September 2016 Challenge - Our Native Land

[Kumar]

Big thanks to all the members who participated in the last "August 2016 Challenge - Digital Manipulation", and to Lynne in particular for having chosen my image for the final round.

 

My chosen subject for September 2016 photo-challenge is the one we all are so familiar with : "Our Native Land". Come, photo-celebrate your place of domicile (by birth or by stay, or both) by submitting three pics, which you consider to be the most iconic visuals of your native place captured by you. Your entries may exhibit any conceived aspect of your homeland and your entries may or may not include people. Be the proud image-ambassador of your country ! Cheers & good luck to everyone.

 

The routine rules :

 

Maximum 3 images per contributor

Images must be available on Alamy

Challenge will end on September 30 at midnight (GMT)

The winner will start the new topic.

 

My example images (India) :

 

Culture, tradition, and religious rituals are almost everywhere in India, Pictured here is a dawn silhouette composition from the gigantic cattle fair held at Sonpur (Bihar, India) every year around the November full-moon day.


The majestic central dome of the grand Taj Mahal mausoleum and the Indian tricolor !


The grand and the vibrant camel regiment at the annual Republic Day parade in New Delhi.

[Kumar]

Philippe though I haven't detailed as much in my announcement post ... but the facets of the native land sure include its nature/wildlife and even agriculture etc as well, especially if the location/species are somewhat exclusive. For example, I could have easily sampled a "Royal Bengal Tiger" image in my post above, just like the one that you see as my signature footer.

 

Kumar, India

[Lynne]

Oh difficult to choose! I've gone for the traditional ones of Castle, Loch and Mountains in Scotland:

 

Eilean Donan Castle  

 

 

Loch Lubnaig

 

 

Lismore Lighthouse with the highlands behind

[Kumar]

 

Philippe though I haven't detailed as much in my announcement post ... but the facets of the native land sure include its nature/wildlife and even agriculture etc as well, especially if the location/species are somewhat exclusive. For example, I could have easily sampled a "Royal Bengal Tiger" image in my post above, just like the one that you see as my signature footer.

 

Oh, but we don't have any endemic species in Belgium  I think I'll stick to Belgium's medieval heritage 

 

Cheers,

Philippe

 

Oh, species, or subspecies ??? For example Pathera tigris isn't endemic to India, but is the national animal of Bangladesh, India, Malaysia and South Korea. So, in that sense it does become rather iconic. Even if any of yr national parks/sanctuaries are well-known for some particular species (geographically common elsewhere too) ... those would sure qualify.

 

Kumar, India

[MDM]

 

 

Ireland 1 - Beara, West Cork - rocky mountains, valleys dotted with green pasture fields and white houses and a range of different cloud types over the blue Atlantic ocean 

 

 

 

Ireland 2: Connemara, County Galway - stacks of hand-cut peat (turf in Ireland) drying on a bog, to be used as fuel for heating, with the Twelve Bens mountains in background

 

 

Ireland 3: Benbulben, County Sligo, is probably Ireland's most iconic mountain

[Inchiquin]

Oh, but we don't have any endemic species in Belgium

 

You mean all the scary noises I heard when I spent a night in a Belgian forest some years ago were from non-native species? Now that is worrying.

 

Alan

[Shpg]

Three from my native Slovakia:

 

Michael's Gate, Bratislava

 

Farska street and the Bratislava castle

 

The Museum of Liptov village, interior of a traditional people's house

[Allan Bell]

 

Oh, but we don't have any endemic species in Belgium

 

You mean all the scary noises I heard when I spent a night in a Belgian forest some years ago were from non-native species? Now that is worrying.

 

Alan

 

 

 

Could have been the local "Homo sapiens" during their nightly mating ceremony.  

 

Allan

[Phil Crean]

Some quintessentially Dublin photos, which is where I'm from:

 

 

 

 

Music, Art, & Fashion....

 

Phil

[Jill Morgan]

I debated between Toronto (where I was born) and Lindsay where I have now lived for 25 years.  Went for the current life in the country.

 

Reflections on the Scugog River

 

 

 

Horse pull competition at the local fair

 

 

Life on the farm in an agricultural town

 

 

 

 

Jill

[vpics]

 

Philippe though I haven't detailed as much in my announcement post ... but the facets of the native land sure include its nature/wildlife and even agriculture etc as well, especially if the location/species are somewhat exclusive. For example, I could have easily sampled a "Royal Bengal Tiger" image in my post above, just like the one that you see as my signature footer.

 

Oh, but we don't have any endemic species in Belgium  I think I'll stick to Belgium's medieval heritage 

 

Cheers,

Philippe

 

What, no motorways? :-( ;-)

[MDM]

World Cup 2014 quarter final. Last minute substitute Tim Krul makes a save helping to put the Dutch through to the semi-finals.

 

 

 

 

Ironic that you should choose such a defensive action as iconic of Dutch football given their former reputation for playing the most exciting and attacking (total) football and their recent collapse into aggression and boring defensive style. A shot of the foot of (was it van Bommel?) going through Xabi Alonso's chest in the 2010 World Cup Final would perhaps be truly iconic.

[Bryan]

Born in the shadow of a coal mine

 

 

but we do have a nice coastline in these parts

 

 

with nice sandy beaches

 

[John Mitchell]

Canada is really many native lands rolled into one, but here goes...

 

Canadian Tire, a true Canadian icon, although virtually nothing sold in these stores is actually made in Canada.

 

P.S. I wasn't made in Canada either (born in the West Indies), so I guess that makes a true Canadian as well.

 

 

Disco dancers on Canada Day (July 1st), a celebration of diversity rather than nationalism

 

 

 

First Nations totem poles (it's their country really)

 

[Michael Ventura]

The state of Maryland in the USA, is my native land where I was born, raised and continue to work from.

 

1) Horse farm in Potomac, Maryland in the autumn

 

 

2) St. Michael's Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay

 

 

3) A Skipjack sailboat on the Chesapeake Bay

 

[Colin Woods]

As an emigré, I had a choice of the UK (where I born and lived until I was 38) and Canada (Quebec) where I am now. I went for Quebec as its my country (or province I should say  - don't want to ignite a secession debate). So, three from lovely Quebec

 

 

Quebec in Winter - gorgeous fresh new snow in the Parc de la Gaspesie

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quebec in Autumn - glowing golden light in a stream here in Gaspesie

 

 

 

 

 

Quebec in Summer - the lovely Pont Jacques Cartier (I am a bridge fan and this is one of my favourites) with the summer fireworks behind.

 

 

Cheers

 

Colin

[Abiyoyo]

My three ones.

 

 

Real Alcazar, Sevilla

 

 

Salamanca

 

 

San Sebastian/Donostia

[Lynn Palmer]

I'll focus on the variety found in my home state.

 

 

[Christopher Price]

Here are three more from the "True North Strong and Free"

 

Tepee overlooking the Milk River Valley in Alberta, Canada

 

 

 

Northern lights in my home town of St Albert, Alberta

 

 

A pair of vigilant Canada Geese, in a marsh near my house.

Thanks,

Chris

[wiskerke]

In Holland we have water.

Yes we have tulips too, but they're actually from Turkey or Kazakhstan.

And there are windmills, coffeeshops, polders, red light districts and Anne Frank.

The ice skating has become rare with climate change. Which does bring lots more water though.

So water it is for my theme and it's all Amsterdam, because that's where I was born.

 

 

 

E394P6 Amphicar 770 in the Prinsengracht an Amsterdam canal.

 

 

 

 

 CTX77H - This is where it comes from: it's the British weather, one day later.

Spot the local.

 

 

GGN9WP - And we love to party now and then...

 

wim

 

[David Davies]

Here are 3 from Germany, where I have lived since 1979

Burg Katz above St. Goarshausen in UNESCO world heritage site "Upper Middle Rhine Valley" Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

 

 

Elderly couple enjoying sunshine on the beach in Prerow, Baltic coast, Germany

 

 

Happy, smiling beer drinkers at Erlangen Bierfest, Germany

[LarsMadsen]

UNESCO World Heritage Site; The church, and burrial mounds at Jelling in Denmark.

 

 

Snow and forest track at Frederikshaab Plantation (also Denmark).

 

 

Sports fisher at Vejle Fjord (Denmark also)

 

[John Richmond]

Obviously England is a far larger and more diverse country than India so it makes sense to concentrate on the bit that's local to me. Which means the South West peninsula, mostly Devon, Dorset and Cornwall. To me that means the coast, the moors and the tourists. So here's my three.

 

 

A carpet of dried bracken leads the eye up Leather Tor on Dartmoor National Park, Devon

 

 

Holidaymakers fishing for shore crabs in Padstow, Cornwall, harbour using baited nets

 

 

Towering cliffs of Lower Jurassic Bridport Sand formations at West Bay, Dorset, UK, loom over walkers on a misty June day

[gvallee]

Australia has adopted me for the past 4 years or so. Most grateful and in awe.

 

Hill Inlet, Whitsunday Islands, Queensland

 

 

 

 

 

Horizontal Falls, Kimberley Region, Western Australia

 

 

 

 

 

Sydney Circular Quay during Sydney Vivid Festival

 

[MDM]

 

 

 

Ironic that you should choose such a defensive action as iconic of Dutch football given their former reputation for playing the most exciting and attacking (total) football and their recent collapse into aggression and boring defensive style. A shot of the foot of (was it van Bommel?) going through Xabi Alonso's chest in the 2010 World Cup Final would perhaps be truly iconic.

 

 

That was indeed an awful match. And much of the critique afterwards came from within the country. That said, finals rarely live up to their promise, the only one I have covered which was a really good game being the 2011 womens final between Japan and the USA. I thought I had a shot of de Jong's kick... must be going senile.

 

I find the psychology of sport interesting. How a germ of doubt can spread an become a self-fulfilling prophecy. For the Dutch the penalty shoot out was for many years their achilles heel. Players talking about it would use words like 50/50 chance and very often lottery. Between 10 years ago and these finals the attitude changed. In this series you could see the players believe they would win the shoot out. In this shot, he has the eye on the ball and he is going to save it. The opposition had more of an attitude that they had done well to get so far. In the next round the Dutch seemed to have loose the belief and it hasn't returned since. They are playing later... the expectations are muted.

(Excuses for any hijacking)

 

 

Interesting thoughts and yes it was de Jong and not van Bommel although both displayed behaviour that would have still have Cruyff endlessly turning in his grave - perhaps we could resume this discussion elsewhere at some point.