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Created for star theme in Macro Monday. HMM :-)
This Torx size 20 bit is almost 4mm across. I have smaller sizes, but this one is teeny enough. lol.. It’s part of my tiny screwdriver bit set that I originally bought for working inside computers. But now I also use it to open parts of the action figures I have that have LED lights. Some of their eyes light up, etc.
A bit of photoshop fun for Sliders Sunday.
Don't ask about the concept here because I'm not sure there is one LOL.
The base image was taken with an ND filter to get a long exposure which removed all of the traffic. The A380 is one of my stock one which I've used before. I tried to work with the proportions here where the wingspan is 80 meters.. Alas, the width of the M6 here is more like 45 metres (verge to verge) making the shadow's wing span approx 60 metres.. So, still a little short...
Anyway, thought it was (just about) worth sharing.. HSS.
I am trying to push a bit beyond my comfort zone and start to try a hand at different types of photography. So please bear with me, I have a lot to learn to develop an eye for B&W photography. It is so different and it is true when sources state when we see in color that it is an entirely different way of 'seeing' to do B&W photography.
I really love the shadows from the trees and the mysterious looking tunnel appearance at the end of the path which made me think, Big Foot must live down there. LOL I hope I got this right but if anyone has suggestions if this might be a 'miss' I would love to hear them :)
Thanks so much for the comments and the favs!!
Please follow me on my Facebook page at the following link. I would love to see you there!!!
www.facebook.com/skyelytephotography/
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COPYRIGHT- Skyelyte Photography
None of my images may be downloaded, copied, reproduced, manipulated or used on websites, blogs or other media or used in any way without my explicit written permission. THANK YOU!
This is the first bits of jewelry I bought for my wife thirty three years ago. When we first discussed getting married this is what she picked out for the initial ring set and I added earrings and a pendant on a gold chain. Not a spectacular horde but it means something to her that goes beyond extravagance. HMM and thank you for any views, faves and comments.
A bit further up along Stanger Gill from the last shot, this sloping rock caught my eye. Surely it deserves an official name on the map? Couldn't see one though.
By this point, the cloud was starting to lower and the wind was picking up, especially after leaving the shelter of the northern slopes of Rosthwaite Fell.
52 Weeks of 2019
Week 38: Get pushed
Category: Creative
The Brief:
The idea of the 'get pushed' theme is that each member of the group picks another member of the '52 weeks of 2019' group who he or she is going to challenge. Browse through the photo stream of that member and find an area of photography that is hardly present in his/her stream.Then give that member a short assignment in that area for him or her to work on next week (week 38).
Thanks to EricNearDetroit for pushing me to do an industrial abstract!
ODC - Repeating Pattern
Thank you in advance for your views, comments, and faves. They are much appreciated!
On the edge of one of the former quarries on Easdale.
One of the most interesting places I’ve ever been to - Easdale, one of the Slate Islands off the west coast of Scotland, near Oban. Easdale was the centre of a huge slate-making industry in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth century - there are Easdale slates on roofs as far away as Nova Scotia and New Zealand. Then in 1881 disaster struck - a huge storm and subsequent massive sea swamped all the quarries on the island. All the machinery was lost and mining had to end.
The quarries are still filled with water today - the mining machinery is still at the bottom of some of them, so they’re quite eerie and a wee bit sinister. And the island is covered with bits of slate, millions of pieces of it. It’s very other-worldly.
For more about the Slate Islands and the rest of my trip:
Looked down. Saw this. Knew it needed to be photographed.
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Nikon Z6, Nikkor 24-70mm f/4 S
Exposure X7, Color Efex Pro 4, Silver Efex Pro 3
a bit abstracted :)
Tony Tucker-- The Old Man The Strat and The Swamp
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Svy6Wk7JlfA
made with stable diffusion,topaz and photoshop.
Whenever one of my images seems a bit gloomy (even if I like this kind of images very much), I try to balance it out with a photo that's bursting with color and vitality. Balance is very important to me.
Today, that's the case again.
And so I'm showing you another shot of the beautiful cherry avenue below mount Adam in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, which, of course, has long since faded.
I particularly like this version, as the evening sun literally makes the trees glow. That's why I've cut out the entire surroundings here and focused only on the avenue.
So that nothing distracts from this splendor.
Immer dann, wenn eines meiner Bilder etwas düster daher kommt (auch, wenn ich solche Fotos sehr mag), versuche ich das mit einem Foto auszugleichen, was vor Farbe und Vitaltät strotzt. Balance ist mir eben sehr wichtig.
Heute ist das wieder einmal der Fall.
Und so zeige ich Euch noch eine Aufnahme der wunderschönen Kirschallee unterhalb des Adamsberges im Elbsandsteingebirges, die natürlich zwischenzeitlich längst verblüht ist.
Diese Version gefällt mir ganz besonders, da die Abendsonne die Bäume förmlich zum Erglühen bringt. Darum habe ich hier auch die gaasmte Umgebung ausgeblendet, und mich nur auf die Allee konzentriert.
Damit nichts soll von dieser Pracht ablenkt.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OstHzcY7DPE&index=2&list=...
I don't do nudity as a rule, this was a bit of fun as always with Sergio
God knows we do the craziest things together - we will see a pose and before we know it we are finding comedy in it and that is exactly what we did in this pose.
We laugh until we cry and our humour is contagious when we are together, I have never known a man who I can laugh so much with in all my life!
Adore this man and it is not your typical romantic relationship like most in SL.
There is freedom with us, to be who we are and love one another just as we are - warts and all and to not take life so seriously.
We dance, we laugh, and we just enjoy our limited time with one another!
Wild Dogwood Blooms this tree is growing in the woods, pretty wild but holding it's own, a bit thin because of a late freeze, shot in North Carolina.
A bit of artistic coastal geology is right up my photographic street. My strong preference for this kind of subject is soft overcast light. Strong sunlight will often overwhelm the subtle tone and colour on which an image like this relies. As ever, however, we work with what we're given. At this time of year, the sun is at least relatively low in the sky, giving raking side light that reveals form and texture. The challenge then becomes about making the most of what's available, which is what I tried to do here. This was the location I most wanted to visit in Northumberland, so I was initially disappointed with both the conditions and my photographic efforts. All the more so when a return visit later in the week was thwarted by driving rain, strong wind and a surging tide, making photography impossible. But the rock strata are so incredible, I have to share one or two images here.
Leica SL3 2.8/28-70. Original photograph copyright © Simon Miles. Not to be used without permission. Thanks for looking.
My interview on Google Local Guide Connect
All Photos Are Copyright To Paul Saad , Unauthorised Use Is Not Allowed Without Prior Permission. © Some rights reserved ©
A bit of blue skies popped through on Thursday afternoon, during our winter interlude! Temps were in the upper 50s when I shot this and it back in the low 20s now, and that's were it's going to stay for awhile Another Polar Vortex is here! Five exposure HDR processed with Nik HDR Efex Pro 2
IMPORTANT: for non-pro users who read the info on a computer, just enlarge your screen to 120% (or more), then the full text will appear below the photo with a white background - which makes reading so much easier.
The color version of the photo above is here: www.lacerta-bilineata.com/ticino-best-photos-of-southern-...
THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO:
So far there's only been one photo in my gallery that hasn't been taken in my garden ('The Flame Rider', captured in the Maggia Valley: www.flickr.com/photos/191055893@N07/53563448847/in/datepo... ) - which makes the image above the second time I've "strayed from the path" (although not very far, since the photo was taken only approximately 500 meters from my house).
Overall, I'll stick to my "only-garden rule", but every once in a while I'll show you a little bit of the landscape around my village, because I think it will give you a better sense of just how fascinating this region is, and also of its history.
The title I chose for the photo may seem cheesy, and it's certainly not very original, but I couldn't think of another one, because it's an honest reflection of what I felt when I took it: a profound sense of peace - although if you make it to the end of this text you'll realize my relationship with that word is a bit more complicated.
I got up early that day; it was a beautiful spring morning, and there was still a bit of mist in the valley below my village which I hoped would make for a few nice mood shots, so I quickly grabbed my camera and went down there before the rising sun could dissolve the magical layer on the scenery.
Most human activity hadn't started yet, and I was engulfed in the sounds of the forest as I was walking the narrow trail along the horse pasture; it seemed every little creature around me wanted to make its presence known to potential mates (or rivals) in a myriad of sounds and voices and noises (in case you're interested, here's a taste of what I usually wake up to in spring, but you best use headphones: www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfoCTqdAVCE )
Strolling through such an idyllic landscape next to grazing horses and surrounded by birdsong and beautiful trees, I guess it's kind of obvious one would feel the way I described above and choose the title I did, but as I looked at the old stone buildings - the cattle shelter you can see in the foreground and the stable further up ahead on the right - I also realized how fortunate I was.
It's hard to imagine now, because Switzerland is one of the wealthiest countries in the world today, but the men and women who had carried these stones and constructed the walls of these buildings were among the poorest in Europe. The hardships the people in some of the remote and little developed valleys in Ticino endured only a few generations ago are unimaginable to most folks living in my country today.
It wasn't uncommon that people had to sell their own kids as child slaves - the girls had to work in factories or in rice fields, the boys as "living chimney brushes" in northern Italy - just because there wasn't enough food to support the whole family through the harsh Ticino winters.
If you wonder why contemporary Swiss historians speak of "slaves" as opposed to child laborers, it's because that's what many of them actually were: auctioned off for a negotiable prize at the local market, once sold, these kids were not payed and in many cases not even fed by their masters (they had to beg for food in the streets or steal it).
Translated from German Wikipedia: ...The Piazza grande in Locarno, where the Locarno Film Festival is held today, was one of the places where orphans, foundlings and children from poor families were auctioned off. The boys were sold as chimney sweeps, the girls ended up in the textile industry, in tobacco processing in Brissago or in the rice fields of Novara, which was also extremely hard work: the girls had to stand bent over in the water for twelve to fourteen hours in all weathers. The last verse of the Italian folk song 'Amore mio non piangere' reads: “Mamma, papà, non piangere, se sono consumata, è stata la risaia che mi ha rovinata” (Mom, dad, don't cry when I'm used up, it was the rice field that destroyed me.)... de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaminfegerkinder
The conditions for the chimney sweeps - usually boys between the age of 8 and 12 (or younger, because they had to be small enough to be able to crawl into the chimneys) - were so catastrophic that many of them didn't survive; they died of starvation, cold or soot in their lungs - as well as of work-related accidents like breaking their necks when they fell, or suffocatig if they got stuck in inside a chimney. This practice of "child slavery" went on as late as the 1950s (there's a very short article in English on the topic here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spazzacamini and a more in depth account for German speakers in this brief clip: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gda8vZp_zsc ).
Now I don't know if the people who built the old stone houses along my path had to sell any of their kids, but looking at the remnants of their (not so distant) era I felt an immense sense of gratitude that I was born at a time of prosperity - and peace - in my region, my country and my home. Because none of it was my doing: it was simple luck that decided when and where I came into this world.
It also made me think of my own family. Both of my grandparents on my father's side grew up in Ticino (they were both born in 1900), but while they eventually left Switzerland's poorest region to live in its richest, the Kanton of Zurich, my grandfather's parents relocated to northern Italy in the 1920s and unfortunately were still there when WWII broke out.
They lost everything during the war, and it was their youngest daughter - whom I only knew as "Zia" which means "aunt" in Italian - who earned a little money to support herself and my great-grandparents by giving piano lessons to high-ranking Nazi officers and their kids (this was towards the end of the war when German forces had occupied Italy).
I never knew that about her; Zia only very rarely spoke of the war, but one time when I visited her when she was already over a 100 years old (she died at close to 104), I asked her how they had managed to survive, and she told me that she went to the local prefecture nearly every day to teach piano. "And on the way there would be the dangling ones" she said, with a shudder.
I didn't get what she meant, so she explained. Visiting the city center where the high ranking military resided meant she had to walk underneath the executed men and women who were hanging from the lantern posts along the road (these executions - often of civilians - were the Germans' retaliations for attacks by the Italian partisans).
I never forgot her words - nor could I shake the look on her face as she re-lived this memory. And I still can't grasp it; my house in Ticino is only 60 meters from the Italian border, and the idea that there was a brutal war going on three houses down the road from where I live now in Zia's lifetime strikes me as completely surreal.
So, back to my title for the photo above. "Peace". It's such a simple, short word, isn't it? And we use it - or its cousin "peaceful" - quite often when we mean nice and quiet or stress-free. But if I'm honest I don't think I know what it means. My grandaunt Zia did, but I can't know. And I honestly hope I never will.
I'm sorry I led you down such a dark road; I usually intend to make people smile with the anecdotes that go with my photos, but this one demanded a different approach (I guess with this latest image I've strayed from the path in more than one sense, and I hope you'll forgive me).
Ticino today is the region with the second highest average life expectancy in Europe (85.2 years), and "The Human Development Index" of 0.961 in 2021 was one of the highest found anywhere in the world, and northern Italy isn't far behind. But my neighbors, many of whom are now in their 90s, remember well it wasn't always so.
That a region so poor it must have felt like purgatory to many of its inhabitants could turn into something as close to paradise on Earth as I can imagine in a person's lifetime should make us all very hopeful. But, and this is the sad part, it also works the other way 'round. And I believe we'd do well to remember that, too.
To all of you - with my usual tardiness but from the bottom of my heart - a happy, healthy, hopeful 2025 and beyond.
It's a bit tiring to walk up to the ruined fortress of Thessaloniki but then you can enjoy the great views of the city.
This male wood duck was a bit agitated because an Anhinga was sitting on the top of the palm where the Wood Ducks had established their nest. He began to fly toward the nest, apparently hoping to drive the Anhinga away, but gauged its size and thought better of it. This image shows his decision to turn away. There’s nothing like a strong maternal instinct. The hen, after waiting for what seemed an interminable period of time, finally had the courage to fly right under the Anhinga, straight into the next. That was no small feat. The opening of the palm was small and when she entered it when it wasn’t encumbered by a big old Anhinga, she would awkwardly land on the lip of the palm and sometimes fall when getting inside. Good Mom! Just to give the Anhinga’s side of the equation, this palm was its normal perch used to dry off its wings, long before these annoying Wood Ducks showed up. Why should he leave, he was there first! Anyway, the whole episode gave me and several other photographers a lot of entertainment as we watched the nesting play out. In the end, as I previously posted, a mixed brood of Wood Ducks and Black-bellied Whistling Ducks made it into the world. Small chicks lead a perilous existence and have hopefully survived. Momma Wood Duck has kept them secreted away and to my knowledge they’ve been out of sight since the hatching. Good luck little guys! (Aix sponsa) (Sony a1, 70-200 lens with a 1.4 extender shot at 269mm, f/5.6, 1/3200 second, ISO 1600)
I had to overcome a fair bit of adversity for this shot, most of it my own doing too.
Every night this week, Melbourne has been blessed with colourful sunset. The one time I get a chance to grab the camera and head out, this was as colourful as the sunset got! Blah. No problem, I'll switch to plan 'B', some long exposure photo's. ND filters still sitting on the kitchen table. No problem, just wait a little longer and take some city skyline shots after dark - fully charged battery sitting on the kitchen table next to the ND filters. I only had enough juice in the battery for a couple of shots. I'm happy with this one, but there were far better vantage points I found on the long walk back to the car.
What it came up with seems quite small but it looks delicious whatever it is. Juvenile American Dipper feeding along the edge of Avalanche Creek in Glacier National Park, Montana.
This is my first decor pic since forever, but I really loved these colors for Christmas and actually felt a bit inspired. So, here's a mix of some of my favorite holiday items, new & old. I hope you all enjoy the holiday season if you celebrate!
【Elm - Available at Santa Inc.】
✦ Elm. Avery Light Tree w/ Light Cluster ~ FATPACK LI:9
✦ Elm. Avery Wreath Decor LI:2 (Event Mystery Gift)
【Elm - Available at Collabor88】
✦ Elm. Clara Decor ~ "Better Not Pout" Decor LI:3
✦ Elm. Clara Decor ~ Lantern #1 LI:4
✦ Elm. Clara Decor ~ Lantern #2 LI:2
✦ Elm. Clara Decor ~ Mini Tree Decor LI:1
✦ Elm. Clara Decor ~ Starlight Decor LI:1
✦ Elm. Clara Fireplace w/ Pompoms [White] LI:5
✦ Elm. Clara Stove Hearth LI:4
【Elm - Available at ACCESS】
✦ Elm. Beth Blanket Ladder ~ FATPACK LI:6
✦ Elm. Beth Decor ~ Rug [White] LI:2
【Elm - Available at EQUAL10】
✦ Elm. Joy Paper Garland ~ Combined #1 [Pack #2] LI:3
✦ Elm. Joy Paper Garland ~ Combined #3 [Pack #2] LI:3
【Elm - Available at the Mainstore】
✦ Elm. Whimsy Fuzzy Tree #1 [White] LI:1
✦ Elm. Whimsy Fuzzy Tree #4 [White] LI:1
✦ Elm. Whimsy Fuzzy Tree #8 [White] LI:1
✦ Elm. Whimsy Letter Board [Jingle] LI:2
【{moss&mink} - Available at Santa Inc.】
✦{moss&mink} Blitzen Board Game - Gold (Adult) LI:6
【{moss&mink} - Available at the Mainstore】
✦ {moss&mink} Golden Winter Felt Tree
【BUENO - Available at Kustom9】
✦ BUENO-Winter Cabin-Montana LI:20
【Zerkalo - Available at ACCESS】
[ zerkalo ] Grassington Armchair w/Cloth - PG LI:9
【Fancy Decor - Available at the Mainstore】
✦ 01 Fancy Decor: Gilt & Pearl Tree Topper RARE LI:3
✦ 03 Fancy Decor: Gold Stripe Bauble LI:1
✦ 06 Fancy Decor: Checker Bauble (gold) LI:1
✦ 09 Fancy Decor: Gilt Studded Ornament LI:1
✦ 10 Fancy Decor: Noir Dot Stripe Ornament LI:1
✦ 15 Fancy Decor: Noir Droplet Ornament LI:1
✦ 15 Fancy Decor: Ridged Bauble (gold) LI:1
✦ 16 Fancy Decor: Noir Ridged Ornament LI:1
✦ 18 Fancy Decor: Noir Plain Ornament B LI:1
✦ 20 Fancy Decor: Noir Tree Ribbon LI:1
【Other Decor Used】
✧ Apple Fall Heritage Christmas Tree - Golden White LI:16
✧ Apple Fall Ornament: Metallic Confetti - Gold LI:1
✧ Apple Fall Ornament: Metallic Pinecone - Copper LI:1
✧ Apple Fall Ornament: Metallic Pinecone - Gold LI:1
✧ Apple Fall Ornament: Metallic Ridged - Copper LI:1
✧ Apple Fall Ornament: Metallic Ridged - Gold LI:1
✧ Apple Fall Ornament: Ribbed Cone - Mercury Glass LI:1
✧ CHEZ MOI Sliding Penguins LI:2
✧ Granola. Noelle Gift Box4. Gold. M/C LI:2
✧ Nutmeg. White Holiday Tree LI:4
✧ PILOT & Can't Even - Christmas Tree Strings [White] LI:2
✧ Soy. Raindrops curtain (Long) LI:2
✧ Trompe Loeil - Yasmine Noel Branch Ornamented Long LI:3
✧ Ten Thousand & Co. - XMAS TREE Billboard Black/White LI:1
✧ [North Oak] Gift Wrapping - Tan &White