Tag: statue
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Lady Liberty (almost)
You can be forgiven for mistakenly thinking that this shot was taken in New York City. This is actually the 1/2 size copy of the statue of liberty outside the New York, New York hotel in Las Vegas. As well as dozens of America replicas, there’s a statue of liberty in England, standing at 17…
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The Commando Memorial
The Commando Memorial stands on the edge of Spean Bridge, looking across to Ben Nevis, and was erected to commemorate the British Commando Forces who trained in the area during World War II. The statues took 2 years to sculpt (between 1949 and 1951), and the memorial itself was formally unveiled by the Queen Mother…
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The Lion Guardian
This fine specimen was perched atop a canal barge, presumably protecting the people who live aboard. This form of statue is known as a Komainu (or maybe a Shishi – it’s quite hard to tell the difference), sometimes known as a lion-dog. They’ve been used as guardians to various locations for the last 600 years,…
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Brindley
This is a statue of noted canal builder James Brindley. It stands in Coventry Canal Basin, overlooking some of his plans. As one of the founding fathers of England’s inland waterways, Brindley was there at the construction of the first “modern era” canal at Bridgewater in the late 18th century. It was Brindley who set…
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The Saint and the Sun
Here is a saintly statue catching a few rays of sunlight. What did this image teach me? Not everyone likes lens flare, but I happen to think that – when used intentionally – it can add a lot to an image.
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The Doorstop Guardian
Agatha Christie’s Devonshire house, Greenway, is full of items the famous author collected over the years. Including a pair of oriental stone guardians that still stand either side of the main entrance. What did this image teach me? The Chinese name for these lion-guardians is shishi and they are said to ward off harmful influences…
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The Last Condottiere
This statue, found in Florence, depicts Lodovico de Medici. who was a young fighting captain also known as Giovanni delle Bande Nere, after his mercenary group (the Black Bands). By all accounts he was quite the thug, and enjoyed his time as a condottiero – a kind of mercenary captain. He was fatally wounded in…
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Hello Oscar
I do like the Oscars, all the glitz and the glamour – it would be a dream come true to attend the ceremony, but given that I am very unlikely to become a world famous actor, director, producer, or screenwriter the chances of me going in person are pretty remote. I have been to where…
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The Hollywood Elephant
If you stand in the Babylon Courtyard, at the Hollywood & Highland centre (in the heart of glitzy Hollywood), you will find this huge elephant statue looking down upon you. What did this image teach me? On a good, clear day you can see the world famous “Hollywood” sign (you know, those huge letters standing…