Italian Alias

Those who know me may be surprised that I have been watching some of the Rugby World Cup this week. I'm still mystified by the intricacies of egg-chasing, but understand enough to follow and appreciate the scoring. Old and new connections meant that when some channel-hopping landed me on the fervent singing of the Italian national anthem, I stayed for a bit of Italy vs O Canada.

I was very excited to hear the commentator refer regularly to a player called Edoardo Gori. I know from football experience that famous people often moonlight as athletes, e.g. my favourite composer of 19th century Jewish liturgical music Mr Lewandowski who recently scored 5 goals for Bayern Muenchen, and former leader of the Children of Israel, Moses, who is now scoring goals for West Ham United. It was great to discover that behind the Italian spelling, Mr Edward Gorey is currently giving a Gothic aspect to the world of Rugby Union.

Bees of Summer

June bee in Finchley

At the beginning of the summer the ravaj got a new camera. She thought it might help her to learn the capabilities of this machine if she could find a photography project. Somehow, a flowering bush full of bees on Essex Park caught her eye, and she began to shoot them. Next came the bees that visited the lavender in the garden by the flats, and those around the buddlea on the platform at Finchley Central station.

July bee in the garden

Standing in the bushes at the station did get her some funny looks, including a woman who thought she had fainted and came to check if everything was ok. With much practice and a lot of patience, the project appears to be progressing.

Bees are not that easy to photograph. They are so fast - 1/2000th of a second sometimes catches the beat of their wings. When they are still, their faces are usually in a flower and all you can see are their bottoms. So the first challenge is to get the bee still, in focus, and with its head visible. Next is to get it facing you, and after that to get it in flight (in focus and facing you!).

To bee continued ...

all photos © Ariel J Friedlander