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Exactly one year ago today at the golden hour at a biotope in the Volcanic Eifel.
Panorama from 5 vertical images.
Exactly 6 years ago today I was allowed to visit the Wave in the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument for the 4th and last time so far.
Actually, the story began in the mid-80s when I saw pictures of the Wave in a magazine (GEO). Among other things, it said that it would take an endless hike through the desert to reach the Wave...no question of House-Rock-Valley-Road.
Well, 20 years later and wiser by a lot of information, I was lucky enough to win permits in the online lottery 4 times (2006, 2007, 2008 and 2016).
Panorama from 5 vertical images a' 24 mm.
Heute vor genau 6 Jahren durfte ich zum 4. und bislang letzten Mal die Wave im Vermilion Cliffs National Monument besuchen.
Eigentlich begann die Geschichte bereits Mitte der 80iger Jahre, als ich in einem Magazin (GEO) Bilder der Wave sah. Dort stand unter anderem, dass es eine endlose Wanderung durch die Wüste erfordere, um die Wave zu erreichen...von House-Rock-Valley-Road keine Rede.
Nun ja, 20 Jahre später und um viele Informationen klüger, hatte ich 4 mal das Glück, Genehmigungen in der online-Lotterie zu gewinnen (2006, 2007, 2008 und 2016).
Panorama aus 5 vertikalen Bildern a' 24 mm.
Not exactly the Shot I wanted. Wings a bit tattered; Focus not exact, Pose could be better. So, I still haven’t found what I'm looking for… But isn’t that what makes this photography thing so much fun, and a reason to get up tomorrow and try again :-)
(Nikon - Sigma 150-600 @ 600MM - 1/500 @ f7.1 - ISO 200)
Exactly 3 years ago today, on an extended photo tour at home, I passed the railway line between Koblenz and Trier, where the sun was just fighting through the fog.
Heute vor genau 3 Jahren, auf einer ausgedehnten Fototour in der Heimat, kam ich an der Bahnlinie zwischen Koblenz und Trier vorbei, wo sich gerade die Sonne durch den Nebel kämpfte.
Exactly 4 weeks after our trip to Michigan to see and photograph the ice on the lake, I went to Shades State Park in Indiana for a day of Hiking and Indiana. This was at the beginning of my day. I successfully completed what they call the "6 Ravine Challenge," plus a few more trails at the end of the day. When I was done, I was worn out, but happy! (see: www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/files/sp-6RavineChallengeBrochure... )
Peperoncino
*Thaty* от Peperoncino
color HUD
Maitreya-Slink-Legacy-Belleza
BRILLANCIA
BRILLANCIA - SET BUTTERFLY
~ .:Shiny Shabby:. ~
** for -Maitreya-Maitreya Petite - Legacy-Legacy Perky-Ebody
Reborn
all info in the blog
Photographed exactly 10 years ago today on a foggy morning. The romantic small town of Bernkastel-Kues on the Middle Moselle waits for the morning sun, which is still hidden behind the castle ruins of Landshut. Everything is still calm and contemplative before the daily tourist crowds change the cityscape. Only the swans are already fighting over the best feeding places ...
Heute genau vor 10 Jahren an einem nebligen Morgen fotografiert. Die romantische Kleinstadt Bernkastel-Kues an der Mittelmosel wartet auf die Morgensonne, die sich noch hinter der Burgruine Landshut versteckt. Alles ist noch ruhig und beschaulich, bevor die täglichen Touristenmassen das Stadtbild verändern. Nur die Schwäne streiten bereits um die besten Futterplätze...
Danke für deinen Besuch! Thanks for visiting!
bitte beachte/ please respect Copyright © All rights reserved.
Exactly 10 years ago today I was in The Wave for the third time. For me she is and will always be the top photo-location.
Danke für deinen Besuch! Thanks for visiting!
bitte beachte/ please respect Copyright © All rights reserved
Exactly the same conditions last night except for the usual bank of low cloud that put paid to it. Tide wasn't quite as high but the lighthouse was surrounded, just.
Woke up with no ear worm finally. Just a dog that had taken a liking to my down jacket arm.
An unusual obelisk stands on the central square of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. It was established in 1792 by the famous scholar and church leader - Metropolitan Plato (Levshin). On each side of the obelisk is a medallion with a text explaining exactly what role Laurus played in a given era ...
Many people know the monastery of St. Sergius of Radonezh as the spiritual center of Russian Orthodoxy and a collection of remarkable architectural monuments. But not everyone knows how important he played in the sharp turns of Russian history. And it’s hard to say in which country and how we would live today, if not for this monastery.
St. Sergius taught people primarily love and forgiveness. He himself set an example of humility in the most difficult situations.
Thousands of pilgrims come to the Lavra daily. There are 11 temples in the monastery.
Trinity Church is not the largest in the architectural ensemble of the Lavra, but it is here that the majority of those who came to the monastery are in a hurry. The whole time the temple is open for people to visit, the flow of people going into it does not stop: pilgrims hurry to bow to the relics of the founder of the monastery, St. Sergius.
There is no concrete evidence on who exactly was the first to invent the windmill, whether it was the Chinese or the Persians is up for debate. Regardless, both cultures began using this technology around the same time for the same purposes.
Some believe that the windmill technology was brought to Northern Europe as a result of the crusades, however their horizontal axis design rather than the vertical axis system, makes it just as likely that the Europeans discovered their windmill independently. The first existing illustrations from 1270 A.D. show blue-prints of the post mill type of windmill.
The post mill was composed of a four bladed mill mounted onto a central post, which used wooden cog-and-ring gears to covert the motion of the horizontal shaft to vertical motion that turned a grind stone. According to the Illustrated History of Wind Development, the wooden cog-and-ring gear was used by Vitruvius, an engineer of the Augustan Age, to develop the first horizontal axis water wheel.
The tower mill design is believed to have come into existence around the late 1300s, with the earliest known illustration being of a Normandy Mill between 1430 and 1440. The tower mill was made with sloping walls, a cap that could be rotated, a horizontal wind shaft, and vertical sails.
The smock mill, developed by the Dutch in 1526 based on the tower mill, is a vertical tapered tower with four to six sides topped with a cap that rotates to bring the sails into the wind. The smock mill was named from its resemblance to the smocks worn by farmers at the time.
Over the next 500 years windmills gained many diverse applications beyond just water-pumping and grinding grain including irrigation, drainage pumping, saw milling of timber, and processing tobacco, spices, cocoa, paints, and dyes.
This origami cat looks so much like my own little precious (her name is Lady).
It is exactly her pose when she wants something, usually an invitation to play or because she wants more food ;-))
Have a wonderful Thursday!
I used a 23x23cm sandwich paper to fold it.
Final size: height 11cm, length 11,5cm,
Model: origami Cat
Design: Yoo Tae Yong
Diagrams in the book Origami Works of Yoo Tae Yong
Pigadia, the major port and capital of Karpathos, is not exactly beautiful. The architecture is mixed. Most buildings are modern cubes with balconies and straight lines, not ostentatious but functional, but some houses - like this one - are built in an eclectic style with local colors in traditional international elements and are quite beautiful with arches and balusters.
Staying here is enjoyable, as there are no cars in the city center, and you can eat a variety of dishes, from local cuisine to pizza, Chinese, Mexican and other international food.
Karpathos island, Greece.
___________________________________
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Well it's true i didn't got close enough as to see exactly how friendly he is but i did spent some time around him trying to find a good angle and although i was using the flash he didn't run so yeah ,i would say he is quite friendly :))
Last weekend I heard a scary story about an unknown lake. And this story could have happened exactly at such a lake in such a foggy situation. The story tells the agony of two friends who suddenly disappeared and were never seen more again. They were together with their families in a Holiday home on a lake during the vacations.
One day the both friends had the idea to go swimming in the lake. When they reached the lake they laid the blankets next to each other and jumped into the lake to have some fun. After a while they began to snorkel. It was really funny and they liked it very much. They saw a lot of different fish and all other sort of animals in the water. Suddenly a thick fog descended and spread all over the lake. However, the both did not noticed it because they were so busy to explore the nature under water.
But the water at one moment suddenly were totally cloudy. Therefore the both friends emerged from the blue of water to look what happened. At that point they noticed the fog for the first time. But it was too late because they were already completely in the middle of this mist. The two agreed to swim in the direction from which they thought that the beach was. Despite the fact that they swam for quite some time they could not reach the edge of the lake! Hours later the mist over that lake broke up and the sun came out. The two looked around and were shocked … they saw no horizon, only everywhere water, water and water ...
I want to thank all very much for your "views", "Comments" and "Favourites" :-) The only thing that matters is that you have joy in this photo. Again, thank you :-)
On a recent trip to Door County Wisconsin, I stopped by the legendary Anderson Dock.
When I first got there to scope it out, it was raining with a sustained wind of at least 20-30 MPH. Not real good odds of getting a picture. As I waited around for sunset, the rain finally stopped and the sun poked out for just a few minutes to get this shot. I felt fortunate to get something for my trouble.
Per the Door County Pulse website... After Norwegian brothers Aslag and Halvor Anderson recognized the need for a deepwater dock in Ephraim, they constructed one in 1858. Throughout the 1880s, steamers arriving at the dock — most notably from the Goodrich Transportation Company — brought much-needed goods and much-appreciated tourists, and this activity ultimately vitalized Ephraim. Although the dock’s warehouse — the present-day Hardy Gallery — was built to store merchandise, it became a visible reminder of the sailors and ships that had stopped there.
Emily Irwin, outreach director and curator for the Ephraim Historical Foundation, explained that sailors arriving in Ephraim painted the name of their ship and the date on the side of the building as a way to mark their visit.
It’s a bit of a mystery exactly when the graffiti tradition began, but sailors were known to write on the warehouse from around 1910 into the 1950s, perhaps to express their relief and gratitude for a safe passage through the notorious Death’s Door waters, or simply to commemorate their arrival in Ephraim.
In 1949, the Ephraim Historical Foundation purchased the dock and warehouse from the Anderson family, and in 1961, the foundation leased the building to the Hardy Gallery. Through these shifts, however, the graffiti tradition has remained intact, with the public picking up where the sailors left off.
...the more Successful the Picture.
- Alfred Hitchcock
This Bad Boy is the Villain of my feeder. He seems to know exactly when I put out bird food of the type he likes. Within minutes, he’s marauding around the feeder throwing food-bits left and right until he discovers the treat he is looking for : )
American Crows are large, intelligent, all-black birds with hoarse, cawing voices. They are common sights in treetops, fields, and roadsides, and in habitats ranging from open woods and empty beaches to town centers. They usually feed on the ground and eat almost anything – typically earthworms, insects and other small animals, seeds, and fruit but also garbage, carrion, and chicks they rob from nests.
American Crows congregate in large numbers in winter to sleep in communal roosts. These roosts can be of a few hundred up to two million crows. Some roosts have been forming in the same general area for well over 100 years. In the last few decades some of these roosts have moved into urban areas where the noise and mess cause conflicts with people.
Young American Crows do not breed until they are at least two years old, and most do not breed until they are four or more. In most populations the young help their parents raise young for a few years. Families may include up to 15 individuals and contain young from five different years.
Crows sometimes make and use tools. Examples include a captive crow using a cup to carry water over to a bowl of dry mash; shaping a piece of wood and then sticking it into a hole in a fence post in search of food; and breaking off pieces of pine cone to drop on tree climbers near a nest.
The oldest recorded wild American Crow was at least 16 years 4 months old when it was recaptured and rereleased during a banding operation in New York. A captive crow in New York lived to be 59 years old.
(Nikon, 500mm + TC 1.4, 1/800 @ f/5.6, ISO 2500)
Das Thyssenkrupp-Hauptquartier, offiziell auch als „thyssenkrupp Quartier“ bezeichnet, ist die Konzernzentrale der Thyssenkrupp AG im Westviertel der Stadt Essen. Das Quartier ist Kern des städtebaulichen Projektes Krupp-Gürtel und steht genau auf dem Grund, auf dem Krupp mit der Gussstahlfabrik in Essen seine Wurzeln hat. Der neue Bürocampus ist ein Ensemble aus verschiedenen Einzelgebäuden, die auf einem „grünen Teppich“ mit Bäumen, verbindenden Wegen und kleinen Plätzen angeordnet sind. Dem Konzern als Auftraggeber war es dabei besonders wichtig, dass sich die Neubauten flexibel an Veränderungsprozesse innerhalb des Unternehmens anpassen lassen. Die Kosten für den ersten Bauabschnitt des Hauptquartiers werden auf über 300 Millionen Euro beziffert.
Das Gebäude Q1 als Hauptgebäude des neuen Campus ist als markanter Hochpunkt auf der zentralen Wasserachse platziert, die dem Gelände seine Struktur verleiht. Neben diesem und weiteren Bürogebäuden gehören eine öffentliche Kita, das Veranstaltungsgebäude Q2, ein Parkhaus und eine Tiefgarage zum Quartier. Der städtebauliche und architektonische Entwurf des Campus steht für Offenheit, Begegnung und Kommunikation – innerhalb des Quartiers und nach außen in die angrenzenden Stadtteile.
The Thyssenkrupp headquarters, also officially known as the “thyssenkrupp Quartier”, is the corporate headquarters of Thyssenkrupp AG in the western quarter of the city of Essen. The quarter is the core of the urban development project Krupp-Gürtel and stands exactly on the ground on which Krupp with the cast steel factory in Essen has its roots. The new office campus is an ensemble of various individual buildings arranged on a “green carpet” with trees, connecting paths and small squares. As the client, it was particularly important to the group that the new buildings could be flexibly adapted to change processes within the company. The costs for the first construction phase of the headquarters are estimated at over 300 million euros.
Building Q1 as the main building of the new campus is placed as a prominent high point on the central water axis, which gives the site its structure. In addition to this and other office buildings, a public day-care center, the Q2 event building, a multi-storey car park and an underground car park are part of the quarter. The urban and architectural design of the campus stands for openness, encounters and communication - within the quarter and to the outside in the neighboring districts.
Strobist: AB1600 with gridded 60X30 softbox camera right. Reflector camera left. Triggered by Cybersync.
Exactly 7 days after climbing my last Munro (Mount Keen www.flickr.com/photos/96654411@N02/albums/72157716074529983) here I am again climbing two more! We're cycling up Glen Dee along the River Dee, and see the first of them centre picture in the distance, Beinn Bhrotain But first we have have to go cycle up this Glen and leave the bikes near the copse of tree, the climb up and over the pointed summit to the left, Carn Clioch-mhuillin. This was intended by Sir Hugh to be his final Munro ascent. However he died before making the climb and it has since been de-classified as a Munro.
Beinn Bhrotain (pronounced Bane Vrottan meaning Hill of the Hound) stands at 1157 meters (3796 feet) and is the first of our Munros today. Monadh Mor (pronounced Monnagh Mor meaning The Big Hill) is our second and final destination and stands at 1113 meters (3651 feet). A short 5 mile cycle up Glen Dee gets us to the foot of the climb, then it's an 11 mile hike across rough and boggy ground to get there. An epic 8.5 hours, largely un-pathed, time in the hills gets us back to the cars just before full dark falls!
Ok, Algarve is not exactly paradise, but off season, before sunrise, it has its moments. Despite the brightness, this is actually a night photo. The strange light is a result of full moon before sunrise, I pushed the ISO high, and used a flashlight to illuminate the shadows cast by moonlight. The light on the arch during daytime is awful in winter, always a silhouette, night is the only option.
Exactly two years after my last upload:)
Thanks for having a look! All faves and comments are highly appreciated!
Walking in fog often provides a visual representation of my thought process. My brain constantly brings different topics into view, but in the process lets others slide into the periphery. Most of the time they are all still there, competing for my attention, but all in varying degrees. In fog I respond to the overall loss of clarity, but also the nuance that is created by relative distance. It's this layering effect I find most appealing as more distant objects eventually recede into nothingness...exactly the same as my mind reacts.
Walking outdoors this morning felt otherworldly. I love seeing familiar places rendered as ones I'm visiting for the very first time. A rich dichotomy as the serenity of fog is ripped apart by this visceral reaction. In these moments I invariably come up with camera angles that never would have occurred to me in normal circumstances.
I don't exactly know. Probably only small talks about everyday life just like staff in front of a coffee table during office hours. But what strikes me most is the close bondage exhibits here and their interaction which is so intense: they talk and they listen to each other so intently.
Here is some background information, this is one of the highlands in the region with average height of above 3000 metres. The income of people here is among the lowest in the country though things are much getting better now. Poor they may be, they are not spineless as there is hardly any obesity around, let alone knee pain or back pain or whatever. Their spirit is high, and their drive is strong, stronger than most of us from the metropolitan city of Hong Kong. Byw, the boss of Huawei was born not too far away from here and so was his d'ter who is now detained in Canada for almost two years now.
There is a point for them to be colourful. They are there to groom a horse or two, which are all beautifully decorated, for tourists to ride on either as their main source of income or as pocket money...
Nabucco - Dio di Giuda - Riccardo Stracciari (1925)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WGL5DLdT8s
Nicolai Ghiaurov: Ella giammai m'amo
(1976)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTtduJ8PASw
( ? year )
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA3Dpl35EiI
(1996?)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTRuZV2pkts
Laszlo Polgar:
Ella giammai m'amò
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rqdf7H3DK80
Eugene Onegin
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNrP1u5Jhqg
Ettore Bastianini : Il Balen del Suo Sorriso
what I need today... warm colors and light - it`s raining cats and dogs and there is a strong wind....
Exactly one year ago I flew to Iceland. It was a gift that the country was covered with a thick blanket of snow
Leura Cascades, shot almost exactly 6 years ago, but unprocessed and displayed until now.
Want to see this photograph on your wall? Get in touch via peter@peterhill.au or at peterhill.au/contact/
Exactly a year ago we took this photo at nightfall of the Horseshoe Falls in Niagara. Today marks one year of that magical moment.
Each photo has its story, and when taking this photo I remember that a very nice Amish family asked us where we came from, they looked at the camera, they were amazed at the long exposure images that the camera obtained. I remember they came from Indiana, and it was a pleasure chatting with them while we took the photos.
With very beautiful memories kept in my heart, I share with you this photo that was fun to take, despite the large crowd of people next to the railing, although fortunately we found a hole next to it to install the tripod.
Take this opportunity to wish all my Canadian friends a Happy Thanksgiving Day and have a happy day.
I wish my Spanish friends a happy day of Our Lady of Pilar, patron saint of Spain.
Happy Columbus Day!
Much encouragement to all!
Better to see it big.
______________________________
Hace un año exactamente tomamos esta foto al caer la noche de la Cascada de herradura en Niágara. Hoy se cumple un año de aquel mágico momento.
Cada foto tiene su historia, y al tomar esta foto recuerdo que una muy simpática familia Amish nos preguntaba de dónde veníamos, observaba la cámara, se quedaban asombrados de las imágenes de larga exposición que obteníamos. Recuerdo que procedían de Indiana, y fue un placer charlar con ellos mientras tomábamos las fotos.
Con muy bonitos recuerdos guardados en el corazón, comparto con vosotros esta foto que fue divertida de tomar, a pesar de la gran multitud de personas junto a la barandilla, aunque afortunadamente nos hicimos con un hueco junto a la misma para instalar el trípode.
Aprovecho para desear a todos mis amigos canadienses un Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias y que paséis una feliz jornada.
A mis amigos españoles les deseo un feliz día de Nuestra Señora del Pilar, patrona de España.
Mucho ánimo para todos!
Mejor visualizar en grande.
Which is exactly what it was, when you stood on the top of the cliffs at St Abbs in Scotland.
The silence was broken by the sound of the many sea birds, which nest on the rocks lower down.
The small Lighthouse of St Abbs Head is perched on the top of the cliff face, beaming light out to sea, warning of the perils of getting to close.
A beautiful sunrise cascaded its colour across the sky, as a new day dawns.
Not exactly Linus' most intelligent expression but that's what he often looks like when he watches THE BIRDS. His feathered friends are particularly active at the moment, especially those among them who will soon migrate southward. Birds preparing to leave his garden to spend several months elsewhere and out of reach isn't a concept Linus can approve of.
Exactly two years passed after taking this picture. I still come back to it, one of my finer pictures in my opinion. There is another one of the same occasion. The reference in the old comment is to the second one.
The one from yesterday stood out from the series of shots I made, panning the tram as it passes me by. The story is the same (or is it?) Gang of brothers riding the tram, hanging down from it. They were full aware of me picturing them, so the "V" is directed to me. Then on a closer look, noticed the second one, a little shy, maybe even embarrassed. Taking part but staying close to the tram. Anyway, they were having fun, and I was having fun, taking pictures of them.
... exactly on April 30th, we arrived at Paddington Station to start our one-week vacation in London.
The first week of May is traditionally the time of our city trips ... this year (like the last one) it will be a trip through the archives and memories
... we will be back : ))
Just for fun - I played around a bit with Topaz Studio, especially the preset "Dream" (so the colours are altered) and I also had to correct the strong distortions of the Fish-Eye (done in Affinity Raw Editor)
Happy Friday and have a joyful dance into May ; ))
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Vor vier Jahren - genau am 30. April - kamen wir an der Paddington Station an, um unseren einwöchigen Urlaub in London zu beginnen.
Die erste Maiwoche ist traditionell die Zeit für unsere Städtereisen ... dieses (wie letztes) Jahr wird es eine Reise durch die Archive und Erinnerungen sein
... wir werden wiederkommen : ))
Nur so zum Spaß - ich habe ein bisschen mit Topaz Studio herumgespielt, vor allem dem Preset "Traum" (daher sind auch die Farben nicht originalgetreu) und musste auch die starken Verzerrungen des Fish-Eyes korrigieren (im Affinity Raw Editor)
Einen schönen Freitag und kommt gut in den Mai : ))
Junk Food - "Moose Eggnog" is exactly what Christmas means to me and it can for you too. this updated release is part of the MadPea Advent event. To get your own 'Nog on, head on over to MadPea and look for the Advent Christmas portal. And make sure you stop in at Junk Food for all your Christmas gift needs!
MadPea Advent Event:
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/MadPea/131/136/34
Junk Food In-World (It's like Disney but for foodies!):
www.maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Junk%20Food/192/72/36
Junk Food MP:
www.marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/150026
Junk Food on FB:
Junk Food Flickr:
www.flickr.com/groups/junkfoodstore/pool/
Junk Food on Discord:
Introduction
Christian Sermons: Christian Movie | Gospel Movie Clip "My Dream of the Heavenly Kingdom" (3) - Where Exactly Is the Heavenly Kingdom?
The greatest wish of us who believe in the Lord is to welcome the return of the Lord, to be brought into the heavenly kingdom, and receive the promise and blessings of God. Most people believe that when the Lord returns, we will be lifted in the air to meet with the Lord. But in the Bible, it is said that the New Jerusalem will descend from heaven. "The tabernacle of God is with men," "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ." Is the heavenly kingdom in the sky or on earth? How will the Lord take the saints into the heavenly kingdom when He returns?
You might also like: knock and the door shall be opened
Image Source: The Church of Almighty God
Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius)
My best photos are here: www.lacerta-bilineata.com/ticino-best-photos-of-southern-...
More TICINO/TESSIN Wildlife Photos (all taken in my garden in Monteggio/Ti, Switzerland): it.lacerta-bilineata.com/ramarro-occidentale-lacerta-bili...
If you're interested, you'll find a more detailed closeup here (it's the 8th photo from the top): www.lacerta-bilineata.com/western-green-lizard-lacerta-bi...
My latest ANIMAL VIDEO (it's very brief but pretty unusual: a tiny wall lizard attacks two young great tits): www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQqkSsyrm7E
THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO: MY LONG AND ARDUOUS JOURNEY TO BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY
If you've set yourself the challenge of exclusively shooting the wildlife in your own back yard, you might find - as I did - that bird photography is really, really hard.
It's not that reptiles are easy to photograph either, mind - but at least the ones in my garden stay (for the most part) on the ground, and one can learn how to carefully approach them with a camera. They're also clearly egoists, which from a photographer's point of view is is a great character trait: if a lizard detects a human in its vicinity, it's only interested in saving its own skin, and it won't alarm its buddies.
But birds... oh man. Over the years, my feathered friends and I have developed a lovely routine that now defines our peaceful co-existence. As soon as I as much as open a window (let alone the door), I'm instantly greeted by an eruption of panicky fluttering and hysterical shouts from my garden: "SAVE YOUR WOMEN AND CHILDREN AND FLY FOR YOUR LIVES: THE HAIRLESS, PINK MONSTER IS COMING!!! (Yes, I speak bird, and I know that this is exactly what they are shouting 😉).
Needless to say, with the exception of the redstart I already showed here, all my efforts to get the kind of detailed shots I usually strive for with my nature photography ended in complete failure and utter disillusionment. I was ready to give up on stalking the winged misanthropes in my garden altogether, but then winter came - and changed everything.
One day this past January I observed my neighbor Signora P - a kind, elderly Italian lady - putting something on the low garden wall in front of my house. At first I thought she was just putting some treat there for her cat Romeo; the young tom patrols that wall constantly (it's his favorite spot in the garden, and during the warmer months he usually lurks in the thick foliage next to it to prey on lizards).
But once I detected a lot of movement on that wall through my window, I understood she had put a little pile of bread crumbs there; she was feeding the birds who soon arrived in flocks. This was certainly well-intended on my neighbor's part, but her noble action came with a catch, and I'm afraid quite literally.
When I took a stroll through my garden the next day I discovered a suspicious amount of feathers on the ground next to the wall. Romeo had apparently switched from his low-calorie summer diet (lizard) to more energy-rich meals consisting of "fowl" (it was winter after all, so from a nutritionist's point of view this made sense).
I would find fresh traces of Romeo's victims (mostly feathers, but also the odd wing) in my garden over the following days; so my first intuition that my neighbor was feeding her cat hadn't been that far off after all, as Romeo was now clearly being "served" fresh birds on a daily basis. And although the hungry visitors seemed to be aware of the danger and became slightly more prudent, they just couldn't resist the tasty snacks Signora P put on that wall - and neither could Romeo.
It was obvious that I had to act, but talking to my neighbor - who is as stubborn as she is kind - would have been futile, I knew that much. I pondered the matter long and hard - until a light bulb went off in my head. The idea was genius. If successful, what I had in mind would not only increase the birds' chances of surviving Romeo's appetite, but also greatly benefit my own photographic endeavors.
I started to enact my master plan the very next day by buying a giant bag of bird feed (consisting mainly of sunflower seeds) from the store. Then I dragged a huge piece of a tree trunk (approx. 120 cm in height) that we normally chop firewood on from the shed out into the garden and emptied almost half of the bag's content on top of it. Signora P's buffet for birds (and cats) was about to get some serious competition 😊.
My reasoning was as follows: not only would the birds be lured away from the fatally low garden wall to a place where they were safe from the cat - there was nothing around that tree trunk that provided cover for a predator, and the birds had a nice 360° view around it at all times - but I was also able to photograph them while hiding in the shed.
However, in order for my plan to work there was one little extra measure I had to take, and it was one that risked lowering my own life expectancy considerably once the owner of the property - my mom - discovered it. You see, our shed is completely windowless, so if I wanted to use it as a blind, I had no choice but to cut a hole into one of its wooden walls... which I promptly did (I figured all's fair in love - and photography 😉).
Granted, I have absolutely zero carpentering skills, and it showed. That hole was an ugly mess: the shed's wall seemed to have had an encounter with Jack Nicholson's ax-wielding lunatic character from the film 'The Shining'. Needless to say, I was incredibly proud of my work (I mean, come on: there now was a hole where before there wasn't a hole, and it was big enough for the lens of my camera to peek through, so it was mission accomplished as far as I was concerned).
Now all I had to do was wait for the birds to discover the tree trunk. In the meantime I started to mentally prepare myself for the inevitable confrontation with my mom and go through possible explanations for that splintering hole in the wall (it was either gonna be a rabid woodpecker attack or an emergency rescue mission with a feeding tube for a little kid that had accidentally locked himself inside the shed - both seemed valid options, though I slightly preferred the locked-in kid due to the involved drama and heroism 😉).
A whole day went by, and not a single bird visited the sunflower seeds. I had expected that it might take a few hours until the first of the ever curious great tits or blue tits would show up, but given how tiny my garden is, an entire day seemed excessive. Then another day came and went: the birds kept flocking to the bread crumbs on the wall, and my tree trunk kept collecting dust. To add injury to insult, a few fresh feathers on the ground were proof that Romeo was still feasting.
It was incredibly frustrating: I provided my winged guests with a much better view - plus a higher chance of surviving the cuisine - than Signora P's place; I risked (almost) certain death at the hands of my own mother (OK, the act of vandalism on the shed I had committed for my own benefit, but still), yet the birds kept ignoring me.
Then, after three days, just before sunset, I spotted a single blue tit on the tree trunk picking away at the sunflower seeds.
When I got up the next morning I immediately realized that the loud noise that accompanies each and every tit activity had shifted from the wall to the shed. At last the dam had broken: there was a flurry of movement around the tree trunk, and I counted at least 5 different species of birds feasting on the sunflower seeds.
From day 4 onward my plan worked beautifully: the birds now indeed mostly ignored Romeo's "snack wall" and kept to the tree trunk. And yes, I was able to play peeping tom from behind the shed's wall and photograph them!! 😊
Thus, dear readers, I finally managed to produce some acceptable bird photos, and I had even saved my feathered friends from a deadly foe in the process. All through winter and spring I took advantage of my new bird hide, and in late May I started mixing some cherries with the sunflower seeds. The idea was to attract a Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius), and as you can see, it worked!
It took me almost three weeks and more than a few tricks to capture that clever fella, but given how long I've been rambling here already, that's a story for another day. As for my mom, she still doesn't know about the hole in the wall, so please don't snitch! 😉.
I hope you like the photo and wish you all a wonderful weekend! Many greetings from Switzerland, and as always: let me know what you think in the comments 🙏 😊 ❤!
P.S. if anyone has their own funny tale about the obstacles we photographers are prepared to overcome for a desired photo, please write it in the comments: I love such stories 😊
Almost exactly 1 year ago I was able to take this photo in the Bastei area in Saxon Switzerland. A year ago we had at least a few days of winter - it doesn't look like it here at the moment, we still hope for snow...
Fast genau 1 Jahr ist es her, dass ich dieses Foto im Basteigebiet in der Sächsischen Schweiz machen konnte. Vor einem Jahr hatten wir wenigstens für ein paar Tage Winter - danach sieht es hier im Moment nicht aus, wir hoffen weiter auf Schnee..
Well, I have finally reached 1000 uploads after being on flickr for exactly 9 years. I know that I am not the most prolific contributor, but I do like to try and show only my best work on my stream. I have also had a couple of breaks over the last 9 years as life has sometimes taken priority over what for me is a pastime rather than a livelihood. Of course, I only show a tiny fraction of the amount of images that I take and I use this stream to share my landscapes and a few nature images. I do photograph other subjects and I have recently got the bug for scanning and reviving very old slides and negs - but that would be for another stream/profile.
This image was one that I made last week up Higger Tor in the Dark Peak. I waited approximately one hour for the strong wind to blow thick dark cloud further north. The wait was worth it because the sun then shone through the clouds in dramatic fashion.