View allAll Photos Tagged timing
I had not seen this unit in years, almost 9 years, maybe more. The most recent times it was here, I never caught it due to work or timing. I wish it showed up about an hour earlier, but this still worked. Norfolk Southern Central of Georgia ES44AC #8101 leads with a very clean Norfolk Southern SD70ACe #1124 trailing on a manifest (47 cars) on the KCT North-South Corridor in the West Bottoms of Kansas City, MO.
Timing and camera control SplashArt Water Drop Kit
SplashArt Kit Video on youtube
Canon 7D 1/250 f/20 iso 100 100mm f/2.8 L macro.
Strobist info 4 YN560 Blue Yellow Gels at white background. Mounted left right 1/32 Power 12 inches inches in front of background.
Liquid - Water Xanthan Gum and a touch of Dettol Power and Pure Multi Purpose Kitchen
Base liquid water yellow dye
Facebook : Aegir Photography
500px : 500px.com/photo/110161365/timing-by-glenn-crouch
Sunrise long exposure at Cape Banks, Sydney Australia.
Nikon D800 & Nikkor 16-35mm, Lee Big Stopper filter. PP in PS CC using Nik Software and luminosity masks.
Timing and camera control SplashArt Water Drop Kit
SplashArt Kit Video on youtube
Canon 7D 1/250 f/20 iso 100 100mm f/2.8 L macro.
Strobist info 4 YN560 Blue Yellow Gels at white background. Mounted left right 1/32 Power 12 inches inches in front of background.
Liquid - Water Xanthan Gum and a touch of Dettol Power and Pure Multi Purpose Kitchen
There's a country saying up here that if you have the lizards, you won't get the snakes.
Whether it's true, I really don't know, but I've lived in two places with lizzies before and never saw a snake there :)
I've been told and observed for myself down at the creek with the others that they are territorial.
Testerday morning spotted this little guy when I looked out the kitchen window and noticed the wisteria leaves rustling about on the top of the fence a few feet away.
Grabbed the camera to look at it on zoom, and thought
Whoopie, I got a friend here !
So this modest compilation is a combo of stills and a short video, taken through the flyscreen and doing my best to avoid the customised clothesline rigged up right in front of him.
No, my aussie Flickr buddies, I do not have a 'Hills Hoist' !
I s'pose he felt a bit exposed to the birds out there so he didn't stay on the fence for long, just enough for a short sunbake and a bit of 'salute to the sun' reptile yoga, then off again.
Later discovered him settled on a side flyscreen door, lying in wait for insects and nicely camouflaged by those surrounding colours, where I was able to put the tape measure up from the inside and measure him.
He's 10" long so quite a young one, and I'm delighted to have him.
Just hope Pips will leave him alone ..
I want him to set up home here !
Just checked him at 8pm, after doggy walk, and he's still there :)
BTW, altho' this one's only short, geez, I worked on this for ages, trying to get the right timing for just the first verse of the song, switching pics around, several upload attempts coming out tiny then finally got it in the right size, Yay … but the one thing I couldn't fix was muting the background noise of the short clip, as I had the fan going in the kitchen at the time, and so the music dips out a bit feint for that bit.
I could turn the sound recording off in the camera but these things happen so quick, and I thought I could do it on the computer :/
Most other times I like to have all the bush noises..
And there are two similar pics, but they are different ones..
Music: "You got a friend in me", by Randy Newman..
Heehee, makes it so funny !
Don't know how many blinkin' times I've looked at this and I still laugh :)
Just wanted to cheer up my over-wintered Flickr buddies .. x
Sometimes the simplest of things in life are the hardest things to do. Like clicking send on an email...
Today I did that twice, but those emails represented something far greater, something that has been a long, long time in the making.
One email was addressed to my colleagues (about 120 people), the other addressed to people I deal with regularly through work (another 100+). They both explained my intention go fulltime as Siân in the near future!
Having plucked-up the courage to click 'send', I then sat there weeping as a constant flow of emails and texts piled-in with messages of support, admiration and love. It was just an amazing moment.
For those interested, I have set out below my message.
Another (BIG) step forward...
Siân x
I feel now is an appropriate time to share with you all a deeply personal issue that I have wrestled with for many years, and to advise you of some changes that will take place in the not-so-distant future.
Whilst I recognise that this may well come as a shock to many of you (or maybe not?), I wish to advise you all that I am transgender and that I intend on transitioning, living full time as a female.
The last few years in particular have been very difficult for me, and you will appreciate, I hope, that this isn’t a decision I’ve taken lightly.
Until recently, I didn’t believe that I would ever have the strength to discuss openly my gender dysphoria. But of late, I have come to realise that there is a way forward for me, however to achieve that, I need to be honest about my feelings.
Getting to this stage hasn’t been easy. Since my early teenage years, I felt a deep sense of shame about my dysphoria, fearing that my life would be over if anyone were ever to find out. However, after much soul searching, of late I have come to accept my feelings, and in doing so, develop a strong sense of personal pride.
I recognise that many of you may well be struggling to comprehend why I feel the way I do and why I’ve opted to go public. The truth is really quite simple... It is about me leading the life that I want to lead, not leading the life that others want me to lead.
It’s not about drawing attention to myself. Quite the opposite actually; I want to be able to walk down the street and go about my day-to-day life un-noticed.
It’s not a hobby. And it’s not about fulfilling sexual desires.
Instead, it’s about feeling good about myself. About feeling content.
And I would hope that you all recognise those basic needs to some degree.
Over the last three years, I have made some great strides forward, initially opening-up to my family and thereafter my friends.
My family – I’m sad to say – initially struggled to accept it, with my Dad first suggesting “Why don’t you just stop doing it?” If only it were that simple…
But we’re making progress, which is great, and credit to them for finally engaging in a very difficult situation.
My friends have been wonderfully supportive and have encouraged me on my journey. And I’ve also received much-welcome support recently from those colleagues in whom I have already confided.
I’m sorry to say that I haven’t received the same level of support from the NHS. Whilst my GP has been a fantastic ally, unfortunately the rest of the system has been found wanting. To illustrate, I was referred to a Gender Identity Clinic (GIC) in Summer 2017 – so, coming up on two years ago – and suspect I’ve still got at least another 18 months to wait until my first appointment!
Clearly this is hugely frustrating, but if nothing else, illustrates the scale of gender dysphoria within society.
Having received my referral, I foresaw the GIC process as providing much needed support and guidance in helping me conclude these important life decisions. However, given the timescales involved, I came to realise that I couldn’t wait and would instead need to make decisions unassisted, based ultimately on what felt right.
A little over a year ago, I opted to start a slow transition, not least growing my hair in order to achieve a more feminine appearance. I know that a number of you have queried what’s been going on with me over recent months, so now you know!
The most important consideration in all of this are my children. Whilst I have had an initial conversation with them, until such time as they are comfortable with the new situation, I will continue to present at work as [ ], so please (for now), continue to refer to me as [ ], using the pronouns he and his.
However, ultimately, it is my intention to present fulltime as a female, going by the name of Siân (pronounced ‘Sharn’) and using the pronouns she and her. At present, I am unable to be more specific with regards timings, but at least now you know my intentions.
Clearly there are a lot of logistics still to address, but with the help of the Board and HR, I would hope these are sorted in good order. We will, of course, keep you appraised as to the next steps and when I intend to present fulltime as Siân.
I have worked with some of you for more than 15 years and recognise that these changes – as and when they materialise – may cause some confusion initially, so please don’t feel bad if you accidentally call me [ ] or mis-gender me, and please don’t treat me any differently.
One important point I’m keen to leave you with is to stress that I am – and will remain – the same person, with the same morals and the same principles. I just look a little bit different; a bit like when Marathon bars became Snickers, as a close friend once described it.
I’ve chosen to share this with you as a trusted colleague and would appreciate your discretion in this matter. I would ask that you do not share this more broadly without my permission as my children’s mother and I are trying to support our children through this change in a gradual and considered way, and I therefore trust that you will respect our wishes.
If you’re unsure on anything I’ve explained herein – whatever it may be – please do come and speak to me; believe me, I’ve answered many embarrassing questions already, so you probably won’t be the first to ask!
In the meantime, you may find the following information resources of use:
www.livescience.com/54949-transgender-definition.html - what does ‘Transgender’ mean?
www.glaad.org/transgender/allies - tips for allies of transgender people
thinkgrowth.org/how-to-support-a-trans-colleague-641f0b34... - how to support a transgender colleague
transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/resources/Unde... - frequently asked questions about transgender people
In closing, I simply ask for your support and understanding in the coming months and years, thank you.
Kind regards
[ ]
(soon to be Siân)
West Coast Railway Company class 47 no. 47237 pilots class 57/3 no. 57314 down the main at Nuneaton and eases to a stop on 21st March 2015 with 1Z86 London Euston-> Carlisle, the Railway Touring Company's Winter Cumbrian Mountain Express. At Carnforth UDGL, the pair of WCRC diesel locomotives will be removed in favour of steam traction to Carlisle.
The train was due to be worked by 86259 'Les Ross' but due to wheelset issues, a combination of different traction has been used over the 2015 Winter Cumbrian Mountain Express season, from double 47s to 68s. This is the first 57/47 combination.
The Bonneville Salt Flats are a densely packed salt pan in Tooele County in northwestern Utah. A remnant of the Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, it is the largest of many salt flats west of the Great Salt Lake. It is public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management and is known for land speed records at the Bonneville Speedway. Access to the Flats is open to the public.
The Flats are about 12 miles (19 km) long and 5 miles (8 km) wide, with a crust almost 5 ft (1.5m) thick at the center and less than one inch (2.5 cm) towards the edges. It is estimated to hold 147 million tons of salt, approximately 90% of which is common table salt.
Geologist Grove Karl Gilbert named the area after Benjamin Bonneville, a U.S. Army officer who explored the Intermountain West in the 1830s. In 1907, Bill Rishel and two local businessmen tested the suitability of the salt for driving by taking a Pierce-Arrow onto its surface.
A railway line across the Flats was completed in 1910, marking the first permanent crossing. The first land speed record was set there in 1914 by Teddy Tetzlaff.
Entertainment filmed at the Flats include portions of Walking with Dinosaurs Special - The Ballad of Big Al, Knight Rider, Warlock, Independence Day (1996) and its sequel, SLC Punk, Cremaster 2 from Cremaster Cycle, The Brown Bunny, The World's Fastest Indian, Gerry, The Tree of Life, Top Gear and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Furthermore, the Pontiac Bonneville (former flagship sedan of the Pontiac motor division), the Triumph Bonneville motorcycle, and the Bonneville International media company are all named for the Flats.
The Bonneville Salt Flats hosts the annual US Flight Archery Championships. The goal of flight archery is to shoot arrows from bows at the greatest distance possible without regard to hitting a target, and so the vast flat plane of the flats serves as an ideal location to measure the linear distance traveled by arrows without geographic interference. Both the 1977 (archer Don Brown) and 1982 (archer Alan Webster) world records were set there; while the current world record, achieved in 1987 (archer Don Brown), was set at the salt flats near Smith Creek, Nevada.
The thickness of salt crust is a critical factor in racing use of the salt flats. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has undertaken multiple studies on the topic; while a 2007 study determined that there was little change in the crust's thickness from 1988 to 2003, more recent studies have shown a reduction in thickness, especially in the northwest area where racing occurs. The flats' overall area has contracted significantly over the past several decades. The cause or causes of this remain unclear, but many believe adjacent evaporative potash mining is the primary factor.
Collaboration between racing organizations, the potash mine, and the BLM led to a pilot program begun in 1998 to release excess brine onto the salt flats during winter. Plans to increase the volume of brine returned to the salt flats are hoped to halt loss of crust thickness, or possibly restore it where it has become too thin to sustain human use.
Motorcar racing has taken place at the salt flats since 1914. Racing takes place at part of the Bonneville Salt Flats known as the Bonneville Speedway. There are five major land speed events that take place at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Bonneville "Speed Week" takes place mid-August followed by "World of Speed" in September and the "World Finals" take place early October.
These three events welcome cars, trucks, and motorcycles. The "Bub Motorcycle Speed Trials" are for motorcycles only. World records are contested at the Mike Cook ShootOut in September. The Southern California Timing Association and the Utah Salt Flats Racing Association organizes and plans the multi-vehicle events, but all event promoters contribute to prepping and maintaining the salt. "Speed Week" events in August were canceled in 2015 and 2022, due to the poor condition of the salt in certain parts of the flats. The salt flats had been swamped by heavy rains earlier in the year, as usual, but this year the rains also triggered mudslides from surrounding mountains onto a section of the flats used for the land-speed racing courses.
Bonneville Speedway (also known as the Bonneville Salt Flats Race Track) is an area of the Bonneville Salt Flats northeast of Wendover, Utah, that is marked out for motor sports. It is particularly noted as the venue for numerous land speed records. The Bonneville Salt Flats Race Track is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The salt flats were first used for motor sports in 1912, but did not become truly popular until the 1930s when Ab Jenkins and Sir Malcolm Campbell competed to set land speed records.
A reduction of available racing surface and salt thickness has led to the cancellation of events at Bonneville, such as Speed Week in 2014 and 2015. Available racing surface is much reduced with just 2.5 miles (4.0 km) available instead of the 9-mile (14 km) courses traditionally used for Speed Week.
Historically, the speedway was marked out by the Utah Department of Transportation at the start of each summer. Originally, two tracks were prepared; a 10-mile (16 km) long straightaway for speed trials and an oval or circular track for distance runs, which was typically between 10 and 12 miles (16 and 19 km) long depending on the condition of the salt surface.
Since at least the 1990s, track preparations have been the responsibility of the event organizers. Days or weeks in advance, the track preparers identify an area best suited for their track layouts and begin grading the tracks. Surveyors are brought in to survey the timing trap distances. A day before racing begins, the track markers are added.
Originally, the straightaway was marked with a broad black line down its center. This was eventually changed to lines down either side, as the center line wore out too quickly. As the costs for painting the lines has gone up, organizations have switched to flags and cones as track markers. The last event to use black lines was Speed Week, August 2009.
The number of tracks and the timed sections for each track are set according to what is most beneficial for each event. Large public meets such as Speed Week run as many as four tracks with several timed miles, usually starting with the second mile and running to the fifth mile. Smaller meets that typically only run world record attempts will utilize a single track, with one timed mile and one timed kilometer in the middle of the track. Additional marks and cones indicate the end of the track and the position of timing equipment.
The annual Speed Week was cancelled in both 2014 and 2015, as were many land-speed racing events, due to deteriorating track conditions. Heavy rains caused a layer of mud from surrounding mountains to flow onto the flats, covering approximately 6 mi (9.7 km) of the track. Although another section of the flats would normally be used, nearby salt mining operations had reduced the size of the alternative track.
The depth of the salt crust at Bonneville has also been decreasing, possibly leaching into a saltwater aquifer. Measured at as much at 3 ft (0.91 m) in the 1940s and 50s, it has been reduced to just 2 in (0.051 m) in 2015.
Though recent studies have been made (since 1960), the causes of this deterioration are not clear, although the evidence points toward both local climatic changes and salt mining. Some strategies were devised to revert the decreasing salt surface, such as pumping back salt, though this had no effect.
In August, the Southern California Timing Association and Bonneville Nationals Inc. organize Speed Week, the largest meet of the year, which attracts several hundred drivers who compete to set highest speed in a range of categories. Bonneville Speed Week has been taking place since 1949.
In late August, the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials are held.
In September each year is the World of Speed, (similar to Speed Week) organized by the Utah Salt Flats Racing Association. The USFRA also meet on the first Wednesday of each month throughout the summer.
In October, the Southern California Timing Association puts on World Finals, a scaled-down version of Speed Week. This event tends to have cooler weather and often drier salt that Speed Week the prior month. There are less spectators and it tends to draw serious racers, as this event is the last chance to break a land speed record and be in the SCTA record book for that year.
Each year, there are usually a few private meets that are not publicized scattered among the larger public meets.
Several motor-paced racing speed records have been attempted at Bonneville.
In 1985, American cyclist John Howard set a then world record of 244 km/h (152 mph).
On 15 October 1995, Dutch cyclist Fred Rompelberg achieved 268.831 km/h (167.044 mph), using a special bicycle behind a dragster with a large shield.
In 2016, Denise Mueller-Korenek claimed a women's bicycle land speed record at 147 mph (237 km/h). She was coached by Howard. It is not clear which authority was supervising the record attempt.
In 2018, Mueller-Korenek broke her own women's record and the men's record at a speed of 183.9 miles per hour (296.0 km/h).
In popular culture
In the 2003 film The Brown Bunny, Bud Clay races his motorcycle at the speedway.
In the 2005 film The World's Fastest Indian, Burt Munro and his highly modified Indian Scout motorcycle sets a world record.
In the 2015 series finale episode of Mad Men, Donald Draper drives a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS muscle car in the races at Bonneville Speedway.
Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It borders Colorado to its east, Wyoming to its northeast, Idaho to its north, Arizona to its south, and Nevada to its west. Utah also touches a corner of New Mexico in the southeast. Of the fifty U.S. states, Utah is the 13th-largest by area; with a population over three million, it is the 30th-most-populous and 11th-least-densely populated. Urban development is mostly concentrated in two areas: the Wasatch Front in the north-central part of the state, which is home to roughly two-thirds of the population and includes the capital city, Salt Lake City; and Washington County in the southwest, with more than 180,000 residents. Most of the western half of Utah lies in the Great Basin.
Utah has been inhabited for thousands of years by various indigenous groups such as the ancient Puebloans, Navajo, and Ute. The Spanish were the first Europeans to arrive in the mid-16th century, though the region's difficult geography and harsh climate made it a peripheral part of New Spain and later Mexico. Even while it was Mexican territory, many of Utah's earliest settlers were American, particularly Mormons fleeing marginalization and persecution from the United States via the Mormon Trail. Following the Mexican–American War in 1848, the region was annexed by the U.S., becoming part of the Utah Territory, which included what is now Colorado and Nevada. Disputes between the dominant Mormon community and the federal government delayed Utah's admission as a state; only after the outlawing of polygamy was it admitted in 1896 as the 45th.
People from Utah are known as Utahns. Slightly over half of all Utahns are Mormons, the vast majority of whom are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), which has its world headquarters in Salt Lake City; Utah is the only state where a majority of the population belongs to a single church. A 2023 paper challenged this perception (claiming only 42% of Utahns are Mormons) however most statistics still show a majority of Utah residents belong to the LDS church; estimates from the LDS church suggests 60.68% of Utah's population belongs to the church whilst some sources put the number as high as 68%. The paper replied that membership count done by the LDS Church is too high for several reasons. The LDS Church greatly influences Utahn culture, politics, and daily life, though since the 1990s the state has become more religiously diverse as well as secular.
Utah has a highly diversified economy, with major sectors including transportation, education, information technology and research, government services, mining, multi-level marketing, and tourism. Utah has been one of the fastest growing states since 2000, with the 2020 U.S. census confirming the fastest population growth in the nation since 2010. St. George was the fastest-growing metropolitan area in the United States from 2000 to 2005. Utah ranks among the overall best states in metrics such as healthcare, governance, education, and infrastructure. It has the 12th-highest median average income and the least income inequality of any U.S. state. Over time and influenced by climate change, droughts in Utah have been increasing in frequency and severity, putting a further strain on Utah's water security and impacting the state's economy.
The History of Utah is an examination of the human history and social activity within the state of Utah located in the western United States.
Archaeological evidence dates the earliest habitation of humans in Utah to about 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. Paleolithic people lived near the Great Basin's swamps and marshes, which had an abundance of fish, birds, and small game animals. Big game, including bison, mammoths and ground sloths, also were attracted to these water sources. Over the centuries, the mega-fauna died, this population was replaced by the Desert Archaic people, who sheltered in caves near the Great Salt Lake. Relying more on gathering than the previous Utah residents, their diet was mainly composed of cattails and other salt tolerant plants such as pickleweed, burro weed and sedge. Red meat appears to have been more of a luxury, although these people used nets and the atlatl to hunt water fowl, ducks, small animals and antelope. Artifacts include nets woven with plant fibers and rabbit skin, woven sandals, gaming sticks, and animal figures made from split-twigs. About 3,500 years ago, lake levels rose and the population of Desert Archaic people appears to have dramatically decreased. The Great Basin may have been almost unoccupied for 1,000 years.
The Fremont culture, named from sites near the Fremont River in Utah, lived in what is now north and western Utah and parts of Nevada, Idaho and Colorado from approximately 600 to 1300 AD. These people lived in areas close to water sources that had been previously occupied by the Desert Archaic people, and may have had some relationship with them. However, their use of new technologies define them as a distinct people. Fremont technologies include:
use of the bow and arrow while hunting,
building pithouse shelters,
growing maize and probably beans and squash,
building above ground granaries of adobe or stone,
creating and decorating low-fired pottery ware,
producing art, including jewelry and rock art such as petroglyphs and pictographs.
The ancient Puebloan culture, also known as the Anasazi, occupied territory adjacent to the Fremont. The ancestral Puebloan culture centered on the present-day Four Corners area of the Southwest United States, including the San Juan River region of Utah. Archaeologists debate when this distinct culture emerged, but cultural development seems to date from about the common era, about 500 years before the Fremont appeared. It is generally accepted that the cultural peak of these people was around the 1200 CE. Ancient Puebloan culture is known for well constructed pithouses and more elaborate adobe and masonry dwellings. They were excellent craftsmen, producing turquoise jewelry and fine pottery. The Puebloan culture was based on agriculture, and the people created and cultivated fields of maize, beans, and squash and domesticated turkeys. They designed and produced elaborate field terracing and irrigation systems. They also built structures, some known as kivas, apparently designed solely for cultural and religious rituals.
These two later cultures were roughly contemporaneous, and appear to have established trading relationships. They also shared enough cultural traits that archaeologists believe the cultures may have common roots in the early American Southwest. However, each remained culturally distinct throughout most of their existence. These two well established cultures appear to have been severely impacted by climatic change and perhaps by the incursion of new people in about 1200 CE. Over the next two centuries, the Fremont and ancient Pueblo people may have moved into the American southwest, finding new homes and farmlands in the river drainages of Arizona, New Mexico and northern Mexico.
In about 1200, Shoshonean speaking peoples entered Utah territory from the west. They may have originated in southern California and moved into the desert environment due to population pressure along the coast. They were an upland people with a hunting and gathering lifestyle utilizing roots and seeds, including the pinyon nut. They were also skillful fishermen, created pottery and raised some crops. When they first arrived in Utah, they lived as small family groups with little tribal organization. Four main Shoshonean peoples inhabited Utah country. The Shoshone in the north and northeast, the Gosiutes in the northwest, the Utes in the central and eastern parts of the region and the Southern Paiutes in the southwest. Initially, there seems to have been very little conflict between these groups.
In the early 16th century, the San Juan River basin in Utah's southeast also saw a new people, the Díne or Navajo, part of a greater group of plains Athabaskan speakers moved into the Southwest from the Great Plains. In addition to the Navajo, this language group contained people that were later known as Apaches, including the Lipan, Jicarilla, and Mescalero Apaches.
Athabaskans were a hunting people who initially followed the bison, and were identified in 16th-century Spanish accounts as "dog nomads". The Athabaskans expanded their range throughout the 17th century, occupying areas the Pueblo peoples had abandoned during prior centuries. The Spanish first specifically mention the "Apachu de Nabajo" (Navaho) in the 1620s, referring to the people in the Chama valley region east of the San Juan River, and north west of Santa Fe. By the 1640s, the term Navaho was applied to these same people. Although the Navajo newcomers established a generally peaceful trading and cultural exchange with the some modern Pueblo peoples to the south, they experienced intermittent warfare with the Shoshonean peoples, particularly the Utes in eastern Utah and western Colorado.
At the time of European expansion, beginning with Spanish explorers traveling from Mexico, five distinct native peoples occupied territory within the Utah area: the Northern Shoshone, the Goshute, the Ute, the Paiute and the Navajo.
The Spanish explorer Francisco Vázquez de Coronado may have crossed into what is now southern Utah in 1540, when he was seeking the legendary Cíbola.
A group led by two Spanish Catholic priests—sometimes called the Domínguez–Escalante expedition—left Santa Fe in 1776, hoping to find a route to the California coast. The expedition traveled as far north as Utah Lake and encountered the native residents. All of what is now Utah was claimed by the Spanish Empire from the 1500s to 1821 as part of New Spain (later as the province Alta California); and subsequently claimed by Mexico from 1821 to 1848. However, Spain and Mexico had little permanent presence in, or control of, the region.
Fur trappers (also known as mountain men) including Jim Bridger, explored some regions of Utah in the early 19th century. The city of Provo was named for one such man, Étienne Provost, who visited the area in 1825. The city of Ogden, Utah is named for a brigade leader of the Hudson's Bay Company, Peter Skene Ogden who trapped in the Weber Valley. In 1846, a year before the arrival of members from the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints, the ill-fated Donner Party crossed through the Salt Lake valley late in the season, deciding not to stay the winter there but to continue forward to California, and beyond.
Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as Mormon pioneers, first came to the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. At the time, the U.S. had already captured the Mexican territories of Alta California and New Mexico in the Mexican–American War and planned to keep them, but those territories, including the future state of Utah, officially became United States territory upon the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, February 2, 1848. The treaty was ratified by the United States Senate on March 10, 1848.
Upon arrival in the Salt Lake Valley, the Mormon pioneers found no permanent settlement of Indians. Other areas along the Wasatch Range were occupied at the time of settlement by the Northwestern Shoshone and adjacent areas by other bands of Shoshone such as the Gosiute. The Northwestern Shoshone lived in the valleys on the eastern shore of Great Salt Lake and in adjacent mountain valleys. Some years after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley Mormons, who went on to colonize many other areas of what is now Utah, were petitioned by Indians for recompense for land taken. The response of Heber C. Kimball, first counselor to Brigham Young, was that the land belonged to "our Father in Heaven and we expect to plow and plant it." A 1945 Supreme Court decision found that the land had been treated by the United States as public domain; no aboriginal title by the Northwestern Shoshone had been recognized by the United States or extinguished by treaty with the United States.
Upon arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, the Mormons had to make a place to live. They created irrigation systems, laid out farms, built houses, churches, and schools. Access to water was crucially important. Almost immediately, Brigham Young set out to identify and claim additional community sites. While it was difficult to find large areas in the Great Basin where water sources were dependable and growing seasons long enough to raise vitally important subsistence crops, satellite communities began to be formed.
Shortly after the first company arrived in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, the community of Bountiful was settled to the north. In 1848, settlers moved into lands purchased from trapper Miles Goodyear in present-day Ogden. In 1849, Tooele and Provo were founded. Also that year, at the invitation of Ute chief Wakara, settlers moved into the Sanpete Valley in central Utah to establish the community of Manti. Fillmore, Utah, intended to be the capital of the new territory, was established in 1851. In 1855, missionary efforts aimed at western native cultures led to outposts in Fort Lemhi, Idaho, Las Vegas, Nevada and Elk Mountain in east-central Utah.
The experiences of returning members of the Mormon Battalion were also important in establishing new communities. On their journey west, the Mormon soldiers had identified dependable rivers and fertile river valleys in Colorado, Arizona and southern California. In addition, as the men traveled to rejoin their families in the Salt Lake Valley, they moved through southern Nevada and the eastern segments of southern Utah. Jefferson Hunt, a senior Mormon officer of the Battalion, actively searched for settlement sites, minerals, and other resources. His report encouraged 1851 settlement efforts in Iron County, near present-day Cedar City. These southern explorations eventually led to Mormon settlements in St. George, Utah, Las Vegas and San Bernardino, California, as well as communities in southern Arizona.
Prior to establishment of the Oregon and California trails and Mormon settlement, Indians native to the Salt Lake Valley and adjacent areas lived by hunting buffalo and other game, but also gathered grass seed from the bountiful grass of the area as well as roots such as those of the Indian Camas. By the time of settlement, indeed before 1840, the buffalo were gone from the valley, but hunting by settlers and grazing of cattle severely impacted the Indians in the area, and as settlement expanded into nearby river valleys and oases, indigenous tribes experienced increasing difficulty in gathering sufficient food. Brigham Young's counsel was to feed the hungry tribes, and that was done, but it was often not enough. These tensions formed the background to the Bear River massacre committed by California Militia stationed in Salt Lake City during the Civil War. The site of the massacre is just inside Preston, Idaho, but was generally thought to be within Utah at the time.
Statehood was petitioned for in 1849-50 using the name Deseret. The proposed State of Deseret would have been quite large, encompassing all of what is now Utah, and portions of Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming, Arizona, Oregon, New Mexico and California. The name of Deseret was favored by the LDS leader Brigham Young as a symbol of industry and was derived from a reference in the Book of Mormon. The petition was rejected by Congress and Utah did not become a state until 1896, following the Utah Constitutional Convention of 1895.
In 1850, the Utah Territory was created with the Compromise of 1850, and Fillmore (named after President Fillmore) was designated the capital. In 1856, Salt Lake City replaced Fillmore as the territorial capital.
The first group of pioneers brought African slaves with them, making Utah the only place in the western United States to have African slavery. Three slaves, Green Flake, Hark Lay, and Oscar Crosby, came west with this first group in 1847. The settlers also began to purchase Indian slaves in the well-established Indian slave trade, as well as enslaving Indian prisoners of war. In 1850, 26 slaves were counted in Salt Lake County. Slavery didn't become officially recognized until 1852, when the Act in Relation to Service and the Act for the relief of Indian Slaves and Prisoners were passed. Slavery was repealed on June 19, 1862, when Congress prohibited slavery in all US territories.
Disputes between the Mormon inhabitants and the federal government intensified after the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' practice of polygamy became known. The polygamous practices of the Mormons, which were made public in 1854, would be one of the major reasons Utah was denied statehood until almost 50 years after the Mormons had entered the area.
After news of their polygamous practices spread, the members of the LDS Church were quickly viewed by some as un-American and rebellious. In 1857, after news of a possible rebellion spread, President James Buchanan sent troops on the Utah expedition to quell the growing unrest and to replace Brigham Young as territorial governor with Alfred Cumming. The expedition was also known as the Utah War.
As fear of invasion grew, Mormon settlers had convinced some Paiute Indians to aid in a Mormon-led attack on 120 immigrants from Arkansas under the guise of Indian aggression. The murder of these settlers became known as the Mountain Meadows massacre. The Mormon leadership had adopted a defensive posture that led to a ban on the selling of grain to outsiders in preparation for an impending war. This chafed pioneers traveling through the region, who were unable to purchase badly needed supplies. A disagreement between some of the Arkansas pioneers and the Mormons in Cedar City led to the secret planning of the massacre by a few Mormon leaders in the area. Some scholars debate the involvement of Brigham Young. Only one man, John D. Lee, was ever convicted of the murders, and he was executed at the massacre site.
Express riders had brought the news 1,000 miles from the Missouri River settlements to Salt Lake City within about two weeks of the army's beginning to march west. Fearing the worst as 2,500 troops (roughly 1/3rd of the army then) led by General Albert Sidney Johnston started west, Brigham Young ordered all residents of Salt Lake City and neighboring communities to prepare their homes for burning and evacuate southward to Utah Valley and southern Utah. Young also sent out a few units of the Nauvoo Legion (numbering roughly 8,000–10,000), to delay the army's advance. The majority he sent into the mountains to prepare defenses or south to prepare for a scorched earth retreat. Although some army wagon supply trains were captured and burned and herds of army horses and cattle run off no serious fighting occurred. Starting late and short on supplies, the United States Army camped during the bitter winter of 1857–58 near a burned out Fort Bridger in Wyoming. Through the negotiations between emissary Thomas L. Kane, Young, Cumming and Johnston, control of Utah territory was peacefully transferred to Cumming, who entered an eerily vacant Salt Lake City in the spring of 1858. By agreement with Young, Johnston established the army at Fort Floyd 40 miles away from Salt Lake City, to the southwest.
Salt Lake City was the last link of the First Transcontinental Telegraph, between Carson City, Nevada and Omaha, Nebraska completed in October 1861. Brigham Young, who had helped expedite construction, was among the first to send a message, along with Abraham Lincoln and other officials. Soon after the telegraph line was completed, the Deseret Telegraph Company built the Deseret line connecting the settlements in the territory with Salt Lake City and, by extension, the rest of the United States.
Because of the American Civil War, federal troops were pulled out of Utah Territory (and their fort auctioned off), leaving the territorial government in federal hands without army backing until General Patrick E. Connor arrived with the 3rd Regiment of California Volunteers in 1862. While in Utah, Connor and his troops soon became discontent with this assignment wanting to head to Virginia where the "real" fighting and glory was occurring. Connor established Fort Douglas just three miles (5 km) east of Salt Lake City and encouraged his bored and often idle soldiers to go out and explore for mineral deposits to bring more non-Mormons into the state. Minerals were discovered in Tooele County, and some miners began to come to the territory. Conner also solved the Shoshone Indian problem in Cache Valley Utah by luring the Shoshone into a midwinter confrontation on January 29, 1863. The armed conflict quickly turned into a rout, discipline among the soldiers broke down, and the Battle of Bear River is today usually referred to by historians as the Bear River Massacre. Between 200 and 400 Shoshone men, women and children were killed, as were 27 soldiers, with over 50 more soldiers wounded or suffering from frostbite.
Beginning in 1865, Utah's Black Hawk War developed into the deadliest conflict in the territory's history. Chief Antonga Black Hawk died in 1870, but fights continued to break out until additional federal troops were sent in to suppress the Ghost Dance of 1872. The war is unique among Indian Wars because it was a three-way conflict, with mounted Timpanogos Utes led by Antonga Black Hawk fighting federal and Utah local militia.
On May 10, 1869, the First transcontinental railroad was completed at Promontory Summit, north of the Great Salt Lake. The railroad brought increasing numbers of people into the state, and several influential businessmen made fortunes in the territory.
Main article: Latter Day Saint polygamy in the late-19th century
During the 1870s and 1880s, federal laws were passed and federal marshals assigned to enforce the laws against polygamy. In the 1890 Manifesto, the LDS Church leadership dropped its approval of polygamy citing divine revelation. When Utah applied for statehood again in 1895, it was accepted. Statehood was officially granted on January 4, 1896.
The Mormon issue made the situation for women the topic of nationwide controversy. In 1870 the Utah Territory, controlled by Mormons, gave women the right to vote. However, in 1887, Congress disenfranchised Utah women with the Edmunds–Tucker Act. In 1867–96, eastern activists promoted women's suffrage in Utah as an experiment, and as a way to eliminate polygamy. They were Presbyterians and other Protestants convinced that Mormonism was a non-Christian cult that grossly mistreated women. The Mormons promoted woman suffrage to counter the negative image of downtrodden Mormon women. With the 1890 Manifesto clearing the way for statehood, in 1895 Utah adopted a constitution restoring the right of women's suffrage. Congress admitted Utah as a state with that constitution in 1896.
Though less numerous than other intermountain states at the time, several lynching murders for alleged misdeeds occurred in Utah territory at the hand of vigilantes. Those documented include the following, with their ethnicity or national origin noted in parentheses if it was provided in the source:
William Torrington in Carson City (then a part of Utah territory), 1859
Thomas Coleman (Black man) in Salt Lake City, 1866
3 unidentified men at Wahsatch, winter of 1868
A Black man in Uintah, 1869
Charles A. Benson in Logan, 1873
Ah Sing (Chinese man) in Corinne, 1874
Thomas Forrest in St. George, 1880
William Harvey (Black man) in Salt Lake City, 1883
John Murphy in Park City, 1883
George Segal (Japanese man) in Ogden, 1884
Joseph Fisher in Eureka, 1886
Robert Marshall (Black man) in Castle Gate, 1925
Other lynchings in Utah territory include multiple instances of mass murder of Native American children, women, and men by White settlers including the Battle Creek massacre (1849), Provo River Massacre (1850), Nephi massacre (1853), and Circleville Massacre (1866).
Beginning in the early 20th century, with the establishment of such national parks as Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion National Park, Utah began to become known for its natural beauty. Southern Utah became a popular filming spot for arid, rugged scenes, and such natural landmarks as Delicate Arch and "the Mittens" of Monument Valley are instantly recognizable to most national residents. During the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, with the construction of the Interstate highway system, accessibility to the southern scenic areas was made easier.
Beginning in 1939, with the establishment of Alta Ski Area, Utah has become world-renowned for its skiing. The dry, powdery snow of the Wasatch Range is considered some of the best skiing in the world. Salt Lake City won the bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics in 1995, and this has served as a great boost to the economy. The ski resorts have increased in popularity, and many of the Olympic venues scattered across the Wasatch Front continue to be used for sporting events. This also spurred the development of the light-rail system in the Salt Lake Valley, known as TRAX, and the re-construction of the freeway system around the city.
During the late 20th century, the state grew quickly. In the 1970s, growth was phenomenal in the suburbs. Sandy was one of the fastest-growing cities in the country at that time, and West Valley City is the state's 2nd most populous city. Today, many areas of Utah are seeing phenomenal growth. Northern Davis, southern and western Salt Lake, Summit, eastern Tooele, Utah, Wasatch, and Washington counties are all growing very quickly. Transportation and urbanization are major issues in politics as development consumes agricultural land and wilderness areas.
In 2012, the State of Utah passed the Utah Transfer of Public Lands Act in an attempt to gain control over a substantial portion of federal land in the state from the federal government, based on language in the Utah Enabling Act of 1894. The State does not intend to use force or assert control by limiting access in an attempt to control the disputed lands, but does intend to use a multi-step process of education, negotiation, legislation, and if necessary, litigation as part of its multi-year effort to gain state or private control over the lands after 2014.
Utah families, like most Americans everywhere, did their utmost to assist in the war effort. Tires, meat, butter, sugar, fats, oils, coffee, shoes, boots, gasoline, canned fruits, vegetables, and soups were rationed on a national basis. The school day was shortened and bus routes were reduced to limit the number of resources used stateside and increase what could be sent to soldiers.
Geneva Steel was built to increase the steel production for America during World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had proposed opening a steel mill in Utah in 1936, but the idea was shelved after a couple of months. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States entered the war and the steel plant was put into progress. In April 1944, Geneva shipped its first order, which consisted of over 600 tons of steel plate. Geneva Steel also brought thousands of job opportunities to Utah. The positions were hard to fill as many of Utah's men were overseas fighting. Women began working, filling 25 percent of the jobs.
As a result of Utah's and Geneva Steels contribution during the war, several Liberty Ships were named in honor of Utah including the USS Joseph Smith, USS Brigham Young, USS Provo, and the USS Peter Skene Ogden.
One of the sectors of the beachhead of Normandy Landings was codenamed Utah Beach, and the amphibious landings at the beach were undertaken by United States Army troops.
It is estimated that 1,450 soldiers from Utah were killed in the war.
my timing was off this afternoon, we had sunshine, but I managed to get caught in a Hailstone Shower and Gales ... it was horrid ;(
Japanese Friendship Garden Balboa Park, San Diego. I'm participating in the "no flower challenge" which means for at least 5 days I can't post a flower shot. It's actually easier than I thought.
Watched the first dragon boat race of the day at the Arundel festival. As can be seen the paddlers were inexperienced and had difficult keeping time.
We often reiterate on the importance of timing. This image was about that. I recently made a long road trip to tulip farms 3 states across. And we were late by a whisker. While a few farms were completely topped in Skagit Valley, some like this patch in Woodburn was plucked/topped here and there leaving a pleasing view of the partially topped rows of Tulips.
I found the fallen rows of petals in between kind of melancholic.
PS: Does it appear as if the colors are bleeding?
“Photography is a response that has to do with the momentary recognition of things. Suddenly you’re alive. A minute later there was nothing there. I just watched it evaporate. You look one moment and there’s everything, next moment it’s gone. Photography is very philosophical.” – Joel Meyerowitz
Dave was mending the engine... the afternoon sun catching the metal giving it a lovely glow..
For the Sunday Challenge group..theme metal
Guess what kanji is this? It's one of the most basic and I'm sure you know it.
Shot at Yasukuni Shrine. The timing was perfect. As I arrived I was mesmerized by the beautiful sun as it sets behind the shrine.
Used 7 exposures (-3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3) and blended the 0 exposure for the sky and used the +2 and +3 exposure to get more contrast on the foreground. Took me a while just to get the picture right.
If you are interested in learning my general workflow on how I create HDR images, please visit my site below
I feel weak. Since I was shot. But it ain’t my first time. All the scars are there.
Sometimes I hated being invisible. Sometimes I don’t. The more magic you know, revelation comes after revelation, what’s the worse to come? I’m not a Brit, but I sure know how bad it is to be one in this time and age. The death of my partner still haunts me, since his blood transfusion that gave me powers.
Work has pushed back any form of strict ties—save for the friendships with the team, and I’m the one in charge of financial assets and insecurities, maybe because I’m the one man capable of handling it. Sure, he may be the least tolerant, but I’ve found myself growing to like Callan a lot. He’s changed ostensibly in small ways. We’ve spent lots of time together, more so partnering up in finding artifacts to being chased by demons…
Back to my line of duty, it’d be stupid thinking that equipment wouldn’t be worth pennies? It does, even with my ties on the black market, you’ve got to know the fine line. And there’s also the recent drama of the Vampire Queen, I might have spent up my savings for a shitty prosecutor. Fuck.
My body aches, but I have to put up a fight. There’s no room for rest, and I barely had any since the Vertex dudes shot me. Now, they’re a mixed bag of shit, the mutated ones, and the humans, who could do it again with altered weapons.
Florence: “Come at me, you bastard.”
Vertex Commander: “I’d like to end this with a duel of cutlasses.”
Florence: “Fine. You’re downright horrid anyways—I knew when to quit.”
Vertex Commander: “If you weren’t such a stuck up of a whore, I’d respect you better.”
Florence: “I fought tooth and nail, you wanker. But when you came after my sister, I threw everything away so that I could protect her”
Vertex Commander: “Bad timing, bad choices. You were never fit or qualified. Now that I’ve sealed the deals, you’re definitely going on death row. The system is the best for dealing with you peasants. No, you fucking rascals…”
The former captain retracts her shotgun at her back, and draws her brandished cutlass, engaging the commander, who also made one but it’s a dark emerald rapier . He’s quite bloodthirsty, I can see it in the eyes; a personal vendetta that is power.
And this is how the novelty of the fight change. So much going on. The old man in charge, rushing with antidotes, Rowena taking the damage like she would, Luc forming occult spells alongside Magnus. Thanks to Koles ‘connection’ to this so called Judge Creek…lord knows what kind of a breed is he. The image of his transformation at the courthouse still scares me
I really wanted a normal day for once. I fucking get it, slaughterhouse at court. Tried for accountability breaches. It just never ends. But complaining won’t ever get the job done. I would have to keep on trying.
In the heat of the moment, I still did anyways. I run to a safer corner as the street fights keep playing out. Right next to where Cal is, still battle hardened, alone while the rest engage in chases amongst destruction.
Terry: “Cal, I just want to confess”
Callan: “This is the worst time to ask me out…actually, if the world were less shitty--but right now, I don’t give a damn if I like you.”
Terry: “Have you been reading my mind or..”
Callan: “You wanna say it, just say it.”
Terry: “I’m outta fucking context, but I like you. I really do.”
Callan: “Since when?”
Terry: “Since the early missions. I know, I owe you a pint. You favour Johnny Walker. And when I hauled your ass a few times out of pubs, well, let’s say it was an attraction.”
Callan: “The feeling’s mutual. I was really concerned when you got shot. Look, I’m not that kinda playboy anymore. Shed that just for the sake of making weapons…I’m struggling with love too; despite the old shenanigans and how I’m with the ladies, I’m comfortable around you the most. If you’re serious, and dead set on it, we can—”
I lean forward to his Cal for a kiss. He doesn’t hold back, but pulls away quickly to shoot a mutated prowler. Cal says we’re gonna definitely gonna talk later. He seems to be lost in the moment, yet not distracted by my quick advancements.
Feels like I’ve gotten some weight off my chest. I swallow the bitter taste in my tongue, as I turn invisible once more, charging towards a horde of Vertex officers.
Then he appears.
***
I finally got a shot that I have wanted to get for a long time. One on the list you can say. The difficulty has always been that if you are a very early morning commuter you know that a 5-10 minute delay could really mean 30 plus minutes of congestion later along with finding safe parking around train tracks. This morning I lucked out. The sunrise was coming up, the light was on the rails and I had a camera with me, well an iPad. I still envision getting this shot differently but for now I'm happy that I still can chase that light.
An outbound LIRR train climbs out from the tunnel and up onto the elevated structure of the Atlantic Branch. In the background, a two-car Franklin Avenue Shuttle train crosses Atlantic Ave. I had literally just been talking with my friend about how I'd probably have to scour the timetables to get the over/under here, but it turned out that I got it on the next train!
M7 (Bombardier, 1999-2006)
R68 (S) (Westinghouse-Amrail, 1986-1988)
Nostrand Avenue Station
Atlantic Branch - LIRR
Finally caught him backlit after many missed shots. Flashpoint 200 behind him on a tripod and a 600 on the fence behind me, both set at 1/4 power.
Loved the potential here - the chain shot at close range with the sailboat going by at just the right time in the background - with the tree overhanging at just the right height and the bench to the left. Like I said, timing is everything!! Taken in Charleston, SC.
Straight from the camera! Explored - thanks to all for your wonderful comments!
When you choose to surf off the rocks at Burleigh Heads, you have to choose your moment...carefully...
View large to see the bird in the shot... heres a clue, I am in the process of testing the trial version of Photoshop CS5...
Please stop by and view my new website and blog....
comments and feedback are most welcome..
Speed Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks at Sydney Motorsport Park, Round 8, overall first three placegetters.
(1/3) #83, Matt Brabham losing touch with the ramp when launching on the main straight.
(2/3) Robby Gordon Flying the in his famous #7
(3/3) #21, Matt Nolan just leaving the main straight ramp.
The Robby Gordon Series is contested at various venues around the United States and Australia.
Sydney Motorsport Park, Eastern Creek, New South Wales, Australia.