I rarely apply a tint to my bw images, but it has been fun to come up with images to go along with Dylan songs :)

#bobdylan

I rarely saw such a fantastically beautiful evening sky as here on a bay in the north of the Isle of Skye, left the ruins of Duntolm Castle (June, 3, 2010, 10:36 pm).

Selten sah ich einen solch traumhaft schönen Abendhimmel wie hier an einer Bucht im Norden der Isle of Skye, links die Ruinen von Duntolm Castle (03.06.2010, 22:36 Uhr)

Thanks for visiting! Danke für deinen Besuch

please respect/bitte beachte Copyright © All rights reserved

Had an enjoyable morning watching this cutie.

The House Finch

House Finches, particularly males, can look very different from one to another. This is largely due to differences in their diet rather than regional differences. Even though all of eastern North America’s House Finches are descended from the same few birds released on Long Island (meaning they’re much more closely related to each other than they are to birds across the West), there aren’t any strong differences in size, shape, or color between the two regions.

A highly social bird, the House Finch is rarely seen alone outside of the breeding season and may form flocks as large as several hundred birds.

House Finches feed mainly on the ground or at feeders or fruiting trees. At rest, they commonly perch on the highest point available in a tree, and flocks often perch on power lines.

During courtship, males sometimes feed females in a display that begins with the female gently pecking at his bill and fluttering her wings. The male simulates regurgitating food to the female several times before actually feeding her.

House Finches eat almost exclusively plant materials, including seeds, buds and fruits. Wild foods include wild mustard seeds, knotweed, thistle, mulberry, poison oak, cactus, and many other species. In orchards, House Finches eat cherries, apricots, peaches, pears, plums, strawberries, blackberries, and figs.

(Nikon, 500 mm +TC 1.4, 1/800 @ f/5.6, ISO 2500, processed to taste)

normally at this time the foxes rarely hunt during the day. it will be different when the little ones need meat. this fox has no fear and that may be what will cause his loss. Here the hunters hunt them all year round and some with pleasure, as I was able to see while talking with one of them. what a bunch of sick foxes feed on more than 90% voles, which makes them an ally of farmers rather than a pest. Killing them is therefore unfortunately only a game for these morons!!

Normalement à cette époque les renards chassent rarement pendant la journée. ce sera différent quand les petits auront besoin de viande. ce renard n'a pas de peur et c'est ce qui causera peut etre sa perte . Ici les chasseurs les chassent toute l'année et certains avec plaisir comme j'ai pu le contaster en discutant avec l'un d'eux . quelle bande de malades les renards se nourrissent a plus de 90% de campagnols ce qui en font des alliés des agriculteurs plutot que des nuisibles .

Le tuer n'est donc malheureusement qu'un jeu pour ces abrutis !!

The nights are drawing in now that autumn is here meaning that I rarely get the chance to go out with my camera during daylight hours!

I came to Stanley Ferry Marina because I wanted to try and capture some of the lovely reflections on the clear, still water.

This is the final image from that night (I took quite a few but most were rubbish!) and I think it's my favourite.

It's looking towards the road bridge that goes over the canal at Stanley.

I was standing in quite a precarious position, right on the edge of the water, so I had to be very careful not to drop my camera in or fall in myself!

I liked the colours - the green/yellow grass and the different shades of blue in the sky and the boats etc; they all seemed to contrast each other and work together.

Rarely I found myself in front of a so incredible landscape. This is white water pond over a salty ground, in the middle of the Death Valley. I think that the name "Badwaters" has not been randomly picked.

At high altitude, above 3000 m, the sky rarely disappoints. In the scenery of Lake Titicaca, the spectacle is often incredibly beautiful.

I rarely see the Juncos in summer. But when the weather gets cold at this time of the year, a few always make appearance in my backyard, and I see them on the feeder with the house sparrows.

Most of the time, they hop about on the ground looking for insects and seeds. It's a delight to see them fly up to the mountain-ash tree, flashing their white outertail feathers, which I never seem able to capture on camera.

Taken on: Late afternoon light, Sept. Edmonton, Alberta.

* According to 'Birds of Western Canada' (2nd Edition), sixteen subspecies have been described.

This particular individual appears to have more vivid colour than the usual slate-colour ones.

Nikon D500 w/ 500mmf4G

Lightroom 6.0

Thank you very much for the visit and comment

The nights are drawing in now that autumn is here meaning that I rarely get the chance to go out with my camera during daylight hours!

I came to Stanley Ferry Marina because I wanted to try and capture some of the lovely reflections on the clear, still water. I have struggled with the lighting though because the lights from the pub and the street lamps were very bright so, in order to avoid blowing them out completely, I have ended up with the rest of it quite dark. I know I could use hdr but I don't really like the effect. Anyway, I have the whole of autumn and winter to practise!

American robins arrived in force over the past few days, a sure sign that spring has sprung! What a welcome sight it is to see that bright orange belly sitting out in the yard every morning again! Before the year 2000, robins would very rarely return to Winneshiek County before March 15. Since 2000, that first arrival date has shifted forward a week to March 7. Look at where we are today.

This was my lifer folks from my road trip last week, and rarely seen here in South Florida.

Thank you as always for visiting and for all the kind words, always much appreciated.

Well 9 miles and 90 minutes later the difference between my previous photo of the Talybont Dam and this one of the Pontsticill Dam is quite astounding. I've never seen it look better than this, the water was glass calm, giving a clarity to the reflection I've rarely, if ever, come across before.

51°47'53.48"N 3°21'54.70"W

Lézard Vert

My best photos are here: www.lacerta-bilineata.com/ticino-best-photos-of-southern-...

Western green lizard | Lacerta bilineata | adult male | Ticino (Switzerland) | 05-2022

More TICINO/TESSIN Wildlife Photos (all taken in my garden in Monteggio/Ti, Switzerland): it.lacerta-bilineata.com/ramarro-occidentale-lacerta-bili... (the website exists in ESPAÑOL, FRANÇAIS, ITALIANO, ENGLISH, DEUTSCH)

My latest ANIMAL VIDEO (warning, it's a bit shocking): www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T2-Xszz7FI

In case you're interested, you'll find a less cropped version of the photo above: www.lacerta-bilineata.com/western-green-lizard-lacerta-bi...

The story behind the photo:

For the most part, I try to show photos here that come with an entertaining anecdote that my fellow Flickerites can identify with and enjoy; the world offers enough misery as it is, so my goal is to cheer you up, not to drag you down. But here for once I feel I have a responsibility to share with you what I see as a cautionary tale - and I don't blame you if you turn away now, because what follows is not a pleasant read.

But before I get into that I want to say that the year 2022 was - at least as far as my photographic endeavors were concerned - an amazing one, and I'm very grateful. It was a year of many firsts for me; I managed to produce my first acceptable bird photo; I was for the first time able to capture a roe deer as well as a swallowtail, a mantis and even a fox (which I can't wait to show you): all from within my tiny garden in Ticino.

But while there were many wonderful encounters with the fascinating creatures that share "my" vacation home and its adjacent garden with me that I was only too happy to show here, you might have noticed that the lizard species whose Latin name is my alias on Flickr and that - still - "kinda" serves as the main focus of my gallery, has been absent for a long while.

One of the reasons for holding back on new Lacerta bilineata photos is obviously that I decided to widen my focus a bit and that I now concentrate on all the species I manage to capture in my garden and its immediate surroundings.

But there is another reason I haven't uploaded any western greens this summer. Even though I shot dozens of photos of some of the most gorgeous individuals of the species I've ever seen (many of which you can also find here: www.lacerta-bilineata.com/western-green-lizard-lacerta-bi... ), those were all taken on the other side of the village, and not in my garden.

The beautiful male above was in fact one of only 3 western greens I found (alive) in the vicinity of my garden between May and October in 2022 - and out of those he's the only one I was able to photograph.

So what happened? Well, a year ago the neighbor to my immediate left got a young cat, and at the same time, the neighbor to my right also adopted two kittens. Before I continue, it is important to me that you know that I myself am very much a cat person: I adore felines of any kind, and in our own household (though not at our vacation home) we've always had generations of cats, and they were and are as dear to us as our human family members.

So I have no interest in pushing any sort of "anti-cat agenda"; I'm just telling you what happened. By the time spring 2022 came around, my neighbors' cats were almost fully grown and had developed their hunting skills. Between the three of them, they killed up to a dozen western green lizards every day once the reptiles started re-emerging from their winter hiding places which is when they generally are at their most slow and vulnerable.

It was easy to count the dead lizards, because the cats didn't eat them, and whenever I was outside rarely an hour passed without one of the cats showing up with a lizard or some other animal in its mouth. They also killed most of the snakes, even the slightly longer ones at 50-70cm.

Within only a few weeks, the entire Lacerta bilineata population in and around my garden was gone, and the same was true for the population of green whip snakes, while even the number of common wall lizards, which were extremely abundant before, markedly went down during that same time period.

There had always been cats in our village, and I was aware or at least suspected that the ebb and flow of the bilineata population in the past was somewhat tied to how many cats were permanently present at any given time, but my immediate neighbors had never had cats before (which is probably why a tiny population of this protected reptile species had managed to survive around my house).

Now experiencing up close what an impact only 3 cats can have on an isolated, small reptile population was absolutely shocking. What I witnessed made me sad, but I'm not angry at the cats - nor do I hold a grudge towards my neighbors, who are kind, generous and all around lovely people.

And while I don't want to lecture anybody, what I would like to do is offer a few ideas how we as cat-lovers can help mitigate the averse effects our beloved pets' predatory nature (which is nobody's fault: least of all the cats') has on the ecosystems around our homes.

If we live in areas where there's threatened/protected species close to our homes that our cats will prey upon, the time when we let our pets out of the house can already make a huge difference. For example, western green lizards are at their most active between 8am and 11am, and not letting our cats out during that period can already increase the lizards' chance of survival.

If you're a cat lover like me but you also want to protect your local fauna, knowing when during the day birds and reptiles are the most active as well as knowing their breeding/nesting cycles is crucial, and by adjusting the times or time periods when you let your cat out of the house (or not) accordingly will make a vital difference.

But there are also simpler approaches: most reptiles and birds (which are by far the most vulnerable to hunting cats) are not active during the night. Rodents like rats and mice on the other hand very much are, so if you mostly let your cat out after sunset, it will predominantly hunt mice and rats, which are usually abundant enough that their populations aren't threatened (this at least is true for western Europe - other regions might have threatened wildlife that is active during the night, so if you do care, try to educate yourself about the creatures that will fall prey to your pet).

Cats are perfectly adapted to night activity, but they switch to more daytime activity in order to better fit the routine of "their" humans. So while our cats probably won't like it at first to have to stay indoors during the day, they will quickly adapt and accept it, as long as they know they will be able to leave the house once the sun has gone down.

Naturally, there might be practical issues involved that make it impossible to try some of the above (like the presence of coyotes who will eat your cats if they are out at night), but who knows, maybe one person or other will find some of these suggestions useful. And while it may be too late for "my" lizards, I just feel an obligation to at least try to help raise awareness on the issue (although I realize this is a touchy subject and people have strong opinions about it).

In any case, thank you so much for taking the time to read this not very pleasant text. And as always, let me know what you think of the photo in the comments below - but please refrain from making any "heated" statements regarding the issue at hand out of respect for other commenters whose feelings you might hurt (if you feel very strongly about this subject and want to "vent", you may always reach me via my Flickr Mail).

Many greetings from Switzerland and a belated HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you!!! 🎉 😊 ❤!

I rarely come across a lone tree and this one had a border for foreground interest.

Took several shots and liked this off-centre composition best.

It was an overcast day so made this b/w and added a suble texture in Topaz Studio.

HSS

Rarely, have I seen a giraffe on a hill. I add this image after learning that they are now among the growing number of endangered African species. They seem to be the target of hunters now especially from America and their guns and bullets can kill from quite a long distance. I feel contempt and disgust for these folks who find it sporting to kill wildlife.

I took many images of this giraffe that day and have added different editions of this lovely animal enjoying the sunlight. This is the latest.

I don't believe it. The first person to like this has a huge number of guns and rifles as subjects of his post. Guess who just got blocked. Good news for me was that he wasn't from America. He the first gun enthusiast that I know of to like one of my images of endangered species. Perhaps he learned something positive by reading my post, but probably not.

in the eyes of a cat I read a dumb question: why did you come?.in the wasteland the only stone that has heated up during the day and on it sits a nice cat..I am often asked why I like cats? A cat is a symbol of freedom and independence. They rarely show aggression. They are our doctors. They are just very, very cute:)

I rarely get to capture butterflies successfully but was fortunate to have fast shutter speed already set up. And hand held for me is most unusual. This was taken on a lovely walk through Roddlesworth Nature Trail, Lancashire.

If you're out for a country walk and you see any of these thistle type flowers with the purple heads, stick around if you're after butterflies because they do seem to be drawn to them.

Taipei Botanical Garden (台北植物園), Taipei, Taiwan

During a short visit to Taiwan, I was pleasantly surprised to see this lone male at Taipei Botanical Garden. This species is rarely seen at sea level. Its natural habitat is at higher altitudes. As can be imagined, its sighting attracted hundreds of birders to the Garden. It also invoked territorial aggression from another lone male of a different species, White-rumped Shama, also rarely seen and shown in the previous picture. With both birds liking the same tree, the Vivid Niltava was often chased away by the White-rumped Shama and only returned to feed when the latter was elsewhere.

I rarely do landscapes. However, I do take a lot of heckling in my circle (we show our love with insults) that I rarely step out of my black box.

So here is what I see when I do step outside of my comfort zone.

This was taken at the lovely sim, Mousehole.

I rarely shoot models and generally don't know how to direct them. This one knew what to do without any guidance. Taken at a model setup at the New England Council of Camera Clubs

(NECCC) conference. Model: Anjha Thomas.

This is one of my most successful images, accepted in several competitive exhibitions (if success is measured by acceptance ratio).

Sometime rarely to find a seat at there:))

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flickeflu.com/explore

bighugelabs.com/scout.php?username=11569107%40N06&sor...

bighugelabs.com/dna.php

www.flickr.com/photos/kornrawiee/8241418424/lightbox/

www.flickr.com/groups/1768570@N20/pool/with/8454377503/

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Do not note on my images.

I rarely manage to get close to a Buzzard. This one was a chance encounter - out of the blue as it flew across my path.

Thank you all for your kind responses.

Sehr selten in Bremen zu sehen.

.

Die Weissflügelseeschwalbe ist die seltenste der drei Sumpfseeschwalben, zugleich aber die am schönsten gezeichnete Art. Sie ist hauptsächlich in Osteuropa beheimatet

Very rarely seen in my city Bremen

The White-winged Tern is the rarest of the three Marsh Terns, but at the same time the most beautifully marked species. It is mainly native to Eastern Europe

One rarely finds a place so full of historical memories, which unfold before our eyes with exquisite skill through the architecture of the buildings looking onto the Venetian harbour, bearing scents from past times, drawing the visitor into a nostalgic game of the senses, a mixture of East and West...

I rarely take photos through plane windows because they are filthy. Anyway, Virgin Australia flight from Emerald - a French-Italian made ATR 72-600 - on landing approach to Brisbane airport, looking north west across Woolloongabba to the CBD. The Pacific Motorway at the bottom is the road to Sydney, 1,000 km to the south. See it Large.

Rarely do I see these birds, let alone sitting on a log in the middle of a small pond not minding my presence in anyway shape or form. This male is one of the famous birds in the area as part of early migration.

Living in the south of England I rarely get to see these two tone grey and black crows.

Thank you all for your kind responses.

I rarely post two of the same band on the same day but these two. Also, I decided not to cover the band's set with a review and photos...it's a lot of work and I just have a ton of things going on this weekend and a busy work week always.

I hope you enjoy! The Chills are an amazing band and it was wonderful to see them!

**All photos are copyrighted**

I rarely do wildlife...don't have the equipment or the patience, but this little fellow (a downy woodpecker) braving the snow was just begging to be photographed.

Rarely found low, but this one was very friendly bouncing from branch to branch near a river earlier in migration. I absolutely love the colours of this bird!

Rarely, the Sunol Regional Wilderness in SF East Bay, its elevation only several hundred feet high, but their heads were covered by snow after storm attacked for one week.

This image was taken from my backyard, the distance to the Wilderness about 45 miles (72km) far away. Thanks for your stopping-by and wishing you and your family a Happy Lunar New Year!

I rarely get to see swans swimming in water here so when I saw many in a flooded field this weekend in Skagit County I jumped at the chance to photograph them.

i rarely share my pics ~ here's a raw shot from a series that i love sm.

add me on fb for more >

facebook.com/tekila.vella

Pics taken in firestorm ♥

Selten diese Farben den 2. Tag in Folge vor einem Gewitter, es sah schlimmer aus als es dann am ende war!

On a decent day, this view across Gruinard Bay in Wester Ross rarely disappoints.

The scenery does all the hard work for you.

Many thanks as always for your welcome views and comments.

Taking a leap of faith with Base Jumper Nicole at the Black Dragon formation in Utah. During my last trip my friend Scott managed to arrange shooting some base jumping fanatics at an area near Moab. I was to shoot from above and Scott was going to be shooting from across the canyon for a side view. I have rarely needed to photograph in shutter priority mode and this was a chance to learn something new about my camera. It was such a rush to stand at the top and photograph the falling jumpers, so much so that I was having trouble holding the camera still without shaking, my nerves were on edge and since this was the first time witnessing somebody jumping off of a 500ft cliff was an adrenaline rush even without having a chute on my back. As she stepped off of the brink I could hear her speaking to god. 🙏

If you have any questions about this photo or about photography in general, I will do my best to help, just post a comment or send me a Flickr mail and I will respond as quickly as possible.

Thanks for taking the time to take a look at my photos, and as always, your views, comments, faves, and support are greatly appreciated!! Have a great week my friends!! :)

Please do me a favor and follow me on my other social sites found below:

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Rarely seen in Ontario, I was lucky to find this species feeding right behind me towards the end of my trip to Darlington as I was photographing other Sandpipers. Out of 500 frames, only 5 are with this bird with it’s head above water!

We rarely get Redheads in the park, and we seldom get heavy fog, so the two combined was an opportunity not to be missed…. At the Pool, Central Park, New York

Rarely in the garden!

Pas souvent dans le jardin!

I rarely share both colour and mono, but I'm feeling indulgent this aft.

It was getting very late to be out by this time, and what little light and colour there was in the sky, it was engulfed by storm clouds, a gift from Lancashire. But what caught my eye was the Hart’s-tongue fern (Asplenium Scolopendrium) harbouring in the relative tranquility of the limestone grike.

Copyright: © 2023 john bleakley photography. All rights reserved. All images protected by Pixy. No unauthorised use.

I rarely see Eurasian collared doves here at Lake Meyer Park as they prefer the more civilized setting associated with life in a small town, especially if there are grain elevators around. We'll see in the coming weeks whether or not this was a one-time wonder.

Even though rarely detected the Eastern Screech-Owl resides in Ontario woodlands and occasionally suburban areas year round.

Similar to the Snow Goose the little Screech-Owl comes in two different colour forms - gray or red with red being the least common and it is believed that the red form is less able to withstand our cold winters. If mixed colours pair up they will probably produce owlets that are a buffy-brown hue.

This owl species is entirely nocturnal but on occasion can be found sunning themselves in the nest entrance or possibly roosting in a tree cavity but normally they just snuggle in and sleep the daytime away.

we very rarely get snow on Vancouver Island.

but since i returned from India we have been gripped in the coldest winter weather in memory ..

normally i am bragging about flowers in February . ha ha

I rarely shoot this scene as wide as this as Stanlow/Innospec becomes a little lost but I think the sunrise last Tuesday was so good I needed to include as much of the sky as possible.

What began as a slow burn with not much colour just got better and better until the whole sky was alight.

Rarely come out in the day, caught them as the sun went down - thank you to you both for posing for me ♥

Lush Poses & Tattoo - Mi Plan Favorita - Couple Bento Pose

Marketplace

I rarely noticed this blooming foxgloves as much as I did this year. Maybe I didn't pay so much attention to them ore maybe their amount is much higher this year. For sure I do like this luminous blossoms within the more gloomy atmosphere of the forest very much.

Selten sind mir die blühenden Fingerhüte im Wald so aufgefallen wie in diesem Jahr. Vielleicht hab ich nicht so darauf geachtet, vielleicht sind das dieses Jahr auch einfach mehr als sonst. Auf jeden Fall finde ich die leuchtendem Blüten in der eher düsteren Umgebung des Waldes sehr beeindruckend.

rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty

(Maya Angelou)

(Taken at The Outer Garden)

I rarely use 600mm to shoot landscape, but here is one.

At the time when nature presented this scene to me, I was driving and the 600mm was the only lens in my car. So...I parked and worked with my only option to seize the moment. Was debating if I should get my wider lens from home but time did not permit that. Clicking was my only option. At the end, l am glad to be able to capture the surreal mood of a rare scene in my home valley.