Special effects

Photographed near Colne in North-West England with a Panasonic TZ10 compact camera. Processed with Nikon Capture NX2 and PicMonkey.

The Angel of the North is a contemporary sculpture designed by Antony Gormley, located in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. It is a steel sculpture of an angel, 20 metres (66 ft) tall, with wings measuring 54 metres (177 ft) across and it weighs 200 tons. The wings do not stand straight sideways, but are angled 3.5 degrees forward; Gormley did this to create "a sense of embrace". It stands on a hill on the southern edge of Low Fell, overlooking the A1 and A167 roads into Tyneside and the East Coast Mainline rail route. (Wikipedia). More information here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_of_the_North

Two Jackdaws, photographed using a Nikon D300s & Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8 lens in "continuous high-speed" mode (7fps). Background effect from PicMonkey. The idea for the title came from the expression on the top bird's face....a question which will be familiar to anyone who has ever travelled with young children :-)

The Golden Fleece is an inn in York, England, which has a free-house pub on the ground floor and four guest bedrooms above. It was mentioned in the York City Archives as far back as 1503 and is rumoured to be haunted (the inn claims to be the most haunted public house in the City of York). The back yard of the inn is named "Peckitt's Yard" after John Peckett, who owned the premises as well as being Lord Mayor of York around 1702. His wife Lady Alice Peckett is said to haunt the pub, which was featured on Living TV's "Most Haunted" show on 16 April 2005. “ Many guests have reported seeing the late Lady Peckett wandering the endless corridors and staircases in the wee, small hours and moving furniture. She is just one of the five resident spirits. ” The pub is situated on "The Pavement" in the centre of York, opposite the historic Tudor street called "The Shambles". It has a large golden fleece hanging above the door. Nearby attractions also include the Merchant Adventurers' Hall (the merchant adventurers were former owners of the inn), Cliffords Tower, and York Minster. In 1983 the inn was designated as a grade II listed building by English Heritage. (Wikipedia).

Isis was venerated first in Egypt. As per the Greek historian Herodotus writing in the fifth century BCE, Isis was the only goddess worshiped by all Egyptians alike and whose influence was so widespread by that point that she had become completely syncretic with the Greek goddess Demeter. It is after the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great and the Hellenization of the Egyptian culture initiated by Ptolemy I that she eventually became known as 'Queen of Heaven'. Lucius Apuleius confirmed this in his novel "The Golden Ass", in which his character prayed to the "Queen of Heaven". The passage says that the goddess herself responded to his prayer, in which she explicitly identified herself as both the Queen of Heaven and Isis. (Wikipedia).

A Table-top photograph of one of the range of hand-painted statuettes from the "Tudor Mint" Lands / Sorceress collection, featuring "Woodland Sorceress" from "Land of the Dragons". Camera: Nikon D300s Lens: Nikkor AF-S VR 70-200MM F2.8 IF ED II Flash: Nikon SB-400 (bounced)

Sunrise over the Leeds-Liverpool canal near Brierfield, Lancashire, UK. Taken on a very cold morning when the canal was "frozen solid" for miles, using a Canon Powershot G10 compact camera. www.ipernity.com/group/england

Rook (Corvus frugilegus) photographed in Brierfield, England, using a Nikon D90 with a 70-300mm Nikkor DX lens (105-450mm equivalent). Processed using Nikon Capture NX2 (sky effect from PicMonkey). Though resident in Great Britain, Ireland and much of north and central Europe, vagrant to Iceland and northern Scandinavia, it also occurs as an eastern race in Asia where it differs in being very slightly smaller and more efficient on average, having a somewhat more fully feathered face. In the north of its range the species has a tendency to move south during autumn though more southern populations are apt to range sporadically. The species has been introduced to New Zealand, with several hundred birds being released there from 1862 to 1874, though today their range is very localised. (Wikipedia).

This large building (only part of which is visible here) once provided employment for people all over Pendle district. It was owned by Smith & Nephew and by BSN Medical Supplies in the past. It has been derelict for a number of years but has now been purchased by the local council for "Re-Development", possibly for conversion into flats (USA = "appartments") which is what is being done with others in the area.