Thanks to Metamorphzz for the fairies :-)))

www.flickr.com/photos/elliott52/4303069300/

Thanks to Bev for a refinement of the title - much better!!!

Orazio Gentileschi - Danae

Orazio Gentileschi’s majestic Danaë is one of the finest masterpieces of the Italian seventeenth century and the most important Baroque painting to come to the market in living memory. Commissioned in 1621 by the nobleman Giovanni Antonio Sauli for his palazzo in Genoa, the painting remained in the family until the twentieth century. The Sauli series was amongst the most important commissions Orazio received, and includes a Penitent Magdalene (fig. 1), in a New York private collection, and a Lot and his Daughters (fig. 2), in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.1 The sensuality and splendor of the Danaë draw together the Caravaggesque naturalism prevalent in early seventeenth-century Italy with the refinement and color which mark the mature style of Gentileschi, one of the most elegant and individual figures of the Italian Baroque.

As Cupid pulls back the luxuriant dark green curtain, allowing Jupiter to enter in the guise of a shower of gold, Danaë lies on her bed awaiting her fate in an expanse of white and gold which is punctuated by a red mattress, and we too are invited to peer into the narrative of eroticism and seduction. The artist’s restraint and grace, however, mean the scene does not spill into the vulgar and Orazio’s Danaë, the lower half of her body turned away from the approaching gold, remains a chaste figure accepting of her inescapable destiny. This is quite unlike Titian’s sexual and consenting Danaë in the Museo di Capodimonte, Naples, which Orazio would have known from his time in Rome when it hung in the Palazzo Farnese.

Gentileschi seamlessly blends the movement and dynamism of the falling gold coins and ribbons with the serenity of Danaë's sculptural physicality and classical appeal. The diagonal line formed by the curtain which Cupid holds aloft parallels both the coins and Danaë’s arm, accentuating the speed of the gold’s penetration into the scene. Gentileschi’s picture could also be considered one of the highpoints of early seventeenth-century still-life painting since it is a meticulously observed study of light, surface and color. The various different textures of gold, the sheen of the fabrics, ranging from the gold bedcover to the cool white linen, the deep crimson mattress, the gilt bed and the artichoke-shaped bed knobs are of the very highest order. So too is the enticing transparent veil that covers Danaë’s modesty – in stark contrast to Cupid’s genitals, which are very deliberately exposed. Perhaps even more remarkable is the extraordinary skill and success in the description of the dramatis personae themselves: Danaë’s alluring pearly flesh; the effortless weight of her elbow on the pillow; the careful portrayal of the delicate feathers of Cupid’s wings; the plunging gold coins and spiraling ribbons that bear images of Jupiter and of his symbol, the thunderbolt.

The subject

Greek mythology, adapted and recounted in Latin in the verses of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, relates that the beautiful Danaë was locked away in a bronze tower by her father, King Acrisius of Argos. Disappointed that he and his wife Eurydice had not produced a male heir, Acrisius consulted an oracle, who informed him, unexpectedly, that his daughter’s son would kill him. In order to keep her childless, therefore, the king banished Danaë to a tower, away from the reach of men. While no mortal could gain access to Danaë, her imprisonment was no obstacle to Jupiter and his insatiable desire for young maidens. Transforming himself into a shower of golden rain, Jupiter lay with Danaë and impregnated her, conceiving the boy who would become the hero Perseus, famed for killing the Medusa and for rescuing Andromeda. When Perseus was born Acrisius threw both mother and son out to sea in a wooden chest, but Poseidon, the sea god, calmed the choppy waters and saved them. Later in life Perseus would indeed kill Acrisius, thereby affirming the inescapability of fate.

While the subject matter was at times clearly employed as a morally acceptable vehicle for portraying and celebrating the female nude, in much the same way as the theme of Susanna and the Elders was employed, it also presented an opportunity to explore a complex and multi-layered theme. The figure of Danaë, somewhat counter-intuitively, had been taken as an emblem of moral chastity, and since Perseus’ conception only took place through divine intervention, the Church was not slow in appropriating the theme as a prefiguration of the Annunciation. The potential similarities with the Christian Annunciation must surely end there: even though Gentileschi places the tale of Danaë in a framework of sensuality rather than covetousness, his depiction of the nude does not shy away from celebrating the overtly erotic aspects of the story. The tale must also, on some level, be a cautionary though thinly veiled allegory; even locked away in a tower, Danaë, representative of all mankind, not just women, is helpless to resist the lure of money.

Orazio and Caravaggio

Orazio Gentileschi was born in Pisa in 1563, the son of Giovanni Battista di Bartolomeo Lomi, a Florentine goldsmith. As late as 1593, when the artist would have been 30, he is recorded as receiving payment for the design of medals for the feast of Saint Peter, so it is likely that he intended to follow in his father’s footsteps professionally to some degree. By his late 30s, however, Orazio seems to have been committed to painting, as his destroyed altarpiece from 1596 in the church of San Paolo fuori le Mura in Rome, would suggest. Once he became an established artist, however, his success was impressive. During his lifetime Orazio was probably the most successful of all Caravaggio’s associates, and certainly the most internationally patronized. His travels, in fact, did much to spread knowledge of Caravaggio’s style overseas and made him one of the most peripatetic painters of the century. His career took him to Florence, the Marches, Rome, Genoa, Paris and London, where he became court painter to Charles I in 1626, and where he was to remain until his death some thirteen years later.

Although eight years older than Caravaggio, Orazio was still a relatively under-developed artist by the time he came into contact with his revolutionary tenebrist style. He very much belonged to a previous generation of artists whose point of reference would have been the work of the Carracci family, and whose artistic formation was rooted in the sixteenth century. Indeed, the inspiration for the present composition is the painting of the same subject, variously ascribed to Annibale Carracci, Francesco Albani and Domenichino, which was formerly in Bridgewater House but destroyed during the Second World War (fig. 3).3 A preparatory drawing for the Bridgewater painting, certainly by Annibale Carracci, is in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle.4 As Carracci and his busy workshop were active in Rome, Orazio would likely have come across the composition there, be it via the painting or the drawing, and perhaps made a study of it for use at a later date.

The immediate maturing of Orazio’s style, not to mention career acceleration, owed much to his association with his younger acquaintance Caravaggio, and can be seen as a defining period of his life. The two artists probably met in Rome around 1600, shortly after Caravaggio’s ground-breaking canvases, depicting the story of the Evangelist Matthew, were first shown in the church of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome.5 It is at times difficult for a modern audience to appreciate quite how powerful and extraordinary Caravaggio’s canvases appeared when they were unveiled, and what an impact they made on his peers. Orazio was certainly awe-struck, but the little we know for certain of the two artists’ interaction is limited to the transcripts of the lawsuit for defamation which another artist, Giovanni Baglione, brought against Caravaggio and Gentileschi in 1603. Caravaggio actually denied being friends with Gentileschi but we know that this must have been an exaggeration for at the very least there was a strong working relationship of some sort. It is recorded that Caravaggio had borrowed from Orazio a capuchin’s cowl and a pair of swan’s wings, presumably for use as props for a painting. One might tentatively propose that Orazio made use of these props in his Stigmatization of Saint Francis from 1600, in a private collection, and may even have reused them later in the Saint Francis Supported by an Angel, from around 1607, today in the Prado, Madrid (fig. 4).

However, the lyricism and sense of color which Orazio was never to abandon, and which were in part a result of his Tuscan late-mannerist training, meant that the term Caravaggesque can apply to Gentileschi only in part. His work is certainly not Caravaggesque in the way one might thus label artists such as Bartolomeo Manfredi, whose work often displays a forceful use of light and is populated by low-life figures. Gentileschi was one of the few artists of his generation, in fact, who succeeded in blending Caravaggesque naturalism with formal sophistication, and in using light as an instrument to celebrate beauty rather than as a theatrical device, Orazio proved to be one of the most graceful, personal and innovative artists of the period, as the present Danaë testifies.

During these key years Gentileschi repeatedly made use of Caravaggio’s topos of presenting a single figure, lost in contemplation, and close to the picture plane, against a background that is bare but for a few details. While Caravaggio was intent on exploring the dramatic potential of a scene, however, Orazio focused on stylistic mannerisms, concentrating, for example, on the silvery fall of light on feathers in his aforementioned Saint Francis Supported by a an Angel in Madrid, as well as his treatment of the same subject in the Galleria Barberini, Rome.7 He brings a similar approach to the delightful description of colorful silks, such as in his wonderful Young Woman Playing a Lute (fig. 5) from 1612-15 in the National Gallery of Art, Washington.8 This interest in achieving visual harmony rather than creating dynamic impact can be found throughout Gentileschi’s career and is clearly manifest in the present work.

The Sauli Commission

By 1620 Orazio had established himself in Rome as an artist of great repute, working, amongst others, for the Borghese family. In 1621 a second defining moment in his career took place when the Genoese patrician Giovanni Antonio Sauli arrived in Rome with a delegation sent in honor of the new Pope Alessandro Ludovisi, who took the name Gregory XV. While Sauli is thought to have met Orazio for the first time in Rome, he probably already knew of his work since Orazio’s brother, Aurelio Lomi, had in fact lived in Genoa from 1597 to 1604 and had worked for the Sauli family, producing two canvases for the basilica of Santa Maria in Carignano, a Last Judgement and a Resurrection of Christ.9 Whatever the precise context, Sauli was impressed enough by Orazio’s work to invite him back to Genoa - where the artist was to remain until he left for France in 1624 - acting as an advisor for Sauli’s burgeoning picture gallery and producing paintings directly for him.

The Ligurian capital was enjoying a period of unprecedented wealth and transformation. Genoa, “La Superba,” had established itself as the leading banking and commercial center of the Spanish Hapsburg Empire in northern and central Europe, and in the Mediterranean. The atmosphere of the artistic milieu was no less febrile: Peter Paul Rubens had already left his indelible mark on the city with his portraits and altarpieces, particularly the Circumcision commissioned by Nicolò Pallavicino for the church of the Gesù; Guido Reni’s paintings, in particular his Assumption of the Virgin from 1617, already adorned the family chapel of Cardinal Stefano Durazzo, also in the Gesù; Anthony Van Dyck was to arrive in the same year as Gentileschi. All three of these artists were fascinated by color and the effects of light. It is perhaps little wonder then that it was amidst this stimulating Genoese setting that Orazio was to complete three masterpieces for Sauli’s palazzo which represent the apogee of his career: the present Danaë, the New York Penitent Magdalene, which is based on the same cartoon as the Danaë, and the Getty’s Lot and his Daughters. Carlo Giuseppe Ratti, editor of the 1768 edition of Raffaele Soprani’s account of various artists and their work in Genoa (see Literature), singled out the Danaë as the finest of the set.

In both form and content, the poetics of Gentileschi’s approach are remarkable. The subject matter of the Sauli paintings are taken from disparate sources: the present work is drawn from classical mythology; the Getty Lot and his Daughters is taken from the Old Testament scriptures; the story of the Penitent Magdalene is an apocryphal Christian tale. If a carefully defined iconographical program were intended, and there is no evidence that was the case, the uniting thread between the three would surely point to the rapport between women, God and different types of love, each picture representing a distinct facet of this relationship. Danaë, invitingly veiled in a richly embroidered bedroom, represents sensual love and physical union. The Magdalene, chastely covered in part by her brown robes and meditating alone in a cave, symbolizes cerebral and devotional love after her conversion. Lot’s daughters, on the other hand, depict a moral challenge for they are caught between the sin of incest and the divine order to ensure that their genealogical line is not extinguished after the destruction of Sodom.

The compositions may perhaps just as well have been conceived within a visual framework rather than an iconographical one (see fold-out on p. 15). The Magdalene and the Danaë, both single-figure paintings, are based on the same cartoon and may have flanked the more complex and multi-figured design of the Lot and his Daughters, which compositionally forms a neat downward-facing triangle at its center. The Danaë may have hung to the right of the Lot, for while her body draws the eye to the right, her raised arm and the momentum of the coins could usefully create the right wing of the "triptych." The Magdalene’s pose would indicate that she would have hung to the left. There is no suggestion that the pictures actually hung in a line, however, so at this stage any discussion on the potential layout of the pictures remains firmly rooted in the realm of conjecture.

The Sauli pictures were so successful that Gentileschi’s status in Genoa as a great artist was ensured. Marcantonio Doria, another local aristocrat, employed Orazio on the elaborate fresco decorations (now lost) of the ceilings of his casino at Sanpierdarena outside Genoa, where Simon Vouet also participated. Carlo Emanuele I, Duke of Savoy, also came to know of Gentileschi’s work and in 1623 ordered the Annunciation in the Galleria Sabauda, Turin.10 Further versions of the Sauli paintings themselves were also produced, and attest to their immediate success and popularity: the Clevelend Museum of Art houses a second version of the Danaë, which was possibly in the collection of the Duke of Sunderland by the mid-eighteenth century.11 Further versions of the Magdalene are in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, in a New York private collection, and further inferior versions are known. The Getty’s Lot and his Daughters was replicated at least four times, the best versions probably the autograph variant in the National Gallery of Art, Ottawa, and the painting in the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, though the latter should be considered a studio work at best.

Versions

It was quite common practice in the seventeenth century for artists to paint second versions, and Orazio is known to have done so on numerous occasions beside those related to the Sauli pictures. Earlier in his career, for example, he had produced a second version, today in a private collection, of the Saint Jerome in the Museo Civico in Turin.14 For the second version of the Danaë in Cleveland (fig. 6, 163.4 by 228.7 cm.), Gentileschi made use of the same cartoon as for the Sauli picture but introduced some minor changes, perhaps the most significant of which is the rather anxious expression on Danaë's face which contrasts with the more serene look of the prototype. Marginally larger than the present work, the Cleveland painting was understandably widely (though not unanimously) thought to be the lost Sauli original when it was rediscovered in 1971, five years before the present picture resurfaced. There can now be no doubt, however, that the Cleveland painting is the second version since it lacks the obvious pentimenti of the present work such as those in Danaë’s right shoulder and around Cupid’s right upper arm. It is also painted in a more rigid manner, as is often the case with second versions, since by the time of their execution the designs had already been resolved. When the two pictures were closely compared on the occasion of the 2001 exhibition, it became evident that the Cleveland picture was in fact produced from a tracing. Similarly, the use of glazes, which in the Feigen Danaë create a sense of transparency in the sheets and allow the light to shimmer on the various surfaces, is absent from the Cleveland version, which by contrast appears somewhat ponderous, in part, it should be added, due to its less than satisfactory condition.

Danaë in relation to other paintings in Orazio’s oeuvre

From both the compositional and stylistic points of view, the Sauli Danaë fits perfectly into Orazio’s work from the early 1620s and epitomizes his artistic early maturity, arguably his most accomplished period, though he never totally abandoned his earlier style. Danaë’s rhetorical gesture, for example, echoes the figure of Saint Cecilia in a work from 1606-07, the Saints Cecilia, Valerianus and Tiburtius visited by the Angel (fig. 7) in the Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan, while similar gestures, which border on the self-conscious, are also to be found in the aforementioned Annunciation in Turin (fig. 8) from 1623. A similar control in the rendering of shimmering fabrics can be seen in the handling of the bedsheets in the sumptuous red and blue folds of the Turin Annunciation, as well as the yellow and blue robes of the figure of Public Felicity in the Louvre, Paris.16 A useful comparison might be made with Orazio’s inviting Cleopatra (fig. 9) from the early 1610s, today in an Italian private collection, which has also at times been ascribed to Orazio’s daughter, Artemisia.17 The picture demonstrates quite how far Orazio’s style had evolved by the 1620s. During this earlier artistic phase Orazio’s description of the white linen sheet and the red folds of the curtains are still very much rooted in a strong Caravaggesque naturalism which cannot yet boast the elegance or refinement of the present picture. Moreover, the corpulent female figure type is deliberately bold and overtly sexual by comparison, and has not yet developed into the graceful, restrained and painterly figure of the present Danaë.

Provenance

The painting’s provenance can be traced from Palazzo Sauli to the present day. The three Sauli pictures are listed in inventories from 1661, 1663 and 1668 of works bequeathed by Sauli to his son Francesco Maria. The artists Domenico Piola and Bernardo Carbone valued the collection at 14,630 Genoese lire, with the Danaë and the Lot both listed at 3,760 lire and the Magdalene at 1,880 lire.18 The paintings hung in the picture gallery and were seen there by Carlo Giuseppe Ratti in 1780 as well as by the anonymous author of the Descrizione della Città di Genova (see Literature) in 1818.

The paintings were probably removed from the palazzo in 1852, when the property was sold by Costantino Sauli who had inherited the property via Domenico Maria Ignazio Sauli and Domenico Sauli. Costantino died intestate in 1853 so his goods were distributed among his three daughters: Maria, who was unmarried; Bianca, who married Domenico de Mari; and Luisa, who married Francesco Camillo Pallavicino. Luisa’s daughter Maria Teresa married Lazzaro Negrotto Cambiaso and their son was Pierfrancesco (also known as Pierotto) Negrotto Cambiaso, who, conveniently, was his aunt Maria’s heir, thereby reuniting many Sauli possessions. Wilhelm Suida’s guide of 1906 (see Literature) confirms that the Magdalene from the set was indeed in Pierfrancesco’s possession. In 1924 Pierfrancesco married Matilde Giustiniani Durazzo Pallavicini, who inherited his goods after his death. Matilde died childless and bequeathed her estate to her niece Carlotta Giustiniani Cattaneo-Adorno, in whose villa the painting was rediscovered, along with the Magdalene and, confusingly, the Thyssen (not the Getty) Lot and his Daughters.

The journey of the Sauli Lot and his Daughters to its present home in the Getty is more circuitous. Though the picture only resurfaced in 1997, it had been known through a photograph in the archives of the Museo del Palazzo Rosso in Genoa, where it was recorded as belonging to a certain Mr Teophilatus, who had died in 1910. The confusion over the provenance of the Getty picture was compounded by the fact that when the other two pictures in the Sauli set were discovered, the Thyssen version of the Lot and his Daughters was hanging with them, not the Getty prototype. It is entirely reasonable that copies of the originals were made to hang in other family palazzi, as is stated in the Sauli inventories, and as confirmed by Cataldi Gallo (see Literature). This would certainly explain why the inventory of 1735 lists a copy of the Lot as measuring 5 by 7 palmi, or roughly 124 by 175 cms, not too far off the 120 by 169 cm of the Thyssen Lot. The Getty/Sauli Lot did not travel far from Genoa, however: the next confirmed sighting was in the 1920s when it emerged that a Mrs Margaret Pole kept the picture in her Ligurian villa at Diano Marina, near Imperiale. She is believed to have taken the work to England between 1925 and 1927 and it was her heirs who sold the painting to the Getty in 1997.

The Thyssen painting can be categorically excluded from the original Sauli set not only for its inferior quality but also because of its smaller size. Moreover, in an enlightening article from 2001, Leonard, Khandekar and Carr (see Literature) describe how restoration of the pictures confirmed that each of them had been cut diagonally at the lower corners, as if to fit a particular set of frames with spandrels. The Feigen picture had in fact also been cut diagonally in the upper corners. None of the other versions of the Lot and his Daughters shows evidence of this, and nor do the Cleveland Danaë or any of the other versions of the Penitent Magdalene.

While one cannot prove the movement of the present painting between 1818, the last written record of it in the collection of Carlotta Giustiniani Cattaneo-Adorno (see Poleggi, under Literature), and 1975, the year the picture resurfaced, the family links between the Sauli and the Giustiniani Cattaneo-Adorno present a very strong case for the painting having remained within the family. That Suida (see Literature) should have seen the Sauli Magdalene in the palace of Pierfrancesco Negrotto Cambiaso in 1906 and that the Magdalene and the Danaë were still together in 1975 only lends weight to the theory. In 1975 the Danaë and the Magdalene were purchased by the Englishman Thomas P. Grange. The Danaë was sold by his widow to Richard Feigen, who subsequently sold it to a family trust.

www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2016/master-paint...

ballet..........a performing art of visual beauty, grace & elegant refinement, with an illusion of weightlessness that gives it an ethereal even spiritual quality. Many young girls dream of being a 'ballerina' but its physical requirements are a cruel reality. Anatomy is key......small head, long limbs, short torso & long neck are the ideal for the female...and no amount of training or talent can overcome the lack of these physical aesthetics. For those who are blessed with the necessary genetics, talent & resources, the discipline of ballet is both agony & ecstasy. Serious physical pain is the steep price to be paid. Rigorous training & relentless practice. En pointe..... dancing on the toes. Just the idea of it makes me wince. But like all art forms. passion is the driving force. And committment to that passion will not be daunted by pain. Unfortunately the demand to be thin in the world of ballet has led to rampant eating disorders, a virtual epidemic of anorexia & bulimia...a sad blight on a beautiful art form that is literally spell-binding to watch.

The young dancer captured in the image was a participant in a dance-school recital, its doors opened to the passing public, held in Toronto's beautiful heritage bldg, the St Lawrence Hall.

English

Murrine is an Italian term for colored patterns or images made in a glass cane (long rods of glass) that are revealed when cut in cross-sections. Murrine can be made in infinite designs—some styles are more familiar, such as millefiore. Artists working in glass design murrine in a variety of ways from simple circular or square patterns to complex detailed designs to even portraits of people. Murrine are designed by layering different colors of molten glass around a core, then heating and stretching it into a rod. When cool, the rod is sliced into cross-sections of desired thickness with each slice possessing the same pattern in cross-section.

The murrine process first appeared in the Mideast more than 4,000 years ago and was revived by Venetian glassmakers on Murano in the early 1500s.From Wikipedia

Español:

Murrine es un término italiano para los patrones de color o imágenes hechas en una caña de vidrio (largas varillas de vidrio), que se revelan cuando se corta en secciones transversales. Murano, se puede hacer en diseños infinitos, algunos estilos son más familiares, como millefiore. Los artistas que trabajan en el diseño de cristal de Murano, en una variedad de formas que van desde simples movimientos circulares o cuadrados a los complejos diseños detallados, incluso para los retratos de personas. De Murano, son diseñados por capas de diferentes colores de vidrio fundido alrededor de un núcleo, a continuación, la calefacción y se extiende en una varilla. Cuando esté frío, la varilla se corta en secciones transversales de espesor deseado en cada rebanada de poseer el mismo patrón en la sección transversal.

El proceso de Murano, apareció por primera vez en el Medio Oriente más de 4.000 años atrás y fue recuperada por los fabricantes de vidrio veneciano de Murano en el 1500s.From principios de Wikipedia

Storia della murrina

Il nome“Murrina” è stato coniato nel 1878 dall'abate Vincenzo Zanetti, che tanto contribuì alla rinascita della vetraria muranese dopo un lungo periodo di crisi. Zanetti adottò questo termine per definire vasi e ciotole in vetro mosaico che i Romani facevano usando sezioni di canna che presentavano al loro interno, per tutta la lunghezza, disegni astratti o anche figurativi come volti, fiori e animali.Li chiamò così perché in qualche modo potevano ricordare gli oggetti che gli stessi Romani eseguivano usando la variopinta pietra murrina, che peraltro nessuno ha mai conosciuto.Da allora il termine murrino è rimasto e serve ad identificare sia le singole sezioni di canna sia l'oggetto ottenuto dalla loro composizione.Fonte wikipedia

murrine veneziane murrina murano Murano island Venice glass murano glass handy craft famous for its quality and refinement beautiful jewels amazing colors Murrine are old creations of Venice concentric designs intersected colors imagins of flowers glass cane expert handycrafters in Murano Millefiori (=thousand flowers) many processes and superimpositions of the glass motivo floreale motivo geometrico i maestri vetrai formano delle canne millefiori (mosaico di murrine) tagliate trasversalmente in trance fusione del vetro cilindri murrine assortite opaline media dimensione piccola dimensione grandi dimensioni confezione mista murrine miste Il vetro di Murano è uno dei più preziosi vetri che vengono realizzati in

Italia secondo tradizioni antiche di secoli sulla famosa isola di Murano, vicino Venezia I primi forni vi furono installati nel 1291

Tra tutte le tecniche, la più lunga e complessa è senza dubbio quella del vetro di Murrina fantasia puzzle

Il termine “Murrino” è stato coniato nel 1878 dall'abate Vincenzo Zanetti singole sezioni di canna semplice murrina a strati concentrici sovrapposti murrina con disegno floreale, a stella o a cuore colors arancione azzurro bianca blu celeste giallo indaco nero rosa rosso verde

Venetian murrine Murrina Murano Murano island Venice Glass Murano Glass handy craft famous for its quality and refinement, beautiful jewels amazing colors Murrine are old creations of Venice concentric designs intersected colors imagins of flowers glass dog expert handycrafters in Murano Millefiori (thousand flowers =) many processes and superimpositions of the glass floral pattern geometric pattern master glassmakers form of millefiori canes (millefiori mosaic) cut transversely in a trance glass melting cylinder murrine assorted opal medium size small large scale Variety Pack murrine mixed The Murano glass is one of the most precious glasses that are made in Italy

according to centuries-old traditions on the famous island of Murano, near Venice, The first ovens were installed there in 1291

Among all the techniques, the longest and most complex is undoubtedly that of the glass Murrina fantasy puzzle

The term Murrine was coined in 1878 by abbot Vincenzo Zanetti individual sections of the cane simple murrine in concentric layers stacked murrine with floral design, star or heart, colors orange blue white blue blue yellow , indigo black pink red green

Seen traversing the Asda roundabout in Halesown, is one of Walsall's Scanias. Refinements of the old 301 branding where the Scania logo should be is just about visible.

National Express West Midlands' BX09 OZS (1890) is seen looping around the island while operating a 4H towards Walsall Bradford Place. The 4H operates between Hayley Green and Walsall up to every 20 minutes and is run in competition with Diamond (Rotala PLC), who run theirs up to every 15 minutes. Interestingly, at the Hayley Green end of the route, both companies go different ways. NX use both Volvo B7RLE/Wright Eclipse Urbans and Scania Omnis on the 4/4H services, whereas Diamond use just about anything. BX09OZR was new in June 2009 to NXWM's Walsall depot. It is a Scania K230UB4/Scania OmniLink.

The Nikon F90X (N90s in the U.S. market) was the second and final version of what I call the third generation of semi-pro 35mm autofocus SLRs from Nikon. The second generation, the F801/F801s (N8008/N8008s), introduced reliable autofocus, together with built-in autowind and rewind, spot metering, a new single control wheel interface, and other features, to the semi-pro line. (Note: an even earlier Nikon autofocus design, the F501 (N2020), had early first generation autofocus capability and a completely different interface and viewfinder display.) The F90/F90x continued virtually the same interface and body design as the F801/F801s but upgraded the level of technology, especially in its final incarnation, the F90X. The F90X is the epitome of Nikon's single focus point autofocus film SLRs. The F90X's interface was changed and enhanced with the subsequent F100, which introduced dual control wheels. The F100 also adds multiple focus and spot metering points, together with support for modern vibration reduction/image stabilization (VR) lenses and slightly more flexible custom settings. While the F100 is in some ways a better film camera to use today than the F90X, the F90X already included 3D Matrix Metering, which is the biggest exposure metering advance in the industry until the later color matrix metering of the F5 and F6 (and subsequent digital SLRs). The F90X also supports the built-in Silent Wave motors of modern Nikon lenses. In spite of its technical advances over the F90X, the F100 has an even more severe problem than the F90X with decomposition of the rubbery surface of its camera backs. If you don't need support for VR and are looking for a low-cost high-tech AF body in the used market, the F90X could be just what you want.

With the big picture out of the way, let's look at the features and functions of the F90X in more detail. The original F90 appears to have been rushed out in 1992 to quickly upgrade the F801s as a way to compete with Canon in a rapidly developing market. However, the F90X was released less than two years later with a long list of major and minor refinements. Today, you would definitely want the F90X over the original F90. The biggest improvements in the F90X over the F90 were improved autofocus, and the ability to adjust P, S, and M modes in 1/3 stop increments rather than one stop increments. According to Nikon, both the F90 and F90X used the CAM246 AF detection system, so AF improvement from the F90 to F90X was presumably due to better software.

The F90X is an amazing camera. The F800 already felt very advanced, moving from an F3HP, when the F801 was released in 1988. But after upgrading from the F801 to the F90X, one really appreciated the more responsive autofocus, the addition of spot metering (I never moved to an F801s), and most of all 3D Matrix (multi-pattern) metering. The 3D matrix metering of the F90X enabled more accurate exposure metering, especially for flash photography with dedicated Nikon electronic flashes, by incorporating subject focus distance information from AF-D lenses into the exposure calculation. The F90X is optimized for use with AF-D lenses, either Nikkor lenses or from third-party manufacturers such as Sigma and Tamron. The F90X works with non-autofocus Ai lenses, but with such lenses, you can only use center-weighted and spot metering (no matrix metering) and you can only use the Aperture Priority and Manual exposure modes (no Program or Shutter Speed Priority modes). Also, the set aperture of non-AF lenses does not appear in the viewfinder since there is no optical ADR like on most earlier Nikon bodies. The F90X (unlike the previous F801/F801s) auto-focuses with later G-type lenses (with no aperture ring and Silent Wave focusing motor). While you cannot adjust the aperture of G-type lenses directly on the F90X, a very simple solution is to shoot in Program mode, but use Flexible Program by turning the control wheel to step through equivalent aperture/shutter speed combinations while keeping the EV fixed. (This works a bit like exposure lock on electronic Contax bodies.)

The size and weight of the F90X is a very reasonable 755g, especially by the standard of the F4 or F5. It is an incremental increase in size and weight over the F801/s. In addition, although the user manual only indicates four AA-type alkaline, manganese or NiCd batteries, both Nikon and my personal experience confirms that the F90X also works fine with relatively lightweight AA lithium batteries. Overall, the camera/battery combination, even with alkaline batteries, is perfect both for stability and also portability. I have personally only used alkaline and lithium batteries and both types last for a very long time, although of course not as long as the button batteries in older manual focus cameras, such as the F3 or FM2N. The F90X owner manual indicates a battery capacity of 50 rolls of 36-exposure film at 20 degrees Celsius. This is much more than the battery capacity of my F6, especially with a power-hungry VR lens attached to the F6. The F90X has a very solid and comfortable feel, with a metal interior, matte-type rubberized grip surfaces, and heavy-duty matte composite plastic exterior plates. The F90/X body design includes a molded hand grip that is very stable and comfortable, but does not excessively add to the dimensions of the body. The covering material on the F90/X is not as rubbery or tactile as newer Nikon bodies, but still offers a fine grip.

There was a well-known problem with the rubberized material on the exterior of the camera back. A few years ago, the rubberized material on on at least some samples of the F90/X started to decompose and become a sticky goo. The same problem happened to the back of my own F90X, which became extremely sticky and completely unusable. Fortunately, my camera tech was able to procure a new replacement back and make the camera like new. The new back, like the old, is indeed plastic except for the pressure plate and other hardware. Still, the construction of the new back is very solid and it fits snugly onto the camera body when closed, without any irritating play. I am not sure about the composition of the exterior surface of the new back. It is a very attractive matte black finish, that must either be some type of composite material, or a very fine sprayed on layer. In any event, it appears to be very durable and hopefully long-lasting.

With the F90X generation of Nikon bodies, if you want to adjust certain functions, such as auto exposure bracketing, multiple exposure operation, interval timer, film imprinting, etc., you will need to add a MF-26 Multi-Control back. You can also use the optional Data Link System and AC-2E card to adjust more settings, download stored data, etc.

The viewfinder of the F90X has a relatively low 92% image coverage. Such coverage is more appropriate for the era when people used mounted slides, which cut off the edges of the frame, but is more limiting in today's age when film is scanned directly after processing at the lab. On the other hand, you can crop the scanned images in Photoshop if necessary. You just need to keep in mind at the time of shooting that your image will include a bit more than you can see. The viewfinder display is well-organized, and the brightness of the soft green horizontal LCD display is just right for both bright and dim environments. The viewfinder eyepiece does not include an adjustable diopter. However, Nikon still makes a full range of single diopter lenses in current production. The F90X takes the same diopter lens as the F3HP, F801/S, F90 and F100.

Dual film advance modes of single frame and continuous High ( 4.3 fps) and Low (2.0) speed, offer more than enough speed for casual shooting.

As mentioned above, the exposure metering system of the F90X is extremely advanced. It has second generation software and three additional central segments in addition to the five metering segments of the FA and F801/s (plus spot), for a total of 8 segments. In addition, the new "3D" technology of the F90x increases the accuracy of the multi-segment metering system even further, especially for flash photography, with concurrent and later AF-D compatible lenses. Center-weighted metering is of course included, and is designed with a 75% weighting, which had become the new Nikon standard for center-weight, more like the 80% center-weight of the F3 than the 60% weight of classic Nikon camera meters. The 3mm spot meter had become standard since the earlier F801s. One of my few complaints about the design of the F90X is that the selected exposure metering system is not displayed in the viewfinder, unlike on many later models. Glasses wearers will prefer the selected exposure metering system to be indicated in the viewfinder so they can switch among the metering systems without putting your glasses on, especially since the control wheel interface makes it difficult to confirm the selected system by feel alone. The LCD display on the top of the camera duplicates much of the same information as the viewfinder display, plus additional information such as metering system and ISO. The exposure meter is very sensitive, covering EV -1 through EV 21 in matrix and center-weighted, and EV 3 to EV 21 for spot metering.

Although the F90X only has a single focus area, autofocusing is quite responsive. Of course, the focusing technique in the day of the single autofocus point was to focus on the appropriate object, lock the focus with the shutter release button or AF lock, recompose, and shoot. The focus indicator also works very well with most manual focus lenses (with greater than f/5.6 aperture). Just focus manually until the round digital in-focus indicator is displayed in the viewfinder; there is no need for a central focusing aid on the focusing screen, although you can also manually focus with the matte screen itself. The central focus area can be easily switched between Spot and Wide by pushing a button on the top right of the camera and turning the control wheel; which area you have selected shows up in the viewfinder display so you can switch back and forth with your eye to the viewfinder. The Wide autofocus area is actually quite large, covering more than half of the outer central circle of the viewfinder image. The autofocus system appears quite adept at following moving subjects that stay within this expanded focusing area.

The F90X has all of the required PASM exposure modes and then some. The camera adds Ps "Vari-Program" modes that automatically set the recommended shutter speed and aperture combinations for seven separate photographic situations, such as Portraits, Portraits with Red Eye Reduction, Landscape, Sports, Close Up, etc. However, anyone who properly knows their way around a camera, or wants to learn, has no need for these Vari-Program settings. Unlike exposure metering systems, it is extremely easy to adjust your exposure modes with your eye to the viewfinder; just push the Mode button on the top left of the camera and turn the control wheel to select the correct mode. The selected mode is always clearly indicated at the bottom of the viewfinder. Program mode is extremely useful, even for photographers who are expert at manual camera setting. In a pinch, the camera's Program mode can adjust exposure fully automatically. More commonly, however, it is convenient to let the camera select the correct EV and the approximate shutter speed/aperture combination in Program mode. You then simply turn the control wheel in Program Mode after you have metered the scene to select the exact shutter speed/aperture combination that you want in 1/3 stop increments. This technique becomes even more useful when using newer G-type lenses, which have no aperture ring, since you have no secondary control dial to change the aperture directly. Manual mode works very well with AF lenses that have aperture rings; the digital analog readout in the viewfinder indicates exposure deviation in 1/3 stop increments, although, unlike some later designs, it only displays the range of +-1 EV to save display real estate. Although you can't see exactly how far you you are when greater than +- 1 EV, I never found this to be a practical limitation.

The F90X has a highly advanced shutter. Using the control wheel, you can directly set the shutter speed in 1/3 stop increments all the way from 1/8000 sec. to 30 seconds. Standard electronic flash maximum synch speed is a modern 1/250 sec.

Exposure compensation of +- 5 EV is easy to set by pushing a button on top of the camera and turning the control wheel, with the amount of compensation visible in the viewfinder display in 1/3 stop increments. The camera also has an AE-Lock lever on the back for your right thumb. I find that I usually prefer to use Manual Mode rather than the AE-Lock lever.

One small advantage of the F90X as a fully electronic camera is its ability to easily set the self-timer delay between 2 to 30 seconds. Just push the appropriate button on the top left of the camera and turn the control wheel to set. It can be used as an alternative to a remove control cable. On the other hand, one disadvantage of fully electronic cameras, such as the F90X, is that you need to use a special electronic remote cord (MC-20) (rather than a standard mechanical cable) when taking Bulb exposures. Also, Bulb exposures can wear down the battery. Better to use a fully mechanical body if you plan to take lots of long Bulb exposures. (On the other hand, the MC-20 can automatically close the shutter after up to 99 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds! The MF-20 back, and apparently the AC-2E card, also provides this function.)

The F90X has easily interchangeable focusing screens. The single available optional screen adds a grid.

The MB-10 Multi-Power Vertical Grip is available if you need more battery longevity and bigger camera grip with vertical shutter release.

As already mentioned, with its 3D technology, the F90X is amazing for flash photography. If you know what you are doing, you can get great flash photographs even with non-TTL mechanical bodies. But TTL flash control is much more convenient, and the F90/x enhances the level of TTL matrix flash metering by, for the first time, incorporating focus distance from the lens into the exposure calculation. Just make sure to use AF-D type lenses or better, and one of the compatible Nikon electronic flash units. The most advanced concurrent flash with the F90X was the SB-28, which allows full use of the F90X's flash exposure features. The F90X also supports monitor pre-flash with the SB-25/26/28. (Later flashes, such as current production modern Nikon flashes, also work fully with the F90X. I usually use a current production SB-800 flash, even on the F90X.) Another nice feature of the F90X's flash technology is 3D Multi-Sensor Balanced Fill Flash. This function automatically reduces the output of the flash to supplement ambient light. Of course, is you want more precise control, fill-flash can also be set with appropriate manual flash negative compensation directly on the flash unit. Other flash features available with the F90X/SB-28 combination is Rear-Curtain Synch for motion photography and red eye reduction.

One generally unnecessary feature that has been omitted from the F90X is mirror lock-up (MLU).

To conclude, the F90X was and continues to be an amazing camera. The F90/X were the first semi-pro Nikon to incorporate 3D metering technology. It felt fun and was effective to use the camera with AF-D or newer lenses. The F90X offered virtually every function that you could think of, at least with its various accessories. The camera feels great in your hands and has a good form factor and weight for both travel and large lenses. Really the only limitation that irritates me about the F90X is that I can not use Matrix Metering, and there is no viewfinder display of the selected aperture, with manual focus lenses. In practice, this should not impact the quality of your images, but it is certainly less convenient. (Thankfully, this limitation was finally fixed in the F6 and some high-end Nikon DSLRs). The real limitations of the F90X today are its single focus point, its lack of support for VR lenses, and its lack of a second control wheel for G-type lenses. Thus, in the film world, you would need an F100 or F6 (and the consumer grade F75/F80) to get maximum benefit out of the newest generation of lenses. The control wheels and rubbery grip are more ergonomic on the F100 and F6, compared with the F90X.

Copyright © 2016 Timothy A. Rogers. All rights reserved.

(DSC_6114fin1)

I am using Mau Kun Yim technique (a famous portrait painter from China)

1. Make the likeness (boundaries of mouth, eyes etc all the facial feature)

2. Do the planar analysis (I mostly just mapping the shadows and crevices of his face by drawing it in lines)

3. Color the shadow (Dark the dark areas on the face that have already been mapped in the 2nd step) and

3. Details added (the final refinement)

4. See if things matched or not with the object and then correct (added shadow here and there, added lines here and there and mostly just darken the areas where the shadows are darker).

PS: I love this one so much

The Lavochkin La-5 (Лавочкин Ла-5) was a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II. It was a development and refinement of the LaGG-3 and was one of the Soviet Air Force's most capable types of warplane.

Development

The La-5's heritage began even before the outbreak of war, with the LaGG-1, a promising yet underpowered aircraft – turning a full circle, for example, took 20 seconds. The LaGG-3 was a modification of that design that attempted to correct this by both lightening the airframe and fitting a more powerful engine. Nevertheless, this was not enough, and the lack of power remained a significant problem.

In early 1942, two of the LaGG-1 and -3's designers, Semyon Lavochkin and Vladimir Gorbunov, attempted to correct this deficiency by experimentally fitting a LaGG-3 with the more powerful Shvetsov ASh-82 radial engine. Since the LaGG-3 was powered by an inline engine, they accomplished this by grafting on the nose section of a Sukhoi Su-2 (which used this engine). By now, the shortcomings of the LaGG-3 had caused Lavochkin to fall out of Joseph Stalin's favour, and factories previously assigned to LaGG-3 construction had been turned over to building the rival Yakovlev Yak-1 and Yak-7. The design work required to adapt the LaGG-3 to the new engine and still maintain the aircraft's balance was undertaken by Lavochkin in a small hut beside an airfield over the winter of 1941-1942, all completely unofficially.

When the prototype took flight in March, the result was extremely pleasing - the fighter finally had a powerplant that allowed it to perform as well in the air as it had been supposed to on paper. After flying, the LaG-5 (the change in name reflecting that one of the original LaGG designers was no longer with the programme), Air Force test pilots declared it superior to the Yak-7, and intensive flight tests began in April. After only a few weeks, the design was modified further, cutting down the rear fuselage to give the pilot better visibility.

By July, Stalin ordered maximum-rate production of the aircraft, now simply known as the La-5 and the conversion of any incomplete LaGG-3 airframes to the new configuration. The prototype was put in mass production almost immediately in factories located in Moscow and in the Yaroslav region. While still inferior to the best German fighters at high altitudes, the La-5 proved to be every bit their match closer to the ground. With most of the air combat over the Eastern Front taking place at altitudes of under 5,000 m (16,404 ft), the La-5 was very much in its element. Its rate of roll was excellent.

Further refinement of the aircraft involved a fuel-injected engine, further lightening of the aircraft, and fixed slats to improve all-round performance. This was designated the La-5FN and would become the definitive version of the aircraft. A full circle turn took 18–19 seconds. Altogether, 9,920 La-5s of all variants were built, including a number of dedicated trainer versions, designated La-5UTI. Several La-5s had three Berezin B-20 cannon installed in the nose capable of a salvo of 3.4 kg/s rounds. Further refinements of the aircraft would lead to the Lavochkin La-7.

A number of La-5s continued in the service of Eastern Bloc nations after the end of the war, including Czechoslovakia.

Flying the La-5

In the summer of 1943, a brand-new La-5 made a forced landing on a German airfield providing the Luftwaffe with an opportunity to test-fly the newest Soviet fighter. Test pilot Hans-Werner Lerche wrote a detailed report of his experience.[1] He particularly noted that the La-5FN excelled at altitudes below 3,000 m (9,843 ft) but suffered from short range and flight time of only 40 minutes at cruise engine power. All of the engine controls (throttle, mixture, propeller pitch, radiator and cowl flaps, and supercharger gearbox) had separate levers which served to distract the pilot during combat to make constant adjustments or risk suboptimal performance. For example, rapid acceleration required moving no less than six levers. In contrast, contemporary German aircraft, especially the BMW 801 radial-engined variants of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190 front line fighter, had largely automatic engine controls with the pilot operating a single lever and electromechanical devices, like the Kommandogerät pioneering engine computer on the radial-engined Fw 190s, making the appropriate adjustments. Due to airflow limitations, the engine boost system (Forsazh) could not be used above 2,000 m (6,562 ft). Stability in all axes was generally good. The authority of the ailerons was deemed exceptional but the rudder was insufficiently powerful at lower speeds. At speeds in excess of 600 km/h (370 mph), the forces on control surfaces became excessive. Horizontal turn time at 1,000 m (3,281 ft) and maximum engine power was 25 seconds.

In comparison with Luftwaffe fighters, the La-5FN was found to have a comparable top speed and acceleration at low altitude. It possessed a higher roll rate and a smaller turn radius than the Bf 109 and a better climb rate than the Fw 190A-8. The Bf 109 utilizing MW 50 had superior performance at all altitudes, and the Fw 190A-8 had better dive performance. Lerche's recommendations were to attempt to draw the La-5FN to higher altitudes, to escape attacks in a dive followed by a high-speed shallow climb, and to avoid prolonged turning engagements.

The La-5 had its defects. Perhaps the most serious being the thermal isolation of the engine, lack of ventilation in the cockpit, and a canopy that was impossible to open at speeds over 350 km/h. To make things worse, exhaust gas often entered in the cockpit due to poor insulation of the engine compartment. Consequently, pilots ignored orders and frequently flew with their canopies open.[2]

In general, Soviet pilots appreciated the La-5 as an effective fighter. "That was an excellent fighter with two cannons and a powerful air-cooled engine", recalled pilot Viktor M. Sinaisky. "The first La-5s from the Tbilisi factory were slightly inferior, while the last ones from the Gorki plant, which came to us from Ivanovo, were perfect. At first we received regular La-5s, but then we got new ones containing the ASh-82FN engine with direct injection of fuel into the cylinders. It was perfect. Everyone was in love with the La-5. it was easy to maintain too."[3] Nevertheless La-5 losses were high, the highest of all fighters in service in USSR, not considering those of the Yak-1. In 1941-45, VVS KA lost 2,591 La-5s, 73 in 1942, 1,460 in 1943, 825 the following year and 233 in 1945.

General characteristics

Crew: one pilot

Length: 8.67 m (28 ft 5.33 in)

Wingspan: 9.80 m (32 ft 1.75 in)

Height: 2.54 m (8 ft 4 in)

Wing area: 17.5 m² (188 ft²)

Empty weight: 2,605 kg (5,743 lb)

Loaded weight: 3,265 kg (7,198 lb)

Max. takeoff weight: 3,402 kg (7,500 lb)

Powerplant: 1 × Shvetsov ASh-82FN radial engine, 1,385 kW (1,850 hp)

Performance

Maximum speed: 648 km/h (403 mph)

Range: 765 km (475 miles)

Service ceiling: 11,000 m (36,089 ft)

Rate of climb: 16.7 m/s (3,280 ft/min)

Wing loading: 186 kg/m² (38 lb/ft²)

Power/mass: 0.42 kW/kg (0.26 hp/lb)

Armament

2 × 20 mm ShVAK cannons, 200 rpg

2 × bombs up to 100 kg (220 lb) each

"In war, as in life, refinement is everything."

- Decepticon gunsmith

-----------------------------------------

A rebuild of my bounder and cad Decepticon (previously a duocon). Just imagine him talking like Terry-Thomas and you're most of the way there with his personality.

Simon

"No promotion

for I am stasis

for you are famous

yet unknown.

This desert of the mind

this refinement of ephemera

a brick for a bridge,

unwalkable.

No promotion

no reflection of self

no promotion

not a symbol for one another."

Outstanding refinement and unparalleled grace join for a journey that captivates for eternity.

Yas Marina Blue 135i.

Inspired by Memoirs of a Geisha: www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEQRNWcBnWo

Oil refinery industry with oil storage tank

Getty Images [IMG_9145]

Jewelry is from Opera on the 5th Aurelia. This may be her last appearance in my collection. I decided to sell her after there was a new Vanessa in town.

"The signature of the Aventador range is a combination of deep and bold lines, oriented toward the most extreme aerodynamics. The Aventador S Roadster reinforces this mixture of dynamism, refinement and aggressiveness by means of even sharper lines, inspired by nature and aeronautics, with exhaust terminals that transform the rear end into that of a space shuttle and a front end that recalls the strength and elegance of a shark ready to dominate the road..."

Source: Lamborghini

Photographed at Mondello Racetrack during Fundracer - event returned to Mondello Park for fifth time to raise funds for The Jay & Ellie Foundation and supporting Autism.

If you'd like to keep eye for future events follow FundRacer Ireland on facebook.

____________________________________________________

Marcin Wojciechowski Photography

Marcinek_55 Instagram

Brussels

Land Rover and renowned Magnum photographer Jonas Bendiksen have revealed the first in a series of unique works entitled ‘Ultimate Vistas’, extraordinary landscape photographs captured with help from the world’s ultimate SUV: the Range Rover.

So because none of you rat fucks wanted to give me any BA Halo 4 Battle rifles and I needed a futuristic anti-material rifle, I picked up a Brickarms Sci-Fi X series pack, which comes with a Proto based off the Sniper rifle from Halo 4. Thing is BrickArms aren't the first to make said rifle for little Lego people. Brickforge did it too? Which one's better? Well.....

BrickForge for one got the size right. The damn thing is huge, just as it should be. I mean it's a giant 20mm cannon wielded by 7 ft tall supersoldiers. However, the refinement leaves something to be desired. It has detail but it's just kinda....well, eh. And a problem BrickForge weapons always had is that the plastic they use always seems lower quality, especially to most of their other stuff which has great quality.

And on the BrickArms side, we have much better quality and detail. Brickarms always had the better plastic quality and their detail is great while still looking like something Lego would make. The built-in bipod is a great touch, too. However, it's way too small. Like seriously, BrickArms own Barrent .50 Cal has more meat than this and that's just not how it should be. Also the scope can come off, too. It's held on by two pegs. On mine here though it was way too tight. And after this photoshoot when I finally weaseled it off, one of the pegs broke. In the production version it would probably be best to just mold the scope onto the rifle and solve these other issues. But considering BrickArms track record with bringing these kinds of prototypes.....

Overall I'm not sure which one's better. They both have ups and downs. I'll say one thing, though; you can get BrickForge's rifle right now on it's own for a dollar, while BrickArms rifle (as of when this was written) only comes in a $18 pack that only includes 10 other weapons.

#nikonemmad #architecture #japon #tokyo #noiretblanc #minimalisme #japan #blackandwhite #nikon #nikonemmad #refinement #raffinement #minimalism

I wish I had taken pictures of these yesterday before I started to cover over the tons of color. At about 10:30pm I looked over at this piece and knew immediately where it needed refinement. It's probably not done yet, but it's getting there.

Milo named this one for me. Same size as the 'guardian' bot from way back. There are bits from previous builds in there, some refinements and some new bits.

In general many Solomon Islands Art pieces can be easily distinguished from other Pacific islands Arts by the presence of inlaid shell and high degree of refinement.

Exxon Chemical Plant

Baton Rouge, La.

A complex array of pipelines convey crude oil to the next process in refinement.

Single Exposure processed with Silver Efex Pro

Rona from when we met in Munich in Mai. I totally forgot about this photo and therefore was so happy when found it :)

_____________________

tumblr /// facebook /// homepage /// analog stream /// twitter /// buy prints /// instagram: laurazalenga

HFDF! This fly, species TBA, was found on a Yellow Pitcher Plant - Sarracenia flava.

Location: Green Swamp Preserve, Brunswick County, North Carolina (USA)

ID refinement by an expert on iNaturalist:

www.inaturalist.org/observations/318613866

Muscoid Fly - Superfamily Muscoidea

Also posted at:

bugguide.net/node/view/2496752

ID suggestion on BugGuide:

Anthomyiidae: Emmesomyia cf. apicalis

Using a mod for his base look and working on some refinements

Light and Forms: Refinement of semplicity

Luce e Forme | Light and Forms

Alessandra went on a little cruise with us today to the chalk cliff coast on the island Rügen.

Fashion credits: Outfit made by Frau E

Fashion Roialty

Well, finally, after a long hiatus I am posting something. Humvee model, design from @tiger_1_3_1 on Instagram, with my refinements aimed at eliminating some "illegal" techniques, the camouflage is 100% taken from @brickbattlefield - I really hate reproducing camos in Lego, so I am really glad someone already made the vehicle in appropriate colors which I could copy onto my build.

Overall, 10/10 build, some clever techniques were used here, and most of the parts are easily available in necessary colors. Deals with Tiger are a treat!

Photos were taken with phone camera and with daylight being light source, I think it came out remarkably okay, for my photo skills lol. I will definitely get a proper lightbox and a lamp someday, it's just low on my priority list and I have problems with storage space (there's none).

You can expect more posts in coming weeks, as I did build some stuff over the last months, a lot of it are smaller things, not sure if I will drop them into single post or separate ones, I will see I guess.

Two generations of Volvo B7TL / Alexander ALX400. On the right is AX547, new in October 2006 with all the Dublin refinements, whilst on the left is AV82 is a November 2000 vintage standard vehicle now used in the training fleet

One of Man's great achievements of the early 20th Century has to be the refinement of the steam locomotive. The Nickel Plate's Berkshires were shining examples of that refinement. Witness all the machinery involved in moving thousands of tons over the rails. 1/800 second shutter speed doesn't even begin to stop the action; blur is the word of the day as the 765 effortlessly rolls by us in Valparaiso, IN, on home ex NKP rails.

Dragon at Night.

Dragon is a free-flying spacecraft designed to deliver both cargo and people to orbiting destinations. Dragon made history in 2012 when it became the first commercial spacecraft in history to deliver cargo to the International Space Station and safely return cargo to Earth, a feat previously achieved only by governments. It is the only spacecraft currently flying that is capable of returning significant amounts of cargo to Earth. Currently Dragon carries cargo to space, but it was designed from the beginning to carry humans. Under an agreement with NASA, SpaceX is now developing the refinements that will enable Dragon to fly crew. Dragon's first manned test flight is expected to take place in 2-3 years.

It was nice to be out under the stars after such a long run of clouds. It was also rather thrilling that the setup, with all the refinements worked on during the rainy stretch like plate solving and guiding improvements, worked beautifully!

_____

Originally thought to be wandering independently through the universe, this ball of stars is actually in orbit around our Milky Way, just at a great distance (~300,000 light years).

Imaging Telescopes Or Lenses

Meade Starfinder 8

Imaging Cameras

ZWO ASI1600 cooled mono

Mounts

Losmandy GM-8

Filters

Orion SkyGlow Imaging Filter · Blue · Green · Red

Accessories

Baader MPCC coma corrector · OnStep GoTo Controller · Rigel Systems Focuser

Software

Nighttime Imaging ‘N’ Astronomy · Open Guiding PHD2 Guiding · Astro Pixel Processor · Adobe Photoshop CS4 Photoshop CS4

Guiding Telescopes Or Lenses

Svbony 60mm guidescope

Guiding Cameras

ZWO ASI120MM

Acquisition details

Dates:

Feb. 11, 2022

Frames:

Blue: 30x120" (1h) bin 2x2

Green: 30x120" (1h) bin 2x2

Orion SkyGlow Imaging Filter: 63x120" (2h 6') -10C bin 2x2

Red: 30x120" (1h) bin 2x2

Integration:

5h 6'

Darks:

100

Bias:

100

Avg. Moon age:

9.97 days

Avg. Moon phase:

76.16%

Resolution: 4663x3517

Data source: Backyard

A heavy refinement of my old Lex Luthor power-armour, featuring improved shaping and extra meanness.

Here to crush Superman and steal all the cakes.

To live content with small means;

to seek elegance rather than luxury;

and refinement rather than fashion.

To be worthy, not respectable;

and wealthy, not rich;

to study hard, think quietly,

talk gently, act frankly.

This is to be my symphony.

{ William Henry Channing }

- - - - -

This is, for me, one of the most beautiful thoughts ever written.

Just sharing.

Thank you for all your comments, faves, visits! Heart is happy. =) XO

13 panel panorama stitch, updated with some local and color refinements - the bike bridge in Burlington Vermont and the early morning sky. Light pollution from Montreal to the right, and lights at a boathouse and a couple of houses to the left.

A big success by any standard both in and out of competition, the Lancia Stratos was developed as a homologation Special for European rallying. After production ceased it became a cult car and is now highly priced as the ‘modern classis' it is. Conceived strictly for rallying, the Lancia Stratos however makes an exciting road car, though it is very far from GT standards in both luxury and refinement.

The concept vehicle responsible for providing the inspiration for the Lancia Stratos Rally car is the Lancia (Bertone) Stratos. The Stratos featured a 1584 cc V4 DOHC with 115 bhp horsepower at 200 rpm. Designed by Marcello Gandini, the same designer responsible for the Lamborghini Countach and Lamborghini Miura, the Stratos concept was a development of the Bertone designed Alfa Romeo Carabo concept from 1968. The Carabo concept was also a Gandini creation.

First revealed at the Turin Motor Show in October of 1970, the Lancia Stratos HF prototype was a styling exercise for Bertone. A futuristic design, the Stratos featured a wedge shaped profile that stood just 33 inches from the ground. Since the vehicle was so low, conventional doors could not be used and instead one accessed the interior of the Stratos by a hinged windscreen. Drivers had to flip up the windscreen and walk into the vehicle. Once inside, visibility was quite restricted since the front windscreen was narrow. The cockpit of the Lancia Stratos was designed specifically for fast forest flying.

The body design was predictably minimal to hold down weight and bulk with its most distinctive features being semi-concealed A-pillars and a door beltline that sharply upswept to the top of the daylight opening. The shape of the resulting unbroken expanse of glass gave the tunnelback roof the appearance of a futuristic crash helmet.

The main body structure was steel, like the chassis, and weight-saving fiberglass was used for tilt-up nose and tail sections. A small box above and behind the powertrain was where cargo space was held. Bins were also molded into the interior door panels for storing helmets.

The same engine utilized on the Lancia 1600 HF Fulvia was used on the Bertone designed Lancia Stratos Zero prototype. A triangular shaped panel hinged upwards to allow access to the mid-mounted engine. Developed for rallying purposes, the legendary Lancia Stratos was unveiled in 1974. The production vehicle Stratos was powered by a 2.4 liter mid-mounted V6 from the Ferrari Dino.

Like no other Lancia before or after, the Lancia Stratos was a shock that left enthusiasts and rally fans breathless. For almost a decade the Stratos streaked across the rally landscape much like a brilliant comet, while discarding past principles, it also fearlessly represented something undeniably new. A phenomenal rally car, the Lancia Stratos set an example to every other car manufacturer in the world. The first viable purpose-built rally car ever built, the Stratos was probably the last purpose-built rally car.

Created by the Bertone coachbuilding company, the Stratos was both radical, yet fully functional. Fiorio realized that for Lancia to continue to compete in the World Rally Championship, the Fulvia HF would need a much more powerful replacement. A the time, four-wheel drive was not an option, so a mid-engined configuration seemed ideal. To reinforce Fiori's convictions, the Bertone show car was featured soon after with a mid-engine Fulvia V4.

The introduction of the Ford mid-engine purpose-built GT70 rally car at the 1971Brussels Motor Show was what truly inspired the impetus behind the Stratos proect. It was after this appearance that Lancia's general manager, Pierugo Gobbato contacted Nuccio Bertone. Though the GT70 was actually never put in production by Ford, it was this that sparked the inspiration of the Lancia Stratos.

As always, there was a minimum production requirement, 500 units for the Lancia Stratos. This was an awkward figure that would necessitate funds for at least semi-permanent tooling as well as design and development. This was a job well suited to the Italian industry. Fiorio masterminded the project, and he envisioned a short, wide coupe with transverse midships drivetrain. Bertone was immediately contracted to style the vehicle and built its unit body/chassis structure.

43 months passed in between the time of conception to the actual birth of the Lancia Stratos. The vehicle was developed to take over and make Lancia the outright world rally champ. The Stratos was both short and wide, with a wheelbase of only 7 feet 1.8 inches, the width of the vehicle was only 5 feet 8.9 inches. Weighing only 1958 lbs, the Stratos was only 3 feet 7.9 inches high. Able to easily exceed 140 mph, the Stratos featured 190 horsepower in roadgoing trim.

Having studied every possible powerteam in the Fiat/Lancia group, Fiorio secured 2.4 liter V-6s and 5-speed transaxles from Ferrari, which was an ideal chouse as they'd be installed exactly as the Dino 246. All-independent suspension, rack-and-pinion steering and four-wheel disc brakes were all specifically designed for the Lancia Stratos.

After 1978 the Stratos was officially retired and no longer was officially entered by the Lancia factory, the vehicle was still going strong. The Lancia team was headed by by Sandro Munari who won its first event as a homologated entry in October of 1974. Mun ari entered alone 40 events with the Lancia Stratos and won 14. The Stratos also won the World Rally Championship in 1974, 1975, and 1976 and remained competitive for another four years. The final major win came in 1979 when a Lancia Stratos entered by the Monaco importer won the famed Monte Carlo Rally. Finally the factory retired the Stratos.

By Jessica Donaldson

[Text from ConceptCarz.com]

www.conceptcarz.com/z21737/Lancia-Stratos-HF.aspx

This Lego miniland-scale Lancia Stratos Rally Racer has been created for Flickr LUGNuts' 100th Build Challenge - our Centenary, titled 'One Hundred Ways to Win!'. In this challenge, a list of 100 challenges is available, kept by the admins. Individuals wishing to enter, request a number from 1-100 (so long as it has not already been requested) - and the admins assign the individual build challenge associated with that number.

In the case of admins entering models - they request that a general LUGNuts member assigns a number - and the admin must build to that challenge number.

In this case, the number 78 was chosen for me, corresponding to the challenge: '78.Any vehicle from the year you were born'. I was born in 1972, the year that the first Stratos rally cars were built, entering in the Rally Championship as Group 5 (un-homologated) entries.

The road cars required to homologate for Group 4 were built through 1973 to 1978.

As can be seen in some of the images here, not only does the car open and close (a real challenge when you look at the chassis), but it also uses the Lego Group RC Rollerskate - so it can zoom around under its own power.

test run for the pattern i drafted today... based on the Skipper Town Togs Dress

but pink!

needs a few refinements yet but hope to have some in my Et*y soonish

A big success by any standard both in and out of competition, the Lancia Stratos was developed as a homologation Special for European rallying. After production ceased it became a cult car and is now highly priced as the ‘modern classis' it is. Conceived strictly for rallying, the Lancia Stratos however makes an exciting road car, though it is very far from GT standards in both luxury and refinement.

The concept vehicle responsible for providing the inspiration for the Lancia Stratos Rally car is the Lancia (Bertone) Stratos. The Stratos featured a 1584 cc V4 DOHC with 115 bhp horsepower at 200 rpm. Designed by Marcello Gandini, the same designer responsible for the Lamborghini Countach and Lamborghini Miura, the Stratos concept was a development of the Bertone designed Alfa Romeo Carabo concept from 1968. The Carabo concept was also a Gandini creation.

First revealed at the Turin Motor Show in October of 1970, the Lancia Stratos HF prototype was a styling exercise for Bertone. A futuristic design, the Stratos featured a wedge shaped profile that stood just 33 inches from the ground. Since the vehicle was so low, conventional doors could not be used and instead one accessed the interior of the Stratos by a hinged windscreen. Drivers had to flip up the windscreen and walk into the vehicle. Once inside, visibility was quite restricted since the front windscreen was narrow. The cockpit of the Lancia Stratos was designed specifically for fast forest flying.

The body design was predictably minimal to hold down weight and bulk with its most distinctive features being semi-concealed A-pillars and a door beltline that sharply upswept to the top of the daylight opening. The shape of the resulting unbroken expanse of glass gave the tunnelback roof the appearance of a futuristic crash helmet.

The main body structure was steel, like the chassis, and weight-saving fiberglass was used for tilt-up nose and tail sections. A small box above and behind the powertrain was where cargo space was held. Bins were also molded into the interior door panels for storing helmets.

The same engine utilized on the Lancia 1600 HF Fulvia was used on the Bertone designed Lancia Stratos Zero prototype. A triangular shaped panel hinged upwards to allow access to the mid-mounted engine. Developed for rallying purposes, the legendary Lancia Stratos was unveiled in 1974. The production vehicle Stratos was powered by a 2.4 liter mid-mounted V6 from the Ferrari Dino.

Like no other Lancia before or after, the Lancia Stratos was a shock that left enthusiasts and rally fans breathless. For almost a decade the Stratos streaked across the rally landscape much like a brilliant comet, while discarding past principles, it also fearlessly represented something undeniably new. A phenomenal rally car, the Lancia Stratos set an example to every other car manufacturer in the world. The first viable purpose-built rally car ever built, the Stratos was probably the last purpose-built rally car.

Created by the Bertone coachbuilding company, the Stratos was both radical, yet fully functional. Fiorio realized that for Lancia to continue to compete in the World Rally Championship, the Fulvia HF would need a much more powerful replacement. A the time, four-wheel drive was not an option, so a mid-engined configuration seemed ideal. To reinforce Fiori's convictions, the Bertone show car was featured soon after with a mid-engine Fulvia V4.

The introduction of the Ford mid-engine purpose-built GT70 rally car at the 1971Brussels Motor Show was what truly inspired the impetus behind the Stratos proect. It was after this appearance that Lancia's general manager, Pierugo Gobbato contacted Nuccio Bertone. Though the GT70 was actually never put in production by Ford, it was this that sparked the inspiration of the Lancia Stratos.

As always, there was a minimum production requirement, 500 units for the Lancia Stratos. This was an awkward figure that would necessitate funds for at least semi-permanent tooling as well as design and development. This was a job well suited to the Italian industry. Fiorio masterminded the project, and he envisioned a short, wide coupe with transverse midships drivetrain. Bertone was immediately contracted to style the vehicle and built its unit body/chassis structure.

43 months passed in between the time of conception to the actual birth of the Lancia Stratos. The vehicle was developed to take over and make Lancia the outright world rally champ. The Stratos was both short and wide, with a wheelbase of only 7 feet 1.8 inches, the width of the vehicle was only 5 feet 8.9 inches. Weighing only 1958 lbs, the Stratos was only 3 feet 7.9 inches high. Able to easily exceed 140 mph, the Stratos featured 190 horsepower in roadgoing trim.

Having studied every possible powerteam in the Fiat/Lancia group, Fiorio secured 2.4 liter V-6s and 5-speed transaxles from Ferrari, which was an ideal chouse as they'd be installed exactly as the Dino 246. All-independent suspension, rack-and-pinion steering and four-wheel disc brakes were all specifically designed for the Lancia Stratos.

After 1978 the Stratos was officially retired and no longer was officially entered by the Lancia factory, the vehicle was still going strong. The Lancia team was headed by by Sandro Munari who won its first event as a homologated entry in October of 1974. Mun ari entered alone 40 events with the Lancia Stratos and won 14. The Stratos also won the World Rally Championship in 1974, 1975, and 1976 and remained competitive for another four years. The final major win came in 1979 when a Lancia Stratos entered by the Monaco importer won the famed Monte Carlo Rally. Finally the factory retired the Stratos.

By Jessica Donaldson

[Text from ConceptCarz.com]

www.conceptcarz.com/z21737/Lancia-Stratos-HF.aspx

This Lego miniland-scale Lancia Stratos Rally Racer has been created for Flickr LUGNuts' 100th Build Challenge - our Centenary, titled 'One Hundred Ways to Win!'. In this challenge, a list of 100 challenges is available, kept by the admins. Individuals wishing to enter, request a number from 1-100 (so long as it has not already been requested) - and the admins assign the individual build challenge associated with that number.

In the case of admins entering models - they request that a general LUGNuts member assigns a number - and the admin must build to that challenge number.

In this case, the number 78 was chosen for me, corresponding to the challenge: '78.Any vehicle from the year you were born'. I was born in 1972, the year that the first Stratos rally cars were built, entering in the Rally Championship as Group 5 (un-homologated) entries.

The road cars required to homologate for Group 4 were built through 1973 to 1978.

As can be seen in some of the images here, not only does the car open and close (a real challenge when you look at the chassis), but it also uses the Lego Group RC Rollerskate - so it can zoom around under its own power.

Go back in time with this dress that nods to the 60s!

Jeanne Dress is style and refinement at the service of fashion :)

Slurl : maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Giacometti/188/100/508

Old factory building for sugar refinement. It was renovated, refurbished and is now used by artists and craftsmen. Gothenburg, Sweden.

On Ilford FP4Plus.

Chassis n° 15993

Zoute Sale - Bonhams

Estimated : € 240.000 - 300.000

Sold for € 241.500

Zoute Grand Prix 2021

Knokke - Zoute

België - Belgium

October 2021

"Each new Ferrari model brings some noteworthy advance over previous ones. The GTC/4's is mechanical refinement. Less mechanical thrash comes through from the engine room than in any previous Ferrari, and the controls are smoother and lighter than ever, making the car deliciously easy to drive well. And the lack of mechanical clatter does not deprive us of entertainment; there's just the right amount of purr from the four tailpipes, and when working hard in its upper rev range the engine sings the familiar and beautiful V12 song." - Road & Track.

A short-lived interim model that bridged the gap between production of the 365GT 2+2 and 365 GT4 2+2, the 365 GTC/4 was first shown at the Geneva Motor Show in 1971. A contemporary of the awe-inspiring Daytona, the 365 GTC/4 used a similar chassis and a wet-sump version of the former's 4,390 cc four-cam V12 in a slightly lower - 320bhp - state of tune, which was coupled to a conventional five-speed gearbox rather than the Daytona's transaxle. Cylinder heads revised to accommodate side-draught carburettors enabled stylist Pininfarina to achieve an elegant, low profile bonnet line. "In all, a graceful, clean and understated design with subtleties one discovers only by looking it over carefully. One might say this model is a Ferrari for the mature enthusiast," observed R&T.

Altogether more civilised and easy to drive than the heavy Daytona, the rapid 365 GTC/4 came with ZF power steering and servo-assisted brakes as standard, the option of air conditioning, and an especially luxurious interior featuring individual reclining front seats and occasional rear seats. In spite of the increasing emphasis on refinement, the 365 GTC/4 gave nothing away to its rivals in the performance stakes, racing through the standing quarter mile in under 16 seconds on its way to a top speed in excess of 150mph (241/km/h). By the time the model was withdrawn in October 1972, production had totalled only 500 units, making the 365 GTC/4 eminently collectible today.

According to the accompanying Massini Report copy, chassis '15993' was delivered new via the Florence-based Ferrari concessionaire, Nocentini Automobili SpA to its first owner, a resident of the Tuscan capital, Mr Giancarlo Bossi Pucci, with the Italian licence plates 'FI 638534'. The specified colour combination was Grigio Argento (silver grey) with black leather interior, the same as today.

The first owner did not keep the car for long and sold it on 9th February 1973 to SCA Genova Società Costruzioni Autostrada in Genova. They in turn sold the Ferrari in 1976 to its third owner, a Carlo Massa of Turin, who kept the car until 1991 when he sold it to a Mr Renna of Palermo, Sicily. Subsequently the Ferrari changed hands again, passing to the collection of Luigi Compiano of Treviso. As is well known, his collection was confiscated by the Italian Guardia di Finanza in 2013 and sold at auction in Milan in November 2016, where the current owner purchased the car for € 308,000.

Subsequently, the owner had the car serviced at the official Ferrari dealer Rosso Corsa in Milan, who also fitted new tyres and had the car Ferrari Classiche Certified. The invoice for the service including the certification amounted to no less than € 16,100 and is dated April 2017. A further € 1,932 was spent at a local specialist for cleaning and setting up the carburettors. Described by the vendor as in excellent condition throughout, this beautiful Ferrari is offered with its original leather pouch and owner's manual; Italian registration documents; and the aforementioned Massini Report, invoice copies, and Ferrari Classiche certification (confirming matching chassis, engine, and colours).

de aquí para allá...

RUBBERBANDance Group

rubberbandance.com

HISTORY RBDG

Company Overview

Victor Quijada, choreographer and performer, founded the RUBBERBANDance Group (RBDG) to make it a channel for expressing and disseminating its choreographic identity by creating, among others, evocative and unpublished plays. The company, co-directed by interpreter Anne Plamondon, is responsible for creating, producing and distributing Quijada's work nationally and internationally in the form of shows, films and special events.

With RBDG, Victor Quijada reconciles the aesthetics of the two poles of the dance that inhabit him: the spontaneity, the risk, the temerity and the audacity of his youth, while he was bathing in hip-hop culture and refinement and the choreographic maturity of ballet and contemporary dance, where he evolved as a professional dancer. The revolutionary character of the aesthetic movement created by Quijada is illustrated by a dozen years of research that have led to more than twelve creations. Impressed by the inherent independence of the street and a keen sense of direction, Quijada's choreographies explore human relationships by capturing the ardor of obsession, the brutality of violence, the delicacy of tenderness , comedy and tragedy, not forgetting sincerity and courage.

Carrying the sensibility of street dancers, Victor Quijada seeks ways to integrate the spontaneity of hip-hop circles into the stage. He has explored various forums, made spontaneous representations and knocked down barriers between performers and the public in innumerable ways. All this with the same objective: to get rid of the format of the usual representations so that the public experiences the dance actively, rather than passively.

In addition to their stage and film creations, Victor Quijada and Anne Plamondon have developed a training program to prepare professional dancers for the demands of Quijada's choreographies. This program introduces the dancers to a hybrid movement influenced by the vocabularies of urban and contemporary dances, with emphasis on interpretation, decision-making, the use of rhythmic variations and accompaniment. Workshops, lecture-demonstrations, question and answer sessions and school performances are also regularly offered as part of the tours.

RBDG also helps young choreographers who want to express their own voice. The Post Hip Hop Project, born in 2009 at the Cinquième Salle, invites young artists to work their creations under the mentorship of Victor Quijada and then present them to the public.

Company History

Founded in Montreal in 2002, the company immediately delighted the public and critics with three creations presented at Espace Tangente over two seasons. At the same time, the company participates in mixed programs and organizes parties throughout the city to present smaller pieces. Tender Loving Care and Hasta La Próxima share a place in the top five dance productions of the newspaper Le Devoir, while Elastic Perspective begins in 2003 a series of more than 100 performances after winning the RIDEAU Prize at Festival Vue on the Relève. The RUBBERBANDance Group then obtains a residence at Usine C for the 2003-2004 season. The play Slicing Static was created, and later named the best dance production in 2004 by the Hour newspaper.

In 2005, Anne Plamondon joined Quijada as artistic director to assist with strategic planning. A second residency at Usine C was granted to them in 2006, followed by a four-year residency at Place des Arts. During this period, four new pieces were created, thanks to the support of multiple partners: Loan Sharking and AV Input / Output in 2008, Punto Ciego in 2009 and Gravity of Center in 2011.

RBDG also co-produced five films choreographed by Victor Quijada. The choreographer goes so far as to realize two: Secret Service and Small Explosions That Are Yours to Keep. Hasta La Próxima, shot in 2003, is a finalist in the short film category at the American Choreography Awards.

Now well established, the company embodies Canadian artistic innovation in the United States, Europe, Mexico and Japan. RBDG is at the forefront of the Montreal contemporary dance community and is recognized internationally for its unique vision of this form of dance.

In terms of peer recognition, Quijada received the Choreography Fellowship from the Princess Grace Foundation (USA), the Peter Darrell Choreography Award (England), the Bonnie Bird North American Award (England), the Choreography Media Honors (US) in addition to a second PGF award with the 2016 Work in Progress Residency Award.