View allAll Photos Tagged splinter
I got a flyer from my old school DCAD earlier this week telling me about their student show which got me thinking about some of my older film work. So I flipped through the old portfolios and found a few that I could scan and load up.
This shot was part of a final project centered around textures & patterns. I think I used my 85mm f/1.4 on my N80 for this shot.
After scanning it last night I made adjustments to contrast and sharpened it up a bit.
Nikon N80_Nikon 85mm f/1.4D_Fujifilm Neopan Acros 100 film
All Rights Reserved © Mike Dunckley_2013
film - sooc
it's agonizing, terrifying and undeniable yet somehow there is some intimacy to it - as though the moon and the stars knew all the secrets
as though the constellations were all made to shatter
as though you were born from the winds of the deep red sea
as though you and i were created to break
to burst into a million pieces that live on to shine
just as different particles
of which the moon and the stars know; will make up a whole
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The Royal Iraqi Air Force (RIrAF) considered its founding day as 22 April 1931, when the first pilots flew in from training in the United Kingdom. The RIrAF was first used in combat against the revolts by tribes in Diwaniya and Rumaytha southern Iraq in 1934 under order of Bakr Sidqi, where it suffered its first combat loss.
Its first combat against another conventional military was in the 1941 Anglo-Iraqi War when the Iraqi government made a bid for full independence following a coup by Rashid Ali against pro-British Iraqi leaders. The RIrAF was destroyed as a fighting force, resulting in an alliance with the Axis which involved Luftwaffe aircraft (painted in Iraqi markings) and Italian Regia Aeronautica aircraft assisting Iraqi ground forces.
The German units were Special Staff F and Fliegerführer Irak, who commanded the so-called Sonderkommando Junck.
On 1 April 1941, Rashid Ali and members of the "Golden Square" led a coup d'état in Iraq. During the time leading up to the coup, Rashid Ali's supporters had been informed that Germany was willing to recognize the independence of Iraq from the British Empire, there had also been discussions on matériel being sent to support the Iraqis and other Arab factions in fighting the British.
The resulting Anglo-Iraqi War started on 2 May. According to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the “vigorous instructions” provided by Hitler were "belated" and developed at a time when “all chance of useful Axis intervention had passed.”
On 3 May Dr. Fritz Grobba, German ambassador, secretly returned to Iraq to head up a diplomatic mission to channel support to the Rashid Ali regime. Grobba's mission was accompanied by a military force commanded by the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, or OKW (the High Command of the Armed Forces).
The military mission had the cover name 'Sonderstab F' (Special Staff F); it included components from the Abwehr-based Brandenburgers and from the Luftwaffe. Sonderstab F was commanded by General der Flieger Hellmuth Felmy.
While Felmy was a General der Flieger, he did not command the air component of Sonderstab F. General Felmy commanded Sonderstab F from Greece and it was Major Axel von Blomberg who flew to Iraq. He was the commander of the reconnaissance group in Iraq until his untimely death. Had he lived, von Blomberg was to integrate the Luftwaffe component, Fliegerführer Irak, with Iraqi armed forces in operations against the British. In addition, he and other members of the Brandenburger Regiment were to raise a German-led Arab Brigade (Arabische Brigade). The brigade was to have been raised in Iraq from the thousands of Arab volunteers available from Iraq, from Syria, from Palestine, from Saudi Arabia, and from throughout the Arab world. After his death and after the mission was a failure, the small group of German Military Intelligence (Abwehr) officers who followed him discussed the destruction of all oil facilities in Iraq. But this was pure fantasy for the four Brandenburgers available.
On 6 May, in accordance with the "Paris Protocols", Germany concluded a deal with the Vichy French government to release war matériel, including aircraft, from sealed stockpiles in Syria and transport them to the Iraqis. The French also agreed to allow the passage of other weapons and stores as well as loaning several air bases in northern Syria, to Germany, for the transport of their aircraft to Iraq.
Also on 6 May, Luftwaffe Oberst Werner Junck received instructions in Berlin that he was to take a small force of aircraft to Iraq. That force was 'Fliegerführer Irak' (Commander of Aviation Iraq) and also known as 'Sonderkommando Junck'. The aircraft of 'Sonderkommando Junck' had Iraqi markings and operated from an air base in Mosul, some 240 miles north of Baghdad.
'Fliegerführer Irak' was to consist of a squadron of Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighters (12 aircraft) from IV/ZG 76, a squadron of Heinkel 111 bombers (12 aircraft) and Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters (12 aircraft) from IX/JG 52. These Bf 109s were relatively new E-7 types, the E-7 entered service and seeing combat at the end of August 1940. The aircraft for Fliegerführer Irak' received tropical equipment like a dust filter for the engine as well as a quick camouflage update on their transfer via Greece from the Russian front.
One of the limitations of the earlier Bf 109E was their short range of 660 km (410 mi) and limited endurance, as the design was originally conceived as a short-range interceptor. The E-7 rectified this problem as it was the first subtype to be able to carry a drop tank, usually a 300 L (80 US gal) capacity unit mounted on a rack under the fuselage, which increased their range to 1,325 km (820 mi).
Alternatively, a bomb could be fitted and the E-7 could be used as a Jabo fighter-bomber.
In addition, to assist in transporting the force to Iraq, Junck was lent 13 Junkers 52 and Junkers 90 transport aircraft. All but three of these transports had to be returned to Greece immediately to prepare for the invasion of Crete, though.
On 23 May, the instructions for Sonderstab F were detailed by Directive No. 30 (Weisung Nr. 30). It detailed German intervention in support of Arab nationalists who seized the government in Iraq and were being confronted by the British Army (10th Indian Infantry Division). The mission included a Brandenburger Regiment, a German Air Force (Luftwaffe), and a German Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt) component. Many members of the various mission components had received orders prior to 23 May and were in Iraq at the time Weisung Nr. 30 was issued.
In accordance with ’’Weisung Nr. 30’’, the command structure for the Luftwaffe component of Sonderstab F was independent from the rest of the mission. Luftwaffe Colonel Werner Junck commanded 'Fliegerführer Irak' in Iraq. He reported directly to Lieutenant General Hans Jeschonnek in Germany. Fliegerführer Irak arrived in Iraq on 13 May, fought against the British under conditions which became more and more difficult, and, by the end of the month, was forced to abandon Iraq.
British forces had already begun to counterattack in Iraq. By 15 May, Junck knew that "Habforce" was on its way to RAF Habbaniya and Kingcol had taken Rutba Fort. Junck sent a lone Heinkel bomber to find "Kingcol" at Rutba. The bomber found and attacked "Kingcol", which alerted the British to the German military assistance to the Iraqi regime.
On the same day, von Blomberg was sent by Junck to Baghdad to make arrangements for a council of war with the Iraqi government. The council was planned for 17 May. However, von Blomberg was killed by friendly fire from Iraqi positions. His Heinkel 111 was shot at from the ground as it flew low on approach and von Blomberg was found to be dead upon landing.
Junck visited Baghdad in place of von Blomberg on 16 May. He met Dr. Grobba, Rashid Ali, General Amin Zaki, Colonel Nur ed-Din Mahmud, and Mahmud Salman. The group agreed on a number of priorities for Fliegerführer Irak. The first was to prevent Kingcol from reaching RAF Habbaniya. The second was for Iraqi ground forces to take Habbaniya with air support provided by Fliegerführer Irak. It was also very important to the Germans to provide the Royal Iraqi Army with a "spine straightening." Much of the RIrA was known to be terrified of bombing by British aircraft.
On the same day, Junck arranged for a raid by Fliegerführer Irak on Habbaniya. Six Messerschmitt 110s and 3 Heinkel 111s attacked the base, which took the RAF personnel there by surprise. However, while a number of defenders were killed on the ground, the Germans lost a Heinkel in exchange for an Audax and a Gladiator.
On 17 May, three Messerschmitt 110s attacked an extended column of Kingcol in the open desert. Luckily for the British, the fighters had not attacked the previous day when many vehicles were caught up to the axles in soft sand.
On the same day, the British Royal Air Force (RAF) paid Junck back with his own coin. Two cannon-firing, long-range Hawker Hurricanes which had arrived unannounced from Egypt, and six Bristol Blenheim bombers from 84 Squadron, struck the Germans at Mosul. For the loss of one Hurricane, two German aircraft were destroyed and four damaged. In addition, two Gladiator biplane fighters from Habbaniya encountered two Messerschmitt 110s attempting to take off from Rashid Airfield in Baghdad. Both Messerschmitts were destroyed.
By 18 May, Junck's force had been whittled down to 10 Bf 109s, 8 Messerschmitt 110s, 4 Heinkel 111s, and 2 Junkers 52s. This represented a roughly 30 percent loss of his original force. With few replacements available, no spares, poor fuel and aggressive attacks by the British, this rate of attrition did not bode well for Fliegerführer Irak. By the end of May, Junck had lost 14 Messerschmitts and 5 Heinkels.
On 27 May, twelve Italian Fiat CR.42s of the Regia Aeronautica (Royal Italian Air Force) arrived in Mosul to operate under German command. By 29 May, Italian aircraft were reported over Baghdad. According to Winston Churchill, the Italian aircraft accomplished nothing.
Grobba sent a panicked message from Baghdad to Berlin on 28 May reporting that the British were close to the city with more than "one hundred tanks." By then, Junck had no serviceable Messerschmitt 110s and only two Heinkel 111s with just four bombs between them.
However losses, a lack of spares and replacements resulted in their departure, following which the coup was defeated by British forces. The German military mission to Iraq left under cover of darkness on 29 May. Dr. Grobba himself fled Iraq the next day...
General characteristics:
Crew: One
Wingspan 32ft 4½in (9.87m)
Length 28ft 4½in (8.64m)
Height 8ft 2½in (2.50m)
Wing Area 174.05 sq feet (16.7 sq m)
Unladen weight 4,189 lbs (1,190 kg)
Laden weight 5,875 lbs (2,665 kg)
Performance:
Max Speed (Sea Level) 290 mph (466 k/ph)
Max Speed (14.560 ft) 348 mph (560 k/ph)
Cruising Speed 233 mph (375 k/ph)
Climbing Rate 3,510 ft/min (17.83 m/sec)
Max range (on internal fuel):410 miles (660 km) at cruising speed, 820 mi (1.325 km) with drop tank
Service Ceiling 36,500 feet (11,125 m)
Powerplant:
1ˣ Daimler-Benz DB601N with direct fuel injection, rated at 1,175 hp,, inline
Armament:
2ˣ MG FF 20 mm cannons in the wings (60 RPG)
2ˣ 7.9mm MG 17 machine guns above the engine (1.000 RPG)
1ˣunderfuselage hardpoint for a 300l (80 US gal) drop tank or a 250kg (550 lb) bomb
Avionics:
FuG 16Z radio
The kit and its assembly:
This small whif aircraft was inspired by a profile of a Bf 110D from the aforementioned, real 'Sonderkommando Junck' – a grey aircraft, with a white nose, yellow engines, its flanks repainted in sand color and bearing Iraqi markings plus a shark mouth! How odd can reality be?
Anyway, doing a respective Bf 110 is one thing, but a whiffy twist could not hurt. Since storage space is an issue I decided to add some Bf 109 fighters to the German detachment (what did NOT happen!), and build a respective and realistic whif.
I am not a fan of the Bf 109 (as well as the Spitfire), so I kept the building aspect simple: I used a Hobby Boss Bf 109 E-7/trop as basis, and the kit was almost 100% built OOB – it's a nice kit, with very good details and even a decent cockpit!
Only changes I made are a metal axis for the propeller and a respective styrene tube as an adapter, and I put some dark gray styrene foam into the lower fuselage because I was afraid that light could shine through the cooler openings. I also cut the canopy into three pieces, in order to allow an open display. The drop tank and its hardpoint come with the kit.
Painting and markings:
This is where the fun really begins. I used the Bf 110 from IV./ZG 26 as benchmark – it would be a gray aircraft, quickly re-painted for its new operators, and weathered from heavy use in a desert environment.
That said, the aircraft initially received its Eastern Front livery: a RLM 74/75 splinter scheme with a high waterline from above (and some mottles on the flanks), RLM 65 for the lower sides, and a yellow engine (Revell 310, a very good tone for RLM 04) – I took a real aircraft as a benchmark.
Then, the conversion started: firstly, the aircraft would lose its original yellow operation theater markings like a yellow fuselage band and wing tips: painted over with RLM 78 (below) and 79 (upper sides). The same was done with any former national and tactical markings. I made sure that this would look rough and “made by hand”.
Then the upper surfaces received an extra treatment with RLM 78: the flanks were completely painted over (in different shades, beyond the Modelmaster Authentic tone I also used Humbrol 63 and 94), and the upper wing surfaces received a cloudy paint job, too, even though the overpainted national markings were to stand out with a bit of more contrast and the original gray shades below showing through everywhere. The yellow engine received a similar treatment, even though I left the lower side in RLM 04.
All interior surfaces (cockpit, landing gear) were held in RLM 02, while the spinner became white, kept from the Russian front.
The Iraqi markings were puzzled together – the insignia and the fin colors come from a Special Hobby Northrop A-17 bomber, the tactical number belongs to a Egyptian PZL-104 – I am not certain whether the aircraft from 'Fliegerführer Irak' carried any at all? But without any code I found the aircraft to be a bit too bleak... it's a whif, anyway. Some stencils were taken from the OOB sheet, too.
Finally, a thin black ink wash was applied, as well as details with Tamiya “Smoke” and light dry painting with sand and gray all over, and black gun and exhaust soot stains. The aircraft was to look pretty beaten, from the final days of May 1941.As a last step, all was sealed under a coat of matte Revell Acrylic varnish.
A quickie, and a new personal record, I guess, because the whole thing was tinkered together in two days/less than 36 hours overall, and as a novelty I tried to edit a video with sound!
NGC 5907 is one of the most impressive edge-on spiral galaxies in the night sky. It is a marvel in my 18-inch Dobsonian under a dark sky but proved to be a real challenge during this drawing made with a 110mm Refractor from the semi-dark sky at Alpha Ridge Park.
This galaxy goes by a couple common names all of which tries to capture its needle-like appearance. Take your pick – Splinter Galaxy, Knife-edge Galaxy or Cat Scratch Galaxy – they all reflect on the visual presence of the galaxy in the eyepiece.
In the small refractor only the bright northeastern edge of the galaxy’s core could be seen at a magnification of 59x (the power used for the drawing circle). It took some additional effort at a higher magnification of 171x to tease out the needle-like extensions on either side of the brighter core. Therefore, the drawing represents the field of view at 58x, but the galaxy’s details at 171x.
To see additional astronomy drawings visit: www.orrastrodrawing.com
STENBECK.—On November 8, 1918. at Epsom. Emmie C, dearly-loved eldest daughter of E. A. and M. H. Stenbeck, in her 21st year.
Peace, perfect peace.
Funeral will leave her late residence, 23, Richmond Avenue, Grey Lynn, Tuesday, 12th, at 2 p.m.
paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19181109.2.71
RAVAGES OF INFLUENZA
NEWS FROM THE ISLANDS
DEATHS AT VAVAU TOTAL 400
THE 1918 INFLUENZA PANDEMIC – INFLUENZA IN SAMOA
Emma, aged 21, died from influenza, 8 November 1918. Emma was the dearly loved eldest daughter of Margaret and Edward Stenbeck, and was buried at Waikumete 12 November. Her Father, a Sea Captain was journeying through the Pacific Islands throughout November and was likely unaware of his daughter’s illness, or her passing, until he returned 27 December 1918, so his homecoming would have been very sad.
Captain Stenbeck had personal experience of this deadly disease, as he and his crew from the “Moonah” had contracted influenza during their visit to the “Friendly Islands” of Tonga. Fortunately, they had recovered before their vessel left for home.
Communication was limited between the Islands and New Zealand, and this meant little was known of the influenza pandemic which decimated Pacific Island peoples in 1918. Information was usually conveyed by sailors returning from brief visits to pick up supplies, and Captain Stenbeck brought devastating news from the Vava’u Group where his ship had been moored. He advised “practically all the population had been attacked by the disease, and up to 6 December [when he left] 400 deaths among the natives had occurred, this being about 10 per cent, of the population.” He spoke of there being only one Doctor within the Vava’u Group, and he “worked night and day attending the numerous sufferers”. The Doctor travelled by launch, when able, to visit the sick in the outlying villages and Islands .The Captain commented that influenza had hit the native Islanders especially hard, and added that as far as he knew, “all the white people who had been attacked by the complaint had recovered.”
At the height of the epidemic “all trade was brought to a standstill. The streets were deserted, and the shops were closed because the traders and their assistants were all ill”.
Captain Stenbeck had only called in at the Vava’u Group, and could not report on how the other Islands had been affected, but he had been informed that the island had been “free from disease until the arrival of the “Tahune” there in November” and that “influenza spread rapidly after that.”
Footnote: The “Tahune” a passenger and cargo ship arrived at Apia, Samoa, 7 November 1918, and passengers “suffering from influenza had been allowed to disembark”, even though quarantine restrictions had been imposed on the ship when it had earlier arrived in Fiji. It is documented that influenza spread quickly throughout the Islands which had no previous experience of illness on this scale and no health system to cope.
paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19181109.2.71
paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19370515.2.88
paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19181228.2.26
nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/1918-influenza-pandemic/samoa
KHYBER PASS SMASH
MOTOR CYCLIST KILLED IN COLLISION
ACCIDENTAL COLLISION
CITY INQUESTS
On 20 February 1937, Cedric was riding a motor cycle with his friend as pillion seat passenger when he collided with the rear of a truck which was turning into a side street off Khyber Pass Road. He died in Auckland Hospital later the same day from the head and internal injuries sustained. Cedric was aged 20.His companion, Clifford Charles Mathews recovered from his injuries.
At the inquest, Clifford told the Court that “he had no recollection of the accident”. He commented that Cedric was a careful driver, and that visibility had been good on the day of the accident. The driver of the truck, Alfred Roy Sigley, told the Court that the Road was clear when he started to turn into a side street, and several witnesses gave evidence that the truck driver had “signalled correctly”.
The coroner returned a verdict of accidental death, in his opinion, “caused by deceased's failure to keep a proper look out”
paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19370316.2.100
paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/HC19370222.2.11
ADVENTUROUS LIFE- LATE CAPTAIN STENBECK -WELL KNOWN IN PACIFIC - HALF A CENTURY AT SEA
WRECK OF KETCH
LOSS OF YVONNE
On the final leg of her voyage from Sunday Island, and nearing the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula, the 50 foot ketch “Yvonne” struck a raging storm and heavy seas.
Captain Stenbeck “was “swept from the wheel” and washed overboard.
The mate Mr. H. McLennan, with the injured crew, was able to run the vessel ashore several hours later, and the “Yvonne” wrecked at Waikawau Bay without further loss of life.
Mr. McLennan and crewman Mr. Goddard were able to wade to land after the “Yvonne” struck the beach, and although exhausted, were able to assist in the search for Captain Stenbeck's body.
The injured survivors of the wreck remained at Coromandel for medical treatment and until transport could be arranged to return them to Auckland
Wreckage from the “Yvonne” was found “strewn for over a mile along Waikawau Beach, small pieces of splintered planking providing evidence of the pounding which the vessel received after going ashore”. It was hoped that the engine and some other items of equipment could be salvaged,
although the “ketch [was] regarded as a total wreck.
An exhaustive search along the rocky coastline commenced, and settlers along the Coromandel Coast were notified and began to patrol the beaches. Searches were hampered by a high tide and the stormy conditions and there was “little hope of success.” Sadly, the body of Captain Stenbeck was never found.
Information supplied by the Mate and crew provided background as to how the events unfolded.
Captain Stenbeck had made other voyages to Sunday Island with the “Yvonne”, and was attempting to make landfall at Cuvier Island, guided by the lighthouse. From there he could have set a course for Colville Channel,” but the north-easterly storm drove the “Yvonne” too far down for safety.” Crewman Jimmy Masters advised that Captain Stenbeck had been “trying to pick up the light for several hours” without success and thought the Captain had “lost his bearings in the pitch dark”. Both Mr McLennan and Mr Masters were in the cabin and Captain Stenbeck was at the wheel “when the vessel broached "to off shore”. Mr. McLennan ran up onto the deck and “found no one at the wheel”. He managed to bring the “Yvonne” back on course, and then arranged for Masters to take over the wheel “while he searched the ship for the Captain”. When Captain Stenbeck could not be found, it was decided that “he must have been washed overboard”
The men advised that the heavy seas had extinguished the compass lights and “in the driving rain it was impossible to get any more bearings”. The ketch was then “caught on the lee shore and struck the rocky beach at low tide”. The crew were able to scramble to safety as the vessel “was pounded by terrific seas and began to break up”
Captain Stenbeck was regarded as “one of the most capable and best known mariners in the south seas” and “one of the best-known skippers on the New Zealand coast, where he had been trading for the past thirty years or more”.
Born in Sweden Captain Stenbeck had a colourful and adventurous career. He went to sea at the age of 15 as boy and cook. He joined the steamer “Cerdic” as a bio seaman in Constantinople “when all the crew were in irons for refusing to take her to sea”, and had worked on a barque whose stores “were so poor that yellow fever broke out and killed everybody but the captain and the seaman”
He had eventually become master of several brigantines “including the Silver Cloud and the St. Kilda” . For the previous fifteen years Captain Stenbeck had concentrated on island trade from Suva to Tonga and other Pacific islands “where he was a familiar figure for many years” and had once delivered the schooner “Toafa Hamia” to the King of Tonga.
Captain Stenbeck was known to have survived two shipwrecks.
He left the sea for a time and became manager of the guano fields at Maiden Island, but once food supplies became short and there was danger of the men starving, he was said to have “set his 180 native workmen to the task of digging their own graves. He said later that the work kept them cheerful until the relief vessel arrived”.
Captain Stenbeck had virtually retired in 1935 but he had undertaken command of the “Yvonne” mainly as a “form of hobby”
Captain Stenbeck was survived by his wife Margaret and a grown-up family of two sons and five daughters.
Photo of Capt. Stenbeck
paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19370515.2.27.3
Photo of ketch Lorraine
paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19370515.2.27.4
paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19370515.2.51
paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19370515.2.77
paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19370517.2.55
Plot 32: Emma Caroline Stenbeck (20) 8/11/1918 – Milliner – Influenza
Cedric Verdun Lloyde Stenbeck (20) 1937 – Motor Driver – Cycle accident
Margaret Hannah Stenbeck (62) 1939 – Widow
In Loving Memory
Of
EDWARD ALFRED
beloved husband of
M. H. STENBECK
lost at sea 13th May 1937
aged 71 years
Also their beloved children
EMMA CAROLINE
died 8th Nov. 1918 aged 20
and CEDRIC VERDUN LLOYD
died 20th Feb. 1937 aged 20
At Rest
plaque:
Also MARGARET HANNAH
a Beloved Wife and Mother
died 7th Dec. 1939
R.I.P.
Lassù, dove il mirto contende le radure al rododendro e il larice ascolta l'eco di valli lontane, il cielo decise un giorno di adagarsi a contemplare le vette innevate. Se ne innamorò. E fu così che lasciò infiniti frammenti di sè sparsi sulla catena montuosa più affascinante del mondo: il Lagorai.
Schegge di cielo sulla terra.
Photograph taken at 12:51pm at an altitude of One hundred and forty eight metres on Thursday 18th September 2014 off Willis Point Road and Durrance Road, on the shoreline of Durrance Lake.
The largest of three lakes within Mount Work Regional Park in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, Durrance Lake Regional Park, nestled in the shadow of Mount Work and neighbouring Partridge Hills, is a fabulous location for walking, swimming and fly fishing (there's a population of Smallmouth bass and Cutthroat Trout), and a little jewel that has me returning again and again.
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Nikon D800 24mm 1/80s f/5.6 iso100 RAW (14 bit) Hand held. AF-Ssingle point focus. Manual exposure. Matrix metering. Auto white balance.
Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8G ED IF. Jessops 77mm UV filter. Nikon MB-D12 battery grip. Two Nikon EN-EL batteries. Nikon DK-17M Magnifying Eyepiece. Nikon DK-19 soft rubber eyecup. Digi-Chip 64GB Class 10 UHS-1 SDXC. Lowepro Transporter camera strap. Lowepro Vertex 200 AW camera bag. Nikon GP-1 GPS unit.
LATITUDE: N 48d 32m 47.53s
LONGITUDE: W 123d 28m 21.62s
ALTITUDE: 148.0m
RAW (TIFF) FILE SIZE: 103.00MB
PROCESSED (JPeg) SIZE: 16.34MB
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Processing power:
HP Pavillion P6-2388EA Desktop with AMD A10-5700 APU processor. AMD Radeon HD 7570 graphics. 2TB with 8GB RAM. 64-bit Windows 8.1. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. Nikon VIEWNX2 Version 2.10.0 64bit. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit
In the late 19th Century
London & North Western Railway
opened a line linking Huddersfield and Leeds through the Spen Valley, via Heckmondwike, Liversedge and Cleckheaton. It ran parallel to the LYR's Dewsbury-Bradford route, and included station at all the sane intermediate towns. Stations on this line all included Spen' on their name to separate them from the LYR counterparts, which carried the name 'Central'.
Heckmondwike Spen itself was a hectic engineering task, with the line having to cut underneath the town centre via nine bridges and two short tunnels - the station was built halfway along this section. The stations at Liversedge and Cleckheaton meanwhile were mounted high on bankings - the latter even including a huge pedestrian viaduct connecting it with the town
The LNWR route - also known as the Leeds New Line - never took off with passengers although it was a huge advantage for textile transportation between the West Riding's mill towns and with a more direct route between Huddersfield and Leeds available via the Dewsbury and Morley corridor, the writing was inevitably on the wall. The passenger service perished in 1953, with the LYR Bradford route's following suit fourteen years after. Goods services continued, with a connecting spur being built between the two lines at Heckmondwike but these came to an end in the early 1990s.
The lines were lifted in parts between 1995 and 2001.
The LNWR corridor has since received the same treatment between Heckmondwike and Liversedge and is known as the Spen Valley Ringway. The route splinters from the Greenway southwest of Heckmondwike centre uphill via a path. Following the LNWR line turns off right under a road overbridge, and enters a large wide cutting before passing through bridges and a short tunnel where at time of writing the path has not yet been laid and the tunnel retains plain ballast. The route feeds into the site of Heckmondwike Spen station - now occupied by a private residential road called Old Station Close before resuming at the other end. The cutting here (the focal point of this photo) has to be seen to believed as the all-weather path passes through five stone overbridges and a short tunnel in a half -mile cutting underneath the town. After a further bridge beneath Cook Lane the line cruises through the suburban countryside. Liversedge Spen station is gone but can be identified by a filled station entrance at street level on Listing Lane. The route is severed a further half mile on by residential areas and parkland although the path continues onward to Cleckheaton where a miniature railway (I kid you not). occupies the trackbed. The trackbed is occupied by farmland at this point up to near Spen Bank, where a high embankment carries the old line above the town. Like the rest, Heckmondwike Spen Station has long been history but the huge 450ft pedestrian viaduct still survives as a public right of way. A former shed still survives on the station site, now part of a recycling works.
STATION CLOSURES
Heckmondwike Spen (1953)
Liversedge Spen (1953)
Cleckheaton Spen (1953)
While hiking with my friend Bekki in Colorado, we happened upon the remains of a homestead or maybe a hunter's shack. It was up in the mountains and looks like it was nestled against a huge rock, most likely to protect it from the elements. I'm not sure how all that worked out considering all that was left were splinters scattered about. Still, if I was going to camp, that is where I would set up if for no other reason than the view.
This image was taken in JPG using only the settings in my camera, there was no post-processing or editing.