Cultures – Page 67 – Michael Stephen Wills Photography

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

Irish Countryside: the Old Aghameen School, repost

Have a wonderful July 4th Holiday (from the USA)

July 4, 2020July 5, 2020 MichaelStephenWills3 Comments

Click me to visit this post from Ireland.

Copyright 2020 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Late May, South Rim Trail

Dangerous Practices

June 29, 2020June 21, 2020 MichaelStephenWills4 Comments

Today, I have a companion post to “A Summer Flower and Waterfalls” from a time of Coronavirus (COVID-19) from a walk cut short by inconsiderate people not following New York laws.

All photographs and videos are from an Apple IPhone 7.

Here is a long and close shot of Columbine Flowers thriving on the edge of a gorge cliff.

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With a video of the movement of this wildflower against a backdrop of flowing water over a 100 feet below.

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A scan of the upper gorge with some marvelous clouds.

Continuing onto the forest trail I spotted this Jack-In-The-Pulpit. Here is a photograph and short video.

My walk this day was cut short by joggers, unmasked, on the narrow trail. For each I stepped off to put 6 feet between us. So inconsiderate and unnecessary, selfish.

Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Creeping up on 900 Readers….

….and a photographic gallery.

June 20, 2020June 15, 2020 MichaelStephenWills7 Comments

As of June 9, 881 is the count of subscribers to this blog, an interesting number. The individual numerals sum to a prime number, 17. I appreciate each and every “1” added together, you readers. Thank You.

Today, June 20, 5:44 pm Eastern Daylight Time, is the Summer Solstice for our Northern Hemisphere, the longest day of the year.

Here is a selection of images from past posts.

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The trail at Petrohue Falls is packed with tourists on a sunny summer afternoon.

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First Water Trailhead, repost

A desert garden with plans

May 25, 2020May 22, 2020 MichaelStephenWills

….Click me to visit this post of the Sonora Desert in bloom.

Marvelous Rocks

a ghost story

May 22, 2020May 9, 2020 MichaelStephenWills2 Comments

Weathered granite boulders greet visitors to the Triangle T Ranch.

Your imagination roams among the natural forms.

A tableau of figures keep silent watch with the ghosts of Texas Canyon.

Mouse Collection

Happy Mother’s Day

May 10, 2020May 9, 2020 MichaelStephenWills12 Comments

Here is a project completed for a “Fundamentals of Photography” refresher course. The task is to use a variety of lenses of my choice to document scene from my surroundings. These photographs document a family heirloom, mouse figurines collected by my wife, Pam’s, mother, Patricia Crist, assembled by Pam into two display cases with assorted figures created by Pam’s daughter, Denna.