View allAll Photos Tagged OPTIMISTIC
Ptilopsis leucotis
Northern white-faced Owl - Noordelijke witwangdwergooruil (Spain)
Canon 7D + Canon EF 300mm F2.8 L IS USM + 2x TC
Hey folks, I'm currently really busy getting my website to work and printing business cards and other stuff. So, I'll catch up on you and you know that I will! :-)
Take care,
Flo
The 50mm f/1.4 has been a solid walkabout lens for me so far. It is light and handles almost anything thrown at it. Love it!
An optimistic great blue heron has become a regular visitor at our garden pond. The fish are protected by a net, so hunting success is not driving the visits. Perhaps it hopes that, one day, the net will be gone.
I already purchased the pots & aquatic soil for my sprouting water Lotus/water lily seeds. I will just have to add water & hope the cats don’t mess with them. The pot has a magnolia design.
The Grand Opera House opened in April 1909. Its investors were 14 businessmen, including William Bell who shared an optimistic vision for the young city of about 4,200 – neighbouring Copper Cliff's population was about 3,000. The theatre originally had more than 1,000 seats, three balconies, majestic high ceilings, sophisticated art nouveau decorations throughout and an elegant lobby.
In December 1929, the first all-talking feature movie, “Lights of New York,” was shown. The owners of the renamed Grand Theatre invested $20,000 to install the Vitaphone sound system, which involved a record disc played in sync with the film.
During the 1930s, the Grand was owned by William Mason, owner of the Sudbury Star.*
The Grand survived The Depression, the death of vaudeville, and the Second World War. But by 1949, it was in need of major repairs. New owners renovated the building into two movie theatres, the Empire and the Plaza.
Laurentian University used the offices in the building at 28 Elgin for classes until its campus opened in 1964. Later, Gauvreau Academy of Dance and Modeling was located in the upper offices.
When the movie theatres closed in 1986, Ted Szilva, developer of the Big Nickel tourist attraction, bought the building for $400,000 and spent another $200,000 on renovations. Ornate chandeliers from the Capitol Theatre on Durham Street were installed and this added to the grandeur.
Legendary performer Tony Bennett opened the revitalized performance centre in 1987. During a renaissance from 1987 to the mid-1990s, it booked A-list entertainers such as Johnny Cash, Celine Dion, Tom Jones, Nana Mouskouri, k.d. lang, Conway Twitty, Wayne Newton, Engelbert Humperdinck, Crowded House, George Carlin, the Smothers Brothers, Howie Mandel and the Beach Boys.
Szilva's plans may have been too grand. Although Sudbury audiences were enthusiastic about its heady schedule of entertainment, the city's population was not large enough or wealthy enough to fill the theatre night after night. The building went into receivership.
Claude Michel purchased the Grand with his father, Arnel, and two private investors in 1988. He continued to book top acts, but asked the city for relief for property taxes of $50,000. The city "rented" the theatre for 40 nights over 12 months and community art groups could apply to use the space at no cost. The relief program ended in 1996.
Michel found running a nightclub, then known as the Big Thunder Bar, more profitable. The seats were removed and the sloped floor was levelled. Office space in the building was converted into apartments.
The Grand was put on the market in 1999 for $1 million, but there was little interest from prospective buyers. Michel finally sold it in 2013.
Today, the Grand Nightclub is a popular dance club that also books concerts and rents space for theatre productions and special events. A second bar, in the old Plaza theatre space formerly known as Coyotes, is now called Fuse.
Explored September 18, 2023 #260.
An optimistic trip to Sidmouth for sunrise proved just that - optimistic. Therefore I tried to make what I could of this breakwater that I always have trouble with, composition-wise.
I already purchased the pots & aquatic soil for my sprouting water Lotus/water lily seeds. I will just have to add water & hope the cats don’t mess with them. The pot has a water lily & gold fish design.
nothing breaks your stride
like what's become
I have been feeling absolutely optimistic lately, fevered with ideas and inspiration. Setbacks happen and somehow, for what seems like the first time ever, it doesn't faze me. By focusing on the benefits of any situation put before you, you can take advantage of them. Simple. How you look at things determines where you go in life. Look forward and you'll go forward. Look back and you live in the past. How you react determines how good it turns out for you. There is a peace that results from retraining your mind to process life as it is, rather than as you had expected. I have finally come to a place in my life where, as trite as it sounds, I can honestly say "I may not have everything I want, but I have everything I need." I would find it an impossible way to live to always want more: more cars, more expensive jewelry, etc. It's unfathomable to me, I've just never been wired that way.
I think it must seem strange to see a woman head into the woods with a garment bag, tripod and a camera bag. I'm horrified at the idea of someone seeing me doing something like taking this picture. When I took this I could hear people in the distance riding dirt bikes and I hoped like hell that they wouldn't come my way and see me high up there in a cape, trying very hard not to topped off. There was very little wind so creating that motion I wanted with the dress and cape left me a little precarious. Getting up there required crawling over lots of small rocks with crevices that could hide one of many different poisonous snakes in my area, making me realize I really should carry a snake bite kit with me, too. Just a few of the thoughts that go through my head.
One of the two welcoming signs in Ninga. Ninga is one of many prairie towns that were once thriving and are now slowly dying.
An optimistic mural on the wall surrounding the Cockerill-Ougrée site.
Une peinture murale optimiste sur le mur ceinturant le site de Cockerill-Ougrée.
Ilford HP5+ 800iso Adonal 1+25 8'
The Dixie Walesbilt Hotel, known as the Grand Hotel in later years, is one of a small number of skyscrapers built in the 1920s that still stand today and is a prime example of how optimistic people were during the Florida land boom. Built in 1926, it found financing through a stock-sale campaign in the local business community, costing $500,000 after it was completed(which equates to about $6 million today.)
The building architecture, masonry vernacular with hints of Mediterranean-Revival, is also a good example of the time is was built. It was designed by two well-known architects at the time, Fred Bishop who designed the Byrd Theatre in Virginia, and D.J. Phipps, whose designed both the Wyoming County Courthouse and Jail and the Colonial Hotel in Virginia.
The hotel was constructed using the “three-part vertical block” method, which became the dominant pattern in tall buildings during the 1920s. Three-part buildings are composed of a base, shaft and a cap, all noticeably visible.
The hotel opened as the “Walesbilt” in January 1927, shortly after the land boom had started to collapse and two years before the Great Depression began. It’s also best to note that the hotel opened around the same time the Floridan Hotel in Tampa opened, another hotel built during the Florida land boom.
In 1972, the hotel was purchased by Anderson Sun State and renamed the “Groveland Motor Inn”. The firm completely renovated the hotel and used it to host visitors to the area who were interested in Green Swamp, land sectioned off for land development. At the time there was heavy speculation in the land because of it’s close proximity to Walt Disney World and were selling for around $5,000 an acre at the time. That ended after a state cabinet designation of the swamp as an area of critical state concern, placing the land off-limits to any large land developments. The firm filed for foreclosure and the hotel was auctioned off in 1974. Despite RCI Electric purchasing the hotel, it remained empty for many years afterwards.
n 1978, the hotel was signed over to the Agape Players, a nationally known religious music and drama group, who would assume the mortgage and would pay the costs to make improvements to meet city fire and safety standards. The hotel was renamed the “Royal Walesbilt” and after extensive improvements were made, it became the headquarters for the Agape Players; using it as a teaching facility and the base from which the group launched their tours. In addition, they operated a restaurant, an ice cream parlor on the lobby floor and a “Christian hotel” on the upper floors, catering mostly to groups. The Agape Players disbanded in 1985 and put the property up for sale
Victor Khubani, a property investor from New York acquired the property and renamed the hotel “Grand”. The hotel closed briefly in December 1988, due to a variety of code violations and causing the owner to later pay $14,000 in fines. On August 31, 1990 it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, possibly for tax exemption reasons. In October 1991, The State Fire Marshall’s Office gave the owner one year to install a new sprinkler system and in May 1993, the code enforcement board gave Khubani until March to complete the work.
In March 1994, the hotel closed due to multiple code violations and was to remain closed until a new fire sprinkler system was installed. To reopen, the fire escapes and elevator, which did not function, would have to be repaired as well. In 1995, the hotel was auctioned off to a redevelopment firm, which dismantled part of the interior for reconstruction, which was never completed.
Since then, the hotel has deteriorated, becoming an eyesore to many of the residents of Lake Wales and nicknamed “The Green Monster” for the greenish color it has acquired from over the years. In 1995, it was even jokingly mentioned to become a sacrifice to “the bomb”, an economic boom that occurred in parts of Florida where movie production companies would pay cities to blow up buildings for their movies. In 2007, the city foreclosed on the structure for more than $700,000 in unpaid code fines, with hopes in finding someone to restore it.
Development firm, Dixie-Walesbilt LLC announced plans to restore the hotel, signing into an agreement with the city of Lake Wales in February 2010. By the agreement, the city would retain ownership of the building until a defined amount of work had been accomplished. The work must be completed within 16 months and the amount of money invested must succeed at least $1.5 million. The building would then be handed off the Dixie Walesbilt LLC, where they may continue with private funding or other methods to for debt funding.
Ray Brown, President of Dixie Walesbilt LLC, planned to invest $6 million into the renovation, with original plans to put retail stores on the ground floor and using the upper floors for as many as 40 condominiums.
On June 2, 2011, the city of Lake Wales agreed to deed the building off to Ray Brown in a 4-1 vote, after meeting the requirements of the redevelopment agreement. Though Brown submitted a list of costs to the city totaling $1.66 million, Mayor Mike Carter wasn’t satisfied with the results so far, pointing out that Brown failed to repair the windows and repaint the building. Previous owners had put tar on the building and then painted over it, so much of Brown’s investment went to stripping the tar off the exterior walls.
To repaint the building, Brown would also have to resurface the hotel with hydrated lime to replicate the original skin as well as the window frames would need to be constructed of Douglas fir, red cedar and gulf cypress. According to Brown, previous owners who renovated the building rarely removed the building original elements. They carpeted over intricate tile flooring, stuck tar paper above skylights and placed modern drinking fountains in front of the originals. He estimated about 98 percent of the building is still in it’s original form.
Restoration of the building’s exterior began in January 2015 and included surface repair, pressure washing, paint removal, chemical treatment, and a comprehensive resurfacing of the exterior.
While the original plans were for turning the building into condominiums, that has since changed and current plans call for operating the building as a boutique hotel. The hotel will feature geothermal cooling as opposed to traditional air conditioning, a permanent art gallery as well as theme gallery showings throughout the year, and the best WiFi/internet in the city. The project is expected to be completed in 18 to 24 months.
Credit for the data above is given to the following websites:
www.cityoflakewales.com/505/Dixie-Walesbilt-Hotel
www.abandonedfl.com/dixie-walesbilt-hotel/
www.emporis.com/buildings/178033/grand-hotel-lake-wales-f...
© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.
A rather optimistic shot, early in the morning at Dunaskin washery on the Waterside system.No.24 brings a mixed consist down the slight grade from the tippler sidings. The AEC Mercury tipper is something to savour as well!
Yellow-chevroned Parakeet
Brotogeris chiriri
Member of Nature’s Spirit
Good Stewards of Nature
© 2017 Patricia Ware - All Rights Reserved
Please enlarge to see details
Optimistically started to set up this morning to view the latest batch of sunspots, thinking we would have a half decent day. Cloud began to build from the North East during this process so I decided the SW120ED would stay in the box today and just loaded the 72ED-R Lightwave instead. Seeing became quite turbulent and now 2 hrs later we are totally clouded out. At least it gave me an opportunity to find out if the filter I made for this scope works.
Captured via an Orion SSAG in Planetary Mode using a continuum & UV/IR stack filter set. Best 85% of 2000 frames.
Praha-Prague_Kavárna - Restaurace s velmi optimistickým jménem "Márnice".__Cafe - Restaurant with a very optimistic name "morgue".
I really had no idea what to do today...then I saw Apionid's Cloudgoat and got inspired!
For We're Here — Optimistic Cloudgoat.
Put some zing into your 365! Join We're Here!
I would say the spider that built these webs was optimistic. Why settle for a mere moth or fly when you can get a bird?
Some tonal tweaking in Luminar 4.2 and Lightroom to bring out the spider's web.
I was still optimistic about a year ago, when I took this photo of Yoda. I wish you were here with me giving me that look. This photo may be a bit under-exposed, but I just love it.
taken in May or June 2012; w/ Hasselblad 503cx + Planar 80mm + Fuji 160NS
A Richard's pipit (Anthus richardi) was caught seeking for the tiny soil insects inside a well plugged paddy field. Sitting upon the elevated soil dumps it was scanning the arthropods for the taking while I was optimistically after it with a heavy tele in hand. It only allowed me a frame from a distance. Pics was taken from a village in Katwa, West Bengal, India.
"Flies are buzzing round my head
Vultures circling the dead
Picking up every last crumb
The big fish eat the little ones
The big fish eat the little ones
Not my problem, give me some
You can try the best you can
If you try the best you can
The best you can is good enough
If you try the best you can
If you try the best you can
The best you can is good enough
This one's optimistic
This one went to market
This one just came out of the swamp
This one dropped a payload
Fodder for the animals
Living on animal farm
If you try the best you can
If you try the best you can
The best you can is good enough
If you try the best you can
If you try the best you can
The best you can is good enough
I'd really like to help you, man
I'd really like to help you, man
Nervous messed up marionettes
Floating around on a prison ship
If you try the best you can
If you try the best you can
The best you can is good enough
If you can try the best you can
If you try the best you can
Dinosaurs roaming the Earth
Dinosaurs roaming the Earth
Dinosaurs roaming the Earth"
Radiohead
Kid A, 2000
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Take care!
The other shot was too depressing so here's a happier one. The light was just incredible right here.
Explored, thanks guys!
With the wagons, chests and trunks packed everyone was well on the way to King's Landing. Brave men (and women) stayed behind to protect the roads from bandits. With his body intact, his head on his shoulders the lion was cautiously optimistic.
As the days passed, he wished for a closer shave, better food and something comfier than a bedroll. He was alive, and well and could not complain. While he used to believe he was unstoppable, now the lad was somewhat cautious.
The bandits were gruesome, but everyone persevered. While there were injuries, there were no immediate casualties unless their wounds took them. Landen received multiple ravens from Lyzette, and he would try his best to answer them, but often on the road it was hard to find a spot to stop and reply to every single one. He missed his sisters, family and friends dearly, everyday he tried to distract himself from his loneliness.
When he was not complaining and drinking, he was sleeping, growing his beard. He has made it a habit to stop by the fire before bed for libations and conversation, but he was still not sold on the beard. His hair was getting longer, and debated on cutting it. Every day, he would talk himself out of cutting it. Until he just did. When he arrived to King's landing, one may notice a blunt cut to his mane. While not in transit, or battling bandits, it was safely mundane.
The optimistic railfan in me enjoys seeing the tri-window PRLX 8149 (EMD SD60M) heading east over the frozen Partridge River while leading its train though downtown Aldrich. The pessimist in me doesn't overly enjoy shooting in such gloomy conditions in between seasons. If the ground and foliage can't be green I wish it was completely white. Also, there is no denying that this patch job is absolutely hideous, but it gets the job done.
Lo mejor que la fotografía me ha enseñado es a mirar el lado bello y luminoso de todo lo que me rodea. Sé que suena muy tópico, ya que estamos en la era de las frases positivas y el "buenrollismo", pero es que es así.
Para La Graella Vintage: Cámaras.
Sígueme en Instagram
Photo captured via Minolta MD Zoom Rokkor-X 24-50mm F/4 lens and the bracketing method of photography. Near the census-designated place of Loomis. Okanogan Highlands Region. Inland Northwest. Okanogan County, Washington. Early February 2018.
Exposure Time: 1/250 sec. * ISO Speed: ISO-100 * Aperture: F/11 * Bracketing: +1 / -1 * Film Plug-In: Agfa Scala 200 -/+