This image is obviously not the best from a technical standpoint, but it was overcast and late in the day and my equipment was pushed to the limits of what it can do in those conditions. Sometimes you have to take what you get and make the best of it. I liked the mood and the pose, so I salvaged the shot the best I could.

Taken in Leicestershire.

Return visit, has I heard on the local grape vine that she had returned.

I last photographed it on 16th December 2022, and it moved on shortly afterwards.

We were in South Derbyshire when we heard and as there was little doing we decided to go for it, although we had seconds thoughts on the way as the cloud was closing in, but the closer we got the light improved and was very good on arrival and the bird was soon located in great light and we were the only ones there hoping to photograph it.

We moved into position slowly and managed to sneak up on her and got the best shots we have managed to get, and she's certainly changed.

These two shots were taken after she drifted further up the water into more direct sunlight

Washington County Sheriff's Office. Hillsboro, Oregon. Demonstration Car. Check out the new homepage for the AJM STUDIOS Northwest Police Department! The old homepage is here. It does not get updated as often as the first link. 2010.

© All Right Reserved

Ok I don't often go out looking for sparrows, but when the sexier birds aren't cooperating, you take what you get and appreciate their subtle beauty. Savannah sparrow

I've just had a very interesting weekend.

Firstly... I managed to get some nice photos in an amazing new location filled with infinite photographic possibilities... a location that has basically been right here on my doorstep staring me in the face for years already... namely the "Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve".

The Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve is an area of such natural beauty and floral diversity... that it has been recognised as perhaps the greatest biodiversity hot-spot in the world!! This UNESCO designated reserve is roughly 100,000 hectares (245,000 acres) in size... yet is home to the most complex species-biodiversity on our planet... with more than 1,880 different plant species... 77 of which are completely endemic to the region! Yes... you read that correctly... SEVENTY-SEVEN plant species grow ONLY in the Kogelberg reserve... and NOWHERE else on earth!! To put that into perspective... the entire United Kingdom has only 22 endemic species!

One of the species endemic to the Kogelberg Reserve is the Nivenia Stokoei. This small shrub-like plant (with its clusters of dazzling blue flowers) is easily the most striking plant in the area... particularly since it only flowers in late summer... at a time when little else is in flower.

Late on Friday afternoon I discovered a small jeep-track leading into the reserve that I hadn't noticed before. Right at the start of the jeep-track was a small Nivenia bush... bursting with purple/blue flowers... and basically begging me to investigate further. After driving along the track as far as I could go (without 4-wheel drive)... and walking as far as I was prepared to walk (to the top of a small (but seriously steep) hill)... I discovered that the entire East-facing slope of the hill was covered in flowering Nivenia plants... as far as my eyes could see!! WOW... NIVENIA NIRVANA!!

Unfortunately my eyes were also able to see the approaching rainstorm... which engulfed me just as I managed to find a nice strong composition among the fields of blue. DARN!! I took a few photos of the rain... but when it started falling harder and harder... I grabbed my tripod and camera... and ran (slipping and sliding) back down the hill to my car. I decided to hang around for another hour to see if the rain stopped in time for sunset... but promised myself that I would return the next morning if the rain didn't stop within 60 minutes.

Needless to say... the rain/storm continued unabated for the rest of the night... and I did return (as promised) to my composition the next morning... and the light was amazing... and I got the shot that I was hoping to get... and more!!

So that was pretty cool... definitely a hum-worthy experience!

The other hum-worthy experience happened while I was sitting next to my camera watching the approaching rainstorm on Friday afternoon. While I was sitting there... a pair of honey-badgers walked past me (about 20 meters away) without even noticing me!! I'm very glad that they didn't notice me... since they have a reputation of being the "fiercest (and most fearless) animal on the planet"... so fierce that they think nothing of chasing a pride of lions from their kill... to snack on the remains. If you haven't seen a honey-badger before (in reality or in a photo)... then do yourself a favour... ask Google to show (and tell) you more about these fascinating (if somewhat terrifying) animals. When I heard this pair of honey-badgers approaching me (from behind)... my first thought was "oh shit... a leopard"! When I saw that the leopard was in fact a pair of honey-badgers... my next thought was "OH SHIT... cover my balls... these are honey-badgers"!! Guys... if you don't know why it's best to protect your balls when you encounter a honey-badger... ask Google for the full explanation.

So I now have a nice photo of some purple flowers at sunrise... but I was too busy protecting my balls to even think about pressing the shutter and getting a photo of the badgers!!

Nikon D800, Nikkor 14 - 24 mm at 16 mm, ISO of 100, aperture of f/14 with a 1/6th second exposure.

You can now also find me on my Website | Facebook | 500px | OutdoorPhoto

Farantros narrative:

I shouldn't be home. The government of Devaron is cruel and oppressive. All who supported the empire face execution by the Quarra and I promised myself that I wouldn't meet the same end as my father had. That changed when I received a holo-transmission from a friend. Kunlo is a Melitto ronin and Triumvirate informant on Devaron. Turns out that a resistance was being organised on the planet - a group named Core Devaron who were loosely imperial and eager to overthrow the government. It was a risk to come home but I knew they needed all the help they could get and so a meeting was arranged. Turns out they wanted me to pass a trial - if I could beat one of their agents in a swoop race then I could win their trust. Well no true Devaronian backs down from a challenge...

Posted this a while back on my instagram but never over here. Realised that I never really include the story for my builds over here on flickr but hopefully I can change that. As ever, feedback is appreciated

The last day of our Olympic National Park Workshop ended on a high note. We didn't get any dramatic light or super colorful skies. In fact, the fog was so thick when we arrived that we could barely see the road in front of us! We waited for around 45 minutes when suddenly the fog cleared momentarily displaying the distant snow-capped peaks. A deer came into frame on the ridge at just the right time and we were able to capture it gazing out towards the mountains. A few minutes later everything was socked in with fog again. It just goes to show you never know what you're going to get and as a photographer. You jut need to be out there be ready!

Urumqi Grand Bazaar, Urumqi, China.

The Grand Bazaar (also called Erdaoqiao in Chinese or the International Bazaar) is a place to get and look at regional products, and there are also imported products from nearby Russia and Mongolia and the new states to the west. It is a popular tourist destination and somewhat of a tourist trap. It is in the city’s Uighur district on the southern side of the city. That makes the place interesting. There is a big mosque there.

....getting frisky!

ok, so I'm sitting on the opposite side of the couch and Wei is sitting with Kelly, and Wei's girlfriend, Joyce is sitting next to me. I had just ordered Joyce two glasses of water to keep her hydrated (I was the only person in the group that didn't drink anything at all that evening) and then Wei and Kelly start pulling these moves to get Joyce's attention. Joyce by this time was exhausted from all the dancing, I of course knew what was going on and how funny this would get and kept snapping the action as it happened!

I swear this was how close he let me get, and he wasn't fazed in the slightest! No Photoshop except for lightening the photo a bit as it was late afternoon.

This is one of my favourite native Australian birds...The Kookaburra. He was about 30cm in height including his tail. His mate was sitting close by on some phone wires. They usually go in pairs.

The Kookaburra is instantly recognisable in both plumage and voice.Their voice sounds like laughter.The laughing Kookaburras are found throughout eastern Australia. They can grow up to 45cm from beak to tail.

Kookaburras feed mostly on insects, worms and crustaceans, although small snakes, mammals, frogs and birds may also be eaten. Prey is seized by pouncing from a suitable perch. Small prey is eaten whole, but larger prey is killed by bashing it against the ground or tree branch.It is one of the larger members of the kingfisher family.

My Project 365 photo, DAY 242, 24th Dec 07 Christmas Eve:-)

song- Sisters of Mercy- I want more- www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIULR5NbBss

Some people get by

With a little understanding

Some people get by

With a whole lot more

I don't know

Why you gotta be so undemanding

One thing I know

I want more

I want more

(And I need all the love that I can't get to)

(And I need all the love I can get)

(And I need all the love that I can't get to)

D'you get scared to feel so much?

To let somebody touch you?

So hot, so cold, so far so out of control

Hard to come by, and harder to hold

Some people get by

With a little understanding

Some people get by

With a whole lot more

I don't know

Why you gotta be so undemanding

I want more

(And I need all the love I can get)

(And I need all the love that I can't get to)

(And I need all the love I can get)

(And I need all the love that I can't get to)

There are parts of me that don't get nervous

Not the parts that shake

You won't get what you deserve

You are what you take

Learning to cry for fun and profit

I'm not done yet

Counterfeit dollars or the English zloty

Anything I can get

Some people get by

With a little understanding

Some people get by

With a whole lot more

I don't know

Why you gotta be so undemanding

One thing I know

I want more

(And I need all the love I can get)

(And I need all the love that I can't get to)

(And I need all the love I can get)

(And I need all the love that I can't get to)

All the love that you can get

All the love

That I can't get to.

SCOUT: "Paddy! Paddy look!"

PADDY: "What is it, Scout?"

SCOUT: "Look Paddy! Spring must be here now! Look! The sun is shining, the sky is blue, and the blossoms are covering the trees. Aren't they pretty?"

PADDY: "Oh yes, Scout! These are beautiful apple blossoms."

SCOUT: "Apple blossoms?"

PADDY: "Yes, Scout."

SCOUT: "But Paddy, there are no apples! Where are the apples? Grumbly tummy Paddy! Grumbly tummy!" *Rubs tummy vigorously.*

PADDY: "Well Scout, this is an ornamental apple blossom tree, or a crabapple tree."

SCOUT: "So Paddy? Where are the apples? I don't mind if they are crabby or grouchy,* *Thinks.* "Although... a crabby apple might not taste so sweet if it is feeling grouchy."

PADDY: "No! No! No, Scout! I don't think you understand. A crabapple tree doesn't have crabby or grouchy apples."

SCOUT: "Oh! Thank goodness!" *Sighs and wipes forehead with paw.* "That's a relief! The apples will taste delicious then. Good! I'm very hungry! Grumbly tummy Paddy! Grumbly tummy!" *Rubs tummy vigorously.*

PADDY: "No! No, Scout! This tree doesn't have any apples!"

SCOUT: "Well Paddy, I don't need you to tell me that! I can see that with my own eyes!" *Rolls eyes and shakes head.* "I was asking you where the apples were. Where are they Paddy?"

PADDY: *Sighs.* "If you would just listen to me, Scout, I'll explain."

SCOUT: "Well of course I'm listening, Paddy." *Looks excitedly at Paddy.* "Where are the apples?"

PADDY: "Scout, there are no apples on this tree, and there never will be."

SCOUT: "What?!?!?" *Shocked.*

PADDY: "This is an ornamental apple blossom tree. It doesn't actually have any apples. It's called an ornamental apple blossom tree because it doesn't actually bear fruit, only apple blossoms. It just looks pretty and ornamental."

SCOUT: "Really Paddy?!?!? No apples?!?!?"

PADDY: "Well yes, Scout. That's what I said."

SCOUT: "Well! Doesn't that just take the cake?" *Thinks.* "Well actually now I come to think of it, it doesn't, because if this is an apple tree that doesn't grow apples, we can't have apple tea cake! Shame! What a naughty fake apple tree!"

PADDY: "Why is the tree naughty, Scout?"

SCOUT: "Because it pretends to be an apple tree!" *Indignant.* "It even calls itself an apple tree, but it isn't an apple tree at all! That's false advertising! It's a fake apple tree! Naughty fake apple tree!"

PADDY: "Well... I don't think it is actually the tree's fault that it is called an ornamental apple blossom tree, Scout."

SCOUT: "Then whose fault is it, Paddy? Is it the owner of this pretty house with the fake apple tree that isn't really an apple tree in the garden? Naughty owner!"

PADDY: "Well no, Scout. It isn't their fault either. Ornamental apple blossom trees have been called that, or crabapple trees for a very, very long time."

SCOUT: "Really Paddy? Longer than you and Daddy have been alive for?"

PADDY: "Oh yes Scout! Much longer."

SCOUT: "Wow! That is ancient! Like when you tell me that the telly used to be black and white back in ye olden days!"

PADDY: "Scout!"

SCOUT: "What?!?!?"

PADDY: "Scout, it's rude to refer to senior people or bears' ages, or that we used to live in the olden days!"

SCOUT: "I didn't actually say you or Daddy were ancient, Paddy. I just said that the time before you were born were ye olden days."

PADDY: *Sighs.* "Well Scout, whether they were olden days or not, these trees have been called ornamental apple blossom trees for a very long time, so there is no-one to blame."

SCOUT: "Oh well. I still think it's false advertising, and the trees should be called fake apple trees!" *Nods emphatically.*

PADDY: "Well, technically Scout, the name of the tree is correct. It's called an ornamental apple blossom tree, and it is bearing lots and lots of lovely blossoms. You even said so yourself, Scout."

SCOUT: "That's true Paddy. However, even if the name of the tree is correct, that still leaves one big problem for me."

PADDY: "And what is that, Scout?"

SCOUT: "All this talk of apples makes me hungry, Paddy! Grumbly tummy Paddy! Grumbly tummy!" *Rubs tummy vigorously.*

Now that spring seems to have finally come to Melbourne after a long, cold and dark winter of endless rainy days, Paddy, Scout and I are taking advantage of the sunny days we do get and are going for walks so that we may all enjoy the sunshine and the beautiful flowers that are starting to show themselves, including these pretty ornamental apple blossoms that were bursting forth from this old tree in the well established garden of an impressive old Edwardian villa in the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy.

My Paddington Bear came to live with me in London when I was two years old (many, many years ago). He was hand made by my Great Aunt and he has a chocolate coloured felt hat, the brim of which had to be pinned up by a safety pin to stop it getting in his eyes. The collar of his mackintosh is made of the same felt. He wears wellington boots made from the same red leather used to make the toggles on his mackintosh.

He has travelled with me across the world and he and I have had many adventures together over the years. He is a very precious member of my small family.

Scout was a gift to Paddy from my friend. He is a Fair Trade Bear hand knitted in Africa. His name comes from the shop my friend found him in: Scout House. He tells me that life was very different where he came from, and Paddy is helping introduce him to many new experiences. Scout catches on quickly, and has proven to be a cheeky, but very lovable member of our closely knit family.

CN 3183 enters Minnesota from Ontario over the Rainy River Bridge in Baudette at the easternmost points of the CN Sprague Subdivision. I was initially going to get this photo and then keep heading east, but this train had GTW 4920 behind the lead unit, so that called for heading to the curve at Pitt to get and extra photo of this unique consist.

It's amazing what a fisheye can do. I'm lying on the rockfloor as close to the wall as I can get. And it looks like I'm inside a huge hole looking out. But it's all an illusion.

PS: It's a Rokinon 8mm btw

Meh, I really don't feel like uploading anything.. On my last two pictures, I haven't gotten that many faves, as I'm "used to", and it makes me a little sad.. (Of course I really appreciate the faves I get, and the sweet comments!)

So please tell me, how I can improve my photos! n ____ n

Btw, it's a special persons birthday on Sunday, guess who?

This is my 300th picture posted on Flickr and the first one ever to get selected on Explore even though it's one of my least favorite, and therefore, not quite representative of all the aerial or animal material you maybe already had the chance to watch.

Can anyone explain this to me? Is this a reward so I don't quit or some kind of anniversary I don't get?

And if you think I'm exagerating, enjoy the red carpet and take a look. The only promise I can make is that you won't regret the time taken.

Cheers and welcome.

In colours.

Also know, my pleasure, that this is just the beginning and that it just gonna keep coming whether you like it or like it a lot, except for three weeks by the end of this one since I'll be in Norway for my yearly holidays.

♫ Joni Mitchell - Coyote

No regrets Coyote

We just come from such different sets of circumstance

I'm up all night in the studios

And you're up early on your ranch

You'll be brushing out a brood mare's tail

While the sun is ascending

And I'll just be getting home with my reel to reel

There's no comprehending

Just how close to the bone and the skin and the eyes

And the lips you can get

And still feel so alone

And still feel related

Like stations in some relay

You're not a hit and run driver no no

Racing away

You just picked up a hitcher

A prisoner of the white lines on the freeway

We saw a farmhouse burning down

In the middle of nowhere

In the middle of the night

And we rolled right past that tragedy

Till we turned into some road house lights

Where a local band was playing

Locals were up kicking and shaking on the floor

And the next thing I know

That coyote's at my door

He pins me in a corner and he won't take no

He drags me out on the dance floor

And we're dancing close and slow

Now he's got a woman at home

He's got another woman down the hall

He seems to want me anyway

Why'd you have to get so drunk

And lead me on that way

You just picked up a hitcher

A prisoner of the white lines on the freeway

I looked a coyote right in the face

On the road to Baljennie near my old home town

He went running thru the whisker wheat

Chasing some prize down

And a hawk was playing with him

Coyote was jumping straight up and making passes

He had those same eyes just like yours

Under your dark glasses

Privately probing the public rooms

And peeking thru keyholes in numbered doors

Where the players lick their wounds

And take their temporary lovers

And their pills and powders to get them thru this passion play

No regrets Coyote

I'll just get off up aways

You just picked up a hitcher

A prisoner of the white lines on the freeway

Coyote's in the coffee shop

He's staring a hole in his scrambled eggs

He picks up my scent on his fingers

While he's watching the waitresses' legs

He's too far from the Bay of Fundy

From appaloosas and eagles and tides

And the air conditioned cubicles

And the carbon ribbon rides

Are spelling it out so clear

Either he's going to have to stand and fight

Or take off out of here

I tried to run away myself

To run away and wrestle with my ego

And with this flame

You put here in this Eskimo

In this hitcher

In this prisoner

Of the fine white lines

Of the white lines on the free free way

© All rights reserved.

24.jan10 - 1.069 / 105 / 427

# Columbine - Akelei

I think over again my small adventures

And the light that fills the world.

~ Old Inuit song ~

.

Hansells Jetty, Lake Wairarapa Domain, Wairarapa, New Zealand

Sometimes you miss the shot you thought you were going to get, and have waited 30 minutes for, only to realise that you have got a better shot instead.

So after waiting for the clouds that were scattered across the sky to light up at sunset at Lake Wairarapa, I watched as those same clouds drifted out of my shot and I ( relatively ) quickly snapped this 30 sec exposure to at least get something for my efforts.

Then I waited 10 minutes and took a better shot than what I was hoping for, which you can see here: www.flickr.com/photos/ajecaldwell/39971588813

Fujifilm X-T3, ISO160, 30sec, f8, 18mm ( 18-55mm lens ), Nisi 6 stop ND filter

Processed in Lightroom

The Salmon Street Springs at dusk. This is simultaneously one of my favorite and most annoying fountains. As many who have visited the fountain know, it cycles every 15-20 between these graceful arcs to a tower of spray in the middle to a misty column of water. This fountain is a prime spot for hot summer afternoons, and is also a great spot to peoplewatch. I love taking pictures of it too, especially at night, though the fountain tends to shut off about 10 pm or so. There are not many fountains you can actually stand inside of with little danger of getting wet, and it makes for a unique photographic perspective.

As much as I love the way the fountain cycles and changes, this is, in my opinion, its most photogenic form. But there has been more than once I have arrived at this fountain ready to take pictures, set up my tripod for some long exposures and just be readying to open the shutter when Whooosh, the arcs die down and the fountain cycles to its next stage. That is why I tend to bring a book when shooting this fountain. ;-) For this shot I waited through the previous cycle with my pinhole set up and ready because I knew I would need all the exposure I could get and did not want to get 10 minutes into a 20 minute exposure just to have the fountain change cycles. As it was, I used the entire cycle and was still exposing when the fountain turned off for the evening. That is when I like to go stand in the middle and listen to the water gurgle away to the tanks underneath the fountain and bask in the mist and spray still in the air, and at the relative quiet and solitude one can find even in the middle of a bustling city.

Taken with my Zero Image pinhole with Kodak 400UC and inspired by a shot from gonebiking.

Went out today to "adjust" the SX40 and try to get rid of the shutter lag. Briefly, the first thing I did was change anything set to "Auto" to "Off." That's about 10 things, but I figured common sense was in order, so I used what I had and turned off "Three-second view of photo just taken" if only it was described as such. Sure enough, that was the difference. While I was at it, for the first time ever, I set the +/- to -2.4. Just a guess. Then reset to -1.5 and bingo, that's the change I needed. Remember, some of these setting go back at least five years, and they do not match the SX50.

Btw, the card slot on the 40 is smaller than on the 50, and none of the SDHC minis will fit. (Later) I found a smaller micro SDHC adapter and tried a 128 GB disc. I *think* that that was a much faster transfer than SDHC 16 GB disc.

I was in "my" part of the pond, took 79 shots at various settings, and came out with four pretty good images, good enough to post. One was of a previously unknown damselfly ... unknown to me (Pacific Forktail).

What you see in the image posted above is of a damselfly party. There are two Vivid Dancers mating, center left. And two onlookers, far left and right that are Blue-ringed Dancers. I thought about cropping out the Dancer on the right, but I composed this in the viewfinder and thought it was fine the way I intended. So, here you have my efforts for the day. I amaze myself at how close I'm able to get and get the focus and exposure pretty much the way I wanted. So...set exposure, bend, hold your breath, focus, and shoot. Repeat.

If I say, "Disregard the feather," will you disregard the feather?

A good friend, who is a fireman, had a dog that had a litter of pups. They were all mascots for the fire house. I went over and shot them with a small portable light set-up. A real challenge to get and hold the attention for any of these little ones.

Locke, Ca.

The delta swampland on which Locke was built on was home to Native American Miwok and Maidu tribes for hundreds of years. Tribal burial grounds exist on the Locke parcel.

Legislation such as the Swampland Reclamation Act of 1861 was enacted in California to put perceived empty and wasted lands to use and stabilization.[5] Much of this involved draining the Delta wetlands and building levees to regulate flood control in places like Locke.[5] Mainly poor Chinese immigrants were hired to do this backbreaking reclamation work.[6] Contracted labor was often paid the equivalent of less than one dollar a day per worker. They built hundreds of miles of levees in waist deep water where malaria still rampaged, reclaiming a total 88,000 acres (36,000 ha).[6]

In 1912, three Chinese merchants, two from the nearby town of Vorden and one from Walnut Grove, contracted tradesmen to construct three buildings. Chan Tin Sin built the first building. It was a combination dry goods store and beer saloon. Yuen Lai Sing built a gambling hall. Owyang Wing Cheong built the Lockeport Hotel & Restaurant.[7][8]

Following that early construction the Canton Hotel was built, along with several other buildings. A total of seven structures eventually formed the hamlet of Lockeport. Though some merchants hoped to provide a destination for riverboat and train passengers, the idea never worked due to the discrimination against Chinese during those times.[9] One of the homes built in the first phase of construction provided shelter for Chan Tin Sin's cousin Chan Chor Get and his family from the discriminatory acts and violence in San Francisco Chinatown.[10]

On October 7, 1915,[11] the Chinatown of nearby Walnut Grove was destroyed by an accidental fire. Afterwards, the Main Street section of Locke was established and settled by a group of Chinese immigrants[12] from what is now modern day Zhongshan in southern China's Guangdong province, headed by Lee Bing, a Chinese American businessman. Whereas Taishanese-speaking Chinese settlers remained in Walnut Grove after the fire to rebuild, the Cantonese-speaking Zhongshan Chinese settlers migrated to Locke to create a town of their own. The land was leased from George Locke as California law at the time forbade the selling of farmland to Asian immigrants by the California Alien Land Law of 1913.[4]

Due to its relatively large Chinese population at the time, the Chinese Kuomintang political party once had a local chapter in Locke. As the town grew, so did its reputation as a destination for illicit entertainment, gaining the nickname "California's Monte Carlo". At one point, it had five gambling halls, five brothels, speakeasies and opium dens.[13]

The population of Locke swelled with the growing season and harvest. Most of the reclaimed land in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta including Locke was used for cash crops, including asparagus, potato, sweet potatoes, white beans, pears, and apples.[6] There would be as many as 1000 to 1500 Chinese people living in Locke. Farmhands shared rooms in the boarding houses. Chinese residents living in the homes behind Main Street also took in Chinese farm laborers. Chinese immigrants in Locke started patterns in California agriculture that are continued today in the Sacramento-San Joaquin region, including contracted labor, tenant farming, sharecropping, and the piece wage system.[6] A community garden existed in the back and there was a special oven to make roast pigs on Sundays. Chinese communities congregated in solidarity under difficult labor and social conditions fostered by legislation such as the Chinese Exclusion Act, creating community gardens that maintained cultural relevancy in the form of growing Chinese cabbage, snow peas, leafy vegetables, winter melon, and tomatoes.[6] Baptist missionary Dr. Charles Shepherd would bring in his Chungmei home boys for the pear harvest at the end of July. Life in Locke had a great deal of accord. The Chinese mothers took care of each other's children when another mother had to go to work at the cannery across the River Road next to the riverboat docks of the Sacramento River.[9]

During the 1940s and 1950s, many of Locke's Chinese Americans, many of whom received better education, began joining the American mainstream by moving out of rural Locke and into the burgeoning suburbs of the major cities.[14]

The Locke Historic District is bounded on the west by the Sacramento River, on the north by Locke Rd., on the east by Alley St., and on the south by Levee St. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 6, 1971.[1]

A Hong Kong-based developer purchased the town in 1977 from the Locke Heirs and sold it in 2002 to the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency.[15] In 2004, the agency finally allowed the sale of land to those who had been living on it for many years. There were plans to convert Locke into a housing development and tourist attraction. At the north end of Main Street, the restored Locke Boarding House museum (now owned by California State Parks) operates daily, staffed by volunteers. The Town of Locke celebrated its centennial anniversary in 2015, with a large gathering on May 9.

On July 3, 2016, a fire erupted on the second floor of the Locke Country Store on Main Street, which contained two apartments. The fire resulted in the complete destruction of the second floor of the building and a building behind the store. There were no injuries.[16]

The Locke Historic District was designated a National Historic Landmark on December 14, 1990.[2][17]

Nikki works at Jonny's Po-Boys. There are a couple of locations in the French Quarter. It's a restaurant where you REALLY get your money's worth. Red Beans and Rice with pork sausage and garlic bread set me back $12, which was an AMAZING price for as much as you get and how good it was.

"Saturday Photo Walk"

While it's technically not Summer yet, I really love the Summer months. I love how lush the greens get and how everything flourishes. I must have walked Parkville Nature Sanctuary 2 times each week lately. I especially love going as the evening starts getting late and the light shifts. Each time I visit, I see some new woodland creatures. Today it was a deer and a wild turkey. I need to post those encounters someday down the road. Today it's more nature.

Dandelion.

This is part of a set of variants of an image I took not long ago while walking in the local lanes with the little camera.

I published the first version a couple of days ago as Inner Secrets as a “proper” monochrome. There are two more proper versions in the set today, and the rest are manglings.

I hope you enjoy some of them, anyway. They are always fun for me to do because I’m never sure where I’ll get and ideas come to me along the way. Not that all the ideas are worth much!

This version is for Sliders Sunday.

This is the straight colour version, firstly gradient mapped and then a lot of play with the Curves filter in LAB mode affecting colour and luminosity, and an HSL filter. Sharpening with High Pass and a light vignette and other messings about...

As ever for the Sliders Sunday sets I’ll publish a link to the in-camera original in the first comment so you can see how far we came.

Thanks for taking the time out of your day to look at my images. I appreciate it, and hope you enjoy them. Happy Sliders Sunday :)

[Handheld in daylight.

Developed in Photolab 3 originally for the monochrome, taking out the greens in the background, and retrieving detail in the highlights.

Processed in Affinity Photo using various approaches described in the text.]

scream while there's life left

listen

im going to the beach today!! hopefully i'll get some good shots cuz im running out of my cheat pictures... :( Im so happy ive got all these lovely people doing the change project, but i feel bad cuz i try to comment on everyone i get and i havent been able to do that but i promise after the 18th things will go back to normal :) So hang tight and finish those change pictures, oh and tell your friends too!! :)

tip: never wrap yourself in metal twine. The effect is not comfortable.

This was as close to this seed as I could get, and very little development. There is no trick just as captured. I tried to highlight the tiny filaments. The filaments make it lighter than air an amazing creation to transport seeds don't ya think!! View this large it took several shots to get it.

Happy Bench Monday..HBM

This is another one from that hike at Hamilton Greenbelt. It's a a really pretty park.

The hike on Saturday went well. The weather was beautiful. As opposed to today. I'm looking forward to the weekend because I the weather will be nice and I'm going to the coast. Yeah!

I was shocked to see how much rain England is getting and all the flooding. That's just crazy.

Golden Hour. I'm in love with golden hour: the gold colors, soft light, and darkening shadows. It's the time of day that says enjoy the peace and quiet: to focus on things that grow rather than things that are made. Time to read and sleep.

The world is too much with us; late and soon,

Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;

Little we see in Nature that is ours;

-William Wordsworth-

My favourite place to photograph in Amsterdam at night, because of these reflections you can get and I especially love the intersection of the canals with these two bridges, Leidsegracht and Keizersgracht.

•

Did you know that Amsterdam has more canals than Venice and more bridges than Paris?

All my friends have been out after this train lately. Due to some track work the previously nocturnal POAY (Rigby Yard to Ayer) has been consistently leaving late morning and showing up here in perfect light.

Alas that perfect light is exactly the time of day that I am sleeping so I just haven't had the opportunity. To add to the recent excitement many of the trains have featured painted units including the SD40-2s and even a geep leader one day. So since I was tied up in training after work Tue morning I didn't have to work that night so figured I'd try my hand at this train and this spot. My timing was perfect and I had less than an hour wait in which time I shot the two window trains I'd posted previously. And while I lucked out with the both the timing and the lighting I was decidedly less fortunate with my lead loco!

But I'll take what I can get, and considering this is the first freight train I've ever shot at this classic Boston and Maine location I'm happy with this....

Hah, who am I kidding? No I'm not! This is about the ugliest unit on the roster. I guess there is only one solution right? I'll just have to try again.

Anyway, to learn more about this location and the history of Lawrence and the clock tower dominating the background check out the caption with the prior post: flic.kr/p/2k5t9xv

Lawrence, Massachusetts

Tuesday November 10, 2020

Copyright © Dave DiCello 2011 All Rights Reserved.

"Seeking is not always the way to find."

~Augustus William Hare and Julius Charles Hare

This is one of those shots that I've taken a few times before, but never at this exact time of day and never with my D700. So since I was up on Mt. Washington last night, I decided to give it a shot and see what kind of light trails I could get, and was pretty pleased with result. Ran this one through both Color Efex and onOne PhotoTools. You can see more shots from this area in the comments.

New blog post today, View from the top! Check it out if you have a chance!

I hope you all had a great weekend!

I don't mind invitations, but please no big, shiny, flashing, glitter graphics, they will be deleted. Also, please contact me if you would like to use my pictures for any reason, as all rights are reserved. Thanks!

My website: HDR Exposed - Website

My blog: HDR Exposed - Blog – View from the top

HDR Efex Tutorial

Post Processing Workflow

Sun flare tutorial

Regular HDR tutorial

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To say when and walk away. This was one of those shots. The exposure was giving me fits and if it wasn't that, it was the timing of the fountain going up and down. If that wasn't enough it was the cars driving by messing up the shot. I took what I could get and walked away... LOL

Chy was on rollerskates the entire shoot, zipping back and forth on the street...but this is the shot I dig, out of all of them.

Not a waste to have had her skating, because she loves it so and it's what put this smile on her face...but I do wish I were better at capturing that kind of motion.

I remember I photographed my cousin, who's made a name for himself as a skateboarder, I was so self-satisfied with the shots I took of him on his board...until I saw what other photographers were doing with skaters.

It's a Sisyphean task, life is. Took me the better part of a decade to become proficient at photography, and then I took up tai chi. Then surfing...surfing took a good eight years, and really only got there once I started surfing several times a week, putting in the reps as it were.

The older I get (and this isn't me whining about being old...but maybe a little bit), the more challenging it becomes to gather the energy to be bad at a skill, even if being bad is the first step in being good.

Though...that's always been my problem, being willing to put in the time. I want to be good Instantly. Putting in the work...I've always chafed at that very idea. Getting better at photography, at surfing, felt almost accidental...perhaps the trick is to find the joy in the learning. If it's a chore, it's pushing a boulder up a hill, but with photography, the fun was In the learning, in trying different things out, finding pleasures in small improvements.

...maybe even finding a shot like this one, in the stack of shots that didn't work.

Ava Jhamin

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"Palm Carpet"

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Ok, so it's a (very) tenuous link to Hallowe'en, but with the absence of a non-existant, supernatural, paranormal soul accidentally wandering into frame on a morning ghostwalk in the countryside somewhere, a spider's web is the best I'm going to get (and to be honest is more likely to send a shiver up my spine than some undead spirit caught between worlds). :-)

I've a page on facebook here - if you like my images please feel free to say hello and follow me on there too. Thank you.

Playing with men's fetiche for feet and high heels...

~~~~~~

I was asked to try some new colors of nail polish for an upcoming photoshoot and just suddenly after getting my nails done I felt inspired to take some self-portraits. The day before I had biked around a deserted area and back to that place I headed.

It's a huuuge abandoned yard, with many electricity posts piled up on each other. When I saw them by a far I didn't think they'd be too high to climb, but once I got near them I exclaimed: "Hah!"... It must had been around 5 meters (16ft) from the ground. But I wanted to take a photo up there. And so I tried my hand at climbing and maybe because of the chalk like powder all over the posts my grip was tight against the saliencies and climbing was possible. I hanged the high heel shoes on my arm, remote on my teeth and up I went.

Once I was up there, I found it was quite hard to pose in the way I had previously planned. The pose I wanted didn't work out at all and I almost fell trying to get it right. Up and down I went FOUR times until I got this photo with which I was mildly satisfied. I had been wondering how was it possible that I didn't fall on my back in any of the comings and goings but yesterday (and today too) my extremely painy muscles gave me the answer: I was really holding tight against the concrete.

I still want to try something else in this same spot... but preferably with someone else tagging along just in case I should fall head first and break my neck I wouldn't have to worry about having my body found only months after I've been noticed missing.

Ah! And I get a lot of people asking me how many photos do I usually take when shooting self-portraits. Well, it depends. The previous photo I uploaded took me only three clicks. Yep, only three... the pose and expression were quite easy to get and I only had to get the darned pigeon in the frame.

Close up portraits usually take more, because with shallow depth of field it's harder to get the focus right. Close ups usually take me 15-20 clicks. The self-portrait in the flower field I took only 5 photos, when it's full body it's a lot easier. And this one on the top of the posts took me more than the usual (around 20) because I wasn't getting the pose right, it's hard to do some poses with high heels, specially when you're balancing yourself far off from the ground :P

~~~~~

p.s. I just found this site, it's really funny: Dear Blank, please blank I've been spending (aka wasting) a lot of time there :P

8/100.

Ive still been completely uninspired to create because of what went on earlier this week, and just overall tiredness. So I played around with editing one of my photos from last week.

I was actually supposed to hang out and shoot with another photographer today, but she had to cancel because of her own family reasons. It happens. So this is whatchu get.

(And if you cant tell by my editing, I really miss fall and its colors. As much as I love spring and summer, green is just so blech.)

Etsy

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flickr....destroyed this. im so mad. view it in LARGE and it looks a ton better.. i realized i like it alot now:)

“Love is always patient and kind; it is never jealous, love is never boastful or conceited; it is never rude or selfish; it does not take offense, and is not resentful.”

^first person to say what movie it is from gets and electronic high-five!

im actually proud of this. this is the first photo in a while that ive been proud of.. ive been slacking big time on my 365 because ive put school first.. before last week i put photography ahead of my school work but now ive realized that i might not want to go into photography during college or any art for that matter.. i need to focus on school and i promise ill try harder.. i just need modivation and inspiration to keep me going.

The Luxury of being yourself

We have selected pictures on our website, but can always add more depending on the requests we do get and the current trend in the world of luxury fine art:

wsimages.com/

We do once in a while have discounted luxury fine art, please do keep checking:

www.wsimages.com/clearance/

Fine Art Photography Prints & Luxury Wall Art:

www.wsimages.com/fineart/

We do come up with merchandises over the years, but at the moment we have sold out and will bring them back depending on the demands of our past customers and those we do take on daily across the globe.

Follow us on Instagram!

www.wsimages.com/fineart/

Facebook:

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We tend to celebrate light in our pictures. Understanding how light interacts with the camera is paramount to the work we do. The temperature, intensity and source of light can wield different photography effect on the same subject or scene; add ISO, aperture and speed, the camera, the lens type, focal length and filters…the combination is varied ad multi-layered and if you know how to use them all, you will come to appreciate that all lights are useful, even those surrounded by a lot of darkness.

We are guided by three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, our longing to capture in print, that which is beautiful, the constant search for the one picture, and constant barrage of new equipment and style of photography. These passions, like great winds, have blown us across the globe in search of the one and we do understand the one we do look for might be this picture right here for someone else out there.

“A concise poem about our work as stated elow

A place without being

a thought without thinking

creatively, two dimensions

suspended animation

possibly a perfect imitation

of what was then to see.

A frozen memory in synthetic colour

or black and white instead,

fantasy dreams in magazines

become imbedded inside my head.

Artistic views

surrealistic hues,

a photographer’s instinctive eye:

for he does as he pleases

up to that point he releases,

then develops a visual high.

- M R Abrahams

Some of the gear we use at William Stone Fine Art are listed here:

www.wsimages.com/about/

Some of our latest work & more!

www.wsimages.com/newaddition/

Embedded galleries within a gallery on various aspects of Photography:

www.wsimages.com/fineart/

There are other aspects closely related to photography that we do embark on:

www.wsimages.com/blog/

All prints though us is put through a rigorous set of quality control standards long before we ever ship it to your front door. We only create gallery-quality images, and you'll receive your print in perfect condition with a lifetime guarantee.

All images on Flickr have been specifically published in a lower grade quality to amber our copyright being infringed. We have 4096x pixel full sized quality on all our photos and any of them could be ordered in high grade museum quality grade and a discount applied if the voucher WS-100 is used. Please contact us:

www.wsimages.com/contact/

We do plan future trips and do catalogue our past ones, if you believe there is a beautiful place we have missed, and we are sure there must be many, please do let us know and we will investigate.

www.wsimages.com/news/

In our galleries you will find some amazing fine art photography for sale as limited edition and open edition, gallery quality prints. Only the finest materials and archival methods are used to produce these stunning photographic works of art.

We want to thank you for your interest in our work and thanks for visiting our work on Flickr, we do appreciate you and the contributions you make in furthering our interest in photography and on social media in general, we are mostly out in the field or at an event making people feel luxurious about themselves.

WS-337-161852896-1546178-4726776-3122021011604

The Luxury of being yourself

We have selected pictures on our website, but can always add more depending on the requests we do get and the current trend in the world of luxury fine art:

wsimages.com/

We do once in a while have discounted luxury fine art, please do keep checking:

www.wsimages.com/clearance/

Fine Art Photography Prints & Luxury Wall Art:

www.wsimages.com/fineart/

We do come up with merchandises over the years, but at the moment we have sold out and will bring them back depending on the demands of our past customers and those we do take on daily across the globe.

Follow us on Instagram!

www.wsimages.com/fineart/

Facebook:

www.facebook.com/william.stone.989/

500px:

500px.com/p/wsimages?view=photos

Twitter:

twitter.com/William19073051

LinkedIn:

www.linkedin.com/in/william-stone-6bab1a213/

Pinterest:

www.pinterest.co.uk/wsimages_com/

We tend to celebrate light in our pictures. Understanding how light interacts with the camera is paramount to the work we do. The temperature, intensity and source of light can wield different photography effect on the same subject or scene; add ISO, aperture and speed, the camera, the lens type, focal length and filters…the combination is varied ad multi-layered and if you know how to use them all, you will come to appreciate that all lights are useful, even those surrounded by a lot of darkness.

We are guided by three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, our longing to capture in print, that which is beautiful, the constant search for the one picture, and constant barrage of new equipment and style of photography. These passions, like great winds, have blown us across the globe in search of the one and we do understand the one we do look for might be this picture right here for someone else out there.

“A concise poem about our work as stated elow

A place without being

a thought without thinking

creatively, two dimensions

suspended animation

possibly a perfect imitation

of what was then to see.

A frozen memory in synthetic colour

or black and white instead,

fantasy dreams in magazines

become imbedded inside my head.

Artistic views

surrealistic hues,

a photographer’s instinctive eye:

for he does as he pleases

up to that point he releases,

then develops a visual high.

- M R Abrahams

Some of the gear we use at William Stone Fine Art are listed here:

www.wsimages.com/about/

Some of our latest work & more!

www.wsimages.com/newaddition/

Embedded galleries within a gallery on various aspects of Photography:

www.wsimages.com/fineart/

There are other aspects closely related to photography that we do embark on:

www.wsimages.com/blog/

All prints though us is put through a rigorous set of quality control standards long before we ever ship it to your front door. We only create gallery-quality images, and you'll receive your print in perfect condition with a lifetime guarantee.

All images on Flickr have been specifically published in a lower grade quality to amber our copyright being infringed. We have 4096x pixel full sized quality on all our photos and any of them could be ordered in high grade museum quality grade and a discount applied if the voucher WS-100 is used. Please contact us:

www.wsimages.com/contact/

We do plan future trips and do catalogue our past ones, if you believe there is a beautiful place we have missed, and we are sure there must be many, please do let us know and we will investigate.

www.wsimages.com/news/

In our galleries you will find some amazing fine art photography for sale as limited edition and open edition, gallery quality prints. Only the finest materials and archival methods are used to produce these stunning photographic works of art.

We want to thank you for your interest in our work and thanks for visiting our work on Flickr, we do appreciate you and the contributions you make in furthering our interest in photography and on social media in general, we are mostly out in the field or at an event making people feel luxurious about themselves.

WS-191-1224374-222367474-5249895-1072021221239

As you can probably guess from the title, I managed to get my hands on a "The Batman" set. The Catwoman chase one to be exact. Probably the only one I'm going to get, and boy is it a good one. But we're not here to review sets, we're here to talk minifig updates...again.

From the Batinson minifig I was able to revise the designs for two characters from the unnamed universe, Red Hood and Batman. It was originally only Batman, but nice as the leg printing is, I can't put it on a minifig with a grey torso, the black legs just look wrong. So what I did was swap the legs, Red Hood got Batman's, and Batman got Red Hood's dual molded legs, which look a lot nicer.

The result is actually a lot closer to what I've had in mind for Batman since I came up with him however long ago it was. Admittedly I'd rather the suit was black, but you make do with what you've got.

As for story....maybe there's a Catwoman/Batman type relationship going on, I don't know. There's probably not, cos of the whole "Red Hood is the son of 2/3rds of the crime syndicate" thing, but that's a whole other can of worms I'm not gonna open.

And with that thought in your heads, you're free to return to your scrolling.

There's something elusive and mysterious in the motion of water...

I took this using a B+W ND110. Because I was out with my family and my 96 year old fishing buddy, it was not possible to bring a tripod. Hence, this was taken by resting my camera upon a rock at an angle. It's also why I modified the exposure to limit the length of the LE. I'dve preferred pushing this to F8 or F11 and about a 10 second exposure, but sometimes you take what you can get and be thankful...

Explored at #285. Thanks all!

4 panel stitch.

2 with a fast shutter, 2 with very slow shutter (and 6 stop ND grad).

I climbed down off the path, set the camera on rocks and just hoped it didn't move too much as i had no tripod at the time).

My wife was patiently waiting ... got what i could get and kept it moving.

©Exodus Photography

Friday's Food for Thought

Let's face it.... life right now is very tough and it seem to be getting harder everyday. If you are waiting for someone to rescue you in these times you will be waiting for a long time. We all want to live on easy street but getting there is not a smooth ride. I learned a long time ago that anything worth having is hard work. You will find you will have to do work in areas you don't like but if it will get you closer to your dreams you have to swallow your pride and do it! Yes you will have to deal with people you just don't agree with but if it will get you closer to your destiny then get along with them!

When I was growing up I had my plans in life all laid out and it all fell apart. I was frustrated and wanted to throw in the towel. But I remember my mom telling me this, "Son, do what you have to do in order to get where you want to be!" Everyday I live by this. Yes you are right to feel it is not right you have to struggle but sitting around complaining and doing nothing is not going to get you closer. Get in there, do the hard or boring tasks, and you will find you will come out on top.