While I was driving back from my place of exercise, I noticed this beauty out of the corner of my eye. As fate would have it, there was a enough space for me to pull into a gated, field entrance, albeit, with a slightly obscured view of the raptor. I reached over for my 600 on the back seat being careful not to aggravate my long-standing herniated disc. The evening was fast approaching, light was poor and I knew the raptor wouldn't stick around for long. The 600 came into it's own! Not because it's superior optics and low-light performance. No!. But, because I could reach the passenger window and rest the tip of the lens hood on it, without doing myself a mischief on the gear lever. I dropped the shutter speed down to 1/125, opened up the aperture, rattled off a few bursts and the rest they say is....Topaz Denoise.

Took this from Seawolf Park on Pelican Island. There were a lot of Pelican's around but they just didn't make it into this shot.

I took my new Nikon Z6.2 on vacation with me because there is a bit of a learning curve. I really liked that I could what shot was going to look like when I adjusted the Aperture and Shutter speed. The one thing I found really aggravating was how easy the auto ISO would get turned on. On some of my vacation shots you'll see the crazy ISO's settings.

Amsterdam - Stationsplein - CS

Copyright - All images are copyright © protected. All Rights Reserved. Copying, altering, displaying or redistribution of any of these images without written permission from the artist is strictly prohibited.

Uglich is a beautiful cozy Russian town in the Yaroslavl region, formed on the Volga River and included in the Golden Ring of Russia.

The 16th century is the date of one of the most dramatic events in Russia. The death of Tsarevich Dmitry happened. This was the reason for the formation of the Great Troubles. There are several opinions about the origin of the sonorous name. Most likely, it comes from the word "ugilets". This is the name of the right angle that the Volga River makes. If you believe the legend, the date of the foundation of the city is 937. The founder is a relative of Princess Olga, a prince from Pskov. The city is mentioned in the chronicle in 1148. In the 13th century, the settlement became the center of the appanage principality of the same name. Subsequently, the village was often destroyed. In 1328, thanks to Ivan Kalita, Uglich became part of the lands of Moscow.

The flourishing of the city began in 1642. This is the period of the reign of Prince Bolshoi. A large palace complex appeared on the territory. Chambers of appanage princes were built, which have been perfectly preserved to our time. In 1713, the Transfiguration Cathedral appeared. On the Volga coast, in tribute to the memory, the Church of Demetrius on the Blood was built.

In the photo on the right: the Resurrection Monastery, which may be the oldest in the Uglich land. The time and circumstances of its foundation are not known, but it could have been among the monasteries founded by the Uglich prince Roman Vladimirovich (1261-1285), who ruled the city in the second half of the 13th century. Together with Uglich, the monastery survived the Polish devastation. In terrible and dramatic events, many of the brethren and up to 500 of the townspeople who took refuge were killed. By the middle of the 17th century, the monastery was revived again. During the struggle against religion in Soviet times, the Resurrection Church was one of the first to be closed. In 1923 it was taken over by the museum. At this, the thread of the succession of times was broken, for a long period the spiritual ministry and its use for its intended purpose ceased. The construction of the Uglich hydroelectric power station, which began in 1936, the blasting operations carried out by Volgostroi, and the rise in the level of the Volga, further aggravated the condition of the monastery. The buildings were in critical condition in a short time. Fortunately, the interest in the monuments of Russian culture, awakened after the war, made it possible to stop the wave of destruction. By 1956 - 1971 the restoration of the monastery buildings belongs. Complex work was carried out to chemically strengthen the soil, which made it possible to eliminate the causes of the long-standing destruction. The modern stage in the history of the monastery began in 1999, when the monastery was transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church and the revival of its true purpose and monastic life began. In 2007-2008. a fence with towers was erected around the temples. So, gradually, through the efforts of monks and benefactors, the historical appearance and significance of the ancient monastery is being restored.

Near left: Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist. This church is rightfully one of the pearls of Uglich.

On a June day in 1663, Uglich was shocked by a tragic event - the young son of the richest Uglich merchant Nikifor Chepolosov disappeared. All searches were in vain, and the parents were desperate. Almost a month later, on July 2, the body of the murdered baby John was found under a layer of moss in a swamp. It turned out that the baby was killed by his clerk Fyodor Rudak, who harbored evil against the merchant. The inconsolable father decided to honor his son who died so tragically. For this, in 1689-1691. In the 1960s, restorers discovered an arkasolium (niche) where Vanya Chepolosov was buried in the north side-altar of the church.

And to the left in the distance are the blue domes of the Epiphany Monastery. He is not an ancient one. According to two existing versions, it was founded at the end of the 16th century by Maria Nagaya, mother of Tsarevich Dimitri and the last wife of Ivan the Terrible, or Ksenia Shestova (nun Martha), mother of the first tsar from the Romanov family, Mikhail Fedorovich. The cathedral, an example of the official Russian-Byzantine style, was erected in 1843-1853. designed by architect K. Ton. The construction of the cathedral, despite the apparent well-being of the monastery, became a real feat for the nuns. Erecting such a large building, they themselves made a brick, raised it on the walls, collected donations.

Hello my amazing Flickr friends !!

Today is a blue day at Color My World Daily and we celebrate telephones at Looking Close on Friday.

Yesterday, we got our new Apple Watches, my husband and I. I dont know if I told you that but my husband is truly a geek and he loves technology…So he is pretty happy about this new gadget. In my case, I like the look of technology but I’m not that much in to understanding it… So you can all imagine how irritated and aggravated I feel when I try to understand something about my new Apple Watch…I feel like a dinosaur in front of a telephone… I look at the damn thing and I have no clue how to make it do what I want ! Exactly like dinosaures with a telephone ! Just think about it for a few seconds …And I’m sure the dinosaur must have ask himself this exact same question: Do I really, really need this ? Do I really need a telephone ? Maybe this « new » technology will kill my whole species ? I’m pretty much sure that is what the dinosaures were thinking in front of a telephone, just few seconds before their extinction ….

Ok, I will try to run with my new smart watch and we will see…

Thank you so much for all your lovely comments / favs/ general support / happy thoughts!! Stay safe and well!! And see you soon on Flickr !!

This is obviously Delicate Arch. The most photographed arch on the planet. I think that every photographer would like to stand under it at least once in his or her lifetime. This was shot on the evening of day 4 of the Southwest Tour.

Wayne and I decided to head up there despite his reservations about the rumored scene, usually packed with people around the arch preventing a clean shot. He was quite right about the scene. We were hearing stories about the scene before we had even arrived, people were telling us that there were camera crews from the BBC shooting time-lapse videos. Immediately I had a bad feeling, after some time we did arrive in the bowl that surrounds the arch and It was quite busy, even at 10:00pm. The first comment I heard walking into view of everybody was, "I'll be shooting time-lapse from 10-12pm don't plan on doing anything with it. Great I thought to myself, Wayne was right, but we just shrugged it off and and found an acceptable spot to set-up. We went about our business setting up tripods and such when another photographer above us spoke up saying that he had the arch for his light painting technique, which fired up the cameraman from the BBC and he told the guy what-for if you know what I mean. The other broke into a full blown tirade that echoed around the whole bowl including some choice profanities and about how he has a gallery and has been waiting 4 days for this shot. Meantime while these guys were arguing I snuck around the far bowl and set-up one of my light panels and aimed it right at the backside of the arch. When I turned it on I immediately heard some oohs and awes of support from several of the photographers looking through their viewfinders. Then wayne set-up a mini lantern in the foreground, and again we heard noises of acceptance, This aggravated the upper photographer because he was losing control of the mob which were all happy with what we were setting up. Then Wayne says, it's not enough, we need another light from down the cliff on the far back side and then proceeded to pull out a fishing pool. I thought he was losing it, what are you doing with a fishing pool. He attached another smaller panel to it and "fished" it over the edge into the darkness. After some finessing he managed to get it pointed up under the arch and again we heard 'ya that's it don't move it' from the BBC guy. Tempers flared again and I spoke up saying that "we are all adults here trying to get the same shot so lets get along. After talking with the upper guy we decided that at 10:30 we would shut off our panels so that he could do his thing which was random light painting. We had setup a constant lighting scenario which is much better as it allows consistency throughout a series of photos say for a panorama. We did our thing and everybody shot our set-up except upper camera guy. I told him if he switched to a really cool white balance he might like what he sees and he did, When I went to shut off the panels he said we could leave them on while he did his painting, I think he liked what he saw through his viewfinder as well.

When we were done, Wayne and I started to wrap up our gear when the loud upper camera guy asked if he could walk out with us, at 12:00 am in the dark. I was alarmed to say the least, as we headed off down the trail back to the cars, he apologized for his behavior as we walked, and after talking with him for some time I could see his point of view. I'm just glad it all worked out, and as a side bonus the BBC filmed Wayne and I running around the arch setting up the lights. That's they're camera in the foreground.

For more about the story see Wayne's commentary below.

Here's my last post taken with Wayne Pinkston

www.flickr.com/photos/dot21studios/21532871405/in/datepos...

Thank you for taking the time to take a look at my photos and as always, your views, comments, faves, and support are greatly appreciated!! Have a great weekend everyone :)

Every year at Christmas time, I put on my red shirt and my Santa hat and set out to deck the halls with festive lighting. And every year, the lights get all tangled up; it's very aggravating, and makes it hard to stay in a festive mood. ;-)

Looking Close on Friday: "Festive Lighting" theme; and Our Daily Challenge: "Christmas Lights"

Or: The Beauty and the Beast

Explored November 19, 2022

For #sliderssunday

I've realised that I haven't uploaded an autumn photo this year, yet, and of course, that won't do ;) So here you go: golden October glory at the Rudolph-Wilde-Park, a public park in the Berlin borough of Schöneberg. The park, which was conceived in 1906, and which is named after the first mayor of Schöneberg (before Schöneberg became a part of Berlin in 1920), Rudolph Wilde, is a 6,6 sq green oasis amidst one of the most densely built-up areas of Berlin. Most conveniently, the park is only a 15-20 minute walk away from where I live.

You may wonder why I subtitled this image The Beauty and the Beast. Well, on that walk, and also when I processed the photos I'd taken on that walk, I thought that in this place you can find both what is so beautiful and also ugly or aggravating about my hometown. The park itself is very lovely, there is a huge playground, there is the small lake (which you can see here) in front of the historic subway station, there are lots of bunnies (yes!), but there are also trash and graffiti. Not that I generally dislike graffiti, but for me, it's kind of a double-edged sword. In Berlin, you can find marvellous, artfully done graffiti and street art which I really like, but there also is the aggressive tagging, and I usually don't like that at all, especially when it's done on carefully restored historic buildings such as the Carl-Zuckmayer-Brücke of which you can see a small part in the lower left corner of this photo. The bridge is part of the heritage-protected underground station "Rathaus Schöneberg".

The image is an HDR made from exposure bracketing (three photos) which I've combined in HDR Efex. Since I'd photographed directly against the sun (I almost couldn't see a thing on the display), there are a few blown-out parts on the left which even the exposure bracketing couldn't prevent. I tried to fix it in LR, and I think it doesn't look too bad because it's just the upper left corner. I hope you like it anyways ;)

Have a nice weekend, dear Flickr friends!

A brief description of this photo:

A while ago, someone who shall remain nameless, had put out a photo with a catchy description, inviting participation. That said, I took part in said event only to suffer multiple injuries, the only one of which that I made known was the damage done to my hand by their apparatus. With that said, I was kindly rebuked in my mentioning of my injured hand. Then...in another encounter with said individual, I was told to send them my medical bill...well, since they offered. I took them up on it and on my way to mailing my bill to them, since it was tax season and they could afford my medical BILLS...ahem. I went to my mailbox to submit my envelope and tripped over another ill kept SL sidewalk, thus causing me to lose my balance and my crutch and in doing so, my envelope was taken away by a strong wind... a suspicious wind, mind you but nonetheless..my envelope was lost as well as my medical BILLS, that they were going to pay. The only proof of this, is one of the many CCTV that SL has in our cities.

If the person who is responsible for my broken hand sees this, my bill is forthcoming either by SL Postal Carrier or a strong Windlight wind!!!!

Now I'm off to pop some Oxy, as all this typing aggravated my hands, both good and broken!!!!

PS If anything is misspelled or is seen as an incomplete thought... I was in extreme pain typing this and reliving the whole experience.

The interior of the old mansion is more authentic Chinese than the exterior. It was adorned with antique furnitures and artefacts. Wood carvings are superb.

Chinese migration into the Mekong Delta was triggered by the Manchurian conquest of China in the early 17th century, which coincided with the Vietnamese southward expansion into the Khmer territory.

Percentage of Chinese population in the Mekong Delta used to be much higher than other parts of Vietnam. Not a small number of them were wealthy merchants and entrepreneurs.

The Unification of Vietnam by the communist north in 1975 triggered their mass exodus from Vietnam as well as Laos and Cambodia. It was aggravated by a popular sentiment created by the Sino-Vietnamese War in 1979. Most of the Indochina refugees after the Unification were the those with Chinese ancestry.

Vietnam learned a lesson, and the introduction of Doi Moi in 1986 was the response. Thanks to the modification of economic policy, Chinese population made a comeback, and the Mekong Delta seems to be prosperous in part with their investments.

The destination of our day tour was actually the Schwarzsee (2,604m). If only the weather with fog, storm and snow had not been so aggravating ... The path through the Kaiserbergtal valley was still pleasantly exciting, the little feeling of an expedition, but when we could no longer make out the signposts because of snow-covered ground, somewhere in no man's land, we turned back. I think the view in the photo is in the other direction of our path, towards the Plangerossspitze (2,943m) opposite.

A Delaware Lackawanna PO74 climbs the grade just east of Dunmore, PA with five cooperate panted Alcos/MLW's and a heavy train. With the weather report stating mostly sunny all AM on this day, actually was mostly cloudy However, I was dealt a winning hand when the train showed with some 45 seconds of light so I cashed in and headed home. I was not going to be aggravated for the rest of the day with a cat and mouse chase.

Apart from two trips to Ian's hide a visit to the Old Moor Nature Reserve last Sunday marked my first trip out with my camera since my broken foot. Alas the following day I aggravated my foot and are once again stuck at home.

At least I managed to get a few photos, so to kick off, here's one of a Black Headed Gull on a final descent approach.

Canada Goose in offensive mode at Rutland Water.

serene moods give it a great feeling

of a painting

Mute swan

Although the name suggests mute swans make no sounds, this is not the case. Mute swan vocalizations are much quieter than other swans and do not carry far. They usually are limited to snorting or hissing when aggravated.

Aggravated Wren.

Even after being chased from my feeder by a much larger Blue Jay, this Carolina Wren stayed close by telling everybody what he thought about the big bully.

2023_02_22_EOS 7D Mark II_2404-EditA_V1

Sophie likes to aggravate Norman. Most of the time he is not in the mood to play with her.

Moby’s aggravated with Pablo sitting right in front of the door after he was chased by Sadie.

The Velupont mill, located in the heart of the Burdinale-Méhaigne natural park in Belgium, dates from the XNUMXth century. Its name comes from the "Old Bridge", near which it was built. This remarkable site, planted with poplars, housed a tavern. Today, a gîte has been set up in its place.

For the inhabitants of the region, many memories are linked to this place which provided electricity to the villagers before the arrival of the Germans in 1944.

In 1940, during the Battle of the Mehaigne, the two small bridges were blown up to prevent German troops from passing, damaging several buildings attached to the mill. The destruction was aggravated in 1944 during a German attack.

The owner of the mill, an agricultural mechanic, dreamed since his childhood of putting the mill back into operation. He worked on its rehabilitation for several years and made himself the paddle wheel that he saw turning fifty years ago. (Allytech.fr) Avennes, Belgium

What do you do when the wind chill is -16? You annoy your cat with your camera. Munchkin was aggravated about staying in all day. While he was sitting still, I snapped this photo with him in front of our Christmas tree. You can see that he was thrilled.

From our house to yours, we wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

....aggravating because it is beautiful and insists on growing in all the wrong places!

Uthgerd was napping and I decided to aggravate her.

This not a great photo but had to share the humor. We spent breakfast watching the bluebirds and squirrels fight for the nuts. In the distance was the egret aggravating the heron by following him around the pond to fish. And we live in a tract home subdivision! Who'd have thunk??

Le prime notizie su questo tempio risalgono al 1308, anno in cui venne nuovamente consacrata. L'edificio fu danneggiato dal terremoto del Friuli del 1348 e quindi ristrutturato ed ampliato con l'abside e la sacrestia. La facciata in pietra d'Istria venne realizzata nel 1470 sotto il rettore Emiliano Cimbriaco: di stile tardo-gotico veneziano, possiede un suggestivo rosone traforato con scolpita una Maternità e vetrate a mosaico, tra le prime ad essere realizzate in Friuli. Nella lunetta sopra il portale si trovano le raffigurazioni di Sant'Antonio abate tra San Giovanni Battista e Sant'Antonio da Padova.

Pellegrino da San Daniele, Crocifissione

Nel corso della Seconda Guerra Mondiale l'edificio riportò danni superficiali, aggravati poi dal terremoto del 1976; in seguito si provvide a un accurato ripristino cumulativo. La chiesa è ad unica navata, parte della quale, assieme al coro e all'arco trionfale, è coperta da tre cicli di affreschi: i primi due sono stati realizzati da Vitale da Bologna verso la fine del Trecento, mentre il terzo fu splendidamente affrescato da Martino da Udine, detto Pellegrino da San Daniele, il quale vi lavorò in diverse fasi dal 1497 al 1522. Nella volta del coro sono raffigurati Profeti ed Evangelisti, nella parete di fondo una Crocifissione, mentre nei sottarchi ancora figure di Profeti. Lungo le pareti del coro, nell'arco trionfale e a sinistra sono rappresentate le Storie di Sant'Antonio abate e di Cristo, ove sono presenti ancora tracce del ciclo più antico con scene dell'Infanzia di Cristo.

_____

The first news about this temple dates back to 1308, the year in which it was again consecrated. The building was damaged by the Friuli earthquake of 1348 and then renovated and enlarged with the apse and the sacristy. The Istrian stone façade was built in 1470 under the rector Emiliano Cimbriaco: of late Venetian Gothic style, it has a suggestive openwork rose window with a carved Maternity and mosaic windows, among the first to be made in Friuli. In the lunette above the portal there are depictions of Sant'Antonio abbot between San Giovanni Battista and Sant'Antonio da Padova.

Pellegrino da San Daniele, Crucifixion

During the Second World War the building suffered superficial damage, then aggravated by the 1976 earthquake; later an accurate cumulative restoration was made. The church has a single nave, part of which, together with the choir and the triumphal arch, is covered by three cycles of frescoes: the first two were painted by Vitale da Bologna towards the end of the fourteenth century, while the third was splendidly frescoed da Martino da Udine, called Pellegrino da San Daniele, who worked on it in different phases from 1497 to 1522. In the vault of the choir are represented Prophets and Evangelists, in the back wall a Crucifixion, while in the arches still figures of Prophets. Along the walls of the choir, in the triumphal arch and on the left, the Stories of Saint Anthony the Abbot and of Christ are represented, where there are still traces of the oldest cycle with scenes from the Childhood of Christ.

Diablo Lake, North Cascades, Washington. I brought my demons to paradise. At the time, months of constant sciatic pain were a cloud around me, physically and mentally. If there was devil, he had gotten into my leg and made every day an agony. Part of me just wanted to lie in a fetal position where nothing hurt. I tried to exert the nerve into remission, but the more I pushed it, the worse it got. But I am a stubborn man. I felt I could cure myself if I could just make my body stronger, stretch it out, exorcise the pain. Despite everyone's criticisms that I was aggravating things more, I ultimately refused to give up a planned trip, and came to this slice of heaven, to climb mountains. Every day I hurt at the start and end, but not so much as I pushed myself through the hikes. Since I began coming out here, the North Cascades had always seemed mystical to me. Darkly forested and impossibly steep, the trails are often lost under snow pack late into August, and yet they are a pure pleasure to hike, and a feast for the eyes. This day's slog was over, and, camp made, I went looking for a sunset. I found it above the water-can't-really-be-that-color-i-don't-believe-it of Diablo Lake. But it's real. Maybe the devil in me decided to go play in paradise while I was so distracted. Maybe it was more a departure than a cure. Within a couple of weeks of returning home, my nerve pain was gone, the cloud had lifted like the one I saw on this night, revealing the shine of hope. I left some pain in these mountains. But, there is always more to be found. I remain stubborn. Maybe I can find another devil's paradise.

This individual kept flexing his wings, then holding them open. Did it quite a few times! Wondered at first if it was a type of warning at me, but never seen any other shieldbug do it.

After taking (too many) photos, I walked away, and when I looked back, he was still doing it! So it can't have been at me! Perhaps he was just trying to rearrange his wings? Something was aggravating? Who knows! Any ideas?

Was lovely to get such good views with the wings open anyway!

Bourron-Marlotte - France

This was one of the first wobblies I took this year, in January. I was standing in a layby by a rural A road, taking anything and everything. Some of them even came out OK, though often it was a case of too early or too late, or something coming the other way. I was also trying not to scare (or aggravate) drivers - some I guess can get a bit touchy about being photographed.

This is taken using the panning approach. Panning is one of the more successful techniques I think, probably because it shows something instantly recognisable, assuming you have the right subject, but at the same time something very unreal in our visual experience.

The magic was done almost entirely in Nik Silver Efex, using a cyanotype toning. I love SEfex as it delivers a wide range of results very easily.

This was one of those images that really did need flipping horizontally - the story is totally different going the other way. In real life, the car was going right to left. That feels a lot slower as our eyes tend to scan left to right.

What I find curious with this one is the curvature in the lines is so obvious. This is a distortion produced by wider angle lenses when used with sweep ICMs...

Thank you for taking the time to look. I hope you enjoy the image. Happy Donnerstagsmonocrom and 100x :)

Thank you all for your kind concern regarding Willie's and my absence! I've had a

bit of an arthritis (or something) issue and sitting at the computer aggravated

it quite a bit. Needless to say, Willie is extremely annoyed about the whole

situation and has been nagging me to give it a go this weekend. I believe that I

will! I look forward to catching up with all of my contacts and especially the

365 guys! ~Mary~

Chittagong the second largest city in Bangladesh has been hit repeatedly by monsoon rain and landslides in recent years. Heavy monsoon rain has aggravated the situation in the low-lying area of port city Chittagong. The tidal flood devastated many parts of city and making untold misery for local inhabitants. Images of the Bangladesh flood include photos of frantic rescue efforts, pictures of helpless residents, and shots of the crippling destruction.

"This full Moon heralded the appearance of the moss pink, or wild ground phlox—one of the first spring flowers. It has also been called the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and the Fish Moon."

In the Southern Hemisphere, where this photo was taken, the names can be "Harvest Moon, Hunter’s Moon, or Blood Moon"

A Super Moon. "On Tuesday (April 7) at 2:08 p.m. EDT (1808 GMT), the moon arrived at its closest point to Earth in 2020: a distance of 221,772 miles (356,907 kilometers) away.

Although a full moon theoretically lasts just a moment, that moment is imperceptible to ordinary observation, and for a day or so before and after most will speak of seeing the nearly full moon as "full," although if you look carefully enough, you'll be able to tell that on Monday night and Wednesday night, the moon will appear ever-so-slightly out of roundness compared to Tuesday night. The narrow strip of darkness will appear on the left side of the moon on Monday and the right side of the moon on Wednesday.

In addition, the near coincidence of Tuesday's full moon with perigee will result in a dramatically large range of high and low ocean tides; high tides will run higher than normal and low tides will be lower than normal.

Any coastal storm at sea around this time will almost certainly aggravate coastal flooding problems. Such an extreme tide is known as a perigean spring tide, the word spring being derived from the German "springen" — meaning to "spring up" — and is not, as is often mistaken, a reference to the spring season."

Nature, of course, is great, but pottering about you need to know what you're doing. Here's a good example of Double Jeopardy if you're not in the know.

Polistes dominula, European Paper Wasp, is a handsome creature indeed. In the photo is Little Mistress herself; she's not easily aggravated but when she is or when her Polity has to be defended she can have a very nasty sting. I've not been able to compare hers with that of the ordinary lemonade wasp, but I'm told Polistes's is more painful. Ugh.

She's nectaring here on Common Hogweed, Heracleum sphondylium. Yes, most parts of this Hogweed are edible in various ways: sautéed or boiled and cooked. But watch out here, too. Less than that of its terrifying cousin Giant Hogweed, Heracleum mantegazzianum, its sap from broken leaves or stems can also give rise to painful, suppurating sores. That sap causes photodermatitis, rendering your skin extremely sensitive to sunlight which will burn the living daylights out of you. Believe you me, it can be extremely painful.

Be cautious and you'll have nothing to fear. Enjoy!

A 3-image, handheld focus stack of an American Oil Beetle (Cantharidae) that was very busy scouring the forest floor and tree trunks. I have been corrected, this is a male, identified by his specialized antennae which are used to grasp the female for, you know.... A type of blister beetle, when aggravated they emit a toxic chemical called cantharidin, which causes blisters and is a painful irritant to human skin. So glad I did know this at the time, considering that it was maybe 18cm (7”) away from my face while shooting these. 😮

PLEASE: Do not post any comment graphics, they will be deleted. See info in my bio.

"Attempting to claim the treats" This is the first image in Robbie’s (Gray Squirrel) MI (mission impossible) series. I have to say, I wish I would have thought to switch to video mode. After this amusing encounter, I may have to change Robbie’s name to Tom Cruise.

As I was making the rounds to fill the bird feeders, Robbie was sneaking around in the foliage near the main feeder. He was following me but keeping his distance. I surprised him by placing some seeds and mealworms on a stone beneath the feeders. Although at first, he appeared to be slightly astonished by the gesture, it didn’t take him long to partake in the treats.

Meanwhile, the area where Robbie’s allotted amount of food is normally placed on the palm stump under oak one, habitat enhancements were underway. This was in order to give that feeding station a bit more character and stability. Actually, the entire area is getting a smidgen of a makeover so it will be more people-friendly for small gatherings.

Once the feeding station enhancements were completed, I set up the camera, placed some treats, and began to work on the trimming and relocating some of the plants in the area. I fully expected Marion (Female Northern Cardinal) to swoop in and grab the first bite. She generally keeps a watchful eye out for treats to be placed and usually beats everyone to the punch in this location. In other words, she’s not afraid of the clicking monster (me).

However, Marion and the rest of the gang stayed in the neighbor’s trees fussing at me for messing with the vegetation in the area. Apparently, they were extraordinarily displeased! I can only imagine what I believe to be modest revisions must look like an extreme transformation to them.

As I tended to the task at hand, I listened to the boisterous calls of my aggravated regulars. They seemed to be expressing their complete frustration and concerns about the activities at hand. Unhappy or not, their voices are still beautiful. Cranky cardinal, wren, tufted titmouse, and parula calls were carried far and wide. Not the bluebirds, they have not been visiting on a regular basis as of late.

Suddenly, I heard something rustling in the understory beside me. I looked to see Robbie slowly creeping across the ground towards the feeding station. He was checking out the changes and keeping an eye on me. Then with some impressive mission impossible style moves Robbie scampered to a tree stump that had been temporarily placed in the area.

He shimmied all around the stump while in the pancake position before moving on closer, closer, and ever closer towards the newly upgraded platform. Robbie had but one mission in mind, get those treats without being seen. Haha, I kept telling him I could see him but he totally ignored me and continued with his games. He would hide behind leaves, jump around, lay flat, and repeat.

But wait, what do I hear? By a shift in the sound of the bird's chatter, they were ready to forgive the intrusion and visit the yard for treats. Yes, the bird show was going to happen after all. The question became who shall complete the mission? Will Robbie be the first to get a treat or will Marion slip in and claim them for herself?

I hope you have a pleasant day, happy snapping.

The Marina Bay Sands (abbreviation: MBS) is an integrated resort fronting Marina Bay within the Downtown Core district of Singapore. At its opening in 2010, it was billed as the world's most expensive standalone casino property at S$8 billion (US$6.88 billion), including the land cost. It is owned by the Singaporean subsidiary of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation.

Designed by Moshe Safdie, the resort includes a 2,561-room hotel, a 120,000-square-metre (1,300,000 sq ft) convention-exhibition centre, the 74,000-square-metre (800,000 sq ft) The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands mall, a museum, a large theatre, "celebrity chef" restaurants, two floating crystal pavilions, art-science exhibits, and the world's largest atrium casino with 500 tables and 1,600 slot machines. The complex includes three towers topped by a connecting 340-metre-long (1,120 ft) SkyPark with a capacity of 3,902 people and a 150 m (490 ft) infinity swimming pool, set on top of the world's largest public cantilevered platform, which overhangs the north tower by 66.5 m (218 ft).

The building and its surrounds was originally set to open in 2009, but its construction faced slight delays caused by escalating costs of material and labour shortages, aggravated from the global financial crisis at the time. This pressured Las Vegas Sands to delay its projects elsewhere to complete the integrated resort within considerable time. It ultimately decided to open the integrated resort in stages, which was approved by the Singaporean government.

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Snowy Egrets in action,Orange County(CA)

Canon EOS 7D2 @ 400mm ---- 1/3200s--- f/7.1 --- ISO 400

Nikon F5, Nikkor 24mm f2.8, Kodak Tmax 100, orange filter.

This is a pretty poor condition place, but even these can have great, photogenic scenes. This collapsed roof, for example, reminds me of a whale's back as propels itself through the water, gently curving.

The title for this photo comes from the song by Alice In Chains because there was a wasp nest and they were aggravated by our presence at this location.

December 2, 2021 - West of Hastings Nebraska US

I have been nursing a bad back injury that occurred years ago. Once you aggravate it is takes months of physical therapy and exercise to either go away or for it to go back to normal. The last few months of 2021 were painful. Its is the reason why you didn't get much photography from me in the end of 2021... With that being said.

I usually don't go quite with my photography during the off storm season. I'm a sucker for good light. Sunsets & Sunrises... when the light is right. Only reason I was out. Was to get my daughter back to College. Had dropped her off for and was heading back home.

I'm always with camera in hand in case of that special sky moment... I think this was one of them!

#ForeverChasing

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A powerful migratory Falcon from Central Europe / Mongolia to the Western parts of India. This is a partial migrant - meaning some part of the population is migrant. They are irregular and extremely rare visitors to India and per our guide, the last sighting was 2 years ago. This is much bigger than a peregrine Falcon and bulkier too.

The presence of a Saker Falcon seems to have aggravated several raptors in the area. A Laggar falcon attacked the Saker Falcon which attacked back and then both of the species dispersed. Just a few minutes later, the Harrier attacked the Falcon. She made several dives against the Falcon, but after a while flew away as the falcon continued to be on guard.

The IUCN status of this Falcon is sadly endangered and ebird lists the status as sensitive. The bird is quite popular in wild life trade especially in Middle East.

Many thanks in advance for your views, faves and feedback - very much appreciated.

Ron had total left hip replacement surgery on Aug. 1 and returned home the next day. Unfortunately, that next morning Ron fell and Edgar had to call 911. No serious damage was done by the fall, but he was hospitalized for three days where he was treated for a urinary tract infection. He's back home now and had a visit from the home nurse today...she says he's coming along fine. The fall and subsequent hospital stay were quite an aggravating delay in recovery from surgery.

I didn't have much time to take a number of pictures. It got aggravated at my paparazzi act and crawled into the bush.

Okke, that's a recent one and it had, again, more like a scouting flavour. It was midday (as you can tell by the shadows), sun was hammering down, very harsh (great for IR though) and the sky appeared almost featureless with the naked eye so I had not much expectation.

For one, going wide with a plain sky can get boring quick, but also, 1000nm seems to aggravate any hotspot issues that might be present (that would not even show up with, like 500-600nm) and therefore not easy to go clean and minimal with compositions. I would not go as far as calling it a 'prima donna' filter, but it has it's challenges, yet overall, very satisfying and intriguing.

Anyway, I was pleasantly surprise by what showed up in the sky, it was a bit hazy, but with some nice patterns in deep IR, it appears. There are also other nice details / IR feature in there, so I might share some crops, but I wanted to not lose and show the 360° view integrity. (Haven't done or shared any panorama stuff since, ..well, last year it seems.) I did a second panorama with 24mm, maybe that's better for crops, we'll see. I also was drawn to classic straight b&w this time..

This is a 14 piece panorama, 29226 x 6560px, ~192MP, full 360° angle of view.

Nikon D3300 (APS-C / DX, fullspectrum mod)

Tamron 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di ll VC HLD

heliopan Infrared RG 1000 (87A) 800x filter

ISO400, 18mm, f/6.3, 1/50sec

(thus 27mm full frame equivalent)

tripod, panorama head, remote (ML-L3)

Aggravating but true: Little Rhode Island often has sound pollution from planes. T.F.Greene Airport is some 20 miles away, but we regularly hear air traffic. Fortunately, we also hear traffic from lots of things far closer to the ground.

We pack 'em high in our house!!

That's Pixie looking down, trying to aggravate Ray who was hoping she hadn't noticed him. And of course Kaiser looking as omnipotent as only his virtual self can.

Beautiful weather forecast this weekend so hopefully we will get out for a walk.

Happy Furry Friday everyone

Wishing you a happy and sunny weekend

I was rushing across the pebbles to try and catch the oncoming squall before it hit. This was my first shot as I attached the tripod and calmed down a bit. I love the foreground rocks, and resisted the temptation to just dash for the wet sand. It's all this dashing around on uneven surfaces that means I still haven't done a training run for next weeks half marathon in Cardiff, as I keep aggravating a pulled calf muscle. It should be memorable anyway :)) Unwrap the fiend part 1 by Thee Oh Sees it is.

After a tasty lunch at a joint called Cluck U in Stroudsburg (and yet another cloud clucking at the depot) we headed for the Delaware Water Gap to get a shot of PT98 at Slateford Junction.

Arriving in plenty of time to scope out the shot we waited...and waited...and watched a cloud get closer...and closer...as the train SLOOOWLY approached the gap in the brush.

We got a partial cloud jam, but the train was moving slowly enough that the cloud slipped past and let the power get mostly into the sun again before he was obscured by the brush. Talk about aggravating!

Fondata dai greci intorno al 600 A.C., si chiamava inizialmente Poseidonia, da Poseidone, o Nettuno, dio del mare, al quale la città era stata dedicata. Tra il 400 e il 273 A.C. fu occupata dalla popolazione italica dei lucani. Divenne in seguito colonia romana col nome di Paestum. La fine dell’Impero Romano coincise grosso modo con la fine della città. Verso il 500 infatti, in seguito ad un’epidemia di malaria, aggravata dall’insalubrità del territorio, gli abitanti gradualmente abbandonarono la città. La riscoperta di Paestum risale al 1762, quando fu costruita la strada moderna che l’attraversa tuttora.

Founded by the Greeks around 600 BC, it was initially called Poseidonia, from Poseidon, or Neptune, god of the sea, to whom the city was dedicated. Between 400 and 273 BC it was occupied by the Italic population of Lucanians. It later became a Roman colony with the name of Paestum. The end of the Roman Empire coincided roughly with the end of the city. In fact, around 500 AD, following a malaria epidemic, aggravated by the unhealthiness of the territory, the inhabitants gradually abandoned the city. The rediscovery of Paestum dates back to 1762, when the modern road that still crosses it was built.

My excitement was peaking about now as I was being helicoptered in and realising I would soon be walking around on an active volcano.

Little did I realise that a helicopter similar to my own, would be blasted off its landing site on the island during an eruption of the volcano. Most of its occupants would not survive.

So I walked to within centimetres of the crater's edge and the boiling cauldron below. And I still regard it as one of the most exciting adventures of my lifetime.

Would I have done it, or would I do it again, knowing the horrific disaster on December 9, 2019 when 22 tourists would be killed when the volcano erupted?

No.

Standing at the edge of the crater, I was in awe at nature's power and wondered at the forces that were playing out underneath the boiling cauldron of sulphur. It was in all honesty, very scary to contemplate.

But did I have a rational sense of all the risks? Had I contemplated that this volcano was shaped like an amphitheatre and that in the event of something untoward, it would be instantaneous and I would have zero chance of escape? That my injuries from a superheated blast of sulphuric acid and steam would be too horrific to contemplate?

Nope. Because I relied on those that brought me here were aware of all the risks to my safety. That's why they made me wear a gas mask and a helmet, right? The "safety briefing" said I shouldn't stand closer than one metre to the crater's edge. I understood that. If the steep edges gave way or I fell into the boiling cauldron of sulphuric acid, there's no way anyone present would be able to save me.

There was no mention of the possibility of a catastrophic eruption. In fact, the reassuring advice was that there were devices installed around the island to constantly monitor volcano activity so that a real time warning could be issued if an eruption was predicted. We would not be allowed to visit the island in that circumstance.

[I have witheld these images from public release until now because I had not published them at the time of the disaster and I did not want to possibly aggravate grief of families in the aftermath. As court proceedings over the disaster have now commenced as of today - 5 March 2021 - in New Zealand, I feel compelled to publish these images together with my commentary, for better or for worse, as to my perceptions before the event.]

The starlings have left me and the even more aggravating grackles have taken their place. Starlings are prettier and make less noise.

Looking back on the past year on New Year's Eve of 1639, master distiller Peter Emilius must have been quite pleased. The canalised river in our photo, the Smal Weesp, had that year been joined with three other waterways as a barge canal connecting the Amstel River in Amsterdam to the Vecht at Weesp just beyond the bridge in the distance. And that was exactly what the distilleries of Weesp needed for the efficient transport of raw materials and their products, beer but especially high quality gin. A manuscript - the Onderricht van eenighe grove distilation - with Emilius' special recipe for good gin of 1630 is preserved in the local archive where it was relatively recently rediscovered.

Gin had been distilled from grain in the city of Amsterdam but its increased production at the beginning of the seventeenth century had much aggravated the stench pollution of the process. Distilleries were banned from the city and set up anew at Weesp - about 10 kms away. There the pure water of the Vecht River was an additional boon to both brewing and distilling.

More or less at the same time the Polish-Swedish Wars (1600-1629) caused international grain prices to skyrocket. The water authorities around Amsterdam decided to drain two lakes, the Bijlmermeer and the Diemermeer, and the new polder lands soon became grain fields. But that far less expensive grain had to be transported efficiently and to that end the new adjoining barge canal was useful. Moreover, it was also a quick way of public transport; there were four barges daily for that purpose with reasonably priced tickets.

Weesp's gin was much called for and the industry greatly expanded especially when the Dutch East Indies Trading Company (VOC) became a major customer to supply its huge fleet of trading ships. Distillation fell back though in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and gin production in Weesp failed. But in 2014 creative miller Christian Pfeiffer discovered Emilius' recipe and after trial and error was able to market Anker Weesp in 2015.

The windmill in the photo is called 't Haantje (=little rooster, cockerel). it's a mere facade and not a working mill, but pretty anyway. For a time in the nineteenth century it served as a grain mill.

Now for my G&T!

TU-TAP - Boeing B-747-2S4F - Air Afrique CARGO

at Paris-Orly Airport (ORY) in April 1981

c/n 22.169 - built in 1980 for Air Afrique - operated until 03/1984

final user was MK Airlines as G-MKAA - stored Filton in 2008 - scrapped 2012

Unfortunately upon delivery of the aircraft, the freight market was in a deep crisis. This trend was aggravated by the end of the airlift in favour of Peugeot between Lyon and Kano. Air.Afrique was forced to operate their sole 747F mainly between Paris and places in Africa in cooperation with UTA.

The capacity of the 747 clearly was to big for these markets and forced Air Afrique first to lease out the aircraft from 03/1984 and finally sell it 1985.

scanned from Kodachrome-slide