Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.

– Margaret Mead –

Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.

– Desmond Tutu –

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.

– Dale Carnegie –

♫ TUNE ♫

This song was made to celebrate the power of speaking out in order to promote a more just world.

2: 10 Train - Rising Sons / Rising Sons Featuring Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder (recorded 1965–1966) / (published 1992)

Mystery Train - The Neville Brothers / Brother's Keeper (1990). Original song Junior Parker (1953)

Slow Train - Kevin Morby / Harlem River (2013)

Runaway Train - Brandon Boyd / The Wild Trapeze (2010)

Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado - Train / Change My Game (2017)

The Gospel Train - Alabama 3 / Outlaw (2005)

.....

(...)

Had a talk with my old man

Said, "Help me understand"

He said "Turn 68, oh, you'll re-negotiate"

"Don't stop this train"

Don't for a minute change the place you're in

And don't think I couldn't ever understand

I tried my hand

John, honestly we'll never stop this train"

Cause now I see, I'm never gonna stop this train

Never gonna stop this train.

Stop This Train - John Mayer / Where The Light Is (Live in Los Angeles), Cd 1 / (2008)

.....

I have always lived in houses, which were very close to the sea and also very close there was a railway line. I have always liked to see a train pass or hear its sound. When I was little and left school, we would go to the railways, close to home, to throw stones at the freight wagons of the freight trains that came down and brought salt from the Súria and Cardona mines, to be loaded onto ships in the port of Barcelona. In addition to throwing stones at it, we counted the number of wagons the locomotive was carrying. Possibly, this train loaded with salt, its schedule was around 1 noon and not at 2:10, like the song written by Albertano and sung with that special voice by Taj Mahal, whom I consider the best bluesman, with permission from B.B. King.

We spend a part of our childhood on the railroad tracks, between abandoned wagons and freight trains. And the port and the sea in summer. Unforgettable days.

There was a day, when several locomotives united, transported many wagons. We count more than a hundred. They seem like a lot to me, but the mind of a child, when he is a child, is a little messy. They talk and think in such a way that it seems they are a little crazy. But they are not. I don't know if it was really more than a hundred wagons that we counted. Possibly we miscounted. But that day... that day was a truly unforgettable "orgy" of stone throwing.

On this railway line, some people died who did not hear the locomotive arrive. And even some person committed suicide, stretched out on the tracks while the railroad came at full speed, without the possibility of stopping. While i'm listening to "Mystery Train" by The Neville Brothers, with this lilting rhythm, imitating the sound of a railway, I remember the kind locomotive driver, who when he saw us, he would sound the train's horn, say hello to us and reduce the speed of the locomotive, so that we had more time to throw stones. We were not hooligans. We were just... children playing .

Never let a train get away from you. And much less, those trains that suddenly appear and cross our lives. Get on all the trains you find, even if they are mysterious... because life is a mystery train, you never know where it will take you.

.....

Cause now I see, I'm never gonna stop this train

Never gonna stop this train.

Well I woke up this morning and the sun refused to shine.

Til I hear the 2:10 train.

Juvenile Kingfisher about to take the plunge in the River Taff..

I committed this photocompositing hijack of the great Hokusai's masterpiece "The Wave" in order ro complete my series 36 views of Mont Saint Michel...

"Obee Jo" striding out ....

At Catterick Races in North Yorkshire

KZ-poses - Ring B - female pose

All My Links

I have wanted to do something different for a while, then one gets lost in what can only be described as "Photographers Block", akin to "Writers Block" same thing yet different tool of creativity. I even deleted a photo I put up yesterday as I hated it, simply because experimental change is sometimes difficult, in the enigmatic paradigm of remaining as was, yet contradicted by the yearn for change, albeit lost for choice yet unable to see the forest for the trees! If you catch my convoluted drift?!

I think the criteria of assumed "change" is tethered to the idea of realising that ,change, in one's self cannot therefore be abridged to the same/similar ideas of others, it is a struggle then to remain original. I am still trying to conquer it whilst trying to not to lose my perspective to the idea of absolutes!

So this photo I took along the A100 with the Westhafen Canal running parallel, in which there are three or four barges moored along the walkway, I had been meaning to get to them since the weather has since started to slowly improve. They are basically big floating elongated buckets of either nothing or asphalt, earth and what have you. But they are interesting for the very old mechanical presence, compositional offerings and overall differing of imagery from nature and anything else that has been done to death so far. The clouds were thin and wonderfully striated offering a bokeh contradiction of composition's directional flow. It was tricky getting the angle as I wanted to get the motorway out of the focus completely.

That's all my waffle for today, I hope everyone's' week has gotten off well and so as always, thank you! :)

Stout-hearted and committed, the valiant spotters and counters search the skies, the water and the shores for incoming birds. They, and other counters around the country, spend countless hours and days collecting important information (FACTS) that can be used to learn about bird populations and their migratory patterns.

This picture was taken at Whitefish Point, near Paradise, Upper Peninsula, Michigan.

I am committed to photography and life... and the gods have been good to me. What can I say? Treat my images kindly, they are my children :-)

Jerry Uelsmann

Character Matters!

malus micromalus, flowering crabapple, kaido crabapple, j c raulston arboretum, ncsu, raleigh,north carolina

A handshake was a contract, it was commitment to a deal, a friendship, or a sincere greeting.

Female Barn Owl (Tyto Alba) ready to strike; I mentioned in a previous post that our extreme drought along the CA Central Coast has affected the vole population. After this dive, the Barn Owl stayed on the ground for awhile--possible catching a Jerusalem cricket or other insect. SLO County; CA; USA; Sony a9; Sony 200-600mm lens at 441mm; ISO 6400; f/6.3; 1/1000 sec; hand held in low light; Topaz AI De Noise

I’ve lost a bit of mojo getting out to the beach for photography these last couple of months. I’ve been giving too much priority to working out and partying. In my defence it was Christmas and New Year I guess. Time to change that! I think I’ve found my motivation in a 100X group on Flickr , where you commit to taking 100 photos of subject “X”. Not to be confused with 100 X-rated photos 😉 So I’ve committed to taking 100 new “Waterscapes” this coming year. I’ve been to all but a couple of the coast’s 49 beaches , but why not go back and enjoy them all over again . They are always fun to visit and there is always something new & different to see. And I haven’t paid anywhere near enough attention to our 4 large lakes and numerous rivers, creeks and bays. Besides, I don’t think I have enough seascapes in my gallery 😂

So this is waterscape photo 1 of 100 for 2025.

Hope everyone is having a great week! Thanks for all the kind comments , they are always greatly appreciated.

Chamonix City

Visit this location at Chamonix City @ Off Sides in Second Life

committed to tradition

Пам'ятник 1979 року, споруджений під назвою «Навіки разом»; встановлено на відзначення 325-річчя «возз'єднання» Гетьманщини з Московським царством у Переяславі.

У січні 1648 року на Запоріжжі розпочалася Визвольна війна під проводом Богдана Хмельницького. Повстанці здобули низку перемог над урядовим військом Речі Посполитої, їх підтримували народні маси, розраховуючи на збільшення козацького реєстру (який утримувався коштом державної скарбниці), послаблення панського гніту Речі Посполитої, а також поновлення позицій православної церкви на своїх землях.

Однак здобута Богданом Хмельницьким автономія опинилась затиснутою між трьома великими державами Східної Європи — Річчю Посполитою, Османською імперією та Московським царством.

У Переяславі відбулася 8 (18) січня 1654 р. старшинська рада, а згодом генеральна військова рада. У ній взяли участь представники козацтва Київського, Чернігівського та Брацлавського полків і жителі Переяслава. Не було представників від селян, міщан (крім переяславських) та духовенства.

Під час публічної церемонії гетьман і козацька старшина присяглися на тім, «щоб бути їм із землею і городами під царською великою рукою невідступно».

Жодного письмового договору в Переяславі укладено не було.

While I may have observed the Rule of Thirds, I confess I've committed mortal photographic sins here in the name of 'art'. Ever take a photo and say to yourself, 'Self, that's nice, but what if...." and before long you end up with an image that is way, way dramatically different than the original, but appeals to you more? (Sure you have.) A tweak here with the colour temp; a tweak there with the contrast; and then the editing drugs kick in and you're slamming those sliders left and right until the pixels quit talking to each other and leave the room. "Sorry," I say, "I don't mean to offend -- it's just that you, my digital friend, look more dramatic if I crop out all but a tenth of the original image," ...Rendering it a blob of noise and blur. "But it's Art," I exclaim, in self-defence. "People will applaud my Vision-thing, and maybe even the Flickr algorithm gods will smile down and decide it is Explore-worthy..." Uh, sure.... Maybe I need rehab; put the S1 on eBay, cancel my Adobe subscription, and shoot film again, leaving it to the kid at the pharmacy to send away my rolls for processing, just as his father did, back in the photographic Stone Age.

My Monday flower greeting is coming a little bit from the wrong path today. What you see here is obviously not a flower, but part of a flower (although I can't say for sure which one). Since I've never officially committed to buds, I'll let this deviation from the rule pass.

In addition, I have had the urgent need to share this picture with you for days. The picture is one of my first attempts with the Pope Shield Macro Diffuser (this is not a paid advertisement) and I have to say I was blown away from the first moment.

Especially when it comes to getting really close to the object, it used to be very difficult (for clarification, the blade is about 1 cm wide). On the one hand, because the object moved, even if only minimally, or because you had hardly any depth of field due to a very open aperture and had to compensate for it with focus stacking, which was very time-consuming. The latter was often not always possible, mainly (see first) because the object was moving.

This shot is the result of a single attempt, freehand.

If I want to have pictures with a soft bokeh, I will of course go back to the previous techniques. However, if it is in the maximum details, then I am convinced.

I took other shots that rainy day. In the end you can form your own opinion.

Mein montäglicher Blumengruß kommt heute ein klein wenig auf Abwegen daher. Das was Ihr hier seht ist ganz offensichtlich keine Blüte, wohl aber ein Teil einer Blume (auch wenn ich nicht mit Gewissheit sagen kann von welcher). Da ich mich nie offiziell auf Blüten festgelegt habe, lass ich diese Abweichung von der Regel hiermit durchgehen.

Außerdem habe ich seit Tagen das dringende Bedürfnis dieses Bild mit Euch zu teilen. Das Bild ist einer meiner ersten Versuche mit dem Makro Diffuser von Pope Shield (das ist keine bezahlte Werbung) und ich muss sagen, ich war vom ersten Moment an von den Socken.

Besonders, wenn es darum geht wirklich nah an das Objekt heran zu gehen, war das bisher sehr mühselig (zur Verdeutlichung, das Blatzt ist ca. 1 cm breit). Zum einen, weil sich das Objekt bewegt hat, und sei es auch nur minimal oder weil man durch eine sehr offene Blende kaum Tiefenschärfe hatte und das mit Fokus Stacking sehr aufwendig wieder ausgleichen musste. Letzteres war auch oft nicht immer möglich und zwar hauptsächlich (siehe erstens) weil sich das Objekt bewegt hat.

Diese Aufnahme ist das Ergebnis von einem einzigen Versuch und zwar freihand.

Wenn ich Bilder mit einem weichen Bokeh haben möchte werde ich natürlich wieder auf die bisherigen Techniken zurück greifen. Wenn es jedoch im maximale Details geht, dann bin ich überzeugt.

Ich habe an diesem Regentag noch andere Aufnahmen gemacht. Am Ende könnt Ihr Euch selbst eine Meinung bilden.

more of this on my website at: www.shoot-to-catch.de

Inside Saint Dymphna's Mental Hospital

Always bring a couple of doorstops when you Urbex.

We're Here! : Anything Goes

Regno Unito, Londra, Archway, Inverno 2015

A Hornsey Lane, tra il 1897 e il 1900, il precedente ponte ideato da Nash venne sostituito con l'attuale ponte di ferro. Sebbene la vista su Londra sia fantastica, starsene in piedi qui è difficile senza pensare alle anime tormentate di coloro che in questo stesso posto hanno deciso di mettere fine alle loro vite. A quanto pare infatti questo ponte è uno dei luoghi con più suicidi al mondo tanto da meritarsi il soprannome di “Suicide Bridge”. Quando, alla fine del 2010, tre uomini in tre settimane si suicidarono gettandosi dal ponte, fu istituita dai residenti locali una campagna per mettere in atto misure anti-suicidio.

Between 1897 and 1900, Nash's bridge was replaced with the present cast-iron Hornsey Lane Bridge. The view across London is fantastic, but standing here it is hard not to be jostled by the spirits of the troubled souls who must have stood in exactly the same place before ending their lives. It is apparently one of the most frequented such places worldwide. When, at the end of 2010, three men in three weeks committed suicide by jumping from the bridge, a campaign was set up by local residents for better anti-suicide measures to be put in place.

“Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach.” - Tom Robbins

Committed male Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon) in the Dive; low light; Sony a9; Sony 200-600mm lens at 600 mm; ISO 4000; 1/1000 sec; f/6.3; handheld; Topaz De Noise and Sharpen; No fish this time

Committed to Ferrania P30 using a Hasselblad X-Pan and 45 mm lens. Developed using Ars-Imago FD as per the Massive Dev chart and scanned with an Epson V850 using Silverfast. Positive conversion and contrast done with Negative Lab Pro. Dust cleaning and local contrast in Photoshop.

I'm on a roll, but I haven't committed to it yet 😉🎅🎄

inworld avatar name: Rain Lyric

The fella was particularly committed to fishing. We saw him fishing here on several evenings when we walked that way, once with a large barracuda in the sand beside him. So we know he had some success.

We don't know these people, but I like the implied story we get from the positions and directions of their bodies and fishing rods. What do you think the story is?

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) descends to catch large fish; Embarcadero; Morro Bay; CA USA

Committed to Ferrania P30 using a Hasselblad X-Pan and 45 mm lens. Developed using Ars-Imago FD as per the Massive Dev chart and scanned with an Epson V850 using Silverfast. Positive conversion and contrast done with Negative Lab Pro. Dust cleaning and local contrast in Photoshop.

Brown Falcon

+=======================+

Part #2 of Cassia, of Cinnamon, takes to the air.

This bear is in a relaxed lope checking out some fish splashing ahead. He has not yet committed to the chase, though. I love the splash of water off his front foot that mirrors his impressive claws

Jorge Liderman, colleague and friend for many years, committed suicide on Sunday. He was a brilliant composer whose work was full of vitality, melodic fluency, and bright colors. He was also a gentle, sweet man. May he rest in peace.

Committed to Ferrania P30 using a Leica M6 and 50 mm Noctilux f1 lens. Developed using Ars-Imago FD as standard and scanned with an Epson V850 using Silverfast. Positive conversion and contrast done with Negative Lab Pro.

Sometimes you can be committed to two images but realise they don't necessarily sit well together. The last two uploads (5220 and the Nodding Donkey) fall in to that category, imho.

As a result I've decided to insert this one between them - a shot of GBRf 'newbie' 69008 approaching Basingstoke station at some speed with the 12.30pm Mountfield Sidings - Southampton Western Docks gypsum empties (4Y19).

Framed to make the best of the sunlight whilst incorporating the signal gantry, this one was running 7 minutes behind schedule and wasn't hanging around either. Even though I was stood well behind the yellow line, it felt prudent to take another couple of steps back as soon as I'd grabbed the shot!

For anyone who's not in the know, 69008 is essentially a fully-rebuilt and re-engined class 56 (56038 in this case), a class that originally saw service in the 1970s. Their conversion was deemed to be a cheaper and less risky option compared to designing and sourcing a completely new locomotive.

Note the old Basingstoke Signal Box in the centre background, now thought to be used as a S&T workshop / canteen facility.

3.46pm, 14th October 2023

"Clancy is an all-or-nothig kinda dog-"

No I'm not!

"For example, he can greet people so enthusiasically

at times that he has to be calmed-"

No I don't!

"And playing with me, whether in the house or outside

chasing a ball, he's so fully activated, I worry about

him hurting himself again-"

No you don't!

"...And, as you might have noticed, he likes having the

last word."

Yes I do!

(This photo is two months old, but illustrates for

our purpose Clancy's commitment to, and for, life)

________________________________________________

Prescott-Russell Trail, Ottawa, Ontario

510 Clancy 9yrs 18wk

Clancy's YEARBOOK 10: www.flickr.com/photos/130722340@N04/albums/72157720201164845

MONOCHROME Clancy: www.flickr.com/photos/130722340@N04/albums/72157655760302498

EXPLORE Clancy: www.flickr.com/photos/130722340@N04/albums/72157656171825332

Shot with a "Tomioka-Copal 75 mm F 2.8" (enlarging) lens on a Canon EOS R5.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Committed to Ilford FP4+ using a Leica M6 and 50 mm Summicron V3 lens. Developed using Ars-Imago FD as per the Massive Dev chart and scanned with an Epson V850 using Silverfast. Positive conversion and contrast done with Negative Lab Pro.

28th March 2018:

Graham committed a crime this morning by forgetting to buy me my breakfast cereal so this afternoon I nipped into town to see what the small supermarket had, not a lot! But, I did find some porridge which will keep me going until he or us both next go to the main supermarket.

On my way down I noticed this ribbon tied to a lamppost. I checked the others nearby and none of them had been decorated, so no idea why this one was. However I did like the light shining on it, so took a photo. To the amusement of the owner of the house nearest to it. They were in their front garden doing some planting!

It's SOOC other than my copyright.

I've caught up as well as Flickr has allowed me to. If I've missed anyone, I'll try and catch up with you tomorrow.

Better viewed large and thank you for your favourites. :O)

www.flickr.com/groups/2018_one_photo_each_day/

John Kennedy's....

I really don’t know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it’s because in addition to the fact that the sea changes, and the light changes, and ships change, it’s because we all came from the sea. And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have, in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea – whether it is to sail or to watch it – we are going back from whence we came.

Committed to Ferrania P30 using a Hasselblad X-Pan. Developed using Ars-Imago FD as per the suggested times and scanned with an Epson V850 using Silverfast. Positive conversion and contrast done with Negative Lab Pro. Dust removal and further contrast adjustment in Photoshop.

The Art Nouveau is the style of natural harmony. Its committed goal is the establishment of the concord of the beauty and function without compromise. This is the last comprehensive European style enriching the European culture in the applied art, the fine art and construction design. The art of the Hungarian masters enriched the unique idiom of the Art Nouveau. Being a rich resource of the trasures of this style, the Hungarian Art Nouveau is a worthy competiror of the heritages of the French, German, Belgian and Aystrian Art Nouveau. The permanent exhibition consists of paintings, furniture, ornaments and interiors. It provides and authentic sight of the atmosphere of the civic life of the “peacetime” of Budapest for the visitors. A cafe of friendly atmosphere and shop of original silver jewelries and ceramic copies waith the visitors.

Opening hours 10-17, closed on Sunday.

1054 Budaoest, Honved u 3. Hungary

www.magyarszecessziohaza.hu or

guideme.hu/place/house-of-hungarian-art-nouveau/

The building, designed by Emil Vidor, reflects the influence of Belgian and French architecture. At the same time, the facade of the building also incorporates Hungarian patterns, like the Zsolnay ceramics patterns. Not long ago, the building was entirely renovated. Besides the private museum operating in the establishment and displaying furniture, porcelain, ironwork and paintings, visitors can sit into a lovely café, too.

In 1907 the periodical Hungarian Competition (Magyar Pályázat) presents a description of the building in the Architectonic Chronicle section (Építőművészeti Krónika) with the title: Mr. Bedő Béla's Honvéd Street Palace. The designer, Emil Vidor, took good care of the building’s interior space as well, in the spirit of Gesamtkunstwerk (all objects in the same style).

This powerful unity of the arts and crafts in 1903 was a groundbreaking event in Hungary. The Bedő House was built only six years after the Belgian Victor Horta made his first fully Art Nouveau house, and in the same time with the Scottish architect, Mackintosh's famous arts house.

Even a contemporary description mentions the planned use of specially designed murals, the richly applied stained and ground glass, and generally the special design furnishing of the whole building.

On PBS Masterpiece Theatre “Vienna Blood” prodution the location was used and the Dr’s apartment was within this fine building.

Using my photo as base image created in DDG Text 2 AI filters.

Fourth image in the series.

All art works on this website are fully protected by Canadian and international copyright laws, all rights reserved. The images may not be copied, reproduced, manipulated or used in any way, without written permission from the artist. Link to copyright registration:

www.canada.ca > Intellectual property and copyright

Nurse Louise

Committed to Ferrania P30 using a Leica M6 and 50 mm Noctilux f1 lens. Developed using Ars-Imago FD as standard and scanned with an Epson V850 using Silverfast. Positive conversion and contrast done with Negative Lab Pro.

Committed to Ilford HP5+ using a Hasselblad X-Pan and 45 mm lens. Developed using Ars-Imago FD as per the Massive Dev chart and scanned with an Epson V850 using Silverfast. Positive conversion and contrast done with Negative Lab Pro. Dust cleaning in Photoshop.

Dichotomy.

Committed to Ilford HP5+ using a Hasselblad X-pan and 45 mm lens and red filter. Developed with Ars-Imago FD as standard and scanned using an Epson V850 using Silverfast. Positive conversion and levels done with Negative Lab Pro.

“Loveland Foundation is committed to showing up for communities of color in unique and powerful ways, with a particular focus on Black women and girls. Our resources and initiatives are collaborative and they prioritize opportunity, access, validation, and healing. We are becoming the ones we’ve been waiting for.” thelovelandfoundation.org/about/

You can see more images from Tokyo here.

...

You can see other colour version here.