Another disastrous day out. I was on my way to Ashley for the 73s, but with RTT throwing a wobbly and nothing allocated on TOPS, I sacked it off and got off the train at Stockport instead in the hope I could manage something before my train home again as a sort of consolation prize.

Anyway, thankfully 66709 was out to play on the 6H56 Hope St Peakstone P.Sdgs-Peak Forest Cemex Gbrf, so I ventured to the end of the platform, banged the zoom on and did the classic viaduct shot. Despite going all the way there and not getting any of my intended targets, it was nice to finally bag 709 after many many years of chasing it.

This was my first time ever seeing the loco and my last one to finish off the original GB sheds to cop for sight. And since I'm known for having exceptionally bad luck with celeb sheds, it felt somewhat rewarding to get this even if it's not the cleanest shot.

Lake State Railways Office Car Special is making a run North to Gaylord with some Trains Magazine folks on board today. In the second locomotive is a good friend of mine Jeff Mast! Sense Jeff was on the train, extra flags were flying! We see the train here just after 09:00 making its way through the town of Grand Blanc, MI with LSRC #6301 leading. This is the cleanest I have seen 6301 in almost 2 years.

Probably the cleanest background we were able to get with this bird. Had to scale a bit of a hill opposite to it to get at eye level. Although this image is probably better represented as another portrait shot I decided to go landscape to show some of the environment as well. Flickr folks please left click for better detail.

Reykjavík is believed to be the location of the first permanent settlement in Iceland by Norsemen which, according to Landnámabók, was established by Ingólfr Arnarson in AD 874. Until the 19th century, there was no urban development in the city location. The city was founded in 1785 as an official trading town and grew steadily over the following decades, as it transformed into a regional and later national center of commerce, population, and governmental activities. It is among the cleanest, greenest, and safest cities in the world.

Steam from hot springs in the region is said to have inspired Reykjavík's name, which loosely translates to Smoke Cove (the city is sometimes referred to as Bay of Smoke or Smoky Bay in English language travel guides). (Wikipedia)

In the photo, two steam stacks from hot springs underneath downtown.

Cleanest one I've ever seen!

. . . This Great Blue Heron has it made, living on the cleanest beach around and flying with no work at all! Photographed at the Gulf Islands National Seashore on Highway 399 a few miles west of Navarre Beach, FL.

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The Moby "Legacy" was launched, the largest ferry in the world that will sail between Olbia and Livorno

Moby Legacy, obviously together with Moby Fantasy, is the largest ferry in the world and will also be a driving force for the development of the economy of Livorno, Olbia and Sardinia, creating more than 500 direct and related jobs.

As for the engine, the power is 10.8 megawatts, for a cruising speed of 23.5 knots, with peaks of 25 knots.

The pretty coastal village of Mundesley is some seven miles south-east of Cromer on the Norfolk coast. It is within the Norfolk Coast AONB and was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. The beautiful sandy beach, which is overlooked by colourful beach huts, is one of the cleanest around. There are plentiful sands stretching for miles with very little shingle. A few years ago it was voted the Best Blue Flag Beach in Britain.

In WWII the beaches in this part of the country were very heavily mined in order to deter an invasion, and it took many years and cost the lives of a number of bomb disposal experts to make all the beaches safe again. There is a memorial to them on the top of the cliff.

The engineer on this Indiana Northeastern west/north\ward freight pulls back on the throttle of his 10mph 100 plus cars to "show off" to the four rail fans at this crossing just west of the Indiana state line. It appears that the old AT&SF geep is the cleanest of the crowd!

Ruins of a medieval fortified church are located above the village of Lúčka, situated at the border of the Slovenské rudohorie mountain range and the national park of Slovenský kras. The village had been known since 1409 as part of the Turňa Castle Estate donated to Pál Besen by King Sigismund.

According to the testimony provided by the local church, however, the village dates back to at least the half of the 13th century. The church itself was built as an early-Gothic church of the Gemer style. In the first half of the 15th century, it was surrounded by a defensive stone wall with a watchtower situated in the front. The small fortress was captured by Jan Jiskra’s troopsand is commonly called the Hussite church by the locals. Only the external walls of the church and the considerably lowered defensive wall with the tower that later on served as a belfry have been preserved up to the present. The quadratic tower used to have two floors in the past, with three windows on the first floor and three loopholes on the ground floor that served to watch the surroundings and to protect the fortress from three sides: the west, the south, and the east. The top of the slope upon which the church was built provided for the natural protection from the north.

The area where the church stands counts among the ecologically cleanest territories in Slovakia. It provides for exceptionally good conditions for recreationin a peaceful natural setting and for short walks in the basin of the Čremošná, to the lake of Lúčka, as well as to the surrounding beech and fir forests. Moreover, the unique natural reserve of Zádielska dolina is located in close distance, lined with plateaux where traces of fortified prehistoric settlements were confirmed by archaeological surveys.

WOW love this! One of the cleanest renaults l have saw. Saw this a few times so hope l will get a better photo of it, that colour is very rare!

47,000 miles on its last MOT in 2022

This sunrise was fantastic! It was a brilliant red sky over half the horizon over the water and then the guest of honour arose in one of the cleanest appearances I have ever seen, more pics to follow after we arrive home from holiday, cheers

Lavender and Lily found some shells at the beach and pretended they were unicorns. I needed a little whimsy today.

Unisauri is the plural form of unisaurus.

PS - for those who care for the sky I have a printed posterboard and for the "ocean" I just used a piece of crinkled foil. The sand is "Jurrasic Sand" www.jurassicsand.com/ and it is the cleanest sand I have ever used.

Whitehaven Beach is a 7 km stretch along Whitsunday Island, Australia. The island is accessible by boat from the mainland tourist ports of Airlie Beach and Shute Harbour, as well as Hamilton Island.

The beach was awarded Queensland's Cleanest Beach in Keep Australia Beautiful's 2008 Clean Beach Challenge State Awards. In July 2010, Whitehaven Beach was named the top Eco Friendly Beach in the world by CNN.com. Dogs are not permitted on the beach and cigarette smoking is prohibited.

Whitehaven Beach is known for its white sands. It has a beautiful scenery and the sand consists of 98% pure silica which gives it a bright white color. Local rocks do not contain silica so it has been suggested that the sands were brought to the beach via prevailing sea currents over millions of years.

Unlike regular sand, the sand on Whitehaven Beach does not retain heat making it comfortable to walk barefoot on a hot day. This sand is also very fine, and can damage electronic equipment such as telephones and cameras, although it is good at polishing up jewellery.

The pretty coastal village of Mundesley is some seven miles south-east of Cromer on the Norfolk coast. It is within the Norfolk Coast AONB and was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. The beautiful sandy beach, which is overlooked by colourful beach huts, is one of the cleanest around. There are plentiful sands stretching for miles with very little shingle. A few years ago it was voted the Best Blue Flag Beach in Britain.

In WWII the beaches in this part of the country were very heavily mined in order to deter an invasion, and it took many years and cost the lives of a number of bomb disposal experts to make all the beaches safe again. There is a memorial to them on the top of the cliff.

Came up empty on owls at Nisqually, but did come across this beautiful woodpecker! I always love coming across these guys, was not the cleanest shot but was fun to watch for about 10 mins before I left it still hammering away in this same spot.

It is the third largest lake in France, after the Lac du Bourget and Lac de Grand-Lieu, if the French part of Lake Geneva (which is also partly in Switzerland) is excluded. It is known as "Europe's cleanest lake" because of strict environmental regulations introduced in the 1960s. It is a popular tourist destination known for its swimming and water sports.

The lake was formed about 18,000 years ago, at the time the large alpine glaciers melted. It is fed by many small rivers from the surrounding mountains (Ire, Eau morte, Laudon, Bornette and Biolon), and from a powerful underwater source, the Boubioz, which enters at 82 m depth.

Got to be one of the cleanest 80s cars l have spotted that wasn't at a car show, in amazing condition and it even has its original number plate!

Not the cleanest of shots, as this guy was tucked away in the leaf-litter here, but I was pleased to have spotted this Adder at RSPB Minsmere recently.

Suffolk - April 2022

Title from the brilliant John Lee Hooker, who used to play at this bar.

The Apex Bar in Detroit: Famous for 2 things: John Lee Hooker got his start here in 1943 when he made Detroit his home and was one of his favorite places to play, often returning to perform there. The other is it's reputation as "the cleanest bar in Detroit". Yes. The cleanest. This was part of the Historic "Paradise Valley" section of Detroit, known for it's night life in the thirties, forties, and fifties. The bar received it's liquor license in 1934, and closed I believe in 2014

Making a very rare afternoon appearance is NS 255, "The Roadrailer", at Missouri City, MO on the NS Kansas City District. This thing was running about 16 hours late.

NS 255 and its counterpoint 256 are the last two left in existence. With these trains normally being nocturnal, I try to shoot these anytime they happen to be running with the sun in the sky.

I would've chase it like I normally do, but I don't feel it can get much better than the wide shot I got on 1/17/22. I was pretty satisfied with doing a "one and done" close to home, especially since there really isn't much special with this C6M. However, the C6M I shot on 1/17 is the cleanest I have ever seen an NS motor. That's a sad statement.

We were darting home after a wonderful snowshoe adventure to Rawson Lake and beyond, when we saw these gorgeous clouds above the mountains. The roads were a mess, and these were shot through not the cleanest of windshields...

At the Sea stacks of Sant’Andrea sea and wind sculptured the rocks making those white stacks that are dyeing by gold during the sunset. The turquoise clear water is one of the cleanest and enjoyable in the whole coastline.

Prints and Downloads are available on my 👉 H O M E P A G E

Whitehaven Beach is a 7 km stretch along Whitsunday Island, Australia. The island is accessible by boat from the mainland tourist ports of Airlie Beach and Shute Harbour, as well as Hamilton Island.

The beach was awarded Queensland's Cleanest Beach in Keep Australia Beautiful's 2008 Clean Beach Challenge State Awards. In July 2010, Whitehaven Beach was named the top Eco Friendly Beach in the world by CNN.com. Dogs are not permitted on the beach and cigarette smoking is prohibited.

Whitehaven Beach is known for its white sands. It has a beautiful scenery and the sand consists of 98% pure silica which gives it a bright white color. Local rocks do not contain silica so it has been suggested that the sands were brought to the beach via prevailing sea currents over millions of years.

Unlike regular sand, the sand on Whitehaven Beach does not retain heat making it comfortable to walk barefoot on a hot day. This sand is also very fine, and can damage electronic equipment such as telephones and cameras, although it is good at polishing up jewellery.

Taken near Ingleton from my Yorkshire trip, i still havent been through many of my pics from some of my trips at all! Not the cleanest of images the contrast was so weird in this pic! Also not used to converting to Black and white so any tips welcome :)

I sat at this site for most of the day waiting for the right lighting to give the shot a little extra after reading 'Transient light' by Ian Cameron. A really good book i would definitely recommend for some inspiration.

Planning another trip now! :) Going from West to north Wales, Through the Lake district and then probably the West coast of Scotland up :) So any tips on places to go much appreciated especially for Scotland.

www.ajwphotography.org.uk/

cleanest floors in DC

Ruins of a medieval fortified church are located above the village of Lúčka, situated at the border of the Slovenské rudohorie mountain range and the national park of Slovenský kras. The village had been known since 1409 as part of the Turňa Castle Estate donated to Pál Besen by King Sigismund.

According to the testimony provided by the local church, however, the village dates back to at least the half of the 13th century. The church itself was built as an early-Gothic church of the Gemer style. In the first half of the 15th century, it was surrounded by a defensive stone wall with a watchtower situated in the front. The small fortress was captured by Jan Jiskra’s troopsand is commonly called the Hussite church by the locals. Only the external walls of the church and the considerably lowered defensive wall with the tower that later on served as a belfry have been preserved up to the present. The quadratic tower used to have two floors in the past, with three windows on the first floor and three loopholes on the ground floor that served to watch the surroundings and to protect the fortress from three sides: the west, the south, and the east. The top of the slope upon which the church was built provided for the natural protection from the north.

The area where the church stands counts among the ecologically cleanest territories in Slovakia. It provides for exceptionally good conditions for recreationin a peaceful natural setting and for short walks in the basin of the Čremošná, to the lake of Lúčka, as well as to the surrounding beech and fir forests. Moreover, the unique natural reserve of Zádielska dolina is located in close distance, lined with plateaux where traces of fortified prehistoric settlements were confirmed by archaeological surveys.

There are two rules for travellers in China: Nothing is ever as it seems, and Take nothing for granted. On the first day the sky was clear and the air was good. On this, our second day, the mist was impenetrable, our guide told us there is no smog in China, only mist. Nothing is ever as it seems ....

We drove on a magnificent highway out of Beijing to see and climb on the Great Wall. Our guide was brilliant, he invited us to ask questions and he answered with surprising candour. We asked about his life, where he lives, the cost of living, education and childcare (he had two children in the time of the one child policy). He explained it was possible to have a second child after paying an enormous tax.

We wanted to know about housing, public transport, the costs and complexity of owning a car. It was amazing to drive for more than an hour on a highway edged with rose gardens, and rose gardens in the median strip. There was no litter anywhere, this was the prettiest and cleanest city I had ever seen.

He said workers are assigned a strip of the highway and it is their job to care for the garden on that strip. Similarly there is a person responsible for the cleanliness of every block. That's why there is no litter.

No matter where you go in China, tour groups are funnelled into retail spaces and subjected to the hard sell. We were going to the Great Wall, but first we had to visit a place where jade was carved and sold. This was my first experience of the hard sell, and the pressure was relentless. Have no doubt, capitalism is alive and well in communist China. I took this shot in the jade shop where we were shadowed by smartly dressed women the whole time.

I wrongly assumed the jade shop was a one off experience (assume nothing), but it happened at least once every day we were in China, and I hated it. Very soon I refused to enter these places, and was assigned a minder to keep an eye on me.

I had to make an effort to shoot this loaded sand train with BNSF 7270 leading. Unit 7270 was simply the cleanest BNSF unit I have seen looking fresh with a nearly-perfect color on the gas tank - just compare it with the trailing motor and its colors. I was also a fan of the light dusting of snow.

The 1.2 mile loop trail traverses many 40' vertical cliffs of dolomite bedrock. Never reached by the glaciers, this gem consists of 110 acres and is named after the rare Trillium Nivale that lives on the thin, poor soils of the preserve. The water quality of this creek is one of the cleanest in Ohio.

The Cleanest in Town | Day 143 / 365

Check my website: photography.marcinbaran.com

Bangkok in the dry season has hazy air and often low level broken cloud cover: ideal conditions for late afternoon rays and shadows. Having grown up and spent the first half of my life in rural New Zealand, in literally the cleanest air on the planet, I had not seen a display like this at any time as a child or adult. I am consequently fascinated.

www.flickr.com/explore/2024/05/05/

Situated within the Berchtesgaden Alps in the municipality of Schönau am Königsee, just south of Berchtesgaden and the Austrian city of Salzburg, the Königssee is Germany's third deepest lake. Located at a Jurassic rift, it was formed by glaciers during the last ice age. It stretches about 7.7 km (4.8 mi) in a north-south direction and is about 1.7 km (1 mi) across at its widest point. Except at its outlet, the Königsseer Ache at the village of Königssee, the lake is similar to a fjord, being surrounded by the steeply-rising flanks of mountains up to 2,700 m (8,900 ft), including the Watzmann massif in the west.

The literal translation of the name, Königssee, appears to be "king's lake"; however while German: König does indeed mean "king", there had been no Bavarian kings since the days of Louis the German until Elector Maximilian I Joseph assumed the royal title in 1806. Therefore, the name more probably stems from the first name Kuno of local nobles, who appear in several historical sources referring to the donation of the Berchtesgaden Provostry in the twelfth century; the lake was formerly called Kunigsee.[1]

The Königssee Railway (Königsseebahn) served the lake from 1909 until 1965. Its last tracks were dismantled during 1971, and the former station of the Königssee Railway in Berchtesgaden (Königsseer Bahnhof) was demolished in 2012. The only remaining element of the railway is the Königsee station, which is now a restaurant. The track route is mostly used as a walking path.

In 1944, a sub-camp of the Dachau concentration camp was built nearby, located near a residence Heinrich Himmler had built at Schönau for his mistress Hedwig Potthast.[2]

The lake is noted for its clear water and is advertised as the cleanest lake in Germany. For this reason, only electric-powered passenger ships,[3] rowing, and pedal boats have been permitted on the lake since 1909. Passenger services along the length of the lake are operated by the Bayerische Seenschifffahrt company[4] and call at Seelände (Schönau), St. Bartholomä, Salet (mid-April to mid-October), and Kessel (on request). In ideal conditions, the longest tour takes two hours from Seelände to Salet.[5] Swimming is permitted except in the lock area at Seelände.

Due to its picturesque setting, the lake and surrounding parklands are very popular with tourists and hikers. In addition, the surrounding sheer rock walls create an echo known for its clarity. On boat tours, it has become traditional to stop and play a flugelhorn or trumpet to demonstrate the echo. Previously demonstrated by shooting a cannon, the echo can be heard to reverberate up to seven times. The trumpeter plays along with the echo, so that there can seem to be as many as seven players.

St. Bartholomä, a famous pilgrimage church with an inn nearby, is located on a peninsula about halfway down the western lake shore. The small Christlieger island is located near its northern end. South of the Königssee, separated by the Salet moraine, is the smaller Obersee lake with the 470 m (1,540 ft) high Röthbach waterfall. Because there is no lakeside path on the steep shore of the Königssee, St. Bartholomä and the southern edge can only be reached by boat, or via hiking trails up the surrounding mountains, except during harsh winters when the lake freezes over. Stepping on the ice, however, can be fatal, as it was for a motorist who drowned in his Volkswagen Beetle on the way back from St. Bartholomä in January 1964. The car was found only in 1997 at a depth of about 100 m (330 ft).

I was quite attracted by the cleanliness of the vendor who sells this salad dish.

Location : Khyber Bazar, Peshawar Old City, Peshawar -Pakistan

Lac d'Annecy, Haute-Savoie, France.

El Lac d'Annecy es un lago de Alta Saboya, al este de Francia. Es famoso por ser uno de los lagos más limpios del mundo. Además es el segundo lago más grande de Francia tras el lago del Bourget, exceptuando la parte francesa del lago Lemán.

El lago se formó hace 18 000 años, durante el deshielo de los grandes glaciares alpinos.

Es alimentado por varios ríos pequeños, nacidos en las montañas próximas (Ire, Eau morte, Laudon, Bornette y Biolon), y por una potente fuente submarina, el Boubioz, que nace a 82 m de profundidad. Está rodeado: al este por el macizo de los Bornes; al oeste, por el macizo de los Bauges; al norte, por la aglomeración de Annecy; y al sur, por un amplio valle.

El lago expulsa su exceso de agua al río Thiou y al canal del Vassé, que se unen y alimentan el río Fier, a 1500 m al norte de Annecy, que finalmente se une al río Ródano.

Es un lugar turístico muy atractivo, conocido por sus actividades náuticas.

The Lac d'Annecy is a lake in Haute-Savoie, in eastern France. It is famous for being one of the cleanest lakes in the world. It is also the second largest lake in France after Lake Bourget, except for the French part of Lake Geneva.

The lake was formed 18,000 years ago, during the melting of the great alpine glaciers.

It is fed by several small rivers, born in the nearby mountains (Ire, Eau morte, Laudon, Bornette and Biolon), and by a powerful underwater source, the Boubioz, which rises at a depth of 82 m. It is surrounded: to the east by the Bornes massif; to the west, by the massif of the Bauges; to the north, by the agglomeration of Annecy; and to the south, through a wide valley.

The lake expels its excess water into the Thiou river and the Vassé canal, which join and feed the Fier river, 1500 m north of Annecy, which eventually joins the Rhone river.

It is a very attractive tourist place, known for its nautical activities.

Saturday, April 13th, 2024 was a significant day for Toronto railfans for all of the wrong reasons. For weeks it was known that the North Toronto signal structures were being torn down. Leaside had replacements on site, Mt Pleasant and Howland had replacements put in between the 2 (at Yonge), and Davenport was no longer needed in either direction after Metrolinx tore out the diamond with the Newmarket sub, replacing it with a bridge. But Bartlett was the big question. No visible replacements, a logical spot for intermediates as they kept westbounds short of a grade crossing. The next signal Osler isn't visible so you could sit your train at Bartlett and wait for an upgraded signal before proceeding without blocking Bartlett Ave. On April 13th, CP released their full plans which included everyone's worst fear: Bartlett was to fall with all the others in just 3 days time. If you hadn't been to the iconic spot situated in midtown Toronto, you had just 1 weekend to go get some shots. On the same day, 10-15 railfans were out as CP 137 rolled by the Bartlett signals with one of the cleanest looking AC44s I've ever seen in CP 9817. Out of all of the signals, losing Bartlett was the worst for me. Bartlett Ave & its 1960s era searchlights provided a safe, legal hangout spot for friends and visitors. I spent countless hours across 4 years at Bartlett in all weather conditions hanging out by myself, with friends, or getting to know strangers (shoutout Scott from Australia who I met in March 2020). In the year (minus a few days) since the signals vanished, I've driven over the tracks exactly 3 times, never bothering to stop, never taking another photo from that location. Time moves on, and I'm grateful for all of the moments sitting trackside at Bartlett with so many friends, all of us drawn towards the simple searchlight signals on a cantilever.

So after learning an Xacto can be an effective drill I got on to doing this. Basically I just made Linda's blade more accurate to my sketches. Not the cleanest but then again you usually wouldn't see it this close anywho.

Goodyear, Az.

In 1993, Amtrak was looking at options for electric high speed trainsets and tested the German-built Inter-City Express, or ICE. On 4 September of that year, Amtrak P609, led by AC-power F69PHs 450 and 451, glides through CSX (former L&N) Goulding Yard at Pensacola, FL. Obviously, the ICE never came to America permanently and at least one of the F69PHs now rusts away at NRE in Mt Vernon, IL.

Note that Goulding Yard was the cleanest yard on the Mobile Division and Southern Region in 1992.

Not the cleanest shot as dusk was coming and it was pouring with rain so I couldn't be bothered setting up the tripod. However it was a lovely view so worth capturing, even hand-held.

Taken at Radipole RSPB reserve in Weymouth. Probably my cleanest shot of a female to date.

What was supposed to be a relaxing late summer dive in one of the cleanest lakes in Feldberg Lake District Nature Park was turned upside down by strong winds, rain, cool 10 to 15 °C water temps and virtually zero visibility. Oh well. Those who want it cozy go to the Red Sea or Asia. For us a dark, cold world waited, in which we even could not see our own hand in front of the mask. Dimly, some diving obstacles emerged from the darkness in front of us, which now seemed all the more mysterious. The vegetation was getting ready for winter. Nevertheless, we stumbled upon large motionless pikes, perches and whole schools of rudds.

In front of my kitchen window, my little friend wishes you a nice Sunday with my favorite singer...........)))))

listen:

Sunday Morning Coming Down · Kris Kristofferson

Cussin' at a can that he was kicking.......

St Peter's Square, The Vatican, Rome

Another shot from my visit to St. Peter's Square and another one calling for a lot of patience. I didn’t have a tripod with me but even if I did and my set of Kase ND filters there is no way any length of exposure would have removed all the people. I therefore had to make the best of a bad job and, having spotted the potential of the curve in the ground I tried to get a shot with no one too close to the camera. As you might guess there were many attempts with people suddenly coming into the frame or veering in some unpredictable direction. I therefore took quite a few shots from different positions and this one seems the cleanest. Given the time of day and the buildings I think B&W is the way to go with this too.

Some of you will know I am shortly to retire so I’m again finding my appearances on Flickr a bit sporadic as I’m having to wrap a number of things up at work and get a start on a number of house projects that I’ve promised myself and Mrs P I would get done over the first few years of retirement. One of these could well be a garden photography editing office but keep that quiet please as I haven’t mentioned it to her yet😂. I’ve a number of photography trips and holidays in mind for whilst I’m still active but it’s hard to choose which to prioritise. Watch this space😉. In the interim please accept my sincere apologies if I seem to be AWOL. I promise I will be trying to get on Flickr as much as I can.

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

For my video youtu.be/SQd8J2uYgVc?si=yiqAvjgWX1VEwdep

BIMA 306,

Virgo Sejati 327,

Semarang is the capital and largest city of Central Java province in Indonesia. It was a major port during the Dutch colonial era, and is still an important regional center and port today. The city has been named as the cleanest tourist destination in Southeast Asia by the ASEAN Clean Tourist City Standard (ACTCS) for 2020–2022.

Semarang, Kelurahan Tanjungmas, Central Java, Indonesia

KT.BIMA 306 (IMO: 9559913) is a Tug and is sailing under the flag of Indonesia. Her length overall (LOA) is 29 meters and her width is 4 meters.

TB VIRGO SEJATI 327 (MMSI: 525500585) is a Tug and is sailing under the flag of Indonesia. Her length overall (LOA) is 21 meters and her width is 6 meters.

Last weekend, I suddenly found myself with a relatively new Mercedes (My Tundra got smashed and this was a rental, long story) and a free weekend. I had been waiting for an excuse to head out to Joshua Tree National Park, and after getting a Mercedes which needed to be driven combined with the Camelopardalid Meteor Shower due to show up at 10 PM, I jumped in the car and took off for the dessert.

Long story short, I spent two mights shooting the White Tank area of Joshua Tree. On Friday night, the meteors never really showed up but the sky was amazing. On Saturday night, I got out there a bit earlier and scouted out my locations a bit more. I had a decent spot to shoot the rock arch and shot the Milky Way coming up over the Rock Arch for almost 2 hours before packing up. It was nearly 1 AM when I turned around to shoot one last pano, and that is the shot that you see here.

The irony with this particular shot is that I had just recently become fascinated by the phenomenon known as "airglow."Airglow is caused by various processes in the upper atmosphere, such as the recombination of atoms, which were photoionized by the sun during the day, luminescence caused by cosmic rays striking the upper atmosphere and chemiluminescence caused mainly by oxygen and nitrogen reacting with hydroxyl ions at heights of a few hundred kilometres. (Wiki)

I had just been mentioning to some of my buddies that it would be great to be able to shoot it at some point, but from what I have read, it didn't seem to be a very common occurrence. In fact, the night before, I took an almost identical pano at exactly the same time, and there was no trace of airglow to be seen. But in this particular set of shots, the greenish streaks along the horizon aren't some type of white balance problem. They are, apparently, particles in the upper atmosphere that are glowing after the sun has long since set. I should probably also mention that this phenomenon is not quite the same thing as the Borealis.

It certainly isn't the cleanest pano I've ever shot as I bumped the tripod and accidentally tweaked the focus too far as I grabbed my camera out of the bag in a near stupor, but I just wanted to post this shot as I've never witnessed this before, and I honestly didn't notice it until I got home and began looking through my shots. I'll be headed up to Yosemite this Summer to shoot the Milky Way from Glacier Point, and I'm hoping I get lucky there as well.

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I think I found the cleanest unit on UP's roster at the end of 2021. Freshly rebuilt UP 6159 leads an empty soda ash train through southeast Houston as it heads back to the hills of southwest Wyoming.

OT1W1 27 (Ore [Soda Ash]- Galveston, TX to Westvaco, WY)

UP C44ACM #6159

UP C45ACCTE #8039

UP C44ACM #7015

UP C45ACCTE #7980

Houston, TX

December 28th, 2021

Still playing with the Pentax Q, this time fitted with an smc PENTAX-F*300/4.5 lens set at f8. A BAADER Astrosolar Safety Film filter was added to shoot the Sun, although it was late afternoon and I had to shoot through heat haze coming off a metal roof. With the Q's almost invisible screen and the sunlight directly in front, let's just say there was a bit of cursing, trying to align the rig and to adjust camera settings. Not the cleanest image but some structure is discernible in the larger sunspots. More work needed.