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Normally I'm not a fan of contrails in my skys, but these are an exception. I wanted to get a shot of the high moon and Mount Shasta. I had pulled over at the Southbound vista area off I-5, Northern California not far from Weed.
Gorgeous sunset, the only benefit from the fires and smoke, but b&w for this shot was a no brainer. I did get some colorful sunset pictures too, but wanted to post this more dramatic b&w look tonight.
A fun stop, also met AJ and his dog Django while stopped here. He told me about his climbing Mount Shasta last year and memorialized it with a tattoo on his arm. AJ is also a photographer, shoots with a big Nikon. Anyway, wasn't long before we were yacking and both snapping away. Not often I meet other photographers, so this was a nice diversion.
Right now I'm in Bellingham WA, early since my delivery isn't until 0700 tomorrow morning.
Lots of catching up to do, will do my best, I can't rush through, that wouldn't be fun, so if I miss you tonight I apologize, but know I haven't forgotten you and will get to you as soon as time permits.
You my friends are what make Flickr worth paying for. We may agree or disagree about many things, but here we can agree, our love of photography makes us all friends.
Have a safe week, take some pictures, then share them if you can.
2020 has been a very special year to most of us and I am no exception. In spring, my best laid plans went awry within days and the hope for a quick return to my normal life proved to be in vain. It seemed only fitting that the great expectations for Comet ATLAS C/2019 Y4 proved to be a huge disappointment.
On the other hand, we rediscovered what is really important in life. I spent much time with my family and, thanks to the relatively liberal lockdown in Switzerland, I was also able to do a lot of astrophotography in my beautiful home country.
In July, Comet Neowise put up its unexpected show and allowed us to forget the pandemic for some time. While I had the privilege to capture it during several occasions, the best shooting was only a 3 kilometers from my home, over the medieval town Regensberg.
I recently found an unprocessed sequence of this outing and think it makes a great Christmas post. Apart from their obvious connotation as the Christmas stars, comets are also a perfect allegory for this year's ups and downs.
As the year is approaching its end, the approval for several promising vaccinations gives us hope that 2021 will let us return to our old lifes. Until then I hope you all stay safe a bit longer.
Merry Christmas to all!
EXIF
Canon EOS 7D mkii
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L @ 200mm
Skywatcher AZ-GTI mount, modified for astrophotography
Sky:
Stack of 7 x 20s @ ISO1600
Foreground:
Stack of 3 x 20s @ ISO1600
With a few exceptions, still exhibiting its bright, almost spring-like green color despite the season. Photographed in the Hass Tract, a parcel of land in the bluffs near La Crosse, Wisconsin donated to the Mississippi Valley Conservancy for protection by the Hass family.
Gansito (Spanish "little goose"), is a Mexican snack cake that was created in 1957 by Marinela, which some people think taste similar to Twinkies, with the exception of strawberry jelly along with the creamy filling and that it is covered in chocolate with chocolate sprinkle topping
The 1.8 oz packs 200 calories, 8 grams of fat of which 8 grams are saturated fat, and less than 9 percent of any vitamin, though it is marketed as being vitamin enriched.
The Gansitos are sold all over Mexico and after eating, maybe 2,400 (2,450 right now) these cupcakes in my whole life... it is a pleasure, but not so much guilt.
pic for #MacroMondays... theme #guiltypleasures.
pic added for #SmileonSaturday... theme #chocolate
If you visit Whitemill Bay, with the exception of North Ronaldsay, there is nothing but open sea until you arrive at Shetland. The Northerly wilderness and the deserted bay bring home the feral expanse of the Northern Isles and a trajectory towards the Faroe's, Iceland, Jan Mayen and the Arctic Circle.
Whitemill Bay is eerily beautiful, the patterns of the untouched slate that are prevalent across the bay, the white sands and the deep, variegated hues of the ocean inspire awe and evoke a feeling of alienation that is redolent of human disparity with nature. Paradoxically, the beauty of the bay evokes a profound calmness that, for me, is an expression of the existential link between human beings and nature. However. I acknowledge that the bifurcation between man and nature is arbitrary.
There was no human presence during my visit, the only other creatures I observed were a splattering of Sea Gulls in the near distance, baying and shrieking like some kind of Jurassic animal! The natural light appeared to be filtered through the dramatic cloud forms that threatened storms, despite the warm, sunny conditions. Rainbow-like colours hung in the air, giving a subtle colouration and the graphic hues of the rocks, sea and sand seemed to create a painting that was yet to be painted!
Simon
Orkney Isle's, Scotland.
I have found that shiny orange guitars (not sunburst) are the most difficult to photograph without altering the colour with whatever you use to eliminate the reflection. If anyone's got any good suggestions for combating the issue, I'd love to hear them.
For my flight to Chicago, I made an exception and left my camera at home, because I did not think the full moon would allow me to shoot anything worthwhile. That was definitely a mistake...
During the return flight, we witnessed some strong Aurora activity over the town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay in Labrador, Canada. Without a good camera, my only option was to handhold my smartphone to capture the scene. The result is far from perfect, but still way better than expected.
EXIF
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
Night Mode
5.4mm, f/1.8, 1/3s, ISO2500
Boeing 777-300ER, cruising at 33'000 feet
Exceptions verify the rule, but every moment is forever. And the moment it's over, it's been over half an hour ago. After an hour it's a day ago, after a day, a week, and so on. And when it's over it took only an hour or two, when it reality it was a whole day at work. Selling a ticket to the last car on the ferry, taking a look around if I forgot anyone, and I spot the red convertible all the way at the front. Oh right, that one, now that I see it. That's still there. Completely forgot I ever met that at all. Might as well have been ten crossings ago that I sold him his ticket.
Today I went to one of my ship spotting places. Yesterday... did I even go anywhere yesterday? Ah right, Hattingen. Or was that the day before yesterday? Did yesterday even happen? If so, where was I? Spending another day not worth remembering, I guess.
This was the first thing I built after getting my parts out of storage, starting just by following TLROsborne's instructions then tweaking it.. a lot.
Uses only molds that would have been available in 2006 with the exception of the energy effect part
Kate is still one of my favorite models (I’ve disappointed in oh so many of them, mainly because of they aren’t make art with me anymore, which I don’t understand; but there are few exceptions, and Kate is one of them; not that I understand her not-making art with me, though she tried to explain, which boiled down to her general burnout, but she’s still a close friend, living deep inside my heart). Also, she's really good graphic artist; she has insta too, of course, though I hate insta, but for Kate, I’m ready share with you even her account there. Though I didn’t photo-oped her… 3 years? 3,5? Definitely didn’t made art with her since the beginning of the big war (you know, there was the small one between Ukraine and Russia since 2014, and there’s this saying in both countries, “where have you been 8 years?”. First it was “zednicks”, Russian propagandistic cliché, but then Ukrainians reversed it. And enough about propaganda).
Though I made my comeback after about half a year under the radar (right when huylo murdered Alexey Navalny) with the photo of Kate from that same pre-war, antediluvian photo-op.
So, I’m not making photo-ops at all since the beginning of this big phase of the war, like going somewhere with someone to make art. Just some random photos, mostly at the concerts and in the pubs. Meantime, I divorced (it was the nicest divorce on my memory, and we’re still friends, actually much more, then when we were a couple). I started to drink, then to drink rather heavy, drank about a year without missing a day (well, maybe I missed a couple), including at work (I still have this lucky one – bicycle delivery boy), then added smoking, then chain smoking, then quit both habits (today is the third week, and I’d rather keep on going this way at least more than a year… maybe 10 years…). As an expected consequence, I started to get out of money pit. Now it’s much shallower, and I really hope to pay my rather big debt to my parents. Unexpected one – now I’m cursing much less frequently. Of course, I’m swearing a lot on drivers. And in poetry. Here’s the recent example:
И о погоде (хокку)
Пиздец как тиха
Украинская ночь. Ка-
БУММ! Вот. Сука. Блять.
By the way, what do you think about Trump? My guess – the famous Simpsons series, with the USA in ruins, is about his 2nd (current) term. And Simpsons’re hell of a good Cassandras. If you ask me, Trump and his pals Elon and huylo are real McCoy agents of chaos, hats off, but not encore, please. Peace, s'il vous plaît!
*Working Towards a Better World
A truly moral health care system should start out by covering all of its citizens with basic health care. It would not be seduced by its technology and fancy buildings.
Richard Lamm
Universal coverage, not medical technology, is the foundation of any caring health care system. Richard Lamm
As long as we decline to allow sick, uninsured people to just lie down and die on the side of the road, everybody has to have insurance for the health care system to work sanely.
Gail Collins
For the wealthiest country in the world…to not have figured out access to basic healthcare as a fundamental right for individuals, I think is a little bit of a national embarrassment."
John Jay Shannon, MD, CEO of Cook County Health & Hospitals System (Chicago)
For he who has health has hope; and he who has hope, has everything.
Owen Arthur
A tremendous amount of needless pain and suffering can be eliminated by ensuring that health insurance is universally available.
Daniel Akaka
Thank you for your kind visit. Have a wonderful and beautiful day! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
This week I managed to photograph both Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler at close quarters. This one is a Chiffchaff and I'll post the similar Willow Warbler later. Most years the Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita) is the first spring migrant that I see and this year was no exception as I saw a couple of singing birds on 28 February. This coincided with some unusually warm, fine weather. Chiffchaffs do overwinter in Britain but they tend to occur at lower altitudes, so living in the Pennines I rarely see them in winter, and assume that singing birds in my area are genuine migrants. The early migrants like Chiffchaff mainly winter around the Mediterranean, so do not have as far to travel as sub-Saharan migrants. They can also make use of good migrating weather systems in Europe whereas the weather in sub-Saharan Africa has little relevance to the weather in Europe.
Chiffchaffs are very closely related to Willow Warblers and it was Gilbert White (author of the Natural History of Selborne) who first realised they were separate species by listening to their distinctive songs. He also separated Wood Warbler at the same time. This was in 1768 in correspondence with Thomas Pennant, twenty one years before he published the Natural History of Selborne. It isn't just the song that distinguishes them, Chiffchaffs are duller than Willow Warblers, with shorter wings and distinctive dark legs, all visible here. They also have a more ptominent white crescent below the eye and have a habit of down-pumping their tails. Willow Warblers are similar, except Willow Warbler is a little brighter with longer wings, and paler legs. That eye crescent is less obvious, and they don't habitually pump their tail. But if spring the song is the best way to distinguish them. Here is Chiffchaff song on Xeno Canto: www.xeno-canto.org/466006 (By Andrew Harrop at Rutland Water). For comparison here's a Willow Warbler www.xeno-canto.org/621080
The scientific name Phylloscopus means leaf-gleaner from its habit of searching leaves for insects. Collybita means money-counter which refers to the song; chiff-chaff, chiff-chaff, chiff-chiff-chiff-chaff. This really does sound like someone counting coins from a table top. And for me that coin-counting repetitive song will always herald the arrival of spring.
With the lone exception of this truck letterbox, all the 21 that follow were on Timor Road, leading from Coonabarabran, New South Wales to the Warrumbungle Ranges just west of the town. Apart from being a dramatic landscape in a national park, the Siding Spring Observatory is located atop one section of the mountains. More photos of that area to come. In the meantime, given the large number of letterbox photos, I have disabled comments.
With the exception of a few predatory gulls at the top of the cliff and a small gathering off Kittiwakes near the shoreline this rocky outcrop is full of nesting Guillemots.
I wanted to upload this wider view to give an idea of how populated/congested some ion the Farne Islands are.
-- Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra
We are all multi-faceted; we have many emotions, desires, preferences, and personalities. I am certainly no exception. Most of my self-portraits thus far have been rather ... serious, or at least generally so. I've felt as though my creativity is limited to my 'deep thoughts' and my sense of humor isn't as applicable. Mainly, I'm usually just not smiling (with the exception of three or so shots). Some individuals (though I will not name them) had a first impression of me as someone serious, uptight, ... whatever. When I heard that, I laughed. And then thought to myself, hmm, is that true? No. Fair enough, but is that how I want others to perceive me? It's definitely not how I perceive myself. I like to have others see me as I'd like to be seen (who doesn't?) -- and I'd like to be seen as who I truly am, not some ideal. Truly, I laugh constantly. I joke constantly. I am too sarcastic. I make really, really corny jokes (e.g. "What do you call cheese that isn't yours? ... Na-cho cheese!" & "What time do you go to the dentist? ... Tooth-hurty!" & etc. etc. ad infinitum...). I love slapstick humor (e.g. Mel Brooks is my hero). Et al.
I am also deeply devoted to the intellect. I'm a philosopher by nature and college degree, and I love it more than just about anything. I know this part of me has come forth strongly in my photostream. I also studied neuroscience as an accompaniment to my theories about consciousness and personal identity. I've learned never to take a single thing for granted, believe anything beyond a shadow of a doubt, or throw my words around haphazardly. Sure, this makes me an analytic bastard who is anal about semantics and logic. People tend to find this tedious. So I have to reconcile two parts of myself: the silly idiot who is always ready to laugh at her own expense, and the thoroughly introspective and scientific seeker. Throw in creativity (which I *think* I have ;-) and you've got me. A big melting pot of talent, absurdity, philosophy, and passion.
Many thanks and love to Maite for picking "Self-Reflection" as today's FGR theme.
& GTWL anniversary edition -- Clones.
Day 75.
& of course: View On Black!
....as crows from here do every year. With the exception of the cripples and misfits. Our winters are harsh and get to -40C with tons of snow....
His missus, on the other hand...
Half way through the summer, she showed up with a broken wing. The tip of it was dragging the ground. She couldn't fly.
I put out bits of food every so often for her and tried to time it so that the magpies didn't get much of it. Crodo (her mate) would fly here several times a day to beg me for food for her and to hang out with her and help stave off intruders while she got some water and a bit extra food.
She still walked around pecking at bugs and whatnot ..but was wary of any people, dogs or loud vehicles that blocked her way to the tree across the street....which had become her home and haven.
She could climb up the branches of one of them ... and, would get up 50 or 60 feet in the tree .... sitting on an outside branch for lengthy periods of the day. Sometimes she would yell at the world for ages and ...who could blame her?
The first 'drop' out of the tree that I ever noticed was from only about 30 feet up and it was just that.... yikes!! a dizzying spiral and a hard thump on the grass. I was horrified. But, up she jumped and hopped and walked across the street for her drink in the bird bath.
Luckily ...she did better the next time.... she went even higher in the tree and ...sailed across to our lawn.... she was okay at gliding gracefully even with her bad wing. Her first few landings were not pretty, but soon she was sticking two foot landings that would make an olympian jealous.
Then, she got cocky and even landed on the top of the privacy fence one day...
I had high hopes that her wing would perhaps heal enough for short flights.
I did see her manage to fly up 20 feet into the tree from a standing start one day. .. but mostly she went in under the tree and climbed it.
Time went by and she did sail out of trees in various yards to land in ours... but, did she climb them first? I never did see her fly much and had begun to formulate a plan to try to catch her to take her to the wildlife rehabilitation centre.
It probably never would have worked.... throwing a blanket over her and putting her in a box to transport her an hour away.... I was dreading having to try it.
She was still pretty spry and I didn't think I'd be able to get close enough to make it work.
Somebody would have to help and we'd have to keep her from getting to her tree etc...it would have been heartbreaking to even try it.
But, Mother Nature intervened. The day we saw the bobcat and later in the day, even its babies..... was the last day I saw Missus Crodo.
I don't know what happened ...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When I had another crow named Limpy ... he managed to make it through the winter with a group of other crows that stayed here...and, he showed up 2 days before his family was expected to arrive home from Kansas or Oklahoma or wherever she and the kids holidayed ...
I wonder if Crodo willl show up on March 17th .... ?? Will she as well? ....
This is Crodo ... Mate of Mrs. Crodo ...
The Bromeliaceae family comprises over 50 genera and nearly 4,000 species. All are native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, with the exception of a single species, Pitcairnia feliciana, discovered in Africa in 1937. Ornamental bromeliads represent a segment of economic importance for countries linked to the flower and ornamental plant market.
Family: Bromeliaceae
Scientific name: Ananas lucidus
Common name: Curauá - Ornamental Pineapple, Garden's Pineapple
Life Cycle: Perennial.
Origin: Brazil.
Size: It reaches 1.20 meters in height.
Ananas lucidus is a native plant, not endemic to Brazil, also distributed in other tropical countries in the American continent. In Brazil, it occurs in the North (Amazonas, Amapá, Pará, Roraima), Northeast (Bahia, Ceará) and Southeast (São Paulo) regions.
It is a very rustic bromeliad, with very ornamental foliage and fruit. Due to its hardiness, the Garden's pineapple is widely used to delimit areas or flower beds that should not be invaded by people or animals. It can be planted alone, in compositions, in groups or as a border.
The inflorescence formed by an about 4 cm long and 3 cm broad spike, of hermaphrodite flowers surrounded by pink bracts; the spike carries on top a thick rosette of leaves which later on is surrounded by several smaller ones. The flowers have long petals ( about 15 mm and 3 mm broad), of a white colour at the base, and violet blue on the apex.
Adult plants flower spontaneously, at any time of the year; fruits usually appear about six months after the flowers bloom. The fruit has about 5 cm of diameter and 6-8 cm of height when ripe takes on a reddish color. Very fibrous, is not edible and usually contains few seeds, at times none. Its purpose is for ornamental use only.
They must be grown in bright places, with sunbathing for at least 4 hours a day. Ornamental pineapple appreciates temperatures above 15°C. Sunlight helps to produce the pink pigmentation in the leaves.
Very resistant, the Ornamental pineapple withstands the coldest months well, as long as it is protected from icy winds and frost. The plant grows all year round. However, during the Winter, development takes place at a slower pace, requiring less watering and fertilization only every eight weeks.
The plant has also other employments besides the ornamental one, it is in fact cultivated, since remote times, by the natives for getting fibres from the leaves as they are particularly flexible, resistant, and long lasting, utilized for fabricating ropes, tissues and several handicrafts.
In the recent years, this fibre has been utilized also in industrial applications, and a further increment is expected, in particular in the automotive industry for the production of bio-degradable materials in place of the fibreglass, as it is almost doubly resistant of same, to be employed in the internal cars’ fittings.
On Explore: January 26, 2023
Bueno aqui un blend que ya queria hacer de paramore y su nuevo video que me gusto todooo ( : nunca pense qe isieran video de esta cancion, es diferente a las demas es mas acustica
Trate de hacer lo mejor con caps y todoo
VEANLO:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-J7J_IWUhls&feature=fvst
COMENTEN// PONGAN NOTAS//GRACIAS POR VISITAR MI GALERIA
EDUU!(:
Edgewater by Del Webb
Elgin, Illinois - Near 42.0109, -88.3477
October 23, 2022
COPYRIGHT 2022 by JimFrazier All Rights Reserved. This may NOT be used for ANY reason without written consent from Jim Frazier.
20221023_1713541366x768
Nanji, a Rhodesian Ridgeback
I never wanted to show a dog picture - and this is certainly an exception and an exceptional dog!
Nie wollte ich ein Hundebild zeigen - und das hier ist sicher eine Ausnahme und ein Ausnahmehund!
...außerdem wurde ich dazu gezwungen ;-)
I rarely photograph trains here despite working a mile away but made an exception because I wanted to photograph 1030. While waiting around I shot 14 trains in 50 min including four different models of locomotive...I suppose it's not that boring after all!
For train number 11 the new star in town was back leading Keolis/MBTA train 319 for Lowell out of North Station over the drawbridge crossing the Charles River on Main 3. It's been a long time since these venerable colors were seen here on 'home rails' and recently rebuilt F40PH-3C 1030 in this heritage paint is a stunning tribute to this great city's hometown road.
For now the last relics from Boston and Maine days remain clustered here including the vintage dwarf signals, the drawbridges and the tower itself which was built during the B&M's 1926-1932 reconfiguration of the terminal and the then new Boston Engine Terminal. The two story steel frame and brick structure replaced an earlier tower located on the south side of the Charles. It was placed in service on September 27, 1931 with an original electrical board containing 211 levers! Until 2021 the drawbridge operator still worked out of it but today it serves no purpose at all.
The two bascule bridges also date from that same year when the navigable channel of the Charles River was shifted 300 feet to the north of its former route to allow the platforms at North Station to be extended. At the time of their construction two additional spans were built just to the west with a total of 8 tracks crossing the river serving 22 platform tracks vs only 10 today.
All of this is on borrowed time however, as the MBTA is embarking on a nearly one billion dollar project to replace the aging and failure prone spans and reconfigure Tower A. Ultimately these last vestiges of the Route of the Minuteman will fall to the wrecking ball and cutting torch and three new vertical lift spans are supposed to rise in their place allowing for six tracks to cross the river and the addition of two more platform tracks.
Rising above at left can be seen the obelisk towers and cable stays of the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial suspension bridge built in 2003 as part of the infamous Big Dig project that saw Interstate 93 removed from its elevated pathway through the heart of the city and buried beneath it.
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Wednesday September 24, 2025
Pilsley, Chatsworth estate
Visit any of the villages or isolated buildings within the Chatsworth estate and you might begin to notice a common theme… they are all painted the same colour. The Devonshire Arms at Pilsley where we stayed was no exception, nor the local Post Office.
It’s taken a little bit of interneting, but I’ve found the background story to the colour. The paint is supplied by Michiel Brouns - a specialist in linseed paint and glazing for buildings of national and historical significance. He is also the founder and owner of Histoglass and Brouns & Co.
This is an article on their website…
When the Chatsworth Estate approached Brouns & Co six summers ago, they faced several challenges.
The seat of the Duke of Devonshire, Chatsworth House – often chosen as Britain’s favourite stately home – sits within 12,000 acres of gardens, parkland and farmland. It is not just the Duke of Devonshire who calls Chatsworth home, within the estate are 150 cottages and other dwellings. Chatsworth Estate wanted to find a linseed paint supplier that could colour-match its signature ‘Chatsworth Blue’ used on buildings across the estate. The blue paint provided by their previous supplier had always lost its colour and turned grey over time, meaning that it had to be regularly reapplied. The paint didn’t just have to be the correct colour, it had to be environmentally friendly and long-lasting too.
Brouns & Co made sure that it was made using the highest possible quality pigments which don’t bleach in sunlight.
Its paint is now used in all maintenance across the estate and the partnership has delivered many benefits according to Malcolm Hulland, Buildings Contracts Manager at Chatsworth Estate. “Brouns & Co linseed paint is tremendously easy to use and very cost effective; it reduces our maintenance cycle, application time in labour and cost in joinery repairs,” he said.
Michiel Brouns, managing director of Brouns & Co, said that linseed paint has a long history and its many benefits are being appreciated again today.
“We always say that linseed oil paint will transform the way you paint. It lasts pretty much forever without needing to be reapplied, and doesn’t flake or peel. It’s environmentally friendly, doesn’t have a strong smell, dries in 24 hours, and is extremely cost-effective. It doesn’t even need primers or undercoats. Plus, it comes in a rich palette of beautiful colours.”
In Sweden, Denmark and many other parts of Europe, there’s a long tradition of painting the interiors and exteriors of buildings with linseed oil paint. Original coats of linseed paint have survived perfectly well on houses which are well over 500 years old.
Michiel Brouns, who is the UK’s leading expert on the use of linseed paint for historic and timber buildings, said: “Linseed oil paint can be applied to any surface, including wood, masonry, plaster and metal. It’s especially popular for exteriors because it’s so durable and strong, and doesn’t need reapplying after a few years.
“Linseed oil paint really does protect against all weathers: once painted, wood won’t rot, iron won’t rust, and plaster won’t crumble. It has fantastic wicking properties, permitting evaporation of moisture instead of trapping it under an impermeable film which you get with a standard petrochemical paint.”
Michiel said that there is a common misconception that linseed paint is expensive.
“Far from it. Not only is a tin of linseed paint fairly inexpensive, especially compared to some of the heritage paint brands in the UK, but it’s a thin paint, so you’ll cover anything from 15 to 22 square metres per litre, depending on the material you’re painting. “We don’t know of any other paint which offers such cost-effective coverage. There’s less waste, because the same tin of paint will paint any surface – and on top of all that, you don’t need to repaint every few years!”
He added: “It has been great to see the benefits of using our paint on the Chatsworth Estate. The time that they don’t have to spend on constant repairs they can put into more productive things – like their own range of furniture made on the estate!”
The Northumberland coastline is a landscape photographers paradise and this remote spot is no exception.
Rumbling Kern, a precarious bit of rocky coastline jutting out into the North Sea, you could spend an age here and come up with something different each time, such is the vastness of the rock formation and patterns, the hardest parts are spotting something you want to shoot and then trying to get to it without going flying on seaweed or falling down crevices in the rocks.
This spot looked like it had potential and took a good while to get out to safely, this took quite a while to set up as the tripod had to be balanced either side of the gap between the 2 rock faces and I was stood on a tiny bit of rock that stretched between the 2 as well, with all my stuff laid out on either side, balancing legs between the rock faces while trying to compose the shot and put filters on, while keeping an eye on the tide that was on it's way back in... not an easy proposition.
Decided on a portrait format image here with the 16-35mm lens, I could have gone slightly wider but that would have meant using really clumbersome filters and there was hardly any room to move about at all so the location dictated the set up for me.
This was the result, I was really drawn to the rock textures and the deep gully leading into the ocean with the colourful seaweed clinging to the rocks, the sea made a fantastic noise as it rushed into this narrow channel and splashed up at the rear of me. As soon as this one was in the bag it was back to the shoreline before the sea cut this rocky section off, definitely a place I'll come back to again and again.
Have a zoom in and have a look around.
ISO100 | f/14 | 16mm | 81 seconds
We hope everyone had a safe and fun weekend!! This is a photo from earlier this year of a Reddish Egret Canopy Feeding at lowtide on a mud flat!! They are one of our favorite birds to watch dance around the flats!! This image was taken early in the morning during my favorite time for photography!!
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If you would like to use one of our images for commercial use or if you find a picture that you would like for framing, please contact us at klshells@mindspring.com for services we have available.
This exceptionnal 309 was built in the very first week of production. On 24th Ocotber 1985 to be precise.
40 Years of Peugeot 309
Car Museum Metropole
Druten, the Netherlands.
Taken using my infrared filter, with the white balance adjusted to green. Little to no post processing with the exception of B&W conversion.
This title seemed fitting and is the title of a Kyuss song from their album "... and the circus leaves town". For anyone interested in 90's Californian stoner rock, these are the pioneers. They had quite the career but remained fairly unknown to the general public.
Then guitarist Josh Homme since formed Queens of the Stone Age. A rare band that was successful in gaining commercial success and keep a strong cult following.
Song: Phototropic
Artist: Kyuss
Album: ...And the Circus Leaves Town
[CZ] Uvnitř Býčí skály - průchody a chodby do hlubin
[EN] With the exception of the Days of Open Doors, the Bull Rock Cave is not open to the public. The Bull Rock Cave (jeskyně Býčí skála) is located in the Josefov area of the Křtiny Valley in the central part of the Moravian Karst. It represents approximately a half of the total length of the Jedovnice Creek cave system. The system is ca. 15 km long, second longest in the Czech Republic. It is located under the Rudice Plateau, 60 - 220 m beneath the surface. The 3.8 km long (straight length) Rudické propadání is the ponor cave. The Bull Rock Cave is the resurgence (emergence) cave. It consists of several distinguished units, each of them bearing its own name. The first section of the cave, the Old Bull Rock Cave, represents a paleo-resurgence passage of the underground Jedovnice Creek. However, during extraordinary floods it also serves as an active karst spring.
The Bull Rock Cave is frequently called "the most memorable cave of the Moravian Karst", mostly on the account of its prehistory. The Southern Branch yielded evidence of Paleolithic (Magdalenian) settlements. The entrance part, called the Hall (also Entrance Hall, Hallstatt Hall, Předsíň in Czech), is the site of the famous "Hallstatt burial". The burial was discovered by Jindřich (Heinrich) Wankel, M.D., in 1872.
The cave is also a well-known paleontological station. In addition, it belongs to the best studied caves in the Moravian Karst as far as cave biology is concerned. More than 2000 bats regularly winterize in the cave, making it one of the largest such places in the Czech Republic. The bibliography of the Bull Rock Cave begins in 1663 and is probably the most extensive of all caves in the Moravian Karst.
Systematic speleological exploration of the Bull Rock Cave began in 1902. It was carried out by members of the Verein der deutschen Touristen in Brünn, Gruppe für Höhlenforschung (VDT-GfH, a German caving group in Brno). In 1912, the cavers focused their attention on the key problem - the then terminal point of the cave, the Šenkův (Šenk's) siphon. In 1920 their effort was crowned with a success - the overcoming of the siphon and the discovery of the New Bull Rock Cave with the underground Jedovnice Creek. Since 1947, namely from 1973 to 1985, Czech cavers gradually discovered the underground stream of the Jedovnice Creek between the New Bull Rock Cave and the Rudické propadání. They also have discovered the underground course of the creek between the Bull Rock Cave, the Bar (Barová) Cave and the springs in Josefov.
Dads everywhere do their best to provide for their children and this Western Bluebird is no exception. He exhausts himself to feed his young and teach them all that he knows when they fledge.
Dunnock :- accentors are small, brown, unobtrusive sparrow-like birds, epitomised by the European Hedge Accentor. (Sometimes called hedge sparrow although it is not actually a sparrow.) Dunnock translates from Old English as 'small brown bird'.
It is also something of an exception since all other species in this family are confined to mountainous areas, and usually only at altitudes of a 1000 metres or more; the dunnock is one of our more widespread birds. It is a secretive bird.
I rarely photograph trains here despite working a mile away but made an exception because I wanted to photograph 1030. While waiting around I shot 14 trains in 50 min including four different models of locomotive...I suppose it's not that boring after all!
Here finally is train number 14, Amtrak 680 arriving after a 3 hr and 20 min trip down from Brunswick, Maine. The four Amfleets were led by phase three heritage power car 90406 with P42DC 119 shoving on the rear seen crossing over through the Tower A interlocking to take Main 1 over span 1 into North Station. Holding on Main 3 on span 2 is a house move headed to BET behind MBTA Wareham rebuilt and repainted (in the standard scheme) GP40MC 1138.
For now the last relics from Boston and Maine days remain clustered here including the vintage dwarf signals, the drawbridges and the tower itself (out of sight at left) which was built during the B&M's 1926-1932 reconfiguration of the terminal and the then new Boston Engine Terminal. The two story steel frame and brick structure replaced an earlier tower located on the south side of the Charles. It was placed in service on September 27, 1931 with an original electrical board containing 211 levers! Until 2021 the drawbridge operator still worked out of it but today it serves no purpose at all.
The two bascule bridges also date from that same year when the navigable channel of the Charles River was shifted 300 feet to the north of its former route to allow the platforms at North Station to be extended. At the time of their construction two additional spans were built just to the west with a total of 8 tracks crossing the river serving 22 platform tracks vs only 10 today.
All of this is on borrowed time however, as the MBTA is embarking on a nearly one billion dollar project to replace the aging and failure prone spans and reconfigure Tower A. Ultimately these last vestiges of the Route of the Minuteman will fall to the wrecking ball and cutting torch and three new vertical lift spans are supposed to rise in their place allowing for six tracks to cross the river and the addition of two more platform tracks.
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Wednesday September 24, 2025
Like most flickr photographers Hemmingway was a cat person. Today his Key West estate is home to 54 pampered pusses who rule! Our guide told us that the furniture was FOR the cats who apparently either can't read or choose to ignore the signs.
I found they do love to be petted.
This image - or any photo of your choice in my stream (with just a few exceptions) -is up for auction for the Charity Print Auction for Haiti. See the CPA group for more details: www.flickr.com/groups/charityprintauctions/
How it works:
1) You may bid on this print by announcing your bid and the amount in the comments.
2) The highest bidder on midnight (CET) on Sunday 17 January 2010 will win the auction and the print.
3) I will pay for the print to be produced and postage to the winning bidder.
4) The winning bidder will go and donate their winning amount the Red Cross:
www.redcross.org.uk/emergencysite/default.aspx?id=88916 (or a Haiti charity of YOUR choice) and take a screen grab of the confirmation of their donation and email to the photographer (me) for proof that they've paid.
5) I will sign and ship the print.
The print size will be based on the amount of the final bid as follows:
Up to €10 - 4x4" or 10x10 cm
€11 to €25 - 6x6" or 15x15 cm
€26 - €50 - 8x8" or 20x20 cm
€51 - €100 - 9.8x9.8" or 25x25 cm
€101 - €200 - 11.8x11.8" or 30x30 cm
€201 up - 15.7x15.7"" or 40x40 cm
You can bid in your own currency as long as it equals the amounts stated here.
Printed by a professional photolab on matte Kodak Endura paper.
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The photo has been won by an untrained eye for 101 euro! Thank you very much!!
I rarely photograph trains here despite working a mile away but made an exception because I wanted to photograph 1030. While waiting around I shot 14 trains in 50 min including four different models of locomotive...I suppose it's not that boring after all!
Here's the eighth train I lensed, outbound Keolis/MBTA train 1219, a short turn for Reading on the Western Route, has just departed North Station and is crossing the drawbridge over the Charles River on Main 1 behind GP40MC 1124.
For now the last relics from Boston and Maine days remain clustered here including the vintage dwarf signals, the drawbridges and the tower itself which was built during the B&M's 1926-1932 reconfiguration of the terminal and the then new Boston Engine Terminal. The two story steel frame and brick structure replaced an earlier tower located on the south side of the Charles. It was placed in service on September 27, 1931 with an original electrical board containing 211 levers! Until 2021 the drawbridge operator still worked out of it but today it serves no purpose at all.
The two bascule bridges also date from that same year when the navigable channel of the Charles River was shifted 300 feet to the north of its former route to allow the platforms at North Station to be extended. At the time of their construction two additional spans were built just to the west with a total of 8 tracks crossing the river serving 22 platform tracks vs only 10 today.
All of this is on borrowed time however, as the MBTA is embarking on a nearly one billion dollar project to replace the aging and failure prone spans and reconfigure Tower A. Ultimately these last vestiges of the Route of the Minuteman will fall to the wrecking ball and cutting torch and three new vertical lift spans are supposed to rise in their place allowing for six tracks to cross the river and the addition of two more platform tracks.
Rising above at left can be seen the obelisk towers and cable stays of the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial suspension bridge built in 2003 as part of the infamous Big Dig project that saw Interstate 93 removed from its elevated pathway through the heart of the city and buried beneath it.
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Wednesday September 24, 2025
June 22 173/365
Have a lovely evening everyone...still have a touch of headache...thanks to you who gave well wishes! ...off to visit some streams...=)
With the exception of a crop...sooc...
This is my entire (with the exception of 3 plastic ships and an Airfix model of Anakin's podracer) collection of SW stuff.
I fed the images into Autostitch, but it distorted the bottom of the image too much, so I did this. I know it's not perfect, but it gets the job done.
This includes all my posters, books, magazines, figures, ships, cards, records, videos, DVDs, CDs, toys and anything else that is SW-related.
It took a while, and I had to clear off everything else that was in the way, and I could barely move around in the space that was left.
I've added notes to mention most of the stuff. Things that there are a lot of (figures, books, etc) I've left out.
Also, please check out the full size (9999 x 5663) version to get a better look at everything.
Daisies, family Asteraceae, often have fluorescent pollen. Sunflowers are a part of that family and are no exception. Glowing yellow under an ultraviolet light, the pollen coats the flower petals with illuminated points of light like a field of stars. UV fluorescence photography is really easy to explore, you only need darkness and a UV flashlight!
UVIVF. Let’s break that down: Ultraviolet-induced visible fluorescence. This happens when UV light strikes a subject and is able to excite the electrons in certain atoms. Those electrons rise to a higher orbit, but instantaneously decay back to their original location. This spends a small amount of energy, so the light that is re-emitted from the subject now has less energy. UV light then transforms into visible light, and you can use your ordinary camera and lenses, so special equipment or filters required. The UV flashlight / torch I most commonly recommend is the Convoy S2. It’s all you need to start exploring this wonderful unseen world.
Sunflowers hold a special place in my heart because they tend to fluoresce blue and yellow, while simultaneously being the national flower of Ukraine. Today marks 150 days since the Russian Federation decided to destroy the sovereignty of the largest nation in Europe. They have not succeeded. I am continuously amazed at the resolve of the Ukrainian people, and I am thrilled to continue to support them in any way we can. Most recently we have contributed funds to purchase a surveillance drone for citizen soldiers, and we have two solar generators on order for use near the front lines. The people of Ukraine are the strongest that I have ever seen in my lifetime, and I’m glad that the world is coming to their aid.
It's also a great example of leadership, good and bad. Corruption runs deep in many Eastern European countries (probably all countries?) and this war has allowed for the discovery and dismantling of significant Russian influence. While Russia regroups for their next move, Ukraine uses the most precise and damaging weapons to erase countless enemy ammunition depots. The war is in one of the most peaceful moments, where weapons of intense destructive and terrorizing force are being systemically ruined.
Putin’s methodology for forward progress is sinister. He is forcibly conscripting Ukrainian men in occupied regions to fight for Russia – holding their families for ransom in the process. “Referendums” loom in various regions where the population will vote to be annexed by Russia. The Russian forces interview the population and if you say you’d vote for Ukraine, you are deported by force. This isn’t just a fight for some big country in Eastern Europe you’ve never visited, it’s a fight against the tyrannical actions of one of the most powerful countries on the planet. Putin’s Kleptocracy allows for these deceitful strategies, but it is also what has left his military weak and untrained.
Through this series of images supporting Ukraine, I have encouraged many ways to help. We heard of a Ukrainian restaurant that just opened up here in Varna earlier this month, Stefania: www.facebook.com/stefania.rest/ - the food was marvelous and it’s staffed by Ukrainians. It reminded me of the food being served today at my own Ukrainian family reunion taking place in Canada this very day. It’s important to support those around you affected by this conflict.
It also reminds me of the simple act of being kind to strangers. Around me, there are many people who have seen the terrors of this war. You never know what story someone is simply not telling you. As with all images in this series, I deliberately place “Starfield” into the Public Domain. More to come. Sorry for my absence in posting, life can get busy. I’ve used the proceeds from some of my own professional activities recently to further support Ukraine, and I would hope that world does not turn away from this continuing tragedy. There’s always more we can do.
Every year we take a trip to Cornwall in the Autumn. This year was no exception but a little different as we stayed on Bodmin Moor rather than on the Fowey Estuary. It was a trip of many facets, house hunting, walking but for me the last photo assignment of the year. I was to take images of fungus for my client in a Forestry Commission Plantation called "Halvana"
With war looming on the horizon at the beginning of the 20th Century, Britain could no longer rely on timber imports. Woodland resources in England covered just 5% of land area by 1917, due to demands during the First World War (especially trench warfare). In 1919 the Forestry Act came into force and Conifer plantations like Halvana were established to ensure a strategic reserve of timber. It is unfortunate that many of the ancient broadleaved woodland areas around England were cleared to make way for the faster-growing Conifer trees.
Whilst some plantations are gradually being replanted with native species, Halvana Plantation remains as a fascinating stretch of woodland to amble through and explore. The interior of evergreen plantations have a tendency to be dry dead places, due to the needles blocking out light and suffocating the forest floor. This forest is the complete opposite, with an endless carpet of moss creeping over everything, including up the trunks of trees and a huge selection of fungus spices.
So, off we went to Bodmin Moor with my new work camera in tow (Pentax 645Z Medium Format) more about this later, with my usual old Pentax K5II to take the very few snaps on our days out.
Here is the lush, green Halvana forest in all its moss covered glory.....the weather was typical of Bodmin Moor at this time of the year, one minute sunny but breezy and the next, torrential rain with flash flooding but in our converted stone cow shed with a wood burner we stayed toasty and warm. A fabulous trip, full of interest and wonderful Autumn colour.
It's finally happening. Dox is turning the Big 40, IRL. A turning point in many people's lives, and for Dox this is no exception, so he wants to celebrate it real big with a bang by spinning his own fun mix of epic party tunes and having a contest where people just come as they are, in their best usual styling they wear, and can enter the contest for a chance to win $2000L just for being the best them that they can be. Contest will open at 1pm and voting will start at 2:45pm, with voting closing and being tallied up by 3pm.
Come join Dox and let loose with him on the dancefloor at Soundproof from 1-3pm on Friday, April 15th the day of his birthday.
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunweaver%20Space/84/108/3001
Scientific Name: Equus grevyi
Description : The Grevy's zebra is the largest living wild equid. It can be distinguished from other species of zebra by its larger ears and narrower stripes. Vertical stripes cover most of the head and body, with the exception of the belly, which is white. The stripes are narrow and close-set, being broader on the neck, and they extend to the hooves. The belly and the area around the base of the tail lack stripes. The legs are long and are marked with horizontal stripes which extend down to the hooves.
A broad black stripe runs along the centre of the back, and is separated from the other stripes by a narrow white zone. The mane is very tall and erect, and also striped. Its head is large, long, and narrow with elongated nostril openings. The eyes are large, round and heavily fringed. It is mule-like in appearance with a brown muzzle and a relatively short, strong neck. The ears are very large, rounded, and conical. Foals are born with brown and white striping, with the brown stripes darkening to black as they get older. They have a mane that extends to the length of the back and shortens when they reach adulthood. There is no difference between the sexes.
Head and body length: 250-300 cm
Height at shoulder: 140-160 cm
Tail length: 38-60 cm
Weight: 352-450 kg
Distribution : Southern and eastern Ethiopia, northern Kenya.
Habitat : Sub-desert, plains and arid, open bushed grasslands.
Food : Herbivorous nomadic grazer: feeds primarily on coarse grasses and sedges, but will eat bark, leaves, buds, fruits, and roots. Grevy’s zebras have incisors that they use to clip grass and numerous cheek-teeth that grind their food.
Reproduction and Development : Within a single population, around ten percent of the mature stallions will occupy territories from which they have sole access to receptive females, although other males are still tolerated within the area, provided females are not in oestrus. Amongst these territorial stallions, the most dominant ones control territories near open watering holes, which mostly attract mares with foals, while more subordinate stallions control territories away from water with more abundant vegetation, which mostly attracts mares without foals. The resident stallions of territories will try to subdue the entering mares with dominance rituals and then continue with courtship and copulation.
Grevy's zebras can mate and give birth year-round, but most mating takes place at the beginning of the rainy season and births mostly take place in August or September after the rainy season. Mares become sexually mature at three to four years. A female in estrous may wander though as many as four male territories a day and will mate with the dominant stallions in each of them. Bachelors, or outside territorial stallions, sometimes "sneak" copulation of mares in another stallion’s territory. While female associations with individual males are brief and mating is promiscuous, females who have just given birth will reside with one male for long periods of time and mate exclusively with that male. Lactating females are harassed by males more often than non-lactating ones and thus associating with one male and his territory provides an advantage as he will guard her against other males.
Gestation of the Grevy's zebra normally lasts 13 months, with a single foal being born. Within an hour after birth, the young are up and about. Initially, the mare and her newborn stay away from the others for a few days, preventing other mares from approaching her foal. Isolating the foal in this way helps with bonding and prevents it from accepting another female as its mother. She imprints her striping pattern, scent and vocalization on her foal. After this period of bonding, and until the foals reach the age of three months, females form small groups (three females and their foals). Mares may leave their foals in "kindergartens" while searching for water. Kindergartens tend to be guarded by an adult which may be a territorial male. Foals remain dependent on their mother’s milk until six to eight months of age and stay with its mother for up to two to three years.
Adaptations : Zebras rely largely on their sense of sight and hearing. Large eyes set far back on the head give a wide field of view. The large ears can rotate to pick up sounds from many directions. The zebra’s stripes are used as a camouflage to hide the zebra from its predators. The stripes on a moving zebra serve as a disruptive pattern, confusing a pursuing predator. Long legs and hooves help the animal to run fast. A zebra can run up to 64 km/h. Speed is its only defense from predators (lions, cheetahs, and hyenas), from which they can outrun over long distances.
As a response to the sparse plant life in their habitat, Grevy's zebras usually do not form stable herds and only congregate during periods when they must migrate to find grazing or water. Grevy's zebras have a much more open society than those of other equid species and associations between individuals, other than between a mother and her foal, rarely last for more than a few months.
Male territories are patrolled and marked with dung and are the largest of any living herbivore - up to ten square kilometres. Territorial males also vocalize loudly to assert their dominance within the territory. To adapt to a semi-arid environment, Grevy's zebra foals take longer intervals between suckling bouts and do not drink water until they are three months old. Stallions have large testicles and can ejaculate a large amount of semen to replace the sperm of other males. This is a useful adaptation for a species whose females mate polyandrously.
Threats to Survival : There has been a 70% reduction in population size in the last 30 years. Threats include hunting for skin and meat, and loss of grazing habitat and access to water, due to competition with increasing herds of domestic livestock. Additional threats are due to reduced river flow due to irrigation, and uncontrolled tourism in reserves, which causes disturbance and destruction of vegetation.
Status : IUCN: Endangered; CITES: Appendix I
Zoo Diet : High fibre bulk cube, timothy hay, carrots, and apples.
Toronto Zoo Website