The Hummer Thread

[thijsdegraaf]

yes, i remember seeing that grey heron a few years ago in Zaanse Schans,

Yes at the Zaanse Schans (I have looked at your photos of the Zaanse Schans with cheeses, clogs, heron. Beautiful!! and Amsterdam, Volendam and Naarden  ). there is a lot of water and therefore also herons. They are very common birds with us. Some migrate to warm countries in the winter and some stay. If it is a harsh winter they have a hard time, but the last winters including this one is not a problem for them.

[cascoly]

yes, i remember seeing that grey heron a few years ago in Zaanse Schans,

Yes at the Zaanse Schans (I have looked at your photos of the Zaanse Schans with cheeses, clogs, heron. Beautiful!! and Amsterdam, Volendam and Naarden  ). there is a lot of water and therefore also herons. They are very common birds with us. Some migrate to warm countries in the winter and some stay. If it is a harsh winter they have a hard time, but the last winters including this one is not a problem for them.

thanks --
I'm a voracious consumer of history.  As we have just a few historical fortresses in the US (eg, Ticonderoga, McHenry, Sumter), I enjoy visiting European examples like Naarden.  i visited Syria in the 90s & a highlight was a stop at Krak des Chevaliers.  High on my list are visits to Carcassonne & Chateau Gaillard

[thijsdegraaf]

yes, i remember seeing that grey heron a few years ago in Zaanse Schans,

Yes at the Zaanse Schans (I have looked at your photos of the Zaanse Schans with cheeses, clogs, heron. Beautiful!! and Amsterdam, Volendam and Naarden  ). there is a lot of water and therefore also herons. They are very common birds with us. Some migrate to warm countries in the winter and some stay. If it is a harsh winter they have a hard time, but the last winters including this one is not a problem for them.

thanks --
I'm a voracious consumer of history.  As we have just a few historical fortresses in the US (eg, Ticonderoga, McHenry, Sumter), I enjoy visiting European examples like Naarden.  i visited Syria in the 90s & a highlight was a stop at Krak des Chevaliers.  High on my list are visits to Carcassonne & Chateau Gaillard

Carcassonne is beautiful, just a bit touristy, but so is the Zaanse Schans. I went to Naarden with our kids when it came up in their history class, but that was a long time ago (while it's not that far from home and we drive past it often). But you've seen a lot more when I look at your photos.

[Sheila_F]

No forts or castles here (unless you count Hearst Castle) but lots of Missions. One of my photo buddies is obcessed with the missions so we try to hit one or two when ever we do a nature road trip.

[thijsdegraaf]

I live on the coast in the village of Bergen. There are many bunkers and Concrete Dragons against tanks from the Second World War built by the Germans to defend the coast.
No tourists come to see it (and the photos don't sell either  ). Often in the meadows. I find the Concrete Dragons striking on a farmyard in the village of Egmond aan den Hoef between the drying laundry on the line. There is a sign with explanation, but nothing more. You see a lot of tourists, but they look at the bulb fields or go to the beach.  https://www.shutterstock.com/nl/g/Thijs+de+Graaf?searchterm=world+war+netherlands&sort=popular

[cascoly]

Those are the sort of sites I try to find -- Once took a bike ride through the Austerlitz battlefield near Brno - the neasrby villages had changed little since the battle.

My Turkish travel partner did his PhD on ANZAC tourism to Gallipoli, and we include that on our tours - hitting Gallipoli & nearby Troy.  Have also located sites of several sea battles of the Peloponnesian war and Alexander's battle at Granicus. a new bridge from Gallipoli to Canakkale across the Hellespont is near the site of Xerxes' bridge of boats

[Sheila_F]

I'm not much of a history buff. I'd never heard of anything like that. A bunker I'd know, but if I saw the dragon teeth, I'd be like "huh, wonder what those are for". We had planned to do more travel to Europe but then Covid took our plans and tossed them out the window.

[thijsdegraaf]

I'm not much of a history buff. I'd never heard of anything like that. A bunker I'd know, but if I saw the dragon teeth, I'd be like "huh, wonder what those are for". We had planned to do more travel to Europe but then Covid took our plans and tossed them out the window.

We last went abroad (Slovenia) in 2019. There I took some pictures for the first time with the idea of selling them. I planned to make many more with the next trips. But unfortunately it has mainly become photos of the garden and the surroundings. 

[Uncle Pete]

No forts or castles here (unless you count Hearst Castle) but lots of Missions. One of my photo buddies is obcessed with the missions so we try to hit one or two when ever we do a nature road trip.

Fort Point and Alcatraz? Last time I went to Alcatraz, I asked if I could stay and take the next boat back. They allowed that and I had a clear way to see many parts, without lots of other tourists in the views.

Treasure Island? I'll guess you've already been there?

[Sheila_F]

Treasure Island is not the same as it was. they're building a hotel and new housing on it. Putting in a new ferry terminal there as well if I have that correct (to cut down on traffic to/from the city once the housing and commercial properties are done). I take photos from there, but not usually there. The military section with the light house is hard to get to if you're not military (I shoot that from the water when i take the ferry into the city). Alcatraz, I've taken the kids a few times but i never submitted any of those photos for stock. you can get a nice view of the city from there, if you have fast enough shutter speed to accommodate for the high winds that are typical in the middle of the bay.

[Sheila_F]

And I have actually taken photos at forte point. Introduced one of my uncles to the site. Fun hallways to shoot with repeating patterns. And nice views of the Golden Gate bridge.

[Uncle Pete]

And I have actually taken photos at forte point. Introduced one of my uncles to the site. Fun hallways to shoot with repeating patterns. And nice views of the Golden Gate bridge.

I was there only once but I remembered how it was an interesting location and old. My Brother used to work some shows out on Treasure Island, and that would have been 70-80s. I think it has changed?

I still think I could just ride a bike around locally or take a car and actually stop, instead of saying "I'll come back some day". Without leaving the state I could keep busy for years.

[Sheila_F]

Pete, you likely wouldn't recognize Treasure Island now days. By the time they're done with the hotels there, it'll look even more radically different. They're building hotels facing the city on the isthmus of Treasure Island. And probably onto the area that used to be the military base. They put in what looks like condos on the Oakland side of the hilly part of the island where the Bay Bridge hits the island to go through the tunnel. There's also now a bike/pedestrian bridge open from Oakland to Treasure Island. It doesn't run from Treasure Island to the city though and doubtful they'll do that on the double decker. They are putting in a ferry landing in front of the hotel area to go to/from the financial district and Pier 41 from the island as well. Not sure when that's going to open.

[Uncle Pete]

Pete, you likely wouldn't recognize Treasure Island now days. By the time they're done with the hotels there, it'll look even more radically different. They're building hotels facing the city on the isthmus of Treasure Island. And probably onto the area that used to be the military base. They put in what looks like condos on the Oakland side of the hilly part of the island where the Bay Bridge hits the island to go through the tunnel. There's also now a bike/pedestrian bridge open from Oakland to Treasure Island. It doesn't run from Treasure Island to the city though and doubtful they'll do that on the double decker. They are putting in a ferry landing in front of the hotel area to go to/from the financial district and Pier 41 from the island as well. Not sure when that's going to open.

I think that answers it. Once an old place for entertainment shooting, the military, and storage. Now an island development. I had to look, I'm not in the news for CA. Navy moved out and sold the base to the city. That explains it.

[Sheila_F]

They sold the base land on Alameda to the city too. They're building that up with condo complexes as well, but I understand the military put a cap on how many housing units they could build and they had to pay the military a large amt for each one over the cap they decide to put in. They had to clean up the toxic waste that was dumped there by the military and some of it couldn't adequately be cleaned up so it's not zoned for housing (my understanding of it, but I could have misunderstood and be wrong). Traffic is already crazy here since there's only the four bridges and one tunnel on/off the island so it's going to get significantly worse on that end of the island with commuter traffic despite the fact that they've put in a new ferry terminal as well.

[Sheila_F]

Just spent half the morning back and forth emails to get credentials for an upcoming event in the city. I had sent them my initial email the first part of the month but hadn't heard back. So glad that's finally done. With Covid restrictions lifting in CA, I'm finally trying to get back into the groove of editorial event photography.

[S2D2]

Enjoy Sheila.

Your huge port is about to grow 

It is nice to start to get back into the groove of doing some 'normal' things again..

All Covid restrictions are now lifted here in England.

[Sheila_F]

Thanks. After shooting at the Chinese New Year's parade last weekend, I realized just how much I missed the chaos of it all. LOL. I usually only catch the Northern California events since the LA events are an 8 hour drive, but we do tend to have a lot going on up here so it still keeps me busy.