This past year has been a busy one with its ups and downs, and various things have kept me from spending much time on this blog - a busy autumn at my day job, home renovations, and writing for
Warships IFR magazine have seen to that.
Nevertheless, I found some time to take photos this past year, so I will do my annual retrospective of what I consider to be my best or otherwise most interesting imagery.
I will start with my Naval photography, as that seems to have the most highlights.
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USCGC Seneca. |
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USS Jason Dunham. |
In May, we received a visit from the Mexican Navy's training vessel ARM
Cuauhtemoc.
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ARM Cuauhtemoc |
The first Sunday in May is Battle of the Atlantic Sunday, and as a Trustee with the Canadian Naval Memorial Trust, I made my annual pilgrimage to the
waters off Point Pleasant Park onboard an RCN vessel for the committal ceremony. This opportunity is always a great privilege that yields a unique perspective on the burial of veterans at sea, as well as new angles of the comings and goings from Halifax Harbour in general.
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Battle of the Atlantic service, 2019. |
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RN Commodore Utley and RCN Rear-Admiral Baines pose on the ski-jump of HMS Queen Elizabeth. |
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The ship's crew "man the rails" as she enters port. |
The entire gallery of images is
here. During her visit, I also caught the departure of RMS
Queen Mary II.
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HMS Queen Elizabeth at anchor in Halifax as RMS Queen Mary II departs. |
September's excitement didn't end there, as a week or so later, I was extremely fortunate to experience my second helicopter ride of the month (and only my third in a lifetime) onboard an RCAF CH-148 Cyclone in order to spent a few hours at sea with HMCS
Ville de Quebec during Exercise Cutlass Fury.
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HMCS Ville de Quebec as seen from a Cyclone helicopter. |
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HMCS Fredericton stalks a "vessel of interest" (in this case, Leeway Odyssey) while her RHIB approaches with a boarding party. |
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RCAF Cyclone helicopter on the deck of Ville de Quebec. |
Cutlass Fury provided some imagery around Halifax Harbour as well, and I was able to catch various comings and goings. The gallery is
here.
Having previously written about the 1969 gearbox explosion in HMCS
Kootenay, I was exceptionally aware that the 50th anniversary was approaching on October 23rd. Upon finding out that one of my fellow CNMT trustees was a survivor of this event, I asked if he was willing to be interviewed about his experience - he was, and I was able to weave his recollections into my existing text and turn it into a two-part article that appeared in the September and October issues of Warships IFR magazine. On October 23rd, the event was recognized with a service at the Bonaventure anchor memorial in Point Pleasant Park.
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Rear-Admiral Baines places a wreath at the anchor memorial. |
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The chain from the refurbished anchor memorial extends into the waters of Halifax Harbour. |
Not all my photography was aimed at Naval subjects this year - I also took a few photos of the Coast Guard, and one of my favourite sequences is of the arrival at dawn of CCGS
Louis S St. Laurent back in April.
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CCGS Louis S. St. Laurent entering Halifax Harbour. |
I will end this post with random photos from my other ramblings during 2019.
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West Ironbound Island as seen from Gaff Point. |
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A fallen tree reflected in the waters of the LaHave River. |
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A wharf reflected on a foggy LaHave River. |
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A peaceful scene on the waterfront in Lunenburg. |
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A still at the Ironworks Distillery in Lunenburg. |
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Blue Rocks, NS. |
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Ice sculpting in downtown Dartmouth in February 2019. |
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Ominous clouds approach Halifax from the south, as seen from the ferry. |
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George's Island receives a ray of sunlight against a dark background. |
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A tower crane on the waterfront reflected on the surface of the harbour. |
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Ripples in the sand. |
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Harbour seal. |
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Woodpecker set against fall colours. |
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Trees reflected on the ice of a water hazard in the Brightwood Golf Course. |
To close out this post, here are some photos from the 2019 edition of Nocturne - Art at Night.
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Street art near Pizza Corner. |
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An art installation in Public Gardens. |
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Next to the Central Library, there was a temporary photo booth set up.... |
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...and it projected the photos onto a nearby building. |
As well, Incendia Motus put on another show by the Maritime Centre.
Oh, OK - one more photo. The Dartmouth Tree Lighting fireworks at Alderney, fired from a barge on the harbour, make for some interesting visuals with the Halifax skyline as a backdrop.
Here's hoping everyone has a successful year in 2020. Personally, apart from some highlights, I am happy to see the end of 2019.
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