Terry Rodgers
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observaterry.bsky.social
Terry Rodgers
@observaterry.bsky.social
160 followers 180 following 240 posts
I'm into writing, scribbling, travel and photography.
From Edinburgh.
observaterry.wordpress.com
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"You're having a dinner party with characters from #StarTrek. Which four are you inviting?"
I think the booze and chat would be pretty damn good with this lot... 🖖
Dr McCoy from the 1960s Star Trek Scotty from the 1960s Star Trek Guinan from Star Trek: The Next Generation Jadzia Dax from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
November 9, 2025 at 7:50 PM
observaterry.bsky.social
Three-panel cartoon: 1) person reads a clothing label, "I'm hand wash only, inside out, hang to dry and-" 2) person throws clothing into washing machine, "SLAM!" 3) as the machine shakes, the person says "Welcome to the laundry gauntlet. Good luck." (Cartoon by Mr Lovenstein)
November 3, 2025 at 6:15 PM
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Uzbekistan: photos from in and around Khiva...
A ruined desert fortress eroding into the sand. The top of a minaret with its Islamic crescent moon mirrored by the actual crescent moon. A statue of two men sitting and laughing with a samovar next to them. The turquoise patterened Kalta Minor minaret, abandoned halfway through construction.
October 23, 2025 at 3:48 PM
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Uzbekistan: photos from around Bukhara...
Sunrise near the Kalan Minaret. The distinctive curving walls of the Ark of Bukhara with an original, unrestored section, reflected in water. A turquoise dome and courtyard tree seen through an archway. A statue of Mulla Nasreddin, a cheerful local folk hero on his donkey, lit up at night.
October 23, 2025 at 3:31 PM
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Uzbekistan: a handful of photos around Samarkand...
Shah-i-Zinda necropolis is covered in intricate mosaics of blue, white, and turquoise tiles. Detailed blue and gold decor inside the Amir Temur mausoleum. The madrasses of Registan Square lit up at night for a show. Three vast archways and minarets are lit up in soft greenish light. Hazrat Khizr Mosque silhouetted against the dusty afternoon sun looks like something out of 'One Thousand And One Nights'.
October 23, 2025 at 12:45 PM
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Uzbekistan: a few photos around Tashkent...
Sunset silhouette at the Hazrati Imam complex The vast, colourful dome at the centre of Chorsu Bazaar The beautifuuly decorated, cosmonaut-themed station in Taskent's metro with shimmering pillars and paintings of figures in the Soviet space programme. Hotel Uzbekistan in the afternoon sun, with a geometric concrete lattice covering the windows.
October 23, 2025 at 12:04 PM
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Kazakhstan: views from the sleeper train to Shymkent and the border...
Sunrise over a remote village, seen through the restaurant carriage window. A combine harvester waits to be used, in the middle of a field. Beyond the farmland are distant, arid hills. In endless, arid plains, grazing cows are no bigger than specks. Four-person compartments are quite cosy when you include everyone's luggage. Better make sure you get on with them!
September 24, 2025 at 12:29 PM
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Kazakhstan: a handful of photos from around Almaty...
The vibrantly coloured Ascension Cathedral is bright yellow with multicoloured domes topped by golden Orthodox crucifixes, glinting in the sunlight. In the leafy park in front are a multitude of pigeons and stalls. The ornate interior of Ascension Cathedral is dominated by the colour gold, and icons of various saints all around. A dynamic war memorial monument with an eternal flame in front of it, commemorating holding back the Nazis in WW2. Almaty's colourful market has dozens upon dozens of stalls in the main area selling herbs, spices, fruit and veg, plants, and meat. Beyond this is a labyrinth of stalls selling clothes and trinkets and knick-knacks.
September 24, 2025 at 12:28 PM
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Kazakhstan: Esik's archaeology (kurgan burial mounds and museum), and Lake Esik in early autumn...
The 'Golden Man' is a reconstruction of a young aristocrat's ornate red and gold burial costume, which has become a national emblem of Kazakhstan. (Nobody truly knows if it was a young man or woman, but they're assuming it was a young man.) A Kurgan (burial mound) in the middle of a grassy, yellow plain with green hills and mountains behind it. Lake Esik has deep turquoise waters which contrast well with autumnal leaves. Across Lake Esik, taken from water level at the shore, with forested hills and mountain valleys reflected in the placid turquoise waters.
September 24, 2025 at 12:26 PM
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Kazakhstan: from the border to Lunar Canyon and Black Canyon
Two Bactrian camels chew grass on a plain fringed by distant mountains. A long straight road follows every bump and contour of the landscape to a vanishing point. Lunar Canyon: a river with lush green banks flows through a sandy canyon. Black Canyon seen from above where it os hot, dry, and windy. Deep below, the Charyn river wends its way between two lush, green banks.
September 24, 2025 at 12:23 PM
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Kyrgyzstan: Djety Oguz and Karakol
A river valley at sunrise with shafts of light and shadow coming over the mountain tops onto trees and a lively river. Djety Oguz, the 'Seven Bulls' - striking red rock formations at the end of a valley hike. A brightly-coloured wooden mosque in Karakol built without nails apparently. A wooden cathedral with ornate spires painted green and blue, topped with Orthodox crucifixes, amid a colourful garden.
September 23, 2025 at 3:50 PM
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Kyrgyzstan, around lake Issyk Kul: eagle hunters; Barskoon valley; and a night at a yurt camp near Djety Oguz.
An eagle hunter and his apprentice on horseback, holding their eagles aloft with their wings outstretched. A memorial to Yuri Gagarin in Barskoon valley. A boy on horseback makes his way down the forest hillside from Barskoon waterfall. A forested valley lit by moonlight.
September 23, 2025 at 3:39 PM
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Kyrgyzstan's countryside: Burana Tower; a memorial to the Urkun (revolt against the Russian Empire); and sunset at Chon Kemin valley.
Balbals are mediaeval stone grave markers in the shape of human figures. Burana Tower is the region's oldest minaret and used to be twice as tall, overlooking a caravanserai and fort. It is seen here with distant, hazy mountains behind it. The memorial to the Urkun (uprising against the Russian Empire) consists of two gold-coloured panels depicting armed Russian troops aiming their rifles, and fleeing civilians. In between is a statue of a family hugging each other in sorrow. Sunset over Chon Kemin valley casting rays of light and shadow over broad farmlands.
September 23, 2025 at 3:32 PM
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A handful of photos from around Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan...
Sunrise over the southern suburbs, including modern high-rise hotels, and in their shadows, older and slightly dilapidated homes. The Golden glow is also the result of sand and dust blowing in over the Ala-Too mountains from the Taklamakan desert. Changing of the guard at the gigantic flagpole in the city centre. Those soldiers can kick their feet up really high! Ala-Too Square, looking past the modern shops towards the snow-capped mountains. The statue of Lenin still stands from Soviet times, with a star-shaped flowerbed in front of him.
September 23, 2025 at 3:19 PM
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A sunrise walkup Pentland Hills, #Edinburgh this morning...
Sunrise over East Lothian Sunrise seen through trees at Hillend Ski Centre Silhouettes of Edinburgh's skyline and hills in early morning. Trees and shrubs in high-contrast golden sunlight and deep shadows.
August 25, 2025 at 6:38 AM
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Walking around Arthur's Seat #Edinburgh this morning.
(The road is partly closed after the recent fire.)
Sunrise over Queen's Drive, Holyrood Park Arthur's Seat in early morning sun with dark, burned patches visible. St Anthony's Chapel ruins silhouetted against the sky with north Edinburgh and Leith behind it. Sunlight behind the trees at Holyrood Park.
August 15, 2025 at 9:44 AM
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I got these shots shortly before the doors closed for demolition...
The old St James shopping centre interior, Edinburgh, looking towards an exit The old St James shopping centre interior, Edinburgh, with boarded up shop windows The old St James shopping centre interior, Edinburgh, looking along an escalator The old St James shopping centre interior, Edinburgh, looking at ceiling windows and pipes
August 12, 2025 at 3:17 PM
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Royal Observatory, #Edinburgh at sunrise this morning, trying out a new camera...
Edinburgh's skyline from the Castle to Arthur's Seat with gold and blue skies above. The Victorian architecture of the observatory in golden sunlight. Edinburgh Castle seen through colourful plants. Edinburgh Castle with the suburbs in the foreground and the hills of Fife behind it.
July 29, 2025 at 6:37 AM
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Lochleven Castle, Loch Leven, #Scotland
A black and white photo of a vaulted castle cellar. 14th century castle ruins framed by trees. A brightly-coloured sunbathing pheasant. A castle on an island in a loch with bare hills behind it.
July 28, 2025 at 6:43 PM
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Randoms from around St Andrews this afternoon...
A narrow old street with bunting. A ruined cathedral. A mediaeval ruin between more modern buildings on a street. A cool, shaded alleyway with trees in bright sunshine at the far end.
July 13, 2025 at 6:33 PM
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Blackness Castle, inside this morning...
A mediaeval meeting hall with a high, wood-beam ceiling. An old chandelier. A doorway onto a stine spiral stair. A view of the Forth Bridges as seen from an old wooden window with the shutters open.
July 13, 2025 at 6:23 PM
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Blackness Castle, outside this morning...
A small, old cargo crane with the Forth Bridges shrouded in cloud and sunshine behind it. Blackness Castle is shaped like a warship. The Scottish saltire flies from the 'prow' jutting into the Forth. A boat beached on the shores of the Forth at low tide. A view of the Forth from the top of Blackness Castle.
July 13, 2025 at 6:18 PM
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I'm lucky to live in a city with so many green hills...
#Edinburgh #Scotland
Looking south from the Royal Observatory towards the Pentland Hills. Arthur's Seat and Salisbury Crags peeping over bushes in the foreground. Edinburgh's southern central rooftops with the castle in the middle, the Firth of Forth behind, and Fife in the background. A panorama of Edinburgh from the Castle to Arthur's Seat.
July 8, 2025 at 5:51 AM
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Summer solstice sunrise from the top of Scafell Pike
#LakeDistrict #mountain
The Lake District seen in pre-dawn light from about 900m up: blue mountain silhouettes and a cloudy orange sky. Sunrise over the Lake District: golden sun peeping behind mountain silhouettes. Golden sunlight over green mountainsides and cool lakes. The view from the summit of Scafell Pike, with hazy mountain silhouettes in the distance.
June 22, 2025 at 8:39 AM
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Views from the summit of Ben Nevis yesterday
#Scotland #Highlands
Snow and steep drops at the top. Three cairns looking over green hills and lochs. Barren rocks at the summit, with barren mountain silhouettes going into the distance. The harsh, rocky summit of Ben Nevis: a trig point, rescue shelter, and ruins of a weather station, all with dozens upon dozens of hillwalkers around them.
May 18, 2025 at 11:19 AM