I was at the Happiest Place on Earth last weekend... Don't I look happy?
My granddaughter was very happy.
The Paradise Pier at Disneyland Adventure Park before the water & light show.
My wife & son surprised me with the lightsaber build at Savi's Workshop at the Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge area. I had to lug that around 2 airports on the way home as carry on.
Here are some lightly edited photos from a little neighborhood church in a small town in England. We had hired a well informed driver to take us around non-touristy locations to get a feel of what it’s like to be an average citizen outside of the major cities. He said there are hundreds of sites like this one. This church is around 800 years old and still in weekly use. The doors are always unlocked, local dignitaries are buried beneath markers in the floor and in the lawn, and this set of benches are said to be original and some of the oldest in the country. As our guide said, the church was not a place to come and sit comfortably, it was a place to be controlled. Imagine trying to keep such a facility in tact in the US, unlocked and unguarded for the limited time we have existed as a country, and then triple it. It probably wouldn’t last a week without being pillaged and graffitied.
England is very beautiful and it is full of amazing, historic sites. It is one of my favorite places I've visited. I have been there a couple of times, both times for 2+ weeks, and I would love to go back again. Your photos captured it well.
Our driver was a great guy. He had so much history and knew every road in the region regardless of how primitive. We stopped by Stone Henge as a bucket list essential and I could tell it was about the last place on earth he wanted to be. He has been there hundreds of times and lamented how it had changed since he was a boy. It used to be this natural wonder where his family would visit and have a picnic lunch right on the rocks themselves. Now it’s just a tourist nightmare that you’re not even allowed to get within 50 ft of for about the equivalent of 25 bucks per ticket. You pay about the same amount to tour Windsor Castle, which is enormous, incredibly ornate, and where your money actually goes to endless amounts of upkeep.
He drove us around on two occasions two weeks apart. During the first one I had showed him some photos of my collection of facial artwork (masks, busts, wall hangings, etc) and he was amazed by it. When he picked us up the second time he gave me a piece of art that he created for me during the time between seeing us. This face is made from a piece of chalk from the base of the white cliffs of Dover. What an awesome gift to add to my collection.
Stonehenge is an awesome place to visit, even though you are kept at a distance.
Windsor Castle is absolutely amazing. I hope when you were there that you also had a chance to cross over the river and walk around Eton, which is a very cool little town and not just the famous school.
Great gift from your driver. We had a driver take us around the Cotswolds on our last trip to England. Really beautiful.
I got the same feeling about that kind of atmosphere and surroundings when my ex and I ate a Medieval Christmas Dinner with "wenches" serving us mead in Ruthin Castle in Wales half a century ago. The castle was built around the same time as the church you photographed.
By the way, I think you use an iPhone camera. I have to tell you that your photos are sharper and crisper than I get with my Panasonic digital camera with a Leica lens.
I agree about the iPhone’s camera. In addition to the camera I also do all my edits on the phone so no transferring of photos to the computer is ever needed. My wife bought me a decent digital camera a few years ago but I found it to be far less flexible for the things I do. My camera is always in my pocket or at least within reach. For instance, I just shot this five minutes ago. The weather is ugly today so I put out the hummingbird feeder and they have been guzzling sugar water all day.
Wow, that's some old masonry. That's a Norman doorway in the second shot. The chevrons in the arch give it away, also the spaces for now-missing columns/pillars under the arch on either side. If the church is 800 years old, it might have incorporated parts of an earlier structure. Either that or someone was still doing Norman deco in the 13th century, when I thought it ended in the 12th.
For other examples, here's a Norman doorway and fireplace from the Norman keep of Hedingham Castle, built in the first half of the 12th century, on the tail end of that trend. Note the chevrons and pillars.
And speaking of Hedingham, I can't resist showing the spectacular hall.
I was a contractor for too long I guess. the first thing I noticed was the out of square doorway and the cost to custom fit a replacement for an adequate weather sealed entry.
This church has undergone several renovations and restorations over the centuries. It is remarkable to me that anything original is still standing. The tombstones outside are so encrusted that they are pretty much unreadable.
It’s time.
So it is. Nice pink sunset.
Yellow River, Henan Province, P.R.C. not so colourful sunset...
.
However, for a little more colour, sunset at Dortmund, Germany, taken by my stepdaughter:
.
And she strikes again with a sunset at Venice, Italy...
.
I think this one can be either Venice or Florence, Italy.
.
And a boat blocks an Italian sunset...
Beautiful series!
My stepdaughter thanks you.
Those are very nice photos.
Yours are better, but thanks anyway.
Beautiful photo.
please remember to vote up this article if you participate. it helps to keep it on the front page over the weekend. ty
Will do, although I don't remember ever seeing it wiped off the Front Page.
Evening..not a bad Spring day...
you'll be breaking out the string bikinis in no time...
Waiting for that photo.
"Top Rated" © G. Gam
This has a really strong commercial look … marketable on my opinion. Very strong! Great work.
Thank you very much. I really appreciate your comments.
awesome.
Thanks, dev.
Interesting, especially since you drew the title from the words in the image.
I was being funny. Ha.
Sunset at Voyageurs National Park, Northern Minnesota.
Photo from the internet.
even without the ice, that still looks cold...
I was at the Happiest Place on Earth last weekend...
Don't I look happy?
My granddaughter was very happy.
The Paradise Pier at Disneyland Adventure Park before the water & light show.
My wife & son surprised me with the lightsaber build at Savi's Workshop at the
Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge area. I had to lug that around 2 airports on the way
home as carry on.
It that's happy, I can't imagine how you would look (and what you would wear) if you were UNhappy.
What? The airlines allowed you to carry on that weapon? Did you tell them you were a Jedi?
Hahaha! The Orange County and LAX airports see a lot of these, but in the carrying case it's often mistaken for a fishing rod.
nice rendition of a hungover mickey...
Here are some lightly edited photos from a little neighborhood church in a small town in England. We had hired a well informed driver to take us around non-touristy locations to get a feel of what it’s like to be an average citizen outside of the major cities. He said there are hundreds of sites like this one. This church is around 800 years old and still in weekly use. The doors are always unlocked, local dignitaries are buried beneath markers in the floor and in the lawn, and this set of benches are said to be original and some of the oldest in the country. As our guide said, the church was not a place to come and sit comfortably, it was a place to be controlled. Imagine trying to keep such a facility in tact in the US, unlocked and unguarded for the limited time we have existed as a country, and then triple it. It probably wouldn’t last a week without being pillaged and graffitied.
cool. throw in some fog and a full moon and that cemetery would be pretty spooky looking at night.
England is very beautiful and it is full of amazing, historic sites. It is one of my favorite places I've visited. I have been there a couple of times, both times for 2+ weeks, and I would love to go back again. Your photos captured it well.
Our driver was a great guy. He had so much history and knew every road in the region regardless of how primitive. We stopped by Stone Henge as a bucket list essential and I could tell it was about the last place on earth he wanted to be. He has been there hundreds of times and lamented how it had changed since he was a boy. It used to be this natural wonder where his family would visit and have a picnic lunch right on the rocks themselves. Now it’s just a tourist nightmare that you’re not even allowed to get within 50 ft of for about the equivalent of 25 bucks per ticket. You pay about the same amount to tour Windsor Castle, which is enormous, incredibly ornate, and where your money actually goes to endless amounts of upkeep.
He drove us around on two occasions two weeks apart. During the first one I had showed him some photos of my collection of facial artwork (masks, busts, wall hangings, etc) and he was amazed by it. When he picked us up the second time he gave me a piece of art that he created for me during the time between seeing us. This face is made from a piece of chalk from the base of the white cliffs of Dover. What an awesome gift to add to my collection.
cool.
Stonehenge is an awesome place to visit, even though you are kept at a distance.
Windsor Castle is absolutely amazing. I hope when you were there that you also had a chance to cross over the river and walk around Eton, which is a very cool little town and not just the famous school.
Great gift from your driver. We had a driver take us around the Cotswolds on our last trip to England. Really beautiful.
What a prize!!!!
I got the same feeling about that kind of atmosphere and surroundings when my ex and I ate a Medieval Christmas Dinner with "wenches" serving us mead in Ruthin Castle in Wales half a century ago. The castle was built around the same time as the church you photographed.
By the way, I think you use an iPhone camera. I have to tell you that your photos are sharper and crisper than I get with my Panasonic digital camera with a Leica lens.
I agree about the iPhone’s camera. In addition to the camera I also do all my edits on the phone so no transferring of photos to the computer is ever needed. My wife bought me a decent digital camera a few years ago but I found it to be far less flexible for the things I do. My camera is always in my pocket or at least within reach. For instance, I just shot this five minutes ago. The weather is ugly today so I put out the hummingbird feeder and they have been guzzling sugar water all day.
Fabulous.
Wow, that's some old masonry. That's a Norman doorway in the second shot. The chevrons in the arch give it away, also the spaces for now-missing columns/pillars under the arch on either side. If the church is 800 years old, it might have incorporated parts of an earlier structure. Either that or someone was still doing Norman deco in the 13th century, when I thought it ended in the 12th.
Great photos.
For other examples, here's a Norman doorway and fireplace from the Norman keep of Hedingham Castle, built in the first half of the 12th century, on the tail end of that trend. Note the chevrons and pillars.
And speaking of Hedingham, I can't resist showing the spectacular hall.
Pictures from the internet.
I was a contractor for too long I guess. the first thing I noticed was the out of square doorway and the cost to custom fit a replacement for an adequate weather sealed entry.
This church has undergone several renovations and restorations over the centuries. It is remarkable to me that anything original is still standing. The tombstones outside are so encrusted that they are pretty much unreadable.
Smoky Mountains Sunset
© A.Mac/A.G.
Arvo Mac... stunning...it looked like a volcano erupting at first..
Impressive.
Sun setting over downtown Chongqing - not so colourful.
.
Spring has sprung..
....and out come the lovely flowers.
Sunset at Stone Creek, Ocala, FL.
sailors delight...
That's beautiful. The colors are almost unreal.
Thans to all, back Thursday night.