Vestrahorn, Iceland. I have been meaning to try this one in black and white for a while. What do you think? I think my old camera was pushed to the extreme in the low light. I'd be happy to hear any tips on reducing the noise.

My most lyrical photo Three silhouettes on a ridge of Mount Etna: dramatic sky, heavy grain of the film. The figures are reduced to silhouettes almost icons The composition is classical – low horizon, dominant sky, figures that give scale to the landscape.

There is something ancient here, almost biblical It looks like a procession, a pilgrimage Time here is archaic.

Picked up another one while sifting back through the archives, one that I had always intended to post but somehow never got round to.

A straight Pano-Sabotage shot, with no photo-manipulation. Saturation was bumped up, white glare reduced and contrast enhanced. C'est toute !

Despite the many different shifts in styles and methods since I began photography in earnest 8 years ago, the common theme of the undermining of the straight line and the dominance of Euclidean absoluteness is demonstrated here. Einstein over Newton one might say.

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© Richard S Warner ( Visionheart ) - 2015, 2018. All Rights Reserved. This image is not for use in any form without explicit, express, written permission.

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Guillemot /Murre - Uria aalge

The common murre or common guillemot (Uria aalge) is a large auk. It is also known as the thin-billed murre in North America. It has a circumpolar distribution, occurring in low-Arctic and boreal waters in the North Atlantic and North Pacific. It spends most of its time at sea, only coming to land to breed on rocky cliff shores or islands.

Common murres have fast direct flight but are not very agile. They are more manoeuvrable underwater, typically diving to depths of 30–60 m (98–197 ft). Depths of up to 180 m (590 ft) have been recorded.

Common murres breed in colonies at high densities. Nesting pairs may be in bodily contact with their neighbours. They make no nest; their single egg is incubated on a bare rock ledge on a cliff face. Eggs hatch after ~30 days incubation. The chick is born downy and can regulate its body temperature after 10 days. Some 20 days after hatching the chick leaves its nesting ledge and heads for the sea, unable to fly, but gliding for some distance with fluttering wings, accompanied by its male parent. Chicks are capable of diving as soon as they hit the water. The female stays at the nest site for some 14 days after the chick has left.

Both male and female common murres moult after breeding and become flightless for 1–2 months. In southern populations they occasionally return to the nest site throughout the winter. Northern populations spend the winter farther from their colonies.

Some individuals in the North Atlantic, known as "bridled guillemots", have a white ring around the eye extending back as a white line. This is not a distinct subspecies, but a polymorphism that becomes more common the farther north the birds breed.

The common murre nests in densely packed colonies (known as "loomeries"), with up to twenty pairs occupying one square metre at peak season.[citation needed] Common murres do not make nests and lay their eggs on bare rock ledges, under rocks, or the ground. They first breed at four to nine years old, but most individuals recruit into the breeding population at ages six or seven, although birds may disperse (permanently depart their natal colony) if space is limited. Annual survival probability for birds aged 6–15 is 0.895, and average lifespan is about 20 years. Breeding success increases with age up to age 9-10 to 0.7 fledglings per pair, then declines in the oldest age birds, perhaps indicating reproductive senesence.

High densities mean that birds are close contact with neighbouring breeders. Common murres perform appeasement displays more often at high densities and more often than razorbills.

Allopreening is common both between mates and between neighbours. Allopreening helps to reduce parasites, and it may also have important social functions. Frequency of allopreening a neighbour correlates well with current breeding success.

Allopreening may function as a stress-reducer; ledges with low levels of allopreening show increased levels of fighting and reduced breeding success.

Alloparenting behaviour is frequently observed. Non-breeding and failed breeders show great interest in other chicks, and will attempt to brood or feed them. This activity is more common as the chicks get older and begin to explore their ledge. There has also been a record of a pair managing to raise two chicks. Adults that have lost chicks or eggs will sometimes bring fish to the nest site and try to feed their imaginary chick.

At time of extreme food stress, the social activity of the breeding ledge can break down.

On the Isle of May colony in 2007, food availability was low. Adults spent more of their time-budget foraging for their chicks and had to leave them unattended at times. Unattended chicks were attacked by breeding neighbour which often led to their deaths. Non-breeding and failed breeders continued to show alloparental care.

In areas such as Newfoundland, the birds, along with the related thick-billed murre, are referred to as 'turrs' or 'tuirs', and are consumed. The meat is dark and quite oily, due to the birds' diet of fish. Eggs have also been harvested.

Eggers from San Francisco took almost half a million eggs a year from the Farallon Islands in the mid-19th century to feed the growing city.

Population:

UK breeding:

950,000 pairs

Reduced to the max

Old Fisherman's Cottage for Rent - West Coast of Scotland

This imaginary rental cottage on the west coast of Scotland is a charming, rustic building, nestled amongst the rolling hills and rugged coastline of the Isle of Bute.

The cottage is fairly well-equipped with some modern amenities. It has a small kitchen at the back, as well as unheated outdoor bathroom facilities. There is also a compact bedroom upstairs, where guests can fall asleep to the haunting sound of the wind and waves crashing against the shore. Warm extra bedclothes can be provided at no extra charge.

This is the perfect place to escape the hustle and bustle of modern life, a place where the stresses of daily life melt away, leaving only the wild forbidding landscape, the constant rain and the unrelenting swell of the sea.

Reduced rates for the winter months - September to May.

Imagined in Midjourney with additional work in Photoshop.

Large, green parrot of tropical lowlands, mainly in drier areas. Uncommon. Found in semiopen areas with forest patches, big trees, and forest edges. Most often seen flying overhead early and late in the day, often fairly high and usually in pairs or loose groups made up of pairs. Note the dark gray bill and overall plain head with a bright yellow nape (yellow reduced or lacking on immatures). Like other parrots in the same genus, in flight shows a red patch on the flight feathers. (eBird)

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Amazing how well this beautiful parrot blends into his surroundings,. We were fortunate to see a small flock fly into a tree. Unfortunately, this species is one of those prized by the pet trade and so is now considered Critically Endangered. Therefore, I am not putting him on the map, nor will I add his precise location to this comment.

Here’s the link to our Costa Rica trip list: ebird.org/tripreport/477692

Puntarenas, Costa Rica. February 2026.

Eagle-Eye Tours.

Here is one of the captures from my recent trip to Ricketts Glen, PA that I played with in Lightroom by reducing the saturation of color by 33%. I liked the resulting moody tones and colors. It was very green and luscious ... but this is a more subdued view allowing us to focus more on the waterfall and less on the surroundings.

Carcassonne is a fortified French town in the Aude department, of which it is the prefecture, in the Region of Occitanie.

Occupied since the Neolithic period, Carcassonne is located in the Aude plain between two major thoroughfares linking the Atlantic to the Mediterranean sea and the Massif Central to the Pyrénées. Its strategic importance was quickly recognized by the Romans who occupied its hilltop until the demise of the Western Roman Empire and was later taken over in the fifth century by the Visigoths who founded the city. Also thriving as a trading post due to its location, it saw many rulers who successively built up its fortifications, until its military significance was greatly reduced by the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659.

The city is famous for the Cité de Carcassonne, a medieval fortress restored by the theorist and architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc in 1853 and added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1997.

(Format reduced)

This years Members Meeting saw demonstration runs of the Ground Effect F1 cars that raced between 1978 and 1983.

These Ground Effect cars were developed to take advantage of the Bernoulli principle, whereby the gap between the ground and the cross sectional underside of the car is reduced to maximise downforce. By minimising that gap between ground and car, the air underneath accelerates faster than the air above and creates that pressure system that sucks the car to the ground, increasing grip and cornering speed.

In 1983, the whole Ground Effect system was banned due to the ever increasing cornering speeds that these cars could achieve. Concerns were raised that if the force was suddenly removed, the cars would lose all grip and have an accident (similar to what can happen today if an F1 car loses a rear wing suddenly).

In 1979, Arrows ran their A2 design, a car that had huge downforce but no wings, leading to some handling problems. In 1980, designers Tony Southgate and David Wass developed the A3 model, based around an aluminium monocoque chassis and the Cosworth DFV engine. In-board suspension was used to provide the largest possible ground-effect tunnels and the front and rear wings were used to provide a better handling balance.

Overall Arrows took 7th place in the 1980 F1 season with drivers Jochen Mass and Riccardo Patrese, with a best finish of 2nd at Long Beach.

This shot of the Arrows Cosworth A3 was taken after the demonstration run as the cars were filing back into the paddock.

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Dave Adams Automotive Images

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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;

or…. Press the “L” button to zoom in the image;

clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;

oppure…. premi il tasto “L” per ingrandire l'immagine;

Qi Bo's photos on Fluidr

Qi Bo's photos on Flickriver

www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...

www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...

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Sun, Beaches, Sea, Summer, but also ... Friendship, Fun, Loneliness, Nostalgia and ... a great desire to live with the great desire to return to the normal life of always before the pandemic (to always keep in mind that, even if the worse than the Covid-19 pandemic, it now seems to be behind us, the crisis is certainly not to be considered over just because mortality has reduced): I present here, on Flickr, a collection of exhibitions made in this hot summer, with traceable photographs, almost entirely, in the "beach photography" genre. The photographs were all taken in July-August 2022, on the beaches of the east coast of Sicily, and of the Ionian coast of Calabria.

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Sole, Spiagge, Mare, Estate, ma anche ...Amicizia, Divertimento, Solitudine, Nostalgia e… tanta voglia di vivere col grande desiderio di ritornare alla vita normale di sempre ante-pandemia (da tenere sempre a mente che, anche se il peggio della pandemia da Covid-19, sembra ormai alle spalle, la crisi non è certo da considerarsi terminata solo perché la mortalità si è ridotta): presento qui, su Flickr, una raccolta di esposizioni realizzate in questa calda estate, con fotografie riconducibili, per la quasi totalità, al genere “beach photography”. Le fotografie sono state tutte realizzate nel mese di Luglio-Agosto 2022, sulle spiagge della costa orientale della Sicilia, e della costa ionica della Calabria.

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Saw this Farmer's vehicle parked in Criccieth with his sheep dog waiting for his Master's return.

Criccieth is a town and community on the Llŷn Peninsula in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd in Wales. The town lies 5 miles west of Porthmadog, 9 miles east of Pwllheli and 17 miles south of Caernarfon. It had a population of 1,826 in 2001, reducing to 1,753 at the 2011 census.

December 6, 2020

in aller stille

Western end of Ray’s Hill Tunnel on Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike near Breezewood, PA

Originally built in 1881 for trains, opened to vehicular traffic in 1940, and was bypassed in 1968

Pennsylvania Turnpike opened in 1940 including seven tunnels. By the late 1950s, the turnpike was so heavily used that traffic congestion demanded expansion of two-lane tunnels which causing a major problem at each tunnel, especially during the summer.

To reduce the traffic jams, a second tube was added to 4 tunnels as the less expensive option. For the other 3 tunnels, a bypass option was planned to relief more quickly and less expensively.

This is one of two tunnels on 13-mile (21 Km) bypassed section in 1968. This tunnel is 3,532 feet (1,076 m) long, the shortest of the original 7 tunnels. From the entrance, I was able to see a small light at the end of the other side. Bike or foot are allowed, no driving. This tunnel is 1.5-mile (2.4 Km) walking from Rt 30. The entire 1.5-mile old turnpike and tunnel have been highly vandalized.

A strong dairy barn stands ready to do what it once did but instead now houses goats. Once we reach a certain stage in life, our life's work is replaced by something else, usually with us playing a reduced role.

This shot was taken at Four Winds, just off the Tavistock to Princetown road on Dartmoor. There is now a car park on the far side of the stone enclosure. But many years ago there was a local school there. The stone enclosure seems to have been used as the playground.

The school was attended by the children of families working in local quarries and agriculture. Foggintor School opened in 1914 and at one point had over 80 pupils. But as employment opportunities declined so too did the size of the school roll. The school finally closed down in July 1936 when the decline in the quarry industry at Merrivale and elsewhere reduced the number of families in the area. The school buildings gradually crumbled away over the years but were not finally demolished until the 1960s.

Having seen old photos of the school I was interested to see that it was purpose-built in brick. I suspect this substantial stone enclosure could be a much earlier structure that was taken over and used by the school as a playground, though I have not been able to find any confirmation.

Dipper

0905.13.05.2026

Here is an image of a dipper taken on the River Irwell. The image was made at a very low shutter speed. The techs are 700mm, ISO100, f10 @1/25th Sec. Although I have in the past achieved just one sharp image at 1/6th sec the chances of getting much lower are considerably reduced because this image is created close to a large weir which causes the ground to vibrate slightly. Slow shutter speed images are best when there is water cascading downward which barely occurs in this image. Nonetheless the slow shutter does change the appearance of the fast flowing water and changes the mood of the image. On this day I was able to make about 3 sharp images of the bird and many images were consigned to the bin. I can spend all day with dippers and never get bored.

Breeding Season Starts.

Buckpool and Fens Pool Local Nature Reserve

What3Words

///thin.spill.bravo

The Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) is a large, widespread wild goose species native to North America, easily recognizable by its black head and neck with a distinctive white chinstrap. It is found near freshwater areas like ponds, lakes, and marshes, and is well adapted to urban environments.

Key Characteristics

Appearance:

They have a brown body, a black head and neck, white cheek patches, and a black beak and legs. Males and females have similar plumage, though males are slightly larger.

Size:

They typically range from 75 to 110 cm in length, with a wingspan of 1.5 to 1.8 meters.

Diet:

Canada geese are primarily herbivores, or plant-eaters, using their serrated bills to graze on grasses, leaves, roots, seeds, and grains. They will also feed on aquatic vegetation and occasionally small insects or fish.

Behavior:

They are social birds that form large, noisy flocks. They are known for being very territorial and can become aggressive if they feel their nests or young are threatened, hissing and charging at perceived dangers.

Habitat and Distribution:

While native to North America, the Canada goose was introduced to Europe (including the UK) in the 17th century as an ornamental bird and has since established widespread populations there. They prefer open, grassy areas near water, which provides a safe escape route from predators.

Migration:

Canada geese are well-known for their seasonal migrations, often flying in a distinctive V-shaped formation that helps conserve energy by reducing wind resistance. The front position is rotated among the flock members as the lead bird tires.

However, not all populations are migratory. In areas with mild climates and consistent food sources (such as urban parks and agricultural fields in the US and UK), many populations have become non-migratory or sedentary year-round residents.

Reproduction:

Canada geese typically form monogamous pair bonds, often mating for life. The female incubates a clutch of around five eggs in a nest built near water, while the male stands guard. Goslings (baby geese) hatch with their eyes open and are able to walk and swim within 24 hours. Both parents lead and protect the goslings, which may form "gang broods" with other families.

Thick fog in the summit of mt. Kanavuori in Central Finland.

Schloss Schönbrunn am frühen Morgen von der Seite des Haupteingangs, vom Ehrenhof aus gesehen. Im Vordergrund der östliche Brunnen mit den Skulpturen von Johann Baptist Hagenauer. Sie sollen die Königreiche Galizien, Lodomerien und Siebenbürgen darstellen.

Im Osten verdeckten Wolken leider die ganze Zeit die Sonne, wodurch strukturelle Details leider kaum betont werden. Daher habe ich den Kontrast im Bild massiv verstärkt. Die Belichtungszeit wurde mit dem Graufilter Lee Little Stopper verlängert.

Schönbrunn Palace in the early morning seen from the side of the main entrance, the Parade Court. The sculptures in the fountain in the foreground were executed by Johann Baptist Hagenauer and represent the kingdoms of Galicia and Lodomeria as well as Transylvania.

Clouds covering the sun in the east did not give me much contrast, so I increased contrast a lot when processing. This shot was made using the Lee Little Stopper, a ND filter that reduces exposure by approximately 6 stops.

Sundown reduced to the last glowing ember of light.

Wards Public Marina located in Elgin Heritage Park on the Nicomekl River.

Crescent Beach area of Surrey,

British Columbia

Canada

(Sunset captures, enjoying different lighting and settings. *In no particular order )

Thank-you for all the overwhelming support and many friendships.

Happy Clicks

~Christie

*Best experienced in full screen

ENG: The Shell House on the Reichpietschufer in Berlin's Tiergarten district, a listed building, was built between 1930 and 1932 on what was then Königin-Augusta-Straße (from 1933 Tirpitzufer and from 1947 Reichpietschufer) for Hamburg-based Rhenania-Ossag mineral oil works AG (from 1947 German Shell AG) on the basis of a design by architect Emil Fahrenkamp. Since 2012, the second office of the Federal Ministry of Defence has been located in the Shell building as a tenant.

A special feature of the stylistic steel skeleton building and one of the most important office buildings of the Weimar Republic is its striking design. The vertical waveforms of different heights and a consistently horizontal division by window bands, which are also led over the external curves. The façade was bricked with gas concrete blocks and covered with slabs of Roman travertine from Tivoli. A technical innovation was to reduce the vibrations caused by road traffic; air slits were built under the sidewalks around the building to keep the vibrations away from the steel scaffolding.

GER: Das unter Denkmalschutz stehende Shell-Haus am Reichpietschufer im Berliner Bezirk Tiergarten wurde nach einem Entwurf des Architekten Emil Fahrenkamp von 1930 bis 1932 an der damaligen Königin-Augusta-Straße (ab 1933 Tirpitzufer und seit 1947 Reichpietschufer) für die Hamburger Rhenania-Ossag Mineralölwerke AG (ab 1947 Deutsche Shell AG) errichtet. Aktuell ist seit 2012 der zweit Dienstsitzes des Bundesministeriums der Verteidigung im Shell-Haus als Mieter ansässig.

Eine Besonderheit des stilistischen Stahlskelettbaus und eines der bedeutendsten Bürohäuser der Weimarer Republik ist die markante Gestaltung. Die senkrechte Wellenformen unterschiedlicher Höhe und eine konsequent waagerechte Gliederung durch Fensterbänder, die auch über die außen liegenden Rundungen hinweg geführt werden. Die Fassade wurde mit Gasbetonsteinen ausgemauert und mit Platten aus Römischem Travertin aus Tivoli verkleidet. Eine technische Neuerung sollte die Erschütterungen durch den Straßenverkehr verringern, so wurden Luftschlitze unter den Gehwegen rund um das Gebäude gebaut um die Schwingungen vom Stahlgerüst fernzuhalten.

El Garceta rojiza (Egretta rufescens) es una garza de tamaño medio conocida por ser uno de los miembros más activos y "dramáticos" de su familia. Es famosa por su inusual técnica de pesca, que parece un baile frenético sobre el agua.

Características Físicas

Esta especie presenta dos variantes de color (morfos) que conservan durante toda su vida:

Morfo Oscuro (más común): Tiene el cuerpo de color gris pizarra con la cabeza y el cuello de un tono rojizo o canela intenso.

Morfo Blanco: Es completamente blanco.

Rasgos comunes:

Pico: Largo y puntiagudo, de color rosa con la punta negra (más brillante durante la época de cría).

Cuello: Presenta plumas largas y desgreñadas que le dan un aspecto "shaggy" o despeinado.

Patas: Son largas y de un color azul cobalto o negruzco.

Tamaño: Mide entre 68 y 82 cm de largo, con una envergadura de unos 116 a 125 cm.

Comportamiento y Alimentación

Se le apoda el "T-Rex de las marismas" por su estilo de caza agresivo y enérgico:

Baile de Pesca: A diferencia de otras garzas que esperan inmóviles, la rojiza corre, salta y gira en aguas poco profundas para perseguir a los peces.

Pesca con dosel: A menudo extiende sus alas formando una sombra sobre el agua; esto reduce el reflejo del sol y atrae a los peces que buscan refugio en la sombra, facilitando su captura.

Dieta: Se alimenta principalmente de pequeños peces, aunque también consume ranas y crustáceos.

Hábitat y Distribución

Es una especie casi exclusivamente costera.

Ubicación: Se encuentra en las costas del Golfo de México, el Caribe, América Central y el norte de Sudamérica. En EE. UU., es común en Texas y Florida.

Entorno: Prefiere marismas saladas, lagunas costeras, manglares y llanuras de marea.

=======ENGLISH========

The Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) is a medium-sized heron celebrated for being the most energetic and "theatrical" hunter of the heron family. It is best known for its frantic, dance-like fishing technique.

Physical Appearance

This species is unique because it exists in two distinct color morphs, regardless of age or sex:

Dark Morph (Most Common): Features a slate-grey body with a contrasting shaggy, reddish-cinnamon neck and head.

White Morph: Completely white plumage.

Key Features:

Bill: Distinctive two-toned bill—bright pink at the base with a black tip.

Eyes: Pale, yellowish-white irises that give it a piercing gaze.

Legs: Long, cobalt-blue to blackish legs.

Size: Stands about 27–32 inches (68–82 cm) tall with a wingspan of approximately 46–49 inches.

The "Canopy" Hunting Behavior

The Reddish Egret’s hunting style is its most famous trait. Unlike other herons that stand still, it:

Dances: Runs through shallow water, spinning, leaping, and flapping its wings to startle fish.

Canopying: It often arches its wings over its head to create a shadow (canopy) on the water. This reduces glare, allowing the bird to see prey better, and lures fish into the shade for safety—at which point the egret strikes.

Habitat and Conservation

Range: A strictly coastal bird found along the Gulf Coast of the US (Texas, Florida), Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America.

Habitat: It stays near salt water, favoring tidal flats, lagoons, and salt marshes.

Conservation: It is considered one of the rarest herons in North America, largely due to habitat loss and historical hunting for the plume trade.

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Lugar de Observación / Taken: Minas de sal, Monte Cristi,, República Dominicana.

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Scientific classification

Kingdom:Animalia

Phylum:Chordata

Class:Aves

Order:Pelecaniformes (disputed)

Family:Ardeidae

Genus:Egretta

Species:E. rufescens

Binomial name

Egretta rufescens

Redish_mtecristi-4340

olympus omd - lightroom - silver efex pro

day 2 of the monsoons. At least we don't have the wind today. The dog keeps whining to go out, then puts her nose out of the door and comes straight back in. So looks like a day to catch up on some paperwork - whoopeeeee!

Hay meadow and greenland in Kitzbühel county, Tyrol

The Gas Station now available @ Cosmopolitan Event for a reduced price.

maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/No%20Comment/84/19/23

Sounds include:

- Touch the Paper Towel Dispenser

- Touch the Gas Pump

- Touch the Coffeemaker

- Touch the Phone on the Counter

- Touch The Radio on the Shelf!

- Touch the Tiffy Car

- Every Lamp has a Light Script

- Touch to turn on & off

- Both Cars animated

Here I am standing on the edge of Lake Michigan during a polar vortex. The wind and blowing snow made it nearly impossible to get one shot without snow completely covering my lens. But somehow I managed to get a few. The sun was trying to shine thru the clouds at sunset. Snow squalls come and go making a very dramatic stormy feel to it.

A fence I used once before. I use it again to christen a new lens, and because the fence pickings ain't so good in our neighborhood. Is anyone running fence tours?

HFF to all: Looking forward to seeing everyone's handiwork.

A migratory raptor from Central Asia, Eastern Europe that winters in India. They are quite similar to the Pallid Harriers and both these birds are often seen together and even hunt in the same habitat - grasslands. The prey base is also quite similar.

There was peak of Harrier activity around last November and a grassland had around 20+ harriers. The birds would hunt till 5 Am and once the sunlight starts to reduce, they would sit on the ground like this one and wait for the darkness. Then the birds come together within 50 feet of each other. We found groups 7+ several times mostly comprised of Montagu's, Pied and Pallid. Early morning though, they fly away 30 mins before sunrise making it hard to get them in good light!

Thanks in advance for your views and feedback - much appreciated.

somewhere in Maine.

thank you for visiting!

🇬🇧

Yellow taxis are one of New York’s most reliable constants. They’re always there, no matter the hour, the season, or—apparently—the weather.

In this shot, taken during the winter storm between the end of December 2000 and early January 2001, even the iconic yellow cabs look slightly unsure of themselves, wrapped in snow and moving cautiously through an almost unreal scene. The contrast between the warm glow of storefront lights and the cold, swirling white outside was irresistible.

I liked the quiet irony of it all: the city symbol of movement reduced to slow, careful progress. New York doesn’t stop—but sometimes it tiptoes.

🇮🇹

I taxi gialli sono una delle certezze assolute di New York. Ci sono sempre, a qualsiasi ora, in ogni stagione e—come si vede—con qualsiasi meteo.

In questo scatto, realizzato durante la tempesta di neve tra la fine del 2000 e l’inizio del 2001, persino le iconiche cabine gialle sembrano un po’ spaesate, avvolte dalla neve e costrette a muoversi con cautela in uno scenario quasi irreale. Il contrasto tra le luci calde dei negozi e il bianco gelido che invade la strada era impossibile da ignorare.

Mi ha colpito l’ironia silenziosa della scena: il simbolo del movimento newyorkese costretto a rallentare. New York non si ferma mai—ma a volte procede in punta di piedi.

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I was looking at the sunset and saw this heron in the corner of my eye. I am fortunate in that these birds often stay in the same position for a long time.

I was able to change lenses, reduce my ISO settings and properly expose this shot. Then it was back to sunsets.

Stingless bees (SB), sometimes called stingless honey bees or simply meliponines, are a large group of bees (from about 462 to 552 described species), comprising the tribe Meliponin (or subtribe Meliponina according to other authors).

They belong in the family Apidae (subfamily Apinae), and are closely related to common honey bees (HB, tribe Apini), orchid bees (tribe Euglossini), and bumblebees (tribe Bombini). These four bee tribes belong to the corbiculate bees monophyletic group. Meliponines have stingers, but they are highly reduced and cannot be used for defense, though these bees exhibit other defensive behaviors and mechanisms.

Meliponines are not the only type of bee incapable of stinging: all male bees and many female bees of several other families, such as Andrenidae and Megachilidae (tribe Dioxyini), also cannot sting.

The main honey producing bees of this group generally belong to the genera Scaptotrigona, Tetragonisca, Melipona and Austroplebeia, although there are other genera containing species that produce some usable honey. They are farmed in meliponiculture in the same way that European honey bees (genus Apis) are cultivated in apiculture.

The majority of native eusocial bees of Central and South America are SB, although only a few of them produce honey on a scale such that they are farmed by humans. The Neotropics, with approximately 426 species, boast the highest abundance and species richness, ranging from Cuba and Mexico in the north to Argentina in the south.

If you look at the Google Street View of Ulm, you'll find this house as it was in 2014. The house is well-maintained, with an American flag flying on the porch. The yard is filled with a happy and vibrant selection of plants, and decorated with various knickknacks and bird baths. But on this rainy day in 2023 the house was abandoned. The yard was overgrown with brown weeds, with a crooked "Price Reduced" sign nearly hidden by a bush. I don't know what happened here, but we can guess. I can easily imagine a scenario, where the original owners were elderly, but they loved and dedicated their lives to this house and its yard. But when they sadly passed on, and there was no one to take care of the house or the property. It was put up for sale, but there were no takers. And then time passed along, as it always does.

Taken n the coldest day of 2020. I hadn't expected to see the Barn Owl up so early - a good 30 minutes before sunrise. Consequently there is a lot of noise - but I just like the atmosphere of the shot. In hindsight maybe could have reduced the shutter speed a bit further - or removed the extender - but didn't have time.

Taken in Norfolk.

Wat Tyler Country Park, Essex UK