Okay, it's not actually within our backyard, but it's just beyond it. The yard behind our house borders a large park that is just being developed. The park was recently seeded, and the straw was put down as mulch. I took this shot while standing on our backyard deck. I think these Sandhill Cranes must have been eating the grass seed.

I know that there's not a lot going on in this image. But I rather like the repetitive poses of the birds, and I thought it was kind of cool that I could get this shot without leaving home, so I decided to go with it. The abundance of Sandhill Cranes in the area near our new home in Michigan has been one of the pleasant surprises of living here.

This thing is actually the roof of a "light well" or "skylight" that provides daylight to the mezzanine level of the U-Bahn station "Harthof", located at the southern end of that station.

© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.

The Mute swan actually gets its name from the fact that its is less vocal than other swan species and is one of the heaviest flying birds. A male swan is known as a Cob while the female is known as a Pen and has a lifespan of around 12 years in the wild and can reach 30 years if in an protected environment. One of three species of wild swans to be found in the UK and is the national bird of Denmark. The Mute Swan is unique in making a vibrant throbbing sound with the wings when in flight. A large group of swans can be called, school, ballet and regatta. No swan has ever broken anyone's arm, this is a actually a complete myth.

Listening to Carole King today… another old Rocker that’s made beautiful music for a number of years.

Carole King is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958. King has made 25 solo albums, the most successful being Tapestry, which held the record for most weeks at No. 1 by a female artist for more than 20 years.

Her record sales were estimated at more than 75 million copies worldwide. She has won four Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. She has been inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a performer and songwriter.

_______________________________________________

The Hooded Merganser:

Spotted this Female Hooded Merganser Strutting Her Stuff after finishing a breakfast of Frog Legs alfresco. The legs were still attached to the frog, so it took her awhile to dine, but she seems to have had a Happy Ending : )

Hooded Mergansers are fairly common on small ponds and rivers, where they dive for fish, crayfish, and other food, seizing it in their thin, serrated bills. They find their prey underwater by sight. They can actually change the refractive properties of their eyes to improve their underwater vision. In addition, they have an extra eyelid, called a “nictitating membrane,” which is transparent and helps protect the eye during swimming, like a pair of goggles.

Hooded Merganser ducklings leave their nest cavity within 24 hours of hatching. First, their mother checks the area around the nest and calls to the nestlings from ground level. From inside the nest, the little fluffballs scramble up to the entrance hole and then flutter to the ground, which may be 50 feet or more below them. In some cases, they have to walk half a mile or more with their mother to the nearest body of water.

The oldest recorded Hooded Merganser was a male and at least 14 years, 6 months old when he was shot in Mississippi in 2009. He had been banded in Minnesota in 1995.

(Sony, 200-600 @ 600 mm, 1/400 @ f/6.3, ISO 5000, edited to taste)

Actually not. This is a Douglas C-47 Skytrain mounted above the roof terrace of the Deutsches Technikmuseum (German Museum of Technology).

This particular C-47 was delivered to the USAF in 1945 and was initially used by the weather service based on Jamaica.

From 1962 to 1977 it was used by the Spanish Air Force, in 1986 it went back to the USAF, who displayed it on Tempelhof Airport to remember the Berlin Air Lift.

In 1994 it was handed over to the Deutsches Technikmuseum.

Click here for a different perspective.

© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.

but it is mainly the outcome of the need we have felt for making democracy such a good thing, like a scrubbed and shining schoolboy. Actually democracy partakes of the sweat and blood of the real world. It is grimy and dangerous and will never survive until it can learn to understand the ways of bullies and take its own part. I happen to care for it not because of any moral perfection it may have, but because it is by and large the best instrument I know for giving us the kind of world we want to live in :-)

Max Lerner, 1938

HFF!! Truth Matters!! Character Matters! Impeach the bully!

john moulton homestead, grand tetons national park, wyoming

... actually with full sun and 37°C ... TGIF !

Dahlia 'Bishop of Llandaff'

in our garden - Frankfurt-Nordend

Actually, if you look closer, there are two trees.

Well actually it isn't Bonny but a very amusing birthday card sent to my wife from the family! If you want to know more about the people who produced the card please visit www.avantipress.com

Our Bonny Lass was born in Ireland and was originally thought to be a labrador/collie cross - but our dog trainer thought she is a 'Heinz 57 Varieties' with some Lurcher and Staffie thrown in! Whatever she is, she is adorable!

She is now thirteen years old and although she's slowing down she can still give dogs half her age a run for their money in short bursts!

If you are looking for a rescue dog in the UK, please visit www.pupsneedinghomes.co.uk/ as they do such an outstanding job in rehoming unwanted dogs!

Actually, the plant was already dried, but our good care and enough water help sometimes miracles

Actually after sunset. This is twilight after the very cloudy day.

Actually it marked the fish for this Tricolored Heron.

Actually it's in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon but I couldn't help but think of that great water storage that kept so many invaders outside the walls of Constantinople. You can see it in that great movie Topkapi

maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Antiquorum/159/139/22

We actually got a good day today, and a nice sunset tonight. I found a nice spot with loads of swans but just wanted the one in it. Have you ever tried to control the movement of swans.....no....well dont.

Actually it's a balloon. 🎈😂

This was actually taken a couple of weeks ago during a snow storm as I scurried around the valley floor trying to get as many shots as possible before the storm broke up. I was fortunate enough to set up my tripod at the tunnel that morning at 6 AM next to Willie Huang and Aaron Meyers among several others.

More snow covered Yosemite photos and my top 10 tips for shooting Yosemite in the snow may be found at:

The Resonant Landscape: Tips On Shooting Yosemite In The Snow

I will definitely be missing the snowstorm that's moving in today at Yosemite with a snow level down to almost 2000 feet tonight as I will be with my wonderful family. I wish safe travels to all who are out there tonight, and a very Merry Christmas to all of you!

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I actually worked on this image last year on my return from NZ/Canada. This shot was taken on a wet day re-tracing my steps to my primary school. The tree ferns were all along the pathway and they sheltered me from the rain. I have added the water to this image - i wasn't wading through it!

Posted for Sliders Sunday

Actually, I wanted to photograph dew-wetted insects, but at this time of day it doesn't work out so well. At least the lavender is still glittering a little (probably it hadn't moved enough yet as it was fixed with the spider's thread). Happy weekend everybody ☀️

Olympus E-M1 Mark II + Olympus 60mm F2.8 Macro

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to watch or leave a comment or award :)

All my photos are © All Rights Reserved. The pictures are for viewing, not to be downloaded and shared on any other site or for personal use without my explicit permission. And definitely do not post ads in my photos!!! Thank you! :)

- Living Jewels of Nature 14, Precious Living Jewels of Nature 12, Members Choice 11

- Nature's Carousel 10, Nature's Golden Carousel 10, Nature's Platinum CArousel 13

You need a haircut ;)

#MacroMonday

#Redux

#Brush

#High Key (sort of)

Please press "Z".

I've missed so many themes in 2020, so there was plenty to choose from – but the "Brush" theme from March actually wasn't on top of my list of what to do for Redux at all; in fact when I flipped through my "MM 2020" folder I even noticed that I'd skipped the theme already back in March: So how should I be able to come up with a nice photo just now?

Well, first of all there is this new brush that I've just bought and which is still in it's "virgin" state, because I thought I'd take a macro of it before I start using it in undoubtely futile attempts at taming my by now totally come apart haircut. So far, so boring. And I really thought that the first few test shots were kind of boring, until... well, until I looked at them on the monitor and noticed this perfectly sharp reflection of the bristles in the round tip of one single bristle (which is only 3 mm / 0,11 inches long). Something I hadn't even noticed while taking the photo.

Unfortunately, this first chance hit wasn't such a well composed image, because the in focus bristles are not where one would like to see them (rule of thirds), so I tried to reproduce the reflection. Have you ever used a magnifying glass to check your camera screen? This is what I did. And while I managed to get sharper, better composed images, I wasn't able to reproduce that clear and sharp reflection; I got reflections, but they never looked as nice and bright as the one(s) I got in my first attempt. So I decided to go with what I already had, clumsy composition or not. I thought about cropping the image, but that would have taken away the nice bokeh and golden sheen (light reflected by a piece of golden tinfoil) from the upper part of my image. What I also like are those "eyes" on the bristle tips, although they seem to say "Forget it, you'll never get your hair right!" ;)

HMM, Everyone! I wish you a Happy, Healthy New Year. Let's hope 2021 will be a better year than 2020. Stay safe and take care!

Actually it was a little warm on this late summer evening by the river ... but the cool tones of blue hour were quite soothing. A pretty place to sit and enjoy the sounds of the flowing river ... and nothing else.

I actually had stopped to check my map, I looked up from my parking spot and saw this steam just tucked back up in the woods. A short walk and I found this vantage point. A completely unexpected find and now one of my favorite images of the year.

Olallie Creek is located in the midsection of the Cascades mountain range in western Oregon. The area is nicely shaded by Douglas fir, maple and alder. The Willamette National Forest stretches for 110 miles with varied landscapes of high mountains, narrow canyons, cascading streams, and wooded slopes. This creek sits right beside the McKenzie River and the McKenzie River Trail.

Olallie is a very popular name in Oregon. There are several Olallie areas, from this creek, to a nice lake, not associated with this creek to a nice hiking trail, not associated with creek or lake.

Actually, I did see this Snowy owl, but two years earlier at Zoo America in Hershey, Pennsylvania. 😄 My dream of seeing a Snowy on the snow-covered dunes could only be realized through Photoshop😜

Bryce Canyon National Park was actually the second park we went to but the last Utah National Park represented in my Photostream.

Since I missed sunrise, I knew I really only had one chance to catch some nice light. There is an overlook called Sunset Point but figured it would be packed so I decided to find Bryce Point overlook which turned out to be just as good in my opinion.

The order of parks in our itinerary was Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches and Canyonlands.

Per www.brycecanyoncountry.com, At 8,300 feet, Bryce Point offers one of the most sweeping views of the hoodoo-filled red rock amphitheater. Famous for its astonishing sunrise as the sunlight floods the top of the hoodoos with a brilliant burst of light and then works its way down into all but the deepest crevices, this north-facing viewpoint is also beautiful throughout the day. Catch a great view of Boat Mesa and the rich colors of the Claron Formation. Bryce Point is the trailhead for Peek-a-Boo Loop, a strenuous 5.5-mile trail which winds among the majestic red rock hoodoos such as the Wall of the Windows and Three Wise Men formations. Bryce Point is also a popular birding spot; keep an eye out for a rare glimpse of the California condor. The viewpoint is named for Ebenezer Bryce, who settled the area in 1870.

I do have more pictures from each park but wanted to represent one from each. I might slip in others before posting all my Utah pictures so you don't get bored with all the rocks.

Actually, this is before it rained (again!) today. I had just refilled the birdbath when I saw this bedraggled dandelion seed head. It isn't the prettiest specimen but it sure held the water drops nicely. Steve said it looks like a wet poodle, lol! : )

Actually the lighting looks like sails and its inside the Oculus--a transportation hub!

Actually not two but three Grebes were rushing that day. Unfortunately they were so close I lost many good frames when I was panning with them. Fortunately I was using a full frame modern camera that locked on to the first grebe for the entirety of the sequence. Therefore I got few keepers.

Actually ALL horses are my valentines, I love them so much. Wells County, Michigan.

Yuki actually smiles like this most of her waking hours. She's such a happy, joyful dog.

Actually, lemon blossom buds.

I had promised myself that I would not post any flower shots on Flickr until spring, but due to a variety of reasons, I have not taken a single photograph during the whole year so far (all 8 days). So here are some more flowers from last year. Atleast, it's not a rose.

Photo exhibition venue → kyoto-muse.jp/web-exhibit/110790

playlist→ music.apple.com/jp/playlist/%E5%80%8B%E5%B1%95/pl.u-38oWZ...

Online photo exhibition is the last 3 days! For details, check the description. I was planning to actually exhibit it at a gallery in Tokyo in April, but it was postponed at the request of the government.

COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 is attacking all over the world. Japan is no exception, and everyday is becoming more difficult. As a photographer, I also thought about life and postponed the exhibition according to the government's request. The Japanese government does not support artists. So I decided to hold an online photo exhibition. This is free to watch.

The photo exhibition should be in the dark in the room at night, preferably with the playlist. Look at the brightness of mobile terminals at 1/3.

Thank you for your support. Thanks to everyone, we had more access than in Japan. Thank you. Last but not least, I would be happy if you could share the URL of the photo exhibition on your SNS. Thank you!

COVID-19、SARS-CoV-2は世界中で攻撃しています。 日本も例外ではなく、日々の日常がますます難しくなっています。 写真家として、命のことも考え、政府の要請で展覧会を延期しました。 日本政府はアーティストをサポートしていません。 そこで、オンライン写真展を開催することにしました。 これは無料で見れます。

写真展は、出来ればプレイリストと一緒に、部屋を暗くし携帯端末の明るさを1/3に見てください。

ご支援いただきありがとうございます。 おかげさまで、日本よりも多くのアクセスがありました。 ありがとうございました。 最後になりましたが、写真展のURLをSNSでシェアしていただければ幸いです。 ありがとうございました！

this is actually the young shoot or fiddlehead of a huge fern i found in the botanical gardens in washington dc! it looked like an alien creature and at the same time reminded me of ursula, the octopus ifn the little mermaid cartoon! lol!!!

if you have time, see the rest of the photos in my washington dc set: www.flickr.com/photos/doctony/sets/72157600264872206/show/

thank you for you visits and kind comments my friends!!!

Actually it's a family portrait - my husband and I are in the reflection of the French window.

Thank you all for visits, favs and comments, it's greatly appreciated!

I actually wanted to go to sleep, but then the light from outside shone very brightly. I could not resist and took my camera, but since our balcony is currently somewhat crowded, I had no place for the tripod. So this is a freehand capture.

This is a pic for my new website so I'm sharing it on here

Harajuku Top & Skirt by DeadDollz

KOHAKU Hair by ARGRACE

Pose by Le Poppycock

Pic was taken @ Whimberly

Actually its Snowhill Manor.

I actually photographed this fence for the first time in April 2010 for one of my first ever Fence Fridays. See that picture here.

Happy Fence Friday! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. :)

hand-warped in elasticam and treated with icolorama

Actually, I do not want to have people in this picture. But this place is a place for everyone to do it, and this man is still sitting quietly. That's a long shutter. The photo was taken, he was sitting still.

The feeling may be similar to this song.

youtu.be/6X2Nvx--k1U

Actually the fluffy white turned out to be feathers, probably of a night heron, so the young owl was telling the truth😄.

I was actually there earlier that day to take pictures but every single spot of this infamous palace which was made more famous by the famed "The Last Emperor" was cramped with local tourists. So I decided to return later that afternoon hoping that people have dwindled as admission closes. Had to find a place where crowd was less and was lucky enough to get a bonus from this setting sun.

Built from 1406 to 1420, The Forbidden City was the home for he Emperors of Ming and Qing Dynasties. For almost five centuries, of course, it was also the home of the Emperors' household and also served as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government.

It consists of 980 surviving buildings with 8,707 bays of rooms that covers 720,000 square meters. The palace complex exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture that influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere.

HMM-- actually i had a wonderful time choosing, shooting, and experimenting with pics for this theme!! and learned so much about rendering things into b&w and the relative values in sliders.

this is thurman and his smile/face is just under an inch and he's my favorite of the possibles for "back to square one". he's particularly happy to be a part of the macro mondays group's pool for the theme of:

"back to square one" “Center Square B&W”: center composed, black and white image in square format...

ODC "available light"

I love cold air, fresh air. I love the wind in my face. I love clouds scooting across the sky. I love to be outdoors and in the wilds.

It's summer now, but actually I hanker for winter. It may not be as colourful but I'm sure it's more interesting. I tried to cool down this mid summer shot to make it look more wintry, when being outdoors in the wilds gives me a rush. By the next winter I should well and truly be in the wilds. In long dark days I will find a mood to suit.

Does anybody have the word "Snowdonia" printed on any gear or clothing? It seems you are not allowed to have "Snowdonia" printed on your T-shirt because the name has been registered by JD Williams, the Manchester based company that slapped a cease and desist order on Eryri Eco Clothing which is based in Snowdonia. Eryri tried to register the name "Eryri" (Welsh for Snowdonia) but was told it could not because it is a place name, but at the same time was told it could not use the name "Snowdonia" because JD Williams have trademarked it. Doesn't this sort of stupidity in the world make your blood boil???? Too many lawyers stink.

politics.readsector.com/2021/07/08/welsh-clothing-brand-f...

www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/fashion/eyri-clothing-sno...

Actually a green flower bud explodes with varied hues.

Happy Macro Monday!

Expect many macro shots this week!

Well, actually it's a little Eastern Amberwing dragonfly. They are very small and like most dragonflies, lightening fast.

There were lots of them zipping about and luckily this tiny branch seemed to be a favorite landing spot. Still not the most accessible spot being way down at the water's edge, but I watched and waited - hoping one would land long enough for me to grab a shot or two.

Seen during a recent visit to a nearby arboretum. *** And yes, it's still facing the wrong way and too far away, but beggars can't be choosers.

The Mute swan actually gets its name from the fact that its is less vocal than other swan species and is one of the heaviest flying birds. A male swan is known as a Cob while the female is known as a Pen and has a lifespan of around 12 years in the wild and can reach 30 years if in an protected environment. One of three species of wild swans to be found in the UK and is the national bird of Denmark. The Mute Swan is unique in making a vibrant throbbing sound with the wings when in flight. A large group of swans can be called, school, ballet and regatta. No swan has ever broken anyone's arm, this is a actually a complete myth. Have a great Christmas everyone !!!!

actually...this is everyday scene, this guy jumps from one window to another checking where we are to let him in...:))

©2008AnnaZavileiskaia

This is actually a test shot taken on the phone. When I thought I would use the glass straws I got my DSLR out to recreate it and I couldn't quite get there again. I didn't like any of the other compositions and light patterns, although they only differed slightly from the original. So I have to go with the phone image.

As I only show the bent bit of the straws (isn't it a funny name for a glass item?) I am well within the allowed 3". I have placed them on striped paper and increased contrast, decreased saturation and made it darker. It was fun to try all sorts of paper patterns, stripes definitely worked best.

I actually ended up in a fight with this bear (or one of his siblings). It was between 3 and 4 in the morning and I was sleeping. I woke up by some noises. It turned out to be this bear that was curious about the "window" where I have the camera when I take pictures. When the window is not in use, a small field cloth covers the window. The bear had started to pull on this piece of cloth. I was afraid it would manage to rip it off. Then the bear and I would have been standing almost nose to nose. So, I pulled the cloth to get it back and the bear pulled again on his side. We went on like that for a little while. Luckily, it got bored or gave up. But for a little while there I was very scared and thought it would actually get in. At least with his head. And what if more of the bears joined him…. That was the only time I was scared though. This, despite how close I was to other bigger bears later. I have posted pictures of this before.

Thank you everyone who has taken the time to view, fave or comment on my photo. It is very much appreciated.

Actually, the scientific name for this Robin is rather interesting:

" Turdus migratorius".............

Regardless, it's nice to see them back here (although many do not migrate!!).

Click to enlarge for even more fun, and details!!

Thanks for looking, etc.:)