Author: MichaelStephenWills

My photographic style centers on the use of natural light to visualize emotion and evoke memory. The evolution of my style began early in the year 2002, with an imperative to capture personal and fleeting memories. My son and I traveled to New York City, to view the first Saint Patrick's Day parade after September 11, 2001. My work from that parade was so successful and satisfying (see "New York Fire Department, Saint Patrick's Day 2002") I just never stopped.

La Girona III

A Disaster Examined

July 25, 2020July 26, 2020 MichaelStephenWills

In this post we explore further, using my photographs of the Ulster Museum exhibit “Treasures from the Girona”, how the Spanish galleass La Girona came to be wrecked on the north coast of Ireland. It was not the only ship lost. Of the 130 armada ships, a third (43) did not return.

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Religion was the crux, Catholic Spain wanted to forestall Queen Elizabeth I’s establishment of Protestantism initiated by her father King Henry VII.

This placard displays treasure. The text implies it was not recovered from La Girona. The bronze medallion was struck by the Dutch in commemoration of the victory.

To be continued….. (Click for the first post of this series)

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Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

La Girona II

Historical Background to the wreck of La Girona

July 24, 2020July 26, 2020 MichaelStephenWills

Pam and I woke early on June 8 for that 138 mile drive to my cousin’s farm on the Cooley peninsula, County Louth, Republic of Ireland. Learning the day before, from the Giants Causeway visitor center, of treasure recovered from a shipwreck off that coast, we planned to visit Belfast, where the Ulster Museum has a permanent exhibit, “Treasures from the Girona”. This is just a taste of the historical provided by this excellent exhibit….if you visit Northern Ireland make time to visit the Ulster Museum.

In this post we explore, using my photographs of the museum exhibits, how the Spanish galleass La Girona came to be in the North Atlantic off the Irish coast. The ship was part of a fleet supporting an invasion of England from Flanders.

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Religion was the crux, Catholic Spain wanted to forestall Queen Elizabeth I’s establishment of Protestantism initiated by her father King Henry VII and support of Dutch protestants against Spain. State sponsored piracy of Spanish ships was a secondary justification.

To be continued….. (Click for the first post of this series)

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Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

La Girona I

Shipwreck!!!

July 23, 2020July 23, 2020 MichaelStephenWills17 Comments

Seen here on the afternoon of June 6, 2014 against the foreground of Giants Causeway pavement stones, Lacada Point is where on the morning of October 26, 1588 the Spanish galleass “La Girona” foundered and sank at Port na Spaniagh (the bay to the east of the point). Five souls of the 1,300 on board survived the wreck.

Our time at the Giants Causeway visitor center yielded this new fact. While it was only Pam who ventured close to the Lacada Point, the following day we were able to view the treasure recovered from the site 379 years later. A portion is on permanent display at the Ulster Museum, Belfast. We visited “Treasures from the Girona” the following day.

To be continued…..

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Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Hammond Hill Walk V

Facing the sun

July 23, 2020July 23, 2020 MichaelStephenWills

I close this walk at the turnaround point, the high meadow, with a fireworks display of daisies.

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Hammond Hill Walk IV

“We Had A Great Ski — Tob”

July 22, 2020July 5, 2020 MichaelStephenWills4 Comments

New since I was last here, this bench, made from local “blue” limestone dedicated to the memory of cross country skiing.

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Here are sounds you may experience while sitting here on a summer afternoon.

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Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Hammond Hill Walk III

High Meadow

July 21, 2020July 3, 2020 MichaelStephenWills

After birdsong, open spaces are an unexpected wonders of these walks. Nowhere listed on the map, and on private lands adjoining the forest, this meadow comes upon the hiker’s consciousness gradually as the trail approaches.

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I have seen those gigantic seed heads here and there and never taken the time to research and identification. Do you recognize it?

To be continued…..

Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Hammond Hill Walk II

Diamond Strands

July 20, 2020July 3, 2020 MichaelStephenWills2 Comments

Hammond Hills walks are a solo affair for me. Pam joined in days past, summer and winter, and fell out of love with the lack of flowing water and bugs. The pleasures of the place, for me, are the miles and miles of varied trails, the sounds among silences, unexpected vistas from hilltops.

The trails themselves are unlovely, beaten down by mountain bike tires or grooved by skis. On the hills I am always on alert, listening for the sounds of bodies hurtling down. The bureaucrats called this “mixed use.” It could be worse, motors are excluded. Today there were two bikers.

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A sprinkling of wild rose.

The song of the Hermit Thrush, a sound of diamond strands, always stops me. Here are two 30 seconds clips.

To be continued…..

Hammond Hill Walk I

Buttercup Meadow

July 19, 2020July 19, 2020 MichaelStephenWills5 Comments

Hammond Hill New York State Forest is visible as an alluring height from many places of Tompkins and Cortland Counties. It is not on the list of tourist destinations, very popular for locals to mountain bike, and cross country ski at an advanced level for the steepness of some trails that wend over this high hill.

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The beauty of this wildflower meadow took me by surprise. The pink flower is a Bouncing Bet, AKA Soapwart. Scientific name Saponaria officinalis. The genera name is from the latin root for soap, “sapo.” The juice of the plant mixed with water can whip up a lather. Thus, also its common name, Soapwart.

The meadow is almost entirely buttercup. Click me for a post about a member of the buttercup family that is the first to flower.

To be continued…..

Stealing a Shot

Father and Daughter

July 18, 2020June 30, 2020 MichaelStephenWills3 Comments

These people clambered up for a shot while I was set up to capture the scene at the perfect light. They wasted my precious moments of light. Luckily, I managed captures while the child was out of sight, shared in yesterday’s post. These photos were accepted by Getty as “editorial” content.

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Giant’s Chair

at sunset

July 17, 2020June 30, 2020 MichaelStephenWills2 Comments

Here is a formation seemingly created to capture the human imagination. I spent time attempting to get it right. At one point, the setting sun emerged from the clouds to light the scene.

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