Tag: Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM

Arturo Prat Plaza

Another Hero

MichaelStephenWills4 Comments

Shortly after the Maritime Government plaza is a crossroads with this interesting sign. The first line references two attractions. “ZOFRI” is the local abbreviation for the designation of Iquique as a port with tax advantages. The destination of this sign is a shopping mall. “Esmeralda” is the living museum I photographed from the tender. Our route to the Atacama desert took us through “Centro” with views of “Sur-Cavancha” on our ascension of the escarpment.

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Interesting destinations.

As we approach the central square, this local wonder is on the corner. Any wood must be acquired over long distances as little (close to nothing) grows locally.

A display of great wealth — a wood veranda.

Declared a National Historic Landmark on July 13, 1987 this Clock Tower, together with the buildings surrounding it in the plaza (the Municipal Theater of Iquique, the building of the Workers Welfare Society of Tarapacá, the Casino Español and the Club Croata) is one of the most representative urban expressions of the “Saltpeter Period”, a time which saw much foreign investment. Built 1878 when Iquique was Peru territory, the partition walls of Oregon pine wood, a clock mechanism from England. Saltpeter, a nitrogen rich deposit on the Atacama desert surface, brought thousands of poor workers to exploit the natural resource and to, in turn, be exploited.

I decided against straightening the tower, too much was lost in the process.

A pair of linear fountains run parallel to the road, framing the clock tower or theater depending on the point of view.

Click me for the first post of this series.

References

Wikipedia – “Zona Franca of Iquique” and “Clock Tower (Iquique).”

Copyright 2020 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Maritime Government

Another Hero

MichaelStephenWills15 Comments

At the foot of the port island a Maritime Government building for the Iquique region. This and the other photographs of Iquique city were taken from the tour bus using a Canon dslr and the Canon EF 70 – 300 variable “zoom” lens.

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“Red, White and Blue” Note the brass ship’s bell on the left entrance column.

Shaped as it is, Chile needs an agency devoted to the coast. Littoral, the geographic term applied to this area of control. By definition of Chile it’s littoral begins “80 meters inland from the line of beach” to 200 miles from the point of low tide, a broad definition that works without too much conflict as, to the west, is the enormous Pacific Ocean. As with all countries there are interesting disagreements over maritime borders and rights at the borders. Chile and Argentina’s complex border in the far south among the islands and channels of Tierra del Fuego are legend.

“Flag of Chile” with two men on the steps clutching smart phones. Port security is apparent in the identification cards on lanyards.

Iquique is one of thirteen (13) Maritime Governorates. From north to south we can mention those of Arica, Iquique, Antofagasta, Coquimbo, Valparaíso, San Antonio, Talcahuano, Valdivia, Puerto Montt, Castro, Aysén, Punta Arenas and Navarino with the Chilean Antarctic Territory. Our cruise touches up, or passes through, all of them.

Facade

Larger than life busts of two Chilean heroes flank the entrance. We learned about Prat in an earlier post. While Captain Prat lost his life during the Battle of Iquique, Carlos Arnaldo Condell De La Haza, Captain of the schooner Virgen de Covadonga, escaped a larger and heavier gunned Peruvian ship, the armored frigate Independencia, sailing south.

Captain Condell, through tactics and seamanship, pinned the Independenia on a reef. The Covadonga blasted away until driven off by the monitor Huáscar. Condell went on to other naval successes and succumbed to illness at the young age of fourth four (44) years.

Click me for the first post of this series.

References

Wikipedia – “Carlos Arnaldo Condell De La Haza”

Click me for a spanish language pdf file on Chilean maritime governance.

Copyright 2020 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Iquique first steps

On Dry Land

MichaelStephenWills4 Comments

Our tour tickets and bus designation ( “number 2” ) firmly in hand, Pam and I walked the gangplank from the tender (see yesterday’s post), into the Iquique International Cruise terminal, then out to the sunshine to find out bus, following the crowd.

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Downtown High rises soar above downtown

Touring this way can feel link a rodent maze, it was not our feeling at all. The groups maxed at 15, the guides friendly and knowledgeable, the tour buses luxurious. We enjoyed ourselves immensely. Here we are, later that day, dressed for adventure.

Mike and Pam Wills on tour at the Pintados Geoglyphs, Tarapacá, Chile within the Atacama desert.

Our itinerary for the day is to navigate through the city, across the desert to visit a World Heritage Site, Humberstone, and ancient geoglyph sites, touching on local ecology.

Another view of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception among the downtown high-rises of Iquique.

Here is our tour, time to hop on the bus, get going.

Click me for the first post of this series.

Here is a slide show of our day so far.

Copyright 2020 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Iquique Tender Views

From Ship to Shore

MichaelStephenWills4 Comments

Ninety minutes after docking our assigned tender pulled away from the Regatta for a twenty minute trip to Iquique. A tender is a boat with an enclosed seating area designed to transport about twenty persons in quiet waters from an anchorage to port. I recall the morning announcement from the ship Captain advising use the winds were high (or the waves), and he negotiated a mooring with the port, instead of the planned docking, in order to save our visit to Iquique.

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The approximate anchorage of the Regatta marked with a pushpin. The tender transported use from the Regatta to the base of the island port.

Above is a screen capture from Google Earth, the entire Iquique harbor is pictured from Punta Negra (see photo from yesterday) to the base of the island port connected to the mainland with a road. The tender port is at this base, on the shore side. If you wish, download the following PDF document with a clearer image. You will need a PDF viewer.

regattaanchorageiquiqueharborDownload
Shipping containers being unloaded from the container ship San Christobal.

Here are some of the sights visible from the tender. I recall sitting next to the large rear window. Above is the large red container ship. From earlier posts, the San Christobal is docked at the outer berth. The ship is being unloaded, you can see a yellow shipping container on the crane.

Today, aneconomic reason for Iquque’s prosperity is the status as a duty free zone the government dubbed “ZOFRI.” Another is tourists flocking to this “Miami of South America” for duty free shopping (there is a mall), the shore lined with tall hotels and condominiums. Adventure-seekers love the surfing and hang gliding from the escarpment.

Notice the fishing nets in the stern with yellow floats

This is the scene close to the tender port, past mooring for smaller fishing and other boats.

Replica of the Chilean navy ship Esmeralda sunk during the Battle of Iquique. It is a nautical “living museum.” From the website: “The museum script of the Museum ‘Emerald Corvette’ is represented by thirteen museum scenes that inspire the guided tour, where it was recreated what life was like on board on May 20, 1879, the day before the historic Pacific War day.” The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception is to the right of the ship stern. Here is a previous post with more about the Esmeralda in historical context.

After disembarkation, I looked back for this shot of our tender pilot.

Click me for the first post of this series.

Copyright 2020 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Brave Leap

First to Leave

MichaelStephenWills8 Comments

In the first video, the largest and strongest Robin chick, the first to fledge, is not quite ready. Maybe I am anthropomorphizing, this individual appears to exhibit the same emotions I feel when approaching a new physical experience, say learning to flip turn, swimming laps in later life. Listen carefully to hear the chick playing the carriage light crown like a bell.

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Here the first chick to fledge screws up the courage, takes a shit, then leaps!! Bon Voyage!!

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I have a lot to learn about making video with this new camera. Color balance is improved in the second video.

Today, the morning after, this nest is not empty. I found the third chick standing, well grown, enjoying the benefits of parental attention. The nest was empty by afternoon, the territorial Robin parents were still terrorizing Blue Jays.

Special thanks to Pam for the heads up on the chicks and for ceding her prime kitchen window spot.

Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

A Tight Fit

MichaelStephenWills10 Comments

We watched the parents build this nest in stages from May to June, at times progress was so slow Pam and I thought the nest abandoned. It is a perfect location for them, safe from predators, sheltered by soffit, above, wall, behind. In front, carriage light crown.

Today the two of three chicks flew the nest. Here they are in the minutes before this big event.

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Here is my first video with the Canon dslr.

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Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Mouse Collection

Happy Mother’s Day

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.

24 mm wide angle fixed lens, f/22
50 mm fixed lens, f/6.3
70 – 300 variable lens, f/9.0
70 – 300 variable lens used for macro photography
Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Quaker Settlement Series 2

Gone too soon

MichaelStephenWills14 Comments

Joseph P. Lee, a middle aged gentleman with carvings of a mature willow flanked by urns. In the intervening 162 years the upper layers of slate flake at the edges.

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  • Born June 6, 1799 Died June 22, 1857 Lived 58 years and 16 Days

Rhoda Ann Mattison, a wife who died too young. What was the relationship of James and Rhoda to Catherine and John?

  • Rhoda Ann Mattison
    Born October 14, 1794 Diet April 8, 1822 Lived 27 years 5 months 20 days. Wife of James Mattison

The carving is a pineapple (for hospitality) set in a elegant vase on a plinth flanked by ionic columns, a simple arch (banded to imply a rainbow?) surmounts all. Cross hatching implies space. An implied eternal banding of stylized leaves as starbursts.

I brought out the characteristic slate coloring. There is evidence of ware from the intervening 197 years, though the carving is surprising crisp.

  • Rhoda Ann, detail

Slideshow of photographs in this series

  • Catherine A. and John Mattison
    Catherine A. Mattison Born 1792/1793, Death March 13, 1815. Lived 22 years. John Mattison, Death December 2, 1831, Born August 15, 1815 (5 months after Catherine’s Death), Lived 15 years, 3 months and 18 days.

Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Last Flower with Moss, early November

Tenacity

The tenacity of Ironweed resonates with the human spirit.

MichaelStephenWills4 Comments

A lone sprig of Ironweed hangs on from a cliff edge moss carpet off the South Rim Trail, Taughannock Falls New York State Park, Finger Lakes Region.

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  • Last Flower with Moss, early November
    Last Flower with Moss, early November

Ironweed Gallery from this hike

  • Ironweed, late November
    Ironweed, late November
  • Last Flower with Moss, early November
    Last Flower with Moss, early November

Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Gorge Road, early November

Long Shadows

Northern Latitude

MichaelStephenWills4 Comments

Early November on Gorge Road, Finger Lakes Region, New York State. At this month and latitude (42 north) there are long shadows throughout the day. The South Rim Trail of Taughannock Falls State Park briefly emerges from the wooded cliff to this portion of the road that parallels the gorge, descending to Cayuga Lake shores.

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  • Gorge Road, early November
    Gorge Road, early November

Three Views

  • Distant View with Hemlock
    Distant View with Hemlock
  • Oak and Hemlock
    Oak and Hemlock
  • Gorge Road, early November
    Gorge Road, early November

Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills