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went for a bike ride
exploring...
im not very good at telling time
when seasons change
when the birds leave
feels like i was just here
but im on the other side of the year.
cheers,
Novembre 18th, explore #176 THANKS TO ALL!
Larger is BETTER! View On Black
Listen to it www.deezer.com/track/2104109
"I thought you'd keep me warm
But I was shown
I was wrong"
E.Torrini
Lo he descubierto a través de mi amigo, Domingo Mery, es para mi una fuente de satisfacción ver mis fotos elegidas, no se de que depende que las escojan,,,,, pero ahí están.
Thank you everyone for visiting, commenting and fav'ing - very much appreciated! Press "L" for better view and "F" if you like it!
This is an old photo from 2006. Four families including us went to visit the Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, USA. My son, still small at that time, was exploring the Morning Glory Pool, a natural hot spring. Bacteria live in the water, which gives the pool its distinct colors.
I took this photo with a point and shoot Sony camera. I now HDR-processed it to give it a smooth look while enhancing the micro-contrast. The colors are pretty accurate, that is, no change in color saturation compared to the original.
HDR, 1 exposure, DSC-W1. DSC05542-2006-06-21_hdr1smo2c
"Tale as old as time
Song as old as rhyme
Beauty and the Beast."
-- Alan Menken/Howard Ashman, Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Just got back from six day stay at Disney. From all the new (New Fantasyland, Test Track and Legend of Captain Jack) to all the Christmas Festivities (decorations and crowds), I need another vacation to recover.
Here’s Lumiere…part of the sign for "Enchanted Tales with Belle."
(Walt Disney World -- Fantasyland: Enchanted Forest -- Enchanted Tales with Belle)
Explored on December 20, 2012.
Thanks for stopping by!
The fenced area has expanded to almost four times the pevious size, they have gotten things to explore and are starting to realize that the world isn't flat.
Explore # 347 October 24, 2012
But this captured by Nikon D90...edited to B&W.
Art Quote of the Day
Most works of art, like most wines, ought to be consumed in the district of their fabrication.
Simone Weil mentioned...
..........
Best regards and hugs my artist friend,
Sunny
When I'm sitting all alone in my room
Everything reminds me of you ..
The time is slow and I am sinking
Into a hole blackened with lies ..
And though I made it myself
You stand watching as my life passes me by ..
I'm standing before you ..
With this label on my head ..
I'm pleading before you ..
For you to understand ..
How much I adore you ..
I'll be there til the end ..
When everything falls down ..
Will you hold my hand?!!!! ..
="")
No edit
" Copy Past Comments will be DELETED "
" Don't just view PLZ comment "
I'm not sure if I really like this photo, but I'm posting it anyway as a reminder to myself, and maybe a cautionary tale for others. Today's challenge was "BLACK, WHITE AND GRAINY" so I thought it would be a good chance to use the Film Grain setting in my camera. The setting worked great, but each shot needed, in my opinion, a bit of tweaking. Well, come to find out that using the built-in settings/filter in the camera prevents one from doing any kind of post processing.
The only way I could live with this one was to crop out alot of shadows that were on the right side of the photo instead of lightening them as I normally would, resulting in a rather cycloptic effect. Apart from the cropping and border/signature, this one is SOOC.
Overall, a great big "meh" on this one, but I did learn something about my 2 year old camera so there's the silver lining, and one of the many pluses of Our Daily Challenge group!
#172 on Flickr Explore October 21, 2011 <--shocking, I didn't even want to post this one! Thanks everyone!
FEATURED IN FLICKR EXPLORE ON 26-10-2012, # 457.
Beating the Drum (Dhaak) & the setting Sun through the sticks of the Dhaak (Drum) - Palavakkam Sea Beach, Chennai, India.
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Our Dhaki (Drummer) - after the Goddess Durga & other Idols have been taken to the Sea Beach for immersion - Beating the Dhaak (Drum).
Dhakis (Bengali: ঢাকি) are traditional drummers who play the dhak (drum) during Hindu festivals, primarily in Bengal. Drum beats are an integral part of the five-day long annual festivities associated with Durga Puja but dhakis are losing out to pre-recorded CDs and cassettes.
Dhakis perform mostly in pandals of barowari pujas, starting from Viswakarma Puja till Kali Puja, but are most prominent during Durga Puja. For the latter festival Kolkata has over 2,000 pandals, with numerous more in the districts. Even a small pandal without the beat of dhaks is unimaginable. Every makeshift tent has a dhak.
The Statesman writes “Durga Puja does not assume the festive aura without the maddening beats of the dhak, the large drum that men hang around their necks and play with two thin sticks to infuse the frenzied rhythm into listeners. Those enchanting beats are enough to conjure up the sights and smells of Durga Puja.
The nuances of playing the instrument are handed down from generation to generation, but the old rhythms are undergoing changes. The rhythm is no longer as slow as in earlier generations. Nowadays, dhakis opt for faster tunes. Before, different beats were used for specific aspects of Durga Puja, as for example chokhhu daan (eye presentation), patha bali (goat sacrifice), bisarjan (immersion ceremony), sandhya arati (evening offerings), sandhipuja (worshiping at the conjunction of two phases), and so on.
Dhakis who cannot learn within the family typically take training under a guru in order to become a good dhaki, as is the case for most musical instruments. Some take six months to become mature players, while others do not even learn after three or four years. Many young dhakis nowadays are moving towards modern rhythms. Bikram Ghosh, a renowned tabla player and a patron of dhakis in Bengal, opines, “some dhakis do go the commercial way out of necessity. But most know the basic rhythms that have been taught to them by their ancestors.
The occasions when the dhak was played are changing. Apart from pujas or religious festivities, dhakis are also called to play in markets before Durga Puja when people crowd in large numbers. Sometimes, they are called for store inaugurations.
Bengali communities outside Bengal get dhakis from Bengal for Durga Puja. In Delhi around 400 Durga Pujas are organised. Many of the older and established pujas have their fixed dhakis, but others engage free-lancers who arrive on their own in Delhi just before the pujas. Some 100 dhakis travel to Delhi from Malda and Medinipur. Not all of them are engaged and some return empty handed.
Durga Puja is the time for the dhakis to earn some money. They are generally landless farmers and play the dhak in their villages when they have time to spare. The cost of a dhaki in Delhi is a little more than it is in Kolkata. It costs around Rs. 3,000 to 4,000 per dhaki plus Rs. 2,000 for the accompaniments.
The dhakis routinely brave police harassment in order to reach the capital with their large dhaks. With terrorism in the air, the harassment has increased. Even after checking with metal detectors for guns and bombs, the police do not allow them to go unless they pay. The return journey is more hazardous because they have money in their pockets.
Dhaks appear in the numerous Durga Puja pandals at Patna. In Jamshedpur, they also have a competition for dhakis. Dhakis travel to far way places like Hyderabad and Kochi for Durga Puja.
Sushil Das, a dhaki from Sukbazar village near Bolpur had an invitation to go to the USA, but could not accept it because of his lack of knowledge of English. A highly skilled dhaki, he can play six dhaks at a time. Some Indians residing in the USA were impressed by his performance in a puja pandal in Delhi and offered to take him to the USA.
The art of playing the dhak is now being referred to as a dying profession. While some of the dhakis may be lucky to retain old contacts, many are facing a decline and some are moving away from the traditional profession. Take the example of the seventy dhaki families in Amrul, a village in Bankura district. Ancestors of the dhakis were on the rolls of Malla kings of Bishnupur. Daily pujas were organised for the deities in the palace and the dhakis played a significant role. Times have changed. One of them was offered Rs. 800 for playing the dhak for five days. It is a pittance. Some of the younger generation even took to work as shoe shine boys, but the older generation still has pride in being artists. They look down upon such misadventures of the younger generation, but do not have an alternative before themselves.
Nottopara, in the Ashoknagar Kalyangarh area of North 24 Parganas district, is a locality of dhakis, who came as refugees from East Bengal. The locality is named after them, and some thirty-five to forty families live there. They regret, “earlier, we used to be treated like any other artist. Today, we are just another component of the Puja paraphernalia, who are supposed to perform on those days.“ Earlier, they used to be from around Mahalaya, but now go only for the five days. The importance of dhakis has diminished because of some people's preference for electronic music and bands. These days, some of the Nottos make dhaks. A dhak made of mango wood and goat skin sells for around Rs 3,000 to Rs 3,500, leaving a profit of only Rs 50. Some have taken to other professions.
There is another Nattapara in Hooghly district, a remote village in Balagarh block. There are some 100 dhakis in the village. There is not a single family without a dhaki. All used to go out to work as dhakis during the festive season, but now the demand has declined to such an extent that many are forced to give up the traditional profession and work as wage labourers. Worse still, a dhaki from the village was contacted by a well-known Durga Puja in Kolkata for Rs. 2,000. After he had performed his duties they paid him less and insulted him. It is not an isolated incident and there are similar complaints from dhakis in the Tarakeswar and Dhaniakhali regions.
Dhakis are losing out to technology. While music shops do brisk business in selling pre-recorded CDs and cassettes for anything between Rs. 23 and 40, dhakis find it hard to earn Rs. 150 to Rs. 200 per day, poor compensation considering the cost or hire charges of the dhak, the training that the dhaki must undergo, and the effort involved.
Source : Wikipedia
Explored - May 23, 2016
Best position: 168
On the trail to Mesa Arch I spotted these beautiful wildflowers and had to stop for a quick shot.
Canyonlands National Park
near Mesa Arch
Moab, Utah, USA
I decided to explore the redwoods for 6 days and I did, hitting 5 redwood state parks and 16 groves. But, for me, none of these parks are as majestical and awe-inspiring as Jedediah Smith. Overall, the trees are the biggest I have seen in any of the parks. Colossal mammoths that make you seem small, and you realize you really are...
I drove in very excited, as if I was the kid entering Disneyland. This was not the first time I had been here, but I find the park never gets old, no matter how many times I visit. As soon as I was surrounded by these old tranquil giants, I stopped the car and got out. I laid in the middle of the road and just stared at the incredible beauty above me. It was quiet. It was perfect... After a few minutes, a car began to approach my spot. I got up as fast as I could-which is not very fast these days-and walked to the edge of the road. The occupants of the car had seen me in the road and when they passed, they just smiled and waved, as if they just knew what I was doing. Once the car passed I noticed this beautiful scene and captured it, for all to see...
Don't miss Jedediah Smith Park, it's such a gem!
Settings:
Canon 6D
Image shot at f/8
55 mm
1/15 second exposure
ISO 400
EF Lens 24-105mm
Manual Exposure
Metering Mode: Center-Weighted
Picture style Standard
Auto White Balance
No flash was used
Filters: none
Manfrotto Tripod 190
Manfrotto Head
Processing:
I shoot in raw and process straight through Photoshop or sometimes I start with Bridge.
I burned the background trees, that's all.
Plan a visit! You can check out Jedediah Smith Park here:
www.visitcalifornia.com/attraction/bixby-bridge
Info on hiking trails in the redwoods:
www.nps.gov/redw/planyourvisit/hiking-trails-north.htm
Visit my Website!
www.richardthelenphotography.com
Or on Facebook:
A favorite shot of mine - love the delicate-ness of the buds of Columbine! Maybe it will bloom tomorrow - looking forward to it!! EXPLORE #228, 04-16-08
Explore #332 on December 3, 2013... #224 on December 4, 2013
The Explore 500 is generated by an algorithm without human intervention!!
Explore highest position at #166.
Thank you everyone.
At The Philadelphia International Flower Show.
Please check out my set for the show.
This shot (as all of my Flower Show shots) was indeed taken on Fat Tuesday. This is such a festive looking image that I decided to name it in honor of the holiday. I also celebrated by having some amazing gumbo at the Reading Terminal Market, YUM!