Vulture Images (2024)

20/07/2024

Dining out in Havana is definitely an experience to try if you get a chance.

It certainly gives you an insight into what a socialist political system achieved.😮

15/05/2024

Well, Facebook/Meta paid me today a whole $10 for the month so this time next year we definitely won't be millionaires!🤣

08/05/2024

Roman Baths, Bath.

06/05/2024

Nice loction for a walk with sea views.

22/04/2024

I have been browsing through some of the local groups that we are members of on Facebook, and it has made me wonder if the platform is becoming too saturated with advertisements. Most of the groups seem to be filled with ads and very little else. Plus some of them are also so tightly controlled that they feel like the heavily censored newspapers from certain parts of the world. Perhaps Facebook is now becoming only the domain of people who are desperate to sell their products or services, and it is controlled by those who only want to see their own versions of reality reflected back to them.

13/04/2024

Time for a quick one.

04/04/2024

Victoria Quarter, Leeds.

04/04/2024

Trinity Leeds.

12/12/2023

Longish flight.

08/12/2023

Duba Mariner, it's a nice place to take a walk or a run around during the winter months and the Marina Mall although smaller than most of the competition is pleasantly less overwhelming to do a bit of shopping in. The place comes to life on a night with fantastic views of the city at night and a large variety of restaurants to choose from.

Opened in the year 2003 the unique and spectacular man-made marina covers 50 million square feet of the seafront. Being a shoreline district, Dubai Marina is well known for its Wonderful Jumeirah Beach a massive residential area with sky-hitting luxurious high-rise towers that are home to more than 45000 residents.

06/12/2023

The Earl Haigh Memorial, Edinburgh Castle
The monument to Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig is a little out of the way at the castle but the monument itself is stunning. At the same time, Haig himself over the years since WWI has taken on the role of both hero and villain depending on which accounts of the conflict you read no doubt he had the blood of many young men on his hands but maybe at the same time while the world worked out how to fight the first truly modern war that was inevitable?
However, you do get the feeling when the monument was moved to its present location he was being somewhat hidden away.

Description
The monument is a bronze equestrian statue of the First World War Field Marshal Earl Haig in uniform on horseback. The statue is constructed at one and half times life size on a large flowing granite base, designed as though the horse and rider are crossing rocky terrain. It was sculpted by George Edward Wade and unveiled on 28 September 1923. Small metal plaque with inscription which reads 'EARL HAIG: This statue was presented to the City of Edinburgh by Sir Dhunjibhoy Bomanji of Bombay in admiration of the services rendered to the British Empire by the Field Marshal'.

The statue which was given to the Edinburgh Corporation by a wealthy Indian merchant, Sir Dhunjibhoy Bomanji to honour both Field Marshal Haig's leadership during the First World War and his work regarding the welfare of ex-service men. The statue was erected in 1923 on Edinburgh Castle Esplanade where it stood until 2011 when it was moved to its current location as part of works for the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

The sculptor was George Edward Wade (1853 – 1933), who was a largely self-taught artist from London. He is best known for statues of royalty and politicians including statues of Queen Victoria (Colombo, Sri Lanka), Alexandra of Denmark (London) and John A MacDonald (Montreal, Quebec, Canada).

05/12/2023

Wojtek the Soldier Bear Memorial in a very wet Princess Street Gardens, I tried three times over a couple of days to get a good shot of this memorial and each time as I got near the rain got harder and the light poorer so on the final visit reluctant to get the camera wet just for the sake of it I took this on the phone just to justify the effort in going back again, it actually came out quite well!

WOJTEK THE BEAR’S UNLIKELY JOURNEY to Scotland—and into the annals of military history—began in Iran in 1943, when a group of Polish soldiers adopted an orphaned brown bear cub.

The soldiers were members of the Polish 2nd Corps, a military unit consisting of Polish political prisoners released from Soviet gulags by Stalin after the N**i invasion of the USSR. As they left their places of internment and moved west to join the fight against the Axis, the bear cub they adopted quickly became a popular and important boost to morale. By the time the 2nd Corps reached Egypt and prepared to transfer to the Italian war zone, the now-fully-grown bear had learned to salute and carry supplies and enjoyed drinking beer, eating ci******es, wrestling with the soldiers, and swimming whenever he had the chance.

Going into active combat, however, presented a problem, as soldiers were forbidden from bringing pets into theaters of operation (and by this point the bear had, by all accounts, thoroughly imprinted on the soldiers who had raised him). Thus, the bear was enlisted into the 22nd Artillery Transport Company of the 2nd Corps, and accordingly given an official number, the rank of private, and the name Wojtek—a common Polish name meaning “joyful warrior.”

Private Wojtek served for the remainder of the war, most notably during the Battle of Monte Cassino, in which he helped to move crates of ammunition—with two hands, while standing upright, because he thought he was people. The Battle of Monte Cassino opened the road to Rome for the Allies. Wojtek was so popular among his fellow soldiers that a graphic of a bear carrying an artillery shell became the official emblem of the 22nd Company.

After the war ended, Wojtek’s company was transferred to southeastern Scotland. Having experienced Soviet repression first-hand, most of the soldiers refused to return to Poland after the Iron Curtain fell, and chose instead to remain in Scotland in exile. Once the 22nd Company was demobilized in 1947, Wojtek was moved to the Edinburgh Zoo. His old Polish brothers-in-arms visited him regularly, as did the scores of new admirers he gained during the remainder of his life. He died in 1963, at the age of 22.

Unveiled on November 7, 2015, the bronze statue in Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh commemorates not only the much-beloved bear, but also the Polish soldiers who bravely shared the same harrowing journey and ultimately found refuge in Scotland. Commissioned by the Wojtek Memorial Trust, the project likewise pays tribute to the resultant close ties between Scotland and Poland.

04/12/2023

The Pantheon, Rome is probably a place you should visit if given a chance it's definitely got all the big must-sees but also hoards of tourists which makes for a less than pleasant experience at times.

The Pantheon is a former Roman temple and, since AD 609, a Catholic church in Rome, Italy. It was built on the site of an earlier temple commissioned by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus, then after that burnt down, the present building was ordered by the emperor Hadrian and probably dedicated c. AD 126

03/12/2023

Maho Beach, St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles.

Having a fairly long-standing relationship with being around aircraft taking this personally felt very out of place if not a little dangerous but the general view amongst most was it's a great selfie opportunity!

02/12/2023

Deep in thought, a Barbary Ape takes a break from the tourists atop the Rock of Gibraltar.

The tourists love them, but the locals not so much!

02/12/2023

On Ilkley Moor with hat, up on top of the Cow.

01/12/2023

One from a few years back but with a slight reworking this shot really captures the feel of the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford and its up-close approach to exhibits.

28/11/2023

Dubai Water Canal Bridge 03 aka the Twisty Bridge, it's a shame it's out of the way and not seen by many, a footbridge in a city where people don't walk sums up Dubai's planning logic while the canal itself both impressive and pointless divided already established areas on a whim.

Beautiful and Dynamic
Hailed as “one of the most beautiful bridges in the world,” according to Condé Nast Traveler, a magazine from London Vogue House, is The Dubai Water Canal Bridge 03. Also called the Twisted Bridge 03 as it is more known for by tourists and residents. The Twisted Bridge 03 is a piece of artwork equally fascinating from inside and out. It is one of the three pedestrian bridges which connect the Dubai water canal. The kaleidoscope-like twisting truss that enveloped the bridge path has become an eyeful destination landmark for every tourist and resident in the Jumeirah area, connecting one canal to another. A genuinely ethereal passage that every pedestrian should experience.

Appointed to design the bridge were AE7 Architects and Planners. Architect Kerem and Tamer led the team who have worked on different large-scale projects in the gulf, many of which surpassed clients’ expectations. They pride the twisting design feature of the bridge to be 100 percent their design idea. According to the architects, it represents the future and dynamic vision of Dubai tied to the notion of “tomorrow.” Realized for only six months is also remarkable. The kinetic movement of the bridge foresee the compelling future for the culture, landscape, and built environment of Dubai and the UAE.

26/11/2023

A lot of people imagine Dubai is a huge place in reality the entire emirate is roughly the size of London while the capital city also called Dubai is much smaller around 13 square miles and the mega glitzy bits tend to be concentrated together in that.

This image is taken from the Dubai Water Canal Bridge 03 better known as the "Twisty Bridge" and gives some idea of what lies behind the more shiny bits of the city where many people with money live.

25/11/2023

Evening at JBR with the Wonky Wheel (Ain Dubai/Dubai Eye) towering over Blue Water Island.

Ain Dubai (Arabic: عين دبي; eng: 'eye of Dubai') is the tallest giant observation wheel (or 'Ferris' wheel) ever built, standing over 243 m (800') high; opening in October 2021

In reality, it failed shortly after opening and remains closed.

25/11/2023

The Canongate Tolbooth clock catches a bit of winter sun on a cold Edinburgh day, it's supposedly one of the main Edinburgh tourist attractions but I have to admit to not really ever paying it any attention and I have passed by numerous times over the years!

The Canongate Tolbooth is the oldest remaining building in Edinburgh's Canongate. The Tolbooth was the grand administrative centre for the independent burgh of the Canongate, which developed outside the walls of Edinburgh. It was built on the north side of the street in 1591, in the French style, by the feudal superior of the Burgh, Sir Lewis Bellenden of Auchintoul, whose initials are carved above the Tolbooth Pend. A five-storey building, with a turreted steeple, its forestair led to the Council Chambers and law court, while below was the gaol.

A distinctive clock, dating from 1884, juts out from the side of the tower to overhang the street. A major restoration of c.1875 combined the attic and first floor to create a space now occupied by the People's Story Museum.

24/11/2023

Edinburgh on a cold frosty morning from up on Carlton Hill with the impressive Dugald Stewart monument in the foreground. As usual, the rushed shot grabbed while passing ended up better than the planned ones. lol

The monument towers on Calton Hill above the City of Edinburgh.
It was constructed in 1831 in honour of the Scottish philosopher Dugald Stewart. It was designed by the Scottish architect Willaim Henry Playfair. The design is inspired by circular temples from Athens. Nine Corinthian columns surround an urn, placed on a circular podium.

The Scottish philosopher Dugald Stewart popularized the Scottish Enlightenment movement and was a popular professor at the University of Edinburgh.

23/11/2023

One final fish-eye shot for now, this does give a good feeling of how mind-blowing tall the Burj Khalifa is close up!

23/11/2023

Ok, back to the Burj Khalifa this time without the fisheye lens, a little truncated maybe but close enough to see some detail, when it catches the sun the reflections are stunning.

23/11/2023

The must-have tourist shot the Burj Al Arab, to be honest like a lot of things in Dubai the novelty wears off, when it was new it stood largely on its own other than the radical in its own right Jumeirah Beach Hotel right on the beach looking fantastically futurist and to its attraction out of place, but today Jumeirah is much more developed (The Benidorm effect) even the Beach Hotel has grown and the stunning visage the Burj once created from the beach is now obstructed and the Disney World that Dubai is as moved on.

Viewed from the sea it still remains impressive but I preferred the view from the beach.

22/11/2023

I never seem to be able to get the near shot I am looking for of the Burj Khalifa I suppose the scale of the thing doesn't help, this is the latest attempt with a fish eye lens.

22/11/2023

A big sky over old Auld Reekie from the top of Calton Hill, I probably should have cropped the sky down but I sort of liked the feel it gives it.
The view looking forward is along Princess Street with the Balmoral Hotel standing proudly with its clock tower and the Castle to the left.
It can be a bit cold up there on a frosty morning but the views are stunning.

22/11/2023

Edinburgh Castle sits upon high overlooking the city below, this shot is taken from the graveyard of St Cuthbert's, and although right in the middle of the throngs of tourists and adjacent to the gardens of Princess Street it remains a peaceful oasis largely ignored by the tourists. The size and variety of the many tombs and headstones are staggering, making it a fascinating place to escape from the crowds.
I am fairly sure a night-time visit would be more than a little scary!

22/11/2023

Another shot of The Royal Scots Greys Monument, it's not the easiest location to get a good shot in the fence light posts and tourists are always in the way and moving further back involves standing in Princess Street and probably getting run over by a bus or a tram!

12/02/2023

Pretty impressive burger.

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