I managed to get out tonight after my course and dashed to St Mary's lighthouse a location I have not been to before... but was close to the venue... and with time limited I thought it was my best bet for a half decent sunset. I could see a glimmer of blue sky as I left which is the first for a few days so that made me happy in itself.

My first impressions where ... great venue... but the tide was right out... which made compositions hard as the sea was quite far out. I wandered around grabbing a few handheld shots but eventually worked out the best compositions in this sea state where to be had from behind the lighthouse looking back into the land in a way... which you would never have thought.

Simple enough LE shot with a polariser and 3 Stop ND and 2 Stop ND grad... 3 filters is defo the most you can stack...

The light broke through the clouds really nicely and lit up the heads of wheat causing them to almost glow yellow. I dashed up the farmers track (being careful not to damage any crops at all) and caught this. I liked the balance between the left side tree full of leaves and the right being barren. Thought it worked okay overall

Saw sun glinting on frost and dashed outside for a belly shot!

Testing repaired Nikon 105mm f/2.8 lens ($$$)

Joy (and bokeh balls) and Chinese lanterns (physalis) in the morning! Thanks for looking.

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Taken at Sunnys photo studio

I had big plans to look for rare gulls or wintering sea ducks along the Lake Superior shoreline on this very cold clear day, but alas, those hopes were dashed by all this ice! When life throws you a lemon, make lemonade, they say. I hope you enjoy this sunrise shot at Canal Park, the very same place I used to cool my legs in the lake after running Grandma's Marathon many years ago.

A very rainy day all day yesterday but just before sunset the sky lit up so I dashed down to my local beach to take a few photos. With all the madness in Ukraine sometimes it is good to just take comfort from the beauty of God's creation.

After a very blustery grey evening the light finally broke through the clouds and I made the short dash here to the Cliffs at Castlemartin on the Pembrokeshire Coast.

The Golden sunlight was unbelievable and highlighted the top of the Cliffs. But it was clear that the real drama was behind me looking to the sky in the West. So as soon as I had got this shot, I dashed back to the car and took the images at the little Flimston Chapel I had passed on the track into here.

It certainly pays to look behind you!

The limestone cliffs along this stretch of the coast are stunning with arches, stacks, blow holes and caves. It is also very popular with climbers, taking advantage of the solid clean limestone faces. If you look closely at the Arch here, you can see where the storms in 2017 took a sizeable chunk off the top right of the arch leg.

Yes, I get to carry the bags, do the washing up, tidy rooms, etc, at the B&B but when the view looks like this, who cares? My daughter and wife thought it suspicious that I dashed out late to deliver some shopping to Strontian, 25 minutes away, but I got this and a long roadside (live) meeting with a young pine marten as a bonus.

I went out searching for a good shot, once again in miserable weather. Usually when the weather is bad enough, not even I want to go out, but because autumn colors are so amazing, I pushed and went out regardless. For the most part I found myself driving in the clouds, looking for clear spots. When that didn’t work out for me I decided to call it and head back. As I headed back down, I spied a few little areas to try and get a shot, long exposures, some telephoto, nothing was really working out for me, not until this happened. I was texting on my phone pulled into an overlook, I initially ignored the shifting light patterns…. and then it blew up. Panic, it was immediate. Had I just lost my chance for an epic shot because I was too busy trying to figure out what I wanted to eat for dinner? Fortunately no, there, just in front of me was my last chance of a shot. No rain, no strong winds, just me, a small space to setup, and amazing light. I dashed out, setup shot a few photos. Just as soon as it began, it was gone as if it had never been. The entire thing took place in the space of five minutes.

Aperture: f8

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SS: 1/8th

Focal: 19mm

Fujinon 16-55mm

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A splendid evening out on the ridges of the Lakeland Fells with a couple of notables, saw us scaling some photogenic spots as the light fell over the Irish Sea.

Having dashed up from Three Shire Stone to join JB and TR on Swirl How, we enjoyed great conditions for the rest of the evening as conditions turned moody and colourful! Here they are on Swirl How waiting for me as I did the lung busting yomp up to join them!

I went to the beach on a not-so-great weather day. On the way to the beach, I saw a gorgeous sky at dawn. I stopped my car and took a couple of pictures. They turned out not great. The sky and fields were black-crushed. By the time I arrived at the beach, the sun had already risen. I cut across grass thick with dew. It was sparkling under the weak sunlight. I wanted to shoot the dew but dashed to the beach because the sun looked like it was about to disappear.

There was a clear sky just above the horizon. The rest of the atmosphere was covered by thick clouds. I barely had time to take a photo of the sunrise. A moment after, the sun was completely hidden by the clouds. The line on the water surface was impressive.

Taken at 6:12 a.m.

As the sun fell on this mid- October day so did the hopes of continuing the season. It is amazing how the small disappointments build the most character. (BLK version, I couldn't decide).

This time last year I wrote of 2020, " Time's up for you 2020. OK, you've been a depressing shit, and we will be over the moon to see the back of you! You've been the worst year in living memory, an absolute shit to the whole world!"

Well, if 2020 was a shit 2021 has been a complete C--t (sorry for the language but what else do you want to call it?) For the Chinese it was the Year of the Ox. More like Bollocks. We all dream of something better in 2022, don't we, but already it seems our New Year's wishes have been dashed too often. We thought things would be back to 'normal' last summer.

Jemima was taking an afternoon nap on New Year's Eve before the festivities. After she woke up, she confided to Max, her husband, 'I just dreamed that you gave me a diamond ring for a New Year's present. What do you think it all means?' 'Aha, you'll know tonight,' answered Max smiling broadly. At midnight, as the New Year was chiming, Max approached Jemima and handed her a small package. Delighted and excited she opened it quickly. There in her hand rested a book entitled: 'The meaning of dreams'.

I can't moan too loudly. I've used Covid to escape the rut, managed to retire, and move far away from so much of the shit of modern 'living'. But still I wish everyone, including all my flickr friends and contacts, a better, healthier and more prosperous year ahead, free from the stress and fear of Covid. Happy New Year everyone!!! All the best for 2022! Now, just around the corner!

Rain had been falling all day, but once there was pause, I dashed outside with my camera. I was so pleased to find these tiny raindrops balanced on the edge of a flower petal. I just love precipitation! "Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet."

Roger Miller

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Taken at Backdrop city

Wasn't going out this evening (Mon) but noticed the sky changing colour out of the window. Dashed down to the local beach just in time for another nice sunset. Just sat on a rock for half an hour thinking .

A great day trying to catch a sunrise from the top off Pen Y Fan in the Brecon Beacons. It was all grey and misty on the top, but I could see this orange glow below , so guessed there must be a sunrise below the cloud level. I dashed down towards the Gap and sure enough a wonderful sunrise appeared out of the mist. well worth the effort to get there in time. Dawning on me is by The Villagers , I spent a great couple of hours before the snow showers closed in again.

I awoke early to find an eerie red glow from the bedroom window and saw this amazing sunrise. I dragged on a few clothes and dashed outside to find what was one of the most intense red skies I have seen. It covered every part from east to west, and north to south. Wonderful to see.....and worth getting out of bed for earlier than my usual time!

Happy Nice Wonderful Clouds Tuesday!

Apparently the flounder she caught and was feeding on here was not enough. When another fish splashed off in the distance, this Coastal Brown Bear (Ursus arctos) abandoned her meal and dashed off in search of another. The ease with which this bear is distracted may have been a factor in losing her two spring cubs, which we learned had been killed by a male bear the week before we arrived. Hallo Bay, Katmai National Park, Alaska.

* Another make- over from some of my early posts on Flickr .

This was taken in the Samburu National Park in Northern Kenya in 2004

A nice story behind this one, on this particular day we decided to miss out on the morning game drive and we stayed at our bungalow on the banks of the Samburu River. We thought we would have a quiet morning but we were wrong. Without leaving our chairs we saw this group of elephants bathing. During the morning we also saw sea Eagles, crocodiles, several lizards and monkeys. One of the monkeys was a little bugger he came down from the tree above us , grabbed my packet of cigarettes and dashed up the tree. He didn’t even smoke one but one by one he threw the cigarettes back to the the ground like fallen leaves . So much for our quiet morning in Africa

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The snow quit falling and I dashed outside to gather daffodils that had been weighted down by heavy flakes. It only seemed right to share this bit of sunshine with all of you! "Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul."

Luther Burbank

I saw some lovely cirrus cloud streaks approaching quicky the other morning. I dashed out and arrived just in time to capture this fantastic Phoenix shape in the sky in infrared.

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Taken at Sunnys photo studio

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I think what we all need right now is a bit of tranquility and peace of mind, and I hope this picture provides you with some much needed breathing space.

Captured a few years ago along the River Brathay in Great Langdale, this was a placid morning which was as serene as it appears in this picture. There was a touch of mist floating around on the nearby lake of Elterwater. However, as I was assembling my camera equipment I suddenly noticed the sky beginning to blaze like a volcano in the opposite direction, so I dashed to this viewpoint along the meandering outflow to capture the terrific sunrise. I managed to photograph the tranquil reflections of the grove on the opposite bank, minutes before a plump of geese disrupted the calm waters in front of me.

I do feel sorry for lone trees, more than I feel for most other 'lone' things. For surely they have life, but are fixed in one place never able to go anywhere else. They must stand and endure the elements and feed off what is immediately next to them. They may stand proud on a hill top where we picture them against the sky. No matter how pretty and picturesque it may look to us they are alone, yet we go home to family and loved ones, inside from the cold, rain and gales, choosing what we would like to eat, able to laugh and joke with others: able to have companionship and love. But the lone tree has none of these.

Next time you are out and see a lone tree talk to it and let it whisper back to you. It may moan in the gale, or creak with age, but give a little love to the lone tree and you'll discover a friendship and intimacy with the landscape you did not know was possible.

I was passing this one as it was stood against an amazingly dark sky. And then, with that backdrop, the early morning sun suddenly burst out and illuminated the silvery field of grass and side of the tree. I slammed on the brakes and dashed out to grab the shot.

Imagine my surprise to find this charming little critter in my garden yesterday morning - the few hedgehogs I have seen here have been flattened on the road. I dashed into the house for the camera still with a macro lens attached. I was even more surprised to find how closely I could approach - this was shot about two feet away, sitting on very wet grass to get a low angle. The hedgehog was quite relaxed, not bothered by my presence. After putting up with the photoshoot for several minutes, it turned and went back to the border under a hydrangea bush.

This photo was included in the BBC News Scotland webpage 'Your Pictures of Scotland July 28 - August 4, 2023.

Few things are are more disappointing than waiting for that date who never shows up. There's nothing worse than dashed expectations.

Speaking of waiting, I've developed virus-like symptoms. I went down and got swabbed. Sadly, I have to wait a week to know the results. In the meantime, I've been relegated to the back of the house--waiting.

San Francisco CA

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Taken at Sunny's Photo Studio

First visit to Emsworthy Barn and it was a foggy affair to start the day, so any hopes of a sunrise were quickly dashed.

The fog made for an interesting scene however the winter warmth soon lifted the fog to reveal a nice background around the tors and a hint of sky to be revealed.

On Monday night after work I could see there was a good chance for a sunset so I dashed out to a couple of wee local fave spots just 5 min from the house.

As soon as I got to this location and started to think about my shot I seen this horse rider coming along the track. I reckoned I had about 30 secs to get the camera out... I decided it was not enough time to change the lens and use the tripod so I just ramped the ISO up and pushed the appeture to the smallest I had and shot hand held... exposed for the sky and thankfully managed to get this single shot.

Prob my fave of the night at this location as the horse rider adds a bit interest and scale.

It was a vile night. One of the roughest for a while. Rain lashing in, wind rising to a low roar as it bashed the trees about. But Phil Hatcher sat beside me was quietly confident. "They'll come in" he whispered, knowing he had never had a 'no show'. And sure enough they arrived on scene, the first I knew was when Phil slapped me on the leg to draw my attention which had been trying to focus on shadowy parts of the darkness where wet ferns and bushes waved and sparkled little eyes at me with the light reflected in quivering raindrops. And sure enough two wild pine martens had dashed into the pool of light in front of us. They move quickly, hesitantly dashing from one branch to another, leaping over impossible gaps to land higher up, and stare back down at us. I enjoyed that moment when I couldn't believe what I had just seen as they disappeared as quickly as they had arrived (a feeling I had enjoyed when I last saw a wild black panther in front of me).

Phil Hatcher in Strontian has a fabulous hide set up with lots of natural props for the wildlife to pose on. There's a reflective pool, lichen covered wooden gate, branches high and low, spaced to encourage the pine martens to jump. It's a wild environment outside his converted conservatory but one he is keen to exploit and encourage nature watchers and photographers to visit for a rare experience that must put it in the bracket of being 'the best'.

I was there for five hours when the weather chucked its worst at us, but two pine martens must have visited about five times, once for only about 10 seconds, but later, for about 10 minutes. It took me a while to adjust to get my settings about right and I found my equipment was slow to focus.......you need to be quick to catch these things, but it was a great experience. I'm lucky enough to live in this area, but still after a year here, only twice before had I had a fleeting glimpse of a pine marten, dashing to get out of my car headlights at night.

The pine marten is the one elusive creature that really states how wild Ardnamurchan is. And Phil Hatcher's hide in Strontian has to be the best place to see them

I was looking out for a good sunset and thought I would head out to a field overlooking Rhossili Beach. A herd of horses were grazing quite happily so I climbed over the stile to continue my walk. All of a sudden they started running so grabbed my camera out of my bag thinking of getting a nice action shot. Little did I realise that they would make a beeline for me. They all crowded around me obviously thinking I had food! They trapped me up against the fence and proceeded to try and eat my coat and my camera bag! I was trapped for quite a while as there was no escape! Eventually I managed to get away and and dashed to a gate to get away and they soon followed me yet again but at least I was safely on the other side of the gate! The things we do for a shot!!!!

While on my hands and knees weeding in the garden, I discovered this little Magpie moth Abraxas grossulariata hiding down near ground level. I dashed inside for the camera, and spent several minutes trying to photograph it in its awkward location. Then it suddenly seemed to decide to be more cooperative and fluttered up to a much more agreeable position, and held still long enough for a 14-shot focus stack. This species is fairly common in the UK, but less so in Scotland - I don't recall ever seeing one before.

My first two days on Knoydart where quite grey and to be honest I think the overcast gloomy skies fitted in with the place really well and I'd have been happy with weather like this all week. It was certainly gave operchancity to shoot through the day... when the cloudless blue skies emerged for the second half of the week it defo made photography much more of a challenge!

These rocks looking down Loch Nevis only sit nicely in a composition mid tide... too low and there is just a mass of rock... too high and there is no foreground interest... I was lucky to observe this just at the right time on the second day and dashed out to shoot it! The error here was only taking my 3 stop ND filter rather than my 6 stop as I just grabbed the camera with filter on and left my bag in the cottage... hence the f22 aperture to achieve my usual 2-3 sec seascape shutter speed... I always shoot shorter and longer times... but tend to always favour the 2.5sec shots.

This deer was gazing intently at us as we stood in a mowed path between the high grass, at Audrey Carroll Audubon Sanctuary in Mt. Airy, Maryland. Eventually, after I briefly turned my attention to something else, it quickly dashed across the path.

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Carlisle Castle captured a couple of evening ago during a beautiful autumnal sunset. Only a few minutes earlier, I was pretty disappointed as the setting sun just missed a gap in the clouds on the horizon and it looked like all hope of a decent sunset had been dashed. However, I didn't stay despondent for long as the clouds began to erupt in some lovely colour, and an amazing solar pillar materialised in the distance. I have personally only witnessed a couple of sun pillars, and usually I'm in the wrong place or facing the wrong direction for a decent picture. However, on this occasion it was positioned perfectly for the scene, and reminded me of a roman lantern which at one time would've been burning on the nearby Hadrian's Wall.

I've taken rainbows here before but this was the most perfect (with a double). Home is only a few minutes away so dashed down late evening when I saw sunshine and rain out of the window. Things don't usually work out as easy as that!

I dashed to a local park this afternoon after reports of a 2nd Winter Iceland Gull appeared on Birdguides. I arrived to be told that it had just departed with a Herring Gull. I hung around a while in the hope of a return. While waiting I could not resist the Little Grebes on the lake.

I had the pleasure of a meet up with fellow Fickr pal John Bleakley on the Pennine Way just above Horton in Ribblesdale. He was on his way down from Hull Pot, which was cascading with water after all the recent heavy rain and I was on my way up there to catch the rare sight myself.

We agreed to meet up later and catch a sunset, little did we know that that would be a risky thing!

Anyway after getting some nice shots of Hull Pot Beck cascading into the mighty canyon, I made my way over to Ribblehead and scouted the limestone scars off Blea Moor Road. John had mentioned Little Scar so I ended up there and recce'd a spot for sunset. I parked up and had a snack and about 40 minutes before sunset John arrived and parked up next to my car. However as sunset neared the clouds rolled in and it started to rain heavily and hailstones pelted our cars.

There seemed very little prospect of a sunset shoot and we were deciding whether to head our separate ways, when the strong winds started to show a little light in the dark skies over Whernside.

We quickly dashed out as the sun would set very shortly and made our way up to the Scar. The limestone was now extremely slippery and it was a case of trying to keep upright and get some shots between wiping the lens and trying to keep the tripod stable in the strong winds.

I wasn't sure if this shot would come off with the rain water and hail hitting the filter driven by the wind. The light was spectacular for a few seconds with the summit of Ingleborough just clearing off in the left distance. You can also see Ribblehead Viaduct down the valley.

The limestone here was wonderfully sculpted, but so dangerous to slither around on in these conditions. It would have been a comical video watching the two of us slithering around the scar trying to get a shot!

Ok i admit - i had to bribe the squirrels to cooperate for the photo shoot but they were very willing models once they saw what was in it for them.

I missed one shot - because it startled us - as we were feeding one of the squirrels a hawk dropped down out of the sky and tried unsuccessfully to pinch my model - fortunately the squirrel was paying attention and dashed out of reach in the nick of time. What a life!

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Taken at Backdrop City

When his ship was dashed upon the rocks, it was a Pirate Girl who rushed into the water and saved him.

But that's another story.

As many of you are well aware, Scotland can at times be a very wet place, I decided to bite the bullet and go for a drive to Tobermory on the Isle of Mull, it started off to be a very wet day, with torrential rain at times on the ferry crossing over from the mainland, we finally arrived at Tobermory, and yes, you guessed it, Torretial rain, I quickly dived in to a very accommodating public house on the harbour (very nice food too) it only took an hour for the storm to pass so i quickly dashed out of the pub and managed to capture this looking over the harbour at the rather nicely painted buildings.

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It was during a 5 minute drive down from Cook's Meadow that I realized I had just left a dozen incredible shots in a row as incredible rays burst over the valley, but there was no where to pull over. Suddenly I was driving through light mist and sunshine and I KNEW there had a to be a rainbow over the valley from the tunnel view, but it would be gone by the time I got there. Then I came around the corner of El Capitan Meadown and the sun was streaming through the yellow leaves in front of the Cathedral Rocks and I wanted to stop…but I wanted the rainbow….and ….

And that's all it takes for me to completely lose my mind. Put me in an environment where there are 20 amazing things to shoot all at once and ask me to choose ONE, then sit back and watch me explode. I was hitting my brake pedal and the accelerator at the same time. I decided on the Valley View and hit the accelerator again. Suddenly I found myself behind a tour bus from Brea and I KNEW their next stop would be the Gates of the Valley View and that the whole area would be overrun if they got there first. I tried to pass the bus, but the driver decided it was easier to drive ON the dotted line and almost killed me. I finally floored it and got in front of him with only a few seconds to spare. I dashed out the car and finished this bracket just as 50 tourists from Brea piled out.

This was fairly typical for a clearing storm at Yosemite. Sit around and nothing happens for 9 hours and when something does happen, it all happens at once.

William McIntosh Photography

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Here's my little back-yard opossum again, under my orange tree. I haven't seen it since. On this occasion, it walked the fence again from the back yard to the front. Of course I followed. It had paused in my front yard, then quickly dashed across the street to the neighbors. I think maybe it's young and got scolded for being out too late (after dawn).

A pink sky woke me up , and I dashed out to catch it before it faded. Only when I returned to the cottage from my two minute chase did I realise that I'd got shoes on from two different pairs :) What a magical start to a day, despite my brain not really being fully awake. Seven or eight seals watched my mad antics. The First Day is by The Unthanks.