[20:14] Damienn Kiranov was walking on the bridge, seemingly trying to keep a low profile, he stops when he sees Laurick pointing a gun at him. "Heh... guess it was only a matter of time... So how's this gonna go?"

[20:14] Laurick Scarbridge cocked the rifle that he had in his hands, the underside of the barrel being pumped. He leaned forward with a perpetual smile on his lips, aiming down the agog scope as he spoke in a jovial tone, "Well, I was right it seems. By the way, might I ask what you're doing heading into the swamps? Also, a gun? It means stop. That it does. Kwa hoo hoo hoo! Now, why don't you be a nice little android and stay still," the red head said, and tapped at his com, "This is Doctor Scarbridge requesting backup at the big bridge."

[20:21] Damienn Kiranov pulls his chainsword out with his right hand, then brings an SMG into his left. "Oh no... not that simple. I'm not going back. In fact, I kinda expected this. Why I made this nasty little number a little while ago. Seen some crazy android on TV. Thought it would be fun..." he wastes no time to rev his sword and quickly aims his gun at Laurick. "You see... there's one thing you forgot... I'm more durable. You may hit me a few times, but I guarantee, before I go down, either you, or one of your friends goes with me."

[20:21] Ciro Bianchi (Rein) had oocly taken his sweet ass time, amazed at hte lack of lag actualy. BUT Icly he had run, and seeing DK, recognizing hte man as teh one the Doctor wanted to confront, he droped to his knees at the side of the bridge, rifle snapping up to aim at hte mans back in such a way as to ensure any shots that missed, would not fly at Laurick.

[20:24] Laurick Scarbridge tilts his head from one side to the next as he looks at Kiranov rather curiously. He lowered his weapon only slightly as he watched the android rev up the chainsword. The red head blinked momentarily, and then started laughing, "Kwa hoo hoo hoo! Now that is fantastic! This will be most fun, don't you think? Oh my. Oh my, indeed. Well. Even if we go, we go in the name of science! But, you're a failed experiment. Therefore, you cannot win. Eventually we will win, because you are flawed in a way you likely don't understand, but unfortunate for you.. I understand your flaw," he said, raising the rifle up once more, having already cocked the grenade launcher, he almost immediately fired on DK without warning or hestiation after his wordiness.

[20:27] Damienn Kiranov had banked on the grenade being too close to fully activate, so he immediate made a jump toward Laurick. He batted the grenade away with his left gauntlet, sending it off the bridge, as he closed the distance, he would take a swing with his chainsword at Laurick.

[20:29] Ciro Bianchi (Rein) ran through options quickly. With Laurick right htere, grenades were NOT an option, as the waters below were unsafe. He was packing AP rounds, whatever size the HK 416 fired.. so he did hte best he could. Aiming from his crouched position, he pulled the trigger down and held, the automatic rifle spitting a stream of bullets for DKs back. Against an unmoving surface, you could imagine a drilling effect... and had done this to a few humans in his time too. Very messy.

[20:34] Damienn Kiranov took a few rounds in his back. At first, they caused some synthblood to shoot out, but for a very brief time, confirming that he indeed was not human, and much tougher than one. He made a quick assessment, then took another swing at Laurick with his sword, though, the intent was more as a feint, so that he could execute a spin, and put himself to where he would be facing both his opponents.

[20:37] Laurick Scarbridge would have found the first swipe ineluctable had Ciro not fired off his rifle when he'd chosen to. As it was, Laurick was able to use his rifle to move down and take the brunt of the chainsword's cut. Of course, he lost his rifle in this confusion and it was sent flying over the edge of the bridge just like his weapon had been. The Doctor started to move back when Kiranov came forward with another swipe. Laurick raised his left arm up as quickly as he possible could, likely catching the tip of the chainsword cutting against the hard diamond like filiment that had contained the plasma within the chamber. He stumbled back all the same from the attack, and shook his head, soon laughter followed, "Kwa hoo hoo hoo! I should have expected this! We might need better numbers to stop you Ghost. Oh well. We'll see what happens here now won't we? Larger weapons next time - if there is one!"

[20:40] Damienn Kiranov didn't get what he wanted, but he did get one gun out of the way, this left him an opening. Which he used to immediately send a 4 round burst of 4.3 mm bullets from his SMG towards Ciro. As he fired, he edged closer to left end of the bridge, putting his chainsword back on his back, then drawing a shotgun with his right hand.

[20:42] Ciro Bianchi (Rein) was not as well protected as he should have been, his helmet was on his ass, not his head. Oopse. Diving to his side when DK shot, he managed to avoid any serious injury, though one of the bullets grazed his thigh as he landed, a streak of blood but the wound was visibly minor. He attempted to fire, but the dive had resulted in a loss of accurate aim. Now it was more sprayed bullets in that direction. He was more interested now in keeping DK at range, as that shotgun was NOT something he wanted to get close to.

[20:45] Damienn Kiranov took a bullet in his stomach from the spray. It may not have been accurate, but there was enough lead going down to hit something. He seen that he made a mistake with his hand/weapon placement when he aimed another 3-5 round burst from his SMG towards Ciro, and had to cross his shotty under his left arm to fire a blast at Laurick.

[20:47] Laurick Scarbridge blinked as he watched Ghost's movements. The red head reached up and tapped at his bottom lip with his right hand. He tilted his head from side to side, then Kiranov started to shoot at him. He blinked. When Kiranov aimed the weapon at him, the Doctor didn't seem to move. When the buckshot ripped through his upper right shoulder he just glanced down at it. Then he started to laugh, "Kwa hoo hoo hoo! Oh my! Now that was unexpected! It's warm you know, and it feels rather good. Hm, what do I have, what do I have? Oh. Wait. This," he said, reaching down toward his belt to pick off one of the grenades. He looked up at Damienn and tossed the grenade into the air, and then leaned forward grinning as he tilted his head from side to side, "Boom," was all he said as he pulled the pin, and moved to his right side a bit waiting a moment before chucking it at Kiranov.

[20:51] Damienn Kiranov had focused on Ciro, since he was the one with the gun, as a result, he hadn't noticed the grenade until Laurick made his comment. "Oh shit..." Was all he could say as the grenade went off, spraying shrapnel into his left side, and a few pieces into his face.

[20:54] Ciro Bianchi (Rein) with DK momentarily distracted, took his chance, still on his side, he droped his rifle, a frag grenade pulled from each thigh, pulled the pins with his teeth all movie commando, waited a second, and then rolled them at DK. Laying as he was, tossing would not have been accurate enough. but bowling for bots woudl work. (yes 2 frags)

[20:58] Keelyn OHanlon mumbled into her com upon her approach, and unlike the avatar, the character really stayed back at the end of the bridge, crouched with her rifle aimed at the being on the bridge. Seeing shrapnel flying about, she naturally kept her distance and brought the target into her sight, waiting for a reply.

[20:58] Damienn Kiranov had focused on Ciro, so he seen that coming, though, with a 5 meter kill, and 15 meter injury, even with his mad dash back, he still took some shrapnel in his back as he moved away.

[21:00] Laurick Scarbridge reached up and tapped at his com, keeping his gaz steadily on Kiranov. The red head backed up as he tried to strafe move with Ghost's movements. Except, the explosion had stopped him. Laurick stumbled back and grabbed onto the railing behind him, trying not to fall off .. though he did. He gripped onto the edge of the bridge with his mechanical left hand .. which was all that was keeping him up as he clamped, surprisingly his voice was calm, "Open fire when ready, we're attempted to subdue this experiment. It is an escapee from the UAC scientific labs. It is an android. Feel free to use whatever force is necessary! Kwa hoo hoo hoo!"

[21:04] Keelyn OHanlon: Well that was all the fresh off the dropship Sargeant needed to hear. She open fired on the man, not quite realizing the scientist with the funny laugh had just dropped off the side of the bridge. She aimed for arms rather than center mass, seeing weapons in his grasp, sending a few rounds as he started running her way. She debated her options out as well, hoping to take him down before he reached her proximity. To her com, she muttered. "Copy that. Any known weak points?"

[21:05] Damienn Kiranov had to make a new assessment, but one thing was annoying him, "CYBORG, goddamn it! Not android! I have a fucking human brain in my headbox! Damn!" He accented his annoyance by sending both a 3 round burst, and a shotgun blast towards Keelyn, just after he got hit once in the right arm, and once in the chest.

[21:08] Ciro Bianchi (Rein) was able to shift his aim with DKs attention elsewhere, aiming of all odd places, for hte face. time to get personal. the shot would be VERY hard to make, but he was already prone so had that to aid in the aiming. Trigger squeezed as AP rounds sought to make themslves lead boogers in the cyborgs nose.

[21:10] Damienn Kiranov took a bullet in the side of his cranium. This staggered him severely, then caused him to fall down on his ass, his back would slump against the railing. He appeared to have been taken down.

[21:11] Keelyn OHanlon wasn't /that/ fresh off the boat, and pulled back behind the pillar she had used for protection. Shotgun blasts to brick was chipping free some debris, and a second shot grazed her calf, but she pulled it back in fast, bleeding and all. She didn't see the man slump of course, and grabbed a frag off her belt. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!" Pin pulled with her teeth and she lobbed it over his way.

[21:13] Laurick Scarbridge remained hanging on the side of the bridge, since the actions over head would likely take place at a much faster pace than his pulling himself to the bridge would. He grunted slightly as he tugged. But, the only thing really keeping him hanging there was the mechanical arm. He was a marine yes, but he wasn't very physically strong. He could probably have lifted himself up if he had two real hands. But, he didn't. He blinked as he hung there with little to no strain on his back and just shrugged. He'd wait for someone to help him up.

[21:17] Damienn Kiranov tried to shake off the severe case of bullet-to-the-head-syndrome that he had suddenly come down with, only to find a grenade tossed his way. "Well... so much for surprise..." Is all he could mutter to himself as he made a mad scramble to crawl away from the grenade. He didn't get to far before it went off, the blast had sent him flying off the bridge and into the water.

[21:18] Laurick Scarbridge glanced down at the water as Kiranov went *plop* like a fishy.

[21:19] Ciro Bianchi (Rein) from his position, was able to see Lauricks cybernetic hand holding onto teh railing, but he was too far to get close quickly "Grab the Doctor. He should weigh 90 pounds or so." he motioned as he rushed to the edge DK had dived/been thrown over, rifle pointing down.. but the mirk prevented him from seeing into the filthy waters dpeths

[21:20] Keelyn OHanlon blinked momentarily in surprise as he landed in the water, and peeked out from her pier. She heard the LT and ran over towards the scientist. Holstering her weapon, she offered him a hand. "Cmon, get up off there. No reason to commit suicide /now./" She grinned and pulled with her boot braced against one of the bridge supports.

[21:22] Laurick Scarbridge reached up with his right hand and took the hand that was extended to him. He used her bracing to place his right foot on the side of the bridge and proceeded to hop over the railing. He leaned over and brushed himself off as he looked at the new scars on the bridge, and the chunks that would be missing. He let go of Keelyn's hand and trotted to the opposite side of the bridge, leaning over, "Plenty of reasons to kill myself now, hrm? The experiment got away. I wonder if we can perhaps find it again. I would like that very much. Though, today might not be the right day to do so. However, is everyone uninjured," the Doctor said as he turned his head to look back at the two, "I am a Doctor of Science, but I am also a medical Doctor in that respect, hrm?"

[21:24] Ciro Bianchi (Rein) drops his rifle to hang from his chest, and looked down to the bullet grazing. He wasnt even gonna waste a shot of morephine on it. Pulling a field dressing from his pouch, he slid it into the opening in his pants and pressed it to his skin, eyes still scanning hte murk. "No sign of him. Figure he's clear. Unless one of those naval mines blows up"

[21:25] Keelyn OHanlon peered over the edge and shrugged. She looked down to the graze along her calf and shook her head. "Bactine'll do the trick." She seemed as if it wasn't bothering her much at all. "Bandages an' bactine. So he's your experiment, Doc? What do we know about that one? Weak spots? Besides gunshots to the face."

[21:28] Laurick Scarbridge shook his head as he looked down at the water. He grumbled as he wrapped his arms behind his back, showing the first bit of emotion other than joviality for the first time in a while. Frustration. He turned about and grumbled, "The experiment is not mine. It is the GHOST prototype series. I'm rather upset at the moment that I am. I'm going to burn all the synth skin off of that damn thing the first chance that I get! I hate when things don't go as planned! I HATE HATE HATE IT! Grah!" he said, and walked to the opposite side of the bridge, twitching with anger. "Grenades. EMP. Rockets. It doesn't matter. Explosives. You can destroy the cyborg and it will still function as it should."

[21:30] Ciro Bianchi (Rein) Lets move out folks. Aint nothing we can do here except be sitting ducks for anyone bored witha high powered rifle. WHICH is most of midian.

[21:31] Keelyn OHanlon's look skated past the LT's face to see his reaction to the outburst. She wondered if it was normal course of things, and his reaction maybe would give her a clue. She cleared her throat after a moment of silence. "Okay. So. Ghost thingamabobs. Hm." She looked releived at the LT and nodded to him. "Yes sir. Midian?"

[21:34] Ciro Bianchi (Rein) nods "Keep in com contact Doctor." he looked to Keelyn "Mans a genius." he whispers "but fucking nuts. You wanna head through Midian? I was passing through on my way to the bunker to head to ebd."

[21:36] Keelyn OHanlon shrugged her shoulders and quirked a knowing grin. She'd gathered the 'nuts' bit in about five seconds flat. Softly, she replied. "Yes sir. Seems so. It'll be good to have a genuis researching that thing's... weaknesses though." She chimed in quickly after a moment. "Need to catch up so I'm worth something to the unit by tomorrow." She turned on her heel and headed back towards Midian.

Huntington Beach, California

a.k.a Surf City, USA

I am constantly amazed with the talent of the young and some very young surfers. There were quite a few of them on this morning. This particular dude (could he be more than 10 years old) was one of them. He was constantly able to find the right location to catch a wave and then to be able to actually ride it when so many seemingly more experienced surfer simply failed.

Nikon D800

Nikon 70-200 VRII at 200 mm

1/2000 sec at f/4.5 ISO 100

June 27, 2016

© 2016 Ronald Drewnowski - All rights reserved. Any unauthorized use is prohibited.

If you should happen to be the skilled lad in the photo, you have my permission to print a copy of this photo for your personal non-commercial use.

I noticed this seemingly random rock as I walked around the John F Kennedy Arboretum with some friends. I'm sure it wasn't there last week. Looking closely, there are a couple of slabs underneath it. I'm guessing a drainage pipe has been installed (the pond is stream fed) & this rock is to stop people standing on the edge & dislodging the slabs. Not as random as it first seemed.

For Saturday Self-Challenge theme "Rock & Stone"

'This roadtrip is going to be great!', they had said.

Well, here I was, driving down a seemingly endless road in Kansas, and had been doing so for over two hours. I could hardly remember the last time I touched the wheel - this road just kept going straight ahead with not even the slightest hint of a curve. The scenery was no better and could be summed up in one word: plains. Green, flat, never-ending plains. Sure, ahead you had the majestic outline of the Rockies, and yes, it seemed to be pretty close. But it had already seemed close two hours ago. Like a mirage, taunting you with the promise of something better just to remain out of reach, and at this point I had stopped hoping.

Behind me, eight of my travel companions were all snoozing. Odd, since it was only mid-afternoon, but it seemed this environment had a sedative effect on everyone, not just me. Next to me sat my designated map reader who was the only reason I had not yet gone crazy. There was obviously no map reading to be done. Here there was only one direction: straight ahead. To his credit, he had instead taken it upon himself to keep me occupied and we had had some pretty interesting conversations. Ultimately though, even he had been reduced to just sitting there staring blindly into the distance. We were two friends suffering together in this seemingly static nightmare.

But wait! Surely the mountians were closer now? And we could even spot some of the hills coming up. This was it! It had to be! Yes, the road started to bend, and soon we found ourselves cruising through the foothills! The road flowing with the terrain around it - something new to see around every corner. And trees! Glorious trees!

I looked over at my fellow companion with a smile and he was smiling too. Finally we had some enjoyable driving ahead of us! Our perserverence had paid off!

- 'Good job Emil' I heard a voice from the back. 'Pull over as soon as you can and we'll switch drivers'.

It seemed I was destined to enjoy the foothills through a heavily tinted window in the back of an overcrowded van instead of having the pleasure of driving through this wonderful landscape.

This was from a road trip I took in university with some friends, and although perhaps a bit exaggerated here, the road through Kansas into Colorado is certainly not the most exciting driving to be had ;) Boring driving aside, the trip was loads of fun and I would love to go back with the family some time. But yeah, I'm a trees and mountains kinda guy, and open landscapes, though pretty in its own way, is not where I feel at home. Trees please!

in seemingly impossible locations eastern orthodox monasteries are dotted all over mount athos, athos peninsula north east greece

mount athos is governed by the monasteries themselves

women are denied entry

ps. I take binoculars to spot birds in india, why didn't I bring them to spot monasteries ?

Dutch landscape of a large field with the cultivation of leaf celery in seemingly endless long converging rows. The photo was taken near the village of Zuid-Beijerland, South Holland, on a cloudy day.

© All of my photos are unconditional copyrighted unless explicitly stated otherwise. Therefore it is legally forbidden to use my pictures on websites, in commercial and/or editorial prints or in other media without my explicit permission.

Some of my photos are sold at reasonable prices through various stock photo agencies.

For example look here for my images on Shutterstock:

www.shutterstock.com/g/rmorijn?rid=556147&utm_medium=...

Seemingly with a good-size train in tow, Vermont Rail System's Washington County Railroad train NPWJ assembles its train in Newport Yard before departing for White River Junction. Or so I thought - as it turned out, on this day the crew only grabbed the first three cars and short-turned at Lyndonville, returning to Newport that same evening.

It's hard to tell. After this exchange, they both got up and trotted away, seemingly like equals. I think these are mates, but I'm not certain.

The seemingly never ending sunset over Lake Windermere last November... don't think ive ever walked so much in a short space of time trying to capture every angle possible.... had to be patient with this pov...with swans, togs and other distractions vying.

Prints available to view and order from my website:

stevecolelandscapephotographer.smugmug.com/

A jumble of seemingly every available transportation type converges around the intersection of SW 1st Street and SW 1st Avenue with the heavy rail Metrorail, the downtown people mover system MetroMover, MetroBus buses on SW 1st Street, and the myriad ramps off and on to I95. Miami, Florida, USA.

Un revoltijo de lo que parece todos los tipos de transporte disponibles convergen en la intersección de SW 1st Street y SW 1st Avenue con el Metrorail de tren pesado, el sistema de transporte de personas del centro MetroMover, los autobuses MetroBus en SW 1st Street y la miríada de rampas hacia I95. Miami, Florida, Estados Unidos.

“I’m hungry,” she chimed, seemingly out of nowhere, idly twisting a hair lock around her finger. Her companion wasn’t quite reading as much as using an old volume as armor against conversation, she suspected. At least a legitimate concern wasn’t likely to be brushed off.

As if to mock the thought, her words were met with a flat “Mhmm.” The sort that suggested she might as well have stated she was seeing God for a speed date or was intent on reinventing the sun into something less bothersome for all that he’d been listening. Which he wasn’t, nor did he truly intend to start now, engrossed as he was in-…he turned the book over to glance at the title. Familiar Garden Flowers – how perfectly asinine. He suppressed an irritated sigh and resumed reading. Or tried. He could only re-read paragraphs without paying attention for so long before something slithered uninvited into his consciousness, after all, so it couldn’t be an absolute loss.

Not a win, but not an absolute loss.

“I said. I’m hungry,” she repeated impatiently, the glare fixed in his direction turning baleful now. Letting go of the overworked hair lock, she shifted in her seat, the movement pointedly jerky, so she could cross arms. Also, pointedly.

“I heard you the first time,” came the idle response while he made a veritable production of turning a page, from licking his fingertip to flipping the leaf with a flourish. Because really, with disregard to the fact that he had more interest in the book’s leather binding than its content, it was rude to interrupt a reader. He could hear her rustling movement and could even see it in his peripheral vision – if she could make a point, so could he.

“Did you, now. I couldn’t quite tell,” the snide response came readily, accompanied by more rustling and more movement. Next thing he knew, the book was effectively plucked from his hand, and the pages were replaced with a very distinct glare. “Do you know how long we’ve been sitting here? It’s been hours. Hours!”

Splendid. She was…angry. Just what he needed.

Option one – diffuse the situation. In favor of Familiar Garden Flowers. Pass.

Option two it was, then.

“Try reading,” he responded, still idly draped over the sofa, head leaning back to regard her with his habitual feigned indifference. And as he’d hoped, the book was used to deliver a firm smack to his nearest limb before it was thrown across the room. A hand rubbed the spot she’d smacked in reflex while he volunteered a glib “I take it that’s a no.”

Leaning back, she straightened up and took a breath. A deep breath. The sort, he suspected, one takes when they’re preparing to give a big speech.

No. No, no.

She flicked her hair over one shoulder before crossing her arms over her chest once again. “I see how it is,” she finally stated, her voice a lot calmer than he’d expected.

Oh, well.

“You’re pretending to read that book, which I don’t suppose you could even name-…”

“Familiar Garden Flowers,” he interjected, not bothering to keep the smugness out of his voice.

She waved a dismissive hand before continuing. “You’re pretending to read a book you can just about name, so we wouldn’t have do anything so unpleasant as, say, converse. Heavens forbid you should so much as show an interest in anything that isn’t your reflection!”

As if on cue, he rose from his seat, hands already reaching for his tie. It was time to preen – for effect.

Turning on her heel to track his movement, she continued, undeterred. “Very well, I accept it, all of it. But as it is, I am in fact hungry.” The last words were delivered emphatically while she glared at his preening form.

“Well, that’s mighty inconvenient,” he commented. Having found a mirror, he continued adjusting the knot on his tie, pushing it this way and that as though it had been askew. For all intents and purposes, she’d taken the fun out of needling her, and now he was intent on finding the most useless responses he could think of.

Not for the first time this evening, he’d miscalculated though.

It started with that familiar intake of breath – that sharp inhale, impatient and infuriated. The exhale that followed, nothing but a loud huff. But whereas he’d expected a few footsteps and the final sound to be that of her body slumping down on the dainty chair she’d been begrudgingly occupying all evening, there were footsteps. In the wrong direction.

“Just where do you think you’re going?!” He asked irritably, turning to watch her departing form.

“To eat.”

“Have you lost your mind?!” he asked, his irritation finally turning to something closer to the fury she was fueled by, covering the distance quickly to reach for her arm. No hesitation, no concern – a grab and a forceful pull. “You’d get us exposed. Or worse, killed!”

“I don’t care. I would rather die than endure another hour wiling away here with you. I can’t even decide if I’m going to die of hunger or of actual boredom.”

“You step outside, and you’re going to lose control and die of an actual stake, so do reconsider not-so-secret option three more carefully, if you would” he retorted snidely, the irritation and anger joined by a heavy dose of sarcasm. “And I’ve got news for you. This is what you signed up for. Forever is a long, long time. What did you think it entailed half the time?!”

And truly, he would have gone on had there not been a knock on the door.

The argument stopped, suspended and forgotten, both gazes turned to the door as though they were willing it to show them through.

“Please. I promise it wouldn’t be much. I’m dreadfully hungry.”

He considered it for a beat. But then, whether here or out in the city, his duty was the same. He…was effectively the nanny. It was only fitting that he was reading Familiar Garden Flowers, he reflected with remnants of his snideness before shrugging.

Letting go of her, he smoothed his palms over his coat and gave her a meaningful look. A look that exchanged her hopeful stare with an eyeroll.

“Coming,” he responded, his voice taking an unnaturally pleasant quality as he turned to open the door.

A seemingly ripe, streaked red apple hanging on twig on a tree in warm late afternoon sunlight. It is awaiting to be harvested.

The puzzling appearance of an ice cloud seemingly out of thin air has prompted NASA scientists to suggest that a different process than previously thought -- possibly similar to one seen over Earth's poles -- could be forming clouds on Saturn's moon Titan.

Located in Titan's stratosphere, the cloud is made of a compound of carbon and nitrogen known as dicyanoacetylene (C4N2), an ingredient in the chemical cocktail that colors the giant moon's hazy, brownish-orange atmosphere.

Read more: go.nasa.gov/2crVEPM

NASA image use policy.

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.

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Russia, 2018

Local time: 06:23

Vic scanned the seemingly abandoned factory from a neighboring roof. He got out his M4A1 assault rifle, making sure that a round was chambered. Carefully, Vic tied his climbing rope around the bolted-down Air Conditioning unit. Making sure the rope was secure, he pulled as hard as he could. the rope stayed put. Then Vic threw the rest over the side of the roof, watching it plummet to the concrete ground. It would have to do. He looked towards the factory again, before starting his descent. The guards still hadn't started their morning shift yet. Vic clipped his vest to the rope and quietly slid down the side of the building.

Hey guys, Mossie here, how do you like the story? I may or may not continue it but I do have some more pictures for it... I'm transitioning into WW2 (as some may have noticed) but do enjoy a bit of modern stuff sometimes. Again, heavily based on Henry W.'s photo, be sure to check his stream!

Cheers,

~Victor

A seemingly poor street musician held background with a poster model.

contrast.

some street photography I tried today.

Seemingly tiny locomotive waiting for duty on the premises of the more than 6.5 km2 Ostrava Steel Mill.

Though somewhat elusive, making his appearances seemingly randomly and frustrating many, this Northern Pintail is our celebrity guest of the moment. I gather that a wandering Pintail or two end up in Ottawa, as breeding movement begins, on a regular enough basis. So this a notch or two below thrilling, but still pretty exciting (for those of us easily excited by birds that pay an unscheduled visit). That the birds (he is accompanied by a female) are unpredictable in their showing themselves adds a bit of mystery to the experience.

I have only seen Pintails along the St. Lawrence River and inland during Snow Geese migration. That huge movement of birds, tens of thousands of Snow Geese and accompanying duck breeds, comes up from the St. Lawrence and passes about 80 kilometres east of us, funnelling north, so the appearance of this pair makes sense seasonally and geographically.

The bird is stunning up close. The chocolate-coloured back of the neck, and the gentling curving white line, are quite amazing in the sun. Before this bird I had only glimpsed details through binoculars in glaring sun - this was quite something.

While I was able to observe them, the male rested in the snow, and then swam around the calm waters of this section of the Ottawa River. A 250 metre-long ridge sits in, and runs parallel to, the River just north of Britannia Conservation area. The ridge, or the skinny island I suppose, sits about thirty metres offshore. It is only a few metres wide, but it hosts trees, and as a result, often hosts Bald Eagles and Osprey. It runs east-west, and the River, wildly raging on the other side of the ridge/island, flows more calmly inside it (but with enough energy that it does not ice over, like most of the rest of the Ottawa River). It is almost like a railway siding, where freight trains pull off the main line. Many species of ducks at this time of year use it in the same way: resting in the calm areas, and letting the current drag them down to rejoin the main River. Between the shore and the ridge there are some fallen trees, and in the water there are fish and crustaceans for the hungry hunters - Hooded and Common Mergansers are regular guests, as are Common Goldeneye.

For the birds, the price of the food and restful calmer waters is the presence of birders and photographers. Some species adjust, resting or feeding and then rejoining the roiling River proper; others don’t stay long. The Pintails may be in the latter group, though for the most part they seemed pretty oblivious on Saturday, going about their business. They are on their way to the far north for breeding season, so either way they won’t be here for long.

a dynamic romantic jazzy city seemingly on fire from the brilliant sunset smolder...

i know we have rain in the forecast for about a week, i hope this will cheer some of you up!

i have cropped this image a bit to make it more bearable and large, at least horizontally (as we know flickr presentation is not too forgiving in presenting panos). in original i have more of the bay bridge and the golden gate bridge in scene. this san francisco scene was shot on velvia film.

technical:

toyo m 8x10

schneider optik kreuznach 165mm

f45

~4 to 6 minutes to capture the last bit of smoldering fusion light from the sunset, if i remember correctly

5/26 did anyone see the cool fog this morning?

Even with the sun seemingly high up in the skies that morning, it was low enough over this portion of the Waterpocket Fold to cast a shadow in areas. So as I continued my walk to the Cassidy Arch (seen with the arch like shadow in the middle center of the image), I took the time to admire this contrast created with the hues and colors as well as on the rock walls and layers caused from ages of erosion and weathering.

This is the view that appears in seemingly every brochure or web site for the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The Linn Cove Viaduct was the last section of the Blue Ridge Parkway to be constructed. It was completed in 1983, using special methods to minimize the environmental impact. The only trees that were cut for the construction of this section were those directly beneath the roadway. 50-ton sections were pre-cast in concrete and lowered in place from the previously built sections.

Early that morning, as I was driving to the Parkway from our lodging, I could see a golden glow in the sky as dawn began. I could tell a wonderful sunrise was about to develop, and I was worried that I might not make it to this spot in time. Even after reaching the parking area, I had to hike about a half mile, rushing as fast as I could in semi-darkness.

I did make it to the viewpoint before the sun appeared, and had 10 minutes before I took this shot. This shot was taken in the very short time when the sun was above the horizon and not hidden by clouds. Even if I had failed to get a decent shot at all, I still enjoyed a glorious sunrise.

(Explore #3, 10/16/2009)

Seemingly on a collision course, two of the Wightlink Ferries tackle a busy Portsmouth Harbour entrance

276A5836

A setting sun seemingly reveals every single ripple in this corner of the Scottish Borders area.

Culter Fell is a rare example of a Scottish 'fell', the Campsie Fells north of Glasgow, Arran's Goat Fell and nearby Swatte Fell are three others. A look at the map will reveal a multitude of place-name influences, prompted by a long history of incomers hailing from various foreign lands. Immigration is almost as old as these hills.

Culter is locally pronounced "cooter", as is its accompanying village Coulter.

This was taken from the curiously titled "Hammer Head", a terrific vantage point situated on the diminutive but charming Broughton Heights range. Perhaps not particularly wild or daunting, they are nonetheless agreeable & gentle little rounded ridges that offer fairly easy going & elevated insights on the surrounding terrain.

We interrupt or seemingly incessant postings of Mount Rainier and it's surrounding area to broadcast this important finding.

As you know, I'm a super secret agent for SIMPLE, (Space Invaders Monitoring and Protective League Entente), and for the past several months I've been undercover searching for the source of the Corona Virus as I was certain it stemmed from outer space, but no, here deep in the mines beneath their secret location in North Korea the insidious plot at world domination has been discovered. As it turns out, missiles cost a lot of money, but bugs are free....

Disclaimer: NOTHING above this disclaimer is true... :-) HSS

I've been working seven day weeks for over a month, I did get a weekend a couple weeks ago but spent it with the fam. Then while the zombie apocalypse broke out we were on vacation so I've been off for a LONG time. I have a grand total of 12 pics for the year so far and so.... I'll be checking in today and happily sitting on my backside one more day before I find out what kind of hell awaits me back in the real world tomorrow.

13 janvier 2024 11h16min51s

Scheinbar blendend

In another image at that area of the national park, I'd used a tree to seemingly fill the negative space of the skies above. Here I took advantage of that and let the Gateway Arch soar into those same skies to fill the image. With a Reflector Effects and Polarization CEP filter in Capture NX2, I was able to add the look of a more sunnier day than that afternoon was and a grandeur with the height above into the skies.

390124 - seemingly sporting a replacement nose - is pictured passing Cartland with trhe 10:38 Glasgow to London service.

NOTE: Scottish Government travel guidance was adhered to during this outing. I traveled alone in a private vehicle and remained within my council area (South Lanarkshire).

SEEMINGLY

Seemingly just an everyday car to somebody. I didn't see many older Fords, I'd imagine there's more Maltese Fords in the UK than in Malta these days.

Seemingly always power short, the CP would often lease GO Transit equipment for weekend freight service. Here a trio of GO power, lead by GO 702, returns to Toronto with train 916 at mile 80 on the CP's Windsor Sub.

🎉Just imagine how much time, effort and money such a seemingly simple at first glance, but still quite unusual, washing machine saves us every day?Can you

imagine

your life without this device? Every day, we would need a lot of laundry and water, which is not very practical. It would waste a lot of our personal time and effort, as well as a lot of water and chemicals, which is not very good for the ecology of the whole planet.😌

⠀

🎉Today-March 28, the first washing machine was patented. It happened in the USA in 1797. The first washing machine was a wooden box with a sliding frame.How

do you imagine your life without this technology? Do you consider it necessary and would you be able to do without it? Write comments, I will read each of them with interest.☺️😉🎉Birthday of the washing machine🎉

⠀

🎉Just imagine how much time, effort and money such a seemingly simple at first glance, but still quite unusual, washing machine saves us every day?🤔😁

⠀

Can you imagine your life without this device? Every day, we would need a lot of laundry and water, which is not very practical. It would waste a lot of our personal time and effort, as well as a lot of water and chemicals, which is not very good for the ecology of the whole planet.😌

⠀

🎉Today-March 28, the first washing machine was patented. It happened in the USA in 1797. The first washing machine was a wooden box with a sliding frame.😁

⠀

How do you imagine your life without this technology? Do you consider it necessary and would you be able to do without it? Write comments, I will read each of them with interest.☺️😉

⠀

#hair #face #plant #eye #naturalenvironment #flashphotography #peopleinnature #dress #branch #wood #NikonD850

Cherry blossom confetti seemingly flowing out of the gutter.

…always amazes me how plants and particularly trees manage to survive in seemingly little soil.……

For the interested I’m growing my Shutterstock catalogue regularly here, now sold 29 images - Interested in joining? :- www.shutterstock.com/g/Alan+Foster?rid=223484589&utm_...

©Alan Foster.

©Alan Foster. All rights reserved. Do not use without permission.

CSX 8842 drags a rail train running as J742-26 past the seemingly forgotten about location of Oak Forest. While everyone flocked to Robbins and other popular spots for the most part, it was nice having a spot to myself for once.

Seemingly always on the verge of tears, star of silent & early 1930s films, Helen Twelvetrees...

A view looking north from the Sunrise Point to Sunrise Lake. Off in the distance are peaks of the Sourdough Mountains, including Marcus Peak. For me, this image was a setting that I've seen many a time before in Colorado especially in Rocky Mountain National Park. One would have mountains all around and then one would see a lake seemingly hidden in a valley or up on a mountainside filled from the flow of waters from a nearby snowpack or glacier. Even with the wind gently blowing, there was a quietness around me...an idyllic and peaceful setting.

Seemingly endless hills, the view from one hilltop to the next from atop Taylor mountain.

Gentleman, seemingly a lover of guitar music and guitars, in front of a musical instrument business in one of the 19th century arcades / passages in Paris.

Another giant beauty for you to enjoy here, with seemingly endless detail. See if you can spot the smaller snowflake resting on top for a sense of scale. View large!

These giant crystals are always a joy to behold when the editing process is completed… but they take a long time to get there. Work began on this snowflake yesterday evening and has only just completed now, with a rather chaotic day of interruptions. Finally complete, looking at this gem allows me to breathe a sigh of relief. There’s a reason why I don’t edit these huge ones daily, even if I have them ready and waiting on my hard drives from a previous shoot! :)

I’ve often edited out clutter from the surfaces of snowflakes, like a broken branch from another crystal, but I really wanted to help keep a sense of scale here. On the left side, you’ll notice a smaller dendrite crystal resting on the surface of the larger one, at a slightly different angle to the camera which makes the surface less shiny and more transparent. This little snowflake was created at the same time and in the same weather system as the big one, and wow what a difference. Maybe it was in a lower level, or maybe it just didn’t have the same amount of time to grow, but as tiny as a snowflake is… there is a lot of variety.

This is one of the reasons why I like shooting with the Canon MP-E 65mm lens. Even when I add extension tubes or additional optics to increase the magnification, I still have the ability to turn the magnification ring on the lens and adjust the camera without switching out equipment. This is helpful for snowfalls like this one where the amount of magnification needed can vary drastically, and I need to work quickly.

Most of the details on this snowflake are on the backside, giving a softer look to the crystal overall, but there are a few exceptions to that. The top half of the top branch is a great example – the surface details are facing the camera, creating a much higher contrast texture. If you look closely you can see where this happens, and it’s caused by crystal splitting. The inverted features are growing on a slightly different (but still parallel) plane to the rest of the snowflake, and the evidence is clear; there are two sets of overlapping side-branches.

There may have been a beautiful gem-like “button” in the center of the snowflake on the other side, based on the patterns I can see, but I think this was the more beautiful side of this particular gem to photograph.

If you’d like to know more about the science of snowflakes with an exhaustive and comprehensive tutorial on how to photograph and edit these little gems, check out my book Sky Crystals:

Hardcover: www.skycrystals.ca/book/

eBook: www.skycrystals.ca/ebook/

Other things you might be interested in:

2018 Macro Photography Workshop Schedule: www.donkom.ca/workshops/

2018 Ice Crystals Coin from the Royal Canadian Mint featuring my snowflakes: www.mint.ca/store/coins/coin-prod3040427

“The Snowflake” print, taking 2500 hours to create: skycrystals.ca/product/poster-proof/

Photo Geek Weekly, my new podcast: www.photogeekweekly.com/

Faraglioni, Capri.

In fact, seemingly no room for anything else on this chap's head!

Soldierfly, Oxycera rara, Newport Canal, Shropshire

‘Schplendid’ decline, a natural going away with the waveforms of sunlight, winds and rain slowly eroding everything seemingly diligently taking all of what is til nothing will remain. All the while the guardian stands watch making memories of even older dread ghost of man's tormented slaves free expressions of intricate passions delivered for sensation rather than for continued ‘rememberation’ all woven in light and in shadow, woven into so many songs on the winds and embroidered in fine worked detail with the rain til only the rocks and their hollows remain.

Too many reflections loaded and here I am loading more. These are the end to the reflections as the personal intrusion was the end my friend. No worries about being personally intruded, it is just the way it is, was and hopefully will be. Please step in, out and walk all around my pictures, your pathways are more important than my pictures. When everything else is in balance I try to take an image and create a picture hopefully in harmony.

There are some good links below. My reflected images don’t get many views, here they are though. Some pictures I take I see the reflection opening up the scene. Here the dark cross caught my eye and the potential to extend the original image from a landscape orientation and then from a portrait orientation fired my mind and then, and then someone rose from their lower perspective photography and stood in my scene. Suddenly I was woken from my image making dream. They were a great photography companion and the only reason that I was there and out and about with a camera. No shade on them for elevate themselves from a close-up photography Yoga pose focused on a flower I believe. They can puncture my composed dream frames anytime, also in any place and in all space and none, even if their puncture power means the dream scene has gone.*

The Sun will shine and cast shadows and in inspecting them we can tell the time. We can see line and with a care we can watch the minutes and hours pass as the line moves. If we wish we can look at light as the generative creator of life and we can see shadow as an opposition a place that will not respond to the clarion call of the Sun. Shadow and shade bring about their own distinct wonders and Shadow is created and directed in constant movement by light of varying intensity. We humans have considered good and bad omens from the force of the Sun and from the reaction of shade, shadow and subterranean sunless places as well as the phase of the Moon displaying reflected radiance of the Sun and at times the Moon shrouds the Sun in eclipse of amazing exactness gifting sight of the edge the immediate crown of the star that illuminates us and leaves us to the further distant view of the other stars and planets by night. All this to say Sun and Shadow, direct light and reflection and refraction all the time in world seemingly making and recreating signs and symbols that we divine as the language of light and the symphony of dark. Light is light and lack of light is either less, or even total darkness with no need to try to read the light and to listen to the dark. After this mention of omen and even prediction everything below this is information about the absolutely stunning location.

Hawthornden Castle stands atop several layers of caves that have been extended into amazing chambers visited by many famous people on their Scottish tours. The castle is one of three close together all taking advantage of the steep escarpment that offers natural rock protection above the North Esk river flowing swiftly below. Roslin Glen is home to Rosslyn Castle and many believe the Holy Grail resides here too, there are wonderful legends and fantastic natural formations throughout the glen, plenty enough to enjoy even beyond the quest for the Holy Grail.

Linked below are Hawthornden Castle, near Edinburgh by Alexander Nasmyth from the Google Art Project and both Roslin Glen cared for by Rosslyn Chapel Trust, as well as Roslin Glen Country Park and also Wallace’s Cave, the other cave and prehistoric rock carvings.

The Hawthornden Foundation is linked below they are a part of bigger project with events and hosting writers to stay in places such as Hawthornden Castle for a month of focused literary working days.

*The Dream Scene Puncture Repair Kit is currently available from the Akashic Records at wherever you usually Yoga access them. They can help you achieve stone solid results and icon Sphinx like waking scenes and also avoid all frame puncture at every photographic juncture. Higher State close lens search for Dream Scene Puncture Repair in Khemtastic Pack IV Pharaoh Awakes near potential pyramid lakes. If you have not found The Dream Scene Puncture Repair Kit then join the rest of us that either have to recompose and take another dream scene, or move on literally figuratively and even spiritually if your dream close to fulfilment was such a wondrous scene.

© PHH Sykes 2024

phhsykes@gmail.com

Hawthornden Castle

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawthornden_Castle

Alexander Nasmyth - Hawthornden Castle, near Edinburgh - Google Art Project

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Alexander_Nasmyth_-_Hawthornde...

Hawthornden Foundation Hawthornden Castle

www.hawthornden.org/hawthornden-castle

Hawthornden Foundation

www.hawthornden.org/

Wallace's Cave, cave and rock carvings SM6825

portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/SM6825

ROSLIN GLEN AND HAWTHORNDEN CASTLE GDL00327

portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/GDL00327

Roslin Glen

Rosslyn Chapel Trust is responsible for the conservation and care of part of the picturesque landscape known as Roslin Glen, which is adjacent to Rosslyn Castle and Rosslyn Chapel.

www.rosslynchapel.com/about/roslin-glen/

Roslin Glen Country Park

www.midlothian.gov.uk/directory_record/171/roslin_glen_co...

Roslin Glen Country Park

g.co/kgs/bdC6DQf

'Wallace's Cave'

canmore.org.uk/site/51808/wallaces-cave

Archaeology Notes

canmore.org.uk/event/712032

Roslin Glen And Hawthornden Castle

Date of Inclusion: 31/03/2001

1:20,000Map Scale:

Council: Midlothian

Designation Reference: GDL00327

portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600000778

The monument known as Wallace's Cave, cave and rock carvings

portal.historicenvironment.scot/document/600012599

Burgess’ seemingly orderly assemblies of metal and granite reveal her reverence for discipline and rational order. They also disclose her spirit of inquiry and courage to express murkier and unknown elements: the stuff of dreams, intuition and experience. For Burgess, the abstract forms and geometric objects in her sculptural compositions hold specific personal meanings, memories and truths, enabling her to “situate the personal and mundane the infinite and the unknowable.”

Model: Kim

Instagram: @kimblommestein

Location: Pulitzer Hotel

Amsterdam, October 2018

All of my photographs are under copyright ©. None of these photographs may be reproduced and/or used in any way without my permission.

© NGimages / Nico Geerlings Photography

Seemingly on the rise and about to spread its wings...

A seemingly often photographed location - put my own spin on it with the edit - looking for the colours and perspective.

The seemingly barren landscape of the Mojave Desert is on full display as BNSF 5874 leads a stack down Ash Hill on main 2.