James 1st saw more than a swampy bog here, he saw dinner!

Duck Island Cottage — on the eastern fringe of St James' Park and fronted by the ruddy-coloured Horse Guards Road — is straight out of Hans Christian Andersen; a cottage orné confection surrounded by a healthy kitchen garden, with plump squash plants and tomatoes flourishing in raised beds, and butterflies flitting from leaf to leaf.

But things weren't always as they seemed. While Duck Island has long been all about the preservation of birds (there is even a sanctuary behind the house, where various fowl are taken to recover from ailments and injury), its origins were as a 'duck decoy', whereby irregular channels of water coaxed ducks into a dead end, where they were killed, to be cooked for the King's table. Some Duck Tales don't have a happy ending (for the ducks at least). If you're really wanting to know more:

www.londongardenstrust.org/features/dicframe.htm

This was shot in(M)anual mode. I did do a small crop to eliminate some distracting bits. Plants have a habit of just letting their leaves run willy-nilly and getting in the way. I did also soften the picture a little to get a bit of that dreamy feel.

Although it may look like a fairy tale this is a real photograph taken with a real camera, not a Computer Rendered Artificial Picture!

This is the little bugger that kept blinking at me. Little did I know what was to come...

Had a somewhat typical monsoon storm blow through last night. The usual pattern is they build up fast, move pretty rapidly, dump buckets of rain, then move out.

This one was a little different though. Barely any lightning ahead of the storm which is where we usually see it. Came through, dumped buckets, then headed East. I sat through the downpour and once it quit I started looking for anything at all.

There was a small cloud on the backside that kept blinking at me. No bolts, just in the cloud lightning. I set up with the thought that I could at least get a nice lighted cloud. Well, Mother Nature was feeling magnanimous I guess because she dumped several bolts out and I was lucky enough to catch them!

This view is looking towards the Southwest. The lights in the shot are from the Arizona Dept. of Corrections complex that sits just outside of Tucson.

This is a REAL photograph, taken with a REAL camera. It's not a Computer Rendered Artificial Photo

An oldie I dug out of the archives.

This is a shot of Terminal V, the Virgin Voyages cruise terminal in Miami. Kind of a lucky shot, we were supposed to dock in the early morning at Ft. Lauderdale but believe it or not the ship traffic was bad enough that we diverted to Miami. Along with the diversion came the inevitable medical emergency, hence the reason for docking at night.

We were tied up but unable to leave the ship since the Customs folks weren't available to check us going off the ship. Evidently no one was willing to work overtime?

Anyhow, we finally got off in the AM, got bussed to Ft. Lauderdale airport, and caught our flight back home.

There were so many bolts that a blind guy with a Fisher Price camera could've got some!

The bolts died off to the Southwest so I shifted my focus to the Northwest and caught these beauties. Of course, as soon as I did that Southwest started kicking off again. This was the storm that just kept giving and giving!

I also got a tip from a fellow lightning shooter. He said when you're doing long exposure off of a tripod you should turn off the Stabilization if your lens has it. Evidently cars rolling by, people walking, etc will vibrate the tripod just enough to make the stabilization kick in when it's not needed. Something new to try I guess?

PS:

For those in the Show Your EXIF group you should note that the actual lens used is a Tamron AF 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di-II VC All-in-One Zoom for Canon APS-C Digital SLR. For some crazy reason it always shows up as a Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8, a lens I've never owned or used!

I was thinking of George Thoroughgood...One Whiskey, One Scotch, and One Beer.

Had a somewhat typical monsoon storm blow through last night. The usual pattern is they build up fast, move pretty rapidly, dump buckets of rain, then move out.

This one was a little different though. Barely any lightning ahead of the storm which is where we usually see it. Came through, dumped buckets, then headed East. I sat through the downpour and once it quit I started looking for anything at all.

There was a small cloud on the backside that kept blinking at me. No bolts, just in the cloud lightning. I set up with the thought that I could at least get a nice lighted cloud. Well, Mother Nature was feeling magnanimous I guess because she dumped several bolts out and I was lucky enough to catch them!

This view is looking towards the Southwest. The lights in the shot are from the Arizona Dept. of Corrections complex that sits just outside of Tucson.

This is a REAL photograph, taken with a REAL camera. It's not a Computer Rendered Artificial Photo

The ending might (or might not) surprise you!

One of the "touristy" things that Niccy wanted to do was to take a ride on the London Eye. The London Eye, originally the Millennium Wheel, is a cantilevered observation wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames in London. It is the world's tallest cantilevered observation wheel. Now, she booked tickets for the ride well in advance of our trip so we had a reserved time.

When we got there we discovered that the "reserved time" is NOT for a trip around it's the time you're allowed to get INTO THE LINE to take a trip around! Supposedly they have more than three million visitors annually and I'm pretty sure that most of them decided to show up on the same day we did!

One of the linekeepers told us we were looking at a 1 1/2 to 2 hour queue before getting aboard. It must've been a school holiday as well since there were thousands of screaming kids in the line so needless to say we ate the cost and walked away. We could have gotten an "upgraded" entry for an "upcharge" but by that point we decided it just wasn't for us.

Yes, this is a real photograph taken with a real camera, not a Computer Rendered Artificial Picture!

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

We made a stop on our walkabout at the United Grand Lodge of England Museum. Since I am a Mason it was very nice to discover some of the history that we're always building on.

This hallway, at the United Grand Lodge of England leads to the Library and South Gallery of the museum. The library is huge and definitely made for doing some serious research.

This was shot in (M)anual, Not very striking in color so I made the switch to Mono in post.

Yes, this is a real photograph taken with a real camera, not a Computer Rendered Artificial Picture!

A parting shot from our time in the UK.

We had a great time at the White Ferry House. Good burgers, good beer, and a really good pub quiz.

The White Ferry House in Victoria offers a classic old English pub experience within a beautiful Victorian flatiron building, featuring two bars with traditional pub features, a relaxed atmosphere, and pub quizzes every Thursday night!

This shot was done in (P)rogram Mode, aka Auto and came out much better than I expected for a night shot. It was late and we were headed back to the hotel so no time to sit and fool with settings. I don't know what caused the aberration on the back part of the building, it's also there on the JPG out of the camera. Maybe a different sort of light bulb?

The things you see when you take the back roads!

Niccy found us an alternative path to get back home and this certainly qualifies as alternative!

We left San Diego and headed East down side streets and two lane country roads which led us to our stop in Jacumba Hot Springs, California where we saw this interesting vehicle. Not my cup of tea but Niccy fell in love with it. No surprise since she's a self proclaimed dirt worshiping tree hugger! I guess it's pretty fitting that we saw this parked next to the Mountain Sage Market.

Yes, there's an RV in our future retirement and no, this or anything close to it is not. While I can appreciate the owner's artistic creativity I'm looking for something a bit more reliable and closer to normal.

OK, this is a very overcooked HRDish look but I felt that this is the treatment that such a vehicle deserved. Now the Admin and Mod of YCPTPH might not approve of it but I'm pretty sure that Bernie (see the Vermont plate on the front) and Ken Kesey certainly will!

Another gratuitous tourist shot, I'd be remiss if I didn't include it!

For those who are curious we did not stop in here. This is exactly the sort of place we try to avoid like the plague.

PS Tattershall Castle is a floating pub and restaurant moored on the River Thames at Victoria Embankment. It was a passenger ferry across the Humber estuary from 1934 to 1973, before being towed to London in 1976.

It's interesting to note that In the Second World War she was a tether for barrage balloons and ferried troops and supplies along the Humber estuary. Due to the frequent heavy fogs on this river, she was fitted with radar, becoming one of the first civilian ships so equipped. After the war, with the nationalisation of the railways in 1948, she became part of British Rail's Sealink service.

This is a (M)anual shot with a little crop to get rid of some extraneous bits of fluff on the sides and put the focus on this lovely lady.

Yes, this is a real photograph taken with a real camera, not a Computer Rendered Artificial Picture!

It's in a good Zip Code and the schools are excellent!

A shot of the floating gin joint that took us to La Coruña Spain (and points East). This was shot as we were walking back to the ship from the fort. Two things to notice....

First is the Aida Perla in the background. Never sailed on her, probably never will.

Second is the people on the dock in front of the ship. This is a public swimming area, a great idea in my opinion!

It may sound snobbish but I don't believe we'll be sailing on Princess Lines any time in the near future. The best way I can describe it is that once you get used to a certain level of service you don't particularly enjoy going down a notch. For the first time cruiser or the fanboys/fangirls of Princess it's a great adventure but we're looking for a bit more.

Sky Princess is a Royal-class cruise ship currently operated by Princess Cruises, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. She is the second ship in the cruise line's history to sail under this name. She is the fourth Royal-class ship in the Princess fleet and commenced operations in October 2019. The ship measures 145,281 GT and has a capacity of 3,660 passengers.

This was shot in (M)anual with a little cloning to remove lens spots and a small crop to remove some bits and bobs. I really need to remember to clean my lenses every now and then.

This is a real photograph taken with a real camera, and not created by AI.

If you're any sort of fisherman then you'll know exactly what I'm talking about!

One of the crew members on the Adventure of the Seas was tossing a line over to the dock and I got him right in the middle of the action.

Although this looks like a bird's nest I'm pretty sure he's coiled up the rope enough times to make sure that it pays out smoothly in the end.

Once out of the Canal we steamed our way down to Aruba for some sun and fun. I happened to be out on deck and saw the Adventure closing in on the dock so I fired off a couple of shots.

We've been to Aruba several times so our plan was to just walk off the ship and take a stroll through town since the majority of these Caribbean ports are a lot alike. Lot's of bars, restaurants, and places for tourists to get fleeced!

One of the many, many tugs you'll see in Panama!

CHOROY is a Tug boat built in 1998 by PRESIDENT MARINE - SINGAPORE. Currently sailing under the flag of Panama. Formerly also known as SAAM JAROCHO, PM 128. It's gross tonnage is 247 tons.

She came out to help us get into position on the dock to unload a passenger who was having some medical issues.

Reminds me of a Class "A" RV, you're really limited on where you can park the thing!

Once out of the Canal we steamed our way down to Aruba for some sun and fun. I happened to be out on deck and saw the Adventure closing in on the dock so I fired off a couple of shots.

We've been to Aruba several times so our plan was to just walk off the ship and take a stroll through town since the majority of these Caribbean ports are a lot alike. Lot's of bars, restaurants, and places for tourists to get fleeced!

I wonder how many views I can rack up with this title?

The ATLAS T getting a little booty bump from Cecil F. Haynes.

ATLAS T is a Oil tanker built in 2010 by IWAGI SHIPBUILDING - KAMIJIMA, JAPAN. Currently sailing under the flag of Marshall Islands. Formerly also known as NORD INSPIRATION, NORD INSPIRATION. It's gross tonnage is 28844 tons.

CECIL F.HAYNES is a Tug boat built in 1989 by CANDIES SHIPBUILDERS - HOUMA LA, U.S.A.. Currently sailing under the flag of . Formerly also known as D.P.MCAULIFFE, VICTORIA. It's gross tonnage is 286 tons.

Going through the complete Panama Canal was definitely a bucket list item for me. I spent the entire day (8 hours) outside on the deck along with a bunch of other folks, my shutter happily clicking away!

We had a Canal Guide onboard who pointed out all the interesting locations, couldn't tell you one thing he said because I wasn't listening I was too busy shooting!

Have to commend Princess Cruises, they were really nice to us outside in that they had stewards coming around with sandwiches and cool drinks for everyone.

This place creeped me out a bit I must say.

Why did this place creep me out at first? When we went inside there was a something that sounded like Gregorian chanting mixed with Tuvan Throat SInging:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-RsB4a4ogc

It went on for 20 seconds or so then dead silence. Not at all what I expected to hear in this place and to me it was pretty bone chilling. especially when there was the dead silence.

The Church of San Jorge is a Baroque-style Christian temple located in A Coruña (Galicia, Spain), designed by the architect Clemente Fernández Sarela. In 1975, it was declared a Property of Cultural Interest.

It is a three-nave church featuring exuberant interior decoration. The façade displays a clear Compostelan influence—characterized by colossal columns—and its design was drafted by the brilliant Baroque architect Fernando de Casas Novoa. A large rectangular opening dominates the composition, while the flanking volutes serve as a reminder of the Jesuit origins of this architectural style.

Not sure why but the shot looks off kilter but when I checked the benches below they were pretty level. Some sort of lens distortion maybe? Seems like Jim Frazier has addressed this sort of thing before...or it's possible that the builders didn't have a straightedge and level handy?

This is a real photograph taken with a real camera, and not created by AI.

I mean, they DO tell you to watch your step!

The family and friends entrance to the prisoner visitation room. Having never been in this situation I can't imagine the thoughts of people from the outside coming in to see their loved one when they were presented with this.

It would be hard to act like you were sitting at the dining room table at home, catching each other up on our days when you know that at the end of the visit your loved one doesn't get to walk out the same door you do, knowing that this dark, grim place is their home for the future.

I shot this with the in-camera B/W, I guess that prisons just don't belong in color? I also added some contrast, wanted to try and convey the dark hard feeling you get when you're inside.

Dedico questa foto particolarmente a Mari, che so che saprà aprezzarla.

Spain's answer to our CBP. Keeping the Spanish homeland safe from ne'er-do-wells.

The patrol boat "Río Jallas," viewed along her full length from the port side.

In 2014, Auxiliar Naval del Principado—one of the companies within the Armón Group—delivered the patrol boat "Río Jallas" (M 51) to the Ministry of the Interior; the vessel was built for the Maritime Service of the Civil Guard. She is typically based at the port of A Coruña, although she rotates her station among other ports along the Galician coast.

In this instance, the vessel bears the name of a Galician river—also known as the Xallas or Ézaro—which flows for 63 kilometers through the territory of the province of A Coruña, traversing the Jallas region. It drains a basin covering 504 square kilometers, boasts a flow rate of approximately 13 cubic meters per second, and features a significant elevation drop that facilitates the generation of hydroelectric power at six power plants, with a combined output of approximately 133,000 kW.

Don't be fooled by her good looks and calm behavior though, she can raise a wake when she wants to!

This is a real photograph taken with a real camera, and not created by AI.

.

A series of shots I got during our passage through The Big Ditch!

BW LIBRA is a LPG carrier built in 2015 by HYUNDAI HEAVY INDUSTRIES CO. LTD. - ULSAN, SOUTH KOREA. Currently sailing under the flag of United Kingdom (UK). Formerly also known as BW LI, BW LINRA, BW LIBRA P P. It's gross tonnage is 47342 tons. This surprises me since all the bulk LPG carriers I've seen before had LPG in huge letters on the sides of the ship.

Going through the complete Panama Canal was definitely a bucket list item for me. I spent the entire day (8 hours) outside on the deck along with a bunch of other folks, my shutter happily clicking away!

We had a Canal Guide onboard who pointed out all the interesting locations, couldn't tell you one thing he said because I wasn't listening I was too busy shooting!

Have to commend Princess Cruises, they were really nice to us outside in that they had stewards coming aro

Some might have been disappointed in Casablanca but not yours truly. Any time I get to see ships it's a good time!

The SINE A (IMO: 9343089) is a Container Ship. one of a few I saw in Casablanca. Her length overall (LOA) is 222.15 meters and her width is 30 meters. She was built in 2008 (18 years old) and currently sailing under the flag of Malta.

This was a good trip in that I really stepped up and out when it came to taking control of my camera. The majority of the shots I got were done in manual (M) and I'm trying to keep any editing down to just a crop or two. Although this shot was done in (M)anual I did have to do some editing to compensate for the settings. Even at ISO 400 I get a little noise so don't zoom in too closely!

This is a real photograph taken with a real camera, and not created by AI.

My Dad never forgets my birthday...

The night was pretty quiet but my lightning app said there were strikes within 15 miles of me so I popped my head out of the door to look. Once again, the app was right!

This was a storm blowing by North of the park. I'm guessing it was a distance away because I didn't hear any thunder to go along with the bolts.

My Dad passed away back in 2010 but I know he's out there watching me and my endeavors and I know he had a hand in giving me this show.

This is a REAL photograph, taken with a REAL camera. It's not a Computer Rendered Artificial Photo

And lasts for approximately 14 seconds!

It was Sunday night and Niccy's flight landed at 7:04 PM so I went to the airport to pick her up. The sky was pretty much cloudless and her flight was turbulence free so I didn't think that anything was going to happen but once again I was off the mark.

Aroung 10:30 PM I stuck my head out to check the skies which were still clear over the house. As I was walking back inside I saw a flicker to the East and decided to take a drive just in case I was missing something.

Loaded up, headed out, got to a spot that had been productive before, set up and waited. Didn't have to wait too long before this little beauty popped up in my viewfinder with a nice purple/ hue to it.

Cropped in the "Classic Square", I'm thinking it works well for lightning.

This is a REAL photograph, taken with a REAL camera. It\'s not a Computer Rendered Artificial Photo

A series of shots I got during our passage through The Big Ditch!

ATLANTIC PROJECT II is a General cargo vessel built in 2002 by XIAMEN SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY - XIAMEN, CHINA. Currently sailing under the flag of Malta. Formerly also known as ANTONIO, HYUNDAI JUMBO, HYUNDAI JUMBO, CCNI ANTARTICO, CCNI MAGALLANES, CCNI ANTARTICO, CCNI MAGALLANES, CAPE DYER, CAPE DYER. It's gross tonnage is 23132 tons.

Going through the complete Panama Canal was definitely a bucket list item for me. I spent the entire day (8 hours) outside on the deck along with a bunch of other folks, my shutter happily clicking away!

We had a Canal Guide onboard who pointed out all the interesting locations, couldn't tell you one thing he said because I wasn't listening I was too busy shooting!

Have to commend Princess Cruises, they were really nice to us outside in that they had stewards coming around regularly offering up cool drinks, sandwiches, and such.

I've seen Pelicans sitting atop a piling, panhandling at a fishing pier, or gliding above the surf but sitting in a tree is a first for me!

We were walking down the Malecon when we crossed over the Rio Cuale (Cuale River) which flows out to the sea when I saw this fellow. Now I've seen a lot of Pelicans in a lot of different ports but I can honestly say this is the first one I've ever seen sitting in a tree. Pelicans have webbed feet which really aren't conducive to sitting on a branch, just ask any duck!

I\'m assuming this is a Mexican Brown Pelican just because of the color and location. Hopefully some of the hardcore birders like Jim Frazier and toddkeith533 will chime in and regale us with all the details!

I don't take bird shots, they're really not my bag man, so I'm not exactly sure how they should be cropped. If you take bird shots, how do you do it when they're sitting like this. Do you zoom in tight and make the bird the focus or do you leave some of the foliage to establish a setting for the bird? Online opinions go from one extreme to the other so I thought I'd ask some folks who really do take bird shots!

A series of shots I got during our passage through The Big Ditch!

The vessel CEZANNE (IMO 9697416, MMSI 563062300) is a Container Ship built in 2015 (10 years old) and currently sailing under the flag of Singapore.

Looks like she's got a couple of helpers getting her in position. A classic container ship and a beautiful lady.

Going through the complete Panama Canal was definitely a bucket list item for me. I spent the entire day (8 hours) outside on the deck along with a bunch of other folks, my shutter happily clicking away!

We had a Canal Guide onboard who pointed out all the interesting locations, couldn't tell you one thing he said because I wasn't listening I was too busy shooting!

Have to commend Princess Cruises, they were really nice to us outside in that they had stewards coming around regularly offering up cool drinks, sandwiches, and such.

The wine was flowing freely (between the hours of 3:00 and 3:30)

Before departing San Diego we went up to the Mariner's Reception up in the Crow's Nest on Deck 9. It's sort of a thank you for choosing us again for folks who have cruised with Holland America before. They pour lots and lots of sparkling wine and the waiters are kept hopping the whole time because as we all know old people will always take free stuff. If you don't believe me just stop by your local Costco (or Sam's Club) around lunch time. You'll be battling with the grazers to get down the aisles!

When you take a cruise holiday your every need is catered to and you've got nothing to worry about.

Sometimes it's easy to forget that there are a LOT of people both in the front and back of the house that make things happen for your dream vacation. Folks that aren't on holiday, they're working at their jobs to provide for their families back home.

If you should ever go on a cruise I hope that you won't forget these folks and will let them know that you appreciate the hard work they put in to make things easy for you. They bust their butts so that you don't have to.

At the time I didn't even think about the lines!

As we were pulling into San Diego we got the chance to see the Koningsdam parked at the pier we left from just a week before.

The Koningsdam is much larger and newer than the Zaandam, the ship we were on., and though we haven't sailed on her yet there's always hope for the future!

When I got this I was thinking about a ship shot, not the environment it was in. It wasn't until I saw this on my monitor that I realized how nicely the lines of the ship blended in with the San Diego downtown skyline. Double win for me!

Sunsets like this are an everyday occurrence in Tucson during the monsoon season.

End of the day for many but start of the day for me! I thought I was ahead of the game, all set up and waiting for the bolts to start dropping. I waited, I waited, and I waited.......for absolutely nothing!

There may have been a light show hiding up in those clouds but Mother Nature never opened the curtain, at leas for me. I wasn't going to let the day be a bust so I took some shots as the sun was setting and this was the best of the bunch.

Another experiment that didn't work out half bad!

Found a Linux stitching program callend HUGIN:

hugin.sourceforge.io

and thought I"d give it a go. It's also available for Windows and Mac if you're so inclined. Seems to do a pretty decent job and the price is certainly right!

This is a pano of 3 shots that I took from our visit to Cartagena Spain. What I can tell you is that Niccy and I fell in love with Spain and Portugal, the cities we visited were incredibly beautiful. We saw Cartagena, Malaga, and Funchal, all of which were very walkable and offered up some fantastic food, views, weather, and personalities. If we could afford it, we'd be moving tomorrow.

Imagine our surprise at seeing Spiderman drop in from nowhere!

What's more, imagine my surprise at seeing a so-so shot get explored!

Walking along the Malecon in Puerto Vallarta when Spiderman decided to drop in for a visit. Didn't expect to find any Superheros in Mexico other than Luchadores which I totally respect!

I looked over the wall to see the kid that was flying this and boy was I surprised. The guy on the other end of the string was probably as old as I am and seemed to be enjoying himself immensely.

I imagine he was an itinerant Spiderman Parachute Kite salesman, trying to drum up a little business. At least I hope so....

As kids we flew kites and had many, many kite fights. I can only imagine how many more I would have won having a Superhero on my side!

Finding a lakeside Murder Shack isn't easy!

First time on the market! This lakefront Murder Shack, with a private dock is ready to host your murder and mayhem!

Featuring 2 operating areas, a full bath, and sleeping loft, this classic Murder Shack is perfectly set up for summer mayhem and high-mountain "adventure". It's the ideal escape to nature without the long drive or chance of being found out.

The cabin comes fully furnished and ready for you and your "guests", including a boat (already in the water and freshly serviced), Sea-Doos, and all essential furnishings--just bring your swimsuits, groceries, chainsaws, and machetes!

This is more than just a Murder Shack--it's a chance to build a family legacy and make memories that will last for generations. Don't miss this rare opportunity to own a piece of homicidal paradise!

Get in their face, be aggressive, and don't take no for an answer!

Niccy and I found several reasons why we don't like Cabo San Lucas and this is one of them.

They were everywhere along the walk, selling cheap (and sometimes offensive) junk that only tourists and drunken fools seem to buy. Just like the "tour guides" and the Lizard Men they were relentless when it came to their pitch, like wolves circling round their prey.

As I said in a previous shot Niccy and I were done with all the tomfoolery so we found a nice shady table and watched as this scenario played itself out over and over. There were way too many of these folks to count and they were working nonstop.

We get it, Cabo is a tourist town and that's how they make their money. We can't fault them for trying to make a buck but when you start getting aggressive for us you've gone too far.

For those who are curious we've decided that the Mexican Riviera is off the table for at least 10 years. By then we'll more than likely forgotten why we didn't like the trip and get the chance to experience it all over again!

Tubingue

Tübingen Waldhausen, Holderfeld, Brachland

- mit Tümpeln und leichten Sümpfen sowie vermutlichen unterirdischen Verschmutzungen durch Munitionsreste; Tübingen

-

da ehemaliges Militär -Schieß-Übungsgelände der franzosischen Garnison Tübingen

"Place de Tübingen-Reutlingen"

.en

---------------

Tübingen Waldhausen, "Holderfeld" , fallow

with ponds, swamps and probable underground and light pollution from munitions remnants, Tübingen

--

since former military gunnery practice area of the French garrison of Tübingen

Nature it was!

2016

Umzäunt und abgesperrt - nur noch für Mitglieder der Sportvereine

Fussballplätze mit Tribühne

Mini-stadion des multi-kulti Vereins SSC Tübingen

und der Red Knights of Tübingen

-

Gone: Now they are playing Rugby and Football here.

-

Schade!

Since no man can find his way alone, in life as in the Lodge, we must in humility trust our Guide, learn His ways, follow Him and fear no danger.

An altar is a spiritual meeting point where humanity encounters divinity. It is a place of divine communication, revelation, and covenant establishment. Throughout Scripture, altars signify moments of transformation, breakthroughs, and divine visitation. Jacob’s encounter with God at Bethel serves as a powerful example of how altars are pivotal in our spiritual walk. Every believer must understand the importance of raising, maintaining, and engaging altars for divine encounters.

samuelarimoro.wordpress.com/2025/01/11/altar-as-a-place-o...

We were having some air conditioner work done at my Lodge and I volunteered to hang out there for the day so the repairmen would have access. Usually the Lodge Room is lit up like a regular room but on this day I was able to have only the light over the Altar lit so that I could get this shot. It's one that I've thought about trying to shoot for awhile and this was my opportunity. Besides, it's way too hot to be out shooting landscapes right now!

This was shot in (M)anual and handheld. Yes, I definitely had to do some work in post, along with a crop to remove some extaneous fluff from the sides.

Yeah, I know it's not really a "Still Life" photo but that's the first thought I had when I looked at it!

Sitting in the cabin, waiting for Niccy to get dressed for dinner when I took this. I'm not sure why it spoke to me but it did. As you can tell, space is at premium when you're out to sea.

This was a good trip in that I really stepped up and out when it came to taking control of my camera. The majority of the shots I got were done in manual (M) and I'm trying to keep any editing down to just a crop or two.

This shot for example is sort of SOOC, converted RAW from the camera to B/W because the color version was bleh and a little crop.g.

This is a real photograph taken with a real camera, and not created by AI.

The surfing of the early morning in Miyazaki

This is all the zoom I had with me!

Had a storm blow through yesterday evening but it stayed well to the South and was headed West. There was nothing going on here at the ranch but I headed up to my shooting spot just in case something strayed our way.

Well, true to form the storm stayed South and headed West, put on a pretty good show that I was able to catch a little of. Very weird set of clouds, they were real flat and real spread out.

This is a single shot 32 seconds on the clock, f/6.3, ISO 100 and 200mm worth of zoom! I had my Tamron 18-200mm glass on and had it sticking out as far as it would go. Rough measurements in Google Maps say these bolts were about 10 miles away (as the crow flies) so I'm pretty happy with the results!

Rollin', rollin'. rollin' on the river....

Had I known how inexpensive these river boats were I would have vetoed the London Eye and went on one of these! Just take a gander at this description:

. The journey from Westminster Pier to Hampton Court Landing Stage takes between 3-Hours & 3-Hours, 30 Minutes & passes through some of the most picturesque reaches of the River Thames including Syon Reach & Horse Reach. The first half of the journey cruises through the London Boroughs of Chelsea, Wandsworth & Putney before cruising into the more peaceful reaches of the Tidal Thames. The second part of the journey follows the winding course of the river past islands & stately homes before calling at Kew Pier, Richmond Landing Stage & Hampton Court Landing Stage.

Sounds like a pretty good trip to me and only costs £36.00 for a round trip ticket! I'm thinking I should get more involved in the planning stages of our trips and not leave everything to Niccy.

Yes, this is a real photograph taken with a real camera, not a Computer Rendered Artificial Picture!

Apparently Niccy had a secret bucket list that I knew nothing about and drinking a Bellini was on the list.

For those of you who may not know what a Bellini is I hereby present you with the recipe:

Peach puree: 2 oz(60ml)

Prosecco: 4 oz(120ml)

Optional garnish: Peach slice

Throw the puree and the prosecco in a shaker, give a few good licks, then toss it in a champagne flute with a peach slice garnish. Not something that I would have ever considered ordering,

On the Sky Princess they have an entire bar dedicated to Bellinis but don't worry, they'll be glad to serve you Johnny Walker Black as well.

This was a good trip in that I really stepped up and out when it came to taking control of my camera. The majority of the shots I got were done in manual (M) and I'm trying to keep any editing down to just a crop or two. This shot was done in auto, I was still struggling a bit with inside shots. I did have to clone out a light that was pretty distracting (to me) but the B/W came from the camera JPG.

This is a real photograph taken with a real camera, and not created by AI.

Vatican

Not a tourist shot but definitely my kind of shot!

Even though she looks a bit like a tug the Eddie C. is far from being a tug. The Eddie C is an ideal platform for filming, support work or as a safety boat. She is by far the most versatile and stable craft of her size.

Built in 1987 and is licensed with the Port of London Authority to carry six passengers, she is highly manoeuvrable, has a low freeboard and a central cabin allowing 360 degree access. This can be beneficial for both filming work and when providing safety cover. The Eddie C. belongs to LIvetts Marine:

www.livetts.co.uk/

and they supply a variety of specialty craft for film work and safety work on the Thames.

Not to be confused with London Bridge which can be found here:

flic.kr/p/2jT3myW

Another one of those gratuitous tourist shots that everyone seems to get.

Tower Bridge is a Grade I listed combined bascule, suspension, and, until 1960, cantilever bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones and engineered by John Wolfe Barry with the help of Henry Marc Brunel. It crosses the River Thames close to the Tower of London and is one of five London bridges owned and maintained by the City Bridge Foundation, a charitable trust founded in 1282.

Thanks to Wikipedia:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_Bridge

We were headed back towards Waterloo bridge when I got this shot.

This is a (M)anual shot with a little crop to get rid of some extraneous bits of fluff on the sides. I decided to leave the bow of the HMS Belfast in just for a little context.

Yes, this is a real photograph taken with a real camera, not a Computer Rendered Artificial Picture!

Niccy and I just got back from a transatlantic cruise so I've finally got some shots to post!

In the foreground is either the Star Clipper or the Star Flyer coming into port, not sure which. The two are sister ships owned by the Star Clippers Line:

www.starclippers.com/us-dom/

They are true sailing vessels, using wind power whenever possible to navigate between islands of the Caribbean and other ports of call. If you go to their website you can request a personalized quote for costs, just like you would do when buying a castle or a Ferrari.

In the background is the Spanish frigate Álvaro de Bazán (F101) heading out to sea. The frigate Álvaro de Bazán Álvaro is the lead ship of the Álvaro de Bazán class of air defence frigates entering service with the Spanish Navy. She is named after Admiral Álvaro de Bazán:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_frigate_%C3%81lvaro_de_Baz%...

I'm glad that I got this shot, just wish I'd gotten them in closer proximity. It was early morning and I hadn't had my tea yet so I was a bit late on the shutter!

Double your pleasure, double your fun!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7hwvWIK1eM

Had a great storm pass by last Friday night with bolts aplenty! It was about 9:45 PM when I heard the first rumble. Looked on my lightning app and nothing spectacular was showing up so I figured it was a one off. Boy, was I wrong!

Something said to go out and take a look so that's what I did. Once I got outside I saw the sky was flashing to the North, South, and West so I ran in to grab my camera and let Niccy know I was headed out. She was stone asleep so I headed out to my usual spot, hoping for a couple of shots. That was close to 10 PM and I didn't pack it in until it started raining just after Midnight!

This is a single RAW shot with a crop in GIMP and the eradication of a couple of blatant hotspots. It seems that the area right behind the prison seems to be a lightning target, I wonder if it's the substation or maybe the solar farm?

There were bolts everywhere, hard to pick a direction to shoot. I was lucky enough to catch a few which I'll be posting shortly.

PS:

For those in the Show Your EXIF group you should note that the actual lens used is a Tamron AF 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di-II VC All-in-One Zoom for Canon APS-C Digital SLR. For some crazy reason it always shows up as a Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8, a lens I've never owned or used!

With a little help from her friends Caterina was able to turn her life around!

The MSC CATERINA (IMO: 9705005) is a Container Ship and is sailing under the flag of Portugal. Her length overall (LOA) is 300 meters and her width is 48.23 meters.

Since she's an older lady I'm guessing she didn't have the capability to pull off a 180 degree turn like the newer ships can so she needed a little help from her friends the Vastaso, the Sea Rock, and the Laziale to get her into position. Pretty interesting operation to watch and it was obvious that the tug captains knew exactly what they were doing!

It was an absolutely beautiful day when I shot this, lots of sun and blue sky. You can see this in my previous shot of the Janas so what happened here? I got to playing around with some editing and clicked a couple of things that I normally don't click. I liked the feel that the shot had so I decided to let it be. I also did a funky crop to get rid of some extraneous sea and sky.

Brushy Mountain is another Youtube rabbit hole that Niccy and I fell down!

This is the recreation yard at Brushy Mountain. Made me think of the song "Green, Green Grass Of Home". The song has been covered by a lot of artists but I like Sir Tom Jones's version best:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAXkZkGzxWk

Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary, last named Brushy Mountain Correctional Complex, (or, unofficially, Brushy) was a maximum-security prison in the community of Petros in Morgan County, Tennessee, operated by the Tennessee Department of Correction. It was established in 1896 and operated until 2009.

Perhaps the best-known escape attempt occurred on June 10, 1977, when James Earl Ray, the assassin of Martin Luther King Jr., escaped with six other inmates by climbing over a fence. Ray was captured less than 58 hours later in rugged mountain terrain 81⁄2 miles from the prison.

Brushy Mountain was another of our stops on the Tennessee portion of our adventure. Thank you Youtube!

One of the things we found interesting is that the prison was actually built by the inmates using stone mined by prisoners from a quarry on the property. Imagine being forced to build the place that's going to be your punishment. That's some real hard labor and hard time.

It's Rodeo time in Tucson and as we have done in years before we're parking cars in our lodge parking lot. The money we raise goes out to community projects we have like providing school supplies to South Tucson's community K-12 charter school.

www.southgateaz.org/

Since there was a parade going on I thought I should probably shoot some of the participants and this fellow seemed to sum things up pretty good.

I can imagine him riding out through the desert herding the cattle, fighting it out with the rustlers, dreaming of a pretty senorita back home, and desperately searching for a cell signal, Such is the life of a modern day cowboy.

I should have had my Nifty Fifty on when he rode by but this was not the case. I really need to just glue that thing on.

Some might have been disappointed in Casablanca but not yours truly. Any time I get to see ships it's a good time!

WHITE LABEILLE (IMO 8415158) is a Dry bulk/Mini bulkers vessel built in 1985 and is sailing under the flag of Comoros. She has an overall length (LOA) of 511 meters and a width (beam) of 63 meters. Her summer deadweight capacity is 3,800 tonnes.

She was unusual since she's sailing under the flag of Comoros. The Comoros is a volcanic archipelago off Africa’s east coast, in the warm Indian Ocean waters of the Mozambique Channel. The nation state’s largest island, Grande Comore (Ngazidja) is ringed by beaches and old lava from active Mt. Karthala volcano. Around the port and medina in the capital, Moroni, are carved doors and a white colonnaded mosque, the Ancienne Mosquée du Vendredi, recalling the islands’ Arab heritage.

This was a good trip in that I really stepped up and out when it came to taking control of my camera. The majority of the shots I got were done in manual (M) and I'm trying to keep any editing down to just a crop or two. Although this shot was done in (M)anual I did have to do some editing to compensate for the settings. There's a little vignetting in the upper left corner, a byproduct of using all 200mm of my lens.

This is a real photograph taken with a real camera, and not created by AI.

Fukuoka Japan

A series of shots I got during our passage through The Big Ditch!

MPV CLIO is a General cargo vessel built in 2003 by SHANGHAI SHIPYARD - SHANGHAI, CHINA. Currently sailing under the flag of Portugal. Formerly also known as ZEA SEOUL, RICKMERS SEOUL, RICKMEPAOUL. It's gross tonnage is 23119 tons.

Going through the complete Panama Canal was definitely a bucket list item for me. I spent the entire day (8 hours) outside on the deck along with a bunch of other folks, my shutter happily clicking away!

We had a Canal Guide onboard who pointed out all the interesting locations, couldn't tell you one thing he said because I wasn't listening I was too busy shooting!

Have to commend Princess Cruises, they were really nice to us outside in that they had stewards coming around with sandwiches and cool drinks for everyone.