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"High authorities"
Le Monument international de la Réformation, généralement connu sous le nom de Mur des réformateurs (Genève - Suisse)
Website : www.fluidr.com/photos/pat21
www.flickriver.com/photos/pat21/sets/
"Copyright © – Patrick Bouchenard
The reproduction, publication, modification, transmission or exploitation of any work contained here in for any use, personal or commercial, without my prior written permission is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved."
A disused scrapyard where there are a few instances of trees growing through some of the broken car bodies of a period of 31 years.
n autumn and winter, when insect prey becomes scarcer, great tits add berries and seeds to their diet. Seeds and fruit usually come from deciduous trees and shrubs, like for instance the seeds of beech and hazel.Originally a woodland bird, the Great Tit has adapted to man made habitats very well and will regularly be seen in our gardens of bird feeders. With an acrobatic nature, you may also see these small birds hopping between branches or hanging upside down to feed in our gardens.
It's interesting how scarcity alters the perception. For instance, I happen to think that the magpie (Pica pica) is one of the absolutely most beautiful birds we have in Sweden with that high contrast white and black plumage and a metallic green shimmer hiding in the black parts - but since it's an extremely common bird, people seem to rarely notice its beauty.
This here is a bee beetle (Trichius fasciatus) which if not common, at least not rare around these parts. I posted a shot of one of these several years back and got an impressed comment from someone in the UK as I in his eyes had shot an extremely rare beetle - as it is much more scarce in the UK than here.
This of course works both ways as there are loads of cool UK bugs that would be awesome to come across up here.
This particular bee beetle was enjoying pollen on a tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) near the boat pier at Lillsved in the northern part of the peninsula of Värmdö, just east of Stockholm, Sweden.
A disused factory is keeping the vandals busy. The saying, "the devil finds work for idle hands" seems apt in this instance. It isn't a quote from the Bible, but there's perhaps a grain of truth in it.
We all have a fallen, sinful nature. Whilst I am sure that, at times, the devil is only too willing to capitalise on that fact, we really don't need to blame the devil for inspiring our bad behaviour.
You and I might never have been tempted to break windows and spray-paint the walls of someone else's building, but, when left to our own devices, we often tend towards selfish, indulgent and destructive behaviour.
If we are honest, I think we can admit that we rarely live up to the standards we set for ourselves, nor the standards we expect of others. How much less, then, do we measure up against the standards God has set?
Romans 3:23 says: "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Now, if your property was the target of vandalism, I'm sure you would like to see the perpetrators caught and punished. If there were any justice in the world they would be. Well, God is just. And He has promised a final judgement for all of us:
"It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." (Hebrews 9:27)
On judgement day, none of us will be able to claim that we measure up to God's standards. Let's face it, we don't even live up to our own!
Whether we realise it or not, we are all 'guilty as charged' in God's courtroom and awaiting sentencing. Justice demands punishment, but God has already paid the penalty. He has made it possible for us to have our 'charge sheet' wiped clean:
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
We cannot pay for a life of rebellion towards God, but we can exercise "repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21) in order to accept God's gift of forgiveness.
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23)
There's quite a few instances where GP40TCs led trains 29 & 30, the Capitol Limited during the early 1990s. Witness #193 leading 29 at 4:47pm on September 13th 1992. AD Saleker took this shot at Washington Grove, MD. This same pair of engines led #30 which came east earlier that day, of which I have the companion AD Saleker shot taken at Metropolitan Grove. JL Sessa collection.
Photographing a poppy flower is quite a challenge, the slightest breeze makes them hard to photograph. In this instance I found poppies growing in front of a metal barrier creating a grey background instead of the usual green or blue.
The Northern Lights of The Aurora Borealis form amazing displays. As humans through identify threat and food we begin to see all sorts of things within all sorts of often none related things. Pareidolia is the term applied to our making sense of shapes and patterns that brings an acceptance of a structure in an image that many will be also able to see such as either a face for instance, or maybe here a Dragon? The Dragon was visible forming and flying on all through one area of The Northern Lights of The Aurora Borealis that were dancing and continually moving.
As for the title, “is it better either One, Number Two, or Three, maybe Four,” would it be of no surprise to mention that I have seen an Optician recently?
© PHH Sykes 2024 also edited © PHH Sykes 2025
phhsykes@gmail.com
'In Breughel's Icarus, for instance: how everything turns away
Quite leisurely from the disaster; the ploughman may
Have heard the splash, the forsaken cry,
But for him it was not an important failure; the sun shone
As it had to on the white legs disappearing into the green
Water; and the expensive delicate ship that must have seen
Something amazing, a boy falling out of the sky,
had somewhere to get to and sailed calmly on.' (Auden) 😊
Sélestat (Bas-Rhin) - Tribunal d'instance (1900, style néogothique)
fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%A9lestat#Lieux_et_monuments
fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribunal_d%27instance_de_S%C3%A9lestat
Some photographs communicate the photographer's state of mind to the viewer. For instance, a majestic mountain top sunrise might convey the photographer's state of awe, whereas a placid lake conveys his or her feelings of tranquility and calm, or a solitary leaf conveys feelings of loneliness or isolation.
This is probably not one of those photographs.
As a photographer, it's impossible to totally isolate yourself afterwards from the experience of taking the photograph and view it entirely objectively, like any other person would viewing it fresh for the first time.
But I can try.
Looking at this photo, I think most folks would see the zig-zag trail heading into a bright clearing and, perhaps depending on whether they are optimists or pessimists, think about the phrases "light at the end of the tunnel" or "not out of the woods yet," respectively. The soft snow looks sleepy and comfortable, but the shadowy woods along the path are a little spooky and mysterious. And the cool blue tones are icy and refreshing, like a stick of winterfresh gum.
While those thoughts may have subconsciously played a part in me making this photograph, I can assure you that is not what was going through my head at the time. This was the day after my three-year-old daughter's birthday party, which was Beauty and the Beast themed, and the only thing running through my head on loop all day -- throughout my entire 4.5 hour hike -- was that little candlestick singing "Be our Guest."
But please, if I am wrong and that got through to anyone viewing this photo, please let me know.
A rare instance, the beach boxes at Brighton with virtually no one around. Mind you I had to choose my moment, there was a busload of tourists around when I first arrived.
"Remember that the most beautiful things in the world are the most useless, peacocks and lilies for instance."
- John Ruskin (English Writer and Critic of art, architecture, and society, 1819-1900)
Update: You want to hear something very funny? My brother, the talented MrClean1982, posted a peacock today... but I didn't know it until AFTER I found this quote!
Perhaps we're really related after all, even though he's been telling me I was adopted since we were kids.. :o)
A gift of lilies from a friend....here's to a day filled with useless beauty
(and HBW!)
Throughout Cirque du Mystère, there are instances that will damage your health. Your health will restore over time, but for instant gains, Health Potions are available.
There are 3 levels of potions. Your game HUD comes with a few potions already preloaded to help you get started! Additional potions can be purchased with Circus Coins.
Find the Circus Coins and Potions vendor at the Game Start: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/MadPea%20Mad%20City/90/86/25
A portrait that in it's instance loses it's real time and is transformed into a perfect analogon of reality, sculpting her beauty through light.
Two light Setup. One 3x4 Profoto and a 5' Octa, with Giant Reflector panel from the right. Profoto acute 2400 generator.
Hasselblad H3D 31 with Hasselblad 210 HCD.
Photography John Magas & Anthea Blanas
Model Evangelia Gkountroumpi
Retouch John Magas
Find me on Facebook www.facebook.com/johnmagasdesign
This is one of those photographic instances when you wish the sun was not out and it is a bright but cloudy day. The sunshine and long autumn shadows caused some awkward lighting conditions on the initial colour result. However, after a number of attempts and iterations with todays technology and conversion to black and white I have managed to achieve an acceptable image.
Northern 158869 stands in the single remaining platform at Bishop Auckland having just arrived working 2D07. 10:57 Saltburn – Bishop Auckland, 7th November 2021.
At its height after its 1905 rebuild Bishop Auckland was an extensive station with platforms on all three sides of the triangle of lines and substantial station buildings in the middle of the triangle. The current single platform is on the site of the original platform 1 which had an overall roof.
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My technique is alway the same:
Three exposures -2EV, 0, +2EV and then temperature adjustement using Lightroom and layering with luminosity mask using photoshop. Removal of distracting stuff with the stamp tool or patch tool. High pass filter to enhance details. Then saturation, contrast selectively control, dodge and burn where need...
DRI stand for Dynamic Range Increase. Three RAW files are used to achieve this. Rather than using a software like Photomatix for instance, I simply use mask to blend, my own way, the light, dark and normal shot with Photoshop and Lightroom.. To me, It looks more natural than the usual HDR treatment that I would normally applied.
Merci pour les visites, commentaires, récompenses, invitations et favoris. S.V.P. n'utilisez pas mes images sur des sites web, blogs ou autres médias sans ma permission.
Merci!
© Tous droits réservés
Ma technique est toujours la même:
Trois prises de vue -2EV, 0, +2EV. Ensuite ajustement de la température de couleur avec Lightroom et usage de calques et masques de luminosités avec Photoshop. Retrait d'éléments de distraction avec l'outil tampon. Filtre High pass pour le rehaussement des détails. Ensuite saturation et contraste ajustés de façon sélectives et locales. Dodge and burn là où requis...
DRI vient de l'anglais Dynmic Range Increase, qui pourrait se traduire par étendue dynamique améliorée. Les même 3 fichiers RAW entrent dans la composition d'un DRI. Plutôt que de se servir d'un logiciel comme Photomatix qui fait tout le travail, je me sers plutôt de masques pour filtrer l'éclairage dans photoshop et Lightroom. De mon point de vue, cette façon de faire donne une image plus naturel que le traitement HDR que j'employais auparavant.
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That was a pretty unique instance, the location, weather, the light and there is always the chance that panoramas of that sort don't work out as planned, so I'm pretty ok with the outcome.
It was the last day of a high pressure system and just a few fluffy picturesque clouds were showing up, next day it was already hazy and overcast past noon. I started my hike in the morning and I'm so glad I 'wasted' a lot of time somewhere else, otherwise I would not have been there in this nice afternoon light.
Also the IR response from the vegetation at this altitude appears to be rather different, sparse in a way, so the development was challenging but this also led to a somewhat novel outcome that's quite fitting I think. I did three panoramas at the lake and they all worked out surprisingly, offering something different each so I did my best to also develop them in distinct ways. Maybe you'll see..
Source for this is a mercator projection consisting of 30 individual photos, 20355 x 15538px, ~316,3MP, then chopped down to 8:5 and ~34,4MP.
Nikon D90 (APS-C, fullspectrum mod)
Tamron 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di ll VC HLD
Hoya R72 (720nm infrared pass-filter)
ISO200, 24mm, f/6.3, 0,4sec
(therefore 36mm full frame equivalent)
tripod, panorama head, remote (ML-L3)
I know this the third image in a row with a super wide crop. It just worked so well for these images. Warblers are quite small and unless you get them on a vertical or diagonal perch you're often left with a lot of dead space. That being said, you can't control where a bird lands. You can recommend a particular branch all you want but a Warbler is going to Warble wherever it so pleases. Sometimes a bird will land on that perfect perch and other times you are not so lucky. For instance, this Worm-eating Warbler gave quite the performance while the Warbler Crazy team and myself looked on. He mainly stuck to an old and long dead tree in the middle of a small clearing near the trail, only coming down to nice photographable perch one or two times. After singing to his hearts content he made a quick stop on this perch giving us one last look before hitting the road. That was a lie, he came back but in a dense shrub for all of thirty seconds.
yet another instance of this pedestrian passage in Edinburgh, which is find utterly wonderful and scifiesque.
+++UPDATE+++ This image is part of a series of four shots from this location that has won me the title Nature Photographer Of The Year at the prestigious International Photography Awards.
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I just returned from this year's Namibia workshop - great as always. Even though this was already our 9th or 10th visit, I still consider it a huge privilege to be able to walk around in the incredibly stunning landscapes this amazing country has to offer.
What surprises me every time, is that even though I know most of the locations we visit by heart, and have taken thousands of images there, I still see new compositions that I missed on previous visits. This changes from year to year. Last year for instance, I suddenly saw way more possibilities than the years before, and I still wonder what caused that. One day you're really struggling to get anything decent, the next you see nothing but great shots to be taken all around you.
Anyway, this is one from last year's visit to Namibia's most iconic location: Deadvlei. Shot early morning during pre-glow.
If you're interested in joining me on this spectacular trip, please check out my website for more information, pictures and tour impression video clips:
Squiver Photo Tours & Workshops
Hope to see you there!
Marsel
From my set entitled “Roses”
www.flickr.com/photos/21861018@N00/sets/72157607214064416/
In my collection entitled “The Garden”
www.flickr.com/photos/21861018@N00/collections/7215760718...
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A rose is a perennial flowering shrub or vine of the genus Rosa, within the family Rosaceae, that contains over 100 species. The species form a group of erect shrubs, and climbing or trailing plants, with stems that are often armed with sharp thorns. Most are native to Asia, with smaller numbers of species native to Europe, North America, and northwest Africa. Natives, cultivars and hybrids are all widely grown for their beauty and fragrance. [1]
The leaves are alternate and pinnately compound, with sharply toothed oval-shaped leaflets. The plants fleshy edible fruit is called a rose hip. Rose plants range in size from tiny, miniature roses, to climbers that can reach 20 metres in height. Species from different parts of the world easily hybridize, which has given rise to the many types of garden roses.
The name originates from Latin rosa, borrowed through Oscan from colonial Greek in southern Italy: rhodon (Aeolic form: wrodon), from Aramaic wurrdā, from Assyrian wurtinnu, from Old Iranian *warda (cf. Armenian vard, Avestan warda, Sogdian ward, Parthian wâr).[2][3]
Attar of rose is the steam-extracted essential oil from rose flowers that has been used in perfumes for centuries. Rose water, made from the rose oil, is widely used in Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine. Rose hips are occasionally made into jam, jelly, and marmalade, or are brewed for tea, primarily for their high Vitamin C content. They are also pressed and filtered to make rose hip syrup. Rose hips are also used to produce Rose hip seed oil, which is used in skin products.
The leaves of most species are 5–15 centimetres long, pinnate, with (3–) 5–9 (–13) leaflets and basal stipules; the leaflets usually have a serrated margin, and often a few small prickles on the underside of the stem. The vast majority of roses are deciduous, but a few (particularly in Southeast Asia) are evergreen or nearly so.
The flowers of most species roses have five petals, with the exception of Rosa sericea, which usually has only four. Each petal is divided into two distinct lobes and is usually white or pink, though in a few species yellow or red. Beneath the petals are five sepals (or in the case of some Rosa sericea, four). These may be long enough to be visible when viewed from above and appear as green points alternating with the rounded petals. The ovary is inferior, developing below the petals and sepals.
The aggregate fruit of the rose is a berry-like structure called a rose hip. Rose species that produce open-faced flowers are attractive to pollinating bees and other insects, thus more apt to produce hips. Many of the domestic cultivars are so tightly petalled that they do not provide access for pollination. The hips of most species are red, but a few (e.g. Rosa pimpinellifolia) have dark purple to black hips. Each hip comprises an outer fleshy layer, the hypanthium, which contains 5–160 "seeds" (technically dry single-seeded fruits called achenes) embedded in a matrix of fine, but stiff, hairs. Rose hips of some species, especially the Dog Rose (Rosa canina) and Rugosa Rose (Rosa rugosa), are very rich in vitamin C, among the richest sources of any plant. The hips are eaten by fruit-eating birds such as thrushes and waxwings, which then disperse the seeds in their droppings. Some birds, particularly finches, also eat the seeds.
While the sharp objects along a rose stem are commonly called "thorns", they are actually prickles — outgrowths of the epidermis (the outer layer of tissue of the stem). True thorns, as produced by e.g. Citrus or Pyracantha, are modified stems, which always originate at a node and which have nodes and internodes along the length of the thorn itself. Rose prickles are typically sickle-shaped hooks, which aid the rose in hanging onto other vegetation when growing over it. Some species such as Rosa rugosa and R. pimpinellifolia have densely packed straight spines, probably an adaptation to reduce browsing by animals, but also possibly an adaptation to trap wind-blown sand and so reduce erosion and protect their roots (both of these species grow naturally on coastal sand dunes). Despite the presence of prickles, roses are frequently browsed by deer. A few species of roses only have vestigial prickles that have no points.
Roses are popular garden shrubs, as well as the most popular and commonly sold florists' flowers. In addition to their great economic importance as a florists crop, roses are also of great value to the perfume industry.
Many thousands of rose hybrids and cultivars have been bred and selected for garden use; most are double-flowered with many or all of the stamens having mutated into additional petals. As long ago as 1840 a collection numbering over one thousand different cultivars, varieties and species was possible when a rosarium was planted by Loddiges nursery for Abney Park Cemetery, an early Victorian garden cemetery and arboretum in England.
Twentieth-century rose breeders generally emphasized size and colour, producing large, attractive blooms with little or no scent. Many wild and "old-fashioned" roses, by contrast, have a strong sweet scent.
Roses thrive in temperate climates, though certain species and cultivars can flourish in sub-tropical and even tropical climates, especially when grafted onto appropriate rootstock.
Rose pruning, sometimes regarded as a horticultural art form, is largely dependent on the type of rose to be pruned, the reason for pruning, and the time of year it is at the time of the desired pruning.
Most Old Garden Roses of strict European heritage (albas, damasks, gallicas, etc.) are shrubs that bloom once yearly, in late spring or early summer, on two-year-old (or older) canes. As such, their pruning requirements are quite minimal, and are overall similar to any other analogous shrub, such as lilac or forsythia. Generally, only old, spindly canes should be pruned away, to make room for new canes. One-year-old canes should never be pruned because doing so will remove next year's flower buds. The shrubs can also be pruned back lightly, immediately after the blooms fade, to reduce the overall height or width of the plant. In general, pruning requirements for OGRs are much less laborious and regimented than for Modern hybrids.
Modern hybrids, including the hybrid teas, floribundas, grandifloras, modern miniatures, and English roses, have a complex genetic background that almost always includes China roses (R. chinensis). China roses were evergrowing, everblooming roses from humid subtropical regions that bloomed constantly on any new vegetative growth produced during the growing season. Their modern hybrid descendants exhibit similar habits: Unlike Old Garden Roses, modern hybrids bloom continuously (until stopped by frost) on any new canes produced during the growing season. They therefore require pruning away of any spent flowering stem, in order to divert the plant's energy into producing new growth and thence new flowers.
Additionally, Modern Hybrids planted in cold-winter climates will almost universally require a "hard" annual pruning (reducing all canes to 8"–12" in height) in early spring. Again, because of their complex China rose background, Modern Hybrids are typically not as cold-hardy as European OGRs, and low winter temperatures often desiccate or kill exposed canes. In spring, if left unpruned, these damanged canes will often die back all the way to the shrub's root zone, resulting in a weakened, disfigured plant. The annual "hard" pruning of hybrid teas, floribundas, etc. should generally be done in early spring; most gardeners coincide this pruning with the blooming of forsythia shrubs. Canes should be cut about 1/2" above a vegetative bud (identifiable as a point on a cane where a leaf once grew).
For both Old Garden Roses and Modern Hybrids, any weak, damaged or diseased growth should be pruned away completely, regardless of the time of year. Any pruning of any rose should also be done so that the cut is made at a forty five degree angle above a vegetative bud. This helps the pruned stem callus over more quickly, and also mitigates moisture buildup over the cut, which can lead to disease problems.
For all general rose pruning (including cutting flowers for arrangements), sharp secateurs (hand-held, sickle-bladed pruners) should be used to cut any growth 1/2" or less in diameter. For canes of a thickness greater than 1/2", pole loppers or a small handsaw are generally more effective; secateurs may be damaged or broken in such instances.
Deadheading is the simple practice of manually removing any spent, faded, withered, or discoloured flowers from rose shrubs over the course of the blooming season. The purpose of deadheading is to encourage the plant to focus its energy and resources on forming new offshoots and blooms, rather than in fruit production. Deadheading may also be perfomed, if spent flowers are unsightly, for aethestic purposes. Roses are particularly responsive to deadheading.
Deadheading causes different effects on different varieties of roses. For continual blooming varieties, whether Old Garden roses or more modern hybrid varieties, deadheading allows the rose plant to continue forming new shoots, leaves, and blooms. For "once-blooming" varieties (that bloom only once each season), deadheading has the effect of causing the plant to form new green growth, even though new blooms will not form until the next blooming season.
For most rose gardeners, deadheading is used to refresh the growth of the rose plants to keep the rose plants strong, vibrant, and productive.
The rose has always been valued for its beauty and has a long history of symbolism. The ancient Greeks and Romans identified the rose with their goddesses of love referred to as Aphrodite and Venus. In Rome a wild rose would be placed on the door of a room where secret or confidential matters were discussed. The phrase sub rosa, or "under the rose", means to keep a secret — derived from this ancient Roman practice.
Early Christians identified the five petals of the rose with the five wounds of Christ. Despite this interpretation, their leaders were hesitant to adopt it because of its association with Roman excesses and pagan ritual. The red rose was eventually adopted as a symbol of the blood of the Christian martyrs. Roses also later came to be associated with the Virgin Mary.
Rose culture came into its own in Europe in the 1800s with the introduction of perpetual blooming roses from China. There are currently thousands of varieties of roses developed for bloom shape, size, fragrance and even for lack of prickles.
Roses are ancient symbols of love and beauty. The rose was sacred to a number of goddesses (including Isis and Aphrodite), and is often used as a symbol of the Virgin Mary. 'Rose' means pink or red in a variety of languages (such as Romance languages, Greek, and Polish).
The rose is the national flower of England and the United States[4], as well as being the symbol of England Rugby, and of the Rugby Football Union. It is also the provincial flower of Yorkshire and Lancashire in England (the white rose and red rose respectively) and of Alberta (the wild rose), and the state flower of four US states: Iowa and North Dakota (R. arkansana), Georgia (R. laevigata), and New York[5] (Rosa generally). Portland, Oregon counts "City of Roses" among its nicknames, and holds an annual Rose Festival.
Roses are occasionally the basis of design for rose windows, such windows comprising five or ten segments (the five petals and five sepals of a rose) or multiples thereof; however most Gothic rose windows are much more elaborate and were probably based originally on the wheel and other symbolism.
A red rose (often held in a hand) is a symbol of socialism or social democracy; it is also used as a symbol by the British and Irish Labour Parties, as well as by the French, Spanish (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party), Portuguese, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Brazilian, Dutch (Partij van de Arbeid) and European socialist parties. This originated when the red rose was used as a badge by the marchers in the May 1968 street protests in Paris. White Rose was a World War II non violent resistance group in Germany.
Roses are often portrayed by artists. The French artist Pierre-Joseph Redouté produced some of the most detailed paintings of roses.
Henri Fantin-Latour was also a prolific painter of still life, particularly flowers including roses. The Rose 'Fantin-Latour' was named after the artist.
Other impressionists including Claude Monet and Paul Cézanne have paintings of roses among their works.
Rose perfumes are made from attar of roses or rose oil, which is a mixture of volatile essential oils obtained by steam distilling the crushed petals of roses. The technique originated in Persia (the word Rose itself is from Persian) then spread through Arabia and India, but nowadays about 70% to 80% of production is in the Rose Valley near Kazanluk in Bulgaria, with some production in Qamsar in Iran and Germany.[citation needed]
The Kaaba in Mecca is annually washed by the Iranian rose water from Qamsar. In Bulgaria, Iran and Germany, damask roses (Rosa damascena 'Trigintipetala') are used. In the French rose oil industry Rosa centifolia is used. The oil, pale yellow or yellow-grey in color, is sometimes called 'Rose Absolute' oil to distinguish it from diluted versions. The weight of oil extracted is about one three-thousandth to one six-thousandth of the weight of the flowers; for example, about two thousand flowers are required to produce one gram of oil.
The main constituents of attar of roses are the fragrant alcohols geraniol and l-citronellol; and rose camphor, an odourless paraffin. β-Damascenone is also a significant contributor to the scent.
Quotes
What's in a name? That which we call a rose/By any other name would smell as sweet. — William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet act II, sc. ii
O, my love's like a red, red rose/That's newly sprung in June — Robert Burns, A Red, Red Rose
Information appears to stew out of me naturally, like the precious ottar of roses out of the otter. Mark Twain, Roughing It
Hearts starve as well as bodies; give us bread, but give us roses. — James Oppenheim, "Bread and Roses"
Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose — Gertrude Stein, Sacred Emily (1913), a poem included in Geography and Plays.
May 11th 2024 was one of the biggest Aurora events in recent history. I'm usually to only person at this location in the past but on this night, it was standing room only. Everyone was going crazy and fixated on getting their shots, as was I.
What I didn't realise until everyone started posting, was that I was standing in the company of all my Instagram/Facebook hero's. Other really good astro photographers I had been following for years but never met in person. What a lost opportunity to meet and chat face to face. But I can't blame anyone, it was night for amazing photography, not chatting.
I must also apologise for the age of this post. I'm about a year behind in my Flickr posts at the moment but will try to catch up over the next month or so.
Q is not so difficult as I first imagined. I actually thought of QUITE a number of things beginning with Q. For instance, QUEEN, QUARRY, QUEUE, QUINAG and QUIRAING (The last 2 are Scottish mountains).
Or I could have used a picture (if I had one) of fish and chips, or roast beef and Yorkshire Pudding. Two things which are QUINTESSENTIALLY English!!!!!
Maybe I will post another one later........
But back to the image at hand. (excuse the pun!!! lol) Why quarter to four and not quarter to five or eleven or any other? Well, there are four quarters in a whole so it was a logical choice!! Notice also the position of the second hand!! - I removed the battery to achieve that!! :-))
If you're wondering why not quarter past, well that would have made things a bit crowded on that side, giving a less well balanced image!!! It's all about the composition!!
I have hidden the hand for setting the alarm out of sight behind the minute hand. Maybe I should have set it for half eight as that is also 4!!!!! LOL
The more perceptive among you will also notice that there is something else beginning with Q. I won't spoil the fun. Let's see if you can spot it! I wonder who will be first to add a note to it!!!! :-)))
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Day 17 of a 26 day challenge to post something each day that begins with a different letter of the alphabet, from A through to Z (in order)
My friends Saint-Exupery (www.flickr.com/photos/38025693@N06/) and Cluster One (www.flickr.com/photos/21517311@N06) will endeavour to do the same. But our results should all be very different as they shall do it in Spanish and Italian respectively and I shall do it in English!
We are also joined by Sunrise-sunrise (www.flickr.com/photos/naita29/) who will do the same in French.
I am now joined by my friend Western Dreamer (www.flickr.com/photos/lawanda_wilson-candid_captures_phot...) who will also do it in (American) English!
The Southern Hawker is a big dragonfly with a body up to 70mm in length. It is an inquisitive insect, and can often approach people for a closer look...
but in this instance, I was the one taking a closer look
”He reflected for a while, then said, ’I can’t make anything of the first one. It’s very probable that a displacement is involved, but there’s no way of guessing what the intermediate elements are. For the second I’d venture an interpretation if the person reporting it as his own were not a Frenchman."
We are seeing exceptionally 'Smoky' summer, I tell you. Flying over the country for years I haven't seen so much smoke. Well, my experience shouldn't be taken as a benchmark though. Some forestry departments might be the right instances to get the confirmation or refutation to this 'Smokiest Summer' assertion.
“Perhaps it is because cats do not live by human patterns, do not fit themselves into prescribed behavior, that they are so united to creative people.”
Andre Norton
Soundtrack : www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6it4YAUlPs
HEART SHAPED WORLD – CHRIS ISAAK
BILLY BOB THORNTON-BERRY
Hello my name is Billy
Billy Bob Thornton-Berry to make it long
but sometimes I get called Birri
because Mum often speaks fork-tongued
for instance when she calls me in
I hear her say “stay out”
but then she shakes the treats tin
and I don't want her to “shout”
so I tip-toe up behind her
and look sorry for myself
until she turns and sees me
and I purr and try to meow
but the thing about it all is
I never learned to talk
because the family that left me
never listened and let me walk
they moved one day without me
so I had to find a home
so I took up residence in Mum's garden
and stood still like I was stone
She has so many other cats
I thought she might want me
so I stayed awhile and some time more
I watched the others carefully
and saw that she had so much love
for every one of them
so why not me, I'd wait and see
if she'd give me a home
Then one day I let her get real close
and tickle me on the chin
She said my name was Billy
and would I like to come in
She fed me first by the back door
and made a bed for me
inside the scary cat-flap door
that swallowed cat's for free
One night there was a terrible storm
and I was very scared
so I ventured in and settled down
and saw she really cared
So next I walked into the kitchen
and saw all the plates of food
she set another place for me
and so as not to be rude
I thought I'd let her keep me there
it felt so safe and warm
she told me she was orphaned once
a long time before I was born
So now I've been here; it seems forever
and I never want to leave
so I never wander from my garden
and wear my heart upon my sleeve
I tell her everyday I love her
but of course I can't meow
but I let her know because I follow her
like a dog wherever she goes
I wait outside the bathroom door
afraid that she has gone
but I don't need to worry
because I found myself a home
the other cats all took to me
except that big ginger one
I expect you will meet him here someday
he looks so sweet but doesn't want to share his Mum
but I'm happy the other 6 like me
and now Marmie tolerates me more
and I'm glad that I decided to stay
because I'm not lonely any more.
- AP – Copyright remains with the author
'copyright image please do not reproduce without permission'
On all our tours I encourage our guests to also shoot verticals, not only horizontals. Magazines for instance, are all based on verticals, so if you ever want your picture to grace the cover or to be published on a full page, you'll need to shoot verticals as well.
A little while back I got an email from British Airways, asking whether I had a vertical version of my famous picture The Edge, of an elephant at Victoria Falls. And as a matter of fact I did, I just never processed it. When I started processing the image, I wondered why I hadn't done it earlier - the vertical version seems to make more sense because you can actually see the height of the falls and you can see all the water falling down.
Anyway, British Airways published the shot and I was happy they had given me a good reason to dive into my image library again.
Here's the background story that I wrote for the horizontal version:
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It's hard enough to make original pictures, but with some subjects it simply borders the impossible.
When I was at Victoria Falls last year, I thought about the billions of photographs that must have been taken there, and I almost decided to just visit the place without my camera. That was until I spoke with some of the local people, who told me that they had seen a bull elephant crossing the Zambezi river the day before. During my research I had not seen any images of the falls with an elephant in it, so I decided to stay a few extra days and try my luck.
The course of the Zambezi is dotted with numerous tree-covered islands, which increase in number as the river approaches the falls. As the dry season takes effect, the islets on the crest become wider and more numerous, and with the water level of the Zambezi dropping, once submerged walkways and fresh foraging possibilities present themselves. This elephant was apparently aware of this.
On the third day I left very early with a small boat to reach my location. On my way to the edge I suddenly saw the lone bull wading through shallow parts of the river, but it was far away and light levels were low, so I decided to continue to the falls. I took some sunrise shots and half an hour later I saw the elephant approaching the falls. I quickly collected my gear and moved carefully towards the edge where the water plummeted into a 360ft chasm - not particularly nice when you're afraid of heights... I set everything up in order to include as much as possible of the falls and made a composition. Luckily the elephant was aware of my preference to shoot into the light, so his position couldn't be better.
After I took the shots, I knew I had just witnessed and captured something very special. Later that day local people confirmed this by telling me that they had never seen an elephant so close to the edge of the falls before - exactly what I wanted to hear!
This image was featured as a double page spread in National Geographic, and won First Prize in the European Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards.
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If you would like to join me on our next photo tour in Zambia and learn everything about wildlife photography, please check out my website for more information and tour impression video clips:
Squiver Photo Tours & Workshops
Hope to see you there!
Marsel
©2013 Marsel van Oosten, All Rights Reserved. This image is not available for use on websites, blogs or other media without the explicit written permission of the photographer.
Another despicable instance of working on my alliteration and foregoing all that's decent. Tis the season.
If you enjoy this kind of wretched excess, you might not hate my Photoshopped set. www.flickr.com/photos/9422878@N08/sets/72157604211983504/...
I'm starting to feel that this is "our" Spinebill, as he visits the garden every day. In this instance, he was taking cover in the Deua Grevillea while a Noisy Miner was on patrol.
Visiting the alpine region of Australia the most shocking sight was the millions of dead trees, I am told caused by bushfires some years ago. One of the locals indicated that some sort of disease was affecting many of the eucalyptus which in this instance may have been the case as no sign of fire as the dead trees were random and in the eerie light took on a totally out of this world appearance.
I’ve loved photography since 1976. My brother bought me my first camera for my 21st, an Agfamatic 110 film camera. I went out snapping with it straight away then eagerly waited on results to come back from a mail order developer, I believe that was Agfa as well. The photos were terrible! So rather than throw the camera in a draw, (I think I did actually) and give up on photography, I saved up and bought a Fujica ST605 SLR. After a couple of rolls of Kodak colour film and a roll of Fujichrome transparencies I soon moved on to Ilford black and white and doing my own D&P. I had end to end Paterson equipment from enlarger to film drum and development trays, so these are my photographic roots. I’m telling you this because I still feel like a novice in photography, this photograph for instance was accidentally taken 1.33 stops under exposed and it took me half dozen photos before I realised! I’m always making silly mistakes like this, in this example the error was to my advantages as the under exposure gave the photo a painterly feel. This all said I’m sure I could feed back some knowledge to a newcomer, however it amazes me when I see people who openly state they interest in photography began 3 or 4 years ago advertise workshops and tutorials. I’d love to have a quarter of their confidence and if the truth were told in many cases half of their talent.
Recording that instance before the Deluge.
"Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house."
Matthew 5:15
Another instance where the morning light streaming into my flat inspired me to grab a quick photo. Here the shadow frame of the kitchen window provided the perfect opportunity for a silhouette self portrait, complete with my ever growing level of bed hair!
El Monte Park nest and chicks:
They say persistence pays off and in this instance it truly did...
I have always said that a good photographer works very hard at getting unique good images that tell a wonderful story. I happen to get very lucky!!!
If you look back two posts at the two fledgling Red-tail Hawks in their nest I said there was another downstairs in the deep nest. Well going back each day to chronicle their growth and life I got the frame of a lifetime. This folks is the very first flight leaving the nest of "one" of those Red-tailed chicks in that very nest that I posted two posts prior to this one. I am absolutely thrilled to offer this to YOU as the "FIRST FLIGHT OF ONE OF THOSE CHICKS"
This is NOT about me as I am doing the last post a disservice by posting this so early on the back of the last post. But I could not wait to share this epic event with my flickr friend. This is what flickr is all about to me...sharing of great moments in time and this certainly qualifies as a great moment for this new fledgling dropping down out of his security blanket as the adults offered a a meal on a rock as shown in the comment section.
This flight was unintentional as the branch he or she was using to catch air and lift off for practice gave way and he glided out of frame in front of a tree blocking the cameras view onto the ground about 100 yards away. The frame in comments shows him on the rock where the adults left dinner enticing any of the three to leave and come get the spoils. Enjoy I hope as much as I the wonderful event of the first flight...
As always I so appreciate you dropping by and if you choose to leave a comment all the better.
Make it a wonderful week and sore like an Red-tail Hawk in life tossing caution to wind and following your dreams.
Here is an example of the benefits of using a program such as Adobe's Lightroom (v2.5 in this instance). I have only used one type of processing within this picture, which is the Local Adjustment filter. This is an excellent tool, as it allows specific editing of points, for example, brightening the forground, whilst still darkening the sky exposure and adding shadow detail to one specific tree.
Originally when I took this photo, I was amazed at the beauty of the view, the colours, the atmopshere, it was almost magical. Yet this was totally lost within the stock output photo. I also happened to be tripod-less at the time, so a quality HDR was going to be out of the picture. I was going to bin this picture finally as I couldn't get the process I needed to bring it back to life..
I have been using lightroom now for multiple versions, and I have only just stumbled on this feature myself whilst perusing Lightroom tutorial videos on a Lightroom group. Anyway, I hope this is informative to people, and can maybe enlighten others as too how some people seem to get such excellent results from almost nothing, or those that don't see how one D40X puts out a picture like the top, and another puts out a picture like the the second... (PS I'm not blowing any trumpets here, I just think the change in picture is somewhat astonishing when some development of the article is actually taken on - after all, photographers for years have been developing in darkrooms, why shouldn't the PC and technological age give us our own "Lightroom"!)...
Please take the time to view large & on black
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Enjoy.. thanks for any comments, always appreciate those of you that take the time to leave comments or suggestions.. ta people :)
Habitat is a “home ground” or an environment in which an organism or group of species normally lives or occurs. In this sense, a habitat is any particular place that supports animal or plant life. From the habitat is where plants or animals get their survival essentialities such as water, food, shelter, and breeding grounds.
Different plant or animal species have different necessities for water, shelter, nesting and food. Thus, each and every plant or animal is adapted to survive in a specific kind of habitat. For instance, some turtles live in the seas while others live on land. Some plants grow in the deserts, some in the seas, and some in swampy areas. This shows different species have different needs. Examples of habitats include oceans, streams, or forests.
When a habitat is dramatically altered due to natural or anthropogenic activities such as earthquakes, agriculture, pollution or oil exploration, these places may no longer be able to provide shelter, food, water, or breeding grounds for the living organisms.
Such kind of events lessens the places where plants or animals such as wildlife can live and threatens the survival of various species. That sort of habitat degradation or fragmentation is what is termed as habitat loss and destruction. Habitat loss and destruction are influenced by several drivers which include:
1. Agriculture
Agricultural production has claimed much space of the natural habitat since settlers began converting forests and grasslands to croplands. In the modern world, the pressure to convert lands into resource areas for producing priced foods and crops has increasingly led to habitat loss.
Runoff of agricultural waste, fertilizers, and pesticides into marine and freshwater environments has also transformed streams and water systems. As a result, there has been a tremendous loss of natural crop species, aquatic life, and wildlife habitat.
2. Animal Waste, Sewage, Fertilizer, and Mining Waste Pollution
Marine and freshwater life forms are the most affected by pollution. Pollutants from animal waste, untreated sewage, fertilizers, pesticides, and heavy metals find way into wetlands and water systems and subsequently end up in the food web.
Animal wastes and fertilizers generate nutrients that cause an outburst in algae growth that depletes dissolved oxygen in aquatic systems. Mining wastes may also contain heavy metals that affect the health and breeding of aquatic organisms. Sewage sediments may destroy dwelling grounds of aquatic animals.
3. Industrial and Automobile Pollution
The majority of animal and plant habitats have been destroyed due to the toxic substances and chemicals emitted from industries and automobiles that pose long-term cumulative impacts on the species health. Seriously polluted regions have become dead zones since the conditions have become very harsh for biotic survival. A prime example is an acidic lake which cannot support aquatic life forms. In some areas, only a few organisms can survive owing to the cumulative effects of industrial and automobile pollution.
4. Water Projects
The development of water projects such as hydropower plants, dam construction, and water diversion frequently disconnect or draw off waters thereby altering water chemistry and hydrology. This is because such water projects limit the amount of water and nutrients running downstream.
The downstream section of the river can dry out and the nutrients supporting aquatic life can significantly reduce. As an outcome, gradual habitat loss happens as the water flows downstream.
5. Land Use and Development
The conversion of lands into urban settings, housing developments, office spaces, shopping malls, industrial sites, parking areas, road networks, and so on takes away the naturally occurring land that provided habitat for wildlife and other living organisms. This practice has substantially led to the loss and destruction of millions of acre of natural habitable environments.
6. Global Warming
Global warming is one of the recent leading causes of habitat loss since it changes the physical environmental factors such as temperature and moisture which are essential for a sustainable habitat.
For instance, wildlife that requires cool temperatures of high elevations such as the rock rabbit and mountain gorillas may in the near future run out of habitat due to global warming. Excessive rains, flooding or drought arising out of global warming have also impacted several habitats, contributing to the loss of wildlife and other living organisms.
7. Diversity Loss and Invasive Species
When a certain ecosystem which is home to numerous species collapse, more aggressive species may enter the territory. As the original species struggle to cope in a harsher environment, the invasive species contributes to a further and rapid decline of the habitat and subsequently dominates.
The explosive entry of invasive species into a habitat presents a strong threat to the native species as they struggle to survive in the increasingly changing environment. Invasive species directly competes for food with the native species and can also alter the structure of the habitat.
8. Vegetation Removal and Logging
Vegetation removal and logging destroy the structure of the habitat since it takes away the vital materials and natural systems responsible for replenishing and purifying the habitat. Removal of vegetation cover and logging also creates room for soil erosion and decrease stormwater infiltration which leads to the degradation of water quality, further destroying the habitat.
9. Dredging and Bottom Trawling Fishing
Dredging and bottom trawling fishing gives rise to the physical destruction of the dwelling, feeding and breeding areas for aquatic plants and animals. The displaced sediments may further smother the bottom dwelling organisms. Fish gills can as well become blocked with sediments and plant life activity is reduced due to limited light.
Dredging might also release underground toxic materials into aquatic habitats. Besides, bottom trawling fishing can by-catch unmarketable fish which turns out to be the food for other bigger fish in that particular underwater habitats.
Inframe :
The greater sand plover (Charadrius leschenaultii) is a small wader in the plover family of birds.
It breeds in the semi-deserts of Turkey and eastwards through Central Asia. It nests in a bare ground scrape. This species is strongly migratory, wintering on sandy beaches in East Africa, South Asia and Australasia. It is a rare vagrant in western Europe, where it has been recorded as far west as Great Britain, France and Iceland. It has been spotted twice in North America, the most recent being on May 14, 2009, in Jacksonville, Florida.
This species is fully migratory, and is likely to migrate without stopping on a broad front between breeding and non-breeding areas . Migratory flocks form after the end of breeding between mid-June and early-August, and arrive in the wintering grounds between mid-July and November (adults and immature birds arriving before juveniles. Those birds wintering in South-East Asia start moving northwards to the breeding grounds in late-February (the migration peaking in March to early-April), arriving from mid-March to May; whereas those wintering in East Africa and southern Asia depart for breeding grounds from mid-April to early-May. Most non-adult wintering birds remain in the wintering areas during the breeding season . The species is typically gregarious, feeding in flocks of 2-50, and sometimes congregating in groups of up to 1,000 when roosting (Urban et al. 1986, del Hoyo et al. 1996). Habitat Breeding During the breeding season this species is predominantly found in open, dry, treeless, uncultivated areas up to 3,000 m , including dried mud, silt and clay flats, hard salt-pans overgrown with halophytic plants , and rocky plains near mountains in desert or semi-desert . In Turkey the species frequents heavily grazed saline steppe . The species usually breeds near water but exceptionally it will nest up to 20 km away from it. Non-breeding During the non-breeding season this species shows a preference for littoral habitats with mixed sand and mud substrata . It is found on sheltered sandy, shelly or muddy beaches, large intertidal mudflats, sandbanks, salt-marshes, estuaries, coral reefs, rocky islands, tidal lagoons and dunes near the coast , although it may sometimes feed on coastal grasslands . Whilst on migration the species will occasionally utilise inland habitats such as salt-lakes and brackish swamps, usually roosting on sandbanks and spits . Diet This species is carnivorous: during the breeding season its diet consists mainly of terrestrial insects and their larvae (especially beetles, termites, midges and ants), and occasionally lizards whereas during the non-breeding season its diet contains mainly marine invertebrates such as molluscs (snails), worms and crustaceans (such as shrimps and crabs). Breeding site The nest is a shallow scrape on the ground amongst sand-hills, gravel, or on other barren substrates.
Texel (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈtɛsəl] ( listen)) is a municipality and an island with a population of 13,641 in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. It is the largest and most populated island of the West Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea. The island is situated north of Den Helder, northeast of Noorderhaaks, also known as "Razende Bol" and southwest of Vlieland.
Name
The name Texel is Frisian, but because of historical sound-changes in Dutch, where all -x- sounds have been replaced with -s- sounds (compare for instance English fox, Frisian fokse, German Fuchs with Dutch vos), the name is typically pronounced Tessel in Dutch.[5]
History
In the early Middle Ages and before, Texel and Wieringen may have been much bigger and met each other as opposite banks of the Marsdiep, which was then a river with banks of permanent land: see here.
In the 13th century Ada, Countess of Holland was held prisoner on Texel by her uncle William.
Texel received city rights in 1415.
Texel was involved in the Battle of Scheveningen (1653) during the First Anglo-Dutch War and the Battle of Texel (1673) during the Third Anglo-Dutch War.
Texel is also famous in military history as the only place where a navy was defeated on horseback. Occupying Holland in January 1795, the French continental army learned that the mighty Dutch navy had been frozen into the ice around Texel, so Commandant Louis Joseph Lahure and 128 men rode up to it and demanded surrender. No shots were fired.
In 1797, Texel was involved in the Battle of Camperdown during the Napoleonic wars.
During the American Revolution, Texel was used as a haven port for the USS Bonhomme Richard before it sank off the coast of Flamborough Head in Britain in September 1779. In that final action, John Paul Jones defeated and captured the British ship HMS Serapis, which he sailed to Texel for desperately needed repairs. This event further complicated Anglo-Dutch relations.
During the First World War in 1914, the Battle off Texel took place off the coast of Texel.
On the night of 31 August 1940, the sea to the northwest of Texel was the scene of the sinking of two British destroyers and the severe damage of a third by German mines in what became known as the Texel Disaster.
At the end of Second World War in 1945, the Georgian Uprising of Texel took place on the island.
Geography
The municipality is located at 53°3′N 4°48′E north of the mainland of the province of North Holland and west of the mainland of the province of Friesland. The island of Texel is situated north of the city of Den Helder, northeast of the uninhabited island of Noorderhaaks, which is part of the municipality, and southwest of the island of Vlieland.
The island includes the seven villages De Cocksdorp, De Koog, De Waal, Den Burg, Den Hoorn, Oosterend, and Oudeschild, and the small townships of Bargen, De Nes, Dijkmanshuizen, Driehuizen, Harkebuurt, 't Horntje, Midden-Eierland, Molenbuurt, Nieuweschild, Noorderbuurt, Ongeren, Oost, Spang, Spijkdorp, Tienhoven, Westermient, Zevenhuizen, and Zuid-Eierland.
The island of Texel was originally made up of two islands, Texel proper to the south and Eierland to the northeast, which were connected by shoals. In the seventeenth century, the islands were poldered together. Today, Texel forms the largest natural barrier between the North Sea and the Wadden Sea.
Landscape
The dune landscape on Texel is a unique habitat for wildlife. Notable areas include De Slufter, where the tide comes in and meets the dunes, forming a marshy environment rich in both fauna and flora. Texel is known for its wildlife, particularly in winter, when birds of prey and geese take up residence. About one third of Texel is a protected nature reserve.
Economy
The tourism industry forms a substantial part of the economy in Texel. Approximately 70% of activities on Texel are in some way related to tourism. Popular forms of tourism on Texel include cycling, walking, swimming and horse riding.
Local government
The municipal council of Texel consists of 15 seats, which are divided as follows [as of April 2014]:
Eierland Lighthouse in 2013
VVD, 3 seats
PvdA, 3 seats
Texel 2010, 2 seats
CDA, 1 seat
Texels Belang, 3 seats
D66, 1 seat
GroenLinks, 1 seat
Sterk Texel, 1 seat
Transport
Ferry MS Dokter Wagemaker (2) (nl) from Den Helder to Texel in 2005
Transport around the island is typically by bicycle, bus (Texelhopper) or car. Texel has an extensive cycle path network. Transport to Texel is usually by ferry (Royal TESO), from Den Helder, or by air via Texel International Airport.