Permit photos on Flickr

Drone View toward Rattlesnake Mountain by sibnet2000

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Drones in the US are not permitted to fly above 400 feet in most circumstances. So this is a view to the north west from Richland, WA at a height of 390 feet. The large white building in the distance is an agricultural freezer facility with a capacity of 15.8 million cubic feet that handles 2 billion pounds of food per year.

Christie Brussels 2 by Keith Rajala

9 5

Ok, I admit it, I am taken with that ridge leading up to the summit of Mt. Christie. I just see myself doing that climb, although I know I'm too old for that now. I can dream can't I? ;-)

As always, thoughtful feedback, constructive criticisms, and suggestions are always appreciated. As always, I have used tools at my disposal to interpret the original raw file. Use of this photo without permission is not permitted.

It's not just teenage kids riding scooters down Broadway ... by Ed Yourdon

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(more details later, as time permits)

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This is the continuation of a photo-project that I began in the summer of 2008 (which you can see in this Flickr set), and continued throughout 2009-2014 (as shown in this Flickr set, this Flickr set, this Flickr set, this Flickr set, this Flickr set)), this Flickr set)), and this Flickr set)): a random collection of "interesting" people in a broad stretch of the Upper West Side of Manhattan -- between 72nd Street and 104th Street, especially along Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue. These are the people in my neighborhood, aka "peeps in the 'hood."

As I indicated when I first started this project six years ago, I don't like to intrude on people's privacy, so I normally use a zoom telephoto lens in order to photograph them while they're still 50-100 feet away from me; but that means I have to continue focusing my attention on the people and activities half a block away, rather than on what's right in front of me. Sometimes I find an empty bench on a busy street corner, and just sit quietly for an hour, watching people hustling past on the other side of the street; they're almost always so busy listening to their iPod, or talking on their cellphone, or daydreaming about something, that they never look up and see me aiming my camera in their direction.

I've also learned that, in many cases, the opportunities for an interesting picture are very fleeting -- literally a matter of a couple of seconds, before the person(s) in question move on, turn away, or stop doing whatever was interesting. So I've learned to keep my camera switched on, and not worry so much about zooming in for a perfectly-framed picture ... after all, once the digital image is uploaded to my computer, it's pretty trivial to crop out the parts unrelated to the main subject. Indeed, some of my most interesting photos have been so-called "hip shots," where I don't even bother to raise the camera up to my eye; I just keep the zoom lens set to the maximum wide-angle aperture, point in the general direction of the subject, and take several shots. As long as I can keep the shutter speed fairly high (which sometimes requires a fairly high ISO setting), I can usually get some fairly crisp shots -- even if the subject is walking in one direction, and I'm walking in the other direction, while I'm snapping the photos.

With only a few exceptions, I've generally avoided photographing bums, drunks, crazies, and homeless people. There are plenty of them around, and they would certainly create some dramatic pictures; but they generally don't want to be photographed, and I don't want to feel like I'm taking advantage of them. There have been a few opportunities to take some "sympathetic" pictures of such people, which might inspire others to reach out and help them. This is one example, and here is another example.

The other thing I've noticed, while carrying on this project for the past six years, is that while there are lots of interesting people to photograph, there are far, far, far more people who are not so interesting. They're probably fine people, and they might even be more interesting than the ones I've photographed ... unfortunately, there was just nothing memorable about them. They're all part of this big, crowded city; but for better or worse, there are an awful lot that you won't see in these Flickr sets of mine...

by Sally

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This image is my property and no downloads, copies or uses of are permitted without my prior consent. © sallycinnamon.. 2013

Bryant Park embraces many cultures and lifestyles by Ed Yourdon

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(more details later, as time permits)

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As I have noted in several earlier Flickr albums, as long as I continue going to the same NYC dentist, you can count on two or three sets of photos of Bryant Park each year. The reason is simple: my dentist is located in mid-town Manhattan, about a block from the park — and when I'm done, I'm always tempted to walk over and see how the park looks. Consequently, I've collected almost a dozen separate sets of Bryant Park photos, which you can see summarized here on Flickr. (At least one or two of those other sets will provide you with the historical details of the park; or you can look it up here on Wikipedia.)

In mid-June of 2015, I took another stroll through the park, not having been there for almost two years. I wandered mostly around the periphery of the park, looking for interesting scenes to capture with the Sony RX-1R camera whose results I'm showing in this album, and also a Sony RX-10 camera whose results you'll see in a separate album in a couple days. I locked the camera into a wide-angle setting and a fixed f/8 aperture, and I just pointed the camera in the general direction of an interesting scene, and pushed the shutter button. Of the several hundred shots that I took during these strolls, there were a handful that seemed worthy of uploading; that's what you'll be seeing in this set and the next one. All of this took roughly an hour, at the end of which I put away my camera, and headed back uptown, content that my teeth would survive for another several months...

> No permit required < by Philip Male

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hardly any PS at all ;o)

.

OK OK, two images merged

No Permit for Cats by Man with Red Eyes

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Taking the shade, it was super sunny, just opened a bit for sunny sixteen on the "shady side of the street"

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bIs5O0JMQ8

Assassin's Creed: Venice 1486 - Chapter 1 - Osservare - Main Left by Barthezz Brick

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Assassin's Creed: Venice 1486 - Chapter 1 - Osservare

So this is where i worked on for the past 3years (on and of). Approximately 3000 hours and 250.000 parts later I present to you with great pride and incredible detail; Venice 1486 as it might have looked in the 15th century.

This is the first chapter of a total of 4, in which I'll take you into an adventure of Darion as a Master Assassin.

Let me know what you think 🙏

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"Osservare" in the English tongue better known as Observing. By far the most boring thing about finding your mark, but absolutely necessary.

Meet 'Darion Aiulf da Fortebraccio' and his eyes and ears in the sky 'Gaita' an Italian barn owl. Darion is a Venetian nobleman, and to others unknown also a Master Assassin and former member of the Italian Brotherhood of Assassins.

Abandoned by his brothers and mentor for disobedience. He now is a solitary assassin that seeks his targets through the signs of god. For his next mark, faith steered Darion in the direction of the Templar order. Who now have a foothold on Venice city grounds and even managed to get the newly elected doge 'Marco Barbarigo' on their side. Marco openly expressed his support for the Templar Order...

And so this is where our story begins!

Where other men blindly follow the truth, Remember, nothing is true.

Where other men are limited by morality or law, Remember, everything is permitted.

We work in the dark to serve the light.

We are assassins!

#lego #toy #toys #moc #afol #venice #venezia #italia #italy #art #artist #medieval #historocal #historic #architecture #historicarchitecture #historicalarchitecture #legoartist #legocreator #legoarchitecture #legodesign #legomoc #ac2 #assassinscreed #legoassassinscreed #legophotography #legomania #legogram #legofan

Art Alley, Rapid City SD - Jul 2015, 03 by Ed Yourdon

157 2

(more details later, as time permits)

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When we first arrived in Rapid City, South Dakota for a family reunion in July 2015, we stayed at the main downtown “Alex Johnson” hotel; and we walked along Sixth Street to dinner that evening with two of our family members. On the way back after dinner, I happened to notice the garish glow of graffiti on a side alley next to the hotel, and I took a couple of quick photos in the twilight, thinking that it might be worth exploring in more detail the next day.

Indeed, I did go back for a quick second look the next morning, but then we had to pack up and check out of the hotel, in order to drive to the rendezvous point near Spearfish (near Deadwood and Sturgis, and in the general vicinity of Mt. Rushmore and the Black Hills) where dozens of members of our extended family were planning to meet us. But when the reunion was over a few days later we drove back to Rapid City, and changed our hotel plans in order to stay at the Alex Johnson for one last night before our early flight back to New York City the next morning.

As a result, I had time for a much more thorough walk-through of the alley and its rich display of art on my final afternoon. I asked the front-desk clerk at the hotel if she knew anything about it, and she pointed me to a young man at the valet parking desk near the front entrance; there I learned that Rapid City is one of only three such spots in the country, where artist-inspired graffiti is not only tolerated, but legally allowed. Here is the website that explains more:

www.visitrapidcity.com/things-to-do/arts-culture/art-alle...

The Website provides much more detail, and in much more cogent form, than I could in these notes; so if you’re curious, I urge you to click on the link. But if you would like to see what the art looks like, in all its vivid colors, take a look at the images in this album.

Lunch-time stroll on Broadway by Ed Yourdon

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(more details later, as time permits)

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Sometime in 2014, I created Flickr album for photos that I had started taking with my iPhone5s; and a year later, in the fall of 2014, I started a new Flickr album for photos that I’ve begun taking with my iPhone6, and iPhone6+. But progress doesn’t stop (at least with Apple): as of October 2015, I’ve upgraded once again, to the iPhone6s and 6s+ (yes, both of them) and this new album contains photos created with those camera-phones

In last year’s Flickr album, I wrote, “Whether you’re an amateur or professional photographer, it’s hard to walk around with a modern smartphone in your pocket, and not be tempted to use the built-in camera from time-to-time. Veteran photographers typically sneer at such behavior, and most will tell you that they can instantly recognize an iPhone photo, which they mentally reject as being unworthy of any serious attention.

“After using many earlier models of smartphones over the past several years, I was inclined to agree; after all, I always (well, almost always) had a “real” camera in my pocket (or backpack or camera-bag), and it was always capable of taking a much better photographic image than the mediocre, grainy images shot with a camera-phone.

“But still … there were a few occasions when I desperately wanted to capture some photo-worthy event taking place right in front of me, and inevitably it turned out to be the times when I did not have the “real” camera with me. Or I did have it, but it was buried somewhere in a bag, and I knew that the “event” would have disappeared by the time I found the “real" camera and turned it on. By contrast, the smart-phone was always in my pocket (along with my keys and my wallet, it’s one of the three things I consciously grab every time I walk out the door). And I often found that I could turn it on, point it at the photographic scene, and take the picture much faster than I could do the same thing with a “traditional” camera.

“Meanwhile, smartphone cameras have gotten substantially better in the past few years, from a mechanical/hardware perspective; and the software “intelligence” controlling the camera has become amazingly sophisticated. It’s still not on the same level as a “professional” DSLR camera, but for a large majority of the “average” photographic situations we’re likely to encounter in the unplanned moments of our lives, it’s more and more likely to be “good enough.” The old adage of “the best camera is the one you have with you” is more and more relevant these days. For me, 90% of the success in taking a good photo is simply being in the right place at the right time, being aware that the “photo opportunity” is there, and having a camera — any camera — to take advantage of that opportunity. Only 10% of the time does it matter which camera I’m using, or what technical features I’ve managed to use.

“And now, with the recent advent of the iPhone5s, there is one more improvement — which, as far as I can tell, simply does not exist in any of the “professional” cameras. You can take an unlimited number of “burst-mode” shots with the new iPhone, simply by keeping your finger on the shutter button; instead of being limited to just six (as a few of the DSLR cameras currently offer), you can take 10, 20, or even a hundred shots. And then — almost magically — the iPhone will show you which one or two of the large burst of photos was optimally sharp and clear. With a couple of clicks, you can then delete everything else, and retain only the very best one or two from the entire burst.

“With that in mind, I’ve begun using my iPhone5s for more and more “everyday” photo situations out on the street. Since I’m typically photographing ordinary, mundane events, even the one or two “optimal” shots that the camera-phone retains might not be worth showing anyone else … so there is still a lot of pruning and editing to be done, and I’m lucky if 10% of those “optimal” shots are good enough to justify uploading to Flickr and sharing with the rest of the world. Still, it’s an enormous benefit to know that my editing work can begin with photos that are more-or-less “technically” adequate, and that I don’t have to waste even a second reviewing dozens of technically-mediocre shots that are fuzzy, or blurred.

“Oh, yeah, one other minor benefit of the iPhone5s (and presumably most other current brands of smartphone): it automatically geotags every photo and video, without any special effort on the photographer’s part. Only one of my other big, fat cameras (the Sony Alpha SLT A65) has that feature, and I’ve noticed that almost none of the “new” mirrorless cameras have got a built-in GPS thingy that will perform the geotagging...

“I’ve had my iPhone5s for a couple of months now, but I’ve only been using the “burst-mode” photography feature aggressively for the past couple of weeks. As a result, the initial batch of photos that I’m uploading are all taken in the greater-NYC area. But as time goes on, and as my normal travel routine takes me to other parts of the world, I hope to add more and more “everyday” scenes in cities that I might not have the opportunity to photograph in a “serious” way.”

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Okay, so now it’s October of 2015, and I’ve got the iPhone 6s/6s+. The the camera now has a 12-megapixel lens (instead of the older 8 MP version), and that the internal camera-related hardware/firmware/software is better, too. Obviously, I’ve got the newer iOS9, too, and even on the “old” phones, it now supports time-lapse videos along with everything else.

I’ve still got my pocket camera (an amazing little Sony RX-100 Mark IV, which replaces the Mark III I had last year), and two larger cameras (Sony RX-10 II, and Sony A7 II), but I have a feeling that I won’t even be taking them out of the camera bag when I’m out on the street for ordinary day-to-day walking around.

That will depend, obviously, on what kind of photos and videos the iPhone6s/6s+ camera actually capable of taking … so I’m going to try to use at leas one of them every day, and see what the results look like …

Like I said last year, “stay tuned…”

Permit holders only by Jawad Qasrawi

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Smena 8m, 35mm film

tuula by francis

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Amor el tiempo nada permite salvo aquello que hagas contando con él...!!

Cambia de casa, de ciudad e incluso de país, pero lleva siempre contigo, en tu corazón, el viejo hogar.

REFLETION. by Nolito Winter

7 11

A veces me permito hacer cosas sin sentido,”para muchos”, porque sí, porque me apetece, porque esas cosas terminan llevándome a algún lugar con más sentido del que se cree. Para mí alterar ese comportamiento ordenado, serio, clasificado, me hace abrir puertas a la creatividad, a lo que hay en mí, a la esencia del ser libre.

Me pueden llamar loco, pero no me importa en absoluto. Esa locura es perfecta, me despreocupa para ocuparme otra forma de ser y es entonces cuando la vida me sorprende y me regala con su abundancia.

Mar 16, 2015 - sunrise on the beach, 08 by Ed Yourdon

244 6

(more details later, as time permits)

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I'm spending the winter months of 2014-2015 in a warm spot on the beach in Indialantic, FL (if I have Internet access, it doesn't matter too much where I'm physically located).

I'm trying to get up about an hour before sunrise every morning, and be out on the beach for a morning walk just as the sun peeks up above the horizon.

On the very first morning, and every morning thereafter, I've immediately noticed that I was not the only person on the beach. There are joggers and walkers out getting their exercise, and *lots* of fishermen casting their lines out into the surf. But down by the 5th Avenue boardwalk -- where you can park your car and get a cup of coffee/latte/whatever from the local Starbucks -- there are lots and lots of people who clearly come down here just to watch the sunrise

These are some of the people... and some of the birds ...

Picogordo by Jose Antonio Amado Hidalgo

182 90

Picogordo

(Coccothraustes coccothraustes)

Paseriforme forestal de gran tamaño y reconocible por su pico, muy grueso y ancho, y de una robustez tal para su tamaño que le permite alimentarse de una gran variedad de frutos. Está ampliamente extendido en Europa, pero no es abundante. En España se observa de manera muy dispersa en bosques abiertos de altitudes intermedias del centro y sur peninsular.

Descripción

Clasificación

Orden Passeriformes

Familia Fringillidae

Longitud 18 cm

Envergadura 29-33 cm

Identificación

Se caracteriza por su cabeza voluminosa y con un pico muy grueso, de base notablemente ancha. A su vez, su cola corta potencia el volumen de la cabeza y el pico, además de otorgar al ave un aspecto compacto y robusto. En una observación detallada y cuidadosa se pueden diferenciar los sexos. Los machos tienen las manchas naranja y gris de la cabeza y la cara mucho más vivas que las hembras; además, las plumas internas de las alas están teñidas en los machos con un reflejo azul metálico, mientras que en las hembras es de color gris plata. Por otra parte, los jóvenes volantones se reconocen porque son de tonos pardos, sin colores vistosos en la cabeza y sin el bello tono anaranjado que poseen los adultos, tanto machos como hembras. Su vuelo es rápido y potente. Las alas desplegadas facilitan la identificación del picogordo, pues muestran con claridad dos grandes manchas blancas. En vuelo también se aprecia una característica banda terminal blanca. A pesar de sus peculiares rasgos, no resulta sencillo detectar al picogordo. Ya sea en parejas o en pequeños bandos, pasa inadvertido con facilidad, pues se trata de un ave tímida, esquiva y muy silenciosa que pulula por la parte alta de las copas de los árboles.

Canto

El canto y los reclamos de este pájaro son muy simples. Posado y en vuelo emite notas cortas (chiiit), perceptibles solamente a corta distancia.

Learner's Permit by Thomas Hawk

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Nocturna del Patio de los Arrayanes. A pulso, no se permiten tripodes. by Francisco Santiandreu

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Dedicada a mi mujer, Isabel y a mis dos hijas, Isabel e Irene por el agradable paseo nocturno por la Alhambra.

A little bit of quiet solitude from the noise and clatter of the Chowder House by Ed Yourdon

83 1

(more details later, as time permits)

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In August 2015, I had the great pleasure of taking a week-long photography workshop in Rockport, Maine under the tutelage of Peter Turnley. Its main theme was street photography, and we made several visits to working-class neighborhoods in several Maine towns where (unbeknownst to me) there are large populations of working-class immigrants from Somalia, Sierra Leone, and various other countries around the world.

Most of our “field” exercises were carried out in pairs, threesomes, or foursomes; and in many cases, we were lucky enough to follow along behind Peter Turnley and watch his amazing style and techniques.

But in some cases, I ended up alone — including the first afternoon of the workshop, where I drove a few miles up the road from our classroom, to spend the afternoon looking for photo-ops in the small town of Camden, Maine. Meanwhile, my classmates spent their time in such small Maine towns as Rockport, Rockland, and other picturesque spots along the water.

I’m slightly acquainted with the town, from several previous visits to attend the “PopTech!” technology conferences in the month of October. So I was able to spend far less time worrying about getting utterly lost in a strange place, and more time focusing on the people — mostly tourists, as it turned out — along the streets.

Of the hundreds of photos that I took during that first afternoon, I ended up with about a dozen that I felt were worth sharing with my classmates. This is one of them...

RSPB Dungeness by Richard Watkins LRPS

8 1

Continuing the early 2021 Lockdown, and weather permitting, whilst not at work i was walking from home to the farside of RSPB Dungeness.

The pools at Hanson ARC, to the left of the path before you reach the Water Tower, now Forbidden Territory as the RSPB don't like people going to them anymore!!! Nevermind, if I do visit them I just won't bother to tell the RSPB of any Species Records I find, anyway if I had not gone to the pools on this day, I would not have had the best ever/closest encounter with a Bittern that I have ever had, plus I would not have been standing there to look up moments later to see the White Tailed Sea Eagle fly over me!!!

Funny stuff on my face? Yeah, maybe -- but everything about us is weird! by Ed Yourdon

202 10

(more comments later, as time permits)

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This is a continuation of Flickr sets that I created in 2014 (shown here), 2013 (shown here)

2012 (shown here), 2011 (shown here), 2010 (shown here), 2009 (shown here), and 2008 (shown here) -- which, collectively, illustrate a variety of scenes and people in the small "pocket park" known as Verdi Square, located at 72nd Street and Broadway in New York City's Upper West Side, right by the 72nd St. IRT subway station.

I typically visit a local gym once or twice a week, and I get there by taking the downtown IRT express from my home (at 96th Street) down to the 72nd Street stop. Whenever possible, I try to schedule an extra 30-60 minutes to sit quietly on one of the park benches, and just watch the flow of people coming in and out of the park -- sometimes just passing through, to get from 72nd Street up to 73rd Street, sometimes coming down Broadway to enter the park at 73rd Street, but mostly entering or exiting the subway station.

You see all kinds of people here: students, bums, tourists (from New Jersey and from all four corners of the globe), office workers, homeless people, retired people, babysitters, children, soldiers, sanitation workers, lovers, friends, dogs, cats, pigeons, and a few things that simply defy description. Sometimes you see the same people over and over again; sometimes they follow a regular pattern at a particular time of the day, which always makes me smile — even though I never go up to them and introduce myself.

If I focus on the people coming south on Broadway, and entering the park at 73rd Street, and then continuing to walk southwards toward the subway entrance, I typically have five or ten seconds to (a) decide if they're sufficiently interesting to bother photographing,(b) wait for them to get in a position where I can get a clear shot of them, and (c) focus my camera on them and take several shots, in the hope that at least one or two of them will be well-focused and really interesting.

While you might get the impression that I photograph every single person who moves through this park, it's actually just the opposite: the overwhelming majority of people that I see here are just not all that interesting. (It's not that they're ugly, it's just that there's nothing interesting, memorable, or distinctive about them.) Even so, I might well take, say, 200 shots in the space of an hour. But some of them are repetitive or redundant, and others are blurred or out-of-focus, or technically defective in some other way. Of the ones that survive this kind of scrutiny, many turn out to be well-focused, nicely-composed, but ... well ... just "okay". I'll keep them on my computer, just in case, but I don't bother uploading them.

Typically, only about 1-2% of the photos I've taken get uploaded to Flickr -- e.g., about 5-10 photos from a one-hour session in which a thousand, or more, people have walked past me. There are some exceptions to this rule of thumb -- but in general, what you're seeing it is indeed only a tiny, tiny subset of the "real" street scene in New York City. On the other hand, it is reassuring to see that there are at least a few "interesting" people in a city that often has a reputation of being mean, cold, and heartless...

Theater hall of Yurihonjo City Cultural Center KADARE (由利本荘市文化交流館　カダーレ) by C Y

22 1

I was permitted into the theater. Thankful for director. Universe as its theme, interior design is imagined from Star Wars, so audience feels like the spaceship.

ありがたいことに特別に入れていただきました。「宇宙」をテーマとした劇場ホールは異次元のかっこよさです。

座席の色は由利本荘市のごてんまりで使われる赤色を使用。座ると宇宙旅行に出かけられそうな感じでした。

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【写真】由利本荘市文化交流館　カダーレ／新居千秋都市建築設計 | 建築グラビア

photowork.jp/christinayan01/architectural/archives/7724

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Yurihonjo City Cultural Center KADARE (由利本荘市文化交流館　カダーレ).

Architect : Chiaki Arai Urban & Architecture Design (設計：新居千秋都市建築設計).

Contractor : Toda Corporation (施工：戸田建設).

Completed : 10 November 2011 (竣工：2011年11月10日).

Structured : Reinforced Concrete (構造：鉄筋コンクリート造、鉄骨造).

Costs : $80 million (総工費：約80億円).

Use : Public hall, Library (用途：ホール、図書館).

Height : 97 ft (高さ：29.765m).

Floor : 3 (階数：地上3階、地下1階).

Floor area : 126,475 sq.ft. (延床面積：11,750㎡).

Building area : 72,699 sq.ft. (建築面積：6,754㎡).

Site area : 143,536 sq.ft. (敷地面積：13,335㎡).

Owner : Yurihonjo City (建主：由利本荘市).

Location : 15 Higashimachi, Yurihonjo City, Akita, Japan (所在地：秋田県由利本荘市東町15).

Referenced :

kadare.net/wpress/?page_id=1255

www.nikkenren.com/kenchiku/bcs/detail.html?r=w&ci=885

施設関係者のお話しより。

365-287 by Letua

32 17

Flores de kiri: bellas, suaves ,delicadas

El árbol Kiri, conocido como árbol Emperatriz o Paulownia tormentosa, es originario de China. Gracias a sus características, podría ser de gran ayuda contra el calentamiento global, la contaminación y la desertificación del planeta. Un árbol que puede purificar suelo infértil, también absorbe 10 veces más CO2 que cualquier otra especie.

A finales de los años 70 se iniciaron trabajos de mejora genética que permitieron diseñar un nuevo híbrido. Mejorando notablemente su resistencia a plagas y enfermedades, su capacidad para no modificar su entorno y no afectar a otras especies con las que convive debido a que es un clon estéril que sólo se reproduce en el laboratorio.

Puede llegar hasta los 27 m de altura y un tronco entre 7 y 20 m de diámetro. Tiene unas hojas de 40 cm de ancho. Resiste al fuego al regenerar sus raíces y vasos de crecimiento rápidamente y también tolera la contaminación. No es necesario replantar ya que rebrota de cepa después del corte. Prospera en suelos y aguas contaminadas y purifica la tierra según crece, a partir de sus hojas, ricas en nitrógeno, aportan nutrientes al caer y descomponerse en el suelo, aunque en estas condiciones su crecimiento es muy lento. Para que su crecimiento sea óptimo, se requiere suelos profundos y bien drenados, preferiblemente franco-arenosos, no soportan los suelos salinos. Tiene la capacidad de desarrollarse en suelos pobres o erosionados, siempre y cuando se le apoye con abono orgánico y con un sistema de riego.

Por sus características fisiológicas, este árbol puede adaptarse a una gran variedad de climas con temperaturas extremas de -20 ºC hasta 45 ºC. Su principal característica, que lo convierte en único, es su eficiencia a la hora de realizar la fotosíntesis. Este árbol consume más CO2, principal gas de efecto invernadero, y produce más cantidad de oxigeno que la media de otros árboles. Un árbol adulto puede llegar a capturar 21,7 kg de CO2 cada día, lo que convierte en 6 kg de oxígeno.

kiri

Emite grandes cantidades de oxígeno y absorbe hasta diez veces más dióxido de carbono que otros árboles. Se trata del árbol que más rápido crece de todo el planeta y con tan sólo ocho años alcanza el tamaño de, por ejemplo, un roble de 40 años. Tras el corte se regenera de forma vigorosa hasta 7 veces.

Sus hojas ricas en nitrógeno proveen buena abonadura y sus raíces previenen la erosión del suelo. Soporta bien el frío y el calor y resiste condiciones moderadas de sequía una vez desarrollado, de 1-2 años. La Paulownia es un árbol muy adaptable pero que tiene sus limitaciones, su límite está en 2000 m de altitud. Su franja térmica oscila entre los -20º C de mínima y los 40º C de máxima. La temperatura en la que se siente más cómoda esta especie y cuando se desarrolla mejor son los 20º C.

Ventajas para el medio ambiente.

Contiene muy pocos aceites y resinas.

Se puede adaptar a suelos empobrecidos o contaminados por la agricultura intensiva.

Es una solución real para suelos contaminados por desastres medio ambientales.

Absorbe diez veces más CO2 que cualquier otra planta.

Previene la erosión como el resto de especies.

Mejora la permeabilidad del suelo y la retención hídrica.

En un año puede alcanzar 6 metros de altura.

Tiene una alta resistencia al fuego, pudiendo sobrevivir a temperaturas de hasta 435º C.

Apto para sistemas agroforestales. No es un árbol excluyente.

Usos del Kiri.

Las hojas pueden ser útiles como forraje ya que poseen un valor nutricional muy alto, excelentes para la alimentación de ganado y también para hacer compost.

Su rápido crecimiento, lo hace muy productivo y rentable. Entre otros beneficios, destaca la excelente calidad de su madera, su idoneidad para recuperar, controlar y estabilizar la erosión de los suelos debido a su profundo sistema radicular y capacidad de fijación de CO2.

Otro de los usos de la Paulownia es la generación de biomasa para centrales térmicas o calefacción casera, mediante la transformación de los cultivos en pellets. El pellet de madera tiene forma de pequeñas pastillas cilíndricas que se elaboran mediante la aglomeración y densificación de la madera, es un excelente biocombustible sólido como sustituto o complemento del carbón, coque y fuel-oil y además tiene emisiones neutras de CO2. 2 kg de pellets equivalen a 1 litro de gasóleo, por lo que el coste por unidad de energía es la mitad.

En Texas se lleva a cabo un proyecto desde 2008 en el que se plantarán un millón de Kiri para purificar el suelo y que recupere todas sus propiedades. Este proyecto será llevado a cabo por Chris Sanders y Brittany Turner y el principal objetivo es purificar el suelo de una parte de Texas y devolverle de nuevo sus propiedades.

En algunas ciudades como Tijuana, se reforesta la ciudad con este árbol para luchar contra la contaminación ambiental.

En Argentina, el gobierno de la provincia de San Luis apuesta decididamente por esta especie, de la que producirá más de 100 mil ejemplares.

Cultivo del Kiri.

Dos épocas idóneas de plantación: primavera y principios de otoño.

El riego es importante en los primeros 21 días tras la plantación para favorecer el enraizamiento.

Plagas y enfermedades: los tratamientos son sólo necesarios en casos puntuales ya que presentan pocos problemas fitosanitarios.

Como conseguir semillas de Kiri.

Hoy en día no es complicado conseguir semillas de Kiri o Pawlownia Tormentosa. Puedes conseguirlas por internet en cualquier tienda de confianza o en alguna tienda especializada de tu zona.

Es el único género con especies arbóreas de la familia Scrophulariaceae. Las 9 especies de este género son originarias de China, excepto P. fortunei y P. tomentosa que proceden de Vietnam y Japón.

En nuestra opinión no es un árbol para sustituir las especies locales, es una especie para usar en suelos contaminados, degradados, donde el Kiri puede hacer una gran labor.

Permitted exercise by 2slo7

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Two people on an empty beach

ridelow. by Sally

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Berlin Wall - 22 by Ed Yourdon

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(more details later, as time permits)

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I’m not sure what I expected when I walked out of my hotel one morning during my vacation visit, jumped into a taxi, and asked the driver to take me to the Berlin Wall — but not this.

My driver patiently explained, in English that was far superior to anything I might have dreamed of attempting in German, that there was really one one section of the wall (also known as the East Side Gallery) that remained intact — on Mühlenstraße, which was only a few kilometers from my hotel. So off we went, and my driver smiled as I got out of the cab, with a pleasant request to “Enjoy yourself!”

I’m not sure “enjoy” is how I would characterize this experience … but it was one that I’m certainly glad that I had. The section of the wall along which I walked was separated from the Spree River by a grassy knoll about 50 yards wide (though I subsequently learned that the border itself, back in those days, was the river) … so I could get some distance and perspective as I looked at some of the vivid artwork. And that was on the “back side” of the wall; there was more street art on the “front side” that ran along Mühlenstraße. I walked both sides, several times, and did my best to photograph everything…

I don’t think there’s much point in my translating, explaining, or even commenting on the photos you can see here; there are 105 altogether, and they speak for themselves, with messages that are pretty self-explanatory. There may be a few phrases in German that you don’t understand; but Google will help you out.

One of the signs commemorated the 25th anniversary of the reunification of Germany—which, of course, was an almost immediate consequence of the collapse of East Germany, and the dismantling of the wall. But it made me wonder: how long will any of this last? It’s obviously meaningful to me and my generation; and if my parents were alive, I’m sure it would take their breath away. As for my children’s generation, and their children’s generation … well, who knows?

And a hundred years from now, will any part of this one small stretch of the old wall, which runs for only 1.3 kilometers, still be standing?

Walking down Broadway by Ed Yourdon

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