View allAll Photos Tagged bits
a bit of colour on this grey and cold day. Here the rain turns more and more into snow. I'll take my kindle, a mug full of yummy hot chocolate and move into my reading corner ;-)
Barbie's wearing:
-Earrings: Barbie Fashionistas (Her own)
-Necklace: Stardoll Pretty in Pink Fashion Pack
-Top: Unknown
-Skirt & purse: Stardoll Bisou Fashion Pack
-Bracelet: Part of a basic Barbie shoe (cut by me)
-Shoes (Not pictured): Basic Barbie shoes
_________________________________________________
Stardoll By Barbie 2/6
#1720
Luna Chelsea :: HARISSA SET
No_match_ :: NO_BIG DEAL Cosmopolitan Event
No_match_ :: EvoX Hairbase BOM :: BABYHAIR-Base
EnLight :: GAB (EvoX) Head Skins
EnLight :: Lexi Shapes (Lelutka Kaya)
EnLight :: enLight+ND/MD HDX Skin
Yeal @ Social Media: Blog & Credits ☆ Facebook ☆ FlickR ☆ Instagram
#lunachelsea #enlight #ndmd #nomatch #yaelwildgoat #lelutka #lelutkaevox #legacy #inithium #catwa #maitreya #secndlife #secondlifeMarketplaces #sl #secondlifeevents #secondlifeavatar #secondlifestyles #secondlifeavi #secondlifephotography #secondlifeblogger #slfashion #slblog #slblogger #secondlife #influencer #lifestyle #socialmedia #virtualworld #secondlifehome #secondlifedestinations #secondlifeonly #secondlifehair #slflickr #slfacebook #slinstagram #sl #slavis #secondlifeexploring
Time for a bit of a rant ...
Bernera Barracks in Glenelg was designated as a Category ‘A’ Listed Building in 1958, and as a Scheduled Ancient Monument in 1971.
The barracks were built by the Hanoverian Government after the Jacobite Rising of 1715, one of only four such barracks built in Scotland “to forestall a future uprising, maintain law and order locally, and enforce the Disarming Act of 1716 “. Two have been ‘lost’ as they were incorporated into other buildings over the years (small parts of one are visible in a farm building, the other in a hotel), and one of the others, at Ruthven , is in the care of Historic Scotland. So what about Bernera Barracks?
As you can see from these photos it has fallen into a ruinous state, is now too dangerous for people to be allowed to visit, surrounded by a fence decorated with “Danger – Keep Out” signs. It made me wonder why …
Initial searching led me to discover that the buildings are privately-owned, and it seemed that the owner had allowed them to fall into this parlous state – there were some rather epithet-laden rants aimed at this individual from people like me who have an interest in seeing historically important buildings like this preserved for future generations. It also became apparent that there had been an “Improvement Notice” served on the owner which had not been carried out.
However, digging deeper things became more complicated. The Improvement Notice had in fact been served, but on a large estate, a previous owner of the building, many years ago. The current owner is a local crofter who bought his small 40 acre farm under the Crofting Reform Act, which allowed him to buy his land from his landlord. He was not aware that this also included responsibility for maintaining the Barracks and that he would have responsibility for carrying out the Improvement Notice (which he was not informed of) when he bought the land. Obviously the hundreds of thousands of pounds which would be needed just to stabilise the buildings are well beyond the economic reach of a crofter. He is obviously not allowed to demolish the structure, but as he says:
“If anybody touched anything, there’s a good chance it would come clattering down around their heads [...] Now that I’ve got it, the ownership of it doesn’t interest me. If any other body wants it they can have it – it is a national monument, it should be owned by the nation.”
So what about these other ‘bodies’ who could take over the restoration and the upkeep of the Barracks? It seems that none of them is willing to take it over. The Highland Region would be one source of funds, but they said:
“Our shortage of funds makes it impossible. We only have £17,000 this year for ALL the 2,500 listed buildings in the Highlands.”
The Historic Buildings Council could not help because they only deal with Listed Buildings. As Bernera Barracks is both Listed AND a Scheduled Monument, they would have nothing to do with it.
So what about the Ancient Monuments Department? They stated:
“A year ago the Highland Region wrote to the AMD. The department made it clear that it acknowledged the importance of the building but could not consider taking it into state care. The Secretary of State already has Ruthven Barracks which are of the same period and of equal importance, and so at present there is no possibility of him taking responsibility for Bernera Barracks.”
It astonishes and disgusts me that no Government body is willing to step in and take responsibility for such an historically significant building - remember that there were only four such barracks built, and that two have already disappeared.
The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland’s site record notes “Incorporating stones plundered from the Glenelg brochs, it remains an impressive sight today, even though its two harled blocks - twin-gabled and rising to three and a half storeys each side of a courtyard - are reduced to pierced rubble shells, Bernera incorporates some notable modifications to the standard design: the tenement-plan accommodation was doubled by building the five-bay blocks to a double-pile plan, each capable of accommodating two companies (120 men) in 12 almost square fire-lit rooms, each with five double beds […] Though modest, the degree of architectural refinement was greater here than at the other forts; the archway in the west wall was decorated, and the windows all have keystoned segmental-arches and smooth ashlar dressings.”
There have been plans as far back as the 1980s to save and develop the barracks, but none has ever come to anything. It remains an unloved and rapidly deteriorating shell of a building which would appear to have no future.
As the leader of the local council said:
“It is a monument nobody wants”.
A wonderful sunset at Zabriskie point from a quick visit to DVNP last year. I already posted one image from this evening last year, but I found the incredible folded landscape at Zabriskie so mesmerizing I felt like processing another shot from there.
One of my favorite book/radio series is the "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" and in one of the later chapters our hapless heroes (and heroine) meet Slartybartfast (Adams had a great knack for names) who was a "planet designer" specializing in designing fjords, and was especially proud of having won an award for Earth's Norwegian fjords, and described them as having "Lovely crinkly edges". I may have misremembered it as "crinkly bits" or maybe there's some difference between the radio show and books. Regardless, that phrase stuck in my head as I worked on the photo because these are also truly lovely crinkly bits, just at a different scale than the fjords.
For anyone who has not had the pleasure, I refer you to the original BBC radio series as the best way to appreciate it. The books are also good. Various TV and movie renditions much less so. Douglas' Adams writing is a uniquely delightful blend of funny, silly, quirky, deeply insightful and (it turns out) in some odd ways profoundly prescient (the "infinite improbability drive" seems like a fantastically funny take on the strangeness of quantum theory).
Bit of a break from the Shingle Street shots, this is one from the way into work this morning, took a quick detour to moorgate. The little shape at the top is a window cleaner. You certainly wouldnt get me up there..
Two bits times 2 = Four bits. It was worth it. I gave this couple a couple of quarters to feed the ducks and keep them busy while I circled around the cement pond to get in position for this shot. Money well spent.
Big Spring Park in Huntsville, Alabama.
Nikon D7500 — Nikon 18-300mm F6.3 ED VR
210mm
F6.3@1/80th
ISO 6400
DSB_0857.JPG
©Don Brown 2025
Let me cast a little bit of sunshine into your lives!! Happy Monday! One of the blooms on the hosta plant I planted last year! YAY!! It didn't die!! :) I wish you all a blessed and wonderful Monday. I am working again today, tomorrow and Wed. and then should be off for TEN, yes count them, TEN days!!! Then will probably be working EVERY day for I don't know how long.
All rights reserved
Sean-JBS.
Looks like a romanticised view of the abominable gentrification of Hackney Wick.
A bit of Mobstr in there too, if I'm not mistaken.
LR2342
A bit of nice Spring weather encouraged these sheep and lambs to take it easy (not that they need too much encouragement). They like to lie on the long grass growing in clumps in the field, looks like they found it very comfotable.
Bit shocked by the light we were able to get from the hotel's windows, I tell ya. Figured, east-facing as they were, and what with us shooting near sunset, we'd get little to nothing from 'em.
But this city, man, this city'll always surprise ya. Sunlight comes bouncing off one building, into the windows from another...I don't much care for downtown, all them NY-style buildings blocking my view of the sky, but every once in awhile all that steel and glass does ya a solid.
So with devilish grins on our faces we shot with that light until it was all but gone, Emily and I.
Except for right here, of course. Made her gimme a straight face, because THAT IS WHAT I DESIRED, SO THAT IS WHAT I COMMANDED.
I had an appointment downtown, and arriving a bit early (I'd allowed time for traffic) I grabbed the chance to relax with a spot of photography. It wasn't as relaxing as I'd hoped, as a security guard came out and told me that I wasn't allowed to take pictures of the building without written permission. When I went into the bulding to inquire how I could get that permission, the officers on duty told that I had every right to take pictures outside. From their expressions when I told them about the security guard, I suspect I'm not the first photographer who's been handed a line.
See a larger version here.
According to the official web site:
Osgoode Hall is a heritage building located at 130 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario. This historic site is the focus
for legal activity in Ontario and has garnered attention for over 170 years. Osgoode Hall occupies six acres and was acquired by the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1829. The name Osgoode Hall honours William Osgoode the first Chief Justice of the province. Osgoode Hall withstood more than ten major restorations. The front facade maintained its originality and is basically unaltered to reflect the 1860 design.
The interior of Osgoode Hall possesses unique architectural achievements. The heritage courtrooms are from the late 1800's. Convocation Hall boasts ten gorgeous stained glass heraldic windows covering 4,000 years of law. The Great Library touted as the most beautiful room in Canada has an intricate ceiling, cork floors and triple cube design. The rotunda is spectacular from the original tiling on the floor to the elegant arched pillars surrounded by elaborate oil paintings of former Chief Justices of the Province.
Since 1840 Osgoode Hall has been co-owned by the Ontario Government and the Law Society. The Court of Appeal for Ontario, the Superior Court Of Justice and the Law Society of Upper Canada currently reside at Osgoode Hall.
According to Wikipedia:
Osgoode Hall is a landmark building in downtown Toronto constructed between 1829 and 1832 in the late Georgian Palladian and Neoclassical styles. It houses the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Divisional Court of the Superior Court of Justice, and the Law Society of Upper Canada. The portico of Osgoode Hall's east wing was built at the head of Toronto's York Street to serve as a terminating vista, though it is now obscured by trees planted on the building's lawn.
Osgoode Hall was named in honour of the province's first chief justice, William Osgoode. The building housed Osgoode Hall Law School until 1969 when the faculty was relocated to the campus of York University in the North York community of Toronto. It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1979. It was also designated by the City of Toronto under the Ontario Heritage Act in 1990.
The six-acre (24,000 m²) site at the corner of Lot Street (Queen Street West today) and College Avenue (University Avenue today) was acquired by the Law Society in 1828. At the time, the location was on the northwest edge of the city, which has since grown around the building. It was originally bounded on its north side by Osgoode Street, and on its east side by a street that would eventually be known as Chestnut Street. The former no longer exists, and the latter now stops at Armoury Street as Nathan Philips Square now lies to the east. The original 2 1⁄2-storey building was started in 1829 and finished in 1832 from a design by John Ewart and W. W. Baldwin. The structure was named after William Osgoode, the first Chief Justice of Upper Canada (what is now the Canadian province of Ontario).
Between 1838 and 1843, the hall was turned into troop barracks. When the Law Society regained possession in 1844, an expansion was designed by Henry Bowyer Lane; the West Wing and Library were built, with two domes (later removed) over the library to connect the two wings. In 1846 the Law Society entered into an agreement with the government to house the province's Superior Court at the hall.[citation needed] Today, the building is jointly owned by the Law Society and the Government of Ontario.
From 1855 to 1857 the building was refurbished and enlarged again, according to a design by the firm Cumberland and Storm, to accommodate courts with the original 1829 building becoming the east wing. From 1880 to 1891 the building was again expanded twice in order to accommodate the law school.
Despite the expansions, the hall presents a unified design in the late Palladian style. The iron fence surrounding the lawns of Osgoode Hall has become a landmark in itself. Its distinctive iron gates are narrow and restrictive; it is a long-standing myth that they were designed to keep livestock out of the grounds of the hall and in the 1950s, students did attempt to pass a cow through one of the gates (they failed). The gates were likely due to Victorian architectural fashion, rather than wandering cattle.
Two libraries are housed within Osgoode Hall: the Great Library of the Law Society of Upper Canada and a smaller library for judges. The Great Library was designed by Cumberland and Storm (1857–1860) and features an ornate plaster ceiling, cork floors, and etched glass windows. A War Memorial by Frances Norma Loring (1887–1968), sculpted in 1928, was added to the Library in honor of Ontario lawyers and law students killed during the First World War. Behind the Great Library (and accessible through it) is the American Room, designed by Burke and Horwood in 1895, a more intimate room with a spiral staircase. The courthouse at 361 University Avenue directly to the north is accessible through a connecting tunnel.
This High Dynamic Range 360° panorama was stitched from 54 RAW photographs with PTGUI Pro, tone-mapped with Photomatix, and touched up in Aperture.
And then I reprocessed the tone-mapped image when I got more software. First I used the new Life Projection mode in Affinity Photo to inpaint the area where the tripod was. (When I shot this I didn't know how to get decent nadir shots.) Then I used the Tonal Contrast filter in Color Efex to punch the image up a bit. Finally a bit more work in Life Projection mode to fix the wrap problem caused by Color Efex (it doesn't understand 360° images wrap, so the edges often don’t match), and back to Aperture for a touch of sharpening.
It's not as sharp as I'd like, as when I went inside to inquire about permission I accidentally changed my aperture, and didn't notice when I went pack out to photograph. The sky is also a bit off — adjusting the white balance so the shadows weren't blue made the sky greenish, and I can't figure out a way to adjuste the colour all the way back.
Original size: 18970 × 9485 (179.9 MP; 260.51 MB).
Location: Osgoode Hall, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Calke is a bit different from most National Trust properties in so much as it is not restored but allowed to decay gracefully over the course of time.
My new man is bit of an animal and doesn't look very impressed with his new bride.
Otto has been avoiding getting hitched for many a year but at long last I made an honest otter of him .
i do like having a laugh when out taking photos
Everything started with the Mystery Box I've made two weeks ago. Then I thought the pipe would be easy... Then the mushroom and finally Mario :) For now I'm happy with this but who knows? Maybe I'll do a full level one of these days :)
Hope you guys like it!!
Now I'm on twitter! Follow me! I'll follow you :)
...a bit of abstractionism...
Constructed from brick, gypsum and lime, most of the pigeon towers originated in the Safavid period of the 16th century, and many still punctuate the plains around Esfahan. This one was actually in the city limits, and contained not one but nine towers in one building, where this was the larger centre tower. The open dome at the top allows pigeons to enter easily, while the honey comb like inner structure provides a home for each and everyone. The smell inside unmistakingly betrays the purpose of the building... which is to collect pigeon droppings to be used as a softener in Esfahan's leather tanneries, as well as fertilizer for the rich watermelon fields.
This particular one, the Hezar Jarib tower, is located in the city, on Sheikh Sadoogh street by the Esfahan University, and is about 14 meters high inside. The absence of pigeons in the shot is perhaps an indication that the increasing use of chemical fertilizer and tanning agents has resulted in a lack of demand for the real s***!
* This photo appears on the Dark Roasted Blend site.
Macro Monday's theme this week is "A Wee Bit of Red."
A jar full of marbles. All of them are clear except for one.
A bit scraggly but still magnificent!
The Owl (Caligo memnon) is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family. It is also known as the Pale or Giant Owl butterfly. The species can be found in the rainforests and secondary forests of Mexico down to the Amazon rainforest.
The wingspan is usually from 115 to 130 mm, but can reach 150 mm. The larvae feed on Musa and Heliconia species and can be a pest for banana cultivation. Adults feed on juices of ripe fruit.
Caligo memnon, Pale Owl or Giant Owl
Wings of the Tropics
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Miami FL