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

Photo of the Week: An Autograph? Feh!

Thanks to the kindness of an old friend who invited me to his book launch, I ended up sitting in the VIP section with him and behind this hero of my youth.

I've always been a bit proud of having noticed this chap at the beginning of his career with his hometown club of Leicester City.

Nevertheless, I've no idea whence came the chutzpah or the speed that fuelled my move to block his exit so I could ask for a quick selfie.

As my Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and now Blogger friends can see, I am delighted to share this moment with Mr Gary Lineker. It's a crap photo, and posterity may prefer an autograph, but this is not for my heirs. This reminds me of a happy moment during a great night.

Thank you DW (check out his book here).

Four Four Jew & the Ravaj too

Four Four Jew from Four Four Jew on Vimeo.

Unfortunately I cannot be in London on Wednesday to witness in person the excitement of the opening of the Jewish Museum's latest exhibition Four Four Jew. Possibly you may also be unable to attend. Don't let that stop you checking it out during the rest of its run. That's what I'm going to do :-)

NB 00:38

Happy 2013 from the ravaj!

Whether or not you celebrate 1st January as a New Year, it's always good to have an opportunity to clear the decks and start over. If I were to reduce all my hopes and wishes and plans to one central thought, it would be to hold dear and close those I love.

with best wishes for a healthy and fulfilling 2013!

Cygnets in Spring

Signs that Spring is somewhere around as seen yesterday on the river by the marquee near Romsey where the ravaj conducted her first Wedding Blessing.

FYI Romsey turned out to have some interesting historical connections. The most interesting to me, and to the taxi driver who took me to the station, is Florence Nightingale, who was buried in a nearby church. My driver was quite passionate about the fact that Nightingale is not given the kudos she deserves in her own country. He told me that at the station he often picks up nurses from all over the world who have travelled there only to visit the church and pay homage to their mentor.

The First of September

Things that Wikipedia considers worth mentioning with regard to 1st September include:

Events
1532 – Lady Anne Boleyn is made Marchioness of Pembroke by her fiancé, King Henry VIII of England.
1836 – Narcissa Whitman, one of the first English-speaking white women to settle west of the Rocky Mountains, arrives at Walla Walla, Washington.
1878 – Emma Nutt becomes the world's first female telephone operator when she was recruited by Alexander Graham Bell to the Boston Telephone Dispatch Company.
1914 – The last passenger pigeon, a female named Martha, dies in captivity in the Cincinnati Zoo.
1972 – In Reykjavík, Iceland, American Bobby Fischer beats Russian Boris Spassky and becomes the world chess champion.

Births
1286 – Elisabeth Richeza of Poland, Queen of Poland (d. 1335)
1653 – Johann Pachelbel, German composer (d. 1706)
1896 – A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder-Acarya of ISKCON, the Hare Krishna Movement (d. 1977)
1906 – Eleanor Burford Hibbert (Jean Plaidy, Victoria Holt, Philippa Carr...), English writer (d. 1993)
1922 – Yvonne De Carlo, Canadian-born actress (d. 2007)
1933 – Ann Richards, American politician (d. 2006)
1935 – Seiji Ozawa, Japanese conductor
1939 – Lily Tomlin, American actress and comedian
1950 – Dr. Phil McGraw, American talk show host
1955 – Bruce Foxton, English bassist (The Jam)
1957 – Gloria Estefan, Cuban/American singer
1962 – Ruud Gullit, Dutch footballer
1970 – Padma Lakshmi, Indian actress

Deaths
1067 – Baldwin V of Flanders
1581 – Guru Ram Das, fourth Sikh Guru (b. 1534)
1838 – William Clark, American explorer, part of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (b. 1770)
1967 – Siegfried Sassoon, English poet (b. 1886)