Viral Stories: Inspiring

After 6 Years And 720,000 Attempts, Photographer Finally Captured The Perfect Shot Of Kingfisher

It is no secret that being a wildlife photographer is a difficult task because it takes extreme patience and a high level of dedication. Alan McFadyen, is a photographer who shows us all the amount of effort that wildlife photography requires.

Since the year 2009, he has been working in this profession. All the sweat and tears that went into his work finally became worth it after he managed to capture a perfectly timed photograph.

After 4,200 hours and 720,000 attempts, he was able to capture the perfect image of a kingfisher diving directly into the water without a single splash. Every session consisted of around 600 photographs, but none of them pleased him.

When looking back at all the photographs he took in order to get the perfect one, he realizes the amount of effort that went into it.

Image Credit & More Info; Alan McFadyen | photographyhides.co.uk | facebook | twitter

Common kingfishers are known to own a bright plumage because it is rather atypical for those birds living in colder climates.

These kingfishers can usually be found residing close to bodies of water and they catch fish by diving in. Alan developed an interest in wildlife photography after his grandfather managed to instill in him an admiration for nature and wildlife.

“I remember my grandfather taking me to see the kingfisher nest, and I remember being completely blown away by how magnificent the birds are. So when I took up photography, I returned to this same spot to photograph the kingfishers,” Alan commented.

For the perfect photograph to be taken with a flawlessly straight dive and no splash, it required the photographer to be in the right spot and also for the bird to be in the right place.

When thinking of the level of dedication it took for Alan to capture this photograph, he expressed, “I never really stopped to think about how long it was taking along the way as I enjoyed doing it, but now I look back on it I’m really proud of the picture and the work I put in.”

Even though Alan’s grandfather passed away before Alan captured this image, he would surely be filled with pride if he were still alive.

Source: whatzviral.com

No Comments

, by DailyMore

Inspiring

Man Rescues Baby Squirrel And Builds A Custom Treehouse For Him

No Comments

, by DailyMore

Inspiring

I’m Positive You Will Not Know What This Is. Go Ahead And Prove Me Wrong (If You Can)

One thing we can always be certain of is that things change over time. Nothing can stop this from happening. People change, technology changes, situations change as well. Change is inevitable! Look back at your own life, for example. How much has actually changed? Especially when it comes to advancements in technology. It can be rather scary to look back and see just how much has evolved. But, it can also be quite refreshing! Take, for example, this “thing”; we bet you won’t know what this is… We bet won’t know what this is So, unless you were around in the ’30s, chances are, you won’t know what this is. If you do, well done! Kind of odd-looking? Isn’t it? Can you guess what this contraption could possibly be?

You would be completely forgiven for not knowing what this contraption is. But, we guess you really want to know! This funny-looking item that looks like a flask or some sort of carrier is actually a 1930’s vacuum cleaner, known as the Hercules! This retro vacuum is a far cry from the hoovers we have today. In fact, right now, I am watching my Roomba® clean my floor while I type this! Can you imagine what life back then must have been like? How exciting and innovative a machine like this was for the time? And yet, today, we all take for granted just how easy our lives have become thanks to technology and progression.

The Hercules Vacuum cleaner was a very stylish and sophisticated machine back then. The one pictured above was covered in crocodile skin, making it quite an expensive purchase. What made it even more of a luxurious item is that it was sold during the great depression – a time when many families were not even able to make ends meet, let alone by a Hercules.[1] If you did know what this item was, try showing your kids and see if they manage to guess! They definitely won’t know what this is!

Did you know the humble broom was not even perfected until the year 1797? A farmer from Massachusetts decided to create one that worked properly after watching his wife struggle to sweep. Soon, his broom, known as broomcorn, became a household name. Of course, as time went by, people got lazier! A few new sweepers and brooms came and went, and it wasn’t until the 1860s when Daniel Hess created the first real vacuum cleaner. According to his patent: “The nature of my invention consists in drawing fine dust and dirt through the machine by means of a draft of air.”

Then, in 1869, Ives McGaffey of Chicago took it even further. Although, his design was actually harder to use than a regular broom. His patent reads: “The accumulation of dust and dirt/in dwelling-houses is a source of great annoyance to all good housekeepers… to obviate these difficulties is the object of my invention.” Sadly, his invention did not take off.

Many designs came and went. But it was James Murray Spangler who revolutionized the vacuum cleaner. A Humble Janitor, aged 60, living in Canton, Ohio, James slaved away to perfect his design. It even took a toll on his health. His machine was better than the rest because not only was it upright, but it was also portable. The crude machine worked well, sucking dirt and blowing it out the back into the attached pillowcase. Spangler patented it in 1907 and quit his job, opening the Electric Suction Sweeper Company.

“It used a ceiling fan motor and paddle blades to create the air flow… he used a leather belt and journaled it to a rotating brush that he had gotten out of a carpet sweeper… No one was able to get the carpet that clean because they didn’t have a motor driven brush.“

The Hoover was then born when he ran into financial trouble, selling his company to his cousin, Susan Hoover!

Thanks for visits, enjoy.

Source

No Comments

, by DailyMore

Inspiring

Nearly No One Recognizes This Antique Tool. Are You One Of The Few That Actually Know What It Is?

Recently, we came across this image and were completely stumped. What in the world could it be? The image circulated around the All Cute offices while we considered all of the different uses for what seemed like a very regular tree branch.

After a day of wondering what in the world it could be used for, we were finally given the answer! This branch was used for a practice stemming back all the way to the 1500s. The practice was called “Water Dowsing.”

If you aren’t familiar with the term Water Dowsing or the dowsing tool itself, perhaps you know it by one of its other names: a diviner, doodlebug, well witch, or water-finder. This tool, if you haven’t guessed by now, is used to find water. Of course, this is more of an old wives’ tale but, nevertheless, it was a common practice years ago.

The Y-shaped branch was used by an individual who would hold one branch of the stick in each hand with their palms facing upward. The stem of the “Y” (aka the bottom of the branch), then is tilted toward the Earth at a 45-degree angle. Once the tool is in position, the individual walks back and forth.

While the individual is walking back and forth, they are looking for the bottom of the Y to rotate toward the ground. The old wives’ tale states that the vibrations indicated at the bottom of the Y promise signs of water underneath the ground.

So you might be asking yourself, “How did this get started?” Well, years ago, in the 1500s, dowsing with metal rods was used to find metals in the ground. As time went on, the practice was used for finding water for new homeowners in rural areas.

The thought was that drilling for water in the wrong spot could get very expensive very quickly. By implementing the water dowser technique, the location for water could be found much more easily and with little money and time spent in the search.

The somewhat-myth was busted when more advanced technology revealed that water is underneath most of the Earth’s surface. Nevertheless, the tool itself was pretty ingenious in its day. In fact, sometimes water drilling companies will still use the water-dowsing technique before they drill just to ensure that they’re getting any water at all!

If you knew what the tool was used for, good for you! If you want to test some of your friends, let us know if they had any idea what it is!

Source

No Comments

, by DailyMore

Inspiring

Couple adopts 3 biological brothers under 4 so they can stay together

When I look back on my childhood, I remember only safety and love. From birth I was made aware of the fact that I was in a family who doted on me and wanted the absolute best.

Unfortunately, not all children have such security. Some grow up in shelters and adoption homes, no knowing the joys of a real family to call their own. Fortunately, three brothers will know exactly that this Christmas, having been adopted by KC and Lena Currie of Sudbury, Massachusetts..

On November 23 of this year – coincidentally National Adoption Day – Joey, 3, Logan, 2, and Noah, 1, who are biological brothers, got to settle into their new forever home together.

KC and Lena’s journey in adoptive parenthood began one year ago, when they legally adopted Joey (who was two at the time). As per Good Morning America, KC and Lena first spotted Joey at an event sponsored by Children’s Friend.

Adoption process

“We saw a picture of Joey and Children’s Friend mentioned [it] would be a good match,” Lena explained. “He was 18 months old at the time.” They ended up adopting little Joey in March. But that was just the beginning.

The Curries soon received a call from Children’s Friend telling that Joey had a 6-week-old brother, Noah, who needed a home too. KC and Lena took no time at all to say yes, only to then learn that there was a third brother, Logan, whose adoption into another family had fallen through.

The Curries took that as a sign that someone was trying to tell them something.

Just one month after letting Noah into their home, Logan, too, joined his brothers. “It was our gut feeling,” KC told GMA. “We were going to end up saying yes because keeping the brothers together was really important to us. When they’re older and have questions, they’ll have each other to lean on and experience that ride together.”

Of course, becoming parents to three kids under the age of 4 has been no walk in the park, but KC and Lena have done a remarkable thing in accepting responsibility for these brothers. Not only will Joey, Logan, and Noah now grow up together, but they’ll benefit from the immeasurable gift of being in a loving family.

“It’s the first year and first holiday where it’s all permanent and true,” Lena said. “Now we can start dreaming about grade school, sports, and all those fun things,” added KC.

Wow, what an inspiring story! And certainly one that’s bringing tears to my eyes.

No Comments

, by DailyMore

Beautiful Places

Incredible 15th-Century Japanese Technique for Growing Ultra-Straight Cedar Trees

Not far outside of Kyoto, there are immense cedar forests planted along the hills. This Kitayama cedar is known for being exceptionally straight and without knots and has been in high de

mand since the 15th century.

With such a demand and lack of space, foresters came up with an ingenious way to grow more wood using less land. This involves the heavy pruning of a mother cedar tree, which encourages tall, thin saplings to shoot upwards.

Think of it as a bonsai on a large scale. This technique, which is called daisugi, enables foresters to harvest wood much more quickly. The shoots can either be planted (to help quickly populate a forest) or harvested. Similar techniques can be found dating back to ancient Rome, which was called pollarding, and across Europe particularly in: Britain where it's called coppicing.

The result is slender cedar that is both flexible and dense, making it the perfect choice for traditional wood roofs and beams. Daisugi cedar can be harvested every 20 years and with the base tree lasting hundreds of years, there's a lot of wood to be harvested from just one tree.

While 20 years may seem like a long time, this is actually accelerated compared to traditional Kitayama cedar.

In order to keep the trees knot-free, workers climb the long trunks every three to four years and carefully prune any developing branches. After about 30 years, a single tree is finally cut down. This type of cedar, which is slightly thicker than the daisugi cedar, has several different uses.

Traditionally, the smooth, aesthetically pleasing pieces of wood were used as the main pillars in an alcove called the tokonoma.

Also first appearing in the 15th century during the Muromachi period, these alcoves were used to display artistic items like ikebana or scrolls.

They also feature prominently in Kyoto's tea houses and it's said that it was Kyoto's preeminent tea master, Sen-no-rikyu, who demanded perfection in the Kitayama cedar during the 16th century.

Though the use of Kitayama cedar in these traditional alcoves is declining as Japanese architecture develops, this highly prized wood is still used for everything from chopsticks to furniture.

No Comments

, by DailyMore

Pages

After 6 Years And 720,000 Attempts, Photographer Finally Captured The Perfect Shot Of Kingfisher

Man Rescues Baby Squirrel And Builds A Custom Treehouse For Him

I’m Positive You Will Not Know What This Is. Go Ahead And Prove Me Wrong (If You Can)

Nearly No One Recognizes This Antique Tool. Are You One Of The Few That Actually Know What It Is?

Couple adopts 3 biological brothers under 4 so they can stay together

Incredible 15th-Century Japanese Technique for Growing Ultra-Straight Cedar Trees

Popular Posts