21 October 2022 - IDA LEWIS - FAMOUS LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER

 

IDA LEWIS 

 FAMOUS  

LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER

G'day folks,

Welcome to the final resting place of the famous Rhode Island lighthouse keeper who heroically saved dozens of people from drowning. 

In an era when most women were expected to look for a husband, practice their needlepoint, or pursue a womanly career like governess or lady’s maid, Ida Zorada Lewis was swimming, rowing boats, and saving people from drowning in the sea.

 

Lewis became known for her impressive rowing and swimming skills after her father relocated the family to Lime Rock in 1857 so he could be keeper of the lighthouse. She rowed her siblings back and forth to school on the mainland every day, and it wasn’t long before she was rescuing people who were drowning.

When her father’s health failed when she was a teenager, Lewis began learning how to perform his duties. When he died, his wife briefly became lighthouse keeper. However, her health was failing and the real responsibility fell to Lewis. Upon her mother’s death in 1878, Lewis was given the position.

For a time, she was the highest-paid lighthouse keeper in the United States. The unofficial record of lives Lewis personally saved during her 54 years running the light house may have been as high as 25, but documented records credit her with saving a minimum of 18 lives. She made her last rescue at age 63.

 

Lewis received numerous medals and awards for her daring rescues, including the Gold Lifesaving Medal from the U.S. Government and a silver medal from the Life Saving Benevolent Association of New York. She also was the first woman to receive the gold Congressional medal for lifesaving. In 1907, industrialist Andrew Carnegie, founder of the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, added her to his private pension list.

Despite her many accomplishments and fame, Lewis was a woman and was not even allowed to vote. She was visited by many members of the women’s suffrage movement, who used her as an example of women’s inherent strength.

In 1924, Rhode Island officially changed the name of Lime Rock to Ida Lewis Rock and re-christened the lighthouse Ida Lewis Lighthouse. To bypass a longstanding rule that lighthouses shouldn’t be named after anything other than their geographical location, the entire island was named after Lewis so the lighthouse could honor the woman who devoted her life to its service.

6 July 2021 - POWERFUL IMAGES OF THE OCEAN by LUKE SHADBOLT

 

 

 

POWERFUL IMAGES 

OF THE OCEAN

by 

LUKE SHADBOLT

 

G'day folks,

 Growing up on the coast of Australia, the ocean had been a constant in the life of the photographer Luke Shadbolt. 

 

“I feel like, for anyone who has grown up with the ocean as their playground, there is an unspoken calling that takes place. It might be every day, or maybe once a month or even less, but eventually, you need to get back to the ocean to reset,” Luke explained in a recent interview.

The relationship with the ocean grew stronger during Luke’s teens, which he spent mostly surfing. As an art student at university, he fell in love with photography. Shooting the waves was the ultimate way to combine his two passions. Luke’s exploration of the ocean resulted in some fascinating and powerful image, showcasing its vastness and multiple forms.

Luke shares that he usually goes into a project with a certain vision in mind, but the reliance on nature should always be taken into account. A lot of the conditions for certain photographs only align once or twice a year in specific locations. "It can be frustrating when the swell or sun or wind don’t cooperate how you’d envisaged in your mind, but I like to have that flexibility and draw on the experience of being in the moment."

"Just being around the ocean is the best part. It’s kind of like a reset button or a form of meditation. I feel very privileged to experience these extremities of nature, it really is about the experience more than anything, the resulting photos are always just a simulacrum."

Clancy's comment: Brilliant shots.

I'm ...

 

 

 

 

 

24 October 2018 - THE AMAZINGLY QUICK MARLIN

THE AMAZINGLY 

QUICK MARLIN

G'day folks,

Big, agile and very fast, these relatives of swordfish share their long upper jaw which they use to catch fish. A marlin is a fish from the family Istiophoridae, which includes about 10 species. It has an elongated body, a spear-like snout or bill, and a long, rigid dorsal fin which extends forward to form a crest.

Quick Facts

• Type: Mammal
• Diet: Carnivore
• Size: 2 - 4.5m
• Weight: 900kg
• Habitat: Marine
• Lifespan: 27 years
• Scientific name: Istiophoridae

 

  

 

 Facts About the Marlin

• There are around 10 species of marlin. They are closely related to sword fish.
• The Blue Marlin (Makaira Nigricans) is one of the largest species of fish in the world!
• Not only is it one of the largest fish in the sea, it’s also one of the fastest! They have been known to reach speeds of up to 68mph!
• Marlin have a long, sword-like upper jaw which they use to slash and stun fish, making them easier to catch.

• They can be found in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans.
• Marlin are migratory and travel hundreds or even thousands of miles in warm currents.
• Blue Marlin are vulnerable to over fishing and have been identified as vulnerable to extinction. Efforts by the US government have been successful in rebuilding North Atlantic populations, however the populations in the North-western Pacific and South Atlantic Oceans are uncertain.  Populations in the Mediterranean and Indian Oceans are believed to be most threatened.

Clancy's comment: Staggering speeds, eh? 

I'm ...