Smile On Saturday-Orange-HSoS!

The lamp light turned this area of the room a toasty orange.

Sunrise at a rock arch in the semi-desert near Tajao, Tenerife

Sonnenaufgang bei einem Felsbogen in der Halbwüste bei Tajao, Teneriffa

Sunrise at the cliffs of Tajao, Teneriffa, Canary Islands.

Sonnenaufgang an der Steilküste von Tajao, Teneriffa, Kanarische Inseln.

One from the archieves, frozen fog.

IF I CANNOT SEE YOUR PAGE OR JOIN YOUR GROUP I WILL NOT EXCEPT YOUR INVITE TO POST MY IMAGES...

To me the forests surrounding the Fox glacier, New Zealand, are rel fairy tale forests.

I never expected it, but just like that a curious weka walked right into the only sunlit patch in the dense woods after poking about in the undergrowths for a while. And I only wished for a picture of the fabulous, mossy environment. Lucky me!

This picture was composed of three shots, as the exposure conditions in this dark jungle are quite demanding: one picture for the Weka, one for the highlights, one for the midtones and lows.

Für mich sind die Wälder rund um den Fox-Gletscher, Neuseeland, wahre Märchenwälder.

Ich hätte nie damit gerechnet, aber plötzlich spazierte eine neugierige Weka direkt in den einzigen sonnenbeschienenen Fleck im dichten Wald, nachdem sie ein Weile im Unterholz herumgewandert war. Und ich wollte nur ein Foto von diesen umwerfenden Mooschaos schießen. Ich Glückspilz!

Dieses Bild wurde aus drei Aufnahmen zusammengesetzt, da die Belichtungsverhältnisse in diesem dunklen Urwald recht anspruchsvoll sind: eins für die Weka, eins für die Lichter, eins für die Mitteltöne und Tiefen.

“November at its best – with a sort of delightful menace in the air.”

- Anne Bosworth Greene

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.. #Light and Shadow

"The evening is the time to praise the day."

- Vladimir Nabokov

"Only the evening will show what the day has been."

- Russian Proverb

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"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.:

- Charles Dickens

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The picture shows the inflorescence of the Teide red bugloss on Tenerife. The plant is endemic and is found only in the caldera of the Teide, as well as on Palma in the Caldera de Taburiente and on the Roque de los Muchachos.

To build up the stem and form the inflorescences, the plant needs three to five years. In the first years, the seed germinates and forms the grass tuft-like lower part. Usually in the third year, the red bugloss forms a flower cone that can shoot up to three meters / ten feet in height. After seed formation the plant dies. This picture was taken at an altitude of about 2300 meters / 7546 feet in the caldera of the Teide vulcano.

Auf dem Bild ist der Blütenstand des Teide-Natternkopfes auf Teneriffa zu sehen. Die Pflanze ist endemisch und kommt nur in der Caldera des Teide, sowie auf Palma in der Caldera de Taburiente und auf dem Roque de los Muchachos vor.

Um den Stamm aufzubauen und die Blütenstände auszubilden, braucht die Pflanze drei bis fünf Jahre. In den ersten Jahren keimt der Samen und formt den grasbüschelartige untere Teil. Meistens im dritten Jahr bildet der Natternkopf einen Blütenkegel, der bis zu drei Meter in die Höhe schießen kann. Nach der Samenbildung stirbt die Pflanze ab. Das Bild entstand in etwa 2300 Metern Höhe in der Caldera des Teide.

“Autumn would come to this place of welcome, this place I would know to be home. Autumn would come and the air would grow cool, dry and magic, as it does that time of the year.”

— Henry Rollins

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"Working in white makes people look into it. White is ethereal. There’s a purity to it, it makes things look elevated in a way There’s a whole palette of white…"

- Jonathan Milne

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An early morning sun filters through Kamahi trees at lake Brunner, New Zealand.

The picture was taken very early in the morning at Lake Brunner on the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It shows a forest of Kamahi trees. The bark of this New Zealand tree was used by the Maori to dye clothes and flax mats. The wood was used for fishing rods.

Die Morgensonne scheint durch Kamahibäume am Lake Brunner in Neuseeland.

Das Bild wurde sehr früh morgens am Lake Brunner an der Westküste der Südinsel Neuseelands aufgenommen. Es zeigt einen Wald aus Kamahi-Bäumen. Die Rinde dieses neuseeländischen Baumes wurde von den Maori zum Färben von Kleidern und Flachsmatten benutzt. Das Holz wurde für Angelruten verwendet.

Blue hour at Convict Lake, about 15 minutes away from the town of Mammoth Lakes. It was about 30 F (-1 C) after sundown.

4 portrait wide angle exposure panorama using the Samyang 12mm f/2 manual focus lens. For highest possible resolution, go full screen on your browser and press L.

Thank you very much for your faves and comments.

Lost In The World

Detroit, MI

Unedited.

So I'm at the beach following this Reddish Egret, and it's a bright sunny day. So the Heron is facing the water, and all of sudden it turns, and the red bird becomes chocolate.

“Always it’s Spring, and everyone’s in love and flowers pick themselves.”

― E.E. Cummings

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"Let all thy joys be as the month of May,

And all thy days be as a marriage day."

- Francis Quarles

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11 exposures stacked median in Photoshop, each between 5-20 seconds, totaling about 2 minutes, then blended with a darker exposure sky.

This was blue hour just before it became pitch dark with freezing temperatures around 28F (-2C).

Samyang 12mm manual focus lens.

Thank you very much for your kind comments and faves.

I would stay, if I could. May be, some day I return to the beach of my dreams.

Taken at Piha Beach, New Zealand

Wenn ich könnte, würde ich bleiben. Vielleicht kehre ich eines Tages an meinen Traumstrand zurück.

Aufgenommen am Strand von Piha in Neuseeland.

"It is the color closest to light. In its utmost purity it always implies the nature of brightness and has a cheerful, serene, gently stimulating character. Hence, experience teaches us that yellow makes a thoroughly warm and comforting impression."

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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Well. I'm bored on my photostream. Tried something different. I like it... Not loved it! :)

Taken at Segovia in a cold and foggy night, Spain.

An abandoned fishing boat in South Bend Washington.

"Decorating is not about making stage sets, it's not about making pretty pictures for the magazines, it's really about creating a quality of life, a beauty that nourishes the soul."

- Albert Hadley

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Copper Beech leaves in early morning light.

Olympus EM1 + Meyer Optik Görlitz Oreston 50mmm f1.8 M42, wide open.

From the Shell Ridge neighborhood of Walnut Creek, California

But I have a place to stay.

但我有棲身之所。

Nowhere To Run

Auf dem Rückweg von der Prinzeninsel kommt man am Schloss und - zumindest ich - an diesem Motiv nicht vorbei....

Mal wieder das Plöner Schloss

"The greatest service which can be rendered any country is to add a useful plant to its culture."

- Thomas Jefferson

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"Happiness is sharing a bowl of cherries and a book of poetry with a shade tree. He doesn't eat much and doesn't read much, but listens well and is a most gracious host."

- Terri Guillemets

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While the Ink Was Drying

Victoria Lounge

Luxor’s historic Winter Palace.

This is the Victoria Lounge. Not just a room, but a grand stage where time has willingly slowed its march. Bathed in a moody, cinematic chiaroscuro, the lounge breathes with a quiet grandeur. Towering arched windows frame the soft Egyptian daylight, casting elongated reflections across the polished parquet floors like ink spilled on silk. In the center, a majestic crystal chandelier hangs like a suspended constellation, casting a warm, amber glow over antique silk rugs and plush period armchairs.

There are no footsteps here today, yet the room feels entirely alive. It is a space thick with the ghosts of history where Agatha Christie once dipped her pen in ink to conjure mysteries, and Howard Carter rested his eyes after days in the dusty tombs. In the beautiful, evocative shadows of this grand hall, the romance of 19th-century exploration lives on, waiting for the next storyteller to take a seat.

Chiaroscuro Effect:

Utilizing a dramatic chiaroscuro composition, the frame contrasts the heavy, enveloping shadows of the foreground with the luminous warmth of the room's interior axis. It relies on a strong interplay between deep, dark shadows in the foreground and warm ambient light accents in the middle and background.

The foreground and the floor are significantly underexposed. This choice grounds the viewer in a shadowy, quiet space, directing the eyes toward the lit seating arrangements.

The image blends golden tungsten light from the table lamps and central crystal chandelier with cooler, diffused natural daylight filtering through the large windows on both flanks.

The frame uses strong central symmetry. The camera is aligned directly down the center axis of the room, anchored by the main chandelier and the circular center table. The reflective, polished wooden parquet flooring acts as a visual mirror. It catches long light streaks that draw the viewer’s eye deep into the center of the lounge.

The repeating columns, matching window frames, and symmetrical placement of lounge chairs on both sides create an organized, architectural rhythm.

The total absence of people, combined with the dim lighting, creates a mood of stillness, quiet grandeur, and historical nostalgia. It feels like a space frozen in time. The vertical height of the high-arched windows and the hanging chandelier emphasizes the grand Victorian scale of the architecture.

The immense, heavy shadows surrounding the brightly lit center table create a profound sense of solitude. The composition feels exactly like a writer's room that has been temporarily abandoned in the middle of the night as if the creator just stepped away from their desk, leaving the story hanging in the air.

A subtle nod to Agatha Christie. The word "ink" beautifully mirrors the deep, liquid-black shadows swallowing the foreground and floor of the image, linking the physical photograph to the act of writing.

Moon over calm lake

“Autumn would come to this place of welcome, this place I would know to be home. Autumn would come and the air would grow cool, dry and magic, as it does that time of the year.”

— Henry Rollins

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soft light. hard country.

"Waft of soul's wing!

What lies above?

Sunshine and Love,

Skyblue and Spring!..".

- Robert Browning

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"Sharing the holiday with other people, and feeling that you're giving of yourself, gets you past all the commercialism."

- Caroline Kennedy

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when sleep won't come in an upper berth, we always have the parlor car.

Warnau, Germany

Downtown Spokane just after a winters sunset.