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Mutianyu is possibly the second-most known section of the Great Wall after Badaling. Many heads of state have visited the Great Wall and they usually choose one of these two sections, probably for their easy access; both have cable cars ascending to the wall. For Americans reading this, President Clinton chose to see Mutianyu while Presidents Nixon and Reagan went to Badaling.
Mutianyu isn’t a long section – only a 3 kilometer hike, atop a ridge, so it’s not terribly steep (especially compared to a section like Juyongguan) – but it is quite pictureseque. It’s famous for its views of the surrounding mountains and also for its Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) watchtowers.
Getting to Mutianyu is a little cumbersome. From the heart of Beijing, you need to go to Dongzhimen Station and transfer to a bus in the long distance bus hall. It’s about an hour to an hour and a half trip northeast to Huairou County, then a private car for another 30 minutes or so to the wall. The drivers will usually wait for you as long as you don’t spend more than a few hours there. (I hiked about ¾ of the way out and back in about 3 hours, counting stops for shooting.)
Mutianyu is also a good choice because there are other sections of the wall nearby. The wild Jiankou section has basically been left untouched, and makes for extraordinary photography. As it’s also among the most dangerous sections because of its lack of upkeep, I’ll save that shoot for the spring. (Look here for a return to Badaling or Huangyaguan in winter should there be enough snow.) Other areas of the wall slightly farther out from Beijing, but also northeast of town include Simatai and Jinshanling in Miyun County and Hebei province, respectively, where I will also try to visit in the spring. Last but not least is the Huanghua section, also near Jiankou and Mutianyu.
This history of the wall – especially of the architecture – is impressive, as is its modern use as a tourist attraction/trap. The wall was built by poor Chinese or prisoners (such as the Juyongguan section, which literally translates as: “to live…criminal…(mountain) pass,” which reflects that it was built by prisoners. Many people worked to death on the construction of this massive wall.
In many sections of the wall, there is a famous quote by Chairman Mao in which he says, “You are not a man until you have visited the Great Wall of China.” (I take this tongue in cheek as this same man also encouraged Chinese to be resourceful and use the bricks of the wall as construction materials.)
The world at large seems to be rather taken with the romance and history of the wall. It seems to me that the world feels this way more than most Chinese. I’ll make that assumption based on the fact that a lot of sections of the wall are in disrepair or, in the case of the Datong section, dismantled. Also, in conversations with Chinese, most seem to have a rather nonchalant attitude towards seeing the wall and don’t think much about its historical context – including people who live close enough to travel there easily.
All in all, the wall offers many different panoramas, each section slightly different from the other, and each having a reasonably-priced admission of ~50 RMB during peak season and a little less between November and March. Outside of the Beijing area, there are also some rather notable sections of the wall (such as the eastern and western termini which end in the ocean and desert, or in Shanxi province near Datong where the bricks have all been torn down and all that remains are earthen mounds where the watchtowers once were).
As long as I live in China, I will continue to try to visit different sections of the wall to highlight some of the differences (albeit many are subtle) and to highlight that the wall has an enigmatic meaning and symbolism, contributing to the complexities of China.
So it appears that I am back in the digital realm with the most recent acquisition of a Ricoh GR! For the longest time I've been trying to get my hands on its film ancestor, the GR1, but failed miserably. Nobody seems to want to part with one.
Anyway, the digital GR is a rather curious little camera. It's well made and quite a joy to hold in one's hand. Some of the reviews make it sound as if its build and feel rivals that of a Leica but that is certainly not true. On the upside however, it's infinitely smaller and lighter.
One immediate problem to solve is that of the viewfinder: It doesn't have one and offers no facility for an electronic viewfinder either. This initially put me off and my first days with the camera confirmed that I can't deal with using the LCD display on the back. If it could swivel, maybe there'd be a way but it's rigid so then I quickly surveyed the optical finders available.
So I dropped by at B&H this morning to see what was available. Disappointingly, my sales person told me that they might only have the ridiculous $600 Zeiss finder on display while I was interested in the Voigtländer 28mm OVF. Turns out he was wrong and I had a chance to try it on the Ricoh.
In a word, it's fantastic. In real life, it's much tinier than the photos would suggest and when looking through it, I was almost blinded by its brightness. I didn't even bothering checking its accuracy in store. This I did upon leaving the store. There's good news too: for objects three to four meters away, it's a perfect match to what the sensor sees.
With this OVF, the Ricoh suddenly becomes an incredibly nimble camera. One will first have to configure it accordingly which turns out to be a bit of a struggle: the GR's geek factor is really something else. It took me a couple of days to even realize that its adjustment lever on the back was also a button, opening up quite a few hitherto unknown possibilities.
The first set of settings I've assigned to the program dial's MY1 position is as follows: aperture priority mode, minimum shutter speed of 1/60 secs, maximum auto ISO of 3200 and snap focus, normally set to 2m which, at an aperture of f/7.1 or f/8 basically gives me a depth of field from 1.2m to infinity (the Ricoh will visualize the available depth of field using a green bar in its display - very nice). The focusing mode as well as the snap-focus distance can easily be changed without diving into menus should I ever have to.
The back display remains off entirely as there is no longer any need for focusing. With the brilliant viewfinder, virtually zero shutter lag and an inaudible shutter, this promises to be the perfect camera for the streets.
When reviewing the photos later in PS, I was a bit surprised to see that they didn't really seem all that sharp. There was a certain fuzziness about them which I initially attributed to the effective scale focusing that I am now using. My worries were unfounded however: The images crispen up very nicely when sharpening. The very low noise-levels of the sensor allow turning down the threshold all the way which brings out even the tiniest of details.
So far I am very happy with this Ricoh. It's not perfect tho. I for example played around with its manual focus implementation and found it to be utterly unusable. It will also take me a little longer to feel at home with its interface and it's rather impressively sized menu. But in the end it's all about customizing it such that the few parameters one actually needs to change all sit on a separate control.
As for that photo, there is little to see here. This was cropped to 4:3 after the fact. Most of the photos from this morning could do with this slightly more squarish crop which is odd because i've never felt that need when using a 35mm film camera.
Most beautiful sunset ever. Looking at this, is making me want to go back there.. And stay there ;)
-film
Disney gets it right most of the time but on occasion, they knock the ball right out of the park. And they did that with this. This is Princess Tiana’s Mardi Gras Celebration and they parade through New Orleans singing and dancing and having a blast I have to tell you, I usually run from these. Yes, they are cool but they get quite crowded. But this was not the same. The music started and I could see them off in the distance parading down the street. I was entranced. I pushed, shoved, bit (don't judge me) my way to the front of the crowd and had a blast.
I'm pretty sure Princess Tiana winked at me. Come to think of it, so did the Prince. I think the Aligator did too now that you mention it.
View on Black or I'll toss you into the Louisiana Swamps
Our Daily Challenge
i love you much(most beautiful darling)
more than anyone on the earth and i
like you better than everything in the sky
-sunlight and singing welcome your coming
although winter may be everywhere
with such a silence and such a darkness
noone can quite begin to guess
(except my life)the true time of year-
and if what calls itself a world should have
the luck to hear such singing(or glimpse such
sunlight as will leap higher than high
through gayer than gayest someone's heart at your each
nearness)everyone certainly would(my
most beautiful darling)believe in nothing but love
~ee cummings
Most people seem to have been at this meeting for Vallentino Rossi, but plenty of action was happening throughout the field
Most excellent wife J. was 30 on this day. We celebrated by wearing Power Ranger suits on Whitehaven Beach, QLD. As you do.
I love my wife.
(taken 14.06.11, uploaded 21.06.11)
Most Pacific islands have unpretentious police cars up to 30 years old. They use money wisely, not like Queensland. The police on these islands are so friendly and helpful and non-confrontational, not like Queensland. That is why they have top respect.
This is a three wheel vehicle on the island of Maui
Most trains passing through the 'funnel', the very busy section of the London to Brighton main line between East and South Croydon are naturally electrically powered, but as the Uckfield branch into deepest East Sussex is not electrified, class 171 DMU's are needed.
Wat Chalong is Phuket’s most important Buddhist temple and is the biggest and most ornate of Phuket’s 29 Buddhist monasteries. The architecture is typical of wats found throughout Thailand. Wat Chalong is associated with the revered monks, Luang Pho Chaem and Luang Pho Chuang, both of whom were famous for there work in herbal medicine and tending to the injured. During the tin miners’ rebellion of 1876 they mobilized aid for the injured on both sides. They also mediated in the rebellion, bringing the warring parties together to resolve their dispute. Statues honoring them stand in the sermon hall (viharn). Many Thais come here to be blessed by the monks and receive a good luck charm in the form of a string tied around the wrist, which they believe protects them from injury and illness.
Many local Thais and Asian tourists will set off fire crackers and ask for the lucky lottery numbers, and have their fortune told. Just inside the main hall on the floor before the image are two cans of what looks like shaved bamboo chopsticks. Pick one up and shake the can back and forth rhythmically until one of the sticks works its way to the top and falls to the floor. Read the number, then walk around the corner to the right where there is a wooden cabinet on the wall. Open the drawer with the corresponding number and take one of the slips of paper inside. Get someone to translate it for you or hold onto it until you get back to your hotel where the desk clerk can translate it. Also on the floor are several pairs of red wooden blocks made from bamboo roots and shaped like twin halves of a mango. These help you make decisions. Pose a question that requires a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. Toss the a pair blocks in the air and watch how they land on the floor. If both land with the same side up the answer is ‘no’; if they land, one up and one down, the answer is ‘yes’. Whichever form of divination you choose, be sure to leave a donation at the alter. It will go towards the upkeep of the shrine.
Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night. ~Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters of Rainer Maria Rilke
Most Japanese weddings take place at Shinto Shrines. One the wedding day the bride is painted from head to toe in white as a statement of her maidenhood. The bride wears a white kimono and elaborate headpiece to hide her "horns of jealousy:" from the groom’s mother, who becomes the head of her family. A Japanese groom dresses in a black kimono. While the bride and groom exchange vows the two families face each other and not the bride and groom. One of the central moment of the Japanese wedding ceremony is when the bride and groom drink nine cups of sake, after which they are officially declared man and wife. The families also drink sake to symbolize the joining of the two families. At the end of the ceremony the father of the groom and the bride introduce their family members.
At the wedding reception the bride changes into a red kimono, and at some wedding a Western style white wedding dress. The wedding guest play games, skits, and sometimes karaoke at the wedding reception. Guest are expected to offer the couple "goshugi"(money). Most Japanese weddings take place in the Spring or Fall, because of the good weather. Some days are consider luckier to get married on than other. Artcle From www.weddings.sc/content,traditional-japanese-weddings/
Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012
DEMO: FORTUNE DASHBOARD
How to get the best of Fortune, daily on your iPad. Megan Barnett, Managing Editor, Fortune.com
Photograph by Stuart Isett/Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit
Monday, October 1st, 2012
SOLUTIONS DESK OPENS
Photograph by Stuart Isett/Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit
hurts in most cases.
In my secret life ~ www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyMC5MJYOZ8
I saw you this morning.
You were moving so fast.
Can’t seem to loosen my grip
On the past.
And I miss you so much.
There’s no one in sight.
And we’re still making love
In My Secret Life.
I smile when I’m angry.
I cheat and I lie.
I do what I have to do
To get by.
But I know what is wrong,
And I know what is right.
And I’d die for the truth
In My Secret Life.
Hold on, hold on, my brother.
My sister, hold on tight.
I finally got my orders.
I’ll be marching through the morning,
Marching through the night,
Moving cross the borders
Of My Secret Life.
Looked through the paper.
Makes you want to cry.
Nobody cares if the people
Live or die.
And the dealer wants you thinking
That it’s either black or white.
Thank G-d it’s not that simple
In My Secret Life.
I bite my lip.
I buy what I’m told:
From the latest hit,
To the wisdom of old.
But I’m always alone.
And my heart is like ice.
And it’s crowded and cold
In My Secret Life.
Leonard Cohen ~ In My Secret Life
Konica Minolta Dimage F-300
Dopravní podnik měst Mostu a Litvínova a.s.: bus number 105 (MAN NL 243 F LPG) working a service in the line 30.
Most of Vollis Simpson's whirligigs have been removed from Acid Park and are being restored and placed in downtown Wilson in the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park. We have visited the park several times in the past two years each time we have been met with new whirligigs.
On our last visit in February, all the grass was gone in the park and a whole new row of whirligigs had been erected at the back of the park. Once complete, the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park will have a farmers' market, an amphitheater, walking trails, a crafts market, and more.We are very excited for the proposed finished product as it will be an awesome tribute to Mr. Simspon's whirligigs as well as a major tourist attraction for Wilson.
More photos at Strange Carolinas: www.strangecarolinas.com/2016/06/vollis-simpson-whirligig...
the closer you look, the more imperfections you will find.
you have to accept yourself for who you are, inside and out.
of course, you can change both with lies and excessive make up, but in the end, who are you really fooling?
"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."
Most of my Chemtrail pictures were taken in Dayton, Ohio--home of The Wright-Patterson Air Force Base -- final resting place of the Roswell aliens -- and apparently from my photo and video documentation, Chemtrail Central! This area has been getting Chemtrailed on a massive, daily basis and I have literally 1000's of pictures and videos since I began documenting it in earnest in 2014. I am designating all my Chemtrail pictures and videos as CC0 (Creative Commons Zero), which removes my copyright and releases them into the Public Domain. They are archived on Flickr under "Chem Trailchaser". My hope is that this will accelerate interest, research, study and more documentation from all over the world. Please, download, copy, backup, mirror, share and use was many of these photos as you can. Thanks for looking! -Chem
Freedom Celebration South African High Commission Residence Kensington London. The Most Reverend Desmond M Tutu RIP South African Anglican Archbishop and Theologian Dorothy Masuka RIP Jazz Singer from Bulawayo Zimbabwe and Yvonne Chaka Chaka SA Singer
Museum of the Future - The most beautiful building on earth.
© Ruediger Stolp_RSP_3659_00001
Follow me on:
Most of the day a off-peak shuttle between Oxford and Banbury provides the sole FGW service on this route.
Mostarski Stari most je kameni most izgrađen od kamena tenelija. Luk je dug skoro 29, a visok 20, metara, savijen blizu sniženog polukruga. Karakteriziran je po tankom i elegantnom obliku: profil mosta je bio toliko tanak i visoko iznad vode da je mnogima bilo teško zamisliti da takva građevina se može napraviti od ogromnih kamenih blokova. Most je svijetle sjajne boje koja se mjenja tokom dana zavisno od sunca.
Most je bio izgrađen jednostavno da se spoje dvije obale Neretve, bez ikakve ukrasne namjere ili posebnog značaja. Glavni uticaj na dizajn mosta je morfologija mjesta i okoline. Cijeli kompleks nije posljedica jednog dizajna nego razvoj kroz doba, zavisan od historijskih događaja i potrebe za zaštitu prijelaza preko rijeke. Stari most nije povezan za ijedan specifičan stil ili doba arhitekture tako da je jedinstven u svijetu.
Most Coelioxys look similar (don't you agree?), dulled gray black, heavily pitted, with strong patterns of popping white hair bands. Ah, but here, we have one arrayed in batmobile colors, glossy, midnight black with reduced pitting and purple/black wings. While strictly conjecture, this does make sense since its host (in which nest it lays its eggs) is similarly colored (Megachile xylocopoides) and similar departs from the general Megachile model. How important does host/ cleptoparasite matching matter in bees? I don't know.
This bee, the second record for the State of Maryland, moving north with its southern host
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All photographs are public domain, feel free to download and use as you wish.
Photography Information: Canon Mark II 5D, Zerene Stacker, Stackshot Sled, 65mm Canon MP-E 1-5X macro lens, Twin Macro Flash in Styrofoam Cooler, F5.0, ISO 100, Shutter Speed 200
The murmuring of bees has ceased;
But murmuring of some
Posterior, prophetic,
Has simultaneous come,--
The lower metres of the year,
When nature's laugh is done,--
The Revelations of the book
Whose Genesis is June.
-Emily Dickinson
Want some Useful Links to the Techniques We Use? Well now here you go Citizen:
Basic USGSBIML set up:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-_yvIsucOY
USGSBIML Photoshopping Technique: Note that we now have added using the burn tool at 50% opacity set to shadows to clean up the halos that bleed into the black background from "hot" color sections of the picture.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bdmx_8zqvN4
PDF of Basic USGSBIML Photography Set Up:
ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/er/md/laurel/Droege/How%20to%20Take%20MacroPhotographs%20of%20Insects%20BIML%20Lab2.pdf
Google Hangout Demonstration of Techniques:
plus.google.com/events/c5569losvskrv2nu606ltof8odo
or
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c15neFttoU
Excellent Technical Form on Stacking:
Contact information:
Sam Droege
sdroege@usgs.gov
301 497 5840
Most Moroccans are not too kind to be snapshot. So I did ask this teen and he did accept with a nice smile. The wall was fairly tall and it seems there was nothing behind.
A nice and friendly encounter !
Most of the people goes to Highgate Cemetery, takes a shot to Karl Marx Memorial Grave and then posts it. I preferred to pay a tribute to Claudia Vera Jones.
(By the way, a little piece of Karl Marx's Grave is in the upper right side of the pic)
Vincent Willem van Gogh (30 March 1853 – 29 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings, most of them in the last two years of his life. His oeuvre includes landscapes, still lifes, portraits, and self-portraits, most of which are characterised by bold colours and dramatic brushwork that contributed to the rise of expressionism in modern art. Van Gogh's work was only beginning to gain critical attention before he died from a self-inflicted gunshot at age 37. During his lifetime, only one of Van Gogh's paintings, The Red Vineyard, was sold.
Born into an upper-middle-class family, Van Gogh drew as a child and was serious, quiet and thoughtful, but showed signs of mental instability. As a young man, he worked as an art dealer, often travelling, but became depressed after he was transferred to London. He turned to religion and spent time as a missionary in southern Belgium. Later he drifted into ill-health and solitude. He was keenly aware of modernist trends in art and, while back with his parents, took up painting in 1881. His younger brother, Theo, supported him financially, and the two of them maintained a long correspondence.
Van Gogh's early works consist of mostly still lifes and depictions of peasant labourers. In 1886, he moved to Paris, where he met members of the artistic avant-garde, including Émile Bernard and Paul Gauguin, who were seeking new paths beyond Impressionism. Frustrated in Paris and inspired by a growing spirit of artistic change and collaboration, in February 1888 Van Gogh moved to Arles in southern France to establish an artistic retreat and commune. Once there, his paintings grew brighter and he turned his attention to the natural world, depicting local olive groves, wheat fields and sunflowers. Van Gogh invited Gauguin to join him in Arles and eagerly anticipated Gauguin's arrival in late 1888.
Van Gogh suffered from psychotic episodes and delusions. He worried about his mental stability, and often neglected his physical health, did not eat properly and drank heavily. His friendship with Gauguin ended after a confrontation with a razor when, in a rage, he mutilated his left ear. Van Gogh spent time in psychiatric hospitals, including a period at Saint-Rémy. After he discharged himself and moved to the Auberge Ravoux in Auvers-sur-Oise near Paris, he came under the care of the homeopathic doctor Paul Gachet. His depression persisted, and on 29 July 1890 Van Gogh died from his injuries after shooting himself in the chest with a revolver.
Van Gogh's work began to attract critical artistic attention in the last year of his life. After his death, his art and life story captured public imagination as an emblem of misunderstood genius, due in large part to the efforts of his widowed sister-in-law Johanna van Gogh-Bonger. His bold use of colour, expressive line and thick application of paint inspired avant-garde artistic groups like the Fauves and German Expressionists in the early 20th century. Van Gogh's work gained widespread critical and commercial success in the following decades, and he has become a lasting icon of the romantic ideal of the tortured artist. Today, Van Gogh's works are among the world's most expensive paintings ever sold. His legacy is celebrated by the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, which holds the world's largest collection of his paintings and drawings.
As with the OOAK MP doll, I used the 2nd edition Mary Poppins head on an articulated body for more posing options. Her dress is from the 3rd edition Marry Poppins doll. I found this one, of all four MP dolls, to be the most accurate to the movie. I enhanced her hat by adding some small flowers and a larger brim. Her gloves, umbrella, shoes and stand are all from the 2nd edition doll. I painted her shoes to match the movie.
Most of the huts were a simple, single design, but this one joined two or three others via corridors.
10-MOST IMPORTANT TRENDS SHAPING THE MOUNTAIN BIKING WORLD
Girly trends: More women on the trails is becoming more of a standard than a trend. This is making mountain biking more of a family sport.
Mountain biking is constantly evolving. Companies are always looking for ways to push...
www.pinoymtbiker.org/10-most-trends-shaping-the-mountain-...
The Most Rev. Joseph R. Cistone, Bishop of Saginaw, celebrated Ash Wednesday Mass at the Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption in Saginaw on Feb. 18. To mark the beginning of the penitential season of Lent, Catholics receive ashes on their foreheads as a sign of repentance and mortality. The ashes come from blessed palms that were distributed last year on Palm Sunday and later burned.
The Church emphasizes the penitential nature of Lent and Catholics who are between the ages of 18 and 59 are called to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, meaning they should eat only one full meal and two smaller meals without eating between meals. Also, all who are 14 and older are called to abstain from eating beef, pork, poultry and food made from animal fat on those days and all Fridays during Lent.