Posts Tagged ‘pigeon’
Silhouettes September 8th, 2010
There’s something very particular about silhouettes. They can help convey so much mood, drama and mystery.
Here is a small selection of silhouettes taken in places as diverse as London, Brussels and Normandy, France.
Above is a the equestrian statue of Godfrey de Bouillon which stands in the Royal Square in Brussels. The statue was made by Eugène Simonis, and inaugurated on August 24, 1848.
Above is the British Machine Gun Corps Memorial (also knows as The Boy David), which can today be found in the central section of Hyde Park Corner in London.
I couldn’t help but wonder about the link between machine guns and the German Zweihander/Greatsword (Yes, I know. But hey, I’m into swords).
One of the 48 statues representing the Medieval guilds of 16th century Brussels and which can be found atop neo-gothic columns surrounding the Place du Petit Sablon. The Place du Petit Sablon was built in built in 1890, and is a beautiful tree-lined park in central Brussels.
A statue atop a fountain in Hyde Park.
A kite caught in a tree on a beautiful day in Normandy, France.
Pigeon on the rails. Seen in Hyde Park.
More coming soon!
Tags: belgium, bouillon, boy david, british, Brussels, corps, david, England, france, godfrey, godfrey de bouillon, great sword, greatsword, Hyde Park, hyde park corner, kite, london, machine gun, machine gun corps memorial, medieval guild, memorial, normandy, park, petit sablon, pigeon, sablon, silhouette, statue, sword, two handed sword, UK, United Kingdom, zweihander
Posted in Travel/Urban | Comments (0)
Pigeon Feeding July 26th, 2010
I made this shot in Paris, in front of the Notre Dame cathedral.
More coming soon!
Tags: cathedral, france, notre dame, paris, people, pigeon, pigeon feeding
Posted in Portraits | Comments (1)
Flight of the Pigeons June 19th, 2010
I was wandering down a street at one point, when I noticed a large flock of pigeons flying overhead. They were circling and swooping in tight arcs, round and round. Someone was pigeon flying! Naturally, I paused to watch and snap a few pictures.
The art of pigeon flying remains quite popular in the Arab world. I’ve often see flocks of pigeons circling over the rooftops in Cairo, Beirut and Amman, for instance. But the shot above wasn’t taken anywhere in the Arab world. Can you guess where?
Brussels, Belgium. Yep.
Some say the use of pigeons to carry messages can be traced back to the ancient Persians (some 2800 years ago). The ancient Romans also used messenger pigeons in their military campaigns over 2000 years ago (for example, Julius Caesar was reputed to have used them in his conquest of Gaul). Use of pigeons to carry messages outside of a military setting – in a postal system – goes back to the late 10th Century at least in the Arab world, where it was developed under Fatimid rule.
The use of homing pigeons by the French during the siege of Paris in 1870-1871 gave new breath to their use in the military in Europe who used them extensively during World War I and again in World War II. You can find out more about war pigeons here.
There’s a memorial to those messenger pigeon trainers who fell in service to Belgium during World War I at one end of the garden at the far side of the Quai au Briques. Here’s a shot of it below.
All this may be interesting but it doesn’t explain why someone was flying pigeons in Brussels.
Turns out that the (modern) sport of pigeon racing was developed and gained immense popularity in Belgium in the middle of the 19th Century. The sport has since spread all over the world, though it seems to be suffering from a lack of interest by the general public. You can find out more about pigeon racing here.
More coming soon!
Tags: amman, ancient persian, ancient roman, arab, Beirut, belgium, bird training, Brussels, cairo, carrier, carrier pigeon, conquest of gaul, egypt, fatmid, gaul, great war, homing, homing pigeon, jordan, julius caesar, lebanon, message, persian, pigeon, pigeon post, pigeon racing, pigeon voyageur, post, postal system, racing, racing pigeon, roman, voyageur, war, war pigeon, world war i, world war ii, WWI, WWII
Posted in Animals, Travel/Urban | Comments (0)