath (Humbrol 65) and on the fin, but with a very high and slightly wavy waterline. As a rather unusual feature, no typical camouflage mottles were carried on the flanks or the fin, giving the aircraft a very bleak and simple look.
Despite my fears that this might look rather boring I adapted this scheme for the Do 217 F-0, and once basic painting was completed I was rather pleased by the aircraft's look! As an aircraft operated at the Western front, no additional markings like fuselage bands were carried.
To set the SG 104 apart from the airframe, I painted the weapon's visible parts in RLM 66 (Schwarzgrau, Humbrol 67), because this tone was frequently used for machinery (including the interior surfaces of aircraft towards 1945).
RLM 02 was also used for the interior surfaces and the landing gear, even though I used a slightly different, lighter shade in form of Revell 45 (Helloliv).
A light black ink washing was applied and post-shading to emphasize panel lines. Most markings/decals came from a Begemot 1:72 He 11 sheet, including the unusual green tactical code - it belongs to a staff unit, a suitable marking for such an experimental aircraft. The green (Humbrol 2) was carried over to the tips of the propeller spinners. The unit's code "1A" is fictional, AFAIK this combination had never been used by the Luftwaffe.
The small unit badge was alucky find: it actually depicts the fictional Baron von Münchhausen riding on a cannonball, and it comes from an Academy 1:72 Me 163 kit and its respective sheet. The mission markings underneath, depicting two anti-ship missions plus a successful sinking, came from a TL Modellbau 1:72 scale sheet with generic German WWII victory markings.
After some soot stains around the engine exhaust and weapon muzzles had been added with graphite, the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish and final details like position lights and wire antennae (from heated black plastic sprue material) were added.
Well, what started as a combination of two kits of the same kind with a simple huge pipe underneath turned out to be more demanding than expected. The (incomplete) replacement engines were quite a challenge, and body work on the hull (tail stinger, fairing for the SG 104 as well as the weapon itself) turned out to be more complex and extensive than initially thought of. The result looks quite convincing, also supported by the rather simple paint scheme which IMHO just "looks right" and very convincing. And the whole thing is probably the most direct representation of the inspiring "Gunship" theme!
Several months later than originally expected, ex-Lothian open topper Dennis Trident Plaxton President V518 ESC was finally been delivered to the York depot in late 2017. This is the second of the batch to have been delivered as fully converted by Rotherham-based Magtec into a fully electric double decker using what is now a proven system of vehicle traction conversion, and so this joins sister V525ESC which was delivered a few weeks ago (though appearances in service had been sporadic, and the tours have now stopped running for the winter). The bus has gained the fleetnumber of 4018 in order to maintain simplicity by aligning numbers to registrations even though 4018 was previously a number allocated to a K-reg Olympian.
4018 is seen at Cliffords Tower with full Citysightseeing livery applied including 'electric' vinyls which are only getting applied to vehicles once converted... as with the rest of the fleet, the tour buses now accept contactless payments as new Ticketer machnines identical to those used by First York have now been fitted.
View in Lightbox for better resolution.
Lighting Info:
600EX-RT on a shoot thru brolly at camera right @ 1/128
LED at right of couple @ 1/1
Triggered by ST-E3-RT
DO NOT USE WITHOUT MY WRITTEN PERMISSION.
Copyright © 2009 All rights reserved. Use without permission is illegal.
I recently met Amanda and upon learning that she was expecting her first child, I immediately offered to do some maternity photos for her. After a couple of emails and phone calls, we set up a date and time for a photo session. This morning, I had the great pleasure of photographing her and her husband at their home. To say they were great models would be a serious understatement. These two were awesome and certainly deserve the joy and thrill of having a child.
A very special thanks to my great friend Richard (aka KmountMan) for coming along with me to this shoot and making it an even more fun day. Thanks buddy!!! Richard has posted some of his outstanding shots from the day, here...
Both looking down at the babybelly. Baby is due in 4 days. They are very excited :-).
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Made Black Canary's Jacket out of an old cape. Came out better than I thought it would! This 'fig is gonna be epic.
I expect that I have carried this subtlety business as far as I am likely with this capture. And no, I have no idea about the tile and am pretty sure that it is not even right. Believe it or not, this is yet another pass of pond #2 for exercise but I am still looking for anything that can be found. My camera carrying arm is going to end up longer than the other because I hate the neck strap. It is nearly December and I am hoping for fat snow flakes to fall, but then Greenland could use some snow before it melts entirely. It is not strange that it consists of sky reflections on rippling water. The rabbit wire wrapped around several younger trees about the shores leads me to believe that beavers are at work here. I have not seen a beaver house but the area is abutting wetlands.
On this day of nice skies and water, I came back to this spot I've used before with the intention of expanding my catalog. My previous take was one of my favorites. I am still fighting to slow this autumn's slipping away and I made another loop of the path but there was little breeze and there were only a few ripples on the water that ushered in the fine sky and foliage colors. I got a couple of shots of the foliage in the distance but it has deteriorated. I guess this reflection scene just grabbed me emotionally for some reason. Later, I decided to recapture earlier shots. There was slight but productive rippled water scenes and skies with some mixed clouds, water but the foliage is gone.
I am out here at Golden Ponds, the Longmont, Boulder County, Colorado greenbelt and rec area and fortunately, the turn-off is only a half-dozen blocks down Hover St. I met Dan the Longmont Man puzzling about how to maintain the habitat here. I wanted to look for possible locations even though the sky has been the pits lately. I wandered the green space and took some detail shots that were available, Drying cattails surrounded the ponds and most cattails are seeding the next year's supply. I shot a few pictures and kept the sky and bare trees out of the frame but the presence shows in the water. I am again fascinated by the subtle tonalities. The colorful autumn foliage fell around the ponds and under the water. I love shooting stark scenes with this camera and lens. I have not used any of my old Nikkors even though I programmed them into the camera's computer.
When you live north of 60 degrees north latitude, short summers and long winters are to be expected. It is September 22nd, and we woke up to snow this morning. Our garden was still full of beautiful and colourful flowers, all of which seemed especially lovely and precious on this snowy morning.
We humans are a funny lot. We tend to ignore, or undervalue, our blessings where they are easy, or often found. Winter helps us appreciate summer, and summer helps us appreciate winter. These snow laden flowers are as beautiful as they could ever be right now!
All of these snow laden flower photos were taken with the Canon EOS R hand held. I used a vintage film lens, my Fujinon 55mm f/1.8, adapted to the Canon with a Fotodiox Pro M42-EOS R. I particularly like the way that this old lens, shot wide open at f/1.8, creates a very narrow plane of focus with everything else swirling off into obscurity. It is a charateristic that modern and optically perfect computer designed lenses seem to lack.
Nice one this.
Published by Andrew Reid & Co., Ltd., 50, Grey Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne. 1915
No artist information. Due to this, and the date I'm assuming this is out of copyright.
Lucian Freud (1922-2011)
oil on canvas
This tiny painting was made in 2005, and is one of the latest in Freud's series of 'naked portraits'. The model was Annabel Mullion, who was expecting her fourth child. Freud also made an etching of the composition, on a much larger scale.
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.
Life is all full of expectations. Expectations about some one special, expectations about future, expectations about friends, expectations about job, expectations about ourselves... The list goes on.
Found this pretty model in Trivandrum zoo. My 70-300 did a good job for me reaching this guy on top of a big tree.
[Press L to view large in black]