View allAll Photos Tagged Forecasting
We were in The Lake District for the August Bank Holiday, great weather for walking but very busy – unlike the last Bank Holiday - where we had Great Gable to ourselves after a bad forecast kept people away. It was grim back home but we walked in shorts and Tee shirts.
Saturday and we were in the Old Dungeon Ghyll car park and away in good time. What a beautiful morning, we headed up Redacre Gill onto Pike of Blisco. The first climb of the day is always tough until the blood gets flowing. I didn’t really have a plan but it wasn’t what we did that’s for sure. I’d thought that we would walk until early afternoon and then head down, probably from Rossett Pike – But! Jayne made a call to her Mum from Pike of Blisco and she asked if we would be going over the Langdale Pikes – Jayne said yes! I looked at her and said “will we?” I was a bit surprised as it is a pretty full on walk – what we call a two Banana walk – and we only had one. She couldn’t believe that I was letting her off without doing the whole circuit of Langdale. We have done this walk before but usually in the opposite direction. There is a lot of slow and tough ground, ten tops ( depending on where exactly you go in the Langdales) over 15 miles and over 6000ft of ascent – a decent walk. The atmosphere was very clear for August, things had turned prematurely Autumnal last week so instead of warm weather haze it was very clear. We could make out buildings on the Isle of Man, we could also see rain in the distance, over Morecambe Bay and out in to The Pennines. It rained over there for hours and you can see it in the background in a lot of the photos.
We walked from Pike Of Blisco across Red Tarn to Cold Pike onto Crinkle Crags – Including the bad step. On Crinkle Crags we met a very Fit 65 year old from London, wiry and experienced, we crossed paths and walked with this guy for quite a while, it slowed us all down a bit but it didn’t matter. Bow Fell for sandwiches and our one banana. We picked our way down Hanging Knotts, the direct route to Rossett Pike. When there isn’t a well-worn path on the direct route there is always a reason – because it’s hard usually! This was the start of the second half of the walk but the afternoon was ticking by, if we were doing it I wasn’t prepared to cut corners and miss any tops so were committed to the whole thing.
We had a long slog over Rossett Pike, It’s a long fell, across Stake Pass and Martcrag Moor. After the dry summer and a wet August the fells were noticeably wetter underfoot and Martcrag was very boggy. Onto Pike of Stickle and Loft Crag. By mid-afternoon the Langdales were very busy with large family groups, every top had a small crowd on it, we took a photo and enjoyed the view and moved on – briskly! My old knee and ankle injuries were starting to tell a story by now but there wasn’t much I could do about it. Across to Harrison Stickle and I decided to include Thunacar Knott as it’s a short easy diversion on the way to Pavey Ark. Stood at the top of Pavey Ark looking over Stickle Tarn I knew that it was going to be a long painful descent – and it was. The mile or so from the New to the Old Dungeon Ghyll wasn’t so bad as there is a path through the fields which was nice and gentle on my aching joints. Eight hours wasn’t bad as we never hammered it, just wanting to enjoy our first big day on the tops for quite a long time. The golden Rule in Ambleside was calling – after a shower.
On Sunday we had another beautiful start although there was a fair bit of cloud later. We drove over Kirkstone Pass and down to Hartsop, there’s a little car park up the dead-end road through the village, it’s only small and you need to be there early, it was already filling as we got there. We had a tough first climb up the nose of Hartsop Dodd, steep but fantastic views. I’d thought long and hard about how to make the most of the fine forecast for today and views from the first climb proved that it was worth it. The day took us over 17 miles and fourteen tops, the ground was easier than yesterday so we finished an hour sooner but it was still a tough day.
Caudale Moor, Stoneycove Pike, down to Threshthwaite Cove, an out and back to Gray Crag and a quick early sandwich on Thornthwaite Crag. High Street, were most walkers never go near the summit but bypass it on the main path – something that’s true of a lot of tops and a lot of walkers – each to their own. Rampsgill Head out and back to High Raise and Kidsty Pike, back to Rampsgill Head and onto The Knott, Rest Dodd. We normally do an out and back to The Nab on this walk but not today, it might have caused some friction wi’ our Jaynie. Across Satura Crag to Brock Crags, we only had the twin tops of Angletarn Pikes to go and we were done with the tops. I usually find Angletarn Pikes hard work at the end of a long walk but we used a different path this time and they didn’t’ seem so bad. The problem with this walk is that you think it’s all over now but it’s a long fast yomp back to the car- around three miles with a little bit of climbing as well, it certainly magnifies the aches and pains.
Monday was forecast to be wet, very wet the further south you went so we headed north. It rained over breakfast and we feared the worst, gale force wind were also forecast and sure enough the trees outside the dining room were straining at the leash. I t might have to be a short leg stretcher. We headed for Keswick and parked below Dodd. We were the only ones there, gales and rain and it was the day of the Keswick show ( Grasmere Games and traffic gridlock yesterday) The rain stopped but it was a dark and grey day. We creaked our way up Dodd with aching legs, I don’t think Jayne was impressed but we plodded up Carl Side, battered by the wind. Once on Carl Side we were wind propelled along Long Side and over Ullock Pike. There was a bit of blue in the sky to the north and a bit of sun but not much. We descended via The Edge and back along Longside Wood. Nearly seven miles and 2000 ft of ascent.
Over two and a half days we climbed almost half the height of Everest, stood on 28 tops and walked 40 miles ( we clocked a couple of evening miles) we used to do eight day weeks in the Lakes with every day a full on day but over the last few years we haven’t made the effort to travel up there, we need to get our act together – and some new knees!
Danny Seiden speaking with attendees at the 2023 Legislative Forecast Luncheon hosted by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona.
Please attribute to Gage Skidmore if used elsewhere.
Shifting from the saffron yellow forecast by Brentano for 2013, gold moves in a cooler, yet rich and opulent, direction. A mid-tone gold (not soft and light nor dark and bronzy) makes a usable color and a fun metallic accent.
We had a trip to Prague in January – for Jayne’s birthday - we don’t buy Christmas or birthday presents, we travel instead. We left snowy England for a very, very dull and grey Czech Republic. Yet again I was on a photographic downer looking at the weather forecast, grey is the colour that haunts me. Fortunately it was dull grey and not burnt highlight inducing bright grey.With the grey sky acting like a big diffuser I was going to have deep shadow and contrast to deal with. We had three very short spells of broken cloud which gave us a bit of sun and colour, which I managed to more or less anticipate so we managed to be in decent locations every time – generally somewhere high.
We had been upgraded to a five star hotel, apparently our original choice was flooded. We got compensation and five star hotel upgrade– a first for me. The Art Nouveau Palace has a beautiful interior, with beautiful rooms, the breakfast room was fantastic, as was the breakfast it has to be said. We were able to have an early breakfast so were out on foot just after eight. It was very cold – and dull! We spent the whole week well wrapped up. It drizzled for a day, but never really wet us, it snowed for a day, again we didn’t get wet and the snow didn’t settle. We walked 65 mile, spending plenty of time checking buildings and their interiors out – and coffee shop and bar interiors it has to be said. Although it was dull and sometimes wet I decided that the Camera was staying in my hands for the whole trip. Whenever I put it in my backpack for one reason or another I regret it.
Again, I didn’t look at any photographs of Prague before we got there, I like to just walk and discover, with the DK guidebook in my pocket (which is full of photos it has to be said). We like to get off the beaten track and see the grittier side of the places we visit – within reason! Prague has an incredible tram network, over 1000 trams – with many of them Tatra Eastern Bloc machines. The system seems chaotic but in reality it is incredible with one of the largest networks and highest usages in the world. The trams and cars frequently share the same road space with very little in the way of drama, none of the inexplicable and pathetic constant horn blowing one finds in many countries. Once it became apparent that buildings with a grey blanket as a background were going to be a bit un-inspirational I decided that the trams would be a good focal point instead. Where I have photographed one of the older trams against a background without clues it is easy to imagine that the photos were taken fifty years ago.
The train network also provided photo opportunities. The rolling stock ranges from old Eastern Bloc to very modern double decker’s and pendolinos. There are three stations although we visited the main station and Smichov. The main station interior is art deco and has been renovated by a private company. The exterior and the platforms are very rundown with a grim eastern bloc 1950’s feel –but it works! We discovered to our amusement that we could just walk across multiple lines, no health and safety, just keep your eyes open and don’t walk under a train – you’ll make a mess. Smichov station was grim, it didn’t help that it snowed all day and was grey and bitter. We felt like we were in a 50’s film set in Russia, broken concrete platforms and dereliction. With both stations there was another world underneath them. The underground Metro is running seamlessly and efficiently away beneath your feet. I didn’t have any problems taking photos anywhere but I was very open and obviously a tourist, I didn’t act covertly or suspiciously. There was only one occasion I was stopped and that was in a shopping centre – full of CCTV cameras filming everyone else!
We discovered old and beautiful- and very large- shopping centres hidden away in quite a few places. Brass framed windows and doors, shops thriving, there was a massive camera shop with thousands of second hand cameras, too much to look at. Many of the landmark buildings prevent photography, some make a small charge, some encourage it, the DK guide book gives a good indication regarding camera use. Nothing stops many people though, they just shoot away regardless, usually wanting a picture that includes their self. Prague is surrounded by low hills and has a fair few towers that you can pay a few pounds to go up, so viewpoints are plentiful. I think we visited most of them. I read about the Zizkov Tower, which looks like a Soviet rocket on the horizon and we headed straight for it - after crossing the rail lines! Set in a quiet residential area, there wasn’t a soul about. Two beautiful girls on reception and we parted with a few pounds, into the lift and were on the observation deck with no one else up there. There are fantastic views over the city, but! It is through two layers of not very clean glass so you go for the view rather than sharp panoramas. Still a fascinating place, with a nice café bar and very clean toilets – there are toilets everywhere, usually manned with a fee. Places are well staffed compared with home were three students are supposed to run a 20 screen multiplex cinema.
Graffiti was prominent, no matter how grand the monument, some moron would have daubed it. How do they get away with it in a 24 hour city centre with a strong police presence? The place is very clean, constantly being swept. What did surprise me, was that many buildings, that looked grand and built of stone, from a distance, were actually rendered with very low quality brickwork concealed. When restored the building look very impressive, others are missing the outer render from ground level to a fair height.
I need to cut this short really, I like to put a background story to the photos and although it would be better to individualise it to a specific photo or group of photos I don’t have the time to do that. I do try to give specific detail in the title bar after I have uploaded, this is time consuming enough although I’m pretty proficient at it by now. There are many things I would like to write that should be of interest to anyone thinking of going to Prague but I’ll have to let the pictures do the talking. As usual I am unlikely to be selective enough with my uploads, I’m not very good at leaving photos out so I just upload and be damned.
The actual forecast that night:
And now the Shipping Forecast, issued by the Met Office on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency at 00:15 GMT today.
...
(shipping areas) Dover, Wight, Portland, Plymouth, Biscay: (wind direction and strength) Northwesterly 3 or 4, increasing 5 at times, (precipitation) thundery rain at first in Dover and Wight, otherwise fair. (sea state) Moderate or good, (visibility) occasionally poor in Dover and Wight.
...
Swanage Bay. Isle of Wight in the distance. Rain in between.
They're forecasting more rain today...my camera and I will be out covering the results for you. :)
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My photographs and videos and any derivative works are my private property and are copyright © by me, John Russell (aka "Zoom Lens") and ALL my rights, including my exclusive rights, are reserved. ANY use without my permission in writing is forbidden by law.
Hannah Cloke (University of Reading) part of the organising committee, chaired session 5 ‘Catchment-scale hydrometeorological forecasting: from medium-range to subseasonal-to-seasonal range’ at the Joint Virtual Workshop on “Connecting global to local hydrological modelling and forecasting: scientific advances and challenges”
Presentations and recordings are available at
Americana beige de hombre, camiseta gris con cuello abotonado y pantalón azul desgastado corto. Perfecto look casual masculino.
Winter weather forecast, the next few days look as though we might catch some snow, low temperatures, all amplified with a bit of wind!
Scrabster Harbour, Caithness, Scotland.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4X1lC9RsTUA
www.davidorban.com/2009/09/the-performance-curve-database...
Bela Nagy at the Santa Fe Institute is working on a project called the Performance Curve Data Base, pcdb.santafe.edu, which collects datasets concerning the evolution of technology, and its consequences in production and economic indicators. Bela calls his approach Quantitative Futurism, and applies techniques of hindcasting, starting from a point in the past, with the data available at that time, and checking if the forecast towards the present time matches what has actually been observed. The project is free, and open, and allows the downloading and uploading of datasets.
Thanksgiving morning, a tree in front of our house in Long Beach. We're having breakfast and suddenly I saw this wonderful morning/tree view, "just a minute i will get my camera". Hahaha>i'm a certified Flickr addict.
An unconventional pastel both brighter and greener than seafoam, seafern comes straight from fashion with a vivacious new intensity. Light and clean and very cool, seafern emerges as a stunning design accent.
Our late winter break in Tenerife was a bit different this year. The weather was forecast to break the day we arrived – and it did! Rain wasn’t the problem it was gale force winds – the same winds that caused the dust storms in Africa that caused the pollution and sand in the UK. We have witnessed gales in Tenerife before but this was worse than we’d seen it in the past . The palm trees were bending, the sand drifting like snow and the sea was raging. We usually walk around 150 miles on a ten day break but for five days we just walked with a brief spell on the beach, then the gales came back. We covered 22 miles some days and totalled 192 miles, not bad for a beach holiday. In some of the photos it looks stunning but look at the tops of the palm trees, like inside out umbrellas, the beach beds are empty and the waves were up to ten feet high and smashing thirty feet in the air. For five days everyone stood taking photos of the sea. For two days all boats stayed in harbour, only the big ferries sailed, there wasn’t a thing at sea, not even the surfers, we’ve never known that happen before. To add to this jellyfish in their hundred were washing up on shore and there was a severe risk of a burn from them. Even when red flags were flying and flags warning about the jellyfish were up the occasional nutter would go in the water and some people took staggering risks with their children including one couple with a baby, dangling it over the waves, just to get a photo, playing chicken as monster waves crashed in.
One day I had to catch my club sandwich as it went flying from my plate in the wind, empty glasses slid off the table and seat cushions went cartwheeling down the pavement. A couple of days were dull and cool but the menacing clouds made impressive photos, the sea was like a boiling cauldron. We did have days of beautiful weather as well, the second half of the holiday was normal sunny Tenerife. I haven’t hired a car for ages on Tenerife, it adds a degree of hassle to – what is supposed to be – a sun and relax holiday so again we didn’t go up El Teide. Next time perhaps. I took my racing bike once just to cycle from sea level to 8000 feet nonstop – twice! it’s a seventy mile round trip and a long drag to the top. On the way home we had to make an emergency landing in Dublin, fire tenders with foam jets pointing at us, unfortunately I was facing the setting sun and couldn’t take photos as the sun was shining straight through the window. Seven and a half hours on the plane, not much fun.
To see more about the history of J B Schofield & Sons Ltd and their plant and vehicles look here: www.jbschofieldandsons.co.uk/
We had our January break in Nice this year. This is our combined Christmas and Jayne’s birthday present, which suits me as I can ignore Christmas and no presents to buy. A good result all round. We knew that the weather was forecast to be bad for at least three days which was a bit depressing but there’s nothing you can do about it. We flew from Liverpool, a nice little airport, landed in heavy rain – and it rained almost non-stop for three days. South East France suffered flooding, landslips, airlifts – and deaths! Home from home. Despite having walking gear, waterproofs etc., I had to buy an umbrella. I have never seen as many people with umbrellas, even the young lads had them. They are obviously used to rain – but without the wind to rip the brolly to shreds.
Nice has a pebble beach, the sea was rough on arrival but what we realised later, was that the pebbles were three foot deep on top of the concrete bases that the hotels across the road have bars, settees and tables set up on. For a couple of days tracked Bobcats moved hundreds of tonnes on pebbles, later in the week there were carpets and immaculately laid tables set out on the beach every day, even in January. Every day people swam in the sea and in some cases sunbathed. The temperature peaked at 15C but with the lack of wind it was pleasant, at times though it was cold and snow appeared overnight on the distant mountains, the beginning of the Southern Alps I think.
We walked over 90 miles in seven days and for three days in pouring rain, weighing up the photo possibilities, with the intentions of going back when the weather picked up. On Monday, day four, things improved, on Tuesday and Wednesday it was gorgeous, Thursday was duller. If we had had better weather we would have visited Cannes and Monaco etc. but as it was we stayed within walking distance of Nice. We walked up Castle Hill ( Colline du Chateau) several times in different weather, likewise Mont Boron and Mont Alban. The views were stunning. A peninsula below us was Cap Ferrat and we had an epic day out there, over twenty miles including the 14 Km path around the entire peninsula – the second most expensive place in the world to buy a home apparently. The gates on the driveway would cost more than a small house in Huddersfield. A beautiful place though.
We went to the old Town (Vieux Nice), Cimiez, Villefranche-sur-Mer, the fantastic Russian Cathedral, Pretty much everywhere it was worth walking in the time we had. We walked from 8.30 am until 8.30 pm with barstops for a glass or two of French wine – got to keep it civilised! I had a pretty heavy backpack on with my camera gear and waterproofs etc.
All in all we had a great time but! I made a big mistake, I inadvertently put an 8 Gb CF card back in my camera, formatted it - without checking what was on it – and put another 250 photos on it. I realised when I got home that there was a problem. These photos were the best of the trip, Our second visit to the Russian Cathedral, it was closed the first time, in stunning light, and no crowds. I spotted a giant Cumulonimbus over the snow covered mountains, just as the sun was setting and turning it pink and orange. It was similar to the one I photographed at home recently, A photo of which was on the BBC weather coincidentally. I couldn’t believe my luck, the only way I could get a view of it was by taking a ride on the giant Ferris wheel nearby. We ran to it and they took us around five times, each time I fired away and got some fantastic photos – all gone! At the time I was extremely disappointed but you have to put these things in perspective – it’s nobody’s life. We were there for a break and a change of scenery and we got it, the photos make the trip for me but I still have a thousand great photos, there might have to be a next time though.
For more about Mark@jbschofieldandsons and the history of the company and its vehicles follow the link www.jbschofieldandsons.co.uk/
From the official National Weather Service forecast this weekend for Monterey, California. I didn't realize they had a graphic for smoke.
The Weather Forecast for BrickFest at the Bay is perfect for a #LEGO display! Cool and possible showers. :-)
The daily weather forecast read, in part: "Cloudy, with a high near -13 (F). Wind chill values as low as -49 (F). Northwest wind 35 to 44 mph, with gusts as high as 54 mph." We gave it a try, but gave up after one run.
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[SUBJECTS] seen at UCLA Anderson Forecast at UCLA on Thursday, June 12, 2014, in Westwood, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision for UCLA Anderson/AP Images)
We decided to go for a city break rather than sun in Tenerife again this September. Other than a few days in the North East we haven’t been away since last March and wanted a change and hopefully some sun. The problem is getting flights from the north of England to the places we want to go to. We chose Valencia as we could fly from East Midlands – which was still a pain to get to as it involved the most notorious stretch of the M1 at five in the morning. In the end we had a fairly good journey, the new Ryanair business class pre-booked scheme worked quite well and bang on time as usual. It was dull when we landed with storms forecast all week, the sky was bright grey – the kiss of death to the photography I had in mind. I was full of cold and wishing I was at work. It did rain but it was overnight on our first night and didn’t affect us. There has been a drought for eleven months apparently and it rained on our first day there! The forecast storms didn’t materialise in Valencia but they got it elsewhere.
Over the course of a Monday to Sunday week we covered 75 miles on foot and saw most of the best of Valencia – The City of Bell Towers. The Old City covers a pretty large area in a very confusing layout. There was a lot of referring to maps – even compass readings! – a first in a city for us. The problem with photography in Valencia is that most of the famous and attractive building are closely built around, some have poor quality housing built on to them. Most photographs have to be taken from an extreme angle looking up. There are no high points as it is pan flat, there are a small number of buildings where you can pay to go up on to the roof for a better view and we went up them – more than once!
The modern buildings of The City of Arts and Sciences – ( Ciutat de Las Arts I de les Ciencies ) are what the city has more recently become famous for, with tourists arriving by the coachload all day until late at night. They must be photographed millions of times a month. We went during the day and stayed till dark one evening, I gave it my best shot but a first time visit is always a compromise between ambition and realism, time dictates that we have to move on to the next destination. I travelled with a full size tripod – another first – I forgot to take it with me to TCoAaS! so It was time to wind up the ISO, again! Needless to say I never used the tripod.
On a day when rain was forecast but it stayed fine, albeit a bit dull, we went to the Bioparc north west of the city, a zoo by another name. There are many claims made for this place, were you can appear to walk alongside some very large animals, including, elephants, lions, giraffe, rhino, gorillas and many types of monkey to name a few. It is laid out in different geographical regions and there is very little between you and the animals, in some cases there is nothing, you enter the enclosure through a double door arrangement and the monkeys are around you. It gets rave reviews and we stayed for most of the day. The animals it has to be said gave the appearance of extreme boredom and frustration and I felt quite sorry for them.
The course of The River Turia was altered after a major flood in the 50’s. The new river runs west of the city flanked by a motorway. The old river, which is massive, deep and very wide between ancient walls, I can’t imagine how it flooded, has been turned into a park that is five miles long. There is an athletics track, football pitches, cycle paths, restaurants, numerous kids parks, ponds, fountains, loads of bridges, historic and modern. At the western end closest to the sea sits The City of Arts and Sciences – in the river bed. Where it meets the sea there is Valencia’s urban Formula One racetrack finishing in the massive marina built for The Americas Cup. The race track is in use as roadways complete with fully removable street furniture, kerbs, bollards, lights, islands and crossings, everything is just sat on the surface ready to be moved.
We found the beach almost by accident, we were desperate for food after putting in a lot of miles and the afternoon was ticking by. What a beach, 100’s of metres wide and stretching as far as the eye could see with a massive promenade. The hard thing was choosing, out of the dozens of restaurants, all next door to each other, all serving traditional Paella – rabbit and chicken – as well as seafood, we don’t eat seafood and it constituted 90% of the menu in most places. Every restaurant does a fixed price dish of the day, with a few choices, three courses and a drink. Some times this was our only meal besides making the most of the continental breakfast at the hotel. We had a fair few bar stops with the local wine being cheap and pleasant it would have been a shame not to, there would have been a one woman riot – or strike!
On our final day, a Sunday, we were out of bed and down for breakfast at 7.45 as usual, the place was deserted barring a waiter. We walked out of the door at 8.30 – in to the middle of a mass road race with many thousands of runners, one of a series that take place in Valencia – apparently! We struggled to find out the distance, possibly 10km. The finish was just around the corner so off we went with the camera gear, taking photos of random runners and groups. There was a TV crew filming it and some local celebrity (I think) commentating. Next we came across some sort of wandering religious and musical event. Some sort of ritual was played out over the course of Sunday morning in various locations, it involved catholic priests and religious buildings and another film crew. The Catholic tourists and locals were filling the (many) churches for Sunday mass. Amongst all of this we had seen men walking around in Arab style dress – the ones in black looked like the ones from ISIS currently beheading people – all carrying guns. A bit disconcerting. We assumed that there had been some sort of battle enactment. We were wrong, it hadn’t happened yet. A while later, about 11.30 we could hear banging, fireworks? No it was our friends with the guns. We were caught up in total mayhem, around 60 men randomly firing muskets with some sort of blank rounds, the noise, smoke and flames from the muzzles were incredible. We were about to climb the Torres de Serranos which is where, unbeknown to us, the grand, and deafening, finale was going to be. We could feel the blast in our faces on top of the tower. Yet again there was a film camera in attendance. I couldn’t get close ups but I got a good overview and shot my first video with the 5D, my first in 5 years of owning a DLSR with the capability. I usually use my phone ( I used my phone as well). Later in the day there was a bullfight taking place, the ring was almost next to our hotel, in the end we had other things to do and gave it a miss, it was certainly a busy Sunday in the city centre, whether it’s the norm or not I don’t know.
There is a tram system in Valencia but it goes from the port area into the newer part of the city on the north side, it wouldn’t be feasible to serve the historic old city really. A quick internet search told me that there are 55,000 university students in the city, a pretty big number. I think a lot of the campus is on the north side and served by the tram although there is a massive fleet of buses as well. There is a massive, very impressive market building , with 100’s of stalls that would make a photo project on its own, beautiful on the inside and out but very difficult to get decent photos of the exterior other than detail shots owing to the closeness of other buildings and the sheer size of it. Across town, another market has been beautifully renovated and is full of bars and restaurants and a bit of a destination in its own right.
A downside was the all too typical shafting by the taxi drivers who use every trick in the book to side step the official tariffs and rob you. The taxi from the airport had a “broken” meter and on the way home we were driven 22 km instead of the nine that is the actual distance. Some of them seem to view tourists as cash cows to be robbed at all costs. I emailed the Marriot hotel as they ordered the taxi, needless to say no answer from Marriot – they’ve had their money. We didn’t get the rip off treatment in the bars etc. that we experienced in Rome, prices are very fair on most things, certainly considering the city location.
All in all we had a good trip and can highly recommend Valencia.
Neutral grays will continue to shift in 2014 into cooler tones. A deeper, darker, cooler color than 2013's graphite, masculine charcoal makes a rich complement to cool accents or an elegant, powerful statement on its own.
Forecast is calling for snow this week, and yesterday's 76F in Buffalo makes me just want to pack up and rip it to NC finally.
Have to wait it out a little bit longer, but freedom awaits me. No shovels, no winter depression, and no stored up frustrations by New England urbexers.
Yup, drama free - just racism and rednecks to look forward to.
The graffiti under the highway viaduct shows the weather forecast for today.
TOTW - Week 5 Jan 26 - Feb 1st - Weather
The forecast was calling for rain the next day and I wanted to get a shot of the sky before it was gone for a week. The clouds were very opaque and lit up as they travelled across the moon. The long shutter speed helped then to drag against my camera's sensor creating the sense of action.
3 exposures at 15 sec each
A concept photograph to illustrate one aspect of traffic forecasting - distribution using the traditional gravity model.
strobist: standard bright field lighting. 16" x 22" softbox behind crystal ball.
Source: www.america2050.org
Here we see the complete build-out of the system. The high speed rail network is augmented by "traditonal rail" - similar to the current Acela line in the Northeast - and express bus service.
Using my home state of South Dakota as an example: We see that Acela-like rail service would connect Sioux Falls to both Omaha and the Twin Cities. Rapid City would get express bus service to Billings, Sioux Falls and Cheyenne. At Cheyenne, Acela-like service would run south through Fort Collins to the northern terminus of the Front Range high speed rail network in Denver.
Your thoughts?
Aside of the frigid temps, poor road conditions will make for a slow go out there today. No further accumulation overnight here is evident however blowing snow was more of an issue in other areas.
To me, Snowberries are another sing of Autumn and impending Winter.
I checked the Farmer's Almanac and they say "No region will see prolonged spells of above-normal temperatures; only near the Pacific Coast as well as eastern Quebec and the Maritimes will temperatures average close to normal."
I saw a piece from Environment Canada that suggested this coming Winter will be relatively mild across Canada compared to last Winter.
I have heard legend that abundant berries this time of year signals a hard Winter approaching.
This snowberry plant is packed with berries. I hope it just had a productive Summer and doesn't indicate a harsh Winter is on it's way!
We decided to go for a city break rather than sun in Tenerife again this September. Other than a few days in the North East we haven’t been away since last March and wanted a change and hopefully some sun. The problem is getting flights from the north of England to the places we want to go to. We chose Valencia as we could fly from East Midlands – which was still a pain to get to as it involved the most notorious stretch of the M1 at five in the morning. In the end we had a fairly good journey, the new Ryanair business class pre-booked scheme worked quite well and bang on time as usual. It was dull when we landed with storms forecast all week, the sky was bright grey – the kiss of death to the photography I had in mind. I was full of cold and wishing I was at work. It did rain but it was overnight on our first night and didn't affect us. There has been a drought for eleven months apparently and it rained on our first day there! The forecast storms didn't materialise in Valencia but they got it elsewhere.
You May notice discrepancies in the spelling of some Spanish words or names, this is because Valencian is used on signs, in some guide books and maps. There are two languages in common use with distinct differences. There may also be genuine mistakes - it has been known!
Over the course of a Monday to Sunday week we covered 75 miles on foot and saw most of the best of Valencia – The City of Bell Towers. The Old City covers a pretty large area in a very confusing layout. There was a lot of referring to maps – even compass readings! – a first in a city for us. The problem with photography in Valencia is that most of the famous and attractive building are closely built around, some have poor quality housing built on to them. Most photographs have to be taken from an extreme angle looking up. There are no high points as it is pan flat, there are a small number of buildings where you can pay to go up on to the roof for a better view and we went up them – more than once!
The modern buildings of The City of Arts and Sciences – ( Ciutat de Las Arts I de les Ciencies ) are what the city has more recently become famous for, with tourists arriving by the coachload all day until late at night. They must be photographed millions of times a month. We went during the day and stayed till dark one evening, I gave it my best shot but a first time visit is always a compromise between ambition and realism, time dictates that we have to move on to the next destination. I travelled with a full size tripod – another first – I forgot to take it with me to TCoAaS! so It was time to wind up the ISO, again! Needless to say I never used the tripod.
On a day when rain was forecast but it stayed fine, albeit a bit dull, we went to the Bioparc north west of the city, a zoo by another name. There are many claims made for this place, were you can appear to walk alongside some very large animals, including, elephants, lions, giraffe, rhino, gorillas and many types of monkey to name a few. It is laid out in different geographical regions and there is very little between you and the animals, in some cases there is nothing, you enter the enclosure through a double door arrangement and the monkeys are around you. It gets rave reviews and we stayed for most of the day. The animals it has to be said gave the appearance of extreme boredom and frustration and I felt quite sorry for them.
The course of The River Turia was altered after a major flood in the 50’s. The new river runs west of the city flanked by a motorway. The old river, which is massive, deep and very wide between ancient walls, I can’t imagine how it flooded, has been turned into a park that is five miles long. There is an athletics track, football pitches, cycle paths, restaurants, numerous kids parks, ponds, fountains, loads of bridges, historic and modern. At the western end closest to the sea sits The City of Arts and Sciences – in the river bed. Where it meets the sea there is Valencia’s urban Formula One racetrack finishing in the massive marina built for The Americas Cup. The race track is in use as roadways complete with fully removable street furniture, kerbs, bollards, lights, islands and crossings, everything is just sat on the surface ready to be moved.
We found the beach almost by accident, we were desperate for food after putting in a lot of miles and the afternoon was ticking by. What a beach, 100’s of metres wide and stretching as far as the eye could see with a massive promenade. The hard thing was choosing, out of the dozens of restaurants, all next door to each other, all serving traditional Paella – rabbit and chicken – as well as seafood, we don’t eat seafood and it constituted 90% of the menu in most places. Every restaurant does a fixed price dish of the day, with a few choices, three courses and a drink. Some times this was our only meal besides making the most of the continental breakfast at the hotel. We had a fair few bar stops with the local wine being cheap and pleasant it would have been a shame not to, there would have been a one woman riot – or strike!
On our final day, a Sunday, we were out of bed and down for breakfast at 7.45 as usual, the place was deserted barring a waiter. We walked out of the door at 8.30 – in to the middle of a mass road race with many thousands of runners, one of a series that take place in Valencia – apparently! We struggled to find out the distance, possibly 10km. The finish was just around the corner so off we went with the camera gear, taking photos of random runners and groups. There was a TV crew filming it and some local celebrity (I think) commentating. Next we came across some sort of wandering religious and musical event. Some sort of ritual was played out over the course of Sunday morning in various locations, it involved catholic priests and religious buildings and another film crew. The Catholic tourists and locals were filling the (many) churches for Sunday mass. Amongst all of this we had seen men walking around in Arab style dress – the ones in black looked like the ones from ISIS currently beheading people – all carrying guns. A bit disconcerting. We assumed that there had been some sort of battle enactment. We were wrong, it hadn’t happened yet. A while later, about 11.30 we could hear banging, fireworks? No it was our friends with the guns. We were caught up in total mayhem, around 60 men randomly firing muskets with some sort of blank rounds, the noise, smoke and flames from the muzzles were incredible. We were about to climb the Torres de Serranos which is where, unbeknown to us, the grand, and deafening, finale was going to be. We could feel the blast in our faces on top of the tower. Yet again there was a film camera in attendance. I couldn’t get close ups but I got a good overview and shot my first video with the 5D, my first in 5 years of owning a DLSR with the capability. I usually use my phone ( I used my phone as well). Later in the day there was a bullfight taking place, the ring was almost next to our hotel, in the end we had other things to do and gave it a miss, it was certainly a busy Sunday in the city centre, whether it’s the norm or not I don’t know.
There is a tram system in Valencia but it goes from the port area into the newer part of the city on the north side, it wouldn’t be feasible to serve the historic old city really. A quick internet search told me that there are 55,000 university students in the city, a pretty big number. I think a lot of the campus is on the north side and served by the tram although there is a massive fleet of buses as well. There is a massive, very impressive market building , with 100’s of stalls that would make a photo project on its own, beautiful on the inside and out but very difficult to get decent photos of the exterior other than detail shots owing to the closeness of other buildings and the sheer size of it. Across town, another market has been beautifully renovated and is full of bars and restaurants and a bit of a destination in its own right.
A downside was the all too typical shafting by the taxi drivers who use every trick in the book to side step the official tariffs and rob you. The taxi from the airport had a “broken” meter and on the way home we were driven 22 km instead of the nine that is the actual distance. Some of them seem to view tourists as cash cows to be robbed at all costs. I emailed the Marriot hotel as they ordered the taxi, needless to say no answer from Marriot – they’ve had their money. We didn’t get the rip off treatment in the bars etc. that we experienced in Rome, prices are very fair on most things, certainly considering the city location.
All in all we had a good trip and can highly recommend Valencia.
Model: Liz-Anne Picard
First, thanks Liz-Anne for making it today with the rain and cold day.
This young lady is on her way to become a great model, and before she become a star i had the chance to have a shooting with her today. I know , i know you are jealous and i understand ;-)
My contacts can see a bigger size
This one shot with my MarkIII, way sharper then the 7D ;-)
Strobist info: 430ex with pocket wizard on ettl. One in front very close to the rail, one on the laeft side slightly in front, and the third one in the back/left close to the telescope. All flashes on stands with homemade diffusors... pointing about 30 degrees down.