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Model (StarryMuse) entitled "Starry Umbrella 1a" by jagged-eye on DeviantART found here:
www.deviantart.com/art/Starry-Umbrella-1a-279548410
Model image made into a silhouette.
Raindrops entitled "Wetness - FREE Texture" is from my stock found here:
www.flickr.com/photos/plumnutz/9092056163/in/set-72157625...
Frame is from my stock entitled "Panels - FREE TO USE" found here:
www.flickr.com/photos/plumnutz/6584339739/in/set-72157625...
Background of roses is from my stock.
The moment I noticed the litter bin I remembered the inspiring shot by 'Dizbin' entitled Summertime.
I was just fortunate enough to have a person who was sitting in the right place for me to frame and photograph.
Thanks for the inspiration Mark ;0)
Thanks for taking the time to view my image. Your comments & faves are greatly appreciated.
A variation on a theme those of you that know my stream will have seen an image entitled Dark, i have always thought this could be improved on.
This is i hope a better version i was out in Westwood's again this morning and conditions could have been better but i managed to get some shots that are worth posting I will post more in the week. Alfie is desperate for a walk so got this done a bit quick i hope you enjoy
The forest seen from the teepee !
/// Partie de l’œuvre Oeuvre de Nisin (Stéphane Denis) intitulée Retour aux sources présentée dans le cadre du sentier culturel 2025 de la ville de Gatineau. ///
/// Section of the Work by Nisin (Stéphane Denis) entitled Retour aux sources presented as part of the 2025 cultural trail of the city of Gatineau.
The water in the crypt has a long, and extraordinary place in the story of Winchester Cathedral. Please read the text below (if you have the time!) for a most inspiring tale.
Sir Antony Gormley's sculpture entitled “Sound II” has stood in the Crypt below Winchester Cathedral since the late 1980s.
The crypt floods regularly after heavy rain. The cathedral was built in the water meadows of the River Itchen (and I think at some point in the past it actually flowed through the site of the cathedral before being diverted to its present course a little further east).
The soft wet ground and shallow foundations built on beech logs to act as a kind of raft have always made the cathedral unstable, hence its long low silhouette - the Norman central tower collapsing soon after it was built.
The extraordinary and inspirational story below is from a previously posted image of the cathedral...
By 1900 the Cathedral seemed in danger of imminent collapse. Large cracks fissured the Cathedral’s massive walls and vaulted (arched) ceilings. Some were wide enough for owls to roost in. Chunks of stone were falling to the ground. Even today you can still see a distinct lean in some walls at its east end.
Thomas Jackson, the architect brought in to advise, decided he would deal with the problem of subsidence once and for all. He planned to dig narrow trenches underneath the walls of the building and fill them with concrete. These would need to reach 4 metres (13 feet) below the water table to be effective, but the plan seemed doomed to failure. As fast as the trenches were dug, they filled with water.
It seemed nothing could be done to stop total collapse. Then the project’s engineer, Francis Fox, had a brilliant idea. If the water couldn’t be held back, why not use a deep-sea diver to do the work?
So, William Walker, an experienced diver working at Portsmouth dockyard, was called in.
It’s an extraordinary story.
For 6 years from 1906, Walker laboured under water below the Cathedral for six hours a day in 235 pits at depths up to 6 metres (20 ft). He worked in total darkness using his bare hands to feel his way through the black, sediment filled water.
His huge, heavy diving suit looked like something out of Jules Verne. The helmet alone weighed 40lb, each boot 14. It took a long time to put on, so when he stopped for lunch, he’d just take off his helmet. He also sometimes smoked his pipe, which he thought would kill off any germs.
It took him six years to excavate the flooded trenches, removing the old rotten beech logs, debris and stones, and filling the foundations with bags of concrete. When he’d finished, all the groundwater could be pumped out and the subsiding walls safely underpinned by bricklayers
By 1911, the team of 150 workmen of which he was part had packed the foundations with an estimated 25,000 bags of concrete, 115,000 concrete blocks, and 900,000 bricks.
Finally, a line of imposing buttresses was added to the south side of the cathedral, and the building was safe at last.
Walker died during the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918. His grave, at Beckenham Cemetery in Bromley, south-east London, bears the words: "The diver who with his own hands saved Winchester Cathedral."
The link below leads to a splendid image of him in his diver’s suit and enormous boots - very Jules Verne!
www.winchester-cathedral.org.uk/app/uploads/2026/01/Willi...
Southwark Cathedral, London
Entitled Christ Rests in Peace, the dramatic sculpture of Christ’s head with crown of thorns, is the result of over 20 years work on the face of Jesus by acclaimed British sculptor Nic Fiddian-Green.
The giant eight-foot head, cast in lead with a gilded crown of thorns, was on display in front of the high altar during Lent and the Holy Week.
It is powerful not just because of its sheer size but also because when you look beyond the thorns you see the humanity in the face of Christ, says Andrew Nunn, Dean of Southwark.
dear world,
can you read between the lies? you are a complete mess. i am building an ark. repent. wine cures whine.
what you need is a good influenza outbreak to get your values straightened out. call me and i can cough on you, first time is free.
love,
ty
This is the queue for The National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, London.
The painting of the hand is by Caravaggio. It is entitled “The Supper at Emmaus”. It was painted in 1601.
Thanks for visiting.....
Mural entitled "Heart of Community" by Mauricio Ramirez aka @mauicioramirez, seen at 2801 South Main Street in South Salt Lake Utah.
Drone photo by James aka Urbanmuralhunter on that other photo site.
Edit by Teee
Mural entitled "Rooted in Royalty" by Thomas Turner aka @thomasturner_tt for the Atlanta United Football Club, seen at 647 Reed Street SE in the Summerville area of Atlanta, Georgia.
Photo by James aka @urbanmuralhunter on that other photo site.
Edit by Teee.
Mural entitled "Mona Lisa" by Brian Clemons (circa 1990), seen at 28 Bollinger Street in Colombus, Ohio.
Photo by James aka Urbanmuralhunter on that other photo site.
Edit by Teee.
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berri%E2%80%93UQAM_station:
Berri–UQAM station is a Montreal Metro station in the borough of Ville-Marie, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is operated by the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) and is the system's central station. This station is served by the Green, Orange, and Yellow lines. It is located in the Quartier Latin.
Berri–UQAM is the 2nd deepest station in the network, and also the busiest station in the network, transfers not included. If transfers were included, the 13 million passengers number would rise to about 35–40 million a year.
The work of five artists is exhibited in this station. The largest work is a stained-glass mural by Pierre Gaboriau and Pierre Osterrath entitled Hommage aux fondateurs de la ville de Montréal (homage to the founders of the city of Montreal). A gift of the Union régionale de Montréal des caisses populaires Desjardins and installed in 1969, it depicts Jérôme le Royer de la Dauversière, Jeanne Mance, and Paul Chomedey, sieur de Maisonneuve. It is located over the eastern portal of the Green Line tunnel.
Three paintings by Robert LaPalme are located over the main staircase leading to the Yellow Line terminus. Originally located at the entrance to Expo 67, they represent three themes of the Expo: science, recreation, and culture.
A plaque by LaPalme and Georges Lauda, commemorating the inauguration of the Metro, is located at the centre of the mezzanine. It is enclosed in a black circular bench, a popular meeting site, referred to as la rondelle (the hockey puck) or la pilule (the pill) or "le banc des fous" (the crazy bench).
In the newer Sainte-Catherine entrance pavilion, a statue of Mother Émilie Gamelin by Raoul Hunter, commemorating Place Émilie-Gamelin (also called Berri Square) in which the entrance is located. The statue is owned by the City of Montreal.
The most recent art piece put in place inside the station is the Wall of Peace on the concourse level of the Yellow Line. It consists of coloured metal plates bearing the word "peace" in multiple languages.
Artwork for Album entitled "Hear Me, Feel Me" by Ralphy Boy
Photography by Ralphy Boy
Designed by Fernando Creative
Listen and download "Hear Me, Feel Me" Album FOR FREE!!!!!
Two years ago I participated in a horror short film recording, entitled "A Haunted House".
My work was short, taking post-production still pictures and little else. But I received much more than I gave.
I never imagined the hard work, cost, means necessary to carry out. It is only a few minutes of recording. And finally it is finished and at the diffusion stage.
As we are so close to Halloween, I would like to share with you some pics I took during that filming.
Now I have permission to post them 😇
Hace dos años participé en la grabación de un cortometraje de terror, titulado "La Familia".
Mi trabajo fue breve, tomando foto fija para la postproducción y poco más. Pero recibí mucho más de lo que di.
Nunca imaginé el trabajo duro, el coste, los medios necesarios para llevarlo a cabo.
Son solo unos minutos de grabación. Y finalmente está terminado y en etapa de difusión.
Como estamos tan cerca de Halloween, me gustaría compartir con vosotros algunas fotos que tomé durante el rodaje.
Ahora tengo permiso para publicarlos 😇
On the hunt, in action as he lunges to capture another vole.
To see more pics from this day and other fox photos please check out my album entitled "foxes" at www.flickr.com/photos/black_cat_photography/albums/721577...
All comments regarding this picture, subject, composition, etc are welcome and appreciated. TIA.
Mural entitled "Memphis Belle" by Curtis Glover aka @curtisglovercreative for Paint Memphis 2021, seen seen at 660 South B.B. King Boulevard in Memphis, Tennessee.
Drone photo by James aka Urbanmuralhunter on that other photo site.
Edit by Teee
Excerpt from www.haltonhills.ca/en/explore-and-play/heritage-register....:
Barrett Barn, 98 Confederation Street, Georgetown: The Barrett Barn at 98 Confederation Street was constructed circa 1919. The barn is depicted in a painting by Group of Seven's A.J. Casson entitled "Old Man in a Rocker".
23:10] ocellnuri: wrote D. James a testimonial :-)
[23:10] ocellnuri: I respect that guy so much
[23:15] ocellnuri: he blows me away every day
[23:15] ocellnuri: but he's exactly the type of stuff I love
[23:15] ocellnuri: high contrast, high color abstract structural
[23:16] tysiscoe: sniff. you used to like me like that. then i got all moody and desaturated
[23:16] tysiscoe: sigh
[23:16] ocellnuri: lol
[23:16] ocellnuri: I'm sorry Ty
[23:16] ocellnuri: we can't change the ways we change
[23:17] tysiscoe: fuck you, just fuck you and your trophy flickr buddy
[23:18] tysiscoe: im still hot
[23:18] tysiscoe: people still like me
[23:18] ocellnuri: I just can't change what I like
[23:18] tysiscoe: i could have any contact i wanted
[23:18] ocellnuri: we grow, and we need different things
[23:18] ocellnuri: it's not your pictures, it's mine
[23:18] tysiscoe: lol
[23:18] tysiscoe: good one
[23:18] ocellnuri: :-)
[23:19] tysiscoe: would you like me better if i had a gear upgrade??
[23:19] tysiscoe: bigger camera
[23:19] ocellnuri: well... sometimes I just need a shot tighter than 300mm
[23:20] tysiscoe: you couldnt handle a real 300mm
[23:20] ocellnuri: I have before
[23:20] tysiscoe: shook in your hands
[23:20] ocellnuri: once, when you were out shooting with your 50mm... I looked at a 400mm shot
[23:20] ocellnuri: and Ty, I just can't go back to your wide angle bullshit
[23:21] tysiscoe: and to think i let you use my flash card
[23:21] tysiscoe: i feel used
[23:21] ocellnuri: Just move on Ty
[23:22] ocellnuri: oh, and make sure you check your memory card for corrupt memory sectors
[23:22] tysiscoe: lol!!!
[23:24] tysiscoe: fine, bitch, i will go give a testimonial to the first new person in central i find. i wont even look at their stream
[23:25] ocellnuri: you would
[23:25] ocellnuri: you don't get me at all
[23:25] tysiscoe: and your new buddy will get tired of your tired derivative black and whites real soon and you will see me in the forums laughing at you
[23:26] ocellnuri: man
[23:26] ocellnuri: you bitch
[23:26] ocellnuri: that was uncalled for
[23:26] ocellnuri: You said you'd never speak of my flirtations with BW shots again
[23:26] ocellnuri: you said that you could put that behind you!
[23:26] ocellnuri: I knew you were just holding it as a crutch all along!
[23:26] ocellnuri: you
[23:26] ocellnuri: you BITCH
[23:29] tysiscoe: im sorry, mr i wannabe manray, but you need to know that youre not the art godhead he tells you you are.
[23:29] tysiscoe: you were a runaway with a canon powershot when i met you
[23:30] tysiscoe: i took you under my wing
[23:30] tysiscoe: believed in you
[23:30] tysiscoe: gave you confidence, composition skills
[23:30] ocellnuri: I don't owe you for that
[23:30] ocellnuri: I'm not in debt to you
[23:30] ocellnuri: don't turn this into a guilt trip
[23:30] tysiscoe: if it wasnt for me you would still be levitating keyboard composition shots and shooting your coffee mug, not to mention those faux-goth moody lookdown and mopey shots that make everyone laugh at you for
[23:30] ocellnuri: every time I talk to you, you just try to make me feel guilty for this
[23:31] tysiscoe: its not guilt.
[23:31] tysiscoe: you cant handle the truth
[23:31] tysiscoe: and everytime you run off with another flickr flavor of the month
[23:31] ocellnuri: The truth is that I need more now, and you don't have it. And D. James does. YOu've got to live with that and quit pining over me
[23:31] tysiscoe: you end up coming back asking for help with your creative juices
[23:33] tysiscoe: im not saying d. james aint got it, im saying you aint got it to give back
[23:33] tysiscoe: he will get bored off you shooting the same shots he does
[23:33] tysiscoe: looking at his exif data
[23:33] tysiscoe: fawning over his abstracts
[23:34] ocellnuri: My exif is impressive too!
[23:34] ocellnuri: it kept you around
[23:34] tysiscoe: i felt responsible
[23:34] tysiscoe: like finding a wounded bird
[23:34] tysiscoe: you werent ready to go back into the wild
[23:34] tysiscoe: but now
[23:34] tysiscoe: you cant be held back
[23:35] tysiscoe: sigh. the pain is too much
[23:35] ocellnuri: You'll find another point and shooter
[23:35] ocellnuri: and you'll start your self-destructive cycle again
[23:36] tysiscoe: lol
[23:36] ocellnuri: you're nothing but a compactophile
[23:36] tysiscoe: bahahaha
[23:36] ocellnuri: wearing a DSLR
[23:37] tysiscoe: when you have thousands of hits on your stream, you can talk with some authority, but right now youre lucky if your pitying friends comment on you
[23:37] ocellnuri: :-(
[23:38] tysiscoe: you, you, you overexposurer
[23:38] ocellnuri: IT'S A STYLE
[23:38] tysiscoe: cry bitch
[23:38] ocellnuri: sorry it's over your head
[23:38] tysiscoe: its so 80s nagal
[23:38] tysiscoe: its not even retrocool
[23:38] ocellnuri: I don't deny my past
[23:38] tysiscoe: cuz you cant, its stuck to your foot like toilet paper
...
[23:42] tysiscoe: im gonna post this. mind?
[23:43] ocellnuri: hahaha
[23:43] ocellnuri: please!
Mural entitled “The Birth of Helen and Clytemnestra” by @napoletanoart and @nmnapoletanoart seen at 3300 East 13th Avenue in the City Park area of Denver, Colorado.
Photo by James aka @urbanmuralhunter on that other photo site.
Edit by Teee.
23.02.2019 r. zabytkowy Konstal 803N kursował po Centrum Łodzi jako linia 1%. Klub Miłośników Starych Tramwajów w Łodzi jest Organizacją Pożytku Publicznego, czyli można przekazać 1% podatku dochodowego Klubowi Miłośników Starych Tramwajów.
On 23rd of February 2019 the historic Konstal 803N tram was as line 1% in the centre of Łódź in service. The local association of historic trams is entitled to receive 1% of the income tax, which means you can donate 1% to the association. It is common in Poland to donate 1% of your income tax to charity organisations.
Mural entitled “Lion’s Dance” by @juuriart83 seen at 132 West Wayne Street in Ft Wayne, Indiana.
Photo by James aka Urbanmuralhunter on that other photo site.
Edit by Teee.
Art installation entitled Dichroic Sphere by artist Jokob Kvist. On display alongside the Royal Festival Hall in the Southbank Centre. Part of the 2024 Winter Light event.
From my set entitled "My Town...Streetsville
www.flickr.com/photos/21861018@N00/sets/72157600421957589/
In my collection entitled
www.flickr.com/photos/21861018@N00/collections/7215760074...
In my photostream
www.flickr.com/photos/21861018@N00/
Bargeboard
Reproduced from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=...
Bargeboard (probably from Medieval Latin bargus, or barcus, a scaffold, and not from the now obsolete synonym vergeboard), the boards fastened to the projecting gables of a roof to give them strength and to mask, hide and protect the otherwise exposed end of the horizontal timbers or purlins of the roof to which they were attached. Bargeboards are sometimes moulded only or carved.
Vergeboard
thinkexist.com/dictionary/meaning/vergeboard/
The ornament of woodwork upon the gable of a house, used extensively in the 15th century. It was generally suspended from the edge of the projecting roof and in position parallel to the gable wall. Called also bargeboard.
Italianate
Reproduced from Realtor.com
www.realtor.com/Basics/AllAbout/TypesStyles/Articles/Ital...
There are a few different ways to identify an Italianate home. The chief characteristic is the brackets at the eave, arched doorways and windows, bay windows and flat roofs. The houses are usually in a boxed or rectangular shape. Regardless of scale, all Italianates have very wide eaves usually supported by heavy brackets, tall windows, and scrollwork. Another distinctive "signature" of the style is a central single-bay porch or long porches. Many examples feature a cupola. A few of the styles (usually "Tuscan") feature a tower.
Since the Italianate was a house style that could be transported by railroad, piece by piece, this style dominated American houses constructed between 1850 and 1890. By the late 1860s the style had completely overshadowed its earlier companion, Gothic Revival. In the mid-1800s, the style was adapted to the urban row house, and is still seen today in the brownstone row houses of New York.
From my set entitled "Twelve Mile Lake, 2008"
www.flickr.com/photos/21861018@N00/sets/72157607787077684/
In my collection entitled "Places"
www.flickr.com/photos/21861018@N00/collections/7215760074...
In my photostream
www.flickr.com/photos/21861018@N00/
Every year, Karen and I, along with our friends, Bev Woodroffe and Henk Tiesma, visit Bob and Carol Barkwell, usually in the Spring, at their home in Lindsay, Ontario. Karen, Bev and Carol began their teaching careers together forty years ago.
This year, we went to Bob and Carol's cottage on Twelve Mile Lake in the Haliburton Highlands of Ontario. This time we went in the Fall. The main focus of the weekend was the Haliburton County Studio Tour, which includes twenty-one artisans. We visited several studios, and also took in the town of Haliburton. The trip was extra special this year, since the Fall colours are breathtaking
The Twelve Mile Lake Church was established in 1890, and was originally Presbyterian. In 1925, it joined the United Church of Canada. it can hold about 30-40 people. The nearby cemetery holds 566 burials.
From:
www.haliburtoncounty.ca/tourism/Fall/index.asp
A canopy of scarlet and gold spreads out before you as far as the eye can see. From the Dorset lookout tower to Green's Mountain, Minden Wildwater Reserve to the southern Gateway to Algonquin, Haliburton County is ablaze with color.
Take a walk in the clouds, a romantic canoe ride on a lake, or ATV the miles of trails...a new, breathtaking vista awaits you around every corner.
The Haliburton Studio Tour in October offers the ideal opportunity to drive the county roads, discover the hamlets and villages of the Haliburton Highlands, while exploring many of the art studios and galleries of the county.
Come fall in love with the Haliburton Highlands.
From:
The Haliburton Highlands region of Ontario offers 4 seasons of outdoor splendor.
With Algonquin Park on the northern border and Muskoka Ontario on the west, the Haliburton region is quickly being discovered by nature lovers, and for outdoor recreation.
Because of the natural beauty of this area, and abundance of lakes and rivers, there is a long history of summer cottagers and visitors. With the surge of interest in winter outdoor recreation and popularity of the magnificent Fall Colours the Haliburton Highlands has become a 4 season destination.
Visit the business directory to discover some area services including real estate, accommodations, shopping, restaurants, contractors and more. Click here to visit the beautiful community of Dorset, Ontario.
Post Processing: Very slight posterization.
I've just read an article 'New Syndrome Defined: Grown-up Kids Who Won't Leave Home'. The psychologists formulated the term 'entitled dependence'. In Australia these young people are called 'boomerang children'. I also like the Italian 'bamboccioni'. In the photo above the young kangaroo was in fact warned and invited by Mum's open pouch to hide when she spotted a man with his big dog (fortunately on leash) and reacted as every overprotective mother would.
Mural entitled "Joy of Creativity" by @andaluztheartist and @nhankins1982, seen at 3201 NW 7th Avenue in Miami, Florida.
Photo by James aka @urbanmuralhunter on that other photo site.
Edit by Teee.
From my set entitled "Twelve Mile Lake, 2008"
www.flickr.com/photos/21861018@N00/sets/72157607787077684/
In my collection entitled "Places"
www.flickr.com/photos/21861018@N00/collections/7215760074...
In my photostream
www.flickr.com/photos/21861018@N00/
Every year, Karen and I, along with our friends, Bev Woodroffe and Henk Tiesma, visit Bob and Carol Barkwell, usually in the Spring, at their home in Lindsay, Ontario. Karen, Bev and Carol began their teaching careers together forty years ago.
This year, we went to Bob and Carol's cottage on Twelve Mile Lake in the Haliburton Highlands of Ontario. The main focus of the weekend was the Haliburton County Studio Tour, which includes twenty-one artisans. We visited several studios, and also took in the town of Haliburton. The trip was extra special this year, since the Fall colours are breathtaking.
From Wikipedia:
www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=...
Haliburton is a county of Ontario, Canada, known as a tourist and cottage industry area for its scenery and for its resident artists. Minden Hills is the county seat. Haliburton County was established in 1983, but had existed as the Provisional County of Haliburton since 1874. Haliburton County and the village of Haliburton, are named after Thomas Chandler Haliburton, author, statesman, and the first chairman of the Canadian Land and Emigration Company.
Haliburton is a village on Head Lake inside Haliburton County which is its namesake. The county also contains the village of Minden, as well as the smaller communities of Wilberforce, Gooderham, Irondale, West Guildford, and Eagle Lake. The county borders Algonquin Park on the north.
The county is serviced by two hospitals, one in Haliburton and one in Minden. Both are administrated by Haliburton Highlands Health Services.
Haliburton County's economy is dominated by the service sector based on tourism due to the regions many lakes and rivers, mainly due to people visiting vacation homes in the summer months, whose properties outnumber permanent residents 3 to 1.[5] Employment in this region primarily caters to the needs of this seasonal population, including residential construction, resorts, services and retail.[6] The region is unique in the sense that there is no resource, industrial, or agricultural base. Because of the nature of the economy, the area has a high rate of unemployment at 8.4% exceeding the provincial average, which skyrockets in the winter months to 35%.[7] Consequently, Haliburton County is the poorest jurisdiction in the Province of Ontario, with per capita earnings of $32 709 in 2005.[8]
The Haliburton Highlands is home to a thriving arts community. The County is dotted by galleries, both public and private, offering events, programs and workshops to the public. Artists’ studios can be found in almost every community, many offering public demonstrations, small galleries, and classes. There are murals and public sculptures in the downtowns of most communities, as well as in park settings such as the Haliburton Sculpture Forest, and the River Walk in Minden.
Heritage is also a focus in the County, with established museums in Carnarvon, Dorset, Haliburton, Minden, and Wilberforce, as well as many fledgling museums emerging in some of the smaller communities. Many buildings throughout the County are designated heritage sites by the province, and many others undergoing preservation through the interests of the public.
The performing arts also receive much attention. Haliburton Highlands Secondary School has strong drama and music programs, showcasing their talents throughout the year to the public. As well, the Highlands Summer Festival presents a wide array of theatre offerings throughout the summer, showcasing the talents of local and seasonally local actors and musicians. Numerous indie bands perform throughout the County, with open mic events being held at a number of establishments.
Certain scenes were filmed on location at Camp Wanakita and Kilcoo Camp for the Disney Channel Original Movie, Camp Rock, starring the Jonas Brothers.
Pisco Bandito, the bandit fish, is described as being "in Haliburton near the Lake of Bays" in the song Pisco Bandito by the band Moxy Fruvous.
Twelve Mile Lake is one of the Haliburton Highland's premiere lakes. Part of a two-lake change, Twelve Mile Lake offers boaters miles of open water to explore.
Post Processing:
PhotoShop Elements 5: crop, poster, sharpen, watercolour, rough pastel
Sint-Janshospitaal, Brugge
"The statue entitled Pax was sculpted by Octave Rotsaert (21st July 1885 – 26th March 1964) a Bruges born sculptor and painter. He trained in Paris and in 1927 sculpted Pax in plaster of Paris which was awarded a medal of honour. When he returned to Bruges Rotsaert did not have enough money to cast the statue in bronze and it was left in his workroom. It was noticed by Doctor Louis De Winter, a lover of art and he decided that one day he would arrange for it to be cast. After World War II, Dr Louis De Winter wanted to celebrate the end of war with a symbol of peace, but wasn’t sure what to do. He was a head of department in the hospital and often walked in the courtyard. He then remembered the Pax sculpture and together with the ‘Friends of Bruges’ arranged for it to be cast in Bronze in a studio in Ghent.
It was erected in the courtyard in the winter of 1947 with no announcement or ceremony, but has now become a much loved piece of art in this spiritual home of real monks for many hundreds of years".
copied from: www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMFD7N_Pax_Bruges_Belgium
Mural entitled "La Cage et le Coeur de la Bête" (The Cage and the Heart of the Beast) by Sandra Chevrier aka @sandrachevrier for the Raw Project, seen at 401 NW 29th Street in the Wynwood Arts District of Miami, Florida.
Drone photo by James aka @urbanmuralhunter on that other photo site.
Edit by Teee
From my set entitled “Amsterdam”
www.flickr.com/photos/21861018@N00/sets/72157602418470116/
In my collection entitled “Rhine Main Danube”
www.flickr.com/photos/21861018@N00/collections/7215760702...
In my photostream
www.flickr.com/photos/21861018@N00/
Just over a year ago, Karen and I cruised the Rhine-Main-Danube System. The tour covered the following countries: Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Hungary. The cities we visited included Amsterdam, Xanten, Cologne, Koblenz, Aschaffenburg, Wurzburg, Bamberg, Nuremburg, Regensburg, Passau, Vienna and Budapest. It was a lovely trip, and I came home with over 2000 photos, most of which I posted between October, 2007 and May, 2008.
The following articles deal with our ship, The MS Casanova, operated by Peter Deilmann Reederei
Reproduced from Deilmann Casanova Review
By Durant and Cheryl Imboden
www.riverdiscounts.com/5496294_14881.htm
Peter Deilmann Reederei has operated cruise vessels on European rivers since 1983, when the Donauprinzessin joined the line's existing fleet of ocean ships. Today, the company has 10 ships on the rivers of Western and Central Europe, together with two luxurious ocean vessels: the MS Deutschland and the sailing yacht Lili Marleen.
In fall, 2004, my son and I spent a week aboard the MS Casanova, a five-star river vessel that moved from Northern Italy to the Rhine, Danube, Moselle, and Rhine-Main Canal for the 2005 season and beyond. This illustrated review describes the ship, the service and amenities onboard, and the distinctly European style of river cruising that Peter Deilmann offers to cosmopolitan travelers.
MS Casanova: the ship
Casanova was built in 2001 for cruises on Italy's Po River, where ships must be able to cruise under low bridges and fit comfortably in narrow, shallow canals. As a result, it's smaller than many ships that cruise Central European waters, with a length of 338 feet and a beam of 32 feet, or 103 m by 9,70 m. The ship could be described as a "boutique vessel," since it accommodates only 96 passengers.
Most public rooms are on the Verdi deck, or main deck, which also has 26 of the the ship's 48 passenger cabins. A staircase leads down to the Rialto Deck, where a foyer separates the restaurant from the 22 lower-deck staterooms. The Sundeck, an open area on the top of the ship, offers deck chairs, tables, and plenty of space along the railings for sightseeing and picture-taking.
Passengers enter and leave the ship via the reception area, located amidships on the Verdi deck, which acts as a buffer between the public rooms and cabins. A doorway on the starboard side of Casanova leads past a boutique/hairdresser into the large and well-appointed lounge, which has a bar, a library corner, a small dance floor, and a piano for entertainment.
Audience and ambience
Like other Peter Deilmann river vessels, Casanova serves a multinational audience. This makes it different from its leading competitors on the European river-cruising circuit, which operate separate vessels for the U.S. and Canadian market (Viking) or cater only to North American travelers (Avalon Waterways, Uniworld, Vantage, etc.).
The bulk of Deilmann's guests come from German-speaking countries, but a substantial minority are from the U.S., Canada, and Britain. On our cruise, about a third of the passengers were American or Canadian, with one British couple on board. Most of our fellow guests were in their 60s or older (a fairly typical age range for European river cruises).
The ship's ambience has a strong German flavor, but don't go looking for stereotypes from yesteryear: The waiters, stewardesses, and reception staff are more friendly than formal, and the dress code on most evenings is "smart casual." You'll notice the Teutonic influence mostly when you turn on the TV--where German channels predominate--or if you request water in the restaurant, when you'll be asked if you want bottled mineral water or American-style ice water. (After the first meal or two, your beverage stewardess will remember your preferences.)
All ship's announcements are in both German and English, and separate versions of the daily newsletter are published for Deutsch- and English-speaking guests.
Overall, Casanova and Peter Deilmann Cruises offer a more cosmopolitan atmosphere than you'd find on a vessel that caters primarily to U.S. and Canadian travelers. With Deilmann, you feel that you're in Europe when you're aboard the ship, not just when you go ashore. Whether that's good or bad depends on your tastes and whether you prefer mingling with the locals or sticking with fellow foreigners.
Casanova's staterooms come in three flavors:
Queen cabins. In these 16 staterooms, the queen-size beds have separate mattresses, each with its own duvet when the stewardess removes the bedspread at night. This means you can snuggle or maintain separation, depending on whom you're traveling with.
Twin cabins. These 30 cabins have twin beds on opposite walls. One berth converts into a sofa during the day.
Junior suites. There are just two junior suites, both on the lower or Rialto deck. They have queen-size beds and are slightly larger than the standard queen and twin cabins.
Rooms on the Verdi or upper deck have cleverly designed French doors overlooking the water. Open the left half, and you have a floor-to-ceiling screen to keep bugs at bay. Open the right side, and you can lean out to take pictures, check the passing landscape in more detail, or get a feel for the weather.
Cabins on the Rialto or lower deck have fixed picture windows.
All staterooms are attractively decorated with generous expanses of wood paneling, drapes, pictures on the walls, etc. Casanova's designers gave a lot of attention to details, as the inset photo of a ceiling light will show. The gold-trim motif is also used on the custom cabin furniture, which includes built-in closets, nightstands with storage space, and a desk with minibar. (I did notice one small oversight: Casanova's duvets are filled with a thin polyester batting instead of down.)
The bathrooms are extremely well-designed, with luxury touches such as glass shower enclosures, marble and ceramic walls, wooden toilet seats, brass faucets, and sinks that have marble countertops in a beautiful brown-red marble above a wooden storage cabinet and shelves. There's a retractable clothesline in the shower stall, and you'll find plenty of racks and hooks for towels and dressing gowns. (Your stewardess will supply bathrobes on request.)
Finally, the TV in each cabin has a good assortment of channels--mostly in German, but with BBC World and CNN to keep you in touch with what's happening back home. Casanova also has closed-circuit movies several times a day in both German and English.
Dining
Germans have a reputation for taking their food seriously, and the quality of hotel and restaurant food in Germany tends to be much better than in the United States or Britain. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Peter Deilmann's Casanova lives up to its five-star ambitions in the dining room.
Breakfast consists of a buffet with fresh fruit, cereals, rolls, dark German breads, croissants and other pastries, cheeses, cold cuts, herring, smoked salmon, etc. Waiters are on hand to serve beverages, whisk away dirty plates, and take orders for fresh-cooked eggs or daily specials. Mineral water and sparkling wine, which you pay for at lunch or dinner, are free at breakfast. (Nicole, our beverage stewardess, told us that some guests like a glass of Prosecco to wake up in the morning. I tried a quarter-glass as a test but decided to stick with coffee. My son was pleased by the hot chocolate, which was excellent.)
Lunch is a choose-your-own-adventure affair where you can fill up a plate from the buffet or have a full meal served course by course. On most days, I grabbed a few salad and fish items from the buffet and skipped directly to the main course or requested pasta as an entrée.
At dinner, the menu typically features an appetizer, two soups, a fish or pasta course, a choice of entrées, and dessert. (On gala nights, a sorbet precedes the main course.) The restaurant's wood-and-marble buffet table is laid with a salad bar (with the term "salad" encompassing such luxuries as shrimp and fish), which is replaced by a selection of cheeses and fruit at the end of the meal.
Deilmann doesn't skimp on ingredients: High-quality fish is on the menu at nearly every midday or evening meal, and we were served lobster, large shrimp, lamb, veal, and duck at various times during the cruise. Baked goods are also excellent--most notably the cakes and other desserts, which are baked on board by a full-time pastry chef.
If sightseeing leaves you hungry for more than three square meals a day, you can top up your tummy with boullion at 11 a.m., finger sandwiches and cakes at afternoon tea, or the late-night snack in the lounge at 10:30 p.m. (On our voyage, Jozef--the Casanova's excellent pianst and vocalist--offered musical accompaniment during afternoon tea, the 6:30 p.m. cocktail hour, and the evening snack.)
About beverages:
Coffee, tea, ice water, and fruit juices are free. Other drinks cost extra at lunch and dinner, although complimentary sparkling wine and Kir Royale are served (and replenished generously) on gala nights. If you order a bottle of wine or mineral water in the dining room, your waiter will mark the bottle and save it for future meals.
Drink prices are in line with what you might expect on a European luxury vessel: On our cruise, a glass of German draft beer cost €2,80, a bar-size bottle of soft drink was €2,50, a 5-cl glass of vermouth cost €2,90, grappa was €3,80, and whiskies or cocktails were in the €5,50 to €6,90 range. Featured wines on the dinner menu typically cost €20 to €25, and a quarter-liter of the house white or red was less expensive than a glass of wine in a typical U.S. restaurant.
Service
Casanova has an unusually large staff for a river ship that carries only 96 passengers. Peter Deilmann claims a passenger-to-crew ratio of 2.5:1, or "about the best crew to passenger ratio of any river vessel." There's even a physician on board.
The multilingual restaurant, bar, housekeeping, and reception staff were a hardworking bunch during our cruise, and they were also highly-trained professionals. Our waiter, Mladen Tomljanovic, was a nine-year veteran of cruise ships, and our beverage stewardess, Nicole Hoppe, had three years of professional education and apprenticeship before joining Peter Deilmann Cruises. Mladen, Nicole, and other members of the restaurant and beverage staff worked together as an efficient team, delivering service on a par with what you'd expect on a luxury cruise line or a five-star hotel.
I was also impressed by the crew's warmth, friendliness, and overall good cheer. One evening, the younger staff were kind enough to invite my 18-year-old son to join them at a nightclub that was popular with riverboat crews. (I resisted the urge to play chaperone, spending the evening with a Donna Leon mystery instead.)
Tipping suggestions:
The Casanova's newsletter recommended dividing gratuities of €6,50 to €7,50 per passenger per day among the service staff, and passengers were encouraged to make additional contributions to a tips box at the reception desk for other members of the crew. I thought the recommended figures were a bit low for staff who worked 15 hours or more per day, so I gave €50 each (for two passengers) to our waiter, beverage stewardess, and cabin stewardess, plus another €50 for the crew box.
(Note: Tips for bar purchases should be made at the time of service, since the person who serves you a drink may not be your regular beverage stewardess or waiter.)
From Professional Travel Guide
www.professionaltravelguide.com/Cruise/Cruise-Lines/Peter...
This German-built river boat from Peter Deilmann Cruises launched in 2001 and was refitted in 2006. She sails with up to 96 passengers on a wide variety of itineraries along the Rhine, Moselle, Main and Danube rivers from mid-March to early November. This slim, trim triple-decker is an all-white 338-ft beauty with red trim. She has a width of 32 ft and a draft of 4 ft and shows a classical profile.
Peter Deilmann founded this German company a quarter century ago, first with oceangoing cruise ships and then riverboats. His two daughters carry on the tradition from the company headquarters at Neustadt in Holsetin, Germany operating eight high-end riverboats and the cruise ship Deutschland.
North American and German speakers come aboard in varying numbers depending on the itinerary and departure. Most are 50 and older. Very few children are found aboard, and there are no special facilities for them. The riverboat crew is fully bilingual, so there are no language problems. Suggested per diem tipping rates are US$9 for waitstaff and US$5 for the cabin attendant.
The Casanova used to sail on the River Po in northern Italy, and now she is found plying many different itineraries lasting from 7 to 14 days. She may be based at Amsterdam, The Netherlands, for cruises on the Dutch and Belgian waterways or along the Rhine and Main in Germany. She sails with the Mozart on 7-day Danube River trips based at Passau, Germany.
Her most ambitious cruise is a pair of sailings between Amsterdam and Budapest, Hungary, via the Rhine, Main, Danube and connecting canal. Some shore excursions are included in cruise-tours but not for cruise-only fares. A money-saving tour package can be bought for most itineraries. Depending on the numbers, the buses may be separate for each language or bilingual, and the same goes for the guided walks.
The panoramic restaurant has a stately Italian Provincial elegance with classic highback chairs and cherry accents, a circular compass rose of yellow glass on the ceiling and a buffet station. The room can accommodate all passengers at a single sitting. No one has time to get hungry, with breakfast, morning bouillon, lunch, tea, dinner and midnight snacks. Excellent multicourse luncheons and dinners feature Continental fare and wines of many countries. Evening meals can feature nine courses on some nights, so expect to spend a lot of time at the table.
English-speaking passengers are seated together at reserved tables and single sitting. Evening wear often sees men in jacket and tie. The tastefully furnished lounge brings passengers together several times a day, with its plump sofas and armchairs, panoramic views, well-stocked bar, and nightly entertainment and dancing. Announcements, menus, and daily programs are all provided in English and German.
The sun deck topside has plenty of deck chairs and blankets, and a doctor is onboard. Standard cabins are 140 sq ft, with two minisuites of 160 sq ft, all beautifully appointed with desks, TVs, phones, radios, closets, and baths with showers, hair dryers and robes. Beds are twins and queen-sized, and the upper deck cabins have French doors. Bedding is European-style with duvets and feather pillows, but synthetic materials are available upon request.
As of 2008, there is no smoking inside any Deilmann vessels. Smoking is only allowed on deck.
Post processing:
PhotoShop Elements 5: increased midtones, sharpened, posterized, canvas filter
Mural entitled "Angry Zebra 2.0" by Ben Watson (EVOLUTION) aka @evolution_816 and background by Sike Style Industries aka @sikestyle, seen at 320 Southwest Boulevard in Kansas City, Missouri.
Drone photo by James aka @urbanmuralhunter on that other photo site.
Edit by Teee.
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Mural entitled "The Birds Always Come Back" by Emily Ding aka @_emilyding and Helena Martin aka @helenapaints for Hue Fest 2017, seen at 1230 Maury Street in Houston, Texas.
Drone photo by James aka @urbanmuralhunter on that other photo site.
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I originally entitled this Bare Trees and Sky. But there is only a few bare trees in this picture! So, I retitled it just Trees and Sky.
Mural entitled "Abiding Light" by Taylor "Dreamweaver" Smith aka @dream.weavin, seen at 696 1st Avenue North in St Petersburg, Florida.
Photo by James aka Urbanmuralhunter on that other photo site.
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From my set entitled “Steve and Marg’s Farm”
www.flickr.com/photos/21861018@N00/sets/72157608031549391/
In my collection entitled
www.flickr.com/photos/21861018@N00/collections/7215760074...
In my photostream
www.flickr.com/photos/21861018@N00/
My brother, Stephen Pallett, has farmed near the south shore of Lake Simcoe for close to fifty years: poultry, pigs, beef and an assortment of field crops. Over the years he has served as an area councillor and was on the board of the conservation authority. Currently, he is vice president of the Red Barn Theatre in Jackson's Point, and also serves as chair for the committee of adjustment for the Town of Georgina. Another of his activities has been the annual bird count.
Reproduced from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrow_(tool)
In agriculture, a set of harrows is an implement for cultivating the surface of the soil. In this way it is distinct in its effect from the plough, which is used for deeper cultivation. They are commonly called harrows (plural) as they are used as a set. There are nominally three types of harrows; disc (disk), tine and chain.
Harrows were originally horse-drawn. In modern practice they are almost always tractor-mounted implements, drawn after the tractor, either trailed or mounted on the three-point linkage.
Harrowing is often carried out on fields to follow the rough finish left by ploughing operations. The purpose of this harrowing is generally to break up clods and lumps of soil and to provide a finer finish, a good tilth or soil structure that is suitable for seeding and planting operations. Such coarser harrowing may also be used to remove weeds and to cover seed after sowing.
In cooler climates the most common types are the disc harrow, the chain harrow, the tine harrow or spike harrow and the spring tine harrow. Chain harrows are often used for lighter work such as levelling the tilth or covering seed, while disc harrows are typically used for heavy work, such as following ploughing to break up the sod. In addition, there are various types of power harrow, in which the cultivators are power-driven from the tractor rather than depending on its forward motion.
Tine harrows are used to refine seed-bed condition before planting, to remove small weeds in growing crops and to loosen the inter-row soils to allow for water to soak into the subsoil.
Chain harrowing may be used on pasture land to spread out dung, and to break up dead material (thatch) in the sward, and similarly in sports-ground maintenance a light chain harrowing is often used to level off the ground after heavy use, to remove and smooth out boot marks and indentations. When used on tilled land in combination with the other two types, chain harrowing rolls the remaining larger clumps of soil to the surface where the weather will break them down and prevent interference with seed germination.
All three harrow types can be used in one pass to prepare the soil for seeding. It is also common to used any combination of two harrows for a variety of tilling processes. Where harrowing provides a very fine tilth, or the soil is very light so that it might easily be wind-blown, a roller is often added as the last of the set.
Harrows may be of several types and weights, depending on the intended purpose. They almost always consist of a rigid frame to which are attached discs, teeth, linked chains or other means of cultivation, but tine and chain harrows are often only supported by a rigid towing-bar at the front of the set.
In the southern hemisphere the so-called giant discs are a specialised kind of disc harrows that can stand in for a plough in very rough country where a mouldboard plough will not handle the tree-stumps and rocks, and a disc-plough is too slow (because of its limited number of discs). Giant discs are scalloped-edged discs operated in a set, or frame, that is often weighted with concrete or steel blocks to improve penetration of the cutting edges. This sort of cultivation is normally immediately followed by broadcast fertilisation and seeding, rather than drilled or row seeding.
A drag is a heavy harrow.
In Europe, harrows were first used in the early Middle Ages.
The following text is taken from the Household Cyclopedia of 1881:
"When employed to reduce a strong obdurate soil, not more than two harrows should be yoked together, because they are apt to ride and tumble upon each other, and thus impede the work, and execute it imperfectly. On rough soils, harrows ought to be driven as fast as the horses can walk; because their effect is in the direct proportion to the degree of velocity with which they are driven. In ordinary cases, and in every case where harrowing is meant for covering the seed, three harrows are the best yoke, because they fill up the ground more effectually and leave fewer vacancies, than when a smaller number is employed. The harrowman's attention, at the seed process, should be constantly directed to prevent these implements from riding upon each other, and to keep them clear of every impediment from stones, lumps of earth, or clods, and quickens or grass roots; for any of these prevents the implement from working with perfection, and causes a mark or trail upon the surface, always unpleasing to the eye, and generally detrimental to the vegetation of the seed. Harrowing is usually given in different directions, first in length, then across, and finally in length as at first. Careful husbandmen study, in the finishing part of the process, to have the harrows drawn in a straight line, without suffering the horses to go in a zigzag manner, and are also attentive that the horses enter fairly upon the ridge, without making a curve at the outset. In some instances, an excess of harrowing has been found very prejudicial to the succeeding crop; but it is always necessary to give so much as to break the furrow, and level the surface, otherwise the operation is imperfectly performed."
Post processing:
Topaz: detail (HDR)
PhotoShop Elements 5: straighten, light balance, multiply, posterization, ink outlines
Mural entitled "Wolfberries" by Key Detail aka @keydetail for Kotis Street Art, seen on the wall of the Family Dollar Store at 1318 Lees Chapel Road in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Drone photo by James aka @urbanmuralhunter on that other photo site.
Edit by Teee.
Foxy taken a rest after a good long run...
To see more pics from this day and other fox photos please check out my album entitled "foxes" at www.flickr.com/photos/black_cat_photography/albums/721577...
All comments regarding this picture, subject, composition, etc are welcome and appreciated. TIA.
This is a bronze artwork entitled "Ikaro fallen" (...or loosely translated as Fallen Angel) created by the Polish contemporary artist Igor Mitoraj. It is displayed at the foot of the even more famous Leaning Tower of Pisa, as part of the exhibition ANGELS, among the events celebrating the 950th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone of the Cathedral of Pisa. It's the first time a contemporary artist is hosted in the Square of Miracles.
The exhibition "ANGELS" (May 17, 2014 - April 12, 2015) includes about a hundred pieces of work: monumental works, bronzes, iron casts and marble sculptures, as well as fifty plaster casts and some paintings, a lesser known side of the artist’s production, created in recent years.
This angel sculpture was facing the Leaning Tower, and it was somewhat challenging for me to get both the angel and the Leaning Tower into one single image, without sacrificing some of the important details. Eventually I decided to skip the Tower and instead took this photo of the front of this angel, which shows the exquisite details of Igor's artwork.
Taken next to the Leaning Tower at The Square of Miracles, Pisa, Tuscany, Italy, as part of a series of shore excursions during my Mediterranean cruise in 2014
On the hunt...
To see more pics from this day and other fox photos please check out my album entitled "foxes" at www.flickr.com/photos/black_cat_photography/albums/721577...
All comments regarding this picture, subject, composition, etc are welcome and appreciated. TIA.
Mural entitled "El Sembrador" by Ivan Roque aka @ivanroque and El Changuri aka @el_chan_guri, seen at 318 NW 23rd Street in the Wynwood Arts District of Miami, Florida.
Photo by James aka Urbanmuralhunter on that other photo site.
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This quite is taken from the Mieko Kawakami novel entitled Breasts and Eggs, which presents some modern women in Japan struggling with making choices related to work, changing their bodies, sexuality and asexuality, family, and artificial insemination. I'm used to reading Japanese novels that are a little more experimental but I still thought it was a worthy modern exploration of these topics.
Here's an article in the New York Times about the book:
www.nytimes.com/2020/04/07/books/review/breasts-and-eggs-...
The above photo is from Madrid, Spain
**All photos are copyrighted**
Mural entitled "Freedom" by Karel Garcia aka @karelgarcia.fineartist, seen at 3041 7th Avenue South in St Petersburg, Florida.
Photo by James aka Urbanmuralhunter on that other photo site.
Edit by Teee
Or I could entitle this image making an HDR image from a single RAW image. As my comment for the image title indicates, there were really two things on my mind with this image. The first was just composing this image, using some of the ridges and valley to kind of funnel the view to that one mountain peak of the Eldorado Massif off in the distance. I felt funneling the view best highlighted the setting with the clouds seemingly surrounding and hugging the mountainside. The second part was the large dynamic range when capturing this image and metering it properly with the highlighted areas in the clouds caught in the morning sunlight and the more shadowed in midtone areas across the mountainside off in the distance as well as the valley below. As initially processed the image the RAW image, I was kind of disappointed in trying to bring out the dynamic range captured. It was then I remembered how Aurora HDR Pro could use one single RAW image and bring out an HDR one that I could then export as a TIFF image. I then finished the final processing in Capture NX2
I like to pursue the experience of seeing Horsetail Fall each year. A client of ours not long ago dismissed it as something to the effect of "everyone pursuing the same shot". That's fine, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but it got me wondering why I disagree, and what has driven me to pursue the event maybe 80-90 times over the past couple of decades. It's never the same twice, but it's more than that. A lot more.
A lot of people pursue the sight of Horsetail Fall each year. The phenomenon requires a lot of variables to line up, so it may only be dramatic on one or two nights each year. Sometimes there's only a wet spot on the rock illuminated with sunset light, other times there's a small amount of water, but it only gets a weak glow of color as the sun fades behind thin haze as it sets.
On the best of nights there's a strong flow cascading over the lip or El Capitan, and the full force of the sun lights up the water through clear skies to the west. The waterfall becomes a shining beacon of sunlight, shimmering as it cascades down the granite surface. It looks white hot at first, difficult to look at when the water catches and transmits enough of the sun. Then there's an increasing amount of color, as the sun sets through thickening atmosphere and blue light is scattered, leaving warmer tones. Yet as the coloration starts, the intensity is still very high, like vigorously splashing molten copper. Water splashes as it cascades, and the droplets create a scintillating effect of liquid molten sunlight. This is the part that's utterly spectacular, leaving witnesses with jaws agape, oohs and ahhs coming from the spectators below. The effect is most analogous to the shimmering corona present for a few minutes during a total solar eclipse, something that many people travel the world over and over to see and experience again. On one hand seeing the sun's corona revealed is a combination of coincidence and physics, but it can trigger awe with a healthy dose of dopamine, endorphins, and who knows what else, an intense natural high that may be unmatched in the viewer's prior life experience. So it's little wonder that many people with the means pursue that experience over and over again. At its best and most intense, Horsetail Fall, if you're in the right place to get the full force of intense transmitted sunlight, produces that effect.
The next phase is when the color peaks in Horsetail Fall, the sun is in its final orange phase, and the water resembles hot lava in color. If someone unmasked you in that spot in exactly that moment, you could be convinced that it IS hot lava, the eruption spewing droplets of red hot Pele's tears as it falls. It's awesome, but if you were waiting for color and didn't pay attention to the prior phase because your neighbor was chatty, you missed the main event. Clever photographers will go to great lengths to try to get an unusual angle on the waterfall, to capture a unique composition. If you're standing at a right angle to the light going through the waterfall, getting some reflected color but not the scintillating light coming through small droplets, sure, you may have captured a pretty picture, but sorry, if it happened at all, you may have missed the most intense part of the experience.
The final phase is when the color starts to fade, and the setting sun might cast a more magenta to red tone on the water. In some years, especially when there's low water flow, this is the best that it gets in five nights of trying.
In later dates in February, the sunlight will have a shadow creeping up from below, leaving intense light mainly on the upper portion of the waterfall.
The event typically ends in the spectators cheering and clapping, a release of energy they accumulated during the various phases of the spectacle.
There are probably multiple reasons why someone might not get why Horsetail Fall is something to experience. One category is people who chased it and either it didn't happen, or it wasn't that great. Fair enough, sorry you missed it. It's a bit like chasing a solar eclipse that ends up impeded by clouds. It could feel like a waste of time, and you may wonder why people put themselves through the hassle.
Another category of unimpressed people may be photographers who flit around the country or world like butterflies, collecting places but never stopping to truly experience them. Lori and I traveled to Turkey in 2010, but we spent over 3 weeks there and spent a lot of time driving around the countryside staying with locals. We wanted to experience the country and meet the people, not just blow through it collecting postcard shots. Our favorite experiences are from when we left a hole in our itinerary and had locals recommend where we should go. And the time when no one spoke English while our rental car broke down for several hours. Travelling the country and photographing/seeing many sites was great, the people and experiences were priceless.
Similarly for many of the most spectacular moments we experience, often with little warning, it's most compelling to remember to experience the full impact, not just photograph the pretty colors or the unusual weather. Often we run into conditions that boggle the mind, and contain a range of light that the photographic process, without the full intensity of the sun, will never fully contain or convey. Moments that we never could have possibly anticipated, when nature is just showing off how it can exceed what we've experienced before. The first thing I do in these circumstances is to observe, "No one will ever believe this!" Because it's true. And I point out the when they're post-processing the images, if they upload an image and at least some people don't reply with "fake", "over-processed", "oversaturated", or now "AI", then they've failed to convey even a fraction of what they've seen. We also try to encourage people to learn how to automate their exposures with an interval timer, so they can experience the moment as well. Or take lots of different compositions at various times as conditions evolve, but also pause, look up, and notice, and experience the awe.
For me that's the draw. The experiences. The photographs are just a way to share some small fraction of what we experienced.
Back to Horsetail Fall... one of the biggest challenges is trying to post-process the results to reflect the full range of light, to try to include as much of the extreme contrast as possible, without washing out the intense color. I'll probably have to take several passes at the images, and gradually improve them over time. And they probably won't have an appropriate impact without a searing light source, a very bright and high contrast display, or a massively bright light shining directly on a metal print (does someone print on copper?). It'll never match the original event. You can't contain the sun, and re-emit it on command. But perhaps some fraction of the awe can be communicated, and even if not, we'll always have the experiences. And that's what I'm in this for... the doing, the experiencing, and sharing what I can to people who perhaps can't get out as often as we do and see as much of the ridiculous beauty that occurs, whether there's anyone there to see and record it or not.
See you in 5-6 weeks, Horsetail Fall!
Mural entitled "Transitional State" by Josh Scheuerman aka @jscheuerman, seen at 7651 South Main Street in Midvale, Utah.
Photo by James aka Urbanmuralhunter on that other photo site.
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(Continuation of story which begins with the first upload entitled Portugal)
We took the ferry across the Straits of Gibraltar and when we entered the city of Tangiers, a whole new exotic world opened before our eyes. I had first seen Moorish architecture in the Algarve. In the beginning, this landscape can appear foreboding and menacing. Later it becomes mysterious and welcoming.
The street signs were all in French and Arabic. Not really a surprise, but I was once again reminded of my poor language skills. Helping Marvin navigate would be difficult for me, but I conjured up some bold confidence that worked for a short while.
It was still early in the afternoon so we decided to press on to Fez and spend the night there. Soon we were in the middle of an open road with no towns in sight. That was a rather welcome sight. Navigation was easier I thought but then remembered that we had no local currency. I mentioned this to Marvin and he brushed off the fact saying that surely a town would appear soon where we could exchange money.
The day went along and no towns appeared on the horizon. The sun was quickly going down in the sky. The arrow of the fuel gauge had also dipped dangerously low. In the age of no international credit cards this was a very serious problem as we had read that the Moroccans would only do business in dirhams.
Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a man on a motorcycle pull up along side our car. He was smiling and waving. He began to speak and when he did his first question was, “Are the two of you Americans?” I was dumbfounded. We were in a Volkswagen with Portuguese license plates. We had been away from America so long we had almost forgotten that we were Americans. How did he know?
He continued to yell and screamed that he loved Americans because his brother had gone to school in America and we were very kind to him. He asked where we were staying and we shook our heads. I then blurted out that we had failed to get dirhams and that we were low on gas.
He screamed back to follow him and he would help us. Soon we were pulling into a gas station and we could talk in a normal tone. His brother owned the gas station but our new friend would pay for our tank to be filled up. We could repay him the following morning after we exchanged currency. We then followed him to a lovely hotel and said good-bye until the morning. It was our first of many warm experiences with Muslim hospitality.
The image is of the oldest medina in the world at Fez. It was named a United Nations World Heritage site just before we visited there.
There's a great album by the Aussie band The Church entitled Gold Afternoon Fix which is a favourite of mine and something most photographers enjoy :-))
A very, very long time ago I posted a shot entitled Emergence (flic.kr/p/2hWPoqh). In it I gave a brief overview of the South Chicago and Indiana Harbor Railway. I haven't paid hardly any attention to the Short Line since then, inflicted with yet another case of "don't pay attention to what's in my backyard" syndrome. But recently I've been realizing how much I've missed out on by not paying much attention to the railroad.
Flash forward to about a month ago, I heard the strangest claim that these guys had stored all their power with little chance of taking them out, which led me to investigate them around the same time I started looking for B09, another recent way-late-to-the-party instance.
Thankfully, it didn't take very long to realize that my assumption was correct in this certainly NOT being the case.
These guys are the absolute last thing I'd expect to see moving around on a Saturday morning, but to prove me wrong, here is the railroad's own #31 dropping down to street level with three coil cars for eventual forwarding to the BRC right across the NS from here. It goes without saying that the lead pictured here, which heads west into the railroad's dinky yard and shops in the East Side neighborhood of South Chicago, has become quite jungly as of late.
With all of that being said, I've began looking for these guys as much as I humanly can with daylight rapidly dwindling day to day. Expect much much more of them, along with some very long descriptions of the history and operations of this fascinating railroad.