SKILLS OF NOTTINGHAM
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These guys who surf are amazingly skillful, at times I wonder how they stay upright for so long....they bring great entertainment to the beachgoers with their tricks and enjoyment of the sport....never a bored moment while they're on the ocean
I can't quite make out what it is this crow was working on, but there was obviously some skill and patience involved. I was just able to grab a quick shot while holding Blanca with my left hand. She wanted to chase the crow, and the crow knew it but was reluctant to abandon the prize and waited till the last moment before flying off with it.
BREEZY - Ronaldo . Jersey
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Milky Way @ Stonehenge, Wiltshire UK
Well I've been a bit frustrated wrt the Milky Way core this year as when it's visible around 3am or so unless it's at a weekend I just can't shoot it as I wreck myself for work and weekends have been pretty crap so far.
I got myself a second hand fast prime lens through mpb earlier in the year and have been wanting to try it out for astro.
More recently the MWC has been 'visible' just after midnight but again far too many clouds most nights. However, the other night there was a forecast for skies to be clearing around midnight so I took a chance but wanted somewhere not to far away so despite the known light pollution I set off on the 35min drive to Stonehenge.
Experimented with f/1.4-f/2 shots and 2-2.5min exposures using the Move-Shoot-Move star tracker I have.
I can't say I think this is a great image and I'll try to convince myself it's more to do with the light pollution (I wish Salisbury's street lights went off at 10pm!) than my lack of shooting/editing skills. However I thought I'd post it just as a bit of a record of my first attempt with the Sigma 20mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art lens. 14mm would have been better but I'll cross my fingers canon will eventually see sense and let Sigma produce RF compatible glass.
For the record - the image is a composite of a 150s exposure at f/2 ISO100 for the sky and 30s f/4 ISO1600 for Stonehenge.
I'm planning on taking this lens to Iceland in October so wish me luck seeing and shooting the Northern Lights during the few nights I'm there on a Workshop.
Thanks for viewing and have a good weekend everyone..
© All rights reserved Steve Pellatt. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.
Illuminated from underneath with LEDs under a translucent cutting board countered with opposing on-camera flash
While waiting for the Ospreys to show up in a local storm water pond, I noticed that this juvenile Caspian Tern was going through this routine where he would pick up a leaf from water surface, then would drop it in midair only to come around to pick it up again. He doesn't know yet how to dive like an adult, so he would simply land on water like a gull. I believe this is all part of honing his fishing skills. One of the parents was flying above him, occasionally diving in to grab a fish and showing him how to do it. I understand that the juvenile Terns take a long time to learn how to fish, they stick with their parents for as long as a year. Richmond Hill, Ontario.
Name: The Ice Phantom aka Nikita HengBok.
Motto: Freeze the world. Glide with Fire.
Battle Cry: Freeze or Burn!
Texts on box:
Nikita Hengbok, The Ice Phantom.
Origin: Unknown. Rumored to have trained where the ice never melts and silence is the only mentor.
Skills:
• Frost Step - Glides faster than the eye can track.
• Wing Blades - Sharp, precise turns with skates enchanted by speed itself.
• Focus Veil - Her purple mask channels inner stillness, blocking chaos and distraction.
• Rainbow Pulse - Her gloves emit energy that destabilizes opponents.
Personality: Calm, mysterious, focused and unshakably. Never speaks unless the silence is broken first.
Catch phrase: “No friction, no fear.”
Anime Intro:
A wide-angle shot of a dimly lit frozen arena. Silhouettes of defeated figures lay scattered on the ice. The only light shines from a single overhead spotlight, casting a long shadow. In the silence between storms, she skates unseen.
Get yours quick, before stock run out!
*Note: Please note that this figurine do not exist. This pic was done just for fun.
We were lucky with the weather with our trip to Salop. I'm going through another Black and White phase. In the past I have converted but not really done much processing. So one of this years goals is to improve my processing skills. I do not usually let my education get in the way of my ignorance but do please let me know what you think. And as we all know, the world was all black and white until last century!!!!
This is the house in front of Stokes Castle and lovely it is too.
These two young colts are already (about four months old) learning the skills to become stallions. It was so much fun to watch them! The one on the left is named Cresenete and the dark one is Poseidon.
COLORADO wild horses
Mark Lucey is a 45-year-old freelance photographer from Mt. Beauty, Australia. He has been honing his skills for the last 25 years through reading and experimenting. Landscapes are his favorite, and he enjoys capturing long exposures in low lighting. Although he has no published works, his passion speaks for itself.
Story Behind:
I was on my way to Curl Curl Beach, a man made beach bath; a 45 minute drive from my place. I kept glancing towards the raging ocean which was rippling with mighty waves. Winter storms had been lashing the region for the past two days, creating a perfect mood in the sky. Today, I felt like I could end up making a seascape masterpiece. I had been learning a lot overtime, developing my understanding in the style of long exposure shots.
I parked my car and started unpacking my gear. Last but not the least, I took my trustee umbrella. This umbrella had taken me through all kinds of weathers so I always carry it with me. As I walked up the steps leading up to the bath, I looked up and was astonished by the view that met me. The scene looked incredible, the blue waters over flowing out over edge of the bath like white smoke matching with the froth on the waves in the sea. Incredible...
If you have any questions or comments for the photographer, please leave them on our website!
[https://www.flickr.com/photos/191843720@N04] and myself decided to take an early look at the Skills-operated Medilink, which proved to be fortuitous as some of the vehicles used on it were later changed from how they originally entered service. In addition to the 25 plates which had spent the summer in regular Skills branding, a clutch of brand new 75 plates also appeared wearing Medilink livery from the outset.
YX75 KVR here, at QMC Island, demonstrates how the 75 plates were at the point of entering service. They differed from the 25 plates in having conventional mirrors instead of camera ones, and lacking wheel trims. However they were later modified to match the 25s with digital mirrors, wheel trims, and smaller additions like extra CCTV cameras.
As for the livery, it’s not too dissimilar to one I did a very quick mock up of (although didn’t upload) of the regular Skills colours with the addition of the Medilink’s ‘pulse’ graphics. I really like how they’ve blended the two with the pulse line occupying the space where Skills usually put a dotted line, and even in 2025 the Medilink name remains the same style with the Big Wheel logo on top of the “i”.
All in all, I quite like these.
3.9.25
The real skill of an artisan can be gauged by how he can produce the best with the available tools.
Seen here is a Gold smith working on a gold chain with the minimum tools.
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For Macro Mondays: "Sharp as a Tack" theme
I tried my hand at focus stacking this week and have had a pretty difficult time with it. None of my images pleased me enough to post. For this shot, I resorted to using a single image taken using a tripod with my camera in manual mode, ISO 800, f20. I added a Gaussian blur to the background to smooth things out.
I really feel I have been sharpening my photography skills this week--as well as the lead in my pencil!
The Skills depot on the wonderfully named Little Tennis Street is just around the corner from where I was standing, although considering that I saw surprisingly few of their vehicles. One which did make an appearance was President SIL 7025, which proves that even with all their new MMCs and stuff the old Lothian Tridents are still being depended on.
Lothian have always like to specify extra long double deckers, and these were no different with five full sized window bays down each side as opposed to the regular 4-and-a-half, or short 4. Going back to ex-NCT 667 that I’d seen just half an hour before, I wonder if it was that NCT batch or this Lothian one which were the longest ever Tridents built on two axles?
Obviously the tri-axles went up to 12m, but the vast majority of the two-axle variant were either 9.9 or 10.5 metres. Other than Lothian and Nottingham I can’t think of who else in Britain might have ordered Tridents of 11+ metres... did Brighton have any? Although these are from Lothian they don’t piss me off like the Geminis because Skills is the only place you ever see them, instead of being absolutely everywhere.
SIL 7025 was formerly SN04 ABV, numbered 674 and new in the fabulous Harlequin livery. Here on 20.3.26 it sets off along Daleside Road in Nottingham to take up a 280 school service.
Autumn is very much on the horizon now, and with it many changes occur - a new season, falling leaves and in this case, a new operator for the Medilink!
Skills have always had a strong presence in the Nottingham area's private hire and contract work so operating an "open doors" service, so to speak, is a new venture for this operator.
Taking over from previous operator CT4N, Skills have invested in a new fleet of diesel Enviro 400 MMC double deckers for the route. There are 6 of these machines, kitted out to a high specification, branded for the route in the rather attractive Skills emerald livery.
Two of these vehicles were delivered just in time for the start of the new contract on the 1st of September and as such, are registered on 75 plates - brand new, as seen here!
The other 4 have been in the fleet a little longer, being delivered in May 2025 as part of a batch of six 25 plates. The other pair in this batch are to be used on Skills other contracts, such as the extensive Bilborough College "R" series bus network and the usual private hires.
While a slight reduction in frequency from 5 to 4 buses an hour has taken place, the arrival of these new double deckers will mean an overall increase in capacity from the tired K9URs allocated under CT4N. I'm sure the new timing and fleet will help improve the reliability of this route, which passengers and drivers alike are bound to appreciate!
This Medilink isn’t even an actual Medilink. At least two of the YX25s remain in standard Skills livery and can be differentiated by their higher spec with tinted windows and additional tree deflector on the offside... although OGN has already managed to lose its nearside one. I imagine these are the Medilink ‘spares’, that when not required can be used alongside the 17 plate MMC as regular double deck coaches.
OGO is the other high-spec YX25, although it isn’t on the ticket machine list on Bustimes, so does it actually get used on the Medilink? Also I haven’t seen the 17 plate on Bustimes either but surely it’s cleared to be used on the route? Well with all these MMCs at their disposal now, that’s pretty much dashed my hopes of Skills putting one of their ex-Lothian Presidents on it as a spare.
Being the “fancy” Medilink with tinted windows, YX25 OGN passes QMC Island with a Queens Drive-bound journey, about to call into QMC and perform a lap of the grounds, on 28.11.25
The era of the Skills coach firm being involved in bus service provision is one which completely by-passed me . . . if indeed they did. However Clem captured their ex Maidstone & District Alexander bodied Volvo Ailsa LKP 832P inside Nottigham's cavernous Victoria bus station in the early '80s.
In a manner similar to the disappearence of the city's late lamemnted railway station of the same name, this bus station is no more, having been replaced by an apologetic and hidden away back street facility a fraction the size.
Milano ITALY
Thanks to BN crew my brother Rebel, Reeno and Beps to Spra for the photos!
keep in rock!
See you
Eurasian Sparrowhawk (accipiter nisus) flight_w_1958
If there's one thing that defines the Eurasian Sparrowhawk, apart from its skills and dexterity during flight, it's its loyalty to its partner throughout its life.
The Eurasian sparrowhawk may not be a 100% monogamous bird. Sometimes in the life of the sparrowhawk there may be situations where one member of the pair disappears, for whatever reason.
According to studies, every year, established sparrowhawk pairs remain steady, as long as the richness of their territory is maintained. If the prey is scarce, both partners look for a new territory nearby in which to settle together and build the nest.
The main reason why a pair of hawks separates is because of the lack of offspring. First, when a pair fails to have chicks, the first thing they do is change territory.
If the following year the couple also fails to conceive, it’s usually the female that goes in search of a new territory and a new partner. The male tends to stay in the old territory and look for a new female to reproduce with there.
The Eurasian sparrowhawk isn’t one of the fastest birds of prey, as it’s outpaced by birds such as the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), which can travel at up to 240 miles per hour. However, the 75 miles per hour that sparrowhawks can reach are nothing to laugh at.
Like all birds of the Falconidae family, these animals are extremely fast and agile in flight. Their capacity makes them skillful predators of small, fast prey.
And here's something else:
We know that weaker and sicker animals are easier prey in nature. If a mammal limps, a bird flies poorly or demonstrates changes in its behavior that expose it more to predation, it’s very likely that it’ll be hunted rather than a healthy and strong animal. However, this isn’t always the case, as healthy animals are also often preyed upon.
Sparrowhawks feed mainly on passerines or songbirds. In addition, there’s a marked difference in the diet of the female and male Eurasian sparrowhawk. They hunt birds that weigh between 1.4 to 1.8 ounces. At most, they may hunt birds weighing up to 4.25 ounces. Their favorite prey are finches, sparrows, and great tits.
On the other hand, females have a predilection for larger prey. In general, the average weight of the birds hunted by a female sparrowhawk is between 1.75 and 2.5 ounces, but they’re able to capture animals weighing up to a little over a pound.
The most interesting thing about this is that, according to one study, these birds are able to select prey infected with blood parasites, such as Leucocytozoon or malaria. Infected birds are 16 to 25% more likely to be caught than those that aren’t.
The raindrops were trying had to fall. I had to full in tow hours between scans to lit the Radiation Dye go around my body. They were looking for a brake in my leg..they did find a creak in my lower femur. I was in plaster for six weeks so no more walking around the city for a while.
November 30, 2015 Christchurch New Zealand.
Another President, and this time it’s a new one for me. SIL 7025 ferries University of Nottingham students off for a day at the races (although I can’t remember exactly where they were going). I’m sure that after this day I must’ve by now photographed most of the ex-Lothian Plaxton President Dennis Tridents that Skills own, and a good number of their Geminis too.
Usually I regard myself lucky if I see one Trident randomly out and about (Volvo B7/B9s and Scania N94s seem more common around Nottingham) but here I saw a whole clutch of them!
Derby Road, Nottingham
8.2.25
In addition to the batches of 25 and 75 plate Enviro 400 MMCs Skills bought last year for the Medilink and their private hire fleet, this year has seen them introduce at least two further examples on 26 plates.
In this instance YX26 JZE is spotted in the centre of Bulwell on 20.5.26
I got the clownfish! This game is hard.
...Wait, what do you mean 'what game'?
Visit this location at The Mesh Shop - Bandit in Second Life
Skills BX16CHH Volvo B11RT Salvador Caetano Levante C56FLt coach at Derby Bus Station on National Express 440 to London on 3 December 2016.
Been practising my processing skill and this is the end product for today.
Best to view in Lightbox, press L.
Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Zeiss ZE 21mm f2.8 Distagon T*ZE
Exposure 243 seconds @ f/16
Filter used Hitech Pro 10 IRND
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It's always a good day out watching the coaches arrive at Wembley, especially when the less regular teams from outside the London area play.
If you haven't been since Covid then you'll be in for a shock! The new Pink and Green dedicated coach parks are almost entirely undercover which makes photography a challenge. Nevertheless, decent shots can still be obtained with good planning.
Here's a reminder of some of the visitors to Wembley Stadium seen in 2022.