Hatley Castle
As I have mentioned elsewhere, I had the good fortune of a lunch and photo outing with Toad, of Toad Hollow Photography in early July. These shots are from our wander around some of the gardens at Royal Roads University in Colwood, west of Victoria. The property was once a private residence of a local coal baron by the name of Dunsmuir. The house was named Hatley Castle and is in very large grounds with a wonderful garden. The property later came into the possession of the federal government and was used as Royal Roads College, a military training centre and many buildings were added behind the original house. Most recently it has become the Royal Roads University, no longer with a military connection. The old house is used for private functions and the like. When we were there, a wedding was either just being set up, or taken down. Last weekend my son’s band played a wedding there. I expect the summer is full of them at this spot.
Ross Bay Sign
Well, I was going to finish off my flint knapping series with the time-lapse video, but youtube was not allowing video edits last night, so instead we take a trip over to Dallas Road and Ross Bay. This is the east end of Ross Bay taken from right next to that end of the Ross Bay Cemetery.
(more…)
Hands Full of Knapping
Some more pictures from Dan Stueber’s flintknapping class at the University of Victoria. As I explained yesterday, I had to look in his bench seat. These pictures are mostly of him holding the blanks from inside the bench. The third picture is of archaeology graduate student Jenny Cohen holding a projectile point she made in the class while acting as the teaching assistant to Dan. Pretty sweet summer job to assist on a course like this. Followers of my blog have seen Jenny here before – she was working on the Kilgii Gwaay site that I did a series on this time last year, a site that will be the subject of her master’s thesis.
The last picture is a teaser in the form of a still from an upcoming timelapse video we made together – the making of this small arrow point is the subject of that time-lapse. See the following link for more of this mini-series on Dan’s work.
(more…)
Flintknapper’s Bench
When I visited Dan Stueber’s flintknapping area at the University of Victoria he was just finishing up with his students. I had come to make a timelapse video of him making stone tools. So, we tried that (video to come in a subsequent post); then I was helping clean up. I picked up the bench Dan sits on, or rather I tried to – it pretty much pulled me into the ground. So I asked to see inside – It was full of blanks, partially completed tools ready for the fine finishing, and some less finished pieces ready for shaping and then finishing. Of course I had to get a few pictures, a continuation this mini-series on Dan’s work.
(more…)
Tool Maker’s Tools
More photos from earlier this summer when I visited Dan Stueber’s class at the University of Victoria. I have given a talk to his class the past few years about a project where there are no stone tools and virtually everything discovered would normally decay in a few years, as a counterpoint to the focus of his class. Dan has taught a lithic technology course at UVic for most summers for a few years now – it is a very popular course and it seems hard to get a place in it.
The course work covers the manufacture of stone tools, the nature of waste materials from making them, and how to interpret these materials to help archaeologists understand past lifeways. He is based in Portland, Oregon but really seems to like coming to the island for a few weeks every year. Archaeology students here are extremely lucky to take courses from him – he is a master flintknapper who works also as a lithic analyst for an archaeological consulting company.
(more…)
Sharp Line
In keeping with the simplicity of yesterday’s post, this is another single line on a coloured background. At this point I should just get people to guess what this is. While that would be fun, it would water down the lead in to another series I am going to start here, but possibly not continue until quite a few days from now.
This summer I spent some time with Dan Stueber, a terrific flintknapper from Oregon. I have previously featured a replica spear point that he made. He comes to teach at U-Vic most summers. We had a plan to shoot some timelapse of him making tools, a plan that started but is by no means concluded. He will be back, and with luck we can shoot some more. There is quite a lot to learn about what works in terms of frames per second, angle of view, lighting, and so on. This series will continue with more from shots of his set up and some of his work,
(more…)
Unknown Blossom III
Yet another flower from my visit to Royal Roads University gardens last month – this one is close to the main house on an arbour that leads to a stone gazebo. I don’t have a photo of the whole plant, so you will just have to know it was a very large trumpet shaped flower, lily-like in some respects, of the colour shown with red tinges on the outside of the petals, along the median ridge, and probably growing on a vine. If someone can guess the name from that description, then they are great at guessing, or went and had a look for themselves.
(more…)
Top Posts & Pages – Click Thumbnail To View
Recent Comments
♦ FUJITA (藤田光学工業) H.… on Fujitar P.C 35mm F2.5 Asahifle… ehpem on Child’s Grave Kyle Hoyt on Child’s Grave ehpem on Charles Elliott Pole, Universi… Lisa Kadonaga on Charles Elliott Pole, Universi…
burnt embers 