Index of /~hemi/Pics/Misc/uk_20081002-20081012

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[PARENTDIR] Parent Directory                             -   
[DIR] 20081010-london/        2012-08-08 13:01    -   
[DIR] 20081009-scotland/      2012-08-08 13:00    -   
[DIR] 20081008-scotland/      2012-08-08 12:59    -   
[DIR] 20081007-scotland/      2012-08-08 12:58    -   
[DIR] 20081006-cambridge/     2012-08-08 12:58    -   
[DIR] 20081005-london/        2012-08-08 12:57    -   
[DIR] 20081004-london/        2012-08-08 12:56    -   
[DIR] 20081003-cambridge/     2012-08-08 12:56    -   
[DIR] 20081002-flight/        2012-08-08 12:56    -

Hey folks,

So, some of you know that I went to the UK from 2008-10-02 through 2008-10-12. My friend Rachael had been living there for the past five months on a work visa and had said that if I was interested in coming over she'd be happy to show me around...So I did.

She found us an interesting thing to do in scotland: a three-day falconry "stay." She saw a falconry exhibit by a man named Chris Miller, who mentioned that he did three-day "stays" at a cottage near Duns, Scotland. It was 250 GBP per person, but it was well worth the money.

We primarily visited London and Cambridge on the days we weren't in Scotland.

This trip was a big photography experiment for me, too. I took along my shiny new Canon EOS 30D, my Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 and borrowed a Tamron 28-105mm f/4-5.6 from Amy. Most of the second and third days in Scotland were shot with the 28-105 while pretty much everything else was shot using the 17-50.

Without further ado, the pics! The following list are some of my favorites.

  1. 20081003-cambridge/river-cam-view-01.jpg: A view down the river Cam. Originally there was a bridge over the Cam...A town sprung up around the bridge...Cam-Bridge...Get it? :)
  2. 20081003-cambridge/swans-01.jpg: Some swans on Cam. Yes, I like taking pictures of wildlife and such.
  3. 20081005-london/routemaster-bus-01.jpg: One of the famous Routemaster buses in London. Rachael and I had just got off the bus and I managed to get a few pics of it before it drove off.
  4. 20081005-london/tower-of-london-chapel.jpg: Inside the chapel in the Tower of London.
  5. 20081006-cambridge/duck-reflection.jpg: Another duck on Cam. I dig the reflection.
  6. 20081007-scotland/peregrine-falcon-05.jpg: 6: I can has fifteenth-century hunt?! This is a young peregrine falcon.
  7. 20081008-scotland/chris-golden-eagle-01.jpg: Chris Miller, our falconry "host," looking for a suitable place to fly the golden eagle he's carrying.
  8. 20081008-scotland/loki-at-work-02.jpg: Loki, the main harris hawk we hunted with, on the job. We'd just dropped a ferret down a rabbit hole. The theory is the ferret chases a rabbit out, then the hawk/eagle/falcon/whatever bird you're hunting with nabs the rabbit.
  9. 20081008-scotland/loki-making-noise.jpg: Loki in his normal state: being noisy.
  10. 20081010-london/rachael-tower-wall.jpg: Rachael, my friend/tour guide/travel companion/roommate (in the UK), with her hand on the Tower Wall, the first wall erected by the Romans in the area. I don't know why I like this pic so much, but I do...I know she's kind of blurry and such, but it was a random pic that I just really like. I was taking pics of the Tower of London at night, she said she was going to touch the wall, I asked her to stay like that for a few seconds and took the pic.
  11. 20081006-cambridge/kings-college-chapel-interior-01.jpg: King's College chapel interior. The college was started by Henry VI in 1441. It was finally finished during Henry VIII's reign. Yeah, it took a while to build.
  12. 20081004-london/platform-9.3-4-02.jpg: For the Harry Potter fans.
  13. 20081005-london/tower-of-london-guard.jpg: Tower of London armed military guard.
  14. 20081005-london/yeoman-warders-and-josh.jpg: Two "Yeoman Warders" and me at the Tower. The Yeoman Warders are residents at the Tower of London, have to have a distinguished military career, etc. It's not easy to get that gig, apparently. I'm guessing most of these soldiers earned their stripes in the Falklands War.
  15. 20081008-scotland/chris-loki-at-work.jpg: How we spent most of our time while out with Chris in Scotland. We'd just deposited the ferret in a rabbit burrow and were waiting for a rabbit to pop out. Several rabbits did run out during the two das we were out falconing but luck was not on our side.
  16. 20081008-scotland/golden-eagle-eating-quail-01.jpg: The golden eagle chowing down on a quail. Note flying hunk of quail.
  17. 20081009-scotland/cottage-02.jpg: The cottage we stayed in close to Duns, Scotland. It was a really neat place...Surprisingly warm and non-drafty for something built so long ago.
  18. 20081009-scotland/golden-eagle-01.jpg: The golden eagle. Chris let it fly to me, which was cool. Think of a sixteen-lb. turkey flying at you at 60 MPH that *wants* to come to a stop on your forearm and you'll about have what it was like to have that thing land on your arm. Oh, and the talons apparently have 6,000 PSI of force...So hope he lands on the glove.
  19. 20081009-scotland/matt-golden-eagle-02.jpg: Matt, a guy that was with us at the cottage, and the golden eagle, to give you an idea of how big this bird actually is.
  20. 20081010-london/big-ben-01.jpg: This would have been an outstanding pic of Big Ben had I not cut the spire off. :(

That's about it. There's a lot more pics; hit up the first link if you want to see more.

Overall it was an amazing experience. Try to travel a bit if you don't...If you do, try to get to the UK sometime and get out of London.

Hope you enjoyed the pics.