(Published in Photo Technique, Spring 2013)

(Explore #270)

Living in Devon, I'm very lucky to have easy access to a wealth of picturesque, iconic, and even downright dramatic locations both here and in the surrounding counties. Many of these are world renowned, and arguably none more so than is the case with Botallack Mine in Cornwall - just a couple of hours drive from me. Bizarrely, I've recently been enviously studying a lot of images from Dungeness in Kent, and then suddenly realised I've perhaps been overlooking sites closer to home. It's not that I was unaware of Botallack - far from it - it's been on my list of places to visit for years, yet somehow I just hadn't got around to it. It was something of an eye-opener to get the opportunity recently, and I'm glad I did. Some places have an indescribable, rather unique aura about them and in this regard Botallack doesn't disappoint. Certainly there's a wealth of information about this historic area available on the internet, so I shan't bore you with tales of it's past. I shall instead point out that should you decide to investigate further and as a result pay a visit you're in for a treat - it's rare to find yourself in such a place steeped with an almost palpable sense of heritage and intrigue.

Of course, the summer of 2012 being what it is, my trip coincided with dour skies and drifting bands of rain. This in itself wasn't necessarily a bad thing - somehow I couldn't imagine Botallack in anything less than forbidding circumstance, yet as anyone knows rain droplets are the enemy of a photographer's lens. As my visit had been something of an unplanned affair, I'd done nothing in the way of research, but was anxious to at least take a couple of shots before the incoming weather worsened and the light faded completely. I've since come to realise just how frequently this vantage point has been used before me, but at the time I felt it was perhaps one of the few I could take advantage of due to it's sheltering position from the elements. Hunkering down behind a huge vertical outcropping of rock (and yes, I cast several wary glances at it while the wind veered around it's contours), I found a spot where I could wedge my tripod in the dry and go to work. In truth, I have resolved to return as don't think I really sought out 'my' angle here, yet at least another time I will have the benefit of some familiarity - plus the knowledge of one or two other vantage points I spied having checked out the lie of the land. I feel as if I'm touching on this a lot lately - the relative pros and cons of shooting the overly familiar as opposed to the completely overlooked... I don't believe there's a right and a wrong approach - such binary reasoning is for mathematicians and pregnancy tests(!), yet I personally get more satisfaction from successfully exploiting a hitherto unexplored vista. This may not mean on a different occasion I'll shoot from the hip while abseiling down one of these engine houses, but the brave never say never!

As for Dungeness, well, I'm still massively enthusiastic to pay a visit, and intend to do so in the winter months to empthasise the bleak atmosphere thoughts of the place always conjure for me. Even the rugged allure of Botallack can't dampen my ardour... Any photographic trip including five lighthouses, numerous decrepit buildings, boats, and a couple of nuclear power stations can't be bad!

Female catches and killing a white-vented Myna.

The myna fights for dear life but its fate is sealed after a brief moment of struggle. Equipped with powerful talons, it does not take much effort for the hawk to overpower and squeeze the life out of this helpless myna.

I realized that myna bird comprises a large part of the hawk's diet. My hypothetical reasoning would be that goshawks are not part of the urban community where mynas and pigeons strive. These abundant city dwellers do not recognize the hawk as a natural predator (except human and domestic cats) and therefore they end up as easy preys.

To the hawk, it's a wining formula, nonetheless.

What we see is not what we expected, because it is not what we wished for. You can never tell what thoughts run inside a person though and there reasonings for behaving the way they do. It is a major problem when it affects millions. Maybe eventually it could affect the whole world. And more than in the cost of fuel. We can only sit and wait.

I spent many good hours with this man, he showed me how his city was, he showed me the way, their way. He is part of Kryvyi Rih, it is his home. They speak Russian, they live in Ukraine.

Like most in his country, he is always willing to help. it showed many times through many people. And in the country of his vast neighbour too. So many helped me out. People are the same. Its just a shame about the rulers. Often voted in, sometimes it becomes late to turn back..

Lets hope for better times. And I hope we will meet again some day.

Anton Blashchuk stands before Petrove across the Irkrivs'ke reservoir, Kirovohrads'ka oblast Ukraine. September the 17th 2018.

I was reading the classic by John Calvin circa 1536, written in Basel, Switzerland.

"God left us with many gifts of the Spirit. We see in these a trace of the image of God, which distinguished humans from the other creatures. 11.ii.18 – 11.ii.21 – Reasoning with regard to heavenly things consists of three things; 1) knowing God, 2 ) knowing his fatherly favour, and 3) knowing how to live by his Law. In regard to the first two, without the illumination of the Spirit of God, we are like travelers in a rain storm at night, in which brief flashes of lightening show the way, but glimpses are too quickly lost to be of any real good. In reality we are as good as blind to spiritual matters when left on our own. "

Food for thoughts.

Post Cards from the vacation that is my life. the go back and see what you missed why don't ya file. "

This from my one of my trips in 2005 to Myanmar. Soooo.... I shot this in Yangon just before one of my journeys to the outskirts of the absolute middle of nowhere and traveling back to the 19th century.

Josef Sude, one of my strongest visual photographic influences, had a practice of after developing the negatives he shhot he'd wait six months before he would print the images from those negatives. His reasoning was "so that he could see the image with eyes a new." Which is why I do not delete anything. Hard drives are cheap. So on rainy days (usually on Sundays) I go back and look at the past for things I may have missed.

I hand held this image at a 1/15 of a second. So we know vibration reduction works.... and I must have been on my first cup of coffee.

Shot with the D200 enhanced color IR modification the 28-300mm Nikkor (AKA "The Street Sweeper") my when in doubt go to lens.

For consideration only, no reproduction without prior permission.

#Nikon100 #nikonlove #kelbyone #photography #onOne @NikonUSA

#NikonD200 #NikonNoFilter #niksoftware #nikonUSA #Epson

#wacom #xritephoto #calibrite #onone #sunbounce #fineartphotography #kolarivision

#DxO #iamgenerationimage #iamnikon #B&H #PhotogenicbyBenQ

#nikonLOVE #hoodman #Myanmar #Burma

#nikonnofilter #nikonambassador

The River Wensum at Taverham.

The River Wensum is a chalk river in Norfolk and a tributary of the River Yare, despite being the larger of the two rivers. The river is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation.

The rivers name derives from the Old English adjective wandsum or wendsum, meaning 'winding'

Modern Ordnance Survey Maps list the source of the Wensum as lying between the villages of Colkirk and Whissonsett in northwest Norfolk. The reasoning behind this claim is unknown given that other tributaries are further from the mouth. Pre-modern maps and other written sources refer to the source to be in West Rudham from springs arising on the aptly named Wensum Farm.

From the source the river flows close to the villages of South Raynham, West Raynham and East Raynham, passing Raynham Hall, home of the Marquis Townshend. The Wensum then turns and flows north through a number of small villages until it reaches Sculthorpe, where it turns east through the market town of Fakenham. The river then flows in a south-easterly direction through the Pensthorpe Nature Reserve and the village of Great Ryburgh.

The Wensum continues through or close to the villages of Guist, North Elmham, Worthing, Swanton Morley, Lyng, Lenwade and Taverham before entering Norwich from the north-west via Drayton, Costessey and Hellesdon. The Wensum is the principal river on which the city of Norwich was founded

At New Mills Yard the river becomes tidal and navigable by boat. Flowing through the city, the river forms a broad arc which would have influenced the site of the settlement for defensive reasons

Remnants of boom towers can be seen near Wensum Park and Carrow Hill which formed part of the city wall and a large defensive tower can be seen on the riverbank near Barrack Street. Called Cow Tower, the tower dates to the 12th. century and was also used for collecting tolls. The Wensum flows through the Carrow area of Norwich and then out of the city via Trowse to Whitlingham and its confluence with the River Yare.

I thought I'd try something a bit different, so here's my Sherlock Holmes and Dr John Watson standing on the footpath outside their lodgings, 221b Baker Street.

I am also currently working on figures based on the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and the novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of Four, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Valley of Fear.

Next up is a Scandal in Bohemia.

I'd love to hear what you think.

Some snowflake are large tree-like sculpture, while others are tiny, almost coin-like in design. This one falls into the latter category. Hexagonal but rich in detail and surface texture, snowflakes of all sizes are worth observing. View large!

This snowflake is the reason for one of my theories in yesterday’s post. It clearly had “ridges” that are raised above the normal crystal structure, and some of them have begun to grow outward and “plateau” along their top edge. This was yesterday’s reasoning for how the side-branches appear to be growing underneath the main branch; you’re seeing the same physics at work.

The interesting thing about such small snowflakes is that you can observe interesting features in a simpler way. The ribs and ridges of the crystal can be easily identified and understood, but the thickness of the snowflake can also be seen. Very obvious at the bottom corner, you can compare the thickness to the other dimensions. If you notice a slight brightness shift about halfway down the “tall” side of the snowflake, you might be seeing evidence of “crystal twinning”.

This would be a small groove along the middle of this thickness cause by evaporation. Such evaporation would only happen if the molecular bonds were weaker, where two separate crystals joined together. This is quite common with column-style crystals, and I’ve seen it on smaller plates – but none this large before.

Regardless of the physics, this snowflake represents a tiny sculpture of nature. One that must follow certain rules and is created based on specific variables, but it’s also one we might find beautiful. It’s not often that math, science and physics equates to “beauty” in the eyes of the average person. The best exception I can think of is snowflakes.

For a deeper look into how snowflakes form, and how to photograph them, check out the book Sky Crystals: Unraveling the Mysteries of Snowflakes: skycrystals.ca/book/ - makes a great Christmas present and shipping daily!

Some people just want to admire the beauty of these gems, and for that there’s “The Snowflake”, a print created with 2500 hours of work across five years: skycrystals.ca/poster/

Another beautiful type of butterfly :-) I'm going to have a guess on the reasoning behind the name; it was seen fairly often when first described, it hangs around grass and it has blue wings.

This picture has been cropped.

The Series-2 Defense Mech is by far and away the most advanced model we have created here at Megabot Enterprises. A new gyroscopic stabilizer allows it to keep its balance on almost any terrain, and an advanced reasoning processor allows the Series 2 to make snap judgments in the heat of battle. This revolutionary new mech combines all the best traits of the other mechs in this business, and upgrades them to new heights. This is, in a word, perfect.

This came out better than expected. I was watching the movie Chinatown, and I decided to grab a handful of bricks to mess around with while I watched. An basic version of this was the result. I'm still not too sure about the color blocking, but I'm pretty happy with the shape.

Inspiration from anything Ironsniper has posted within the last month :)

Busier times at Rook Yard on the former P&WV.

The frac sand boom has since died off at Rook, and so has the gas trans loading that took place in the yard as well. This picture, taken in August of 2014 shows when the Wheeling was finally pouring some of the money they were making back into their own infrastructure. As a direct result, new ties, brand new CWR and tons of new ballast were laid to replace the older materials. The yard tracks were also slightly lengthened as well.

Basically, the yard was completely rebuilt from the ties up. Although rebuilt, this proved to be a constant challenge during the first year of the rehabilitation. This resulted in more ballast being needed than originally thought.

For some reasoning this day, the 610 Rook crew was unable to use the Wheeling power sitting on the west end of the yard for switching duties. This left 2 AVR unit's as the only power in the yard left that could be used.

A call was made from the Wheeling dispatcher to Carload Express to seek permission, which was later granted. During the earlier years of the natural gas boom on the Wheeling, yards consistently found themselves short on power throughout the system. As a direct result an order of 20+ SD40-2's were purchased off of various leasing companies to help shore things up.

Since ancient times, the islands and coastal areas of Greece had boatyards where wooden ships were built. Wooden ships, also known in Greek as *kaikia* (aka caïque), played an important role in the economy.

These boats had unique technical, typological and cultural features, some of which dated back to the Byzantine-medieval era.

In 2013, the kaikia was added to Greece's National Index of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Sadly, however, these works of art are today being destroyed after the European Union decided in 1983 to subsidize fishermen to scrap their boats. The initial reasoning behind this questionable decision was to tackle overfishing.

Besides the EU's irrational decision which failed to consider the importance of the kaikia tradition for Greece, decades of inactivity on the part of Greek officials led to the destruction of thousands of handmade wooden boats.

B.L.M. = Black Labs Matter - All the rest is bullshit

Flickr should be about PHOTOGRAPHY and not political correctness.

Before I was an Army helicopter Pilot, I served all races, religions, and creeds as an Army Medic. Trust me on this, we all bleed the same color. Beneath the epidermis, we are all the same color.

Mr. George Floyd was needlessly killed by a white Minneapolis Police Officer.

Ms. Justine Ruszczyk was needlessly killed by a black Minneapolis Police Officer. She is white (Caucasian). Oddly, racism was claimed when he was prosecuted for her death. How does that work?

Did anyone riot, loot, torch cars in the streets, burn shops, and tear down statues, in memory of her?

Or, doesn't her life matter as much?

Flickr, if you do not like my reasoning or if it represents too much truth and logic, then do not send me SPAM!

All you are doing is perpetuating anarchy, like facebook, twitter, and media pretending to be fair and unbiased.

I almost think DHG and I were crazy for going inside a house this dilapidated. Almost, but not quite. The photos are well worth the risk.

My reasoning: the floor is holding up the piano....it'll definitely hold for DHG and me, there wasn't much left of the roof, just the aluminum siding and a few 2x4s.....that wouldn't kill either of us and if the floor did fall through, it wasn't far to the ground. In my mind = safe!

Not your every day occurrence but from time to time the dispatcher will route Amtrak 5 down the uphill track 2 instead of the downhill track 1 to the right. The reasoning behind this decision on this afternoon was likely due to a few things. One being that 5 was almost an hour late and by using the short, faster track 2, it would help make up for lost time. The other being, while 5 was at its station stop on track 2 in Colfax, an eastbound stack train was climbing the grade below on track 1 because of not having tunnel clearance for its double stacks on track 2 through Applegate. The dispatcher decided to keep 5 on track 2 for the rest of the way down to Roseville. Here it is seen approaching the double tracked tunnel 18 at Newcastle, CA in late afternoon light. September 2017

Uno de los encuentros que más me han emocionado desde que vengo haciendo fotografía de naturaleza. Me he enamorado de estas flores después de una charla que nos dio Eladio Fernández en ADFONA sobre estas maravillas tan discretas y sensuales.

Llevo 3 especies vistas, 2 fotografiadas.

Aristolochia adiastola (hoja )

Texto por @pedrogenaro publicado en pedrogenaro.blogspot.com/ con toda la historia detrás de esta fotografía y especie.

===+ENGLISH+===

One of the encounters that has excited me the most since I began nature photography. I fell in love with these flowers after a talk Eladio Fernández gave us at ADFONA about these discreet and sensual wonders.

I have seen 3 species so far, 2 of which I’ve photographed.

Aristolochia adiastola (leaf)

Text by @pedrogenaro, published at pedrogenaro.blogspot.com with the full story behind this photograph and species.

Yesterday, while my friends José Miguel Pantaleón, Carlos Gómez (Gogolac), and I were doing macro photography at the Río Higuamo Wildlife Refuge, Carlos found some Aristolochia sp. leaves. After searching insistently, he first found the capsule and later the first flower (he found five in total). His joy was truly contagious. I knew I had photographed the species before, but I couldn't remember the name, even though Eladio Fernández had told me its story just two years ago—first in a phone call and later during a talk at ADFONA.

To provide some context, I first learned about these fascinating flowers through Dr. Luis Marión Heredia (who passed away far too soon), whose home I visited with my friend Adolfo Gottschalk. Dr. Marión’s interests found fertile ground in my brother, Eladio Fernández, a conservation photographer, who has taken up and expanded the study of Aristolochias on Hispaniola. He has approached this not only as a photographic project but also with scientific rigour, advised by the research department at Harvard University (Irina Ferreras, Brian Farrell, Bruno De Medeiros, and Gustavo Romero) and the National Botanical Garden. You can find the full story of these marvellous plants in a special chapter of 'Naturalista isleño', featuring Eladio himself.

Returning to the flower found at the Río Higuamo Wildlife Refuge, Eladio confirmed to us that it was Aristolochia adiastola. Dr. José Miguel Pantaleón (Cimarron Mayor) and I have a habit of looking into the reasoning behind species names, whether through etymology or dedication to a person. The anecdotes hidden behind these names are sometimes fascinating. In this case, I found the etymology: ἁδιαστολή, adiastolos, meaning 'not separated, confused.' This refers to the fact that this flower was thought to be another called Aristolochia bilobata. Thanks in part to Eladio's photographs, it was determined that its floral morphology was distinct. In fact, two more species related to A. bilobata appeared and were named A. bonettiana and A. marioniana in honour of Mrs. Rosa Margarita (Pirigua) Bonetti and Dr. Luis Marión Heredia for their environmental conservation efforts."

================DESCRIPCION===============

Aristolochia adiastola es una especie de planta trepadora (bejuco) endémica de la isla de La Española (República Dominicana y Haití). Fue descrita formalmente como una especie nueva en 2019, ya que durante mucho tiempo se confundió con la Aristolochia bilobata.

Características Físicas

Flores: Son la clave para identificarla. A diferencia de otras especies similares:

Color: El limbo (la parte expandida de la flor) es de color púrpura oscuro a marrón con manchas blancas, lo que contrasta con el amarillo verdoso de la A. bilobata.

Forma: La flor tiene forma de "pipa", pero no presenta una constricción (un estrechamiento) marcada entre el tubo y el limbo.

Hojas: Son bilobadas (divididas en dos lóbulos profundos), lo que le da una apariencia de "alas de mariposa" o corazón partido, muy común en las aristoloquias de la isla.

Frutos: Produce una cápsula seca que se abre al madurar para liberar las semillas.

Distribución y Hábitat

Ubicación: Se encuentra en diversas regiones de la República Dominicana, incluyendo Peravia (cerca de Baní), el Jardín Botánico Nacional en Santo Domingo y la vertiente sur de la Sierra de Neiba.

Hábitat: Suele crecer en matorrales y bosques secos o semicaducos a bajas elevaciones.

Distribución Alopátrica: Esto significa que generalmente no crece en los mismos lugares que la A. bilobata; se han separado geográficamente a través del tiempo.

Etimología

El nombre adiastola proviene del griego adiastolos, que significa "no separado" o "confundido". Los botánicos eligieron este nombre porque la planta estuvo "confundida" y no se separó taxonómicamente de otras especies similares durante décadas hasta los estudios recientes.

Importancia Ecológica

Como otras plantas de su género, la Aristolochia adiastola es la planta hospedera exclusiva para las orugas de ciertas mariposas, como las del género Battus (mariposas cola de golondrina), que se alimentan de sus hojas para obtener toxinas que las protegen de los depredadores.

===+ENGLISH+===

Aristolochia adiastola is a species of pipevine endemic to the island of Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti).

Formally described as a new species in 2019, it was previously often misidentified as Aristolochia bilobata due to its similar bilobed leaves.

Physical Characteristics

Flowers: The flowers are the primary way to distinguish this species from its close relatives.

Color: The flower's limb is purple to brown with white spots, contrasting with the greenish-yellow and purple-veined flowers of A. bilobata.

Structure: It lacks a constriction between the limb (the expanded distal part) and the tube.

Orientation: The flowers have a distinct orientation compared to related species on the island.

Leaves: It features bilobate leaves, which are deeply divided into two lobes, a trait common to several pipevines on Hispaniola.

Fruit: It produces a dehiscent capsule typical of the Aristolochia genus.

Habitat and Distribution

Location: Native to the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

Specific Sites: Specimens have been documented in several Dominican provinces, including Peravia (near Baní), Santo Domingo (at the National Botanical Garden), and along the southern slope of Sierra de Neiba.

Range: It has an allopatric distribution, meaning it generally grows in different geographical areas than its close relative A. bilobata.

The name adiastola comes from the Greek word adiastolos, meaning "not separated" or "confused". This refers to the long history of botanists confusing this plant with A. bilobata before it was recognized as a distinct species.

Sources: Etymology, Species New to Science

Aristoloquia_Iguamo-1036

Aristoloquia_Iguamo-1067

how is everyone? :)

my photostream has been a bit dead, but for good reasoning, i assure you.

from this day forward, i will really only update my flickr when my photos are worth sharing. i'm certain you don't want to a bunch of crap that i, myself, will end up deleting eventually.

stay classy.

#341: my favorite character in "the outsiders" is dally winston.

Эфемерные облака и неподвижные камни.

Было утро , но палящий степной зной стремительно набирал силу. Все замерло в ожидании ливня . Все кроме вездесущих ящериц и меня , устало бредущего к своей палатке. На земле штиль , а над головой

кордебалет быстро движущихся облаков, напоминающий пляски половцев .

Проходя мимо очередной группы валунов моя камера щелкала в такт хаотичным мыслям . В этот

момент понял глубокую связь между эфемерными облаками и неподвижными валунами. Оба созданы силами времени и природы, воплощая постоянно меняющуюся суть существования. Облака, отражают быстротечность жизни, отбрасывая тени, которые изменяются в такт капризам ветра и времени . И наоборот, стойкие валуны символизируют устойчивость перед лицом невзгод, отражая неизменную сущность каждого из нас.

В это знойное утро сделал для себя открытие - одно из проявлений красоты заключается в тонком балансе между движением и неизменностью.

Возможно такие рассуждения возникают после перегрева под палящим степным солнцем , а может виновата просто ФОТОГРАФИЯ.

А. Суховский

Украина. Николаевская область. с Актово.

Ephemeral clouds and motionless stones.

It was morning, but the scorching heat of the steppe was rapidly gaining strength. Everything froze in anticipation of the rain. Everyone except the ubiquitous lizards and me, wearily wandering towards my tent. There is calm on the ground, but overhead

a corps de ballet of rapidly moving clouds, reminiscent of the Polovtsian dances.

Passing by another group of boulders, my camera clicked in time with my chaotic thoughts. In that

moment I realized the deep connection between ephemeral clouds and motionless boulders. Both are created by the forces of time and nature, embodying the ever-changing essence of existence. Clouds reflect the transience of life, casting shadows that change in time with the vagaries of the wind and time. Conversely, resilient boulders symbolize resilience in the face of adversity, reflecting the unchanging essence of each of us.

On this sultry morning, make a discovery for yourself - one of the manifestations of beauty lies in the delicate balance between movement and immutability.

Perhaps such reasoning arises after overheating under the scorching steppe sun, or maybe the PHOTOGRAPHY is simply to blame.

A. Sukhovsky

Ukraine. Mykolayiv region. v Aktovo

One of the new clubs my husband got at Dimmock Hill. I just may have to rethink my reasoning for not playing golf and give this baby a test drive. Wow........clubs have come a long way since my last new set.

One of the things that always bothered me back when Daisy was "maiding" for me on a regular basis a few years ago, was that I was obliged to keep her status and activities quiet. But now that everybody knows about her, there's no reason at all not to send her to the store if I discover we need something...right? I mean yeah, they don't know she wears this cute little maid outfit....but is it really such a radical departure from what they see nearly every day??

Hmm....It doesn't appear that Daisy is too fond of my reasoning, does it? 😉

just as the trees on the bank of a lake are reflected in the water so also all these varied objects are reflected in the vast mirror of our consciousness.

This creation which is a mere play of consciousness, rises up like the delusion of a snake in a rope and comes to an end when there is right knowledge.

Even though bondage does not really exists it becomes strong through desire for worldly enjoyments. When this desire subsides, bondage becomes weak.

Like waves rising up from the ocean, the unstable mind rises up from the vast and stable expanse of the supreme Self.

It is because of that, which always of its own, accord which imagines everything quickly and freely that this magical show of the world is projected in the waking state.

This world, though unreal, appears to exist and is the course of live long suffering to an ignorant person just as the non existent ghost is the course of fear to a child.

...

If you separate yourself from the body and abide at ease in consciousness you will become One, the sole reality.

Everything else appears insignificant, ....

After knowing that by which you know this, the world, turn the mind inward and then you will see clearly the effulgence of the Self.

That by which you recognize sound, taste, form and smell, - know that as yourself, the supreme Brahman, the Lord of Lords.

That in which beings vibrate, that which creates them, - know that Self to be your real Self.

After rejecting, through reasoning, all that can be known as non- truth, what remains as pure consciousness, regard that as your real Self.

Knowledge is not separate from you, and that which is known is not separate from knowledge, hence there is nothing other than the Self, nothing separate from it.

...

from Yoga Vashishta Sara

A snapshot of a woman taking a photograph using a TLR camera (top view finder). I suspect the reasoning behind the photograph is to document the corn crop in the background. Found MN.

riversea supporting the reasoning , robin, bilston, 19oct08

digital art

A carrion crow from a walk today. I like the coal black of the feathers and the steel of that powerful, dagger-like bill.

The November issue of my Question Mark asks, "Can we bring thinking (and tolerance) back into vogue?"

Sometimes it seems as if thinking is no longer fashionable here in the USA, as political discourse often shows little sign of reasoning, logic or the consideration of evidence. Many citizens on the Left and the Right are all too willing to embrace staunch positions on complex issues without considering the merits of these stances.

Continued at questioning.org/Nov2023/vogue.html

Left to Right

Joe Chill: I gave him my BrickWarrios hobo hat which I think looks better than the hair he had, but I gave him Dastan's head which I do not like as much as Filch's head. The reasoning for the head is I want to make some of my Harry Potter figs back

Fig Formula- Brickwarriors hat, Dastan head, City torso, Ideas legs

Phantom Stranger: With my 3rd Batman bricktober pack, I decided to give the wizard batman cape and collar to Phantom Stranger. I also gave him Robin's head. Do not fear, I have 2 Lucius Malfoy torsos.

Fig Formula- Robin head, Wizard Batman collar/cape, Lucius torso

Zsasz: Decided to make this guy back. I will eventually get him a mutant leader torso

Fig Formula- StarWars head, TLBM torso and legs

Judge- Dylan's judge was phenomenal so I copied it

Fig Formula- CMF 9 wig, black figure parts

Tell me your thoughts

Cumberland Mine SD38-2 #1 brings up the west end of 38 cars of loaded coal. Standing prominently just a stones throw away from Bridge #4 on the railroad is the White Covered Bridge. The bridge, which was not built, but was erected (specifics here people) in the year 1900 over a small tributary of water called Whiteley Creek. Here we are 117 years later it's still standing, and for the nearly last 40 years so has the Cumberland Mine Railroad.

That's the simple run down mention above. If you feel like reading a damn novel, then keep reading below because here's a history lesson for you:

The Cumberland Mine railroad was a creation of the United States Steel company in the mid 1970's to haul coal from company owned mines. The railroad is 17 miles in total length, with no public grade crossings along the entire length of it.

To save myself a lot of writing and drawnout explaination of the reasoning behind this railroad in the first place, I'll instead use this small excerpt from Trains Magazine's online article "Five more weird coal moves":

"The intended customer was Ontario Hydro; under the plan, coal was shipped by rail to the transloading terminal, then by barge downriver to the (USS-owned) Union Railroad's coal dock at Duquesne, Pa. Reloaded into railcars, the coal went north to Conneaut, Ohio, via the Union and fellow Steel road Bessemer & Lake Erie. At Conneaut, the coal was transferred to lake boats for the last leg to Ontario. As it turned out, the Ontario Hydro contract never really came to fruition. The mine and railroad passed through several owners, and it's now operated by Alpha Resources.

In 1976, EMD delivered a single SD38-2, USS No. 1, painted in corporate colors. A number of years later, No. 1 was joined by ex-Yankeetown Dock SD38-2 No. 22, which retained its number when painted to match No. 1. The single train set is usually 30 coal hoppers, bracketed by the SD38-2s in a "pull-pull." - Lee Gregory"

A few critical things the article fails to mention is that the railroad runs at a trackspeed of 30mph, and with little to no communication on the radio. (when they do, it's likely on CB.) The trains are run with a 1 man crew handling everything from the running of the train, to the loading of the train and the dumping of the train. When the engineer is not in the engine, it is controlled by remote control.

Anyhow, since the writing of that 2010 article by Trains Magazine, the Cumberland Mine had taken delivery of MVPX SD40-2 #3098 and 10 OFOX rapid discharge coal hoppers. Upon delivery of the 3098 in February of 2014, it was eventually repainted from it's "white ghost" CITX leaser paint to match the #1 and #22. This unit (CMYX 3098) is tasked with handling a 2nd train set that runs with 27 cars, while the SD38 pairing also now run with 38 cars, instead of 30 like quoted in the article excerpt above.

The reasoning for the addition of a 3rd locomotive to the roster and the 10 more additional coal hoppers was done in order to compensate for the increased production at Cumberland Mine. This in turn was a direct result of Alpha Resource's closure of the nearby Emerald Mine in Waynesburg, PA in late 2015.

Since Emerald Mine's closure, most of the coal today has shipped by barge downriver to Labelle, PA. From there it is reloaded into train cars for trips to various customers, both domestically and internationally.

(en) : an algobug in the reasoning . . is not it?

__________________________________________________

Outlining a Theory of General Creativity . .

. . on a 'Pataphysical projectory

Entropy ≥ Memory ● Creativity ²

__________________________________________________

Etude du jour:

1 - Zero is a number.

2 - The immediate successor of a number is a number.

3 - Zero is not the immediate successor of a number.

1 - Zéro est un nombre.

2 - Le successeur immédiat d'un nombre est un nombre.

3 - Zéro n'est pas le successeur immédiat d'un nombre.

( Giuseppe Peano )

__________________________________________________

rectO-persO | E ≥ m.C² | co~errAnce | TiLt

Midjourney, Photoshop

Inspired by my film 'Delirium'

youtu.be/7lVKLTtNeR0?si=rbCDK8dWkGDoXRU5

I jitterbugged into jungle city

a shimmering delirium

of clustering geometries

splicing clouds in a black light sky

I was lost on my way to Indooroopilly

to catch a pied Butcherbird

or catch a pied Currawong’s

silvery cry

I was babbling in Babylon

foaming in the firmament

tentatively teetering

on bridges made of fire

I was frozen in motion

muttering in monotones

shuddering and shaken

on an ice-grass pyre

I was deafened by an opera

of caterwauling cockatoo

sirens of apocalypse

splintering the dusk

I was dangled like a bat

from my outermost extremities

hung drawn and quartered

by the sorcerer’s musk

I was a rain spattered poltergeist

a dislocated entity

swollen in a heat haze

of blood hungry flies

I was swerving into vertigo

oblivious to reasoning

vanishing at knife point

in a mirage made of lies

I jitterbugged in to jungle city

a shimmering delirium

of clustering geometries

splicing clouds into black light skies

This is a REAL instance of ice and not the Trump ICE lockup for migrants and kids in Denver. A while back, I grabbed more Clover Basin ditch shots down at Willow Farm so I hauled my D700 back down even though the sky was blank blue. I therefore had no choice but to point the camera downward for captures and keep the sky from the shots. Just like today and tomorrow and tomorrow! I decided that I needed some better originals to edit! I liked this view as well as the other. I got few real duds in my "action" takes of the ditch but I do have several NORMAL shots of the ditch now (they call it Willow Brook) but I call it a ditch. It's not much of one either. Let's face it, most of the St. Vrain stream flows have been ripped by the city to water blue grass instead of agriculture.

I can't figure why anyone would cut a ditch this darn squirrely. When I first saw it, It was nearly impossible to follow the reasoning for this ditch but it does seem that the floods scoured this ditch somewhat. I think I noticed the colors of the reflections and contrasts and decided to take advantage. They seemed to over-saturate in this case but that's about everything posted on Flickr. The water course was a bit torn up but there must have been no serious flooding here.

We hit the end of autumn then and the chills came through but we hit the 60s then after Christmas - so no coat. I won't go down to shoot ice today - it hit the 67 degrees in early December. No Coats, no Clarks either. I've still got a lot of captures in the temp directory in this stretch of no skies. I found Willow Farm on Google maps when searching for a barn I glimpsed and made some trips down there and added some more weird captures to temp stash. This is a shot of Willow Creek, another ditch, IMHO. I went back down with my D70 to see if I could capture some shot of the barn. I may go out tomorrow if we can retrieve some skies and clouds at all. I am pulling for a good sky with the front tomorrow.

Here is a normal, if not fairly slow hand held exposure. I already posted other shots that were "action" shots and they were the better shots. I burned up the Christmas lights this season. I grabbed a couple of slices in Lightroom and dropped them into Photoshop to see what might appear.

.....the square.

The last of the butterflies...***REALLY NEEDS TO BE SEEN ON BLACK TO SEE THE SQUARE...***

Squares, with a touch of something extra. This is a composition that - to me - demands the square. That the original was rotated into this configuration is irrelevant - it makes for a stronger play on the squareness, providing symmetry in gravity's effect. the ratios between all the square elements are all golden, and the position of the butterfly's eye likewise. What could have been a dull play on geometry is then made artistic through the touch of texture spilling across the boundaries....

IMG_5026

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Shared third place winner in the LCE 'Square Crop' competition!

MOLVA, la fleche

The dark eye that beholdeth ruin in every dawn is oft not guided by reason, but by the passing weather of the soul. When grief sitteth heavy upon the breast, when Fortune turneth her wheel against us, the world appeareth clothed in shadows, and every path seemeth to lead unto despair. Such is pessimism: a child of temperament, born of melancholy and nourished by fear.

Yet optimism springeth from another source. It is no blind merriment, nor a foolish denial of sorrow's presence. Rather, it is the sovereign act of the spirit. It beholdeth the storm and nameth it storm; it seeth the wound and knoweth it wound. Yet still it resolveth to advance. It saith, "Though the heavens rage and the earth tremble beneath my feet, I shall not yield my purpose."

For the pessimist asketh, "What if all should fail?" and, fearing the answer, remaineth still. The optimist asketh the selfsame question, yet answereth, "Then let me strive nevertheless." Thus is optimism not the gift of happy circumstance, but the courage of deliberate choice.

The nightingale singeth not because the night is free of darkness, but because song is its nature. So too doth the hopeful soul persist, not because suffering is absent, but because it willeth to answer suffering with action.

Therefore may it be said: pessimism descendeth upon a man as mist upon the field, unbidden and untamed; but optimism is a torch borne in the hand, kindled by resolve, and carried forward against the wind. For moods are the subjects of Fortune, yet the will remaineth the kingdom of man.

The Sociology of “Nature is Free”: Fragmentation, Modernity, Migration, and the Myth of the Liberated Entrepreneur in Early 20th-Century Iconography

The image Nature is Free offers a compelling visual allegory of the Statue of Liberty in profound transformation. Executed in a dynamic, woodcut-inspired graphic style echoing early 20th-century American propaganda and Art Deco vitality, the composition depicts Miss Liberty as simultaneously intact and shattered. One half of her face retains the serene, neoclassical composure of Enlightenment republicanism; the other erupts into raw crystalline formations, cascading waters, and geological forces. Explosive Sol Invictus-style sun rays, red-white-blue lightning bolts, and thrusting skyscrapers frame the scene, symbolizing both industrial triumph and cosmic rupture. The caption “Nature is Free” grounds the work in a vitalist declaration. This artwork functions as a potent sociological artifact, crystallizing the cultural, economic, political, and migratory upheavals of the late 19th and early 20th centuries — the passage from entrenched monarchical orders to a new world of individual enterprise, industrial capitalism, and mass migration.

Historical Context: The Dawn of the Free Entrepreneur and the Transatlantic Promise

The era around 1900, known as the Gilded Age in the United States and the Belle Époque in Europe, marked an explosive acceleration of modernization. In Europe, centuries of incessant warfare between kingdoms, principalities, and empires — from the Hundred Years’ War through the Napoleonic conflicts and the fragmented struggles of the 19th century — had produced profound structural poverty, demographic instability, and social rigidity. Feudal remnants, guild restrictions, aristocratic privileges, and monarchical absolutism (or its unstable successors) trapped large segments of the population in cycles of subsistence agriculture, conscription, and economic stagnation. The cumulative toll of over a millennium of dynastic and religious wars had devastated landscapes, depleted treasuries, and entrenched hierarchies that stifled broad-based opportunity.

In sharp contrast, the United States — and particularly its rapidly industrializing cities — represented an unprecedented opening. Here, the ideal of the self-made individual, the free entrepreneur unbound by hereditary status or royal charter, took root with dramatic force. This was the age of Carnegie, Rockefeller, Edison, and Ford; of railroads, steel mills, and electric grids. Sociologically, this transition aligns with Émile Durkheim’s shift from mechanical to organic solidarity, but it also generated anomie as traditional anchors dissolved. The fragmented Liberty in the image captures this precisely: the old European-derived symbol of republican enlightenment is cracking open, revealing primal, natural energies beneath.

Central to this narrative is mass migration. Between the 1880s and 1920s, millions of Europeans — Italians, Irish, Poles, Germans, Jews from the Russian Pale, Scandinavians, and others — crossed the Atlantic. For these migrants, often fleeing poverty exacerbated by war-torn histories, overpopulation, land scarcity, and political instability, the Statue of Liberty embodied a tangible promise of freedom. Freedom, in this context, was not merely abstract philosophical liberty or political rights; it was the concrete possibility of social mobility, economic self-determination, and escape from inherited misery. The “huddled masses yearning to breathe free” (Emma Lazarus) encountered a society where, despite harsh realities of tenement life and exploitation, the structural barriers of European feudalism and monarchical patronage were far weaker. A peasant’s son could become a factory owner, an immigrant peddler a department store magnate. This migratory dimension deepens the sociological meaning of “Nature is Free”: human nature, freed from the artificial constraints of Europe’s war-ravaged old order, could express its creative, acquisitive, and adaptive potential more fully on American soil.

Max Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1905) illuminates the cultural fuel behind this movement. The disciplined, worldly asceticism of Protestant (and often Jewish) migrant communities provided the motivational engine for entrepreneurial success. Yet the image’s syncretic symbolism — the crown evoking both Christ’s Crown of Thorns and Mithraic/Sol Invictus solar radiance — suggests a broader, secularized sacralization of this migratory enterprise. The entrepreneur, and by extension the ambitious migrant, becomes a modern hero bearing the flame of progress, much like the ancient Colossus of Rhodes that inspired Bartholdi’s statue. Migration thus emerges as the lived embodiment of creative destruction: old European forms shatter so that new American possibilities can crystallize.

Symbolic Fragmentation and the Dialectics of Liberation through Migration

The visual fracturing of Miss Freedom carries layered significance when viewed through the lens of migration. The intact classical side represents the imported European Enlightenment ideal — rational, universal, feminine. The shattered, mineral-and-aqueous side symbolizes the raw vitality unleashed by crossing the Atlantic: geological wealth (coal, iron, oil) fueling industry, fluid human movement (rivers of migrants), and the chaotic energy of reinvention. This duality echoes Georg Simmel’s analysis of metropolitan life: migrants experienced both overstimulation and liberation, shedding the “blasé” constraints of stratified European villages for the intense, individualistic stimulations of American cities.

From a Marxist perspective, while capitalism generates alienation, the migratory act itself represented a partial negation of feudal alienation. European peasants and workers, trapped by centuries of warfare-induced scarcity and rigid class structures, could sell their labor power in a more fluid market and, for some, accumulate capital. The image’s “Nature is Free” thus celebrates a vitalistic overcoming: human nature, long suppressed by the “ancient world” of kings, wars, and idols, asserts itself through the act of departure and reinvention. Nietzschean undertones are evident — the will to power finds expression not in aristocratic conquest but in the entrepreneurial conquest of the frontier and the factory floor.

This migratory freedom was profoundly selective and unequal. Not all succeeded; many endured exploitation, nativist backlash, and urban squalor. Yet the statistical reality remains striking: millions improved their material conditions and those of their descendants relative to what Europe’s war-scarred economies could offer. The Statue thus functioned as a powerful “boundary object” (in Star and Griesemer’s terms), uniting diverse ethnic groups under a shared myth of opportunity while legitimating the new industrial order.

Social Implications: Class, Ethnicity, Gender, and the Costs of Freedom

The cult of the free entrepreneur, symbolized here, reinforced ideologies of meritocracy and American exceptionalism, but it also masked deepening inequalities. Thorstein Veblen critiqued the conspicuous consumption of the new elite, yet the image romanticizes the productive forces — including migrant labor — that built it. European poverty, rooted in centuries of inter-kingdom warfare, created a vast reservoir of mobile labor that American capital eagerly absorbed. This influx accelerated industrialization but also generated social tensions: ethnic enclaves, labor conflicts, and debates over assimilation versus pluralism.Meliorism (Latin melior, better) is the idea that progress is a real concept and that humans can interfere with natural processes in order to improve the world.

Meliorism, as a conception of the person and society, is at the foundation of contemporary liberal democracy and human rights and is a basic component of liberalism.[1]

Another important understanding of the meliorist tradition comes from the American Pragmatic tradition, which can be found in the works of Lester Frank Ward, William James, and John Dewey. In James' works, however, meliorism does not point to progressivism and/or optimism. For James,[2] meliorism stands in the middle between optimism and pessimism and treats the salvation of the world as a probability rather than a certainty or impossibility. In the case of a meliorist praxis, the activist contemporary of the Pragmatists Jane Addams stripped progressive ideals of any elitist privilege, calling for a "lateral progress" whose concern was squarely with the common people.[3]

Meliorism has also been used by Arthur Caplan to describe positions in bioethics that are in favor of ameliorating conditions that cause suffering, even if the conditions have long existed (e.g., being in favor of cures for common diseases, being in favor of serious anti-aging therapies as they are developed).[citation needed]

A closely related concept, discussed by Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Marquis de Condorcet, is that of perfectibility of humans. Condorcet's statement, "Such is the object of the work I have undertaken; the result of which will be to show, from reasoning and from facts, that no bounds have been fixed to the improvement of the human faculties; that the perfectibility of man is absolutely indefinite; that the progress of this perfectibility, henceforth above the control of every power that would impede it, has no other limit than the duration of the globe upon which nature has placed us."[4] anticipates James' meliorism. Rousseau's treatment is somewhat weaker.[5]

Modern thinkers in this tradition are Hans Rosling and Max Roser. Roser expressed a melioristic position in the mission statement for Our World in Data.[6] He said that all three statements are true at the same time: "The world is much better. The world is awful. The world can be much better."[7] Like William James before him, Rosling held a halfway position between optimism and pessimism that emphasized humanity's capacity to improve the world.[8] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meliorism

Gendered dimensions intersect with migration. The feminine Liberty, partially dismantled, yields to more primal forces, mirroring how migrant women often entered wage labor (garment factories, domestic service) while challenging traditional European patriarchal structures. The flowing waters on the fragmented side evoke both fertility (new family lines in America) and the turbulence of displacement.

Durkheimian collective representations are at work: the image serves as a modern totem for an emergent industrial-mercantile society. Lightning symbolizes electricity — the lifeblood of the Second Industrial Revolution — while the American color palette nationalizes a universal migratory promise. The religious syncretism (Christian suffering + pagan solar renewal) provides transcendent legitimation for what was, at root, a massive demographic and economic transfer from a war-weary continent to a resource-rich republic.

Contemporary Resonance

Though anchored in the 1900s, Nature is Free speaks to enduring themes. In today’s debates over immigration, globalization, and economic liberty, the tension between ordered regulation and raw entrepreneurial nature persists. The image reminds us that freedom, for millions, has historically meant the chance to escape inherited poverty and violence for the possibility — however imperfect — of self-made improvement. It underscores capitalism’s dual character: simultaneously disruptive and generative, fracturing old worlds while birthing new ones.

In conclusion, Nature is Free documents the birth pangs of modern individualism through the prism of migration. It narrates the exodus from Europe’s millennium-long cycle of monarchical warfare, poverty, and constraint toward a horizon where human nature — creative, resilient, and promethean — could more freely unfold. The Statue’s fragmentation is not mere destruction but alchemical transformation: the shards of the old world fertilize the skyscrapers of the new. By sacralizing this process through syncretic myth and explosive aesthetics, the artwork legitimates the entrepreneur and the migrant as co-creators of modernity. Freedom, in this era, was above all the statistical and existential chance for thousands to trade the certainties of European hardship for the volatile opportunities of American reinvention. This myth, with its inherent fractures and promises, continues to shape how societies understand progress, human potential, and the perennial tension between rooted tradition and mobile nature.

Photo taken in the West Norway Museum of Decorative Art park, Bergen, Norway.

Throughout history, no other flower has been mentioned more than the rose, and for good reasoning. The rose has been mentioned in music, mythological stories, as an icon in movies, transformed into perfumes, and been sought as the go-to flower of love. Roses grow wild from the mountains of Norway, to as far south as Mexico. Roses were in such high demand during the 17th century, that royalty considered roses or rose water as legal tender, and were often used as barter and for payments. Today, now raised agriculturally for profit, the rose is the most popular selling flower nationally, and possibly globally.

www.roseshire.com/blogs/outsidethebox/15331185-ill-trade-...

I believe in a long, prolonged derangement of the senses to attain the unknown. Our pale reasoning hides the infinite from us. ~ Jim Morrison

Imagoism Thursday (IT) Dedicated to our friend imago2007

Dusit Zoo, Bangkok TH

Explore #161

One song can spark a moment

One flower can wake the dream

One tree can start a forest

One bird can herald spring

One smile begins a friendship

One handclasp lifts a soul

One star can guide a ship at sea

One word can frame the goal

One vote can change a nation

One sunbeam lights a room

One candle wipes out darkness

One laugh will conquer gloom

One step must start each journey

One word must start each prayer

One hope will raise our spirits

One touch can show you care

One voice can speak with wisdom

One heart can know what's true

One life can make the difference

You see, it's up to you!!

Take care and let us be as one ;) Car xx

Today's Carsounds- Bob Marley - One Love

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

Explore #40; November 24, 2009

Sorry I've been gone for a while... Work has been keeping me very busy...

So here's another shot from yesterday!!

Intuitive- Using or based on what one feels to be true even without conscious reasoning; instinctive

I am very good at seeing people for what they really are.... even if it's only talking to them for a few minutes (I don't even need to see them to be able to read them). This is what makes me so good in Human Resources. When I interview people, I can quickly pick up on what type of person they are. Within 5 minutes of talking to someone I can tell if they are going to be a successful employee or if I'm wasting my time.

Sadly, with a few people, I tried to not listen to my intuitive side. I tried to give them the extra chances to prove their true motives, feeling and/or intentions. It ended up being pointless and true colors were shown. Shame on me for doubting myself. Lesson Learned =)

*** I am so excited for today. After breakfast I am going to explore the county and enjoy the weather. Keep your eye out. Should be pics coming soon ***

Today's We're Here! theme is Hot Stuff. I had planned on doing a nudie-selfie type thing, keeping the more delicate areas slightly out of view however, sound reasoning and a good dose of reality prevailed and I quickly realized that I would have to save this idea for the Old Farts in the Buff day. Just so happened though that saganaki was on the menu tonight... opa!

201/365 2019

Beauty has often overpowered the resolutions of the firm, and the reasonings of the wise, roused the old to sensibility, and subdued the rigorous to softness ~ Samuel Johnson

Wishing everyone a fabulous week...snow forecast here for tomorrow, whatever happened to Spring? Pah! :-(

The reasoning behind the seemingly perpetual 40km/h speed restriction on the goods line seems obvious as C505,506,507 & 509 ease through the curves of the goods line past Canterbury station with 4190 Sandgate - Botany Goods.

Season of Tilt

Week 18, Saturday

In nature life has no moral. There is no good or bad, and in every moment countless beings give birth, languish and die without reason. Sometimes the possibilities of life are eaten by others even before they get a change to take their first steps. The cycle of life is very much characterized by the suffering. If you are a religious type you probably think suffering is some way sanctified by moral order given from God - and everything goes towards good no matter how contradictory it might seem. If your reasoning follows scientific discourse you probably believe in 'order of nature' or increasing diversity catalyzed by the natural selection as explained by modern evolutionary synthesis. Either way, the tragic thing is that the suffering has no demonstrable meaning. With God, meaning of suffering lies whatever one happens to believe at the time and within evolution theory suffering has no function either - even if dying has a fundamental meaning for natural selection to work. It seems that in intellectual and spiritual way it is very difficult to accept that suffering doesn't have any meaning and it cannot be morally explained by either religion or science. But it can have an aesthetic meanings for us: it's only when we find ourselves suffering we touch the essence of life as it is and has been millions of years for most of beings in nature. Only then can we come to understand what it means to be one of them - suffering is the only shared experience for all living things and therefore it forms the essence of existence from which the respect for life can be build. To be alive is to suffer.

---

Using Lensbaby optics has definitely been a very interesting adventure. Being manual focus, having an option to tilt the lens and having several optics with different distinctive characteristics has surely been a trail off the beaten path. What I like to say is that Lensbaby consciously offers something different from 'industry standard' of photography today: readymade program modes, autofocus, sharp lenses, intelligent metering, digital sensor and other 'taken for granted things' which makes it possible to take better and better pictures. In short, it's a bit of a different philosophy and breaking conventions is always a somewhat controversial move. It would be tempting to describe these differences between Lensbaby and other conventional approaches in a hierarchical manner, placing Lensbaby above and for experienced users only. But I don't want to do that, because it would intellectually a dishonest move. Instead I would like to say that Lensbaby is a different approach to photography and a tool for different job. Sometimes best tool for the job is the DSLT with fast AF-lenses. Sometimes it's Lensbaby. Sometimes it's a pinhole camera. Sometimes it's camera in your mobile phone. There is no best or worst because of diversity, but I have to give credit to Lensbaby that after using their optics I've come to realize that there is loads of possibilities beyond 'the industry standard'. There are aesthetic possibilities beyond 'the standard look' and there are different philosophies of photography at play. This has got to be one my best realization with Lensbaby optics and I'm glad that I have had actually a chance to realize it.

Year of the Alpha – 52 Weeks of Sony Alpha Photography: www.yearofthealpha.com

Since ancient times, the islands and coastal areas of Greece had boatyards where wooden ships were built. Wooden ships, also known in Greek as *kaikia* (aka caïque), played an important role in the economy.

These boats had unique technical, typological and cultural features, some of which dated back to the Byzantine-medieval era.

In 2013, the kaikia was added to Greece’s National Index of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Sadly, however, these works of art are today being destroyed after the European Union decided in 1983 to subsidize fishermen to scrap their boats. The initial reasoning behind this questionable decision was to tackle overfishing.

Besides the EU’s irrational decision which failed to consider the importance of the kaikia tradition for Greece, decades of inactivity on the part of Greek officials led to the destruction of thousands of handmade wooden boats.

Shasta daisy from my garden.

Way back in June I was mucking about on the iPaddle (as one does) playing with the distortion filters in Affinity. I probably should have been doing something more constructive but, hey-ho, life is too short.

So this is a set based around a flower pic. I chose it as a starting point because it’s a high-contrast image with oodles of radial symmetry, and I thought it would show up the distortion effects. (A slippery deceit of course as I conveniently invented the reasoning for my chaotic creative meandering after the fact - I suggest you never believe the fallacy that I really know what I am doing! :) ).

I’ll cover the processing notes for all the variants and replicate the commentary so you only need read it once (if at all, lol).

I’ll post a link to the in-camera original in the first comment.

Edit 1 - Colour

A plain colour version, then given a harsh gritty feel by duplicating the image and blending back probably with hard light (though I am not entirely sure).

Edit 2 - Plain B&W

The colour version converted to B&W. Bilateral blur (an edge-preserving blur which effectively smoothes out the petals. Glow filter … for a bit of glow (though te be honest I think it’s a bit of a misnomer) :)

Edit 3 - Twirl

Starting with the plain B&W added twirl in the centre and also a radial blur. Blended the original back to the twirly version with Soft Light.

Edit 4 - Shasttered

This used the Diffuse distortion filter (not the Diffuse Light filter) to create the diffusion look. Tweaked that a bit and then took the original B&W version and blended it back with the Subtract mode. This overprinted the diffuse look with an inverted version of the original.

I really like this effect - it reminded me of splatter painting in my young days (back in the caves in France ;) ). Or perhaps printing with a flower using black paper and white ink…

For Sliders Sunday. I’ll also put the three B&W versions into the 100x challenge as I am rather behind (as life around me doesn’t seem to pause for long enough).

Thank you for taking the time to look. I hope you enjoy the images. Happy Sliders Sunday and 100x!

[Handheld in daylight.

Raw development and all the subsequent processing done in Affinity Photo.]

Far from it's original home of Montreal, AMT 330 charges a rush-hour train over the Charles River drawbridge in north Boston. The Leonard P Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge, and the Amtrak Downeaster loom in the background. If anyone has any additional information about the reasoning for AMT on MBTA, feel free to drop a comment.

.. for the first time in my life as a photographer, I do not own a Nikon. I still own 2 Canons and now 1 Sony.. but it's very, very hard to give up an old friend.. aaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggghhhhhhh!

REASONING: I had 11 camera bags full of equipment (some 30 years old) and decided to cut back to maybe 3 bags. I knew that the biggest number of lenses I had were Canon so I decided to cut back to just Canon. I sent equipment to B&H Photo in NYC.. and I took a Canon 60D in trade (I wanted the articulated viewing screen)..Yes, they sent me a check for the balance.. While on their website I read about the Sony A57.. then looked up some reviews on it.. it also has an articulated back.. yeah, I bought one.. so ok.. 4 camera bags!.. I thank B&H for their patience with me and for helping me through the trauma.

~ Have a Joyous Weekend!