View allAll Photos Tagged consistent
What began as a low growl, audible only in the lulls between the frequent gusts of wind, soon grew into a steady and consistent din. Even those with an ear unfamiliar to railroading could tell that the sound was a train, and one that was working hard to battle a grade.
That battle begins in earnest at Hackberry AZ, thirty six miles to the west, where eastbound trains dig in to challenge the third summit on their long journey up the Seligman Subdivision. While higher priority Z and Q trains charge up the 1.42% compensated grade with some speed to spare at the top, most manifests, and stack trains of marine containers grind up the hill at a steady 15-20 mph. The 12,000+ foot long land barge pictured above was a behemoth of mostly MSC cans, originating from Los Angeles Harbour, or the Port of Long Beach. A mixture of newer 'C4' type GE locomotives, and older Dash 9 series were spread out in a 4x2x2 configuration.
The head end passed my position, where my tripod was set up a few hundred feet before the true summit, with the four units roaring in a high throttle notch. The set of mid train distributed power passed three minutes later, still pulling, but either in DPU asynchronous mode, or with the engineer having notched back on the throttle. By the time the pair of rear DPU appeared the train was down to a crawl, with the power in front undoubtedly in dynamic braking, attempting to arrest the heavy train's five mile descent towards the hogback west of Pica.
I had based my camera settings off of a test exposure, taken of the mid train DPU. By the time that warbonnet clad rear DPU 790 passed me, I was almost at my time count to end the exposure. I anxiously held the shutter down until the dim headlight tucked behind the signal relay box for the crossing, hoping that I hadn't blown the image out. Luck was with me, and I only had to darken the exposure about an eighth of an EV to produce the result above. I hope you enjoy viewing the image as much as I did experiencing the making of it!
Two coyotes are consistently hunting some fields near my workplace. I got a couple of shots during golden hour today. Still not quite as close as I want but I hope my presence everyday might allow me to get some more detailed images in the future.
I hope everyone enjoys this image! :D
The local winter inversion has been fairly consistent over the last couple of years; the fog rolls in and settles for about a week. This makes it fairly simple to plan an evening photography walk out to a favourite viewing spot.
This year the opportunities have been elusive. When I am unavailable or don't expect it, the fog suddenly arrives but doesn't stick around. When the forecast calls for it and I pack my camera bag, the fog fails to materialize.
This week I finally went up to try out my backcountry ski gear. It hasn't been used in at least 2 years! There were hints of fog creeping in after work so I returned for my camera bag hoping I could go for a photography walk after skiing. But after an enjoyable skin up Seymour Mountain, the city was still clearly visible below.
I didn't realize however that East of Vancouver, the Fraser Valley was completely enveloped. Halfway down the mountain there is a decent viewpoint and I curiously parked there. The clouds were further away than my regular vantage but I pulled out the tripod and took a couple of quick shots. The thickness of the clouds led me to plan for a trip up the following evening. But the low clouds dissipated throughout the day and nothing was left to shoot.
In an effort to share photos more frequently than last year, I pulled this one from the Wednesday snaps. It was converted from RAW, added a little brightness, contrast, and removed some digital noise.
Un halo en Lima. Meteoro luminoso consistente en un cerco de colores pálidos que suele aparecer alrededor de los discos del Sol y de la Luna. Captado el día 11 de enero de 2010.
PLEASE VIEW LARGE - Press "L" on your keyboard... It looks much better!
Pulsa la tecla L para verla mejor sobre fondo negro y en grande.
A night of consistent gentle snow made for some really nice scenery on the next morning's walk/snowshoe. Quite a contrast from the prior day when there was not a flake of snow on the valley floor here.
The clouds and fog would dominate mostly in the morning. Occasionally the sun would peek through.
After (finally!) some consistent rainfall in the Blue Mountains, it was time to get back to waterfalls! Dawn was a white out at Echo Point as fog/cloud was opaque so it was off to the smaller waterfalls. One of the prettiest spots in all the mountains is the Pool of Siloam. With some reasonable flow in the water and foggy conditions made me glad to pick this spot again.
3 stop grad ND/CPL
www.wildwalks.com/bushwalking-and-hiking-in-nsw/blue-moun...
Atanzón (Guadalajara).
El rollo o picota es un símbolo jurisdiccional, consistente en una columna de piedra caliza basta cuyas piezas están unidas con argamasa de cal y arena; en la parte superior, tiene cuatro salientes en forma de cruz o ménsulas sencillas. Sus dimensiones aproximadas son de3 metrosde altura por 1,2 metros de diámetro (se supone debe tener una parte enterrada); está situado en un altozano a la entrada del pueblo, en el ángulo de la carretera a Valdegrudas y Caspueñas.
En el Ritual de otorgamiento del rollo y el villazgo, se decían frases como esta: “é vos damos poder, é entera fa-cultad para que podáis poder, y tener, é pongades, é tengades, Horca, é Picota, y Cepo, é Cartel, y Cadena, y Cuchillo, y Azo-te, y todas las otras insignias de Jurisdicción que las villas sobre si de estos Reynos pueden, é deben tener, y usar… ”
Excerpt from www.thecounty.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Picton-Main-S...:
Heritage Attributes of the Character Areas
Main Street West
• Its role as the western gateway to Main Street and the Down- town Core.
• The predominance of 19th century residential buildings, in particular on the north side of the street, many of which have been adapted to accommodate commercial uses.
• The 2 to 2½ storey heights of the buildings.
• The varied and deeper setbacks of the buildings and larger lots, than are found elsewhere on Main Street.
• The remaining mature trees, grassed verges and front yards, creating a softer character in selected areas.
• The cenotaph and surrounding parkette.
Downtown Core:
• The consistent street wall created by the 2 and 3-storey commercial blocks.
• The punctuation of the street wall by landmark buildings, including the Regent Theatre, the Carnegie Library, the Armoury, the Royal Hotel and the North American Hotel.
• The “civic centre” created by the Armoury, the Carnegie Library and former Post Office building, and the community activities and functions that they accommodate.
• The pedestrian connections and views to adjacent streets and residential neighbourhoods created by the mid-block laneways.
• The visual coherence created by the consistent (2 and 3 storey) height, massing, parapets, roof forms, regular pattern of fenestration, materials (most commonly brick), detailing and setbacks of the buildings.
• The pattern of ground-floor storefronts.
• The quality of the pedestrian realm created by the intimate scale, sense of enclosure and street amenities.
An incredibly cold day, with 50mph wind gusts and high consistent winds. Had to crouch down behind a tree to get these shots.
This wasn't a train day, but with the railroad so close and the freights running on a consistent schedule I couldn't pass up the one daylight southbound in perfect light. So after a lovely walk at Smyrna Dunes Park I left my GF on the beach and drove back into town to the Lytle Ave. overpass just north of the Florida East Coast Railroad's modest yard and system locomotive shop. Hotshot Bowden to Hialeah intermodal train 105 is right on time as it crosses Canal Street at MP 124.6 with a slug of mixed freight on the head end behind LNG powered GE ES44ACs 812 and 801 built in Nov. and Oct. 2014 respectively and spliced by their custom LNG fuel tank car.
Originally diesel powered the entire 24 unit GE fleet was retrofitted to run on LNG as detailed in this article: files.chartindustries.com/FEC-LNG-FloridaEastCoastRailway... Originally delivered in the gorgeous heritage 'Champion' paint, the lead unit has just recently been repainted into the garish Grupo Mexico designed livery reflecting the 2017 purchase of the railroad by the Mexican Conglomerate when the freight franchise was spun off by parent Florida East Coast Industries (which continues to own Brightline). As of the present there remain 11 out of 24 units still in Champion paint, though five of those were offline in Mexico working on sister road FXE but are enroute back to home rails.
New Smyrna Beach, Florida
Monday December 30, 2024
Guys I am having the worst issues with my blogs server as it is consistently maxing out the server CPU, so they block my website. I am constantly being put in the virtual corner and it sucks. What is the use of a website if you cant have more than 2k visiting it everyday? It just doesn't make sense. Can you share who your server is and how they deal with your blog load? The next option for me is a significant cost increase to like 80 dollars a month.... and that is insane.
OUTFIT: Long Sweater with Skirt by Zenith ~ Available at Collabor88 {October 8 to November 6th}
HAIR: Ginny by Wasabi Pills ~ Available at The Seasons Story {July 10 to July 30}
SKIN: Heidi {Nordic} by DeeTalez
HEAD: Kimberly by CATWA
BOOTS: Leather Fur Boots w/Socks by Zenith ~ Available at Collabor88 {October 8 to November 6th}
STOCKINGS: Cheveron Tights by Izzie maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Izzies/115/125/31
JEWELRY: Homecoming Set by Empyrean Forge ~ Available at Collabor88 {October 8 to November 6th}
CHOKER & CAT EARS: Halloween Accessories Free Gift by Entwined maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Entwined/131/151/22
POSE: Animation in Fence
DECOR:
Serenity Style- Rick Forest Cabin ~ Available at The Liaison Collaborative {Oct 7 to Oct 30}
"Moon_Sha" Pumpkins Plant ~ Available at We Love Roleplay {October 4 to October 30}
[V/W] Autumnal Fence II ~ Available at We Love Roleplay {October 4 to October 30}
dust bunny . harvest . haybale
Chipmunks by JIAN ~ Available at The Seasons Story {July 10 to July 30}
Hayabusa Design - Nissa Sinensis OPTT M17-6 v1-1G
+Half-Deer+ Metal Leaf Vines ~ Available at Collabor88 {October 8 to November 6th}
Sway's [Pumpkin Carving] Carved Pumkin ~ Available at The Liaison Collaborative {Oct 7 to Oct 30}
Les Niches Parties égayent Augustijnenrei et consistent en une série de masques brillants, ornés de rubans colorés. L'installation reflète l'ambiance festive qu'a connue Naveau lors de son voyage au Mexique, où des drapeaux colorés animent les rues. Il fait également référence à la fonction communicative des drapeaux : en tant que diffuseurs d'un avertissement, d'un message ou d'une idéologie. A Bruges, elle remplit temporairement les niches au bord de l'eau de manière ludique avec une mascarade qui fait appel à l'imagination, un accueil chaleureux pour chaque passant.
Les Niches Parties brightens up Augustijnenrei and consists of a series of shiny masks, adorned with coloured ribbons. The installation reflects the festive atmosphere Naveau experienced during her trip to Mexico, where coloured flags liven up the streets. It also refers to the communicative function of flags: as disseminators of a warning, message or ideology. In Bruges, she temporarily fills the niches by the water in a playful way with a masquerade that appeals to the imagination, a warm welcome for every passer-by.
A welcome glimpse of weak and watery sunlight during this consistently dull, dark and dank month of weather. Mustn't grumble!
The mostly consistent rake of a Harrold bound empty shuttle dutifully follows a venerable Goat Boat across the undulating Milwaukee as it threads its way past the lakes south of Redfield.
My contribution to the waterwheel collab for the Summer Joust! Thanks for viewing, C&C are welcome as always! :)
This male sapsucker has become a regular in my yard recently, taking a liking to a tree right on the edge of my backyard. He's already created a few sap wells, and defends them fiercely from other sapsuckers and smaller birds like kinglets. He's also got a consistent reaction to my arrival, usually flying off, circling the backyard, and returning to the tree on a closer part of the trunk. I've begun to like him, too, so I hope he stays around.
Un carrusel, es un medio de diversión consistente en una plataforma rotatoria con asientos para los pasajeros. Tradicionalmente los "asientos" poseen formas de caballos de madera u otros animales, los cuales en muchos casos son desplazados mecánicamente hacia arriba y hacia abajo para simular el galope de un caballo. Normalmente, la música se repite mientras el carrusel da vueltas.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
©*Mis fotografías están protegidas por derechos de autor. Todos los derechos reservados. Ninguna de estas fotos pueden ser reproducidas y / o utilizadas en cualquier tipo de publicación, impresa o Internet sin mi permiso por escrito.
der wachturm
august 2014
old harbour, antwerp, belgium
------------------
"non-epistemic seeing is consistent, in other words, with any false belief one may care to mention about the generic character of what one is seeing. And since it seems obvious that it is also consistent with any true belief, it is logically independent of such beliefs.“
frederick dretske, seeing and knowing, 1969
Sony A7R : Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS
A window display that consistently stops me in my tracks...
Goal achieved.
I have a friend at work that consistently teases me about "having goals." When I go to work tomorrow I can tell him.... MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.... GOAL ACHIEVED!!!
My goal for my trip back to The Scranton Lace Company (this time with legal access) was to find my way to the epic clock tower. Here's my proof... as directionally challenged as I am ... in a massive maze... two buildings, 288,000 square feet, covering 7.5 acres, I was able to find my way to the door and stairs and ladders leading into the clock tower, a city landmark in Scranton, PA. Surprisingly enough, I had a pretty good idea where it was from my last visit and once I found the auditorium, I pretty much knew where to go. I can't say that it wasn't scary, but it felt safe enough. I stopped there though. I didn't go into the bell tower above the clock tower. The clock tower has clock faces on all four sides, with one of them missing a quarter of the inner circle of the face, so that you can look out over the surrounding area, offering the reward of an awesome photo op! So, here it is.... my proof... Mission Accomplished.... Goal Achieved.... cross this one off the bucket list.
Scranton Lace, established in 1897 was once a world leader in the production of Nottingham Lace. Also, once a leading employer in the area, It has been abandoned since 2002, when the VP one day told the workers that they were closing their doors forever... "effective immediately." Currently there is a $51 million project to turn the building into apartments, offices, stores, restaurants, and a space dedicated to local artists to create and sell their work. Work is supposed to begin in 2017. Maybe there will be time for one more visit.... (and a climb to the bell tower?)
I have observed that Dolores Park is segmented into several distinct and (sub) culturally consistent sections.
A. Hipster Valley
The Northeast corner of the Park (Dolores and 17th) is the realm of the Hipster. I suspect this is because while they can manage the walk from Valencia to Dolores they are too hung-over to make it up the hill.
Do bring: Bike, Enormous Sunglasses, Skinny jeans that show your butt crack when you sit down, Wear black and more black something army-looking works too, Ipods, beer and small speakers are encouraged.
Tips: Sit directly on grass + look bored.
Suggested canine companion: Chihuahuas, mixed breed rescues, and friendly beer drinking pit bulls in bandanas
B. Jocks, Bros and Hos
Weekend warriors, dodge ball players, soccer fans, etc…
Do bring: Spandex, knee pads and some sort of ball to chase around.
Tips: be excessively perky and organized.
Suggested Canine Companion: Golden retriever
C. Latin American Club
The locals. Watching the scene and laughing.
Do Bring: Beer, your homies, your dog
D. The bathrooms
I have only had the pleasure once, but I heard nothing good happens in this place.
Do bring: protection, toilet paper (wet naps if you are tender), a sense of balance and humor
E. Gay cruising + Sunbathing section
Bring: a towel, multi-purpose oils, a thong.
Leave at home: your boyfriend or life partner
Suggested Canine Companion: Pug, French Bulldog
F. Kids and picnickers
bring: diapers, sporks + wet naps
Suggested Canine Companion: none, the kids are enough trouble
G. Geek Section
This seems to be the spot where the digirati can be found
Bring: Food to share, sunscreen, your laptop with VZAccess PCMCIA Card because the free wireless signals are crap and your best portable devices to show off.
H. Hipster overflow and family outing section
I. Scary drunks and Hobo section
Bring: Bags full of bottles for recycling, Old English or Night Train and your invisible friend.
The San Diego Trolley is operated by MTS, which is one of the oldest transit systems in Southern California dating back to the 1880s. Although its operating names have changed over the years, the two modes of transportation, buses and trolleys, have remained consistent over the past 125 years.
The last Arctic trip was probably the best in terms of consistent evenings filled with aurora and clear skies I have had in many trips over the last few years. This solar storm was the result of a large solar flare on the sun, a flare that actually exploded as we made our way to the airport in the early hours of the morning on the 23rd January.
I was immediately getting excited and planning a location to ensure we got to clear skies to witness this event. We headed straight for the Lofoten Islands only to find the weather was looking too unpredictable so grabbed a few hours sleep before heading straight into Sweden to an incredible frozen forest. Some of the auroral formations and patterns were fantastic here, I spent ages trying to find relationships between the needles and needle type tree tops but this was the best burst I saw all evening for shape and structure.
It was stupendously cold here, the temperature hit -35C but it was worth it for the incredible display, crystal clear skies and the images we managed during the few daylight hours the next day.
Cant wait to do this all again in just two weeks time!
Canon 5dmkii Nikon 14-24 4 seconds @ f2.8 iso 3200.
Excerpt from mastrosrestaurants.com:
Consistently hailed by diners and critics alike as "masterful" (Los Angeles Daily News), "high end" ( Los Angeles Times), one of the "top 10 steakhouse in the U.S." (Gayot) and "the preferred steakhouse of celebs and locals" (944), Mastro`s Restaurants, LLC is a collection of sophisticated, classic steakhouses and sumptuous fish houses.
I see that some things haven't changed despite my long absence. My flowers are still a good solid month later than the rest of the town. All of my life I've seen Daffodils blooming in mid to late February, here is March and I'm just starting to see some buds at my house. Same goes for Crocus, those usually bloom early February. Today I say my first bloom.
From the archives.....
With the day off, I set off to central Illinois to shoot CN's train A408, knowing that it was consistently powered by ex-IC SD70's, and an afternoon run down the Mainline of Mid-America. I was hoping for a Death Star leader, but there aren't too many opportunities to shoot SD70's in Kansas, and it's hard to beat winter light on that CN paint, so I won't complain too loudly. Here, the IC 1039 and 1020 are just south of Effingham, IL, after having completed their work in the yard their.
11/13/2020
Jenny Wren makes quite a noise, but the recently-hatched babies make quite a racket, too. I am consistently amazed that she can fit through the opening on the bird house, which always looks far too small.
.
Days of consistently intermittent rain were delightful.
Short walks between showers. Lazy days of coffee and reading.
Just as we got back to camp from lakeside shooting the sunset, it rained again.
And all through the night again.
It got down into the 30s F (high 3s C) at night for a couple nights with highs in the 60s F (high teens C) during the day.
As the week progressed, the rains departed and the days got a little warmer.
Fenómeno luminoso consistente en la aparición simultánea de varias imágenes del Sol reflejadas en las nubes y, por lo general, dispuestas simétricamente sobre un halo.
A crop circle, crop formation, or corn circle is a pattern created by flattening a crop usually a cereal. The term was first coined in the early 1980s. Although obscure natural causes or alien origins of crop circles have been suggested by fringe theorists, there is no scientific evidence for such explanations, and all crop circles are consistent with human-made items (although with the more elaborate ones, its not always possible to see how!)
Although such formations have appeared worldwide, south-west England is considered without doubt to be the “world capital” of crop circles. They are particularly concentrated in the county of Wiltshire, where a treasure trove of ancient history includes the Neolithic sites of Stonehenge and Avebury – both crop circle hotspots. There have been 380 crop circles recorded in the county alone since 2005
Carving artwork into the landscape is an age-old tradition in these parts; chalk horses adorn eight hillsides in Wiltshire; while the UK's oldest geoglyph, the stunning Bronze Age Uffington White Horse, sits just across the border in Oxfordshire.
Reports of mysterious patterns appearing in wheat, barley and corn fields in the area began to circulate in the 1970s, but it was in the late '80s that the phenomenon exploded.
Macro Mondays On Top
If you have the Ball bearing bird then why not the Paper clip beetle that's never been seen nor ever been heard in an office near you:)
Early Primoplan 58mm V f1.9 40mm filter at f1.9 P4250924
Took this photo with this version and the later version of the 58mm f1.9 V 49mm filter Primoplan and could not see any difference in performance between the two lenses.
Quality control and manufacturing before and after the war of this lens seems to have been very consistent despite the MOG factory being destroyed by the bombing of Dresden in WW2.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Nel 1974 un restyling più consistente diede vita alla Nuova Super. A cambiare furono il frontale (nuova calandra in plastica nera, diverso scudetto Alfa Romeo, cofano motore liscio), i paraurti (più avvolgenti), la coda (cofano liscio, diverso layout delle luci) e gli interni (plancia rivista, consolle centrale con bocchette di ventilazione frontali, pavimento in moquette, sedili con poggiatesta). Per quanto riguarda invece la meccanica, non ci fu nessuna novità. La gamma rimaneva composta delle versioni "1300" da 89 CV e "1600" da 102 CV (DIN). Nonostante gli anni trascorsi, la Giulia continuava a distinguersi, anche in quest'ultima versione, per le doti motoristiche e dinamiche: una nota rivista specializzata annotò "la berlina 1300 più veloce del mercato", e ancora nell'accelerazione da fermo "il tempo sul chilometro da fermo [...] è ancora oggi il migliore ottenuto da berline 1300". In 1974 a more substantial restyling gave birth to the New Super. The change was frontal (new black plastic calender, different Alfa Romeo shield, smooth bonnet), bumper (more wrap), tail (smooth bonnet, different layout of the lights) and interiors (rear bumper, central console with front ventilation vents, carpet floor, seat with headrest). Regarding mechanics, there was no news. The range consisted of "1300" versions of 89 hp and "1600" of 102 hp (DIN). In spite of the years elapsed, Giulia continued to distinguish himself, even in the latter version, for motor and dynamic qualities: a well-known magazine magazine noted "the 1300 fastest car in the market", and still in acceleration from the standstill "the time on the kilometer from station [...] is still the best one ever from 1300 berlin. "
Different season, but here we are back on the Ottawa River, lying on our stomachs, staring at wildlife.
Freeze-up has been stop and start here, with consistently cold weather still not happening. Although the Ottawa River has many rapids that don’t freeze over, large sections of the River do, starting with the many small bays along its course. This Muskrat is using the mix of ice and open water to its advantage: it dives down to gather plants and mussels from the bottom, and then it resurfaces on sections of ice to eat them - rather than having to expose itself to land-based predators by returning to the shore.
The wind was blowing pretty hard from the east - weather was about to change again - and I was able to crawl through reeds downwind off the Muskrat. It couldn’t smell me or hear me with the wind blowing off the water, so I was able to get pretty close. A large piece of River detritus - a beached tree trunk - gave me cover at the water’s edge.
The real challenges were the light and the fact that the piece of ice the Muskrat was working from rose and fell with the increasingly active River water. One of the solutions was patience. I was lying on my stomach on the edge of the shore, the Muskrat was busy diving and eating, and the sky and the water would contribute as best they could. Hang in there. I got a lot of images, hoping that I would, in the comfort of my home, find something where the light in particular gave a good look at this hardy creature.
The dark oof horizon is a lovely area in Gatineau, Quebec, that is home to all kinds of birds and animals. The Ottawa River around here serves as the border between the provinces of Quebec and Ontario, and I cross the River (along with thousands of other Ottawa residents) to get to my office in Gatineau.
I had always lived in cities on the edge of large lakes. Discovering the many areas and inhabitants of the Ottawa River over the past twenty years has been amazing.
Landscapes you can't take too much credit for. Landscapes are like a metaphor for life. You must consistently show up and put yourself in position for success. The sky and light changes daily and without daily persistence you will miss the opportunity given to you. The one thing you can admire about a person's landscape is the time and dedication that person took to be in the right place at the right time. A consistent grind to be in the moment that the heavens gift you for not being lazy.
Blog | Flickr | Instagram | Facebook | Tumblr | 500px | Grainery | Twitter | TikTok | Pinterest | VSCO | YouTube | IMDB | Letterboxd
Interesting rock formation jutting out from the surface of Lake Biwa.
One of the world's oldest lake at over 4 million years old, an ancient lake is one that has consistently contained water for more than 1 million years.
The camera industry is dominated by 3 big names from just 1 country, they are worse than oligopolies since they also behave like a cabal. The lack of real, serious competition is a huge detriment to consumers, contrast this with the highly competitive smartphone market.
We now have cameras using the exact same sensor for 3 or more generations; Nikon D850 to Z7, then Z7ii and even the latest Z9 appears to be the same with just an additional stacked layer; Olympus E-M1 Mkii to EM-1X to E-M5iii to E-M1 Mkii. Olympus however imploded shortly after and is now OM Solutions.
The recent OM Solutions (previously Olympus) OM-1 came with a new stacked sensor touting 2 stops improvement in Dynamic Range plus 1 stop better in noise turned out to be nothing more than skin deep software tweaks giving better Straight Out Of Camera (SOOC) JPEGs only while the RAW file quality remained no better than the 2 generations older OMD E-M1 MKii. OM-1’s superiority over previous iterations is largely in subject tracking AF.
The Korean brand Samyang however managed to release their AF 135mm f1.8 FE just recently which more than matched the optical performance of the hallowed Sony FE 135mm f1.8 GM at less than 1/2 the price and 178g lighter! This is a good sign, hopefully more will come. The marketeers and shills meanwhile will be using their bullhorn to tell everyone why we need to spend much more instead.
Can’t help but agree with those who have been saying that a shakeup in the industry is long overdue especially if they continue with this trend of unfettered price escalation without any meaningful improvement in RAW quality, especially on the back of a declining market coupled with the highly competitive and progressive smartphone market involving major players from different countries.
In the world of HiFi and in particular the market for In-Ear-Monitors (IEM or earbuds), the entrance of so many quality manufacturers from China over the past few years brought down the prices such that very good quality IEMs can now be had for $100 when in the past one needs to pay many multiples more for the same level of performance.
There’ll still be some who will tell us we need that $1,000 special cable to be able to get the very best out of our IEM, no different from camera shills who like to tell us we need the latest lenses to get the best out of our high resolution cameras because the sensors out-resolved our existing lenses.
Just like the camera industry moving towards mirrorless, the IEM market has been transitioning to wireless bluetooth earbuds. The fundamental difference in the HiFi space is that serious audiophiles are not giving up their high end wired IEMs anytime soon. Contrast this with the innumerable incessant camera marketeers/shills that have infested the gear forums, DSLRs and especially DSLR lenses are now being declared as inferior, how else can camera companies sell us new stuff unless they move us all to a different (though not always superior) mount!?
Best be informed, improve our skills and avoid falling for the siren song of shills. See the tree from the forest to avoid getting lost in a sea of cameras and lenses…..
A consistent expectation for power upgrades (in the eyes of us railfans) to the annual Canadian CP spray train during its time west of Winnipeg was reinforced no less back in 2023, as the latest cowl to get a dunk in the second available golden beaver paint re-powered the train for its branchline runs. Starting from Vancouver to all-over the prairies via southern interior BC, it conducted spraying of the US-connecting Weyburn Sub in early July. Here it is passing Mile 40, whose post is almost perfectly centred relative to the Richardson International grain facility directly south of the main.
As CPKC painted power start to roll out of the ongoing Mayfield overhaul projects (at the time of writing, 3 Gevos and 1 GP38 have been subject to the latest repaint specs), CP 9014 seems more and more likely to be the last of 5 40Fs to recieve the 2-letter branding. Getting them checked off while the paint is still fresh will never fail to satisfy my capturing of the rare breed of GMD motive power.
Not glamorous, just Ruby being Ruby.
I can say that Ruby built the majority of this, sized, cut and nailed. Now applying a Copper base preservative so once in-ground, the termites do not eat my handy work.
The pre-dawn air crackled with anticipation, thick with the scent of salt and the promise of a new day returning to a familiar friend. I crunched across the cool, damp sand of Mt Maunganui's Main Beach, the rhythmic boom of the ocean waves a constant counterpoint to the hushed chirps of unseen birds. This golden expanse, consistently ranked among the world's best by TripAdvisor travelers (yours truly included!), stretched out before me like a wrinkled invitation I'd happily accepted for years, and hoped to for many more. A beach bum's heart can't resist a sunrise like that.
The sky was still an inky canvas, studded with a million tiny diamonds. Despite the calm of the hour, the waves crashed ashore with surprising ferocity, the sound booming in the pre-dawn stillness. Each one retreated, leaving behind a whisper of frothy lace and a faint kiss of salt on my lips, a familiar taste that brought back countless sunrises spent here.
Reaching my usual spot, a vantage point carved by countless sunrises spent here, I set up my camera in front of the massive stones that served as a natural barrier between the sand and the ocean's untamed energy. Anticipation crackled in the air, a buzz that rivaled the low hum of the city just beginning to stir in the distance. A pale blush crept across the horizon, pushing back the darkness like a shy smile. The inky black morphed into a deep indigo, then a vibrant purple, the colors bleeding into each other with breathtaking speed.
The first sliver of sun peeked over the horizon, a fiery disc that sent long fingers of gold dancing across the water, a world-renowned playground for surfers of all levels. The waves, previously a uniform white, now shimmered with a thousand hues of orange, pink, and red. A lone surfer, a silhouette against the fiery backdrop, carved his way across the liquid canvas, leaving a trail of white foam in his wake.
Taking a deep breath of the crisp, salty air, I clicked the shutter, capturing a moment of pure magic. The world, bathed in the golden light of dawn, felt pristine, untouched. Here, on this beach, with the roar of the ocean waves as my soundtrack, I knew I had witnessed something truly special. Ranked or not, in that moment, on this beach of golden renown, it was pure perfection. A perfection I hoped to experience for many sunrises to come.
"Gone are the birds that were our summer guests." said Longfellow.
True here at Float Club, too--where the heat of the afternoon sun saw my neighbors consistently falling off the dock in their floaty toys, and drifting back westward, to that never-ending party down at the far end of the dock.
It was a daily occurance--though I'm not sure if they're actually neighbors, perhaps just perennial guests at that party-that-never-stops down at the Wild West End.
But September put me into some different places, and now the rains have begun, the temperatures have dropped, there are evening fires in the woodstove, and I'm wearing my longsleeve shirts. And the drifting neighbors no longer paddle past the houseboat. I haven't checked, but I expect the swallows will leave soon, too--if they haven't flown south already.
I did join them for a trip or two, in fact. My "floaty toy" is an old windsurf board (some promotional "Bic" vinyl piece of strangeness). I've never managed to actually go sailing on the thing, but it makes a good paddle board, and is a good workout for the arms and shoulders, particularly when trying to paddle upriver against the current.
But these neighborhood pards always went downhill--drinks in hand, happily bobbing with the flow, back to their home perch. There's a big crackdown on "drinking boaters", but I never did see the Sheriff intrude on their parade--I can't quite picture the River Patrol impounding an innertube anyway. September Song