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Observation and telecommunication tower in Auckland, New Zealand.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_Tower_(Auckland)
My husband and I had an early dinner and went exploring back roads. We found this little gem looking for a creek. Found the creek and turns out it's a water crossing. As we were poking around, we could hear thunder. Here in the mountains storms can sneak up on you because you don't know where the thunder is coming from. I came out of the woods on a path and was admiring the surroundings when I noticed the clouds dropping. I knew we were in for it. Snapped a pic just standing there, didn't even bother to crouch like I normally would. I ran for the jeep and just as I got there it started raining. I drove the jeep under some trees because I drive topless so we got soaked. I had a sweatshirt jacket stuffed under the seat I could put on, and my husband had a hat, but it dumped buckets on us. The cupholders in the backseat are filled. After that wet adventure we found ourselves the gnarliest and sketchiest jeep road that we never expected and it's close to our house! Didn't get any pictures of that because I was too busy trying to keep us from dying. 😉
If you saw The Last Samurai you saw this mountain as the stand-in for Mt. Fuji. The movie was shot in New Zealand.
The ancient theater in Phillipopolis was built in the first century AD and probably fell into disuse sometime in the fifth century with the fall of Rome. In time it was covered with centuries' of debris and became buried underneath a neighborhood in the old town of Plovdiv. It was rediscovered in the 1970s, excavated, and brought back to life. Today it is used much as it was originally intended. We showed up in the daytime to have a look around what we supposed to be an archaeological site and learned that there was a ballet scheduled for that evening. On being told that it was Anna Karenina I asked whether it was in Russian, Bulgarian or English. The answer was "Bulgarian, of course" with an added "it is a ballet, so what does it matter?"
The ancient theater seats six or seven thousand and the performance was well attended, overwhelmingly (as far as I could tell) by locals. Several thunderbursts sent the orchestra temporarily running for cover, and eventually--after a number of delays--ended the show some time after intermission, with the dancers taking their bows in heavy rain to the delight of the crowd. It was a remarkable experience, and I won't soon forget it. Anna Karenina in Phillipopolis, aka Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
Die Doppeltürme des Liebfrauendoms, die Mariensäule und ein Seitenturm des Neuen Rathauses - München / Marienplatz
The twin towers of the Cathedral of Our Lady, the Marian Column and a side tower of the New Town Hall - Munich / Marienplatz
Google Pixel 8 Pro
ISO 1145
113mm KB
Panoramablick von der burgartigen Klosteranlage Santuario de Sant Salvador (gegründet 1342) in Artá ins Umland der bezaubernden Stadt
Artá / Mallorca NO
Panoramic view from the castle-like monastery complex Santuario de Sant Salvador in Artá into the surrounding countryside of the enchanting town
Artá / Mallorca NE
Though this small and colorful Danube city is much, much older (it was once a Roman frontier settlement), its present flavor is largely a product of the late 17th century. The same Habsburg-Turkish War that expelled the Ottomans from Hungary prompted Christian rebellions against the Ottomans in the Balkans. When the Ottomans finally defeated these rebellions, the certainty of retribution created a Christian exodus from that region. Various refugee communities from Serbia, Greece and Dalmatia removed to Szentendre, where each built their own churches and created this complex but lovely skyline. Szentendre, viewed from the Danube River, Hungary.
These snakes are usually quite slender, but some of the mature females can dwarf the more typical specimens. Puget Sound garter snakes, Olympia, Washington.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqiTJK_uzUY
Light, my light, the world-filling light,
the eye-kissing light,
heart-sweetening light!
Ah, the light dances, my darling, at the center of my life;
the light strikes, my darling, the chords of my love;
the sky opens, the wind runs wild, laughter passes over the earth.
The butterflies spread their sails on the sea of light.
Lilies and jasmines surge up on the crest of the waves of light.
The light is shattered into gold on every cloud, my darling,
and it scatters gems in profusion.
Mirth spreads from leaf to leaf, my darling,
and gladness without measure.
The heaven's river has drowned its banks
and the flood of joy is abroad.
Rabindranath Tagore
Elenino Lake, or Elena's Lake, sits on the trail between Malyovitsa Peak (2729m) and Malyovitsa Hut (1960m). Of the descent from the peak to the hut our Bulgarian friends, who knew it well, warned that it was "kind of disgusting," and by this they meant not the scenery (which was superb), but the slope and footing (which was indeed, sometimes disgusting).
The lake gets its name from a local legend dating to the Ottoman occupation, a five hundred year period which is still very much a part of the Bulgarian national consciousness. According to the story a Bulgarian girl, Elena, was handed over to an Ottoman pasha to settle a debt, only to escape, join with a band of rebels, fall in love, avenge her injuries, die heroically, and be interred near this beautiful and remote lake, where her body would forever be safe from her enemies (ROLL CREDITS). How much of this is true I have no idea, but these kinds of legends do often have at least some basis in fact. Mrs. Orca at Elenino Lake (Elena's Lake) (2479m), on the Five Mountains Trail (E4), Rila Mountains, Bulgaria.
Garden wall, New Plymouth, New Zealand
beholding
ceaseless watcher, behold your triumph,
apathetic eyes prying into weary flesh,
the beholding, isn't it an accurate name?
you have seized what little I had left.
and as I step onto the street,
I feel them stare into my every thought,
every dark impulse, every light deceit,
all this and more finally, horribly caught.
what else does a man have except his mind?
what can he depend on but privacy in contemplation?
the recorder clicks on, I hear the tape start to wind,
even now you record my damnation.
watching, watching, always watching,
from the eyes of the birds, from cameras mounted high,
I have never known such existential pain,
than to lose the little solitude I prized in my life.
and I have never felt such loathing,
and I have never felt such fear,
I cast my thoughts away, unknowing,
and it is with vile exultation you hear.
ALEXANDER PALMER
"All the world is but an eye, that watches, never bends."
The exquisite interior of the Central Sofia Synagogue. The synagogue is still active, but with its capacity of more than one thousand it tells the story of a Jewish community that was once many times larger than at present day.
This is not precisely, as one might expect, because of the Holocaust. Despite the fact that Bulgaria was a (somewhat reluctant) ally of Germany, almost all Bulgarian Jews survived the war. This was largely due to the opposition of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and many other Bulgarians who loudly refused to cooperate with the Holocaust. It is in fact remarkable how many lives were saved or lost by the different responses of different peoples to the order to participate in the murder their Jewish neighbors. Many allies of Germany were enthusiastic participants, but some--most notably Bulgaria and Finland--mostly just refused to go along. And in occupied countries outcomes could also vary widely. The Danes, for example, behaved heroically and saved almost the entire Jewish population, while in many more shameful examples, occupied populations instead chose collaboration.
After the war, the vast majority of Bulgarian Jews emigrated to Israel. Today, though, Jews make up a notable proportion of international tourists in Bulgaria, which I presume has a lot to do with this history. Interior of the Sofia Central Synagogue, Sofia, Bulgaria.
We've seen shepherds guiding sheep, cattle, horses and goats out to forage common lands all over the world. In the Armenian highlands we saw shepherds moving all of these--but also hogs--in and out of settlements and to pasture. This common medieval practice of turning out pigs to forage (pannage) is increasingly rare today, when industrial farming of all livestock--and pigs in particular--predominates. Foraging hogs and cattle on the Trans Caucasian Trail, Armenian Highlands.
A neighbor gave me these 4 plants in the spring. I'm anxious to see if they will yield squash or pumpkins. But, they looked so pretty this morning.
Isar - Isarbrücke - Kalvarienberg - Tölzer Altstadt
Ich bin beeindruckt von der Qualität des Google Pixel 8 Pro, das hatte ich so nicht erwartet. Schwächen hat es bei direktem Sonnen-und Kunstlicht (Flares) und die automatischen Bilder v.a. bei Nacht sind nach meinem Geschmack etwas zu hell. Im Pro Modus kann man dann selbst Hand anlegen und die Helligkeit und andere Parameter manuell steuern.
Auch der 5fach optische Zoom und der 11mm Ultraweitwinkel - beide mit 48 MP - können voll überzeugen, der digitale Zoom ist bis ca. 10fach voll nutzbar (aufgrund der 50 MP bleibt hier genügend "Reserve". Der digitale 30fach Zoom ist natürlich nur ein Gimmick und höchstens für "Beweisfotos" zu gebrauchen.
Auf alle Fälle eine sinnvolle Ergänzung zu meinen Sony RX100 Kompaktkameras und meiner Canon 80D.
Google Pixel 8 Pro Nachtmodus