Characters of Florida Theme Parks
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©2022 Peter Mardie, all rights reserved. Protected by Pixsy.
From our series 'Série Noire'.
Two shadowy characters move silently through deserted neon-lit streets. It's the witching hour. Well may you ask: what is going on? Who are they and where are they going? Is it a painting? Is it a dream? Is it a nightmare? Will you wake up screaming?
I am afraid we shall never know. The scriptwriter ran off with Julia. We are as surprised as you. Today there will be no story.
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Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius)
My best photos are here: www.lacerta-bilineata.com/ticino-best-photos-of-southern-...
More TICINO/TESSIN Wildlife Photos (all taken in my garden in Monteggio/Ti, Switzerland): it.lacerta-bilineata.com/ramarro-occidentale-lacerta-bili...
If you're interested, you'll find a more detailed closeup here (it's the 8th photo from the top): www.lacerta-bilineata.com/western-green-lizard-lacerta-bi...
My latest ANIMAL VIDEO (it's very brief but pretty unusual: a tiny wall lizard attacks two young great tits): www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQqkSsyrm7E
THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO: MY LONG AND ARDUOUS JOURNEY TO BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY
If you've set yourself the challenge of exclusively shooting the wildlife in your own back yard, you might find - as I did - that bird photography is really, really hard.
It's not that reptiles are easy to photograph either, mind - but at least the ones in my garden stay (for the most part) on the ground, and one can learn how to carefully approach them with a camera. They're also clearly egoists, which from a photographer's point of view is is a great character trait: if a lizard detects a human in its vicinity, it's only interested in saving its own skin, and it won't alarm its buddies.
But birds... oh man. Over the years, my feathered friends and I have developed a lovely routine that now defines our peaceful co-existence. As soon as I as much as open a window (let alone the door), I'm instantly greeted by an eruption of panicky fluttering and hysterical shouts from my garden: "SAVE YOUR WOMEN AND CHILDREN AND FLY FOR YOUR LIVES: THE HAIRLESS, PINK MONSTER IS COMING!!! (Yes, I speak bird, and I know that this is exactly what they are shouting 😉).
Needless to say, with the exception of the redstart I already showed here, all my efforts to get the kind of detailed shots I usually strive for with my nature photography ended in complete failure and utter disillusionment. I was ready to give up on stalking the winged misanthropes in my garden altogether, but then winter came - and changed everything.
One day this past January I observed my neighbor Signora P - a kind, elderly Italian lady - putting something on the low garden wall in front of my house. At first I thought she was just putting some treat there for her cat Romeo; the young tom patrols that wall constantly (it's his favorite spot in the garden, and during the warmer months he usually lurks in the thick foliage next to it to prey on lizards).
But once I detected a lot of movement on that wall through my window, I understood she had put a little pile of bread crumbs there; she was feeding the birds who soon arrived in flocks. This was certainly well-intended on my neighbor's part, but her noble action came with a catch, and I'm afraid quite literally.
When I took a stroll through my garden the next day I discovered a suspicious amount of feathers on the ground next to the wall. Romeo had apparently switched from his low-calorie summer diet (lizard) to more energy-rich meals consisting of "fowl" (it was winter after all, so from a nutritionist's point of view this made sense).
I would find fresh traces of Romeo's victims (mostly feathers, but also the odd wing) in my garden over the following days; so my first intuition that my neighbor was feeding her cat hadn't been that far off after all, as Romeo was now clearly being "served" fresh birds on a daily basis. And although the hungry visitors seemed to be aware of the danger and became slightly more prudent, they just couldn't resist the tasty snacks Signora P put on that wall - and neither could Romeo.
It was obvious that I had to act, but talking to my neighbor - who is as stubborn as she is kind - would have been futile, I knew that much. I pondered the matter long and hard - until a light bulb went off in my head. The idea was genius. If successful, what I had in mind would not only increase the birds' chances of surviving Romeo's appetite, but also greatly benefit my own photographic endeavors.
I started to enact my master plan the very next day by buying a giant bag of bird feed (consisting mainly of sunflower seeds) from the store. Then I dragged a huge piece of a tree trunk (approx. 120 cm in height) that we normally chop firewood on in the shed out into the garden and emptied almost half of the bag's content on top of it. Signora P's buffet for birds (and cats) was about to get some serious competition 😊.
My reasoning was as follows: not only would the birds be lured away from the fatally low garden wall to a place where they were safe from the cat - there was nothing around that tree trunk that provided cover for a predator, and the birds had a nice 360° view around it at all times - but I was also able to photograph them while hiding in the shed.
However, in order for my plan to work there was one little extra measure I had to take, and it was one that risked lowering my own life expectancy considerably once the owner of the property - my mom - discovered it. You see, our shed is completely windowless, so if I wanted to use it as a blind, I had no choice but to cut a hole into one of its wooden walls... which I promptly did (I figured all's fair in love - and photography 😉).
Granted, I have absolutely zero carpentering skills, and it showed. That hole was an ugly mess: the shed's wall seemed to have had an encounter with Jack Nicholson's ax-wielding lunatic character from the film 'The Shining'. Needless to say, I was incredibly proud of my work (I mean, come on: there now was a hole where before there wasn't a hole, and it was big enough for the lens of my camera to peek through, so it was mission accomplished as far as I was concerned).
Now all I had to do was wait for the birds to discover the tree trunk. In the meantime I started to mentally prepare myself for the inevitable confrontation with my mom and go through possible explanations for that splintering hole in the wall (it was either gonna be a rabid woodpecker attack or an emergency rescue mission with a feeding tube for a little kid that had accidentally locked himself inside the shed - both seemed valid options, though I slightly preferred the locked-in kid due to the involved drama and heroism 😉).
A whole day went by, and not a single bird visited the sunflower seeds. I had expected that it might take a few hours until the first of the ever curious great tits or blue tits would show up, but given how tiny my garden is, an entire day seemed excessive. Then another day came and went: the birds kept flocking to the bread crumbs on the wall, and my tree trunk kept collecting dust. To add injury to insult, a few fresh feathers on the ground were proof that Romeo was still feasting.
It was incredibly frustrating: I provided my winged guests with a much better view - plus a higher chance of surviving the cuisine - than Signora P's place; I risked (almost) certain death at the hands of my own mother (OK, the act of vandalism on the shed I had committed for my own benefit, but still), yet the birds kept ignoring me.
Then, after three days, just before sunset, I spotted a single blue tit on the tree trunk picking away at the sunflower seeds.
When I got up the next morning I immediately realized that the loud noise that accompanies each and every tit activity had shifted from the wall to the shed. At last the dam had broken: there was a flurry of movement around the tree trunk, and I counted at least 5 different species of birds feasting on the sunflower seeds.
From day 4 onward my plan worked beautifully: the birds now indeed mostly ignored Romeo's "snack wall" and kept to the tree trunk. And yes, I was able to play peeping tom from behind the shed's wall and photograph them!! 😊
Thus, dear readers, I finally managed to produce some acceptable bird photos, and I had even saved my feathered friends from a deadly foe in the process. All through winter and spring I took advantage of my new bird hide, and in late May I started mixing some cherries with the sunflower seeds. The idea was to attract a Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius), and as you can see, it worked!
It took me almost three weeks and more than a few tricks to capture that clever fella, but given how long I've been rambling here already, that's a story for another day. As for my mom, she still doesn't know about the hole in the wall, so please don't snitch! 😉.
I hope you like the photo and wish you all a wonderful weekend! Many greetings from Switzerland, and as always: let me know what you think in the comments 🙏 😊 ❤!
P.S. if anyone has their own funny tale about the obstacles we photographers are prepared to overcome for a desired photo, please write it in the comments: I love such stories 😊
Over fertilized plants may be beautiful but are otherwise useless, like people whose energies are devoted so completely to their appearance that there is no other development.
~William Longgood
Facing the final monster, the little gamer declares,
“You will never defeat the guardians of light!”
Skippy envisioned his universe with the help of:
Random Matter’s amazing new Game Night Collection!
Be brave.
Stand strong.
Together, we shine so bright, my friends!
top L-R Lady Heart, Lucky Bear, Bugsy bottom L-R Lady Bug, LIttle Bugsy, Lady Squish and Lady Book All are Lucky's friends.
© Leanne Boulton, All Rights Reserved
Candid street photography from Glasgow, Scotland. Glasgow is full of colourful characters - this guy certainly takes on the role to the letter. Enjoy!
My working concept for these past 5 images was balance + Coherence of characters with an intent to define their spacial definition in the environment.
Ricoh FF-90
SOOC
Barns and silos years ago were tools used to build character. Chores and care for animals was not a choice but a duty and was expected from nearly every farm youngster. Generations of farm-raised youth went on to build our country, win our wars and fly to the moon. I realize this is not the only way to build character but somehow pounding away on the keys of a phone or tablet does not seem to hold the same gravitas for today's youth.
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Senatress Beatrice Bennet
Age: 34
Occupation: Senator in the court of Valhalla
Bio: Senatress Bennet hails from a wealthy and spoiled background. She comes from a long line of scheming politicians. At age 31, she officially become Senatress of a quadrant of Valhalla, and has fiercely held the position ever since. She is quite use to using her family's money to buy her way into things; as her motto goes: "anything and anyone has a price."
Personality traits: She's one lady that hates to lose, and will stop at nothing to ensure she gets what she wants. Her sense of virtue is severely twisted to the point where black is white and up is down. Her nature is one of superiority and deceptiveness. When it comes to the public, she's a total suck up. However, to her, lowly human beings are nothing more than mere play toys. It isn't unusual to see her participating in something "unethical" by public standard.
**There's 2 more character profiles I need to complete, so this isn't it...yet.
Painted Bunting ~ (Passerina ciris)
The contrast between the showy colors of the male Painted Bunting and the shyness of its personality is a fascinating disparity to me. They like to stay low in the underbrush feeding on seeds and are wary of people, but are also so striking visually.
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Character is how you treat those who can do nothing for you
Charakter ist, wie du mit denen umgehst, die nichts für dich tun können
by COCOBERGHOLM
Hamburg
Great character, just sitting outside a coffee house, not sure why he was dressed up, just because he could maybe.
Watch out this one's a killah. (in a good way xD)
Name: Ashton
Age: 16
Bio: Ashton loves skateboarding and chillin with his friends. He's sadly stuck in an arranged marriage with Jada but they don't love eachother like marriages should be. He's been a rebel his whole life and isn't about to let this go down
*pictures have no editing except for my username. I wanted a natural look for the character pictures.
Character is rooted in Childhood and re-enacted or reconstructed forever after ... Quotes by Patricia Bechthold
Hong Kong, a metropolitan full of characters, literally.
Ricoh XR7
SMC Pentax-M 28mm f/3.5
Kodak Tri-X 400
Self developed using Rollei Compard R09 (Rodinal) 1+100 1-hr semi stand, and scanned with my DSLR (Nikon D610 + Tokina 100mm f/2.8 macro lens).