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©All photographs on this site are copyright: ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) 2011 – 2021 & GETTY IMAGES ®
No license is given nor granted in respect of the use of any copyrighted material on this site other than with the express written agreement of ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams). No image may be used as source material for paintings, drawings, sculptures, or any other art form without permission and/or compensation to ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)
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I would like to say a huge and heartfelt 'THANK YOU' to GETTY IMAGES, and the 45.079+ Million visitors to my FLICKR site.
***** Selected for sale in the GETTY IMAGES COLLECTION on Thursday 24th November 2022
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©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)
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Photograph taken at an altitude of Fifty metres at 10:37am on Tuesday 7th September 2020, of an adult Long-tailed tit (Aegithalos caudatus), off Chessington Avenue in Bexleyheath, Kent.
The long-tailed tit is also known as long-tailed bushtit, silver-throated tit or silver-throated dasher,and is a common bird found throughout Europe and the Palearctic. At just 14cms in length, theses are often regarded as one of the UK's cutest birds.
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Nikon D850 Hand held with Sigma OS Optical Stabilization enabled on normal setting. Focal length 600mm Shutter speed: 1/200s Aperture f/8.0 iso200 Image area FX (36 x 24) NEF RAW L (8256 x 5504). NEF RAW L (14 bit uncompressed) Focus mode AF-C focus. AF-C Priority Selection: Release. Nikon Back button focusing enabled. 3D Tracking watch area: Normal 55 Tracking points.AF-Area mode single point & 73 point switchable. Exposure mode: Shutter Priority mode. Matrix metering. Auto ISO sensitivity control on (Max iso 800/ Minimum shutter speed 125). White balance on: Auto1. Colour space: RGB. Active D-lighting: Normal. Vignette control: Normal. Nikon Distortion control: Enabled. Picture control: Auto (Sharpening A +1/Clarity A+1)
Sigma 60-600mm f/4.5-6.3DG OS HSM SPORTS. Lee SW150 MKI filter holder with MK2 light shield and custom made velcro fitting for the Sigma lens. Lee SW150 circular polariser glass filter.Lee SW150 Filters field pouch.Nikon GP-1 GPS module. Hoodman HEYENRG round eyepiece oversized eyecup.Mcoplus professional MB-D850 multi function battery grip 6960.Two Nikon EN-EL15a batteries (Priority to battery in Battery grip). Matin quick release neckstrap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC 80MB/s card. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag.
LATITUDE: N 51d 28m 28.08s
LONGITUDE: E 0d 8m 10.43s
ALTITUDE: 50.0m
RAW (TIFF) FILE: 130.00MB NEF: 91.3MB
PROCESSED (JPeg) FILE: 25.70MB
PROCESSING POWER:
Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.10 (9/05/2019) LD Distortion Data 2.018 (18/02/20) LF 1.00
HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB Data storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit Version 1.4.1 (18/02/2020). Nikon Capture NX-D 64bit Version 1.6.2 (18/02/2020). Nikon Picture Control Utility 2 (Version 2.4.5 (18/02/2020). Nikon Transfer 2 Version 2.13.5. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.
©All photographs on this site are copyright: ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) 2011 – 2021 & GETTY IMAGES ®
No license is given nor granted in respect of the use of any copyrighted material on this site other than with the express written agreement of ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams). No image may be used as source material for paintings, drawings, sculptures, or any other art form without permission and/or compensation to ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)
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Photograph taken at an altitude of Five metres at 11:21am on Wednesday 28th July 2021 at 81 Central Parade, in front of Waltrop Gardens, looking towards the remnants of one of the original piers at Herne Bay on the Thames Estuary, CT6 5JQ, England.
This is all that remains of the third pier at Herne Bay, with just the steamer passengers landing stage remaining after a storm January 11th 1978 which wrecked the 3,787ft (1,154m) wooden pier, designed by Wrighton & Co which originally opened in 1899.Further out we see the Kentish Flats Offshore Wind Farm, completed in 2005 and located on a shallow plateau just outside the main Thames shipping lanes. You can also see a cluster of Maunsell sea forts built in 1942 and decommissioned in the 1950's.
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I left at 9am for the One hour journey down with the possibility of sun, cloud and rain showers. At Herne Bay it was time for my usual stop at 'Makcari's Coffee Lounge & Ice Cream Parlour' for a slice of cherry and almond gateaux and a lovely latte coffee before a pleasant stroll on a mixed day. With rain off in the distance I headed back to the car, just getting inside before the heavens opened!
On the drive home torrential rain and wind made it impossible to see the road ahead at times, before clearing and sunny spells dominating. A typical British summer day, you might say!
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Nikon D850 Hand held with Nikkor VR Vibration Reduction enabled on Normal setting Focal length: 190mm Shutter speed: 1/800s Aperture f/9.0 iso160 RAW (14 bit uncompressed) Image size L 8256 x 5504 FX) Focus mode: AF-C focus AF-Area mode: 3-D tracking Exposure mode: Manual exposure Metering mode: Matrix metering White balance: Auto 1, 0, 0 (5710K) Picture control: (NL) Neutral +2 sharpening
Sigma 60-600mm f/4.5-6.3DG OS HSM SPORTS (Firmware version 1.00 05/11/2019). Lee SW150 MKI filter holder with MK2 light shield and custom made velcro fitting for the Sigma lens. Lee SW150 circular polariser glass filter.Lee SW150 Filters field pouch. Nikon EN-EL15a battery. Black Rapid curve breathe sport shoulder strap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag. Nikon GP-1 GPS module. Jessops Tripod bag.
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LATITUDE: N 51d 22m 19.12s
LONGITUDE: E 1d 7m 9.31s
ALTITUDE: 8.0m
RAW (TIFF) FILE: 130.00MB NEF FILE SIZE: 91.20MB
PROCESSED (JPeg) FILE: 43.10MB
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PROCESSING POWER:
Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.01 (16/01/2018) LD Distortion Data 2.017 (20/3/18)
HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB SATA storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit (Version 1.2.11 15/03/2018). Nikon Capture NX-D 64bit (Version 1.4.7 15/03/2018). Nikon Picture Control Utility 2 (Version 1.3.2 15/03/2018). Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.
I’ve given much thought to this week’s theme. Photographically I’ve been in a creative slump since the middle of 2016. Three years ago my husband of 41 years passed away, and I’ve spent the time since getting rid of things, downsizing and trying to build a life on my own. Last May I moved into a newly built home in an “empty nester” community. It has been a really good move for me, but it has left me mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted. After 36 years in one place, I am surprised at how challenging the adjustment has been. So my story starts with rest and recovery that will hopefully lead to renewed creativity in my photography.
I thought I’d jumpstart things with a new macro lens. I’ve been wanting the 60mm for at least a year and a half, and finally decided to order it. It came, I took this picture of it and was planning to use it for this theme, and then realized I had mistakenly ordered the wrong lens! This is the AF 60mm and I need the AF-S! So I have to send it back and exchange it for the correct one. So my photographic story starts with a frustration and a delay. Hopefully by Week 3’s theme I’ll be able to do something creative with my new lens! :-)
Also for the ODC Theme “Three”
2 Weeks of 2017 - Week 1 - Theme: My Story starts with a… - Category: Creative
ODC Three
Only location given was Philippines. According to their skirts and the strings of beads around some of the ladies necks can anyone suggest a location?
John Dutton Wright photograph collection documenting the Wright family's international travel, 1920-1924
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections.
Name: James Currey
Arrested for: not given
Arrested at: North Shields Police Station
Arrested on: 27 July 1905
Tyne and Wear Archives ref: DX1388-1-75-James Currey
Images are also available of his accomplices John Curry www.flickr.com/photos/twm_news/16091228264/in/album-72157... and Robert Smith www.flickr.com/photos/twm_news/19144732584/in/dateposted/.
The Shields Daily News for 28 July 1905 reports:
“THEFT FROM SMITH’S DOCK. THREE NORTH SHIELDS MEN SENT TO PRISON.
At North Shields Police Court today, Robert Smith (48), fireman, 9 Middle Street, Milburn Place; John Curry (39), 25 Front Street, and James Curry (35), 3 West Street, Milburn Place, marine store dealers, were charged on remand with having stolen from Messrs Smith’s Pontoon Dock, on the 25th inst., a quantity of brass valued at £4 17s 1d.
John Craigie, foreman fitter with the prosecutors, said that on the morning of the 26th inst. he went into the engine room of the pontoon and missed a quantity of brass. In the afternoon of the same day he accompanied an officer to No.25 Front Street, Milburn Place, and there identified a portion of the stolen metal.
James C. Smith, store keeper with Messrs Smith’s Dock Coy. Ltd, said that on the morning of the 26th inst. He missed a quantity of brass, and afterwards went to the Central Police Station. He was there shown a quantity of brass, which he identified as the property of Messrs Smith. The total weight of the metal was 116 lbs and the value was $4 17s 1d.
Joseph Garrick, a rigger and stevedore, said that on the 25th inst, he saw Smith and James Curry go into the Aberllelyn Arms in Front Street, Milburn Place. At a late hour on the same night he saw Smith go over the wall of Messrs Smith’s premises, enter the engine room and afterwards leave with a bag of metal. He gave information to the police.
PC Cuerton said that at 11.40pm on the 25th inst. he saw John Curry go into his house and at midnight he saw his brother leave the house and walk in the direction of his own.
Detective Sergt. Scougal said that at noon on the 26th inst. he went to the house of John Curry with a search warrant and found underneath the bed a quantity of brass, which was identified as the property of Messrs Smith by the witness Craigie. He then proceeded to No. 9 Middle Street, where he saw Smith. He told him he was going to take him to the Bull Ring Police Station, whereupon his wife said: “What’s the matter, Bob?”. Accused replied: “There has been some brass stolen from Smith’s”. Witness charged him with having stolen the brass, and he replied: “I know nothing about it”.
At five o’clock the same afternoon he met the two Currys in the Borough Road and told them he was going to take them to the Bull Ring Police Station. They both replied: “It is only a bit of spite because we would not do the same as him”. The following morning he charged the three of the prisoners with the theft. Smith replied: “I have nothing to say”. John Curry replied: “We got the best part of the brass from the saw mills, We only got two small pieces from Smith and gave him a couple of bob for them”. James in answer to the charge said they got most of the metal from the saw mills. Formally charged, the whole of the prisoners pleaded guilty.
Mr G.R. Duncan, who represented the accused, said that Smith, who could produce discharges covering a period of twenty years, showing an excellent character, had been employed for some time as a fireman by the prosecuting firm. Unfortunately, having got some drink, he yielded to the temptation while working on the night shift, and in consequence had lost his situation. Both he and his wife were most distressed about it. The two Currys were licensed marine store dealers bearing good characters.
The Chairman said the case was too serious to be dealt with under the First Offenders’ Act and the amount involved was too large to permit of a fine being imposed. The prisoners would each be committed for a month".
This may not have been Curry's last brush with the courts. The Shields Daily News for 15 November 1907 reports:
"WIFE ASSAULT.
James Curry, a young man, was summoned for having assaulted his wife on the 9th inst. Complainant said that on the date in question her husband came home drunk and without receiving provocation badly used her, blackening one of her eyes. He was frequently drunk and whenever he was in that condition he ill-treated her, using pokers, chairs and anything else he could lay his hands on. She had him before the magistrates nine years ago and she had then only been seven months married. Defendant promised to behave himself better in future. The Chairman (Coun. Addison) severely repromanded the dfendant in imposing a fine of 10s and costs or 14 days."
These images are a selection from an album of photographs of prisoners brought before the North Shields Police Court between 1902 and 1916 in the collection of Tyne & Wear Archives (TWA ref DX1388/1).
(Copyright) We're happy for you to share this digital image within the spirit of The Commons. Please cite 'Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums' when reusing. Certain restrictions on high quality reproductions and commercial use of the original physical version apply though; if you're unsure please email archives@twmuseums.org.uk.
The following is an excerpt of a blog written by Tim Dees who relates his experiences working for Silva's in the mid 1970's.
Link: timdees.com/blog/?p=375
The ambulances were pink, because that was the owner’s wife’s favorite color. Pink bed linen, and when I got there, they were just moving away from pink shirts, as they were too difficult to find. Bob Silva never bought a new ambulance. They were all used Cadillacs, as he believed a used Cadillac was much classier than a new van-type that actually ran. I was taking a woman in labor to a hospital in San Francisco when the tranny gave up the ghost in Hunter’s Point. I’d told Bob the day before that it was on its last legs, and he advised that I should shut up and drive what I was given to drive. We were dead in the water, and just barely within radio range to call for another rig to take our patient.
The county came out with some new regs for gear that had to be on the rig, and one requirement was an obstetrics kit. Pre-packaged OB kits from Dyna-Med were $7.50 each. Silva bought one. He put it on a rig, sent it to be inspected, then brought that one back and put the same kit on the next rig to be inspected. When it was finally left in the rig he usually drove, he wrapped it in strapping tape to discourage anyone from actually using it. It wasn’t like we didn’t need OB kits. I delivered three babies while I worked there.
The electronic sirens we’re so used to now were just coming into widespread use in the 1970s. Most of our ambulances were equipped with mechanical sirens that wound up slowly when activated. They had brakes on them, and if you forgot to brake the siren before you left the rig, it would take a minute or more to wind down, growling the whole time. The big daddy of these mechanical sirens was the Federal Q2. Some of these are still in use on fire engines. The Q2 is a massive thing, and drew so much power that the engine would knock when you leaned on the button too long—the spark plugs didn’t get enough voltage. Few man-made things are as loud as a Q2. One day, while en route back to the station with a new attendant, I stopped at a Safeway for some groceries. I left the attendant in the rig, telling him to tap the siren if we got a call. When the call came in, he didn’t tap on the horn ring that activated the siren—he held it down. The ambulance was parked facing the store and its large plate glass windows. I heard the siren, then heard the window start to reverberate in its frame as it resonated with the blast of sonic waves—“whap-whap-whap-whapwhapWhapWhapWHAPWHAPWHAP.” I made it back to the rig, screaming ineffectively, before the window shattered.
Between the mechanical siren, separate heater for the rear compartment, more blinking lights than a Vegas casino, etc., the ambulances needed a lot of electrical power. A single battery would be dead before you got to the hospital, so most ambulances had two car batteries, cross-connected via a big rotary Cole-Hersee switch. The switch, which looked a little like the access cover to your house’s sewer cleanout pipe, had four positions: Battery One, Battery Two, Both, and Off. “Both” was the usual setting, but when the rig was parked, it was common to switch it to “Off,” so the batteries wouldn’t be drained if you had forgotten to turn something off. This effectively disconnected the batteries from the rest of the rig. If you wanted to have some fun with another crew, you could turn everything in their rig on, but leave the Cole-Hersee switch off. When they turned it back on, hilarity would ensue.
The gear we had in these ambulances was very basic, and most of us purchased and brought our own equipment to work, rather than provide inferior care for our patients. I bought my own stethoscope and sphygmomanometer (blood pressure cuff), chemical cold packs, wire ladder splints, ammonia “wake up gizmo” ampules, etc. Consumable supplies, such as self-adhering Kerlix bandages and waterproof tape, were stolen from the hospitals. The bandages we had on board, furnished by the company, were made of crumbling linen material from the Korean War era. Oropharyngeal airways were supposed to be either used once and discarded, or autoclaved between patients, but we had neither replacement airways or an autoclave, so we wiped them clean with alcohol and hoped for the best.
Our suction apparatus was powered through the engine’s vacuum manifold. Suction power went to zero when the engine was accelerating. If you were trying to clear gunk from a patient’s airway while your driver was flooring it, you’d tell him to coast until you had made some progress.
We weren’t allowed to say someone was dead, even if the flesh was falling from their bones. Law enforcement officers could make that determination, but doing so meant they would have to remain at the scene until the coroner arrived, which could take hours. This being the case, many officers chose to see some glimmer of life in corpses long past resurrection. We responded to an “11-80” (traffic accident with serious injuries) attended by a member of the California Highway Patrol to find a pickup truck that had rolled over with an unfortunate passenger in the back. The passenger had not quite been decapitated, as his head was hanging by a few strips of flesh. This was one of the more obvious dead people I had encountered, but the Chippie ordered us to run him in. Getting the body onto the gurney had the same effect achieved in kosher slaughterhouses, where the neck veins are severed and the blood is allowed to drain from the carcass. By the time we got to the hospital, the floor of the rear compartment was literally awash in blood, with it sloshing over my boots. I called the office and told them we would be out of service for a while.
This pre-dated the AIDS scare, and even though hepatitis and other bloodborne pathogens were just as nasty then as now (and there was no vaccine), we had no latex gloves to wear. Back then, gloves were worn by medical people to protect the patient from infection. There wasn’t a lot of thought given to protecting the caregivers. I remember cleaning up after an especially gruesome call and thinking that I wasn’t just cleaning something, but rather someone, out from under my fingernails.
One case where we didn’t have to transport was at the home of an older gentleman. I never knew the circumstances that prompted the call, but we arrived a few minutes after the fire department and before the cops. As we walked up to the house, the firemen were walking out, chuckling to one another. “He’s dead!” they said with some amusement. We entered the bedroom to find an older man lying supine on top of his bed, naked. Rigor had set in, so he had been gone for some time. What the firefighters found so funny was that the man had expired while engaged in an act of self-pleasure, and still had the weapon in hand. My partner and I looked at each other and registered much the same expression the firemen had. As we walked out, the cops were just arriving. “He’s dead!” we told them. I suppose there are worse ways to go, but that’s not how I want to be found.
I ran a lot of calls at Silva’s. The shifts were 120 hours long–yes, five days straight. You got paid straight time ($2.00/hour in 1974) for the first eight hours, a guaranteed time-and-a-half for five more hours, and were unpaid for three hours of meals, whether you actually got to eat them or not. Between midnight and eight in the morning, you got overtime for the time you were actually in service on the call. If you rolled and were cancelled two minutes out–which was common–you got two minutes of overtime. I swear some of those rigs could find their own way home, because there were many nights I have no memory of having driven them there. When my days off finally arrived, I would usually sleep through at least one of them.
The full Silva’s uniform was a sartorial delight. Each time they would give me a new uniform article, it would fall to a mysteriously tragic end, so I wore a white shirt, navy blue knit slacks, and a nylon bomber jacket. If you wanted to show you were management material, the required outfit consisted of a white (formerly pink) shirt with royal blue trousers and Ike jacket. The trousers had white piping down each leg, as did the cuffs of the jacket. On each shoulder of the Ike jacket was a huge purple and gold patch, proclaiming the wearer to be employed by Silva’s Ambulance Service, the words spelled out in metallic script. One was also obliged to wear a royal blue CHP clip-on neck tie. Mandatory accessories to the ensemble included a gold metal nametag, white belt, and white leather shoes. Worn on the shirt or jacket was a shield-type gold badge, about the size of a soup plate. All the badges identified the wearers as “Technician,” except for Bob Silva’s. His said, “Owner.” There was a $20 deposit on the badge. Those who were really in with the in crowd had huge custom Western-style belt buckles with their first names spelled out diagonally, and the corners adorned with red crosses, stars of life, or tiny ambulances. However, the crowning glory accessory–and I only saw one of these–was a gold tie bar, wider than the tie itself, with a fine gold chain attached to either end of the bar. Dangling from the chain was a pink Cadillac ambulance. Its wearer was extremely proud of this, and wouldn’t tell anyone where he got it, lest someone steal his thunder.
Employee turnover was around 200% annually, and I was a prized employee because I always showed up on time and sober. I was able to work full time on school vacations and summer, and from Friday evening to early Monday morning, when I’d leave to make it to my first class at San Jose State. It wasn’t uncommon to have an employee go AWOL, and have the cops show up a day or so later, looking for them. You had to be fingerprinted to get an ambulance driver’s license, but all you needed to work as an attendant was a first aid card, which management would procure for you for a small fee.
Bob Curry, in almost the full Silva's uniform (no badge), posing with a "new" ambulance, formerly used by Allied Ambulance in Oakland.
Bob Curry, in almost the full Silva’s uniform (no badge), posing with a “new” ambulance, formerly used by Allied Ambulance in Oakland.
There was one very senior employee whose name was also Bob. Bob thought he was the manager, and would tell you he was if asked, despite advice to the contrary if one of the Silvas was listening. Bob was very possessive of “his” ambulance, which was always the newest one (given that they were all used, “new” was a relative term). One night, I had just come in to work, and a call came in. The dispatcher told me to take it, so I grabbed an attendant and got in the first rig I saw. It was Bob’s, of course. When I returned, Bob screamed my face, lest I forget that that particular rig was HIS ambulance, and I had better stay the hell out of it if I knew what was good for me. Bob had an apartment near the main station, so he didn’t have to sleep at the station when he was on duty. If you were Bob’s attendant (Bob never worked in the back unless there was some real hero stuff going on), you were allowed to drive Bob’s ambulance to his place, where you switched seats. That night, a co-conspirator and I did a little customizing to Bob’s rig. When he got in the next morning, he found the handle on the driver’s door adorned with some adhesive tape, reading “Bob’s Door Handle.” Inside, more tape indicated Bob’s Steering Wheel, Bob’s Cigarette Lighter, Bob’s Gearshift, Bob’s Turn Indicator, Bob’s Accelerator, Bob’s Radio, Bob’s Other Radio, and so on. Tucked under Bob’s Sun Visor was a card on a little string, trimmed to drop to eye level: “Hi, Bob.”
Silva’s didn’t have the market cornered on odd employees. A rival company employed a guy we called Captain Action. Captain Action worked for a company that had more traditional uniforms, but still included a badge. The issued badge wasn’t up to Captain Action’s high standards. He had his own badge made up. It was a thing of beauty. It was a gold seven-point star (the most common style of police badge in those parts), but much larger than most police badges. It put the Silva’s badge to shame on size alone. I remember it had a big California State Seal in the middle, and a lot of text on the banners and inner ring. There was so much lettering on the badge that I never got to finish reading it, although I saw it often. Captain Action also wore a police-style Sam Browne belt with various snaps and cases, including a cuff case, handcuffs, and a baton ring. I never saw a baton, but I’m sure he had it around somewhere.
Captain Action loved to talk on the radio. Each ambulance had two radios, one on the company channel, and one that broadcasted on a shared, county-wide channel, called County Control. There was no direct channel to the hospitals, so one was obliged to tell County Control what you had and where you were bringing it, so the dispatcher could give the appropriate ER the heads up. An appropriate message might be something like, “County Control, Ambulance 3335, en route Code 3 to Peninsula Medical with an unconscious head injury.” Captain Action preferred to be somewhat more detailed, and made liberal use of the phonetic alphabet. “County Control, Ambulance 3330, en route Peninsula Medical Center with a 33-year-old white male with a history of cardiac myopathy, I spell CHARLES-ADAM-ROBERT-DAVID-IDA-ADAM-CHARLES-BREAK-MARY-YELLOW-OCEAN-PAUL-ADAM-TOM-HENRY-YELLOW…”
After one of these lengthy naratives (keep in mind that there were ten or twelve other ambulances in the county that used the same channel), the dispatcher was oddly silent. Captain Action made another try to ensure his message made it through. “County Control, Ambulance 3330, did you copy?”
“Ambulance 3330, County Control, TOM-EDWARD-NORA-BREAK-FRANK-OCEAN-UNION-ROBERT.”
Ah, the good old days.
Written by Tim Dees on January 1st, 2015
A natural mikan given to us from our friends farm house in the rural backwoods of Chiba Prefecture. www.lucidcommunication.com/2011/12/05/real-natural-ancien...
"On any given day, something claims our attention [literally "grabs our hearts"]. Anything at all, inconsequential things. A rosebud, a misplaced hat, that sweater we liked as a child, an old Gene Pitney record. A parade of trivia with no place to go. Things that bump around in our consciousness for two or three days then go back to wherever they came from... to darkness. We've got all these wells dug in our hearts. While above the wells, birds flit back and forth."
— Haruki Murakami
An old, abandoned chicken house located near Whitehaven, MD. A lot of people use these old buildings for storage, once they no longer raise chickens. In last year's winter storms, many local chicken houses collapsed under the weight of the snow.
Photo best seen large on black ...
Given to me when my Mother passed away , by my lovely friend Kim. This rose smells so lovely in my garden
©All photographs on this site are copyright: ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) 2011 – 2021 & GETTY IMAGES ®
No license is given nor granted in respect of the use of any copyrighted material on this site other than with the express written agreement of ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams). No image may be used as source material for paintings, drawings, sculptures, or any other art form without permission and/or compensation to ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)
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I would like to say a huge and heartfelt 'THANK YOU' to GETTY IMAGES, and the 50.435+ Million visitors to my FLICKR site.
***** Selected for sale in the GETTY IMAGES COLLECTION on Tuesday 11th March 2025
CREATIVE RF gty.im/2204164138 MOMENT ROYALTY FREE COLLECTION**
This photograph became my 7,218th frame to be selected for sale in the Getty Images collection and I am very grateful to them for this wonderful opportunity.
©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)
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Photograph taken at 14:01pm on Monday 3rd March 2025 at an altitude of Fifty one metres in the Grounds of Warnham Nature Reserve in Horsham, West Sussex. The Millpond dates back to the 16th Century and parts of the woodland dates back even further to the 13th Century. A beautiful location for a walk, or to sit amongst nature and so see birds and butterflies in their natural habitat.
Here we see a European goldfinch or simply the goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis), a small passerine bird in the finch family that is native to Europe, North Africa and western and central Asia. It has been introduced to other areas, including Australia, New Zealand, Uruguay and the United States.
Nikon D850 Single-lens reflex digital camera F Mount with FX CMOS 35.9mm x 23.9mm Image sensor 46.89 Million total pixels Focal length: 600mm Shutter speed: 1/800s (Mechanical shutter) Aperture f/6.3 Iso320 Image area Full Frame FX (36 x 24) NEF RAW L 45.4Million pixels (8256 x 5504) 14 Bit uncompressed Hand held with Tamron VC control enabled AF-C Priority Selection: Release Nikon Back button focusing enabled 3D Tracking watch area: Normal 55 Tracking points Exposure mode: Manual mode Metering mode: Matrix metering White balance on: Auto1, A1.00, M0.25 (4630K) Colour space: Adobe RGB Picture control: (SD) Standard (Sharpening +3.00/Clarity A+1.00) Active D-Lighting: Low
Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2. Nikon GP-1 GPS module. Hoodman HEYENRG round eyepiece oversized eyecup. Black Rapid Curve Breathe strap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC 80MB/s card. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag. Nikon EN-EL15a battery.
LATITUDE: N 51d 4m 48.4s
LONGITUDE: W 0d 19m 57.20s
ALTITUDE: 51.0m
RAW (TIFF) FILE: 130.00MB NEF: 91.8MB
PROCESSED (JPeg) FILE: 22.20MB
PROCESSING POWER:
Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.21 (8/12/2022) LD Distortion Data 2.018 (16/01/20) LF 1.00 Nikon Codec Full version 1.31.2 (09/11/2021)
HP 110-352na Desktop PC with Windows 10 Home edition AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB Data storage. 64-bit Windows 10. My Passport USB 3.0 2TB portable desktop hard drive. Nikon NX STUDIO 64bit Version 1.2.2 (08/12/2022). Nikon Capture NX-D 64bit Version 1.6.2 (18/02/2020). Nikon Picture Control Utility 2 (Version 2.4.5 (18/02/2020). Nikon Transfer 2 Version 2.16.0 (08/12/2022). Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.
Aankomst in Rotterdam van het containerschip EVER GIVEN , VB TIGER , ROTTERDAM , SD STINGRAY en RT ROB van Boluda Towage assisteerden naar de ECT in de Amazonehaven.29-7-2021 gezien vanaf de KRVE 71
©All photographs on this site are copyright: DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) 2011 – 2021 & GETTY IMAGES ®
No license is given nor granted in respect of the use of any copyrighted material on this site other than with the express written agreement of DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) ©
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I would like to say a huge and heartfelt 'THANK YOU' to GETTY IMAGES, and the 38.338+ Million visitors to my FLICKR site.
***** Selected for sale in the GETTY IMAGES COLLECTION on February 16th 2021
CREATIVE RF gty.im/1302402972 MOMENT ROYALTY FREE COLLECTION**
This photograph became my 4,802nd frame to be selected for sale in the Getty Images collection and I am very grateful to them for this wonderful opportunity.
©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)
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Photograph taken at an altitude of Four metres, at 12:22pm on Tuesday 24th September 2019 off the West Coast Road 14, on the shoreline of French Beach Provincial Park.
The park is a Fifty nine Hectare provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. Located on Vancouver Island, between Sooke and River Jordan, the park has spectacular views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
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Nikon D850. Focal length 24mm Shutter speed 1/40s Aperture f/18.0 iso160 RAW (14 bit uncompressed) Image size L (8256 x 5504 FX). Hand held with Nikon VR vibration reduction enabled. Focus mode AF-C focus 51 point with 3D- tracking. AF-Area mode single point & 73 point switchable. Exposure mode - Aperture priority exposure. Nikon Back button focusing enabled. Matrix metering. ISO Sensitivity: Auto. White balance: Natural light auto. Colour space Adobe RGB. Nikon Distortion control on. Picture control: Auto. High ISO NR on. Vignette control: normal. Active D-lighting Auto.
Nikkor AF-S 24-120mm f/4G ED VR. Lee SW150 MKII filter holder. Lee SW150 77mm screw in adapter ring. Lee SW150 0.3 (1 stop) ND Grad soft resin. Lee SW150 Filters field pouch. Nikon EN-EL15a battery.Mcoplus professional MB-D850 multi function battery grip 6960. Matin quick release neckstrap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC 80MB/s card. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag. Nikon GP-1 GPS module. Hoodman HEYENRG round eyepiece oversized eyecup.
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LATITUDE: N 48d 23m 30.00s
LONGITUDE: W 123d 56m 42.17s
ALTITUDE: 4.0m
RAW (TIFF) FILE: 130.00MB NEF: 93.1MB
PROCESSED (JPeg) FILE: 40.00MB
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PROCESSING POWER:
Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.11 (13/11/2020) LD Distortion Data 2.018 (18/02/20) LF 1.00
HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB Data storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit Version 1.4.1 (18/02/2020). Nikon Capture NX-D 64bit Version 1.6.2 (18/02/2020). Nikon Picture Control Utility 2 (Version 2.4.5 (18/02/2020). Nikon Transfer 2 Version 2.13.5. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.
“Suppose this is it…” I said as I looked at the address written on the small slip of paper Fluxx had given me ages ago. I then gazed upward at what looked to be a decently sized facility with “Flickr Fighters” printed on a sign above the entrance.
“Must be a typo…”
Shaking off the peculiar wordage I marched inside to find surprisingly few of my colleagues. Hardly any of which I recognized.
This could prove difficult…
“You alright there Count?” A slightly modulated voice spoke behind me.
I quickly whipped around to find a figure clad in silver and purple power armor with a cape similar to my own. I recognized them from the Halloween incident but like most instances, I could not remember their name.
“Ah, Hello there. By chance do you have any idea where we keep the archives?”
“Try the office next to the meeting room.”
“Which is where exactly?”
“Just follow me…” the figure said with a sigh as he marched through the lobby and down the hall.
We reached the office and they walked over to the filing cabinet and attempted to open it only to discover it was locked.
“Allow me.” I said calmly as I pulled out a couple of bobby pins from my pocket. And began picking the lock.
“Why don’t you just carry lock picks?” They asked likely wondering why a gentleman had hairpins on his person.
“Lock picks always raise suspicion… Not to mention I never could get the hang of them…”
With that, a satisfying “click” sounded as I positioned the last pin and opened the drawer.
“Let’s see… ah, here we are.”
I pulled out a large folder filled with sheets of paper containing a photo of each member along with their name, powers, and a summary of their background.
“What is it you’re looking for anyway?”
“I’m looking for heroes with portal generation abilities…” I answered as I flipped through the papers.
“You mean like this?”
With a flick of the wrist, the hero summoned a small purple rift in space-time about the size of a pie pan.
Then something clicked in my cluttered mind and I remembered that the hero in front of me went by the name Rift Runner.
“Well. I feel like an idio-“
Suddenly a fellow in a black tactical suit wearing a bandana over his mouth entered the office.
“What’s going on here?!” Agent Sharp exclaimed.
“Oh bother, time to go!” I said quickly grabbing Rift runner’s shoulder and shifting to a random dimension.
“Youch! Watch it man, that hasn’t fully healed- What the?! Where the heck are we?!” Rift shouted as he looked around clearly startled by our sudden change in location.
I looked around and saw we stood in a room with yellow wallpaper covered in mildew stains, slightly damp foul-smelling carpet and Fluorescent lights that buzzed loudly overhead.
“It appears we have ended up in the realm known only as the backrooms.” I replied as I pocketed the folder.
“Backrooms? Sounds like one of those crazy stories you find online…”
“Well my friend, the multiverse is often a very odd thing. Sometimes one realm’s crazy story is another’s reality… Now, if we just stay put we should return to the realm we came from shortly.”
“Can’t you just shift us back?”
“One does not enter or exit this realm on purpose. Only by accident. If I were to shift now we’d end up in one of the more treacherous levels of this office building of the damned…”
Suddenly a loud howl echoed through the halls causing Fluffenstein to leap out of my pocket and dash off down the hall.
“Oh bugger! Come on! And try to keep up, this place will drive you mad if we get separated!” exclaimed as I pulled out my cutlass and a bottle of almond water before we ran through the endless halls after the cat.
As we searched I explained the Apophis Ra situation to Rift in order to try and maintain our sanity.
“So what does this guy have to do with me?” Rift asked.
“Well, I honestly have no idea what Apophis is capable of. Thus I devised a backup plan utilizing portals just in case- There!”
I pointed as a white blur dashed towards us and clung to the leg of my trousers.
“Easy there mate. You’re safe now.” I said consoling the frightened feline as I picked him up and gently placed him in my coat. Buttoning it to ensure he stayed put.
“I wouldn’t be so sure Count…” Rift said pointing to a pair of shadowy creatures in the distance slowly approaching us.
“Hounds…” I whispered as I passed Rift the bottle of almond water. “Here, start backing up slowly and If they turn hostile douse them with this.”
Rift nodded and we began to walk backwards. The creatures slowly picking up speed and their appearance becoming clearer as they got closer. Revealing not the canine shape they had at a distance but that of distorted and tangled humanoids walking on all fours with unnatural movements. With a loud snarl, the creatures began rapidly scuttling towards us. I quickly raised my sword and prepared to strike the beast in front as it lunged towards me when suddenly a pair of purple vortexes opened in front of the first creature and above the other as the first tumbled in and sank its claws into the other’s back causing a fight to break out between them. I turned to my companion to see he had his hand raised and was breathing heavy as though he had just had quite a workout.
“Quick Mate, the water!” I exclaimed.
Rift tossed me the bottle and I ripped off the cap frantically before splashing the liquid onto the beasts causing them to scream in pain as it burned their shadowy hide.
I then began shouting and swinging my sword as I walked towards them and the creatures scrambled back down the hall they came from.
“Haha! That’s it ya yella bellied beasties! Run back to the void where ya belong!” I shouted as I pocketed my weapon and turned back to my companion.
“Exceptional work my friend!” I said as I went to pat Rift on the shoulder but caught myself before I made the mistake.
“What even were those things?!”
“Most refer to them as the Hounds of Tindalos after one of Lovecraft’s abominations.” I explained. “Now then, what say we find a way out of this wretched place before Cuthulhu shows up…”
“Should I take that last statement a joke or an actual concern?”
“Best to take it as both mate…” I replied with a laugh. “Best to take it as both.”
After a bit more walking we turned a corner to find the hallway opened into a desert landscape filled with mesquite bushes and cacti.
“Ah, an exit!” I stated as we walked into the “room” only for the hallway to vanish once we turned around.
“Now. Let’s find out where we are…” I said as I began pulling out my navigational equipment. Compass, spyglass, sextant and the like.
“Hold on Capt Sparrow.” Rift said likely referencing something. “Let me handle this.”
Rift then pulled out a smartphone and opened up some sort of map on it.
“Looks like we’re just outside Laredo. Just a quick jump and we’ll be back in Advent City.”
Rift opened a portal under our feet and we disappeared through it and landed in the lounge room of the Flickr Fighters Headquarters. Rift landing on a chair while I crashed backwards into the coffee table.
“Sorry about that Count. I’m used to traveling alone.”
“That’s understandable. Most Vampire hunters choose to be lone wolves…” I said as I picked myself up and let the cat out of my coat before I sat down on the couch.
“Vampire hunter? What are you talking about?”
“Your cape, it’s a trophy from a vampire hunt correct?” I asked. “Got mine after a fight with Dracula last centur- er, a few years ago.”
Rift shook his head.
“I Just thought the cape looked cool and the guys back at HQ whipped this one up for me.” Rift explained. “It helps with gliding and deflects heat and ice rays.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at Rift’s description.
“Fancy. But I’ll stick with being able to say I pulled mine out of the dust pile that was once a legendary strigoi.”
Just then our discussion was interrupted by the lights flickering out and then on again to reveal the sudden and dramatic arrival of agent sharp.
“The folder. Hand it over.” He said sternly.
I sighed as I pulled out the file and tossed it onto the coffee table. (Which was now cracked down the center and was being held up by only three legs.)
“Anything else officer?” I asked mocking Sharp’s serious tone.
“Yes. You’ve yet to show up at any of the group training sessions or any of the meetings…”
“In my defense, I wasn’t aware either of those were things.”
“I figured as much.” Sharp said shifting to a somewhat softer tone as he picked up the file. “According to Fluxx you only knew about Gravestein last Thursday because he happened to say something to you.”
“Hey, I was at the warehouse wasn’t I? What’s the big deal?”
“The point I’m getting at is the Flickr fighters rely upon communication between heroes. And we can’t function properly if one of them doesn’t even have a phone.”
“I’ll have you know I have two excellent telephones.” I said pulling one out of my pocket. “Why this one even has one of those newfangled rotary dial setups.”
“Man, I didn’t know they still made these…” Rift said as he picked up one of my phones and fiddled with the dial. “And how exactly are we supposed to send you messages on these?”
“Well, I figured we could set up a party line. Telephones still have that right?”
“No Count, they do not.” Sharp said with a sigh. “Look, you have access to a multiverse full of tech. Just find a smartphone you like and then get someone more technologically inclined to connect it to HQ’s network for you.”
“Not to mention you’ll have access to the group files and don’t have to raid the office.” Rift said passing the phone back to me.
As I stuck the phone into my pocket I noticed a sneaky look in Sharp’s eyes as a smirk came across his face.
“Which reminds me, which of you left a hairpin jammed into the lock on the cabinet?”
“He did it.” Rift said quickly slipping through a portal before I had a chance to pull him down with me.
“Well. I believe some extra time in the training room will be suitable consequences. I’ll see you at 0500 tomorrow morning for your first session.”
Sharp then exited the room and once he was a good distance away Rift appeared through a portal and landed back in his seat.
“Sorry man, I survived one training session with him, I don’t know if I’d last through another.”
“Quite alright ol’ chap. But you better not let me down tonight.”
“No prob. I’ll meet you at the museum ’round eleven. This should be interesting…”
That evening…
I walked around the museum half shifted to avoid detection. Looking at the exhibits to pass the time as I waited for either Rift or Apophis to arrive.
I couldn’t help but notice the differences in this dimension’s history I wasn’t aware of. The Sphinx not having a nose, three pyramids at Giza instead of four. But oddest exhibit of all was in the American history exhibit. A playbill from the Ford theatre’s production of “Our American Cousin.” Perhaps this realm’s version of the event went differently than I had learned. If Lincoln hadn’t bent down to retrieve his wife’s handkerchief Booth’s scheme could have easily succeeded.
“Excuse me, sir.” The night guard said rounding the corner and walking towards me. “I’m gonna have to ask you to le- GAH!”
The guard screamed and frantically drew his weapon as he saw the beam of his flashlight hit the wall behind me.
“Ah, Sorry my good fellow.” I said shifting back to where I was no longer translucent and held up my ITF badge. I’m an agent from the Interdimensional Task Force. I’m here to investigate a potential robbery.”
“Interdimensonal? Look, kid, I have no idea what the heck you are or what you’re doin’ here and I honestly don’t care. Now come along-“
Suddenly a portal opened under the guard and he disappeared through it.
“Gotten in trouble with the cops already?.” Rift said as he walked up behind me.
“So it would seem… The ITF must not be very well known in this realm.”
I then noticed rift was holding a cloth knapsack and something in it was moving.
“um, what’s in the bag?”
“your cat.” Rift said shoving the bag in my face. “you left them at HQ. Thought you might need them for whatever plan you have.”
I hadn’t thought of that… If Apophis’ is fascinated with the Egyptian religion then Fluffenstein could be a valuable weapon.
Genius idea mate! Just like The Battle of Pelusium!”
“The what?”
“During the first Persian conquest of Egypt, Cambyses II’s troops painted cat faces on their shields and placed dogs, sheep, cats, ibises and whatever other animals the Egyptians held sacred onto the front lines. Thus, the Egyptians surrendered at once instead of facing the ‘cat army.'”
“Huh, neat… But last time I checked two guys and a cat aren’t an army…”
“What we need is not an army, but a lookout.” I answered. “Follow me into the Egyptian exhibit.
We walked down the hall a ways until we came to a room filled with ancient Egyptian artifacts. Or rather, what the people of this dimension assume to be Egyptian.
“See that camera up there?” I said gesturing to the security device above us in the corner of the room.
“Lemme guess. you want me to head up to the security room and keep an eye on the cameras while you wait here for Apophis”
“You catch on quickly my friend.” I said with a grin. “When he gets here focus on the Egyptian exhibit’s camera and whenever you see me tip my hat open a rift under Apophis into that sarcophagus over there.”
“You got it Count.”
Rift gave me a quick salute before opening a rift behind him and disappearing through it.
“Well Fluffenstein.” I said pulling the kitten from the bag. “I hope that Antiquitus has the same superstitions as Third Dynasty Egypt.”
Around thirty minutes had passed and I had shifted in an armchair from my lair and was beginning to doze off in it whilst stroking Fluffenstein. Something about petting a small furry creature always puts one’s mind at ease.
Suddenly the lights in the room turned on and then began flickering rhythmically as an electronic noise began echoing around me.
I quickly stood up and shifted the chair away to my lair and tucked Fluffenstein behind my back under my cape.
Wait a minute, that noise, is that, music?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-Cbb0AyhBU
Suddenly a cloud of blue smoke appeared and Apophis Ra stepped through it holding an ankh staff in one hand and a strange obsidian tablet in the other.
“Friends, Romans, countrymen…” The Cultist said in a semi-robotic voice. “Apophis Ra here coming at you live with a crossover I have been waiting dynasties to make! Here he is, the menace of the multiverse, Bane of Anubis, Count Dimensio!”
“Bane of Anubis? That’s a new one…” I joked trying to mask my confusion as Apophis held the tablet up towards me.
“Oh yeah, my dude! That ol’ doggo is ticked with you. What with your tomb raiding and all. Right folks?”
“Who the devil are you talking to?!”
I exclaimed in frustration as I scanned the room. “What manner of multidimensional demons have you brought here?”
“Chill, I’m just vloggin dude, Gotta keep them followers posted on my conquest of the multiverse.”
“Well, I’m afraid your cult’s quest ends here…” I said drawing my sword.
“I wouldn’t be so sure…” Apophis replied as he set his device on top of a nearby crate and held up his staff with both hands. “BEHOLD THE POWER OF APOPHIS RA!”
As he tapped the end of his staff on the floor a loud hissing erupted from the walls and hundreds of vipers began pouring out of the cracks and formed a defensive ring around their master.
“Impressive eh? Go ahead my man, try and strike me!” Apophis taunted
“With pleasure…” I said tipping my hat.
On cue, a rift opened under Apophis and he fell into the sealed sarcophagus in the corner.
Before a larger rift opened and the vipers fell into it.
“Well, that was easy.” Rift said as he appeared beside me.
“Indeed, I didn’t even have to use the-“
Suddenly I was cut off by the sound of a laser blast and the lid of the sarcophagus shattering and flying across the room.
“HEY! Not cool dude!” Apophis shouted as he lept out of the casket. “You totally messed up the vibe I had going!”
“Never mind…” I said with a sigh as I dodged a blast from the arch of Apophis’ staff.
“Did he just say vibe? I thought you said he was a Cultist.” Rift asked as we ducked behind a display case whilst Apophis was firing his staff and swinging it around like a maniac whilst doing some kind of strange dance. “He looks more like one of those annoying internet celebrities…”
“I’m certain, he even has a magic tablet that he uses to keep his followers updated on the fight.”
“Tablet huh. Where?”
I pointed out the strange device to Rift and he opened a portal under it causing it to fall right into his hands.
“Uh, Count? this is just a smartphone.” Rift explained looking the device over. “albeit a rather strange looking one. I mean it looks like he’s live-streaming the fight on some kind of youtube style site but the text is all in caps and some kind of weird language.”
“All in capitals? Hand me that…”
I took the phone and sure enough, it was filming us right that moment and many different people were posting messages beside the video in what appeared to be Latin. Or at least a variant of it.
“Hmm, I believe you’re right… it does appear to be an internet-like system..”
“Hey, I have an idea.” RIft whispered. “If his internet is anything like ours I know something that just might give us an advantage.”
“Hey! You fellas comin’ out or am I gonna have to disappoint all my followers?” Apophis asked mockingly before smiling towards where his phone had been and noticing it wasn’t there.
“What the- WHO STOLE MY EYE-PHONE?”
“You mean this?” I taunted as I shifted through the display and walked into the center of the room. “Sorry ‘dude’ but I just had a talk with your followers they think this fight is missing something.”
“Oh yeah? And what do my loyal legion of fans what to see?”
“BEHOLD! THE SLAYER OF RODENTS, DESTROYER OF HOUSEPLANTS! FLUFFENSTEIN!!!” I exclaimed pulling the cat out and holding him in view of the phone’s camera.
“GAH! GET THAT BASTET SPAWN AWAY FROM ME!!” Apophis screamed as he stumbled backward.
“Well now, An Egyptian who’s afraid of cats? Now I’ve seen everything…” I said with a laugh.
“I’m n-not afraid of th-them I’m just Aler- aah, Aah, ACHOO!!”
Apophis then entered a sneezing fit and dropped his staff in the process. which rift quickly snatched up with a portal.
“Allergic?” Rift said with an obvious chuckle in his voice he was trying to hide.
“Yeah…” Apophis answered with a sniffle, reaching for his staff and fumbling around with watery eyes.
“Well, It appears we have the upper-hand here Apophis… Perhaps you better come along peacefully before we have to take you to a hospital…”
“Sure man, ACHOO! J-just get that thing away from me…”
a short while later we had Apophis in cuffs and we had just finished dropping off Fluffenstein at my lair with Jack.
“Right, So I assume you’ll take it from here?” Rift asked.
“I can, but I’d prefer if I had someone else with me. helps keep the cops from getting suspicious if I have a hero with me…”
“But I thought you work for some top-secret Men in black style organization?”
Men In Black? Good heavens no. It’s just the inter-dimensional police. Not the CIA. Now come on…”
I grabbed Rift and Apophis’ shoulders and shifted into the large front lobby of the police station.
marble pillars lining the walls, royal blue carpeting, and a large wooden desk in the center.
“Well look what we got here.” The red-haired woman at the desk stated. “Chief said you’d be comin’ in with a convict but I didn’t expect you to bring in two.”
“Uh, No Miss Lana. This is Rift Runner, He’s part of the hero team I joined.”
Lana raised an eyebrow suspiciously as she looked Rift over.
“If you say so sugar. leave Apophis with Charlie and then head on back to the chief’s office. I’ll let her know Y’all are here…”
“Thank you, ma’am. Come on Rift.”
I walked towards what must have seemed like a wall to Rift and apophis until we stepped through it and into the prisoner processing center.
“So this is where you guys lock up the crooks?” Rift asked.
“No, this is just where we throw the book at em, and that fellow over there is our head book thrower. How’s it going, Charlie?”
The tall gawky looking man jolted up in his seat and straightened his uniform only to sigh once he turned his desk chair around to find me.
“Oh, It’s just you. I thought it was somebody important.” Charlie said with a yawn. “Just stick the perp in cell seven while I work out the papers…”
“Cell seven? Well now, You’re a lucky man Apophis.” I joked. “You get to stay in my old room.”
Apophis merely rolled his eyes as rift shoved him down the hall and into the cell with a seven above it.
“Right, You have a good evening Charlie, I’ll fill out any paperwork later. Gotta go see chief.”
“HEY! you still haven’t turned those papers from-“
I quickly grabbed Rift and shifted to the Cheif’s office door before Charlie could finish.
“Sorry about that Rift, I can’t stand paperwork…”
“Tell me about it. you wouldn’t believe how many reports Sharp has us fill out when we capture a villain…”
“You’re preaching to the choir mate. Preaching to the choir…”I said with a grin as I knocked on the door.
“Enter…” The Chief replied from inside.
I opened the door to see Chief Cahill standing at the window behind her desk. gazing out at the futuristic skyline of Capitus Prime.
“Beautiful isn’t it?” Chief asked as she turned around and sat down at her desk and turned on the banker’s lamp that sat on it.
“I always prefered the look of Capitus Delta.” I replied.
“Of course you would. Have a seat Jones, You too Monteleone.”
“HOW DID YOU KNOW-“
“Your Name? Oh relax, I know more about you flickr fighters than Sharp! why else would I have sent Jones here to Advent city to serve his parole.”
“Well, just don’t tell anybody alright? I prefer to keep my secret identity.”
“Of course, My lips are sealed…” Chief replied with a locking motion over her lips. “Now then, tell me everything that happened…”
book / 2014
64 pages ($25/$33)
please see my tumblr for more info:
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Given that this is the great Christmas Day for many Christians, a photograph showing that peace has broken out seems very appropriate! A group of Free State Army soldiers and officers with civilians at a barricade during the Irish Civil War is today's offering from the Hogan Photographic Collection. It is a nice candid shot with the subjects in relaxed and even jovial mood. The danger must have passed, for the time being at least?
Photographer: W.D. Hogan
Collection: Hogan Photographic Collection
Date: Circa 1922
NLI Ref.: HOG38
You can also view this image, and many thousands of others, on the NLI’s catalogue at catalogue.nli.ie
darkandcutesl.wordpress.com/2017/03/20/no-mercy/ Items from The Darkness Chamber maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Secret%20Chamber/143/59/65... and Gatcha's from BrynOh..http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife//27/102/31
Given the choice between watching The Eurovision Song Contest or going out to take photos I decided on the latter. After hearing all the criticism about the show being rigged I feel like I made the right choice.
Given the orange knickers, he should be holding a hockey stick. Black, Orange, and White are Philadelphia Flyers' colors.
Given how shabby the paintwork is on some of these after crude accident repairs without the proper paint or vinyls, I wonder if it would be worthwhile making some of these early repaint candidates, the MMC design means they are unlikely to look "too bare" at the font anyway.
67085 working the evening Bridges 2 service and departing the old "Scotstown" terminus.
"Myself surrendered and given,
The exchange is this:
My Beloved is for me,
And I am for my Beloved.
When the Gentle hunter
Wounded and subdued me,
In love's arms,My soul fallen;
New life receiving,
Thus did I exchange
My Beloved is for me,
And I am for my Beloved.
The arrow he drew
Full of love,
My soul was ones
With her Creator.
Other love I want not,
Surrendered now to my God,
That my Beloved is for me,
And I am for my Beloved."
– St Teresa of Jesus, whose feast is today.
Mosaic in Lille Cathedral, also known as the basilica of Notre Dame de la Treille.
©All photographs on this site are copyright: DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) 2011 – 2020 & GETTY IMAGES ®
No license is given nor granted in respect of the use of any copyrighted material on this site other than with the express written agreement of DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) ©
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I would like to say a huge and heartfelt 'THANK YOU' to GETTY IMAGES, and the 37.012+ Million visitors to my FLICKR site.
***** Selected for sale in the GETTY IMAGES COLLECTION on August 25th 2020
CREATIVE RF gty.im/1268241806 MOMENT ROYALTY FREE COLLECTION**
This photograph became my 4,533rd frame to be selected for sale in the Getty Images collection and I am very grateful to them for this wonderful opportunity.
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Photograph taken at an altitude of Sixty three metres at 12:31pm on Monday 24th August 2020, of an adult Magpie (Pica pica)off Chessington Avenue in Bexleyheath, Kent.
Magpies are of the Corvidae family, and Eurasian black and white Magpies are considered amongst the most intelligent animnals in the world, capable in tests of recognising human faces, themselves in a mirror or hub cap, and of solving a variety of tests.
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Nikon D850 Hand held with Sigma OS Optical stabilization set to position 1. Focal length 600mm Shutter speed: 1/200s Aperture f/7.1 iso80 Image area FX (36 x 24) NEF RAW L (8256 x 5504). NEF RAW L (14 bit uncompressed) Image size L (8256 x 5504 FX). Focus mode AF-C focus. AF-C Priority Selection: Release. Nikon Back button focusing enabled. AF-S Priority selection: Focus. 3D Tracking watch area: Normal 55 Tracking points.AF-Area mode single point & 73 point switchable. Exposure mode: Shutter Priority mode. Matrix metering. Auto ISO sensitivity control on (Max iso 800/ Miniumum shutter speed 125). White blance on: Auto1. Colour space: RGB. Actve D-lighting: Normal. Vignette control: Normal. Nikon Distortion control: Enabled. Picture control: Auto (Sharpening A +1/Clarity A+1
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Ian's on the road again, wearing different shoes again.
Or something.
Yes, have audit will travel is taking me back to the north west and head office (UK) in Warrington.
I wasn't keen to go, as I would be one of those being audited, rather than being the auditor.
So it goes.
Up even earlier than usual, Jools went swimming first thing, while I woke up and packed.
It was to be a bright if cold day, and the promise of actual snow once I reached Manchester, so that was something to look forward to. No?
Jools dropped me off on the prom so I could have a walk, take some snaps before picking up the car.
It was cold.
Not Canada cold, clearly.
Minus three. And too cold to linger to watch the actual sunrise, so made do with snapping the reflected light of the hotels and a ferry coming into the harbour. I walked over Townwall Street, now cold to the bone, hoping the car hire place would be open on time.
It wasn't, but a couple of minutes later, a guy came to open up and let me inside where it was slightly warmer.
My old ruse of getting an automatic thus getting a larger car was ruined this time was I was given a Toyota Yaris. It struggled to get up Jubilee Way without the engine screaming. You'd better behave yourself for the next three days I told it.
Back home for breakfast, load the car and say goodbye to the cats. One last look, and I was off. The car had no sat nav, so had to use the phone.
Before going to the hotel, I was going to visit a former colleague who lives in Warrington, or nearly St Helens as I found out later, so programmed her address in, and off I went, along our street and towards the A2 and the long slog up to Dartford.
I connected my phone to charge, and straight away tunes from my Apple music store started playing. So, apart from the free U2 album it forced on all users, the rest was good if a little Skids and Velvet Underground heavy.
The miles were eaten up, even if I had to turn the music way up to drown the sound of the screaming engine.
Like all trips, I had something extra to sweeten the time away, and in this case it was a church. But not just any church, as you will see.
I watched a short documentary on Monday about Mary Queen of Scots, and remembered that she had been imprisoned and executed at Fotheringhay Castle in what is now Northamptonshire, and if I went over the Dartford Crossing, up the M11 to Cambridge, then were the A14 crossed the Great North Road, ten miles north was Fotheringhay.
So, I pressed on, under the river and into Essex, then along to the bottom of the M11, and north past Stanstead to Cambridge. Traffic wasn't bad, so I made good time, my phone telling me I would reach Fotheringhay at midday.
Turning off the A1, down narrow lanes, then the view to the church opens up, in what is possibly one of the finest vistas in all of England. St Mary and All Saints, 15th century and in its Perpendicular finest, it looks too good to be that old, but is.
Not only is the church mostly as it was, if plain inside, this was the parish church of the House of York, of several Kings including the final, Richard III.
This is real history.
I crossed over the narrow hump-back bridge that spanned the fast flowing, and nearly flooding, River Neane, into the village and parked outside the church. A set of grand gates lead off the main road to the northern porch, lined with fine trees, naked it being winter.
The tower seems over-large for the Nave and Chancel, it stands 116 feet tall, and is a chonker, the rest of the church seems small beside it, but the interior of the church is a large space, high to its vaulted roof.
I take shots, not as many as perhaps I should, but the church doesn't have centuries of memorials, but does have two House of York tombs, or mausoleums.
I had some time, so I thought I would visit any interesting church I might see before getting back on the A14.
That was the plan.
The road took me round Oundle, which had at least two interesting looking churches, but them being what you might call "urban", I passed both and carried on over the rolling hills of Northamptonshire, much hillier than you might have thought.
Just before the A14, I see a large tower, and a lane lead to the village of Titchmarsh.
Titchmarsh is the name of a very famous TV gardener over here in Britain, not sure if this is where he hails from.
The village itself is set along a long high street, lined with half-timbered houses, most thatched, which was very picturesque.
I parked up, screams from the primary school, out for lunch, filled the air. But I had eyes on the church.
Oddly, on the north side, the churchyard is marked by a haha, or half of one.
A ha?
Certainly not a ditch, but there was a grille in the wall to allow water to get out.
Access to the church was over a small bridge, the grand porch in front.
The door opened easily, and I saw first, lots of wall paintings. Not old, perhaps Victorian.
I set to work taking shots, using the compact to snap close ups of the windows.
In truth, not much of great interest, and I was aware from the radio there being talk of snow.
Better get going and head north.
Back outside, my phone tells me I should be in Warrington by four, my friend, Teresa, wouldn't be home until half past, so I could have another break on the way.
The sat nav took me back to the A14, and from there it is just a 60 mile drive to the bottom of the M6 and then the hike two hours north.
At least it was a sunny day, though clouds were building, and was it my imagination, or did it look like snow falling already?
No, it was snow. big, fat, wet flakes at first, not much to worry about, but I pressed on past Coventry to the toll road, I sopped for half an hour there, enough time to have a drink and some crisps, then back outside where darkness was falling, as well as more snow.
The M6 might have had its upgrade complete, but a trip on it is rarely without delays. And for me, an hour delayed just before Warrington due to a crash, so we inched along in near darkness.
Teresa lived the other side of Warrington, so I had to press on further north, then along other main roads, round a bonkers roundabout before entering the town. Roads were lined with two up/two downs, doors leading straight onto the pavement. Cozy and northern.
They have two dog-mountains, I'm not sure of the breed, but think of something like a St Bernard and go bigger. They had just been for a walk, were damp and happy to be inside, laying on the kitchen floor. Taking up all the kitchen floor.
We talked for an hour, then I received a call from a guy I was supposed to be meeting up with: heavy snow was falling, I should get there sooner than later. So, I said my goodbyes and programmed the route to the hotel. Sorry, resort. Golf resort.
16 miles.
Snow was falling heavy, not too bad on main roads back to the motorway, though traffic on that was only going 40, it was fast enough. But the final six miles was long a main road, but it was covered in snow, with more falling.
The the fuel warning light went on.
Ignore that, I just wanted to get to the hotel safe and have dinner. Not end up in a hedge.
The final mile was very scary, snow only an inch deep, but slippery. There was a gatehouse marking the entrance to the golf club, I turned in and parked in the first space I came to.
Phew.
I checked in, and the place is huge, swish, but full of golfers.
But it does a sideline in conferences, training centre and a hotel. It was full.
I checked in, walked to the room, which is huge, and very comfortable, dropped my bags and went to the bar for dinner of beer and burgers. The place was almost empty, I watched cricket live from South Africa while I ate and drank.
Would I be tempted by the cheeseboard?
I would, dear reader, I would.
To my room to watch the football and relax while snow fell outside.
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Another bike ride into the wilds and wolds of Northamptonshire. I set off from Huntingdon railway station, and after a sixteen mile slog into the wind I crossed the county boundary at Clopton, a church I visited three weeks ago. Now, the real bike ride could now begin. Resisting a revisit to the church, I turned off on a very lonely, narrow lane through the woodlands. The Cambs/Northants borderlands are often like this, remote and lonely, wooded and rolling, devoid of houses outside the villages and with only the rare car, horse or other cyclist. It reminds me of parts of France.
After a couple of miles I came to Titchmarsh, and its splendid church, a big church in a pretty stone village. The tower is enormous ('The finest church tower in England outside of Somerset' - FJ Allen) and there is no spire. The churchyard is surrounded by a haha, with a little bridge across the moat. The church was being prepared for a rock concert, with a stage built up under the tower and tables and chairs in the nave. Not a huge amount to see in any case, although I liked the memorial to a servant who saved his master's life by getting in the way of an assassin's knife, only to later drown in the Nene. As you'd expect in this part of the world, good stone capitals in the arcades, with stiffleaves you could cut yourself on as well as dripping fruit.
And then it was on past the IKEA warehouse ('the largest building in the British Isles') into the town of Thrapston.
Simon Knott, July 2017.
www.flickr.com/photos/norfolkodyssey/35483761652/in/photo...
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The Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin, standing in a prominent position on the higher ground to the North of the village, has been the centre of the Christian community in Titchmarsh for some 800 years.
The name of Tichmarsh (or the modern version Titchmarsh) seems to date from Anglo-Saxon times when a piece of land was granted to one Ticcea and became known as Ticcea’s marsh (Ticceanmersce, Tychemerche, etc).
The earliest records of the church date from 1240. It was from Tichmarsh that Viscount Lovell left his manor to fight with Richard III at Bosworth. Before that he had employed his Somerset mason to build what Pevsner described as “the noblest village tower outside Somerset”, on top of which in 1588 an Armada beacon was lit.
The church is remarkable for its magnificent tower, its long and lofty clerestory, its spacious chancel, and for its light and uncluttered interior. It also houses a collection of unique and interesting wall monuments, fine stained glass windows and a recently restored 1870 TC Lewis organ. (see separate links)
The building that you see today is not the first church to have existed on this site. The remains of a 12th century doorway in the chancel is the only relic of the Norman building, and the subsequent centuries have each made their distinctive architectural contribution. The building assumed its present appearance when, late in the 15th century, the tower, clerestory and porch were added, and the present perpendicular style windows were inserted. In the late 17th and early 18th century the Pickering family contributed a number of important memorials, including one to John Dryden the poet- laureate, who spent his childhood in Titchmarsh. In the 19th century a number of the windows had stained glass inserted, a vestry was added in the northwest corner, and much of the internal woodwork was replaced (including the pews, recently adapted to provide more mobile seating).
The focus of the church, both architecturally and spiritually, is the Altar. This is God’s table, at which the faithful share in the power of Christ’s Risen Life, by feeding on the Sacrament of his Body and Blood under the forms of bread and wine. The reredos of Caen stone and Derby alabaster (1866) depicts the Old Testament scenes of Melchizedek’s offering of bread and wine, and Abraham’s offering of his only son Isaac, illustrating different aspects of the eucharistic theme.
The semi-circular Norman arch to the south side is a visible reminder that Christian worship has been offered on this site for at least some eight centuries.
The two-level sedilia and the piscine are of the 13th century, as is also the arcading which opens into the north chapel (now occupied by the organ). The opening known as a hagioscope or squint, gave additional visual access from the north chapel to the High Altar. The low, pointed 13th century doorway to the north of the Altar probably led to a tomb or chantry adjoining the Chancel on the north side. Much of this work can be attributed to the patronage of the Lovel family, who were Lords of the Manor from about 1268 until 1485.
Piercing the north-west corner of the Chancel wall are the remains of the stairway which originally led to the Rood-loft.
Dimly discernible in the apex of the Chancel arch is a crowned head. Experts suggest that it most closely resembles Edward IV who died in 1483 when Francis 1st (and only) Viscount Lovel was Lord of the Manor. The last years of the reign of Edward IV covered a peaceful period, favourable to the rebuilding of a church. In 1486 Henry VII granted the Manor of Tichmarsh to Sir Charles Somerset when Francis Lord Lovel who had supported Richard III was deprived of his estates at the end of the War of the Roses. This is the Lovell, who as Richard III’s Chamberlain and friend, was lampooned in the contemporary rhyme:
‘The Cat, the Rat, and Lovell our dog
Rule all England under the Hog’.
The walls and windows of the chancel were much embellished in Victorian times. The stained glass in the chancel windows is all by Messrs. Hardman of Birmingham. The east window depicts Christ’s Nativity, Baptism, Crucifixion and Ascension, and several episodes from the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to whom the church is dedicated. The windows on the south side of the chancel depict various incidents from the New Testament, giving particular prominence to St Mary Magdalene and St Peter.
The reredos of Caen stone and Derby alabaster were completed.
The organ, a good example of the work of TC Lewis was installed and first used in 1870. (fully restored in 2016). We learn from the Parish Magazine that prior to the installation of the instrument, music for Devine service had been supplied by a barrel organ, the introduction of which in 1837 replaced the services of the eight singers who had occupied a musicians gallery under the tower, and sang very loud. Singing was also led by string and woodwind instruments until 1861.
According to the parish magazines, the paintings on the chancel walls were by Miss Agnes Saunders, who was sister-in-law to the Rev. F M Stopford, (rector 1861-1912). The fine limed oak chancel screen was the gift of Canon A M Luckock, (rector 1912-1962).
The North Chapel and Transept
This was largely rebuilt in the 14th century, and now houses many mural memorials to the Pickering family
Gilbert Pickering bought the manor of Tichmarsh from Charles Somerset’s grandson in 1553, and for more than two hundred years it remained in the possession of his descendants. When the direct line came to an end, the estates were acquired in 1778 by Thomas Powys, later the first Lord Lilford.
John Pickering married Susannah Dryden of Canons Ashby in 1609, and twenty-one years later, Susannah’s brother Erasmus married John’s cousin Mary Pickering. Of these unions were born two men well known in the highest circles of their day, the notorious Sir Gilbert Pickering (1613-1668) and the famous John Dryden the poet (1631-1700).
Sir Gilbert was a convinced Parliamentarian, and became Lord Chamberlain to Oliver Cromwell. John Dryden’s upbringing in Tichmarsh is mentioned in one of the memorials. This and another were painted by Sir Gilbert’s daughter, Elizabeth, who became the wife of John Creed.
A woman of talent with needle, pen and brush, Elizabeth Creed was responsible also for the wording of the altar tomb and wall angle memorials of the south aisle as well as the Dryden monument which has been moved to the north transept.
The South Aisle
Here we find Mrs Creed lamenting the death of her husband, a boon companion of Samuel Pepys, of their son Christ’s family. By ancient custom the Font stands near the main (west) door of the physical building, as a reminder that it is through Baptism that we enter Christ’s Church.
The West Window
The tracery of the tower window is 15th century, (extensively restored in 2016). In 1904 the west window was filled with stained glass, the gift of Rev’d F M Stopford to mark his 50th year in Holy Orders. It is a powerful representation of Christ’s Second Coming and the Day of Judgement, and approximately balances the episodes of Christ’s first Advent depicted in the east window. The same firm of artists, Messrs Hardman of Birmingham, was employed for the work, and it is interesting to notice how the passage of some forty years makes a considerable difference in style and taste between the tower window and their earlier work.
The Bells
The tower houses a fine ring of eight bells. All were recast and re-hung in 1913 as a memorial to Rev’d F M Stopford who died in office in 1912 having been rector for 51 years, and a chaplain to Queen Victoria, Edward VII and George V. Before recasting, the oldest bells dated from 1688, with additions in 1708 and 1781. The ring was completed in1885 by the gift of two bells in memory of Florence Augusta Stopford, the rector’s first wife. At the same time the present church clock, which strikes the hours and quarters, replaced the previous one made by George Eayre in 1745.
At the base of the tower are some interesting photographs of the re-hanging of the bells.
The South Porch
The original porch was a single storey structure, with window openings to east and west. The upper storey was added in1583 and housed the Pickering family pew, complete with fire place! After the death of the last Tichmarsh Pickerings the wall opening was blocked up. It was reopened in 1931, when Canon Luckock (rector 1912-1962) and his wife put in the present glass panel and hung the massive oak south door as a thanksgiving for their silver wedding. The seating around the walls of the porch is a reminder of its earlier function as a place of meeting.
The Exterior
The large and splendid tower is built in four stages, richly decorated with triple bands of quatrefoils in circles on the ground storey and similar bands on the second and third stages. The niches on the west face contain modern stone figures representing Moses and Aaron, the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Peter, and the archangels Michael and Gabriel. The parish magazine for 1901 records that the rector’s wife paid for the replacements by breeding and selling black fantail pigeons.
The ‘crown’, ie. parapet and pinnacles above the fourth stage is considered by experts to date from about 1500. The will of one Thomas Gryndall, dated 1474, bequeaths money towards the building of the tower, probably completed except for the ‘crown’ in about 1480.
The prominence and size of the tower made it a significant landmark. In 1585 when the country prepared to resist the threatened invasion from Spain, the Lord Lieutenant, Sir Christopher Hatton of Kirby Hall, gave order for Beacons to be made in places accustomed and that ‘Tychemershe Beacon’ be sett upon Tychemershe church steeple
On the south wall of the tower is a painted sundial, dated 1798, and below it a disused clock face made in 1745. There are three scratch dials on the south side of the church – on the porch and on two of the buttresses.
The churchyard, which contains many good examples of local stonemasons’ work of the 18th and 19th centuries, is remarkable and perhaps unique in being bounded almost entirely by a ha-ha.
Acknowlegements: The Victoria County History of Northamptonshire; Northamptonshire by Niklaus Pevsner; and to various numbers of the Titchmarsh Parish Magazine; Titchmarsh Past and Present by Helen Belgion, published 1979
titchmarsh.info/church-of-st-mary-the-virgin/church-history/
During its sojourn at Bressingham, July 15th 1978
"The engine was completed at Crewe in May 1951 at a cost of £20,115 and entered service at Norwich Thorpe depot.
Whilst based at Norwich 70013 was a regular performer on the Broadsman, Norfolkman and East Anglian, the latter being a business train augmented in 1937 which was given a new timetable for the summer of 1951, although the journey times were only trimmed by five minutes. 70013 Oliver Cromwell was not without its problems in running, but this was no more than the average Britannia which were worked hard and gave good service and availability on the Great Eastern express passenger services.
During 1957, it was found that the drive wheels of 70013 had moved in relation to each other; this was caused by the square locking keys, which held the drive wheels in the correct position, being moved and pushed out (ie forced out) resulting in major work being undertaken at Doncaster Works. Towards the latter part of 1960, a substantial crack was noted within the mainframe and this, of course, required immediate remedial treatment, again by Doncaster Works. Only a relative short time later a problem occurred within one of the cylinders; on close inspection it was found that the inner lining had shifted and blocked off the oil supply causing a compression ring failure and consequent lack of power, however this defect occurred four times before actual replacement of the offending cylinder was actioned by Doncaster Works, a delay doubtless caused by austerity measures.
From 1958, diesel-electric locomotives began to replace steam locomotives and by 1961, the influx of new diesel locomotives had taken over many express duties in East Anglia which led to the Britannia class engines working many different trains away from their normal trips to Norwich. Consequently the class was reallocated away from Norwich Thorpe depot to March shed.
This locomotive hauled the last BR steam passenger train over Shap on 26th December 1967. The train carried returning Carlisle football supporters back from a match at Blackpool.
70013 was selected by British Railways to haul a number of special trains throughout 1968. In fact, it was in charge of 16 such trains before it was finally withdrawn from service.
Because of this it had been the last main line engine to receive a repair at Crewe, emerging from the Works on the 2nd February 1967 after a prolonged an expensive overhaul (The overhaul which started in November 1966 was deliberately slowed down to ensure that it was the last locomotive to leave Crewe Works). WD Austerity 2-8-0 90281 did return to Crewe Works on 23rd February to have a faulty regulator valve repaired but 70013 has returned twice to Crewe since being overhauled there. It is interesting to note that of the last fifteen locomotives outshopped from Crewe Works seven were 2-8-0 Austerities, four 4-6-0 Black Fives, two 4-6-2 Britanias (the other was 70014 Iron Duke) and two 2-10-0 standard locomotives. Of the fifteen only two have been preserved – 70013 and Standard 2-10-0 92203.
70013 returned to the works in June 1968 for a paint touch up. The second time it returned was in July 1968 to have its front buffer beam straightened after a rough shunt.
Following 70013’s overhaul at Crewe the locomotive was based at Crewe South depot for a week whilst it was run in on parcel train duties between Crewe and its home base of Carlisle. It then returned to its Carlisle Kingsmoor shed from where, following the withdrawal of the last of its class stablemates, it moved to Carnforth in January 1968.
Following this a grand total of 16 Railtours were organised including the infamous ’15 Guinea Special’ on the 11th August 1968, which involved Britannia 70013 ‘Oliver Cromwell’ hauling the train from Manchester to Carlisle, with other legs of the special’s itinerary shared by three ‘Black Fives’, 45110, 44871 and 44781.
It was withdrawn from service in August 1968 after hauling the Manchester to Carlisle leg of the Fifteen Guinea Special on 11th August. On the 12th August the engine moved under its own power from Carnforth to Norwich and then on to Diss the following day. After this it moved by road to the Bressingham Steam Museum.
Oliver Cromwell had been selected for preservation by the National Railway Museum as part of the National Collection but because of limited storage space an offer from Alan Bloom to house the locomotive at his Bressingham Steam Museum was accepted.
At Bressingham Steam Museum at Diss it provided footplate rides until the 1980s when it became a static exhibit. Following a very long dispute (about ten years) between Bressingham and the National Railway Museum the long term agreement to loan the engine to Bressingham was terminated and the locomotive left on 21st May 2004, travelling by road to York. It had spent nearly 36 years at Bressingham, compared with a main line working life of 17 years.
70013 was a star turn as a static exhibit at the very successful Railfest held at York before it was moved by road to Loughborough later that summer in line with the agreement concluded with the National Railway Museum that the locomotive should be restored to main line running standard by 2008 for the 40th anniversary of the end of steam.
The locomotive was overhauled at the Great Central Railway (GCR) to mainline standards which included the fitting of the train protection warning system, overhaul of 70013’s automatic warning system and the fitment of OTMR.
In early May 2008 it hauled its first revenue-earning passenger services since being restored on the GCR’s eight-mile route. The locomotive made an appearance at the National Railway Museum’s 1968 and All That event celebrating 40 years since the end of steam.
Its first mainline passenger charter since 1968 was on 10 August 2008 when the locomotive took part in a re-run of the Fifteen Guinea Special. It then went on to operate on the Scarborough Spa Express later in the month.
On 14 March 2009 Oliver Cromwell hauled a special on what was said to be the very last train (of any sort) to use the branch line down to Folkestone Harbour, where main line trains used to meet with cross channel ferries.
In March 2010 returned to Crewe for the first time since 1968 to work on the main line over Shap.
A month later, two years after its previous overhaul, Oliver Cromwell suffered from cracks in the firebox and was moved to the GCR for an inspection which lead to the locomotive being withdrawn from service.
During 2010, 70013 Oliver Cromwell underwent firebox repairs at Crewe Heritage Centre. The cab was removed before the rest of the locomotive was sent for repairs to the boiler. Following these repairs, in December 2010 the locomotive had a successful steam test at Crewe.
On 27 May 2012 the locomotive was involved in a blowback incident near Wood Green in North London on a Railway Touring Company railtour called ‘The Peak Forester’. Two of the three crew on board the locomotive had to attend hospital as a result. See Accidents and Incidents for full details.
In August 2013 70013 worked another Fifteen Guinea Special to celebrate the 45th Anniversary of the ending of steam on British Railways. 70013 was in charge of the Longsight to Carlisle leg of the special with the other legs being worked by LMS Black 5s numbers 45305, 45231 and 44932.
In early 2015 it was taken out of service as it needed repairs which were completed to allow 70013 to return to steam in August 2016.
Early in 2017 was out of service whilst its superheater elements were replaced at Loughborough. This is fifty years after its last overhaul under BR ownership at Crewe.
After returning to service on the Great Central Railway 70013 was back on the main line at the start of September 2017. It will be operational until March 2018 when the boiler certificate expires but was hoped that this would be extended.
In early 2018 agreement was reached between the National Railway Museum and the 5305 Locomotive Association which left the locomotive custodianship of 70013 with the Loughborough based group. The 5305 Locomotive Association will carry out another overhaul of the locomotive which will enable it to run on the main line again.
In March 2018, whilst hauling its last main line train before the boiler certificate expires, the locomotive suffered a hot big end. Having melted the whitemetal in the big end and adjoining coupling rod bearings took the train into Norwich at a reduced speed with the power being provided by a diesel on the rear.
The overhaul is scheduled to be undertaken during 2019 and will largely concentrate on the boiler as the bottom end has received considerable attention during the previous operating period.
In March 2018 the boiler inspector gave the boiler a clean bill of health during a cold examination. It was anticipated that this would be followed by a fully functional steam test later that month which would enable the boiler certificate to be extended by nine months. This would enable the locomotive to operate until the end of 2018 but only on heritage lines as it requires a full re-tubing before being allowed onto the national network.
The boiler certificate expired at the end of December 2018.
When the locomotive was taken out of service at the end of 2018 plans for its overhaul had not been agreed by the National Railway Museum although they did state that they planned that it continued to operate on the main line.
In January 2019 the National Railway Museum disclosed that the forty year agreement with the 5305 Locomotive Association would not be extended although the locomotive is likely to remain based on the Great Central Railway at Loughborough.
In March 2019 it was reported that the continued operation of the locomotive was in an agreement that was close to being completed by the National Railway Museum with the Great Central Railway. The National Railway Museum also emphasised that they wanted the locomotive to run on the main line.
Also in March 2019 work began at Loughborough to strip the locomotive down although at this stage the National Railway Museum were said to be unaware that work had started on the overhaul.
The overhaul will include a boiler overhaul which will involve a re-tubing in order to recertify the locomotive for preservation and main line running.
In July 2019 it was announced that an agreement had been concluded between the National Railway Museum and the Great Central Railway (GCR). The agreement provided for the locomotive to be based at the GCR until the end of 2021. Under the terms of the agreement the GCR will submit plans to overhaul the locomotive. Once the overhaul has been completed a second loan agreement will be confirmed to cover the operation of the locomotive.
By December 2019 the frames were placed back onto its wheels – just five months after being lifted off.
In November 2021 it was reported that the boiler had been sent to Tyseley for Overhaul in the previous month."
source: preservedbritishsteamlocomotives.com/70013-oliver-cromwell/
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Photograph taken at an altitude of Fifty two metres at 15:43pm on a beautiful summer afternoon on Tuesday 8th June 2021, off Chessington Avenue in Bexleyheath, Kent.
Here we see a large adult male Carrion crow (Corvus corone), taking time to preen the feathers of his female partner after both taking a dip under a water sprinkler on a hot summer day.
AN IN DEPTH LOOK AT CORVUS CORONE
LEGEND AND MYTHOLOGY
By Paul Williams
Crows appear in the Bible where Noah uses one to search for dry land and to check on the recession of the flood. Crows supposedly saved the prophet, Elijah, from famine and are an Inuit deity. Legend has it that England and its monarchy will end when there are no more crows in the Tower of London. And some believe that the crows went to the Tower attracted by the regular corpses following executions with written accounts of their presence at the executions of Anne Boleyn and Jane Gray.
In Welsh mythology, unfortunately Crows are seen as symbolic of evilness and black magic thanks to many references to witches transforming into crows or ravens and escaping. Indian legend tells of Kakabhusandi, a crow who sits on the branches of a wish-fulfilling tree called Kalpataru and a crow in Ramayana where Lord Rama blessed the crow with the power to foresee future events and communicate with the souls.
In Native American first nation legend the crow is sometimes considered to be something of a trickster, though they are also viewed positively by some tribes as messengers between this world and the next where they carry messages from the living to those deceased, and even carry healing medicines between both worlds. There is a belief that crows can foresee the future. The Klamath tribe in Oregon believe that when we die, we fly up to heaven as a crow. The Crow can also signify wisdom to some tribes who believe crows had the power to talk and were therefore considered to be one of the wisest of birds. Tribes with Crow Clans include the Chippewa (whose Crow Clan and its totem are called Aandeg), the Hopi (whose Crow Clan is called Angwusngyam or Ungwish-wungwa), the Menominee, the Caddo, the Tlingit, and the Pueblo tribes of New Mexico.
The crow features in the Nanissáanah (Ghost dance), popularized by Jerome Crow Dog, a Brulé Lakota sub-chief and warrior born at Horse Stealing Creek in Montana Territory in 1833, the crow symbolizing wisdom and the past, when the crow had became a guide and acted as a pathfinder during hunting. The Ghost dance movement was originally created in 1870 by Wodziwob, or Gray Hair, a prophet and medicine man of the Paiute tribe in an area that became known as Nevada. Ghost dancers wore crow and eagle feathers in their clothes and hair, and the fact that the Crow could talk placed it as one of the sages of the animal kingdom. The five day dances seeking trance,prophecy and exhortations would eventually play a major part in the pathway towards the white man's broken treaties, the infamous battle at Wounded knee and the surrender of Matȟó Wanáȟtaka (Kicking Bear), after officials began to fear the ghost dancers and rituals which seemed to occur prior to battle.
Historically the Vikings are the group who made so many references to the crow, and Ragnarr Loðbrók and his sons used this species in his banner as well as appearances in many flags and coats of arms. Also, it had some kind of association with Odin, one of their main deities. Norse legend tells us that Odin is accompanied by two crows. Hugin, who symbolizes thought, and Munin, who represents a memory. These two crows were sent out each dawn to fly the entire world, returning at breakfast where they informed the Lord of the Nordic gods of everything that went on in their kingdoms. Odin was also referred to as Rafnagud (raven-god). The raven appears in almost every skaldic poem describing warfare.Coins dating back to 940's minted by Olaf Cuaran depict the Viking war standard, the Raven and Viking war banners (Gonfalon) depicted the bird also.
In Scandinavian legends, crows are a representative of the Goddess of Death, known as Valkyrie (from old Norse 'Valkyrja'), one of the group of maidens who served the Norse deity Odin, visiting battlefields and sending him the souls of the slain worthy of a place in Valhalla. Odin ( also called Wodan, Woden, or Wotan), preferred that heroes be killed in battle and that the most valiant of souls be taken to Valhöll, the hall of slain warriors. It is the crow that provides the Valkyries with important information on who should go. In Hindu ceremonies that are associated to ancestors, the crow has an important place in Vedic rituals. They are seen as messengers of death in Indian culture too.
In Germanic legend, Crows are seen as psychonomes, meaning the act of guiding spirits to their final destination, and that the feathers of a crow could cure a victim who had been cursed. And yet, a lone black crow could symbolize impending death, whilst a group symbolizes a lucky omen! Vikings also saw good omens in the crow and would leave offerings of meat as a token.
The crow also has sacred and prophetic meaning within the Celtic civilization, where it stood for flesh ripped off due to combat and Morrighan, the warrior goddess, often appears in Celtic mythology as a raven or crow, or else is found to be in the company of the birds. Crow is sacred to Lugdnum, the Celtic god of creation who gave his name to the city of Lug
In Greek mythology according to Appolodorus, Apollo is supposedly responsible for the black feathers of the crow, turning them forever black from their pristine white original plumage as a punishment after they brought news that Κορωνις (Coronis) a princess of the Thessalian kingdom of Phlegyantis, Apollo's pregnant lover had left him to marry a mortal, Ischys. In one legend, Apollo burned the crows feathers and then burned Coronis to death, in another Coronis herself was turned into a black crow, and another that she was slain by the arrows of Αρτεμις (Artemis - twin to Apollo). Koronis was later set amongst the stars as the constellation Corvus ("the Crow"). Her name means "Curved One" from the Greek word korônis or "Crow" from the word korônê.A similar Muslim legend allegedly tells of Muhammad, founder of Islam and the last prophet sent by God to Earth, who's secret location was given away by a white crow to his seekers, as he hid in caves. The crow shouted 'Ghar Ghar' (Cave, cave) and thus as punishment, Muhammad turned the crow black and cursed it for eternity to utter only one phrase, 'Ghar, ghar). Native Indian legend where the once rainbow coloured crows became forever black after shedding their colourful plumage over the other animals of the world.
In China the Crow is represented in art as a three legged bird on a solar disk, being a creature that helps the sun in its journey. In Japan there are myths of Crow Tengu who were priests who became vain, and turned into this spirit to serve as messengers until they learn the lesson of humility as well as a great Crow who takes part in Shinto creation stories.
In animal spirit guides there are general perceptions of what sightings of numbers of crows actually mean:
1 Crow Meaning: To carry a message from your near one who died recently.
2 Crows Meaning: Two crows sitting near your home signifies some good news is on your way.
3 Crows Meaning: An upcoming wedding in your family.
4 Crows Meaning: Symbolizes wealth and prosperity.
5 Crows Meaning: Diseases or pain.
6 Crows Meaning: A theft in your house!
7 Crows Meaning: Denotes travel or moving from your house.
8 Crows Meaning: Sorrowful events
Crows are generally seen as the symbolism when alive for doom bringing, misfortune and bad omens, and yet a dead crow symbolises potentially bringing good news and positive change to those who see it. This wonderful bird certainly gets a mixed bag of contradictory mythology and legend over the centuries and in modern days is often seen as a bit of a nuisance, attacking and killing the babies of other birds such as Starlings, Pigeons and House Sparrows as well as plucking the eyes out of lambs in the field, being loud and noisy and violently attacking poor victims in a 'crow court'....
There is even a classic horror film called 'THE CROW' released in 1994 by Miramax Films, directed by Alex Proyas and starring Brandon Lee in his final film appearance as Eric Draven, who is revived by a Crow tapping on his gravestone a year after he and his fiancée are murdered in Detroit by a street gang. The crow becomes his guide as he sets out to avenge the murders. The only son of martial arts expert Bruce Lee, Brandon lee suffered fatal injuries on the set of the film when the crew failed to remove the primer from a cartridge that hit Lee in the abdomen with the same force as a normal bullet. Lee died that day, March 31st 1993 aged 28.
The symbolism of the Crow resurrecting the dead star and accompanying him on his quest for revenge was powerful, and in some part based on the history of the carrion crow itself and the original film grossed more than $94 Million dollars with three subsequent sequels following.
TAKING A CLOSER LOOK
So let's move away from legend, mythology and stories passed down from our parents and grandparents and look at these amazing birds in isolation.
Carrion crow are passerines in the family Corvidae a group of Oscine passerine birds including Crows, Ravens, Rooks, Jackdaws, Jays, Magpies, Treepies, Choughs and Nutcrackers. Technically they are classed as Corvids, and the largest of passerine birds. Carrion crows are medium to large in size with rictal bristles and a single moult per year (most passerines moult twice). Carrion crow was one of the many species originally described by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (Carl Von Linne after his ennoblement) in his 1758 and 1759 editions of 'SYSTEMA NATURAE', and it still bears its original name of Corvus corone, derived from the Latin of Corvus, meaning Raven and the Greek κορώνη (korōnē), meaning crow.
Carrion crow are of the Animalia kingdom Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Corvidae Genus: Corvus and Species: Corvus corone
Corvus corone can reach 45-47cm in length with a 93-104cm wingspan and weigh between 370-650g. They are protected under The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in the United Kingdom with a Green UK conservation status which means they are of least concern with more than 1,000,000 territories. Breeding occurs in April with fledging of the chicks taking around twenty nine days following an incubation period of around twenty days with 3 to 4 eggs being the average norm. They are abundant in the UK apart from Northwest Scotland and Ireland where the Hooded crow (Corvus cornix) was considered the same species until 2002. They have a lifespan of around four years, whilst Crow species can live to the age of Twenty years old, and the oldest known American crow in the wild was almost Thirty years old. The oldest documented captive crow died at age Fifty nine. They are smaller and have a shorter lifespan than the Raven, which again is used as a symbol in history to live life to the full and not waste a moment!
They are often mistaken for the Rook (Corvus frugilegus), a similar bird, though in the UK, the Rook is actually technically smaller than the Carrion crow averaging 44-46cm in length, 81-99cm wingspan and weighing up to 340g. Rooks have white beaks compared to the black beaks of Carrion crow, a more steeply raked ratio from head to beak, and longer straighter beaks as well as a different plumage pattern. There are documented cases in the UK of singular and grouped Rooks attacking and killing Carrion crows in their territory. Rooks nest in colonies unlike Carrion crows. Carrion crows have only a few natural enemies including powerful raptors such as the northern goshawk, the peregrine falcon, the Eurasian eagle-owl and the golden eagle which will all readily hunt them.
Regarded as one of the most intelligent birds, indeed creatures on the planet, studies suggest that Corvids cognitive abilities can rival that of primates such as chimpanzees and gorillas and even provide clues to understanding human intelligence. Crows have relatively large brains for their body size, compared to other animals. Their encephalization quotient (EQ) a ratio of brain to body size, adjusted for size because there isn’t a linear relationship is 4.1. That is remarkably close to chimps at 4.2 whilst humans are 8.1. Corvids also have a very high neuronal density, the number of neurons per gram of brain, factoring in the number of cortical neurons, neuron packing density, interneuronal distance and axonal conduction velocity shows that Corvids score high on this measure as well, with humans scoring the highest.
A corvid's pallium is packed with more neurons than a great ape's. Corvids have demonstrated the ability to use a combination of mental tools such as imagination, and anticipation of future events. They can craft tools from twigs and branches to hook grubs from deep recesses, they can solve puzzles and intricate methods of gaining access to food set by humans., and have even bent pieces of wire into hooks to obtain food. They have been proven to have a higher cognitive ability level than seven year old humans. Communications wise, their repertoire of wraw-wraw's is not fully understood, but the intensity, rhythm, and duration of caws seems to form the basis of a possible language. They also remember the faces of humans who have hindered or hurt them and pass that information on to their offspring.
Aesop's fable of 'The Crow and the Pitcher, tells of a thirsty crow which drops stones into a water pitcher to raise the water level and enable it to take a drink. Scientists have conducted tests to see whether crows really are this intelligent. They placed floating treats in a deep tube and observed the crows indeed dropping dense objects carefully selected into the water until the treat floated within reach. They had the intelligence to pick up, weigh and discount objects that would float in the water, they also did not select ones that were too large for the container.
Pet crows develop a unique call for their owners, in effect actually naming them. They also know to sunbathe for a dose of vitamin D, regularly settling on wooden garden fences, opening their mouths and wings and raising their heads to the sun. In groups they warn of danger and communicate vocally. They store a cache of food for later if in abundance and are clever enough to move it if they feel it has been discovered. They leave markers for their cache. They have even learned to place walnuts and similar hard food items under car tyres at traffic lights as a means of cracking them!
Crows regularly gather around a dead fellow corvid, almost like a funeral, and it is thought they somehow learn from each death. They can even remember human faces for decades.Crows group together to attack larger predators and even steal their food, and they have different dialects in different areas, with the ability to mimic the dialect of the alpha males when they enter their territory!
They have a twenty year life span, the oldest on record reaching the age of Fifty nine. Crows can leave gifts for those who feed them such as buttons or bright shiny objects as a thank you, and they even kiss and make up after an argument, having mated for life.
In mythology they are associated with good and bad luck, being the bringers of omens and even witchcraft and are generally reviled for their attacks on baby birds and small mammals. They have an attack method of to stunning smaller birds before consuming them, tearing violently at smaller, less aggressive birds, which is simply down to the fact that they are so highly intelligent, and also the top of the food chain. Their diet includes over a thousand different items: Dead animals (as their name suggests), invertebrates, grain, as well as stealing eggs and chicks from other birds' nests, worms, insects, fruit, seeds, kitchen scraps. They are highly adaptable when food sources grow scarce. I absolutely love them, they are magnificent, bold, beautiful and incredibly interesting to watch and though at times it is hard to witness attacks made by them, I cannot help but adore them for so many other and more important reasons.
OBSERVATIONS ON THE PAIR IN MY GARDEN
Crows have been in the area for a while, but rarely had strayed into my garden, leaving the Magpies to own the territory. Things changed towards the end of May when a beautiful female Carrion crow appeared and began to take some of the food that I put down for the other birds. Within a few days she began to appear regularly, on occasions stocking up on food, whilst other times placing pieces in the birdbath to soften them. She would stand on the birdbath and eat and drink and come back over the course of the day to eat the softened food.
Shortly afterwards she brought along her mate, a tall and handsome fella, much larger than her who was also very vocal if he felt she was getting a little too close to me. By now I had moved from a seated position from the patio as an observer, to laying on a mat just five feet from the birdbath with my Nikon so that I could photograph the pair as they landed, scavenged and fed. She was now confident enough to let me be very close, and she even tolerated and recognized the clicking of the camera. At first I used silent mode to reduce the noise but this only allowed two shooting frame rates of single frame or continuous low frame which meant I was missing shots. I reverted back to normal continuous high frames and she soon got used to the whirring of the mechanisms as the mirror slapped back and forth.
The big fella would bark orders at her from the safety of the fence or the rear of the garden, whilst she rarely made a sound. That was until one day when in the sweltering heat she kept opening her beak and sunning on the grass, panting slightly in the heat. I placed the circular water sprayer nearby and had it rotating so that the birdbath and grass was bathed in gentle water droplets and she soon came back, landed and seemed to really like the cooling effect on offer. She then climbed onto the birdbath and opened her wings slightly and made some gentle purring, cooing noises....
I swear she was expressing happiness, joy....
On another blisteringly hot day when the sprayer was on, she came down, walked towards it and opened her wings up running into the water spray. Not once, but many times.
A further revelation into the unseen sides to these beautiful birds came with the male and female on the rear garden fence. They sat together, locked beaks like a kiss and then the male took his time gently preening her head feathers and the back of her neck as she made tiny happy sounds. They stayed together like that for several minutes, showing a gentle, softer side to their nature and demonstrating the deep bond between them. Into July and the pair started to bring their three youngsters to my garden, the nippers learning to use the birdbath for bathing and dipping food, the parents attentive as ever. Two of the youngsters headed off once large enough and strong enough.
I was privileged to be in close attendance as the last juvenile was brought down by the pair, taught to take food and then on a night in July, to soar and fly with it's mother in the evening sky as the light faded. She would swoop and twirl, and at regular intervals just touch the juvenile in flight with her wing tip feathers, as if to reassure it that she was close in attendance. What an amazing experience to view. A few days later, the juvenile, though now gaining independence and more than capable of tackling food scraps in the garden, was still on occasions demand feeding from it's mother who was now teaching him to take chicken breast, hotdogs or digestive biscuits and bury them in the garden beds for later delectation. The juvenile also liked to gather up peanuts and bury them in the grass. On one occasion I witnessed a pair of rambunctious Pica Pica (Magpies), chasing the young crow on rooftops, leaping at him no matter how hard he tried to get away. He defended himself well and survived the attacks, much to my relief.
Into August and the last youngster remained with the adults, though now was very independent even though he still spent time with his parents on rooftops, and shared food gathering duties with his mum.Hotdog sausages were their favourite choice, followed by fish fingers and digestive biscuits which the adult male would gather up three at a time. In October, the three Crows were still kings of the area, but my time observing them was pretty much over as I will only put food out now for the birds in the winter months.
Corvus Corone.... magnificently misunderstood by some!
Paul Williams June 4th 2021
©All photographs on this site are copyright: ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) 2011 – 2021 & GETTY IMAGES ®
No license is given nor granted in respect of the use of any copyrighted material on this site other than with the express written agreement of ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams). No image may be used as source material for paintings, drawings, sculptures, or any other art form without permission and/or compensation to ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)
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Nikon D850 Focal length 600mm Shutter speed: 1/800s Aperture f/9.0 iso160 Hand held with Tamron VC Vibration control set to ON in position 1 14 Bit uncompressed RAW NEF file size L (8256 x 5504 pixels) FX (36 x 24) Focus mode: AF-C AF-Area mode: 3D-tracking AF-C Priority Selection: Release. Nikon Back button focusing enabled 3D Tracking watch area: Normal 55 Tracking points Exposure mode: Manual exposure mode Metering mode: Matrix metering White balance on: Auto1 (4940k) Colour space: RGB Picture control: Neutral (Sharpening +2)
Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2. Nikon GP-1 GPS module. Lee SW150 MKII filter holder. Lee SW150 95mm screw in adapter ring. Lee SW150 circular polariser glass filter.Lee SW150 Filters field pouch. Hoodman HEYENRG round eyepiece oversized eyecup.Mcoplus professional MB-D850 multi function battery grip 6960.Two Nikon EN-EL15a batteries (Priority to battery in Battery grip). Black Rapid Curve Breathe strap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC 80MB/s card. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag.
LATITUDE: N 51d 28m 28.35s
LONGITUDE: E 0d 8m 10.52s
ALTITUDE: 52.00m
RAW (TIFF) FILE: 130.00MB NEF FILE: 89.5MB
PROCESSED (JPeg) FILE: 39.00MB
PROCESSING POWER:
Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.10 (9/05/2019) LD Distortion Data 2.018 (18/02/20) LF 1.00
HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB Data storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit Version 1.4.1 (18/02/2020). Nikon Capture NX-D 64bit Version 1.6.2 (18/02/2020). Nikon Picture Control Utility 2 (Version 2.4.5 (18/02/2020). Nikon Transfer 2 Version 2.13.5. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.
Lancaster 'Just Jane' is seen outside prior to one of her regular taxi-runs at the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, East Kirkby, UK.
16-06-2014.
The following full history of Lancaster NX611 was taken from the museum website:-
"Just Jane" was built by Austin Motors at Longbridge near Birmingham, in April 1945. Given the serial number NX611, she was one of the first 150 B Mk VII Avro Lancasters destined as part of the RAF's Tiger Force in the Far East. However, Japan's early surrender meant these aircraft were suddenly surplus to requirements and, instead of seeing service, NX611 ended up in storage at Llandow. There she stayed until 1952. From then on, a chequered career followed.
In April 1952 she was bought by the French Government. Painted midnight blue, she flew maritime patrol for the French Naval Air Arm. Ten years later, she went to Noumeau, New Caledonia, was painted white and used for air sea rescue and cartography. Then in 1964, the French presented her to the Historical Aircraft Preservation Society and flew her to her new home in Sydney where she was overhauled before being flown back to Britain. It took nine days to complete the 12,000 mile journey back to her homeland- seventy flying hours- landing at Biggin Hill on 13 May, 1965.
Temporarily grounded, due to expiry of permitted flying hours, it was 1967 before NX611 flew again, but even then public appearances were brief because of prohibitive costs.
She was flown to Lavenham in Suffolk and, a few years later, in 1972, was put up for auction at 'Squires Gate', Blackpool.
Meanwhile, in Lincolnshire, determined to commemorate the death of their brother Chistopher who was killed on the Nuremburg Raid in March 1944, and all of the men who served in Bomber Command, Fred and Harold Panton had decided to purchase a Second World War Bomber. At one time, they had had their eyes on a Halifax which was coming up for sale, but their father told them, in no uncertain terms, they would not be permitted to keep one at his farm.
The years passed, but the brothers still held on to their dream. Eventually, Fred and Harold became co-owners of their own farm. When some land came up for sale which included part of the defunct East Kirkby airfield they bought it. Some areas of concrete and a few buildings still stood on the old airfield, in a state of disrepair. They used part of the area to set up a chicken farm. However, with the idea of owning an exhibition aircraft still foremost in their in their minds, they also began to renovate the "working area" of the airfield. That included building a new hangar, where an original T2 hangar had stood there during the war years.
Learning about the forthcoming auction, via an advertisement, Fred and Harold decided to try and purchase the old Lancaster. This aircraft could be the perfect monument to their brother's memory. When Fred saw NX611 for the very first time at Blackpool, she stood lonely and forlorn, waiting to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. Around her, a great Avro Lancaster NX611 at RAF Scamptoncrowd stood- some hopefully putting in bids, but most just watched- curious to see one of the country's finest types of Bomber at close range. Sadly, due to the reserve not being reached, she was withdrawn from the auction and later privately sold to the Rt Hon Lord Lilford. Fred and Harold kept in contact with her new owner and eventually, whilst she stood Gate Guardian at RAF Scampton, near Lincoln, and after one or two hiccups in the furtherance of their ambition to own her, a deal was struck with Lord Lilford's agent.
In September 1983, NX611 was finally purchased by Fred and Harold and, four years later, after completing an agreed total of ten years gate guardian at RAF Scampton, she was brought to East Kirkby, courtesy of the RAF. It was sixteen years since Fred had seen her at Blackpool auction.
The first moves towards restoring one of her four engines were made in 1993. Two ex RAF engineers were brought in to do the job. They began work on No3 engine. Although it had been idle for 22 years, they were confident they could bring it back to life. Accessing the spare parts was organised, the engine rotated to ensure it would still turn and the cam shaft covers removed. Both had to be replaced, although the engine cylinders were in good working order. Then the propeller was removed, stripped down and examined and - apart from having to adjust the blade settings - everything proved to be in fine order and was rebuilt.
Local contractors were brought in to check the wiring and make good where necessary. That alone was a ten-day job.
The engine's starter motor, magnetos, fuel booster pump and ignition harness were removed and checked, the fuel tank was pressurised and the fuel jettison system reset. When the throttle controls between the cockpit lever and the engine were uncovered, it was discovered that almost a third of the small control rods had to be replaced.
However after about seven hundred man hours and at a cost of £7000 the engine was finally ready.
This work was then completed for all four engines and they now at a fully operational taxiing standard.
given this one a posterized look but a Surreal image perhaps with an old 60's look...
thanks for looking in...appreciated.....best bigger....hope you have a Great Day
Given the nicknames "Black Venus,” "Black Pearl,""Creole Goddess," as well as "La Baker” in her adopted country of France, Josephine Baker (1906-1975), was known as the "It girl who danced her way through the 20's and 30's only dressed in bananas". A dancer, singer, actress and a comedian all in one, Josephine Baker was is noted for being the first woman of African descent to star in a major motion picture, to integrate an American concert hall, and to become a world famous entertainer. Her acts were both outrageously funny and quite sexy. She was a star of stage, screen and recordings, a civil rights activist and an honored military woman during World War II.
Want to know more about Black History ? Visit Discover Black Heritage.
The Seagull was the name given to the 24 Walrus aircraft built specifically for Australian Navy service.
This example first flew in 1935 and arrived in Australia in 1936. It then entered service as ‘A2-4’, carrying out fleet co-operation work with the Royal Australian Navy fleet.
It remained in service until 1946 when it was sold off. It was then dismantled and put in to store. In 1951 it was allocated the civil registration ‘VH-ALB’ but remained in store. It finally flew in civil hands for the first time in 1960. It then flew commercially with various operators before being entered in a London – Sydney air race. It crashed during the outbound journey on 27th January 1970, due to a ‘fuel management’ issue. The hull, undercarriage, floats and one wing were damaged. It was dismantled and stored (again), although further damage was caused by vandals.
It finally returned to the UK in 1973 after the RAF Museum exchanged it for Spitfire XVI ‘TE384’. Restored in 1975 by teams at Henlow and Cardington and returned to wartime RAAF markings. The completed aircraft arrived at Hendon in 1979 for permanent display in the Battle of Britain Hall.
RAF Museum, Hendon, London, UK.
28th May 2016
This box was given to retailers as a promotional item. It would have originally contained two 2x4 bricks: one in red and one on white or one in yellow and one in blue.
These two bricks allowed the retailer to demonstrate the building possibilities that were provided by the new patented LEGO stud-and-tube coupling. It really speaks to the advantage that new the LEGO design provided over the competing brands, that the versatility of the system could be demonstrated with only two bricks.
Because the box has the LEGO System logo with System in yellow script, it can be dated from about the last half of 1959 onward.
"A single cup of coffee can create a friendship that lasts for 40 years"
Turkish Coffee is the name given to a type of coffee whose preparation and brewing techniques were invented by the Turks. It has a unique taste, froth, aroma, brewing technique and presentation… in other words it has its own identity and tradition.
The first coffee was made in the Arabian Peninsula by boiling coffee cherries. The new method invented by the Turks revealed coffee's true flavour and peerless aroma. The Turks introduced coffee to Europe where for many years it was prepared and consumed as Turkish Coffee.
Turkish Coffee is made from high quality arabica coffee beans from Central America and Brazil that are blended and carefully roasted, then very finely ground. The coffee is mixed with water and the desired amount of sugar and cooked in a "cevze", or Turkish coffeepot. The coffee is served in small cups. The coffee must be left to stand for a short time after serving to allow the grounds to settle at the bottom of the cup.
HISTORY
Istanbul was introduced to coffee in 1517 by Özdemir Pasha, the Ottoman Governor of Yemen, who had grown to love the drink while stationed in that country.
Prepared in a cezve or "güğüm" (copper vessel) using the technique invented by the Turks, the drink became known as Turkish Coffee.
The Turkish public became acquainted with coffee through the establishment of coffeehouses; the first coffeehouse opened in the district of Tahtakale and others rapidly cropped up all over the city. Coffeehouses and coffee culture soon became an integral part of Istanbul social culture; people came here throughout the day to read books and beautiful texts, play chess and backgammon and discuss poetry and literature.
As coffee became a staple in palace cuisine as well as in private homes, its consumption increased dramatically. The raw beans were roasted in pans and then ground in mortars. The coffee was then brewed in cezves and served with great care to esteemed friends.
Thanks to the efforts of merchants and travellers who passed through Istanbul, and even Ottoman ambassadors, Turkish Coffee's renown soon spread to Europe and ultimately to the whole world.
CHARACTERISTICS
Turkish Coffee… Is the world's oldest coffee brewing method.
Consists of foam, coffee and grounds.
Remains on the palate longer than all other types of coffee thanks to its soft and velvety foam.
Remains hot for a long time thanks to its delicious foam, which keeps its form for several minutes after the coffee is poured.
Cools much more slowly than other varieties of coffee as it is served in thin cups, thus prolonging the drinking pleasure.
Has an unforgettable flavour thanks to its thick, syrupy consistency that stimulates the taste buds.
Is thicker, softer and more aromatic than other types of coffee.
Is easily discernible from other types of coffee due to its unique aroma and foam.
Is the only coffee that can be boiled.
Is the only coffee that can be used to predict the future. Cafedomancy: The use of coffee grounds to cast fortunes.
Is unique in that its grounds are left in the cup: the coffee is not filtered or strained because the grounds settle at the bottom of the cup.
Does not have to be sweetened after it has been poured as the sugar is added during preparation.
THE TURKS AND
TURKISH COFFEE
Drinking coffee is a unique pleasure for Turks.
A cup of Turkish coffee is endowed with a variety of important connotations for Turks: friendship, affection and sharing. This is best illustrated in the old saying: "A single cup of coffee can create a friendship that lasts for 40 years". Turkish coffee is such an intrinsic part of Turkish culture that it has given its name to the word for breakfast, "kahvaltı", which translates as "before coffee", and is derived from the words "kahve" (coffee) and "altı" (before).
Serving a cup of Turkish Coffee is also a way of sealing a friendship. The preparation and care taken by a host in serving Turkish Coffee to his guests is an important aspect of hospitality. In Turkey, it is traditional for a prospective bride to serve coffee to her suitor and his family when they come to ask for her hand in marriage. Accepting a cup of coffee is a source of pride to the person who offers it. This is illustrated in the Turkish expressions "his coffee can be drunk" and "I would drink a cup of your coffee".
Nothing compares to long, friendly conversation over a cup of frothy Turkish Coffee, followed by having your fortune told.
The Dofasco emblem should have given me a clue where this FP9A was built, but it took me time surfing the web this AM before I realized that the 2 A units were former Algoma Central units acquired from the WC.
The chase ended at Good Hope when the sun set, and I didn't check out LaHarpe where I now understand that there are two more AC A units which are used as a parts source.
©All photographs on this site are copyright: ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) 2011 – 2021 & GETTY IMAGES ®
No license is given nor granted in respect of the use of any copyrighted material on this site other than with the express written agreement of ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams). No image may be used as source material for paintings, drawings, sculptures, or any other art form without permission and/or compensation to ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)
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I would like to say a huge and heartfelt 'THANK YOU' to GETTY IMAGES, and the 40.398+ Million visitors to my FLICKR site.
***** Selected for sale in the GETTY IMAGES COLLECTION on May 11th 2021
CREATIVE RF gty.im/1317437017 MOMENT ROYALTY FREE COLLECTION**
This photograph became my 5,302nd frame to be selected for sale in the Getty Images collection and I am very grateful to them for this wonderful opportunity.
©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)
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Photograph taken at an altitude of Fifty four metres at 07:27am on a showery morning on Monday 10th May 2021, off Chessington Avenue in Bexleyheath, Kent.
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THE EASTERN GRAY/EASTERN GREY SQUIRREL (SCIURUS CAROLINENSIS)
By Paul Williams
The Grey (or Gray) squirrel, you either love 'em or you hate 'em. Cute and fluffy little funsters or destructive critters who ruin trees, kill bird chicks and trees and damage our homes... oh and it's their fault we lost our native Red squirrels as well!
OK
I get it and I see both sides of the story of course. For my part, I am a nature, wildlife and landscape photographer who prefers the company of animals and natural beauty to fellow humans who are systematically plundering Mother Earth's resources and killing off her beautiful creatures at an alarming rate! I believe there is a natural order of things, creatures kill other creatures to survive, they adapt to situations and when mankind encroaches on their territory to make a fast buck, those animals sometimes adapt to survive and the order changes. That is the balance of nature which is ever changing and affected by us..... the dumbest of the great apes. Some species are driven out by others, some may be destined to become extinct, the fittest will survive, and sometime a species will need intervention and help from mankind in order to survive... usually as a direct consequence of mankind's own actions in destroying the animal kingdom's natural habitat of course.
I adore these little fellas and at almost sixty years old, I never grew up knowing red squirrels at all. I've seen reds in Scotland and black squirrels in Stanley Park on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, but in my beloved home country of England I have always known and loved the cute little Greys. They visit my garden and give me hours, days, weeks of happiness and wonderful photographic opportunities, and I see them in Parks and forests all around me, so it's time to offer up an insight into the Grey squirrel, much loved, much hated... a sort of Marmite rodent if you will.
WHAT EXACTLY IS A SQUIRREL?
The word 'Squirrel', was first recorded in 1327 and hails from the Anglo-Norman word 'Esquirel', from old French 'Escurel', which was a reflex for the Latin word 'Sciurus'.The Eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) is also known as the Eastern Grey squirrel or simply grey squirrel depending on the region of the world it is found. It is a tree squirrel, of the squirrel family Sciuridae including over one hundred arboreal species native to all continents of the world other than Antarctica and Oceania. Tree squirrels live mostly in trees, apart from the flying squirrel. The best known genus is Sciurus, containing most of the bushy tailed squirrels which are found in Europe, North America, temperate Asia as well as central and south America.
The scientific classification for the Eastern Grey is:
KINGDOM: ANIMALIA PHYLUM: CHORDATA CLASS: MAMMALIA ORDER: RODENTIA FAMILY: SCIURIDAE GENUS: SCIURUS SUBGENUS: SCIURUS SPECIES: SCIURUS CAROLINENSIS
They were first noted by German naturalist, botanist, entomologist, herpetologist, and malacologist - Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788.
A mammal and rodent, predominantly herbivorous they are none the less an omnivore with a life span of between two and ten years. They can grow to 70cm in length and weigh up to 8kg. There are more than two hundred and sixty species of worldwide squirrel, the smallest being the African pygmy squirrel at just 10cm in length, whereas the Indian giant squirrel is three feet long! The oldest fossil of a squirrel, Hesperopetes, dates back to the late Eocene epoch period Chadronian period of 40-35 million years ago. The tree squirrels rotate their ankles by 180 degrees, so that the hind paws pointy backwards gripping tree bark which enables them to descend a tree headfirst.
Originally native to Eastern and Midwestern United States of America, they were first introduced into the United Kingdom in 1876 in Henbury Park, Macclesfield in Cheshire when Victorian banker Thomas V. Brocklehurst released a pair of Greys that he brought back from a business trip to America after their attraction as pets had waned. Victorians had a penchant for collecting exotic animals and birds of the world, but trends came and went and subsequently animals were simply discarded into the wilderness. There are early records of greys released near Denbighshire in north Wales from private collections. Later introduced to several regions in the UK, they quickly settled and spread, colonizing an area of three hundred miles in a quarter of a century between Argyll and Stirlingshire in Scotland.
Introductions of the Greys between 1902 and 1929 (the year of the last recorded introduction), included: Regent’s Park in London, Berkshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire, Devon, Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire, Suffolk and Hampshire. Grey Squirrels spread into Gloucestershire and eastern Wiltshire with animals coming directly from the United States or from Woburn. One hundred greys were released in Richmond Park in Surrey in 1902, Ninety one into Regent’s Park between 1905 and 1907 and a further ten New Jersey imported greys were introduced into Woburn Park in Bedfordshire.
Predators include hawks, weasels, raccoons, bobcats, foxes, domestic and feral cats, snakes, owls, and dogs, African harrier-hawks in Africa and... oh yes, Mankind pretty much everywhere who despise, mistreat, cull or eat it .
FACTS, MYTHS AND THAT POXY PARAPOX!
The massive decline in native red squirrels blamed upon the spread of the invasive greys has always been perhaps a little harsh as reds were already in a steep decline due to loss of habitat and disease and thus the greys simply took over the areas where the reds were dwindling. It's also a fact that reds were also seen as a plague, branded as pests who killed birds and damaged trees and the culling of reds almost brought them to the brink of extinction. Licenses to kill reds could still be obtained up until the seventies!
Reds suffered at the hands of mankind thanks to a combination of agricultural deforestation also linked with war and fuel needs which caused extinction in Southern Scotland and Ireland by the early eighteenth century, way before greys had been introduced. Harsh winters killed off the less hardy red population in the early nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Greys are more adept at finding food and adapting to locations and environments, but also carry the squirrel poxvirus (SQPV) which although not particularly harmful to them, is a serious infection for the reds.
Parapox in red squirrels causes swollen lesions around the mouth, eyes, ears and nose also the front paws and sometimes genitals and skin ulcers and kills a red within fifteen days. There is no definitive correlation between the spread of the virus and the spread of the Greys, it actually arrived in several areas before the greys began to colonize there. An epidemic virus was observed in Red squirrels from at least 1900 with isolation attempts failing, and the first case of Parapox in the UK was in 1980 in the county of Norfolk. Greys cannot transmit the virus to reds via saliva or faeces, but reds can between each other from bodily secretions and at animal feeders in gardens. The transmission from greys to reds is though to come from parasites. Eight to ten per cent of reds survive the virus, and there is some evidence that reds are slowly building an evolved resistance.
Greys are seen as pests to forest land, stripping bark from trees during May and June, and are also capable of destroying household bins, water pipes, causing roof damage not to mention taking eggs and killing young chicks of ground nesting and songbird populations. They also take from bird feeders and there is a whole industry for creating squirrel proof feeders these days.
THE CULLING OF GREY SQUIRRELS
Grey squirrels have limited legal protection and can be legally controlled all year round by a variety of methods including shooting and trapping. Methods of trapping and killing include Dray poking and shooting, Tunnel trapping using spring traps set in accordance with BASC’s trapping pest mammals code of practice. They can also be shot using a shotgun or powerful air rifle or up until September 30th 2014 poisoned by Warfarin (Now outlawed).
Whilst professional trapping and extermination is hopefully done as humanely as possible, there have been cases, many of them where cost savings have been gained by battering the squirrels to death! Grey squirrels are trapped in ghastly metal contraptions for hours and hours, wearing themselves out frantically trying to escape by gnawing at the metals bars. They bite the floor and scratch at them with their claws and do not get a moments peace or rest through absolute fear. Once the traps are retrieved, each squirrel, terrified will be thrown into a sack and smacked on the head countless times with a blunt instrument. When a mother is slaughtered, her babies who are totally dependent on her, will die a slow death of thirst and starvation.
There is an argument for the control of Greys on many grounds but also a counter argument that Culling does not work, and has not on countless times where, once a population of greys have been culled, the nearest group will move back in and claim the land. The university of Bristol concluded that there was little evidence that culling greys to save red squirrels was effective, and that perhaps finding a way of boosting red squirrel immunity to the poxvirus or planting areas of yew trees where reds are known to thrive and spending money on research into positive moves might be a better option.
In Ireland, the re-introduction of the Pine marten, a species made extinct originally by the very same land owners who also wish to do the same to the grey squirrel, has seen the rapid demise of the grey and the re-introduction of the native reds. Red squirrels are smaller and more nimble than their grey counterparts, and as such can get to the very ends of tree branches where neither the pine martins, nor more importantly the heavier greys can, thus surviving and thriving. As a result in Ireland, the grey squirrel population has crashed in approximately 9,000 km2 of its former range and the reds has become common once more after a thirty year absence... oh and Pine Martens are protected again!
In Scotland, Pine Martens exist in areas where Red squirrels thrive, and greys do not. So perhaps there is a lesson here, as in England where there are no pine martens, the greys are prolific breeders. So there is an argument against the barbarity of shooting and poisoning greys, and if, as so many believe, the greys MUST be controlled, how about a more humane and natural method that nature intended.. with re-introduction of predators. Just a thought!
So a few facts and figures on the greys and to wrap up, from a purely personal perspective I love these little guys, as I do almost every creature in nature other than those eight legged beasties that shall not be named and for which I have a deep and powerful phobia that borders on paranoia!
I could no more harm an animal deliberately than eat a McDonald's McRib (Once saw how they are made and let me just say... eeeuuuuuwwwww!!).
They are small, cute, cuddly, furry, they photograph beautifully, have great personality and make me smile. They trust me enough to take food from my hand in parks, and I can't bare the though of ugly, hairy land owners sticking a shotgun in their face and blowing them away! I appreciate they can be a pest, a problem, a menace, that their PR managers might have a bit of a problem winning you over when they flay small chicks alive on your lawn or decimate the songbird population by stealing their eggs.... and perhaps there is a need to keep the population under control and try and re-establish the red population.....
Yep I get that....
I just hope we can solve the problem more humanely to create a peaceful coexistence of the reds and greys in different areas. A man can dream can't he.
Paul Williams June 18th 2021
©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams).
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Nikon D850 Focal length 600mm Shutter speed: 1/640s Aperture f/6.3 iso800 Tripod mounted with Tamron VC Vibration Control set to position 3. Image area FX (36 x 24) NEF RAW L (8256 x 5504). NEF RAW L (14 bit uncompressed) AF-C Priority Selection: Release. Nikon Back button focusing enabled. AF-S Priority selection: Focus. 3D Tracking watch area: Normal 55 Tracking points Exposure mode: Manual mode Metering mode: Spot metering White balance on: Auto1 (4570k) Colour space: RGB Picture control: Neutral (Sharpening +2)
Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2. Nikon GP-1 GPS module. Lee SW150 MKII filter holder. Lee SW150 95mm screw in adapter ring. Lee SW150 circular polariser glass filter.Lee SW150 Filters field pouch. Hoodman HEYENRG round eyepiece oversized eyecup.Manfrotto MT057C3-G Carbon fiber Geared tripod 3 sections. Neewer Carbon Fiber Gimble tripod head 10088736 with Arca Swiss standard quick release plate. Neewer 9996 Arca Swiss release plate P860 x2.Jessops Tripod bag. Mcoplus professional MB-D850 multi function battery grip 6960.Two Nikon EN-EL15a batteries (Priority to battery in Battery grip). Black Rapid Curve Breathe strap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC 80MB/s card. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag.
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LATITUDE: N 51d 28m 28.33s
LONGITUDE: E 0d 8m 10.33s
ALTITUDE: 58.0m
RAW (TIFF) FILE: 130.00MB NEF FILE: 92.8MB
PROCESSED (JPeg) FILE: 24.20MB
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PROCESSING POWER:
Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.10 (9/05/2019) LD Distortion Data 2.018 (18/02/20) LF 1.00
HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB Data storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit Version 1.4.1 (18/02/2020). Nikon Capture NX-D 64bit Version 1.6.2 (18/02/2020). Nikon Picture Control Utility 2 (Version 2.4.5 (18/02/2020). Nikon Transfer 2 Version 2.13.5. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.
©All photographs on this site are copyright: ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) 2011 – 2021 & GETTY IMAGES ®
No license is given nor granted in respect of the use of any copyrighted material on this site other than with the express written agreement of ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams). No image may be used as source material for paintings, drawings, sculptures, or any other art form without permission and/or compensation to ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)
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I would like to say a huge and heartfelt 'THANK YOU' to GETTY IMAGES, and the 44.612+ Million visitors to my FLICKR site.
***** Selected for sale in the GETTY IMAGES COLLECTION on July 14th 2021
CREATIVE RF gty.im/1328370829 MOMENT ROYALTY FREE COLLECTION**
This photograph became my 5,794th frame to be selected for sale in the Getty Images collection and I am very grateful to them for this wonderful opportunity.
©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)
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Photograph taken at an altitude of Five metres, at 10:55am on Tuesday 3rd September 2019 off Island View Road and Homathko Drive, on the sandy shoreline of Island View Beach.
This beautiful stretch of golden sandy beach is located on the Eastern shore of the Saanich Peninsula, near to Victoria and beautiful Sidney by the sea, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.
Nikon D850 Focal length: 55mm Shutter speed: 1/125s Aperture: f/14.0 iso220 RAW (14 bit uncompressed file) Image size L (8256 x 5504 FX) Hand held with Nikon VR Vibration reduction enabled Focus mode: AF-C AF-Area mode: 3D-Tracking Exposure mode: Aperture priority exposure Nikon Back button focusing enabled Metering mode: Matrix metering ISO Sensitivity: Auto White balance: Natural light auto 0, 0 Colour space: Adobe RGB Nikon Distortion control: on (Normal) Picture control: Auto High ISO NR: on (Normal) Vignette control: Normal Active D-lighting: Auto
Nikkor AF-S 24-120mm f/4G ED VR. Lee SW150 MKII filter holder. Lee SW150 77mm screw in adapter ring. Lee SW150 0.3 (1 stop) Neutral density graduated soft resin filter. Lee SW150 Filters field pouch. Nikon EN-EL15a battery.Mcoplus professional MB-D850 multi function battery grip 6960. Matin quick release neckstrap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC 80MB/s card. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag. Nikon GP-1 GPS module. Hoodman HEYENRG round eyepiece oversized eyecup.
LATITUDE: N 48d 34m 44.47s
LONGITUDE: W 123d 22m 10.79s
ALTITUDE: 5.0m
RAW (TIFF) FILE: 130.00MB NEF: 93.3MB
PROCESSED (JPeg) FILE: 50.00MB
PROCESSING POWER:
Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.10 (9/05/2019) LD Distortion Data 2.017 (20/3/18) LF 1.00
HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB Data storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit (Version 1.3.1 11/07/2019). Nikon Capture NX-D 64bit (Version 1.4.7 15/03/2018). Nikon Picture Control Utility 2 (Version 1.3.2 15/03/2018). Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.