Category: photography

Our Sally IV

Old and New Forts

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As Pam and I past the scenes of bucolic reverie this sign drew us back to the past. The reference to de Courcy is as a family of invading Normans. John de Courcy, without the King’s permission, launched an 1176 AD invasion of northeastern Ireland, what is now County Down, as an ultimately failed land grab. The history is murky, though apparently John de Courcy’s son Miles acquired the land referred to in the placard through the English King Henry II, awarded to Miles’ thieving, murderous Norman father-in-law Milo de Cogan in the 13th Century. Much later, the old (James) and new (Charles) Forts were constructed to defend Kinsale harbor.

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Here is a Google Maps screen capture showing the relationship of our position (the unnamed red drop-pin) on the right, Charles and James Forts and the de Courcy family parklands, the large blank area below the pin named “Dock beach.”

Here are the views looking toward the Celtic Sea, the Old Head of Kinsale and the cliffs at our feet.

  • Looking toward the Old Head of Kinsale in the far distance
  • Rocky Cliffs at our feet
  • Cliff and Sea Pink
  • More Sea Pink decorating the rocks.
Here is a Google Earth view of our walk, the red line. The view is looking east from above the former “de Courcy family parkland.”
  • A half mile footpath, marked in red, leads from Charles fort along the shoreline cliffs, surmounted by working farmland.

Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Yellow Hibiscus III

anthers and stamens

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Nyctinasty (flower response to light: opening with or closing without light) in hibiscus plants is a mechanism to protect against adverse conditions such as cool temperatures that can be damaging. Through a lack of light stimulus and circadian rhythms the plant is able to trigger the molecular movement of ions to allow for the closing of the flower.

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  • ISO 100, 1.3 sec at f / 29

Here are three macro photographs of this bloom, all from the Canon 100 “macro” lens. I start with the shutter diaphragm open at 4.0 (“F-stop”), a little narrower at 4.5 and a bit more at 9.0. For this lens the maximum opening is at 2.8, the narrowest is 32. As the opening narrows (F-stop increases) the exposure time needed to capture enough light lengthens and the range of the image in focus increases.

  • ISO 100, 1/30 sec at f / 4.0
  • ISO 100, 1/25 sec at f / 4.5
  • ISO 100, 1/6 sec at f / 9.0
References

Wikipedia – “hibiscus.”

Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Zion Narrows V

narrow and tall

MichaelStephenWills3 Comments

This long exposure blurs the two distant human figures looking downstream toward junction of Orderville Canyon, around corner. Narrows of Zion National Park, Utah

Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Our Sally III

Looking Around

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As Pam and I continued down the half mile “Sallyport” footpath, marked in red on the Google Earth view provided at the end of this post, we enjoyed the view across the Celtic Sea toward the distant Old Head of Kinsale and this sailboat headed to port.

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Landward, we enjoyed watching the progress of a farmer rolling hay bales while cows munched fresh green grass.

  • A half mile footpath, marked in red, leads from Charles fort along the shoreline cliffs, surmounted by working farmland.

Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Yellow Hibiscus II

flower and buds

MichaelStephenWills2 Comments

This is a perennial, commonly known simply as “hibiscus”, or less widely known as rose mallow. Other names include hardy hibiscus, rose of sharon, and tropical hibiscus.

The hibiscus flower is traditionally worn by Tahitian and Hawaiian girls. If the flower is worn behind the left ear, the woman is married or has a boyfriend. If the flower is worn on the right, she is single or openly available for a relationship.

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  • ISO 800, 1//8 sec at f / 32
Here are the three photographs of this bloom, all from the Canon 100 “macro” lens. Two with “sweat bees” and one without.
  • ISO 800, 1//8 sec at f / 32
  • ISO 800, 1//8 sec at f / 32
  • ISO 800, 1//8 sec at f / 32
References

Wikipedia – “hibiscus.”

Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Zion Narrows IV

cross-bedding

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Careful attention to hidden boulders is essential when hiking the Narrows of Zion National Park, Utah

Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Yellow Hibiscus I

flower, buds, bee

MichaelStephenWills7 Comments

Yellow hibiscus, the state flower of Hawaii was recorded in ancient Greece. In the photograph is captured several unopened buds, behind the flower, and a bee in the flower throat, attracted by nectar there. It is a small bee, of the Halictidae family, that lives alone in a ground nest and also called a “sweat bee,” from being attracted to perspiration.

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  • ISO 800, 1//8 sec at f / 32
References

Wikipedia – “sweat bee” and “hibiscus.”

Zion Narrows III

cross-bedding

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The pronounced cross-bedding (diagonal layering) of this Navajo Sandstone wall exposed by Virgin river erosion is the effect of wind drifting sands of the largest known sand desert formed in the Jurassic era lasting for 56 million years (185 million years ago). This photograph contrasts the ever new Virgin River with this ancient rock, deepening shadows suggest the depth of time.

Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Charles Fort Walls

Dún Chathail

MichaelStephenWills5 Comments

A “dun” is a larger fortification, few and far between on the island of Ireland. We saw one on the Arran Islands, from the Iron Age, Dun Angus, Charles Fort, or Dún Chathail in Irish, is from historical ages.

A cannot tell from my slide show, but the walls are star shaped with many salients, giving more positions to defend the walls.

  • Steps to bridge across defensive ditch
  • Bridge and gate to fort enclosure, closed this late in day
  • Embrasures
  • An opening in the fort walls which cannons can be fired. They were often flared outward to enlarge the field of fire.
  • Close-up of gun port
  • Crenellations
  • Tightly joined masonry
  • lichen
  • life has its way
  • seems to be a succulent
  • a doorway here seems a bad idea, but what do I know?
  • A pulley at first glance, look again and it is a lock
  • beneath the walls
  • Down to the Sallyport and the next post

References

“Charles Fort” – wikipedia

Copyright 2021 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Zion Narrows II

more Narrows information and perfecting the photograph

MichaelStephenWills8 Comments

My research for Zion Narrows I included a useful map. Perusing the the National Park Service web site I could find nothing for the Narrows. This week, while perfecting the three file merge, I kicked around in “google” and found this map hidden away in a section devoted to dedicated canyoneers planning multiple day backpacks through the entire canyon. These trips are from the “top down” and, I suppose, they do not want to expose the information to day trippers.

Anyway, I downloaded the map and present it here. You can either click on the hyperlink or click “download” to view the map. The file is a 2.5 MB pdf, if you want to download it. The trail accessible from the park proper starts from the bottom. Pam and I made it to just beyond where Ordway canyon joins, about 2 hours from the start. Note there are NO places to escape a flash flood beyond this point and, below, we learned from observation there are few places and many of these were for hikers more, lets say, nimble than Pam and myself.

Narrows-Map-2017Download

The following is the result of several hours work merging the three files of Zion Narrows I. Click on the image to open a larger version in a new tab.

This is a comparison of the before and after photographs. Enjoy!!

Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved