If you are travelling from the UK  to USA from January 12th 2009 you will have to apply for entry online. The Department of Homeland Security’s new Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) will require applications for travel to ir transit through the USA to be made at least 72 hours before departure.

Applications are free of charge can be made here :

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/id_visa/esta/  

Jonathan

Is there anyone out that can provide good information on Coast To Coast route US50,  Starts in Ocean City (Maryland) and ends in San Francisco (California) or the other way round depending upon where you start.

If you have any information please either leave me a comment or email me (address in my profile)

THANK YOU.

I have finally got around to finishing off editing my images for Orford Ness, due to the sheer scale of the site and the amount if images taken I shall only posting a very small amount of images.

A brief history of Orford Ness: In 1913 a large part of the Ness was acquired by the War Department, during 1915 a part of the Central Flying School’s Experimental Flying Section started to use the site. The second world war saw activity increase at the Ness with experimental work into bomb ballistics experiments. The 1950′s saw the site expand with the arrival of the AWRE (Atomic Weapons Research Establishment) where development work on Atomic Bombs. The site was mainly use to test nuclear weapons, by the time 1968 came around the top-secret Anglo-American System 441A ‘Over-the-horizon’ (OTH) backscatter radar project codenamed ‘Cobra Mist’ had been started on the site, it is now the BBC World Service radio transmitters. The site is now owned by The National Trust.

An old "National Trust Sign" Orford Ness, Suffolk, UK.

Model Bombing Range, Orford Ness, Suffolk, UK. Built around 1954 and was used to test the aerodynamics of small scale model of atomic bombs and re-entry vehicles, it was later used as a recreational rifle range.

Old Petrol Pump, Orford Ness, Suffolk, UK. This petrol pump sits on the site of the former First World War Hanger, this area is now a dumping ground for waste such as concrete, steel and rubble.

‘Prohibited Area’ Photography and Sketching Forbidden, this sign isn’t used so much since The National Trust has taken over.

Lab 1, Orford Ness, Suffolk, UK. Lab 1 was completed in 1956, this was the first of 6 atomic weapons test cells constructed on the Ness, it was used for both mechanical and vibration testing for drop tests.

‘Danger Unexploded Ordnance" Orford Ness, Suffolk, UK. (including Orford Ness Lighthouse)

‘Bomb Ballistics Building’ Orford Ness, Suffolk, UK. Built in 1933 this building was the nerve centre of experimental bombing range.

After visiting Orford Ness I took a slight detour to Shingle Street, for those that don’t know Shingle Street it is a strip of beach with a few houses just south of Orford Ness, said to be the inspiration of Thomas Dolby’s "Cloud Burst At Shingle Street" a classic track and worht a visit, please respect the locals and twitchers (I couldn’t resist in asking if they were looking for Bill Oddie!)

(all information taken from The National Trusts booklet about Orford Ness, this has not been reproduced by kind permission of TNT but I hope they don’t mind)

Comments and feedback always welcome, I’m now screening comments but all sensible comments will be shown.

Did anyone watch Stephen Fry In America last night on the BBC?

On this weeks programme he visited St Louis as part of his trip and although he could have made a fuss about about the Gateway Arch etc he didn’t he chose to meet up with some homeless people. After seeing the odd view of St Louis and the Gateway Arch I almost frozen in delight when he drove up to a building that I visited whilst I was there.

(you can view it here, note this will only last for up to 20 days http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00f7g56  )

Old Warehouse, St Louis, USA.

You saw Stephen Fry and the person he was interviewing walk pass this graffiti. St Louis, USA.

A view down the walk way where I thinks trucks must have backed up to pick up or drop deliveries to this old warehouse, St Louis, USA.

Window to the warehouse, St Louis, USA.

It was very funny to watch and to see a place such as this on peak time UK TV really made my evening.

Enjoy.

Before I forget, here is a flash earth link to the place
http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=38.639155&lon=-90.182712&z=18.6&r=0&src=msa

I client ask me recently about where we stand legally when it comes to taking photographs of people on public land. After many hours of reading information there seems to be a huge grey area called "European convention on human rights" this information states that photographing a person could be deemed a breach of this right.  Upon looking further and further into this information you read this "in general there is no right to privacy under UK law, and photograph of individuals may be used for any purposes" so what is right and what is wrong?

I also found information on photography in the USA why you might imagine a whole can or worms came at me! but for those who can cast their mind back to last year when I got escorted from the Broadwalk in Santa Cruz (CA) I found some information that would have allowed me to have carried on I advise people to do some research in the rights of photography to where every they are going before getting your camera out, this information will help you in a situation.

Local, state, and national laws may exist pertaining to photographing or videotaping. Laws that are present may vary from one jurisdiction to the next, and may be stricter in some places and more lenient in others, so it is important to know the laws present in one’s location. Typical laws in the United States are as follows:

• Photographing or videotaping a tourist attraction, whether publicly or privately owned, is generally considered legal, unless explicitly prohibited by posted signs.
• Photographing of privately-owned property that is generally open to the public (i.e. retail) is permitted unless explicitly prohibited by posted signs.
• Filming while on private property follows many restrictions. The owner of the property is permitted to film their own property. However, they must receive permission from others on the property to be allowed to film that person. (this means that CCTV is only allowed if they ask you first!)
• It is generally legal to photograph or videotape anything and anyone on any public property, with some exceptions.

Disclaimer:
While care has been taken to ensure that the information contained in this guide is accurate as at 31 August 2004, it does not provide a comprehensive in-depth discussion of the relevant law. The information it contains is of a general nature and is not intended to be legal advice. The guide is provided without any warranty as to the accuracy of the information it contains, and users are urged to consult a solicitor in respect of any specific legal problems they might encounter. The author, publisher and distributor of this guide will not be responsible for any loss suffered by any person that is directly or indirectly attributable to reliance on the information contained in this guide.

Please note that This is intended to provide a short guide to the main legal restrictions on the right to take photographs and the right to publish photographs that have been taken. It is not an all-encompassing discussion of the law, and any photographer faced with unusual circumstances or specific difficulties should take legal advice.
(covered my arse now!)

If anyone has more information on the subject or would like to expand further or even have a story then please add a comment, note I now screen all comments