View allAll Photos Tagged Persistence
The demolition of this house is expected and a tall building will take its place, as it unfortunately happens in the cities...Maybe it is the last blooming of the little tree inside its little yard...
This is the same "couple" we saw yesterday. Sunshine is now spreading across the fields, but not warm enough yet to melt the frost. I got out of my vehicle for this, walked to the edge of an embankment for a clear view, liked the warm-cool colour balance, and shot a bunch of frames as the big buck followed his indifferent potential mate toward the distant thickets, where they finally disappeared.
There was no point in trying to follow them; no way could I keep up. Besides, I've always felt that animals have a right to privacy. When we press them by getting too close, inevitably we create stress.
More Mule Deer to come!
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2025 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Its a testament to persistence. I live about 45 minutes from this viewpoint, Jonsrud Viewpoint, near Sandy Oregon. Because this is fairly close, and so cool looking, an image form here has been on my list for a long time. And I go, often. Every time a strikeout. This is the first image I have ever posted from here. I have been there about 6 times, and I finally walked away with an image I liked.
This is a tough spot to shoot. It has great fog in the valley in the morning, but sunrises back-lite Mt. Hood. You can shoot a sunset, but then you don't get the fog. You can see this in many of the mages people post from here. They have fog, and good color in the sky, and then they wash out Hood in the processing and it looks horrible. You just can't get it all when you shoot from here unless you let your tripod sit there all day and shoot both. However, then creeps in the third issue. Clouds. If you live in Portland you know, Hood is a cloud magnet. If you want a sunrise with clouds to catch the color, then you often (99.999 percent of the time) loose Hood in those clouds. If you see Hood, you usually have no clouds. To get hood with clouds around her but not obscuring her, you need patience, and tons of it.
So in this image, I opted for the fog. Clouds came in about 10 minutes after I shot this, but they swallowed Hood. Sigh. Not an easy place to shoot.
The last challenge, the right tripod location. You have to get here early to get the primo tripod spot. Here, I had to show up 1.5 hours before sunrise and wait there, to steak out my spot. When I walked away there was about 12 photographers there. I can't imagine how many there would be if the conditions were even more ideal.
So my hat is off to anyone who got the great trifecta- detail on Hood, colored clouds in the sky and fog in the valley. Its a near impossible feat.
"Persistence" - Exodus Fleet Mobile Construction Yard
Length: 105 studs
Number of parts: not a clue
This is where most vessels in the Exodus fleet are constructed and repaired. The mobile refinery supplies the construction yard with refined metal from nearby asteroids.
Currently a batch of fighters are loaded up for testing in the main hangar. In the mid ship construction dock a new Attack Frigate is under construction.
This is my SHIPtember SHIP for 2016. My goal was to use that big yellow Duplo part, and use some kind of lighting. The ship's interior is somewhat lit up by a EL-wire and the construction dock is lit by lifelites.
"Maybe if I feed him he will go to sleep and I can catch a nap too. This is all so tiring."
Continuing story...
Spotted Hyenas
Masa Mara
(Monticola imerina)
Anakao
Madagascar
I only managed to see this species thanks to a good dose of persistence… and a bit of stubbornness on my part. Meanwhile, my travel companions chose the smarter option — relaxing on the comfy sunbeds by the beautiful beach in Anakao(*).
I knew this was the only place where I had a real chance of photographing this species. And on top of that, we had the possibility of seeing our first-ever Tropicbird and the amazing Crab-plovers — all lifers for us!
However, to get to Anakao, taking a boat from Toliara is practically the only viable option. Although the two are relatively close by sea, there’s no proper road connecting them directly along the coast. The inland route is extremely rough, slow, and often impassable, especially during the rainy season — it involves sandy tracks, river crossings, and a 4x4 vehicle, and even then it can take many hours.
In contrast, the boat ride from the port in Toliara to Anakao only takes about an hour (depending on sea conditions), and it's a much faster, more reliable, and scenic way to reach the village. Most travelers, locals included, use this maritime route for convenience and practicality.
To also visit Nosy Ve (not to be confused with the much bigger, much more touristy Nosy Be up north), timing was a bit of a challenge. The schedule of the daily ferry between Toliara and Anakao meant we would have had to spend at least one night in Anakao — and unfortunately, we didn’t have that extra time available in our itinerary. So, relying on the regular ferry wouldn’t have worked for us if we wanted to include Nosy Ve in the trip.
So, I’d booked our accommodation, in Toliara/Tuléar, with that in mind. They offered a boat trip to the small and stunning island of Nosy Ve, with a stop in Anakao.
But when we arrived, and I asked about the trip, the receptionist looked genuinely surprised. The manager explained that what was mentioned in the reservation was only a potential option, not a certainty. She said the sea was too rough and the trip wasn’t safe at the moment. I tried to argue my case — passionately enough that both my wife and our friend Rosa started telling me to calm down and maybe just let it go. I was frustrated, for sure, but not ready to give up. Since we had three nights there, I figured I’d sort things out myself, maybe head to Toliara’s port and find a way.
Half an hour later — after checking in and dropping our bags at the bungalows — the manager returned with news: she’d found a group of French speakers (they were from Reunion) who also wanted to go, and she’d managed to get a bigger boat… just slightly more expensive. “Ah, clever move,” I joked to my companions. We agreed straight away.
The trip turned out to be fantastic. We boarded — if you can call it that — using colourful zebu carts (yep, that’s the “harbour”). The beaches, both in Nosy Ve and Anakao, were absolutely gorgeous, with warm, clear water. The food, especially the fish, was delicious, and the views were incredible.
We crossed Nosy Ve from south to north, under a blazing sun, without a scrap of shade. There were some great photo opportunities with Tropicbirds, but we were disappointed to only spot the Crab-plovers from around 80 meters away, on a small offshore island.
Once in Anakao, after a tasty meal — grilled tsivery and a sampling of a couple of local beers — I’ll admit, the idea of just staying in the sun loungers with that postcard-perfect beach in front of me was very tempting.
But this was my only shot, and duty called. So I went off with the guide, just the two of us, walking south under the blazing sun. The sand was soft — too soft — and made the walk feel three times as long. We kept going forever (or so it felt), until we finally turned inland, crossed a couple of fences, and spotted a female of the species — but quite far away.
The guide found a shady spot and stayed there, clearly not planning to move. So off I went, into the dense, scratchy vegetation that left my legs completely marked up. The light wasn’t ideal — way too harsh — but I still managed to get some decent shots. On the way back, we bumped into a few Olive Bee-eaters and I got another nice little photo session in.
We were already tired, walking back along the beach, when I got a call from my wife — sounding a bit worried. Everyone was apparently looking for me because the boat captain wanted to head back. According to him, the sea was getting rougher. I didn’t really notice any change, but I gave a nice tip to him and the helper anyway, and got two big smiles in return.
Getting off the boat onto the zebu carts (**) was another little adventure — water up to the poor animals’ bellies, and at least ten people rushing to help. Carrying bags, holding cameras (I never trust my camera to anyone), offering hands… and sometimes just giving us a push on the backside we didn’t exactly ask for!
By the end, we had no idea who had actually helped and who was just hanging around — it was chaos trying to figure out who to tip.
But all in all, it was a fun adventure. A bit painful for me, I’ll admit, but well worth it!
(*) A photo taken by my wife at Anakao beach www.flickr.com/photos/anasilva/53376135049/
(**) Also from my wife: a photo of the zebu cart waiting as we unboarded the boat www.flickr.com/photos/anasilva/53414439418/
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All my photos are now organized into sets by the country where they were taken, by taxonomic order, by family, by species (often with just one photo for the rarer ones), and by the date they were taken.
So, you may find:
- All the photos for this trip Madagascar (2023) (174)
- All the photos for this order PASSERIFORMES (3553)
- All the photos for this family Muscicapidae (Muscicapídeos) (454)
- All the photos for this species Monticola imerina (3)
- All the photos taken this day 2023/11/16 (19)
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Mafex The Mandalorian, captured with a 2x anamorphic lens combined with a 100mm macro lens. Photographed on location in the Italian Dolomites
Prints available via my website, www.tommilton.co.uk
While walking into woods, I happened to see this shining spiderweb between the trees, as if a sparkling wheel. Not sure how long the spider has been building the web, but I admired its persistence and hardwork to make this happen. Nature is powerful.
Carrying on with my theme of selfie in the landscape, took myself off to Ravensthorpe reservoir this morning - hazy sunlight breaking through overcast skies was a nice piece of timing.
I cannot resist photographing "this" when I see it. There are an embarrassing number of kindred images in the first comment box below as proof positive of my compulsion should you have the time and inclination to view them. Cheers!
- Alhambra, Granada, Spain -
Persistence pays off! :-D Our village's Barn Owls seem to be a bit late breeding this year (probably weather induced) and the recent breezy weather really seems to have limited their hunting in the evenings, when I've been out to watch them. Fortunately on Saturday evening, I got a combination of good light and a dropping breeze, which brought an Owl out virtually "on cue". I even managed to get it in focus (I'm claiming practice is paying off, but luck plays its part!). Added a pic below where it had caught a Vole and was heading nest-ward
I saw this fish trying to get over this barrier several times. After several rainy days the river was so swollen that the challenge seemed insurmountable. I do not know how it has ended, but I hope the fish was able to proceed upstream. It tried so hard...
Comox valley, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
"She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted."
(everything is political ...)
persistence comes when nothing else matters
it's at the core of faith without any chatter
say what you want and say what you can
but even the dogs eat the crumbs from the master table
and that's no fable.
Appearing like a volcano, this tree stump had me returning for the light. Three times I came back to this place after recognizing the potential. Each day the light would rim the stump but not give what I was looking for. On the final attempt, the light leaked from between the trees. However, it only lit one side. Off I went to enjoy the forest trek only to return for another attempt. This time the light delivered.
At its peak, the rim was lit all around, giving the desired look. The spotted light all about it worked out well to support the main subject, so it too was included. Sometimes, a little persistence goes a long way.
I wanted to express my gratitude regarding my last post. It was not my intention to throw such a thing out there. I was shocked at the sudden loss of a childhood friend and I had this overwhelming urge to preserve his memory. Thank you so much for putting this piece in your cupboard and all of you who wrote notes and e-mails you touched my heart completely. I'm a little behind in answering comments and going through my contact stream, but I look forward to all your treasures.
love,
Diane
One of my after work rituals here in Wiesbaden has been riding my bike along the river down to the Mainz-Kostheim bridge for sunset shots. The window a perfect silhouette is pretty short and despite the frequent freights it took a few tries to get it right.
This Hairy Woodpecker worked tirelessly to get that little grub. I wanted to cheer for him.
Photographed at Connected Lakes SP, Grand Junction, Colorado.
Meet Scuffy the tugboat....aka Persistence. I found this little fella while exploring lighthouses on the Washington Coast. The conditions that morning were amazing...so calm!
Trying some new things out (at least for me) in PS3. Desaturation, Sepia, High Pass filter...yada yada yada. I hope you like it!
Cheers, and of course, Happy Monochrome Monday!
See my "About" page on Flickr for the link to support my efforts... just the price of a cup of coffee is appreciated. Thank you. www.flickr.com/people/jax_chile/
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© John Edward Bankson
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Rosas - Santa Gemita - 102521-7