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Of course we have been taught to never judge a book by it's cover, but we still tend to read the cover of each other with out reading the full story. Someone is always looking (reading you),may never speak but always have a wondering eye, trying to figure out what isn't seen. So why not give them something magnificent to look at? (LOOK DETAILS HERE: letmeupgradecha.blogspot.com/2014/08/thunder.html.)
PHOTOGRAPHER AND MODEL: MYSELF
Speech House lake. Forest of Dean.
Most people would know this one I think. The Water Lily. Though it would have been a better photo if a frog had been present. A vigorous aquatic perennial with rounded dark green leaves, often red-green beneath, up to 30cm across, and cup-shaped, lightly scented flowers 20cm wide, becoming star-shaped with maturity in the summer.
My thanks to anyone who views, faves or comments on any of my photos. It is much appreciated.
Some of you may need a bit warmth and color.
So here it is.
HFF to you, dear Flilckr-Friends.
Thank you for your visits, faves and comments.
Statute of Liberty / colour solarization. The Statute of Liberty, Liberty Island, and Ellis Island are managed by the National Park Service as part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument.
End of my RGB triptych.
Strobist info -
Bottle and glass over black acrylic sheet. Contents of the bottle are bubble bath with added green food colouring. Bottle held in the air by Irish leprechaun magic.
Metz 48af-1 firing into tracing paper background on 1/4 power with a green gel. Biscuit cooling grid held in front of flash to produce waves on the surface.
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Danilo Dolci: Verso un mondo nuovo
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A story of Sicily: the Sicilian Gandhi (but he was not Sicilian ...).
This photographic story is connected, at least in part, with the previous one, whose link is represented by the nephew of the painter Robert Kitson, Miss Daphne Phelps: in life she was a psychiatric social worker (she collaborated with Anna Freud, daughter by Sigmund Freud), on the death of his uncle in 1948 he moved to Sicily to take care of Casa Cuseni, having inherited it: initially he wanted to sell it and then return to England, instead he ended up falling in love with Taormina and Sicily, deciding to stay there for the rest of his life. Daphne ran Casa Cuseni welcoming paying guests, there are many illustrious names of artists, writers, well-known personalities who have stayed there: Danilo Dolci was one of these guests, and it is precisely about him that I wish to speak. He was born in 1924 in Sesana (Trieste), after a somewhat eventful life, in 1952 he moved to Trappeto (between Palermo and Trapani), a country among the poorest and most disadvantaged in Italy: that same year the first of numerous fasts, going to bed and fasting in the bed of a child who died of malnutrition, a protest that will end only when the authorities undertake to build a sewer. Danilo Dolci continues with numerous initiatives, from the publication of a book ("Banditi a Partinico", which makes public opinion aware of the poor living conditions of western Sicily, to this book and many others will follow), to the "strike at reverses ”, when the workers went on strike, hundreds of unemployed began to work to reactivate an abandoned municipal road, an initiative that was then stopped by the police; Dolci also initiates an activity of denunciation of the mafia phenomenon and its relations with politics. There are numerous certificates of esteem and solidarity that he receives from important personalities from Italy and abroad, but despite this, for others Danilo Dolci is a dangerous subversive, to be hindered, denigrated, locked up in prison. Yet Dolci does not pose as a guru, boss, or teacher, his working method is based on the conviction that change is based on the involvement and direct participation of those concerned, his idea of progress enhances local culture and skills; he tries, working closely with the people and the most disadvantaged and oppressed groups of western Sicily, to free the dormant creativity in every person, calling this research "maieutic", a term coming from philosophy, precisely from Socratic maieutics: it is "the 'art of the midwife ", every educational act is to bring to light all the inner potentialities of the one who wants to learn, like a mother who wants to give birth to her own child from her womb, so no to notions imparted a priori, yes to help the student to bring their knowledge to light, using dialogue as a tool; however, Socratic maieutics is unidirectional, while in Danilo Dolci's "reciprocal maieutics", knowledge comes out of experience and its sharing, therefore it presupposes the reciprocity of communication. During meetings with farmers and fishermen, the idea was born to build the dam on the Jato River, which is important for the economic development of the area, but also to remove a powerful weapon in the hands of the mafia, an instrument of power which controlled the few available water resources; however the request for "water for all" will be heavily hindered, popular mobilizations and long fasts will be necessary to finally see the project realized: now the dam exists, and others have been built, thus modifying the lives of thousands of people, with the development of numerous companies and cooperatives. Among the many activities of Dolci, thanks to the contribution of international experts, the experience of the Mirto Educational Center, attended by hundreds of children, should be mentioned. Returning to Daphne Phelps and Casa Cuseni, here is a lithograph by Tono Zancanaro, dedicated to the birth of one of Danilo Dolci's daughters, but, among the most important, there is a correspondence between the pacifist philosopher Bertrand Russel and Daphne Phelps, in which the English thinker invited Robert Kitson's niece to participate in the gatherings of progressive intellectuals and literary and scientific personalities of the time, among them, besides Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre and Carlo Levi, there was Danilo Dolci, sociologist, educator, still recognized today as one of the most important figures of nonviolence worldwide.
post Scriptum:
- the images with Danilo Dolci come from the Casa Cuseni archive: they are cuttings from original periodicals, often full pages, from English newspapers, carefully preserved by Miss Daphne Phelp; these images were also taken by photographing some pages of James McNeish's book, "Fire under the ashes - The life of Danilo Dolci";
- the photographs taken in various countries of Sicily, are prior to the covid-19 pandemic;
- thanks to the surgeon colleague dr. Franco Spadaro and his kind wife, Mrs. Mimma Cundari, owners of Casa Cuseni (declared in 1998, Italian National Monument), for their hospitality and availability, having made the Danilo Dolci archive available to me.
Una storia di Sicilia: il Gandhi siciliano (ma siciliano non era…).
Questo racconto fotografico, è connesso, almeno in parte, con quello precedente, il cui anello di congiunzione è rappresentato dalla nipote del pittore Robert Kitson, la signorina Daphne Phelps: lei nella vita era una assistente sociale psichiatrica (lei collaborava con Anna Freud, figlia di Sigmund Freud), alla morte dello zio nel 1948 si trasferì in Sicilia per occuparsi di Casa Cuseni, avendola ereditata: inizialmente la voleva vendere per poi ritornarsene in Inghilterra, invece finì con l’innamorarsi di Taormina e della Sicilia, decidendo di restarvi per il resto della sua vita. Daphne gestiva Casa Cuseni accogliendo ospiti paganti, numerosi sono i nomi illustri di artisti, scrittori, note personalità che vi hanno alloggiato: Danilo Dolci è stato uno di questi ospiti, ed è proprio di lui che desidero parlare. Egli nasce nel 1924 a Sesana (Trieste), dopo una vita un po’ movimentata, nel 1952 si trasferisce a Trappeto (tra Palermo e Trapani), un paese tra i più poveri e disagiati d’Italia: quello stesso anno inizia il primo di numerosi digiuni, coricandosi e digiunando nel letto di un bimbo morto per denutrizione, protesta che terminerà solo quando le autorità si impegneranno a costruire una fogna. Danilo Dolci prosegue con numerose iniziative, dalla pubblicazione di un libro (“Banditi a Partinico”, che mette a conoscenza dell’opinione pubblica delle misere condizioni di vita della Sicilia occidentale, a questo libro poi ne seguiranno molti altri), allo “sciopero alla rovescia”, quando i lavoratori fecero sciopero, centinaia di disoccupati si misero a lavorare per riattivare una strada comunale abbandonata, iniziativa però poi fermata dalla polizia; Dolci avvia anche una attività di denuncia del fenomeno mafioso e dei suoi rapporti con la politica. Numerosi sono gli attestati di stima e solidarietà che egli riceve da importanti personalità provenienti dall’Italia e dall’estero, ma nonostante ciò per altri Danilo Dolci è un pericoloso sovversivo, da ostacolare, denigrare, chiudere in prigione. Eppure Dolci non si atteggia né a santone, capo, od un maestro, il suo metodo di lavoro è basato sulla convinzione che il cambiamento è basato sul coinvolgimento e diretta partecipazione degli interessati, la sua idea di progresso valorizza la cultura e le competenze locali; egli cerca, lavorando a stretto contatto con la gente e le fasce più disagiate ed oppresse della Sicilia occidentale, di liberare la creatività sopita in ogni persona, chiamando tale ricerca “maieutica”, termine proveniente dalla filosofia, precisamente dalla maieutica socratica: è “l’arte della levatrice”, ogni atto educativo è far venire alla luce tutte le potenzialità interiori di colui che vuole imparare, al pari di una madre che vuol far nascere la propria creatura dal suo grembo, quindi no a nozioni impartite a priori, si ad aiutare lo studente a portare alla luce la propria conoscenza, usando il dialogo come strumento; però, la maieutica socratica è unidirezionale, mentre nella “maieutica reciproca” di Danilo Dolci, la conoscenza viene fuori dall’esperienza e dalla sua condivisione, quindi presuppone la reciprocità della comunicazione. Nel corso di riunioni con contadini e pescatori, nasce l’idea di costruire la diga sul fiume Jato, importante per lo sviluppo economico della zona, ma anche togliere un’arma potente in mano alla mafia, che faceva del controllo delle poche risorse idriche disponibili uno strumento di potere, però la richiesta di “acqua per tutti” verrà pesantemente ostacolata, saranno necessarie le mobilitazioni popolari, lunghi digiuni, per vedere infine realizzato il progetto: ora la diga esiste, ed altre sono state poi realizzate, modificando in tal modo la vita di migliaia di persone, con lo svilupparsi di numerose aziende e cooperative. Da menzionare, tra le tante attività di Dolci, grazie al contributo di esperti internazionali, l’esperienza del Centro Educativo di Mirto, frequentato da centinaia di bambini. Ritornando a Daphne Phelps e Casa Cuseni, qui è presente una litografia di Tono Zancanaro, dedicata alla nascita di una delle figlie di Danilo Dolci, ma, cosa tra le più importanti, esiste un carteggio tra il filosofo pacifista Bertrand Russel e Daphne Phelps, nel quale il pensatore inglese invitava la nipote di Robert Kitson a partecipare ai raduni di intellettuali progressisti e personalità letterarie e scientifiche dell’epoca, tra di loro, oltre Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre e Carlo Levi, c’era Danilo Dolci, sociologo, educatore, ancora oggi riconosciuto tra le figure di massimo rilievo della nonviolenza a livello mondiale.
post scriptum:
- le immagini con Danilo Dolci provengono dall'archivio di Casa Cuseni: sono ritagli di giornali originali dell'epoca, spesso pagine intere, provenienti da quotidiani inglesi, accuratamente conservati dalla signorina Daphne Phelp; tali immagini sono state realizzate fotografando anche alcune pagine del libro di James McNeish, "Fire under the ashes - The life of Danilo Dolci";
- le fotografie realizzate in diversi paesi della Sicilia, sono antecedenti alla pandemia da covid-19;
- si ringrazia il collega chirurgo dott. Franco Spadaro e la sua gentile consorte, signora Mimma Cundari, proprietari di Casa Cuseni (dichiarata nel 1998, Monumento Nazionale Italiano), per la loro ospitalità e disponibilità, avendo messo a mia disposizione l'archivio relativo a Danilo Dolci.
This fountain is in the vast garden of the Villa d'Este located in Tivoli and among other things is noted for its many many fountains; it is not to far from the Villa of Hadrian that was the subject of a couple earlier photos. This scene is only part of the fountain that is a tribute to ancient Rome. Rome is named after Romulus who murdered his twin brother Remus in a dispute over where and who the new city would be named for. The wolf is a symbol of Rome. There is more information below from Wikipedia.
The Villa d'Este is a 16th-century villa in Tivoli, near Rome, famous for its terraced hillside Italian Renaissance garden and especially for its profusion of fountains. It is now an Italian state museum, and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Villa was commissioned by Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este (1509–1572), second son of Alfonso I d'Este, the Duke of Ferrara and grandson of Pope Alexander VI through his mother Lucrezia Borgia. The Este family had been lords of Ferrara since 1393.
In this photo is a large statue of Rome Victorious, made in 1568 by the Flemish sculptor Pierre de la Motte, Another statue by the same artist, The She Wolf Nurses Her Twins, was placed in the garden in 1611.
In ancient Roman religion, Roma was a female deity who personified the city of Rome and more broadly, the Roman state. She was created and promoted to represent and propagate certain of Rome's ideas about itself, and to justify its rule. Her "Amazonian" iconography shows her "manly virtue" (virtus) as fierce mother of a warrior race, augmenting rather than replacing local goddesses. Roma's official cult served to advance the propagandist message of Imperial Rome. In Roman art and coinage, she is usually depicted in military form, with helmet and weapons.
In Roman mythology, Romulus and Remus are twin brothers whose story tells of the events that led to the founding of the city of Rome and the Roman Kingdom by Romulus, following his fratricide of Remus. The image of a she-wolf suckling the twins in their infancy has been a symbol of the city of Rome and the ancient Romans since at least the 3rd century BC. Although the tale takes place before the founding of Rome around 750 BC, the earliest known written account of the myth is from the late 3rd century BC. Romulus and Remus were born in Alba Longa, near the future site of Rome. Their mother, Rhea Silvia, was a vestal virgin. In some sources, their father, the god Mars, visited her in a sacred grove dedicated to him.
King Amulius ordered them to be killed and they were abandoned on the bank of the river Tiber to die. They were saved by the god Tiberinus, Father of the River, In the most well-known episode, the twins were suckled by a she-wolf, in a cave now known as the Lupercal. Eventually, they were adopted by Faustulus, a shepherd. They grew up tending flocks. [Wikipedia]
Lake of Toblino
A fairytale landscape that is found in Trentino (Italy), this small alpine lake at the bottom of the valley and its surrounding area have been declared a biotope for both botanical and ethical naturalistic interests, and is protected as such by the Autonomous Province of Trento. It is located at an altitude of 245 meters s.l.m., and occupies the terminal part of the Valle dei Laghi, not far from Trento and the inhabited areas of Padergnone, Sarche, Vezzano and Calavino. It really deserves to be seen and photographed.
Jesus Christ (on the left an icon made fairly recently by Taliadorou Kalliopi, Nicosia/Cyprus) being the Son of God did not come as a surprise to the Greeks and Romans. The gods used to have sons and daughters who were then gods in their own right such as, on the right, Hermes, the son of Zeus. Some say that this Hellenistic-Roman religious tradition is responsible for the deification of the Son of Man (Jesus) - something neither Jews nor Muslims would accept. What did come as a surprise to the ancient world was that Christ the God would offer men and women immortality. One LED daylight lamp and three LED spotlights in a dark room. Processed in Fujifilm's raw converter and macOS High Sierra photo editor.
The Mirror of Erised is a magical mirror that is kept within the Hogwarts castle and shows the most desperate desire of a person's heart, a vision that has been known to drive men mad. In 1992, it was used to hide the Philosopher's Stone when Prof. Quirrell tried to steal it for the Dark Lord and was thwarted by young Harry Potter. This item is quite significant as it appears in both the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts series. When Harry Potter looks into it, he sees himself with his deceased parents as shown in this scaled-down recreation. Personally, I see myself holding the grand prize for this contest. :)
This is my entry for the Hogwarts item category of the Magical Builds of the Wizarding World contest on Lego Ideas.
depth of field enhanced the beauty of the flower. the flower seems like floating.
thanks for every one for views, faves, and comments.
The face of 2020 will haunt us for a long time to come. We were true to these times of fear and courage, despair and hope, helplessness and help. But above all it has been a time when we had nothing to prove but fidelity to the spirit of holding on. Kipling could not have been more proud.
“If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’
As the priority of privileges goes, she and her family may be a long way from getting immunised. But then may be as nature’s priorities go, they may develop herd immunity sooner than science comes to their rescue.
I have seen several such faces, some of them I have shared on Flickr. I am thankful to you for showing support, encouragement and hope.
I have received heart warming responses to my rather scattered gallery of nature and birds and streets.
Fabulous work from Francesc Candel, www.flickr.com/photos/141453264@N07/, Pascal Reiemann, www.flickr.com/photos/95566715@N08/, Nancy Charlton , www.flickr.com/photos/32927502@N07/, has kept me inspired. If it was not for the generosity and kindness of @Leon Van Kemenade, @Jeanne @Paul Gallagher @RavenXXIII @Jean-Marc Depreux Raven, @Laszlo Bacs @James R. Page, @ Eduardo Vales, @robert moushi I would have been but a dull photographer. Your own work is so wonderful, I have learnt many a line and light from you.
With hope in my heart and a little mist in my eyes, my heart-felt thanks to all of you my dear Flickr friends for showing me how to hold on!
Season of Touit - picture 13
Week 39 - Wednesday
Today's picture is something that was already shot some time ago. And it was actually taken by Sari, Aura's mother, while me and Aura were playing in the lake. One of my favorites of this summer for sure. There are two reasons why I wanted to include this picture in to 'Season of Touit'. First of all it's a good example how nice the Touit 2.8/50M can be shooting in standard range. Even though it is labeled as a macro lens, many times it works very nicely in standard photography too. The second reason is that the picture also exemplifies the optical quality of this lens: taken straight into sun the Touit 2.8/50M delivers very good colors but also almost non-existent chromatic aberrations. With a SEL50F18 the lake and it's reflections would have screamed of purple and green edges. I understand that it is relatively easy to get rid of it in Lightroom for example, but it doesn't substitute real optical excellence (no corrections done for this picture). The Touit 2.8/50M having a very little chromatic aberrations, almost apochromatic by its nature, means of course better edge contrast and color accuracy.
But what about the compromises regarding the Touit 2.8/50M? As I've already dealt with the Touit 2.8/12 and I didn't found much that would compromise it, I feel I should also write about the compromises regarding the Touit 2.8/50M. Being a makro-planar design the Touit 2.8/50M is very versatile lens that does macro and standard photography very well. However, this versatility comes with couple of compromises which are good to know if you planning to get it for your Sony Alpha system. First of all being able to focus at both macro and standard range means that the focusing system needs to move quite a bit inside the lens barrel. While this doesn't bother much in good light, it makes the Touit 2.8/50M very slow to focus in dim light. If the camera doesn't find the focus immediately it usually moves through the whole focus range and it takes time. For me this is a limitation of this lens that needs to be considered when using it. Another characteristic of the Touit 2.8/50M, which could be seen as a compromise, is the bokeh it delivers. When working in the macro range, the bokeh is superb and there is no question about it. However, in standard ranges it might sometimes turn out to be a bit nervous, depending how far the background is and its characteristics. Don't get me wrong, the Touit 2.8/50M can certainly deliver a nice bokeh in standard use too and I've used it with good results. But if it would be my only option for shallow depth of field pictures, I would certainly crave for more. Part of this relates to maximum aperture being 'only' f/2.8 , but from time to time there is also a bit of nervousness bokeh character.
Year of the Alpha – 52 Weeks of Sony Alpha Photography: www.yearofthealpha.com
Accordions of London, Kilburn London NW6.
Prevoius attempts to get an unobstructed shot of this shop were thwarted by parked cabs, but struck lucky when passing recently, although sadly some of the signage has been removed since i last visited the area.
A of L are still operating & have a website which says their staff are "accordionholics" !
They supply the complete range of instruments belonging to the accordion family.
The signage has nearly the complete range of London, post 1966 phone codes - 01, 071 & 0171, just the present version is missing.
Well… I returned home safely this morning from my two week photographic workshop on the Isle of Skye… with 68 Gigabytes worth of images!!
Although we had plenty of rain and loads of midges… that certainly didn’t prevent us from exploring every corner of the island… and shooting all the most iconic locations… in the best possible light!!
Here is one of my favourite shots from my most favourite iconic location of all… the Old Man of Storr… reflected in a tiny loch… and captured just as the clouds, light and reflections were looking at their very best.
I’d like to thank Jenny, Anne, Peter, Tom and Steven for sharing all these unforgettable experiences with me… I had an absolute blast shooting Skye with you guys (and girls)!!
Nikon D800, Nikkor 14-24mm at 14mm, aperture of f14, with a 1/200th second exposure.
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Taken of the last sunrise of January earlier this past winter. It was a cold and humid morning, and for about two minutes the fog rose and thinly filled the air, giving this saturated, soft and painterly look. Thanks for looking!
Eruption of clouds
Web: www.rafairusta.com
Blog: www.rafairusta.com/blog
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Esta imagen no está disponible para su uso en páginas web, blogs o cualquier otro soporte sin mi autorización por escrito.
This image is not available for use on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit written permission.
©2014 Rafa Irusta, All Rights Reserved
He stood on the edge of the world, a lone figure suspended between sky and stone. Before him sprawled New Zealand's Southern Alps, their peaks — Poseidon, Sarpedon, Amphion — rising like silent arguments carved from light and ice. The glacier unfurled its pale tongue, an ancient current arrested mid-sentence, its surface rippled with the memory of motion. The air shimmered, crystalline and unrepentant, a cold clarity that cut to the marrow.
Lake Agnes lay below, a still pool, dark and sharp as polished obsidian. It absorbed the landscape without a ripple, the reflection a perfect inversion—mountains upside down, the sky swallowed by earth. The scene was a paradox: immensity caught in a whisper, time paused on the brink of collapse. He felt the grass brittle beneath his boots, the wind threading through the crevices of his jacket—a touch neither warm nor cruel, merely indifferent.
For three days he had wrestled through the entrails of the land. The rainforest had closed around him with a suffocating lushness, roots coiling like serpents beneath the moss. Streams foamed with a glacial bite, the waters quick and thoughtless, bruising his ankles as he waded through. Thorned thickets tore at his skin with the intimacy of old grudges. He climbed slopes slick with rain, his body folded into painful angles, the horizon always receding. When he reached this place, the fog had been thick enough to erase the contours of the world. His tent had trembled in the night winds, the cold seeping in like an unwelcome thought.
But then dawn came, unburdened and lucid. The veil lifted, and the mountains revealed themselves in their raw articulation. They did not posture or proclaim—they simply were, immutable and unscripted. The glacier’s silence was more profound than any roar; the peaks did not loom so much as exist beyond scale.
Here, in this distilled emptiness, the trivial machinery of the world he had fled seemed absurd. The restless striving, the ceaseless revolutions of ambition and vanity—all of it shrank to the size of a pebble lost in a chasm. There was no wheel here to turn, no circuit to complete. Only the landscape, bare and relentless in its honesty.
He filled his lungs, the air sharp enough to taste. It was an act of quiet rebellion, this deliberate witnessing. In that breath, he found not freedom, but a dissolution of need. The lines between man and mountain wavered, softened by the sheer scale of indifference. If he stayed long enough, perhaps he too would become part of this tableau—his form dissolving into lichen and shadow, his presence no more than a pause in the wilderness’s endless thought.
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To explore more of these captured moments and woven words, visit the artist and writer at their sanctuary of creation: www.coronaviking.com
Greenhouse table of Ipheion uniflorum again...who all bloomed early at Smith's Lyman Conservatory. So they've been relegated back into the work room. Wonderful to begin thinking of fields of flowers again! Really challenging to get everything to bloom at once for the upcoming bulb show...and have it stay in bloom for two weeks. Although the Lyman team are old hands at this there are always some wild ones... 💛
Another five photos from my last drive, on 28 April. Harsh light and windy.
On 28 April 2023, I had to go for a day’s drive because everyone had to remove their vehicle out of the parking lot (again!) for the day. We were told to remove by 8:30 am, ready for the guys coming at 9:00 am. Well, the guys who used blowers to remove all the dust and loose gravel, etc. started working at 7:00 am. The painters arrived at 8:30 am, just as I was ready to leave home. The lot was cleaned and the yellow lines between cars were repainted. The whole day was spent driving the roads SW of Calgary, all of them familiar, but a couple only driven a few times.
I very recently decided to buy a new camera, the Canon SX70 HS. I found it concerning that I had been using my Canon SX60 since May 2017 - at least, the earliest photo I can find on my Flickr page was taken on 6 May 2017. The camera has been used a lot! I was very undecided about the Canon SX70, as my daughter has had this camera for quite a long time and finds that the photos tend to be rather blurry. For many months, I have read up about the Canon SX70 and never felt completely happy with everything I read. I have researched other similar cameras and there really isn't anything much out there. I already have the Nikon P900 (totally lousy/useless/ viewfinder) and the Panasonic FZ1000 (far less zoom). Both these cameras are heavy and I need a much lighter camera, especially now because of my damaged right shoulder, which makes holding and using a camera both painful and awkward. Things I read these days seem to say that phone cameras are kind of replacing point-and-shoot cameras and companies are producing very few point-and-shoot models. No telling how long it could be before they stop making them altogether. So, I wanted to be prepared for if/when my faithful and much used Canon SX60 eventually dies.
So, I took both cameras with me, though I did take more shots with the SX60. I can't say that the photos from either camera came out as sharp as I would have liked - very bright out, and windy. Now I have to compare the quality of the images. I found the SX70 a nice, light camera to use, I must say. I had changed a few of the most important (to me) settings, but I’m sure there are others that need checking and tweaking. Some of my Bluebird photos came out better with the SX70. I saw my first Wilson's Snipe of the season and the SX70 did well, as did the SX60, though the colour is very different between the two cameras. I need to compare a lot of images in the next while. The five photos posted this evening have all been edited.
Festival Of Lights: Berliner Stadtschloss / Berlin City Castle
More photos on krolopfoto.de
DSC3028
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Die Barrikade auf dem Michaelerplatz in der Nacht vom 26. auf den 27. Mai 1848
Anton Ziegler
1848
Wien Museum
"The demonstration of the students on March 13, with which they demanded freedom of speech, teaching, and learning, was the starting note for the revolutionary events of 1848. From then on, the “Academic legion”, an armed formation of students, was at the forefront of all revolutionary actions. When the government resolved to dissolve the Legion, the students, supported by workers from the periphery, erected roughly 160 barricades in Vienna’s city centre from 26 to 28 May, with which they forced the government to repeal the decree." sammlung.wienmuseum.at/en/album/a2ciemencqh4v4gpf-barrica...
www.geschichtewiki.wien.gv.at/Mairevolution
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutions_of_1848_in_the_Austrian...
5 easy steps to get to this lake in Iceland:
1) Make a coffee
2) Go to www.eaglewoodphotography.com/iceland2019
3) Read the contents of page
4) Scroll down and download the detailed PDF
5) Join me on the next Icelandic Highlands expedition this summer! Or check out the alternatives while you’re at it.
Ter gelegenheid van de 77e verjaardag van de Maastunnel, is de voetgangerstunnel in de week van Valentijn omgetoverd tot Tunnel of Love. De tunnel is door kunstenaars Madje Vollaers en Pascal Zwart beplakt met 35000 fluorescerende hartvormige stickers. Aangelicht door ultraviolet licht biedt de tunnel daarmee een bijzondere visuele ervaring.
On the occasion of the 77th anniversary of the Maastunnel, the pedestrian tunnel was transformed into Tunnel of Love during the week of Valentine's Day. The tunnel is plastered by artists Madje Vollaers and Pascal Zwart with 35000 fluorescent heart-shaped stickers. Thanks to ultraviolet light, it provides a special visual experience.
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From a turret of the Fisherman's Bastion, Budapest.
No time hath she to sport and play:
A charmed web she weaves alway.
A curse is on her, if she stay
Her weaving, either night or day,
To look down to Camelot.
She knows not what the curse may be;
Therefore she weaveth steadily,
Therefore no other care hath she,
The Lady of Shalott.
All in the blue unclouded weather
Thick-jewell'd shone the saddle-leather,
The helmet and the helmet-feather
Burn'd like one burning flame together,
As he rode down from Camelot.
As often thro' the purple night,
Below the starry clusters bright,
Some bearded meteor, trailing light,
Moves over green Shalott.
His broad clear brow in sunlight glow'd;
On burnish'd hooves his war-horse trode;
From underneath his helmet flow'd
His coal-black curls as on he rode,
As he rode down from Camelot.
From the bank and from the river
He flash'd into the crystal mirror,
'Tirra lirra, tirra lirra:'
Sang Sir Lancelot.
She left the web, she left the loom
She made three paces thro' the room
She saw the water-flower bloom,
She saw the helmet and the plume,
She look'd down to Camelot.
Out flew the web and floated wide;
The mirror crack'd from side to side;
'The curse is come upon me,' cried
The Lady of Shalott.
I shot this third McIntosh winter shot for my chilly series. Toward the McIntosh dairy barn, the windmill towers. The shot includes one outhouse. I kind of liked the lacy sky. We had little winter this year. I bailed because I expected this might be the one McIntosh open day with snow this winter. This winter's February is very far from normal here with the Koch C02 pump-fest into the atmosphere allotted the globe with the current 8% gain in moisture so expect rougher weather swings everywhere. We are at the warmest and driest February on record.
Boy, could those wood stoves in the house be comfortable on days like this! This snowy shot toward the northeast looks chilly but days like this can be quite mellow in the valley. I had to shot before I got near and tracked the snow up which is still clean here.
I swung by the Agricultural Heritage Center, The Lohr McIntosh Farm because they opened for first Saturdays throughout the winter. I decided I might not get another shot of winter for my Mac ag series. I loaded up with autumn captures this year in general but I need to switch back into the slim winter. The snowy day crowd was thin, except for the fellow who was there to exercise his kestrel, for the wintry day and even highway #66 was certainly slow. Considering all the pigeons that hang around the old structures, I question the kind of exercise the kestrel, a bird of prey, might be getting. I suspect that it may not be altogether legal to hunt on city and county parks. A year ago, I found some bald eagles hunting the Mac area, sometimes successfully.
©For 2000 and subsequent years all Rights Reserved. All images of this gallery are not available for use on websites, blogs or other media without the explicit written permission of the photographer : LE COMTE Loïc.
Taking advantage of the Camellia blossom just in the backyard, I spent quite some time trying to find a good angle for them.... and I don't think I have succeeded... I guess I'll settle for a macro shot ;p
Some of my long-time flickr friends know how much i love the ocean and the sand on the beach.
There is almost nothing better than taking a walk on the beach and smell the salty air. ♥
Thank you all for your always lovely, sometimes very funny and always so thoughtful comments.
I appreciate every single comment very much.
