Ian Kydd ' Miller Photojournalist,Cambodia

KIDS (Kids International Dental Services) « Ian Kydd'Miller's Blog

2011-02-14T10:56:00.000+07:00

KIDS (Kids International Dental Services) « Ian Kydd'Miller's Blog

A trip to Lao PDR

2011-01-24T21:49:00.011+07:00

My trip started from Phnom Penh with a flight to Vientienne via Vietnam Airlines. After a lot of hard work done by Joe Garrison, the tours guide and organiser we were finally here. We arrived in Vientienne after dark so there was not a great deal to see and we were leaving by bus for Luane Prabang early next morning. Joe also had to interview a local guide who we later employed for the full six days of our time in Northern Lao. After some excellent street food and a Lao coffee we turned in for the night.

I had never been to Lao before but Joe who is a Professional Photgrapher based in Phnom Penh, had warned me that it was a photographers dream come true, and he was certainly not wrong.

People are really what interests me in any place I visit, it is them that give the place its charm or individuality and this is what I attempt to capture in my images.

We first travelled from Vientienne, by bus, to Luang Prabang where we were going to be staying for a few days before travelling further North to Muang Qua.

On the road.

Luang Prabang is certainly an interesting place with lots to see. It has World Heritage Status. Our first couple of days were spent walking around the central area, visiting the temples and shrines. Then the tourist hit, the numbers made photography increasingly difficult, which just meant we had to work harder.

The markets were also great fun.

Very colorful and full of life.

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Bonus Tip from Laos, Thailand and Cambodia Photo Trek: Be Good for Goodness Sake! | Rick Sammon

2010-10-14T11:43:00.002+07:00

Bonus Tip from Laos, Thailand and Cambodia Photo Trek: Be Good for Goodness Sake! | Rick Sammon

On the street with a new Camera - Canon Power Shot G11

2010-10-13T17:34:00.003+07:00

Whenever you get any new bit of kit it takes a while to learn how to get the best from it. On my recent trip to the UK I unfortunately left my little Sony point and shoot behind when I came back to Phnom Penh so I decided to go and find a new one. Off I headed to the camera store on Monivong where I knew that I could probable get a good deal on the camera I wanted. They didn't have it in stock but would get me one the next day. Service is great but the gear is grey.

I had decided that I wanted a Canon Power Shot G11 admittedly not the smallest of point and shoots but according to the reports I have read is definitely up to scratch IQ wise. So the next day I paid my money and took my camera. Spent the afternoon reading the manual and fiddling with the controls, finding my bearings.

The next morning I was out early to give the camera a walk, ended up doing several miles.

I wanted this camera to carry with me when not possible or desirable to hump a DSLR but the question remained, was it suitable for street work and was the IQ as reported in the photography press up to the standard I require. The above image was taken on the move on Kampuchea Kr am Boulevard. I was using a mode in the camera that allows immediate response from the shutter but you have to use the viewfinder rather than the screen, no noticeable shutter lag, which meant no missed shots a major problem with some P & S.

I wanted to try out the quality of the zoom, and get used to using the controls on the camera, the above image was taken at maximum zoom (x5 optical) and although the focus is a little off (my fault) it is perfectly usable for the net.

The cameras ''low profile'' in comparison to my DSLR's seemed to make me less noticeable to people and I was able to get some good shots whilst walking around the Orussai market. People just were not taking much notice of me at all, just another tourist.

My main concern really was the IQ that the camera is able to produce up to the standards I require. I have made my own judgement about this and I will leave you to make your based on the pictures you see here. I know small JPEG's are not the best indicators of IQ but the RAWs this camera produces are very useful.

I continued on my trip around the market spotting images as I went and trying to be as unobtrusive as possible.

I like the images this camera is able to produce and also that I will be able to take it with me at all times and know that I can get quality images. It will not replace my DSLR's but will certainly compliment them.

2010-10-09T15:55:00.001+07:00

Photograph Stunning Mountain Scenes

Author: Robin Whalley

There is nothing quite as exhilarating and rewarding as getting back to nature and photographing mountain scenery. Mountains are dramatic, inspiring and provide great photography potential. Whilst you will need to be careful, mountains can be much more accessible and rewarding for the landscape photographer than you realise. Here are some top tips to get you started and hopefully capture those stunning scenes.

Find Accessible locations

This iconic mountain is the Matterhorn in Switzerland and probably recognised all over the world for its distinctive shape. I would love to have claimed great hardship in capturing this image but I was sat sipping a Cappuccino outside a restaurant at the time. This area like many in European mountain regions is peppered with cable cars making them very accessible to photographers.

Use a Telephoto Lens

As with the previous example of the Matterhorn, this image was shot using a telephoto lens. In the Matterhorn example it helped bring the mountain closer to me so requiring less effort on my part. This image from the Torres del Paine area of Patagonia was shot using a 300mm lens to crop in close and make the mountain loom large in the viewfinder. Using a telephoto lens helps emphasise the size of the mountain and make it appear more dramatic. Fill the frame for maximum impact.

Weather Adds Drama

Mountains are a great place to experience extremes of weather and whilst this means taking extra care, it can also mean great photo opportunities. I like showery weather best (especially in winter) as this means plenty of changing conditions with dramatic light. Showers that might only last for a few minutes give you many chances to catch that wonderful clearing storm light. In this shot from one of the many ridges in the English Lake District a passing snow shower allows the sun to break through. A few minutes earlier the sky was black and the snow swirling everywhere. Sit it out but be prepared and you will be handsomely rewarded.

Shoot down as well as up

Another aspect to mountain photography that's often forgotten is to shoot down from the tops of mountains into valleys, or towards other mountains. Yes this requires a greater level of fitness in reaching the top of the mountain but the images look completely different. The view in the previous image is one example of shooting down from the mountain.

Get your Feet Muddy but Stay Safe

My final tip is to get your feet muddy. If you stand at the foot of the hills, or shoot from the side of the road you will almost certainly be making compromises. Get yourself into gear and walk into the hills, remembering though that you need to be safe:

Try to go with another person so that if you hit problems you can help each other
Always have a mobile phone with you. Sometimes you won't get a signal but frequently you get a very good signal. There have been examples recently of Alpine climbers being rescued because they sent a message to someone back home
Always have a map and compass and/or GPS and know how to use them
Wear/carry the right equipment. It's not just about taking photographs so take food, warm/waterproof clothing and sturdy footwear
Try to learn outdoor hill walking skills or go with someone who is experienced

If you stay safe and follow these tips you will enjoy your mountain photography.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/photography-articles/photograph-stunning-mountain-scenes-3229208.html

About the Author

Robin Whalley is a UK based Landscape Photographer whose work has appeared in magazines such as Canon EOS User, Photography Monthly and Outdoor Photography. He has been a finalist in both Photographer of the Year and Landscape Photographer of the Year, where his work has been included in national exhibitions. His Lenscraft website is packed with landscape photography and tutorials to help the aspiring photographer.

Obituary - Sir Norman Wisdom

2010-10-09T09:53:00.001+07:00

By Jonathan Margolis

Wednesday, 6 October 2010

A prodigious comedic and musical talent, Norman Wisdom was for a while in the early 1960s Britain's highest- earning performer. His career spanned music hall, West End musicals, pantomime, cabaret, TV, Broadway and Hollywood – but for many people, he was most famous for being over nearly three decades the undisputed comedy favourite of Stalinist Albania.

It was not only the harmless vulnerability of the character Wisdom played in 19 films that made him "safe" and uncontroversial enough to be an officially approved entertainer in Albania and other former communist countries, such as Poland, Czechoslovakia, and the Soviet Union. He was actually touted by the regimes in such countries – albeit without particularly wanting to be – as a political icon, a depiction of the exploited worker against the ruling classes, the underdog who triumphs against capitalist evil.

The put-upon character Wisdom achieved such fame for had its roots in Scarborough in 1948, where he was playing in variety while living in his touring caravan on a site outside the town. Looking for something new to wear on stage, he happened to buy an ill-fitting suit and cap in a secondhand shop. With his diminutive physique and this pathetic outfit, he invented a chirpy comedy character he called The Gump, described as "the successful failure", a cheerful fool who somehow wins through, and thus walks the thin line between pathos and comedy.

Although The Gump – both the character and increasingly threadbare suit and cap, which Wisdom wore with the brim turned back – were to make him immensely wealthy over the decades to come, pathos was far from an affectation for Norman Wisdom. His successful career came about despite an appalling childhood. "I was born in very sorry circumstances. Both my parents were very sorry," he was fond of saying. But in his case, it was true. Wisdom's friends over the years have compared him to Oliver Twist, something which almost underplays the Dickensian nature of his early years.

Born in 1915 to Frederick, a chauffeur and Maude, a dressmaker, Wisdom had an older brother, Fred, and the family lived in a one-bed flat, which due to his father's job had a shiny Daimler outside. The marriage was unhappy, and when Wisdom was nine his mother left for a man in Willesden, and thus failed to get custody of her children – who were effectively left to their own devices while their father took jobs in Scotland and Ceylon. When he returned from these trips he was often physically violent towards his sons.

"It was either steal or starve," remembered Wisdom, who out of necessity became resourceful to the point of desperation. His money-making scams included trying to get run over by cyclists on Bayswater Road, after a lady cyclist who had genuinely crashed into him gave him sixpence.

Eventually, Wisdom Snr sent the two boys to live with guardians in Hertfordshire, an arrangement which collapsed through a combination of the boys' bad behaviour and their father failing to pay their rent. The brothers were then split up, and Norman grew up in Deal in Kent. At 14 he went to the Labour Exchange and took the first of a succession of jobs in London hotels before walking to Wales with a fellow hotel worker with the idea of working in the mines.

Once there, the friend deserted him and Wisdom got a job as cabin boy on a cargo ship bound for Argentina. On board he learned how to box and also to shadow box, a skill which would later feature in his stage routine. Many years later, Muhammad Ali would be one of his biggest fans.

Several lows followed Wisdom's return to England. The first was what he deemed the worst day of his life, when he returned from sea and spent Christmas Day in a hostel on his own. The second was when he tracked down his father, who had found another partner and simply told him to "get out". Wisdom never saw him again. Better moments came when he was reunited with his mother and, later, his brother Fred, whom he stopped by coincidence in the street to ask for directions on the way to find him.

Aged 14, at 4ft 10in and 5st 9lb, Wisdom joined the army, towards whom he retained a deep gratitude for teaching him discipline, giving him food and a surrogate for the family he never had. He became a band boy for the 8th Hussars and was posted to Lucknow in India, where he spent five years.

Later he would say these were the happiest days of his life. It was in India that he developed his comedy routine – shadow boxing and tap dancing – through being the camp jester. He also took up music and dropped his Cockney accent.

Returning to England in 1938, he met his first wife, Doreen, who worked in a chip shop, and married her in 1939. The marriage was to end swiftly when Doreen was unfaithful. Wisdom never told anyone about the marriage until the publication of his autobiography, Don't Laugh at Me, in 1992.

When the Second World War started Wisdom joined the Royal Corps of Signals and its dance band, playing saxophone. After a charity concert in Cheltenham, the actor Rex Harrison came backstage and told Wisdom he would be mad not to go professional.

When the war finished, Wisdom was 30 and desperate to get into showbusiness. His first appearance was atCollins Music Hall in Islington, a slot he got by shadowing the theatre manager for three weeks until he had worn him down. The resultant show was a mixture of mime, musical instruments and singing.

In 1953, the Gump character, having been invented for variety, in which Wisdom had been doing a double turn for five years with the conjuror David Nixon, helped launch Wisdom in his first film, Trouble in Store. This broke all box office records and earned Wisdom £5,000, a Bafta and a chart topping record, "Don't Laugh At Me 'Cos I'm A Clown".

Wisdom signed a seven-year film contract with Rank Organisation. During the 1950s he worked so hard that he would be at the film studios at 5.30am for a 12-hour day and then go to the London Palladium for two shows finishing at 11pm. After signing autographs he would arrive home at 1am. He ended up in hospital suffering from malnutrition; with this punishing schedule, he had forgotten to eat.

At the height of Wisdom's fame, the 1962 film A Stitch in Time took more money in its first two weeks than the James Bond film of the same year, From Russia With Love. Wisdom's fame was now spreading abroad. In 1965, at a film festival in Argentina, he was awarded the Golden Flame Award for The Most Popular Artist of All Nations. Wisdom's stage musical, Walking Happy, won him a New York Critics' award, and Richard Rogers cast him in Androcles and the Lion alongside Noël Coward in a TV special for NBC.

He also toured the world with Tony Fayne, his comedic sparring partner, visiting many parts of Africa, Iran, Malaysia, Australia and Canada. He was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award for Comedy in 1991, and in 1995 finally made it to Albania after the fall of communism. He was greeted there by adoring crowds, for whom his films had been the only bright spot in four decades of Enver Hoxha's isolationist rule. In 1998, the Barbican held a retrospective of Wisdom's work. Then aged 83, he was there, singing, dancing and falling about as he had throughout his career.

However despite his natural comedic prowess, Wisdom also yearned to do "real acting", once complaining that he would give "half my right arm" to play the deaf-mute in Ryan's Daughter. In 1981 he took part in Going Gently, a moving two-handed BBC TV play set in a terminal cancer ward. Wisdom said: "All I can say is when he [the director, Stephen Frears] said 'Cut!' there was a silence that seemed to go on for ever. Looking around, I saw tears in the cameraman's eyes. Frears just walked over, and without a word ruffled my hair."

Wisdom also played a gangster who crosses the Mafia in the 1991 film Double X, and enjoyed a stint in the long-running BBC comedy The Last Of The Summer Wine. He played a vicar in a short film, Expresso, in 2007. His one great unfulfilled ambition was to write and star in a film about Benny Lynch, the flyweight champion in 1935 who was found dead and destitute in a gutter 11 years later at the age of 33.

Wisdom's phenomenal physical fitness meant that he could still accept such roles into his late seventies. Well into his eighties, he astonished journalists who visited his home in the Isle of Man by suddenly standing up from his seat, dropping to the floor and turning several somersaults. (He would also let them wear and be photographed in what he said was his original Gump cap, but seemed suspiciously new when the author saw and was photographed in it.) In 2000, Wisdom brought out a fitness video aimed at youngsters in their sixties.

In his personal life, Wisdom wasunlucky. In 1947, eight years after his short-lived marriage, he met andmarried a chorus girl, Freda Simpson. They lived in a caravan parked off the Barnet by-pass. However, after 22 years of marriage, Wisdom, flush with success on Broadway, came home to find that Freda had left him for someone he described as "tall and good-looking". Wisdom's two children, Nick and Jackie, then aged 12 and 11, chose to stay with their father. Wisdom never married again.

Wisdom was a prolific songwriter and admitted that his songs had the common themes of love and loneliness, which he conceded was a reflection of both the Gump character he had created and a bit of himself, too.

In 1995 he was granted an OBEand went to collect it in morning suit and the Gump cap. He was no stranger to Royalty, having been a guestperformer at Windsor Castle andbeing told by a lady-in-waiting that the Queen found it difficult to keep a straight face when he was around. Wisdom and the cap made another visit to Buckingham Palace in 2000 to accept a knighthood.

A relentlessly jolly man, who never admitted to so much as a scintilla of depression, Norman Wisdom was proudest of two things in his life. That Charlie Chaplin once designated him the comedian who would follow in his footsteps – and the fact that he never raised his voice to anyone during his whole career.

Norman Wisdom, actor and comedian: born 4 February 1915; married 1939 Doreen Brett (marriage dissolved), 1947 Freda Simpson (marriage dissolved, died 1992; one son, one daughter); OBE 1995, Kt 2000; died Ballasalla, Isle of Man 4 October 2010.

Craigslist Prostitutes and the Future of Prostitution

2010-10-09T04:46:00.000+07:00

Author: Andrew Hallinan

As most people know by now, Craigslist has removed the "adult services" section of their website from the home page. And that action has brought about much debate. But what about one of the oldest questions in regard to this vocation: should prostitution be legalized?

A particular study reported by The Washington Post found this out…

1. Men's first instinct isn't to look to prostitutes when they desire sex. On the flip side of that coin, up to 40% of prostitution arrangements don't end with sex. Some have called this the "Pretty Woman" theory. However, from a legal standpoint, the 40% of these transactions still present many legal suspicions and hairy predicaments for law enforcement and legal counsel because it is so difficult to prove intent of any of these business dealings.

2. Even though, as mentioned, Craigslist has removed their front-page access to "adult services" (some say it has simply been re-named and moved to a less visible section of the website, but that's another article, for another time), it is still considered to be faster and simpler to find a prostitute online than to cruise areas of town traditionally used. This shift from street corner to webpage has been steady in the past 10 years and some experts say the number of prostitutes walking the street in search of work has decreased by 50% in some cities since 1999.

3. Apparently, smaller numbers of prostitutes are also drug addicts. In many ways prostitution has become a higher-end, more self-respecting arena and many women offering their services play by their own rules now. While these women still find their inspiration from Mae West, they are more lady-like in their appearance and mannerisms, more likely to stick up for themselves, and all around, being less likely to fit the "traditional" image of a prostitute. In relation to the question posed at the beginning of this article ("should prostitution be legalized?"), those who are not addicted to an illegal, mind or mood altering substance are less likely to cause trouble.

4. Popular tv and mainstream media, particularly the many popular "Law & Order" shows, give a pretty accurate depiction of law enforcement's attitude and treatment toward prostitutes. The portrayal of the doubtful cooperation of cops and prostitutes working together to catch the "bad guy" may be more accurate than many people think. Some even go as far as to say that the police and law enforcement are actually those most empathetic toward prostitutes as they are often known for directing women towards shelters where they know the lady will find a good meal and a safe place.

5. But in regards to Craigslist, specifically, there is no evidence that their removal of access to "adult services" will affect the prostitution industry. As mentioned in point #2, regardless of whether or not the adult services section may still be available in a different section and re-named on the community website, there is no evidence that Craigslist has the corner market on prostitution. Therefore, regardless of what it does with its site, there are too many other websites and options out in the world for Craigslist to begin to be able to affect the availability of these services. One study found that up to 80% of phone calls made to prostitutes from an ad on Craigslist actually never ended with a face to face meeting or the exchange of money for services.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/womens-issues-articles/craigslist-prostitutes-and-the-future-of-prostitution-3409594.html

About the Author
We invite you to view more about Craigslist Prostitutes by visiting our website. Or, find out how to learn Morse Code by visiting our site Learn Morse Code.

Hauntings of The Royal Naval Hospital Haslar, England

2010-10-09T04:42:00.000+07:00

Author: Paul hussey

Many years ago I worked at RN Hospital Haslar, England and as its history is very interesting I thought I would write about it's fun history. The Royal Hospital Haslar began as a Royal Navy hospital in 1753. It has a long and distinguished history in the medical care of service personnel in peacetime and in war. The buildings were designed by Theodore Jacobsen and built from 1746 and completed in 1762. St Luke's Chapel was added in 1762 and later still, a landing stage was added so troops could reach the hospital directly from ships. Haslar was the biggest hospital and the largest brick building in England when it was built. The hospital included an asylum for sailors with psychiatric disorders and an early superintending psychiatrist was the phrenologist, William Scott, a member of the influential Edinburgh Phrenological Society. James Lind at Haslar Hospital 1758-1774 played a large part in discovering a cure for scurvy, not least through his pioneering use of a double blind trial of vitamin C supplements.
Ghosts of RNH Haslar
A lot of poltergeist activity has been reported in the galley. According to a clairvoyant who worked in the hospital there are three ghosts occupying the kitchen area and many more around the hospital.
1) Michael Connelly, an Irishman who apparently likes the cooking. 'Michael' apparently like to let the galley workers know that they are there. It has been reported that all the files in the office have been tipped on the floor several times by unexplained means, and witnesses have claimed that the taps have turned on by themselves. The radio has apparently turned itself down.
2) An angry man called Derek who appears to have died from stab wounds. 'Derek' and The evening supervisor has reported that cutlery has been thrown around and it has also been claimed by witnesses that the kettle has switched itself on and that doors have opened by themselves
3) A woman called Margaret who haunts the spiral staircase. She is believed to have tripped over something before the stairs were built and died as a result. One of the Wardroom stewards claimed to have met 'Margaret' a few years ago walking up the spiral staircase. She said she met an elderly woman coming down and, thinking she was lost the steward asked her if she needed some help. However, the woman had vanished.
4) There is also a spirit who inhabits the old Senior Rates Mess. Several people have claimed that some parts of the galley are bitterly cold where the rest of it is warm; another favourite trick of all the ghosts is leaving puddles of water on the floor. Many members of the galley staff have claimed to have heard tapping on the window of the chef's office, which has encouraged them to leave for the public restaurant in a hurry.
5) Several members of staff have reported seeing the figure of a man in the corridor outside the galley. One claims to have seen a man look in the door (she went to ask if he was lost but when she got there there was nobody in sight).
6) Another reports having seen the reflection of an older man in the window (he turned around to ask if the man was looking for something, again nobody could be seen). Many people have complained that this corridor gets bitterly cold even when all the windows are shut and the heaters are on.
7) In F Block which used to be the lunatic asylum - the galley, which is opposite, used to be the yard where those in the asylum had their exercise and this area is claimed to be a 'psychic hotspot.
8) Outside the Operating Theatre's Staff have claimed to experience a sensation of being followed and most have reported a feeling of fear while being in this area. Staff members have claimed to hear footsteps as they have walked down the corridor and have admitted that they have quickened their pace while walking alone along it. Most members of the nursing staff choose to take the long route from B block to E block in order to avoid it.
A clairvoyant has claimed that the spirit residing in the corridor died because of a botched operation - an emergency procedure (as he was in immense pain), probably to save him from a blood clot. A hole was drilled in his left temple to relieve the pressure but he died in the corridor. It is claimed that he can only rest once the operation is repeated and the new patient dies. The original spirit is attempting to guide the other man's spirit back to his body. This is supposedly because there was nobody around to help him when he died.
9) In the Children's Ward A member of staff claims to have seen the ghost of a little girl who runs around the top floor of D Block. A large number of children were killed in a fire in this part of the building, but nothing specific is known about this tragedy. The area is now closed as the paediatric department has moved to another hospital.
10) In the Cellar's where I used to use to cut across the hospital (which are now closed), but before that, they were used as a short cut to the X-Ray department. In the days before anaesthetic the cellars accommodated the operating theatres and housed the insane; it has been reported that you can still hear screams and the rattling of chains. During the Second World War the cellars were once again used as operating theatres and as wards during the height of air raids.
11) In the Canada Block the money used to build this accommodation block was raised by the 'Women of Canada' during the Great War. It has been claimed that many spirits supposedly inhabit Canada Block along with unexplained noises and lights turning on and off. The ghost that most have reported seeing is that of a nurse who hanged herself during the First World War. Just to add to this, Canada Block is also built in the site of the original hospital graveyard.
12) Near St. Lukes Church an MoD Police officer described a ghost he'd witnessed while on a night patrol at St. Luke's church at Haslar Hospital. He'd seen an elderly woman walking towards the church, but when he returned less than a minute later, she had disappeared. An hour later, the hospital mortician told him about the body he'd dealt with earlier that day. The description matched that of the woman the police officer had seen.
With its history of pain and distress its not surprising that Haslar is haunted by distressed spirits.
Interesting Facts about RNH Haslar
a) In 1902 the hospital became known as the Royal Naval Hospital Haslar (abbreviated to RNH Haslar).b) In the 1940s, RNH Haslar set up the country's first 'blood bank' to help treat wounded soldiers from the Second World War.c) In 1966 the remit of the hospital expanded to serve all three services - the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force.d) In 1996 the hospital again became known as the Royal Hospital Haslar.e) In 2001 the provision of acute healthcare within Royal Hospital Haslar was transferred from the Defence Secondary Care Agency to the NHS Trust. The Royal Hospital was the last MOD-owned acute hospital in the UK. The change from military control to the NHS, and the complete closure of the hospital have been the subject of considerable local controversy.f) The last military-run ward was ward E5, a planned orthopaedic surgery ward. The ward encompasses 21 beds in small 'rooms', and is run by the military staff with some NHS colleagues; the ward manager is a serving military officer. The ward is served by both military and NHS doctors; the ancillary staff are non-military.g) The ward E5 closed in 2009 along with the rest of the site and military staff will move to new posts within MDHU Portsmouth or other units around the country.
h) To mark the handover of control to the civilian NHS trust, the military medical staff marched out of RH Haslar in 2007, exercising the unit's rights of the freedom of Gosport.i) The staff consisted of Royal Air Force, Royal Navy and Army led by a band of the Royal Marines. The Gosport citizens are said to deeply saddened by the closure of Haslar and there are campaigns to keep the hospital open. Gosport politicians cite that that the UK is the only country in the Western world not to have a dedicated Military hospital, run by and for its military staff - who understand the needs and ideology of the service person. At present, most casualties from conflicts return to Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham.
J) The grounds are said to contain the bodies of at least 20,000 service personnel.
In 2001 Haslar was designated a Grade II listed historic park. Several of the buildings are listed.
Please visit my Funny Animal Art Prints Collection @ http://www.fabprints.com
My other website is called Directory of British Icons: http://fabprints.webs.com
The Chinese call Britain 'The Island of Hero's' which I think sums up what we British are all about. We British are inquisitive and competitive and are always looking over the horizon to the next adventure and discovery.
Copyright © 2010 Paul Hussey. All Rights Reserved.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/journalism-articles/hauntings-of-the-royal-naval-hospital-haslar-england-3362073.html

About the Author My family tree has been traced back to the early Kings of England from the 7th Century AD. I am also a direct descendent of Sir Christopher Wren which has given me an interest in English History and Icons which is great fun to research.
I have recently decided to write articles on my favourite subjects: English Sports, English History, English Icons, English Discoveries and English Inventions.
At present I have written over 100 articles which I call "An Englishman's Favourite Bits Of England" in various Volumes.
Please visit my Blogs page http://Bloggs.Resourcez.Com where I have listed all my articles to date.
Copyright © 2010 Paul Hussey. All Rights Reserved.

A Canon EF-S Macro 60mm Lens Review - The One and Only EF-S Macro

2010-10-09T04:36:00.000+07:00

Author: Wayne Rasku

Not every photographer is a professional. Of this I am guilty.But I really like my Canon EOS 30D. And, although my camera is not a pro dslr camera, I have obtained some genuinely excellent pictures with it. I have also earned some awards on various websites as "photograph of the day".Looking for lenses for my own Canon dslr led me to consider the Canon EF-S macro lens selection. I find that EF-S lenses perform really well, basically due to the fact they are designed specifically for my variety of digital camera. In the event you own a Canon Rebel, virtually any model, or any of the XXD Canon cameras, you are able to use these particular lenses on your dslr camera.The technological innovation has been particularly geared toward digital cameras with a APS-C sensor (this is the sensor that is in the entry-level to mid-level digital slr cameras referred to above).To my surprise, there is simply one Canon EF-S macro lens available. It is the 60mm f/2.8 USM lens, and it is a dedicated macro lens. You can take pictures of really small objects, bugs, flowers, and all manner of little things. Close-up photography is the main contributing factor for why I actually moved from a digital compact to my very first Canon Rebel.So, acquiring a macro lens for my Rebel was huge on my priority list. I checked out the complete lineup of lenses, a few of which cost as high as the camera itself... I couldn't afford them.I settled on the Canon EF-S 60mm lens soon after reading the reviews and individual comments concerning it. I have never been sorry about that choice. I think of this lens my very best one, not merely because of the macro photos it creates, but additionally due to the fact it manages other sorts of images well, too. As an example, whenever I would like to snap a portrait of one of the grandkids, the Canon EF-S macro lens is my alternative. The focal length is perfect for taking portraits with professional quality.I fool around with product shots in my garage where I set up a very crude light-box, and the 60mm macro is my lens for that, too.It does not handle landscapes very well, and on trips to the ball park, there will probably be a different lens on my Canon DSLR, but in all, I find that the Canon EF-S macro lens manages most of my heavy work with wonderful success.In addition, if I decide to upgrade to a better camera (I have my eye on a Canon 7D, and negotiations on terms with my better half have begun), the EF-S lenses will do just fine.As you can tell, I am a big fan of macro photography. And in my personal experience, I found that the Canon 60mm has truly performed the job beautifully. It has an exceptional wide aperture of f/2.8 to provide fast shutter speeds for those elusive bugs and butterflies. It also yields a wonderful blurred background, the aim of a decent close-up image. The USM (ultra sonic motor) provides quick focus, again, nailing the bug shots with a very good "keeper" rate.I would not be reluctant to recommend a Canon EF-S macro 60mm lens to virtually any Canon camera owner. It is an amazing lens.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/digital-photography-articles/a-canon-ef-s-macro-60mm-lens-review-the-one-and-only-ef-s-macro-3340824.html

About the AuthorI love photography and all things related to it. Cameras, camera gear, and image editing software fascinate me, so I am either buying the newest piece of equipment (or software) or researching my next purchase. Go to www.canoneoslenses.org/macro-canon-lens/ for a much better look.

7 Photography tips when going on a vacation

2010-10-09T04:30:00.000+07:00

Author: Kevin Mason

Planning to go on a family vacation? Here are 7 simple photography tips to help you make the vacation a memorable one.

1 - Always have the camera fully charged. Before starting off from your house make sure that the camera or the camcorder is fully charged and ready to use when you reach your destination. Don't forget to pack the battery charger with the camera. If you have a tripod pack that also as its very useful when taking close up videos.

2 - Keep the camera handy in a carry case around your neck. If you are anticipating some ‘action', be ready to capture it. You wouldn't want to miss out on a great picture just because you forgot to take off the lens cover or the camera wasn't in the correct mode.

3 - Keep it natural. Rather than having people staring in the camera with an artificial smile, take pictures when they are their natural self. The pictures will come out better and look more natural. Also instead of leveling up the camera from the front and keeping the subject in the centre of the viewfinder, try using different angles. When photographing children, catch them when they are unaware and engaged in their natural activities. This will help you get great photos.

4 - Take as many photos as possible. You don't want to realize later that in what could have been your best photos, someone's eyes were closed or there was a stranger in the background. With today's digital cameras, you can immediately delete whatever images you don't want to keep.

5 - Don't focus on scene at the expense of the family. At times you'll come across scenes that will simply take your breath away - beaches, mountains, monuments whatever. Give equal attention to the backdrop and the people in it. It should not look as if the people in the picture are there for the sake of it. Later you can take photos of the backdrop separately.

6 - For panoramic views take a series of smaller pictures and then stitch them together using various free tools that you can download from the internet. No technical knowledge is needed for this and these tools come with easy to use instructions. You can stitch these pictures horizontally and vertically and this will provide an end result which is far superior to the individual images.
and last but not the least

7 - Store your photos online and offline. Be sure to take prints of the best photos. Also store these online at any of the various websites that allow you to store your photos for free. You can also add captions to your photos. By making it publicly accessible, you can share these photos with anyone you want to.
Follow these simple tips and make your vacation a memorable one.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/photography-articles/7-photography-tips-when-going-on-a-vacation-3249618.html

About the AuthorKevin Mason invites you to check the latest and best hd camcorders for amateur as well as professional photographers. Also get great photography tips at http://www.hdcamcorderpro.co.uk

Tips for Beginers

2010-10-09T04:23:00.001+07:00

Author: ausbattery

Digital cameras are one of the greatest inventions of modern times. We are so fortunate to have this modern convenience called Digital Photography. To be able to capture a precious moment or beautiful scene at the click of a button, is something we should not take for granted. Many beginners find digital photography rather challenging and rightly so. Today, more and more digital cameras are being created and it seems like the more digital cameras they make, the more difficult they become to use. I own a Canon Powershot S3 IS. I purchased this digital camera about a year ago and I still haven't utilized all of the awesome little features this camera has to offer. Now you may not want or even need a camera with tons of features. It really depends on the type of pictures you plan on taking. Regardless of the camera you own or are planning to own, you should have a well rounded knowledge of digital photography. I hope the following 20 tips for taking digital photography will prove to be useful in your quest for taking better photographs.

1. Know your camera. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is not taking time to learn about the features of your camera. Don't be lazy. Read your instruction manual.

2. When shooting sunny outdoor shots, try adjusting your white balance setting from auto to cloudy. The auto setting will make your shots appear too cold. When you change it to cloudy, it will increase the warmth of your pictures.

3. If you are looking for superior image quality, the ability to use a variety of lenses and print large high quality photos, then considering a Digital SLR Camera.

4. Use your flash outdoors. Sometimes, even on a sunny day outdoors, there is still a need for a flash. If the sun is directly over head or behind your subject, this can cause dark shadows to appear on the face. The flash will help lighten the subjects face.

5. Sometimes simply turning your camera and taking vertical shots can make a world of difference. Experiment more with vertical picture taking.

6. Do not put your subjects directly in the center of your shot. Move your subject off center to inject more life into your photos.

7. Learn how to hold your digital camera. One of the most common problems beginners face is the shaking of the camera because they are not holding it properly. Of course, the best way to avoid shaking the camera is to use a tripod. If you don't have a tripod, then you should be holding your camera with two hands. Put one hand on the right hand side of your camera where you actually snap the photo and the other hand will support the weight of your camera. Depending on the camera, your left hand will either be positioned on the bottom or around your lens.

8. Learn about the "Rule of Thirds". This is a well known principle of photographic composition that every beginner should become familiar with. Do a search online and you will find many tutorials on this subject. 9. Look at other photographers work. Just spending time studying the work of other photographers can provide loads of inspiration.

10. Join online photography communities. Get active and ask questions.

11. Do not compare your photography to anyone else.

12. Do not copy the work of other photographers. Try and develop your own unique style.

13. Do not leave your batteries in your camera if you don't plan on using your camera for long periods of time. Some batteries run the risk of leaking and this can damage your camera.

14. Subscribe to a good photography magazine. Read books on photography. Join a good photo forum like http://photographyatnewenglandmoments.com/index.php

15. Find experienced photographers to go out on shoots with.

16. Post your photographs in online forums. Learn to accept criticism. http://photographyatnewenglandmoments.com/index.php

17. Try taking your pictures in RAW format. RAW is a powerful option available in today's digital cameras where no in-camera processing takes place. This allows you to do all processing using your favorite image editing software.

18. Don't buy the most expensive photography equipment right away. Practice and learn about photography using cheaper equipment first. After you have been taking pictures for a while, you will then know what kind of equipment you will need.

19. Invest in a tripod. Some of us have very shaky hands. If you can't stop the shakes, then get a tripod. It will make a world of difference.

20. If you are not able to carry your equipment with you everywhere, make sure you have a note pad handy. This way if you find a nice shot, you can write it down and visit that location at a later date.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/photography-articles/20-beginner-tips-for-taking-digital-photography-3271602.html

About the Authorwww.aus-battery.com is an operated online retailer of high-quality electronics accessories, specialising in laptop battery and laptop ac adapter, battery chargers, camera batteries, camcorder batteries, power tool batteries and mobile phone batteries. Battery company has quickly grown to one of the top online Australian retailers of electronics accessories, offering generic product brands that provide the same quality as the big brand names but at half the price. Now at www.aus-battery.com, we offer customers a wide selection of products at unbeatable prices, together with personalised customer service and fast shipping for our customers.

Facebook Upgrades

2010-10-09T04:11:00.001+07:00

Author: bohdan

Facebook, which is one of the world's largest photo-sharing sites (in addition to being the leader among social networks), is rolling out some marked improvements to its Photos product.
These updates include hi-res photos, photo-download links, bulk tagging options and an elegant lightbox interface for viewing pictures and images from anywhere on ones site.
The lightbox in particular reminds us of similar features recently rolled out by Flickr; and some of these improvements, such as hi-res and downloading capabilities, are what have prevented Facebook from serious competition with Flickr as a photo-sharing destination.
In the recent past, Facebook photos were best for capturing memories of places, people and events through small images and mobile snapshots; however, these changes allow a whole new class of image-sharing, up to and including photography, modeling and graphic design portfolios.
With its 500 million users around the world, Facebook is now poised to take over the photo-sharing market.
Beginning today and rolling out to all users soon, you will be able to upload and download hi-res photos up to 2048 pixels wide or high -- that's large enough for print-quality images. (Currently, Facebook only displays 720 pixels; larger photos simply get resized.) Each photo will come with a link to download the JPEG file, as well.
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The site's new bulk tagging options will allow the uploading individual to temporarily group images and tag friends by simply clicking on thumbnails.
Another interesting change is Facebook's lightbox UI, which strongly and clearly puts the focus on images.
Starting soon, any time you click on an image anywhere on Facebook, be it in an album or in your News Feed or on a friend's Wall, you'll see a black box hovering over the rest of the screen with some minimal navigation controls and relevant social features, allowing you to concentrate completely on the image at hand.
While we don't love the ads in place here, we do realize that hosting hi-res photos costs a lot more and will attract a lot more usage -- both from uploading parties and from viewing individuals -- all of which puts more strain on Facebook's servers. We'll sacrifice an ad-free experience for higher quality photos.
What do you think about these changes? Do you think Facebook -- which already competes with Twitter as a status service, Google as an advertiser, and every major social network as a digital hub for friends -- will soon be competing with Flickr for the photos of pros and amateurs alike?
For More: Click Here for Latest Tecgnology 2011

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/photography-articles/facebook-upgrades-photos-look-out-flickr-3392516.html

About the AuthorFinding a special interest in technology and reading about news online - That's all about me in a nut-shell

Reflect Your Lifestyle Through Lifestyle Photography

2010-10-09T04:08:00.000+07:00

Author: Neo Optic

A picture is worth a thousand words. In an appealing and artistic way images speak volumes. It frames people with an improved and affluent life experience. Lifestyle is a way of life reflecting a person's behavior, social relations, lifestyle, dress etc. Lifestyle photography takes all these into account and beyond. Modern Lifestyle Photography arrests life as it happens and therefore includes all - shots of people eating out at a restaurant, family on a holiday, or simply amateurs playing golf at a resort. For years Professional photographers throughout the world and specially photographers in Norwich have captured the serendipity, have pressed the shutter at the exact moment.
Gone are the days of boring family pictures. The cold, posed pictures and bland background do little to appeal the senses. Nowadays, families by and large move away from conventional posed photography. Instead of sitting in a boring studio and ending up with a heap of similar looking pictures they prefer to be clicked while playing together in their front yard. Also outdoor provides stimulus for children. Trees to climb, water to splatter, dogs or seagulls to play with evoke natural expressions in children. Digital photography has further opened the doors to modern lifestyle photograph though lights can pose a problem at times. Photographers capture the moment without thought for composition or lighting or any of the other elements. Digital cameras provide instant feedback and let the photographer know if the shot is perfect one. It is also a cost effective option compared to extremely expensive film camera!
Photography is no child's play. The demand for good photography will always be high - whether it is lifestyle, corporate or wedding photography. A professional portrait is a valuable item - an heirloom that will be cherished for generations. But often people make the mistake of selecting their photographer without researching. By making a good decision on your photographer, you will be more likely to be satisfied with the result of your investment. There are several stores online as well as in the real world that offer excellent lifestyle photograph. Due to the availability of several online portals specializing in life style photography making a choice has become easy. Many of the photographers based in Norwich specialize in lifestyle photography. Silvestri studio is one such portal where customers get value for money. Based in Norwich the online portal understands your requirements and put their best effort to satisfy you.
Picture frames filled with memorable prints create an amazing piece for years to come. Moreover, Life photography has now become the most common images to be used in advertising and web design as it sets them apart and give them an edge over their competitors. Therefore, Lifestyle Photography is in vogue and is used for promotions of lifestyle products and services such as hotels, restaurants, day spas etc. So, just choose one of the best photographers. Capture the moment, the fun and joy that makes life so beautiful and preserve it forever through life style photography.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/photography-articles/reflect-your-lifestyle-through-lifestyle-photography-3400659.html

About the AuthorSamantha Stephens is a professional photographer and likes to write about Norwich photography. She is specifically interested in portrait photography including boudoir photography and bridal photography.

RAW JPEG and TIFF by Bob Atkins

2010-10-08T05:32:00.000+07:00

RAW, JPEG and TIFF
by Bob Atkins
There seems to be a lot of confusion among some new digital camera owners about exactly what the difference is between RAW, JPEG and TIFF files. This article is intended to be a very basic guide to these file types and how they are related in a typical digital camera.
First some basics
The digital sensor in the majority of digital cameras is what is known as a BAYER PATTERN sensor. This relates to the arrangement of red, green and blue sensitive areas. A typical sensor looks like this:
Each pixel in the sensor responds to either red, green or blue light and there are 2 green sensitive pixels for each red and blue pixel. There are more green pixels because the eye is more sensitive to green, so the green channel is the most important. The sensor measures the intensity of light falling on it. The green pixels measure the green light, the red the red and the blue the blue. The readout form the sensor is of the form color:intensity for each individual pixel, where color can be red, green or blue and intensity runs from 0 to 4095 (for a 12-bit sensor)
A conventional digital image has pixels which can be red, green, blue of any one of millions of other colors, so to generate such an image from the data output by the sensor, a significant amount of signal processing is required. This processing is called Bayer interpolation because it must interpolate (i.e. calculate) what the color of each pixel should be. The color and intensity of each pixel is calculated based on the relative strengths of the red, green and blue channel data from all the neighboring pixels. Each pixel in the converted image now has three parameters: red:intensity, blue:intensity and green:intensity. In the end the calculated image looks something like this:
RAW data
RAW data (which Nikon call NEF data) is the output from each of the original red, green and blue sensitive pixels of the image sensor, after being read out of the array by the array electronics and passing through an analog to digital converter. The readout electronics collect and amplify the sensor data and it's at this point that "ISO" (relative sensor speed) is set. If readout is done with little amplification, that corresponds to a low ISO (say ISO 100), while if the data is read out with a lot of amplification, that corresponds to a high ISO setting (say ISO 3200). As far as I know, RAW isn't an acronym, it doesn't stand for anything, it just means raw, unprocessed, data.
Now one of two things can be done with the RAW data. It can be stored on the memory card, or it can be further processed to yield a JPEG image. The diagram below shows the processes involved:
If the data is stored as a JPEG file, it goes through the Bayer interpolation, is modified by in camera set parameters such as white balance, saturation, sharpness, contrast etc, is subject to JPEG compression and then stored. The advantage of saving JPEG data is that the file size is smaller and the file can be directly read by many programs or even sent directly to a printer. The disadvantage is that there is a quality loss, the amount of loss depending on how much compression is used. The more compression, the smaller the file but the lower the image quality. Lightly compressed JPEG files can save a significant amount of space and lose very little quality. For more on JPEG compression seehttp://www.photo.net/learn/jpeg/index.html
RAW to JPEG or TIFF conversion
If you save the RAW data, you can then convert it to a viewable JPEG or TIFF file at a later time on a PC. The process is shown in the diagram below:
You'll see this is pretty similar to the first diagram, except now you're doing all the processing on a PC rather than in the camera. Since it's on a PC you can now pick whatever white balance, contrast, saturation, sharpness etc. you want. So here's the first advantage of saving RAW data. You can change many of the shooting parameters AFTER exposure. You can't change the exposure (obviously) and you can't change the ISO, but you can change many other parameters.
A second advantage of shooting a RAW file is that you can also perform the conversion to an 8-bit or 16-bit TIFF file. TIFF files are larger than JPEG files, but they retain the full quality of the image. They can be compressed or uncompressed, but the compression scheme is lossless, meaning that although the file gets a little smaller, no information is lost. This is a tricky concept for some people, but here's a simple example of lossless compression. Take this string of digits:
14745296533333659762888888356789
Is there a way to store this that doesn't lose any digits, but takes less space? The answer is yes. One way would be as follows
1474529653[5]6597628[6]356789
Here the string 33333 has been replaced by 3[5] - meaning a string of 5 3s, and the string 888888 has been replaced by 8[6] - meaning a string of 6 8s. You've stored the same exact data, but the "compressed" version takes up less space. This is similar (but not identical) to the way lossless TIFF compression is done.
I said above that the data could be stored as an 8 or 16-bit TIFF file. RAW data from most high end digital camera contains 12 bit data, which means that there can be 4096 different intensity levels for each pixel. In an 8-bit file (such as a JPEG), each pixel can have one of 256 different intensity levels. Actually 256 levels is enough, and all printing is done at the 8 bit level, so you might ask what the point is of having 12 bit data. The answer is that it allows you to perform a greater range of manipulation to the image without degrading the quality. You can adjust curves and levels to a greater extent, then convert back to 8-bit data for printing. If you want to access all 12 bits of the original RAW file, you can convert to a 16-bit TIFF file. Why not a 12-bit TIFF file? Because there's no such thing! Actually what you do is put the 12 bit data in a 16 bit container. It's a bit like putting a quart of liquid in a gallon jug, you get to keep all the liquid but you have some free space. Putting the 12 bit data in a 8 bit file is like pouring that quart of liquid into a pint container. It won't all fit so you have to throw some away.
When to shoot RAW, when to shoot JPEG?
The main reason to shoot JPEG is that you get more shots on a memory card and it's faster, both in camera and afterwards. If you shoot RAW files you have to then convert them to TIFF or JPEG on a PC before you can view or print them. If you have hundreds of images, this can take some time. If you know you have the correct exposure and white balance as well as the optimum camera set parameters, then a high quality JPEG will give you a print just as good as one from a converted RAW file, so you may as well shoot JPEG.
You shoot RAW when you expect to have to do some post exposure processing. If you're not sure about exposure or white balance, or if you want to maintain the maximum possible allowable post exposure processing, then you'll want to shoot RAW files, convert to 16-bit TIFF, do all your processing, then convert to 8-bit files for printing. You lose nothing by shooting RAW except for time and the number of images you can fit on a memory card.
Note that some cameras can store a JPEG image along with the RAW file. This is the best of both worlds, you have a JPEG image which you can quickly extract from the file, but you also have the RAW data which you can later convert and process if theres a problem with the JPEG. The disadvantage is, of course, that this takes up even more storage space. Many cameras also store a small "thumbnail" along with the RAW file which can be read and displayed quickly without having to do a full RAW conversion just to see what's in the file.

Taking pictures of People on your travels.

2010-10-07T23:05:00.000+07:00

Photographs of people can be simply categorised into two groups: portraits and environmental portraits. Portraits are close-up studies of a subject’s face. Environmental portraits include the subject’s surroundings as an integral part of the image, providing a context for the portrait.

Taking portraits

Capturing close-ups of people is a challenging and sometimes daunting proposition, but if done successfully it will add a great deal of depth, interest and personal satisfaction to your travel pictures.

Concentrate on filling the frame with your subject and you’ll be rewarded with a stronger image. Avoid backgrounds that are too busy or have very light or very dark patches of colour. Your eyes should not be distracted from the subject’s face. Always focus on the eyes. It doesn’t matter if other features are out of focus: if the eyes aren’t sharp the image will fail.

Environmental portraits

Environmental portraits add context and allow the viewer to learn something about the person. This kind of portrait lends itself to the use of wide-angle lenses. This is important because the location is an integral part of the picture. Get close so that nothing comes between the camera and the subject. This technique is great for crowded situations such as markets and busy streets.

Groups

People gather in groups large and small for all sorts of reasons: to wait for a bus, watch a street performance, make a purchase at a market stall, even just to stand around and watch the foreigner take photos. Unlike the formal groups we like to pose at home, groups encountered on the road are best treated as informal; photograph them how you find them. The larger the group the less chance you have of getting a shot where everyone looks good, so take as many frames as you can. When you’ve taken the group shot consider moving, or zooming in on, individuals for portrait shots.

Children

Many people feel more comfortable taking pictures of children than adults. They’re usually very enthusiastic about being photographed and will often give you the time to take several frames.

A great way to break the ice with children, and to give them something in return, is to let them look through the viewfinder. This is especially exciting for them if you have a telephoto lens on. It’s a good idea, if you can, to turn the camera off – some children are very quick to figure out how to press the shutter! If you’re shooting digitally, showing them the result on the LCD screen is even better.

Travel Companions

Treat taking pictures of your friends and family as seriously as the other people pictures you take. A great way to get good shots of your companions on the road is to look out for situations where they are interacting with the locals or are occupied with something of interest. This will create much more rewarding shots than by getting them to look at the camera. Look for instances where your friends are bargaining for a souvenir, loading packs on the bus roof or looking at temple statues. Your photos will capture the travel experience in an active rather than passive way.

Other things to consider

You’ll become more comfortable photographing people, and enjoy better results, if you’re able to compose and make technical decisions quickly.

Some photographers ask before shooting, others don’t. Asking permission allows you to use the ideal lens, get close enough to fill the frame, provides the opportunity to take several shots, as well as to communicate with your subject if necessary.

How you approach people will affect the outcome of your request for a photo. Simply smiling and holding your camera up is usually sufficient to get your intention across. Approach the person with confidence and shoot quickly.

In popular destinations you could be asked for money in return for taking a photo. This may be considered a fair and reasonable exchange, but it can become tiresome and discourage you from photographing people. Agree on the price beforehand to avoid problems afterwards (and make sure you’re working in their economy, not yours). Always have coins and small denomination notes in an easily accessible pocket.

People often ask you to send them a photo. If you take people’s names and addresses with the promise of sending a photo, make sure you do. If you don’t, it makes it harder for the next traveller, and gives tourists a bad name.

Curtesy of Lonely Planet

Proud Photography Online Photography Courses

2010-10-05T05:08:00.001+07:00

2010-09-15T10:51:00.000+07:00

A Successful Partnership

People Improvement Organization have been in a successful partnership with Just World International based in Florida for the last several years. Just World International is a primary long term funder of the work done by PIO.

Phymean Noun is seen here with Maria Newman a visiting Just World International Founding Board Member, a vivacious and attractive lady who has done much to help achieve her daughter Jessicas dream of helping children in difficult circumstances.
Keep up the good work Maria, Phymean and Jessica, without people like you where would the children be, I dread to even think..

Maria and Heidi Visit PIO

2010-09-15T10:04:00.000+07:00

Maria, Heidi,Phymean and Steve

Maria Newman a board member of Just world International and her friend Heidi Greene, the wife of another board member, visited People Improvement Organization today. Maria has visited PIO several times before and was certainly well aquainted with the workings of the organization that JWI support.

Jessica Newman

Just World International was really the brainchild of Maria's daughter Jessica, and as I spoke more with her I became interested in the story of its conception and why that occurred. Jessica is a former international Equestrian Champion and her idea sought to link her world of horses and sport with the need to help others less fortunate than herself and others in her circle. She set up a system which linked into the international competitive horse scene which was certainly a first.

The Jump for a Just World initiative ( such a novel concept) was born of a desire to more fully implicate international equestrian competitors and events to support humanitarian causes.

The international equestrian sport, in Jessica's view, had been left far behind other Olympic sports, such as soccer, cycling and skiing, where athletes publicly donate their time and earnings to humanitarian causes. Jessica believed that the world of equestrian sports stands to gain a great deal by committing to charitable initiatives, especially as equestrians across the globe have begun moving beyond an elite image of privileged athletes and giving the best of themselves to those in need.

Jessica aimed to cultivate and encourage riders who want to make a difference in the world around them. By serving as ambassadors for JustWorld, riders are demonstrating that the horse industry has leaders with integrity and big hearts who really care about others. The goal in working with equestrian athletes and events was to produce a ripple effect and encourage others to follow in the quest for a just world. Star athletes influence significant numbers of people but JustWorld’s goal was and is to recognize the professional, junior, and amateur athletes are ready, willing, and able to positively influence the world.

The Kids from the Orphanage

The support that JWI offers People Improvement Organization, being a long term commintment, has helped PIO develop in areas that may have been impossible (or very difficult) such as JWI's commitment to PIO's recently opened Orphanage for which I know the children who now live there are very grateful.

Anyways enough of the history lesson and back to todays visit. I spoke at some length with Maria about her travels, her horses and her daughter of whom she is obviously extremely proud and supportive. Her caring attitude shone through with her interactions with the children and she seemed to enjoy her visit. Heidi was in amongst the kids from the first minute and although I had little time to talk with her I enjoyed her funny story about how she met her husband but I will not go into detail about that here.

Maria Newman

The continued support of Just World International is essential to the development of services to some of the poorest children of Cambodia via PIO ,and that this fruitful union of essentially like minded organizations will continue into a brighter future for the children. From what I have seen of the vivacious personalities involved the children need not worry.

The children of PIO maybe do not understand the links between JWI and PIO but if they did I am very sure they would like to say a big THANK YOU !

2010-09-12T18:35:00.002+07:00

A trip to Kampong Cham

2010-09-12T09:47:00.000+07:00

Kampong Cham is the third largest city in Cambodia. Despite not having as many tourist attractions as Phnom Penh or Angkor Wat, this charming city is the best place to get a feel of the “real” Cambodia. The remnants of French colonial rule are here, as are modern improvements to this one poor area’s infrastructure. The real charm of Kampong Cham lies with its people. Despite their almost universal poverty and the brutal history of their country, the people of Kampong Cham are mostly friendly, happy-go-lucky folks who are welcoming to tourists.

It was one of those days, I needed to get out of the city for a while so I decided much on the spure of the moment to fill up the truck and drive highway 7 to Kampong Cham. I have been there before and found the place to be friendly and in many ways photogenic. So I loaded the gear into the car and I was on my way.

Highway 5 / 7 is a busy old road and care needs to be taken as Khmer drivers tend to be a little less road aware than some peoples, especially the Bus drivers who generally think they own the road.

Along the road there are many thing that I find interesting, almost every village that you pass through has a Temple (Wat), no matter how poor the village there always seems to be money available to build the most extravagant Wat's.

The day was bright but overcaste and threatening rain but the cloud eventually began to break up giving some opportunities for some landscape style pictures.
As the morning progress the picture opportunities increased with the weather continuing to change.
I arrived at Kampong Cham at about 10.30 am and it took a while to orientate myself as some new building had taken place since I was last there but I eventually found my way down to the riverside, where I wanted to be, to find some local flavour shots of boats on the river and local people.

Some good shots were to had as the local people are very friendly towards tourists, and to them I'm a tourist.
I speak only a tic tic of Cambodia but many Khmers like to try their English speaking skills anyways and communication although a little difficult is ceratinly no impossible.
There is much to see in Kampong Cham but my quick trip did not allow me this time to explore futher, I may well go for a couple of days on the next occassion.

Get better picture from your Nikon Camera

2010-09-12T04:44:00.000+07:00

The easiest and surest way to save memories of your precious time is to take a snap of that particular moment. And the best way to capture them in all vivid detail is to invest in a DSLR camera. Among the camera companies Nikon DSLRs is as good as any to take great quality pictures at affordable prices. You can take a clear photograph with professional looks with your Nikon DSLR camera, all you have to do just take care of these simple steps:

1. The Autofocus option is available in Nikon DSLR camera which enables the camera to fine tune the focus of the camera automatically. But you should have to take care that your camera is placed well and focusing well on the subject. To Autofocus your Nikon DSLR camera, you should press the shutter button half and after a moment press the button completely which will place an automatic focus on your subject.

2. Hold the camera with both your hands supporting the camera in the left palm and hold the trigger in your right hand. A lot of beginners upgrading from a point and shoot don’t hold the DSLR properly and this results in a lot of shake in the photo.

: Nikon DSLR

3. After focusing on the subject , resist camera shake as it will provide you a clearer image. This is especially true in night when the camera needs more time to capture the image. Improvise; look out for places around where you can place the camera in a steady place and use the timer to take the snap.

4. Avoid taking full body photograph of your object when not necessary. Move closer towards the subject and take a close up photograph using the Portrait mode. Try to capture unposed photos thereby capturing real emotions of people

5. Avoid using flash during day time and in the places where enough light is available to take a clear photograph. Flashes tend to wash out the skin and the subtle emotions of people. But do not forget to on the flash if you are taking an indoor photograph with low intensity of light.

Englishman ARRESTED over Sex with Juveniles claim

2010-09-07T09:29:00.003+07:00

The Cambodian Municipal police have arrested a 50-year-old British national they believe paid to have sex with two underage girls age 11 and 12, officials said yesterday.
The suspect was arrested at a guesthouse in Kandal province’s Kien Svay district on Sunday night.
Also arrested was a 46-year-old tuk-tuk driver who allegedly arranged for the suspect to have sex with the girls. The owner of the guesthouse as well as the mother of one of the girls were also arrested.
Keo Thea, director of the municipal Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Bureau, said yesterday that the arrest followed several days of investigation.
“He was staying in the room with the two girls who he had sex with for six days, and who he paid US$1,500 each for a weeklong contract before we arrested him on the last day,” .

It does beg some questions though, why did the Police wait so long before the arrest, 1 week gathering evidence, surely after 1 night he had committed the crime and should have been arrested then to prevent more abuse to the children. I'm sure this will be a very high profile prosecution to give credibility to the Anti Human Trafficking Division. If he is guilty then I hope that he will serve his sentence in Cambodia before being deported back to UK....

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Back in Cambodia

2010-09-02T09:18:00.000+07:00

Well I arrived back in Cambodia last week only to be met by more rain, but at least this time it is puntuated by periods of sunshine. Lots of work to catch up on.

Weather

2010-08-05T13:58:00.000+07:00

Well the weather here in UK is worse than I remember it. Constantly raining but we still have a hose pipe ban and the reservoirs are empty. Went for a walk up to the Bird Santuary yesterday and the lakes were almost empty. The rain has certainly stimulated the wild-flowers and they are in abundance.

The days just seem to get wetter and wetter and despite this water is in short supply, begs the question, why ??

The forecast is for yet more rain, showers, thunder and lightning. Global warming seems to have arrived. Still I suppose we have to make the best of the sun that does break through, which is what I am trying to do, but anticipation of this currently rare event is increasingly difficult.

In the UK

2010-08-04T04:12:00.000+07:00

Hi I am currently visiting the UK as my Daughter has just had a little (10lb 5oz) baby boy so I thought I had better come and show my face. All is good here but the weather is even worse than I recall.

Spending some time with family and taking a respite, will be busy when I get back to Phnom Penh on some new projects I have in mind...

Srey and Ricky are seen here on a visit to a Castle at Beeston, between rain showers, we certainly enjoyed the day but the weather beat us in the end.

The Amazing Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 Lens: by Ian Kydd’Miller

2010-07-14T01:15:00.000+07:00

CurrentPhotographer.com | The latest digital photography news, tips, tools, techniques, how-tos and reviews for beginners through professionals

Problems with SHCH

2010-07-09T08:31:00.000+07:00

I was really perturbed and surprised by the following story told to me by Steve Goodman a fellow Ex-Pat living here in Cambodia about troubles he has been experiencing with Sihanouk Hospital Center of Hope (SHCH)

Quote
Steve Goodman
Sihanouk Hospital Center of HOPE is an important hospital in Cambodia and does a lot of very good work helping poor, needy and underprivileged people, but they also have some very serious problems, some of which they do not seem to be addressing in a professional constructive and positive manner.

I have a destitute Cambodian friend that I have provided daily care and support to for over 4 years.

Unfortunately my friend (a patient for many years at SHCH) and I have had some terrible, shocking and extremely upsetting experiences with SHCH over the past few years: suffice it to say these are things that any sane person would complain about because they directly or indirectly impacted my friend's health and outlook in a clearly negative and on numerous occasions in a decidedly mean-spirited way.

When I have voiced my very serious, reasonable and legitimate complaints, both orally and in writing, my complaints have absolutely NOT at all been met with the care, compassion and respect that the hospital prominently advertises. Actually they (SHCH) have, on a number of occasions, simply ignored me entirely. In fact I have been told repeatedly on numerous occasions by Dr. Gerlinda Lucas that - on the subject of my complaints –"it doesn't help". This attitude of not being able to do anything about problems that are pointed out is one that I have found, in my dealings with the hospital, to be pervasive and persistent over a period of years, though - to be completely fair - certaianly there have been occassions where my input was taken graciously and acted on in a constructive and appropriate manner.

Once a doctor at the hospital - in response to me having clearly and calmly suggesting a simple solution to a serious training deficiency at SHCH that he himself identified – said to me as he laughed “never mind, that was all in the past and there is nothing to worry about” – about a serious problem that had caused harm to my friend”. My suggestion was that they simply provide more training on a very particular topic.

As most reasonable people would agree, if complaints about serious problems are not handled in a respectful, professional, courteous and timely manner with prudent action then the problems actually become compounded and exacerbated, rather than alleviated. Clearly that is what has happened to my friend. Now I am making these problems public in an effort to continue to press SHCH to act in an upstanding and constructive manner.

Dr. Gerlinda Lucas and Dr. Sopheak Thai of SHCH have even gone so far as to threaten to discontinue my friend's lifesaving treatment as retribution in response to my complaints. These threats have proven to be extremely upsetting to both me and the poor sick patient. I believe that these unconscionable threats also badly tarnish the reputation of SHCH by violating a basic tenet of generally accepted medical ethics.

I have written to Mr. Kevin O'Brien about these problems and he has only responded by banishing me from the hospital, (negatively impacting the care that my friend is able to receive by limiting and compromising the quality of the care that I can provide) and by offering to return the money that I had donated to the hospital. I had not asked for my money back, Mr. O'Brien's offer to return my donations was unprompted by me, but I did take him up on his offer.

Mr. O'Brien evidently also fully endorses and approves the decision by Dr. Lucas and other doctors on his staff to cease communicating with me entirely about my friend's condition, while knowing full well that the patient was/is entirely dependent upon me for daily care and support. This conscious decision was made in response to serious complaints about the quality of care my friend was receiving... and it resulted in directly increasing the patient’s suffering and placing the patient in a more risky health position on a daily basis.

This conscious decision to end cooperation with me and to leave me in the dark about the patient’s status (diagnosis, treatment, nutritional advice, prognosis, and information about what to do in case the patient's condition worsens), clearly needlessly places the patient in a higher risk health situation on a daily basis

It seems to me that SHCH has an obligation to all of its patients and their respective care-givers to refrain from doing things that are harmful and restrict their activities to doing things that are helpful and supportive.

I find this type of uncivil response (uncooperative, rude, demonizing, threatening, etc.) to legitimate complaints about life-saving healthcare for a fragile patient to be reprehensible and indefensible – it is shocking and scandalous in my opinion.

I let Mr. O'Brien know about this in a letter I sent to him via e-mail and his response was to avoid any discussion at all (with me) about the issues I raised, to ban me from the hospital, to accuse me of harassment (a completely ludicrous, bizarre and baseless accusation), to tell me that he had shown my letter to his board of directors who thought that "there was something wrong with me", and then to tell me that I "need therapy".

After witnessing Mr. O’Brien’s and Dr. Lucas’ rude and unprofessional response to my complaints I wrote a letter (months ago) and sent it via e-mail to Bernard Krisher, the chairman of the board of SHCH. To date Mr Krisher has not replied to my polite plea for help.

I am making these facts public on the SHCH Facebook discussion forum with the hope that SHCH will reconsider its decisions and actually live up to the promises that it makes to both patients (and their care-giving friends and families), and to SHCH’s many donors.

- What do you think about this?

- If a hospital – any hospital – makes mistakes or has pervasive, persistent and identifiable problems or shortcomings shouldn’t they be held accountable to make amends in an honorable fashion, remedy the situation professionally in an above board way, and take corrective action to ensure that the problems of the past are not repeated in the future?

- Is it appropriate for the hospital’s CEO to offer to return a substantial donation given in good faith?

- Is a refusal to engage in civil discussion an acceptable response to legitimate complaints?

- Should people who complain about healthcare problems be ignored, insulted and demonized?

- Should patients who complain either personally or via the advocacy of their caregiver be threatened with discontinuance of treatment?

- Should doctors intimidate patients about actions taken by their care-givers that the patient had no responsibility or control over (this is what has happened)?

- Do you think that SHCH should take prompt action to remedy this specific situation by cooperating with the patient’s sole-caregiver and sole means of support in a positive, friendly and constructive manner that would benefit all parties involved?

- Do you need more information? I can provide more factual detail, but not to the point that would jeopardize my friend’s privacy.

This is how Steve told the story and obviously I have no way of confirming the details but have no reason to disbelieve him. The truth of the matter is the NHCH needs to get it act together and work with care giver as is recognized and good international practice.

Please take the time to read Steve FB for a fuller story !!

Steve's FB

Photographers: Conclusions, Tips, Resolutions on Pro-bono work! | Humanitarian & Cultural Photography | Heber Vega

2010-07-06T07:42:00.000+07:00

When transparency and humanitarian aid clash

2010-07-06T07:27:00.000+07:00

When transparency and humanitarian aid clash

Desire for an assisted death should be respected | Ann McPherson | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

2010-06-19T17:45:00.000+07:00

Those against assisted dying use fear to defend the status quo, but changing the law will do more to protect vulnerable people

I helped patients die, says GP Howard Martin | Society | guardian.co.uk

2010-06-19T17:39:00.000+07:00

Howard Martin admits hastening deaths of patients in his care, including his son, out of 'Christian compassion'

I worked in the NHS for more years than I care to remember and suspect that this occurs more often than anyone would imagine. Ian Kydd'Miller

The Smokey Mountain by Ian Kydd'Miller

2010-06-19T15:44:00.000+07:00

The King is Dead, Long Live the King. The Phnom Penh municiple dump in Stung Meanchey, Cambodia closed in 2009, and many may say thank god. This was an horrific place, where the poorest of the poor, eked a living from sifting the garbage for recyclables like plastic, glass and metals.

Ethical Tourism

2010-06-19T15:40:00.000+07:00

Whether you travel for business or pleasure, you likely interact with communities that depend on tourism to help support their economy. When appropriately distributed, the money tourism brings to a community can dramatically impact the quality of life that residents experience. We’ve outlined several tips below to help ensure you have a positive experience, and provide a positive impact on the communities you visit.

Prince Charles lobbied City Hall over Chelsea site, emails reveal | UK news | The Guardian

2010-06-18T13:18:00.000+07:00

The Prince of Wales's interference in public projects was under fresh scrutiny tonight when confidential emails obtained by the Guardian revealed he lobbied the deputy mayor of London against plans for the £3bn Chelsea barracks site.

Israel's partial easing of Gaza blockade dismissed as inadequate | World news | The Guardian

2010-06-18T13:05:00.000+07:00

Israel's decision today to allow a partial easing of the blockade of Gaza was given a cool response by the international community, while Palestinians demanded the blockade be lifted completely. Aid agencies condemned it as inadequate.

Martin McGuinness sub-machinegun may have been used to kill two policemen

2010-06-18T04:40:00.001+07:00

This man is now an MP paid by the British people. He should be expected to explain his actions.
The sub-machinegun allegedly carried by Martin McGuinness on Bloody Sunday may have been used to murder two policemen days before, evidence in the Saville Inquiry report suggests.Mr McGuinness faced growing calls last night to explain whether he had any role in the shooting of Sgt Peter Gilgunn and Pc David Montgomery in an IRA ambush in Londonderry on Jan 27, 1972.Read more

Adams and Mcguiness

2010-06-18T04:14:00.000+07:00

Both are a testament to the totally hypocrasy of the IRA. Its fine to continue killing soldiers as long as we appear to condemn the action.

Gerry Adams defends response to murder of soldiers | Politics | guardian.co.uk

2010-06-17T19:59:00.001+07:00

Gerry Adams defends response to murder of soldiers

Gerry Adams said today that the British army was "not wanted" in Northern Ireland as he explained Sinn Féin's decision not to condemn the killing of two soldiers in Antrim as robustly as other parties have done.

Bloody Sunday paratroopers defend senior officer | UK news | guardian.co.uk

2010-06-17T19:39:00.002+07:00

Paratroopers say Saville report's authors decided to blame Lieutenant Colonel Derek Wilford

Six paratroopers who served in Derry on Bloody Sunday have defended their commanding officer, who was singled out for criticism in the Saville report.

The Thompson Sub Machine Gun

2010-06-17T19:07:00.000+07:00

The Thompson is an American submachine gun, invented by John T. Thompson in 1919 that became infamous during the Prohibition era. It was a common sight of the time, being used by both law enforcement officers and criminals. The Thompson was also known informally as: the "Tommy Gun", the "Trench Broom", the "Trench Sweeper", the "Chicago Piano", the "Chicago Typewriter", and the "Chopper".

The Thompson first entered production as the M1921. It was available to civilians, though its high price resulted in few sales. (A Thompson M1921 with one Type XX 20 shot "stick" magazine was priced at $200.00 when a Ford automobile sold for $400.00.) M1921 Thompsons were sold in small quantities to the United States Marine Corps (despite the lore that the United States Postal Service-U.S. Post Office- purchased this initial batch of 250 Colt Thompson Submachine Guns from the Auto Ordnance Corporation to protect the mail from a spate of robberies the AOC records and the USMC Quartermaster procurement records do not support this contention), followed by several police departments in the United States and minor international sales to various armies and constabulary forces, chiefly in Central and South America. .The Marines put their Thompson Submachine Guns to use in the Banana Wars and in China. It was popular with the Marines as a point-defense weapon for countering ambush by Nicaraguan guerrillas and led to the organisation of 4 man fire teams with as much firepower as a 9 man rifle squad. The major complaints against the Thompson were its weight, inaccuracy at ranges over 50 yards, and its lack of penetrating power, despite the powerful round it used.

In 1938, the Thompson submachine gun was adopted by the U.S. military, serving during World War II and beyond.

There were two military types of Thompson SMG. The M1928A1 had provisions for box magazines and drums (the drums were disliked because of their tendency to rattle and jam). It had a Cutts compensator, cooling fins on the barrel, and its charging handle was on the top of the receiver. The M1 and M1A1 had a barrel without cooling fins, a simplified rear sight, provisions only for box magazines, and the charging handle was on the side of the receiver. Because the option to use drums was not included in the M1 and M1A1, the 30 round box magazine was designed for use with this model.

The Thompson was used in World War II in the hands of Allied troops as a weapon for scouts, non-commissioned officers (corporal, sergeant and higher ranking), and patrol leaders. In the European theater, the gun was widely utilized in British and Canadian Commando units, as well as U.S. paratrooper and Ranger battalions who used it widely because of its high rate of fire, its stopping power and because it was very effective in close combat. A Swedish variant of the M1928A1, called Kulsprutepistol m/40 (meaning "submachine gun model 40"), served in the Swedish Army between 1940 and 1951. Through Lend-Lease, the Soviet Union also received the Thompson, but due to a shortage of appropriate ammunition in the Soviet Union, usage was not widespread.

In the Pacific Theater, Australian Army infantry and other Commonwealth forces initially used the Thompson extensively in jungle patrols and ambushes, where it was prized for its firepower, though its hefty weight of over 10 pounds and difficulties in supply eventually led to its replacement by other submachine guns such as the Owen and Austen. The U.S. Marines also used the Thompson as a limited-issue weapon, especially during their later island assaults. The Thompson was soon found to have limited effect in heavy jungle cover, where the low-velocity .45 bullet would not penetrate most small-diameter trees, or protective armor vests (in 1923, the Army had rejected the .45 Remington-Thompson, which had twice the energy of the .45ACP).^[20] In the U.S. Army, many Pacific War jungle patrols were originally equipped with Thompsons in the early phases of the New Guinea and Guadalcanal campaigns, but soon began employing the BAR in its place, especially at front (point) and rear (tail) positions, as a point defense weapon.^[21] The Argentine company Hafdasa and the Buenos Aires based firm Halcon manufactured the C-4 and M-1943 submachine guns which have a very similar layout and performance to the Thompson Gun, both weapons chambered in 9x19mm for the Argentine Army and .45 ACP for the Argentine Police forces. These weapons were a serious contender to the Thompson Gun but did not see much service outside Argentina.

Thanks to Wikipaedia

BLOODY SUNDAY INQUIRY: Brave British soldiers about to be branded criminals | Mail Online

2010-06-17T18:01:00.000+07:00

The low thump, thump, thump, was unmistakable. It was the sound of the Thompson machine gun, a chunky low-velocity weapon.

It wasn't Blair who brought peace to Ulster but brave British soldiers about to be branded as criminals

'Of one thing I'm certain, it was the IRA who started the firing'

MAX HASTINGS: This grossly misguided excavation of the past | Mail Online

2010-06-17T17:51:00.000+07:00

Of course, it is a madness. The Saville Report will provide a rich seam for historians, and offers the Irish Republican movement a fine new bundle of kindling for re-igniting its grievances.

But only Britain could have been so foolish as to allow an inquiry into 14 selected deaths during the Troubles which killed 3,526 people to become a 12-year black comic saga which has cost almost £200million.

Brave cancer victim clung to life to see brutal attacker who battered her jailed... and died six days later | Mail Online

2010-06-17T17:34:00.000+07:00

A brave grandmother suffering from cancer vowed to stay alive long enough to see a man who brutally attacked her with an iron bar brought to justice.

Mair Corbett, 78, was determined to see violent neighbour Damien Lightwood, 28, jailed for the attack, and then died peacefully in her sleep six days later.

Lightwood, a drug addict who knew Mrs Corbett was terminally ill, was sent behind bars for 10 years for beating her up in her home.

Iceland rewrites law to create haven for investigative reporting - Europe, World - The Independent

2010-06-17T17:27:00.000+07:00

Iceland has passed a sweeping reform of its media laws that supporters say will make the country an international haven for investigative journalism.

"It will be the strongest law of its kind anywhere," said Birgitta Jonsdottir, MP for The Movement party and member of the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative, which first made the proposals. "We're taking the best laws from around the world and putting them into one comprehensive package that will deal with the fact that information doesn't have borders any more."

Keep the £250,000 tip! Pensioner leaves regular cabbie quarter of a million pounds in her will | Mail Online

2010-06-17T15:30:00.001+07:00

Its always best to be nice and friendly and for some this can bring solid financial appreciation.

More strikes on the cards as BA crew talks break down - Home News, UK - The Independent

2010-06-17T15:19:00.001+07:00

Talks aimed at resolving the long-running dispute between British Airways and its cabin crew ended without agreement yesterday.

I hope they get their act together soon as I am supposed to be flying with BA from BKK in July.

Paratroopers back commander blamed for Bloody Sunday

2010-06-17T12:27:00.001+07:00

Bloody Sunday Inquiry: Ex-Paras hit back over verdict, saying 'Saville has made our Colonel a scapegoat'

Jack Harrison - Obituaries, News - The Independent

2010-06-17T12:17:00.000+07:00

Jack Harrison - Obituaries, News - The Independent

Jack Harrison, who survived the "Great Escape" plot by Allied prisoners in a German prison in the Second World War, died on 4 June aged 97.

Tunnel king: Alex Lees, left, reminisces over the Great Escape with fellow Stalag Luft veteran Jack Harrison

Brian Duffy: Innovative and irreverent photographer who caught the Swinging Sixties on camera - Obituaries, News - The Independent

2010-06-17T09:49:00.003+07:00

OBITUARY

The inventive and innovative photographer Brian Duffy shot some of the best known pictures of the Swinging Sixties for magazines such as Vogue, Queen, Town and Nova in Britain, and Elle in France, and became as infamous as his friends and contemporaries David Bailey and Terence Donovan. His dynamic style of fashion photography and his playful portraits of Michael Caine, John Lennon and Harold Wilson leapt off the pages and embodied the free spirit of the era. In the 1970s, this irreverent, occasionally cantankerous character, moved into advertising and devised intriguing, effective and memorable posters and full-page ads for Benson & Hedges cigarettes and Smirnoff vodka, as well as the striking cover for David Bowie's first chart-topping album, Aladdin Sane.

Died London 31st May 2010 (read more)

ZORIAH - A PHOTOJOURNALIST AND WAR PHOTOGRAPHER'S BLOG: Master Photographers and Master Photojournalists - Andrew McConnell

2010-06-17T09:35:00.001+07:00

I started following the photojournalism of Andrew McConnell a number of years ago when we were both at World Picture News. His images instantly struck me as being powerful, unique and elegant. He works primarily in color and does a fantastic job of setting a mood in his images and stories.

Born in Ireland, McConnell started out as a press photographer before going out on his own to document under-reported issues. His work now concentrates in Africa but you can see other regions represented on his site as well.

Zoriah

http://www.andrewmcconnell.com/

Prominent Iranian Photographer Refuses State Honor

2010-06-17T09:23:00.000+07:00

In a letter to Culture Minister Mohammad Hosseini, Zandi, who is best known for her portraits of prominent Iranian cultural figures, condemned the "insecurity" Iranian photographers are facing, and said that she has no desire to accept the award.

Read More

Soldier's view: I was in Derry that day. I just wish the Army hadn't been - Commentators, Opinion - The Independent

2010-06-16T22:29:00.000+07:00

I am not going to say that some innocent people were not killed that day – and I am truly sorry for their deaths, as, I am sure, a lot of other soldiers are as well. But to say that we went into the Bogside on that day to kill civvies cannot be further from the truth. We were ordered to go there and sort out rioters who were hitting the Army for days with petrol bombs, nail bombs, bricks, all sorts; we were told we would be making arrests.

Saville pins the blame for Bloody Sunday on British soldiers - Home News, UK - The Independent

2010-06-16T22:14:00.001+07:00

John Duddy, the brother of Michael Duddy, who was shot dead on

Bloody Sunday in 1972, reacts with relatives of other victims,

after leaving the Guildhall in Derry.

Foa on the front line

2010-06-16T06:20:00.000+07:00

Two-time Pulitzer Prize nominee, Sylvana Foa talks war, reporting and her inability to retire. Sylvana Foa is not one to shy away from a challenge. A respected war correspondent, she reported in Vietnam in the late 1960s and Cambodia in the early 1970s. She was twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize – first for her coverage of the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Indira Ghandi and the second for her coverage of the 10^th Anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. She was the first woman to serve as a foreign editor of a major international news organisation (United Press International), the first female news director of an American television network (Univision) and the first woman to serve as spokesperson for the Secretary General of the United Nations. She now lives in Israel and teaches journalism at New York University's Tel Aviv campus.

The 65-year-old American recently made her first trip back to Cambodia, (she was expelled in 1973 for reporting on US involvement in bombing campaigns) to commemorate the 38 journalists killed in Cambodia in the 1970s – a figure only topped by the latest Iraq War.

Will the wounds ever be healed? - Sunday Bloody Sunday

2010-06-16T01:02:00.015+07:00

Will the wounds ever be healed? - UK Politics, UK - The Independent

In just 558 words 38 years ago Britain's then Lord Chief Justice Lord Widgery did more to damage the country's reputation in Ireland than almost any other single act during the history ofthe Troubles.

Today another British judge, Lord Saville, will take 5,000 pages and 10 volumes to undo that damage as his inquiry into the events of Bloody Sunday finally reports.

Publication of the Saville report is in many ways one of the last pieces of the peace process jigsaw put together with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998.

No one expects the new report to bring immediate closure on such a controversial incident. Heated argument is, for example, expected on the question of whether erring soldiers should be prosecuted. But the hope is that there will be a basis for progress from an inquiry which lasted 12 years and cost almost £200m.

On the use of the Paras

Widgery

2.21-2: "It was suggested that 1 Para had been specifically brought to Londonderry because they were known to be the roughest and toughest unit in Northern Ireland and it was intended to use them in one of two ways: either to flush out any IRA gunmen in the Bogside and destroy them by superior training and firepower; or to send a punitive force into the Bogside to give the residents a rough handling and discourage them from making or supporting further attacks on the troops … there is not a shred of evidence to support these suggestions."

Saville

2.13: "[Major General Robert Ford, then Commander of Land Forces in Northern Ireland] referred in particular to the 'Derry Young Hooligans' as a factor in the continued destruction of the city, and expressed the view that the army was 'virtually incapable' of dealing with them. He also expressed the view that he was coming to the conclusion that the minimum force required to deal with the 'Derry Young Hooligans' was, after clear warnings, to shoot selected ringleaders."

On discipline

Widgery

3.95: "In the events which took place on 30 January the soldiers were entitled to regard themselves as acting individually and thus entitled to fire under the terms of Rule 13 without waiting for orders … the soldiers' training certainly required them to act individually in such circumstances and no breach of discipline was thereby involved."

Saville

5.4: "In this belief soldiers reacted by losing their self-control and firing themselves, forgetting or ignoring their instructions and training and failing to satisfy themselves that they had identified targets posing a threat of causing death or serious injury … our overall conclusion is that there was a serious and widespread loss of fire discipline among the soldiers of Support Company."

On who shot first

Widgery

2.54: "To those who seek to apportion responsibility for the events of 30 January the question 'Who fired first?' is vital. I am entirely satisfied that the first firing in the [Rossville Flats] courtyard was directed at the soldiers."

Saville

3.76: "Despite the contrary evidence given by soldiers, we have concluded that none of them fired in response to attacks or threatened attacks by nail or petrol bombers. No one threw or threatened to throw a nail or petrol bomb at the soldiers on Bloody Sunday."

On false accounts

Widgery

3.97: "Those accustomed to listening to witnesses could not fail to be impressed by the demeanour of the soldiers of 1 Para. They gave their evidence with confidence and without hesitation or prevarication and withstood a rigorous cross-examination without contradicting themselves or each other. With one or two exceptions I accept that they were telling the truth as they remembered it."

Saville

3.82: "In the course of the report we have considered in detail the accounts of the soldiers whose firing caused the casualties, in the light of much other evidence. We have concluded, for the reasons we give, that apart from Private T many of these soldiers have knowingly put forward false accounts in order to seek to justify their firing."

On the order to arrest

Widgery

2.30: "It is understandable that these circumstances have given rise to suspicion that the CO 1 Para [Colonel Wilford] exceeded his orders, but I do not accept this conclusion in the face of the sworn evidence of the three officers concerned."

Saville

3.19: "Colonel Wilford either deliberately disobeyed Brigadier MacLellan's order or failed for no good reason to appreciate the clear limits on what he had been authorised to do. He was disturbed by the delay in responding to his request to mount an arrest operation and had concluded that, by reason of the delay, the only way to effect a significant number of arrests was to deploy Support Company in vehicles into the Bogside."

The key findings were:

:: "The firing by soldiers of 1 Para caused the deaths of 13 people and injury to a similar number, none of whom was posing a threat of causing death or serious injury." This also applied to the 14th victim, who died later from injuries;

:: "Despite the contrary evidence given by soldiers, we have concluded that none of them fired in response to attacks or threatened attacks by nail or petrol bombers." The report added that no one threw, or threatened to throw, nail or petrol bombs at soldiers;

:: The accounts of soldiers were rejected, with a number said to have "knowingly put forward false accounts";

:: Members of the official IRA fired a number of shots, though it was concluded it was the paratroopers who shot first on Bloody Sunday;

:: Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, second in command of the provisional IRA in Derry in 1972, was "probably armed with a Thompson submachine gun", and though it is possible he fired the weapon, this cannot be proved. The report concluded: "He did not engage in any activity that provided any of the soldiers with any justification for opening fire."

:: Lord Saville concluded the commander of land forces in Northern Ireland, Major General Robert Ford, would have been aware that the Parachute Regiment had a reputation for using excessive force. But he would not have believed there was a risk of paratroopers firing unjustifiably;

:: The commanding officer of the paratroopers, Lieutenant Colonel Derek Wilford, disobeyed an order from a superior officer not to enter troops into the nationalist Bogside estate;

:: Lord Saville found his superior officer, Brigadier Patrick MacLellan, held no blame for the shootings as if he had known what Col Wilford was intending, he might well have called it off;

:: No blame was placed on the organisers of the march, the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association;

:: Neither the UK nor Northern Ireland governments planned or foresaw the use of unnecessary lethal force.

The report referred to one person who was shot while "crawling ... away from the soldiers" and another who was probably shot "when he was lying mortally wounded on the ground".

A father was "hit and injured by Army gunfire after he had gone to ... tend his son," the report said.

"The immediate responsibility for the deaths and injuries on Bloody Sunday lies with those members of the support company whose unjustifiable firing was the cause of those deaths and injuries," the report said.

It added that "none of the casualties was posing a threat of causing death or serious injury, or indeed was doing anything else that could on any view justify their shooting".

Families of the victims of the Bloody Sunday killings leave the Guildhall building with copies of the Saville Report

Bloody Sunday: 'Victims vindicated - and parachute regiment disgraced'

2010-06-16T00:49:00.003+07:00

Bloody Sunday: 'Victims vindicated -and parachute regiment disgraced' -UK Politics, UK - The Independent

It is about time that the truth of this situation were known. Ireland has changed and must move on to better days. The victims can never be brought back and the soldiers will never be brought to justice. Recognition of the wrong is probably all that can be hoped for.

Journalist shot dead in southern Philippines

2010-06-15T22:29:00.000+07:00

Journalist shot dead in southern Philippines - Asia, World - The Independent

The Kyrgyzstan Crisis and the Russian Dilemma | STRATFOR

2010-06-15T18:06:00.000+07:00

The Kyrgyzstan Crisis and the Russian Dilemma | STRATFOR

We Want to Learn. The Children of Stung Meanchey | Cambodia

2010-06-15T17:47:00.000+07:00

SocialDocumentary.net | Ian Kydd\'Miller

| We Want to Learn. The Children of Stung Meanchey | Cambodia

Global Economy affects Cambodian Tourist Trade

2010-06-15T17:35:00.000+07:00

The continued downturn in the Global economy is having a definite effect on the apparent numbers of tourist spending their money in Cambodia. Traditionally this is a slow time of the year for tourism but you talk to those who know, the traders,motodops and working girls and they all say the same thing, NO TOURISTS. The problem for tourist is that although when you actually get to Cambodia its very cheap, getting here, at present, is expensive due to the rise in the price oil and its consequent effect on air travel.

Friends from America

2010-06-11T10:03:00.003+07:00

The kids wait patiently for the visit from friends from America Mr. Franklin Lee and Mr Chhay Hour who have travelled all the way from Atlanta, Georgia, USA to visit and give gifts of food, rice and money to the children of PIO.

Mr.Lee and Mr Hour have visited PIO on several occassions and made generous donations. They are both successful Cambodian nationals who are now living and working in the USA, but they have obviously not forgotten their roots in Cambodia.

Mr.Lee and Mr.Hour are seen here distributing Num Pang and Coka Cola to the kids for lunch. The kids loved it.
Mr.Hour is the Chairman of CACD and Mr.Lee is a board member. This organization now supports 13 free schools throughout Cambodia that compliment rather than compete with the state run schools and give students extra opportunities to learn the English language using phoenetic tools.

People Improvement Organization - Gift Shop

2010-06-08T12:52:00.004+07:00

The People Improvement Organization has opened a Gift Shop on its school site at Stung Meanchey to offer its visitors the opportunity to support the project by purchasing a few small items that they have to offer.
Sok Somaly seen here in the shop working on her original Khmer style artworks,(she is a pupils at the school), which a one a several items being offered to visitors. Some of the other items include, jewelry, silks and the ever omnipotent Cambodia T-Shirts but better to buy them here as all the proceeds go to support the PIO.
Paul Wilson, an Autralian visitor making his first visit to PIO in the shop with Somaly and Dawee (one of PIO's Teachers) makes a few purchases. He tells me he was very impressed with the whole project and that it was being run by Khmers for Khmers.
This is another example of the self help attitude and initiatives that are primary within the structure of PIO.

The proceeds from this shop will help fund ongoing a new initiatives (specifically the orphanage ) and the visitors will be able to offer support in a small way for the children they meet at the school.

Facebook | Ian Kydd Miller Why do certain governments continue to defend, or a least not condemn, the recent illegal actions of Israel... I'm confused !!!

2010-06-02T11:43:00.000+07:00

Facebook | Ian Kydd Miller Why do certain governments continue to defend, or a least not condemn, the recent illegal actions of Israel... I'm confused !!!

It's up to us to lift the blockade - Middle East, World - The Independent

2010-06-02T09:49:00.000+07:00

It's up to us to lift the blockade - Middle East, World - The Independent

This situation cannot be allowed to continue. Israel persistenly continues to overstep the mark when they feel threatened even though those threats may come from people seeking to protest peacefully they react with massive uncontrolled firepower. The governments of the world, USA, UK, France etc need to condemn these actions and withdraw their support for this ROGUE nation. If this were an Arab nation they would have invaded it by now..

Visit from Singapore – The Canadian International School | Collective Lens

2010-04-28T00:18:00.000+07:00

Visit from Singapore – The Canadian International School | Collective Lens

Grenade attacks kills Red Shirt protester

2010-04-22T23:32:00.000+07:00

Grenade attacks kills Red Shirt protester -
Asia, World - The Independent

Housing Trust Backs Down Over Dog Evictions

2010-04-22T18:40:00.000+07:00

Housing Trust Backs Down Over Dog Evictions

- News - The London Dog Forum Ltd

People Power and the POWER of the PRESS...

Unfair bullies do not like it when people stand their ground and say NO !!

An excellent resolution....

Going Pro NOW

2010-04-22T05:32:00.000+07:00

Going Pro NOW: A Photographic Seminar for Emerging Photographers by Selina Maitreya,

Jack Hollingsworth and Don Giannatti. Boston, Chicago, San Francisco. Be Prepared for a Photographic Career

KI Media: Wounds remain 35 years after Khmer Rouge rise to power

2010-04-18T14:38:00.000+07:00

KI Media: Wounds remain 35 years after Khmer Rouge rise to power

Sarah Sands: The enduring, and very British, appeal of Jackie O - Sarah Sands, Commentators - The Independent

2010-04-18T14:32:00.000+07:00

Sarah Sands: The enduring, and very British, appeal of Jackie O -
Sarah Sands, Commentators - The Independent

Nicholas Parsons: 'That's what life's about – having fun'

2010-04-18T12:37:00.000+07:00

Nicholas Parsons: 'That's what life's about – having fun' -
Profiles, People - The Independent

Get Rid Of Your Dog Or Get Out - News - The London Dog Forum Ltd

2010-04-16T22:50:00.001+07:00

Get Rid Of Your Dog Or Get Out

Read the story and get angry.

Women who travel for sex: Sun, sea and gigolos - Home News, UK - The Independent

2010-04-16T20:33:00.000+07:00

Women who travel for sex: Sun, sea and gigolos -
Home News, UK - The Independent

The secret war – and the hidden lair of the Taliban

2010-04-16T18:44:00.000+07:00

The secret war – and the hidden lair of the Taliban -
Asia, World - The Independent

Thai protester in dramatic escape to avoid police - Asia, World - The Independent

2010-04-16T18:36:00.000+07:00

Thai protester in dramatic escape to avoid police -
Asia, World - The Independent

Time for sleep

2010-04-16T18:26:00.001+07:00

Time for sleep
Originally uploaded by Fusion08

Phnom Penh has been so quiet for the last few days, everyone gone home to the provinces fro Khmer new year. The streets have been empty, normally streets that you would have difficulty crossing at certain times of the day, like 51st, have been deserted. Its like a ghost town.

We bought forgeries, says National Gallery - News, Art - The Independent

2010-04-16T10:33:00.000+07:00

We bought forgeries, says National Gallery -
News, Art - The Independent

950 Kids treated

2010-04-15T09:05:00.001+07:00

Dr.Bob Renner and his team have just completed a trip to El Salvador where they treated 950 children. He, and his good lady Purobi, are now taking a well earned rest in NYC before returning home to San Francisco. Well done Bob and the team from Kids International Dental Services (KIDS)

My Shot - National Geographic Magazine

2010-04-14T20:30:00.000+07:00

My Shot - National Geographic Magazine

More finds at possible Cambodia grave of Errol Flynn's son

2010-04-14T15:16:00.000+07:00

More finds at possible Cambodia grave of Errol Flynn's son

Ian Kydd'Miller

2010-04-12T17:28:00.000+07:00

Ian Kydd'Miller

Not a Good Time

2010-04-12T12:46:00.000+07:00

Not a good time to travel to Thailand. UK foreign office travel advisory.

Violent clashes in Bangkok on 10 April between anti-government protestors and security forces left a number of people dead and many hundreds injured.

The situation in Thailand remains volatile. British Nationals should exercise extreme caution throughout the country, and avoid demonstrations and large gatherings.

If violence breaks out again British Nationals are advised to remain indoors and to monitor the media and this website.
In response to anti-government protests in Bangkok, the Thai government has declared a state of emergency in Bangkok and some of its surrounding provinces from 7 April 2010. This will prohibit gatherings of five or more people in some areas and may restrict travel.
In addition, the Thai government has also invoked the Internal Security Act from 11 March to 20 April and implemented further security measures. These measures include traffic checkpoints and searches of vehicles and/or people. By law, tourists are expected to carry their passports with them at all times in Thailand. For any telephone enquiries about the demonstrations or the security measures, British nationals should call 02 305 8333 (in Thailand).
Many protestors are based at the Phan Fa bridge and surrounding area. A large number are also based at the Ratchaprasong Intersection in Bangkok’s main shopping district. Many shops and businesses in the area are closed and there is severe traffic disruption at the rally site and surrounding area.

On 10 April anti-government protesters entered the Chiang Mai City Hall compound and the Provincial Hall in Udon Thani.
British nationals are encouraged to register with our LOCATE service.

There has recently been a spate of grenade and bomb attacks in central Bangkok, the majority of which have targeted Government or military buildings. See the Terrorism/Security section of this Travel Advice for details. In view of the possibility of further attacks of this sort, British citizens are advised to exercise extra caution when travelling in Bangkok and to report any suspicious devices to the authorities.

We advise against all but essential travel to, or through, the far southern provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Songkhla, due to the insurgency in these areas.

Thai troops clash with Red Shirt campaigners as protests escalate - Telegraph

2010-04-12T12:39:00.000+07:00

Thai troops clash with Red Shirt campaigners as protests escalate - Telegraph

Thailand | World news | guardian.co.uk

2010-04-12T12:30:00.000+07:00

Thailand |
World news |
guardian.co.uk

Anti-government demonstrators demand immediate dissolution of parliament after 20 killed in Bangkok violence

From ‘Avatar’ to Amazon - James Cameron’s Crusade - NYTimes.com

2010-04-12T11:54:00.000+07:00

From ‘Avatar’ to Amazon - James Cameron’s Crusade - NYTimes.com

Thai Clashes

2010-04-12T11:44:00.002+07:00

New York Times Report - Thai Clashes
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Udong Mountain - Cambodia's old Capital

2010-04-11T14:09:00.002+07:00

Udong, about 40Km from Phnom Penh. is the old Capital of Cambodia.

From Phnom Penh got out on Highway 5 and if you have the same luck as me you will get very lost looking for the plce despite being able to see it from the road.
The day was very hot despite starting the trip before 7am, but after having got lost several times before finding the right turn of for the site, it was 10am before I actually started to look around the monument.

Be warned it is quite a trek up to the top of the mountain, I am told by the little guides that attached themselves to me, that there are over 600 steps to the top. I didn't count them but had to stop a few times on the way up for water and a breather. (be warned the guides don't work for free so negotiate before moving up the mountain)

Udong offers spectacular views of the surrounding country and the innumerable sugar palm trees that punctuate the countryside. King Ang Dung, the great grandfather of the present king; King Sihanouk, was crowned here and many locals and foreign residents alike picnic here on weekends so it can get busy.

In comparison to sites like Angkor this is very small but certainly worth a visit especially for the manificent views from this only real high ground in Kandal province.
WELL WORTH A VISIT...***

poverty - Inside Magazine

2010-04-10T15:48:00.000+07:00

poverty - Inside Magazine

Facebook | Dave Seeram: Photoshop Actions for Charity

2010-04-10T15:46:00.000+07:00

Facebook | Dave Seeram: Photoshop Actions for Charity

Facebook | Ian Kydd Miller

2010-04-10T11:36:00.000+07:00

Facebook | Ian Kydd Miller