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Extreme Winter continues: photos from different parts of my country that I think epitomize winter. This morning's offering is from New Year's Day 2008, when I was visiting friends in rural Quebec after my mom died a couple of weeks earlier. I flew to Montreal, rented a car, did what had to be done, then went to hang out with people I'd known for many years. Decades.
The night before I left, it snowed. Heavily. Irenée had to work in the morning. Their driveway is a hundred yards long, and he made it passable. Then another ton of snow fell overnight, and we had to use shovels in the morning to dig ourselves out. The backroad drive to the nearest highway was an adventure in my rented Toyota Yaris, but I managed to stay out of the ditches.
At the time I was living on the west coast, where sometimes ice freezes in puddles and some winters there is snow. This was reminiscent of my childhood in Quebec, and I didn't mind it at all. When you live in a place like this, you just deal with it.
For this photo, I somehow focused through the falling snow and popped a flash. I was using one of the worst lenses Nikon ever made, the long forgotten 18-135mm for DX bodies. It is so totally forgotten that Photoshop doesn't even have it listed, so I can't make automated lens corrections during processing. Nice focal range; mediocre performance and image quality. Eventually I lost it when it rolled into a tide pool: I retrieved it but the salt water ensured it would never work again. What a relief!
Photographed near Danville, in the Eastern Townships of Quebec (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2008 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Teresa Lloro-Bidart (Cal Poly Pomona) and I are studying how people and coyotes manage to get along in US cities. The environmental political theory blog "Inhabiting the Anthropocene" recently published a piece based on our research. Go check it out!
inhabitingtheanthropocene.com/2018/08/22/there-goes-the-n...
Coyotes have incorporated themselves into nearly every major city in North America. Coyotes’ ability to thrive in cities testifies not only to the Anthropocene’s blurring of human-wildlife boundaries; it also undermines the idea that cities and suburbs are places where people don’t have to contend with wild predators. In cities where coyotes have become established recently, their arrival has coincided with a reevaluation of urban ecologies and of the role of wild animals in urban settings. Conservation scientists are deemphasizing conflict management in favor of peaceful coexistence. And human-animal studies scholars are generating multispecies accounts of city life that seek to take seriously wild animals as social actors, both in how they interact with humans and in their own right. Our study of how residents of two cities – Philadelphia, PA and Chino/Chino Hills, CA – attempt to make sense of urban coyotes asks how such calls for more inclusive human-wildlife relations resonate in popular imaginaries of urban life.
Concrete and metal, trying in vain to stop the inevitable flooding of Norfolk's low lying countryside.
Walcott, Norfolk.
Managed to spend a lot of time in the woodland making the most of the rich greenery and sunlight. This photo was easily my favourite from the day.
managed to catch a few trains at False Summit before the wind kicked up and ruined the reflecting pond
Big antique market is held twice a month in Kempton Park Racecourse in Southwest London. There is indoor part and outdoor part. The weather was looking a bit unstable on the day we went, so the dealers of furniture and carpet outdoors were packing up early. Still managed to have a look all round. It was a good fun!
This year’s symposium was hosted at Metro Convention Centre, in Toronto | Learn more about Canada’s Best Managed Companies.
Symposium: A range of topics were on the agenda this year– from innovation to leadership to talent strategies and much more. The CEOs and senior management teams of winning companies leveraged this day to learn and connect among one of Canada’s strongest business networks. Over 800 people attended this year’s symposium.
Managed to get out at last for the first time this year. Landermere is near to Beaumont cum Moze in Essex - a really peaceful spot. Evidently this is the old pub at the quay and opposite is Gull cottages (William Gull said to be Jack the ripper!)
Well I guess that this is my last shot of 2024! I have only managed to put up 22 shots this year which is equivalent to less than 2 shots each month but I guess I did have a couple of updated shots this year which brought the total up to 24. However, what I have lacked in quantity I hope I have made up for in quality and interesting photos.
This is where I say thank for viewing my channel this year and for all the new followers I have gained thanks so much, its genuinely appreciated and I never take for granted the amount of favourites I get as over 100 was genuinely unimaginable.
I don't know about you but this year has flown by and been a rather challenging year. When starting the year with major surgery and subsequentially been behind with life for 5 months and having to learn to walk again it was rather mentally intense. For those who have struggled know that it will get better and good times lie ahead.
As we look forward, continue to look after people, make connections, build community and be empathetic as people are only human and continue to struggle but by being there can really make the day better.
For 2025, they are the goals to be more content, calmer and less of a perfectionist. But lets continue to be there for one another, I also hope that everybody had a great Christmas and if possible in a period of calm and restful.
Now shall we move onto the bus. For my Christmas/end of year shot I wanted one to look festive and atmospheric. I try to avoid the centre of Edinburgh for the majority as I feel like loads of shots are taken there and its great to get out of the centre. But, making an exception I thought the Mound would be good as there is usually a nicely lit tree. How wrong was I This year the tree was hardly visible so a change was required and I was passing Waverley and realised that the lighting would look quite nice.
Waverley Bridge returned to fleet usage in June of this year after 4 years being closed to the public initially for Covid 19 restrictions and then for prioritising pedestrians which I completely understand. However, due to the terrible fire at Jenner's last year repair work was needed, this meant that the Airlink services were in need of a new home, so Waverley Bridge was back in actions and will be for the next 2 years.
These XLB buses have been taking the Airlink loads for the best part of 5 and a half years with a small Covid break in between, they are perfect as they have lots of seats and also look really grand and impressive. I remember when I first rode on one as a "I want to ride one of these" the bus that turned up that November Friday back in 2019 was 1136.
Ever since I have really wanted a shot of 1136 but the opportunity has never until now presented itself. But when I had decided what location my shots was going to be in to my luck in was Lothian Buses 1136 that was trundling down the Mound, About 15 shots later (the driver must have thought I was mad as no other bus got a single snap) I managed to get a rather well composed and atmospheric shot of the royal blue bus.
So, here we see Lothian Buses Airlink 1136 collecting a lot of passengers at the terminus as it begins another ride out to the Airport on a cold but sunny Thursday afternoon in December.
Finally, a huge thanks for 2024 and wishing you all the best for 2025!!!
Alex
I managed to get an early morning view of the new nova in the constellation Sagittarius this morning, March 29, 2015. According to recent observations, this unusual nova has had an unusual magnitude shift, up and down and now back up again. Grab a blanket and head out to see this bright nova before it is gone!
Nova Sagittarii 2015 No. 2 was discovered by nova hunter John Seach of Chatsworth Island, NSW, Australia.
Sagittarius is low on the southern horizon from my viewing location, just above tree level, but I did manage to capture it this morning. The nova is the brightest object inside the yellow circle. I used a Canon 6D, Canon 100mm f/2.8L lens mounted on a tripod with no guiding. I placed some reference star magnitudes on the chart for you.
Salami managed to keep still on my palm for a record 5 seconds today, before scrambling right off my palm >_____< It was a great relief he landed on my bed >_____< Until recently, it was impossible to have him hold still at all! Silly boy!
Thankfully Sashimi has always been more obliging :3
Explore: 28 August 2007
So, I have just spent a week away in Nairn and I managed to witness my third aurora display. This was the finest of the 3. Very clear colourful columns and spikes. I wasn't expecting to see it either as I had no aurora alerts through any of the apps on my phone, so it was a bit of a chance viewing. I just know that the first time I saw them was this time last year on the same beach so decided to head out with the camera, I'm glad I did!
I managed to sneak a few backpacking trips in while the family was visiting my in-laws in Toronto the last two weeks of July. This was from the second weekend, where we spent 3 days in Chicago Basin (located between Silverton and Durango, CO). It was a great trip, and we covered a lot of ground. The weather wasn’t ideal, and it did rain on us every day, but all in all we all had an excellent outing.
On Saturday morning, we caught the 9:45 AM train after a full belly of Denny’s. The train dropped us off at the Needleton station, which provides access to some cottages and the trailhead leading into the Chicago Basin. After throwing our packs on, we crossed the Animals river and made the 6.5 mile hike into the basin, establishing camp as far in as we could get while remaining beneath tree line. The first night was clouded in and wet. In fact it rained all night and into the morning, washing out sunrise as well.
Sunday morning, we hiked up to Twin Lakes, which is another mile+ and another 1000 – 1200 ft of elevation gain to scope it out. Erik and Koveh hung out near the lake, and Craig and I scrambled up to a saddle straight north of the lake to get a view of the basin on the other side. It was pretty spectacular, however the wrong time of day. I will probably post a shot of it later though anyway. I’m glad we mad this extra hike though, as it’s when I spotted this spot for a sunset shoot. After returning to camp in the rain, we eventually came out of our tents to the warmth of the afternoon (literally, as my tent turned into a microwave and if I did not come out, I would be cooked). An early dinner, and we were back up to Twin Lakes for sunset, where we were rained on once again with the added bonus of some rumbling thunder.
The clouds cleared quickly however; actually too quickly and after fiddling around with some compositions around the lake, I decided to take my chances and head up above the lakes for a different perspective. Besides, I figured Koveh and Erik would have enough shots of the reflection in the lake, that we didn’t need any more. I’m glad I did, as there were some distant clouds, and the sky was pretty dynamic as the sun began to set. The alpenglow on the shoulder of Sunlight Peak was a nice surprise as it came through a hole in the clouds rather than lighting up the entire mountain.
This was close to one of the most tranquil sunsets I’ve been able to experience in the alpine in summer. The wind was perfectly still and the view was incredible. Definitely one I will not forget.
The hike down in the dark was uneventful. It rained off and on through the night, but Koveh shook me out of my tent before dawn to head back up towards Twin Lakes for sunrise. Going from REM to hiking in about 5 mins is one of the joys of backpacking after all. After shooting the rise near the stream draining out of Twin Lakes, we headed down; ate breakfast (Mountain House granola with blue berries for me...highly recommended); packed up and headed out. We were at the trailhead a little after noon.
This is when the most entertaining part of the trip arrived. We had been told, without any uncertainty that their would be three trains rolling through; 1/2 hr apart; and that only the middle train would stop. Hikers had been coming out of the basin all morning and afternoon, to the point where there was probably close to 40 of us waiting for the train. We had rolled out our mattress pads and were resting comfortably when the first train approached. It then stopped, which it wasn’t supposed to do, and hikers began to get on! We began frantically packing up, but before we could finish the train whistled it’s way off into the distance and when it was gone, the only ones left were the four of us; wondering what in the hell just happened...I think the worst part for me was the couple hikers that were peering out the windows of the train with a smug smirk on their faces waving at us...you could read the “Later suckas!” expression on their faces.
Anyway, the next train did arrive and we were more than ready for it. In fact they were wondering where everybody was as they were supposed to pick up 40 hikers. Turned out that the other train had plenty of room and decided to stop and pick up anyone who wanted to get out early...which would have been nice. On the plus side, we did not have to compete with 36 other hikers raiding the food car, and a couple $4 hot dogs after 3 days in the backcountry tasted better than you could imagine.
We disembarked the train in Durango at around 6:30 PM and headed for Denver. McDonalds in Pagosa Springs, speeding ticket in Del Norte, and we were in Denver around 2 AM. All in all, a pretty damn good adventure.
Managed to get fully dressed without further distraction. Now I wish I could go dancing. For those of you wondering about the mask it’s just to save you from my distinctly unfemimine movember
I managed to grab this shot before walking further south (behind where I was standing) to be prepared to see the Doo Dah Parade come down from Raymond to Colorado. It would be another few minutes, but I had the time to get to my position so I could get the right shots for the parade, which we will see later.
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Kew Gardens is the world's largest collection of living plants. Founded in 1840 from the exotic garden at Kew Park in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, UK, its living collections include more than 30,000 different kinds of plants, while the herbarium, which is one of the largest in the world, has over seven million preserved plant specimens. The library contains more than 750,000 volumes, and the illustrations collection contains more than 175,000 prints and drawings of plants. It is one of London's top tourist attractions. In 2003, the gardens were put on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.
Kew Gardens, together with the botanic gardens at Wakehurst Place in Sussex, are managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (brand name Kew), an internationally important botanical research and education institution that employs 750 staff, and is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
The Kew site, which has been dated as formally starting in 1759, though can be traced back to the exotic garden at Kew Park, formed by Lord Capel John of Tewkesbury, consists of 121 hectares (300 acres) of gardens and botanical glasshouses, four Grade I listed buildings and 36 Grade II listed structures, all set in an internationally significant landscape.
Kew Gardens has its own police force, Kew Constabulary, which has been in operation since 1847.
History
Kew, the area in which Kew Gardens are situated, consists mainly of the gardens themselves and a small surrounding community. Royal residences in the area which would later influence the layout and construction of the gardens began in 1299 when Edward I moved his court to a manor house in neighbouring Richmond (then called Sheen). That manor house was later abandoned; however, Henry V built Sheen Palace in 1501, which, under the name Richmond Palace, became a permanent royal residence for Henry VII. Around the start of the 16th century courtiers attending Richmond Palace settled in Kew and built large houses. Early royal residences at Kew included Mary Tudor's house, which was in existence by 1522 when a driveway was built to connect it to the palace at Richmond. Around 1600, the land that would become the gardens was known as Kew Field, a large field strip farmed by one of the new private estates.
The exotic garden at Kew Park, formed by Lord Capel John of Tewkesbury, was enlarged and extended by Augusta, Dowager Princess of Wales, the widow of Frederick, Prince of Wales. The origins of Kew Gardens can be traced to the merging of the royal estates of Richmond and Kew in 1772. William Chambers built several garden structures, including the lofty Chinese pagoda built in 1761 which still remains. George III enriched the gardens, aided by William Aiton and Sir Joseph Banks. The old Kew Park (by then renamed the White House), was demolished in 1802. The "Dutch House" adjoining was purchased by George III in 1781 as a nursery for the royal children. It is a plain brick structure now known as Kew Palace.
Some early plants came from the walled garden established by William Coys at Stubbers in North Ockendon. The collections grew somewhat haphazardly until the appointment of the first collector, Francis Masson, in 1771. Capability Brown, who became England's most renowned landscape architect, applied for the position of master gardener at Kew, and was rejected.
In 1840 the gardens were adopted as a national botanical garden, in large part due to the efforts of the Royal Horticultural Society and its president William Cavendish. Under Kew's director, William Hooker, the gardens were increased to 30 hectares (75 acres) and the pleasure grounds, or arboretum, extended to 109 hectares (270 acres), and later to its present size of 121 hectares (300 acres). The first curator was John Smith.
The Palm House was built by architect Decimus Burton and iron-maker Richard Turner between 1844 and 1848, and was the first large-scale structural use of wrought iron. It is considered " the world's most important surviving Victorian glass and iron structure." The structure's panes of glass are all hand-blown. The Temperate House, which is twice as large as the Palm House, followed later in the 19th century. It is now the largest Victorian glasshouse in existence. Kew was the location of the successful effort in the 19th century to propagate rubber trees for cultivation outside South America.
In February 1913, the Tea House was burned down by suffragettes Olive Wharry and Lilian Lenton during a series of arson attacks in London.[19] Kew Gardens lost hundreds of trees in the Great Storm of 1987. From 1959 to 2007 Kew Gardens had the tallest flagpole in Britain. Made from a single Douglas-fir from Canada, it was given to mark both the centenary of the Canadian Province of British Columbia and the bicentenary of Kew Gardens. The flagpole was removed after damage by weather and woodpeckers.
In July 2003, the gardens were put on the list of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.
Features
Treetop walkway
A new treetop walkway opened in 2008. This walkway is 18 metres (59 ft) high and 200 metres (660 ft) long and takes visitors into the tree canopy of a woodland glade. Visitors can ascend and descend by stairs or by a lift. The floor of the walkway is made from perforated metal and flexes as it is walked upon. The entire structure sways in the wind.
Sackler Crossing
The Sackler Crossing bridge, made of granite and bronze, opened in May 2006. Designed by Buro Happold and John Pawson, it crosses the lake and is named in honour of philanthropists Dr Mortimer and Theresa Sackler.
The minimalist-styled bridge is designed as a sweeping double curve of black granite. The sides of the bridge are formed of bronze posts that give the impression, from certain angles, of forming a solid wall whereas from others, and to those on the bridge, they are clearly individual entities that allow a view of the water beyond.
The bridge forms part of a path designed to encourage visitors to visit more of the gardens than had hitherto been popular and connects the two art galleries, via the Temperate and Evolution Houses and the woodland glade, to the Minka House and the Bamboo Garden.
The crossing won a special award from the Royal Institute of British Architects in 2008.
Vehicular tour
Kew Explorer is a service that takes a circular route around the gardens, provided by two 72-seater road trains that are fuelled by Calor Gas to minimise pollution. A commentary is provided by the driver and there are several stops.
Compost heap
Kew has one of the largest compost heaps in Europe, made from green and woody waste from the gardens and the manure from the stables of the Household Cavalry. The compost is mainly used in the gardens, but on occasion has been auctioned as part of a fundraising event for the gardens.
The compost heap is in an area of the gardens not accessible to the public, but a viewing platform, made of wood which had been illegally traded but seized by Customs officers in HMRC, has been erected to allow visitors to observe the heap as it goes through its cycle.
Guided walks
Free tours of the gardens are conducted daily by trained volunteers.
Plant houses
Alpine House
A narrow semicircular building of glass and steel latticework stands at the right, set amid an area of worked rock with a line of deciduous trees in the rear left, under a blue sky filled with large puffy white clouds. In front of it, curving slightly away to the left, is a wooden platform with benches on it and a thin metal guardrail in front of a low wet area with bright red flowers
In March 2006, the Davies Alpine House opened, the third version of an alpine house since 1887. Although only 16 metres (52 ft) long the apex of the roof arch extends to a height of 10 metres (33 ft) in order to allow the natural airflow of a building of this shape to aid in the all-important ventilation required for the type of plants to be housed.
The new house features a set of automatically operated blinds that prevent it overheating when the sun is too hot for the plants together with a system that blows a continuous stream of cool air over the plants. The main design aim of the house is to allow maximum light transmission. To this end the glass is of a special low iron type that allows 90 per cent of the ultraviolet light in sunlight to pass. It is attached by high tension steel cables so that no light is obstructed by traditional glazing bars.
To conserve energy the cooling air is not refrigerated but is cooled by being passed through a labyrinth of pipes buried under the house at a depth where the temperature remains suitable all year round. The house is designed so that the maximum temperature should not exceed 20 °C (68 °F).
Kew's collection of Alpine plants (defined as those that grow above the tree-line in their locale – ground level at the poles rising to over 2,000 metres (6,562 feet)), extends to over 7000. As the Alpine House can only house around 200 at a time the ones on show are regularly rotated.
The Nash Conservatory
Originally designed for Buckingham Palace, this was moved to Kew in 1836 by King William IV. With an abundance of natural light, the building is used various exhibitions, weddings, and private events. It is also now used to exhibit the winners of the photography competition.
Kew Orangery
The Orangery was designed by Sir William Chambers, and was completed in 1761. It measures 28 by 10 metres (92 by 33 ft). It was found to be too dark for its intended purpose of growing citrus plants and they were moved out in 1841. After many changes of use, it is currently used as a restaurant.
The Palm House and Parterre
The Palm House (1844–1848) was the result of cooperation between architect Decimus Burton and iron founder Richard Turner,[28] and continues upon the glass house design principles developed by John Claudius Loudon[29][30] and Joseph Paxton. A space frame of wrought iron arches, held together by horizontal tubular structures containing long prestressed cables,[30][31] supports glass panes which were originally[28] tinted green with copper oxide to reduce the significant heating effect. The 19m high central nave is surrounded by a walkway at 9m height, allowing visitors a closer look upon the palm tree crowns. In front of the Palm House on the east side are the Queen's Beasts, ten statues of animals bearing shields. They are Portland stone replicas of originals done by James Woodford and were placed here in 1958.[32]
Princess of Wales Conservatory
Kew's third major conservatory, the Princess of Wales Conservatory, designed by architect Gordon Wilson, was opened in 1987 by Diana, Princess of Wales in commemoration of her predecessor Augusta's associations with Kew. In 1989 the conservatory received the Europa Nostra award for conservation.[34] The conservatory houses ten computer-controlled micro-climatic zones, with the bulk of the greenhouse volume composed of Dry Tropics and Wet Tropics plants. Significant numbers of orchids, water lilies, cacti, lithops, carnivorous plants and bromeliads are housed in the various zones. The cactus collection also extends outside the conservatory where some hardier species can be found.
The conservatory has an area of 4499 square metres. As it is designed to minimise the amount of energy taken to run it, the cooler zones are grouped around the outside and the more tropical zones are in the central area where heat is conserved. The glass roof extends down to the ground, giving the conservatory a distinctive appearance and helping to maximise the use of the sun's energy.
During the construction of the conservatory a time capsule was buried. It contains the seeds of basic crops and endangered plant species and key publications on conservation.
Rhizotron
The Rhizotron
A rhizotron opened at the same time as the "treetop walkway", giving visitors the opportunity to investigate what happens beneath the ground where trees grow. The rhizotron is essentially a single gallery containing a set of large bronze abstract castings which contain LCD screens that carry repeating loops of information about the life of trees.
Temperate House
Inside the Temperate House
The Temperate House, currently closed for restoration, is a greenhouse that has twice the floor area of the Palm House and is the world's largest surviving Victorian glass structure. When in use it contained plants and trees from all the temperate regions of the world. It was commissioned in 1859 and designed by architect Decimus Burton and ironfounder Richard Turner. Covering 4880 square metres, it rises to a height of 19 metres. Intended to accommodate Kew's expanding collection of hardy and temperate plants, it took 40 years to construct, during which time costs soared. The building was restored during 2014 - 15 by Donald Insall Associates, based on their conservation management plan.
There is a viewing gallery in the central section from which visitors were able to look down on that part of the collection.
Waterlily House
The Waterlily House is the hottest and most humid of the houses at Kew and contains a large pond with varieties of water lily, surrounded by a display of economically important heat-loving plants. It closes during the winter months.
It was built to house the Victoria amazonica, the largest of the Nymphaeaceae family of water lilies. This plant was originally transported to Kew in phials of clean water and arrived in February 1849, after several prior attempts to transport seeds and roots had failed. Although various other members of the Nymphaeaceae family grew well, the house did not suit the Victoria, purportedly because of a poor ventilation system, and this specimen was moved to another, smaller, house.
The ironwork for this project was provided by Richard Turner and the initial construction was completed in 1852. The heat for the house was initially obtained by running a flue from the nearby Palm House but it was later equipped with its own boiler.
Ornamental buildings
The Pagoda
In the south-east corner of Kew Gardens stands the Great Pagoda (by Sir William Chambers), erected in 1762, from a design in imitation of the Chinese Ta. The lowest of the ten octagonal storeys is 15 m (49 ft) in diameter. From the base to the highest point is 50 m (164 ft).
Each storey finishes with a projecting roof, after the Chinese manner, originally covered with ceramic tiles and adorned with large dragons; a story is still propagated that they were made of gold and were reputedly sold by George IV to settle his debts. In fact the dragons were made of wood painted gold, and simply rotted away with the ravages of time. The walls of the building are composed of brick. The staircase, 253 steps, is in the centre of the building. The Pagoda was closed to the public for many years, but was reopened for the summer months of 2006 and is now open permanently. During the Second World War holes were cut in each floor to allow for drop-testing of model bombs.
The Japanese Gateway (Chokushi-Mon)
Built for the Japan-British Exhibition (1910) and moved to Kew in 1911, the Chokushi-Mon ("Imperial Envoy's Gateway") is a four-fifths scale replica of the karamon (gateway) of the Nishi Hongan-ji temple in Kyoto. It lies about 140 m west of the Pagoda and is surrounded by a reconstruction of a traditional Japanese garden.
The Minka House
Following the Japan 2001 festival, Kew acquired a Japanese wooden house called a minka. It was originally erected in around 1900 in a suburb of Okazaki. Japanese craftsmen reassembled the framework and British builders who had worked on the Globe Theatre added the mud wall panels.
Work on the house started on 7 May 2001 and, when the framework was completed on 21 May, a Japanese ceremony was held to mark what was considered an auspicious occasion. Work on the building of the house was completed in November 2001 but the internal artefacts were not all in place until 2006.
The Minka house is located within the bamboo collection in the west central part of the gardens.
Queen Charlotte's Cottage
Within the conservation area is a cottage that was given to Queen Charlotte as a wedding present on her marriage to George III. It has been restored by Historic Royal Palaces and is separately administered by them.
It is open to the public on weekends and bank holidays during the summer.
Kew Palace
Kew Palace is the smallest of the British royal palaces. It was built by Samuel Fortrey, a Dutch merchant in around 1631. It was later purchased by George III. The construction method is known as Flemish bond and involves laying the bricks with long and short sides alternating. This and the gabled front give the construction a Dutch appearance.
To the rear of the building is the "Queen's Garden" which includes a collection of plants believed to have medicinal qualities. Only plants that were extant in England by the 17th century are grown in the garden.
The building underwent significant restoration, with leading conservation architects Donald Insall Associates, before being reopened to the public in 2006.
It is administered separately from Kew Gardens, by Historic Royal Palaces.
In front of the palace is a sundial, which was given to Kew Gardens in 1959 to commemorate a royal visit. It was sculpted by Martin Holden and is based on an earlier sculpture by Thomas Tompion, a celebrated 17th century clockmaker.
Galleries and Museums
The Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanic Art
The Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanic Art opened in April 2008, and holds paintings from Kew's and Dr Shirley Sherwood's collections, many of which had never been displayed to the public before. It features paintings by artists such as Georg D. Ehret, the Bauer brothers, Pierre-Joseph Redouté and Walter Hood Fitch. The paintings and drawings are cycled on a six-monthly basis. The gallery is linked to the Marianne North Gallery (see above).
Near the Palm House is a building known as "Museum No. 1" (even though it is the only museum on the site), which was designed by Decimus Burton and opened in 1857. Housing Kew's economic botany collections including tools, ornaments, clothing, food and medicines, its aim was to illustrate human dependence on plants. The building was refurbished in 1998. The upper two floors are now an education centre and the ground floor houses the "Plants+People" exhibition which highlights the variety of plants and the ways that people use them.
Admission to the galleries and museum is free after paying admission to the gardens. The International Garden Photographer of the Year Exhibition is an annual event with an indoor display of entries during the summer months.
The Marianne North Gallery of Botanic Art
The Marianne North Gallery was built in the 1880s to house the paintings of Marianne North, an MP's daughter who travelled alone to North and South America, South Africa and many parts of Asia, at a time when women rarely did so, to paint plants. The gallery has 832 of her paintings. The paintings were left to Kew by the artist and a condition of the bequest is that the layout of the paintings in the gallery may not be altered.
The gallery had suffered considerable structural degradation since its creation and during a period from 2008 to 2009 major restoration and refurbishment took place, with works lead by with leading conservation architects Donald Insall Associates. During the time the gallery was closed the opportunity was also taken to restore the paintings to their original condition. The gallery reopened in October 2009.
The gallery originally opened in 1882 and is the only permanent exhibition in Great Britain dedicated to the work of one woman.
Plant collections
The plant collections include the Aquatic Garden, which is near the Jodrell laboratory. The Aquatic Garden, which celebrated its centenary in 2009, provides conditions for aquatic and marginal plants. The large central pool holds a selection of summer-flowering water lilies and the corner pools contain plants such as reed mace, bulrushes, phragmites and smaller floating aquatic species.
The Arboretum, which covers over half of the total area of the site, contains over 14,000 trees of many thousands of varieties. The Bonsai Collection is housed in a dedicated greenhouse near the Jodrell laboratory. The Cacti Collection is housed in and around the Princess of Wales Conservatory. The Carnivorous Plant collection is housed in the Princess of Wales Conservatory. The Grass Garden was created on its current site in the early 1980s to display ornamental and economic grasses; it was redesigned and replanted between 1994 and 1997. It is currently undergoing a further redesign and planting. Over 580 species of grasses are displayed.
The Herbaceous Grounds (Order Beds) were devised in the late 1860s by Sir Joseph Hooker, then director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, so that botany students could learn to recognise plants and experience at first hand the diversity of the plant kingdom. The collection is organised into family groups. Its name arose because plant families were known as natural orders in the 19th century. Over the main path is a rose pergola built in 1959 to mark the bicentennial of the Gardens. It supports climber and rambling roses selected for the length and profusion of flowering.
The Orchid Collection is housed in two climate zones within the Princess of Wales Conservatory. To maintain an interesting display the plants are changed regularly so that those on view are generally flowering. The Rock Garden, originally built of limestone in 1882, is now constructed of Sussex sandstone from West Hoathly, Sussex. The rock garden is divided into six geographic regions: Europe, Mediterranean and Africa, Australia and New Zealand, Asia, North America, and South America. There are currently 2,480 different "accessions" growing in the garden.
The Rose Garden, based upon original designs by William Nesfield, is behind the Palm House, and was replanted between 2009 and 2010 using the original design from 1848. It is intended as an ornamental display rather than a collection of a particularly large number of varieties. Other collections and specialist areas include the rhododendron dell, the azalea garden, the bamboo garden, the juniper collection, the berberis dell, the lilac garden, the magnolia collection, and the fern collection.
The Palm House and lake to Victoria Gate
The world's smallest water-lily, Nymphaea thermarum, was saved from extinction when it was grown from seed at Kew, in 2009.
Herbarium
The Kew herbarium is one of the largest in the world with approximately 7 million specimens used primarily for taxonomic study. The herbarium is rich in types for all regions of the world, especially the tropics.
Library and archives
The library and archives at Kew are one of the world's largest botanical collections, with over half a million items, including books, botanical illustrations, photographs, letters and manuscripts, periodicals, and maps. The Jodrell Library has been merged with the Economic Botany and Mycology Libraries and all are now housed in the Jodrell Laboratory.
Forensic horticulture
Kew provides advice and guidance to police forces around the world where plant material may provide important clues or evidence in cases. In one famous case the forensic science department at Kew were able to ascertain that the contents of the stomach of a headless corpse found in the river Thames contained a highly toxic African bean.
Economic Botany
The Sustainable Uses of Plants group (formerly the Centre for Economic Botany), focus on the uses of plants in the United Kingdom and the world's arid and semi-arid zones. The Centre is also responsible for curation of the Economic Botany Collection, which contains more than 90,000 botanical raw materials and ethnographic artefacts, some of which are on display in the Plants + People exhibit in Museum No. 1. The Centre is now located in the Jodrell Laboratory.
Jodrell Laboratory
The original Jodrell laboratory, named after Mr T. J. Phillips Jodrell who funded it, was established in 1877 and consisted of four research rooms and an office. Originally research was conducted into plant physiology but this was gradually superseded by botanical research. In 1934 an artists' studio and photographic darkroom were added, highlighting the importance of botanical illustration. In 1965, following increasing overcrowding, a new building was constructed and research expanded into seed collection for plant conservation. The biochemistry section also expanded to facilitate research into secondary compounds that could be derived from plants for medicinal purposes. In 1994 the centre was expanded again, tripling in size, and a decade later it was further expanded by the addition of the Wolfson Wing.
Kew Constabulary
Main article: Kew Constabulary
The gardens have their own police force, Kew Constabulary, which has been in operation since 1847. Formerly known as the Royal Botanic Gardens Constabulary, it is a small, specialised constabulary of two sergeants and 12 officers, who patrol the grounds in a green painted electric buggy. The Kew Constables are attested under section 3 of the Parks Regulation Act 1872, which gives them the same powers as the Metropolitan Police within the land belonging to the gardens.
Media
A number of films, documentaries and short videos have been made about Kew Gardens.
They include:
a short colour film World Garden by cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth in 1942
three series of A Year at Kew (2007), filmed for BBC television and released on DVD
Cruickshank on Kew: The Garden That Changed the World, a 2009 BBC documentary, presented by Dan Cruickshank, exploring the history of the relationship between Kew Gardens and the British Empire
David Attenborough's 2012 Kingdom of Plants 3D
a 2003 episode of the Channel 4 TV series Time Team, presented by Tony Robinson, that searched for the remains of George III's palace
a 2004 episode of the BBC Four series Art of the Garden which looked at the building of the Great Palm House in the 1840s.
"Kew on a Plate", a TV programme showing the kinds of produce grown at Kew Gardens and how they can be prepared in a kitchen.
In 1921 Virginia Woolf published her short story "Kew Gardens", which gives brief descriptions of four groups of people as they pass by a flowerbed.
Access and transport
Elizabeth Gate
Kew Gardens is accessible by a number of gates. Currently, there are four gates into Kew Gardens that are open to the public: the Elizabeth Gate, which is situated at the west end of Kew Green, and was originally called the Main Gate before being renamed in 2012 to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II; the Brentford Gate, which faces the River Thames; the Victoria Gate (named after Queen Victoria), situated in Kew Road, which is also the location of the Visitors' Centre; and the Lion Gate, also situated in Kew Road.
Other gates that are not open to the public include Unicorn Gate, Cumberland Gate and Jodrell Gate (all in Kew Road) and Isleworth Gate (facing the Thames).
Victoria Gate
Kew Gardens station, a London Underground and National Rail station opened in 1869 and served by both the District line and the London Overground services on the North London Line, is the nearest train station to the gardens – only 400 metres (1,300 ft) along Lichfield Road from the Victoria Gate entrance. Built by the London and South Western Railway, the Historic England listed building is one of the few remaining original 19th-century stations on the North London Line, and the only station on the London Underground with a pub on the platform (though the platform entrance is now closed off). Kew Bridge station, on the other side of the Thames, 800 metres from the Elizabeth Gate entrance via Kew Bridge, is served by South West Trains from Clapham Junction and Waterloo.
London Buses route 65, between Ealing Broadway and Kingston, stops near the Lion Gate and Victoria Gate entrances; route 391, between Fulham and Richmond, stops near Kew Gardens station; while routes 237 and 267 stop at Kew Bridge station.
London River Services operate from Westminster during the summer, stopping at Kew Pier, 500 metres (1,600 ft) from Elizabeth Gate. Cycle racks are located just inside the Victoria Gate, Elizabeth Gate and Brentford Gate entrances. There is a 300-space car park outside Brentford Gate, reached via Ferry Lane, as well as some free, though restricted, on-street parking on Kew Road.
I managed to grab a quick shot of this Starling before it flew off to feed its young. As it was a grab shot I accidentally underexposed it. The Nikon D750 has great potential to recover shadows so I was able to end up with a reasonable exposure but it was a pretty ordinary photo. Then I had a brainwave and decided to go the other way and increase the contrast to produce a silhouette which I think is a lot better. I really quite like this one as it's a wee bit bit different.
Managed by a 3-5 man crew from the Casscocian Artillery Corps, the long-barreled 50 mm Anti-Tank Gun supplemented, and later replaced, the earlier 50 mm Anti-Tank Gun during the mid-to-late-war period. It fired a high velocity shell which superseded its predecessor in both speed and range. Originally fitted with a gun shield, it was removed by most crews to increase mobility during rapid advances which reclaimed lost territory late in the war.
This is probably my most detailed artillery piece yet. It's the same gun fitted into my Tank Turret. Check the next picture for all the neat bits! The only thing I wasn't able to accomplish was making the gun traverse-able.
Stoke wood is a managed nature reserve that sits directly behind Cherwell Valley Services at junction 10 of the M40 motorway between London and Birmingham in the British midlands.
Well known locally, it's our nearest piece of woodland, and we visit at all times of the year. In springtime there are bluebells, wood anenomies, buds and new groth everywhere. In the autumn, like this, the floor is carpeted with beech leaves.
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde (L) and President and CEO Aspen Institute Walter Isaacson (R) talk about Innovation, Technology and Jobs at the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings at the IMF Headquarters April 19, 2017 in Washington, DC. IMF Staff Photograph/Stephen Jaffe
Managed to catch the last few minutes of light at Badlands National park in the middle of the summer. Not much can be said about the composition.. but I definitely want to go back to capture some more unique features of this national park! It is definitely an artists' playground!
I spotted this Great tit at the bird table with this extra long beak! It's twice as long it should be. It seemed to be managing well though.
Managed to fit in a spot of light painting during a great day's shoot with the talented model, Lauren L Loveley at Brian Brogan's Studio 2212. Thanks to Lauren for the help in making this shot and all the other photographers who attended. Roll on the next one!
This shot involves the model standing in front of a huge studio octabox and firing at f11 which leaves a silhouette where Lauren is stood. Lauren then moves out of the frame and I fill the space with a home made RGB light tool, easy once you work it out!
Managed to get a timed slot to visit Bodiam which currently admits limited numbers - so a chance to get a shot empty of people.
Taken at Mischief managed a Harry potter Roleplay sim!
Taken with Lumipro for the lighting edit and very minimal edits (mostly just color corrections in a few spots)
Mainly featuring Junk Food - Wizarding Gacha (maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Rabbit%20Island/172/224/22
www.flickr.com/photos/31385948@N05/) Go check them out! lots of nerdy stuff that I 100% adore!
Also featureing the new owls from Hextraordnary @ the arcade!
Managed to capture this little drop on his way to giving the thirsty front yard some liquid refreshment...
FlickrFriday theme 25: on the waterfront
Managed to catch Ryan on the 9th March. He did two displays, one in BM with his boss. In the afternoon Ryan took up BV, on both practices Ryan showed that this years display has lots of burners. Can't wait till he's at display height!
I managed to corral about a dozen image for a Postapaloozas, so here we go...
This is the son of a best friend of mine, out on the East Coast.
Image made with my Hasselblad 500 C/M.
Managed to get a few keepers from tonight's session. I am hoping to get my hands on a new drip tray this week as the one I am using is tiny!
Project 366:
www.flickr.com/photos/davidgilliver/sets/72157628669695615/
Please drop by and join me on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/#!/pages/David-Gilliver-Photography/1751...</a</a</a
I have managed and led people, but I actually really like being and independent contributor. I also don't mind the hours I work because I absolutely love what I do, but this quote made me laugh.
Theme: Working Conditions
Year Fifteen Of My 365 Project
Seeing was unsteady but managed to salvage this image of AR 2882 using my 150mm f/8 achromat stopped down to 100mm and Lunt CaK B1200 module on an EQ6 . 60% stack of a 1772 frame SER using Autostakkert 3,processed in Astrosurface and PS CS2.
North is toward top left corner.
managed a few hours out yesterday with some help from a mate . mixed bag of shots but good to be out doing what I love . not yet back to full strength so some a bit shaky
luckily i managed to get to the 80cm distance from this posing herring gull, which is required of the lc-a's zone focus. and black and white film photography seems to go nicely with the gloomy, murky days of the uk's winter..
lc-a, lomography lady grey b&w 400
please check out the links below too..
and you can even do some shopping now at the newly updated fotobes shop..
Nestled in the Balkans and draped in a fine powder of snow, the sovereign nation of Modora has survived for nearly four hundred years. It survived the great ravages of a Vandal Savage on the warpath, stood strong through innumerable winters, and joined the resistance when it was taken by Nazi forces during World War Two.
And although it had seen better days, the small nation still managed to crawl along. It’s inhabitants were content, and its economy stabilizing.
It would be astounding however, it Modora survived what happened next.
The green light we’ve all come to expect tears through the atmosphere, and dissipates in the cobblestone Modora streets. In its wake stands six figures in outlandish costumes. Their presence causes confused glances from the passerby.
Sonar: Ah, what is the expression? Home is the sweetest home?
Answer, behind him, still struggles in the grips of the Multiplexes.
Answer: Sure, if you’re an invalid.
Sonar turns and smiles. He takes a few steps towards Answer.
Sonar: Ah, our delightful Mister Answer. Welcome to my home. What do you think?
Answer spits: Looks like every other stick-built pile of mud the Europeans are so well known for.
Angle-Man: Who’s being racist now, eh?
Sonar: Quiet please, Bend.
Answer: You may as well just kill me now metalfingers, otherwise I promise to you I’ll be nothing but hell in a handbasket.
Sonar laughs: No, no. For now you remain alive. It is not that I need you, it is that you shall serve as the first public execution under my new rule. Mister Black, please release him. He can do no harm here. However, If he tries anything, do tear him limb from limb.
At this he ascends, rising up into the air above the ancient, shingled rooves. Below, Angle-Man, Agent Orange, and Multiplex watch him rise. The Answer however, glances briefly at Hypnota, and strokes his chin once. Hypnota strokes her own false beard once in return.
Above the rooftops, Sonar takes in the crisp mountain air, extends his arms, smiles, then releases a resounding shriek from the devices in his fingertips. The sound rattles beams, shatters windows, and causes ears to bleed. Somewhere in the distance, an avalanche plummets down a cliffside and crushes an old man’s cabin, sweeping him into sharp rocks.
In the throne room of the Modoran palace, a stained glass window, as old as the nation itself, depicting the great hero Sir Sheldrake slaying the great elder dragon shatters into infinitesimal pieces over Lord Fando’s head.
Fando brushes the glass from his hair. He knows exactly what this means. He’s been keeping up with American news. He knows exactly who’s here. And he does not want him living. Fando calls for his captain of the guard, and waits a full three minutes for him to clomp into the throne room. Madly, wildly, Fando begins to shout orders at him, until finally, the captain obliges and clomps back out. Steaming, Fando returns to his quarters and readies for battle.
On the streets, passerby have begun to flee in panic. Sonar descends again.
Sonar: Now, we are here to retake the throne of Modora. The throne that rightfully belongs to me. You will do as I say, and go where I point. Any disobedience, and you will be without head. And Mister Answer, do try and keep alive.
Answer grimaces under his mask, but uncharacteristically, says nothing. His silence throws Sonar off for a second, but the sounds of gunfire and the soft pat of bullets embedding themselves in the nearby building brings him back around.
Sonar: Please, for the sake of myself and your own health, try not to damage the buildings.
At that, Multiplex expands into six more of himself, three of which catch bullets. The Squad behind him bolts in all directions, and before he knows it, he’s diving into an alley. He knew he shouldn’t have tried to swipe those diamonds, he just couldn’t help himself, and now, thanks to Firestorm and his own lack of impulse control, he had an arm with a third degree burn, a bomb in his neck, and he was here in this random micro-town in the middle of nowhere. He hadn’t even checked to see if that permanent brand old hot-head had gave him extended to his dupes, and frankly, he was afraid to find out. Instead, he just sat in the corner, pumping out dupes after dupe as Sonar shouted overhead for more manpower. Danton Black’s life was one long string of regrets, and being here was certainly one of them. He shuddered every time another of him died.
Agent Orange’s eyes light up in fire. He watches has the thatch and bamboo huts go up in flame. Screaming children, thick little fists covering their eyes, roll in the steaming mud as women weep and bawl, and men shriek in pain, their limbs burned off by liquid heat. Behind him, the apaches strafe the tree line, causing the palm trees to go up in a molten ball of chemical death. He grins and clicks his flamethrower to life. Casually, he lights a wounded Vietcong on fire, and sighs contentedly as the man shrieks and his skin sizzles. Somewhere, someone is shouting for more water, more whiskey, more water, and another man wants to go surfing. Agent Orange does not miss California, and does not miss his friends. The coast life was never for him. But this stage, this theater of war, was everything he’d ever need.
Angle-Man ports forward, glad he at least brought a knife which rapidly finds itself embedded in the blue-uniformed chest of a Modoran solider. He ports just to the left so another is riddled with his own comrades’ bullets. He’s thrilled, honestly. Thrilled that he’s made it this long. That he never lost more than those two fingers. Thrilled that finally, finally his time served on this godforsaken outfit payed off. When Wladon had offered him this deal after that mess with that Witch woman, he was all too eager to accept. He expected it to happen sooner, but he understood why Wladon didn’t want Lawton or Harkness along. The bastards. Bend for one was glad to be rid of them. Two soldiers are sliced in half by his angle, and another gets the bullet treatment himself. It’s an old method, but tried and true. Yes, Bend was thrilled to be rid of Lawton and Harkness. Thrilled to be released from Waller’s iron grasp. Bend was looking forward to ruling this country.
The shells and bullets, and the one tank the Modoran Soldiers employed, were not unfamiliar to Hypnota. She was surprised that a nation of this size only had one tank, but she was also thankful. Another shell imploded to the right of her, and snapped her back to that crackling, resounding sound that took her brother. She touched her fingers to her head briefly, and sent a pulsating force through it quickly to move the memories past. She had to stop doing that, she noted, or the damage would be irreparable. Behind her, The Answer was cursing violently and creatively and nursing a bullet wound to the left shoulder. It was not the worst she had seen. As loud as he was, he would be all right. They nodded to each other, then Hypnota darted from her hiding place, blasting psychic waves towards a few nearby soldiers. She grimaced as the soldiers all turned and shot each other in the head. When oh when, she wondered, would all the violence end.
Sonar laughs aloud has he bursts the eardrums and shatters the brain matter of all the gunmen around him. He feels a hint of remorse, these were his subjects, his personal guard after all, and it was a shame to spill Modoran blood, but they were traitors, lapdogs of Fando, and thus, they had to be put down. Out of the corner of his eye, he catches Hypnota leap onto the army’s tank, and suggest the soldiers open the hatch, to which they oblige. To his left, Bend and Aparo burn and slash through the guards, and all around him, Multiplex surges through the streets. He breathes in the harsh smoke of battle, then rises towards the remains of a once magnificent stained-glass window. A hail of bullets explodes towards him, but he bats them away with pure sound. Gently, he lands on his tip-toes, then begins to strut forward, and with a horrid set of screeches, explodes the heads of Fando’s guards with pure shockwaves of sound.
Fando: не не! Познавам те, семейството ти е мъртво! немилост!
Sonar blasts the weapons from his hands, then grabs Fando’s head between his own.
Sonar: изглежда, че грешите
With one last resounding sound, Fando’s head is crushed by solid sound waves., his final terrified scream drowned out by Sonar’s exhausted apparatuses.
Sonar takes a deep, exhausted breath as Fando’s near-headless body crumples to the floor. He is Sonar no longer as he approaches the throne. He is Bito Wladon, ruler of Modora.
And now none would stand in the way of his rule.
Yesterday i managed to get a mediocre shot of a dipper that i wasn't quite happy with so today i decided to head up to Kennall Vale again but this time earlier and in better light. I was shortly joined by Oliver Wilks www.facebook.com/pages/Oliver-Wilks-Images/13956229279922... a 3rd year on the course i'm on and waited for the dippers. This was the final result from the hours of waiting.
Canon 6D - Canon 500mm f/4
Managed to get round to posting the interior view. Thought it was best positioned adjacent to the exterior view for better context. This church has a really special feel to it. The plaster ceiling in the nave was a replacement of the medieval timber one which was probably a ot less ornate. The replacement itself i pretty old too dating from the 1630's
This year’s CEO VIP reception and gala were hosted at Metro Convention Centre, in Toronto | Learn more about Canada’s Best Managed Companies.
CEO VIP reception: An exclusive reception for the CEOs of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies and program sponsors, this event was an opportunity for the new winners to get together in a more intimate environment before they joined the gala.
Gala: The Best Managed gala dinner was hosted by Ben Mulroney who guided almost 1900 guests, winning CEOs, their senior management teams and families, through a celebration as we honoured the best. Great Big Sea set the stage with some of their high voltage hits throughout the night.