View allAll Photos Tagged Important
After some important business in NY, I couldn't help but swing by the Finger Lakes for another GS2 chase. A 5pm departure from Solvay made for great light and a successful series of shots, rounded off by this final non-shadowed scene of the day here at Skaneateles Junction. The usual three geeps made easy work of an unusually large train of mostly empties. Thanks to those in the know for their help!
Sometimes important things happen when we're busy doing less important things.
Nicole slipped away while I was taking this photo. But peace and happiness lie on the other side, so rest in peace, my friend.
The Maya Mountains are a mountain range in Belize and eastern Guatemala. The highest peaks are Doyle's Delight at 1,124 metres (3,688 ft) and Victoria Peak at 1,120 metres (3,670 ft). The Maya Mountains and associated foothills contain a number of important Mayan ruins including the sites of Lubaantun, Nim Li Punit, Cahal Pech and Chaa Creek; the most eminent nature reserve within the range is the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary. The mountains are mainly made of Paleozoic granite and other Paleozoic sediments.
Mameda Town and its surroundings, which developed as a townspeople's land during the Tenryo period, retained a lot of land division at the time of residence, and traditional buildings remain well as a group, so the range of about 10.7 hectares was selected as a national important preservation district for groups of traditional buildings on December 10, 2004.
It’s important to show it at the right time :-)
Boris Mikhailov
sasanqua camellia, 'Green 99-031', 'Susy Dirr', j c raulston arboretum, ncsu, raleigh, north carolina
Beautiful blooms put on a show stopping tribute :-)
Susy Dirr, daughter of Dr. Michael and Bonnie Dirr was born with cystic fibrosis, which makes the act of breathing a life and death struggle. Undaunted by her disease, she was valedictorian of her high school class and an honor student at the University of GA, graduating with a degree in advertising a year ahead of her class. Cystic fibrosis did not define Susy as a person. She embraced life with a joyful spirit that was uplifting to everyone around her. She made the world a better place with her compassion for others, her biting wit and brilliant mind. When a soul shines so bright, we see it in all things beautiful. So, as summer fades and hints of autumn are in the air, reflections of these lovely flowers, graceful in form and with the sweet fragrance of newly opened tea, begin to fill our senses. We reflect on Susy’s life and know that a part of her spirit remains with us in the garden.
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La particularité de l'église, outre son architecture extérieure, est de s'organiser autour d'un escalier central baptisé l'Escalier des Morts, où les illustres habitants du monastère étaient autrefois enterrés. Aujourd'hui, seuls cinq tombeaux subsistent. Cet escalier s'achève, en son plus haut point, sur le Portail du Zodiaque.
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San Miiguel de la Cluse, una de las abadías benedictinas más famosas, es hoy en día uno de los conjuntos arquitectónicos románicos más importantes de Europa. Su estructura arquitectónica es singular. Las escarpadas formaciones rocosas de la montaña se integran a la perfección con los cimientos, los escalones y los contrafuertes para crear un conjunto único y unificado. La característica distintiva de la iglesia, además de su arquitectura exterior, es su organización en torno a una escalera central conocida como la Escalera de los Muertos, donde fueron enterrados los ilustres habitantes del monasterio. Hoy en día, solo quedan cinco tumbas. Esta escalera culmina en su punto más alto con el Portal del Zodíaco.
fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbaye_Saint-Michel-de-la-Cluse
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Foto: Esta vista estó tomada con teleobjetivo desde el pueblo de Avigliana. La iglesia se encuentra en un promontorio a 952 m de altitud.
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Cette vue a été prise avec un téléobjectif depuis le village d'Avigliana. L'église est située sur un promontoire à une altitude de 952 m.
Especially in these days when people are so busy with work, it is hard to keep up with family as well. Just remember family is the MOST IMPORTANT part of our lives. Our children need our love, care, attention, education, good health, family life. All children deserve this WITHOUT EXCEPTION!!!! NO child should be left behind!!! Keep families together, don't separate them!!! To the huge corporations please remember that love comes before huge profits, remember that people are working for you, not robots, they have a private life and need to sustain families and need the time to give attention to their families!
Thank you for your kind visit. Have a wonderful and beautiful day! ❤️❤️❤️
Kronborg (Danish pronunciation: is a castle and historical stronghold in the town of Helsingør, Denmark. Immortalised as Elsinore in William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, Kronborg is one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe. It was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000.
The castle is situated on the extreme northeastern tip of the island of Zealand at the narrowest point of the Øresund, the sound between present Denmark and the provinces of present Sweden. The latter were under Danish control at the time the castle was built. In this part, the sound is only 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) wide, hence the strategic importance of maintaining a coastal fortification at this location commanding one of the few outlets of the Baltic Sea.
The castle's story dates back to a stronghold, Krogen, built by King Eric VII in the 1420s. Along with the fortress Kärnan in Helsingborg, on the opposite coast of Øresund, it controlled the entrance to the Baltic Sea. From 1574 to 1585, King Frederick II had the medieval fortress radically transformed into a magnificent Renaissance castle. The main architects were the Flemings Hans Hendrik van Paesschen and Anthonis van Obbergen. The sculptural work was coordinated by Gert van Groningen.
In 1629, a fire destroyed much of the castle, but King Christian IV subsequently had it rebuilt. The castle has a church within its walls. In 1658, Kronborg was besieged and captured by the Swedes, who took many of its valuable art treasures as war booty.
In 1785 the castle ceased to be a royal residence and was converted into barracks for the Army. The Army left the castle in 1923. After a thorough renovation, the complex was opened to the public.
The Vitthala temple is one of the most important and beautiful temples in Hampi,the ruined capital city of the erstwhile Vijayanagar Empire in the state of Karnataka .Hampi is a Unesco World Heritage site.
Like all monuments in Hampi this temple is also built from locally sourced granite.The core of the temple was in existence since the reign of Devaraya II (1422-46 AD)However later kings added to it and major additions including the stone chariot were made during the reign of Krishnadevaraya, the most powerful king of Vijayanagar in the 16th century.It is an example of the mature phase of Vijayanagar architecture and is a complex of exquisite temples and mandapas including a hundred pillared mandapa and the famous stone chariot.The main shirine is dedicated to Vitthala or Lord Vishnu.It has a massive enclosure with lofty gopuras or entrance gateways on three sides.All the structures in this complex have exquisite carving on the walls and pillars.The upper portions, made of brick and mortar have crumbled..The ruins of this magnificent temple stand testimony to the amazing talent and superior craftsmanship of the architects and sculptors of the Vijayanagar Empire.
I had to take this shot with my phone since photography with cameras is not allowed inside this temple complex.
Might be worth a look in large.
Due to some family commitments I will be off for some time. See you all soon. Take care, stay safe dear friends.
Important to know: Iguanas are capable of severely injuring people, other animals and themselves when their body language messages are not recognized. Most iguanas clearly sign that trouble is ahead. They nod their head and wave their dewlap side to side.
The dewlap is a fold of loose skin hanging from the neck or throat of an animal, like a cow. Iguanas use their dewlap to communicate. First, an extended dewlap can simply be a greeting. An extended dewlap is often used to say hello to another creature during mating and most generally as a territorial sign. Second, it can be a form of protection. A threatened iguana may extend its dewlap to intimidate a predator into thinking it is much larger than it is. Third, an extended dewlap may be a sign that the iguana is trying to adjust its temperature. An extended dewlap on an iguana basking in the sun is quite normal. It may be catching sun to warm up or catching a breeze to cool off. So it's important to consider "the big picture" when reading an Iguana's body language.
Parts of an iguana... www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=Up3IVbC...
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Miami FL
IMPORTANT: for non-pro users who read the info on a computer, just enlarge your screen to 120% (or more), then the full text will appear below the photo with a white background - which makes reading so much easier.
My best photos (mostly not on Flickr) are here: www.lacerta-bilineata.com/western-green-lizard-lacerta-bi...
THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO:
The fella above looks like he's about to devour me any second, but I'm happy to report that I survived the unusual encounter with him without any injuries and remain completely undigested 😄 - in fact, he didn't even threaten me.
It's a juvenile green whip snake (Hierophis viridiflavus), a non-venomous colubrid species which I photographed in my garden in Ticino (Switzerland), but as with all my pictures on Flickr, I'll try to give you a bit more context.
First of all, you have to know that I adore snakes - even though they have the nasty habit of preying on my beloved green lizards - but if you now wonder why I so far only uploaded a single snake photo here before today, the answer is that until relatively recently, I hardly had any.
The reasons for this are simple: our snakes are very shy, plus they're far from abundant. If you're lucky, you might be able to spot one, but if it also becomes aware of you, it will inevitably be gone long before you have your camera ready.
The history of human-snake interaction in Switzerland (and particularly in Ticino) has sadly not been a happy one for the reptiles, and every snake knows this. Out of ignorance, superstition and the fear they might be venomous - which most snakes in Switzerland aren't - people beat them to death wherever they found them for centuries, so you can't blame our serpentine friends for hissing "Hell, no!" and slithering to safety as fast as they can whenever they see or sense a human approaching.
There are exceptions of course; our vipers and adders sometimes rely on their camouflage and keep still rather than fleeing when you get near them - which still doesn't mean that they're inclined to pose for a selfie with you, mind - but around my village I sadly haven't come across one of those in over two decades.
So I've rarely been lucky in the snake department, but, as the famous saying goes, "luck is when preparation meets opportunity", and I took that to heart. Two years ago, I built piles of rocks and heaps of dry grass and twigs and branches all over the garden to provide basking spots and hiding places - not just for snakes but for reptiles in general - and this worked better than I could ever have hoped.
First the western green lizards came back (they had previously been driven out of my garden by my neighbors' cats), and then the snakes started showing up. Particularly the species H. viridiflavus now seems to feel very much at home on my premises, and so the opportunities to photograph my serpentine friends have increased dramatically.
They still flee as soon as they become aware of me, so a good shot is rarely a given, but since I made my my garden more reptile-friendly, the odds of getting a usable photo have gotten much, much better. Which finally brings me to the fella above.
I spotted the youngster one morning in early summer, and because I (almost) always have my camera at the ready when I enter my garden, I was able to photograph him from afar before he saw me and disappeared.
As I went back into the house to check the photos, I noticed something interesting. As expected, they were pretty bad, because I hadn't been able to get close enough, but when I enlarged them, it seemed there was something in the snake's mouth.
It looked like a small rib cage, but I couldn't be sure, so I went back into the garden to investigate, hoping the snake might have left behind whatever it had been eating when I scared it away.
And indeed, when I inspected the woodpile beneath my palm tree where I had photographed the young snake, I saw a lizard carcass. It was nothing but a rib cage with some skin and hardly any meat left - plus the two quite intact seeming hind legs.
This was very strange; as far as I was aware, green whip snakes didn't eat carrion. On the contrary: they are known to be very agile hunters - they're actually the fastest European snake species - and only eat live prey. That lizard carcass was anything but that: by the look (and smell!) of it, it was at least a couple of days old, if not more, and other animals had already done a pretty good job gnawing off the meat.
As I was still contemplating the meaning of all this, I suddenly realized something even more unusual: the snake was still there! Only a foot length away from the the dead lizard it was lurking in the shadows, motionless, observing me.
Now this was really exceptional; as already mentioned, our snake species are generally very shy, but the shiest among them are definitely the green whip snakes. In my experience, they never return to the exact same spot once you've scared them away, at least not within such a short time frame.
I slowly backed away, hoping not to spook it, cursing myself for leaving the camera attached to the computer as I went back into the house to get it. When I returned, the snake thankfully hadn't disappeared, and so I very carefully set up the tripod with the camera in front of the woodpile and waited.
After a few minutes, the snake started moving. It had a length of maybe 60-70 cm, and I would have guessed its age at around 2 to 3 years (the species can grow to a length of 150 cm, in rare cases even to almost 2 meters, which makes it one of the biggest European snake species).
The little guy was clearly aware of me, but those putrid lizard ribs were just too enticing to resist. Once he had reached the smelly object of his desire, he started to swallow it while at the same time trying to drag it away from the nasty human, back into the shadows.
Both tasks proved very difficult, however, which was very comical to watch. The carcass - the remains of a pretty sizable common wall lizard - kept getting stuck between the twigs and branches of the woodpile, but it was also simply too big for the snake's tiny mouth (while a body length of around 70 cm might seem respectable, juveniles of this species still have a rather small head by comparison).
The young snake kept trying; several times it let go of its stinky treat only to attempt to swallow it again, from pretty much every angle, but it just wouldn't work. This was exhausting business, and so in between attempts the snake understandably took some breaks, basking on the woodpile for a few minutes, before it went back to work with new vigor. It also had to clear its throat from time to time and readjust its jaws, and during one such moment I took the photo above.
In the end, it managed to drag the dead lizard out of my sight into the woodpile, at which point I left the little fella (I had been photographing and filming the scene for over an hour, and by now I felt nearly as exhausted as the snake just from watching the whole ordeal; btw, the film clip is here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8x0tBpRTck ).
When I returned to the woodpile almost two hours later, the snake had come out again, still fiercely trying to devour the dead lizard. I was impressed; this time I didn't stay, because I didn't want to disturb the little guy again with my presence, but as I left I thought admiringly: "That's what I call dedication!"
As always, many thanks for reading and commenting: have a great start into the new week everyone! ❤🙏😊
P.S. @ willjatkins Did you ever encounter this species feasting on carrion or hear of such behavior, Will?
The Registan, heart of ancient Samarkand. The ensemble of three madrasas is considered a unique example of the art of urban construction + architectural design.
The medreses not only served as academic teaching centres, but also as the most important mosques for a long time.
The Mehrerau Monastery is an important Cistercian abbey located directly on Lake Constance.
Bregenz
Jan 2026
Minolta AF-TELE super, Ilford SFX (no filter), Rodinal 1+25
Easylith onto Foma Retrobrom (current batch)
If you wish, after 13 minutes of development time, you can see the first delicate snowballs forming in the upper left corner.
© Important notice: do not use my images without my written permission, even for a non commercial use. If you're interested in any of my photos you must contact me first. All my images are under full copyright.
© All rights reserved.
Trip around Hestur with Cave Boat and Experience the world's largest sea cave
The island has been settled since Viking times; the old settlement was at Hælur, the southern tip of the island. Due to it being the sunward side of the island, cereal ripened better there than anywhere else on the island. But due to extreme difficulties in landing boats there, the village was abandoned and the current village of Hestur was established.
In 1919 a fishing accident resulted in the deaths of one-third of Hestur's men.
The coastline of the island has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International.
INES VAN MEGEN-THIJSSEN PHOTOGRAPHY
website I facebook I 500px | Instagram | werk aan de muur
All images are protected under international authors copyright laws and may not be downloaded, reproduced, copied, transmitted or manipulated without the written explicit permission of the photographer.
Soller — The #Mallorca Series. Two weeks on the island with beautiful light, and architecture, wonderful nature and interesting people-Tourists as Inhabitants. Some Scenes need colors, some need black and white. 😊
Beypazarı is a municipality and district of Ankara Province, Türkiye. Its area is 1,697 km2, and its population is 48,357 (2022). The name Beypazarı means The Bey's market in Turkish, as in the Ottoman period this was an important military base and the cavalry stationed here were an important element of the local economy.
Beypazarı today is a small town in a rural district famous for its carrots, (producing nearly 60% of Turkey's carrots), silverwork (Telkari), and a high quality natural mineral water. The crystal mineral trona, a kind of natural soda used in glass-making is extracted in Beypazarı. With its rich history, architectural heritage and attractive rocky countryside Beypazarı is becoming increasingly attractive to visitors, especially day-trippers from Ankara. The cobbled streets of white Ottoman period buildings are particularly attractive; many of the old houses have been restored as hotels and restaurants (and are also popular with Turkish film directors looking for authentic locations. Every June the town holds its popular Traditional Historical Houses, Handicrafts, Carrot and stew Festival. The visitors of course are bringing valuable income to the town, shopping for silverware and providing good custom for the food markets and restaurants.
For many visitors a major attraction is the cuisine, which includes typical Turkish dishes such as the yoghurt drink ayran, cracked wheat (or flour), yoghurt, and vegetables fermented then dried and mixed with water to make a thick soup tarhana, stuffed vine leaves, home-made sausage mumbar, and a stew cooked in a stone-oven called güveç. Sweets include the sweet cream pudding called höşmerim and pastries including a dry buttery biscuit called Beypazarı kurusu, and a renowned 80-layer baklava.
Beypazarı is a member of the European Association of Historic Towns and Regions (EAHTR).
Text Ref: Wikipedia
It doesn't matter who you are,
man, woman,
old or child,
worker or farmer,
soldier, student or merchant;
it doesn't matter what your political beliefs are
or the religious one
if they ask you what the thing is
most important for humanity,
Answers
Before
After
Always:
Peace!
Non importa chi tu sia,
uomo, donna,
vecchio o fanciullo,
operaio o contadino,
soldato, studente o commerciante;
non importa quale sia il tuo credo politico
o quello religioso
se ti chiedono qual è la cosa
più importante per l’umanità,
rispondi
prima
dopo
sempre:
La pace!
Li Tien Min
DSC_1961
This week has been so important for us here. The war which started 28-30 years ago finally ended. Alhamdulillah : )
I hope the newly earned peace will continue. And the happiness that we have right now too :D
Jayaweva Sri Lanka! :D
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Windmills have become part of the Canarian landscape, silent witnesses of a past in which they played an important role in the economy of the islands. In the case of Fuerteventura, they existed profusely because this typology is developed mainly in arid or desert regions, taking the wind as a source of energy, to make up for the lack of water currents. To this contributed the almost permanent presence of air currents in the islands and the orography of the island, characterized by vast plains only "interrupted" by these peculiar constructions.
Their typologies are made up of two very different types, but one of them predominates numerically. The most abundant is defined by an architectural structure of flat circular plant, with truncated cone shape made of masonry, topped by an irregular conical or pyramidal wooden roof of which one of its parts is open to give exit to the axis of the blades. The interior is divided into two floors, with access to the upper floor by an interior staircase, in some cases, or exterior, in others. The other typology, of which there are fewer examples, is defined by a quadrangular building, on which rises a tower made with a framework of wooden railings, which supports the blades. In the center of the tower descends an axis that connects the gearing of the blades with the stones.
La Oliva, Fuerteventura, Islas Canarias
As quite a number of you have asked here is how I do the texture.
First of all you do need to have Photoshop, I am sure you can do it in another way but I don't know that and maybe someone else does.
Mameda Town and its surroundings, which developed as a townspeople's land during the Tenryo period, retained a lot of land division at the time of residence, and traditional buildings remain well as a group, so the range of about 10.7 hectares was selected as a national important preservation district for groups of traditional buildings on December 10, 2004.
Market Street is an important thoroughfare in San Francisco, California. It begins at The Embarcadero in front of the Ferry Building at the northeastern edge of the city and runs southwest through downtown, passing the Civic Center and the Castro District, to the intersection with Corbett Avenue in the Twin Peaks neighborhood. Beyond this point, the roadway continues as Portola Drive into the southwestern quadrant of San Francisco. Portola Drive extends south to the intersection of St. Francis Boulevard and Sloat Boulevard, where it continues as Junipero Serra Boulevard.
Market Street is the boundary of two street grids. Streets on its southeast side are parallel or perpendicular to Market Street, while those on the northwest are nine degrees off from the cardinal directions.
Market Street is a major transit artery for the city of San Francisco, and has carried in turn horse-drawn streetcars, cable cars, electric streetcars, electric trolleybuses, and diesel buses. Today Muni's buses, trolleybuses, and heritage streetcars (on the F Market line) share the street, while below the street the two-level Market Street Subway carries Muni Metro and BART. While cable cars no longer operate on Market Street, the surviving cable car lines terminate to the side of the street at its intersections with California Street and Powell Street.
Construction
Market Street cuts across the city for three miles (5 km) from the waterfront to the hills of Twin Peaks. It was laid out originally by Jasper O'Farrell, a 26-year old trained civil engineer who emigrated to Yerba Buena, as the town was then known. The town was renamed San Francisco in 1847 after it was captured by Americans during the Mexican-American War. O'Farrell first repaired the original layout of the settlement around Portsmouth Square and then established Market Street as the widest street in town, 120 feet between property lines. (Van Ness now beats it with 125 feet.) It was described at the time as an arrow aimed straight at "Los Pechos de la Chola" (the Breasts of the Maiden), now called Twin Peaks. Writing in Forgotten Pioneers.
I think they are important. This is also a shot from the upcoming ''Apartment Open House'' Next week <3
Calderglen Country Park has a children's zoo, tropical glasshouse, ornamental gardens, nature trails, adventure & toddler Play areas, Gift shop, Cafe, exhibition gallery, Golf Course and a whole lot more.
The park extends along a scenic wooded glen forged out by the Rotten Calder River, a tributary of the River Clyde. The Glen extends over 5 km and has many attractive waterfalls and important geological features. The northern section of the park is a Geological Site of Special Scientific Interest.
We've parted many times before and thru the dimensions of time our souls have remained connected.
When you are with me I always feel at peace and you come to know the truth.
You are a very important soul.
I send you my love and feel the wonderful energy of the Mother Earth enveloping you.
So far so good. :-)
Love is connected by many things.
***
***
Thoughts & Ideas,
Joseph Kravis
This image was captured during a walk through Alberta's Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park. It is of a group of children who, with their teachers and classmates, were both having fun exploring a natural environment and learning a little about nature. Perfect.
© Important notice: Do not use my images without my written permission, even for a non commercial use. If you're interested in any of my photos you must contact me first. All my images are under full copyright.
© All rights reserved.
Even I have to be reminded of this sort of fact from time to time. Especially when depression takes hold and refuses to let go.
Someone out there, has, to feel better that I exist.
Moss plays an important role in forest ecosystems, both in terms of its ecological function and its aesthetic appeal.
Ecologically, moss helps to regulate water levels in the forest by absorbing and holding onto moisture, preventing soil erosion, and providing a habitat for other organisms. Moss also acts as a natural filter, helping to purify water and absorb pollutants.
Aesthetically, moss is often considered lovely in a forest setting because of its lush green color and soft, velvety texture. It can create a peaceful, serene atmosphere, particularly when growing on rocks, fallen logs, or the forest floor. The slow growth and longevity of moss also add to its beauty, as it can take years or even centuries to develop into a mature clump.
Moss in a forest setting can also have cultural significance. In many cultures, moss is associated with tranquility, longevity, and harmony with nature. It is often used in traditional art forms, such as Japanese gardening and Scandinavian moss art, as well as in modern art installations and nature-based design.
IMPORTANT: for non-pro users who read the info on a computer, just enlarge your screen to 120% (or more), then the full text will appear below the photo with a white background - which makes reading so much easier.
The color version of the photo above is here: www.lacerta-bilineata.com/ticino-best-photos-of-southern-...
THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO:
So far there's only been one photo in my gallery that hasn't been taken in my garden ('The Flame Rider', captured in the Maggia Valley: www.flickr.com/photos/191055893@N07/53563448847/in/datepo... ) - which makes the image above the second time I've "strayed from the path" (although not very far, since the photo was taken only approximately 500 meters from my house).
Overall, I'll stick to my "only-garden rule", but every once in a while I'll show you a little bit of the landscape around my village, because I think it will give you a better sense of just how fascinating this region is, and also of its history.
The title I chose for the photo may seem cheesy, and it's certainly not very original, but I couldn't think of another one, because it's an honest reflection of what I felt when I took it: a profound sense of peace - although if you make it to the end of this text you'll realize my relationship with that word is a bit more complicated.
I got up early that day; it was a beautiful spring morning, and there was still a bit of mist in the valley below my village which I hoped would make for a few nice mood shots, so I quickly grabbed my camera and went down there before the rising sun could dissolve the magical layer on the scenery.
Most human activity hadn't started yet, and I was engulfed in the sounds of the forest as I was walking the narrow trail along the horse pasture; it seemed every little creature around me wanted to make its presence known to potential mates (or rivals) in a myriad of sounds and voices and noises (in case you're interested, here's a taste of what I usually wake up to in spring, but you best use headphones: www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfoCTqdAVCE )
Strolling through such an idyllic landscape next to grazing horses and surrounded by birdsong and beautiful trees, I guess it's kind of obvious one would feel the way I described above and choose the title I did, but as I looked at the old stone buildings - the cattle shelter you can see in the foreground and the stable further up ahead on the right - I also realized how fortunate I was.
It's hard to imagine now, because Switzerland is one of the wealthiest countries in the world today, but the men and women who had carried these stones and constructed the walls of these buildings were among the poorest in Europe. The hardships the people in some of the remote and little developed valleys in Ticino endured only a few generations ago are unimaginable to most folks living in my country today.
It wasn't uncommon that people had to sell their own kids as child slaves - the girls had to work in factories or in rice fields, the boys as "living chimney brushes" in northern Italy - just because there wasn't enough food to support the whole family through the harsh Ticino winters.
If you wonder why contemporary Swiss historians speak of "slaves" as opposed to child laborers, it's because that's what many of them actually were: auctioned off for a negotiable prize at the local market, once sold, these kids were not payed and in many cases not even fed by their masters (they had to beg for food in the streets or steal it).
Translated from German Wikipedia: ...The Piazza grande in Locarno, where the Locarno Film Festival is held today, was one of the places where orphans, foundlings and children from poor families were auctioned off. The boys were sold as chimney sweeps, the girls ended up in the textile industry, in tobacco processing in Brissago or in the rice fields of Novara, which was also extremely hard work: the girls had to stand bent over in the water for twelve to fourteen hours in all weathers. The last verse of the Italian folk song 'Amore mio non piangere' reads: “Mamma, papà, non piangere, se sono consumata, è stata la risaia che mi ha rovinata” (Mom, dad, don't cry when I'm used up, it was the rice field that destroyed me.)... de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaminfegerkinder
The conditions for the chimney sweeps - usually boys between the age of 8 and 12 (or younger, because they had to be small enough to be able to crawl into the chimneys) - were so catastrophic that many of them didn't survive; they died of starvation, cold or soot in their lungs - as well as of work-related accidents like breaking their necks when they fell, or suffocatig if they got stuck in inside a chimney. This practice of "child slavery" went on as late as the 1950s (there's a very short article in English on the topic here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spazzacamini and a more in depth account for German speakers in this brief clip: www.youtube.com/watch?v=gda8vZp_zsc ).
Now I don't know if the people who built the old stone houses along my path had to sell any of their kids, but looking at the remnants of their (not so distant) era I felt an immense sense of gratitude that I was born at a time of prosperity - and peace - in my region, my country and my home. Because none of it was my doing: it was simple luck that decided when and where I came into this world.
It also made me think of my own family. Both of my grandparents on my father's side grew up in Ticino (they were both born in 1900), but while they eventually left Switzerland's poorest region to live in its richest, the Kanton of Zurich, my grandfather's parents relocated to northern Italy in the 1920s and unfortunately were still there when WWII broke out.
They lost everything during the war, and it was their youngest daughter - whom I only knew as "Zia" which means "aunt" in Italian - who earned a little money to support herself and my great-grandparents by giving piano lessons to high-ranking Nazi officers and their kids (this was towards the end of the war when German forces had occupied Italy).
I never knew that about her; Zia only very rarely spoke of the war, but one time when I visited her when she was already over a 100 years old (she died at close to 104), I asked her how they had managed to survive, and she told me that she went to the local prefecture nearly every day to teach piano. "And on the way there would be the dangling ones" she said, with a shudder.
I didn't get what she meant, so she explained. Visiting the city center where the high ranking military resided meant she had to walk underneath the executed men and women who were hanging from the lantern posts along the road (these executions - often of civilians - were the Germans' retaliations for attacks by the Italian partisans).
I never forgot her words - nor could I shake the look on her face as she re-lived this memory. And I still can't grasp it; my house in Ticino is only 60 meters from the Italian border, and the idea that there was a brutal war going on three houses down the road from where I live now in Zia's lifetime strikes me as completely surreal.
So, back to my title for the photo above. "Peace". It's such a simple, short word, isn't it? And we use it - or its cousin "peaceful" - quite often when we mean nice and quiet or stress-free. But if I'm honest I don't think I know what it means. My grandaunt Zia did, but I can't know. And I honestly hope I never will.
I'm sorry I led you down such a dark road; I usually intend to make people smile with the anecdotes that go with my photos, but this one demanded a different approach (I guess with this latest image I've strayed from the path in more than one sense, and I hope you'll forgive me).
Ticino today is the region with the second highest average life expectancy in Europe (85.2 years), and "The Human Development Index" of 0.961 in 2021 was one of the highest found anywhere in the world, and northern Italy isn't far behind. But my neighbors, many of whom are now in their 90s, remember well it wasn't always so.
That a region so poor it must have felt like purgatory to many of its inhabitants could turn into something as close to paradise on Earth as I can imagine in a person's lifetime should make us all very hopeful. But, and this is the sad part, it also works the other way 'round. And I believe we'd do well to remember that, too.
To all of you - with my usual tardiness but from the bottom of my heart - a happy, healthy, hopeful 2025 and beyond.
Lake Pleasant is an important fresh water reservoir in the midst of dramatic desert landscape. So, naturally, when I first saw this beast I thought "camel". On closer inspection, it turned out to be a wild burro, part of a herd possibly descended from the donkeys brought by Spanish explorers in the 1500s. Yavapai County, Arizona,
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important , very big file
you have to click on the photo, otherwise, we don't see the details
spherical pano
Windows are an important part of street photography for me. On the one hand, there are the interesting reflections, but also the confusion that sometimes arises and has to be resolved first. I love it. I would be delighted if you would take a look at the pictures in my album. Only if you feel like it, of course :-) Best regards MarioM.
Fenster sind für mich in der Streetphotographie ein wichtiger Bestandteil. Zum einen sind da die interessanten Spiegelungen aber auch Verwirrungen, die es manchmal gibt und die erst einmal aufgelöst werden muss. I liebe es. Es würde mich freuen, wenn du dir die Bilder in meinem Album ansehen würdest. Natürlich nur wenn du Lust hast :-) Liebe Grüsse MarioM.