Been trying out this new technique (to me) for the last couple of days. I like some of the effects that can be achived with this process but they will certainly not be to everybodies taste.

These pictures taken using a Canon 10D with a Canon USM 24-85mm lens. Taken from midday to about 4pm. I am able to offer excellent value wedding packages to those living in the North West of England. Contact me for details !!!

CAMBODIA & VIETNAM PLACES, PEOPLE and THINGS. The people of Asia react differently to westerners to being photographed, they appear to consider it a privaledge, the kids especialy love to have their pics taken. The famous Vietnamese legend tells that the Vietnamese people of various tribes were born from the same womb by the marriage of Lạc Long Quân (Dragon Chief) and Âu Cõ. However, most Vietnamese historians consider the Dong Son civilization that covered much of Southeast Asia to be the beginning of Vietnam's history. In 208 BC, a Qin general named Triệu Ðà (Zhao Tuo) established a country called Nam Việt which encompassed Southern China and the Red River Delta. The historical significance of the original Nam Việt remains controversial because some historians consider it a Chinese occupation while some believe it was an independent era. What is known for sure is that for most of the period from 207 BC to the early 10th century, it was under the rule of successive Chinese dynasties. Sporadic independence movements were attempted, but were quickly extinguished by Chinese forces. In 939, the Vietnamese defeated Chinese forces at the Bạch Ðằng River and gained independence. They gained complete autonomy a century later. During the rule of the Trần Dynasty, it defeated three Mongol attempts of invasion by the Yuan Dynasty. Feudalism in Vietnam reached its zenith in the Lê Dynasty of the 15th century, especially with Emperor Le Thanh Tong. Between the 11th and 18th centuries, the Vietnamese expanded southward in a process known as nam tiến (southward expansion). They eventually conquered the kingdom of Champa and much of the Khmer empire. The independent period ended in the mid-19th century, when the country was colonized by France. The French maintained dominant control of their colony until World War II, when Japanese forces invaded and occupied Vietnam, using the country as a base to launch attacks against South East Asia and India. After the war France attempted to reestablish its colony, however a Communist insurgency that had arisen during Japanese occupation forced the French into a bloody eight-year war that culminated in French defeat and shortly afterwards their retreat. The world community divided the country at the 17th parallel into North Vietnam and South Vietnam during the Geneva Accords. Both South and North Vietnam formed strategic partners in the years that followed, the South aligning itself with the United States and the North with China and the Soviet Union. Both Vietnams desired the territory of the other, and over the ten years between the Geneva Conference and formal American military involvement, the governments of both States brutally punished opponents of their regimes. In 1965 the United States withdrew support for the government of South Vietnam and subsequently committed large numbers of troops in an attempt to defeat the ongoing Communist insurgency in the South, known as the Vietcong. However with military support from the Communist North, as well as logistical support from China and the USSR, the US became entrenched in a costly war and ultimately withdrew following immense domestic political pressure. All American troops were withdrawn by March 29, 1973. The Paris Peace Accords on January 27, 1973 formally recognized the sovereignty of both sides, however the fighting continued until the North overpowered the South on April 30, 1975 and unified the country under the North Vietnamese rule as The Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The Bản Giốc Falls in Cao Bằng, North VietnamAfter reunification, political and economic conditions deteriorated. Millions of South Vietnamese became boat people over the next two decades. In late 1978, the Cambodian people, with the support of the Vietnamese army, removed the Khmer Rouge from power. Only one month later, however, partially in retaliation, China launched a short-lived incursion into Vietnam: the Sino-Vietnamese War. In 1986, the Communist Party of Vietnam implemented economic reforms known as Ðổi Mới (renovation). During much of the 1990s, economic growth was rapid, and Vietnam reintegrated into the international community. It re-established diplomatic relations with the United States in 1995, one year after the United States' trade embargo on Vietnam was repealed.

CORNWALL'S TIN MINES They say that if you look in any hole in the ground around the world you'll find a Cornishman looking for metal. Nowhere in the world is hardrock mining so engrained into the local culture than Cornwall. In the 18th and 19th centuries the men who dug and the women who worked up top produced millions of tons of copper and tin, valuable commodities which were exported around the world. Growth of mining The phenomenal growth in mining was made possible by the harnessing of new technologies. Cornwall became a hotbed of experimentation, attracting Britain's top engineers. But it was a native son, Richard Trevithick, who developed high pressure steam engines, used to drain water from the deep mines- and eventually to power the world's first road vehicle. The importance of this mining heritage will hopefully be recognised soon with the awarding of world heritage status to nine areas of Cornwall and West Devon. This would place the mine engine houses, Methodist chapels, surviving smallholdings and all the other remnants of the area's industrial past on a par with the Great Wall of China and the Pyramids.

The summer part of my project started winter last year. Taken on 11/07/05.... The Goyt Valley is a typical example of Dark Peak scenery. Here you can find high moorland, river and valley scenery with the man-made additions of the Fernileee and Errwood reservoirs. The landscape of the Goyt Valley is a mosaic, ranging from the heather and grasses of the moorland pastures, to the woodland and enclosed farmland of the valley. This interesting mix of landscapes provides nationally important, semi-natural habitats for wildlife and nature conservation. It also adds to the attraction of the Goyt Valley. The river Goyt rises on the moorland slopes near the Cat and Fiddle Inn. It flows northwards through steep rocky ‘cloughs’ (valleys) and is the main feeder for the Errwood and Fernilee Reservoirs. The Goyt collects tributaries at Whaley Bridge, and merges with the Etherow and Tame at Stockport to become the River Mersey.

Some pics of the sad end to the once largest US airforce bases in England. All the buildings from the Main and Tech sites are now gone only a couple of the main hangers are retained and used for industry. RAF Burtonwood was probably the largest military base in Europe during World War II, processing over 11,500 aircraft between 1943 and 1945 alone, but beyond that it was responsible for the support of initially the 8th Air Force, then additionally the 9th and ultimately the 12th and 15th Air Forces as well. Over 35,000 men were under the direct control of Burtonwood with 18,500 on the base itself. Nothing was too big or small, from rebuilding battle damaged bombers to manufacturing valve springs for aero engines, manufacturing timber packing cases or converting gliders into powered aircraft. Work began on the construction of RAF Burtonwood in 1938. The RAF began to occupy the airfield in April 1940 as the countries Aircraft Storage Unit run by No 37 MU, Burtonwood also came to specialise in the preparation, maintenance and repair of American aircraft many of which were supplied under the Lend Lease program. After a search of suitable sites for the USAAF Base Air Depots, Burtonwood was chosen as one of three and the USAAF took joint charge of the site on 11th June 1942 and complete charge in October 1943. The purpose of the depots was the preparation, assembly, overall and repair of USAAF aircraft and their systems many of which were damaged in battle, the depot also supplied spare parts to the squadrons. As the war progressed the airfield was extended. By September 1942 a new main runway 09/27 had been added and by January 1944 the base had a strength of over 18,000 US airmen. After World War Two Burtonwood run down as a USAAF base and returned to the RAF for two years as a maintenance unit and then reverted to the USAF in 1948 to support the US bases here, and it undertook the entire major servicing for the C-54 Skymaster aircraft involved in the Berlin Airlift. Major redevelopment took place with the construction of the Header House on Site 8, In 1953 despite local opposition to the closure of Burtonwood Road an extension was carried out to extend the main runway to 9,000 feet to become one of the longest in the UK and the construction of the new control tower and passenger terminal. The terminal building which had been part of the new building work became known as the Gateway to Europe, because RAF Burtonwood was to be the first sight of Europe for most servicemen and their families. “A” site and “E” site hangars remain alongside the motorway and are currently in use by local companies, but are expected to be demolished in the next few years thus removing the last traces of RAF Burtonwood. That remaining section of the main runway was dug up in July 2001 during the construction of a new motorway junction at that location. The first part of Header House (site 8) was also demolished in 2002/2003 as the remainder of the site was finally sold off by the Ministry of Defence to a development company in what was thought to be the biggest ever land sale to date by the MOD. The Burtonwood Association currently have a Heritage Centre in the remaining part of Header House and are expected to remain here for at least three years, before moving into a purpose built building as part of the new urban village scheme currently being built on the site.