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SAVED BY A SNOW PLOW !!
Now we find out that it often snows in Wyoming and Colorado even in May !! A rather harrowing drive across and yet a bit exciting for us from California where we rarely get to see snow !! We had so many close calls.... of almost having to spend the night on the side of the road in 20 F weather !! This is just one instance of that almost coming to pass. While going uphill on this extremely snowy and icy road, a snow plow suddenly appeared directly in front of us, enabling us to continue on.
In another instance.... when the water and gears in our wiper mechanism froze up and we couldn’t see a thing on our windshield (except for frozen ice and mud smears)... it suddenly just stopped snowing All we needed to do was turn on our defrosters and we were finally cleared to continue on our journey. There were so many other things that happened to speed us on to our destination for the night. We thank God 🙏 and our guardian angels 👼 for a safe arrival. My husband made some expert decisions in planning..... by checking each town we would be passing through.... for snowfall totals over the course of the day. He did an amazing job !!
“Nobody of any real culture, for instance, ever talks nowadays about the beauty of sunset. Sunsets are quite old fashioned. To admire them is a distinct sign of provincialism of temperament. Upon the other hand they go on.”
-Oscar Wilde
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Thanks for the visits, comments, awards, invitations and favorites. Please don't use my images on websites, blogs or others medias without my explicit permission.
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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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"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.
Waikiki, which means spouting waters in Hawaiian, holds a beautiful history of great water activities in Hawaiian culture. For instance, in the 1800s, the Hawaiian royals created Waikiki as their playground, where they enjoyed surfing on longboards. Today, the longboard tradition continues, as the water here provides the best conditions. Eventually, the royals initiated several launching of smaller hotels in the 1800s. By 1901, they launched their first large hotel, the Moana Surfrider. Historic hotels dating back to the early 20th century include the beautiful Royal Hawaiian Hotel. Today, the area boasts every kind of accommodation to cater to the tourists drawn to Waikiki Beach every year.
This particular view is from our balcony at the Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel located at 2570 Kalakaua Ave in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Three bracketed photos were taken with a handheld Nikon D7200 and combined with Photomatix Pro to create this HDR image. Additional adjustments were made in Photoshop CS6.
"For I know the plans I have for you", declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." ~Jeremiah 29:11
The best way to view my photostream is through Flickriver with the following link: www.flickriver.com/photos/photojourney57/
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.
this one for instance is conveniently located in a building I happen to know ... ;) Happy Sliders Sunday everyone!
Over this summer the Hungarian State Railways have been testing a new revolutionary solution for diesel locomotives to reduce carbon emission.
The system is called NatuRail™ and can be retrofitted to any diesel engine: Here for instance it is running inside a 1978 class M41 on the UltraECO setting, making the red beast spit out hay bales instead of the ugly CO2.
So jokes aside, this is rerouted IC #12182, slowly reaching Hidasnémeti station where the engine will be swapped for a ZSSK electric locomotive to bring the train to its final destination, Kosice in Slovakia.
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.
River Don Otter Christmas Eve just past.
Watermarked low res file, for a full size Tif or Jpeg file with copyright to print, please contact Terry Eve Photography via Flickr Mail in the first instance.
Not sure yet but I might get this one printed for home!
An old friend once said he was going to write a photographic book titled 'Not the Golden Hour'. I think it's wise not to fall into the trap of doing what everyone else is doing. In this instance the leaves look great (to me) when they're backlit by the sun.
The El Nino in store this winter so far has packed a punch as far as wet weather in St. George. On the week of January 4-8 a series of storms rolled through southern Utah. The storms had enough juice to dump much needed rain and snow. Snow was even reported in the areas surrounding St. George. Besides filling the reservoirs and giving the mountains a good snow pack, the wet weather has provided some great opportunities for photography.
Unfortunately, as the exciting weather was happening I was unable to go do any photography because of work. However, I managed to get out to Snow Canyon State Park after the storms left the region. After a nice rainstorm, the potholes located at the Petrified Dunes at Snow Canyon usually fill up with water. In that instance, a rare opportunity happens in which one can photograph water in the desert.
On this particular morning when I captured this image the morning low was 27 degrees. Also, the winds at Snow Canyon are usually a little blustery, which makes it feel even colder. It was so cold on the morning I captured this image that the water in the potholes froze solid! By the time I was done with photography that morning my hands were so cold and numb!
I'm hoping the El Nino this winter brings much more needed moisture to southern Utah. In a selfish way, I'm also hoping the moisture will give the wildflowers a boost this spring as they bloom.
This image is copyrighted. Please do not use this image in any manner without my permission!
'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
Eye catching bright red lantern in Gion (祇園), Kyoto.
Handheld shot with FE 85mm f1.4 GM.
These chochin lanterns are red, if it looks orangey in a photo, the exposure is wrong.
Curious how the new FE 50mm f1.4 GM will do with such a scene, the view will obviously be wider but the bokeh balls will be smaller. My FE 55 f1.8 ZA obviously can't do f1.4 but it pretty much matches the more expensive GM lens from f2.8 onwards making it hard to justify a switch, trying very hard here to suppress GAS! For those starting from scratch however, the choice is obvious, get the new FE 50mm f1.4 GM.
I could also try to shoot such scenes with my Voigtlander 65mm f2.0 Apo Lanthar utilizing its close focus but this lens is prone to distracting onion rings within bokeh balls. No such problems with FE 85mm f1.4 GM, no bokeh fringing and no onion rings and I could also back up a bit to include more of the surrounding into the frame if desired.
Looks like Nikon is finally getting ready to launch the Z8. This is finally the true D850 mirrorless replacement, I've said this from inception when Nikon entered the mirrorless segment in 2018 nearly 5 years ago that the Z7/Z7ii was never the D850 replacement. Many Nikon influencers/marketeers were trying to hoodwink users into buying these very overpriced 1st attempts by claiming that their Z7 had effectively replaced their D850 yada yada. One Nikon high priest even brought his Z7 to safari in a bid to dispel users’ frustrations with its AF, frankly one can shoot safari with manual focus lens if one chooses to, he was silent on his hit rates obviously.
With the passing of time, it’s now quite easy to identify most of these shills to totally discount what they say in their blogs or gear forums going forward. Like those who proclaimed that the Zeiss Batis 135mm f2.8 was a great option at $2,000 for instance!
If Nikon can price this stacked sensor Z8 close to the Sony A7RV level, it will be a great system seller because both Sony and Canon have been restricting stacked sensors to their much higher priced cameras. Nikon might just be able to do this if they chose to leave out the expensive shutter mechanism like they did in their Z9. The perennial problem with Nikon however is their rather limited lens options, already limited back in their DSLR days, it’s even worse now as the mirrorless Z mount is largely closed to 3rd party lens makers. Nikon Z’s strength is mostly in their mirrorless telephoto prime lens options.
I might finally upgrade from my ancient Nikon D800E with the Z8 but since my intention is to shoot mostly stills with the occasional wildlife, a potential Z6III at 33mp like the Sony A7IV might be the sweet spot instead.
We often wonder how different animal species see their world. What this surrealist image represents is that colour is entirely about perception. What we see and agree is green grass, might just as well be red to another creature. Some ancient historians argue, for instance, that in Homer's time the colour "blue" did not exist as we know it. Have a read of this article if you're interested.
Why There was No Word for Blue in Ancient Greece and How Homer and Aristotle Perceived Colors
www.thearchaeologist.org/blog/why-there-was-no-word-for-b...
These black and white Belted Galloways might see the world in monochrome, or perhaps they see their food source in bright reddish tones like this. This breed of cow comes from southwestern Scotland. It was established as a specific breed in 1921. I assure you the cow on the right does have four legs despite the illusion. You see, we can't always believe what we see!
None of this work involved AI at all! Nor did I use style filters. This is processing from the ground up where RAW files were altered using Capture One software.
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.
Well let us see...scarf. I have the scarf but I can say that paper is made from leaves and then I have that right? Just no red, if only my hair was red for this one instance.
I've been listening to this one boy band song for about 100 times and it is never getting old. Oh, this is me, for those that do not know in 52 weeks.
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!)
These two Welsh flags fly atop the greatest of all the towers at Caernarfon Castle. We visited there and left exhausted but exhilerated after climbing about a thousand stairs in this massive place, often in almost complete darkness ! It was quite perilous in some parts, because of the twisting narrow stone stairs. Go up and come down at your own risk ! But who can resist?
Completed in 1283 as part of a war between Edward 1st and the then Welsh Princes. Here Edward and his military architect Master James of St George erected a castle, town walls and a quay all at the same time on the banks of the River Seiont. It's now the site of the Investiture of the Prince of Wales and has World Heritage status.
Fabulous views from the towers and battlements. Lots of things to fascinate - for instance, arrow slits up the stairways of the stone towers. I would love to have been a 'fly on the wall' to see how the people lived there back then. Dangerous times in England and Wales.
~ Processed in Topaz Studio with a texture of my own applied for dramatic effect ! ~
Thanks as always for every view and comment - always so appreciated. Happy new week my Flickr friends !
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
I recently returned from a four week long photography trip to such places as Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska and Wyoming. I shot around 270 sheets and 70 rolls of 120 film using mostly two cameras.
I have arranged my life in such a way that makes doing a trip like this possible. It's a bit of sacrifice, but it's worth it.
For this trip, I experimented with almost ever shot. This naturally means that I'll have many photos that simply didn't work out. For instance, out of the first eight sheets that I've developed only three or four are worth looking at. And maybe only two are worth sharing.
This is one of them.
The location was the Sink House in North Dakota. It was recommended to me by photographic friend, Taylor. I saw a photo that incorporated the sink and then wondered how I might do it differently.
Then I forgot what that photo looked like and did it this way.
I used a 90mm lens - my widest in 4x5 - to incorporate the sink and the tree, as well as the sky.
Wanting it to be dark and dramatic, I shot HP5 at 1600, but used a few ND filters to tamp it down. This brough reciprocity failure into the picture (literally) and darked up the edges of the frame. But it also allowed me to shoot it at f/64 AND get a long exposure (one second).
This allowed the still objects - the sink and the tree - to remain still, but to show how there is an endless amount of motion on the prairie. A faster shutter would represent the place as calm, and it really wasn't.
A deep yellow filter handled the sky, which was lovely, but not nearly as dramatic. I wanted drama.
This is a photo that should be seen in a larger version, but what can be done?
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'Predicate'
Camera: Chamonix 45F-2
Lens: Schneider-Kreuznach Super-Angulon 8/90mm
Film: Ilford HP5+ at 1600iso
Exposure: f/64; 1sec; Yellow Filter
Process: HC-110B; 11min
North Dakota
July 2022
F'r instance, how am I gonna stop some big, mean Mother Hubbard from tearing me a structurally superfluous new behind? The answer, is a gun. And if that don't work? Use more gun. Like this heavy caliber tripod mounted little old number designed by me, built by me, and you best hope...
...not pointed at you.
Several other associations as well when I see this wonderful male bird of the California quail. For instance the great Gatsby, with the fashion of the 30ties, and the women wearing head bands with feathers. A beauty of a bird, shot in Mondo Verde Landgraaf.
I used the last frame on the only roll of film I had with me when I stepped outside and took this. It's not the best composition...obviously I was excited about the grandeur and hadn't fully taken in the scene.
I realized after I went to advance the film to take another shot that I had used up my only chance. Still, I'm glad I have this to remind me of how great it was...an instance of city living being every bit as good as any vacation I've been on.
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.
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)
yet another instance of this pedestrian passage in Edinburgh, which is find utterly wonderful and scifiesque.
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!
At Central Park's Shakespeare Garden, an immature robin waiting patiently for its mom to come feed him.
Too bad, I wasn't good enough of a photographer to shoot the instances when she was feeding him.
I returned to this location three times to get this image. The first two instance I managed varieties of double-exposures. This is a fun spot for kids to play in the hot days of summer. The first time I attempted to photograph this fountain the water was running. But I forgot to take the cap off first. (Yes, my pinhole camera has a cap.) As I screwed off the cap the water shut down. :-(
Vermeer 6x17 Panoramic Curved Plane Pinhole Camera | Fujifilm ACROS II 100 B&W | negative developed at home using Cinestill Dƒ96 monobath | negative scanned by Sony ILCEO ⍺6500 - Tamron 35mm ƒ2.8 | Post-processed using Negative Lab Pro.
Urho Kekkonen National Park (Finnish: Urho Kekkosen kansallispuisto) is a national park in Lapland, Finland. Established in 1983 and covering 2,550 square kilometres (985 sq mi), it is one of Finland's largest protected areas. It is named after Urho Kekkonen, former President and Prime Minister of Finland.
The Suomujoki river flows through the northern parts of the diverse park. The marked paths in its western part are an easy destination even for the inexperienced backpacker, whereas the wilderness is good for long and demanding trips.
Most trips to Urho Kekkonen National Park are started from the Kiilopää fell center, the Aittajärvi lake along the Suomujoki river, or Raja-Jooseppi, and backpackers usually end up nearby the Saariselkä fell line, for instance on the top of its highest fell, Sokosti.
Reindeer keeping is still a common livelihood in the area.
(Wikipedia)
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It just somehow happened that I visited Urho Kekkonen national park twice within a single year; this time, famous "ruska" autumn period and a week-long hike to the north-east part of the park was our ultimate goal.
We traveled on foot for eight days and enjoyed all those lovely aspects of deep-north wilderness: grey sky, cold river crossing, moody terrain, losing direction, and heavy backpacks. However, the autumn colors were truly exceptional - the timing was absolutely perfect.
Here the picture is taken at the Ylempi Kiertämäjärvi lake close to the Kiertämäjärvi wilderness hut that we reached on the 7th day of our week-long adventurous hike.
Not a day goes by when I don't spot a Mourning Dove, usually but not always in pairs. Mourning Doves are much more colorful than your would think. Since my camera is terrible in low light, every once in a while, I use the flash (which is none too powerful), and all those subtle colors come out beautifully ... as well as the catchlight in the eye.
A few facts that you probably don't know about Mourning Doves (Dove and Pigeons in most instances). First, they are fantastic fliers, often outmaneuvering the fastest of predators. Those pointed tail feathers tell the story. Second, they feed their young with "milk" made from seed in their crops. And, third, Doves and Pigeons are the only birds that can drink without lifting their heads. They're really not the plain birds we think of...
The München transit system consists of continuous surface/underground trains that go right from the suburbs, through the downtown core and out the other side. The station also features points of interest like Olympiapark and the Allianz Arena. You can also use this system to go right to the airport.
For instance, we were on the S5 route (the yellow line) while we stayed in München. We stayed in the suburbs, but were able to hop on one train, and take that directly into and through the downtown core without transferring.
I'm gonna miss the hill cows of the Kohala volcano mountain range here on the Big Island of Hawai'i.
They're a unique species of cow in that two of the legs on one side of their body are shorter than the two on the opposite side. Presumably they evolved in this way to help prevent them from accidentally tripping, then rolling down the hill.
In a rare instance of evolutionary short-sightedness, they're unfortunately limited as to which direction they can travel these hills. For instance, if the two legs on their left-side are the shorties, they can only travel west or north, whereas cows with right-side shorties can only travel east or south.
The good thing is you don't have to witness cows rolling down the hill while you're enjoying a nice drive on the roads which meander through this beautiful mountain range.
I searched for information about these cows on Wikipedia, but couldn't find any articles. I think I'll go off and write one since I am a semi-regular contributor there.
Click here for a larger view, which may include the ability to view the petroglyphic graffiti on that rock I noted.
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/...