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www.fluidr.com/photos/25709079@N03
Copyright © S. F. Brown - All Rights Reserved
Never expected to be flickr MIA so long! Attempting to refocus now! Excuses, excuses, so many I could give you! ;-) Will be gliding slowly through your streams this week. Looking forward to catching up with all the beauty and creativity that I have missed!
Finding Calm Among the Trees
Sometimes, when the noise of the world becomes too much, the best thing I can do is step away from it all. This morning, Leica and I wandered a quiet trail close to home and stopped by a small pond, its glassy surface reflecting the soft colours of early autumn. In places like this, the weight of the daily news begins to fade. Among the trees, while Leica explores the undergrowth, I feel myself begin to unwind and refocus on the things that truly matter.
Langley, British Columbia, Canada
Fujifilm X-T3
Website: www.sollows.ca
Contact and links: www.linktr.ee/jsollows
Getting ahead in life is not always about doing a much a possible.
Sometimes getting ahead is about slowing down to breathe and refocus.
More photos from the roll michaelkowalczyk.eu/blog/photo-diary/north-america/canon-...
Winner of the reFocus Awards 2024 Category Analog Film, non-professional.
Canon AF35ML, Konica VX100, Mexico City, 2019
I took this photo in the Grand Canyon in August 2019. I was on a 226 mile, 8 day raft trip on the Colorado River. It was the second to last camp night and I had found a spot several hundred yards from the main camp site where the Milky Way was framed nearly perfectly by the walls of the Canyon. That photo was taken early in the night before core of the Milky Way set (I posted a couple versions of it earlier). Much later, in the wee hours, I returned to the same spot (I bravely left my tripod in place) to get pictures (which Ill try to share later) of the Canyon walls illuminated by the waning crescent moon, having risen 30 minutes past midnight. The sky was getting bright so I decided to head back to camp.
The scenery on the hike back to camp was overwhelming. It was the nature of the light. The sky was getting brighter by the minute, there was orange in the sky in the notch in the Canyon’s horizon, probably enhanced by light smoke from a wildfire on the north rim. The Canyon walls were glowing. I kept hiking. The light kept getting better. I couldn’t stand it any longer. I told myself I have to try a photo because I’ll never be here in this location in this light ever again. I’ll regret it for the rest of my life if I don’t try to capture this feeling.
But I could no longer see the river. So, I turned around and headed for a spot where I could get the River in the shot. I had decided much earlier in the expedition that any photo without the River was only partially telling the real story. My pace quickened. I was now thinking I might miss the shot altogether. The story of Ansel Adams’ Moonrise over Hernandez rushed through my head. I finally got to the spot I wanted. I set up the tripod, did a composition and took a test shot. I didn’t have the moon in the shot. Moved back up the river. Another test shot. Moon just above the Canyon wall - good. Live view focus on near field rocks. Still very low light so try shooting wide open. Better. Check depth of field. Reasonable compromise. Shoot a 5 shot exposure bracket. Didn’t get it - moon saturated. 7 shot bracket and separate moon exposure single exposure. Close. Made some minor composition changes. Another bracket. Refocus. Another. The magic on the Canyon walls was almost gone. Did what I could. Headed back to camp. So that’s the story behind this photo. _RQZ0552_canyon_sunrise_with_moon_RQFugate
Best position, Explore, 28/03/2020 (#244)
"it's time to stop
it's time to look out for each other in the distance
time to stare humanity in the eyes
to take a break, for the world
it's time to stop
time to make a pause so we can play again
to think of everyone and meet no one
to reset, recenter
switch off to move on
time to change our little world
to calibrate the path of mankind
it's time to stop
we are meant to connect and we are stronger together
but separated, we are today more united than ever
and for now, our main strength is to be apart
it's time to stop
nature, landscapes, beaches and monuments aren't going anywhere
they will still be there waiting for a better time to be lived
and we must do the same for a while
it's time to stop
the perfect time not to visit anything
sometimes, to rise is to stand still
it's time to stop
stop and think of ourselves
think of everyone else too
it's time to stop
and refocus as a whole
for all
it's time to understand and respect our times
respect one another
the faster we stop, the sooner we will bond again
it's time to dream of those amazing days to come
for when those days arrive, we will say again ... "
#CantSkipHope
Copywriter: João Moura
66501 Spirit of '65 Celebrating 60 years of Freightliner passes through the Werrington Diveunder and climbs to Glinton Jn., working 4E56 15.28 Felixstowe North - Leeds FLT. [Pole, 4/6 sections (~5.4m)]
After photographing the orange 20s at Ramsey Road, Whittlesey, on their second trip from Harwich to Worksop (see this picture), most of the photographers said their farewells and set off for home (well, it was dinner time, after all!), but I paused briefly to talk to another lad stood beside the crossing (rather than down the path), and someone else didn't rush off. He received a message that 66501 was at Ely and on its way towards us... The sun angle at Ramsey Road would have been too frontal by the time it arrived, but 4E56 is the perfect train to photograph going under the Werrington Diveunder during the few weeks either side of the summer solstice - and there was plenty of time to get here.
Most of the photographers who had been here for the 20s had already departed, but a couple of them remained, having been deep in conversation but now about to go. When I told them 66501 was in its way, they stayed a bit longer.
After I took this shot, I wasn't very happy with it. First, although I'd previously used a 50mm lens (equivalent to 75mm on full frame digital or 35mm film), almost at the last minute I decided to try a wider lens - and then didn't really like the image when the train was in the optimum position. This is therefore a slightly earlier frame cropped on the left. But when I downloaded the image I also found that it wasn't completely sharp... I don't know whether I'd forgotten to refocus when I'd changed lenses, or whether I'd not quite focused on the correct thing (there's a big fence in the way when stood at ground level, so you can't see the scene), or whether the focusing ring had slipped very slightly when raising and lowering the camera on the pole. Thankfully, application of the "Auto Sharpen" function in Photoshop twice has repaired the damage without adding a noticeable amount of noise (except in the sky, where I removed it very easily).
So I wanted to repeat the shot... but the following day (when I came here for the 20s as they were slightly later) 66501 was on an exam at Midland Road in Leeds and 4E56 was worked by green 66531. The day after that, 66501 worked from Leeds to Felixstowe fairly early in the morning, and I wondered if it might come back on 4E56 - and it did! I killed time after work (seeking out new locations north of Peterborough for shots of 91s, and then doing 91101 at Creeton - a location I'd done, but not with a 91 in full sun with the sun completely on the front) and then came here (joining another photographer who'd been here the previous two evenings) - only to find 4E56 was let out of Peterborough station on the Down Fast rather than the Down Stamford, and it crossed over using the ladder at Werrington Jn. and ran via the old route rather than the diveunder: there was no shot. Apparently, the diveunder was out of use, at least for northbound trains, and it continued to be out of use the following day. So the next day I thought I'd have another go at photographing 4E56, despite a much poorer weather forecast, but played safe and went to Barway (between Soham and Ely). The train came in fairly good light, but hauled by green 66518.
So this is the best shot I've got (so far) of 66501, the first 66 built for Freightliner, and which carries a special version of the latest orange livery to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the introduction of container trains by British Rail.
Visit Brian Carter's Non-Transport Pics to see my photos of landscapes, buildings, bridges, sunsets, rainbows and more.
"What sort of rose is this?" a horticulturalist may ask.
Well, it is inspired by Pep Ventosa. Born near Barcelona in 1957, Ventosa now lives and works in the Bay Area of San Francisco. He developed a unique style of multiple exposures in post-processing which you can see on his web site: www.pepventosa.com/
One of the features he uses in shooting is to photograph a subject in-the-round, by taking a series of photos the full 360 degrees around it. Now this is a much simpler version of the process (my picture only uses seven shots around the full 360 degrees). But I'm happy with the result that looks like cotton candy (fairy floss we call it in Australia).
refocus-awards.com/artists/pep-ventosa
[No AI is used in producing any of my photographs.]
These are crazy times indeed. The Coronavirus pandemic has gripped the entire globe. With so much anxiety, fear, chaos & confusion all around the world, I have been glued to my screens, radio & podcasts trying to take in as much information as possible. I have discovered this is how I deal with my own anxiety & fears, I seek out as much information as I possibly can to try & understand the issue driving my fear.
But this is different. This is overwhelming. The more I read & process, the more anxious I feel. Consuming so much information my head is spinning & my heart racing.
So I've decided I need a circuit breaker. I need to refocus on what I love & take time out.
I will be making time for my bird images again. I will switch off for a while each day and process some of my favourites. And maybe by relieving some of my own anxieties, perhaps this simple gesture can also give others a small break from the realities of this new ever-changing world we are all living in right now. Stay safe everyone.
...
Pink Cockatoo (male)
Lophochroa leadbeateri
Vulnerable in Victoria
October 10th, 2017
Wyperfeld National Park, Big Desert, Victoria, Australia
Canon EOS 1D X
Canon EF 600mm f4L IS II USM lens
Canon EF 1.4x III Extender
My favourite image from my Spring 2017 Mallee adventure with good friend James White - a magnificent male Pink Cockatoo putting on an amazing show to woo the ladies!
Just after sunset, this male flew into his hollow & performed an all-singing, all-dancing routine for two nearby females. It was an incredible experience to witness & an absolute thrill to capture some images of his performance!
Over the course of five days, James & I explored Northern Wyperfeld where we came across six active Pink Cockatoo hollows. Unfortunately, due to the types of hollows they select for nesting, many Pink Cockatoos fail to raise their young to fledge as they are heavily predated by feral cats & foxes, which climb the trunks of the trees & take the chicks. Hopefully as many as possible Pink Cockatoo have a successful breeding season so we continue to have the opportunity to experience these beautiful birds in the Victorian Mallee region.
I absolutely love visiting the Mallee region, & this image will always remind me of a brilliant trip away & act as a draw card to take me back!
I thought I would take a low angle shot to see if I could give the row of 42 cottages a better profile. But there was no light and it all looked pretty dull. And then I realised we were being watched. He only stayed there for a moment more before he moved on. No time even to refocus, let alone grab a longer lens. Can you see the spy?
When our group of 8 photographers were led to the Seal Rock State Recreation Area on the Oregon coast, I was the last one to change into fishing waders, climb down the steep moist dirt path from the wooden railing you see in the top left hand corner. There were several sea stacks of different heights and shapes on this beach. I could see a lot of sea birds perched on the sea stacks along with perhaps seals, sea lions, and other marine life whose vocalizations we could hear.
Marc Adamus had forecast a blazing sunset for this evening. Once we were on the beach, everyone got down to shooting whatever wave action pictures we had practiced the previous evening in really poor conditions and the sky completely white with the marine layer anchored in place.
At this time, I had still not decided to clamber up the rock Marc said we need to be on to capture some of the most dramatic, powerful, dynamic and violent releases of energy that takes place when the Pacific Ocean waves crash into the rocks on shore. The reason for my diffidence was because I had previously read about people losing their camera gear to the ocean when hit by rogue waves. At last count, Marc’s clients had lost 7 cameras. I did not want to be the 8th.
When I saw a gentleman in our group who is perhaps in his mid 70s climb up the rock first, I felt a tinge of shame and a spark of courage to follow suit. Once up there, this gentleman whose interpersonal skills would sometimes make a Texan exclaim “Bless your heart!”, took some shots and climbed down.
I found a little sheltered cranny in the rock that I hoped would protect me and my gear should a rogue wave hit. Meanwhile Marc kept running up and down the rock helping whoever wanted to climb up and take some pictures. The best spot was apparently a little to my right but I was not prepared to risk a direct hit. It was however the same spot Chris Moore later settled in.
Once I got situated, I stayed put on the rock for a full 90 minutes shooting 362 pictures. I used no filters except a UV filter which I use on all my lenses for protection. Given the exploding waves and ocean spray there was a lot of wipe the lens, refocus, shoot and repeat that took place. Initially the clouds broke up and we saw blue skies for the first time since we arrived in Oregon. Then the clouds started moving inland. The light gradually started to show signs of what Marc had predicted. I captured hundreds of waves crashing into the rocks and some were as high as the Sea Stacks and in front of me. The only Sea Sack that did not get covered fully was the tallest one. Perhaps that explains why the sea birds felt comfortable there.
For most of the time the main brooding and tall sea stack was in the dark. As the Sun started to go down below the clouds and closer to the horizon, Chris Moore who was shooting on my right said softly “there is our Money Shot”. Meaning the warm light from the setting Sun, coming in at a horizontal angle was going to spotlight the dark and imposing sea stack. And the next moment, it happened.
This is what the experts do, They chase light and the only the perfect version of it. I climbed down the rock knowing I had experienced something special and learned a great deal in those 90 minutes rubbing shoulders with two of the best artists.
Tidbit: What is a sea stack?
If waves erode a cliff from two sides, the erosion produced can form an open area in the cliff called an arch. If the material above the arch eventually erodes away, a piece of tall rock can remain in the water, which is called a sea stack.
Hitchhiker. Unfortunately I was initially focused on composition. Once I realised he had a hitchhiker on his wing it was too late to refocus, the moment was gone.
The beautiful town of Malcesine at the Garda lake in Italy 😍
When I started editing drone photos about a year ago, it felt totally frustrating: lots of noise due to a small sensor, weird color shifts, misaligned shots due to drone movement and so on. With time I found more and more tricks to work around these limitations and now I finally can say that editing drone photos is fun again 😀.
Here just a few tips, which might help you to improve your drone photography:
- Always bracket your shots or do a 5-shot burst: you can use the shots for noise stacking and/or for exposure blending, both will greatly improve image quality
- Shoot the same scene at least twice and refocus inbetween: if your first attempt wasn't properly focused or it got blurred because the drone moved too much and you didn't notice it on the screen, the second attempt will come to your rescue
- Become a Photoshop cloning expert: you will have to manually fix artifacts due to misaligned shots 😀
While walking around the Tennessee State Museum, I spotted these lockers and photographed them with the hope of creating an appealing "abstract" based on an unusual perspective/POV.
No, it's not the revolutionary light field camera by Lytro, also called "shoot now - focus later" :) Until the company starts selling them, we have to settle for multiple exposures at different focal settings. I just tried to blend them - in different proportion (sharp v/s blurred layer).. Totally different images emerged, and the possibilities are endless...
Press 'L' to see larger on black
This is my first try at luminosity masking multiple exposures from different times. Captures started at about 4am and finished at 6am. I took about 500 photos for this but in the end only used three. I learnt a lesson here that you should not refocus during the captures as now the images didn't line up. I tried to reposition them but didn't have much success. In the end I just left them as they are. Overall I'm happy with the result even not know exactly what I am doing with luminosity masks.
I figured I would try and post something a little different.
Last month I saw a presentation from an inspiring photographer, Don Komarechka. Don is an amazing macro, nature and landscape photographer. Many of you may have seen his jaw dropping snowflake photography that has made him a big name in the photo community.
At the presentation, he mentioned that he was trying his hand at 3D or stereo photography and he presented some amazing examples, both his own and a few that were 100 years old.
So, I figured I would try it here. How to see a photo in 3D? If you look dead centre of the image and UNFOCUS, then REFOCUS your eyes, you should see a third image in the middle. The middle image should appear in 3D. Best if viewed in full. Press L
Now, he also mentioned that not everyone can see stereo photographyLet me know if it worked for you.
Annoyingly the lens decided to refocus as the train got to me so not as sharp as it should be.
LMS Jubilee 5XP Class 4-6-0 45596 'Bahamas' and LMS Jubilee Class 4-6-0 45690 'Leander' head through Leominster working Day 6 of the Great Britain XIV railtour, 1Z41 1235 Chester to Cardiff Central
Take time to reflect on your life and your choices. Make the necessary adjustments you need to live your truth. xoxo
Nikon AF 80-200 F/2.8 lens. North hemisphere, west coast of continental U.S. (Take a photo of a large swathe of the Northwest night sky at dusk at 6400 iso focused to infinity. Visually scan the image on the LCD to pinpoint the comet. Once located, zoom in, refocus to infinity to compose your comet capture.)
Rolleiflex 3.5e
Schneider Kreuznach Xenotar 75mm f3.5
Fomapan100
9 minutes 30 in Rodinal 50:1 at 20 degrees
Toronto is lagging behind other cities when it comes to the return of workers downtown. Will things ever get back to normal?
Chris Fox, CP24.com Managing Digital Producer
A new study suggests that downtown Toronto’s economic recovery is lagging behind other urban centres and one of its authors says that it has now become clear that “we are not going back to normal.”
The study, called “Death of Downtown?” used data from cell phone towers to track the return of people to the core in 62 urban centres.
It found that the level of cell activity measured in downtown Toronto between March and May of this year was only at about 46 per cent of the pre-pandemic norm.
Karen Chapple, who is the director of the School of Cities at the University of Toronto and one of the co-authors of the study, told CP24.com this week that Toronto’s recovery has been slower, in part due to lockdowns that were deeper and longer-lasting than in many other cities.
But she said that there are also “structural” issues with Toronto’s economy that make the full return of office workers to the core going forward less likely, mainly the prevalence of technology and financial services jobs that lend themselves to remote or hybrid work.
“This is a collective action problem and Toronto seems to have been very passive, waiting for individual actors to make it all better and it's not (going to get better),” she said. “It's going to take a real concerted effort of the public and private sectors together to figure out what are the spaces that are likely to continue to be dead in the future? What are those specific blocks? How can we liven up those blocks? How can we get new tenants there? How can we make both the private space work, the commercial space work but also the public space work? That's a problem we have together, so it is something that we should be solving together.”
The data suggest that cell phone pings in downtown Toronto dropped to as low as 28 per cent of the pre-pandemic norm, both at the outset of the pandemic in 2020 and during a devastating third wave in the spring of 2021.
In recent weeks there has been a sustained rise in activity downtown, but the data is beginning to show signs of a levelling off and Chapple said that she doesn’t foresee a scenario where the vast majority of office workers return downtown five days a week.
Not this fall, not ever.
“We're not going back to normal,” she warned. “The question people are debating right now is will it be going to 40 per cent or 60 per cent? Will people be going back for two days a week or three days a week? That hasn’t really been settled. But if you're going to have, you know, half of the downtown economy on a hybrid work schedule, then you really have to think about how you're going to reuse that space.”
Meanwhile, the latest data from the Strategic Regional Research Alliance suggests that overall occupancy in downtown Toronto workplaces is still only at 27 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, virtually unchanged from last month.
The slow pace of the recovery isn’t a surprise to Marcy Burchfield, who has been tracking it as part of her work with the Toronto Region Board of Trade’s Economic Blueprint Institute.
The city has taken an active role in encouraging the return of workers downtown and was among the first major employers to require its employees to return to the office, at least part time.
Canadian cities have lagged behind when compared to the U.S
The return of workers to downtown Toronto has been particularly slow when compared to several large American cities, including New York, where cell phone pings are now at about 76 per cent of their pre-pandemic norm.
Toronto’s experience, however, is not entirely unique among Canadian cities, with both Vancouver (55th) and Montreal (57th) among the cities the study identified as having a slower recovery.
Chapple said that she speaks to a lot of stakeholders and business organizations and gets the impression that they are “waiting for the employers to crack down on folks.”
But she said that may be the wrong attitude amid what appears to be a significant shift around the very nature of work in many industries.
“Cities like San Francisco and Toronto are just going to have to rethink what their downtown should look like and refocus on arts and entertainment, even non-profits and health sector and education sector. These are the future of downtowns once you have professional services kind of clearing out,” she said.
Source: www.cp24.com/news/toronto-is-lagging-behind-other-cities-...
Old bit of circuit board courtesy the workshop floor... Orb courtesy me... Insperation courtesy { tcb }.
In trying to do this refocus, change focal lens shit I realise just how talented { tcb } is. I haven't even made an attempt at trying to get things in the right place. Crap location too as I was trying it out in the drive while the family sleep!!
No editing apart from the crop (to remove the drive!) and RAW conversation.
* World Annual Photo 2025, ReFocus Awards, Nominee Portrait
* Cinematography and Photography Awards Winter 2024, Portrait Winner
What could be more Aussie than a platypus in a gum tree?
I was actually taking 3D images of this pond and surrounds which lie in the Tasmanian Arboretum near Devonport, when I was suddenly surprised by this lively little platypus! Not having anything with me resembling a zoom lens, I was stuck with the camera at hand which was the big 3D World medium format stereo film camera and its fixed 80mm lenses. So, it was a quick re-aim of the tripod mounted camera, a very quick manual refocus, and hope for the best. When a platypus pops to the surface, they usually don't hang around for long.
Any day with a platypus sighting is a good day!
Original colour slide was taken between 2007 and 2009 with a 3D World medium format stereo film camera using Fuji Provia 100F colour slide film. Scanned with a Canon R10 with RF24-240mm lens and Nisi close up attachment.
Hide your feelings. Refocus your creative energies. Weather the storms within and without. Appear serene to the casual spectator. Do not let anyone notice the fire burning in your heart.
A new hermeneutical interpretation of "Thou shalt not want"
Stop and Refocus on The Present
It doesn't matter how much we practice principles that help us achieve in life, we always stumble. Everyone does. The best way to deal with it is to accept your error or lapse. Then refocus and move on.
So remember to stop and refocus on the present. It takes practice but the rewards are astounding.
Bright light is a huge help when photographing freezing soap bubbles, especially at more extreme magnifications like this. I have some excellent equipment for this, but the beams of most flashlights spread out too wide too quickly. The solution? A Fresnel lens. view large!
A Fresnel lens is better known as a “magnifying sheet” or a “pocket magnifier”. They sell them at local hardware stores for a few dollars, and similar prices can be found online. This allows me to refocus the beam of light to exactly where I want it to be, and hopefully I can get a soap bubble to form in that exact spot as well.
A cheap plastic Fresnel lens is not optically perfect, and there is some odd light bending happening that splits some of the white light into colours. These colours are more pronounced near the center of the flashlight’s beam, which is darker than the surrounding area based on the way the light is being focused. For those curious, the flashlight is a Tiny Monster TM36 with puts out 1800 lumens through a single LED: www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1059974-REG/nitecore_tm36_...
This image was taken at around 2:1 magnification, focusing on the growth of the frost rather than the outer shape of the bubble. There are a lot of elements at play here, and timing is everything. Finding the right angle is critical with zero time to waste, so like my snowflake work I handhold the camera for these images. A tripod is used – but only to hold the flashlight in the right position. :)
We haven’t had many days with the right conditions for this kind of work, but we might have one coming up soon. Temps are best between -10C and -20C with as little wind as possible. We’ve had three opportunities this year in my area, and the last chances are likely within the next week.
I know I’ve posted it before, but for this curious what bubble recipe I use, here it is:
6 parts water
2 parts liquid dish soap
1 part white corn syrup
The corn syrup thickens the bubble mixture and usually falls to the bottom of the bubble, taking the brunt of the impact with the snow it rests on. This prevents the bubble from popping immediately and the frost begins to grow.
I do a lot of winter macro work. For more of my snowflake work, check out skycrystals.ca/ - many of the shooting techniques are the same for snowflakes and freezing soap bubbles!
"Long ago, a dark wizard of incredible power breached the veil between worlds to retrieve a single crystal of pure ice from a parallel universe. Under the physical conditions of our world, it heated rather than cooled and lacked the means of melting that had been present in its own environment. The wizard intended to amplify this infinite power source and use it to power a doomsday machine he had constructed, but fortunately was cast down before his plans could reach fruition. Our ancestors could not devise a means of destroying the crystal without releasing a devastatingly vast amount of energy, and thus hid it in the remotest corner of the world..."
The young sorceress recalled her magic history tutor's words of so long ago in a quick flash as she surveyed the scene that confronted her. After months of travel, here she was viewing the legendary ice shard...and the yeti-wyrm its warmth had attracted.
The wyrm eyed her, rancor mixed with curiosity in its eyes. She moved a little closer and the rancor edged out the curiosity. It curled its powerful body tighter around the pool of melted ice the crystal's plinth was suspended over, disrupting the mounds of snow that had previously covered its muscular coils. The intruder regretted noticing the various skeletal remains that were unearthed during this action. She dealt with bones regularly for her own purposes, but at this moment they were a sordid distraction and birthed nagging fears that suggested she might soon join them in their icy slumbers.
Reasserting her own competence to herself, she channeled power into her staff, preparing it for a variety of offensive spells to take on the formidable creature and its icy breath.
"You're the last living thing that will ever stand against me!" she yelled at the wyrm, not, of course, because it could understand and be intimidated, but because she wanted to refocus on her plans of world domination. Such motivation had empowered her against similar dangers in past, and she hoped it would again, but doubt still remained. Would her extensive knowledge of the arcane arts and fabulous clip-on pony tail be enough to propel her to triumph where myriad others had perished?
______________________
Where do I even start?
For this is no ordinary build!
It's...some kind of elaborate metaphor mixed with an inside joke that's also supposed to serve as a visual apology for secret wrongdoings on my part?!
I'm back after a much needed artistic reset. Sometimes it's good to step away for a while and refocus.
It's our spot. Right in the corner, next to the kitchen sink. It's where we come together to talk about our day, and refocus, and let go of distractions. It's where we wrap each other up, and where I get to squeeze her sexy buns. We might end up anywhere, doing whatever...but we usually start right here, with kitchen kisses.
*Reposted with permission from Morgan Monroe.
Project 365 Week 15 Day 108 - Wildcard Day
Like the lyrics in the song by Panic at the Disco sometimes we need to get a new perspective. We become so busy that we get jaded and no longer pay attention to the things around us and the beauty in them. This bare tree is outside my office and I had forgotten how beautiful it can be. Sometimes to gain a new perspective all we need to do is refocus and look at things in a different way.
"sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths."
~ etty hillesum
Entry #345 CT-7707 ⁛ “Number 7”
//After Order 66 the hallways were always quiet, with the fall of the republic many of us clones lost our spark and spiraled. When the Empire started phasing out clones I knew it was the beginning of the end for us. One day you could be talking to one of your close friends, brothers, people with whom we had spent our entire lives with. Then the next day they would be gone without a trace…//
Entry #346 TK-7707 ⁛
//Patrolling the streets is not the most fun job in the Empire but I sure prefer it over hunting Jedi. As I was one of the most trusted and skilled clones in the republic I was chosen to help lead the hunt. The inquisitor and I were following up on a reported sighting of Jedi Xam su on Daiyu. Walking down the streets of Daiyu was a good distraction from the grim task at hand. I try to scatter my thoughts and think about going to the bar to drink away my sorrow. When I refocus my thoughts I am in a rundown alleyway on the outskirts of the city when we see a figure standing under a streetlight almost as if he was waiting for us.//
TK-7707: Permission to go in for the kill
Inquisitor: No, stand down. I will handle this by myself
Inquisitor: (to Jedi) I thought you died in When the ship went down
Xam su: (to inquisitor) I guess you thought wrong
Inquisitor: Why didn’t you come back for me, do you know what they did to anyone who survived? They had us torchured until there was nothing inside, only the strongest survived, the rest were killed in front of our face! Where were you when I needed you most
Xam su: I,..I
Inquisitor: That's right you….
//That's when the conversation slowly faded away, all could make out was a faint voice in the back of my head repeating “good soldiers follow orders”//
Pew
Name: Xam su
Chain Code: N/A
Status: Dead
TOD: 21:49 GST
Cause: [Redacted]
—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is my application for Dark Times, enjoy!
If the eyes are black, that means it's looking at you.
These spiders are so fun to photograph, surprisingly cooperative on an open plane, unlike many spiders who seem to dislike being out in the open and dart as fast as they can for the edge of my flat empty photo surfaces when I release them there. This one behaved as most of these have when I put them here, being very curious and rotating around in place to check out its surroundings. This makes it a perfect subject for getting many angles of, since I don't have to chase it around while trying to refocus and refocus.
This one was released back outside after our photoshoot, though with the temperatures dropping I was very tempted to put it on a houseplant inside. But I figured if it was outside in the first place, it has ways of dealing with winter.
Further commentary about the current spider population in and around my house is in the first comment below, for those of you who are entertained by that continuing saga.
You can see all my posted photos of these here.
20 Arachtober 2015
Magnolia Green Jumper, Lyssomanes viridis, juvenile
My backyard, Alexandria, VA
morning of house cleaning culminated in chopping down weeds down the drive way, exhausting, hot, so when all this done sitting down on the deck with wine, music and camera at the ready is as much as I can handle, a few shots taken from my post none any good, so Charlie who is hanging around handy for a shot gets to star in today's PaD, what the shot tells me , apart from "Charlie is a handsome fella" is that we really need to wash him :-(
as far as big existential stuff is concerned, as of this morning I decided to no longer care about following the Donald thing. Until now I was griped, mesmerized, submerged , drowned in following every turn of the Donald thing, this is in spite (or maybe because of ?) the fact that from day one I had no questions as to who/what donald is, still what made it compelling to watch was how people react to when they are lied to with straight face, why otherwise seemingly sane people refuse to choose right vs. wrong, why nobody of any notable standing from entourage stood up publicly against ongoing grift (outside of impeachment bunch) ...
I decided after a short deliberation that I have no questions, mystery or suspense left. By by donald , carry on presidenting to your hearts content , and entourage carry on entouraging etc. I'll refocus on reviving my Spanish, that should be fun ...
E' incredibile ma vero. Avevo acquistato lo Schmidt-Cassegrain Celestron C8 (203mm f/10) nel 2000 e non lo avevo mai provato per la fotografia Deep-Sky. Neanche dopo aver acquistato il suo riduttore-correttore 0.63x, perchè non solo il suo campo corretto è più piccolo del formato APS-C ma ero anche convinto che la mia HEQ5-pro non fosse in grado di gestirne adeguatamente il peso e la guida. La ASI533MC-P, con il suo sensore da 1" (11.31x11.31mm) mi ha spinto a provare.
Ho iniziato con un target luminoso e quale migliore occasione che ripuntare la nebulosa M16?
Il controllo con la HEQ5 è al limite e alcune volte le oscillazioni per le folate di vento creano problemi. L'autoguida fa quello che può e la turbolenza spesso non mi ha aiutato.Forse un'ottica adattiva potrebbe fare miracoli, ma sono comunque rimasto piacevolmente sorpreso da questo primo rsultato ottenuto. Comunque c'è da dire che è stato un grande vantaggio per me avere sul tetto di casa "l'ossservatorio", che mi ha semplificato molto il processo di acquisizione, composto da 4 sessioni fotografiche.
I Pilastri della Creazione, la Guglia stellare, le nebulose oscure che si stagliano nel vasto tappeto di emissione Ha e i contorni delle nubi di idrogeno: questo spettacolo visto con una focale di 1260mm è stato veramente appagante.
Per i dettagli sulla Nebulosa Aquila vi rimando all'immagine flic.kr/p/2reF7PA
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It's incredible but true. I purchased the Celestron C8 Schmidt-Cassegrain (203mm f/10) in 2000 and had never tried it for deep-sky photography. Not even after purchasing its 0.63x reducer-corrector, because not only is its corrected field smaller than that of an APS-C format, but I was also convinced that my HEQ5-pro wouldn't be able to adequately handle its weight and guiding. The ASI533MC-P, with its 1" sensor (11.31x11.31mm), encouraged me to try.
I started with a bright target, and what better opportunity than to refocus on the M16 nebula?
Control with the HEQ5 is at its limits, and sometimes the oscillations caused by gusts of wind create problems. The autoguider does what it can, and the turbulence often didn't help. Perhaps adaptive optics could work miracles, but I was still pleasantly surprised by this first result. However, it must be said that it was a great advantage for me to have "the observatory" on the roof of my house, which greatly simplified the acquisition process, which consisted of 4 photographic sessions.
The Pillars of Creation, the Stellar Spire, the dark nebulae that stand out in the vast carpet of Ha emission and the outlines of hydrogen clouds: this spectacle seen with a focal length of 1260mm was truly rewarding.
For details on the Eagle Nebula, I refer you to the image flic.kr/p/2reF7PA
Google translation
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Optic: Celestron SC C8 203mm f/10+ Celestron riducer-corrector 0.63X
Camera: ZWO ASI533MC-Pro
Mount: Sky Watcher HEQ5-Pro
Seeing: 4 (scala Antoniadi)
Filter: Narrowband Optolong L-eNhance 2" + SVbony UV-IR cut
-153x180s 250gain/ 25 dark /23 flat / 23 darkflat /80 bias
t° sensor: -5°C
Date: 12-13-14-15/07/2025
Integration: 7h 39m
Temperature: 25°C (media)
location for : Biancavilla -Catania-(Italy) 515m slm (Bortle 5-6)
Acquisition: NINA, PHDGuiding
Processing: DSS, SIRIL, PS, GraXpert