Time to Delete…..
Thought for the day….”Life without liberty is like a body without spirit.”
“Obstacles are things a person sees when he takes his eyes off his goal.”
Autumn is a good time to get around to sorting the thousands of photos that are sitting on discs and hard drives. Those of us over about 30 years old will remember that at one time, you only got 36 pictures (37 if you were lucky) on a roll of film, and even on a long holiday, you did not come back with thousands of photos. But with digital cameras, it is far too easy to click away and end up with hundreds of photos. I am looking back at my earlier photos and putting them through a test. First question is “would I be proud to show this photo to somebody else? ” and the second question “is this photo special to me?” If the answer to both questions is NO then it is time to hit the delete button. Rather like pruning trees after the summer, it will result in a leaner, cleaner and better photo collection. Hit that delete button !
Classical buildings in the Frogner part of Oslo for the photo today, originally a colour photo that I have converted to Black & White.
and another photo, the lunchtime Wideroe Dash 8 Q300 aircraft arriving in Honningsvag, in North Norway. This is only about 30km from the North Cape, which is claimed to be the top of Europe at over 71 degrees north. That said, North Cape is actually on an island (Mageroya) so whether or not it is actually the northernmost point of Europe is debatable. 
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Uncovered…what lies beneath.
Thought for the day…”Hope is but the dream of those who wake.”
“You have succeeded in life when all you really want is only what you really need.”
Ever wondered what the inside of a jet engine looks like? Here is a CFM56 engine uncovered. More than 30 000 of these have been built, but it will set you back around USD 10 million for one. This one is an example from Air New Zealand, and was used in its 737 fleet. At one time, AirNZ was a quality, full service airline (it even had the advertising slogan ‘Pride of the Pacific’ but nowadays it has changed into a budget airline which charges extra for add-ons, and also service levels onboard have fallen. Sad to see a once great airline change so much.
But we customers are lucky to have a choice……I now avoid any flights on airlines that use 10 across seating on their 777s, and I am also checking the seating before making reservations…things like not booking on the newer Lufthansa A320NEO aircraft where they have put seats closer together (with even less legroom than Ryanair) and have removed one galley and toilet to squeeze in even more seats. There is a limit, and some airlines have passed that limit for what is acceptable. And if the airlines think that by making economy class uncomfortable that they will force me to upgrade to premium economy, then that is just not going to work….the answer is to choose another airline. Their loss.
and another photo…Honningsvag in north Norway, high above the Artic Circle.
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Good Customer Service – Fujifilm
Thought for the day…”Prosperity tries the fortunate, adversity the great.”
“When one burns one’s bridges, what a very nice fire it makes.” (Dylan Thomas)
For the last 5 weeks, I have been without the camera, which suffered a cracked screen after being dropped onto the floor. Sent it back to Fuji, but Norwegian Post (and there is a company who deserves to go out of business if ever there was one) took 9 days to get it to an address near Oslo. Then, after that delay, the camera got delayed for weeks due to the virus in the TNT Courier computer systems. TNT seemed unable to get the camera delivered, and it just sat there for weeks, getting nowhere near the repair shop. But here is the happy ending….Fuji (who are normally very good with customer service and backup) have offered to send me a new camera. That was something that I did not expect, but it is good to know that there is good customer service around. The feedback online is also good for Fuji, as other users have also written about similar good treatment. So I am happy to continue using Fuji, just have to wait a little longer (now over 5 weeks) for the replacement to arrive. Then back to photographing again.
Back in 2008, Singapore Airlines (one of the World’s great airlines) were still using 747s on the route from Zurich to Singapore. The ‘Queen of the Skies’, weighing almost 400 tonnes, is seen here taking off on 23rd May 2008 for the 10 294km journey back to its’ home base. Flight time was around 12 hours and 10 minutes.
and another photo, an art gallery in Honningsvag, in the Artic north of Norway.
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The Far North of Norway
Thought for the day…”Freedom means the opportunity to be what we never thought we would be.”
“We all have ability. The difference is how we use it.”
Two more photos from the far north of Norway (70 degrees north). At this time of year, there is 24 hours of daylight, as the sun never goes below the horizon. Whilst the Norwegians may get excited about having 24 hours of daylight, it is not in fact very useful, because you still have to sleep. And the other side of the coin is that in winter it has 24 hours of darkness (the so-called ‘eternal night’) so it must be extremely depressing then. Seen here in the photo is one of the many cruise ships which visit at this time of year, this one the ‘Mein Schiff’ from TUI Cruises. Built in Finland at a cost of some 360 million euros, it carries around 2500 passengers, so is much smaller than the 6000+ passenger ships that cruise the Caribbean. Seen here in Honningsvag, Finnmark, Norway.
and another photo….Mehamn in the far north of Norway
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KFC goes into space
Thought for the day…” Do not watch the clock, do what it does…keep going”
“You can’t expect to hit the jackpot if you don’t put a few nickels in the machine.”
Saw an interesting story in the news recently about KFC, who are going to send one of their ‘Zinger Burger’ chicken sandwiches into space, through a company called World View. The project is partly being finance by KFC. So it will be interesting to see the effects of zero gravity and no oxygen on the burger. Of course, KFC will be posting the details on their webpages live. Not that KFC are first with their idea, previously a pie company has sent one of its meat pies into space to space to study the effects of space on it. Interesting, that ‘launch’ took place from outside a pub in northern England !!
Today’s photo comes from 70 degrees north, in Finnmark province at the top of Norway. The reindeer are easy to spot at this time of year, especially as they come near the towns lower down to feed on spring grass. The photo was taken hand-held using the Fuji X-T20 and Fuji 100-400mm lens.
and another photo….a cross country train starts it trip from Penzance, Cornwall, England
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Warning about Kickstarter
Thought for the day…”Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.”
“A person will sometimes devote all his life to the development of one part of his body – the wishbone.”
Just a warning about the online crowd-funding scheme, Kickstarter. There are some very interesting new projects advertised there, all seeking backing from people in order to enter production. Lots of interesting categories, and some clever ideas there. But here is a warning, because when things go wrong, then the Kickstarter staff are going to be no help at all.
I backed an online project for a solar recharger that I thought would be ideal for travelling. Ordered the charger and my pledge was accepted, and my debit card was debited. That was last year. Fast forward to June 2017 and I have still not received the solar charger. Messages to the company that is supposed to be producing the item were ignored, as was a message sent via Twitter, but the worst part is that KICKSTARTER would not refund my money, nor would they take any action against the company who is producing the solar charger. It seems totally wrong to me that Kickstarter can advertise products and then forward your debit card details without taking responsibility when things go wrong. Messages to Kickstarter’s so called customer ‘service’ have been a waste of time, as Kickstarter still refuse to take action in the matter. They are refusing to accept any responsibility, despite advertising the product and also arranging payment for the product.
So I am now minus 84 euros, have spent a considerable amount of time chasing up the matter, and have still not received the solar charger. And yet Kickstarter still refuse to take action. The words ‘flogging a dead horse’ come to mind, as Kickstarter customer service has been a total waste of time and emails. Once again, it seems that a company has your money then that is it. So I am 84 euros poorer and without a solar charger. Thanks to Kickstarter !!
My advice….avoid using the Kickstarter website.
Nice sunshine for the photo today, which comes from 71 degrees north, and shows the Finnmark coastline near Honningsvag. Not far from here lies North Cape. The midnight sun is visible here from May until September.
and another photo…again from the same part of the Finnmark coast near Honningsvag….
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Squeeze more in – more cuts in standards at the airlines.
Thought for the day…”The secret of getting ahead is getting started”
“Some people are like clouds. When they go away, it is a brighter day”.
Back on one of my favourite topics..airlines. I see in the news that British Airways (BA) have become the latest airline to increase the number of seats in its aircraft. The Boeing 777 will go to 10-across seating (currently 9) and the total number of seats will go up from 280 to 332. The Airbus A320 will have more seats, up from 168 today to 180, and the Airbus A321 will go from 205 today to a new high of 218 seats. So BA has also chosen 10 across seating for the 777. And to make matters even worse, they are removing 2 or 3 toilets from economy class as well. More passengers but fewer toilets. Since SWISS airlines also introduced 10-across seating on the 777s, then I have avoided them, as the reports online about airlines who use 10 across seating have been far from positive. Not only are passengers being squeezed width-wise, but also leg-wise as well. Lufthansa’s new Airbus aircraft will actually have LESS leg room than Ryanair, and again the intial reports from passengers have been negative. And more of the legacy airlines are introducing charges for food onboard (eg. BA from January) as well as charges for checked-in baggage. All this begs the question, why pay more to fly with the legacy airlines when the service levels are less?
Today’s photo comes from northern Norway. Honningsvag in wonderful autumn light…..
and another photo from the archives….landing at Funchal, Madeira……
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Oslo city centre – not pleasant
Thought for the day…”Postive anything is better than negative nothing”
“If your ship does not come in, then swim out to it”.
The Norwegian capital, Oslo, becomes even more unpleasant to walk around. It seems that in the very centre of the city, that drug dealers can openly sell drugs, and drug users can wait around, apparently without the police doing anything. As soon as you come out of the main train or bus stations then you see it. The newspapers were reporting that the Norwegian police said that they had lost control of one area (Gronland), and the situation seems to be getting worse. Go for a walk early morning and you may see used syringes on the ground. Walk around after dark (not recommended) and you will see drug dealers openly selling. It is very clear who the drug users are, but they seem to be immune to action. Add to that the large number of begging gypsies in the city and Oslo has become an unpleasant and dirty place. But why are the police not doing anything?? Surely the use of hard drugs must be illegal in Norway, but these people apparently get away with it, and openly too. And all the begging gypsies apparently do not have any legal right to stay in Norway, so why are they allowed to remain? What are the police doing about it? I wonder.
Today’s photo comes from north Norway, and from the fishing village of Honningsvag.
and another photo from the archives….the same photo as in the previous post, but this time converted to black & white.
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Buying decisions….to buy or not to buy, that is the question
Thought for the day…”A goal without a plan is just a wish”
“Success with a negative attitude is called Luck. Success with a positive attitude is called Achievement”.
To buy, or not to buy. That is the question. Having recently upgraded the camera to the newer Fuji X-T10 (great camera, and highly recommended), the finger is now poised over the ‘BUY’ button. This time it is the new Fuji XF 100-400mm lens. All the reviews have been great, and the people that have posted their comments praise the lens, so it is undoubtedly a wonderful lens. I gave the lens a try in the camera shop, and it felt very good, and the extra zoom would be very welcome BUT here is the problem….the lens costs about 3 times as much as the camera did, and with the teleconverter, will cost around 2000 euros. So the finger is hesitating on the ‘BUY’ button. Quality always costs more, and the Fuji products are great, but the thought of almost 2000 euros on a lens is difficult to accept. To buy, or not to buy, that is the question…..
A couple of photos from the north of Norway, taken with the standard 18-55mm Fuji lens on the X-T10. The first photo is from the small town of Vardo, at the top of Norway.
and another photo from north Norway…Hammerfest
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Colour in minature at the top of Norway
Thought for the day….”You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough” (Mae West)
“Ladies who play with fire must remember that smoke gets in their eyes” (Mae West)
Up to the top of Norway and the border with Russia for the photo today. Traders from Russia come across into Norway to trade and shop (despite the prices in Norway !). Some warm sunshine and good light helped to make a very colourful photo of a very typical Russian item, nesting dolls.
Nesting dolls (called Matryoshkas) were originally a Japanese idea, but are now a common souvenir from Russia. Sergei Maliutin is thought to have been the first Russian to produce the dolls, with the first sets representing a Russian peasant family of a mother and her 7 children. The world record is for a 51 piece set, with the largest doll being over 51 cm tall.
and another photo from the archives…Arrowtown on the South Island of New Zealand, a former gold mining town that is now a popular daytrip from nearby Queenstown.
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Up to the top of Norway – Finnmark
Thought for the day….”You will never win if you never begin”.
“The purpose of life is a life of purpose”
Today’s photo is from the fishing village of Vardo, in north Norway at 70 degrees north in the province of Finnmark. Vardo has three names, one in Norwegian, one in Finnish (Vuoreija ) and one in Sami (Várggát). Russia is also just a few kilometres across the bay, and the island is now connected to mainland Norway by a 2.8km subsea road tunnel. Vardo is also the name of the gypsy caravan used by romany gypsies in Britain. Vardo has a history of witchcraft, including trials of witches and also a witchcraft museum. Curiously, it also lies further east than either Istanbul or Kiev. It also hosts the yukigassen, a snowball fighting competition. The average annual temperature here is only 1.3 degrees, not helped by the long, dark artic winter in this part of Norway.
and a couple of photos from Oksfjord, near the top of Norway at 70 degrees north. About 500 people live in this fishing village, although the fish processing factories have all closed. As there are few roads in this part of Norway then ferries are an important way of getting around, including the daily Hurtigruten boats. Hammerfest is the nearest major town.
and another photo from the archives….a beach in the Seychelles islands…..
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Fishing boats in Norway’s easternmost town
Thought for the day….” People who say that money does not buy happiness do not know which shops to shop in”. ” Adversity is the weight that strengthens us”. Back online after some internet problems, and another photo from the north of Norway, far above the Artic circle. This photo is of Vardo, in the province of Finnmark. As Finland is so close at this point, then it also has a Finnish name (Vuorea) and a Sami name, (Várggát). Only a small population of around 21oo live here, although with the extremely long winter, then that is hardly surprising. It has the honour of being the easternmost town in Norway, with Russia being not far away across the bay. It actually lies further east (31 degrees) than Istanbul, Kiev or St. Petersburg. Much of the land around is barren and treeless artic tundra. Fishing and fish processing are the main industries here. Interestingly, it is also the site of Globus II, a radar tracking station for space junk, although given that Russia is so near, then this station may also have other uses. Vardo is one of the stops on the famous Hurtigruten coastal boat service in Norway. Another photo taken with the Fuji X-E1 camera. 
and another photo from the archives….4 modes of transport in this photo from Cuba……. 
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Colour at the top of Europe (almost).
Thought for the day…” A fool and his money are soon elected” (Will Rogers)
“It is better to regret something you did, rather than something that you did NOT do”.
Work has taken me up to the top of Norway and the top of Europe, but I took some time off to get out and about with the camera. Despite several very grey and dull days, a burst of sunshine made all the difference for a photo of these houses at Honningsvag, Norway. Officially, to be classed as a city in Norway, a place has to have over 5000 people, but Honningsvag, poplulation about 2500, was exempted from this rule. Fishing and tourism are the many industries here, with cruise ships visiting in summer to allow passengers to travel to the nearby Nordkapp. The mean average temperature here is just +2 degrees, as it is at almost 71 degrees north. Taken with the Fuji X-E1 camera and 18-55mm standard kit lens.
and another photo from the archives….a serene scene from the Seychelles.
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