...what is really going on here is SOOOO much more complicated. See, the Autobots are actually making a subtle yet strategic advance on the clueless Decepticons. The battle rages on.

With Sarah going barefoot for the entire vacation, it really did open up some cool possibilities with the foot tattoos. This was just from the first day, I did a whole lot more on her legs and arms that night. I liked the symbols a lot more, but the circuitry looked pretty decent after I added to it that evening. Imagine how cool this stuff would have looked if I could actually draw!

trying to look the part for a night out.

Its so hard knowing what to wear when going clubbing nowadays as women don't seem to make much of an effort or so I thought.

How wrong was I?

I just hope I didn't let our side down.

Sometimes it's about the journey more than the photo, you get to your location and you don't get the photo you want but the experience was amazing, but sometimes it works out that the journey and the photo you come away with both make you excited. This was one of those times, on a hike out to Green Gardens in Newfoundland. I knew moonset would happen next to the cliffs using the PhotoPills app on my iPhone, so I just needed good weather to see the moon. The weather turned out to be great although incredibly windy. The roughly 2.5 - 3 mile hike out to the cliffs isn't too strenuous, but hauling about 15 pounds of camera gear, including the massive Nikon D5, as well as my camping gear and food and water made me glad to make it to the end, where you are almost immediately greeted by this view. There are a lot of sheep roaming the grassy areas here, and when I arrived at this spot there was one lone sheep lying down in the grass. I was surprised it didn't get up and move as I was working my camera, and then when it did get up and move I realized why it was being so friendly, it had a very badly broken hind leg. After making my way down to the beach below I met up with a group of other campers who told me the sheep had fallen from a cliff, and they carried it up the staircase to get it back to the grassy areas. Poor sheep. After an amazing sunset and chatting with the other campers, I crawled into my sleeping bag (no tent) and slept under the stars and moonlight, hiding from the wind on a platform tucked away in the trees, awaiting the wee hours of the morning when the moon would be setting to take this shot.

Nikon D5 and Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 VR lens, both on loan from me by Nikon for an upcoming article. Single exposure at 32mm, ISO 400, f/5.6, for 2 seconds. Edited in Lightroom and Photoshop, my usual tools.

Website | Facebook | Instagram: @awoodworthphoto

My shadow showing up in the treed swamp with patches of fresh Moss trough out this wet area in Discovery Bay to the side Duffins trail , Martin’s photographs , Ajax , Ontario , Canada , April 8. 2020

Treed swamp

Moss

Shadow in the swamp

Shore

Lake Ontario shore

Redwing Blackbird in flight

Redwing Blackbird

Town of Ajax Rotary Park Pavilion

Rotary Park Pavilion

Duffins TrailComfortable benches

Cedar fencing

Ajax waterfront park

Beautiful Sunset

Shadow

Scenic paintings

Rotary club

Rotarians

Rotarian storage container

Snapped of and broken tree

snapped of broken tree in the woods

Flowering Bok Choy

Bok Choy

Winter

Snow

Ice

Oak tree

Large Oak tree

Rod iron railings

boat launch

canoe

canoe boat launch

Ontario

Ajax

Canada

Pickering

Martin’s photographs

Discovery Bay

Trees

Tall grasses

Sunset

March 2020

Favourites

IPhone XR

Squires Beach

Duffins Creek

Duffins Marsh

Waterfront Trail

Rotary Park

Lake Ontario

Rod iron fence

Bridge

Bridge across Duffins Creek

Twilight

Sticks

Stones

Fallen trees

Fallen tree

Fungi

Mushrooms

Sand

Beach

Reflections

Reflection

Dogwood

Tall grasses

River

Simcoe Point Pioneer Cemetery

Beaver

Beavers having a swim

North of Lake Ontario

December 2019

Lake Ontario

Duffins Trail

April 2020

Back to school time in Utah. Here are Jessica and Joshua on the morning of the first day. They look reasonably happy to embark. Both were enthusiastic about their new shoes.

For more of my creative projects, visit my short stories website: 500ironicstories.com

it's funny that they are most prevalent close to where people are living on the island -- it's rarer to see them out in the wilder areas...

Woo, down to the wire this week.

I'm not usually so last minute but it's been hard to sit at the computer with all the nothingness I've had to do the last few days.

I knew early on that I'd be dog-sitting all weekend, so I figured I'd take my picture at Zoey's house.

I also knew what theme I wanted to go for...

Something I feel very strongly about:

Yard dogs.

Now, plenty of people have a house, and a yard, and a dog (or two or three.) And that's fine and dandy, don't get me wrong. But there are people who specifically have yard dogs, and that's where I have an issue.

Most of you know what I'm talking about. The scruffy, matted, muddy something-doodle obsessively running up and down the chain-link fence at the dead end street. The over-sized husky howling his sorrowful song atop his dog house during the middle of the night. The old, wobbly beagle wagging his tail as he slowly follows pedestrians along the perimeter of his yard - obviously starved for attention.

These are just some of the examples I've come across while exploring various neighborhoods here and there. I've been planning on starting a little project and photographing some of these dogs, but for now I just walk and observe. And what I see makes me sad.

I'm not someone who could ever have an "outside only dog" - it just doesn't feel right. I can understand the necessity sometimes, like with working breeds. A livestock guardian, for instance, needs to live among whatever it's protecting. I get that. But too often, I wonder why some of these everyday folks even bothered getting a dog, when they go through such great lengths to isolate it from their lives.

Most "animal people" will agree that a dog is part of the family. Zoey and Bailey, while having a fully functional, fenced yard, are family dogs. They sleep inside (on one of 6 pet beds), they eat good food, they have regular vet checkups. They make a show of barking at people coming onto their property but they were raised to love everyone (especially the neighborhood kids who hop the fence to say hello.) While they aren't taken out for walks (which is something that bugs me, but with 4 kids to look after it's understandable that the dogs will have to sacrifice something), they almost always get to go up to the lake house with their humans for a change of scenery. (They had to stay behind this time because it was a wedding occasion and 50 guests to deal with meant no dogs allowed.)

As someone who's almost always lived in an apartment, I must say most house-dwellers have got it easy when it comes to pet ownership. I have more free time here, with three dogs, than I do at home, with one dog. I get up, let the pups out, they do their business, they play, they come in, they sleep... A few hours later, we rinse and repeat. At night I go to bed with all three of them dead to the world from a full day of frolicking.

It's almost too easy. Herein lies the problem sometimes.

With the economy issues the last few years, I've seen a lot of people lose their homes. Along with that, one of the first things to go is the dog. "I'm moving into an apartment and I have to rehome my teacup chihuahua because there's no room" is often code for "I'm too lazy to walk my dog" or "there's no way my dog can adjust to apartment life because he has never lived inside before." Drives me crazy. I'd argue that ANY breed (or mix) can live comfortably indoors. A yard does nothing but give you an out from ... well, getting out.

I could go on but I'll stop the rant there. Long story short, I believe owning a pet should be harder work than many people let it be. There's tons of responsible pet owners out there who get it right, but they're equally matched by the irresponsible... and they get it so, so wrong. And, sadly, it's the pets who suffer for their luxury.

Climb out of your holes, people! And please take your dogs with you.

A moment to talk about the photo, now... It's my first upload with my new lens! Nothing fancy 'cause all the ones I really want are upwards of $600 and this is just a higher end kit lens, but it's fun having a bit of a wider angle to mess with. Zoom's gonna take some getting used to but we'll see what comes out of it.

I shot it a few different ways - higher up to see Haiku's face fully, and with his head placed at the gate opening for a clearer view. But when I went through the results, this one stuck out. The bar covering his eyes gave it the melancholy feel I was going for. Don't be fooled, though. Hike's anything but a neglected yard dog :)

His challenge for the week was being away from Zozo for the duration of the shoot (all of 5 minutes!) It'll be hard for him to go back home tomorrow. No yard, no full-time dog company... But we'll manage. Because as his owner, *I'll* sacrifice what I have to to keep him happy.

I'm also feeling a lot better about Flickr so I will definitely be back in the mix this week. Thanks to everyone who continues to read my essays :) I always enjoy hearing your thoughts!

View On Black and large.

To the high rocks

Sassy, Desiree and Sweetie

[Sweetie & Desiree talk outside of Sweetie's while waiting for Sassy]

Desiree --- ...and that's why I dropped the whole "Artsy" moniker. I mean I'm not one of the fashionistas anymore so why should I keep that name. No offense though. "Sweetie" fits you but "Artsy" ... I just couldn't walk around with that name anymore.

Sweetie --- I think I know what you mean. Sometimes I think I play up the "Sweetie" roll. It's like, I like the name but sometimes I wonder... "am I really that sweet?"

Desiree --- Well, you could always drop it and go by your real name. Trust me, it's so refreshing to be called Desiree over Artsy.

[just then Sassy arrives]

Sassy --- Hey girls! Sorry I'm running a little late.

Desiree --- No worries. We've just been chatting it up.

Sassy --- Oh, what did I miss. What were you guys chatting about?

Sweetie --- Just... starting over.

_____

Part of F2K, Vol. 9

________

I shot most of Vol. 9 pre Yve. This scene along with the one before it, I originally had planned a slightly different storyline that had to be altered to fit in with the new Vol. 10 blueprints.

....Also, I guess now is just as good a time as any to let anyone who cares know that Shannon will no longer be appearing this volume. Her roll has not been dropped but it has been bumped to a later date to accommodate the newly re-imagined Vol. 10

So with that little bit of information feel free to let your imaginations run wild as to what you think may be going on or about to happen ;-)

PADDY: "Oh Scout! Please stop squirming!"

SCOUT: "Why?" *Squirming .* "I want to get down from Daddy's grasp Paddy, and be a tenacious bear! Daddy, please don't squeeze us so tightly so I can get down and go and look at the view!"

PADDY: "Don't listen to him Daddy! Hold tightly to us please, and don't let go!"

DADDY: "Never fear Paddy, I have a tight grip on you both."

SCOUT: "But why, Daddy?" *Disappointed.* "I want to go and look at the view and climb the railings Daddy! I am a tenacious bear!"

DADDY: "And that's why I'm not letting you go, Scout."

SCOUT: "But I thought you liked me being a tenacious bear, Daddy!"

DADDY: "Oh I do little Scout, just not from this altitude! I should be so upset if you fell through the railing."

PADDY: "How far up are we Daddy?"

DADDY: "Oh that's a three hundred metre drop over there, Paddy."

SCOUT: "Three hundred metres, Daddy?" *Gulps.*

DADDY: "Yes Scout. That is why I am standing back here away from the edge, at a highly respectable distance."

SCOUT: "Alright Daddy, don't let go of us! Quickly take our photo to prove that we were here, and then let's go play somewhere much safer!"

PADDY: "Now you are speaking sense, Scout!"

DADDY: *Carefully takes photo of Paddy and Scout.*

Paddy, Scout and I recently took a trip to the Alpine region of Victoria to take in the autumnal colours. This included a visit to the beautiful Mount Buffalo National Park, where we visited Bent's Lookout and Echo Point. Being slightly colder up there, both Paddy and Scout are wearing hand knitted scarves and Paddy is wearing hand knitted hat by Lorna's Lovely Looks. Paddy sports a strawberry pin and Scout insisted on wearing a Hungry Caterpillar one, which seems most appropriate. Both were gifts from a good friend who is very fond of Paddy and Scout.

My Paddington Bear came to live with me in London when I was two years old (many, many years ago). He was hand made by my Great Aunt and he has a chocolate coloured felt hat, the brim of which had to be pinned up by a safety pin to stop it getting in his eyes. The collar of his mackintosh is made of the same felt. He wears wellington boots made from the same red leather used to make the toggles on his mackintosh.

He has travelled with me across the world and he and I have had many adventures together over the years. He is a very precious member of my small family.

Scout was a gift to Paddy from my friend. He is a Fair Trade Bear hand knitted in Africa. His name comes from the shop my friend found him in: Scout House. He tells me that life was very different where he came from, and Paddy is helping introduce him to many new experiences. Scout catches on quickly, and has proven to be a cheeky, but very lovable member of our closely knit family.

Mount Buffalo National Park is located in the Australian Alps, around 350 kilometres north east of Melbourne. In November 1898, an area of 1,166 hectares was reserved on the Mount Buffalo plateau around the Eurobin Falls to form the Mount Buffalo National Park. This makes it one of the oldest national parks in Australia. In 1908 was expanded to 10,406 hectares, before being expanded again in 1980 to its current size. The park exists on a high elevation around the top of the mountain, and it has striking granite boulders, outcrops and rock formations which make the landscape look striking and in some places, almost alien. This is enhanced by many dead trees which were a result of a bushfire that tore through the Mount Buffalo National Park in late 2006 and early 2007. It features The Horn, Cathedral Mountain and Lake Catani amongst other beautiful places to see. The Horn is the highest accessible peak on Mount Buffalo and it offers wonderful views from the top. Lake Catani is a man made ornamental lake which is very tranquil and beautiful. A road into the Mount Buffalo National Park was opened in 1908, and so the alpine tourist trade began. Visitor accommodation was made available at the historic guest house, the Mount Buffalo Chalet, built in 1910, until January 2007. Parks Victoria and the Victorian Government undertook restoration work on the exterior and gardens of the Chalet in 2017 and 2018. The chalet overlooks large sheets of granite and has views of the Ovens Valley and Buckland Valley below. During the winter season, Mount Buffalo is a destination for cross-country skiing. There are a number of cross-country ski trails near the Cathedral, and toboggan runs at Dingo Dell and Cresta Valley, both of which are used by beginners. The Mount Buffalo National Park was added to the Australian National Heritage List in 2008, listing it as one of eleven sites that make up the Australian Alpine National Parks and Reserves.

The talaiots are Bronze Age megaliths on the islands of Mallorca and Menorca (two of the Balearic Islands) forming part of the Talaiotic Culture or Talaiotic Period. They date back to the late second millennium and early first millennium BC. The Talaiot shown in this picture is located in Son Serra (Santa Margalida - Mallorca).

Drive up to Kuala Trengganu, MALAYSIA. Not too rabbit and not too tortoise either. Look around for a plenty of coconut trees along the way, especially at Kg Pasih Putih. Choose any one that you like.

[ 09 Frames To Go, Mamiya C220 ]

“This is for the birds! Oh wait – I AM a bird!”

The challenge:

A photograph can be technically perfect, and have a great composition – that’s already hard enough to achieve sometimes! But for me, a photograph really stands out if it touches me. If it conveys a feeling, or stirs an emotion within. A really great image is one that evokes a mood and pulls the viewer into the scene. That’s what this week’s challenge is about: capturing emotion and feeling.

My process:

This is not the image I thought I was going to take this week. I started off the week thinking I would need to make a difficult and heartrending decision. The rainy weather forecast looked like it would match my mood and I planned to see what I could capture during a downpour. As it turned out, the sun appeared during a break in the clouds at about the same time I got the news that all my worry was for naught. In an effort to calm my frayed nerves, I turned to my camera and started taking photos of birds in my back yard.

I take a LOT of photos of birds – thousands upon thousands of photos often of the same exact birds. Sometimes I question my sanity, but the reason is because I’m hoping to capture the rare instance when a bird seems to express an emotion that we humans can identify with. I’m pretty sure we anthropomorphize the emotions, but we identify with them nonetheless.

Grackles seem to be particularly expressive – maybe because of their bright yellow eyes. This particular grackle has a bum leg that he never puts weight on, but the wind was making it particularly challenging for him to stay upright while perching on the post. He was using his tail as a rudder and he looks like he’s had just about enough! (We’ve all had those days buddy.)

The lighting helped to further enhance the mood of the photo as well. There was a small shaft of sunlight on the bird, but the background was in shade and was especially dark because of dark clouds overhead. The sun highlighted the iridescent colors in the wings and lightened the overall dark colors of the bird to help differentiate it from the dark background.

Lesson learned:

As you probably know, I strive hard to capture technically perfect images. However I am slowly learning (as Maaike said in her opening paragraph) that even though an image might be technically perfect, if it’s void of emotion the technical perfection doesn’t make up for that. Conversely, an image with emotional impact can make technical imperfections almost irrelevant. Perhaps this is because emotions connect us to the deepest parts of ourselves. Technical perfection is about what the eyes see; emotion is about what the heart feels – and it is entirely possible for our eyes to overlook something that our heart feels strongly about.

How to kill a nice day off, Getting a phone call from your boss while you are happily taking photos in a field and he says " Can you come back to work Monday?"

Oh well back to normal then I suppose.

At least he knows he needs me :-)

Vanessa atalanta

Salvaje y libre

Wildlife

so nice that my friends are professional cab hailers because if it were me trying to get the cab we'd still be there, like now, 4 days later.

Another night, probably also on the way to Cantina www.flickr.com/photos/diyosa/2395425866/

to the beach

We had a driver on the 87s who took to wearing a toupée. The man concerned was not one whose society I sought, being of that loud-mouthed, keg bitter-swilling, all-shagging (according to their own account), football-loving, proletarian tribe whose disappearance in the years since I have celebrated and deplored in about equal measure. The overnight re-establishment of his vanished hairline was, of course, immediately noticed and the poor bloke had, for a week or two, to endure many irreverent observations from his alpha-male mates. "Yur Bernie", bawled one canteen satirist, "thee ussn't be able to slide the cab window open goin' over the Downs now". The Downs ...Durdham Downs... in Bristol, are a lofty and exposed public space noted, on breezy days, for strong crosswinds. The driver took it all in good part and I rather admired the considerable nerve it must have taken to simply turn up for work one morning, tonsorially enhanced, and ride out the ensuing storm of ridicule.

The chap in the photo, either blessed with a full head or unashamed of any loss he may have suffered, opens not just the cab window but also the hinged windscreen of Bristol Omnibus Co. FS convertible no. 8578. Notwithstanding the warmth of the day, Friday 22nd August 1980, the vehicle's roof is fitted for operating the 105 ...Weston-super-Mare's last remaining "crew" service. I "passed out" as a driver in May 1976, just as one of the hottest and most prolonged summers of the 20th century got underway. Being new to driving I noticed little else and retain few memories of those torrid months. On the few occasions I attempted to use them, I found that the hinged windscreens thudded irritatingly shut as soon as you hit a pothole. They gave up on the idea towards the end of Lodekka production ...or at least Bristol no longer specified this feature in its orders.

160510_0843_160510 101555_oly_S1_New York

High Line

Manhattan

10th Avenue

W 22nd ST - W 23rd ST

camera: sl66 80mm with 8° upward tilt

film: Illford FP4 - self developed with hc-110 (B)

• press L to view on black...

View Large On Black

As America takes pause to spend time with family and give thanks for the fact that we can over-eat in this country, Mr Hendricks and Mr Patchett would like to give thanks for all those who work to preserve our cultural heritage.

Thanks to all who bring important buildings like the Bosler House back to life. Thanks to those who restore furniture and early appliances. Thanks to those folks who keep “retro” fashions of all kinds in the public imagination. Thanks to those who keep the memory of orphan car brands alive and the people who still know how to keep them running. Thanks to the skillful Chinese craftsmen who made the models we photograph in order to take you on our nostalgic time travel adventures.

Thanks to all of you for the kind comments and views you have given us over the past couple of years.

Happy Thanksgiving from one24thscale!

This is a forced perspective photograph of 1/24 scale die-cast model cars and truck in front of a real background.

Crown Premiums 1935 Chevrolet Panel Truck - United Van Lines

Franklin Mint 1935 Auburn 851 Speedster

Danbury Mint 1936 Ford Deluxe Coupe

Listening to Lazy Eye on the album Carnavas by The Silversun Pickups.

Newton's Cradle. Discovery Science Museum - Acton, MA.

random fact: this photo is the 9999 photo taken on the 5DM2.

Back from Boston. I'll be catching up now.

Trip update: It rained buckets non-stop Monday through most of Wednesday. Massive flooding in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Despite the weather we had a great time.

Except, for our trip home, at South Station Boston, after we settled into our table for a snack, it was announced that all Amtrak trains out of Boston were cancelled due to flooding.

Well, we scrambled to rent a car and made it home after a grueling eleven hour trip with backups and detours and bio breaks. At home it was 75 and sunny!

Looking forward to a great weekend.

Valentines day '09 wishes to all flickr members...

Work trip to Kelowna provided an opportunity to do some hiking and catch a photo before my flight home. Hard to believe views like this are available within city limits! This was maybe the only sun I saw all day, and luckily it happened to appear at the exact right moment.

Taken with a Canon 5D mark IV, Canon 24-70 f/2.8L ii, LEE landscape polarizer, LEE 2 stop ND grad (hard). Processed in Camera Raw and Photoshop.

Hello to all my flickr friends. We are traveling along the Blue Ridge Parkway. So many photos, but somehow this one appealed to me. . . . guess I continue to be attracted to simple images.

Sometimes I feel as if my guitars have thier own toy story going on. Showed my old Ovation some proper lovin' today and got the pictures to prove it.

Nikon D700

Nikkor Micro 60mm f/2.8D

1/40, f/3.5 ISO 800

www.spurnpoint.com/Spurn_Point.htm

Spurn is a very unique place in the British Islands. Three and a half miles long and only fifty metres wide in places.

Extending out in to the Humber Estuary from the Yorkshire coast it has always had a big affect to the navigation of all vessels over the years. Help to some and a danger or hindrance to others. This alone makes Spurn a unique place.

Spurn is made up of a series of sand and shingle banks held together with mainly Marram grass and Seabuckthorn. There are a series of sea defence works built by the Victorians and maintained by the Ministry of Defence, till they sold Spurn to the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust in the 1950s. The defences are in a poor state, breaking down and crumbling. This is making Spurn a very fragile place wide open to the ravages of the North Sea.

One of the most striking features of Spurn is the black and white lighthouse near to the end of Spurn. Now just an empty shell not used since it was closed down at dawn on the thirty first of October 1986.

There have been many Lighthouses on Spurn over the years the first recorded at around 1427. The present light was built from 1893 TO 1895. The small tower on the beach on the Estuary side was originally the low light. It was built and put in to operation at around 1852. This light was no longer needed when the present lighthouse was opened in 1895.At a later date the light was removed and it was used as a store for explosives and later as a water tower. The tank can still be seen on the top. When it was operational there was a raised walkway from the shore to the lighthouse so it could be reached at all stages of the tide.

The present lighthouse was built to replace an old lighthouse that was positioned just to the south of the present one. You can still see the round perimeter wall surrounding the old keepers cottages and the base of the old lighthouse which had to be demolished due to it settling on it's foundations making it unsafe.

The only light on Spurn today is a flashing green starboard light on the very end of the point and the fixed green lights marking the end of the Pilots jetty.

Because of Spurns ever moving position there have been many Lighthouses over the years. There is a very good book by George.de.BOAR, called History of the Spurn Lighthouses, produced by the East Yorkshire Local History Society. This is one of a series of books on local history.

www.spurnpoint.com/Around_and_about_at_Spurn.htm

Around and about there are plenty of places to eat and drink. Starting from the north of Spurn at Kilnsea there is the Riverside hotel offering good quality food drink and accommodation. Coming south towards Spurn and still in Kilnsea there is the Crown and Anchor pub. A welcoming place serving bar meals fine beers and offering bed and breakfast at very reasonable rates. At the crossroads before you turn towards Spurn there is the Spurn heritage coast visitors centre. Where there is a small cafe and exhibition. At the entrance Spurn point nature reserve is an information centre and bird observatory selling books pamphlets, etc., and the last toilet on Spurn.

Past the lighthouse is the last car park. Two hundred metres further on you find the Humber Lifeboat and Pilot stations. Near the houses is a Small caravan selling tea, coffee, cold cans, hot and cold food, crisps and sweets.

All are open all year round apart from the heritage centre which is open thought the season.

BIRD WATCHING.

Is a very popular pastime as Spurn is internationally famous for birds. There are up to two hundred species recorded at spurn every year. Some of which are extremely rare. The Marmora's Warbler seen at Spurn In June 1992 was only the third recorded in Britain.

SEA FISHING.

The beaches of Spurn provide some of the best sea fishing in the area, with Cod and Whiting and Flats being caught through the winter and Skate, Flats and Bass through the summer. There is sport to be had all the year.

At the very end of Spurn is deep water ideal for Cod but this only fishes best two hours either side of low water, the tide is to strong at other times. All along the seaward side of Spurn is good for all species of fish at all times though over high water being the better. The riverside of Spurn is very shallow and only produces Flats and the bass over high water.

THE BEACH.

The beaches at Spurn are of soft sand and shingle. Whichever way the wind is blowing you can just pop over the dunes to the outer side. There are fossils and all manners of things to find beach combing. Swimming is not safe any were near the point end as there are very strong tides at up to six knots at times. But in side Spurn around the point car park is perfect at high water. The beach does not shelf to fast and very little tide. You can have the place to your self at times, as Spurn is never really busy weekdays.#

A very popular pastime at Spurn is Fossil hunting. There is a good abundance of fossils to be found in amongst the pebbles and shingle.

The Shark Trust has a very interesting PDF file tell you all about Shark Skate and rays the mermaids purses you find on the beach are egg shells from sharks and Rays. Click the link to down load the Shark Trust Brochure.

WALKING.

Walking or strolling at spurn is very easy, as there are no hills. There are various sign posted paths up and down the point. For the fit a complete walk round the whole point is about 8 miles, taking in all the point round the point end and back to the "warren" information place at the start of Spurn. You will need good footwear, as much of the paths are sand. There is limited access for disabled, but not to the point end, as you have to go via the beach.

You can park your car at the point car park and walk round the point end and back to the car park about a mile, or just stroll around the point were you choose. The only place you are not allowed to go are down the pilot's jetty and the centre square of the Lifeboat houses.

In spring and early summer Spurn is covered with a large amount of wild flowers of all species.

There are common to the not so common; from Orchids to bluebells. I must remind you Spurn is a nature reserve and the picking of all flowers is prohibited. When visiting please enjoy Spurn, as it is a very beautiful place and leave only your footprints.

Horse Riding.

There is riding available nearby at the North Humberside Riding Centre. The stables are ideally located with rides along quiet country lanes, by-ways, plus miles of sandy beach and riverbanks. The cross-country course offers a variety of fences for both the novice and the more experienced rider.

www.spurnbirdobservatory.co.uk/

A Brief History of Spurn Bird Observatory

Following visits to Spurn by several members of the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union in the late 1930's, a communal log for ornithological observations was instituted in 1938. This included a roll-call of species, the beginnings of a recording system, which later became standard in bird observatories. Realising the potential of the Spurn peninsula for the regular observation of bird migration a group of enthusiasts, notably Ralph Chislett, George Ainsworth, John Lord and R.M. Garnett, had the idea of setting up a bird observatory, with the Warren Cottage at the northern end of the peninsula as an ideal headquarters. Unfortunately the outbreak of war forced them to put their plans on hold but shortly after hostilities ceased a lease for Warren Cottage was obtained from the War Department and the observatory was established shortly afterwards under the auspices of the Y.N.U. with the four members mentioned above forming the first committee. A preliminary meeting was held in September 1945 to decide on the site for a Heligoland trap, work on which was begun almost immediately and the first bird (a Blackbird) was ringed on November 17th. The first minuted committee meeting was held on March 9th 1946 and the observatory was opened to visitors at Whitsuntide that year.

Initially coverage was limited to the main migration seasons, being extended to winter weekends in the early 1950's to trap and ring some of the large numbers of Snow Buntings which used to occur at that time of year and gradually coverage was increased (whenever possible) to cover the late spring and summer. In 1959 there was an important development when the Yorkshire Naturalists' Trust (now the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust) became the owners of the peninsula and thus the observatory's landlord. In 1960 a full time warden was appointed by the Trust, and although having no official connection with the observatory the fact of having an observer on the peninsula year-round inevitably helped to improve the ornithological coverage. This was especially the case from 1964 when the current warden, Barry Spence, was appointed, in conjunction with the fact that an interest in birds and their migrations was steadily growing and more bird-watchers were staying at the observatory, often for longer periods.

When the observatory opened there was accommodation for seven visitors in Warren Cottage and facilities included two chemical toilets, the Warren Heligoland trap and an ex-army hut as a ringing hut. Over the next ten years a further five Heligoland traps were constructed along the peninsula, although today only three remain in existence. In 1959 the observatory gained the use of the Annexe, one of two ex W.D. bungalows built at the Warren during the early 1950's, thus increasing the accommodation capacity to seventeen and providing much improved toilet facilities. Over the years the accommodation and facilities have been gradually improved to try to make the visitor's stay at Spurn as comfortable as possible. Other improvements have also taken place, in 1968 part of one of the derelict buildings at the Point was converted into a ringing laboratory ready for the first B.T.O. Ringing Course, held in autumn of that year and in 1971 part of one of the derelict buildings at the Warren was also converted into a ringing laboratory. The other part of this building became a laboratory for the use of students of Leeds University but this also became available to the observatory in the mid 1980's when the University no longer had a use for it. Subsequently it was converted into a self-contained accommodation unit for two, complete with kitchen facilities, and although officially known by the somewhat unimaginative name of Room F (the rooms in the Annexe being known as Rooms A, C, D & E, - whatever happened to Room B?), it was somewhat irreverently christened "Dunbirdin" by regular visitors to Spurn.

In 1965 a sea-watching hut was erected east of the Warren beyond the line of the former railway track. Due to coastal erosion it became necessary to move this in late 1974, when it was hoped that it would last at least as long as it had in its first position. Alas this was not to be, as the rate of erosion increased dramatically in the mid 1970's, necessitating a further move in early December 1977. In that year a clay bank had been built across the field behind Warren Cottage (Clubley's field) to prevent the flooding of arable land by wind-blown sea water, but on January 11th 1978 Spurn suffered its worst flooding ever when a strong to gale-force north-westerly wind combined with a spring tide. In late 1981 due to extensive construction works at Easington a large quantity of boulder clay became available and this was used to build up and extend the bank across Clubley's field, south towards Black Hut and north beyond Big Hedge to join up with an existing bank (which had been built in 1974) behind the scrape. In 1982 the sea-watching hut was repositioned on top of this bank, where it remained until the bank itself was washed away in the early 1990's.

A number of other changes to the observatory recording area began to take place from the early 1970's, including extensive building operations at the Point, commencing in 1974, with the construction of a new jetty for the Humber Pilot boats, new housing for the Spurn Lifeboat crew and the conversion and renovation of various existing buildings for use by the Coastguard and the Pilots. In 1978 following damage to the existing road south of the Warren area a new tarmac road was laid to the west of the original one, this lasted until 1988 when a second "new road" loop had to be laid, followed in 1991 by the construction of the existing loop road running along the Humber shore from just south of the Warren to just beyond Black Hut. The construction of this road resulted in the destruction of the actual Black Hut, although the area still bears the name. In 1981 the lines of wartime concrete anti-tank blocks running from the seashore to the Canal Zone were removed to fill in a breach at the Narrow Neck. This resulted in the southward extension of the Scrape field by the farmer up to Big Hedge and the start of a gradual decline in the condition of this hedge and its attractiveness to birds. In 1982 a local resident excavated a pond for shooting purposes in the wet area adjoining the Canal Zone. This never really proved successful and the land was later purchased by the Y.W.T. and the pond enlarged to become what is now known as Canal Scrape. In 1984 a famous Spurn landmark, the Narrows "Hut", a wooden migration watch shelter which had stood at the Narrow Neck for twenty-three years, was set fire to by person or persons unknown and completely destroyed, it was replaced the following year by a more solid construction made from breeze-blocks.

A period of considerable change began in 1988 when the Spurn peninsula was designated as part of the Spurn Heritage Coast. Projects undertaken include the enlargement of the Canal Scrape mentioned above and the erection of a hide overlooking it, a hide overlooking the Humber wader roost at Chalk Bank, a public sea-watching hide alongside the observatory one, provision of additional car-parking space, the restoration of the short-turf habitat in the Chalk Bank area, provision of footpaths, etc. A major project was the renovation of the Blue Bell in Kilnsea for use as offices, an information centre and a small cafe, which became fully operational in 1995. Another fairly recent project has been the creation of another scrape/pond on Clubley's field.

In 1996 the observatory celebrated its fiftieth anniversary, and for the first time in its history SBO employed a full time seasonal warden. This position has since been expanded and the observatory now enjoys the services of a year- round warden. In 1998, with a view to the future, a small bungalow in Kilnsea was purchased with money bequeathed by the late John Weston, a long time committee member, who regrettably died in 1996. This was followed in 1999 by the purchase of a strip of land adjacent to the property and is now known as the ‘Church Field’, this is planted with a sacrificial crop every year, and has also had several groups of trees planted and a feeding station placed in the north-east corner. Access to this field is available by becoming a member of ‘Friends of Spurn Bird Observatory’, a venture set up in 2003 to eventually help with the building of a new observatory when the old one falls way to the sea.

EXPLORED! Highest position: 147 on Thursday, July 9, 2009

Still busy, these next two weeks will probably be even worse...

Getting stronger, on Thursday they scheduled me the final job interview (already succesfully passed through two) for a really interesting opportunity.

I will be meeting the General Manager of the company. Sounds good!

The shot

Another sunrise from my April Tuscany trip. Taken some minutes before "Tuscany Sunrise @75mm". Tighter crop, less contrasty.

I'm in love with that place.

The Processing

Photoshop: (SINGLE EXPOSURE)

- Duplicated the background layer, switched to soft light mode and applied a gradient mask (sky only)

- Switched to LAB mode and applied two curves to improve contrast and tones

- Back to RGB, added a vibrance layer to boost up minor tones

- Used color balance tool to improve colors

- Duplicated the background layer, switched to linear add and applied a gradient mask (foreground only)

- Created an Overlay layer to adjust light

- Resized

- Run Noise Ninja to reduce Noise

- Sharpening (Smart Sharpen + more accurate)

- Framing and signature.

Take a look at it, LARGE on Black :

The best is yet to come, on Black

@ You all

Comments, faves and critiques are always welcomed!

I wish you all a splendid sunday and a marvellous week ahead.

I will be checking your streams out tonight.

#AbFav_BRIDGES_🌉

#AbFav_PHOTOSTORY

The New Little Belt Bridge (Nye Lillebæltsbro).

Getting closer to our destination, we cross a beautiful bridge.

The New Little Belt Bridge (Nye Lillebæltsbro) is a suspension bridge that crosses the Little Belt strait between Jutland (Jylland) and the island of Funen (Fyn) in Denmark.

The bridge is 1700 metres long, the main span is 600 metres, the pylons reaching a height of 120 metres, and the maximum clearance from the sea is 44 meters.

Opened:October 21, 1970, the bridge was constructed to alleviate congestion on the Old Little Belt Bridge due to the increasing car traffic between Jutland and Funen.

It is a motorway on the E20 bridge with three-lane carriageways as opposed to the single lanes of the old bridge.

The bridge has heating in the road deck, so it can be kept free of ice and snow in winter.

Passing through Little Belt Bridge is toll free… amazing.

Hope you enjoy?

Thank you for your visits and comments, M, (*_*)

For more of my other work visit here: www.indigo2photography.com

Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved

"New Little Belt Bridge", "Nye Lillebæltsbro", Denmark, Bridge, day, night, road, COLOUR, HORIZONTAL, "Magda Indigo", "NIKON D7000"

72/365 - In The Colors - Ben Harper

(View Large on Black)

Tough start of a new week. Bad results in several stupid tests at school lately and a lot of work to finish before intense days of practice tests next week. You see what I'm talking about ?

So after courses me and Loic had to made a new shot for the school project we've been working on all the weekend. The theme is "Do it as..." a (famous or not so) photographer.

The original feelings we had with this work were very great, we found we had to understand the style of a photographer and shot new pictures with this particular style. We also have to redact about this photographer, define his style and explain his pictures.

In fact, that's basically less interesting, we have to purely copy two pictures of a photographer like a xerox and describe "technically" the original pictures.

Whatever, it's been several weeks that I wanted to make a tribute to Dustin Diaz with this theme, cause he has been inspiring for me. But in the end, I was really unmotivated to just copy his work.

Don't think that's the better way to learn something...

I've been working on learning how Dustin does his pictures for few months to inspire my own ones and be able to shoot something decent for this theme.

Finally I decided to change and try some new things, I wanted to make fashion pictures outdoor with the spring feeling, I found great fashion pictures by Ted Grambeau, but that was not really what I wanted to do. I've shot some pics as Ted Grambeau this Sunday with Emmeline, but finally we ended with the Dustin like picture in the subway that I really liked.

With no fashion photographer name found, I decided to get back on my first idea, that's why we had to shot another one this Monday with Loic.

First we went to a lake outside Toulouse with Melissa and Florent where Loic wanted to shoot his theme picture. Found the place interesting and decided to go for a fashion shoot with Melissa for today's shot. After that, we went back to my place to pack the rest of the things we needed for my DD shot and we went to the center to find the right spot.

A lot of hard work. Hope you'll enjoy it cause we don't have that much sleep theese days...

Love to read your comments. Take care, see ya tomorrow.

Link to In The Colors - Ben Harper live music video.

Light :

- 1 flash Canon speedlite 540EZ through 24" square softbox 35mm on the left of Melissa

- 1 flash Canon speedlite 540EZ backlighting

Fired by Cactus V4.

Canon EOS 7D - EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

Sébastien Huruguen

www.huruguen.fr

Facebook

Decided to cycle to the airport to watch the Red Arrows leave for today's airshow. They always put on a display when returning back to the airport and didn't disappoint today

I went to the Dahlia garden.

there were hundreds of kinds of dahlias there.

so impressed in front of these flowers,

I tried to take all kinds of them. ...yes, STUPID, I was :D

I have just determined to be more selective,

well, at least, now I suppose so ;-)

4O55 Leeds to Southampton containers, crossing the River Calder at Woodnook near Methley junction 23/04/17, never been for a shot at this location before. Lovely breezy day, but cool in the wind.

These photos have absolutely no artistic merit and after fiddling a bit with them found that I couldn't even improve upon their mediocrity in processing. Nevertheless, I do want to share the experience so here are the best of a very poor batch which hopefully will serve to convey the experience. In my defense, I was in the canoe with a relatively stiff breeze inevitably quickly blowing me away from the subject resulting in some frantic over the shoulder clicks....;-))

The comment photo reflects what I had been watching from my deck all morning: two loons rapidly skittering across the surface of the lake from one end to the other. I wasn't sure but I assumed it was part of the mating ritual of the pair though I hadn't witnessed it in previous years. They were still going at it when I went out in the canoe determined to figure it out...which after a closer look, I did.

As it turns out, a male interloper had decided to try his chances and all the activity was by the two males while the female demurely observed between her dives for food. This had been going on for hours and the energy expended must have been remarkable. Never once did they actually go at each other but merely seemed to challenge each other to a series of races.

Eventually, what I believe to be the younger male based on size (the challenger) skulked away...literally. I finally noticed him with just his eyes and tail showing above the water in what was clearly a posture of submission and avoidance. Interestingly, the victor and the female seemed to be seeking him out in precisely the opposite posture, looking with tall extended necks, unusual for the normally low-lying loons. The vanquished remained in hiding for the rest of my stay on the lake and I have not seen him since. Hopefully, he'll find romance on another local waterway.

In the lead photo, the male boasts his victory while the prize does not seem particularly overwhelmed...;-)

Bar Caffe

Direct Rail Services Class 37/0 37229 'Jonty Jarvis 8-12-1998 to 18-3-2005' diesel-electric locomotive approaches Caldew Junction at Willowholme in Carlisle on the west coast main line with 6C42 the 13:38 BNFL Sellafield to Kingmoor depot nitric acid and Caustic Soda tank train.

A vertorama I made a while back - The clouds were awesome this day and seemed to come to a point right at the tip of the fence-post. With the lack of color in January in Colorado and the textures revealed by the low light, this scene definitely works best in black and white.

Happened to notice this small Gaillardia flower just beginning to open, when I was on a three-hour walk in a local park yesterday morning. It was on the edge of the creek bank, overlooking the water. I like these flowers at all stages of their life : ) Thanks, Rebecca, I meant to say that I was posting early today because I have a long, afternoon walk and then, if it doesn't rain, I might drive a few of the gravel roads south of the city this evening. Later: no, I just collapsed at home for the day, after all.

The test train heads away at Lumber St.

I've always wanted to photograph the 2 waterfalls in Kanarra Creek but there are so many amazing spots to visit in Zion that I had never managed to make a visit. On my last day in Zion, Rebecca and I decided to drive to Kanarraville to finally visit Kanarra Creek. The hike starts out along a dirt trail, starts crossing the stream back and forth a hundred times, until eventually you come to a small slot canyon. The photogenic waterfalls are here. Here you can see the first of two wooden "step ladders" along the hike.

This step ladder used to have wooden slats, and was much prettier, but was replaced with this metallic one for safety / maintainability. Boo! It's still a beautiful place to visit and well worth the great hike. The glowing back wall makes it hard to leave but if you do, crawl up the ladder and hike another half mile and you'll come to a second waterfall!

A little bird decided to hang out with us while we sat and photographed here. It would hop from rung to run until it got to the top, hop onto the rock, then fly back to the bottom. That is until we interrupted him to crawl up the ladder ourselves.

Nikon D800 w/Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8:

16mm, f/9, 1.6 sec, ISO 160

Viewed best nice and large

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guy wearing tights on his way into a school building at Kent State University. from twitter.

Absolutely thrilled to capture the conjunction ;0)

The waxing crescent moon and the planet Venus – the brightest and second-brightest orbs of nighttime, respectively – will be the first two celestial bodies to pop out after sundown. Look westward, starting around 30 to 45 minutes after sunset. Then as dusk ebbs into darkness, watch for the planet Mars to join the brilliant twosome. If you have binoculars, aim them at Venus to spot Mars all the sooner in the darkening sky.

I would like to share with you this Christmas song by the talented Ukrainian bard and kobzar Vasyl Zhdankin (1958–2019), which he recorded based on a poem by the brilliant poet Bohdan-Ihor Antonych (1909–1937).

The fragment featuring the song is part of the documentary film “My Kobza” (1989), dedicated to the revival of the kobzar tradition in Ukraine — a tradition that suffered total destruction under Soviet rule. Kobzars were itinerant musicians (usually blind, accompanied by a young guide) who for centuries traveled between Ukrainian villages, introducing people to various forms of folklore, including 'dumy' - songs about historical events, Cossack songs, and more.

Vasyl Zhdankin was one of the enthusiasts of this cultural revival, although his kobza was somewhat modernized and tuned similarly to a modern six-string guitar. Zhdankin was the first person to publicly perform the song “Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished” (our current official national anthem), doing so at the Chervona Ruta festival in Chernivtsi in the summer of 1989. It was still the USSR at the time, and this act was quite courageous.

He was also a deeply religious man, which is why spiritual songs make up a significant part of his artistic legacy. Sadly, the renowned bard died in a car accident in 2019.

The brilliant poet Bohdan-Ihor Antonych lived a short life — he was weakened by tuberculosis, which at that time could not yet be treated effectively. Nevertheless, the final years of his life were marked by an extraordinary creative output, mainly lyrical in nature. He came from Lemkivshchyna, an ethnic Ukrainian mountainous region that today is divided between Poland and Slovakia.

The song is symbolic, since we all know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. I believe Antonych wanted to bring this event closer to local people — to his fellow countrymen and to their traditions.

I would also like to note that in Ukraine, until 2023, Christmas was officially celebrated on January 7. Immediately after the Baptism of Rus’ in 988, the feast was celebrated on December 25 according to the Julian calendar. In 1582, Europe switched to a new calendar — the Gregorian one — but the Orthodox Church of Rus’ (Ukrainian) remained on the Julian calendar.

Muscovy also stayed on the Julian calendar — not only the Church, but the entire state system of timekeeping — as did the Russian Empire later on. In 1918, the Bolsheviks finally adopted the Gregorian calendar, but the Church did not recognize this change and continued to celebrate Christmas according to the Julian calendar (that is, December 25 in the Julian calendar falls on January 7 in the Gregorian calendar).

And now, in 2023, due to the war and for reasons that are more political than religious, the Ukrainian parliament decided that Christmas would be officially celebrated together with Europe. However, ordinary people celebrate it in different ways: some according to the new calendar, some according to the old one, some celebrate both, and some do not celebrate at all.

Since Flickr provides only three minutes for free, the end of the song was slightly cut. At the end, Zhdankin proclaims: “Christ is born — let us glorify Him!” In Ukraine, Orthodox Christians greet each other in this way, and on the eve of Christmas they say when meeting: “Christ is being born!”

The full documentary film 'My kobza' can be watched on YouTube. Here is one of the links: youtu.be/oUCPKsa_Lpk?si=yAvKRBd1TnkGc8sh