Thank you for your comments and faves. Merci pour vos commentaires et vos favoris.

Please do not use my photos without my permission. ©

White Crested Ducks

Rosemère, Québec, Canada

f/11 1/200 sec. ISO-200 190 mm

Special Thanks to Donna McGuire for informing us and giving the directions that lead us to these beautiful ducks.

A herbaceous perennial plant which spreads out with its extensive creeping rhizomes and which will flower from late spring and early to mid summer. Some people commonly use St Johns Wort for depression and mood disorders as this plant contains chemicals that act on messengers in the brain that regulate mood and has been used in folk medicine over centuries and is still commercially cultivated to this day. As this plant is commonly harvested at the time of the summer solstice in late June around St Johns Feast Day on the 24th June this is how this plant got its name St Johns Wort.

Sign in a restaurant so that we, Ladies (in Dutch: Dames), know where to go......... and don't have to ask which way ;-))

Junction of paths in the woods above the Chelsea Valley

Hipperholme, Brighouse in West Yorkshire

Surrounded by nothing but turquoise lagoon which melts into sapphire blue, the Maldives island of Anantara Kihavah and its pure white sands rise up out of the ocean like a mirage.

For centuries, this was where Arab traders sailing to the Far East took shelter; a lush paradise blessed by coconut, papaya and mango trees. Navigating archipelago to archipelago by the stars, the seafarers were also drawn by the riches of the ocean surrounding the island – where a prehistoric volcano sank back into the depths, leaving blooming corals within a house reef and a wealth of lagoon fish.

Wishing to keep the pristine nature of the island intact, not one tree has been moved – as evidenced by the villas growing up around them. The design pays homage to the seafarers of old, fusing Indian Ocean, Arab and Portuguese motifs with indigenous materials.

Part of getting through life is accepting, and dealing with, our weaknesses. Which doesn't mean they aren't still a pain in the butt.

Me, I'm over-sensitive to all kinds of sensory input - and input affecting my sensors. For instance, even in August in our constant ocean breezes, I daren't go outside without my ears covered.

This is, of course, a huuuge pain. When everyone else is out in shorts and bathing suits, I'm sweating with a big fleecy band around my head. It sucks, but the alternative (excruciating ear aches) sucks a whole lot worse.

I'm also overly sensitive to noise. And bright light. Especially bright flashing light that hits my eyes unexpectedly. So... imagine how much fun I am as a companion at a rawk show. Normally I take along ear plugs. Last night I forgot.

I guess I was lulled into complacency by the fact that the show was at a theatre. A play house. A place I last attended in my teens, when I saw some Shakespearean production there. So yeah... I went in plugless. And immediately regretted it. Still... I was up for enjoying myself... until the %$(*&$%(&ing light show started.

I can't imagine whose idea it was to flash big spotlights directly into the audience's eyes repeatedly throughout the night. Probably the same wise person who decided a super-bright sign behind the band... illuminated by 10,000 1,000 watt bulbs... was also a very good thing to flash repeatedly in the audience's eyes.

What really amazed me was that no one else seemed bothered. Whereas I was in several sorts of agony all night.

The bright flashing lights. Fuck, man. I thought I was gonna have a seizure or something. I ended up spending most of the night doubled over with my head in my lap, eyes closed, hands clamped over my face. Every time I tried to enjoy actually watching the band... zappo! Unexpected blasts of super-bright white light set off pinball explosions in my brain.

So today is pretty much a write-off. Migraine city, man.

And I HATE HATE HATE that my body is so delicate.

I'm from sturdy peasant stock. Why am I so fragile? Why do things that normal people take in stride disable me?

Sorry for the whining self-pity. Kee-rist. At least I know, without a doubt, that I am now too old for rawk shows. Goodbye youth. Your time has come and gone. From now on I'll just satisfy myself by listening to records at home.

Explore 13-ish

Switzerland, May 2021

My best photos are here: www.lacerta-bilineata.com/ticino-best-photos-of-southern-...

My latest ANIMAL VIDEO (warning, it's a bit shocking): www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T2-Xszz7FI

You find a selection of my 80 BEST PHOTOS (mostly not yet on Flickr) here: www.lacerta-bilineata.com/western-green-lizard-lacerta-bi... (the website exists in ESPAÑOL, FRANÇAIS, ITALIANO, ENGLISH, DEUTSCH)

ABOUT THE PHOTO:

So this photo is a bit of a novelty for me - at least here on Flickr, but it's also a journey back in time in a sense. I've always loved b/w and sepia photography; already as a very young teenager I would go out into the woods with an old Pentax Spotmatic (which I had nicked from my father) whenever it was a foggy day to shoot b/w compositions of sunbeams cutting through the ghostlike trees.

I used films with a sensitivity of at least 1600 (for those of you who remember what that means 😉 ), and the resulting photos had an incredibly fine grain which I loved; I blew them up to the size of posters and hung them on the walls of my teenage man-cave next to Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Slash.

But then I abandoned photography altogether for 20 years, and when I finally picked up a camera again, it was one of the digital kind. Now neither film nor grain played any role in my photographic endeavours - let alone b/w compositions: because the reason I fell in love with shooting pictures once more was the rare and incredibly colorful lizard species that had chosen my garden as its habitat.

It's this species - the Lacerta bilineata aka the western green lizard - that my photo website www.lacerta-bilineata.com/ and also my Flickr gallery are dedicated to, but I've since expanded that theme a bit so that it now comprises the whole Lacerta bilineata habitat, which is to say my garden and its immediate surroundings and all the flora and fauna I find in it.

I like that my gallery and the website have this clear theme, because in order to rise to the challenge of portraying all aspects of a very specific little eco system (which also happens to be my home of sorts), it forces me to constantly explore it from fresh angles, and I keep discovering fascinating new motives as my photographic journey continues.

Which brings me to the horse pasture you see in this photo. This playground for happy horsies lies just outside my garden, and it normally only interests me insofar as my green reptile friends claim parts of it as their territory, and I very much prefer it to be horseless (which it thankfully often is).

Not that the horses bother the reptiles - the lizards don't mind them one bit, and I've even seen them jump from the safety of the fly honeysuckle shrub which the pasture borders on right between the deadly looking hooves of the horses to forage for snails, without any sign of fear or even respect.

No, the reason I have a very conflicted relationship with those horses is that they are mighty cute and that there's usually also foals. The sight of those beautiful, happy animals jumping around and frolicking (it's a huge pasture and you can tell the horses really love it) is irresistible: and that inevitably attracts what in the entire universe is known as the most destructive anti-matter and ultimate undoing of any nature photographer: other humans.

Unlike with the horses, the lizards ARE indeed very much bothered by specimens of loud, unpredictable Homo sapiens sapiens - which makes those (and by extension also the horses) the cryptonite of this here reptile photographer. It's not the horses' fault, I know that, but that doesn't change a thing. I'm just telling you how it is (and some of you might have read about the traumatic events I had to endure to get a particular photo - if not, read at your own risk here: www.flickr.com/photos/191055893@N07/51405389883/in/datepo... - which clearly demonstrated that even when it's entirely horseless, that pasture is still a threat for artistic endeavours).

But back to the photo. So one morning during my vacation back in May I got up quite early. It had rained all night, and now the fog was creeping up from the valley below to our village just as the sky cleared up and the morning sun started to shine through the trees.

And just as I did when I was a teenager I grabbed my camera and ran out to photograph this beautiful mood of ghostlike trees and sunbeams cutting through the mist. There had already been such a day a week earlier (which is when I took this photo: www.flickr.com/photos/191055893@N07/51543603732/in/datepo... ), but this time, the horses were also there.

Because of our slightly strained relationship I only took this one photo of them (I now wish I had taken more: talk about missed opportunities), and otherwise concentrated on the landscape. It was only later when I went through all the photos on my computer that I realized that I actually really liked those horses, even despite the whole composition being such a cliché. And I realized another thing: when I drained the photo of all the color, I liked it even better - because there was almost a bit of grain in it, like in the photos from my youth.

Since then I have experimented quite a bit with b/w and sepia compositions (some of which I will upload here eventually I guess), but this photo here is the first one that helped me rediscover my old passion. I hope you like it even though it builds quite a stark contrast with the rest of my tiny - and very colorful - gallery. But in the spirit of showing you the whole Lacerta bilineata habitat (and also in the spirit of expanding my gallery a bit beyond lizards and insects), I think it's not such a bad fit.

As always, many greetings to all of you, have a wonderful day and don't hesitate to let me know what you think 😊

After receiving 13 inches of snow it’s comical to watch the squirrels try and get through the snow.

... with which autumn delights us every year :-))

Boston ivy / Wilder Wein, Dreispitzige Jungfernrebe (Parthenocissus tricuspidata)

Main cemetery / Hauptfriedhof, Frankfurt-Nordend, Germany

#LookingCloseonFriday

#Earings

“Emptiness which is conceptually liable to be mistaken for sheer nothingness is in fact the reservoir of infinite possibilities.”

Quote ― D.T. Suzuki

Wishing you all a very happy weekend!!!

Location: 'Water Mirror Garden' of the D.T. Suzuki Museum (鈴木大拙館, Suzuki Daisetsu Kan), Kanazawa, Japan.

The Preto river, which rises at the base of Pico do Cristal, forms the Farofa, Sete Pilões and Aurélio waterfalls, on the Minas side.

The Sete Pilões waterfall is close to the Macieira camp and can be accessed by a 210 m / 689 ft long trail. Along its route, there are several practically circular wells with bluish water, which resemble pylons.

Camping at 1,860 m / 6,102 ft of altitude and that can be reached by 3,3 km / 2,05 miles of roads from the entrance of Pedra Menina (Espírito Santo State), being close to the São Domingos River.

***

From 2:00 am to 3:00 pm I trekked or/and climbed more than 18.3 km / 11.37 miles on trails.

Peak elevations and camps from 2:00 am to 3:00 pm:

Burnt House Campsite: 2,190 m / 7,185 ft;

Calçado Peak: 2,849 m / 9,347 ft (3 times);

Peak of Calçado Mirim: 2,818 / 9,245 ft (3 times);

Flag Peak: 2,892 m / 9,488 ft;

Crystal Peak: 2,770 m / 9,087 ft;

Burnt House Campsite: 2,190 m / 7,185 ft;

Apple Tree Campsite: 1,860 m / 6,102 ft;

Seven Pylons Waterfall: 1,855 m / 6,085 ft.

Thank you for following this journey that ends here, through your lovely comments, faves and views.

Seen in a corner at our B&B

( but this place is so much more than a B&B!!! )

365 #209

...which has nothing to do with the triplets of Belleville :-)

The extraordinary location of Plateau Hut which sits opposite Mt Cook in New Zealand.

I visited this location back in early September with fellow photographers Tim Poulton, Jay Daley, Tim Donnely and Damien Siedel.

Also check out this awesome new location guide app from Tim Poulton and the OOAK crew. Android version coming out early 2015.

APP STORE DOWNLOAD

WEBSITE

FACEBOOK

Have a happy weekend friends! :)

the song which inspired this image:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0oIoR9mLwc

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Dark Necessities [Official Music Video]

Outfit

[^.^Ayashi^.^] Ameonna headdress

[^.^Ayashi^.^] Ameonna Eyepatch

-00-SenKiHime-Mask-A

VCO HAIR - Luney / 001 [ Black ]

ERSCH - Lovesick tears

Wishing Stars blush (bom)

.STOIC. WINTER SOLSTICE CHOKER BLACK 8

*:..Silvery K..:*KimonoMesh(ModernSAKURA)Black

*katat0nik* (Red) Dragon

02_{-Maru Kado-} Halo-Torii Black

Scene

Pitaya - Torii Gate Bacdrop

*Thus Magic* ~ Japanese maple tree RED

it heightens red, and there is no flower or ripe fruit which it does not set off to greater advantage... it is both gay and modest, bright and tender. Green can only awaken amiable and gentle thoughts, remembrances gracious as those of spring, and other promises of nature: green gives repose to the mind, as it does to the sight :-)

Charles Blanc, "Personal Adornment: Colours and Their Expression," Art in Ornament and Dress, 1875, translated from French

HGGT!! Best wishes to one and all for a wonderful holiday season!

piney lake, vail, colorado

The scissor arches, which often visitors believe to be later, modern additions were constructed from 1338-48 as an engineering solution to a very real problem.

By 1313 a high tower topped by a lead covered wooden spire had been constructed but as the foundations were not stable large cracks began to appear in the tower structure.

In fear of a total collapse, several attempts at internal strengthening and buttressing were made, until the famous ‘scissor arches’ were put in place by master mason William Joy as a final solution.

youtu.be/MGxjIBEZvx0. - Bob Dylan - Subterranean Homesick Blues

A misty and rainy day in the trail of Joy mountain.

#InternationalWomensDay

#March8

Not a ladybird which might have been a slightly more appropriate "supermodel" for International Women's Day because of its name, but an equally pretty Cryptocephalus bipunctatus. The whole supermodel thing is a relic of the past anyway, but unfortunately, we still haven't freed ourselves from questionable beauty "ideals" that often come across as beauty dictates. Social media and "influencers" don't make it any easier, especially not for the younger generation that is exposed (and exposes itself) to what one might call the "daily dose of beauty brainwash", recently taken to the next level with the all-new "beauty filters".

In Berlin (and in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, one of Germany's Northern federal states), March 8 is an official holiday, but not (yet?) in the other 14 of our 16 federal states. So this Wednesday – where all shops, schools, etc. are closed (and the weather is too ghastly to go outside – winter made a snowy-wet, cold reappearance) – feels like a very quiet, lazy Sunday, and I have too much time for writing rants instead of simply letting you enjoy this adorable, brightly orange beetle, a member of the so-called "Fallkäfer" (Cryptocephalinae) subfamily of the leaf beetle family. The name "Fallkäfer" (a beetle that falls or drops) derives from their distinctive habit of dropping abruptly when disturbed. This image also is a true oldie, I've taken it back in June 2017 at the beautiful public park Britzer Garten. The focus is ever so slightly off and more on the plant than on the beetle itself, but I think it's still sharp enough in general.

Wishing all of my female Flickr friends a Happy International Women's Day!

Off the water and back to the woods to soak up some of the remaining color which is holding fairly well, especially given the strong winds we've had the last few days. I went out specifically to take a bunch of photos to upload into my "new friend," with the single and not unrealistic (I thought) hope of being able to find them...which I did, but not until after numerous wrong guesses as to where I thought they seemingly should be...like "Pictures."

By the way, I appreciate your support and tips re: my new desk top (not a laptop as some seem to have guessed), and it progresses slowly. I really don't use a computer for much other than my photos so I haven't even begun to tap the capabilities of this one...and am uncertain as to whether I will even try or not. What I would like to find is the 90% of my photos which did not appear with the others when I transferred them from the flash drive to the new computer. 10% are in fancy new folders...the rest unpleasantly invisible. Everything sees very hit and miss...mostly miss for now causing me to simply walk away from the computer and find other occupations. My learning curve and patience have both suffered with old age.

[Larger puts you on the path]

Two new SAC pistols for TMD, which starts today.This pose is also a SAC pose for sale at the same time.

This pose was made for GB off-down Jacket, a collaborative work between SAC and GB. There were seven poses in the box. It's a good idea to get one with the gun.

I used to choose black for my guns, but recently I've been using silver because it looks better on SS<333

SAC M92F "CUTLASS" Pistol

TMD

[HAIR]Dura-Anime08

*z e r o i c h i * AG CHOKER Black(FREEGIFT)

::GB:: Harness tank top

::GB::Shoulder off-down Jacket

*CK* Superstar jeans

BD：MINIMAL - Gas Station Scene

= ZEROICHI Info =

NEXT PRODUCTS NEW BACKDROP @ ACCESS

0壱 -zero ichi- main store :

0壱 -zero ichi- flickr group Join us :

..which is what i wish i were doing right now, ha ha

Featuring you the new Breeze Collection from Kalopsia, which comes in 2 Parts for 2 different Events and many more lovely Items.

For all details please read below. ♥

The Brezze Bedroom Set - Kalopsia - @ COLLABOR88

•Kalopsia - Breeze Bedroom Bed (Adult & PG )

• Kalopsia - Breeze Bedroom Bunny Dish

• Kalopsia - Breeze Bedroom Candle

• Kalopsia - Breeze Bedroom Dresser

• Kalopsia - Breeze Bedroom Feather Wall Decor

• Kalopsia - Breeze Bedroom Lamp

• Kalopsia - Breeze Bedroom Leaves Vase (White)

• Kalopsia - Breeze Bedroom Nailpolish

• Kalopsia - Breeze Bedroom Night Stand

• Kalopsia - Breeze Bedroom Wool Rug

The Breeze Wardrobe Set - Kalopsia - @ Kustom9

• Kalopsia - Breeze Knitted Rug (Green)

• Kalopsia - Breeze Mirror

• Kalopsia - Breeze Paper Fan Vase

• Kalopsia - Breeze Wardrobe

• Kalopsia - Breeze Wool Pouf

Vanity Clutter ( over Puf ) - Kraftwork - Vanity Clutter . Rose Gold/Creme @ Mainstore

Rattan Basket - Ariskea - .[Ryu] Rattan Baskets @ Mainstore

Our lovely Pet's - Rezz Room - Corgi Adult Animesh (Companion) @ FaMESHed

Other Items

• Dust Bunny & Con . Florence Bedroom . Pillow Basket

• Atelier Burgundy . Tree Panel . Old Wood

• dust bunny . lauren bathroom . hanging robe . c

• hive // hanging bougainvillea plant . white

• Stockholm-Flip Clock

• Stockholm-Bedroom Books 03

• hive // large palm plant . light

• [Merak] - Canvas Sneakers Decor

Which one: color or black and white

Saasveld is a small village in Twente with less than 1,700 inhabitants. There is a church in the middle, around it some houses and an extensive outdoor area with farms. Mainly livestock and pig farming.

The cemetery contains 19th-century priestly graves. The church stands on the former castle grounds, which is accessed via a late 19th-century iron drawbridge over the fore. outside canal.

"Found a big MotherPearlShell which I declared as being my new and colourful bedroom.

One of my big brothers placed a glass upon me, fortunately one with a big hole which let me breathe the air I need

Although I'm tiny I can't do without!"

[Dedicated to CRA (ILYWMAHASAM)]

😄HaPpY CrAzY Tuesday😄

taken May 18, 2022 and uploaded for the group

CrAzY Tuesday

#Holes

Panasonic Lumix DMCFZ-200

ƒ/2.8

4.5 mm

1/40 Sec

ISO 400

Laika went on a hike around Garrison, NY which is 1.5 hour away from New York City. It's a relatively easy trail and Laika enjoyed running back and forth on the trail because her humans are not walking fast enough. Here she is posing by a small bridge waiting for her humans to catch up.

More photos of travels on Laika's Instagram account

"You don't need a weather man to know which way the wind blows." -- Bob Dylan

From: Subterranean Homesick Blues: www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGxjIBEZvx0

Credits: tinisideas.blogspot.com/2021/12/which-way.html

Just two rings which I've pieced together for the photo. Actually three rings, because the plain golden one consists of two combined rings, kind of a double ring. The other ring with those tiny droplets / beads going all around is made of silver. I like to use both together, so I photographed them together, placed onto the silver side of a gold and silver coated piece of cardboard which once was used in a food wrapping. This is an image taken last night, but apparently I had too much time today, because I still tried a few focus stacks with different light and with the rings on top of a glossy black tile, but liked none in the end. So back to yesterday's image which I've processed in DXO PhotoLab 4 (sharpness, micro contrast and denoising with Deep Prime only), then in Analog Efex for the vignette and a very subtle matte look, and finally in Luminar AI, where I'd enhanced a few details (in the painting mask), added a very subtle glow, and slightly brightened the lower part of the silver ring with the dodge and burn tool.

Happy Macro Monday, Everyone, stay safe and healthy!

Which ever way you leave Rievaulx village you need to navigate a steep hill.

Rievaulx is a small village and civil parish in Rye Dale within the North York Moors National Park near Helmsley in North Yorkshire, England and is located in what was the inner court of Rievaulx Abbey, close to the River Rye.

Can't choose which one to use for this weeks theme .....

www.instagram.com/eric_fotografie/

500px.com/eric_fotografie

shot taken by: mesno (L)

model: f6aimbow (K)

www.flickr.com/bonitatwins

TP: The Road Less Traveled - Warm welcome and enjoy!

They say it isn't about which way you are going but who is walking next to you towards the same direction.

P.S. Thanks Lya and Adam for showing me this gem of a sim!

This is the road bridge on the Alnmouth Estuary just as tide tide was flooding in. The canoeist is drifting along with the rising tide

Alnmouth is a coastal village in Northumberland, England, situated 4 miles east-south-east of Alnwick. Located at the mouth of the River Aln, The estuary is tidal and the photo show the estuary at low tide

The village had a port supporting a small fishing industry and engaging in national and international trade. It was for a time a leading north-east centre for the export of grain and other foodstuffs, especially to London; and specialised in the import of timber and slate. Port activities declined at the end of the 19th century

which do you prefer?

Which is tough these days.

Play Projects

MKU_0434

... which is the local name given to a rough area of slightly marshy, overgrown land.