Just did this version for fun of it and not doing it in black and white.

Version 1 Links:

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The Earth Horizon Landscape - (Art Version) - (Color-HQ) - Click Here

The Earth Horizon Landscape - (Art Version) - (B&W-HQ) - Click Here

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Soufflé au fromage. Cheese Soufflé

1/3 cup butter

4 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 ½ cups milk

5 large eggs, separated

1/2 cup (packed) grated Gruyère cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

Pinch of ground nutmeg

Pinch of cayenne pepper

1. Position rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 350F.

Butter 2 quart soufflé dish.

2. Then, make a sauce béchamel: melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and whisk until mixture is well blended (do not allow mixture to brown). Pour in warm milk, whisking until smooth. Cook, whisking constantly until very thick, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat; add cheese and stir until incorporated. Whisk in seasoning.

Add egg yolks 1 at a time, whisking to blend after each addition. Scrape soufflé base into large bowl. Cool to lukewarm.

(This can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature.)

3. Using electric mixer, beat egg whites in another large bowl until stiff but not dry. Fold 1/4 of whites into soufflé base to lighten. Fold in remaining whites.

Transfer batter to prepared dish.

4. Place dish in oven. Bake until soufflé is puffed and golden brown on top and center moves only slightly when dish is shaken gently, about 35 minutes (do not open oven door during first 20 minutes). Serve immediately.

Created for the Awardtree theme “October Colours Art”

Stock image – plus DDG. Then Dalle 2. Then DDG. Redrawing with paint and paint shop pro at each stage. Cyclist from Creative commons

So, getting this image to this stage was a bit elaborate. I tone-mapped it in HDR Efex Pro 2, Then made it black and white with Silver Efex Pro 2. After this, I saved it and processed it back in Exposure X5, giving it a very cyanotype sort of image. Again, just having a bit of fun with my photos :)

Nikon Z6, Nikkor 24-70mm f/4 S,

Exposure X5, HDR Efex Pro 2, Silver Efex Pro 2

In June of 2023, my conductor and I were scorching the iron on an eastbound priority intermodal train. Around Waterloo, Indiana, the dispatcher informed us that a Lake Division train was coming of the old Wabash at CP358. We would follow that train to Toledo.

Imagine my surprise to learn that the train we were behind was NS 256. the Kansas City to Detroit Roadrailer. For whatever reason, the train was being detoured over the Water Level Route this day.

Upon arrival in Toledo, we pulled up next to them at Nasby Tower. After joking with the crew briefly, they allowed me to take a few photos of our trains side by side. As it would turn out, this was my last experience with the Roadrailer.

It is the end of an era now. The Roadrailer concept was very innovative, but remained largely a niche on the railroad landscape. Several carriers attempted to establish service lanes, but just one railroad kept the idea alive.

What follows are some memories, comments, and opinions that I wish to share regarding this train and my history with it as a fan and professional.

MEMORY LANE:

My first interaction with the Roadrailer was at an interlocking tower in Milan, Michigan. The mainlines of Norfolk Southern and Ann Arbor crossed here, with interchange tracks present as well.

The NS line was double tracked through town with cross over switches on both tracks in either direction. The Annie was single track. Controlling all movements through the interlocking was the operator in the tower.

Milan Tower was a step back in time. Next to both lines were train order boards. The attractive red brick building was manned by friendly operators. These men would walk down the stairs each time a train approached, looking them over for defects and speaking with fans as the train rolled by.

In the early years of Triple Crown service, Milan was my go-to location to shoot this unique train. There was no better place to photograph the juxtaposition of railroad technologies at the time.

If the operator had trains lined straight through town, you didn't have much time to set up once a headlight glimmered over the horizon. Within a few minutes, the clamor of single axle trailers bouncing across the diamond broke the silence.

THE EQUIPMENT:

This cadence of sound was provided by first generation Triple Crown equipment referred to as Mark IV trailers. These unique semi trailers had split rear highway axles, with a retractable rail wheel in between. It was a brilliant concept.

However, the tare weight of an empty trailer was significantly higher than that of a normal 48ft trailer due to the added weight of the rail wheel and associated equipment.

Enter the Mark V trailer of today. Designers of this 53 footer eliminated the rail wheel, allowing for a much lower tare weight. This improvement alone allowed for more cargo to be loaded, hence more profit per trip. A modified rail truck, or bogie, would attach trailers together as a train.

For me, the Mark IV trailers, with their original paint scheme and unique wheel arrangement, were my favorite. The large Triple Crown billboard lettering, along with the three red crowns, looked fantastic on the trailers. Seeing a train of identically painted trailers in perfect tandem pass by was a sight to behold and a joy to photograph. While I have not seen one of the Mark IV trailers in years, they live on in 1/87 scale downstairs.

BEHIND THE THROTTLE:

My first trip behind the throttle of a Roadrailer took place in the latter part of the 90s while working the Toledo to Conway interdivisional pool. A new service lane between Willow Run, Michigan, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was instituted as a joint venture between Conrail and NS.

Conrail symboled the eastbound train RR282. It would normally arrive Toledo around midnight, making for a nocturnal run to Conway. In the few first months of service, train sizes were relatively short. It was common to have 40-60 trailers in a train.

Other than the Office Car Specials, these were my all time favorite trains to operate.

Once the brakes were released and slack taken between the engine and bogie, the rear of the train was moving. It was as close to a passenger train as one could get in terms of slack and control.

If the leader was a SD40-2 or GP40-2, then I was in railroad heaven. Both were race horses and well suited for this type service. Either made running these trains through the hills on the ex-Pennsy between Cleveland and Beaver Falls a thrill.

The westbound train was Conrail symbol RR281. This was an even better train to catch because it ran in the morning. After getting the call and having a delicious breakfast in the hotel, it was off to Toledo on one of the best trains possible.

Eventually, traffic was rerouted and these train were annulled. Not long afterwards, Triple Crown opened a facility in Sandusky, Ohio. The crews working the Toledo to Conway run would now move these trains.

On several occasions, I was called for train 262, the eastbound Roadrailer out of Sandusky. Our day began with an hour limo ride from Toledo to the yard, where we would assemble and test the train.

The westbound counterpart to 262 was train 261. Like the older RR281, this train also operated out of Conway in the morning and was a great ride. Once we yarded the train in Sandusky, it was an hour limo ride home.

However, both of these trains were not like the shorter trains of before. Business grew on this pair of trains, which was good, but that meant they became longer and slower. It was very common towards the end to have 150 trailers on the head pin, which was the maximum limit per the rule book.

While no longer the short hotshots of a few years past, they were fun to run!

I am grateful for my trips on the Triple Crowns!

I am very proud of the technical aspects of this Panorama picture:

It was taken very close from the Church itself thus my wide angle lens could not include all the church and of course not the city bellow.

1. So, I took 7 vertical shots with my EF 16-35mm Canon lens using the 16 mm option.

2.Then, I stitched them with PTGui saving the resulting panorama as a uncompressed TIF.

3. Sent it to Lightroom 5 where I used the "Gradual filter" to equalize the brightness throughout the picture

4. Then I used the "Upright - Full" option straighten the horizon and the church,

5. and last: I used the "Spot removal" to erase part of a flag pillar which was located between me and the church (part of it still can be seen in the photograph).

Now you can see in one picture the church + the whole old city of Marseille including its port.

I hope the result pleas you...

Let me start by stating that this is a single shot,

The moon was not added later?!?!?!

However the light trail leading to the moon was added.

Apart from that minor addition the rest of the PP is fairly standard

The idea for this shot was conceived about a month ago, it is by far the most technical /difficult photo I have ever attempted/taken.

Didn’t start all that well, got to the location without a CF card, round trip back home.

1 hour later, take 2

Then when pushing my tripod into the sand I snapped one of the legs off.

Took around 6-7 attempts to get it just right, very happy with the result.

That’s all im going to give away for now, I will fill you in on the technique in the next few days.

Any ideas??????

About time I revealed my technique.

100-400 at a fraction of a sec using the lens cap and a piece of sticky tape (hinge) to drop the cap as I clicked and locked the shutter release.

Throw a dark towel over the camera and lens, under the towel switch the 100-400 for the 17-40 with lens caps on

Remove the towel, check focal length, check focus dial. When all good remove the lens cap for the pre-determined exposure, in this case it was 360sec @ F7.1.

Have fun, flick me an email if you have any Q's

Thanks for all the kind comments

Adam

PP is a little rough, but I was a bit excited and wanted to post it

Alien skin

Couple of curves masks

Sharpening to moon

Sharpening to foreground

View Large On Black

www.AdamWilliams.com.au

Now she enters a very large wildlife sanctuary. She keep walking, stopping to sniff stuff until she was out of sight.

Ford offered their Ranchero models which were vehicles with a cargo box mated to the cab and front of a passenger car. Although conceptually preceded by coupé-utilities (“Utes”) in Australia and others, Ford’s First Generation ‘Ranchero’ was introduced as a 1957 model. Upon the introduction of Ford’s compact size Falcon line for 1960, the Generation 2 Ranchero models were switched to the Falcon platform. Gen 1 was available with V-8 engines but Gen 2 was limited to the smaller inline 6 engines of the Falcon line until later into the 1963 model year when the 260 cubic inch ‘Challenger’ engine from the Ford Fairlane model became available. This particular one displays the emblem for a 351 cubic inch V-8 which wasn’t available in any Ford until 1969.

The designations of generations between the Ranchero and the Falcon can be a bit confusing. Generation 1 of the Falcon includes model years 1960-63 and Generation 2 is considered to be 1964-65. But for Rancheros, Model Years 1960-1965 are all considered to be Generation 2.

Then for 1966, the Ranchero had the front end of the 1966 Falcon and then for 1967 the Ranchero wore the front end of the intermediate size Fairlane models.

This self assured bird herds the cats in the neighborhood around, intimidating them with dive-bomb pecks to the head. He has taken to eating the dry catfood i put out on my front porch. He watches and waits for the coast to be clear, perching atop my cedar tree until he cannot see me. About every 10 minutes he comes down and eats a kibble or 2 then flies off. I know because i timed his visits while laying on the floor inside the house so i could get a clear shot of him. I missed him twice. I waited another 10 or so minutes with my finger on the button. GOT him!

68030 is stabled on the Maintenance Road at York station, having failed the previous morning on 1P07 0359Hrs Manchester Airport to Scarborough.

On the morning of Friday 20th January 68030 developed issues at York which were initially resolved but then returned in the Haxby area. Defeat was finally admitted with the train limping to Strensall where 1P07 was crossed back over to Up Scarborough Line and returned to me at York, initially arriving in Platform 4 due to number 2 and the Maintenance Road being occupied at the time. With 68030 and the stock from 1P07 being somewhat in the way parked there, during the rest of my signalling shift the train was shunted twice, initially from 4 to 2 then 2 to the Maintenance Road as pictured here.

Meanwhile, 185126 seen here in Platform 2 will shortly be working 1U43 1204Hrs York to Scarborough as I return to work after grabbing some lunch.

If you don't already know the characters from the Disney movie, Cars 2, then these are two of the main characters, Mater and Lightning McQueen!

We assembled 30 loot boxes for my Grandson's birthday party tomorrow. Each child will receive 4 of the decorated cookies plus some other goodies in red gable boxes. Each loot box has the number 2, checkered flag, Lightning McQueen, and one of the other characters, Mater, Francesco Bernoulli, or Finn McMissile.

So this is a setup shot taken to show what I did to take the previous, "One Word" shot.

This was a real world, practical setup to create the shot. No heavy-handed "Photoshop" work was done to create the image of the planet and word inside the drop of water.

To do this you need to set a lot up before you take the shot. Three things need to be lined up for a successful shot.

1) The subject and camera need to be lined up so you can see the drop of water on the end of the blade of grass in this case. Distance for the magnification and height to just see the thing.

2) Then I bring in the background/refraction subject. That needs to be lit harshly, yet no spill over light onto the drop of water. I use a focusable hand held flashlight. The angle of this light is very important.

But the distance of the background is something that you need to figure out by moving it up/down, left/right and forward and back. Each direction makes a small change in the refracted image inside the drop of water.

The background can be anything you want it to be. For the image I created I used a restriction free image that NASA released to the world a while ago. Its called, "The Blue Marble."

I then drew the letters for the word (a couple times actually to get the size right) and colored them in and cut them out using a razor blade from the single stick labels I made them out of. Then I stuck them onto the image.

This is a real image that was created in a practical way. Not all done in photoshop. Hell, I don't even own that software.

There are plenty of videos on YouTube covering this technique, just search Water Droplet Refraction.

This was a photo I took in 2017. The next shot is one I just took and you can see how it has deteriorated in just three + years!

It's Race Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway! Checkered flag attire was everywhere yesterday at the Indy 500 Parade in preparation for the greatest spectacle in racing. I'll be listening to the race today on radio, just like I did as a little boy, with my imagination running wild as the announcers go from the front stretch to turn #1, then the short chute, then turn #2, then the backstretch, then turn #3, another short chute, then turn #4, and finally back to the front stretch, 200 times until a winner screams across the bricks with the checkered flag waving.

Indianapolis, IN

2022

© James Rice, All Rights Reserved

Public domain photo of a train in Rotterdam, the Netherlands in the late nineteenth century that was altered with the Topaz DeJPEG plug-in, then the Topaz DeNoise plug-in, then the Topaz Clean plug-in (degrunge effect), then the Topaz Detail plug-in (skin smoothing effect), then the Photoshop paintbrush, then the Topaz Adjust plug-in (burning), then the Topaz Clean plug-in (blemish removal strong effect; base image), then the AKVIS Sketch plug-in (fine line effect; sketch image), then the Topaz Detail plug-in on the base image (soft and dreamy effect), then the Topaz ReStyle plug-in (sea pink and crusta sunrise effect; base image 2), then the base image 2 was overlaid and merged with the sketch image, then the Topaz Lens Effects plug-in (graduated color blue violet effect), then the Topaz Lens Effects plug-in (graduated neutral density effect), then the Topaz Clarity plug-in (sunset and landscape pop effects; base image 3), then the Topaz Impression plug-in on base image 3 (pastel 2 type 12 effect set to solid), then the Topaz Impression plug-in on base image 3 (pastel 2 type 12 effect set to original), then the solid image was overlaid and merged with the original image, then the Topaz Clarity plug-in (studio effect), then the Topaz Lens Effects plug-in (graduated color light blue effect), then the Alien Skin Exposure plug-in (color and tone adjustments), then a light level adjustment (base image 4), then the Topaz Impression plug-in on base image 4 (chalk pastel 1 effect), the chalk pastel image was overlaid and merged with base image 4, then the Topaz Lens Effects plug-in (hint of red light effect), and then the Topaz Adjust plug-in (burning and vignette effect). Public domain image courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Another play at something different that I can shoot at home.

This is basically a Skeleton Leaf placed onto a mirrored sheet of perspex, that was then aligned next to a computer screen that I had added a bokeh background image to reflect on the mirror.

Settings: (Sorry a bit boring for most)

Nikon D850, Sigma 105mm f/2.8 Macro, 40 JPG stacked shots at f/8, you then focus in live view (zoomed in) to the closest part of the leaf, then setup the cameras focus shift shooting, I set it for silent (mirror Up) shooting, 40 shots at a focus gap on 2. then imported the images into Helicon Soft focus stacking software to achieve an almost perfectly focused leaf.

If you have seen the movie Home Alone 2, then you might recognize the beautiful Park Plaza Hotel just across from Central Park in New York.

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Shutterchance |

Getty Images | On Explore | Snapchat: Toshio_1

All Rights Reserved. All Images Copyright protected

Went for a long walk this morning after my chiropractor visit. Back felt pretty good, and my foot felt as well as it has in years. So, yeah, basically, because I am an idiot, I went for the longest walk in a long time. Let's just say I won't be dancing any time soon. Sigh. Here's another instalment from Take Me Back.

Take Me Back 2

Then, he saw them. The two houses that had been his homes. Well, in reality, the two houses, side by side, had been built by his father, and his grandfather. His childhood home was two storeys, made of brick, and his grandfather’s home was a fieldstone ranch. He had had free and easy access to both places. Never knocked, just a shouted hello. A smile started deep in his heart, and ended up spread across his face. These were happy places. Full of happy memory, places. Places where he dreamed, before he ever realized that his dreams would never come true. Places where the sun came up every day, and everybody, knew everybody. Places where people driving up and down the country road would beep their car horns and wave, and often shout a hello. Places where friends just popped in to shoot the breeze. Places where folks sat out on their front stoups of a warm summer’s eve to chat and catch the gentle fragrance of honeysuckle wafting through the air. Places where he, in his shy, introverted soul, felt safe. There had been love there. And, acceptance.

Taken from Oxfordshire, UK around 10:30pm GMT

Equipment:

8" Ritchie-Cretien telescope with 2x Barlow and Canon 1100D

ISO-800 1/100 second exposure

Processing:

Best 34% of 169 frames stacked using Autostakkert! 2, then processed in Adobe Lightroom, Focus Magic and Faststone Image Viewer

Shot through thick haze

Public domain photo of an English farmer sharpening a scythe in the late nineteenth century that was altered with the Topaz Clarity plug-in (contrast boost edgy effect), then the Topaz DeJPEG plug-in, then the Topaz DeNoise plug-in, then the Topaz Clean plug-in (blemish removal effect), then the Photoshop paintbrush, then the Topaz Detail plug-in (skin smoothing effect; base image), then the AKVIS Sketch plug-in on the base image (fine lines effect; fine lines image), then the Topaz Impression plug-in on the base image (charcoal 1 type 12 effect set to solid; charcoal image), then the charcoal image was overlaid and merged with the fine lines image, then the Alien Skin Exposure X2 plug-in (tone and vibrance adjustments), then the Topaz Adjust plug-in (dodging; base image 2), then the AKVIS Sketch plug-in on the base image (detailed sketch effect; sketch image), then the base image 2 was overlaid and merged with the detailed sketch image, then the Topaz Adjust plug-in (dodging), then the Alien Skin Exposure X2 plug-in (tone adjustments and vignette effect; base image 3), then the AKVIS Sketch plug-in on the base image (detailed sketch effect; sketch image 2), then the base image 3 was overlaid and merged with the detailed sketch image 2, then the Topaz Adjust plug-in (dodging), and then the Photoshop paintbrush Public domain image by Peter Henry Emerson courtesy of the Getty's Open Content Program.

Still Life image created in DDG Text 2 then editing done in BeFunky

Booth Transport set.

Booth specialises in the movement of bulk wine, juice, milk etc., in food grade tankers.

(1) First up 2014 T409 Kenworth semi (SB-94-JX),

(2) Then a nice black-bumpered 2010 T609 Kenworth B Double (CG-72-PQ),

(3) and finally another B Double 2016 T409 Kenworth (SB-78-KI).

On the Up and Down just north of Yass, New South Wales, Australia.

Not twins, but: Wettenhall B-Double Kenworth

pairing southbound on the Hume Highway just up from Yass.

(1/2) First up, VV-03-JJ carrying the bull-bar, extra lighting and a bit more decoration.

(2/2) then 1JR-4TG without.

Yass, New South Wales, Australia.

Part 12

Today we packed up our camp to begin the hike back to the trail head. We made our way back down to lake 3, then along the shore of a no name lake, where we discovered a old shack, erected just inside the tree line, with corrugated metal siding. In the metal was scratched names and dates going all the way back to the 1940s so far as I could see. Debbie and I found an empty spot and scratched our names as well and dated it Aug. 20, 2023, my birthday, which was tomorrow but it was close enough.

Then we continued to Lake 2, then up the hill. From here we could see dark menacing clouds rolling in from the south so we took precautions to waterproof us and our gear. Soon we reached the meadow that surrounded the lowest of the South Fork Lakes and met up with a small foot path that led us to a junction with the main trail that we should have taken up had we not lost it. From here we could look out over the tumbling cascades of South Fork Creek and the meadows below. Beyond the meadows lay an endless blanket of forest draped over ever softer mountains turning into distant, rolling hills.

We followed the trail down, alongside the cascades and into the forest. The trail never entered the meadow, merely it clung to to it's fringes. We hiked through the seemingly endless forest for miles and hours, under a monochromatic sky that cast no shadows. This trail eventually merged with another and still the forest pushed in on every side. Deep, barely audible booms and rumblings seeped through the trees and I suspected that there many be a thunderstorm somewhere beyond the hills.

We only met two hikers on our way out. We greeted each other and their first words after where, “Did you hear about the hurricane?”

“No, what hurricane?” We replied.

They told us that a weak hurricane was going to make landfall in Southern California tomorrow, a very rare and unusual event, the first in almost a century.

We thanked them for the info and continued on, in awe of the information they gave us.

After making it back to the trail head we got in my car and drove down the steep road to the town Lone Pine. We discovered the rumbling that I had heard was in fact a thunderstorm over the Owens Valley down into which we were headed. We had to stop to take in the view of the storm hovering over the landscape far below. A wide curtain of rain was draped across the valley with jagged tendrils of lightning poking through, like the tentacles of some mythical sea beast grasping for wooden vessels to drag to the depths.

We drove the rest of the way down the mountain entering the storm. Big heavy drops fell and lightning split open the sky. We stopped for lunch and gas before heading back to Jan's house.

The hurricane arrived that night its projected path put it right up the center of the Owens Valley where we were staying. Rain started that night and didn't stop for 2 days. If it hadn't been for Debbie I would have been in the wilderness for 2 straight weeks and would have had no clue what was happening with all the rain.

Check out my YouTube channel for backpacking and hiking videos:

www.youtube.com/channel/UCJFdIj7TITFAg4fJyzUJzSA

www.patreon.com/WildernessWanderer

My new Native American flute Album on BandCamp:

wildernesswanderer.bandcamp.com/album/trail-songs

This image was taken on day two of the "rising" before the "shine" at 3am to catch the light with my Palm beach Photographic Centre's workshop with the Buffalo Bill Center in Cody Wyoming. This the "grand Canyon" of Yellowstone shot at the beginning of Sunset. One day after the longest day of the year. Sleep happened very very late.

Image wast taken with a D610 with a 24-120mm Nano coated VR lens recorded to a 128GB Lexar flash card used post processing with Capture NX 2 then Photoshop CC and Nik Colorefex 4.0, Induro C414 carbon fiber tripod and BH3 ball head.

#NikonAmbassador #Nikon #PBPW #lexar #induro #D610 #centerofthewest #niksoftware #Induro #Nikonlens

Taken from a print in my collection, no further details known.

Monkland Railway 36, built by Neilson as either an 0402 of an 0-6-0 in 1859. If originally an 0-4-2 then later converted to an 0-6-0. To the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway and then the North British Railway in 1865 becoming NBR 296. Renumbered 296A c1879. Withdrawn in 1889.

1/52

Inspired by Jennifer's gorgeous shot.

Couldn't think of a better way to start my Year 2 then with a hair flip... I love doing these.

Taken from Oxfordshire, UK with an 8" Ritchie Chretien telescope, focal reducer and Canon 1100D on an EQ6 mount

Best 62 out of 200 images stacked using Autostakkert! 2 then processed using Adobe Lightroom, Fast Stone Image Viewer and Focus Magic

Taken with a William Optics 70mm refractor on an EQ5 Pro mount and Canon 1100D

ISO-800 1/3200 sec

Best 62% of 130 frames stacked using Autostakkert!2, then tweaked in Lightroom and Focus Magic

The Broadsword was a project I started awhile back when I was first designing the Lancer, I was trying to build a jetpack for it and found some arms form some old Alpha team sets that made a pretty cool thruster pack! However I didn’t feel that the yellow color quite went with the lancer's theme so I set it aside for a later project. After deciding that I did not have any mechs that could accommodate this design I decided to build a new one for the jetpack, one that would be more humanoid (like the lancer) and maybe have a sword. It got pushed to the back of a long line of projects for awhile and when I finally decided to work on it I decided to add a bit of "gundam" styling to the design as well as building the cockpit similar to BT's from titianfall 2,. then I discovered I really didn’t have very many yellow "plating" parts and so I decided to start working in LEGO Digital Designer. Incidentally I ended up designing so much in LDD, I started posting screen shots and eventually renders as WIP pics. This seemed pretty popular on Instagram (you can go see them at www.instagram.com/deadglitch71/) so I kept going until I had built the entire mech in LDD (which is unusual for me). After that I constructed the skeleton to test joint functionality/weighting, made a few improvements to the model and then had to order a bunch of parts to get it plated and finished. The whole experience was interesting, I'm getting used to LDD enough to be comfortable to work in it but its hard to check against my current inventory when designing and I end up using a lot of parts I don’t actually own (I had to make 4 bricklink orders for the Broadsword) but then again it does let me use parts I don’t have so it's a back and forth thing.

I borrowed some design ideas for the sword from www.flickr.com/photos/velocites/ I hope he doesn't mind

I'm not going to make the usual Bio for this mech because I really don’t feel that this one will "fit in" with the rest of mecha, even in a prototype/concept sense like I did with the artillery piece

I did measure it and it would stand at 48ft high, scaled to the minifig (which I made form some exo-force sets to go with the gundam theme)

They were just standing by the barn and looked interesting. Added some contrast and adjusted the shadows in Photoshop, then some glow in Topaz Glow 2, then placed in Topaz Restyle, Topaz Adjust, then converted to black and white in Topaz Black and White plus other adjustments including the border, adjusted the lighting in Photoshop along with some other minor adjustments for Slider Sunday

Rock Island SW1 4804 at La Salle Street Station in Chicago, Illinois on an unknown day in June 1979, Kodachrome by Chuck Zeiler. Built in June 1946 as the first IC 9025 ( c/n 3293 ) on EMD Order E668, it was later renumbered to 610 by the IC. It came the RI becoming 4804, later it would become RTA 2 then Metra 2.

A Soo Line westbound rock train heads from the Trail pit to Thief River Falls behind a GP38-2 (4400.) The "Plummer Line", from the Twin Ports to connection with the Winnipeg main line at Plummer in northwest Minnesota, was one of my big misses in my Soo explorations. It was a conduit for grain from North Dakota (by way of another branch that fed that grain into the Winnipeg main at Thief River Falls); into the '80s it gave access to the Cuyuna ore range, further east in northeastern Minnesota. Other than those seasonal traffic flows, it was a sleepy line that connected the Northwoods with the Prairies. By this time the stub off the Winnipeg main ended at a rock pit at Trail, and this elevator at Oklee was its one remaining source of grain revenue. The rock train will rock on by at about 25mph on the light rail, which probably dated from before the days that a passenger train would tread on it between Duluth and Plummer...all contained in a combination baggage/postal/coach combine headed by a 4-6-2, then an RS1 or a Baldwin Roadswitcher, either one in maroon with cream highlights. Wish I could have seen it....

The Heart River originates in Northern Sunrise County in Alberta, at an elevation of 745 meters (2,444 ft). It flows north through an unnamed lake, then turns westwards as it heads through Harmon Valley Park. It receives the waters from the Harmon Valley Creek as it passes by the settlement of Harmon Valley, then turns south. Up until this point, it is the North Heart River as differentiated from the South Heart River. It receives the waters of Bearhead Creek (also carrying waters from the Benjamin Creek from the east), then turns again westward. It is paralleled by the Mackenzie Northern Railway as it passes by the hamlet of Reno and through the village of Nampa. Heart River then receives Myrtle Creek, which is flowing north just east of the village of Nampa. It is crossed by Highway 2, then continues westwards by the hamlet of Marie-Reine, then turns north and flows through a 150 meters (490 ft) deep canyon through the Greene Valley Provincial Park. It then empties in the Peace River, immediately downstream from the Smoky River mouth, at an elevation of 320 meters (1,050 ft), within the Peace River town limits.

Heart River drains an area of approximately 1,900 km2 (730 sq mi).[1] The watershed can be categorized into three major sub-basins: the North Heart River whose drainage area is about 830 km2; Bearhead Creek including Benjamin Creek whose drainage area is about 773 km2 and Myrtle Creek including the Nampa South Drainage Project whose drainage area is 201 km2

Taken from Oxfordshire, UK around 10:30pm GMT

Equipment:

8" Ritchie-Cretien telescope with 0.75 focal reducer and Canon 1100D

ISO-800 1/800 second exposure

Processing:

Best 49% of 169 frames stacked using Autostakkert! 2, then processed in Adobe Lightroom, Focus Magic and Faststone Image Viewer

Shot through thick haze

Photo made it into Explore #461 on October 18th, 2008. Which is really nothing to write home about, but I'll take it. Gotta give a shout out to the fans. I always appreciate the critics and comments.

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I'm back with my brand spankin new Sigma 10-20 and so far I'm loving it. After ordering it I read a lot of reviews saying they experienced problems with soft focusing on the left or right side of the screen, but I'm not seeing any of that yet. I think I got lucky with a good lens.

This was shot at Sand Island State Park located at the very end of the access road. I'm gonna try and do more non-sunset photos for a while.

This HDR Vertorama was made in this process... 2 hdr photos made in photomatix from 3 exposures(-2,0,+2). Then brought each image into CS3 and digitally blended with layer masks and paintbrushes the -2 exposure in the sky to fix halo around rocks and horizon, and the 0 exposure on the foreground sand. Added a curves layer to the whole image and wheyth filter on just the sky for more contrast. For the final touches I added a bit of dodge/burn on sand ridges.

10mm : ISO 100 : f/11 : exp(-2,0,+2)

Taken with a William Optics 70mm refractor, 2 x Barlow and Canon 1100D.

ISO-800 1/250 second exposure, best 50% of 160 frames stacked using Autostakkert!2 then tweeked in Lightroom and Focus Magic

Isle of Bute, Scotland

17.08.21, 11:15am

Chamonix 810V, Rodenstock Apo-Sironar S 240mm f/5.6

Kodak Portra 160 (EI 125)

20” f/45, 440mm bellows

Front tilt, and front shift left for composition

Bellini C41 / Stearman SP810

Epson V850 - 1600dpi colour transparency scan (no colour management) in Epson Scan 2, then manual invert in Photoshop.

Setup:

Subjects arranged on top of a sheet of baking parchment on top of an opaque white glass chopping board. Natural light from north-facing upstairs dorma window in holiday cottage on an overcast morning.

Moon 62% illuminated taken on 04/04/17 using my 8" SCT and ZWO camera. This is made up from nine video's of 2000 frames each totaling over 100Gb of data, the best 10% were stacked in Autostakkert!2 then sharpened in Registax 6 followed by the usual yweaking in PhotoShop.

Taken from Oxfordshire, UK with a Coronado PST, 5x Powermate Barlow and Canon 1100D on an EQ5 Pro mount. This was the first time I've tried the 5x Barlow on this telescope.

I imaged in RAW with my camera set to Mono. Images pre-processed and cropped in Lightroom then exported as TIFFs. The best 50 or 60% of 200 frames were stacked using Autostakkert! 2 then processed in Lightroom, Photoshop CS2, Fast Stone Image View and Focus Magic. False colour added back into the images at the end of processing.

I shot a lot of sections intending to create a stitched mosaic of the full disk of the Sun but things didn't work out so I'm just showing the best stacked images. My full disc image turned out really badly. I suspect the sustained hot weather here in the UK at the moment it making it hard to get a good, sharp image through this little scope. That said, I was pleased with the detail I got on the 2 small prominences, in particular the looping prom because that was very faint. I was also pleased to have captured AR 12715 before it rotated out of view. It's been a while since I did any serious solar imaging so I'm very rusty!

Taken from Oxfordshire with an 8" Ritchie-Chretien telescope with focal reducer and Canon 1100D. ISO-800 1/1600 sec. 170 images shot in RAW, converted into TIFFs. The best 69% were stacked using Autostakkert!2 then processed in Lightroom and Fast Stone Image Viewer

Crop of original full disk image

Week 8(February 22-28)Technique: Light trails. This is the Dumbo ride at Disney World. I took a lot of pictures of this and had a hard time deciding which ones I liked best, I finally narrowed it down to 2. Then this one, it shows more "light trails" then the other.

So happy to finally have our next travel plans almost sorted out - and it's exactly 3 months today until Julian and I are off on our next adventure!! First stop is Austria for a week or 2, then a few weeks in Costa Rica and then our work and travel holiday for a few months in Canada! So excited! 😀 #travel #traveling #wanderlust #excited #canada #earthpix #holiday #instagoodmyphoto #tourist #amazing #wonderfuldestination

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10 Comments on Instagram:

verenafriedl: Awesome! Looking forward to getting to see you in Vienna soon. :)

instagram.com/eliza.jane: Looking forward to seeing you too @verenafriedl 😀

instagram.com/amye.parker: I can't wait to see you guys up here in canada!!

oicurgr82: 💕🌟very beautiful

jonthetourist: I envy you! Check out mine :)

careynash: You will love the drive. Peyto is a must and nordegg is worth the side trip off this highway

fernadette: Wow wow wow!!!! 😱

thevaliantlife: 😍 Beautiful

Good morning Panda Loving Friends! Happy SunMei! Happy SunBei! Happy SunJi!

Qi Ji is full of energy this morning, he is having so much fun with the tree and roly polys.

We had a great time last night at the Biscuits game, first time I ever went to a minor league baseball game. Such fun! Plus I ate my first chicken & biscuit sandwich. They were winning (played the 1st place Mississippi Shuckers) 7 to 2 , then the Shuckers got 10 runs in the 9th. Some rain & lightning but were rewarded with a rainbow. They even had fireworks after. Today is the zoo.

Happy 2.5 YEARS / 35 MONTHS / 152 WEEKS / 1066 DAYS cutie miracle cub Qi Ji!

Have a panderific day everyone, be kind, enjoy some little thing, and be safe.

He/she was looking straight ahead , attentively, with this strong , persistent stare! Immobile, for at least 2’!! Then, abruptly, was turning the head straight to the right!!! Where, she/he was staying immobile like a statue, for at least 2’ more minutes !! And in this way, the abrupt , steady movements of the head were repeated and repeated again, during the 15’ I was in front and very close to him/her…. In the PairiDaiza Zoo Parc ( www.pairidaiza.eu/en )

E nói đôi taz không hợp , E nói A " ăn chơi "

Có lẽ khi hết i* nhau thì mọi lý do sẽ đc đặt ra đúng không E ?

- Tối : Có 2 cái nón bh 2 thèn đem đi đú gái , 10h đi mua nón thì k ai bán đành chạy đầu trần từ Tân Bình => GV

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We were driving up Hwy 395 after a pleasant hike in McGee Canyon around sunset. There was a storm coming in and all of a sudden the details in the clouds became incredibly amazing. We were trying to find a place where we can have foreground to provide a frame for the clouds and it dawned on me a secluded spot by Hot Creek would be perfect and we just coming up to road at the Green Church so we were actually right there.

Thanks for stopping by. Comments and Favs are always appreciated and I will respond as quickly as I can.

Flew down the dirt road and got there grabbed my camera and tripod and started taking pictures. The sun was still pretty high so we had some time so I thought I would be a bit adventurist and do a multi-shot panorama using exposure bracketing. So this is 12 images where I stitched each exposure bracket (4 pictures) to come out with a Pano of -2, 0, +2. Then processed it in Photmatrix. Finished the image off in Photoshop by darkening the clouds to keep as much detail as I could.

Oh and we also happened to have a cold bottle of white wine to toast this beautiful sunset! Just love it when a plan comes together!

Taken from Oxfordshire, UK with an 8" Ritchie Chretien telescope, focal reducer and Canon 1100D on an EQ6 mount

Best 62 out of 200 images stacked using Autostakkert! 2 then processed using Adobe Lightroom, Fast Stone Image Viewer and Focus Magic

Generated first in Wombo and then that image used as a start image in DDG Text 2. Then edited some more in BeFunky