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There are quite a few older files I have not posted for no particular reason lurking on my computer..
Here is one of them..!! I shall be posting these under the "Friday Files" tag in future to clear up some drive space..! All of these will be at least 6 months old..
Enjoy..💋
Always wanted to do some splash shots. Problem was I had the room completely dark and was doing the lighting with flash reflected from white sheet only. So I opened the shutter and then tried to drop the ice cube into the glass (like fishing in the dark ;-) ). I also had to trigger my flash manually... Think I need some automated setup for this in future ;-)
hm I get thirsty when I look at it, how about you ;-)
Warp is a in/future art installation by Gareth Lichty.
The Ontario Place silo is perfect for the monumental scale of this exhibit. As I wandered between the ribbons, I imagined the artist's inspiration came straight from the heavens.
~ Mad world
OMFG. I hate my scanner.
I'm sorry for all the grain, but this was the best I could get out of this and I wanted to upload a photo like this so badly.
I hope I can do some better ones in future.
Thanks to this lovely girl for telling me how to do this at all. ;)
+ original in comments. [shame on me]
reached 7.000+ stream views today. wooohoooo. :)
When I asked MW, would she like a cute winter outfit like her lil' sis, she indicated she'd rather poke her own eye out ..
Just joking, of course, but I got the message..
It's funnier if you view it large for detail.
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Not a great quality pic as heavy clouds rolled in late this arvie with a promise of much needed rain all this coming week, so it got very dull by the time we got organised to do this 'shoot'.
I like this spot, it's just before you get to the shops, across the road from the billabong.
Had this idea today that I'd like to do pics here for each season in future.
The light is dramatically different to when last we were here in April at the same time of day.
'Rydw i'n hoffi coffi'...the one welsh phrase that everyone (including the English) seems to know.
Thanks Gaz for suggesting to do this one in Welsh. Sorry I couldn't do a play on words for this one but I'll definitely try to do that in future ;)
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High speed train Flytoget Type 78.
Built by CAF in Spain. Here on test drive in northern Germany. In future, he will connect Oslo Airport Gardermoen with the Norwegian capital.
Alpha 7 MkII, CZJ-Prakticar 1.4/50mm
Prairie Auction, continued. My friend Madonna is never happier than when she has scored a big box of books. At Maurice's auction, she went home with two - many of them filled with pictures she may use in future collages. When she isn't writing, or performing. She lives her art; it infuses each day of her life.
Just through those trees on the right were hundreds of people. Assorted clamour, many voices, including that of the auctioneer. Two barn swallows watched the proceedings from a wire. The horses stayed as far out across the adjacent field as possible.
Photographed near Val Marie, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2025 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Pociąg DT 8.4 kolei miejskiej (Stadtbahn) #3054 linii U34 na przystanku Südheimer Platz, Böblinger Str., Stuttgart, 28 października 2021 r.
Kolej miejska w Stuttgarcie powstała z przekształcenia istniejącej sieci tramwajowej o rozstawie szyn 1000 m w system normalnotorowej lekkiej kolei, częściowo biegnącej pod ziemią, którą w przyszłości łatwo przebudować na metro. Obecnie funkcjonuje 17 linii o łącznej długości 237 km. Obsługę zapewniają 204 składy typu DT 8 kilku generacji, zaprojektowane specjalnie na potrzeby Stuttgartu, a wybudowane przez firmy Düwag, AEG, Siemens, Bombardier i Stadler.
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Urban railway (Stadtbahn) DT 8.4 train #3054 on line U34 at Südheimer Platz stop, Böblinger Str., Stuttgart, October 28, 2021
The urban railway in Stuttgart developed out of a 1000 mm tram network a normal-gauge light rail, partially located underground, which may be easily turned into a metro system in future. Currently the network is made up of 17 lines with the total lenght of 237 km. The rolling stock consists of 204 DT 8 units of several generations, designed especially for Stuttgart and manufactured by Düwag, AEG, Siemens, Bombardier and Stadler.
Another light-painting attempt with the vintage kitchen scales and some pumpkins/gourds. Rather annoyingly, one of pieces moved a little during the procedure and I didn't realise until I was combining all the layers. Will just have to do it again!
I quite like the composition and that's something that I struggle with. Will have to make sure all the components are secure in future!
The daily disappearance of the sun below the horizon never ceased to amaze me. I always do have that indescribable little feeling in me with a mixture of ineffable euphoria and a tinge of sadness upon looking at it.
More often than not, I'd reflect over things of my past, thinking about my present and wondering what's in store for me in future.
And millions of questions rushing into my head. The answers are off the top of my head, but then so are the questions.
Happy Friday folks!
Almost complete.
Just need to put some extra details for make this diorama better.
I hope you enjoy my work.
In future I make detailed pictures from each base.
April 9th_2019
Forgive me when I post too many photos of the grouse!
On April 9th 3 friends and I drove south of the city to a Sharp-tailed Grouse lek. I hadn't thought about the degree of difficulty that might challenge me in climbing over the stile with a knee replacement. I really struggled so I do not think I will be returning to see the grouse in future years.
Thanks for your visits, comments and faves! They are all appreciated!
Another shot of Rottingdean village pond. This one has a little easter egg in the form of a windmill in the distance. We'll be seeing more of that in future photos...
Wanna known the plan?
Of course you do.
I'll be heading off to get some shots of Anglesey and Snowdonia soon. I'll be getting some holiday-ish photos as well (beaches, sunshine, unicorns, etc).
Since I'd rather not bore my (albeit small) audience by uploading similar photos for, possibly, months; I'm gonna shake things up by heading to Stoney Middleton for some urban shots and by possibly getting some macro photography done.
My audience on Flickr like my artistic, light-bending photos so I might be capturing some more of that too. Though, on Facebook, if it isn't a landscape shot I may as well take a photo of my dog's excrement and call it art, but what ya gonna do?
Look forward to all this in future
-L
Whilst the rest of the country basked in glorious sunshine parts of the Yorkshire coast was under a sea fog or locally known as sea fret. Sadly, it did not lift. It was a bit disappointing as it was my first visit here in 5 years!!!
www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/b/bemptoncliffs/index.aspx
Top things to do in Summer
1.Experience the sights, sounds and smells of the miraculous seabird spectacle at the peak of the breeding season
2.The surrounding fields are bejewelled by glorious red campion flowers
3.Enjoy a bite to eat in the family-friendly picnic area
www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/b/bemptoncliffs/about.aspx
A family favourite, and easily the best place in England to see, hear and smell seabirds! More than 200,000 birds (from April to August) make the cliffs seem alive – with adults bringing food to their nests, or young chicks making their first faltering flights.
With huge numbers to watch, beginners can easily learn the difference between gannets, guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes and fulmars. The easily recognisable puffins (here between April and July) are always a delight. Specially-created cliff top viewpoints are wheelchair accessible with care.
You can watch our 200,000 seabirds LIVE on CCTV through the breeding season from March to October. Meet our information assistants and hear about the live action, watch it for yourself on our two TV screens and enjoy the close-up images of our nesting gannets.
Opening times
The reserve is open at all times. From March to October, the visitor centre is open daily from 9.30 am to 5 pm, and from November to February, 9.30 am to 4 pm.
Entrance charges
Entry is free of charge to members all year. There's a charge for non-members of £5 per car, minibus £8 and coach £10.
If you are new to birdwatching...
The birds are easy to see during breeding season - creating a fantastic seascape and bird spectacle. Only eight target seabird species breed here, so learning to identify birds is simple. In winter, common passerines (buntings, sparrows and finches) and short-eared owls (vary in numbers from one year to next) can be seen and identified.
Information for families
Reserve already popular with families. Various family events included in our programme throughout the year. Backpack Activity days very popular.
Information for dog owners
Dogs are welcome on the reserve, however they must be kept on leads at all times. This is to ensure that ground nesting birds are not disturbed, and also to ensure the safety of dogs on the cliff top.
www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/b/bemptoncliffs/star_speci...
Star species
Our star species are some of the most interesting birds you may see on your visit to the reserve.
Gannet
Look for stunning gannets cruising around at the base of the cliffs and fishing out to sea by rising up into the air before plunging in headfirst with their wings close.
Kittiwake
Visit Bempton in spring and early summer and your ears will be filled with the unmistakable 'kitti-wake' calls of this dainty gull. Look along the cliffs to see them packed onto their tiny nesting ledges.
Puffin
Enjoy the comical antics of puffins in spring and early summer from the viewing points on the cliffs. Watch the adults returning from fishing forays at sea with sandeels hanging from their colourful beaks.
Short-eared owl
Short-eared owls can be seen hunting over the clifftop grassland here in winter. The afternoons are a good time to spot them banking and gliding just above the ground; their piercing yellow eyes scanning for voles moving in the grass below.
Tree sparrow
Flocks of tree sparrows can be seen in the cliff top fields and are regular visitors to the feeding stations. Listen out for their conversational calls - a hard and piercing 'tek'.
www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/b/bemptoncliffs/seasonal_h...
Seasonal highlights
Each season brings a different experience at our nature reserves. In spring, the air is filled with birdsong as they compete to establish territories and attract a mate. In summer, look out for young birds making their first venture into the outside world. Autumn brings large movements of migrating birds - some heading south to a warmer climate, others seeking refuge in the UK from the cold Arctic winter. In winter, look out for large flocks of birds gathering to feed, or flying at dusk to form large roosts to keep warm.
Spring
Breeding seabirds start to return, including gannets, puffins, guillemots, razorbills, fulmars, kittiwakes, herring gulls and shags. Farmland birds such as skylarks, tree sparrows, linnets, meadow pipits, reed and corn buntings can be seen. There are normally short-eared owls and peregrines to be seen too. Migratory birds include arriving wheatears and various warblers, while over-wintering thrushes can be seen on the reserve before moving back into mainland Europe. Porpoises can often be seen on calm days while early morning visits may provide sightings of roe deer.
Summer
Breeding season is in full swing with all 200,000 seabirds with eggs or chicks. Breeding tree sparrows, whitethroats, grasshopper warblers, sedge warblers, skylarks, linnets, reed buntings, rock and meadow pipits can be seen within 200 m of the visitor centre and car park. A moderate range of the commoner butterflies may be seen on sunny days, along with day-flying moths such as cinnabars, burnet moths and occasionally hummingbird hawk-moths. Trailside flora is dominated by red campion, black knapweed, various thistles and orchids including common spotted, northern marsh and pyramidal.
Autumn
All seabirds departed and breeding finished except for gannets. The autumnal migration can be exciting at Bempton owing to its coastal location and being on a headland. Short-eared owls begin to arrive to stay for the winter (depending on food availability) but the main interest is in the arrival of migrants such as willow warblers, chiffchaffs, whitethroats, lesser whitethroats, reed warblers, sedge warblers, goldcrests, stonechats, whinchats, wheatears and redstarts. Scarce species occur annually such as red-backed shrikes, and barred and icterine warblers. October is peak time to witness the winter thrush arrival, often hundreds of redwings, blackbirds, song thrushes and fieldfares occur along with occasional ring ouzels. Offshore, movements of seabirds may be seen in ideal weather conditions (strong NW winds). These include Manx and sooty shearwaters, Arctic and great skuas. Around the car park area migrant hawker and common darter dragonflies can be seen. There is little botanical interest at this time of year.
Winter
This is normally a quiet time of year. Bracing clifftop walks and fantastic seascapes are probably the best in Yorkshire. Up to 12 short-eared owls winter here, though in poor 'vole' years there may only be a few. The bird feeding station offers food and shelter to a range of commoner species such as tree sparrows (110 have been counted), greenfinch (60), and smaller numbers of blackbirds, robins, dunnocks, wrens, chaffinches, bramblings and various tit species. The cliff face attracts very few birds except for occasional herring gulls and fulmars, but by January gannets will return in good numbers with occasional days of guillemots in good numbers too.
www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/b/bemptoncliffs/facilities...
Facilities
Facilities
•Visitor centre
•Information centre
•Car park : Car park has no height restrictions. Cycle rack available close to visitor centre.
•Toilets
•Disabled toilets
•Picnic area
•Binocular hire
•Live camera
•Group bookings accepted
•Guided walks available
•Remote location
•Good for walking
•Pushchair friendly
Viewing points
Five cliff-top viewpoints and a bird feeding station. The five viewpoints are:
Grandstand: 200 m from visitor centre/car park, accessible by wheelchairs/pushchairs with care
Bartlett Nab: 400 m from visitor centre/car park and not easily accessible by wheelchairs/pushchairs
Jubilee Corner: 900 m from visitor centre/car park, not easily accessible by wheelchairs/pushchairs
New Roll-up: 500 m from visitor centre/car park, not easily accessible by wheelchairs/pushchairs
Staple Newk: 900m from visitor centre/car park, not easily accessible by wheelchairs/pushchairs.
The bird feeding station is easily accessed, 50 m from visitor centre/car park.
Nature trails
There are two nature trails. The first nature trail leading to five cliff-top viewpoints. The most distant viewpoints are 900 m from the visitor centre. Part of the trail is crushed chalk, with the remainder over worn grass. There is easy wheelchair and pushchair access to one viewpoint only. Paths can be wet and slippery following wet weather conditions, therefore care should be taken. The discovery trail is a shorter farmland walk.
Refreshments available
•Hot drinks
•Cold drinks
•Snacks
•Confectionery
Shop
The shop stocks:
•Binoculars and telescopes
•Books
•Bird food
•Gifts
Educational facilities
The Bempton Field Teaching Scheme operates throughout the year and offers exciting educational opportunities linked with the National Curriculum. The busiest time is from May to July, when breeding seabirds are at their peak. The scheme provides a unique opportunity to discover breeding seabirds, such as gannets and puffins, as well as investigating the challenging habitats in this fantastic coastal location. A truly memorable experience!
www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/b/bemptoncliffs/accessibil...
Accessibility
26 October 2012
This is a Summary Access Statement. A full access statement is available to download from this page
Before you visit
•Clear print leaflet available on request
•Free parking for members. Parking charge for non members. Free parking for carer or essential companion
•Registered Assistance Dogs welcome
•Check accessibility for events and activities
•Wheelchair free of charge to hire. Pre-booking advised
•Live footage on TV in Visitor Centre
How to get here
•Bempton railway station is 1.25 miles away
•The nearest bus stops are on the main B1229 through the village, around 1 mile from the reserve
•No pavement on road to reserve
Car parking
•Four blue badge parking spaces 10 m (13 yards) from the visitor centre on bound gravel and paved path
•60 spaces in main car park, is a short walk to the main entrance of the visitor centre
•Overflow with 60 spaces on grass
•The path surface from the overflow car park is crushed limestone on exiting the field and after 20 m (26 yards) joins the path from the coach drop-off point (see below)
•Drop-off point 50 m (60 yards) from the visitor centre with a crushed limestone surface with a 1:10 sloped descent
•No lighting or height restrictions.
Visitor centre
Situated on ground floor level with step free access. Live footage on TV from the colony. Four circular tables with seating. Outside when weather is fine. Tiled floor surface. Artificial and natural lighting. Access ramp leads to reserve.
Nature trails
The reserve offers visitors a mixture of trails. A mix of bonded tar-spray chip, crushed limestone or mown grass. Most trails are a minimum of 1200mm/47ins wide and the majority lead to the cliff top viewing points (see Viewing Facilities below).
Viewing facilities
Five built viewpoints along the cliff top path, most have seats. In the Visitor Centre there is live footage on TV of the colony. From car park to exit is The Dell - good for small migrant birds - with a narrow grass path with inclines to and from two seats. A bird feeding station is off the path between the coach park and visitor centre.
Toilets
There are toilets and an accessible toilets outside the visitor centre, with level access to all. Note there are no toilet facilities beyond the visitor centre.
Catering
A servery with a hatch facing outside the visitor centre offering hot and cold beverages, snacks and ice creams. Hatch is 900 mm (36 inches) from the ground.
Shop
The shop is within the visitor centre. Staff and volunteers can assist. There is level entry and no doors to enter apart from those at the main entrance. The shop is lit with spot lamps.
Education area
There is currently a short mown grass square to the rear of the visitor centre which serves as an outdoor classroom reached via the access ramp.
Picnic area
Seven picnic tables - four on grass and three with spaces for wheelchairs on crushed limestone surface - situated 25 m/30 yards from the visitor centre.
For more information
Bempton Cliffs
E-mail: bempton.cliffs@rspb.org.uk
Telephone:01262 851179
YO15 1JF
www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/b/bemptoncliffs/directions...
How to get here
By train
Nearest railway station 200 m south of Bempton village. Exit station and turn left, follow road down to church, walk up lane adjacent to church to staggered cross-road junction. Walk across road and take the road adjacent to the White Horse public house, northwards to the reserve. Total walking distance 1.5 miles (2.4 km). Walking time 40 minutes.
By bus
Nearest bus stop in Bempton village, 1 mile (1.5 km) from the reserve. Buses will drop off at any point on request. Disembark at White Horse public house and follow road northwards up the lane to the reserve. Walking time 30 minutes.
By road
The reserve is on the cliff road from the village of Bempton, which is on the B1229 road from Flamborough to Filey. In Bempton village, turn northwards at the White Horse public house and the reserve is at the end of the road after 1 mile (follow the brown tourist signs).
Other ways to get to the reserve
Trains and buses stop at Bempton, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the reserve. The timetables are seasonal so we advise you call the Visitor Centre for further details. Nearest ferry port in Hull and Humberside Airport in north Lincolnshire.
www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/b/bemptoncliffs/ourwork/in...
Management
Our Bempton Cliffs reserve, on the Yorkshire coast, protects over five kilometres of sea cliffs. From April to mid-August, these support England's largest population of seabirds. Grassland and scrub along the cliff tops are also home to breeding and wintering farmland birds.
The RSPB is managing the reserve for the benefit of its wildlife, which also includes seals and porpoises, and with a long-term view to upgrading its protection status.
Cliff-face communities
Bempton's breeding seabirds are internationally important, making the cliffs both a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Protection Area.
Species include kittiwakes, gannets, guillemot, razorbills and puffins. We have specific targets for every one: for instance, we would like to maintain a yearly kittiwake population of 43,000 nesting pairs, producing at least one young each.
During the breeding season, our cliff-top patrols help prevent disturbance by visitors and fishermen.
Leading by example
Unfortunately seabird colonies are vulnerable to environmental threats that lie beyond our control. These include climate change and industrial fishing, which affect the birds' food supplies. We aim to use Bempton to highlight these issues, so that key decision makers will take action to safeguard the long-term future of seabirds. We hope this will lead to Bempton being designated a marine Special Conservation Area.
Room at the top
The grassland and scrub at the top of the cliffs are home to farmland birds such as tree sparrows, skylarks and linnets. Short-eared owls also spend winter here.
We are cutting back scrub and harrowing grassland in order to increase the population of insects and small mammals on which all these birds feed. We also put out extra food when necessary.
Vision for visitors
The seabird spectacle at Bempton makes the reserve very popular during summer, while the farmland birds help generate interest all-year-round. We aim to continue attracting and educating people, and inspiring them to support the marine environment.
Our facilities currently include a shop, picnic area and cliff top walks. We aim to develop these, with a view to increasing numbers to 60,000 visitors per annum over the next five years.
Tracking gannets
For the first time, we're finding out where Bempton's gannets go when they're away from the colony.
RSPB scientists have fitted satellite tags to a number of adult gannets so that we can monitor where they go to catch fish. The tags are designed so that they don't hurt or hinder the birds, and they will eventually fall off when the gannets grow new tail feathers, if not sooner.
We need to find out whether the birds are using areas which the government has earmarked as potential wind farms, and how that might affect them. This information will be used to help plan where to put wind turbines at sea.
What we're doing
•Fourteen adult gannets were fitted with satellite tags in July 2010 (and another 13 in July 2011)
•In 2010 we got data from all 14 tags during the time when the gannets were rearing their chicks, and several kept transmitting data late into the breeding season
•The highest density of recorded locations at sea was within 31-62 miles (50-100 km) of Bempton Cliffs
•The greatest overlap with any of the proposed wind farm areas was with the Hornsea zone, which is nearest to Bempton
•These results are from just one breeding season, so it's unclear just how representative they are of what Bempton's gannets do. We'll monitor them again in future breeding seasons to learn more.
You can find out more about this work on the gannet tracking project page.
She’s a beauty. I love her! And I know she loves me, although she doesn't say it.
But she’s developed a luxating patella, or a dislocating knee in her rear left leg, in just the last week. It’s a condition that apparently is relatively common in miniature dogs and she is a miniature schnauzer. And it is one and a half times more common in females. And of course she’s a female. But last night she fell ill and was diagnosed as having pancreatitis. This is apparently fairly common in dogs, especially (you must have guessed it) in schnauzers. And suddenly I’m beginning to wonder what else can go wrong with this little girl who is such a soulmate on my weekend walks.
I love going on a little adventure with her, exploring North Wales and around the area, just being with her, having her companionship, knowing that she is close because she loves me. We get some good exercise, fresh air and see some interesting places, but I’m beginning to fear these may be restricted in future.
Walt Disney World
EPCOT
Future World
The pavement over by Innoventions in Future World has long been my favorite pavement in the world. It's funny to watch people "interact" with the pavement. It's unsurprising that kids love it, but even adults stop to check it out and marvel at it!
This photo also helps demonstrate why I love the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8. Sweet bokeh with an ultra-wide angle lens!
Details for the 2013 Disney Dining Plan were just announced; we have the changes (plus our review) here: www.disneytouristblog.com/dining-plan-2013-disney-world-c...
DisneyTouristBlog | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Google+ | ISO 5571 - Disney Photography Podcast
Seems that I’ve returned to color with my good friend and fair model Irinka. You may congratulate me on that. Last color image was uploaded here on July 12, 2022 – with Irinka as well (there is something like a rainbow in her). I made some more last summer, but didn’t uploaded them here for the reasons unknown. Hope to show you them someday, because I like them, and maybe you will too. And then I’ve lost the color vision. But this is the freshest image that I made so far – in every sense of the word (though we’ve taken this photo-op last summer).
Also, I gave up on series. They still would be in albums, and I think that I will show you some series as a series in future, I really dig the idea, it seems big to me, but not always. I prefer to do what I feel like. Especially in art. So, I’m “Still on the Road to Freedom”, as my favorite artist Alvin Lee put it.
Enjoy! (I really hope you will).
(To be continued…)
It would have helped closing down the lens by further 2-stops atleast, in getting a full detailed profile. Anyways will take this experience forward in future.
However this individual is a male as can be identified by its head and shoulders which turns bright orange to crimson during the breeding-season and also has a distinguished black throat as seen in the image.
Sometimes males also turn red-headed after a successful battle with rivals.
Another characteristics that makes Changeable Lizards different from other lizards, is that they don't drop their tails and can move each of their eyes in different directions.
Rotterdam 🇳🇱, super international city; all nations in one place ️ It may be where I'll call home in future 😉
Had the most awesome day at Claire Carter and Hawkeye Bird of Prey Photography Workshop in Thoresby Park. A privilege to get close to such beautiful birds and I learned such a lot about bird photography that I hope I can put in to practice in future. My photos (just a few here out of 100s I took today) are pale imitations of what is achievable but I'm happy with (some of) my efforts with limited kit.
The eleventh episode of the Shadows Of Nar Eurbrikka just went live on Eurobricks. The Rebels take their stolen supercomputer to the rural surface of the planet Kuat, known for its shipyards located on a ring surrounding the planet. Meanwhile, the Empire does everything it can to get the precious computer back - or so it seams...
I had the honor of doing some of the promotional images for this episode, and you see the result above. The supercomputer was the main thing to build, and I enjoyed finally having the opportunity to use walkie-talkies as details, something I've been wanting to do for a while now. I had to restrain myself from using lots of grey in order to keep the contrast high, so I forced myself to use white, and I think it looks pretty good. The ladders were a nice way to quickly build a wall while retaining a high level of uniform detail that doesn't disturb the image. The ground layer was new for me. I've been looking at the way castle builders deal with rocks for a while now, and I think it's fabulous. Now I finally more or less get it because I wanted to use it in this creation to keep the cross section of the ground from becoming too cartoonish, so I'm pretty happy with the result, and will probably be using the technique in future creations. Finally, I had a lot of fun playing with the vegetation. My fellow organizers suggested to use the lavender stalk piece, so I did. I might have gone a little overboard with it, but that's the beauty of digital creations. I needed a piece to match it though, and the lavender palette is quite restricted. I ended up finding this hairpiece from the elves line, which I had to use a substitute for because it isn't available digitally. But it resulted in some pretty alien vegetation I really dig.
This is the first creation on which I really tried to fully embrace the capabilities of my render program (that's Blender), since it allowed me to have two distinct lighting conditions for the two parts, which helped to create the contrast in the picture. I tried to keep everything logical though, so all of the lights you see could theoretically be replaced by LEDs etc., so I hope you appreciate it. Another big task was to apply the decorations, because I had to make them all myself. I'm pleased by how the stormtroopers turned out in the end, because it was a real pain to match the image with the complicated geometry of the helmet. Once that was done, it was on to rendering. It took about twelve hours spread over two sessions, and the underside is still quite noisy, so don't zoom in too much there ;) I guess with a real camera you can run into similar issues too though, so I think it's sufficient.
So I hope you like it! I really enjoyed working on the contrast between technology and nature, indoor and outdoor, grey and color to create a nice picture. Be sure to check out the newest episode of SoNE on Eurobricks!
That Corn field again but this time with me standing in the corn getting my legs cut to shreds looking at a the sunset :/
The extra sun glare and beams of light were created in lightroom after reading another one of those magazine tutorials . not sure if they work but its another "skill" that may work in future photos :)
Let's hear it for jute! Certainly no trouble hearing the cacophony of a hundred plus looms clattering away weaving the 'cloth' for hessian sacks. This was the posh part of the factory, but the start of the whole jute process was a very dark and dusty Dickensian affair - a photographer's dream and nightmare all in one. More pictures of that in future postings.
This record shot is really for Mr Tarboat who will probably be able to identify each and every loom in the picture. With plastic getting (rightly) such a bad press at the moment, jute products ought to enjoy a resurgence.
The Hastings Jute Mill, near Serampore, on the banks of the Hooghly, north of Kolkata. November 2017. © David Hill.
A few weekends ago I went down to the Quayside and the lower end of town to do some architectural long exposures and finally got around to visiting 55 Degrees North, somewhere ive had my mind on for a while now. Upon arriving I couldnt believe that theyve just painted the curved wall which had been bright pink to dark blue which was a bit disappointing as I had wanted some colour shots also.
I took many shots but as usual as soon as we got there the cloud stopped flowing :/ Eventually a few small clouds started passing by which was ideal so I dived into position and captured this shot. The clouds werent quite right in the end shots so I used a different sky as in my last shot.
If theres one thing we cant control its the weather and Claire always laughs at me when I say 'its too sunny/too cloudy/too dull' etc etc.
Tech Info...
Sony a7ii
Canon 17-40 f4L
Commlite EF - E mount adapter
144 seconds
f9
17mm
ISO 100
Filters...
Formatt Firecrest ND4.8 (16 Stop)
Processing Info...
I started off by importing the RAW file into Adobe Camera Raw where I made basic lens corrections to remove green and purple fringing which the 17-40 seems to suffer badly from.
Next I imported the file into PS CS6 where I began to make some selections of the various sections in the shot.
I tidied them up in Quick Mask mode and once I was happy with them I then began to open each section of the shot in Silver Efex Pro 2 to convert them into mono.
At this point I began to make targeted adjustments to each area separately using Luminosity masks and curves layers. It became clear that the sky just didnt compliment the image so I cut the sky from my Sage shot taken back in January and pasted it in and as it happens it was perfect after some resizing.
I wanted to create a look where the light fell down on to the RH wall so I made a new lighter curves layer then used Joel Tjintjelaars iSGM method to gradually mask the effect so that the outer areas on the wall were darker with light falling in line with the cloud.
At this point I hadnt been accurate in some of my work so had to do some cloning between the wall and the edge of the white window areas.
Once I had these areas fixed I concentrated on sorting out the inevitable halos between each area using the clone tool and hard brush at 400%. I felt that the overall image had too much dead space on the right so cropped the image to what it is now.
I did some light sharpening on the white area then once I was happy I used the Transform Warp tool to straighten the lower edge of the building. Its important to do this near the end as it messes up the selections I created or maybe I should start doing this first, yes in future I will do it at the beginning!
Thanks for looking :)
Various trees of life are recounted in folklore, culture and fiction, often relating to immortality or fertility. They had their origin in religious symbolism.
Ancient Iran
In pre-Islamic Persian mythology, the Gaokerena world tree is a large, sacred Haoma tree which bears all seeds. Ahriman (Ahreman, Angremainyu) created a frog to invade the tree and destroy it, aiming to prevent all trees from growing on the earth. As a reaction, God (Ahura Mazda) created two kar fish staring at the frog to guard the tree. The two fishes are always staring at the frog and stay ready to react to it. Because Ahriman is responsible for all evil including death, while Ahura Mazda is responsible for all good (including life) the concept of world tree in Persian Mythology is very closely related to the concept of Tree of Life.The sacred plant haoma and the drink made from it. The preparation of the drink from the plant by pounding and the drinking of it are central features of Zoroastrian ritual. Haoma is also personified as a divinity. It bestows essential vital qualities—health, fertility, husbands for maidens, even immortality. The source of the earthly haoma plant is a shining white tree that grows on a paradisiacal mountain. Sprigs of this white haoma were brought to earth by divine birds.Haoma is the Avestan form of the Sanskrit soma. The near identity of the two in ritual significance is considered by scholars to point to a salient feature of an Indo-Iranian religion antedating Zoroastrianism.
Another related issue in ancient mythology of Iran is the myth of Mashyа and Mashyane, two trees who were the ancestors of all living beings. This myth can be considered as a prototype for the creation myth where living beings are created by Gods (who have a human form).
Ancient Egypt
Worshipping Osiris, Isis, and Horus
To the Ancient Egyptians, the Tree of Life represented the hierarchical chain of events that brought every thing into existence. The spheres of the Tree of Life demonstrate the order, process, and method of creation.In Egyptian mythology, in the Ennead system of Heliopolis, the first couple, apart from Shu and Tefnut (moisture and dryness) are Geb and Nuit (earth and sky), are Isis and Osiris. They were said to have emerged from the acacia tree of Iusaaset, which the Egyptians considered the tree of life, referring to it as the "tree in which life and death are enclosed." Some acacia trees contain DMT, a psychedelic drug associated with spiritual experiences. The drug is not orally bio-available, however and there is no evidence the Egyptians had techniques for extracting or otherwise harnessing the drug. A much later myth relates how Set and 72 conspirators killed Osiris, putting him in a coffin, and throwing it into the Nile, the coffin becoming embedded in the base of a tamarisk tree.The Egyptians' Holy Sycamore also stood on the threshold of life and death, connecting the two worlds.
Assyria
Assyrian tree of life, from Nimrud panels.The Assyrian Tree of Life was represented by a series of nodes and criss-crossing lines. It was apparently an important religious symbol, often attended to in Assyrian palace reliefs by human or eagle-headed winged genies, or the King, and blessed or fertilized with bucket and cone. Assyriologists have not reached consensus as to the meaning of this symbol. The name "Tree of Life" has been attributed to it by modern scholarship; it is not used in the Assyrian sources. In fact, no textual evidence pertaining to the symbol is known to exist.
Baha'i Faith
The concept of the tree of life appears in the writings of the Baha'i Faith, where it can refer to the Manifestation of God, a great teacher who appears to humanity from age to age. An example of this can be found in the Hidden Words of Bahá'u'lláh:["Have ye forgotten that true and radiant morn, when in those hallowed and blessed surroundings ye were all gathered in My presence beneath the shade of the tree of life, which is planted in the all-glorious paradise? Awestruck ye listened as I gave utterance to these three most holy words: O friends! Prefer not your will to Mine, never desire that which I have not desired for you, and approach Me not with lifeless hearts, defiled with worldly desires and cravings. Would ye but sanctify your souls, ye would at this present hour recall that place and those surroundings, and the truth of My utterance should be made evident unto all of you."Also, in the Tablet of Ahmad [1], of Bahá'u'lláh:"Verily He is the Tree of Life, that bringeth forth the fruits of God, the Exalted, the Powerful, the Great".Bahá'u'lláh refers to his male descendents as branches (Aghsán) and calls women leaves.
A distinction has been made between the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The latter represents the physical world with its opposites, such as good and evil and light and dark. In a different context from the one above, the tree of life represents the spiritual realm, where this duality does not exist.
Buddhism
The Bo tree, also called Bodhi tree, according to Buddhist tradition, is the pipal (Ficus religiosa) under which the Buddha sat when he attained Enlightenment (Bodhi) at Bodh Gaya (near Gaya, west-central Bihar state, India). A living pipal at Anuradhapura, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), is said to have grown from a cutting from the Bo tree sent to that city by King Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE.According to Tibetan tradition when Buddha went to the holy Lake Manasorovar along with 500 monks, he took with him the energy of Prayaga Raj. Upon his arrival, he installed the energy of Prayaga Raj near Lake Manasorovar, at a place now known as Prayang. Then he planted the seed of this eternal banyan tree next to Mt. Kailash on a mountain known as the "Palace of Medicine Buddha".
China
In Chinese mythology, a carving of a Tree of Life depicts a phoenix and a dragon; the dragon often represents immortality. A Taoist story tells of a tree that produces a peach every three thousand years. The one who eats the fruit receives immortality.An archaeological discovery in the 1990s was of a sacrificial pit at Sanxingdui in Sichuan, China. Dating from about 1200 BCE, it contained three bronze trees, one of them 4 meters high. At the base was a dragon, and fruit hanging from the lower branches. At the top is a strange bird-like (phoenix) creature with claws. Also found in Sichuan, from the late Han dynasty (c 25 – 220 CE), is another tree of life. The ceramic base is guarded by a horned beast with wings. The leaves of the tree are coins and people. At the apex is a bird with coins and the Sun.
Christianity
In Catholic Christianity, the Tree of Life represents the immaculate state of humanity free from corruption and Original Sin before the Fall. Pope Benedict XVI has said that "the Cross is the true tree of life." Saint Bonaventure taught that the medicinal fruit of the Tree of Life is Christ himself. Saint Albert the Great taught that the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of Christ, is the Fruit of the Tree of Life.[18] Augustine of Hippo said that the tree of life is Christ: "All these things stood for something other than what they were, but all the same they were themselves bodily realities. And when the narrator mentioned them he was not employing figurative language, but giving an explicit account of things which had a forward reference that was figurative. So then the tree of life also was Christ... and indeed God did not wish the man to live in Paradise without the mysteries of spiritual things being presented to him in bodily form. So then in the other trees he was provided with nourishment, in this one with a sacrament... He is rightly called whatever came before him in order to signify him."[19]
The tree first appeared in Genesis 2:9 and 3:22-24 as the source of eternal life in the Garden of Eden, from which access is revoked when man is driven from the garden. It then reappears in the last book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation, and most predominantly in the last chapter of that book (Chapter 22) as a part of the new garden of paradise. Access is then no longer forbidden, for those who "wash their robes" (or as the textual variant in the King James Version has it, "they that do his commandments") "have right to the tree of life" (v.14). A similar statement appears in Rev 2:7, where the tree of life is promised as a reward to those who overcome. Revelation 22 begins with a reference to the "pure river of water of life" which proceeds "out of the throne of God". The river seems to feed two trees of life, one "on either side of the river" which "bear twelve manner of fruits" "and the leaves of the tree were for healing of the nations" (v.1-2).[20] Or this may indicate that the tree of life is a vine that grows on both sides of the river, as John 15:1 would hint at.
In Eastern Christianity the tree of life is the love of God.The tree of life appears in the Book of Mormon in a revelation to Lehi (see 1 Nephi 8:10). It is symbolic of the love of God (see 1 Nephi 11:21-23). Its fruit is described as "most precious and most desirable above all other fruits," which "is the greatest of all the gifts of God" (see 1 Nephi 15:36). In another scriptural book, salvation is called "the greatest of all the gifts of God" (see Doctrine and Covenants 6:13). In the same book eternal life is also called the "greatest of all the gifts of God" (see Doctrine and Covenants 14:7). Because of these references, the tree of life and its fruit is sometimes understood to be symbolic of salvation and post-mortal existence in the presence of God and his love.
Europe
11th century Tree of Life sculpture at an ancient Swedish church
In Dictionnaire Mytho-Hermetique (Paris, 1737), Antoine-Joseph Pernety, a famous alchemist, identified the Tree of Life with the Elixir of Life and the Philosopher's Stone.
In Eden in the East (1998), Stephen Oppenheimer suggests that a tree-worshipping culture arose in Indonesia and was diffused by the so-called "Younger Dryas" event of c. 8000 BCE, when the sea level rose. This culture reached China (Szechuan), then India and the Middle East. Finally the Finno-Ugaritic strand of this diffusion spread through Russia to Finland where the Norse myth of Yggdrasil took root.
Georgia
The Borjgali (Georgian: ბორჯღალი) is an ancient Georgian Tree of Life symbol.
Germanic paganism and Norse mythology[
In Germanic paganism, trees played (and, in the form of reconstructive Heathenry and Germanic Neopaganism, continue to play) a prominent role, appearing in various aspects of surviving texts and possibly in the name of gods.
The tree of life appears in Norse religion as Yggdrasil, the world tree, a massive tree (sometimes considered a yew or ash tree) with extensive lore surrounding it. Perhaps related to Yggdrasil, accounts have survived of Germanic Tribes' honouring sacred trees within their societies. Examples include Thor's Oak, sacred groves, the Sacred tree at Uppsala, and the wooden Irminsul pillar. In Norse Mythology, the apples from Iðunn's ash box provide immortality for the gods.
Hinduism
The Eternal Banyan Tree (Akshaya Vata) is located on the bank of the Yamuna inside the courtyard of Allahabad Fort near the confluence of the Yamuna and Ganga Rivers in Allahabad. The eternal and divine nature of this tree has been documented at length in the scriptures.[citation needed]
During the cyclic destruction of creation when the whole earth was enveloped by waters, akshaya vata remained unaffected. It is on the leaves of this tree that Lord Krishna rested in the form of a baby when land was no longer visible. And it is here that the immortal sage, Markandeya, received the cosmic vision of the Lord. It is under this tree that Buddha meditates eternally. Legend also has it that the Bodi tree at Gaya is a manifestation of this tree.
Islam
Carpet Tree of Life
Main article: Quranic tree of life
See also: Sidrat al-Muntaha
The "Tree of Immortality" (Arabic: شجرة الخلود) is the tree of life motif as it appears in the Quran. It is also alluded to in hadiths and tafsir. Unlike the biblical account, the Quran mentions only one tree in Eden, also called the tree of immortality, which Allah specifically forbade to Adam and Eve. Satan, disguised as a serpent, repeatedly told Adam to eat from the tree, and eventually both Adam and Eve did so, thus disobeying Allah.] The hadiths also speak about other trees in heaven.
According to the Ahmadiyya movement, Quranic reference to the tree is symbolic; eating of the forbidden tree signifies that Adam disobeyed God.[
Jewish sources
Main articles: Etz Chaim and Biblical tree of life
Etz Chaim, Hebrew for "tree of life," is a common term used in Judaism. The expression, found in the Book of Proverbs, is figuratively applied to the Torah itself. Etz Chaim is also a common name for yeshivas and synagogues as well as for works of Rabbinic literature. It is also used to describe each of the wooden poles to which the parchment of a Sefer Torah is attached.The tree of life is mentioned in the Book of Genesis; it is distinct from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. After Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they were driven out of the Garden of Eden. Remaining in the garden, however, was the tree of life. To prevent their access to this tree in the future, Cherubim with a flaming sword were placed at the east of the garden. (Genesis 3:22-24)
In the Book of Proverbs, the tree of life is associated with wisdom: "[Wisdom] is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her, and happy [is every one] that retaineth her." (Proverbs 3:13-18) In 15:4 the tree of life is associated with calmness: "A soothing tongue is a tree of life; but perverseness therein is a wound to the spirit."
The Book of Enoch, generally considered non-canonical, states that in the time of the great judgment God will give all those whose names are in the Book of Life fruit to eat from the Tree of Life.
Kathara grid
The esoteric bio-spiritual healing system of kathara which is presented on Earth by the official Speaker of the Guardian Alliance – E’Asha Ashayana,explains in detail the function of the code of the kathara grid] as the natural tree of life. Kathara reveals the anatomy of Creation, core structure, the blueprints & interconnectedness of all matter forms and in the center is the replication of the kathara grid everywhere.The kathara grid consists of 12 kathara centers and the relationships between them represent the true meaning of the phrase "As above, so below" and the correspondence between microcosmos and macrocosmos.
Kabbalah. Judaic Kabbalah Tree of Life 10 Sephirot, through which the Ein Sof unknowable Divine manifests Creation. The configuration relates to manJewish mysticism depicts the Tree of Life in the form of ten interconnected nodes, as the central symbol of the Kabbalah. It comprises the ten Sephirot powers in the Divine realm. The panentheistic and anthropomorphic emphasis of this emanationist theology interpreted the Torah, Jewish observance, and the purpose of Creation as the symbolic esoteric drama of unification in the Sephirot, restoring harmony to Creation. From the time of the Renaissance onwards, Jewish Kabbalah became incorporated as an important tradition in non-Jewish Western culture, first through its adoption by Christian Cabala, and continuing in Western esotericism occult Hermetic Qabalah. These adapted the Judaic Kabbalah Tree of Life syncretically by associating it with other religious traditions, esoteric theologies, and magical practices.
Mesoamerican
The concept of world trees is a prevalent motif in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cosmologies and iconography. World trees embodied the four cardinal directions, which represented also the fourfold nature of a central world tree, a symbolic axis mundi connecting the planes of the Underworld and the sky with that of the terrestrial world.Depictions of world trees, both in their directional and central aspects, are found in the art and mythological traditions of cultures such as the Maya, Aztec, Izapan, Mixtec, Olmec, and others, dating to at least the Mid/Late Formative periods of Mesoamerican chronology. Among the Maya, the central world tree was conceived as or represented by a ceiba tree, and is known variously as a wacah chan or yax imix che, depending on the Mayan language.[32] The trunk of the tree could also be represented by an upright caiman, whose skin evokes the tree's spiny trunk.Directional world trees are also associated with the four Yearbearers in Mesoamerican calendars, and the directional colors and deities. Mesoamerican codices which have this association outlined include the Dresden, Borgia and Fejérváry-Mayer codices.[31] It is supposed that Mesoamerican sites and ceremonial centers frequently had actual trees planted at each of the four cardinal directions, representing the quadripartite concept.World trees are frequently depicted with birds in their branches, and their roots extending into earth or water (sometimes atop a "water-monster," symbolic of the underworld). The central world tree has also been interpreted as a representation of the band of the Milky Way.
Middle East
The Epic of Gilgamesh is a similar quest for immortality. In Mesopotamian mythology, Etana searches for a 'plant of birth' to provide him with a son. This has a solid provenance of antiquity, being found in cylinder seals from Akkad (2390–2249 BCE).The Book of One Thousand and One Nights has a story, 'The Tale of Buluqiya', in which the hero searches for immortality and finds a paradise with jewel-encrusted trees. Nearby is a Fountain of Youth guarded by Al-Khidr. Unable to defeat the guard, Buluqiya has to return empty-handed.
North American
In a myth passed down among the Iroquois, The World on the Turtle's Back, explains the origin of the land in which a tree of life is described. According to the myth, it is found in the heavens, where the first humans lived, until a pregnant woman fell and landed in an endless sea. Saved by a giant turtle from drowning, she formed the world on its back by planting bark taken from the tree.The tree of life motif is present in the traditional Ojibway cosmology and traditions. It is sometimes described as Grandmother Cedar, or Nookomis Giizhig in Anishinaabemowin.In the book Black Elk Speaks, Black Elk, an Oglala Lakota (Sioux) wičháša wakȟáŋ (medicine man and holy man), describes his vision in which after dancing around a dying tree that has never bloomed he is transported to the other world (spirit world) where he meets wise elders, 12 men and 12 women. The elders tell Black Elk that they will bring him to meet "Our Father, the two-legged chief" and bring him to the center of a hoop where he sees the tree in full leaf and bloom and the "chief" standing against the tree. Coming out of his trance he hopes to see that the earthly tree has bloomed, but it is dead
Serer religion
In Serer religion, the tree of life as a religious concept forms the basis of Serer cosmogony. Trees were the first things created on Earth by the supreme being Roog (or Koox among the Cangin). In the competing versions of the Serer creation myth, the Somb (Prosopis africana) and the Saas tree (acacia albida) are both viewed as trees of life. However, the prevailing view is that, the Somb was the first tree on Earth and the progenitor of plant life. The Somb was also used in the Serer tumuli and burial chambers, many of which had survived for more than a thousand years.Thus, Somb is not only the Tree of Life in Serer society, but the symbol of immortality
Urartian Tree of Life
In ancient Urartu, the Tree of Life was a religious symbol and was drawn on walls of fortresses and carved on the armor of warriors. The branches of the tree were equally divided on the right and left sides of the stem, with each branch having one leaf, and one leaf on the apex of the tree. Servants stood on each side of the tree with one of their hands up as if they are taking care of the tree.
Turkic .The Tree of Life, as seen as in flag of Chuvashia, a Turkic state in the Russian FederationThe Tree of Life design on 0,05 Turkish lira (5 kuruş).
The World Tree or Tree of Life is a central symbol in Turkic mythology.[citation needed] It is a common motif in carpets.
It is also used as the main design of a common Turkish lira sub-unit 5 kuruş since 2009.
While creating this MOC I tried to do something unique with the rocks and after some experementing I found a technique that I am looking forward to use and improve in future Creations :)
The Great Cormorant zipped like a flying Jet maintaining a very narrow distance with water below. The 100-400 is quite a lens to get BIF. I am not sure how much more performance i will get from it if i can use it with a 7D in future (perhaps..)
I can't describe my feelings when I put my feet on sands of Empty Quarter at the first time in my life !
It looks like an endless of a gold land which takes all breaths and mind.
I wished that I met some clouds that day but may be I'll have some in future. And I'm really wish that you like this composition in black and white.
You are so welcome to visit my website: www.sakhrphoto.com
To me as an urban planner, Union Square (as it's formally known) is a spectacle of ultra high density mixed use development. This development is built over the Kowloon MTR Station and sits on 13 hectares of land reclaimed from Victoria Harbour. A high end shopping mall, Elements, occupies well over a million square feet above the train/MTR station. The roof of the mall is used as a quasi public plaza and as access to the multiple towers on site. There are over 8,000 housing units here, as well as the 118 storey Intrenational Commerce Centre and W Hotel.
Housing prices are shocking. At the "Harbourside", the 75 storey blue tower second from left for example, a lower floor 743 square foot two bedroom apartments was listed at $21 million HKD ($3.4 million Canadian/ $2.7 million USD )in December 2017 .
When I first visited this development in 2008, it seemed completely isolated from the city and was not at all a friendly place to get to as a pedestrian. In 2017, it's in the middle of a sea of cranes and new buildings.
In future, there will likely be better connectivity, as more massive development, the West Kowloon Cultural District, is currently taking place on 40 hectares of land adjacent to Elements/Union Square.
An der Grenze der Hochfläche des Barnim zur Niederungslandschaft Oderbruch, etwa 60 km von Berlin entfernt, überwinden Schiffe den Höhenunterschied von 36 m mit einem Fahrstuhl. Das alte Schiffshebewerk Niederfinow ist das älteste seiner Art in Deutschland, das noch in Betrieb ist, und das schon seit dem 21. März 1934. Nach einer Bauzeit von sieben Jahren und Kosten von 27,5 Millionen Reichsmark konnte so die benachbarte vierstufige Treppenschleusenanlage abgelöst werden. Der Schleusengang verkürzte sich von zwei Stunden auf 20 Minuten. Das Schiffshebewerk befördert in seinem Trog (82,5 m lang, 12 m breit und 2,50 m Wassertiefe) Schiffe innerhalb von nur fünf Minuten über eine Hubhöhe von 36 Metern innerhalb des Oder-Havel-Kanals am Rande einer Hochfläche. Mit einer Länge von 94 Metern, einer Breite von 27 Metern und einer Höhe von 52 Metern ist das bestehende Schiffshebewerk aufgrund der modernen Bauweise der heutigen Lastschiffe an seine Kapazitätsgrenze gestoßen. So entstand gleich neben dem „Alten“ seit 2008, das nach zweijährigem Probebetrieb im Oktober 2022 eingeweiht wurde. Es wird mit 133 Metern Länge und 55 Metern Höhe zukünftig auch größeren Schiffen das Passieren des Eberswalder Urstromtals ermöglichen. Sein Trog erhält eine nutzbare Länge von 115 Metern, eine Breite von 12,5 Metern und eine Trogwasser-Tiefe von 4 Metern. Wassergefüllt wiegt er 9.800 Tonnen gegenüber 4.300 Tonnen bei dem alten Schiffshebewerk, das aber parallel noch weiter betrieben wird.
Quellen: bad-freienwalde.de/schiffshebewerk-niederfinow/
und de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schiffshebewerk_Niederfinow_Nord, beide gekürzt und leicht bearbeitet
On the border between the Barnim plateau and the Oderbruch lowlands, about 60 km from Berlin. ships overcome the difference in height of 36 m with a lift. The old Niederfinow Ship Lift is the oldest of its kind in Germany still in operation, and has been since 21 March 1934. After a construction period of seven years and costs of 27.5 million Reichsmarks, it replaced the neighbouring four-stage flight of locks system. The lock passage was reduced from two hours to 20 minutes. The ship lift transports ships in its caisson (82.5 metres long, 12 metres wide and 2.50 metres deep) over a lift height of 36 metres within the Oder-Havel Canal at the edge of a plateau in just five minutes. With a length of 94 metres, a width of 27 metres and a height of 52 metres, the existing ship lift has reached its capacity limit due to the modern design of today's cargo ships. This led to the construction of a new lift right next to the ‘old’ one in 2008, which was inaugurated in October 2022 after two years of trial operation. With a length of 133 metres and a height of 55 metres, it will enable even larger ships to pass through the Eberswalde glacial valley in future. Its caisson has a usable length of 115 metres, a width of 12.5 metres and a water depth of 4 metres. When filled with water, it weighs 9,800 tonnes, compared to 4,300 tonnes for the old ship lift, which will continue to operate in parallel.
Sources: bad-freienwalde.de/schiffshebewerk-niederfinow/
and de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schiffshebewerk_Niederfinow_Nord, both abridged and slightly edited
My custom Ultimate Machine (also known as a useless machine) built using the new Mindstorms EV3. You really have to watch the video to see what it does, otherwise it's just a pretty black box with a switch on it.
Building instructions and the Mindstorms project file can be found on my website: www.truedimensions.com/instructions
The LuuMa EV3 is a bit more elaborate than the typical ultimate machine, featuring 6 different responses for turning the switch off and 2 evasive maneuvers for trying to prevent the switch from being turned on in the first place.
I had a blast building this one, and programming the different responses. Not to mention playing with it once it was complete. I can't wait to put it out at a show and watch people interact with it.
I've been pretty impressed with the EV3, although I have encountered the odd glitch or two with both the hardware and software. Hopefully these get ironed out in future updates.
September 2013
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When I was a boy I was travelled with my parents once in month through high Hills. The route was so long from Office place to our home approx. 10hrs. journey, sometimes due to landslide it goes to 15/20 hrs. So many times I have watched evening in Hills from Cars or Bus. That time I thought I have to sit such a place where clouds are coming from Top of the Hill to Down and light goes down and I am sitting alone and thinking something different, no crowd, no people, no disturbance, no busy life ..only alone.
My Friends, after 26 years I have found the same situation in Sachen, This capture when I have taken, I was alone, friends were busy in talking on that trekkers hut, I was sitting in a place near to the trekking route. The clouds are coming from upside of the hill to below and low light due to evening..what a coincidence!!!! I beleive sometimes what we think today may be(sometimes) it will come true in future.
I have enjoyed that evening very much. The story will continue....
Wish you all Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2012
Thanks for your Visit, Comments,Suggestions!!!
***********Press L to view in Black***********
***********If you like it press F***********
Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission... © All rights reserved...
The Nikon FA is the most sophisticated member of the FM/FE series of medium compact Nikon semi-pro 35mm cameras. It was released slightly after the FE2 came to the market. It is similar to the FE/FM series in that it is built on the same chassis and is of approximately the same size and weight. However, while the FE2 was an incremental improvement over the FE with a traditional Nikon design, the FA was a test bed for two major new technologies: (1) multi-segment exposure metering (called Automatic Multi-Pattern ("AMP") in the FA, but Matrix Metering on later bodies); and (2) multiple exposure modes including Manual, Aperture Priority, Shutter Speed Priority, and Program (High and Low), known as "PASM"). The FA was developed to take advantage of the new AiS series of manual focus Nikkor lenses that supported linear aperture control and more communication with the camera body. The FA is the only Nikon camera body ever made that can support both multi-segment exposure metering and all four PASM exposure modes with manual focus Ai or better Nikkor lenses. While the Nikon F4 and F6, as well as some Nikon digital SLRs, can support multi-pattern metering with Ai or better lenses, they don't support full PASM but only Manual and Aperture Priority modes. As such, the FA offers more functionality with Ai or better lenses than any camera ever made by Nikon. The FA was in production from 1983 to 1987, after which Nikon replaced both the FE2 and FA with the N8008 (F801) and the advent of auto focus and built-in automatic film winders. Thus, the FA is important even today as both a historical landmark for Nikon, and also as an excellent choice for users of manual focus lenses when shooting film.
The FA was available in silver chrome and black. Although the chassis of the FA is metal like the rest of the FM/FE series, the top and bottom covers are made out of composite material. I have the silver version. On superficial inspection, the top and bottom covers almost appear to be metal and look very nice. However, if you look very closely and tap the covers, you can tell that they are not metal. Although it is somewhat disconcerting to hold a non-metallic body for the first time after having used all-metal bodies for so long in prior generations, as a practical matter, you can hardly tell the difference. Anyway, today virtually all cameras are covered in some type of composite material, so from a modern standpoint, the FA's cover material seems completely normal. My FA has been to the shop a few times for regular maintenance, but it has thankfully never experienced any breakdowns. I have heard that early samples of the FA had problems with electrical interference affecting exposure accuracy. However, Nikon quickly fixed this problem on subsequent production and also repaired defective early models under warranty. Naturally, the sophisticated functionality of the FA requires more electronic circuitry than its predecessors in the FM/FE series. Since new replacement electronic components are no longer available, should a critical part break down, your repair tech may need to cannibalize another FA sample, or else the FA might become a paperweight.
Just like the cameras of the related FE/FM series, the FA uses either a 3V lithium battery, two 1.55V silver oxide batteries, or two 1.5V alkalines. Quite standard for Nikon bodies of the that era. I usually prefer to just go with a single 3V lithium to enjoy the long shelf life, but of course the other two types work fine too. Even though the small batteries control both the light meter and electronic shutter (but obviously not film advance or any autofocus), they still seem to last forever. On the FA, like the FE2, the only way to check the batteries is to pull out the wind lever to turn on the camera and look through the viewfinder to see if the LCD display is activated.
The FA is built with a copper-aluminum-silicon (copper-silumin) alloy body, the same as the the other members of the FM/FA series, even though the top and bottom covers are composite material. I find the size and weight of the FA to be excellent, especially with wide-angle through medium telephoto Nikkor manual focus prime lenses. The body size is not too big or too small. Its size is large enough to hold securely, but still smaller than full size professional bodies like the F2AS or F3HP. It is not as small as the (mechanical) Contax S2, Pentax MX, or even the Olympus OM-3, which are considered small compact bodies and sometimes feel a bit too small to get a good grip. The FA is available with a small removable grip that screws onto the front right of the body. The grip is just the right size to catch your third and fourth fingers and makes it easy to grab the camera securely. The FA weighs in at only 625g, without lens, slightly more than the FE2's 550g, but still less than the F3HP's 715g and certainly less than later all-automatic film and digital SLRs. When holding the camera, it is easy to imagine that Nikon chose to use composite material for the top and bottom covers to keep the weight down to as close to the FE2 as possible. Of course the weight of the batteries is insignificant, compared with the multiple AA batteries or other larger batteries in future electronic bodies. You can still hang the FA with a small lens around your neck or shoulder for extended periods, but the increase in weight over the FE2 is noticeable. The FA fits great into a dedicated case, or a spongy snug-fit case, or a small camera bag with a few lenses. Like the other members of the related FM/FE series, the FA is an excellent size for travel use.
The FA, with its slightly increased heft, does not feel as insubstantial as the FM/FE when held without a lens attached. However, even when a lens is attached in the wide-angle to medium telephoto size range, especially those AiS Nikkor manual focus primes, the lens/camera combination still has excellent balance, with a very reasonable size and weight. Even with the composite top and bottom covers, the FA has a highly luxurious and precision feel and sound when held in your hands and used, although the sound is definitely not as pleasing as that of the FM2n or even the FE/FE2. In addition to the sound of the electronic shutter and mirror movement, there is also a mechanical sound that I guess may be attributable to the mechanism required to communicate between the camera and lenses for the PASM exposure modes. I most often use AiS primes from 20/2.8 to 200/4 and the system is wonderful to operate with all of those lenses. However, once you start getting into bigger and heavier lenses such as, for example, the 80-200/2.8, the camera feels a bit too light and out of balance. Also, on fatter lenses, you may need to use a rubber tripod filler ring to keep the lens rings from touching the tripod head.
Operation of the FA is really smooth. The shutter speed ring is large and has an easy to turn knurled grip, although it is not quite as tall as that on the FM2n. However, the shutter speed dial, shutter release button and exposure mode switch sit on top of a slightly raised platform that makes it a bit easier to reach those controls. The shutter speed dial on the FA, like the FE2, offers noticeably more resistance than the dial on the FE due to the more robust click stops on the FA. But still, it is easy to grab the shutter speed dial with your thumb and forefinger when the film advance lever is pulled out to turn on the camera. There is no "Auto" position on the FA's shutter speed dial. Since the FA supports all four PASM exposure modes, there is a separate switch attached to the spindle of the shutter speed dial to pick your mode. For safety purposes, a release button is still needed to turn the shutter speed dial onto M250 and B. However, on the FA, the release button is on the back of the camera just below the dial instead of in the middle of the dial itself like the FE/FE2. Actually, this position is not as convenient as the release button on the FE/FE2 because you need to use two hands to adjust the FA, whereas you can use the release button with only one hand on the FE/FE2. Like all Nikons, the film advance lever motion is amazingly smooth, although the lever is single-stroke only, unlike the levers on the F, F2 and F3. But the stroke is not very big, so a quick easy stroke quickly winds to the next frame. ASA/ISO setting is set by a ring that surrounds the rewind lever. You lift and turn the ring to set the ISO. The exposure compensation setting is located on the same ring as the ASA/ISO setting, and has a range from -2 to +2 EV in one-third stop increments, just like the FE2. Shutter speed and ISO markings are clear and easy to read. The ISO range of the FA (and also the FE/FE2) is 12 - 4000, wide enough to handle virtually all situations, though slightly narrower than the FM2n, which reaches up to 6400. The small multiple-exposure lever is still located under the film advance lever, out of the way but easy to turn when you need it. The shutter release button is located at just the right location near the front of the body. It takes a standard mechanical cable release. The shutter release button on the FA (and FE2/FM2n) is a more modern, wider design compared with the relatively narrower release on the FE. The shutter release button on the older FE seems to have a slightly shorter travel than the FE2 and FM2n, and therefore feels slightly more instantaneous. The shutter release on the FA is kind of the opposite, and you need to push it part way down to activate the exposure meter, then further down to release the shutter. (The throw of the shutter release is even further when using the mechanical shutter speed M250). I ultimately purchased a soft shutter release button to screw into the cable release socket on the shutter release button and improve the perceived responsiveness of the shutter release action. The film counter is just in front of release crank and is easy to read.
One of the biggest advantages of the Nikon film SLR lens mount (the "F mount") is that it is the only SLR camera mount that has stayed virtually the same from the time of the first Nikon F and Nikkormat FS/FT through to the most current small and full frame Nikon digital SLRs. Except for the requirement that relatively newer Nikon film SLRs require Ai or Ai-converted lenses, all manual focus Nikon F mount lenses can be used on autofocus bodies, and most full-frame auto-focus Nikon F mount lenses can be used on all old manual focus bodies. I don't know of any other manufacturer that can make such a claim. Thus, it is convenient to use the FA together with a modern Nikon autofocus film or digital SLR because you can often use the same lenses on both bodies (except for the newest G-type lenses). By the way, you can find lots of used manual focus Nikkor lenses. But if you want to buy your manual focus lenses new, Nikon still manufactures some of their most popular Ai-S manual focus lenses, or you can select the new Carl Zeiss manual focus prime lenses in Nikon F mount.
The FE and FM were the last bodies in that line to directly accept unmodified pre-Ai lenses because they included a retractable meter coupling lever. Of course, with pre-Ai lenses, you still need to use stop-down exposure metering. There are many excellent pre-Ai lenses on the market, and to use any such lenses that have not been converted to Ai, the FE and FM cameras would be a better choice than the FA, FE2 or FM2n. Alternatively, you can probably still get an independent camera technician to convert any pre-Ai lens to Ai using scavenged parts, although Nikon itself presumably long ago stopped providing such service.
Loading Nikkor lenses onto the FA, or any FM/FE series body, is quick and positive. Just line up the black dot on the lens with the dot on the camera body and twist the lens counter-clockwise. Of course, their is no need to line up the claw on Ai Nikkor aperture rings with an exposure meter pin on the body; this old system became obsolete after the Nikkormat FT2/EL-W generation. To remove a lens, just press the lens release button on the left front of the body and twist clockwise.
Of course the most unique benefit of the Nikon FA lens mount is the camera's ability to do multi-segment metering (and center-weighted metering) as well as all four PASM exposure modes with manual focus Ai lenses and better. The FA performs even better with AiS and better lenses. AiS lenses, which were released in 1981, have even better performance with the FA. According to the FA user manual, AiS lenses, when used in Program mode, provide either normal or high-speed program depending on the focal length of the lens in use. Furthermore, in Program and Shutter Priority mode, AiS lenses give uniform exposure control in any lighting situation due to their linear aperture control. One very important step to remember is that you must set the aperture on your lens to the smallest available aperture when you are in Shutter Speed Priority or Program exposure mode. If you don't do this, the camera won't have access to the full aperture range of the lens. However, even if you forget to stop down the lens, the exposure meter will attempt to compensate by adjusting the shutter speed if a proper exposure can be achieved within the available range of apertures and shutter speeds.
To load or unload film, twist the back opening lever counter-clockwise and put the rewind crank upwards to open the camera back. Film loading is traditional style and almost foolproof. Like many Nikon and other cameras of this generation, you need to stick the film leader into a slot on the take-up spool and insure that the sprocket in the spool engages a film perforation. In my experience, this system is slower but more reliable than that on newer Nikon bodies where you simply lay the film leader flat next to an index line. Similar to the FE2, the FA prevents you from accidentally loading the film with the exposure mode set to one of the automatic modes and ending up with very long shutter activations if you try to wind to the first frame with the lens cap on. I can't count how many times I ran into this problem on my old FE. The FA defaults to M250 until the first official frame is reached. The slight downside is that you are unable to squeeze a few extra exposures off the beginning of the role (unless you use 1/250 sec. and Sunny 16 or an external exposure meter!).
The focusing screens of the FM/FE Series were improved and brightened with the release of the FM2/FE2/FA. The original screens on the FE are about 1 stop dimmer than the later second generation. (Note: first and generation screens are interchangeable with exposure compensation). A slight disadvantage of the FM/FE series viewfinders is that, unlike the 100% frame coverage of a pro-level Nikon F series camera, the FA's frame coverage is only 93%. This is not unusual in a prosumer level camera, but you need to be aware that objects that are outside the field of view in the viewfinder will be captured on your film. The viewfinder contains all of the information that you need for convenient camera setting. In fact, the FA was only the second Nikon after the F3 to use an LCD readout in the viewfinder. Thus, the FA has a completely different viewfinder display compared with earlier Nikons (except the F3). The display configuration changes slightly depending on what exposure mode you are using. In Manual mode, you see the aperture setting in the ADR window, just like on other cameras in the FM/FE series. However, the selected shutter speed appears in the LCD. Also appearing in the LCD are the selected shutter speed and various combinations of the - and + symbols depending on the exposure setting. The exposure is set properly when both -+ are visible at the same time, just like on the F3. Also in Manual mode, an "M" appears just below the -+ indicators. In aperture priority mode, you see the aperture setting in the same ADR, and the automatically selected shutter speed in the LCD. The LCD displays HI or LO if the light conditions are outside the available range. In Shutter priority mode, the ADR is covered up and you see the selected shutter speed as a mechanical numerical display in the top right of the viewfinder. The LCD indicates "F" followed by the selected aperture in whole stop increments (even though the exact aperture is selected steplessly). Finally, in Program mode, the LCD displays the automatically selected shutter speed; there is no indication of the selected aperture. Note that the FA has lost the red LED that used to light up on the right side of the FE2's viewfinder when exposure compensation is set to other than "0". You will need to remind yourself to turn off exposure compensation when it is no longer needed.
The FA, like the FE, FE2, FM2 and FM2n exposure meters, uses a pair of silicon photodiodes (SPDs) for exposure measurement. This is the latest generation of exposure meter technology, after Cadmium Sulfide (CdS) technology in the Nikkormat FT (1965) through the FT3 (1977) and gallium-arsenide-phosphide photodiodes in the FM (1977). Silicon photodiodes provide quick response and stability, and apparently lower manufacturing cost for Nikon, compared with the prior generation. Exposure measurement range of the FA is different from the other FM/FE series cameras. In AMP metering, the EV range is 1-16, while in center-weighted metering, the EV range is a wider 1-20 at ASA/ISO 100 and with a 50mm f/1.4 lens (compared to EV 1-18 on other FM/FE series cameras). The FA is still not not as sensitive as the EV -2 to EV +17 range on the F2 Photomic AS, or the EV 0 to EV 21 range of the later Nikon F4. By the way, unlike the FE and FE2, the FA incorporates an eyepiece shutter, which can be used to keep extraneous light from affecting the SPDs when remotely using the FA in the automatic exposure modes.
The center of the viewfinder display, with the standard K-Type focusing screen, contains a small central horizontal split image, surrounded by a microprism donut, which is further surrounded by a large matte donut and a 12mm diameter circle. But utilizing both the split-image and microprism collar, you can manually focus on almost any subject very quickly. Turn the camera at a slight angle when focusing if necessary to find a straight line. I can't resist pointing out that with well-maintained manual focus Nikkor primes, such as AiS lenses, focusing ring operation is buttery smooth, with just the right amount of viscous resistance. With the no-slip knurled focusing rings on the AiS lenses, focusing is quick and accurate. The FA provides three different interchangeable focusing screen types for various applications. There screens are the same ones that are designed for the FE2. I never needed to use any except the standard K2-Type screen. The B2 type screen removes the split image and microprism focusing aids, while the E2 type is the same as the B2, except with horizontal and vertical etched lines. As indicated previously, FM/FE series focusing screens were improved (from the "K" series to the "K2" series) to provide a brighter viewfinder image starting with the FM2/FE2/FA generation.
As mentioned already, the FA is the first SLR in the world to offer a multi-segment exposure metering system. The pattern includes a segment in each of the four quadrants, as well as a central segment, for a total of five segments. The FA uses specially developed software to analyze the scene and pick the best exposure setting for the situation. The AMP system works better than mindless use of the traditional center-weighted exposure system, but is still not perfect. After all, the FA incorporated the very first version of multi-segment exposure metering software. In addition, the FA does not incorporate a mercury switch to determine whether the camera is held horizontally or vertically. Thus, for example, the FA could fail to compensate properly for a bright sky in a vertically framed photograph. An additional shortcoming of the FA's design is that it does not include an exposure lock lever. Nikon would argue that exposure lock is not needed since the newly developed AMP system is so accurate. One must be impressed with Nikon's faith in their new multi-pattern system, but it was certainly premature to remove exposure compensation in this early version of a multi-pattern system. Still, we should not be so hard on Nikon as we look back on the deficiencies of their very first "Matrix" exposure system in 1983. Although Nikon's multi-segment exposure meters and their software have steadily improved with successive generations of film and digital SLRs, the system did not reach its pinnacle until the introduction of the F5, F6 and later digital SLRs with their color matrix meters.
The FA can be switched from AMP exposure metering to traditional center-weighted metering by operating the Metering Control Button on the bottom right of the lens mount. Push the button in and turn clockwise to set center-weighted metering. Turn the button counterclockwise and allow it to pop out to select AMP metering. The Metering Control Button is not as convenient to operate as modern exposure metering selector switches, especially if you have wide fingers. But it works fine. As with center-weighted metering in other FM/FE series cameras, the outer circle in the viewfinder encloses the central area which carries a 60% exposure meter weight, with the area outside the circle comprising the remaining 40%. The most important thing to know about a center-weighted exposure measurement system is how it weights various areas of the viewfinder image so that you can determine how to use it in each situation. The 60/40 system works fine for most situations. It is vast improvement over the classic full-frame averaging system, which was used on a Pentax Spotmatic models, the earliest Nikkormat FT, and other cameras. For these averaging systems, if you wanted a proper exposure, you could not include a bright light or big sky in any area of the frame. Still, with the 60/40 system, you need to determine where to point the camera when manually setting the exposure. Find an areas that is representative of the subject, but which is not overly influenced by a bright light, a bright sky, a dark background, etc. Also make sure to select an area that approximates 18% gray, such as a dense area of green trees in a landscape image. If you cannot find an area that is equivalent to 18% gray that fills the 12mm circle, for example, inside the Haleakala volcano crater on Maui, HI, or a bright snowscape, then you need to compensate the exposure by appropriately changing the aperture or shutter speed in Manual mode, or by changing the exposure compensation dial in Auto mode. Note again that multi-segment metering was conceived to automatically adjust for these difficult exposure situations, although you can not rely on it 100% in this first generation AMP system.
Note that the contemporaneous Nikon F3HP had a different exposure metering pattern. The F3HP, with its 80/20 heavy center-weight, makes it easier to find an area that is 18% gray, without surrounding high-contrast areas influencing the exposure reading too much. The F3HP's strong center-weight was probably the better way to go to obtain accurate exposures in the days before multi-segment metering became sufficiently advanced. However, the F3HP's 80/20 weight could be difficult for amateurs to use properly if they just point and shoot. Modern Nikon bodies generally use a default 75/25 weight in their center-weight metering modes.
Note, by the way, that the FA did not offer spot exposure metering, but only AMP and center-weighted. The successor body to the FA, the N8008 (F801), which came out in 1988, had essentially the same exposure metering system as the FA. Finally, in 1991, the N8008s (F801s), which was an update to the N8008, added a spot metering mode, in addition to multi-segment and center-weighted metering.
The FA incorporates a vertical-travel, metal focal plane shutter with honeycomb titanium or, later, aluminum curtains. Shutter speed range on the FA is not as wide as that of the FE2. The FA can only operate from 1 sec. to 1/4000 sec., while the FE2 operates over an expanded 8 sec. through 1/4000 sec. Of course, like the FE and FE2, the FA's electronic shutter can select any intermediate shutter speed in Aperture Priority or Program exposure mode. In Manual and Shutter Priority mode, you can only select the standard shutter speeds that are indicated on the shutter speed dial. The FA has one mechanical shutter speed, 1/250 sec., which is a separate selection on the shutter speed dial. Given the FA's great reliability and long battery life, I have never had a need to use the 1/250 sec. mechanical shutter speed.
There are just a few more features that I want to mention. On the right front side of the body are located a depth-of-field preview lever and a self timer lever. Like many other cameras, you can check actual depth of field at the set aperture by pressing the depth-of-field lever. The image darkens if the lens is not set for maximum aperture, but you can get a good idea of the expected DOF with your lens/aperture combination. Actually, this lever is not really required with manual focus Nikkor lenses, because such lenses include an easy to read DOF index on the lens barrel. Many AF Nikkor lenses also have DOF index marks. The FA bodies have a mechanical self-timer with a delay of up to approximately 10 seconds. While these cameras do not have a mirror lock-up switch per se, you can simulate MLU by using the self-timer lever. When the shutter release button is pressed after the self-timer is set, the mirror swings up at the start of the timer count.
Finally, a hot-shoe contact is installed on top of the prism housing for flash photography. The FA supports automatic TTL flash control with a four-contact hot shoe and has the same flash capabilities as the FE2. The FA's maximum flash synch speed is 1/250 sec. This maximum synch speed is still current today. On the FA, like the FE and FE2, one of the flash contacts communicates the flash charging status to the camera and lights a red diode "ready light" in the viewfinder when the flash is ready to shoot. Of course, the FA works with any Nikon flash unit. I use my SB-24 and SB-26 and they work great.
In addition to the vast selection of Nikkor and third-party lenses that are available for the Nikon F mount, the FA also accepts various other useful Nikon accessories. One of the most useful is the MD-15 motor drive (and also the MD-12 and earlier MD-11). The MD-15 has the advantage that its battery can also power the camera itself, while the MD-12 and MD-11 cannot. These motor drive units allow rapid fire or remote shooting up to 3.2 frames per second. In my youth, I used to keep the MD-12 attached to my FE and carried it around much of the time. However, the MD-12 (like the MD-15) is quite heavy, especially when loaded with the eight required AA batteries. These days, it would obviously be better to use a more modern camera is you want portable and higher-speed motor drive. Other useful optional accessories (which work with all FM, FE and FA bodies) are the MF-16 data back, the DB-2 Anti-Cold Battery Pack, the DR-3 and DG-2 viewfinder eyepieces, and various eyepiece correction lenses.
Copyright © 2016 Timothy A. Rogers. All rights reserved.
(DSC_6047fin2)
Picture the scene: two gigantic black holes, each one a good fraction of the size of our Solar System spiralling around each other. Closer and closer they draw until they touch and merge into a single, even more gigantic gravitational prison.
But what would you actually see? For such a cataclysmic event, it might all take place with remarkable stealth because black holes by their very nature emit no light at all. Rather than light, it would be a different story if our eyes could see gravitational waves.
This is what the merger of two black holes would look like. It is a computer simulation of the gravitational waves that would ripple away from the titanic collision, a bit like the ripples on a pond when a pebble drops into the water.
In the case of gravitational waves, the disturbances are not in water but in the spacetime continuum. This is the mathematical ‘fabric' of space and time that Albert Einstein used to explain gravity.
Gravitational radiation has been indirectly observed but never seen directly. Its detection would open a whole new way of studying the Universe. As a result, astronomers are working on both ground-based and space-based detectors. And it is a real challenge.
Gravitational radiation is incredibly difficult to measure. The ripples cause atoms to ‘bob’ about to just 1 part in 1000 000 000 000 000 000 000. Building a detector to notice this is like measuring the distance from Earth to the Sun to the accuracy of the size of a hydrogen atom.
Following decades of technology development and experiments, detectors on the ground are nearing the required sensitivity. The first detections are expected in the next few years. But these detectors can see only half of the picture. The mass of the colliding black holes determines the frequency of the gravitational radiation.
The merger of small black holes, each about a few times the mass of the Sun, will create high-frequency gravitational waves that could be seen from the ground. But the giant black holes that sit at the heart of galaxies with masses of a million times that of the Sun will generate gravitational waves of much lower frequency. These cannot be detected with ground-based systems because seismic interference and other noise will overwhelm the signals. Hence, spaceborne observatories are needed.
ESA has selected the gravitational Universe as the focus for the third large mission in the Cosmic Vision plan, with a launch date of around 2034.
Unlocking the gravitational Universe will require a highly ambitious mission. In preparation, ESA will launch LISA-Pathfinder this November to test some of the essential technologies needed to build confidence in future spaceborne gravitational wave observatories.
This image is from a simulation of two black holes merging and the resulting emission of gravitational radiation, published by NASA in 2012.
Credit: NASA/C. Henze
Did some experimentation with micro scale cottages for possible use in future builds. Wanted to make something without gap between the wall and the roof and also try out different roof angles.
Ended up with a few designs using the 1x4 slope which gives a very high roof and a bit of a fantasy feel to it. Tried with different roof sizes and with or without the roof protruding on the sides.
Also made one simpler version with 45 degree roofs. It has a different feel to it, but the upside is that you can add texture or windows to the bottom part of the house ends, which can't really be done for the other houses.
When it comes to stability, the 7 stud roof (black one) is quite unstable while the rest are stable enough. Of course, the bars on the top are loose on all of them :)
I'm kind of leaning towards the white house with brown roof as my favourite, but in a build with many houses I would probably mix and match. What do you guys think?
You can read more at Full Plate Builds :)
Explore #143 08/15/09
Walt Disney World, Epcot - 08/06/09
Reflecting pool outside the Universe of Energy in Future World.
Explore Frontpage | 08.09.2008 (Thank you! Thank you! :D)
Highest Position - Explore #4
Each week I seem to have different fetishes for certain subjects haha! Last week for some reason I was really into heavy machineries or anything to do with industrial equipments… gosh! Do I sound kinky already? :P if not, i'll throw in some leather gears as well to spice it up LOL! Anyway I spotted this towing truck while on a search for a meal at some pub over the weekend. Man! I got really excited as if a sexual rush got into me & of coz at that time, my thought was to screw the food! Camera first!! ;) Fortunately for everyone’s sake, I didn’t do anything naughty in front of this truck :P The driver was busy trying to pull a broke-down car onto the back but he was very kind to let me take photos of it :D
Therefore this message esp to the driver or anyone from city towing - if you happen to find this image via search engine & wish to use it for any commercial use, please feel free to contact me.. its yours for free!! :P perhaps a few free tows of my car if it ever breaks down in future hehe!
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About
City Towing Truck sighted at Port Adelaide
The Shot
Standard 3 exposure shot (+2..0..-2 EV) taken handheld using Sigma DC HSM 10-20mm lens
Photomatix
- Tonemapped generated HDR using detail enhancer option
Photoshop
- Added 1 layer mask effect of 'curves' to increase the contrast
- Added 1 layer mask effect of 'saturation' (yellows) to slightly increase the tone of the sun reflection
- Added 1 layer mask effect of 'saturation' (blues & cyans) to slightly tone down the sky
- Added 1 layer mask effect of 'level' to brighten up the image a bit more
- Applied dodging on the bullbar & part of the body to give it a slightly more shine
- Stamp cloned away the number plate just for privacy purpose
- Used 'unsharp mask' (as always) on the background layer
You
All comments, criticism and tips for improvements are (as always) welcome.
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Three women were sitting together drinking coffee on a lovely peaceful afternoon.
They talked about their husbands, lovers, sons and men in general.
They soon became bitter somehow.
They remembered the role of men in history.
The women remembered the thin, almost transparent layer of cultural civilization. Alcohol and group gathering and a bogeyman too often showed the ugly face of the forgotten malignancy of that angry chimpanzee underneath that layer.
As hooligans they hardly recognized their sons and men again.
The sons, who were second-born (the third and fourth sons aso.), had to leave the farm and home to seek their fortune and fame and a (new) empire in the world.
The woman remembered the vulnerability of their sons to ideologies and religions, their black and white thinking, their simple solutions and their intolerant and bloody "us and them", to achieve their merciless goals.
How easily they could be seduced by cynical old men, who always let the young suicide bombers go first into that promised land in the afterlife, which had not ever been seen by nobody, ever and never. ;-)
The desperate women thought about the wars and the rapes, mass killings, and the crusades, the Holocaust, the genocides, the general racism in this world.
They thought of the crime statistics, the severity of the crimes that have been committed by men and will be in future.
The prisoners, guards, judges and lawyers, the police and politicians, investment bankers and the tax dodgers.
They had to think about the men of religions and their misogyny.
They thought of the testosterone in general.
Or was it just a problem of the youth bulges and not religions, tribal feuds and poverty as main reasons responsible for the escalation of terrorism?
Is the oversized proportion of the male youth in the total population to blame for the deadly fights?
Do religions and ideologies only provide the necessary disinhibition to kill for the future world warrior?
Even terrorists need a justification, so that they can sleep better.
They want to kill for a "better" peaceful world, how perverse is that???
The list and the questions seemed endless.
The three women were moaning deeply, a moan so deep and old as mankind itself.
So much pain in the world!
The women did not have the arrogance to believe that they had considered everything, but what had occurred to them was bad enough, wasn`t it?
Then suddenly they had an idea, a brilliant idea they thought:
Fast, repeated cuts, in order to reduce the "Imaginary Heroes" to their right measurement.
The only infirmity of this argument was, that every son has got a mother ;-)
Even if it was just a daydream, men do not fall asleep too tight tonight and the nights after, the woman of the world could wake up very soon before you do ;-).
SCOUT: “Paddy! Paddy! Paddy come quickly!”
PADDY: “What is it, Scout? What’s wrong!”
SCOUT: “Paddy! Paddy! Look, I found a funny looking egg. It must have fallen out of a nest in one of these big, tall trees. Poor egg!”
PADDY: *Puts paw to mouth and quietly chuckles.*
SCOUT: “Paddy! Why are you laughing! This is no laughing matter! The poor egg is lying on the ground without a mummy or daddy to look after it and keep the baby inside warm!”
PADDY: “Oh, I’m sorry Scout. I didn’t mean to laugh. It’s only that that isn’t an egg, Scout.”
SCOUT: “It isn’t, Paddy?”
PADDY: “No Scout, it’s a ball.”
SCOUT: “A ball! Oh goody! It’s the perfect size for us! Let’s kick the ball around!” *Runs towards ball.*
PADDY: “Oh no, Scout!” It’s not a kicking ball it’s….”
SCOUT: “OUCH!” *Jumps up and down and rubs paw.* “Ouchy! Wouchie! Paddy! That ball isn’t soft at all! I hurt my little paw!” *Jumps up and down and rubs paw.*
PADDY: “Oh, I’m sorry Scout! I was just trying to tell you that not all balls are suitable for throwing or kicking.” *Concerned.* “This is a golf ball. Golf balls are hard balls because they get hit by a stick called a golf club.”
SCOUT: “Well you might have told me sooner, Paddy!” *Jumps up and down and rubs paw.* “Ouchy! Wouchie! Nasty, nasty golf ball!”
DADDY: “Is everything alright Paddy and Scout? I thought I heard crying!” *Concerned.*
SCOUT: “You did Daddy! It was me! I hurt by paw kicking that nasty old golf ball!” *Points accusingly to golf ball.* “Ouchy! Wouchie! Daddy!”
DADDY: “Oh poor Scout! Are you alright, Paddy?”
PADDY: “Yes I am, thank you Daddy. I tried to warn Scout, but I’m afraid I was too late. Sorry!”
DADDY: “Oh that’s alright, Paddy. You did you best, and sometimes accidents happen, don’t they Scout?”
SCOUT: “I don’t like this accident, I hurt my little paw!” *Jumps up and down and rubs paw.*
DADDY: “Well, I think I have something that will help make that hurt paw stop hurting, Scout.”
SCOUT: “You do, Daddy?” *Stops jumping up and down. “What is it?”
DADDY: “Well, It’s nearly sunset anyway, so I am going to pick you and Paddy up, so you don’t have to walk on your sore paw back to the house where we are staying. And when we get there, I am going to make us all a nice cup of tea each, and I have some chocolate for us to eat before dinner. Does that make you feel better, Scout?”
SCOUT: “Oh it does Daddy! Chocolate, Daddy! Chocolate!” *Licks lips with cute little pink bear tongue. “Grumbly tummy Daddy! Grumbly tummy!” *Rubs tummy vigorously.*
PADDY: “Oh thank you Daddy!” *Reaches up paws to be picked up.*
SCOUT: “Oh yes, thank you Daddy!” *Reaches up paws to be picked up.*
DADDY: *Picks up Paddy and Scout and cuddles them both.* “So Scout, let this be a lesson for you. Not all balls are suitable for kicking or throwing.”
SCOUT: “Oh you are so right, Daddy! I shall be more careful in future.” *Thinks.* “Do you know what, Daddy?”
DADDY: “What’s that, little Scout?”
SCOUT: “Being safe and carried in your arms makes my sore paw feel better already.”
DADDY: “Does it, Scout? Oh I am glad.”
SCOUT: “Me too Daddy! I love you so much!” *Snuggles against Daddy.*
PADDY: “I love you too, Daddy, very, very much!” *Snuggles against Scout and Daddy.*
DADDY: “Well that’s just as well Scout and Paddy, because I love you both too, very, very much!”
Paddy, Scout and I took a quick holiday to the alpine region of Victoria where I photographed the autumn colours. This includes a visit to the small township of Wandiligong which is where I photographed Paddy and Scout and the wild golf ball!
Being slightly colder in the alpine region, both Paddy and Scout are wearing hand knitted scarves and hats by Lorna's Lovely Looks. Paddy sports a strawberry pin and Scout insisted on wearing a Hungry Caterpillar one, which seems most appropriate. Both were gifts from a good friend who is very fond of Paddy and Scout.
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.
Wandiligong is a town in north-eastern Victoria in the alpine region around 330 kilometres from Melbourne. Established in the 1850s as part of the Victorian Gold Rush, Wandiligong became a hub for many gold miners, including a large Chinese community. At its peak, the town was home to over two thousand inhabitants and boasted shops, churches, a public library, halls and even an hotel. Much has changed since those heady days of the gold rush, and the picturesque town nestled in a valley and built around the Morses Creek, is now a sleepy little town full of picturesque houses which are often let to visitors to the area. The whole town is registered with the National Trust of Australia for its historic landscape and buildings of historic value.
That is the time of starting his story; that is the time of his great stap to get new life. Autumn and colors of autumn is felt him like the way in future
Operations image of the week:
A team of researchers at ESA’s mission control centre in Darmstadt, Germany, are investigating new concepts for controlling rovers on a planet and satellites in orbit.
One approach is to assess the latest developments in augmented and virtual reality and how they can be applied to the stringent operational and safety requirements of spaceflight, both robotic and human.
“In one case, we are looking into emerging technologies such as virtual and augmented reality, working together with colleagues from ESA’s European Astronaut Centre in Cologne,” says Mehran Sarkarati.
“In particular, we are developing prototypes in astronaut operations and training while identifying scenarios for interactive spacecraft and robotic control.”
In this image, Steffen Bamfaste, a data systems engineer, demonstrates how astronauts might train in future to extinguish a fire inside a lunar habitat.
Similar augmented reality technology holds promise for satellite control by means of virtual displays and advanced, integrated team communication capabilities.
Today, engineers must upload a stack of commands to instruct a satellite to adjust its orbit or a rover to switch one of its onboard devices on or off, for example.
In future, perhaps they’ll do this with a simple wave of a hand.
More info on the Advanced Ground Software Applications Laboratory.
Credit: ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
another beastie ive been hunting, Biffa Bin Wagons are now quite common, but actually having a camera handy when there is one around has been so difficult, i think in future i shall take my camera everywhere
Sometimes I keep a flower pot with the ulterior motive, 'Maybe I can using it in future'. And sometimes it is the beginning of a long friendship
The locomotives designated in Russia "E" were built for Tsarist Russia during WW1 on three American locomotive plants, ALCO, Baldwin and Canadian Locomotive Company under common terms of reference to have 2-10-0 class locomotive. The class gave semi-formal naming of the E type in Russia: "The Russian decapode". A lot of work were needed to unify their final design between so proud producers. There were few generations and orders during active phase of the World War. After the war ending the new order for production of 500 locomotives (with option of 1000 in future) was canceled due to the inability of new Russia to pay the rest of the war credit. From this oreder 100 already built locomotives have been transported in Russia, but another 200 left in US where were rebuilt to European gauge and worked on Erie, Seabord Air Line railroad and others. Totally 881 locomotives built by ALCO, Baldwin and CLC were sell to Imperial and Soviet Russia. They worked mostly in Siberian region and on the Far East of Russia.
ICM shot I've been playing with for a while. I'm really quite pleased with this one and something ill be doing a lot more of in future.
www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/b/bemptoncliffs/index.aspx
Top things to do in Summer
1.Experience the sights, sounds and smells of the miraculous seabird spectacle at the peak of the breeding season
2.The surrounding fields are bejewelled by glorious red campion flowers
3.Enjoy a bite to eat in the family-friendly picnic area
www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/b/bemptoncliffs/about.aspx
A family favourite, and easily the best place in England to see, hear and smell seabirds! More than 200,000 birds (from April to August) make the cliffs seem alive – with adults bringing food to their nests, or young chicks making their first faltering flights.
With huge numbers to watch, beginners can easily learn the difference between gannets, guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes and fulmars. The easily recognisable puffins (here between April and July) are always a delight. Specially-created cliff top viewpoints are wheelchair accessible with care.
You can watch our 200,000 seabirds LIVE on CCTV through the breeding season from March to October. Meet our information assistants and hear about the live action, watch it for yourself on our two TV screens and enjoy the close-up images of our nesting gannets.
Opening times
The reserve is open at all times. From March to October, the visitor centre is open daily from 9.30 am to 5 pm, and from November to February, 9.30 am to 4 pm.
Entrance charges
Entry is free of charge to members all year. There's a charge for non-members of £5 per car, minibus £8 and coach £10.
If you are new to birdwatching...
The birds are easy to see during breeding season - creating a fantastic seascape and bird spectacle. Only eight target seabird species breed here, so learning to identify birds is simple. In winter, common passerines (buntings, sparrows and finches) and short-eared owls (vary in numbers from one year to next) can be seen and identified.
Information for families
Reserve already popular with families. Various family events included in our programme throughout the year. Backpack Activity days very popular.
Information for dog owners
Dogs are welcome on the reserve, however they must be kept on leads at all times. This is to ensure that ground nesting birds are not disturbed, and also to ensure the safety of dogs on the cliff top.
www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/b/bemptoncliffs/star_speci...
Star species
Our star species are some of the most interesting birds you may see on your visit to the reserve.
Gannet
Look for stunning gannets cruising around at the base of the cliffs and fishing out to sea by rising up into the air before plunging in headfirst with their wings close.
Kittiwake
Visit Bempton in spring and early summer and your ears will be filled with the unmistakable 'kitti-wake' calls of this dainty gull. Look along the cliffs to see them packed onto their tiny nesting ledges.
Puffin
Enjoy the comical antics of puffins in spring and early summer from the viewing points on the cliffs. Watch the adults returning from fishing forays at sea with sandeels hanging from their colourful beaks.
Short-eared owl
Short-eared owls can be seen hunting over the clifftop grassland here in winter. The afternoons are a good time to spot them banking and gliding just above the ground; their piercing yellow eyes scanning for voles moving in the grass below.
Tree sparrow
Flocks of tree sparrows can be seen in the cliff top fields and are regular visitors to the feeding stations. Listen out for their conversational calls - a hard and piercing 'tek'.
www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/b/bemptoncliffs/seasonal_h...
Seasonal highlights
Each season brings a different experience at our nature reserves. In spring, the air is filled with birdsong as they compete to establish territories and attract a mate. In summer, look out for young birds making their first venture into the outside world. Autumn brings large movements of migrating birds - some heading south to a warmer climate, others seeking refuge in the UK from the cold Arctic winter. In winter, look out for large flocks of birds gathering to feed, or flying at dusk to form large roosts to keep warm.
Spring
Breeding seabirds start to return, including gannets, puffins, guillemots, razorbills, fulmars, kittiwakes, herring gulls and shags. Farmland birds such as skylarks, tree sparrows, linnets, meadow pipits, reed and corn buntings can be seen. There are normally short-eared owls and peregrines to be seen too. Migratory birds include arriving wheatears and various warblers, while over-wintering thrushes can be seen on the reserve before moving back into mainland Europe. Porpoises can often be seen on calm days while early morning visits may provide sightings of roe deer.
Summer
Breeding season is in full swing with all 200,000 seabirds with eggs or chicks. Breeding tree sparrows, whitethroats, grasshopper warblers, sedge warblers, skylarks, linnets, reed buntings, rock and meadow pipits can be seen within 200 m of the visitor centre and car park. A moderate range of the commoner butterflies may be seen on sunny days, along with day-flying moths such as cinnabars, burnet moths and occasionally hummingbird hawk-moths. Trailside flora is dominated by red campion, black knapweed, various thistles and orchids including common spotted, northern marsh and pyramidal.
Autumn
All seabirds departed and breeding finished except for gannets. The autumnal migration can be exciting at Bempton owing to its coastal location and being on a headland. Short-eared owls begin to arrive to stay for the winter (depending on food availability) but the main interest is in the arrival of migrants such as willow warblers, chiffchaffs, whitethroats, lesser whitethroats, reed warblers, sedge warblers, goldcrests, stonechats, whinchats, wheatears and redstarts. Scarce species occur annually such as red-backed shrikes, and barred and icterine warblers. October is peak time to witness the winter thrush arrival, often hundreds of redwings, blackbirds, song thrushes and fieldfares occur along with occasional ring ouzels. Offshore, movements of seabirds may be seen in ideal weather conditions (strong NW winds). These include Manx and sooty shearwaters, Arctic and great skuas. Around the car park area migrant hawker and common darter dragonflies can be seen. There is little botanical interest at this time of year.
Winter
This is normally a quiet time of year. Bracing clifftop walks and fantastic seascapes are probably the best in Yorkshire. Up to 12 short-eared owls winter here, though in poor 'vole' years there may only be a few. The bird feeding station offers food and shelter to a range of commoner species such as tree sparrows (110 have been counted), greenfinch (60), and smaller numbers of blackbirds, robins, dunnocks, wrens, chaffinches, bramblings and various tit species. The cliff face attracts very few birds except for occasional herring gulls and fulmars, but by January gannets will return in good numbers with occasional days of guillemots in good numbers too.
www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/b/bemptoncliffs/facilities...
Facilities
Facilities
•Visitor centre
•Information centre
•Car park : Car park has no height restrictions. Cycle rack available close to visitor centre.
•Toilets
•Disabled toilets
•Picnic area
•Binocular hire
•Live camera
•Group bookings accepted
•Guided walks available
•Remote location
•Good for walking
•Pushchair friendly
Viewing points
Five cliff-top viewpoints and a bird feeding station. The five viewpoints are:
Grandstand: 200 m from visitor centre/car park, accessible by wheelchairs/pushchairs with care
Bartlett Nab: 400 m from visitor centre/car park and not easily accessible by wheelchairs/pushchairs
Jubilee Corner: 900 m from visitor centre/car park, not easily accessible by wheelchairs/pushchairs
New Roll-up: 500 m from visitor centre/car park, not easily accessible by wheelchairs/pushchairs
Staple Newk: 900m from visitor centre/car park, not easily accessible by wheelchairs/pushchairs.
The bird feeding station is easily accessed, 50 m from visitor centre/car park.
Nature trails
There are two nature trails. The first nature trail leading to five cliff-top viewpoints. The most distant viewpoints are 900 m from the visitor centre. Part of the trail is crushed chalk, with the remainder over worn grass. There is easy wheelchair and pushchair access to one viewpoint only. Paths can be wet and slippery following wet weather conditions, therefore care should be taken. The discovery trail is a shorter farmland walk.
Refreshments available
•Hot drinks
•Cold drinks
•Snacks
•Confectionery
Shop
The shop stocks:
•Binoculars and telescopes
•Books
•Bird food
•Gifts
Educational facilities
The Bempton Field Teaching Scheme operates throughout the year and offers exciting educational opportunities linked with the National Curriculum. The busiest time is from May to July, when breeding seabirds are at their peak. The scheme provides a unique opportunity to discover breeding seabirds, such as gannets and puffins, as well as investigating the challenging habitats in this fantastic coastal location. A truly memorable experience!
www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/b/bemptoncliffs/accessibil...
Accessibility
26 October 2012
This is a Summary Access Statement. A full access statement is available to download from this page
Before you visit
•Clear print leaflet available on request
•Free parking for members. Parking charge for non members. Free parking for carer or essential companion
•Registered Assistance Dogs welcome
•Check accessibility for events and activities
•Wheelchair free of charge to hire. Pre-booking advised
•Live footage on TV in Visitor Centre
How to get here
•Bempton railway station is 1.25 miles away
•The nearest bus stops are on the main B1229 through the village, around 1 mile from the reserve
•No pavement on road to reserve
Car parking
•Four blue badge parking spaces 10 m (13 yards) from the visitor centre on bound gravel and paved path
•60 spaces in main car park, is a short walk to the main entrance of the visitor centre
•Overflow with 60 spaces on grass
•The path surface from the overflow car park is crushed limestone on exiting the field and after 20 m (26 yards) joins the path from the coach drop-off point (see below)
•Drop-off point 50 m (60 yards) from the visitor centre with a crushed limestone surface with a 1:10 sloped descent
•No lighting or height restrictions.
Visitor centre
Situated on ground floor level with step free access. Live footage on TV from the colony. Four circular tables with seating. Outside when weather is fine. Tiled floor surface. Artificial and natural lighting. Access ramp leads to reserve.
Nature trails
The reserve offers visitors a mixture of trails. A mix of bonded tar-spray chip, crushed limestone or mown grass. Most trails are a minimum of 1200mm/47ins wide and the majority lead to the cliff top viewing points (see Viewing Facilities below).
Viewing facilities
Five built viewpoints along the cliff top path, most have seats. In the Visitor Centre there is live footage on TV of the colony. From car park to exit is The Dell - good for small migrant birds - with a narrow grass path with inclines to and from two seats. A bird feeding station is off the path between the coach park and visitor centre.
Toilets
There are toilets and an accessible toilets outside the visitor centre, with level access to all. Note there are no toilet facilities beyond the visitor centre.
Catering
A servery with a hatch facing outside the visitor centre offering hot and cold beverages, snacks and ice creams. Hatch is 900 mm (36 inches) from the ground.
Shop
The shop is within the visitor centre. Staff and volunteers can assist. There is level entry and no doors to enter apart from those at the main entrance. The shop is lit with spot lamps.
Education area
There is currently a short mown grass square to the rear of the visitor centre which serves as an outdoor classroom reached via the access ramp.
Picnic area
Seven picnic tables - four on grass and three with spaces for wheelchairs on crushed limestone surface - situated 25 m/30 yards from the visitor centre.
For more information
Bempton Cliffs
E-mail: bempton.cliffs@rspb.org.uk
Telephone:01262 851179
YO15 1JF
www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/b/bemptoncliffs/directions...
How to get here
By train
Nearest railway station 200 m south of Bempton village. Exit station and turn left, follow road down to church, walk up lane adjacent to church to staggered cross-road junction. Walk across road and take the road adjacent to the White Horse public house, northwards to the reserve. Total walking distance 1.5 miles (2.4 km). Walking time 40 minutes.
By bus
Nearest bus stop in Bempton village, 1 mile (1.5 km) from the reserve. Buses will drop off at any point on request. Disembark at White Horse public house and follow road northwards up the lane to the reserve. Walking time 30 minutes.
By road
The reserve is on the cliff road from the village of Bempton, which is on the B1229 road from Flamborough to Filey. In Bempton village, turn northwards at the White Horse public house and the reserve is at the end of the road after 1 mile (follow the brown tourist signs).
Other ways to get to the reserve
Trains and buses stop at Bempton, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the reserve. The timetables are seasonal so we advise you call the Visitor Centre for further details. Nearest ferry port in Hull and Humberside Airport in north Lincolnshire.
www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/b/bemptoncliffs/ourwork/in...
Management
Our Bempton Cliffs reserve, on the Yorkshire coast, protects over five kilometres of sea cliffs. From April to mid-August, these support England's largest population of seabirds. Grassland and scrub along the cliff tops are also home to breeding and wintering farmland birds.
The RSPB is managing the reserve for the benefit of its wildlife, which also includes seals and porpoises, and with a long-term view to upgrading its protection status.
Cliff-face communities
Bempton's breeding seabirds are internationally important, making the cliffs both a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Protection Area.
Species include kittiwakes, gannets, guillemot, razorbills and puffins. We have specific targets for every one: for instance, we would like to maintain a yearly kittiwake population of 43,000 nesting pairs, producing at least one young each.
During the breeding season, our cliff-top patrols help prevent disturbance by visitors and fishermen.
Leading by example
Unfortunately seabird colonies are vulnerable to environmental threats that lie beyond our control. These include climate change and industrial fishing, which affect the birds' food supplies. We aim to use Bempton to highlight these issues, so that key decision makers will take action to safeguard the long-term future of seabirds. We hope this will lead to Bempton being designated a marine Special Conservation Area.
Room at the top
The grassland and scrub at the top of the cliffs are home to farmland birds such as tree sparrows, skylarks and linnets. Short-eared owls also spend winter here.
We are cutting back scrub and harrowing grassland in order to increase the population of insects and small mammals on which all these birds feed. We also put out extra food when necessary.
Vision for visitors
The seabird spectacle at Bempton makes the reserve very popular during summer, while the farmland birds help generate interest all-year-round. We aim to continue attracting and educating people, and inspiring them to support the marine environment.
Our facilities currently include a shop, picnic area and cliff top walks. We aim to develop these, with a view to increasing numbers to 60,000 visitors per annum over the next five years.
Tracking gannets
For the first time, we're finding out where Bempton's gannets go when they're away from the colony.
RSPB scientists have fitted satellite tags to a number of adult gannets so that we can monitor where they go to catch fish. The tags are designed so that they don't hurt or hinder the birds, and they will eventually fall off when the gannets grow new tail feathers, if not sooner.
We need to find out whether the birds are using areas which the government has earmarked as potential wind farms, and how that might affect them. This information will be used to help plan where to put wind turbines at sea.
What we're doing
•Fourteen adult gannets were fitted with satellite tags in July 2010 (and another 13 in July 2011)
•In 2010 we got data from all 14 tags during the time when the gannets were rearing their chicks, and several kept transmitting data late into the breeding season
•The highest density of recorded locations at sea was within 31-62 miles (50-100 km) of Bempton Cliffs
•The greatest overlap with any of the proposed wind farm areas was with the Hornsea zone, which is nearest to Bempton
•These results are from just one breeding season, so it's unclear just how representative they are of what Bempton's gannets do. We'll monitor them again in future breeding seasons to learn more.
You can find out more about this work on the gannet tracking project page.