Another Treasure comes to Light

These original photos of an Artillery field battery were taken at Derdepoort in South Africa during the Boer War. I found them in a batch of old photographs that I probably purchased 30 years at an Antiques fair. Derdepoort was the scene of many successes and reverses for the British Army. Sadly, these photographs are undated - photograph four reveals the shadow of the photographer who seems to be using a hand-held camera.

Grosvenor on our Maxim

Field Battery, Derdepoort

6 inch Quick-Firers, Derdepoort

Our guns on the March

6 inch quick-firer, Derdepoort

A Sunday Flower

Isn't nature wonderful? These flowers look like they were painted by hand!

Dragon Roots

Are the lamb on the left and I alone in seeing the creature emerging from the tree? Could it be a young dragon?

Being watched!

I was sitting in the garden this evening, enjoying an evening coffee, when I had the feeling I was being watched. I turned my head and noticed this little wood imp!

Then I remembered something I had seen in the street recently - a silver robot head!

xxx

Paragliding on Parlick

Staggering up Parlick - a highpoint on the edge of the Trough of Bowland - I noticed some intrepid paragliders. This chap landed, impressively on his feet. The blank section occurred when I span round to try and keep my little camera in touch with him!



And a few snapshots - testing my minute Nikon S9100 compact digital camera . . .

Iphoneography 2

It was a dull, damp day and ideal for testing the iPhone 4 again. First, it occurred to me that people tend to overlook the artistic merit of telegraph poles they are all different. Second, considered the hedgerows and the world beyond. Finally, I thought you may like to see Matty's new coat. She is my photographic assistant on my walks. She likes to sniff out good subjects and, in my opinion, makes an excellent subject herself!

Awkward Poses!

Sometimes, the poses adopted in photographic portraits can seem very awkward. Here are three from a box of unconnected vintage photos:

To ride this tricycle would seem, physically and mechanically, very difficult indeed!

I have never been keen on short ties and high-waisted trousers. Why is he perched on

one leg, I wonder and . . . just how big are the birds that use that bird bath?

Oh, did no-one think about the child's dignity? Judging by the caption on the reverse, the parent(s) were more interested in drawing the recipients notice to the 'indian rubber' animal that Georgie is holding!

Iphoneography

It was a pleasant two-hour walk this afternoon, made all the more pleasant by there being absolutely no-one else around. Acres of dandelion flowers, the sight of a Heron and a flock of Goldfinches, as well as the hoots of two Tawny owls were plus points for me. As was managing to avoid some agitated horses when the footpath crossed their field! I took some snaps on my iPhone 4 and was, again, pleased with the results.

Something caught the attention of the horses. Can you guess what it was. Answer provided in the final photograph. I also saw a race horse in the opposite field that had a mesh face mask to keep away the flies. The mask was black and you couldn't see any eyes. I tried to get a photograph but it ran off before I could.

Matty!

Tea in a Wood

Three ladies enjoy a cup of tea from a flask. I wonder if they had sandwiches - cucumber with the crusts cut off - and slices of cake? The small boy behind looks rather bemused. I found this today in another box of old photographs, together with several very large photograph albums. Lovely!

Hot Day in Virginia!

I think if you are going to stage a full scale re-enactment of a Civil War battle in Virginia, then you need to avoid really hot weather. These guys certainly felt the heat. I know I did. I felt so bad after a few hours that I had to lie in the shade, feeling very poorly, and missed the main battle in the afternoon!