Expecting a baby~

The last thing I expected was an EXPLORE on this photo.

I believe in my profile description it was mentioned that my ex husband and I had a sign making business for about 10 years in NH. Whenever I see sign companies installing, making, fixing signs it's of great interest to me because of this.

This day was no exception and I debated bw instead but went with color. (I'll probably post the bw version or others on this shoot)

Our sign making business was based out of Plymouth/Campton, NH. We did everything from painted, carved, sandblasted, vinyl from trucklettering to installing larger signs such as these. However I was younger then and had 3 children while, at the same tme, running this business From soup to nuts lol.

As the kids came it was a bit challenging to afford daycare and meet our deadlines. I recall being 40 feet up on a ladder in the winter ~ 8-9 months pregnant to pay the bills.

For about 4--5 years I was secretary for the New Hampshire Sign Association. This group was more of a tri-state or more group... Sign companies such as Barlo Signs, Franks Signs, Paquette Signs and many more attended these monthly meetings.

This is a very positive thing to belong to these associations. Especially being new to the business. Other sign companies are very friendly and often times work can be subcontracted so that both companies benefit as well as the customer.

My first street shot EXPLORE ... I'm thrilled to have my 36th EXPLORE here on Flickr. (Unless I missed one )

Thanks to Erika... you must have the greatest job on Flickr <3

Expect a video of one or two of these trucks in the future

Been down the dump this morning ( or should that be the amenity centre ) and did not expect to come back with anything !! Well I did get a shot -sort of . There was a chap there with a bird of prey on his arm - a Harris Hawk it turned out to be . A quick word with the guy and they were there doing a bit of gull scaring - as they were working he did not want to stop and pose ,but as I got back to the car I grabbed the P&S in my bag and took a couple of quick snaps with a bit of zoom from a distance .

Harris's hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus), formerly known as the bay-winged hawk or dusky hawk, and known in Latin America as peuco, is a medium-large bird of prey that breeds from the southwestern United States south to Chile, central Argentina, and Brazil. Birds are sometimes reported at large in Western Europe, especially Britain, but it is a popular species in falconry and these records almost certainly all refer to escapes from captivity.

The name is derived from the Greek para, meaning beside, near or like, and the Latin buteo, referring to a kind of buzzard; uni meaning once; and cinctus meaning girdled, referring to the white band at the tip of the tail. John James Audubon gave this bird its English name in honor of his ornithological companion, financial supporter, and friend Edward Harris.

The Harris's hawk is notable for its behavior of hunting cooperatively in packs consisting of tolerant groups, while other raptors often hunt alone. Harris hawks' social nature has been attributed to their intelligence, which makes them easy to train and have made them a popular bird for use in falconry.

Glad I chose today to go down the dump !!

When I awoke I was in my bed. My armor sat against a wall nearby. I turned to see the sun shining bright. My jaw felt numb so I rubbed it.

What happened?

When I said it i wasn't expecting an answer but I got one. I looked around. I heard a crash. Whoever was here isn't very stealthy. I grabbed a knife ready to attack. A figure in a red, grey, and white suit sat in my couch.

Who the hell are you?

The figure didn't respond, instead whoever it was decides to lay down on my couch. I threw the knife in my hand so it landed right above the figures head.

You could've killed me!

The voice was female. On a normal day I wouldn't be bothered by a girl on my couch, but this girl knew my identity. She slowly sat up. She had a mask covering most of her face.

Who are you?

The Twilight Devil, you've probably heard about me on the news.

Nope, never have.

She look a little surprised.

So you know that I'm--

Nightclad? Yeah, I do

Could you tell me you're name? It would only be fair.

Screw fairness, I don't want to endanger my family. Also how do I know you can keep a secret?

She did have a point.

I've kept my identity a secret from all of my employees, I could keep yours too.

She shifted uncomfortably. She removed the mask that was covering her face.

I'm Sarah.

No last name?

Not that I'm going to tell you.

Rude.

How did you find me?

She looked at me.

Last night I heard gunshots and by the Tim I found you it was 2:00 am. You were knocked out cold. I had to carry you here. Luckily you had an open window on the bottom floor. I had to be as quiet as possible to avoid your staff. When I got to where you lived I had to get you out of your armor. I didn't know where you kept it so I put it by your bed. I was really tired so I fell asleep on the couch. I couldn't leave because the workers arrived and it would look weird if I just waltzed out. Then you woke up.

Would you like something to drink?

She shook her head.

No thanks, I'm fine.

Whiskey?

You know what? Maybe just a little.

When we started drinking it was around 11:00 am but when we stopped it was 7:00 pm.

I grabbed a pillow and a blanket and spread it across Sarah. She was passed out.

Goodnight Sarah.

I walked into my room and suited up.

I've got work to do.

My sister and her man.

“Expect the best, plan for the worst, and prepare to be surprised.”

~Unknown

I am leaving for my annual winter photo trip to the North Shore. This is my favorite trip of the year. In the winter each and every time you visit, the conditions and scenery change sometimes by the hour. You never know what to expect!

See you all when I get back!

karenhunnicuttartandsoul.blogspot.com/

Model: Natalia Larioshina

Photographer: Justin Bonaparte​

@justin.bonaparte.creative

www.modelmayhem.com/488132

A fisheye photo of the unique toilet pods at 'Sketch' in Conduit Street, London.

I took my wife here for afternoon tea back in April as a belated Valentine's present. The food and ambience were superb as you'd expect for a restaurant with two Michelin stars but it was the toilets I really wanted to photograph.......

For those intrigued by the restaurant you can take a lok here : sketch.london/venue_Gallery_David_Shrigley.php?menu=1#gsc...

From Wikipedia : "Sketch is a restaurant on 9 Conduit Street, Mayfair, London, England, which opened in 2003. The restaurant is owned by Mourad Mazouz and the Head Chef is Pierre Gagnaire. The cuisine is described as 'New French', and is a loose adaptation of the cuisine served in Gagnaire's three Michelin-starred restaurant in Paris and is executed by Hervé Deville and Johannes Nuding.

Mazouz came to public attention through the success of Momo, the North African restaurant and bar he opened in 1997 just off Regent Street, although he was already well known in France for his celebrated restaurants, Au Bascou and 404.

The restaurant covers two floors of a converted 18th century site in Conduit Street, Mayfair. Its dining area contains a permanent exhibit of David Shrigley artwork, and Shrigley designed the restaurant's tableware."

My Website : Twitter : Facebook : Instagram : Photocrowd

© D.Godliman

We did not expect much, only some holes in the ground after a steep track uphill. Some locals tried to find the treasure (and wine cellar) of some medieval abbot after the war of 1870/71.

What we found was a gigantic molehill on top of the hill. The track sign says the mound has the exact size and form of Silbury Hill close to Stonehenge (wikipedia article here) – further investigations have to show if the hill is manmade.

Besides that: some celtic findings, the Romans used it for a signaling station, and the Staufer built a castle there (Anselburg), which has disappeared completely.

Pentax SMC 20mm f2.8

Thanks for all your comments and faves, much appreciated as always.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF4Pr5yVbo4

KTM Bloke Expecting Rain

Sometimes I wish I was a real doctor so I can find out exactly what's happening in my belly. :P

Expecting first fledgling of his siblings at the beginning of June?

Expected release will be in April 2019. Visit our website or our resellers pages to reserve yours tomorrow starting at 10 am Central Standard Time. Limited quantities available.

What do you guys think?

Expect the unexpected at the Sonepur Mela - seemingly from out of nowhere, a street parade with dozens of horses and musicians had engulfed the already packed streets. Sensory overload at its greatest.

This photo wasn’t something I expected to create today – all I wanted was a Medlar flower but things had a way of evolving from there! Read on for all the details, but don’t forget to check out my macro tutorial book on Kickstarter: www.kickstarter.com/projects/donkom/macro-photography/ - it covers this type of photography extensively!

Medlars are a fruit of antiquity, rarely seen today. This is in part to the way they look (the French translation of the name basically means “the dog’s behind”), and partly because of how they have to be eaten. In late autumn when the leaves fall off the tree, the fruit is still not ready to eat. It requires bletting, which is a fancy word for rotting, before you can consume it. With an applesauce-like texture, it’s apparently quite the treat! Anyhow, I had a suspicion that the flowers would fluoresce – I was right!

While selecting a flower to bring into my studio, I noticed a leaf of a nearby plant with a ladybug, apparently being harassed by three ants. I wasn’t surprised as ladybugs love to eat aphids, and ants love to protect them for their “honeydew”… which is essentially sugary aphid pee. “What unpredictable element will this ladybug add to the photo?” I thought, while I set up the flower.

Pro tip: whenever there is an element of chaos in your work, try to make everything else a “known quantity” as best as possible before tackling the one thing that is difficult to control. In this instance, four UV flashes are set up at point-blank range just outside of the frame, focus and exposure is tested and adjustments made. The shot looks good – it’s just missing the actor. Using the stem of a discarded flower, it wasn’t difficult to get the ladybug to climb onto it. These insects like to climb upward, so keeping a slight incline on the 8-inch stem allowed me enough time to guide the red-shelled beetle to the flower, waiting patiently with my finger on the shutter.

Almost immediately, the ladybug took a chomp at one of the pollen-covered stamens! This was the third image taken, and the only one where the beetle was actually in focus. Pure, dumb luck – everything else was buttoned down, and I was hoping for some type of interaction like this. The actor here was moving quickly, as evidenced from the blur on its front left leg (camera right). This is a flash exposure with no ambient light, albeit with the flashes at 1:1 maximum output so the flash duration is longer; motion has to be considerably fast to blur when using flash! All the more reason why I consider this shot lucky – and instant before or after, I wouldn’t have this.

Once I saw this image on the back of my camera, I knew I could build on it. The first step was to shift the focus slightly to get another frame with more of the stamens in focus for stacking purposes – this is a two-image focus stack. I didn’t need them all sharp, just a little more to work with. The stacking was done manually because of all the overlapping areas of detail. The image was cropped and edited for colour, contrast, texture, all the basic stuff that you should do to such an image with local adjustments removing unwanted fibers and distracting specks. The ladybugs shell was surprisingly fluorescing very close to its natural red colour, and that was nudged a bit closer to help the image feel partly familiar, partly an otherworldly fantasy.

Shot on a Lumix S1R with the 24-105 F/4 kit lens – a great performer for macro work even though it isn’t a macro lens! ISO 2000, F/9, 1/250sec.

Want more details to create images like this? You’ll find every technique and “secret” all spelled out in my upcoming macro photography book currently on Kickstarter: www.kickstarter.com/projects/donkom/macro-photography/ - If you enjoy my work, I’d appreciate your support and you’ll get one of the best macro photography books ever written in return. :)

P.S. The Medlar (Mespilus germanica) has a few mentions in literature over the years, the most famous from the Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet:

Now will he sit under a medlar tree,

And wish his mistress were that kind of fruit

As maids call medlars, when they laugh alone.

O Romeo, that she were, O that she were

An open-arse and thou a pop'rin pear!

Just as the French called the fruit a “dog’s behind”, the English called them “open-arses”! The play is often found re-written to be a little more polite. Trust me, the fruit is nowhere near as beautiful as the flowers.

DBS make a return to the Rhondda line after a hiatus of just over 2 months and a lot sooner than anyone expected. Here we see DBS 66117 on a route learner, the 0Z48 17:13 from ADJ to Tower Colliery in anticiation of taking over transportation of coal from Tower Colliery to Hope Cement Works. The coal is currently transported from Cwmbargoed Opencast with up to 2 trains a week operating. The train is formed of buffered HTA wagons due to the fixed length of the sidings at Earles (1168ft), and the fact that the shunter used at Hope is not buckeye coupling compatible. The coal is then mixed with coal from around the UK and is used to power the kilns. Seen northbound through Taffs Well nr Cardiff on Wednesday 08.06.2016

When you least expect it, an angel from heaven comes and appears in your life, with that sweet way of being, and before you know it, they've become a part of your life without you even realizing it.

I had been expecting a "More" branded double decker for my ride from Bournemouth to Milford on Sea on Thursday 18th November, 2021, but had to make do with this Bluestar Enviro 200: 2745 (HF65 CXV) is seen here at the end of my journey, quite probably the most expensive bus fare in the country mile for mile, £8.80 return.

Day 347 (v 13.0) - avoid disappointment

I have family in Florida. Expect to see them in March. In the past would often go to Disney though don’t expect to this time. Bought this awhile ago “for a co-workers daughter”. And some Minnie ears. Love Tinkerbell. Shes beautiful on the outside but no soft touch. She’s sassy and mischievous. Petulant and at times ferocious but loyal even if it will break her heart or cost her her life. She doesn’t tolerate fools and can be very impatient. She provides the energy for neverland and is no ordinary fairy. She’s a tinker. And I absolutely love her. Even her imperfections are perfect. So keep your whiny mermaid who has everything and isn’t satisfied and who allows her father to be sacrificed on her behalf because she was chasing a boy she never spoke to. I’ll take Tink every moment of every day!

The process of human evolution is an endless procession of surprises , the expected rarely occurs and never in the expected manner .

be prepared for the worst ...

fuck what others think and do your own thing !!!!

HBM! One of two photos featuring benches. This was taken on a stretch just before the Humber Arch Bridge in Toronto. The new tile work done by the City of Toronto is exceptional

Best seen large by clicking on the photo.

Thanks for visiting, enjoy each day

Expecting a 37, 47 or a 57, it was a big surprise to see 43076 and 43089 appear from underneath Bromford Bridge with 0Q94 Leicester LIP to Long Marston. The pair were going to collect a single Mk3 to take back to Leicester LIP.

So this took me a lot longer than expected to get out there, but anyways, here they are! Justice League Dark, assembled by Madame Xanadu to deal with mystical/supernatural threats that the normal Justice League don't have the capabilities of fighting. The members starting from the back are:

Raven- Embraces her powers, but uses them for good. She's close friends with Rose Constantine.

Jason Blood/Etrigan- I only pictured Jason here, as I was mostly lazy, but anyways, what's a JLD team if it doesn't have him right? So here he is!

Deadman- After his death at the hands of Grant Wilson, Dick Grayson became Deadman, joining the JLD soon after. He sometimes goes back to Bludhaven so he can see Bette again though she doesn't know about him being Deadman now.

Ragman- A man covered by rags to hide the scars of his past, he usually stays quiet, unless necessary.

Doctor Fate- Khalid Ben Hassin being the current Doctor Fate joined the team early on.

Kid Devil- One of the newest recruits, alongside Raven. He's still trying to figure out his place on the team, but has been able to find a friend in Ragman.

Madame Xanadu- The leader of the team, who obviously brought them all together in the first place.

Rose Constantine- Constantine's daughter, all grown up (well sort of). She has her father's personality, though she's more mature than he ever was. She always saw his smoking as a bad habit, so she doesn't smoke.

Like all of my recent Rogueverse team pictures, a huge thanks goes out to Ken, as he's helping me big time with these rosters.

In the three years of watching the BLE in PA i never expected to see a tunnel motor or even a 38 pull autoracks so close to where i grew up. I had shot the 910 several times hauling ore and saw it countless other times at North Bessemer while we exchanged trains with them.

Saturday night i was experimenting with an old liqueur recipe from my mother. She made this kind of liqueur for Christmas using oranges, cinnamon and sloe. As I have no idea where I could get sloe I used pomegranate instead. I love pomegranate, it is a beautiful fruit with an extraordinary color and it tastes good, too. They are just difficult to clean, everything looks splattered afterwards. So, now I have to wait 6 weeks until I can try it – in the mean time I expect the best.

Sorry for the blurry pic on the left.. it was past midnight.

Here is the original

The "Idle Hands" zine has been in the works for longer than expected but will be dropping soon. The hardest part has been just pushing everybody to get me their pages & slaps. I'm not trippin though because the longer it takes the more people I'm getting on deck with it.

I wanted to upload this photo of some of the stickers I've been getting from homies to get the chance to tell everyone that if you want to get on board with the zine and submit a page & slaps NOW (as in the next week or so) will be the last chance to shoot me a message and exchange info with me! Or just leave a comment. So this is basically last call. I wanna encourage everyone, the more the merrier. The idea is that the zine will be a decent reflection of what we see on the streets everyday, all styles, all bay.

The nature of the missions that G.I. Joe finds itself involved in can have its operatives sent anywhere. After receiving word of gunfire and explosions along a river delta, the Joe team has appropriately dispatched divers to investigate the disturbed waters. On the outside looking in, someone would likely expect a deeper body of water to justify each of these Sailors carrying a generous personal arsenal. But with how ambitious - and arguably unhinged - Cobra's weapons research has become, fortune would justify those who came better prepared...

My 60th Anniversary Action Sailor makes his solo debut here! The original box art of the 1960s G.I. Joe sailor featured a deep-sea diver with a combat knife and a bundle of TNT. With Hasbro electing to have its modern-day tribute kitted out in a similar get-up, I suppose it was the look that the project managers considered to be the most "exciting" in the 1960s, and what experts call here in the present, "tacti-cool."

"A frigid winter is expected across Alberta, especially during January and February. While a few periods of milder weather are expected, we have a heightened risk for extended periods of severe cold, as well as for blizzard conditions as Arctic air plunges south across the region. A snowy winter is expected across the southern half of the province, including Calgary. Near normal snowfall is expected elsewhere, including Edmonton." I have just read the Weather Network's forecast for Alberta. Almost wish I hadn't, ha.

Another five photos from my archives this evening. I am adding the description that I wrote under a different image taken on the same outing.

After endless emails and phone calls, the work on my car is finally about to start, four and a half weeks after I dropped it off at the dealership. It has now been decided that both the slight hail damage and the peeling paint repair will be done at one location, not two different ones. The hail damage repair should be starting straight away. It could still be maybe two or two and a half weeks (or more) before all the work is completed. Will it be done before Christmas? Later: hail damage repair has been completed. Now I have to wait for an empty booth so that the peeling paint damage can be fixed and basically the whole car will have to be repainted.

Update on car situation, 9 December 2021. Just heard that the repainting of my whole car might be finished somewhere around 21 December. However, the whole car then has to be put back together - and, guess what, the person who would be doing this is going to be away over Christmas, meaning that I won't be getting it back till AFTER Christmas!!! Wish I had never pointed out the 3"x 1" patch of peeling paint in the first place, when I took my car for a routine service. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined all that is going on. Sigh.

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"If you’ve gone looking for raptors on a clear day, your heart has probably leaped at the sight of a large, soaring bird in the distance– perhaps an eagle or osprey. But if it's soaring with its wings raised in a V and making wobbly circles, it's likely a Turkey Vulture. These birds ride thermals in the sky and use their keen sense of smell to find fresh carcasses. They are a consummate scavenger, cleaning up the countryside one bite of their sharply hooked bill at a time, and never mussing a feather on their bald heads." From AllABoutBirds.

"What vultures lack in looks, they make up for with brains and an affectionate, fun-loving nature. Ramona VanRiper, Turkey Vulture Society president, can vouch for vultures being sweet and personable because she's known several, including one named Clem. "Vultures raised by humans learn quickly to love and trust us," she says, "and will often respond to human attention long after they have successfully reassimilated into their natural communities." From link below.

tpwmagazine.com/archive/2005/oct/legend/

This particular bird resides at the Alberta Bird of Prey Centre in Coaldale, southern Alberta, a wonderful place that rehabilitates and releases (whenever possible) various birds of prey - hawks, owls, Bald Eagles, Turkey Vultures, and Golden Eagle. Some of these birds act as Wildlife Ambassadors, too, educating the public.

Over the last few years, I have seen three or four Turkey Vultures flying very high overhead within the city of Calgary, which was a thrill. Too far away to see any detail at all, which is why I love going to this Centre, to see raptors up close.

It had been a few years since my last visit there - I had been maybe three or four times - and I had been longing to go back. Much too far and all new driving territory for me to even think about driving there myself. However, on 9 September 2016, that is exactly what I did. A friend had said she would come along, too, but she emailed me at 1:00 am that morning to say that she assumed the trip had been cancelled, as she hadn't heard back about the time to meet. In fact, I had sent two emails giving the time, so I don't know what happened there. Very unfortunate, as it would have been great to have had company on such a long drive and I know she would have had lots of fun with her camera.

I knew it would be a long day and further than I would normally drive - and in a brand new car that I had/have yet to learn to drive! It didn't look or feel quite as new after travelling 481 km! Only got lost twice, one minor and the other major. Must have taken a wrong turn somewhere down south and I ended up in Lethbridge, that I had very carefully planned to avoid. After three and three-quarter hours, I finally arrived at my destination, to my huge relief.

Despite getting there later than I had hoped, I still had more than enough time to wander round the grounds and photograph the various raptors. Some were tethered out in a couple of grassy areas and others were in large outdoor cages. Wonderful to get such a close look at the various majestic birds.

I took a slightly different way home via #845 (?) making absolutely sure that I didn't accidentally find myself in Lethbridge again and it wasn't too long before I found myself in the area that I had driven a few weeks before, when I went SW of Vulcan to look for Common NIghthawks (without any luck). Just so happy that I finally made myself do this drive. When I had Googled the Centre's website, I discovered that they were closing two days later for the winter. So, it was either a case of going the next day or not at all till next May onward.

The very next day, 10 September 2016, I took my daughter on a long drive in Kananaskis. This was yet another place that I had longed to be able to drive for many years - and finally I did it! I had been lots of times with various friends, but this was the very first time I had ever done the drive myself."

The wild begins where you least expect it, one step off your normal course

Bernard Malamud

tones: Isabelle Lafrance

texture: Cris Buscaglia Lenz and Texture Time

sorry, i have a no time for regular visits .....

wish you a good week

One of two fledglings born to my resident great tit couple.

Camera: Leica M8

Lens: Voigtlander 50mm f1.1 Nokton

A guest awaits the bride

Analoguerobot.co.uk

When you read the title you might expect a man in ermine and silks standing in a great hall with flunkeys at his beck and call? Instead here is a portly young man with a suit that is just a little tight and a very pleasant smile on his face. From a photographic point of view this is a dreadful crop from another photo!

Photographers: Various

Collection: Irish Personalities Photographic Collection

Date: 5th September 1928

NLI Ref: NPA PERS36

You can also view this image, and many thousands of others, on the NLI’s catalogue at catalogue.nli.ie

we have mooring release and positive ascent, accelerating to 50m/s vertical speed, expect target altitude ~23:00 UTC

I love the unexpected beauty that frequently interrupts my life when I'm least expecting it...

Happy Birthday, Wil

Vera's sister expected rain that day ;-)