View allAll Photos Tagged Affect
Le moulin à vent de Damme - El molino de viento de Damme
-----------------
Damme was on the former estuary Zwin, a first major port of Bruges, to whom she owed its development
The town prospered in the Middle Ages. The twelfth to the fourteenth century, Damme, was connected by a channel to the North Sea. Hundreds of ships docked there and all European nations had their warehouses. From there the goods were transferred to Bruges on barges.
But because of silting Zwin, Damme is affected by the decline of Bruges.
-
Damme était, sur l'ancien estuaire du Zwin, un avant-port important de Bruges à qui elle dut son développement
La ville connut la prospérité au Moyen Âge. Du XIIe au XIVe siècle, Damme, était reliée par un chenal à la mer du Nord. Des centaines de navires y accostaient et toutes les nations européennes y avaient leurs entrepôts. De là, les marchandises étaient transférées jusqu'à Bruges sur des péniches.
Mais, à cause de l'ensablement du Zwin, l'essor de Damme est affecté par le déclin de Bruges.
-
Damme estaba en el antiguo estuario del Zwin, un puerto exterior importante de Brujas, a quien debe su desarrollo.
La ciudad prosperó durante la Edad Media. Entre los siglos XII y XIV, Damme, fue conectado por un canal al Mar del Norte. Cientos de barcos estaban abordados allí, todas las naciones europeas tenían sus almacenes. A partir de ahí los bienes estaban transferidos a Brujas en barcazas.
Pero debido a la sedimentación del Zwin, Damme se ve afectada por el declive de Brujas
-----------------
Damme, Schellemolen, Vlaams Gewest, België
(en) : Homo Algorithmus Angelus between the rationality of his architectonic phenomenal pareidolia and the affectivity of his twilighted libidinal atavism . .
__________________________________________________
Outlining a Theory of General Creativity . .
. . on a 'Pataphysical projectory
Entropy ≥ Memory ● Creativity ²
__________________________________________________
Etude du jour:
"L'Intelligence Artificielle est le bocal que l'homme s'est construit pour mieux y conserver sa Bêtise Naturelle. Pas si bête l'homme, puisque fatalement, . . le fermoir est buggé !"
( jef Safi )
Artificial Intelligence is the jar the man constructed himself to better conserve his Natural Stupidity. Not so stupid, because fatally, . . the clasp is bugged !
__________________________________________________
S'il se présente un évènement qui sollicite nos adhésions les plus "viscérales", alors nous vérifions que c'est le corps qui parle. Et le philosophe (ou l'artiste) qui se présente alors pour faire le malin à propos de l'an-arkhé n'a aucune chance de nous retenir.
( Frédéric Lordon - La condition anarchique - Seuil 2o18 )
If there is an event that solicits our most "visceral" adhesions, then we verify that it is the body that speaks. And the philosopher (or the artist) who present himself at this time to be clever about the an-arkhé have no chance to attract us.
__________________________________________________
rectO-persO | E ≥ m.C² | co~errAnce | TiLt
'Tha's had it now Casper lad’. Female Kestrel, hovering over RSPB St Aidan’s, West Yorkshire.
Many thanks for visiting my Flickr pages ...Your visits, interest, comments and kindness to 'fave' my photos is very much appreciated, Steve.
Kestrel
In medieval falconry the kestrel was reserved for the knave, reflecting its lowly status.
Country kestrels feed almost exclusively on small rodents (particularly voles), but those living in towns will take sparrows instead.
Though rodents may be the principal diet, they will also take a wide variety of other prey, including lizards, earthworms, large insects and even bats.
Vole numbers affect kestrel numbers: in good vole years more young kestrels are fledged.
Kestrels have remarkably keen eyesight even in extremely poor light, allowing them to hunt almost until dark.
Kestrels hunt from static perches and by hovering: the latter is far more productive, but uses lots of energy, which is why they hunt mainly from perches during the winter.
Hovering gives the kestrel its country name of windhover.
Kestrels aren’t as big as they look. An adult weighs on average a mere 220gm, less than half the weight of a red-legged partridge.
Our kestrel is one of a large group of similar species, found throughout much of the world, but it has the largest range, breeding through much of Europe, Africa and Asia.
Kestrels are Britain’s most widely distributed bird of prey, breeding throughout the mainland and on many offshore islands.
Kestrels rarely breed on Shetland: the most recent record was in 1905.
Their absence from Shetland may be explained by the absence of voles there.
Until recently kestrels were also our most numerous bird of prey, but the buzzard has taken over the No 1 slot.
Breeding kestrels like to use old crows’ nests, but they will also use holes in trees, nest boxes and cliff ledges.
Most kestrel nest failures occur during incubation; if eggs hatch, then it is most likely that some of the young will fledge.
Though not a colonial species, in years when there is an abundance of voles they will sometimes nest within a few metres of each other.
The lesser kestrel, which breeds in southern and eastern Europe, is a strictly colonial nester, often found in large colonies.
The world’s rarest species of kestrel lives on Mauritius, where it has come perilously close to extinction. There were just eight birds left in the wild 30 years ago, but the number is now close to 1,000.
Kestrels have been seen to rob sparrowhawks and both barn and short-eared owls of their prey.
The major cause of death among young kestrels is starvation: only 30-40% survive their first year.
The film Kes, about a young working-class boy training a kestrel, was made in 1969 but is still regarded as a classic. Living With Birds Notes.
Universities are very inspirational places, I particularly like the modern buildings at the Glasgow Caledonian University. The following is from UNESCO:
The four pillars of learning
The four pillars of learning are fundamental principles for reshaping education:
Learning to know: to provide the cognitive tools required to better comprehend the world and its complexities, and to provide an appropriate and adequate foundation for future learning.
Learning to do: to provide the skills that would enable individuals to effectively participate in the global economy and society.
Learning to be: to provide self analytical and social skills to enable individuals to develop to their fullest potential psycho-socially, affectively as well as physically, for a all-round ‘complete person.
Learning to live together: to expose individuals to the values implicit within human rights, democratic principles, intercultural understanding and respect and peace at all levels of society and human relationships to enable individuals and societies to live in peace and harmony.
Cet Agora L affecté ce jour-là à la ligne F1 est vu ici à l'Hôtel de Ville de Rouen, en direction de Bois-Guillaume.
Affectation peu mise en valeur et circulant une seule fois par semaine, le QG 857 effectue la desserte des deux derniers clients de la ville de Saint-Jérôme. Ici, la cheffe de train F.D. est descendue de la QGRY 3538 pour changer la position de l’aiguille. Le train pourra donc quitter la subdivision Lachute et s’engager sur l'embranchement Montfort. Une cinquantaine d’années auparavant, cette jonction était utilisée par le CNR et permettait d’atteindre le Lac-Rémi (vers l’Ouest) ou Montréal en passant par la défunte ligne Deux-Montagnes. Le signal en bas à droite est l’un des seuls vestiges de cette activité ferroviaire d’un autre temps.
A little-valued assignment and running only once a week, QG train 857 serves the last two customers in the town of Saint-Jérôme. Here, trainmaster F.D. came down from QGRY 3538 to change the position of the switch. The train will now be able to leave the Lachute subdivision and enter the Montfort spur. Around fifty years ago, this junction was used by the CNR and made it possible to reach Lac-Rémi (towards the West) or Montreal via the defunct Deux-Montagnes line. The signal at the bottom right is one of the only vestiges of this railway activity from another time.
Avant d'être affectés au musée, les bâtiments étaient une maison de l'ordre des Ermites de saint Augustin. Dans son emplacement actuel, à l'intérieur des murs de la cité, le couvent des Augustins de Toulouse fut construit à partir de 1310 après l'autorisation du pape Clément V donnée par un rescrit daté du 28 janvier 1310.
Le couvent des Augustins devient bien national par décret le 2 novembre 1789. Il est désaffecté puis démembré en 1790 lors de la suppression des ordres monastiques. Il fut transformé en musée après la suppression des ordres religieux à la Révolution française.
La saisie des œuvres les plus utiles pour la création d'un « Muséum du Midi de la République » est décidée par le Conseil du département de Haute-Garonne le 12 décembre 1793. Il s'installe aux Augustins et ouvre solennellement ses portes le 27 août 1795, ce qui en fait l'un des plus anciens musées de France, très peu de temps après le Louvre.
Fermé à partir du 31 mai 2019 pour réfection des verrières, le musée devait rouvrir début 2020 mais les travaux sont prolongés jusqu'à début 2025.
It’s amazing how the affects from the volcano eruption in the southern Pacific Ocean earlier this year can still be seen. They say the affects from it could last up to a year with us having brighter than normal sunrises and sunsets. I'll take it! This was a recent trip I took to the city which produced breath taking sunsets every night I was there. What I like most about this photo is how it looks like the sunset to shining through the windows of the buildings.
The Canary Islands experienced the most tragic weekend in terms of drowning in the last fifteen years, with four deaths, one minor in critical condition and three injured in the last 48 hours in accidents that occurred on five islands. In most cases, according to 112, these accidents are to foreigners and occur mostly in natural pools where they assume they will be safe despite the weather alerts.
During a weather alert for high seas in the Canaries:
- Do not stand at the end of piers or jetties, or risk taking photos or videos near where the waves break
- Avoid fishing in risk areas
- Never bathe in secluded beaches or beaches that you do not know enough about
- Avoid bathing on beaches with a red flag, in areas where there are strong waves and undertows or that lack surveillance and rescue services.
- Think of others not only you are at risk but also the life of those who try to rescue you.
- If you need to be rescued while there is a weather warning in place YOU WILL BE CHARGED, if still alive.
The storm should affect the Canary Islands, at least today and Tuesday, with rain that will be persistent in the north of the islands and will be accompanied by strong or very strong north winds and rough seas.
Our lives affect to other people's life like a cogwheel turns the other cog. Some of us might be coloured differently than others. Some of us might seem small and almost invisible to others. Some of us are prominent whom everybody recognise.
No matter what kind of cogwheels we are, we all "move" other people emotionally, spiritually or physically towards good or bad. We can make her happy with our kind words and our smile or press down by cruel ones.
And as prominent ones often move many other cogs, sometimes only one tiny cog is needed to make a difference and move the prominent ones.
Let's begin to make at least one person happy everyday and so turn humanity to happy clockwork!
View from the small gardens around the historic Bank of Scotland building that dominates The Mound in Edinburgh - it offered good views across the Gardens to the New Town, so I snapped a couple of pics with the old, iconic buildings like the Balmoral Hotel and Royal British Hotel, but with the new W Hotel, recently added, now also on the skyline.
I and many others resent this building being added to the UNESCO World Heritage site of the New Town and marring the city's historic skyline. No problem with new buildings, just not in such sensitive, heritage areas and certainly not tall ones like this that affect the skyline of such a historic and visually stunning city as Edinburgh.
The owners have been using the media all summer to try and convince readers that locals refer to the new building as "the Walnut Whip" (like the old chocolate treat), which we don't - most Edinburgh folks I know refer to this building as The Golden Turd (the circling metal bands are bright copper), or simply The Dog Poo (it does look like the poo emoji!).
Light and colour can influence how people perceive the area around them. Different light sources affect how the colours of walls and other objects are seen. Specific hues of colours seen under natural sunlight may vary when seen under the light from an incandescent (tungsten) light-bulb: lighter colours may appear to be more orange or "brownish" and darker colours may appear even darker.
Light and the colour of an object can affect how one perceives its positioning. If light or shadow, or the colour of the object, masks an object's true contour (outline of a figure) it can appear to be shaped differently than it really is.
Objects under a uniform light-source will promote better impression of three-dimensional shape.
The colour of an object may affect whether or not it seems to be in motion. In particular, the trajectories of objects under a light source whose intensity varies with space are more difficult to determine than identical objects under a uniform light source.
Carl Jung is most prominently associated with the pioneering stages of colour psychology. Jung was most interested in colours’ properties and meanings, as well as in Art’s potential as a tool for psychotherapy.
Colour has long been used to create feelings of cosiness or spaciousness. However, how people are affected by different colour-stimuli varies from person to person.
There is evidence that colour preference may depend on ambient temperature. People who are cold prefer warm colous like red and yellow while people who are hot prefer cool colours like blue and green.
A few studies have shown that cultural background has a strong influence on colour preference. These studies have shown that people from the same region regardless of race will have the same colour preferences.
I'm ALWAYS fascinated by COLOUR!
Have a lovely day and thanx for your visit, M, (*_*)
For more of my other work or if you want to PURCHASE (ONLY PLACE TO BUY MY IMAGES!), VIEW THE NEW PORTFOLIOS AND LATEST NEWS HERE on our website: www.indigo2photography.com
IT IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN (BY LAW!!!) TO USE ANY OF MY image or TEXT on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved
Screen is a lighting affect from an LED.
Designed by GlenBricker with some adjustments by me. Decal art created by me. Created and customized by me.
I have been commissioned by Brick Fiesta: www.brickfiesta.com/ to make the figures and some cabinets from Ready Player One. For those who don't know, RPO is written by Ernie Cline: www.ernestcline.com/ He has also written Fan Boys and his most recent is a book called Armada.
From Wiki:
Ready Player One is a 2011 science fiction and dystopian novel by Ernest Cline. In 2012, the book received an Alex Award from the Young Adult Library Services Association division of the American Library Association[1] and won the 2012 Prometheus Award.[2]
Can't say much else without giving away a plot twist!
I enjoyed the book and really got pulled in. By the way, the audio book is read by Wil Wheaton, does a great job. Not sure I will get to reveal everything here, but I will be writing a BrickJournal article about them and hopefully everything will be at Brick Fiesta this weekend in Austin. If in the area, come check them all out, it will be worth it.
"La campagne, cet éternel remède des affections auxquelles la médecine ne connaît rien." Balzac
La texture est de King.
I think I have SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) in the Summer....lol
I'm loosing the motivation to go shooting at the moment as it seems to be raining most of the time.
Another from a while back of Edinburgh after sunset. Much of the glow in the skies came from the city lights. When you get this sort of cloud it can get lit up by the city lights as there was limited sunset, but some glow later on that I captured.
Update on the HiTech Pro Ten Stop is that I sent it back as it had a mark within the resin. I was going to get a replacement, but after trying out before I sent it back it gave a wierd colour cast that I couldn't seem to get rid of post processing. When combined with a Lee Grad it became even worse to remove.
I was going to do a proper write up but only snapped a few shots before I sent it back and was expecting to get another which I would test properly, but its away now.
The cast was somewhere between the warm B&W ten stop and the bluer Lee Big Stopper so initially I thought this was great, but I just couldn't make the colour look natural when processing. In additon it leaked light even though I had got the correct size foam for the HiTech filter holder. The filter is very light weight and and bends slightly in the holder so that didn't help.
I'm not sure if it just me as I have seen a good write up fro them. The Canons don't seem to be as good with colour casts as Nikons though as maybe they have a better IR built in filter?
I'll just join the queue for the Big Stopper but seen that the production issues should be resolved by Autumn
I have to admit that life aboard Leon's Claw is a lot harder and with more responsibility than I expected... but I love it! Every day I have to make rounds throughout the entire ship and inspect everything and make sure it's all in working order. If one little thing is out of place or whistling wrong or smoking when it shouldn't, it can affect the entire ship and the lives of everyone on board.
Aside from my responsibility inspecting the ship, I also help Damien when he needs it. To be honest he doesn't need that much help. He's very handy and strong! I watched him lift three heavy crates all on his own during our first stop after my joining the crew! They weren't little crates either! I'm pretty sure Damien was amused by my awe ‘cause he kept smirking when I stared and said, "Whoa!"
Having Damien as a bunkmate wasn't all too bad but it took some getting used to. I'd never shared a room, so to speak, with another person. My hammock is directly above Damien's and privacy is a rare treat. I have to use a crate to climb up and let me tell you it is NOT an easy thing to do; especially when you are sore and tired. In fact, I nearly fell several times trying to get in the first time and Damien just stood there looking so fucking amused and told me that if I fell on him while he was sleeping that he'd kill me and make it look like an accident. We both laughed it off but at the same time I don't ever want to find out how serious he is or not.
Before I knew it, it had been nearly three weeks since I'd left home! It took some adjustment but soon I was getting used to my new life. I was an airship engineer! No, it wasn't on one of those big airships I'd dreamed of but this could one day lead to that! I wrote to Papa twice and told him all about the ship and my crew mates and what life was like for me now. Though if I am to be honest, I was starting to feel homesick. I could send Papa letters but would I ever be able to receive any back? Surely there had to be a schedule of planned stops. It meant Papa could send letters ahead for me! I knew the captain would know of them but I didn't want him to think I was regretting my choice to do this.
To be honest, I hadn't seen much of the captain in the past few weeks. When I did see him, he was often busy mapping things out and writing letters and going over ledgers while sipping on a cup of tea. He wasn't hard to find on a small ship but our paths just didn't cross too often.
It was mid afternoon and I'd finished inspecting pipes beneath the mast* when I figured now would be a good time as any to speak with the captain. He usually takes his afternoon tea around this time so I made my way down below deck to the small kitchen area. Sure enough, there he was! Captain Vincent was just finishing up brewing what appeared to be one of his favorites: Earl Grey.
I inhaled deeply and smiled slightly. "Mm, smells good." I watched as the captain glanced over and gave a small, "Mhm." His gaze looked down at his teacup, lifting it gingerly to his nose before taking a deep inhale and sighing contently. He seemed to be in a good mood so I decided to take my chance before he departed. "Sir, I wanted to ask you something." He'd just started to turn when I watched him pause and glance back at me expectantly. "What is it?"
Licking my lips, I explained, "I was wanting to ask if it would be possible to find out ahead of time some of the ports we'll be at. I wanted to let my father know so maybe he could send me letters." I watched as the captain quirked his brow and for a moment, I felt like he could see deep within me, that longing and yearning for home. I was so sure the captain was going to belittle me when instead, he gave a small sigh, then replied, "Come with me." Relief filled me and I began to follow him along towards his quarters. "Thank you!" "You're welcome."
A moment later, he opened the door and let me in before following in after me. "Things don't always go according to plan but we do have a schedule for some of the major stops we'll be taking a few months out," he explained, reaching for a notebook calendar on one of his shelves. He set his teacup down and began to thumb through the notebook until he found what he was looking for. "We'll be stopping in Arturstown in one week. After that..."
And the captain began to show me on his calendar some of the big stops we'd be making and when they were planned. He was stoic, factual in his explanations as always. I took mental notes of where and when some of them were. Fantastic!
"Thank you again, Captain!"
"You're welcome."
I watched him settle in on his chair to finally enjoy his tea. As I turned to leave, something caught my eye. It was a chess set! A very nicely made one, at that. I recognized the brand! My father had a chess set from the same maker! The memories of playing chess with my father made me smile softly. "Can I help you with anything else?" I heard the captain ask behind me. "Oh, no. Sorry, Sir. I was just admiring the box of your chess set. My father has one from the same maker." "Ah, I see." I glanced back at him as he lifted his tea to his lips and began to sip quietly from it. He looked so content just sitting there like that. I gave a small chuckle and a small jerk of my head. "Fancy a game, Captain?" I could tell I surprised him with the offer because he looked up at me and quirked his left brow.
"Are you serious?"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
The captain stared at me for a long moment. "So you know how to play?" "Of course I do." I replied, grinning. Then I added quickly with politeness, "Sir." Perhaps he'd thought someone like me wouldn't know how to play something like that. To be fair, most people of my station live their whole lives working and not having hobbies outside of that. I watched him glance towards the box and I realized that he was actually considering it! Pushing just a touch more, I teased, "Come on. I'll even go easy on you."
The captain gave a snort; an actual snort. Then he responded, "Go easy on me? Kid, I don't think you know who I am."
"Don't tell me. Show me."
"Fine. On your King's head, then."
Standing, the captain motioned for me to move and then reached up for the box, tea secured in his other hand. I thought for a split second I saw a small smirk at the corner of his lips but maybe it was just a trick of the light. We walked across to the cargo hold that also doubled as the living quarters for Damien and me. It didn't take us long to get set up. Sitting on a barrel opposite the captain, I grinned a little. "Your move, Captain."
It became clear within a few minutes that I was not playing against an amateur. Then about fifteen minutes into the game, the captain revealed just how good he was. I was good. I was not THAT good! He seemed to be several steps ahead with an answer to everything I could think of!
"Checkmate."
"How?!" I exclaimed, eyes widened and fighting back incredulous laughter as he checkmated me. I stared, going over all the pieces. Yeah, he...he got me good! I folded my arms over my chest, jaw dropped and just dumbfounded! By chance, right then, I glanced up and suddenly...I felt the wind knocked slightly out of me.
I'm not sure what it was about that one moment, but for a second the way the sunlight filtered through the ceiling and fell upon the captain, it took my breath away. His eye was staring right at me, the sunlight making his sea colored eye look so vibrant and lovely like the shallows in a lagoon. I'd never seen a man look so handsome and beautiful at the same time. His full lips curved ever so slightly into that tiny smirk I thought I'd seen earlier, and he looked so content to be sitting there with his tea and having kicked my ass in the quickest chess game I'd ever played. "Hm." His lips smirked just a touch more as he lifted his tea to his lips and slowly drained the rest of it. Before I could make any sense of what just happened...
BOOM!
"What was that?!" the captain exclaimed, looking around in shock. God, I felt as if my heart jumped into my stomach! And suddenly, the whole ship lurched and the chess set was flying along with several crates nearby! I scrambled to steady myself and stared in horror at the captain who gazed back at me while clutching a barrel. There was a horrible cranking sound that was very obviously slowing down as we heard Damien's scream rise above all of it through the ceiling window. "VINCENT!!! AIDEN!!!! YOU BETTER GET UP HERE QUICK!!!"
***
Vocabulary:
*Mast: a tall, upright post on a ship that carries the sails
Next Part: www.flickr.com/photos/153660805@N05/50846691428/in/datepo...
To read the rest of the story, here's the album link: www.flickr.com/photos/153660805@N05/albums/72157717075565127
***Please note this is a BOY LOVE (BL/yaoi/gay) series. It is a slow burn and rated PG13!***
***
Special thank you to the smexy husbando of a man: Vin Aydin Raven-Mysterious for collaborating with me on this series and co-starring as The Captain!
~
DISCORD SERVER: That's right! The Captain and the Engineer has a Discord Server! If you would like to join and chat with other crewmates and see what's new and happening before it gets posted to Flickr, click the link!
***NEW!!!!***
The Captain and the Engineer now has a FACEBOOK PAGE! Please come Like, Follow, and join the crew! Thank you so much for all your support!
FACEBOOK PAGE:
Here's how Sods Law affects the bus photographer.
You have a route that’s been temporarily converted to double decker.
You check the allocation and see that 90% of buses on the route are decker.
You find a nice spot and you hurriedly check to see what the next bus is.
And……… It's a blooming single decker! One of only two on the whole route!!
Which meant I had to fester here for another 20 minutes facing a dreary dark-brick east end council estate.
Still, the ENL seems to fit in quite nice here and I've already illustrated one of the deckers before.
ZAKER : PILLS CHAIR for The Grand Event! The chair comes in 12 colors PG and Adult compatible with It's Not All Mine and Physics Cock.
Taxi: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/The%20Grand%20Event/99/85/...
Avant d'être affectés au musée, les bâtiments étaient une maison de l'ordre des Ermites de saint Augustin. Dans son emplacement actuel, à l'intérieur des murs de la cité, le couvent des Augustins de Toulouse fut construit à partir de 1310 après l'autorisation du pape Clément V donnée par un rescrit daté du 28 janvier 1310.
Le couvent des Augustins devient bien national par décret le 2 novembre 1789. Il est désaffecté puis démembré en 1790 lors de la suppression des ordres monastiques. Il fut transformé en musée après la suppression des ordres religieux à la Révolution française.
La saisie des œuvres les plus utiles pour la création d'un « Muséum du Midi de la République » est décidée par le Conseil du département de Haute-Garonne le 12 décembre 1793. Il s'installe aux Augustins et ouvre solennellement ses portes le 27 août 1795, ce qui en fait l'un des plus anciens musées de France, très peu de temps après le Louvre.
Fermé à partir du 31 mai 2019 pour réfection des verrières, le musée devait rouvrir début 2020 mais les travaux sont prolongés jusqu'à début 2025.
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/rhyspopephotography
Twitter:
Testing out the CPL when i first got it back in Autumn... Blue and yellow always out on a good show...
A polarizing filter, used for both color and black-and-white photography, is colourless and does not affect colour balance, but filters out light with a particular direction of polarisation. This reduces oblique reflections from non-metallic surfaces, can darken the sky in colour photography (in monochrome photography colour filters are more effective), and can saturate the image more by eliminating unwanted reflections.
I hope you'll enjoy the my images as much as I enjoyed taking them.
The Caucasian squirrel lives in the hollows of centuries-old olive trees. The number of Caucasian squirrels in the North Aegean region is decreasing every year, noticeably.
Like most red squirrels, spotting a Caucasian Squirrel is definitely becoming a rare sight. Climate change affects nature differently in every corner of the world.
The Caucasian squirrel - Sciurus anomalus ; The Caucasian squirrel or Persian squirrel, is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus found in temperate broadleaf and mixed forests in south-western Asia.
The species is usually said to have first been described in 1778 by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in the 13th edition of Systema Naturae,and named Sciurus anomalus. However, some authors argue that this work was actually published in 1788, and that the true first description was made by Johann Anton Güldenstädt in 1785.
Description -
Caucasian squirrels are small tree squirrels, with a total length of 32 to 36 cm (13 to 14 in), including the 13 to 18 cm (5.1 to 7.1 in) tail, and weighing 250 to 410 g (8.8 to 14.5 oz). The color of the upper body fur ranges from greyish brown to pale grey, depending on the subspecies, while that of the underparts is rusty brown to yellowish, and that of the tail, yellow brown to deep red. The claws are relatively short, compared with those of other tree squirrels, and females have either eight or ten teats.
Samuel Griswold Goodrich described the Caucasian squirrel in 1885 as "Its color is grayish-brown above, and yellowish-brown below".
Physical Description -
Caucasian squirrels have a dental formula of incisors 1/1, canines 0/0, premolars 1/1, and molars 3/3, totaling 20. They have four fingered fore feet and five fingered hind feet. Sex differences in body length or mass are not evident.
Distribution and habitat -
Caucasian squirrels are native to south-western Asia, where they are found from Turkey, and the islands of Gökçeada and Lesbos in the west, Iran in the southeast, and as far as Israel and Jordan in the south.It is one of only two species of the genus Sciurus to be found on Mediterranean islands,and, although Eurasian red squirrels have been recently introduced to some areas, is the only species of Sciurus native to the wider region.
The species mainly lives in forested areas dominated by oak, pine, and pistachio, up to altitudes of 2,000 metres (6,600 ft).
Biology and behavior -
The squirrels are diurnal, and solitary, although temporary groups may forage where food is plentiful. Their diet includes nuts, seeds, tree shoots, and buds,with the seeds of oak and pine being particularly favored. Like many other squirrels, they cache their food within tree cavities or loose soil, with some larders containing up to 6 kg (13 lb) of seeds. They live in trees, where they make their dens, but frequently forage on the ground, and are considered less arboreal than Eurasian red squirrels. They commonly nest in tree hollows lined with moss and leaves, and located 5 to 14 m (16 to 46 ft) above the ground, but nests are also sometimes found under rocks or tree roots. Their alarm call is high-pitched, and said to resemble the call of the European green woodpecker, and they mark their territories with urine and dung.
Breeding occurs throughout the year, but is more common in spring or autumn. Litters range from two to seven, with three or four being typical, and the young are fully mature by five or six months of age.
Conservation -
A survey in 2008 found that the species remained abundant within Turkey, however declines are noted in population within the Levant region. The guides for a survey in 1993 in Israel stated that they considered the species to be nearly extinct within the area studied. Whilst the Caucasian squirrel is threatened by poaching and deforestation, the declines recorded are not sufficient to qualify them as anything other than "Least Concern" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.[1] Hunting of the species is banned by the Central Hunting Commission, and the Caucasian squirrel is protected by the Bern Convention and the EU Habitats Directive.
This information is sourced from "Wikipedia".
Thank you so much for visiting my stream, whether you comments , favorites or just have a look.
I appreciate it very much, wishing the best of luck and good light.
© All rights reserved R.Ertug Please do not use this image without my explicit written permission. Contact me by Flickr mail if you want to buy or use Your comments and critiques are very well appreciated.
Lens - hand held or Monopod and definitely SPORT VR on. Aperture is f5.6 and full length. All my images have been converted from RAW to JPEG.
I started using Nikon Cross-Body Strap or Monopod on long walks. Here is my Carbon Monopod details : Gitzo GM2542 Series 2 4S Carbon Monopod - Really Right Stuff MH-01 Monopod Head with Standard Lever - Really Right Stuff LCF-11 Replacement Foot for Nikon AF-S 500mm /5.6E PF Lense -
Thanks for stopping and looking :)
The Nikon FE2 is a significant upgrade to its predecessor, the Nikon FE. The FE2 came out in 1983, about five years after the release of the FE in 1978. Like the FM2N, the design of the FE2 was highly refined over two generations and various other upgrades. The FE2 is a great travel camera for film. It is relatively small and light, compared with both large fully-automated film SLR cameras and large full-frame FX or even crop sensor DX digital SLR cameras. However, the quality of the images it can produce are the same or better than those of a full-frame digital camera, especially when the film is scanned with a commercial-grade scanner. You can fit the camera with two or three small prime lenses and an electronic flash in a regular size fanny pack. The FE2 has most of the advantages of the FE and then some. The main improvements in the FE2 over the FE, which will be discussed in more detail below, are (1) TTL flash metering capability, (2) maximum shutter speed increased from 1/1000 sec. to 1/4000 sec., (3) 1/3 stop exposure compensation instead of only 1/2 stop, (3) brighter viewfinder than the FE, with improved focusing screens, and (4) flash synch speed and mechanical shutter speed both increased to 1/250 sec. from 1/90 sec. for mechanical shutter speed and 1/125 sec. maximum flash synch speed on the FE.
I became a constant user of the original FE soon after it came out in 1978 as a backup body to my pro-level Nikon F2 Photomic AS. Then, for a long time, I variously used an F3HP, F4 and F90X together with an FM2N for a second body. Of course, after that, digital SLRs started to take off and film became obsolete for most applications. However, for travel, especially in the modern age of restrictions on flight check-in and carry-on baggage, I like to keep my travel camera system as small as possible but still keep maximum image quality. The fully mechanical FM2N itself is almost the perfect travel camera. However, may people like to use flash with film lots of in addition to shooting landscapes and street images, may shooters like to take pictures of my friends and family, sometimes inside a building or at night. So the ability of the FE2 to support TTL flash is a big advantage over the FE or FM2N.
The FE2 was in production from 1983 to 1987, concurrent actually with the experimental and more high-tech FA. Finally, in 1988, both the FE2 and FA were replaced with the new style F801 (N8008), which had the metering system of the FA plus autofocus and built-in auto-wind. There was actually one additional major upgrade to the FM2N/FE3, and that is the FM3A, which was released much later (2001-2006; 1991). The FM3A is the most advanced of the FM/FE Series, with a hybrid mechanical/electronic shutter, an FE2 style metering indicator, and all of the other features of the FE2.
The FE2 was available in silver chrome and black paint. I have the black paint version, and the finish still looks great today, with only a bit of very minor wear and tear. When I compare the black finishes on the FE and FE2, the finish on the FE's black metal plates and dials is significantly more matte than the relatively shiny finish on the FE2. Comparing side by side, the matte finish on the older FE is definitely cooler. I have not looked closely at a chrome FE and FE2, but I have read that the chrome FE's finish is also slightly nicer than the chrome finish on the FE2. Anyway, the black FE2 also looks great. Although my FE2 has been to the shop a few times for regular maintenance, it has thankfully never had any breakdown. Some might argue that the all mechanical FM series is more repairable than an electronic camera like the FE2 over a multi-decade lifespan, and that may be true. But the FE2 is relatively simple compared with later advanced electronic cameras, so I am hopeful that my favorite camera technician will be able to keep my FE2 running for a long time to come.
All FM/FE-style bodies work great today with a wide variety of old and modern Nikon F mount lenses. Some people prefer the FE over the FE2 due to its ability to shoot more images per roll, slightly more convenient battery check, and most importantly, ability to mount pre-Ai lenses with the camera’s retractable meter coupling lever.
Unlike the single large 6 volt battery in the older Nikon EL-2, the FE and FE2 alike take either a 3V lithium battery, two 1.55V silver oxide batteries, or two 1.5V alkalines. This was standard for Nikon bodies of that era. I usually prefer to just go with a single 3V lithium to enjoy the long shelf life, but of course the other two types work fine too. Even though the small batteries control both the light meter and electronic shutter (but obviously not film advance or any autofocus), they still seem to last forever. I really liked the battery check lever on the back left of the FE, which is missing on the FE2. On the FE, you just need to push the lever down with your left thumb, and if the batteries are good, the red diode will light; no need to look through the viewfinder to check the batteries. On the FE2; you have to check battery power by movement of the viewfinder needle instead.
The FM/FE series is built with a copper-aluminum-silicon (copper-silumin) alloy body. I find the size and weight of the FE2 to be perfect, especially with wide-angle through medium telephoto Nikkor manual focus prime lenses. The body size is not too big or too small. Its size is large enough to hold securely, but still smaller than full size professional bodies like the F2AS or F3HP. It is not as small as the (mechanical) Contax S2, Pentax MX, or even the Olympus OM-3, which are considered small compact bodies and sometimes feel a bit too small to get a good grip. The FE2 weighs in at only 550g, without lens, even less than the FE's 590g. Of course, the weight of the batteries is insignificant, compared with the multiple AA batteries or other larger batteries in future electronic bodies. You can actually hang the FE2 with a small lens around your neck or shoulder and almost not notice the weight. The FE2 fits great into a dedicated case, or a spongy snug-fit case, or a small camera bag with a few lenses.
The FE2 body, like all cameras in the FM/FE series, feels a bit light and even insubstantial when held without a lens attached (The FE2 weighs virtually the same as the FM2N, which is only 10g lighter at 540g). However, once a lens is attached in the wide-angle to medium telephoto size range, especially any Nikkor manual focus primes, the lens/camera combination has the perfect balance, size and weight. It has a highly luxurious and precision feel and sound when held in your hands and used, although the sound is perhaps not as pleasing as that of the FM2N. I most often use Ai-S primes from 20/2.8 to 200/4 and the system is wonderful to operate with all of those lenses. However, once you start getting into bigger and heavier lenses such as, for example, the 80-200/2.8, the camera feels a big too light and out of balance. Also, on fatter lenses, you may need to use a rubber tripod spacer ring to keep the lens rings from touching the tripod head.
Operation of the FE2 is really smooth. The shutter speed ring is large and has an easy to turn knurled grip, although it is not quite as tall as that on the FM2N. The shutter speed dial on the FE2 offers noticeably more resistance than the dial on the FE due to the more robust click stops on the FE2. But still, it is easy to grab the shutter speed dial with your thumb and forefinger when the film advance lever is pulled out to turn on the camera. For safety purposes, you need to push the central button on the shutter speed dial to turn it off of "Auto". The film advance lever motion is amazingly smooth, although the lever is single-stroke only, unlike the levers on the F, F2 and F3. But the stroke is not very big, so a quick easy stroke quickly winds to the next frame. ASA/ISO setting is set by a ring that surrounds the rewind lever. The exposure compensation setting is located on the same ring as the ASA/ISO setting, and has a range from -2 to +2 EV in one-third stop increments, an improvement over the half-stop increments on the FE. Shutter speed and ISO markings are clear and easy to read. The ISO range of the FE2 (and also the FE) is 12 - 4000, wide enough to handle virtually all situations, though slightly narrower than the FM2N, which reaches up to 6400. The small multiple-exposure lever is located under the film advance lever, out of the way but easy to turn when you need it. The shutter release button is located at just the right location near the front of the body. It takes a standard mechanical cable release. The shutter release button on the FE2 (and FM2N) is a more modern, wider design compared with the relatively narrower release on the FE. The shutter release button on the older FE seems to have a slightly shorter travel than the FE2 and FM2N, and therefore feels slightly more instantaneous. Anyway, the shutter release on the FE2 works well with just the right amount of resistance to allow you to half press for an exposure reading, with just a short continued push to achieve an immediate shutter release. The electronic shutter on the FE2 has about the same loudness as the mechanical shutter on the FM2N, but the character of the sound is different. My FE2 has a honeycomb titanium shutter. Apparently, on later serial numbers, the FE2's shutter was changed to an even more improved aluminum design. The film counter is just in front of release crank and is easy to read.
One of the biggest advantages of the Nikon film SLR lens mount (the "F mount") is that it is the only SLR camera mount that has stayed virtually the same from the time of the first Nikon F and Nikkormat FS/FT through to the most current small and full frame Nikon digital SLRs. Except for the requirement that relatively newer Nikon film SLRs require Ai or Ai-converted lenses, all manual focus Nikon F mount lenses can be used on autofocus bodies, and most full-frame auto-focus Nikon F mount lenses can be used on all old manual focus bodies. I don't know of any other manufacturer that can make such a claim. Thus, it is convenient to use the FE2 together with a modern Nikon autofocus film or digital SLR because you can often use the same lenses on both bodies.
The FE and FM were the last bodies in that line to directly accept unmodified pre-Ai lenses because they included a retractable meter coupling lever. Of course, with pre-Ai lenses, you still need to use stop-down exposure metering. There are many excellent pre-Ai lenses available on the used market, and to use any such lenses that have not been converted to Ai, the FE and FM cameras would be a better choice than the FE2 or FM2n. Alternatively, you can probably still get an independent camera technician to convert any pre-Ai lens to Ai using scavenged parts, although Nikon itself presumably long ago stopped providing such service.
Loading Nikkor lenses onto any FM/FE Series body is quick and positive. Just line up the black dot on the lens with the dot on the camera body and twist the lens counter-clockwise. Of course, there is no need to line up the claw on Ai Nikkor aperture rings with an exposure meter pin on the body; this old system became obsolete after the Nikkormat FT2/EL-W generation. To remove a lens, just press the lens release button on the left front of the body and twist clockwise.
To load or unload film, twist the back opening lever counter-clockwise and pull the rewind crank upwards to open the camera back. Film loading is traditional style and almost foolproof. Like many Nikon and other cameras of this generation, you need to stick the film leader into a slot on the take-up spool and insure that the sprocket in the spool engages a film perforation. In my experience, this system is slower but more reliable than that on newer Nikon bodies where you simply lay the film leader flat next to an index line. Unlike the FE, the FE2 prevents you from accidentally loading the film with the shutter speed dial set to "A" and ending up with very long shutter activations if you try to wind to the first frame with the lens cap on. I can't count how many times I ran into this problem on my old FE. The FE2 defaults to M250 until the first official frame is reached. The slight downside is that you are unable to squeeze a few extra exposures off the beginning of the role (unless you use 1/250 sec. and Sunny 16 or an external exposure meter!).
The focusing screens of the FM/FE Series were improved and brightened with the release of the FM2/FE2. The original screens on the FE are about 1 stop dimmer than the later second generation. (Note: first and generation screens are interchangeable with exposure compensation). A slight disadvantage of the FM/FE series viewfinders is that, unlike the 100% frame coverage of a pro-level Nikon F series camera, the FE2's frame coverage is only 93%. This is not unusual in a pro-sumer level camera, but you need to be aware that objects that are outside the field of view in the viewfinder will be captured on your film. The viewfinder contains all of the information that you need for convenient camera setting. There is an aperture direct readout (ADR) at the center top of the viewfinder, same as on all FM/FE series cameras. The exposure meter uses a match needle system on the left side of the viewfinder. I actually prefer the three red light emitting diode system of the FM series, which is easier to see in all light conditions. However, the match needle system on the FE2, like the FE, is perfectly fine and is just as easy to see in most normal lighting conditions. The viewfinder of the FE2 is exactly the same as the FE, except that the shutter speed display range has been expanded beyond 1/1000 sec. to 1/4000 sec. Also, the FE2 adds a red LED on the right side of the viewfinder that lights up then exposure compensation is set to other than "0". This fixes a problem on the FE, where you could easily set exposure compensation then forget to turn it off, since there is no indication in the viewfinder that it is still on.
I often use both Manual exposure measurement and Aperture Priority exposure measurement on this camera, depending on the situation. In Manual metering, you simply adjust the shutter speed and aperture until the green and black needles line up. The black needle indicates the recommended shutter speed for the given aperture, and the green needle indicates the set shutter speed. In Auto metering (Aperture priority) you set the shutter speed dial to Auto which causes the green needle to lock on "A" in the viewfinder. The camera automatically selects the appropriate shutter speed, and the black needle indicates that speed in the viewfinder. While the match needle system is nice and clear in bright light, it is almost impossible to see the display to adjust exposure in dark environments. On the other hand, an advantage of the match needle system is that you receive direct visual confirmation of a wider range of exposure divergence, compared with the LED system.
The FE2, like the FE, FM2 and FM2n exposure meters uses a pair of silicon photodiodes (SPDs) for exposure measurement. This was the latest generation of exposure meter technology, after Cadmium Sulfide (CdS) technology in the Nikkormat FT (1965) through the FT3 (1977) and gallium-arsenide-phosphide photodiodes in the FM (1977). Silicon photodiodes provide quick response and stability, and apparently lower manufacturing cost for Nikon, compared with the prior generation. Exposure measurement range of the FE2 is the same as all FM/FE series cameras, i.e., EV 1 to EV 18 at ASA/ISO 100 and with a 50mm f/1.4 lens. This supports an aperture/shutter speed range of 1 sec. at f/1.4 through 1/1000 sec. at f/16. That range is pretty good for most situations, and a step up from the Nikkormat FT - FT3's range of EV 3 - EV 17. The FE2 is exactly on par with the Nikon F3HP. However, it is not as sensitive as the EV -2 to EV +17 range on the F2 Photomic AS, or the EV 0 to EV 21 range of the later Nikon F4.
Exposure lock is one thing that is slightly inconvenient on the FE/FE2. I sometimes find it easier, even on these cameras with aperture priority mode, to just use manual exposure mode and set the exposure directly. I find it quicker and more comfortable than pointing the camera to where you can measure the proper exposure, pushing the exposure lock button an holding the button in while recomposing and shooting. However, exposure lock on the FE2 is certainly usable. On the older FE, while locking exposure locks the shutter speed at the time the lock button is pressed, the black shutter speed needle in the viewfinder continues to move. This situation was fixed in the FE2, where the black shutter speed needle locks in place when the exposure lock is pressed. By the way, I am more apt to use Aperture priority exposure measurement and exposure lock with electronic Contax SLRs, which allow you to turn on the exposure lock by turning a switch after you achieve the proper exposure setting, and it stays on at a fixed EV until you turn it off. In other words, in the Contax world, after locking the exposure, changes in aperture affect the shutter speed and vice versa in order to keep correct exposure. The Nikon exposure lock only locks the shutter speed, so any changes to the aperture after the shutter speed is locked will change the exposure.
The center of the viewfinder display, with the standard K-Type focusing screen, contains a small central horizontal split image, surrounded by a microprism donut, which is further surrounded by a large matte donut and a 12mm diameter circle. But utilizing both the split-image and microprism collar, you can manually focus on almost any subject very quickly. Turn the camera at a slight angle when focusing if necessary to find a straight line. I can't resist pointing out that with well-maintained manual focus Nikkor primes, such as Ai-S lenses, focusing ring operation is buttery smooth, with just the right amount of viscous resistance. With the no-slip knurled focusing rings on the Ai-S lenses, focusing is quick and accurate. The FE2 provides three different interchangeable focusing screen types for various applications. I never needed to use any except the standard K2-Type screen. The B2 type screen removes the split image and microprism focusing aids, while the E2 type is the same as the B2, except with horizontal and vertical etched lines. As indicated previously, FM/FE series focusing screens were improved (from the "K" series to the "K2" series) to provide a brighter viewfinder image starting with the FM2/FE2 generation. Focusing screens on the FM3A were further improved so that their split-image rangefinders don’t go dark with lenses that have maximum aperture of f/5.6 or less.
The outer circle in the viewfinder encloses the central area that carries a 60% exposure meter weight, with the area outside the circle comprising the remaining 40%. The most important thing to know about an exposure measurement system is how it weights various areas of the viewfinder image so that you can determine how to use it in each situation. The 60/40 system works fine for most situations. It is vast improvement over the classic full-frame averaging system, which was used on a Pentax Spotmatic models, the earliest Nikkormat FT, and other cameras. For these averaging systems, if you wanted a proper exposure, you could not include a bright light or big sky in any area of the frame. Still, with the 60/40 system, you need to determine where to point the camera when manually setting the exposure. Find an areas that is representative of the subject, but which is not overly influenced by a bright light, a bright sky, a dark background, etc. Also make sure to select an area that approximates 18% gray, such as a dense area of green trees in a landscape image. If you cannot find an area that is equivalent to 18% gray that fills the 12mm circle, for example, inside the Haleakala volcano crater on Maui, HI, or a bright snowscape, then you need to compensate the exposure by appropriately changing the aperture or shutter speed in Manual mode, or by changing the exposure compensation dial in Auto mode.
Two contemporaneous Nikon bodies with the FE/FE2, the F3HP and the FA, had different exposure metering patterns. The F3HP, with its 80/20 heavy centerweight, makes it easier to find an area that is 18% gray, without surrounding high-contrast areas influencing the exposure reading too much. The FA is the first Nikon body to include, in addition to 60/40 centerweight, a multi-segment metering pattern (called AMP or "Automatic Multi-Pattern" in the FA; in later Nikon bodies, this metering pattern is referred to as "Matrix Metering"). The 5-segment pattern on the FA and its first generation software were the first Nikon attempt to correct the weaknesses of the traditional center-weight averaging system. While early multi-pattern systems on cameras such as the FA, F4, F800 and F90/F90x did a pretty good and steadily improving job in most normal situations, in difficult situations, they still didn't work as well as the center weight system with appropriate exposure compensation, as is utilized on the FE2. Of course, you have to know what you are doing in such situations! Newer film cameras, such as the F5 and F6, as well as advanced digital Nikons, with their advanced color matrix systems, finally do a good job even in difficult lighting situations. Modern Nikon bodies generally use a 75/25 weight in their center-weight metering modes.
The FE2 incorporates a vertical-travel, metal focal plane shutter with honeycomb titanium or aluminum curtains. Shutter speed range on the FE2 is an expanded 8 sec. through 1/4000 sec, which is acceptable even today. This is a big improvement over the shutter on the original FE, which maxed out at 1/1000 sec. On the slow end, the longest 8 sec. shutter speed (same as the FE) is a convenience to those of us who were previously used to using a shutter release cable for any exposure longer than a second. One advantage of the FE2's electronic shutter over the FM2n's mechanical shutter is that when in Auto (Aperture Priority) mode, the FE2 can select any intermediate shutter speed. In manual mode, you can only select the standard shutter speeds that are indicated on the shutter speed dial. The FE2 has one mechanical shutter speed, 1/250 sec., which is a separate selection on the shutter speed dial. The single mechanical shutter speed on the earlier FE is 1/90 sec. Users might argue whether it is better to have a backup speed of 1/90 sec. for available light, or 1/250 sec. for bright daylight. In any event, given the FE2's great reliability and long battery life, I have never had a need to use the 1/250 sec. mechanical shutter speed.
There are just a few more features that I want to mention. On the right front side of the body are located a depth-of-field preview lever and a self timer lever. Like many other cameras, you can check actual depth of field at the set aperture by pressing the depth-of-field lever. The image darkens if the lens is not set for maximum aperture, but you can get a good idea of the expected DOF with your lens/aperture combination. Actually, this lever is not really required with manual focus Nikkor lenses, because such lenses include an easy to read DOF index on the lens barrel. Many AF Nikkor lenses also have DOF index marks. The FE2 bodies have a mechanical self-timer with a delay of up to approximately 10 seconds. While these cameras do not have a mirror lock-up switch per se, you can simulate MLU by using the self-timer lever. When the shutter release button is pressed after the self-timer is set, the mirror swings up at the start of the timer count.
Finally, a hot-shoe contact is installed on top of the prism housing for flash photography. As already mentioned, the FE2 supports automatic TTL flash control with a four-contact hot shoe. The older FE only had a two-contact hot shoe for manual and non-TTL auto flash exposure. The FE2's maximum flash synch speed is 1/250 sec. This capability is still basically current today, significantly better than 1/125 sec. on the FE, and an improvement over all prior Nikon bodies except the FM2. On both the FE and FE2, one of the flash contacts communicates the flash charging status to the camera and lights a red diode "ready light" in the viewfinder when the flash is ready to shoot. Of course, the FE2 works with any Nikon flash unit. I use my SB-24 and SB-26 and they work great. If you will be doing a lot of flash photography, the FE2, along with the FA and FM3A, with TTL flash support, are better choices than the FE and prior Nikon bodies.
In addition to the vast selection of Nikkor and third-party lenses that are available for the Nikon F mount, the FE2 also accepts various other useful Nikon accessories. One of the most useful is the MD-12 motor drive (and also the earlier MD-11). This motor drive unit works on all FM/FE series bodies (and even the Nikon FA) and allows rapid fire or remote shooting up to 3.2 frames per second. However, the MD-12 is quite heavy, especially when loaded with the eight required AA batteries. These days, it would obviously be better to use a more modern camera is you want portable and higher-speed motor drive. Other useful optional accessories (which work with all FM and FE series bodies) are the MF-16 data back, the DB-2 Anti-Cold Battery Pack, the DR-3 and DG-2 viewfinder eyepieces, and various eyepiece correction lenses.
Copyright © 2013 - 2016 Timothy A. Rogers. All rights reserved.
(DSC_6194fin2)
I really like the curious male Caucasian squirrel pose. Incredibly he watched me and fully concentrated.
Like most red squirrels, spotting a Caucasian Squirrel is definitely becoming a rare sight. Climate change affects nature differently in every corner of the world.
The last time I came across the local squirrels was at the beginning of July. Due to the extreme heat in the region, Caucasian Squirrels are certain to spend very hot hours in their nests. Because I haven't been seen them around very often for more than 2 months.
Today, it was cloudy weather in the North Aegean Region of Turkey, the strong North wind was shaking the olive branches. I was walking in an olive grove and I was patiently waiting to see the Caucasian Squirrel. After waiting for about an hour, the reward came, a group of squirrels were playing around the pomegranate trees 100 meters in front of me. I was waiting under the olive tree with a wide trunk. I didn't move, waiting for them to climb the centuries-old olive trees and retreat to their den inside the follow in the middle of the tree. I saw the Mr & Mrs Caucasian Squirrel couple enter their century-old olive tree hollow.I started to wait next olive tree trunk, which is about 7 meters away.I had already begun to wait silently for 30 minutes when the male Caucasian Squirrel noticed my presence immediately. Curious male took out his head first, then his half body, checked and after making sure then Female followed him.The moment I had been waiting for a long time happened 7 meters in front of me. Even though I was wearing a camouflage cover, they were aware of my presence.
I had to use 1.4 TC for close-up when the light was enough. Today they made me very happy. I hope you wouldn't mind 14 series of Caucasian Squirrel photos and you'll like it just as much as I do.
The Caucasian squirrel - Sciurus anomalus ; The Caucasian squirrel or Persian squirrel, is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus found in temperate broadleaf and mixed forests in south-western Asia.
The species is usually said to have first been described in 1778 by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in the 13th edition of Systema Naturae,and named Sciurus anomalus. However, some authors argue that this work was actually published in 1788, and that the true first description was made by Johann Anton Güldenstädt in 1785.
Description -
Caucasian squirrels are small tree squirrels, with a total length of 32 to 36 cm (13 to 14 in), including the 13 to 18 cm (5.1 to 7.1 in) tail, and weighing 250 to 410 g (8.8 to 14.5 oz). The color of the upper body fur ranges from greyish brown to pale grey, depending on the subspecies, while that of the underparts is rusty brown to yellowish, and that of the tail, yellow brown to deep red. The claws are relatively short, compared with those of other tree squirrels, and females have either eight or ten teats.
Samuel Griswold Goodrich described the Caucasian squirrel in 1885 as "Its color is grayish-brown above, and yellowish-brown below".
Physical Description -
Caucasian squirrels have a dental formula of incisors 1/1, canines 0/0, premolars 1/1, and molars 3/3, totaling 20. They have four fingered fore feet and five fingered hind feet. Sex differences in body length or mass are not evident.
Distribution and habitat -
Caucasian squirrels are native to south-western Asia, where they are found from Turkey, and the islands of Gökçeada and Lesbos in the west, Iran in the southeast, and as far as Israel and Jordan in the south.It is one of only two species of the genus Sciurus to be found on Mediterranean islands,and, although Eurasian red squirrels have been recently introduced to some areas, is the only species of Sciurus native to the wider region.
The species mainly lives in forested areas dominated by oak, pine, and pistachio, up to altitudes of 2,000 metres (6,600 ft).
Biology and behavior -
The squirrels are diurnal, and solitary, although temporary groups may forage where food is plentiful. Their diet includes nuts, seeds, tree shoots, and buds,with the seeds of oak and pine being particularly favored. Like many other squirrels, they cache their food within tree cavities or loose soil, with some larders containing up to 6 kg (13 lb) of seeds. They live in trees, where they make their dens, but frequently forage on the ground, and are considered less arboreal than Eurasian red squirrels. They commonly nest in tree hollows lined with moss and leaves, and located 5 to 14 m (16 to 46 ft) above the ground, but nests are also sometimes found under rocks or tree roots. Their alarm call is high-pitched, and said to resemble the call of the European green woodpecker, and they mark their territories with urine and dung.
Breeding occurs throughout the year, but is more common in spring or autumn. Litters range from two to seven, with three or four being typical, and the young are fully mature by five or six months of age.
Conservation -
A survey in 2008 found that the species remained abundant within Turkey, however declines are noted in population within the Levant region. The guides for a survey in 1993 in Israel stated that they considered the species to be nearly extinct within the area studied. Whilst the Caucasian squirrel is threatened by poaching and deforestation, the declines recorded are not sufficient to qualify them as anything other than "Least Concern" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.[1] Hunting of the species is banned by the Central Hunting Commission, and the Caucasian squirrel is protected by the Bern Convention and the EU Habitats Directive.
This information is sourced from "Wikipedia".
Thank you so much for visiting my stream, whether you comments , favorites or just have a look.
I appreciate it very much, wishing the best of luck and good light.
© All rights reserved R.Ertug Please do not use this image without my explicit written permission. Contact me by Flickr mail if you want to buy or use Your comments and critiques are very well appreciated.
Lens - With Nikon TC 14E II - hand held or Monopod and definitely SPORT VR on. Aperture is f8 and full length. All my images have been converted from RAW to JPEG.
I started using Nikon Cross-Body Strap or Monopod on long walks. Here is my Carbon Monopod details : Gitzo GM2542 Series 2 4S Carbon Monopod - Really Right Stuff MH-01 Monopod Head with Standard Lever - Really Right Stuff LCF-11 Replacement Foot for Nikon AF-S 500mm /5.6E PF Lense -
Thanks for stopping and looking :)
The sun in the December sky, Kraków. It's rather hard to beat the winter blues under such White Dwarf!
Ok, let's cheer up with some lively, merry music: Winter Solstice by Forest Stream :) www.youtube.com/watch?v=57udxAK9Vg0
Affecté à un Ter Lyon Clermont Ferrand,le seul AGC B82500 pelliculé "Sillon Alpin Sud"et un de ses cousins dans la tranchée de Billezois.
Colour vibrancy and saturation is a contentious issue amongst photographers and it’s my observation that there are two distinct groups, projecting scorn from different sides of the fence. But why?
Photographer verses viewer
In flickr land over the last few years, I’ve observed that the desaturated images that I’ve posted, have been more successful with the, let’s call them, ‘advanced photographers’. The people that I have growing respect for their skills, vision, composition and generally their intelligent approach to photography. Coincidently the more vibrant images that I’ve posted, (many naturally so) have been dismissed by the very same group, as unreal, (even thought they are not, but I’ll get to that soon).
Now unusually in a direct countering to this view, the vibrant images I’ve posted have been very well received by the wider flickr community and comparatively received substantially more traffic. This disparity between in-depth respected attention, verses overwhelming faves and view counts is intriguing, as to how it affects my photographic development. It seems as though I have a choice as to whether I let myself be influenced by this observation and if a clear evaluation is formulated then how do I steer a course within these mixed messages. On one side, if the views and comment counts are to be valued, then the richer images are what I should be producing, as they get by far the biggest attention, but what of the desaturated images? I greatly appreciate the critical affirmation I receive from such skilled mentors and deeply respect the personal development that is catalysed. Hmm I want my cake and the ability to eat it. I want quality and quantity, the grass is always greener!! Any more clichéd analogies anyone? There then seems to be distinct camps, common / elite, commercial/ quality, in your face/ subtle, male/ female. Hmmm!
Now this difference in photographic tastes is only a problem, if, I want recognition from either group (which clearly I do), and again problematic, if, I let market forces dictate my future. Man my ego really wants this, but I’m not sure I should let it. Now not wishing to conclude this text too hastily, and definitely not too simplistic, but, in the end my personal vision has to be put firmly before these differing values, trends and fashions. I have to follow my own path; I have to decide my own direction. Let me focus this text, as usual it’s in danger of spiralling out of control, or should I say ‘word count’ if I let my disorganised mind float off. So let’s look at some reasons for the current trend to desaturate.
Trends
At the moment in popular culture there is a retro revival, (it occurs to me that this is cyclic and no real surprise to the older members amongst us. In fact one of my favourite quote of all time comes from Nick Cave, “every 10 years or so I become fashionable again”. what a genius (sorry for my sycophantic hero worshiping...) anyway at the moment there are many adverts on TV and in the press that attempt to offer us a retro feel and one way of subtly doing this, is to try to emulate old film stock, (ironically artificially for the realists amongst us). Anyway generally the way this is implemented, is a slight de-saturation and colour toning that gives it a different feel, paradoxically initiating deeper textural depth. Part of the reason for doing this is to create visuals that are out of the ordinary, that stand out against the rest. To say, hey look at me aren’t I different and creatively unique. Well not really for many reason that fall outside this text. Anyway as members of this contemporary culture the consumers of art, in whatever form, are then influenced sometimes subconsciously, into emulating other mediums. We do not live in a cultural bubble and I would argue that it’s near impossible to be unaffected by the power from other disciplines when producing your own work. Hence borrowing the de-saturation look from other artistic disciplines is inevitable, postmodernism springs to mind.
Simplification
Removing or desaturating colour from the image simplifies the viewing experience, enabling the viewer to streamline their thoughts and focus deeper attention on other elements such as composition, subject, texture and form. Ironically less is often more in this regard, as the ability of the photographer to influence the viewer is greater with fewer distracting elements. Simplification as a photographic tool is then a conscious distillation of key elements, seeking to edit the weaker distractions in the pursuit of viewing power. Ironically the colour image has greater potential for significant depth in texture and form, but at the expense of unambiguous visual communication.
Reality
Reality is a matter of perception. The myth that there is one common reality in my belief is born out of the scientific community influence upon the wider society reliance, on imperially centred evidenced based thinking. Sciences rejection of the slightest assumptions, only giving credence to factual law based evaluations, has influenced the wider communities thinking to reject ides outside its magnifying glass. This doesn’t mean that because we haven’t yet the tools to see and therefore measure, that infinite discoveries don’t exist outside our current enquiry.
I believe that the idea that reality is in some way is the same for everyone is an assumption further added to by our psychological need to be part of a likeminded community. Does it really matter if we see the very same world slightly differently? Well to me it offers greater opportunities to be surprised creatively when I see through somebody else’s vision, gain differing insights to the world outside my own perception. But sadly some people subconsciously reject others visions, only make sense of the world from their own set of limiting rules dictating what makes an ‘accurate’ or acceptable photograph based on reality .
We all experience the world differently based on our unique prior experience and subsequently the way we observe images is no different. Can you remember when you first snapped a photograph? I bet since that early image your observational skills are now much more developed than the first time you glanced over the results...subsequently the greater you look, really look, the more depth and colour you bring to your conscious. You actually see more, appreciate more; your reality with the very same images develops over time and changes. This is no different when looking at colour, you actually see more colour the more experienced you become (unless your heavily influenced by simplification to the point of BW) and this very fact has been used to justify the criticism of the perceived over vibrant image as fraud. Take this image as an example. I received criticism that I oversaturated the rainbow when in fact I didn’t. What I find interesting here is the viewers need to desaturate the view to fit in order to fit with their own perception on an assumption based reality. The fact that they needed to see the image as too saturated over my own view is interesting. I would also argue that that kind of viewer would need to choose subjects that were consistently desaturated and images such as the one I’ve posted with this text would be outside their personal photographic vision.
On a final point about reality I also find it intriguing that people champion film photography as being real over digital, but ironically the choice of many landscape photographers is the vibrant Velva.
Traffic
There is no doubt that more vibrancy within an image helps it stand out amongst our thumbnail social networking culture. Not surprisingly these images can sometimes gain more traffic and subsequently attention, from the inevitable wider target audiences. Yes it’s true that colour is very good at initiating a mood in people and without consciousness of this power, can be a good emotion catalyser. But what is often overlooked when negative criticism, based on colour saturation sometimes materialises, is the oversight within the choice of subject, being naturally vibrant. The twilight ‘golden hour’ is an obvious example of this subject selection and often dismiss as clichéd, amateurish choice of subject, something that only a new conceptually inexperienced photographer would tackle. I would surmise this as narrow minded and tackled by a skilled conceptualiser can pay hansom dividends.
No moving on and turning this clichéd to an example, this shot was a result of being lost in the valley of desolation last week, three miles from my destination and without a compass. As I ran along the sometimes shin deep mud tracks trying to make sense of the map, trying to find my way out of the forest, to the valley bottom, in order to gain my bearings and not end up with a broken ankle, frozen and dead , I happened across this truly amazing sight. I was totally in awe to the conditions, but was massively at odds as to my personal safety. My point being, this photograph offered me, very personal and dramatic set of circumstances that at least for me have very special emotions. But the mix of colours from deep oranges to dark greens shouldn’t have worked, but did in a naturally vibrant way. The subject offered me a mix of deep dark forest, juxtaposed against the creeping in life giving light. What I see when looking at this image, apart from the adrenalin charged experience I managed to live through, is the deep cold mossy forest, that light doesn’t often get into, with dead fallen unattended lost trees, a wonderfully wild but paradoxically scary place, when the sun is just about to go down. I feel lost and safe, as the edge of the forest is penetrated by the setting sun. Now many of you will think I’ve lost the plot, (and please feel free to let me know with well crafted jokes), but for me this image is special. Both as a visual record, but more importantly as a conceptual and emotion catalyst.
My views
If you have made it this far, then I thank you for giving me enough respect to stick at it and apologise at the same time, for the subtle lack of organised thought with regard some of my ideas here. This text is already way too long, but I didn’t want it to be extended too much longer, so have decided to post it and then if I gain further incite, I will then revisit. (Something I’m sure to do as I plan on making a book out of my rambles, if I ever make time to). Anyway just for the record I’m writing this text in order to reflect on this subject in order to disentangle my own thoughts from the powerful influences out there. I partly conclude that I must follow my own creative path and not let the trends to de-saturation sway me, but I feel by exploring my own personal reality through photography, will result in the ability to present creative congruence, whatever that might be.
Cet Agora est vu ici à l'arrêt Musée Romanite, affecté à la ligne 18, reprenant le parcours de la ligne T1 au centre-ville chaque après-midi de l'été, suite aux différentes manifestations estivales.
Warning from Environment Canada: "Alberta beware: 'Winter-like weather can affect us from now until next summer!' Isn't that just what you want to hear, ha. Happy hibernation!
Last summer, I had been hoping to get over to one of the city gardens that I like to visit. Finally, on 11 September 2020, I knew that I had better go before any more bad weather arrived. Heavy rain and frost seemed to have had a bad effect on the plants, but I still found plenty to enjoy and photograph. My knowledge of garden plant IDs is practically zero, unfortunately.
"The Botanical Gardens of Silver Springs is without doubt one of the Seven Wonders of Calgary, Alberta. It boasts 1350 square meters (14 600 square feet) of gardens which includes a spectacular Wall Garden that runs an uninterrupted 1300 feet. In the gardens you will find an endless variety of annuals and perennials ranging from artemisias to zinnias. Here indeed is a place to stop and smell the roses and the peonies and the delphiniums and the chrysanthemums and the …
What makes these gardens so very special is that they were created and continue to be maintained by a band of green-thumbed enthusiastic volunteers. These hale and hearty diggers, planters, seeders, weeders, mowers, waterers, pruners and community builders work two to three mornings a week to keep the gardens in primrose shape and their efforts are truly appreciated by the many walkers, joggers, and cyclists.
On any given day, hundreds of people walk the wall garden with their families, friends and out-of-town visitors. It has become a treasured destination site for many.
For anyone who has spent time in the gardens, it is hard to believe that they have only been here since 2006 when a humble ornamental garden (400 square feet) was developed within the existing BirthPlace Forest tree beds.
The BPF, by the way, saw 7000 trees planted in the area. The project was accomplished through a partnership of BP Energy, Calgary Parks, Regional Health and Golden Acres." From the gardens' website.
... an entire RV park in Ingram was swept downstream, with families still inside the trailers, according to our sister station KEYE in Austin.
Another round of heavy rain and storms is expected to move into the Hunt and Ingram areas around 10 a.m., bringing more rainfall to an already devastated region.
Kerrville Police and Fire Department crews are actively evacuating residents as widespread flooding affects large portions of the city.