View allAll Photos Tagged Underlying
•‘Coloniality’ - the darker side and underlying logic of Modernity (Mignolo, Quijano)
•King Midas - granted his wish to turn everything he touched into gold – consequently starved to death (Greek mythology)
•Knowing ‘… the price of everything and the value of nothing’. Oscar Wild on cynicism
Time running out on our climate, our world - an inevitable cost of Western rationality? truths? beliefs? desires? ignorances? Indifferences? impotencies? cynicisms? economies?
When something was done or accepted simply because it was common sense, Harvey did a double take. Where did that come from and why? He thought about the underlying assumptions and evaluated each. One such example of erroneous common wisdom was that too much reading, such as on his cell phone, developed near-sightedness. If that were true then he should be blind rather than have his actual 20/20 vision. In another, his fellow staffers felt it was common sense that if their boss, the senator, pivoted to a more moderate position that the senator would receive more votes in the election. That was not necessarily true. Or, it was common sense among his fellow Americans that all people of the world wanted freedom such as they have, or at a minimum of what the British have. ;-) These presuppositions begged further scrutiny.
He knew all too well that he too could easily be seduced by his own bad assumptions in his evaluation only to slide down a rabbit hole to be captured and stuck in Wonderland.
Yellowstone National Park
Wyoming
USA
Hot springs are the most common hydrothermal features in Yellowstone. Beginning as precipitation, the water of a hot spring seeps through the bedrock underlying Yellowstone and becomes superheated at depth. An open plumbing system allows the hot water to rise back to the surface unimpeded. Convection currents constantly circulate the water, preventing it from getting hot enough to trigger an eruption.
At times, fierce, boiling waters within a hot spring can explode, shooting water into the air, acting much like a geyser.
Many of the bright colors found in Yellowstone's hydrothermal basins come from "thermophiles" — microorganisms that thrive in hot temperatures. So many individual microorganisms are grouped together—trillions! — that they appear as masses of color.
Different types of thermophiles live at different temperatures within a hot spring and cannot tolerate much cooler or warmer conditions. Yellowstone's hot water systems often show distinct gradations of living, vibrant colors where the temperature limit of one group of microbes is reached, only to be replaced by a different set of thermophiles.
The White Rim sandstone cap limits the chaos of erosion in the underlying less resistant, though wonderfully layered Organ Rock formation of red sandstone in Canyonlands National Park. Gooseberry Creek has cut a canyon here through the White Rim, hastening the movement of all rock layers toward the Colorado River and Lake Powell, where it will stay until Glen Canyon Dam disappears. As they weather and erode away the caps and underlying rock may form hoodoo monuments due to the cracking patterns in the White Rims. It is hard to gauge scale here, but there is around a 100-200 foot drop from the White Rim into the bottom of the canyon.
In the distance the La Sal Mountains are covered by a recent snow, which the wind is blowing off of the summits as seen in the faint plumes.
A laccolith is a underground intrusion of molten lava, frequently, as here, emplaced in a weak zone between the horizontal layers of sedimentary deposits. The laccolith in the center is one of the largest structures of this type, covering an area of 1500 square kilometers (590 square miles), up to 1000m (3000 feet) thick. The overlying sedimentary rock has long disappeared, but the underlying red Claron Formation layers visible in some spots (right Center). The red rocks of Zion National Park are visible in the distance
I have recently returned to Western Canada after a wonderful journey through Portugal and a visit to inspiring Madrid. I'm marking my return by posting two images of my beloved Cascade mountain, the towering peak that overlooks the town of Banff, in Canada's Banff National Park.
This posting was prompted by the thought that most visitors to the Rocky Mountains are struck by their awe-inducing beauty without giving much thought to their geologic birthing story, which in its own way is just as awe-inspiring. So I decided to present, for interested viewers, a brief summary of this birthing story. Here it is.
The Rocky Mountains began to be formed 140 million years ago, through a process that lasted about 100 million years, before tapering off. Prior to this process, the Rockies region was part of a wide continental shelf, covered by the sea. Sedimentary rock had been collecting there for 1.5 billion years, resting on a bedrock of granite, and in some places reached a thickness of 20 km.
During the 100 million year priod that started 140 million years ago, the sedimentary rock of the west coast continental shelf began to be pushed inland to the northeast, coming loose from the underlying granite, and sliding along. The originally flat layers bent into folds and broke into moving sheets of rock, thrust sheets, that slid up and over one another, stacking skyward and creating the mountains we now see. Fossils of corals that once formed tropical reefs can now be found on mountain peaks standing 3,000 meters above sea level. So the Canadian Rocky Mountains comprise mostly sedimentary rock. The American Rocky Mountains are different, as will be described in a future post.
Over the past 2 million years, the geology of the region changed further, as glaciers carved deep, wide valleys between the mountain peaks. Cascade mountain, for example, sits beside one such valley, Bow Valley. Of course, the formation of these deep valleys increased the height of their adjoining mountains.
I hope some viewers have found this short geologic history of the Rocky Mountains to be interesting. Those seeking more detailed information may turn to Ben Gadd's "Handbook of the Canadian Rockies," from which much of the above information was drawn.
Summer Painting Project 2021.
Acrylic on Canvas. 10" in Diameter.
The very best thing that came out of Lockdown for me was returning to painting after a 15 year hiatus. I started back at it in the Summer of 2020 and continued on with it in '21. I can only paint outdoors for a variety of reasons so this work is my "summer project". With a lot more time on my hands it was easy to jump outside on my balcony "studio", fitted with a giant drop sheet, some newspaper and plastic covered patio tables, and get right to it.
Most of the paintings shown here were done with at least one form of metallic paint - gold, silver and copper. Metallic greens, blues and purples also made their presences felt as well. These paints are ridiculously difficult to photograph. Silver goes white, gold just looks like flat yellow and copper comes out on camera as either orange or brown, depending what colour it's next to on the canvas. So these photographs are proxies, at best, representatives of the original source. They're close, but not the same as seeing the pieces in person.
Using metallic paints give the paintings an extra jolt and delight that sends them out of the realm of 'paint' in a sense - a definite goal I have in mind for these pieces. Another way of undermining 'safe' readings is to fashion them all on either perfect circles or on squares tilted "on the diamond", as I call it. Both undermine the traditional sense of solidity, gravity and earth-bound familiarity of rectilinear formats. While being unavoidable 'windows' into an imaginary world, they are also distinct objects existing in 3 dimensions as well. So the mind can toggle between object and metaphor, hopefully sometimes so quickly that they take on both aspects simultaneously.
This is another way of achieving my underlying artistic intent to provide each piece with more than one way of viewing it. Literally as you move around these pieces, because of the metallic paint sometimes reflecting fully and other times 'falling back' into the rest of the paints, you get different views appearing and disappearing. Hanging on a wall, as the daylight and evening lights change, slowly, so do the paintings. This gives voice, again, to my conviction that there is no single way to view anything. Nothing is singularly aspected.
So these paintings are morphing organisms that respond to what's happening in their light-universe and to how they're viewed by human eyes.
It's too bad none of these can be relayed in photographic form. Some come close. But these photographs, then, are petrified representatives of the living variations of their 'in-person' nature.
***** I want to thank Paul Ewing, Bramdass, Miranda Murray, Tim Noonan and Bill Smith for their continuous support and encouragement to get these things posted to Flickr.
- RSW
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© 2021, Richard S Warner. All Rights Reserved. This image may not be used or copied or posted to another website in any form whatsoever without express permission of the creator of this work.
The black swan (Cygnus atratus) is a large waterbird, a species of swan which breeds mainly in the southeast and southwest regions of Australia. Within Australia, the black swan is nomadic, with erratic migration patterns dependent upon climatic conditions. It is a large bird with mostly black plumage and a red bill. It is a monogamous breeder, with both partners sharing incubation and cygnet-rearing duties. Source Wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_swan
Black swan theory :
The black swan theory or theory of black swan events is a metaphor that describes an event that comes as a surprise, has a major effect, and is often inappropriately rationalized after the fact with the benefit of hindsight. The term is based on an ancient saying that presumed black swans did not exist – a saying that became reinterpreted to teach a different lesson after the first European encounter with them.
Taleb's "black swan theory" refers only to unexpected events of large magnitude and consequence and their dominant role in history. Such events, considered extreme outliers, collectively play vastly larger roles than regular occurrences. More technically, in the scientific monograph "Silent Risk", Taleb mathematically defines the black swan problem as "stemming from the use of degenerate metaprobability"
The phrase "black swan" derives from a Latin expression; its oldest known occurrence is from the 2nd-century Roman poet Juvenal's characterization in his Satire VI of something being "rara avis in terris nigroque simillima cygno" ("a rare bird in the lands and very much like a black swan"). When the phrase was coined, the black swan was presumed not to exist. The importance of the metaphor lies in its analogy to the fragility of any system of thought. A set of conclusions is potentially undone once any of its fundamental postulates is disproved. In this case, the observation of a single black swan would be the undoing of the logic of any system of thought, as well as any reasoning that followed from that underlying logic. Source Wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_swan_theory
Lien vers le texte en langue française
fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%A9orie_du_cygne_noir
TD : Sony Alpha 6000 @Pentax-M 200mm f/2.8 prime lens.
1/640 f/8 800ISO. Processed in ACR, converted to jpeg in PS6.
From which it is woven
Understanding aesthetics
As a window into the underlying reality
Ilex-Oscillo-Paragon 75mmf1.9
Exploring Mülheim #5
The rural side of the Ruhrgebiet
If you are interested in the underlying concept of this series please read the description of the album.
Bear Lake at Sovata, Romania
The first data about Sovata are from 1578. By 1583 it was already a village. Due to its salty lakes and warm water it became an increasingly popular health resort during the end of the 19th and the 20th century. It gained the status of town in 1952.
The 1875 geological events (collapse of a salt mine) gave birth to the Bear Lake (in the shape of a bear hide rug), which is unique in Europe. Its water is heliothermal and salty, and is used therapeutically for chronic gynecological symptoms, severe rheumatic pains, peripheral nervous system and post-accidental motor diseases. The Bear Lake has an area of 40,000 square meters, a depth of 18 meters and an average salinity of 100-250 g/L.
The water can reach a temperature of 35C due to the heliothermic phenomenon: the fresh water of two small brooks that flow into Bear Lake form a 10–15 cm layer on top of the saltwater. This freshwater layer behaves like a magnifying glass, the sun’s rays penetrate it, warming the underlying saltwater to a depth of 1.5–2 m up to 35 degrees. The freshwater layer also acts as a heat insulator, preventing saltwater with a much higher density rising to the surface and losing its accumulated heat in contact with cooler air. (Wikipedia and transylvanianow.com/bear-lake-szovata-worlds-largest-heli...)
My one and only entry into this year's Summer Joust, in the Bridging the Gap category.
What's more challenging than a structure that's unsupported over 32 studs? A structure spanning 32+ studs that's only supported on one side!
... Or at least that was my reasoning going into this project. :P What I thought would take me a month turned into 7 weeks, and I had to abandon any plans for other entries just to finish this one on time. And now I never want to touch a lime green brick again. :P
The end result is remarkably sturdy though. I started with the hand and worked my way downward, and the underlying technic armature held up the full weight of the hand for the entire build time without any issue. Truly amazing what Lego is capable of—the whole arm is connected with just four technic pins at the base. If I were to press down hard on the palm, the landscape would break in half before anything happened to the arm.
See if you can spot the hidden skunk!
And here's proof that the structure spans 32+ studs.
EDIT: Check out the strength test on Instagram!
Cività di Bagnoregio - Lazio - Italia/Italy
Civita di Bagnoregio is a town in the Province of Viterbo in central Italy, a frazione of the comune of Bagnoregio, 1 km east from it.
Civita was founded by Etruscans more than 2,500 years ago. By the 16th century, Civita was beginning to decline, becoming eclipsed by its former suburb Bagnoregio.
At the end of the 17th century, the bishop and the municipal government were forced to move to Bagnoregio because of a major earthquake that accelerated the old town's decline. In the 19th century, Civita's location was turning into an island and the pace of the erosion quickened as the layer of clay below the stone was reached in the area where today's bridge is situated. Bagnoregio continues as a small but prosperous town, while Civita became known in Italian as il paese che muore ("the town that is dying"). Civita has only recently been experiencing a tourist revival.
The town is noted for its striking position atop a plateau of friable volcanic tuff overlooking the Tiber river valley. It is in constant danger of destruction as the edges of the plateau collapse due to erosion, leaving the buildings to crumble as their underlying support falls away. As of 2004, there were plans to reinforce the plateau with steel rods to prevent further geological damage.
The town was placed on the World Monuments Fund's 2006 Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites, because of threats it faces from erosion and unregulated tourism.
An alternate fisheye lens view of the Colorado River in the Horseshoe Bend, Page, Arizona
Horseshoe Bend is a superb example of an entrenched meander. Six million years ago, the region around Horseshoe Bend was much closer to sea level, and the Colorado River was a meandering river with a nearly level floodplain. Between six and five million years ago, the region began to be uplifted. This trapped the Colorado River in its bed, and the river rapidly cut downwards to produce Horseshoe Bend as we see it today.
The cause of this uplift is still a matter of research. One hypothesis is that uplift was a result of delamination, where the lowest layer of the North American tectonic plate below the Colorado Plateau detached and sank into the underlying mantle. This would have allowed hotter rock from the asthenosphere, the part of the earth's mantle that underlies its tectonic plates, to rise and lift the overlying crust. Another possibility is that the uplift was the result of heating at the base of the crust. This transformed the lowest crustal rock from eclogite, a relatively dense rock (3.6 g/cm3) to garnet granulite, which is significantly less dense (2.9 g/cm3). This would have produced the buoyant forces needed to uplift the region.
Whatever the cause of the uplift, it resulted in the erosion of up to a mile of overlying sediments from the eastern Grand Canyon. This exposed the Navajo Sandstone, the surface rock found throughout the Horseshoe Bend area which also forms the entire depth of the canyon walls of the Grand Canyon at Horseshoe Bend. This sandstone is notable for its crossbedding and iron concretions.
'The Angel looks like a Georgian coaching inn, but underlying that elegant exterior is a 16th-century building. Elizabeth I is thought to have stayed at The Angel. When the inn was undergoing restoration in 1922 a wall painting of Queen Elizabeth was discovered, most likely painted in 1570. A less celebrated visitor was a 17th-century highwayman named Captain Thomas Dangerfield, who preyed upon local travellers by day and slept peacefully at The Angel by night.' www.britainexpress.com/counties/worcestershire/az/pershor...
Por favor no use mis imágenes en páginas web, blogs u otros medios sin mi permiso explícito. ©Todos los derechos reservados.
Please don’ t use my images on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission.
© All rights reserved.
Mi fluidr: www.fluidr.com/photos/esteve_roca
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El punto más bajo y más alto de Suiza de un vistazo: al sur el Lago Maggiore, al oeste los Alpes del Valais con el pico Dufour. Y todo a tan solo unos minutos de la vibrante ciudad de Locarno.
En funicular o autobús, y después un teleférico de diseño y el telesilla panorámico trasladan a los visitantes a Cimetta, a 1450 metros sobre el lago Mayor. Paneles panorámicos explican las montañas que se ven tanto cerca como a lo lejos y grandes modelos de roca, la geología. En la estación intermedia de Cardada, una elegante plataforma panorámica sobresale entre las copas de los árboles. Aquí es posible contemplar «a vista de pájaro» las islas Brissago.
Sendero de reflexoterapia, recorrido de marca nórdica, paseo con juegos para niños y rutas señalizadas para bicis de montaña completan la oferta en Cardada / Cimetta. Hay varios restaurantes que sirven especialidades del Tesino y posibilidades para alojarse tanto de forma sencilla como muy romántica o elegante.
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You can benefit from a magnificent view of the Lake Maggiore basin from any point of the Locarno mountain, but the best places to enjoy the panorama are definitely the Cardada landscape promontory and Cimetta's geological observatory. The first is equipped with a gangway that runs through the treetops of the underlying forest leading to a suspended platform that projects the visitor onto a 180° panorama with an unforgettable view of Lake Maggiore, the Centovalli and Maggia Valleys.
The second, located at Cimetta's highest point, is the geological observatory: a circular platform with a 360° panoramic view of the entire region and the surrounding mountains. A red line signals the Periadriatic Seam ¬– a fault along which the mountain chain separates into Northern and Southern parts. Cutting through a great part of Switzerland, the mountain chain was formed millions of years ago as a result of a collision between the Continental European and the African tectonic plates. From the privileged Cimetta viewpoint you can see the Alps in all their vigour and understand how they were formed.
Architecture lovers will certainly not miss the occasion to enjoy the cable car's departure and arrival stations designed by Mario Botta who has also designed the distinguished water drop-shaped cabins that bring you to the summit in 5 minutes.
Cliffs composed of Pennsylvanian Tensleep Sandstone and underlying Amsden Formation tower above Barry’s Landing at the mouth of Trail Creek canyon in Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, Montana. Most of the Amsden Formation lies mostly in the slope below the cliff.
© Leanne Boulton, All Rights Reserved
Self-portrait abstract captured in Glasgow, Scotland.
Yes those are my nicked and coffee splashed walking boots - perfectly comfortable for street photography and nicely supportive of my dodgy ankle. Captured in August 2020 with 'Social Distance' markings sprayed outside of a branded store on Buchanan Street - no prizes for guessing the brand!
IMPORTANT:
If you are one of the people out there who look at 'underlying health conditions' in people dying from Covid-19 and think that those people don't matter then please feel free to unfollow me on Flickr as I will not enter into a discussion with you about this subject.
I just saw a headline in the Telegraph, a UK Newspaper sometimes referred to as the 'Torygraph', proudly boasting that only 6 'healthy' UK children have died from Covid-19. This comes on the day when the 110th child has died in the UK from Covid-19 or the complications of Covid-19. That headline implies that the other 104 children's lives meant nothing because they had 'underlying health conditions'.
Did you know that the term 'underlying health conditions' refers as much to cancer as it does to an ingrown toenail. It could be a child with ADHD, a child with asthma, a child with a now-treated congenital heart defect, a child with diabetes or any other disease. There is nothing to say that those children wouldn't live long and fulfilling lives contributing to society.
Over 2/3 of those 110 deaths have occurred since September when schools returned with no mandatory masks, distancing, ventilation policy and no vaccination programme effectively in place.
I know some of you hate it when I get political but I am not generally political in a partisan sense here, for me it is always about the humanity or lack thereof that brings me to comment.
The shameful inhumanity of that Telegraph headline and anyone who thinks along the same lines is beyond words. I have 3 of the top 4 co-morbidities for Covid-19. I have numerous underlying health conditions. I developed them as a direct result of working to help others. My life is worth no less because of them and I could, hopefully, go on to live many more decades yet.
We are one species on one tiny blue planet in the vastness of space. It's about time we worked together rather than fought against each other. Stay safe my Flickr friends.
Red/Common Crossbill - Loxia Curvirostra (m)
The crossbill is a genus, Loxia, of birds in the finch family (Fringillidae), with six species. These birds are characterised by the mandibles with crossed tips, which gives the group its English name. Adult males tend to be red or orange in colour, and females green or yellow, but there is much variation.
Crossbills are specialist feeders on conifer cones, and the unusual bill shape is an adaptation which enables them to extract seeds from cones. These birds are typically found in higher northern hemisphere latitudes, where their food sources grow. They erupt out of the breeding range when the cone crop fails. Crossbills breed very early in the year, often in winter months, to take advantage of maximum cone supplies.
The different species specialise in feeding on different conifer species, with the bill shape optimised for opening that species of conifer. This is achieved by inserting the bill between the conifer cone scales and twisting the lower mandible towards the side to which it crosses, enabling the bird to extract the seed at the bottom of the scale with its tongue.
The mechanism by which the bill-crossing (which usually, but not always, occurs in a 1:1 frequency of left-crossing or right-crossing morphs) is developed, and what determines the direction, has hitherto withstood all attempts to resolve it.
It is very probable that there is a genetic basis underlying the phenomenon (young birds whose bills are still straight will give a cone-opening behavior if their bills are gently pressed, and the crossing develops before the birds are fledged and feeding independently), but at least in the red crossbill (the only species which has been somewhat thoroughly researched regarding this question) there is no straightforward mechanism of heritability.
Population:
UK breeding:
40,000 pairs
Nel rione VIII di Sant’Eustachio, che ha come simbolo un cervo, l’architetto romano fece costruire la Fontana dei Libri che si trova in via degli Staderari.
La Fontana dei Libri, costituita interamente in travertino, è situata dentro una nicchia incorniciata da un arco a tutto sesto con l’iscrizione S.P.Q.R. e presenta una testa di cervo fra quattro libri antichi, due per ciascun lato e collocati su due mensole laterali di marmo, mentre l’acqua fuoriesce da due cannelle a forma di segnalibro e cade in parte nella sottostante vasca semicircolare ed in parte direttamente sul selciato. Simbolicamente, tutti gli elementi presenti nella Fontana dei Libri hanno un significato ben preciso nella storia del rione. Il cervo, ad esempio, si trova anche sul timpano della Chiesa di Sant’Eustachio e ricorda l’evento della conversione al Cristianesimo di Eustachio, generale romano, a cui apparve un cervo con una croce luminosa fra le corna. I libri, d’altro canto, rappresentano l’antica Università della Sapienza che si trova nel palazzo a cui è addossata la fontanella. Una piccola curiosità che noterete osservando il centro della fontana: in verticale vi è incisa l’indicazione del nome del rione e, in orizzontale, il relativo riferimento numerico
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In the VIII district of Saint Eustace, which is symbolized by a deer, the Roman architect built the Fountain of Books located in Via degli Staderari.
The Fountain of Books, consists entirely of travertine, it is located in a niche framed by an arch with the inscription S.P.Q.R. and it presents a deer's head between four ancient books, two on each side and placed on two marble side shelves, while the water flows out by two spouts shaped bookmark and falls partly in the underlying semi-circular tank and in part directly on the pavement . Symbolically, all the items in the Fountain of Books have a specific meaning in the history of the district. The deer, for example, is also located on the gable of the Church of Saint Eustace and recalls the event of conversion to Christianity eustachian, Roman general, who appeared a deer with a glowing cross between its horns. Books, on the other hand, represent the ancient University of Wisdom which is in the building to which it is set against the fountain. A little curiosity you'll notice by looking at the center of the fountain: vertically there is engraved an indication of the ward name and, horizontally, its numeric reference
there is no sound in a vacuum,
no soliloquy that precedes the moment when galaxies collide,
no context,
no warning,
no rationale,
no debate,
no stirring score to set the mood,
to note the presence of impending radiation,
of heavy particles ripping through the void at the speed of light.
there is no real meaning to be found,
no religion to assign blame,
no confessor to absolve guilt,
there is no guilt,
no underlying lesson to be learned,
no moral,
no arc to follow,
no history to capture,
no purpose, really, in capturing it,
no human scale to anything,
no soulful revelation,
nothing really to grasp.
there is only a shifting tone,
a change in the fundamental,
a lumpiness in the residue,
inexplicable in ages to come,
buried in the miscalculations that are bound to occur;
there is the presumptuousness of intelligence,
the common mistake,
that there was nothing,
and then there was everything,
a big bang in an empty void,
a propagation,
a place with boundaries to be discovered,
a mysterious place
filled with whispers of the here and now.
(deep breath)
no, not so much;
the cascade of universes,
embedded in this unforeseen continuum,
suggests a something far more intricate,
far more subtle,
far more chaotic,
far more beautiful than i will ever know,
far more nuanced than i will ever understand,
far more,
far more,
far far more.
i look up at the sky,
i wait.
littletinperson
a repost (with revisions) from long ago
Thermokarst is defined as "karstlike topographic features produced in a permafrost region by the local melting of ground ice and the subsequent settling of the ground". The photo shows thermokarst topography dominated by numerous thaw lakes formed through melting of the uppermost part of the underlying permafrost layer. Thermokarst lakes and related features are particularly prominent on the coastal plains and peninsulas which border the Arctic Ocean like on the Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula in Canada's Northwest Territories.
The Cheltenham Badlands site is one of Ontario’s geological treasures, formed at the base of an ancient sea about 450 million years ago.
The removal of trees and early farming practices caused the shallow topsoil to erode away, in turn exposing the underlying Queenston shale. Rain, snowmelt and freeze-thaw conditions accelerated the erosion of the shale, resulting in the unique ridge and gully landscape that you see today.
This 36-hectare (91-acre) site is one of the most recognizable and visited natural heritage landmarks in Southern Ontario.
The dominance hierarchy is constantly changing. These are the same two Plains Bison males featured in the current series, engaged in a little testing. The bull on the right was the aggressor; he was slightly taller and heavier, and tried to use this to advantage. The slightly smaller bull on the left seemed happy to engage in a little friendly head shoving. It seemed to be more like playing than fighting, but of course the underlying intent was serious: establishing dominance.
The REALLY serious challenges will happen between mid-July and mid-August, when the annual rut unfolds. This happens in a remote, inaccessible area, and whereas I would love the photo ops, it's probably best that tourists are nowhere near, because it can get dangerous. I've seen serious injuries in the aftermath, including a bull bison that had been badly gored. A sad outcome for him, as he died a few days later. But a protein extravaganza for the local coyotes, magpies, ravens, and other scavengers.
Tomorrow: the prairie wildlife series continues with some different species...
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2025 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Cappella dei Principi is the mausoleum of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany and their families and is part of the museum complex of the Medici Chapels of Florence, adjacent to the Basilica di San Lorenzo.
The Chapel was based on the idea that the Grand Duke Cosimo II de' Medici wanted to create a monument for a family tomb. Work began on the tomb under Grand Duke Ferdinando I de' Medici who appointed architect and sculptor Matteo Nigetti in 1604, based on a design by Don Giovanni de' Medici, brother of the Grand Duke himself. Nigetti completed the mausoleum in 1640. He was assisted by architects Alessandro Pieroni and Don Giovanni de' Medici, Ferdinand's half-brother.
It has a large dome and marble interior. The octagonal room is 28 metres wide and is surmounted by the dome of San Lorenzo, which reaches a height of 59 metres, the second most majestic in the city after Filippo Brunelleschi's dome.
During the first half of the eighteenth century, Italian noblewoman Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, financed the construction of the large windows and cupola, and the internal decoration of the vault, which was executed by the painter Pietro Benvenuti between 1828 and 1837. The Chapel flooring of semiprecious stone inlay was only completed in 1962.
The octagonal room is almost entirely covered with stones and different-coloured marbles. The six porphyry sarcophagi of the Grand Dukes are contained in niches along the walls and complemented by bronze statues. The interior has rich inlays in commesso, also referred as Florentine mosaic, a method of piecing together semi-precious stones. The practice was started in 1588 by the famous artistic workshops, Opificio in Florence, using colored stones, mother of pearl, lapis lazuli, and coral to reproduce the coats of arms of the sixteen Tuscan cities loyal to the Medici family. The paintings in the dome are of the Creation, All, Dealth of Abel, Sacrifice of Noah, Nativity, Death and Resurrection, Last Judgment, are by Pietro Benvenuti.
The statues of the grand dukes for Ferdinand I and Cosimo II de' Medici were made by Pietro Tacca performed between 1626 and 1642. The other grand ducal tombs belong to Cosimo I (1519-1574), Francesco I (1541-1587), and Cosimo III (Succeeded Ferdinand II, 1643-1723). The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was to be located in the center of the atrium, although the various attempts to buy or steal it from Jerusalem failed.
The sarcophagus are actually empty and the real remains of the Grand Dukes and their family members (about fifty major and minor) up to Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici (last heir of the dynasty, 1667-1743), are kept in simple rooms created in the floor of the underlying crypt
From behind the altar there is access to a small room where other precious relics are displayed, some of which were donated to the city by Pope Leo X.
The leaves are about gone as Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad train PO74 charges up the grade under the long abandoned signal bridge at about MP 120.7 on the Pocono Mainline, the former Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Hoboken to Buffalo main. The short train is led by DL 3602, a MLW M636 blt. Apr. 1970 as CN 2302 and still wearing weathered orange and black from its years in remote northern Quebec hauling iron ore on the isolated Cartier Railway. Trailing is DL3000, another Canadian expat MLW M630 blt. Dec. 1970 as PGE 706.
As for the railroad this was a busy heavy haul double track freight route under the Lackawanna and after 1960 the Erie Lackawanna until 1976 when the latter, by then bankrupt, was folded into Conrail. The big new government carrier had little use for either of EL's mainlines instead favoring former NYC and PRR properties. Around 1980 Conrail ran its last thru freight east over the Poconos from Scranton and like so many other northeastern lines its fate seemed sealed. The mainline sat moribund for nearly a decade (excepting some excursions in the mid 1980s by the original private Steamtown Foundation) while big blue continued to serve industries in Scranton until finally spinning off the trackage to a DL predecessor in 1991 and in 1992 the mainline saw its first freight trains as far as Tobyhanna after the line had been saved from removal by both Lackawanna and Monroe Counties. The following year the DL was formed and they have been the operator ever since with the underlying property owned by the Pennsylvania Northeast Railroad Authority since 2006 when the two counties merged their two independent rail agencies.
Moscow, Pennsylvania
Friday October 24, 2025
It's amazing all of the different colors that are portrayed in this photo of cascading water on Guanella Pass in Colorado. Blue skies are reflected in the falling water and the colors of yellow and green, even aqua are seen in the tumbling falls. Mossy rocks underlying the fast moving water accounted for some of the amazing color. Love the crisscross dance of water as it slipped over rock after rock.
Bamff National Park, Canada
Banff National Park, Canada
From Wikipedia:
"Hoodoos typically form in areas where a thick layer of a relatively soft rock, such as mudstone, poorly cemented sandstone, or tuff (consolidated volcanic ash), is covered by a thin layer of hard rock, such as well-cemented sandstone, limestone, or basalt. In glaciated mountainous valleys the soft eroded material may be glacial till with the protective capstones being large boulders in the till. Over time, cracks in the resistant layer allow the much softer rock beneath to be eroded and washed away. Hoodoos form where a small cap of the resistant layer remains, and protects a cone of the underlying softer layer from erosion."
Carnarvon Gorge is situated on an eastern spur of Australia’s Great Dividing Range about nine hours drive northwest of Brisbane. Over the last 25 million years a number of rivers and streams, including Carnarvon Creek, have seeped through cracks in the region’s basalt cap and eroded the underlying sandstone to form the main gorge some 30 kilometres in length. The image here is of the palm-lined entry to the Amphitheatre, a spectacular side gorge cut into the bluff along the southwest flank of Carnarvon Creek.
For additional photos of (and information about) the Amphitheatre, see my images 0499 and 0500.
© Irwin Reynolds, all rights reserved. If you are interested in using one of my images or would like a high quality fine art print, please send me an email (irwinreynolds@me.com).
Devil's Pulpit
A strange rock with a sinister reputation lurks within the crimson waters of this Scottish glen.
Blood-red water courses through Finnich Glen, a majestic sliver of Scotland, and surges around a strange rock with a sinister reputation.
The name “the Devil’s Pulpit” originally referred to the mushroom-shaped rock that sometimes pokes above the rushing stream. Some say the rock is where the Devil stood to address his followers, the crimson current swirling at his feet. Others say Druids held secret meetings there, hidden from sight within the shadows of the gorge’s looming walls. Still more tell tales of witches using the rock as an execution block.
However, over time, many people began referring to all of Finnich Gorge as “the Devil’s Pulpit.” It’s still a fitting name, as the red water certainly gives the whole place an eerie, almost sinister aura, though its color actually isn’t the work of the Devil at all. It’s merely a result of the underlying red sandstone.
But this doesn’t make the gorge feel any less otherwordly. Climbing down the slippery steps—of course referred to at the Devil’s Steps—and entering this realm of verdant moss-covered rocks and ruby-toned water reveals an enchanting world, where thin beams of sunlight shine spotlights the gurgling stream.
The gorge also had a small role in the series Outlander as the site of Liar’s Spring.
The little coastal village of Silverdale is about as far north as it is possible to go in Lancashire without crossing into Cumbria. It overlooks the northern end of Morecambe Bay, and is part of the Arnside and Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Just to the north of Silverdale is a solitary hill known as Arnside Knott. This limestone feature rises to 522 feet above sea level. Limestone is the underlying rock in the area, and there are numerous outcrops and other features including a small cliff running alongside Silverdale's beach.
Christmas holidays have arrived and it's time for us to take a break! This term has been a long hard slog and we are very excited to have some down time. There will be some changes after Christmas as my colleague Fon has left us to move to another school. I have been appointed to her role to manage the technician team which I think will be an interesting new challenge for me. My oldest daughter is preparing for the final six months of school and the university offers are starting to roll in. All in all 2022 is going to be a year of change!
I would like to take the opportunity of thanking everyone for their kind comments and feedback over the course of the year. I really appreciate all the friendship and encouragement I get from everybody.
Finally I would like to wish everybody a Merry Christmas and the very best wishes for the New Year. I hope that we can finally make progress against the dreaded Covid virus. So much tragedy and disruption to lives over the last couple of years. It has affected so much and we've all had to adapt to a much poorer quality of life, had emotional and mental health challenges, faced time away from our loved ones and in some cases lived in fear of contracting the illness because of underlying health issues.
We'll be back in the new year!
Silvi Paese, a quaint village perched on the hills of Abruzzo, Italy, is steeped in history and rustic charm. The photograph captures an ancient wooden door, its surface weathered and scarred by the passage of time. The once sturdy planks now bear the marks of countless seasons, with cracks and splinters testifying to years of exposure to the elements. The door, though aged and worn, stands as a silent sentinel to the stories and lives that have passed through its threshold.
The facade surrounding the door is equally ravaged by time. Large sections of the stucco have crumbled away, revealing the underlying bricks of the wall. The exposed brickwork, with its irregular shapes and worn edges, adds a layer of texture and history to the scene. The wall, like the door, tells a tale of endurance and resilience, having withstood the wear and tear of centuries. The decay, rather than diminishing its beauty, enhances the rustic allure of the structure, evoking a sense of nostalgia and timelessness.
Silvi Paese itself is a place where history and tradition are deeply intertwined. Situated in the province of Teramo, this medieval village boasts a rich cultural heritage. The narrow, winding streets are lined with buildings that reflect the architectural styles of different eras, from the medieval period to the Renaissance. The village offers stunning views of the Adriatic Sea, which has influenced its history and economy for centuries. Once a strategic lookout point, Silvi Paese played a crucial role in the defense against pirate invasions and other maritime threats.
The surrounding region of Abruzzo is known for its picturesque landscapes and historical significance. Nestled between the Apennine Mountains and the Adriatic Sea, the area is dotted with ancient villages, castles, and churches. The region's history dates back to Roman times and is rich with legends and folklore. Silvi Paese, with its weathered door and crumbling facade, is a microcosm of this historical tapestry, encapsulating the passage of time and the enduring spirit of the Abruzzese people.
RX_00984_20240423_Pescara
The Strid is a stretch of narrow chasms on the River Wharfe, north of Bolton Abbey. The Wharfe is generally wide and slow-moving, but here it narrows to create a series of chasms and swift rushing water. It was formed by the movement of small stones against the soft underlying rock, creating potholes that then joined together the create the chasms. The name Strid is said to come from the two banks of the river being a "stride" apart. Maybe an extremely long one!
Exploding Magnolia.
OK. So this is level 3. In-camera multiple-exposure, in continuous shutter-release mode while zooming (that is the lens and not the video thingie). By the way level 4 (as yet unattempted) is the same while spinning the camera - zooming by holding the lens fixed. Level 5 is all that while standing on one leg.
Level 6 (which is used in the Olympic qualifying trials) is level 5 with your eyes shut…
This image of the blossoming tree just outside the village church was taken at the end of March during my permitted exercise (a novel phrase which joins the rich idiom of British English this year).
Magnolias are interesting because they are one of the oldest groups of plants in our Flora. They are thought to pre-date bees and have developed to be pollinated by beetles with large tough flowers.
I quite like the stepped effect you get with this - similar to an ICM, but kind of different. I’ve tried this on lots of subjects (as you might guess with me) and doubtless I shall inflict some more on you real soon now. But I've already determined that it doesn’t work too well in low contrast scenes with receding perspectives - like roads and paths through woods. And it chews up disk - 200 MBytes a pop with the underlying raws saved, and my NAS has just had a drive failure…
Thank you for taking the time to look. I hope you enjoy the image :)
[Handheld in daylight.
In-camera multiple-exposure using continuous shooting at about 5fps.
Developed from the jpeg in Capture One increasing contrast and colours.]
Murphy's Haystacks are inselberg rock formations located at Mortana, between Streaky Bay and Port Kenny on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia.
They are of a 'tumulus' form of weathered granite outcrop. They are made of a pink, massive, coarsely equigranular rock consisting mostly of quartz and orthoclase. Their appearance may be due to a combination of erosion by underground rainwater and then by subsequent weathering after they were exposed. Most of the pillars emerge without a break from the underlying granite. Their structural base may be of orthogonal or vertically-aligned sheet jointing.
They obtained their name because a traveller in a coach saw the formation in the distance. He asked how a farmer could produce so much hay. As the farm was on a property owned by a man called Murphy, the rocks became known as Murphy's Haystacks.
The site is listed on the South Australian Heritage Register.
Source: Wikipedia
Dedicated to Paul Ewing, my good friend, Co-Pano-Saboteur and Co-Founder of PANO-Vision, for his Birthday.
I spent the better part of 2018 creating and posting what we call "Straight" or "Raw" Panos in response to comments by colleagues who felt that PANO-Vision is all about photo manipulation. A slightly purist stance, and I saw it that way, but the point was taken. I'm always up for a challenge, so I made it my project to prove that "Straight Pano" could be just as valid artistically as any form of manipulated Pano.
My proviso, however, was to make sure that the "Straight" panos that I posted were just as rich and artistically rigorous in terms of composition, balance, lighting, colour, mood and mystery as anything that had had some form of "atmosphere" added to it digitally. They still had to be Art.
Coming out of this long project I came to the clear realization and conviction that while I work primarily in the Pano field, and have done much to promote and teach it, I am an Artist FIRST, a Pano-Saboteur, second. Styles and techniques, names for things etc, are smaller details to the larger reality of what it means to be an Artist, I think.
Art is what unites straight and manipulated Panos, is the common denominator between Alexander Rodchenko, Christo, Max Ernst, Cindy Sherman, Titian, Jackson Pollock, Vincent van Gogh, Monet, Louise Nevelson, Andy Goldsworthy, Yayoi Kusama and Gerhard Richter, etc. All of the artists mentioned are quite distinct from each other in their work and their personal thinking about Art, but they are ALL Artists. THIS is what I pay my homage and give my allegiance to. The underlying unity and ineffability of Art.
Going from here I'll be posting work in many styles and genres as my artistic intuition moves me. I'll take my bearings from Max Ernst and Gerhard Richter. Ernst felt that any artist who knows precisely where they are going is a fraud and Richter is committed to as many differing art practices as he sees fit, resolutely refusing to settle into one. To summarize the synthesis of the two - To move fearlessly, even excitedly, into the unknown and unpredictable and by doing so, never settling into the repetition of a single point of view or style of practice.
Here with this image I return to the freedom that we each reserve as Artists to go where we are moved, to follow our hearts and to respond to challenges. I revelled in the creation of this image and was more than happy to not restrain my imagination any more than was necessary. I feel like I'm back in full swing.
ALL the elements of "Denizens" are Pano-Sabotage images. There are 5 different shots all used as the main image, additional panels or veils and as edging elements. None of them are photo manipulated.
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Music Link: "Idiot Prayer" - Porucpine Tree, from their album "Signify".
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQYMYls0MoI
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© Richard S Warner ( Visionheart ) - 2018. All Rights Reserved. This image is not for use in any form without explicit, express, written permission.
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Banff National Park, Canada
From Wikipedia:
"Hoodoos typically form in areas where a thick layer of a relatively soft rock, such as mudstone, poorly cemented sandstone, or tuff (consolidated volcanic ash), is covered by a thin layer of hard rock, such as well-cemented sandstone, limestone, or basalt. In glaciated mountainous valleys the soft eroded material may be glacial till with the protective capstones being large boulders in the till. Over time, cracks in the resistant layer allow the much softer rock beneath to be eroded and washed away. Hoodoos form where a small cap of the resistant layer remains, and protects a cone of the underlying softer layer from erosion."
📌 Carmine Superiore (Lago Maggiore)
A1270565MB
2023:01:27 16:37:22
© Marco Laudiano Photoart 2023 - All rights reserved
✏ Carmine Superiore is a tiny village of medieval origin, reachable only on foot from the underlying hamlet of Carmine Inferiore. Consisting of a small number of stone houses, it stands on a rocky outcrop overlooking the western shore of Lake Maggiore.
Its evocative alleys, dominated by ancient stone and the silence of a late January afternoon, reminded me of the charm of the magical village of Hogsmeade.
► █░▓ ⎽⎽⎽⎽⎽⎽ 🐆 INSTEAD of RHINOs, HIPPOs and LIONs, this moving construction appeared at high noon. A large man-made object translating with a conspicuous speed through the calm waters.
It's the local passenger ferry, heading from Sleeuwijk to Werkendam along the Boven Merwede river. The shape of the ferry is striking and ingenious. It is not only adding to the stability of the vessel, it may as well hint on catamaran build. I imagine somebody must have gotten a prize for corporate identity design here. The idea has been conceived and consequentially applied — from bridges and lock gate sentry boxes to ferry boats and the town hall building (the roof of latter you can just see perking above the bow of the ferry). I guess the underlying idea was to resemble a wave, as the town historically couples its existence with the waters of this mighty river, the largest Rhine branch in its Lowlands delta. At this point already enforced by the most of Meuse waters (Afgedamde Maas). –Everything has been marked up for your convenience.
However. After two decades of letting it sink in my impartial observing, I must come up with a following verdict... I don't like it. Its hyper-modern implementation somehow doesn't blend with the historic environment. Which has in essence remained rural, in spite of all the recent development.
—To my utter amazement, the vessel's bridge was in darkness, the front and rear windows completely shielded by the roller blinds. Yes, the light was very bright, a mere minute after high noon. But I would never have guts to rely only on monitor screens when navigating in such busy waters. Not to mention the summer low levels...
Lumix G90 / Lumix 12-35 mm f2.8. —At 33mm (66mm in full frame) and f6.3 aperture priority. Shutter speed of 1/640 sec freezes movement of the ferry which has considerable speed.
This is a sooc jpeg edited in Apple Photos 10.0, exported as 16-bit tiff. The green seems too warm here, but the grey of the ferry is right.
~SHORTCUTS~ ...→Press [F11] and [L] key to engage Full Screen (Light box) mode with black background ↔ Press the same key or [Esc] to return... →Press [F] to "Like" (Fave)... →Press [C] to comment.
File name: P1033384.tiff
For the past two days I've posted images of the 1939 Pontiac that has been rusting in a prairie pasture since the 1960s. This shot is from the same location, facing in the opposite direction; all I did was walk across the road and plant my tripod. The first light was sweeping across those hills - but not yet on the car, which lay in the shadow of yet another hill. Hills in Saskatchewan - who knew?
Years ago, before I lived here, I read a magazine article in which the writer hypothesized that early settlers who stopped on the prairie to make their homes were people lacking imagination. They were so dull of mind, he seemed to suggest, that they didn't realize that there's nothing here of interest, and it didn't matter to them that their lives would be as flat and boring as the Great Plains themselves.
He got it wrong; he got it exactly backwards.
This is a land to spark the imagination. This is a place where the great spaces between things are a palpable feature. Here you are small beneath a limitless sky, a seed blown by the wind, a witness to the endless rhythm of the seasons and the heartbreaking beauty of simplicity - of life itself. To spend time here and remain unaware? THAT is to lack imagination.
Beware of nerds sitting at their desks and keyboards, sharing their distorted fantasies as if they have tapped into some underlying truth. It's easy to pass judgement, fall back on cliché, draw inane conclusions. It takes a little more time, work, and insight to see a place for what it is.
Flat and boring? Yeah. Right.
Photographed just off the Rosefield Grid in southwestern Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2021 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
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Excited to announce that Kiara and I are starting a long term collaboration! Our collaboration will be inspired by quotes from the book: "Looking for Alaska". First quote is "we are all going".
“I found myself thinking about President William McKinley, the third American president to be assassinated. He lived for several days after he was shot, and towards the end, his wife started crying and screaming, "I want to go too! I want to go too!" And with his last measure of strength, McKinley turned to her and spoke his last words: "We are all going.”
― John Green, Looking for Alaska
It was because of Kiara and her love for the book that made me want to read it. It was the first book I had read in years willingly. It is absolutely incredible and it's underlying life lessons are beautiful. I highly recommend it to everyone.
Go check out Kiara's photo!
'There Will Come Soft Rains' is a composite image made with a macro photograph of an anemone and a peony.
The text comes from a poem by Sara Teasdale.
Yesterday I figured out which elements I wanted to use to Illustrate the the calligraphy of the wedding vows. I analysed the project and realized that it needed more variation in tonal values, and more negative space.
I usually take a number of photographs of flowers on a white background, with some being very light (They work better in composite images) and others which are darker.
The photographs are taken from different angles as well.
This leaves me with multiple options; this proved very useful today.
I processed a number of peony, anemone and lily photos to create a tonal range and isolated then from their backgrounds. They were grouped according to type, and numbered from light to dark.
The other goal was to work with a font. My own project has a text in Aramaic and will use a professional calligrapher, but I wanted to see what font would go with my flower photography.
I downloaded a number of calligraphic fonts which are free for commercial use even though I am using them for personal use, and settled on Felipa for this project.
These to phases took a bulk of the time today- about 6 hours.
Once everything was ready I only needed an hour to arrive at this result.
The ultimate goat is to illustrate a text, but I'm not quite ready to create a frame! This was just the first phase of working with a text.
The project was created in photoshop, using layers and loading them and the underlying document, a 60 cm square, into a stack.
The text layer was created first and saved both as a PSD (Photoshop file) and as a JPEG file (That's to help me see what I did at a glance, and also to have an uploadable version.)
The flower layer was created next, and the composite flower was saved as a PNG so I can use it separately.
The flower layers, text and black background were merged, which created the final.
Sedona and the surrounding canyons are incredibly beautiful, most notably because of the red rocks and desert colors. But when you take away the vibrant red and orange, you are left with the texture and fabric of the outcrop, and the underlying geology. It is part of what makes it all beautiful.
Exploring Bottrop #5
If you are interested in the underlying concept of this series please read the description of the album.
I love the brilliant gold of the Senna's flowers contrasting so beautifully against its leathery green leaves.The shape of the petals is unusual with them cut out around the central filaments and stamens.
The Cassia tree (Senna fistula) can grow to 25 feet tall and is closely related to the Jerusalem tree and the Redbud tree; which means the underlying roots enrich the soil with Nitrogen that is fixed as Nitrogen fertilizer in the root nodules by Nitrogen fixing bacteria: Nitrogen, that is captured from the atmosphere. The Cassia trees are very tolerant of poor soils and also are very tolerant of salt water spray and are commonly found thriving on sand dunes.
From Asia came the Cassia tree that is also called the "Golden Shower" Tree, "Flowering Senna", "Texas Flowering Senna" and many other names. The Cassia (Senna) tree is a heavy flowering tree or shrub that is cold hardy to zone 8, however, during some years; if the the temperatures drop below 10 degrees F., the tree will freeze to the ground, but will regrow from the roots into a shrub. In the freeze of 1983 at Tifton, GA., the temperatures dropped to zero degrees F. and the Cassia tree did not regrow again.
Cassia fistula, Senna fistula
Golden Senna, Senna candolleana, Magnoliophyta, Magnoliopsida, Fabales, Fabaceae
Caesalpinioideae, Senna
Biscayne Park FL
Clet is an artist who alters street signs as his art form. Clet said that he suddenly saw the overwhelming banality and primitiveness of the ubiquitous municipal signs that rule our lives. He wanted to give them another meaning — a political, religious and philosophic interpretation — without obscuring the readability of the underlying sign.
This is just one of his many different signs in Florence that he has applied his art to. It was fun to look for his signs and make a photographic record of them.
The town is noted for its striking position atop a plateau of friable volcanic tuff overlooking the Tiber river valley. It is in constant danger of destruction as the edges of the plateau collapse due to erosion, leaving the buildings to crumble as their underlying support falls away. As of 2004, there were plans to reinforce the plateau with steel rods to prevent further geological damage.
The city is also much admired for its architecture spanning several hundred years. Civita di Bagnoregio owes much of its unaltered condition to its relative isolation; the town was able to withstand most intrusions of modernity as well as the destruction brought by two world wars. The population today varies from about 12 people in winter to more than 100 in summer.
The town was placed on the World Monuments Fund's 2006 Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites, because of threats it faces from erosion and unregulated tourism.