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The vibrantly colored and beautiful male Ring-necked pheasant with its blue-green head, red face wattles, distinctive white neck ring and long, pointed tail stands partially hidden in the brush of the Baylands Nature Preserve along San Francisco Bay at Palo Alto. These birds prefer fields and farmlands with brushy cover, though they also inhabit woodland undergrowth and wetlands like the Baylands. They are most comfortable on the ground, where they forage for grains, seeds, berries, insects, and, occasionally, small animals.
Despite being surrounded by developments, the Baylands has become one of the most important natural environments in the Bay Area. It has a large resident population of birds as well as being a major migratory stopover on the Pacific Flyway. Over 150 species of birds can be seen here. Noted wildlife photographer B. Moose Peterson has written that the Baylands have "the West Coast's finest bird photography."
I have visited Baylands many times and this was, indeed, a rare occasion to have captured this image of a ring-necked pheasant in the wild, in the clear, and in good light. To get this shot it was necessary for me to stand motionless in the brush for what seemed an interminable amount of time. The bird finally came into the open, in full view, in the sunlight and rather skittish. It stood for about a minute as I took its picture and then quickly moved on. See other shots of this pheasant at www.flickr.com/photos/greatestpaka/3116342059/ and www.flickr.com/photos/greatestpaka/3119196870/in/photostr...
I joined an eco-tourism daytrip from Guyana's capital Georgetown to the Arrowpoint Nature Resort. We drove out of town to marina on the Demerarr river, where we boarded a speedboat and crossed the river, then, taking about 45 minutes, navigated the Kamuni River into the Santa Aratack Amerindian Reserve, stopping at Santa Mission Amerindian community and the reaching Arrowpoint, where we had the options of walking in the rainforest, kayaking, swimming among activities.
Olympus E-3
ZD 12-60mm f/2.8-4.0 ED SWD
Aperture Priority Mode
f/4
ISO 400
40mm
1/1250
Metering: Matrix
White Balance: Cloudy
No Photoshop
No HDR
A mangrove nursery in Pulau Dua Nature Reserve. The area is vulnerable to aquaculture and industrial development.
Photo by Aulia Erlangga/CIFOR
If you use one of our photos, please credit it accordingly and let us know. You can reach us through our Flickr account or at: cifor-mediainfo@cgiar.org and m.edliadi@cgiar.org
The view east over Simpson Point at Herschel Island on 15 June 2015. A remarkably warm spring in 2015 saw early snow melt on the tundra and quick break up of sea ice along the Arctic Coast.
Compare this to nearly the same photo taken on 14 June 2014.
The U.S. National World War II Memorial is a National Memorial dedicated to Americans who served in the armed forces and as civilians during World War II. Consisting of 56 pillars and a pair of arches surrounding a plaza and fountain, it is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on the former site of the Rainbow Pool at the eastern end of the Reflecting Pool, between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument.
Pictured in the foreground are 6 of the Memorial's pillars, honoring those individuals from Idaho, Utah, New Mexico, the District of Columbia, Hawaii and Guam who served in the War.
Photo by Kevin Borland. Portions of text derived from Wikipedia.
~*Photography Originally Taken By: www.CrossTrips.Com Under God*~
A Ferris wheel (also known as an observation wheel or big wheel) is a nonbuilding structure consisting of an upright wheel with passenger gondolas suspended from the rim.
Ferris wheels are an amusement park ride and may also be found at urban parks and public places. Ferris wheels usually hold about 50-100 people.
History
The Ferris wheel is named after George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. He graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and he was a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania bridge-builder. He began his career in the railroad industry and then pursued an interest in bridge building. Ferris understood the growing need for structural steel and founded G.W.G. Ferris & Co. in Pittsburgh, a firm that tested and inspected metals for railroads and bridge builders.
Ferris designed and built the first 264 foot (80 meter) wheel for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois in 1893. The wheel was intended as a rival to the Eiffel Tower, the centerpiece of the 1889 Paris exhibition. This first wheel could carry 2,160 persons. The Ferris wheel was the largest attraction at the Columbian Exposition standing over 250' tall and powered by two 1000 HP steam engines. There were 36 cars accommodating 60 people each (40 seated, 20 standing). It took 20 minutes for the wheel to make two revolutions—the first to make six stops to allow passengers to exit and enter; the 2nd a single non-stop revolution—and for that, the ticket holder paid 50 cents. The wheel was moved twice after the 1893 Fair and was eventually destroyed (by controlled demolition) in 1906 after it was used at the St. Louis exposition of that year. At 70 tons, its axle was the largest steel forging of the time. It was 26 stories tall, only a quarter of the Eiffel Tower's height.[1]
Sections of this Ferris wheel were used to construct a bridge across the Kankakee River, about 45 miles south of Chicago just north of Tefft, Indiana. [2]
The Travels of Peter Mundy, 1608–1667 describes and illustrates "Several sorts of Swinginge used in their Publique rejoyceings att their feast of Biram" in the Ottoman Balkans. Among means "lesse dangerous and troublesome" only for children was a Ferris wheel "like a Craine wheele att Customhowse Key" where the passengers swing on short swings, sometimes sitting, sometimes hanging trapeze fashion. The illustration here is of a different Turkish design, apparently for adults.
Another Ferris wheel with a height of 65 meters (213 feet), dating back to 1897, is the Riesenrad in Vienna's Prater in the second district of Leopoldstadt. It was designed by Hubert Cecil Booth. See also World's Fair...
London, UK had its very own 'Gigantic Wheel' built at Earls Court in 1895, which was modelled on the original one in Chicago. This wheel stayed in service until 1906 by which time it had carried over 2.5 million passengers. It was built by two young Australian engineers named Adam Gaddelin and Gareth Watson and was the first of over 200 Ferris wheels that they built.
For the 1900 Paris Exposition a 'Grande Roue', of similar size and design to Ferris', was constructed. It was demolished in 1937. The wheel had 40 cars (as opposed to Chicago's 36), and is clearly visible in photos of the 1900 exhibition
Double and triple wheels
In the mid to late 1970s, coaster company Intamin AG invented a twist on the Ferris wheel. Using long arms to hold the wheels, they created a way to load and unload Ferris wheels more quickly. In 1976, 2 Sky Whirls opened at Marriott's Great America (IL, CA) and were the first triple wheels. Triple wheels were attached to three long arms mounted equal distance in a circle on a central tower. When loading/unloading passengers, the 3 arms would rotate until one arm was at the loading area and hydraulics would bring that arm/wheel to the ground.
A two-arm version titled "Zodiac" was also installed at Kings Island in Ohio as well as Hersheypark in PA titled "Giant Wheel." The double wheels were attached to a long, straight arm. The arm was mounted in the center on a central tower. When the hydraulics lowered one side, the other raised. The Kings Island Zodiac was relocated to Australia's Wonderland but closed in 2004.
All models featured 8-10 passenger cages. The cages were attached to the wheels by chains. When the wheel was in the loading position, it was horizontal and all cages could be loaded at once. As the arm raised or rotated, the wheel moved to a vertical position and provided a typical Ferris-wheel ride, only much higher from the ground.
Another version of this ride existed at Magic Mountain in California titled "Galaxy." This ride was similar to the Zodiac, except the arms did not raise as far off the ground. The arms on this ride were shaped more in a "V", than a straight line, and the central tower was shorter. On each wheel were 4 smaller wheels that also rotated, providing a double vertical rotating movement.
A fourth version of the ride was installed and removed at Astroworld in Texas titled "Morowheel." It was also similar to the Zodiac model, but had the shorter tower/"V" arm configuration of the Galaxy.
Observation wheels
Some operators prefer the term observation wheel to Ferris wheel, and large Ferris wheels are sometimes marketed as observation wheels to differentiate them from smaller Ferris wheels, however the two are actually the same, and any distinction between the two names is at the discretion of the wheel operator. Indeed, many of the wheels whose owners reject the term Ferris wheel actually have more in common with the original Chicago Ferris wheel of 1893, particularly in terms of being an iconic landmark for a city or event.
The world's tallest wheel, the Singapore Flyer, is described as an observation wheel by its operators.[4]
The London Eye (world's tallest, 1999-2006) is also described as an observation wheel by its operators.[5]
The Star of Nanchang (world's tallest, 2006-2008) is usually referred to as a Ferris wheel, and less commonly as an observation wheel.
World's tallest Ferris wheel installations
The world's tallest Ferris wheel is the Singapore Flyer, in Singapore. It is 165 metres (541 ft) high. It started rotating on February 11, 2008, and officially opened to the public on March 1, 2008.
The Star of Nanchang, in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China, previously held the record. It is 160 metres (520 ft) high and opened for business in May 2006.
The preceding record holder was the London Eye, in London, UK. It is 135 metres (440 ft) high, and is still the largest in the Western Hemisphere.[6] It was officially opened (by Tony Blair) on December 31, 1999, but did not open to the public until March 2000 because of technical problems.
The great popularity of the London Eye led to a number of other cities (including Belfast, Birmingham, Kuala Lumpur, Las Vegas, Manchester, Melbourne, Moscow, Nanchang, Shanghai, Singapore, and York) installing, or proposing to install, very tall (50 m or higher) wheels. The proposed Birmingham wheel would perhaps be the most unusual, as it would be fixed in place while the pods would move around the circumference along a rail track.
The Shanghai Star, initially planned as a 200 metres (660 ft) tall wheel to be built by 2005, was revised to 170 metres (560 ft) with a completion date set in 2007, but then cancelled in 2006 due to "political incorrectness"[7]. Plans to build a 183 metres (600 ft) wheel at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas were cancelled in May 2004. An approximately 150 metres (490 ft) wheel was proposed for the redevelopment of the New Frontier Hotel and Casino (also in Las Vegas) but the site has since been sold to another developer.
More Ferris wheels and manufacturers
* The Great Wheel Corporation
o Proposed wheel in Qingdao, China
o Proposed wheel in Orlando
* The Allan Herschell Company
o Seattle Wheel - has 15 cars with up to two people per car.
* Eli Bridge [3]
o Eagle Wheel - 16 cars with up to three people per car.
o Hy #5 Big Eli Wheel - some are cable driven, others are rim driven. Has 12 cars with up to three people per car.
o Little Wheel - much smaller in dimensions, but it still has 12 cars with up to two people per car.
* Ronald Bussink Professional Rides (formerly Nauta Bussink) [4]
o R60 - 60 meter wheel with 42 enclosed capsules with air conditioning. The largest transportable Ferris wheel in the world. Seen in Germany (Dresden), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Spain (Seville), UK (Belfast, Birmingham, London, Manchester, York) and elsewhere. It requires at least twenty 40ft containers to transport it and is ballasted with water.
* Chance Morgan
o Astro Wheel - 16 cars (8 facing one way, 8 facing the other way) with up to two people per car.
o Century Wheel - 15 cars with up to four people per car.
o Giant Wheel - 20 cars with up to six people per car. This is one of the biggest production Ferris wheels, and requires at least two 18-wheelers to transport it.
o Sky Wheel - a double wheel. There is a wheel on top, and bottom of the ride. There are eight cars per each wheel with up to two people for each car.
* Intamin AG
o Coaster Wheel - this type of Ferris wheel is a little different. Some of the 16 cars move on a track in the middle of the wheel. There are also 8 cars on the outside of the ride that do not move much, and do not have a track. One of these is located at Disney's California Adventure, and another is located at Coney Island. Each car can hold up to six people.
* Roger Wadkins (formerly Bob Childress - Expo Wheels LLC)
o Expo Wheel - 16 cars with up to two people per car. The seating on this wheel is much like the Eli Bridge Hy #5, or Chance's Astro Wheel.
Ferris wheels in popular culture
* The hero of Robert Lawson's children's book The Great Wheel is part of the construction crew for the original ferris wheel.
* The TV show Carnivà le deals with a circus in 1930's, which has its Ferris wheel as an important symbol, which plays an important role in the series finale.
* The main character from Stargate: Atlantis, John Sheppard, likes Ferris wheels.
* The Ferris wheel Riesenrad (in Vienna, Austria) is the stage for a key scene in the 1949 film noir The Third Man. It is also featured in the 1987 James Bond film, The Living Daylights, and appears in the 1995 Richard Linklater film Before Sunrise.
Tanner Moor is one of the largest moorlands in Austria with a surface area of 120 hectares. It is a Natura 2000 ecologically protected area located on a high granite plateau in the Freistadt district, Mühlviertel, Upper Austria at an average elevation of 900 m.
A six kilometer long trail leads through the moorland, over bridges and past bogs to highlands of mountain pine (Pinus mugo), whence the entire moor can be viewed.
Several times in the year I walk through this interesting landscape near Freistadt, where I live.
The Pitt Polder Ecological Reserve is a protected 88‑hectare site near the south end of Pitt Lake in Pitt Meadows, established in 1980 to preserve a rare fragment of Fraser Valley bogland. It safeguards unique wetland plants, granite outcrops, and wildlife, and is open for low‑impact activities like hiking, birdwatching, and photography.
Grant Narrows Regional Park is the southern gateway to Pitt Lake and the Pitt‑Addington Marsh Wildlife Management Area, offering boat access, birdwatching, and scenic dyke trails. Located in north Pitt Meadows, it’s a key launch point for exploring one of BC’s richest wetland ecosystems
Thank you kindly for visiting—faves and comments are always deeply appreciated. ~Sonja
Snow blankets the Fraser Fir and Red Spruce forest atop Grandfather Mountain, one of the highest and most ecologically significant peaks in the eastern United States. Situated in Grandfather Mountain State Park near the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina’s High Country, this aerial photograph was captured from a low-flying airplane with its canopy partially opened to reveal the mountain’s rare subalpine ecosystem in crisp winter detail.
© 2025 David Oppenheimer – Performance Impressions Aerial Photography Archives
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On 27th of December 2011 a severe case of human ignorance caused a fire in Chile's Parque Nacional Torres del Paine. Within a few days more than 15.000 hectares of native forest, brushland and steppe fell victim to the flames and the inferno put the park's wildlife at serious risk.
Once again irresponsible tourist behaviour had lead to an environmental catastrophe in one of the most beautiful and most vulnerable areas of the world.
Read more about this picture: blog.joergbonner.net/2012/06/scorched-paradise.html
Canon 5DMkII, 17-40mm, GND
Copyright © Joerg Bonner 2012. All rights reserved.
The US Capitol Building and Washington Monument from across the Potomac along the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Arlington, Virginia.
Photo by Kevin Borland.
If you enjoy my photographs, I invite you to listen to my music as well. Follow this link to visit SPEED LIMIT MUSIC on Pinterest.
The midnight sun and the ketch Empiricus anchored in Pauline Cove at Herschel Island, on her transit of the Northwest Passage. 9 August 2013.
The Tahquamenon Falls are two different waterfalls on the Tahquamenon River. Both sets are located near Lake Superior in the eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The water is notably brown in color from the tannins leached from the cedar swamps which the river drains. The upper falls are more than 200 feet (60 m) across and with a drop of approximately 48 feet .
Kittlitz's Murrelet, Glacier Bay, Alaska. 19 July 2016.
Kittlitz's Murrelet is one of the World's rarest seabirds -- with the total population numbering just 30-50,000. It is also a species at risk, as glaciers rapidly melt and their critical habitat is lost.
Glacier Bay, Alaska is the best place in the world to view numbers of Kittliz's Murrelets, and late July generally sees the highest numbers.
View of small adjacent islands close to Ko Tao. Dream holiday! It rains on the right side of the picture. It is a protected area.
Bocado de aperitivo (Florida - Estados Unidos)
El tamaño a veces si importa, uno puede atragantarse.
4º premio y aceptación FIAP en el concurso de fotografÃa de naturaleza y montaña MontPhoto 2010, categorÃa: "naturaleza"
A close-up view of a swan peacefully sleeping at Hendrie Valley Sanctuary, part of the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington, Ontario. With its head gently tucked under its wing, the swan rests in stillness, surrounded by the calm and quiet of the natural wetland environment. The soft detail in the feathers and the tranquil mood make this an ideal image for themes of wildlife, serenity, and the beauty of Ontario’s protected ecosystems.
This sandstone bluff is known today as "The Tombs". It is a sacred burial site of the Bidjara people, and as it is at the headwaters of the Maranoa River it is a sacred creation site.
Sleeping within the rock are the ancestral spirits who created the landscape.
This is a powerful site to which Bidjara have come for millenia to place their dead in the tunnels and crevices within this sandstone hill. Unfortunately, the site has been desecrated, almost all the bark burial cylinders were stolen during the latter half of the 1800s.
See next photos.
This is a part of the nature protection area of Darß (Baltic Sea). Is is illigal to enter the beach.
Dieser Strand ist Bestandteil des Naturschutzgebietes auf dem Darß (Ostsee). Betretten des Strandes verboten.
Camera: Canon EOS 50e
Film: Kodak Elite Chrome
Lens: Cosina 19-35mm 3,5-4,5
Scanner: Epson Perfecktion 3490 Photo
The Nam Et-Phou Louey National Protected Area is approximately 595,000 hectares, covering seven districts and three provinces: Houaphan, Luang Prabang and Xieng Khouang. WCS teamed up with the local office to create ecotourism activities that help support conservation and wildlife protection. Explore the protected area on the Nam Nern Night Safari, The Nests, or the Cloud Forest Hike!
high in the rugged wilderness of the Valmasque Valley in Mercantour National Park, two Alpine ibexes rest among the ancient rocks. One stands tall and alert, the other reclines peacefully, blending into the dramatic terrain. Their curved horns and sturdy frames speak to the resilience of wildlife in this high-altitude haven. The moss-covered boulders and stark mountain backdrop capture the raw beauty of the Alps and the quiet strength of nature. A moment of serenity in the heart of the French wilderness.