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We regularly have stories published in The Tetbury Advertiser, we reprint those stories below. Older news copies can be found on our archive page.
Tetbury Camera Club might not be the biggest in the country, or even in the South West, but it does have a reputation as one of the friendliest. Now we can make another rare boast…,our member Liz Cooper can claim to be a photographer who is one in 2000.
For the last year Liz has being quietly developing her skill as a horticultural photographer and her perseverance was recently rewarded when she heard that one of her pictures, of the snowdrops which illustrate this article, was selected for display at an exhibition called SheClicks, held at a London art gallery.
Snowdrops by Liz Cooper
Sponsored by Olympus, which is one of Japan's most respected manufacturers of cameras and photography equipment, it was held to showcase the breadth, depth and creativity of women working in photography today. There were more than 2000 pictures submitted for entry to it and images ranged from wildlife to portraits, architecture to landscapes.
The organiser, Angela Nicholson, said, "the quality of submissions for the show was so great it was very difficult to exclude any of them, so those producing the selected images can be genuinely proud of their work." Georgina Pavelin, marketing manager of Olympus said, "We had a panel of 10 judges to select the best pictures, which ensured that no single photographic style or class of subject was favoured and the pictures chosen as the best were selected from a combination of professional, semi-professional and amateur photographers, using a wide range of cameras from any manufacturer."
Liz's picture demonstrates that to produce high quality photographs doesn't require a large studio with expensive sets for a background. It was shot on her kitchen table and its most important constituents were her creativity, skilled use of lighting and the expertise she has developed in handling her camera.
Most weeks of the season we have inspiring speakers visiting us at The Priory, sharing images and techniques which we can all learn from. In the last month alone, we have had presentations from Kent photographer David Jenner, who has developed a unique way to create panoramic images that captured a day in the life of cities and seaside towns and villages. We hadn't seen his style of work before. Our speaker the following week was Shaun Boycott-Taylor, whose speciality is wildlife. The variety of these speakers shows that no one person has the exclusive franchise on the skill and expertise to create eye catching images today. Having seen the work that these visitors and others have shown has also helped lead to nine of our own club members being awarded with membership of the Royal Photographic Society for the skill they have each demonstrated with their own work.
If you've ever thought it would be interesting to come and find out more about one of the most worthwhile and rewarding hobbies you can have then do consider joining us at our regular weekly meetings at The Priory Inn. We gather there at 7.30pm each Tuesday and visitors are always welcome. We are happy to have enthusiasts of all standards and expertise join us at these weekly meetings can guarantee that you will see something that will confirm the saying: 'If you open your eyes you'll learn something new every day.
Those still at school might not look forward to the ending of the summer holidays, but for members of Tetbury Camera Club there is the opposite feeling…We can't wait for our regular Tuesday evening get-togethers to start again.
That doesn't mean we take a break from our cameras when the club isn't in session. In fact the opposite is true. Over the summer months we made informal visits to the beautiful gardens at Miserden and the historical naval docks in Portsmouth, went on an evening cruise round the waterways of Bristol harbour and closer to home headed down the road to the charm of Castle Combe and then enjoyed the colour and movement of several of the lakes in Cotswold Water Park.
One of the benefits of having photography as a hobby, is no matter what the weather forecast brings, there is always something to see and having a camera in your hands stimulates you to find an interest in your surroundings, no matter where you are and at what time of year. For some of our members the favourite subjects are landscapes, then there are those who prefer wildlife. At the other ends of the spectrum we have members who like shooting the action of water sports, others whose special interests are architecture, botany or portraits. Knowing this our programme is always planned to try and ensure that there are going to be evenings to suit everyone.
Proving that if you want to, no matter how old you are it is still possible to learn something new every day, we have a stimulating series of guest speakers and creative minds booked to entertain us over the coming months. Looking ahead to our autumn season there are photographers who have developed styles that we have never seen before, such as graphic designer David Jenner, who has perfected a way to produce panoramas which he takes over the space of several hours. We then have another guest speaker called Ruth Davey who uses time in a completely different way. She is going to encourage us to slow down, look at the world around us with a more enquiring mind and produce pictures which will be not just relaxing to look at, but also more pleasurable to take. No wonder we have been keen to be back together at our regular weekly meetings at Tetbury's Priory Inn.
Our tastes may be diverse, but the cameras we use give us all a common denominator. Even though they are different the pictures they produce give us a topic of conversation we can share when we break for the bar at half time. That's also a convenient time for us to discuss hints, tips and advice if there are new members keen to broaden their knowledge.
If you are wondering what inspired this month's picture, it was taken when we met up with members of the Tetbury Amateur Dramatic group, as well as other clubs and associations, at an event organized in the Dolphins Hall to let recent arrivals to the area know what goes on in the town.
If you weren't able to make that day, but would like to know more about the camera club that's easy. Just come along to The Priory for 7.30 on a Tuesday. We are always there, happy to talk pictures and to welcome new members.
It's amazing the things you discover when you least expect it. Setting out to check something for this month's edition of the Tetbury Advertiser I came across a quote by Louis Pasteur, the French Chemist, and microbiologist whose work led to the development of vaccines: 'Chance favours the prepared mind', a thought that virtually sums up the first of a number of hints and tips which are the focus of this article.
Easter is the time of year when many commercial photographers find their diary is approaching its busiest. The reason? Weddings. When those take place most people want to create memories of the occasion and that means pictures. Even if you have no intention of ever becoming a commercial photographer, it's best if you can take good shots, but how do you do that?
Over the months of each year we have some of the South West's most creative minds come and talk to Tetbury Camera club to share their expertise, techniques and knowledge. Sometimes this is technical, other weeks it is simply experience but always it is worthwhile knowing about, so here are a few tips we have had which will hopefully help everyone reading this improve their picture-taking this spring.
Getting back to Louis Pasteur, his thought underlined the view of one of our speakers, when asked what he thought is the best camera for landscape work. His answer was 'the best camera is always the one you know how to use.' A simple answer, but very true. These days cameras can be everything from an add-on in a mobile phone to a technological marvel of precision engineering which can cost £5,000 or more. It doesn't matter which you have, you won't get the best from it unless you know how to use it!
To help you get the best phone images it helps to remember the rule of thirds. This is the concept that the majority of people studying photography at a college or university are taught early in their courses. To help maximise the impact of a picture first divide the scene into 9 segments, then try to avoid having the main focus of attention in the centre. Place people or a face to the right or left third, the horizon in the lower third, etc. To help you do this most phone cameras incorporate a control which will enable you to place a grid on the screen. You will normally find it by tapping settings on your phone, then go to camera and switch on grid. This will superimpose a grid on the screen, which will also help you to take pictures which are level, not at an angle.
Want to avoid taking blurred shots? The tripods used by professionals tend to be bulky and heavy, but an effective alternative can be to use your elbows. Just rest them on a wall, table or other solid surface. Alternatively, hold them firmly against your side. That will avoid camera shake and the peril of blurred images for a great many pictures.
Seaview Couple by Paul Bullivant
As one of our recent speakers said, pictures are taken, photographs are made That means printing your best shots out onto paper. That way you are much more likely to share them with friends and enjoy them in the future. Try googling for printing them from your camera for instructions if you don't already have the software.
You don't have to wait for everything to be perfect to take great shots. This month's picture, which was taken by Paul Bullivant, who was a recent guest speaker, is arguably more intriguing and interesting showing the two people looking out to sea than it would have been if he had waited for them to turn round and be face-on to the camera.
Another helpful tip from Paul was to encourage people to look upwards when pressing the shutter. A by-product of this is that for portraits people appear to look younger and more interesting. If you are trying to capture a small group of people, ask them to touch each other, by resting a hand on an arm or shoulder. The end result is a group looking less stilted, more interesting and often happier having their picture taken.
Like to read more of these tips and techniques? Have a look at our web site, www.tetburycameraclub.org.uk or come along to our regular meetings on Tuesdays at 7.30 in The Priory Inn. We are happy to see new faces and will do our best to make you welcome. We would also be delighted to see you in person in the Tetbury Market House on May 27, (Woolsack Races Day), from 10am, when we will be staging a free exhibition of some of the recent work taken by members
SMALL IS SMART AS WELL AS BEAUTIFUL THESE DAYS
Back in the late 1950's and early 1960's there were two popular ways for an ordinary person to make a name for themselves. One was to buy a guitar and then learn three chords. The other was to invest in a camera and work out how to use it. Manage that and both could bring you fame, fun and with a bit of luck, maybe even a small fortune.
While learning to play a musical instrument is still a mystery to many of us, mastering the camera was a much easier task then than it is today…Unless you read the instruction book, or leave it set on 'A' for automatic, which has simplified everything!
Even the smallest of today's cameras, as well as smart phones, are crammed full of technology and computing power. It's there to make mastering picture-taking as simple, or as creative as you could wish. Today's camera makers are producing miniature miracles with computing power which will turn you into a master photographer without having to spend hours, months or years studying studio lighting, chemical processing and print production, which was often needed before you could even see what you'd taken. Cameras like the one pictured are a miracle of modern science and technology and to prove it some keen photographers are even making award-winning movie films using smart phones and pocket cameras.
In the 1950's most cameras had a fixed lens, so you just had to learn how to hold it still, focus it (if it had the sophistication of adjustment) and most likely would have just one button to push. Fancy being a bit more artistic? Then remembering how to work out setting the aperture and shutter speed to expose the right amount of light on the film inside would produce an image that would either please, or disappoint. One of the problems though was you wouldn't know which until you eventually filled the film with images and took it off to Boots, or other local developer or camera shop.
If you managed to capture pictures that weren't blurred and out of focus then quite likely you hoped to follow in the footsteps of a few East End Londoners made-good, such as David Bailey and Terence Donovan. While it was Elvis Presley and Bill Haley in the US and Tommy Steele and Cliff Richard who were making a mark shaking up the music business here, this pair, and a few of their chums on the photographic front were pushing open the doors of leading fashion and style magazines.
Both had developed a pictorial technique that was 'grittier' and more realistic than the norm and had enough creative confidence to become what nowadays would be called 'disrupters' – innovators who had a different and distinctive photographic style. They made enough of a mark to open doors that had previously been reserved for a different type of artist, generally ones who spoke with a more refined accent and dressed in a more traditional way. The equivalent of Savile Row compared to Carnaby Street style.
Sadly, Terence Donovan is no longer with us, but you'll find some of his much-admired fashion and portrait photography on the internet if you Google his name and David Bailey has even been known to leave his studio with a small pocket camera of the type seen in the illustration with this article.
This shot was taken by our club member Sandie Cox on a recent visit to Uganda and Ruanda and while Sandie was ready with a professional-standard Canon camera plus a 400mm telephoto lens, the perfect kit to capture wild animals at a distance, her friend Hazel Arnold was ready with a tiny pocket camera when a young gorilla suddenly appeared out of some bracken in front of them.
The picture of Hazel taking a picture shows just how good a shot anyone can capture these days if they have followed our previous advice; "If you want to be sure you never miss a good picture, always have a camera with you!"
Next month we'll try to give you a few tips on how to get the most out of today's smallest phones and cameras.
Here's a little something to ponder on…do the best photographers take a picture or make a picture?
It isn't a trick question, but it is one that isn't actually all that easy to answer. Even most keen photographers would probably have to think carefully before responding to it, unless they could see the picture being talked about.
Like the majority of black and white photographs, which actually aren't composed simply of two colours, but also consist of various shades of grey, there isn't just a simple solution to this conundrum.
Sometimes a stunning shot requires undeniable creative vision and then hours of patience before the light is perfect and the sun is in just the right position to complete a composition that a cameraman, or woman initially visualised. On other occasions there is not a lot, or even no time to dwell on being creative. What's needed is a sharp eye and instant reflexes to record a memorable shot that seconds earlier wasn't there and, in an instant, has gone again. Stop and think about the best angle and the picture will be gone forever.
Capturing those sorts of images requires a particular expertise. One that is there to be admired on most days of the week if you look at the sports pages of newspapers. Photographers covering cricket, or football seldom get a second chance if they miss a potentially great shot, or the opportunity to visualise what they are going to take before the potential picture appears before them.
We recently had a photographer called Aleks Gjika visit Tetbury Camera Club to judge the entries submitted for our first competition of the year. Aleks has recently published a book of pictures on The Cotswolds and if you look at his web site you will see a variety of shots he has taken which could definitely me described as ones he made. Without his input they would very likely have looked entirely different. He has an eye that can see things in a very individual way, then an expertise that can translate his vision into something equally distinctive.
Unusual scene at Uluru by Dave Jones
It was a picture taken by our member David Jones — which illustrates this column — that stimulated the thought and the focus of this month's article. While most club members spent last year's holidays fairly close to home, David set out to visit Australia. His tour included a visit to Uluru, which for most of us is probably best known as Ayres Rock. Most pictures of this landmark are taken from several miles away. That's because it is so large that being a long way back from it is the only way to capture a shot that shows what it looks like.
Getting there isn't easy – the nearest township is Alice Springs, which is 250 miles away – it is also an area where it is normally hot and rarely rains. Being a keen walker as well as photographer, David decided he'd make the most of his visit and get up close and personal with one of Australia's most iconic landmarks by walking round the 10-kilometre trail at its base.
On the day of his visit David didn't necessarily set out to capture this shot, which shows a waterfall created by a rainstorm which had broken as he arrived there. Not the ideal welcome for most people wanting to take photographs, but if you are going to make, not just take pictures, every cloud has a silver lining! David's shot shows that even when the odds are against you there is always a picture there, if you have the inclination to find it.
You are probably all familiar with the general appearance of Ayres Rock, so much so you could actually draw a rough outline of it from memory. Just as likely is the chance that you may never see an image of it like this again. It's a picture that was there to be taken but also one that David made by looking at Uluru in his own individual way!
HOW PLATO'S MUSINGS HELP TODAY'S PHOTOGRAPHY FANS
Reputedly it was the Greek philosopher Plato, born around 428bc, who first suggested that 'necessity is the mother of invention.' and at Tetbury camera club we regularly prove how apt his musing was with a small competition we hold throughout the year.
Called 'One a month' it lives up to its name by setting us the challenge of depicting a different subject from January to December. To help ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to demonstrate their skill, technique or creativity, all members can nominate suggested subjects for the 12 that will be chosen for the coming year.
The main requirement after that is that each member can only submit one image each month and it must be a new shot. Nothing from their archives is allowed. Also helping to ensure that we are all 'playing to the same tune' is the judging. All members taking part have one vote to select a winner for each month—and it can't be their own picture! Sometimes the subjects invite a still-life image, other months it could be landscape and there are also subjects such as portraits, animals, nature or architecture. The selection is devised so that over the year it won't favour any particular style or skill and will give everyone participating an equal opportunity to impress.
The challenge set for the final month of last year was to capture 'something seen in a mirror'. As this column is being written submissions range from reflections of a landscape spotted in a large steel sphere decorating a town street scene. At the other end of the photographic spectrum is the image illustrating this article. It is a picture taken in Top Banana, one of Tetbury's many antique shops. Spotted by our member Peter Martin, it shows reflections from not just one, but two mirrors. Perhaps not surprisingly, as Tetbury's many antique and décor shops show off a better than average selection of mirrors, other members had their eyes on some of the alternatives that can be seen on a walk down Long Street.
Seen in a Mirror by Peter Martin
In a sign of the economic pressures on high street retailing, some shots spotted early in the month were no longer available a couple of weeks later. By then two of the shops which looked as if they were good subjects were in the process of closing down! That's a factor that reinforces the advice mentioned in one of our recent articles – always take your camera when you are out and about. It's the only way to ensure you won't miss a perfect shot.
Getting back to Plato, apart from coming up with the various different subjects to find and record each month, we also have the challenge of having to research different techniques that will suit the shots we want to take. We all have one or two styles of photography that are particular favourites but the variety we face over the 12 months of this competition encourages us to move away from our comfort zone and try something new, or different.
Sometimes this is to do with lighting, other months it might mean we have to re-read our camera's instruction book to remind ourselves about how to use one of the seldom used features that now come as standard with most modern cameras. There are so many of these hidden in different menus that it is easy to forget how to access them, unless it happens to be something used on a regular basis.
This facet of what is a light-hearted idea makes the concept very appropriate for anyone who would just like to improve their own photography. If that's you do give it a try for your own entertainment or alternatively why not consider joining us for our regular meetings at 7.30pm each Tuesday at The Priory Hotel? We are happy to welcome new members and it is a great way to polish your photographic skill, whether your favourite type of camera sits on the back of a smartphone, or is something a professional would feel happy using and has been designed to shoot with a wide variety of lenses.
LIKE ROD SAID, EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY
There is little doubt that most of us will have heard the comment that 'every picture tells a story' but unlike many idioms or sayings, where it originated, what prompted it or who first conceived it now seems to be lost in time.
One thing for sure though is that Rod Stewart wasn't its initial author when he used it as the title of one of his earliest hits. Another is that these days it's a saying that is as relevant as it ever was, and it's one that sprang to mind a few weeks ago when Tetbury Camera Club had a fine evening of entertainment and inspiration when we enjoyed a visit by Worcestershire based photographer Darren Leeson.
Darren's forte is street photography, which for anyone who hasn't come across the term before refers to outdoor picture-taking which is often 'gritty' in style and content. One of the best known of its early exponents was the French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, who would 'snatch' pictures of people in the street that he felt were doing simple things that were unusual or interesting. If you haven't noticed examples of his work in the past the chances are that another exponent of 'street' images that you will be familiar with is Bristol-based Martin Parr. Martin was commissioned by BBC television to film the identity sequences which show groups of ordinary people doing everyday things. These include sea swimmers from Clevedon and a Zumba Class from Bristol.
Martin is probably best known these days as a skilled documentary photographer recording everyday life, but his style, particularly in his early days had a definite street feel. Darren's presentation to us showed he often manages to capture a similar individual, atmospheric style of image.
To use Darren's words, 'although my interest in photography is wide-ranging, I have a strong passion for the real and surreal stories and theatre of the street. During his evening with us he entertained with a wide-ranging selection of images, showing shots such as the mobile diner picture which is illustrating this month's article. It is obviously firmly closed for business, despite its open-all-day signage.
Open All Day taken by Darren Leeson
Pictures like these capture enigmatic and often humorous situations. Even though you might prefer landscape, wildlife or horticultural images they will probably make you stop and think about what's happening in the image. They capture a moment, which at the very least, will often make you chuckle.
Despite the apparent simplicity or naivety of street pictures they are not as simple to take as they might look at first sight. They are out there to be captured at any time of the day or night and in rural as well as urban situations and settings, but not everyone can see them. For most people it isn't easy to be bold enough to just snap a shot of someone you don't know, or even to walk up to someone you've never seen before and ask them if you can photograph them.
Among the hints and tips Darren offered to our members who asked for advice on the best way to capture street shots there were a couple that are easy for virtually anyone to follow, even using a picture-taking smartphone; always take it with you!
Darren almost never leaves home without one of his cameras. Another comment he made was that using a small unobtrusive camera makes you look more like an amateur and tourist, so people are less likely to be watching what you're doing. One of the cameras he uses is about 10 years old, rather bashed, looks well-used and sports a simple looking small lens acquired from an auction site. Leave the larger long-length lenses for other photographic projects.
Another was watch what's going on around you. If you don't look you won't see. There are always pictures to be taken, you just have to spot them.
If you are interested in seeing more of Darren's work Google his name or have a look at his website: street-fotografie.co.uk
FROM MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON TO SCENIC SHROPSHIRE
After a great summer making a variety of interesting and inspiring trips around the county, Tetbury Camera club has had a stunning start to its new season. It began with a visual tour of some of the least-known and more remote parts of the world, courtesy of a visit to the unique studios of Chalford-based photographer Steve Russell.
Normally we have speakers making visits to our club meetings at The Priory Inn, Tetbury, which is something Steve did for us a few years ago. That evening proved to be so interesting we had no hesitation in accepting his suggestion of a return get-together, this time involving a trip to see him on his home ground.
Steve might not be as widely known to the general public as some of the photographers who have made their names working in high-profile fields like show-business and fashion, but his creativity and the techniques he has mastered are world-class and he is known internationally as a leader in landscape and artistic photography. Many of the specialized techniques being used by Steve were developed by himself and are unique. They have helped to establish his as the go-to studio for many world-famous artists when looking for looking for pictures of their work which will be captured with 100% accuracy. These days much of his output ends up in books, galleries, museums and exhibition catalogues.
He regularly works with Damian Hurst, who has studios nearby and the Pangolin Foundry, which is another near neighbour and one of the country's foremost producers of bronze and brass sculpture castings.
To handle the scale and scope of the work he is often commissioned to undertake, Steve's studio has been built to incorporate a double height shooting space. It also has fork lift truck access which is used for large objects. Another specialized feature is a motorized turntable which can carry up to 4 tons. It's inset in the floor of the main studio and is used to help manoeuvre heavyweight subjects, such as large pieces of bronze works of art. It isn't just the things he photographs that are big in size though. The prints he produces are often large-scale as well and on the evening of our visit he was exhibiting outsized prints that were up to 8 feet wide and more.
That size was being used to show the detail from pictures taken on one of his long-term projects, which is recording the geology and horticulture of the Rwenizori Mountains which rise more than 5000 metres above the border between The Congo and Uganda. They are known as The Mountains of The Moon due to their scale, unique topology and remoteness. Going there with the right equipment had required long-distance trekking, with a team of porters to transport camping and climbing equipment as well as heavy photographic kit. The journey up the mountains also meant and energy-sapping and a debilitating battle against altitude sickness!
Steve is currently exhibiting a collection of some of his most dramatic shots at his studio They can be seen until November 17, and he is following that with a Christmas exhibition which will be open until the end of December.
From the Congo our next event took us to somewhere which is a lot more accessible; to stunning scenery in Shropshire, courtesy of award-winning wildlife and landscape photographer Andrew Fuseck Peters. Andrew has twice been shortlisted for the annual Wildlife Photographer of The Year Award and the portfolio of prints and digital images be brought to our meeting demonstrated why. It showed that in Britain we are privileged to be surrounded by some of the world's most beautiful landscape settings.
Andrew's ability to record images of them has recently won him a commission by Natural England and the National Trust and to illustrate a book called Upland. In its own way the work he has been doing in Shropshire, capturing the drama, colour and atmosphere of the county's beauty is as eye-catching as Steve's Congo work is dramatic.
As with Steve Russell, it is worthwhile taking an armchair visit to see some of his work by seeking out information about his projects on the internet.
It is always inspiring to see the photography of professional and semi-professional photographers who are ready to shares their tips and knowledge with us. Having said that, we already have some very fine photographers among our own membership. Many have developed their own expertise over the years and now produce images that deserve a wide audience. This month's picture is an example of that. It was taken by Tony Banks, who was also responsible for some fine pictures of Kingfishers taken during our last season. If you'd like to see more of his work, new members are always welcome at our regular our Tuesday evening meetings. These take place at The Priory Inn at 7.30 pm and anyone interested in our programme and what's planned for the future months will find more information on our web site: www.tetburycameraclub.org.uk
OLD THOUGHTS GIVING NEW INSPIRATION
Great thoughts don't need to be new to have modern relevance or give contemporary inspiration. One conceived about 150 years ago by an American philosopher, poet and writer called Henry David Thoreau proves this as effectively as any. It is also a good companion to this month's photograph from Tetbury Camera Club.
Thoreau, who lived from the early to mid 19th century penned the thought that 'It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see.'
If you think that's a saying that sounds familiar it probably is, for today it seems to be used in a wide variety of different situations. They range from the inspirational phrases used on motivational posters which are often found in office corridors, canteens, reception areas and rest rooms, to decorative pictures, cushions and mirrors which are sold in lots of design and décor shops.
I don't think any of the members of Tetbury Camera Club had philosophy on their mind when travelling around the county on our recent summer location shoots, but at the same time most of us do try to avoid being derivative with the work we do. We share ideas, enjoy tips on differing photography techniques and even recommend photogenic locations to each other. When we go out together, as well as the camaraderie of being part of a shared-interest group there is always the challenge of finding a way to be different. That often means looking at the places we are visiting differently and coming up with angles or concepts that the rest of us haven't seen or thought of.
We might have similar interests, but most of us really do enjoy returning with pictures which are an expression of our individual creative personality and have our own personal hallmark.
Finding something different to shoot is part of the fun and satisfaction to be found in modern photography. The cameras we use have never been more versatile and packed with so many tools to help us express our thoughts creatively and visually. They don't take pictures on their own though, even when set to work on remote control or using a delayed shutter release they still need an artistic mind to add its own touch to produce a captivating finished result.
Cirencester Church by John Jennings
The picture shown here is a good example of that. It was taken by our member John Jennings on a recent visit some of us made to Cirencester. That was an evening when virtually all of us found an interesting facet of the town we hadn't spotted before. Only one though chose to capture the angle, height and shape of the tower which crowns the church of St John the Baptist, which can claim to be one of the country's largest parish churches.
To most of us, St John's is a heavyweight example of Gothic religious architecture which is now the focal point of the town centre. Its position and scale mean that these days it isn't the easiest place to photograph or depict. Our John found a fresh way to demonstrate part of its scale by shooting for the sky and in doing so he has demonstrated just how apt Thoreau's words can be if you want to photograph a challenging subject in the 21st century.
I'm not sure what inspired Thoreau to come up with his words of wisdom back in the mid 1800's, but hopefully he would be pleased to find that they are still a very appropriate thought to bear in mind if you are ever out with your own camera and wondering how to produce an interesting souvenir of what you are seeing around you.
A SUMMER VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY
If New York can claim to be The City That Never Sleeps, after this summer Tetbury Camera Club can make an equally strong bid to be the club that seldom snoozes!
Though in June, July and August there is always a seasonal break in our regular weekly meetings which take place at The Priory Inn, we also aim to come up with other ways to fill our time over the holiday months. This year was no exception, with outings organised on a fortnightly basis for any members who fancied an evening's shooting and chatting with like-minded friends.
Though most of the places we visited were within easy reach there was no shortage of takers for our summer trips. The majority of our members might live locally, but we know from past experience there is lots to be explored within an hour's drive or less of Tetbury. One of the added benefits of our summer trips is they are almost always planned by members who know the areas we select well, and so the destinations are an eye-opening voyage of discovery for those not so familiar with the places selected.
New stops on our ad hoc schedule this year included Fairford, which for many from Tetbury tends to be a town we drive through without stopping when heading somewhere else. Our evening there proved that's a scenic mistake. Among other attractions it's home to St Mary's, an impressive church, built on the success of a local wool merchant, which boasts one of the country's most spectacular collections of medieval stained-glass windows. There is lots to see there apart from those, including riverside walks, ancient farm buildings and some fine architecture.
One of our other outings was to Woodchester Mansion, not far from Stroud. For anyone who doesn't know of it, Woodchester's claim to fame is a bit like Schubert's unfinished symphony — it's an impressive creation, but a work in progress! An imposing Victorian gothic country house designed by a young architect called Benjamin Bucknall, from Rodborough, it was being built for a local land-owning family during the 1850's and 1860's, until work suddenly ceased. Today the reason for the builders downing tools is presumed to be because the money needed to complete it ran out, but left behind is a masterpiece which gives a unique insight into how grand the finished mansion was intended to look.
An unfinished corridor at Woodchester Mansion
Could Woodchester Mansion be haunted?
Listed as being of grade1 importance, it looks as if it is frozen in time…another time, when life was lived differently and large houses were still being built with no expense spared. There are partly finished bathrooms, finely carved fireplaces, vaulted stone corridors and a chapel with a fine arched ceiling. Run now by a charitable trust, which opens it to the public on selected dates, we were given evening access with no one else around. This revealed how the building was being constructed and gave a real hint of how it would have looked if the craftsmen working on it had been allowed to finish their work.
Just as eye-opening, though in other ways, were trips we made to Cirencester. Nailsworth, Bath and the gardens of Westonbirt School. From a photographic point of view all had their own specific attractions and features to commend them, but the one thing common to them all was our discovery of just how many pictorial gems there are virtually on our own doorsteps.
By the time this column is in print we will be gearing up for the launch of our new autumn season, with the start of our regular Tuesday evening meetings at the Priory Inn on September 11. If you have ever thought you might like to join us to share some of your own expertise or benefit from that of our existing members and guest speakers it's a date to put in your diary. We are a small, friendly and sociable club that is always ready to welcome newcomers.
On that first night we will be showing the results of some of the trips mentioned above, so if you'd like see them, do come along.
YOU'RE NEVER TOO YOUNG, OR OLD, TO BE THE NEXT DAVID BAILEY
Are you the sort of person who's an early starter or a late-comer? The sort who begins the day firing on all cylinders or the kind who prefers to work up gradually to what's ahead and then peaks later on?
Most of us fall into one of these two categories and it's a question that came to mind recently while enjoying an early morning walk on one of the footpaths around Tetbury.
What prompted it was hearing the answer given by the school age daughter of a friend when she was asked what present she'd like for a forthcoming birthday. Her reaction was 'a proper camera'. Not such a common response I suspect in these days of smart phones, smart watches and whatever smart other things are the current flavour of the month with teenagers,
Only that morning, I'd also come across the opposite end of the spectrum; a recently retired lady taking some landscape pictures with what looked like great care and attention and a very new looking digital camera. When I asked if she's captured any good shots that day her response was just as surprising:
"I'm starting to achieve a lifetime's ambition! I've always been interested in taking pictures but never had the time to devote to it. Now that I've just retired I've invested in a good camera, I'm on a course learning how to use it properly and it's becoming a new chapter in my life."
When you think about it, hers isn't such an unusual story. Though our camera club season recently finished for the summer and we won't begin our regular Tuesday evening meetings again until September 11, almost every autumn there will be several new members, who will come along having decided they have always had an interest in photography, but only recently had time to pursue it.
Some join after visiting our annual Woolsack Day exhibition of Members' work which we stage upstairs in the market hall. Others are prompted by articles they have seen in the Tetbury Advertiser, and recently, we have also had people come along to our meetings after finding out about us on the internet. A couple of common denominators become apparent after a few visits though; those who continue to attend become increasingly enthusiastic and enjoy the social atmosphere of the club as much as the opportunity to learn new skills.
In addition to that, quite a few are inspired to do more than try to simply take better pictures. In the last few years we have had several members who have become so enthusiastic that they have set out to achieve recognition of the skill they have developed by The Royal Photographic Society. This is no easy challenge to take on, but each year we have a couple more members who gain the satisfaction of having the creativity of their work recognised by the country's leading photography society.
Not everyone wants to go through the formal process of joining the RPS though and this summer we have two members who are taking a different route to demonstrate their photographic expertise. They have decided to stage their own exhibition of wildlife and landscape photography in Malmesbury Town Hall. They will be exhibiting there, from July 14 until August 10th.. Entry is free and their pictures will on display from 9.00 to 4.30 on weekdays and 10.30 to 4pm at weekends.
The picture of a red squirrel which was taken in the Cairngorms by our member Sandie Cox is one of the photographs which will be on display. The rest are just as impressive.
Though we don't have our regular formal meetings during the summer we will be resuming our regular get-togethers at 7.30pm in The Priory Hotel from September 11th, so if you'd like to find out how to hone your own pictorial skills make a note in your diary. If you're free that night come along and join us. New members are always welcome and whether you're an early starter, or a later adopter of an inspiring hobby, you'll be in good company.
Shine the best light on your pictures
Is it a drawing, is it a painting, or is the picture with this month's Tetbury Camera Club article a photograph? Actually, it's the latter, or maybe a combination of all three.
Inspired by our recent article which mentioned painting by numbers, our chairman John Jennings decided to try and work some of his own photo editing magic on a picture taken on a recent holiday. This was the result, the creation of an image showing what a combination of all three visual arts looks like.
Harbourside – Marseillan by John Jennings
There are various different attitudes to photo manipulation; should you use the technology that's now available to digitally enhance pictures which would have been incredibly difficult to take and develop in the past? Alternatively, just create them in the camera viewfinder, as was most usually the case historically? There are no right or wrong answers to these questions. As with all art, the attitude to photographs is completely subjective and it has been that way for a very long time.
One of the country's best-known portrait photographers, Jane Bown, who worked for the Observer newspaper for more than 50 years, hardly ever used flash and preferred to shoot in natural light. If you Google her name you will find some of the most illuminating and revealing pictures of household names from the 20th century. With her creative eye and a combination of light and shade from a convenient window, she captured her sitters' personalities with a skill most of us can only dream of.
If you'd like to be impressed, do look at her work and form your own opinion. It's at the completely opposite end of the creative spectrum to another great female photographer called Annie Liebowitz. An American, Annie has worked for publications as varied as Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair magazines. Her skill is also worth checking on the internet. While Jane Bown travelled light, with just a small hand-held camera and some rolls of film, Annie Liewbovitz is now well known for highly crafted images which are often created in large studios, with the help of a small regiment of assistants, set builders and a battery of lights.
Jane Bown depicted people and their personalities with speed, simplicity and an accuracy that is just as powerful as Annie Liebowitz's. They are also much more achievable by you and me and her technique and success proves that in photography, as in painting, there is more than one style that's right.
Having said that, there are tips and tricks that can be useful in helping us all achieve better images if we want to. After painting by numbers, here are a few other tips which could be termed photographing by numbers.
One of the most commonly quoted is 'the rule of thirds' which is simply one to help you stop, think and consider the image you will capture before you shoot. To use it you simply mentally dissect the shot you are taking into a grid of 9 boxes; 3 across and 3 vertically, then align the features in the picture to help balance, or enhance interest in them. For example, set the horizon along a bottom, or top line, rather than in the centre. If it's a person who is the main feature of the picture, try placing them to the right, or the left, rather than centrally again.
Do this and you will most likely find that your shot is better balanced, intriguing and artistic.
Another useful tip, for this time of year in particular, is to make use of the golden hour. This is a term used to for the hour before sunset and the hour after sunrise, when you will often find atmospheric and diffused lighting. This can soften a picture and help make it look a lot more romantic or dramatic. It's a time when you will likely see those keen on landscapes shooting their favourite scenes.
We have had some fine landscape photographers presenting their images to us this year and many of them had been up early in the morning to catch some dramatic images of the sun breaking through early morning mist.


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Jack Shorrock (born 28 April 2007) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for  club Port Vale.

Career
Shorrock was at the academies at Manchester City and Blackburn Rovers, and represented the Stockport Schools Football Association (SFA) for two years, before signed with Port Vale after impressing on trial. He became the youngest player in the club's history at the of 15 years and 145 days when he came on as a 75th-minute substitute for David Worrall in a 4–0 victory at Shrewsbury Town in the group stages of the EFL Trophy on 20 September 2022.

Career statistics

References

2007 births
Living people
Footballers from Stockport
English footballers
Association football midfielders
Manchester City F.C. players
Blackburn Rovers F.C. players
Port Vale F.C. players

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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MV Agusta Rivale Articles
2014 MV Agusta Rivale 800 — First Photos and Specs
First photos and specs of the 2014 MV Agusta Rivale 800, a taller, more wild-looking version of the Brutale. No word on American pricing yet.
By HFL Staff 22 October 2013
Up close with the MV Agusta Rivale
Turns out the MV Agusta Rivale doesn't look as good in the flesh as it did in that concept sketch. Didn't help that the first press shots were so dark. Is it better in person? We're not sure. There's still a curious imbalance front-to-rear and, from rear-on, the tail is peculiarly wide. Then there's the front, which looks like an amalgamation of current Husqvarna design cues. The end result is far...
By HFL Staff 14 November 2012
MV Agusta Rivale: first official sketch
MV Agusta has distributed this sketch of its next model. Part Brutale 675 and part Ducati Hypermotard, the MV Agusta Rivale will use a stroked version of the company's new three-cylinder motor, housing it in a large, supermoto-style setup. It'll be released at EICMA in two weeks' time. Looking at the sketch, it's easy to see what's being borrowed from the F3 and Brutale 675. That motor, to start...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Quite some time ago now, gcrl sent a stack of Indians cards to the Tribecards household. I am just now posting those (and, Bo, a post about your box of Indians is coming soon) as a part of my "catch the freak up, man" marathon.
The stack starts with Corey Kluber, then travels through a interesting set of twists and turns in terms of collecting.
Yan Gomes looks up and to the left, evidently watching for the ball that he hit straight up into the air.
Trevor Bauer winds up, here's the thr... He does know he is supposed to let go, right?
Next up is Doug Jones in all his 80's hair and 'stache greatness. I'm just glad there's no fire.
John Farrell is looking rather Happy in his Rated Rookie pose.
Yan Gomes again looking up to his left. I see a pattern here.
Carlos Carrasco appears to be indoors or in the bullpen or... I'm not sure.
Michael Brantley is NOT messing around here, people.
Here is what Brantley looks like after the previous card!
Doc Edwards. I'm afraid the good doctor couldn't save the Indians of the 80's.
Joe Wendle looks like he is ready to take off.
Albert Belle, on the other hand, looks like he is about to take off... someone's head.
Dorssys Paulino finds himself on a VERY shiny, rainbowy card.
Juan Lara also finds himself on a shiny, rainbowy card. He doesn't look too happy about it though.
Brantley returns a bit smaller after a big swing.
Gomes dons his catcher's garb for this one. The women of Dinged Corners would be proud.
Kluber comes back for Opening Day.
And then Kluber refuses to leave the mound, ending the pack he started.
THANK YOU very much, gcrl for these great Indians cards!! I don't know if you enjoyed looking through these as much as I did writing about them ,but I had fun - and that's what matters in this goofy hobby we all love.
Hello, everyone! Thanks for dropping by to see what we've got today in the world of the PAD Circus.
First up: Normally, we run pack opening through the end of the regular baseball season. This season, we have SO MANY packs, many donated by you players and readers, that I see the PAD Circus running through playoffs - heck maybe even to the World Series. Basically, I'm not going to quit busting packs until they are all busted. But, if it turns out we have a supply that lasts to the World Series, I will probably bust open everything in a "last draft effort" before the series.
Next up: I hope to have PAD 2014 ready to ship by the end of this coming weekend! I'll be on a sorting and packing binge during the week. Those of you that have taken part in last year's and this year's should also get some of this year's cards as well. I'm going all out, balls to the fence, this week to get this done. You've patiently waited far too long.
Finally: The OOTP game has been on hold for much longer than I wanted. The simple fact is that with the game's quirks (or operator error or whatever), things just got to be too much for me to clean up easily. So, after the actual MLB season, I am going to start a NEW game with the managers from 2015 that will run during the off season. You will have the players you drafted during the breaks and we will see who can take it all!
Congrats to the Kazis for getting two players here today! Congratulations to the others of us who also add a card to our stacks. I have the black-and-white Carew puzzle from 1991 Studio in a frame on my wall. The version in this pack is the color version. Nice grab!
Wahoo!! A Perfect Pack, folks!! That is AWESOME stuff right there. Congratulations, everyone that pulled players from this pack. I'm excited to have pulled a Choo, though he is Texas garb. That actually works out because Play at the Plate and I are doing a little team swap: I am keeping his Indians and he will get my Rangers. It all works out! Wahoo!!
#PackADailyCircus - Packs 190-191 - Packs from Jobu!
Hello, everyone! In my various postings yesterday, I managed to NOT post a pack! UGH. So, tonight, I am posting TWO packs. But, before we get there, I received a box in the mail today from Jacksonville Jobu. In it are all kinds of wax pack goodness!! THANK YOU Jacksonville Jobu!!
We've got quite a mix here. So, tonight I am opening two of these. We're starting with the one that has all the Japanese writing on it! It says "Q-Card Official Pro Baseball Card." So, is there just one card in here? I dunno. The pack is also smaller than standard US packs, as you can tell from the scan above.
Well, these are unique little cards. They are like credit card wannabes. Very interesting.
Okay, well, these are a little different as well. Here, we have a mix of sports. This was like opening some time warp version of Allen and Ginter.
I'm scanning all the cards from tonight because I can't seem to find words. These are insanely wonderful bits of cardboard, well, and plastic.
I did not realize that I had not actually written a review for OOTP 16 yet. One would think that would be something done very early on. Alas, I obviously tripped on my way out of the dugout there.
This review is approached from two different directions. One is from the PAD Circus perspective and the other is an overall perspective based on my experience using a fully fictional league that will be used as the basis for a novel or novella.
Overall: I really, really have grown to like the clean look of the interface. Some of the menus (or items on the menus) got moved a round a little, so that took some adjusting, but the interface itself is super clean and easy to read. The "Manager's Office" makes for a one-stop update shop: anything you need to know about what's going on in your league and/or with your team, it's there for you in plain view. I think it is pretty cool that the game is now MLB licensed, though I don't use that feature (I am strictly a fictional-league person). I've watched a couple games with the new 3d field mode and wow, that is freaking cool! The folks at OOTP have really outdone themselves there. I would guess many people would buy the game for that feature alone!
PAD Circus: I use OOTP to create a 40-team fictional league that uses the real players plus players I add along the way. The process is a bit convoluted because I have such a weird set of rules and circumstances, so I certainly can't blame the game for that. I do have an issue, though, where the game seemed to have taken over (I set everything for human manager - well, that *I* manage everything) from time to time. For example, I set the players on the teams and then suddenly, players are moved to other teams even though I set the NO TRADES flag and I am the human manager. I might have posted something about it on the forums, I may not have. Really, I am not convinced that I am doing everything correctly. It's one of those things - I question whether it is the game or my own head space. It is far too late in the real season and in the game's season to worry about it now. What it did mean, though, was that I have to manually add all the players back to my 40 teams. It has not been fun, and I have not really put a lot of time into it, which is not fair to the folks that are playing along "vicariously." My one wish, and I may post this as a request, is that game-generated fictional players should have some kind of FIC designation or something so that I know which players on any given team were imported from real rosters or were the result of filling a team with fictional players.
NOVEL: I created a Midwestern league with 10 completely fictional teams and players. The game worked great as I watched the league and players start out from a first year entity to its current 26th season. In that league, everything was run by computer. I kept my hands off, except to change the city of one team, and let the game do its thing. I watched some of the simulated games, but mostly just blew through seasons a month at a time. At the end of each month, I'd check for injuries, news, records, etc. It was great watching rivalries spring up (even if those were made up in my head) and watch players as they matured in their play and eventually retired. My only real complaint is that players never die. I don't mean during the season, but after they are long retired. I really do wish OOTP would make that a select-able option - people could choose whether they wanted it or not. I would want it. I do love that you change certain settings during the course of things. For example, the HOF system I had set was a bit too stringent, but I didn't realize it until one of my favorite players missed his chance at the HOF. I fixed that and it affected future HOF nominations, etc. Sure, I could have done manual HOF, but I would rather the game handle everything in this scenario.
Aside from the few quirks, OOTP is one of the best simulations I've used. It is why I keep using it each year during my Pack-A-Daily Circus pack breaks.
Now, I just need to get off my duff and get my PAD Circus league back in order before the real MLB season ends!
#PackADailyCircus - Pack 189 - Draft Results 8/23!
Hey everyone! I was a little late running the draft this weekend because I wanted to get the Allen and Ginter cards taken care of beforehand - I know, they aren't related, but in my brain it made sense.
In any case, we have the randomized list and the results. The Managers/Players list has been updated as well!
Congrats, managers!! Next step is to sort through free agents and get the next draft going - the next is a double-draft, so we will hold TWO drafts at the same time for this coming weekend.
Haha, it was so weird not typing "GAC" after each card! But, WOW!! Congrats to CaptKirk42s! Not only did they grab back-to-back players, but then added another for good measure. Congrats to everyone else in here as well. We pulled a ton of free agents, so it looks like anyone getting cards came off lucky.
Pedersejs emailed me to say that we should RIP open the Cespedes card to see what's inside. To catch folks up, I am sitting at +149.6 points in the Gint-A-Cuffs contest. We know that I will get at least +10 just for ripping open the card.
Congrats to PatP!! Thanks to Pedersejs for letting us rip your card apart to the benefit of others!
When I first started, the top score was 159.6, but since then a new leader has emerged with 185.2 at the time of this writing. But, my score ain't bad at all! It puts me in second place thus far.
Well, here we are. This is the final post from the first Hobby Box of 2015 Allen and Ginter. We've got six packs left. We start the night off with a GAC score of 125.6 so let's see if we can rally some points. According to the current GAC Leaderboard, we have to beat 159.6... That will be tough. Of course, I could always pull the Rip card for extra points. We'll see.
Wow, we managed to get +5 additional points! I even managed to get a player along side several other managers. Williams, an ex-Yankees player defies the scoring rubric, which turns out to be a very good thing for my GAC score!
There it is! So, the framed buyback was NOT a box hit! We pulled our third hit from the box and it goes to Jennings64. Nice pull! Congrats to everyone else that got a player here, too. We would have had a Perfect Pack if it weren't for the Sling. So close!
UGH, they sneaked another Yankees player in there on us. That pack netted us a single GAC point. Now that we have found all three box hits, I can't help but wonder if the points are going to come to a trickle.
On the upside, congrats to each of you that can add these to your respective stacks!
Whew! We managed 2 points, but I was afraid we were get a goose-egg. The gcrls pulled TWO players out of this one. Congrats to them! We have just two packs left. I am 18 points away from the current leader in GAC. Ripping the card gives me at least +10, which right now is not enough to justify tearing it open. At least, not to me.
Well, tartar sauce! Ripping the card would gives us a slight edge over the current leader. We do have a question in the air regarding the red mini pack, so I am waiting to hear from Mark about that. I believe we will wait until I know more about scoring the red minis and then decide from there.
Okay, the mini 2011 framed reissue buyback was a little hard for me to figure out, but I got there. I don't know if that counts as a box hit or not. I would think so, since it is framed, but then again, that is not the card type listed as the "One of 3 types..." So.. I dunno.
On the other hand, I pulled my GAC favorite player on my favorite team! Wahoo!! Congrats to each of us getting a card from this one!
Well, since I'm not sure if the buyback is a hit or not, we'll soldier on some more.
Wow, what a great Helton card! Nice pull for the Quarrys there. The Superchickens managed to pull TWO cards for themselves! Wahoo!! That ended up being a very good GAC pack over all.
Man, those First Ladies card sure are cool. I know, I said that before. Well, they are. My wife teaches History as part of her 2nd Grade curriculum so I showed it to her. She agreed they are pretty neat. Also pretty neat? How about a handful of folks getting some more cards for their respective stacks? Congrats, everyone!
Congrats, managers! I'm not sure if I remember seeing Alecs All-Stars come up yet in this A&G box break, so that's always a plus to see folks grab a card that we don't see a lot of. I'm not sure if Thoughts and Sox has had one yet either. Well, in any case, I'm glad we could add some cards to everyone's stack that pulled a card here.
On the GAC side, we're still adding points to our total! I'll keep going (I probably just jinxed us).
Tack on another +4 to the GAC score and add a few more cards to some very familiar names in this break. You three are seriously raking it in here with this box in terms of adding cards to your collections. Great drafting!
Congratulations to the Maddings and RJBreeze for keeping this pack from being a bust in terms of PAD Circus!
UGH, as soon as I saw Fisher, I knew he was a penalty. Luckily, I pulled yet another Menagerie of the Mind card (I may have the whole set before we're through, yeesh) and that Byrd Black Border Mini sure helped, but then we get smacked with a Yankees card. Three steps forward, two steps back. I have a LONG way to go to get Top Three on the GAC leaderboard.
Okay, let's stop here. That's a whopping SEVEN packs in one post. haha, I didn't even realize it until just now! I was just rolling along... Next post, we'll wrap up the box!
Wow, that First Ladies card is looks great with all the red, white and blue! Congrats to those of you able to grab cards from this one. We pulled quite a few free agents.
Holy, freaking cow! Erin scored big time here - and so did I! Not only did I pull a relic (+6), but Molina is on the Favorite Player list (+2) so I get the 1.7x multiplier bonus! Wahoo!! On top of that, we pulled a Posey A&G backed mini and Ancient Armory. What a great pack for my GAC score! That also means we have pulled 2 of the 3 per-box hits.
Wahoo!! A Perfect Pack!! Congrats to CaptKirk42s for grabbing two players and to everyone else that snagged cards to make this perfect! Headley knocked us back a point in the GAC score, but Moustakas helped push us ever-so-slightly forward.
Good afternoon, or evening, or morning, depending on where you are and when you are as you read this. I am going to open packs of 2015 A&G until we hit some kind of mojo, so let's get ripping!
Congratulations managers! On top of the cards pulled that are already claimed, we snagged two cards for GAC that added four points to our total. We're going to need a lot more, though.
Nice job! Several of you added cards to your stacks while we added some free agents to the mix. That makes for an almost even blend... Like I'm talking about coffee or something.
Well, shoot! We pulled another Yankee... But, we pulled an insert, a mini A&G back, plus a freakin RIP CARD!! I seriously did not expect to get a rip card, so... I have to figure out what I'm going to do with that. For the integrity of cards going to managers, I'd rather keep the card in tact. In terms of boosting my GAC score... I'd have to rip it. The dilemma has come upon us, or me, or something.


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Tag: Sarah Caldwell-Steele
Final Winter Ghosts Announcement!
October 21, 2019 October 21, 2019 darrencharles1Leave a comment
So as the Autumn takes full hold it is time for us to announce the final acts for this year's Folk Horror Revival – Winter Ghosts event that takes place December 14th at the Metropole in Whitby.
Our final musical act are the rather wonderful Scottish prog rockers Big Hogg.
Big Hogg are a 6 piece Canterbury influenced progressive group mixing threads of acid folk , Dr John , Kevin Ayers and 60s and 70s west coast psych.They released their eponymous debut album on Neon Tetra in 2015 and built up a glowing live reputation following shows at the Barrowlands , Rockaway Beach ,Wickerman and Eden festivals. In 2017 they signed with London label BEM who released their critically acclaimed "Gargoyles" album in May of that year. Record Collector magazine described it as " An epic fantasia through Glasgow's grimy underbelly with tumbling brass and suspended jazz chords" , while prog magazine describes them as " masters of weaving an aural tapestry of influences together to create some suitably brilliant and uplifting music in the true spirit of the Canterbury pioneers" The band are currently recording their third album.
Joining the lineup is our very own Darren Charles who will be bringing his Unearthing Forgotten Horrors radio show to the event. Featuring an eclectic mix of music, Darren's aim will be to get everyone up and dancing to the very best in prog, folk, metal, goth, alternative, electronica and psychedelic music.
Finally we will be screening three rather fabulous short films.
American Witch
Welcome to a voyage from novice to initiate. The chthonic path is the common thread that weaves together the various underground religions in America from Wicca to Voodoo and Stregheria to Santeria, and everything in between. Along our pilgrimage, we will unfold the historical background in places where witchcraft came into its own distinctive form such as Salem, New Orleans, New York City, and Los Angeles. American Witch will also explore the stories of practitioners and how it's changed their lives.
Scarlett Amaris has co-written scripts for the seminal horror anthology THE THEATRE
BIZARRE (2011), the award-winning, supernatural documentary THE OTHERWORLD
(L'AUTRE MONDE) (2013), featuring years of her research into the mysteries of the South of France, in which she appears as a resident expert, and the horror film REPLACE (2017). She's co-written the dark fantasy trilogy SAURIMONDE I, II & III, and her first contemporary fiction novel DESIRED PYROTECHNICS will debut in 2019. A well-regarded authority on alternative history, her research has been featured in numerous books and anthologies. She also teaches comparative mythology and witchcraft at The Crooked Path Occult Apothecary in Los Angeles, and is a founding member of the Tridents of Hekate coven. Scarlett's screenplay for H.P. Lovecraft's The Colour Out of Space is currently receiving a great deal of praise across the festival circuit ahead of its release.
Melissa St. Hilaire wrote film and music reviews for The Heights Inc. Her poetry has appeared in the periodicals Shards, The Outer Fringe, and The Laughing Medusa. She co-authored several scripts for Tone-East Productions. She has written articles for Feminine Power Circle, Savvy Authors, SF Signal, and The Qwillery, among others. She has also appeared in the anthology books Folk Horror Revival: Field Studies and Folk Horror Revival: Corpse Roads. Her debut book was a memoir titled In The Now. She co-wrote the dark fantasy series, Saurimonde, with Scarlett Amaris, and is currently finishing a sci-fi novel called X'odus. She is also a founding member of the Tridents of Hekate coven.
Gary Parsons is an MA film graduate from Goldsmiths College London who specialises in short films. Utilizing both, elements of the surrealist genre and images of the occult, these films are both beautiful and at times disturbing. They also tap into the verisimilitude of the erotic and the unconventional.
Gary has been influenced by film-makers such as Jan Svankmajer, Kenneth Anger, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Luis Bunuel, Hans Richter, Man Ray and Jean Rollin. All these elements meet within a melting pot to find visual references within the work.
Gary's films can be viewed in many different ways, as straight forward narrative pieces but also as ritual film as demonstrated by similar film-makers such as Maya Derren or even as music promo video. The films stand as an ongoing obsession of their maker as an overall understanding of the human psyche within certain specific landscapes.
Conjuration is Gary's most recent film and is based around an Alexandrian ritual. It deals with modern day magick, but also correlates it with magick's heritage through Gary's impeccable choice of shooting locations. Several powerful ancient sites, notably Avebury, Glastonbury, Pompeii and Oslo were chosen for this purpose.
Louhi, The Northern Witch
Directed by Lauri Löytökoski, Louhi, The Northern Witch is a silent film with an ambient-folk score, based on The Kalevala, the Finnish national epic, the story draws from its shamanistic aspects.
The lead character is Runoi; a nascent witch who confronts his mother's night terrors and is quickly transported into the realm of Louhi, the witch-queen of the undead. He journeys to axis mundi, the mythical pillar connecting heaven, earth and the underworld.
Main characters of The Kalevala are introduced as vessels for him to pass through. In the lines of Carl G. Jung's anima/animus theory, they represent subconscious element of one's sexuality, the opposite of the dominant side.
So, that pretty much completes this year's action packed lineup. Tickets are currently available from the eventbrite page below. We hope to see you all there for what promises to be another spectacular weekend of music, film, talks and art.
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/folk-horror-revival-presents-winter-ghosts-tickets-55468722442
Don't forget as well as the main Saturday event there will be the Thresholds Art Show in conjunction with Decadent Drawing, the unofficial Friday ice-breaker featuring Storm Chorus at the Rifle Club, and the Ghost story readings at the Hetty and Betty Cafe in Baxtergate on Sunday 15th.
Posted in Blog, Events, UncategorizedTagged Al Ridenour, andy paciorek, art, AudioResource, Barbara Ravelhofer, Bigg Hogg, Black Meadow, Blog, bob fischer, Burd Ellen, chris firth, chris lambert, Darren Charles, decadent drawing, Ebor Jet Works, Elaine Edmunds, Folk Horror, Folk Horror Revival, gary parsons, George Cromack, Hetty and Betty Cafe, HighlightResource, Julia Jeffrey, krampus, laurence mitchell, Mari Lwyd, mark goodall, movies, music, Peter kennedy, Sarah Caldwell-Steele, Scarlett Amaris, Soulless Party, Storm Chorus, unearthing forgotten horrors, VisualResource, Whitby Krampus Run, Whitby Rifle Club, winter ghosts


Whole 30: 7 Days Down – Loving life on the run.
When I declared my New Year's Resolutions at the end of December, I told you that I'd be embarking on the Whole 30. I chose to wait until after the Chevron Houston Marathon to start my clean eating journey, so here I am on day seven. So far, so good. I haven't had any major cravings, I've cooked more in the last week than probably ever before, and I'm feeling good physically. I have been a little lower energy on some of my runs, but I have some planned adjustments for next week and will see how that goes. Overall, here are a few things I've learned.
Cooking doesn't have to take time.
I tend to go out to eat way more than I should, which I why I started this challenge. I've always made the excuse that it's because I don't have enough time. False, I cooked breakfasts in 7 minutes, reheated leftovers for lunch in 2 minutes and made dinner in less than 10. I now know that the time excuse isn't a thing.
I enjoy my routines and rituals, and have been able to adapt them to be Whole 30 friendly. Instead of stopping for a soy latte after teaching yoga, I bought a french press and have been making fancy coffee (black) at home instead! Instead of an evening glass of wine with my hubby, I've been making "cocktails" of kombucha and La Croix.
Telling people makes it easier.
I found that by creating conversations around doing the Whole 30 helped make me stay accountable. When I went to a baby shower this weekend, I was open about doing the challenge and somehow that made opting for fruit over cake so much easier!
This one takes me back to my days of being on a super strict budget in Hawaii. I'd always pack Luna Bars in my purse when heading out to the bars with my girlfriends. Having an accessible snack was perfect for beating the late night muchies that I simply couldn't afford. Last week, I stocked up on nuts, apples, Lara Bars, RX Bars, and Epic Bars so I'd always have a quick snack when on the go. So far so good!
Find Whole 30 Friendly Establishments.
I love food, and I love eating out (I live in Houston, can you blame me?). While I have definitely cooked much more than usual, I've also discovered an arsenal of menu items at local restaurants that work for me!
Snap Kitchen: Snap actually has a list of Whole 30 friendly menu items to make shopping even easier! I loved everything I tried and will definitely be back for a few more.
True Food Kitchen: With a trendy atmosphere and super Whole 30 – friendly menu, we'll definitely be coming back here, even when 30 day is up. The wait staff was knowledgeable and able to easily walk me through everything that was approved, or menu items that could easily be adapted.
Local Foods: This is already one of my fave restaurants, and luckily with so many salads on the menu, a lunch date with mom was a cinch!
Ono Poke: Okay, so I've been so excited about this place opening up down the street and with a focus on raw fish, its perfect! I just needed to skip the sauce and rice and I was good to go.
Pondicheri Bake Lab: This is one of my favorite places to work in Houston, and honestly, I was a little worried to pop in on week one. There are so many tempting delicacies, but luckily the staff walked me through what I could eat. Between soup, tea and a super delicious raw bar, no complaints (or cravings) from me!
So, onto week 2. Hoping its as ease-filled as week 1!


Had the first day of a really great stop-motion workshop with Darryl today. He showed us a ton of stuff these two "making of" really made me want to make a stop-motion film again! I planned to animate my next idea in TVPaint, but maybe I could work some stop-motion into it too!


KBTO announced that half ofthe invisible WDB nodes due to architectural limitation of the IDM got visible in the operation center. After beginning Loop-B plan from the March, 2017, over half of WDB nodes are now visible. The figure shows WDB nodes that already looped, which are visible in monitoring system.
Because passive distribution nodes (refers to WDB) has no active devices and no electricity, KBTO was not able to monitor the status of those nodes and links even WDBs are spread 150 locations all over the Mazovian voivodship. The IDM network, that has length of the network over 3,600 km, has very high risks of cable damages by other parties in various constructions tasks such as road expansion, water sewage construction, bridge reconstruction, and so on. Therefore, KBTO began to Loop-B for all WDB nodes. In order to overcome the architectural limitations of the IDM network, KBTO has announced a loop-back plan to monitor optical cables of all passive distribution nodes. For more details, refer to the previous article. KBTO also adopted monitoring solution of NAGIOS and the NAGIOS notifies to the KBTO Technical Department when the cable damage was happened. Therefore, the reaction time of cable damages by our technical department is dramatically decreased, that results increase of resilience, robustness and maintenance of the infrastructure.
For example, the optical cable was damaged in the Pacew area in early of July. Thanks to the Loop-B, technical department receives notification from the Nagios system, our staff member visited the area and located the exact place of the cable damage, and found who damages the cable. Without the Loop-B, technical department could not recognize the cable damages and it would be detected only when one of staff members visits the node and measures optical fibers. There were several cases like Pacew, but KBTO immediately recognized each damage, and reacted each damage.
Now, KBTO can keep the network in good manner with monitoring of WDB nodes.


text:
Home » Chao Sells Stock Holdings in Vulcan Materials
TransportationGovernment
Chao Sells Stock Holdings in Vulcan Materials
KEYWORDS elaine chao / U.S. Dept. of Transportation / Vulcan Materials
U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has sold her stock holdings in leading aggregates company Vulcan Materials Co., after published reports said Chao—a former Vulcan board member—had owned stock in the company for more than a year after the date when she had said she would divest it.
In a June 12 letter to a senior ethics officer at the Dept. of Transportation, Chao said she had divested her deferred stock holding in Vulcan as well as in diversified manufacturer Ingersoll-Rand PLC on June 3.
Chao was a director of Vulcan and Ingersoll-Rand from 2015 until resigning on January 31, 2017, when the Senate confirmed her as the DOT Secretary. Her compensation from the companies for her time on their boards included deferred stock units.
In her letter, Chao said that she had sold her Vulcan and Ingersoll-Rand holdings "even though you advised me that holding these stocks did not create a conflict of interest."
Chao also said that she had changed her 2018 financial disclosure report to correct an "inadvertent misstatement" on earlier reports. Those earlier filings indicated that her deferred compensations from the companies were "cash payouts," when they actually were in the form of stock.
A Wall Street Journal story published on May 28, followed by stories by other news outlets, focused on Chao's holding in Vulcan, the leading U.S. aggregates producer. Highway construction is an important market for the Birmingham, Ala.-based company.
A DOT spokesperson had said in statement sent to ENR on May 31 that Chao had disqualified herself from any DOT action that would have "a direct and predictable impact" on Vulcan.
DOT distributes more than $40 billion per year in federal-aid highway funds to the states. But the states advertise and award construction contracts that draw on the lion's share of those funds.
Regarding Chao's divestment, the DOT spokesperson said in a statement sent to ENR on June 14 that "although not required to, the secretary has sold these stocks and as a result she has no financial interest in the companies." The spokesperson added, "The secretary's decision to divest entirely demonstrates her commitment to going above and beyond what is required in terms of compliance."
According to a draft letter from the senior DOT ethics official to the federal Office of Government Ethics, Chao retains a financial interest in Wells Fargo & Co. Chao is a former director of Wells Fargo.
Ingersoll-Rand's products include heating and air conditioning systems, power tools, compressed air and gas systems and materials-handling systems.
House Oversight Panel Opens Ethics Inquiry into Chao's Actions
Chao Fills in Some Details of Trump Infrastructure Plan
After Settlement With Justice Dept., Vulcan Buys Aggregates Company


text: module.exports = require('./lib/helpers/index');

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Suffolk through to Minor Counties Final
Bob Jones Published On: June 12, 2017 Last Updated On: August 3, 2020
On Saturday, Suffolk's First Team faced Leicestershire in the Semi-Final of the Minor Counties competition (where the average grade of the team must not exceed 180). The result was 9 -7 in favour of Suffolk, who will now face Lincolnshire in the Final, due to be played on 1 July. Lincolnshire beat Norfolk on board count after drawing 8 – 8, so the possible final between Suffolk and Norfolk has been avoided.
The Suffolk team included two juniors – Alex Sheerin and Jaden Jermy, who both won. In fact, Suffolk were unbeaten on the bottom seven boards, despite being outgraded on every one of those boards. Jaden's win on board 16 was crucial; had he lost, the team would have lost the match on board count.
Other Suffolk winners were Alan Merry (Board 1), Ian Wallis (4), Ted Matthewson (10), Steve Ruthen (12) and Phil Hutchings (13).
EACU Congress
European Schools Championships


Get Quantum Mechanics essential facts below. View Videos or join the Quantum Mechanics discussion. Add Quantum Mechanics to your PopFlock.com topic list for future reference or share this resource on social media.


Learn more about the features of our mavenport Sales Booster platform.
mavenport consist of three modules, each one contributing to improving your sales. Depending on your business case, they can be freely combined.
Leverage the power of micro-learning to train your sales staff with centrally compiled material about brands, new initiatives, promotions, selling skills, and much more!
Instant and individualized deployment of your content. Gamified content delivery with incentives. Users will have ongoing on-demand access.
Cut through the clutter and connect with your sales staff directly through the mavenport platform. Use push messages to communicate latest company news or ask for product feedback.
Users can exchange best practices, discuss latest trends, answer centrally posed questions, or vote on central polls.
Inform your sales staff about their sales targets and keep them up-to-date regarding performance and target achievements. Establish last minute challenges if the month is falling short.
Users will be more in touch with your company goals.
Small learning units can be flexibly consumed on the job or on the go are most effective for learning success.
Micro-learning fosters retention, learning success and drives ongoing engagement with your content. mavenport makes sure that learning about a new product, technology or brand can be done flexibly and in easy-to-consume knowledge nuggets. It can be the perfect complement to classroom trainings.
Complex topics can be split into step-by-step explanations, allowing anybody to fully understand your material.
To enable impactful learning results, users need to be guided. mavenport makes it easy to set up your learning structure, enabling users to seamlessly work through your learning units, extending their know-how step-by-step.
Tell a compelling story by combining different types of media: video, images, and text.
Learning can be fun when content goes beyond text. mavenport allows you to use your existing videos or images to spice up your lessons. We can help get rid of unnecessary clutter to optimize your content for mobile usage.
mavenport is suitable to train users on all kinds of topics: be it product know-how, regulatory, soft-skills, or legal content.
The possibilities of application are endless. Get mavenport to train your sales teams and also use it for on-boarding, conduct manuals or continuing education. To complement, our selected partners offer "off-the-shelf" trainings, which can be tailored to your needs and easily implemented.
Leverage the direct link to your users and keep them up-to-date with latest news.
Whenever something new and important is happening, you can let everyone know with a central company post. Users can view your posts in blog-like format at any time. User ratings and comment encouraged! Central analytics show you who has seen your news.
Send short questions to your users, asking them for their feedback.
Ever tried to get a direct feedback from your sales team or sales partners? Not that easy. With mavenport micro-polls, it's just a matter of seconds. It's created within seconds, can be delivered to chosen user groups and can be directly answered on the users device.
Users can share observations, best practices, or ask questions.
Each post can be rated and commented by other users. Shared best practices from one location will improve performance in another. Users asking questions will get immediate answers from their peers. You can monitor post activity and engagement centrally and delete unwanted posts.
Drive engagement and reach out to all your users with push messages.
We don't always wait for users to open the app when they feel like it. Notify your teams of new learning content, news or polls at the central click of a button. Messages will show up directly on your user's phone screens.
Communicate sales objectives and target achievement status to show everyone where they stand.
Create contests or short term sales drives to close a gap or support a new launch.
Reach out to your users and announce short term focus areas with stretch goals. Pit teams against each other and call pout incentives for the winners. All participants will continuously see how they are doing vs. the contest goal or vs. their opponents.
Display your relevant KPIs, be it sales dollars, units, shares, leads, response rates… You name it.
Our platform will allow you to show the numbers you like in the frequency you prefer. This flexibility will allow you to taylor it to your needs and steer your user's focus to where it matters most. Your sales, your way!
Connect your existing KPI reporting systems to mavenport for automatic communication.
If your sales figures or other KPIs are stored in a CRM-system or a database we can connect it to mavenport so they will be automatically displayed to individual users or teams at the frequency you desire. Another option is uploading the data manually, if you prefer.
mavenport builds a direct link between companies and their sales people. We take new and engaging approaches to create unmatched efficiency & results for our clients.
- Julian Fernau, Managing Director, mavenport americas Inc.
Each module serves a valuable purpose. The next question is: how does mavenport drive user-engagement and -motivation to learn and to sell? The answer: by leveraging the following performance drivers.
Gamification: We leverage gaming elements to make the platform more fun to use.
Analytics: Analytics help to understand user enagement and optimize content and activities.
Customization: Create a platform that is truly yours – design, languages, content integration, or organization of users is all up to you.
We leverage gaming elements and incentives to drive user engagement and make the platform more fun to use.
Users check their knowledge to see which areas need improvements.
In case of false answers a short explanation will be displayed to ensure better understanding.
Users can earn reward points by working through lessons and answering quiz questions. These points can be exchanged for centrally defined incentives.
mavenport is already intrinsically motivating through all of the above: engaging content, quizzes, rankings, and a transparent development progress for users.
For the extra motivational push, external rewards like free product, gift cards, or money-can't buy prizes can be offered to your sales staff in exchange for points.
Rankings will illustrate how well users perform compared to other users on the platform.
Analytics help to understand user engagement and optimize content and activities.
Find out who in your sales team is motivated and committed to your products. Central reports show how users are engaging with learning content.
Understand what's top of mind in your sales organization. Analytics show you which topics are of special importance to users.
Set learning targets, measure learning progress and how efficiently your organization is advancing.
Identify which parts of your content need to be improved. Central reports show how users are doing on your quizzes.
Create a platform that is truly yours – design, languages, content integration, or organization of users is all up to you.
Invite both internal and external users to extend your reach.
The browser based central Content Management System guarantees that you are in full control of all contents at all times.
You can also link in external knowledge centers from e.g. retailers, brands, regulators etc.
Customize the look & feel: the design of the platform can easily be adapted and changed according to your guidelines.
mavenport currently supports 12 languages and can be flexibly extended to make sure that your users feel at home.


text:
AFEFootballNews
The HOME of Anglesey League football. Tales from Wales and sometimes beyond.
Player Spotlight: Mike Edwards (Holyhead Hotspur Reserves)
PICTURE by Holyhead Hotspur.
Nickname: "Eddie"
Current club: Holyhead Hotspur Reserves (Anglesey League).
Former clubs: Tranmere Rovers, Holyhead Hotspur, Trearddur Bay and Holyhead Town.
OFTEN times, certain players can be working their socks off for a team but still not receive the credit or praise they deserve for their efforts. This season, for me, that's been the case for Mike Edwards at Holyhead Hotspur Reserves.
An experienced head within an otherwise very youthful side in the Anglesey League, the central midfielder has been superb throughout for his club. He really knows how to make things tick for his side and he works tirelessly both on and off the ball.
Edwards in action for Hotspur in 2016.
But what made him the player he is today? Edwards explains: "Campbell Harrison (former Hotspur manager) gave me the chance to first play football at senior level and really got the best out of me. I've been lucky enough to play under some very good managers including Osian Roberts and Gus Williams.
"I enjoyed playing for Andy Batsford for Hotspur Reserves, he got me back to enjoying the game. I also have to give a special mention to Tom Scott, who's doing an amazing job this season by keeping faith in the young lads and you can see them improving each week".
Among the several top young talents at the club this season are AFE's Young Player of the Season for 2018/19 Casey Gregg (18, below), who's bagged 11 goals. You also have defender Cameron Eaton (18) who burst onto the in the same season and Phil Jones, who at only 16, has been superb in his debut season in senior football.
Asked about what he thinks of the prospects on show around him this season, Edwards added: "I definitely think Hotspur as a whole are going the right way forward with giving you the chance. In previous seasons, it's been experience over youth, but as you've seen this year, giving youth the chance is paying off.
"You have to give credit to Darren Garmey (first team manager who has introduced several young players into his side too) – he isn't afraid to give young players the chance.
"It's a pleasure to play alongside them as they're all willing to learn and work hard for each other. Tom Scott's doing a brilliant job with The Reserves."
The interview with Edwards this week also allowed him some time to reflect on his career to date – from being a youth player at Tranmere Rovers to winning trophies on home soil in Holyhead.
The 30-year-old added: "The highlight of my career has to be winning the treble with Hotspur (2011/12). That season was amazing and that was some squad we had back then.
Edwards also enjoyed glory days with Holyhead Town.
"But I've also had a few low points too. Getting relegated from the Cymru Alliance was one of them. Another one would be losing in the FAW Cup final because that's one trophy I would have loved to have one."
In terms of the best player he's come up against, Edwards says its "The Cofi Messi" aka Caernarfon Town's Darren Thomas who takes that accolade. Speaking about the best players he's played alongside, he added: "That's a very tough question, as I've played alongside so many quality players.
"I'll be sitting on the fence here because it's between three players. Kenleigh Owen growing up was untouchable and still to this day is quality. Jay Gibbs on his day is unbelievable and makes football look easy. Melvin McGinness (below) is another one who doesn't look like a footballer but he's unreal. He's fast, good in the air, strong and scores plenty of goals."
Amid the coronavirus pandemic which is ongoing it can be easy to forget that the football is still currently ONGOING. So what does Edwards think of the season making a potential comeback?
He said: "I really hope it does continue but people's health is more important than anything. I have my fingers crossed because we have got so much left to play for.
"We've got the Dargie Cup final (against Cemaes Bay) to look forward to which is the most prestigious cup you can win at this level. We've also got two great chances in some of the other cups.
"We're also not far off Cemaes Bay and Mountain Rangers in the league so, if the season does return, we will keep doing what we're doing and keep the pressure on them."
As a final question to keep entertained he was asked "If you could be one pro footballer, who would it be and why?", to which he replied: "Steven Gerrard. The guy was quality and great to watch. A solid tackler, scorer of great goals and was a leader."
Cheers for the chat mate and all the best to you and The Reserves if and when the season eventually returns!
Posted in Anglesey League, Welsh NewsTagged Anglesey, Cymru, football, Holyhead Hotspur, Mike Edwards, soccer, WalesBy Arron EvansLeave a comment
← AFE's A-Z of the Anglesey League 2019-20 season
Player Spotlight: Sam Jones (Caernarfon Town) →
Follow AFE
Tables & Stats
AFE's Player Interviews (2016-Present)
Anglesey League Cup winners 2017/18
Anglesey League top scorers 2017/18
Cymru Premier 2020/21: Table, results and stats
FAW Championship North 2020/21: Table, results and stats
North Wales Coast West Division One 2020/21: Table, results and stats
North Wales Coast West Premier Division 2020/21: Table, results and stats
AFE's Stars of the 2019/20 season: Kelvin Frazer (Menai Tigers)
AFE's Stars of the 2019/20 season: Kieron Bullock (Ogwen Tigers)
AFE's Stars of the 2019/20 season: Richard Roberts (Aberffraw)
AFE's Stars of the 2019/20 season: Matt Williams (Pentraeth Reserves)
AFE's Stars of the 2019/20 season: Charlie Diamond (Llandegfan/Holyhead Town)


text:
module fwhm
    # Plotting library
    using Winston;

    # Takes in arrays x and y corresponding to the x-coordinates and
    # y-coordinates of the data. Returns the FWHM if it exists, and NaN otherwise
    function fwhm(x::Array{Any,1},y::Array{Any,1})
        # Check to make sure that both arrays have the same length
        # This should happen because we're really passing in a set of coordinates (x,y)
        @assert(length(x) == length(y), "Input arrays should have the same number of elements")

        # Plotting flag. Returns a PNG graph of the data and the FWHM line if set to true
        const plot = true

        # Extract the values of the extrema
        const yMax = maximum(y)
        const yMin = minimum(y)

        # Perform unity-based normalization to squeeze everything to [0,1]
        y = (y - yMin) / (yMax - yMin)

        # Since we've normalized y, the half-maximum is simply 0.5
        const halfMax = 0.5

        # Initialize a search counter
        i = 1;

        # Do a hill-climb to find the point at which the y first crosses the halfMax
        while sign(y[i] - halfMax) == sign(y[i-1] - halfMax)
            i += 1;
        end

        # Linearly interpolate between the two values (one before crossing and one after)
        # to get the exact x value corresponding to halfMax
        tlead = x[i-1] + (halfMax - y[i-1]) / (y[i] - y[i-1]) * (x[i] - x[i-1])

        # Increment i and alpha-vary to k. We'll now look for the second crossing
        # starting from the peak in the distribution
        k = findmax(y)[2] + 1

        # Do a hill climb to find the point at which y crosses the halfMax again
        while sign(y[k] - halfMax) == sign(y[k-1] - halfMax) && (k <= length(y) - 1)
            k = min(k+1, length(y)-1)
        end

        # If the point is right at the edge of the data, we have a monotonically
        # increasing distribution and there's no FWHM
        if k != length(y)
            # Linearly interpolate between the two values (one before crossing and one after)
            # to get the exact x value corresponding to the halfMax
            ttrail = x[k-1] + (halfMax - y[k-1]) / (y[k] - y[k-1]) * (x[k] - x[k-1])

            if (plot)
                p = FramedPlot(
                    title = "Normalized Full Width Half Maximum",
                    xlabel = "x",
                    ylabel = "y"
                )

                # Create a line for the FWHM
                const fwhmLineX = linspace(tlead,ttrail,k-i)
                const fwhmLineY = halfMax * ones(Float64, length(fwhmLineX))

                # Dump everything into the plot
                add(p, Curve(x,y))
                add(p, Curve(fwhmLineX,fwhmLineY, color="red"))
                add(p, PlotLabel(((maximum(fwhmLineX) - minimum(fwhmLineX)) / 2 + minimum(fwhmLineX)) / (minimum(x) + maximum(x)), halfMax - 0.0375, string(ttrail - tlead), color="red"))

                # Compute a hash of both data sets. We'll append this
                # to filenames so they can be identified
                hashName = hash(cat(2,x,y))

                # Save out the result
                savefig(p,"fwhm-$hashName.png")
            end

            # Subtract one x value from the other to find the distance
            # Note that this is given in units of x
            return ttrail - tlead
        else
            return NaN
        end
    end
end # module