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The detour I took to Gresty Road this day was probably the first instance where I used the mobile nature of my job to call off and take railway photos. Thankfully from this day onwards I made up for lost time. If anyone from work happens to read this they will know me well enough to know that I always caught up in my own time.
The two veterans here are 20314 (built Feb 1962) and 08892 (built March 1962).
Near Dawson, North Dakota. This is yet another instance in which it was obvious that the use of playback provides a huge boon to bird photography, but not without some serious ethical questions. Within the context of a group photo tour in a location not likely to be visited by other such groups (rural outback in North Dakota) this seems unobjectionable. This bird's routine was interrupted for a few minutes as he expended energy "unnecessarily" to investigate the bogus rival male emanating from the speaker. No real harm done. But OTOH, it didn't do him any good, either, and what if this practice/sequence were repeated over and over by successive photographers? Yes, eventually the bird gets "taped out" and stops responding. But there something in all of this that bothers me. At a certain level we are exploiting these birds, consuming a piece of their lives so that we can get our photos. And yes, without the use of playback getting this photo would have been way, WAY harder---nay, unlikely.
Hello amazing people!
Today is a blue day at Color My World Daily and round is the theme at Looking close on Friday.
As we all know by now (or at least some of us), Elvis The Accountant loves Fridays. Friday is Elvis’s best day ever ! He can finish his work as an accountant and start the weekend by enjoying his double life as lover of the color blue. He wears only blue clothes and sometimes, to please his wife Elvira (who loves neon pink) he will put on something pink (like a pair of pink boots for instance). Because Elvis loves blue so much we see him almost only on Friday which is traditionally a blue day on my Photostream.
But today’s theme is “round”. Elvis has another dilemma in front of him… It is a well known fact that accountants don’t like round numbers up… Everything has to be perfect and Elvis always keeps his books in balance. No rounding up ! His numbers have at least 25 digits after the comma. He is very, very precise and very meticulous at his work…
But unfortunately, precision takes time! Writing 25 digits is always time consuming… And on Friday he Elvis likes to leave his office early… so he has to face his own demons: rounding up or staying late ? After thinking about it for several hours, Elvis decided to keep only 15 digits in his numbers… Less digits, shorter the time at the office… He was very happy and he felt like he was on a cloud, a very round cloud ! Everything worked out perfectly! And his books were all balanced at the end of the day (even with only 15 digits!). Hopefully none of his clients will notice the difference! He finished his work earlier, put on his blue bathrobe and had a gin & tonic with his lovely wife Elvira who was wearing a very classy pink bustier (not in the picture).
See you later my friends! I have to grab my coffee (or a gin & tonic , no one will tell the difference anyways …) before work !
Thank you so much for all your lovely comments / favs/ general support / happy thoughts!! Stay safe and healthy!! And enjoy your day !!!
someone enhanced the statue with a traffic cone !
The Palais de justice historique de Lyon is a building located Quai Romain Rolland, on the right bank of the Saône, in the 5th arrondissement of Lyon. In 1996, it was classified as monument historique
Its construction began in 1835 and ended in 1845, under the direction of architect Louis-Pierre Baltard. It was built in the same location as the previous courthouses that followed since the 15th century.
The Palais de Justice de Lyon is often called the 'Palace of the twenty-four columns'. This is one of the finest neo-classical buildings in France.
In 1995, construction of a new courthouse in the district of La Part-Dieu allowed the transfer of the Tribunal de Grande Instance, the Tribunal d'Instance and the Tribunal de commerce de Lyon. The Cour d'appel of Lyon and the Cour d'assises of the Rhône remained installed in what is now the historic courthouse of Lyon.
In 2008, the building was the subject of a profound renovation (accessibility, upgrading, security...)
There were some famous trials in this building:
August 1884: Italian anarchist Sante Geronimo Caserio, murder of President of the Republic Sadi Carnot, was sentenced to death.
January 1945: Charles Maurras was sentenced to life imprisonment and national degradation.
July 1987: Klaus Barbie was sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes against humanity during the Second World War.
More candids here
www.flickr.com/photos/23502939@N02/albums/72157622769131641
More France here
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)
This past Monday and Tuesday I was spending my time out along the coastline in Quebec and New Brunswick following VIA, CN, and the SFG in some of my favorites territory in the northeast. I haven't explored Atlantic Canada too much up to this point outside of that area but I enjoy covering as much as I can before moving on when it comes to foreign lands. After two days of very little sleep and a lot of driving, I made my way home into the sunset and through the following darkness along the desolate highways that bring me back.
Of course, I was looking forward to having a day to relax a little bit. Well that wasn't to be, as my phone dinged with the notifications from a couple of my friends that MEC 507 would be leading CSX L072 the next day. I've shot plenty of Guilford since I got here, mostly the GP40 standard cabs. My personal favorite units in black and orange are the widecabs and up to this point I've only shot 514 which was incredibly faded at the time. Plus, 507 is now the only remaining unit on the active CSX roster that sports Guilford paint. After missing it leading the same job last week, the choice was clear. I was getting up early for another day of railroading. Oh the horror.
The story goes that in 2020 the 507 was due for a dip into fresh Pan Am blue at the Waterville Shops. Apparently, the guys in the shop had recently stumbled upon a shitload of Guilford paint lying around and decided to do a service to the nation. It had been over 15 years since a locomotive wore fresh G colors and one last unit would get the treatment. Unfortunately they removed the cab bell and marker lights, but you take what you're given in this instance. 5 years later, the paint has held up remarkably well. It's pretty neat to shoot a locomotive in Guilford colors that are still saturated in the year 2025.
In this image, 507 leads a pair of CSX C40-8WMs through the ugly city of Bangor, ME in afternoon summer sun. I haven't shot all that many photos this year so I'm trying to make up for it lately by way of rapid fire remediation.
The Hardhead possesses one of the strangest names among Australian birds. It was formerly known as the ‘White-eyed Duck’, but this feature is present only on drakes, with females having dark eyes. Nevertheless, this discrepancy has never been an impediment to naming birds in the past — female Blackbirds are never black, for instance. The name ‘Hardhead’ has nothing to do with the density of the duck’s cranium, but stems from early taxidermists who found that the head was the most difficult part of the duck to process.
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
We "meandered" on our way back from Shelby, stopping in every small town. Each place had something different to offer.
Take the tiny town of Champion, for instance. It should have been called "Halloweenville." Or maybe "Laststopforstupidcitypeoplewhodrivedownbackalleys-ton." This was a seriously creepy place...so creepy that you could feel...ummmm..."creepy" in the air, sort of like the way a carnival feels when the people have all gone home. Everything looked brown or dead.
There's an abandoned hotel, with clapboard walls bowing with age, a surreal display of a scarecrow doll in tiny park that rustles with the dueling corpses of brittle branches. (Both of these photos somehow showed up on Larry Talbot's photostream.) Even the obligatory small town Alberta Chinese restaurant had a sinister look that would leave you wondering if you'd ever walk out again...after dining on moo shoo pork that would undoubtedly taste just a little funny.
Sheree and I decided to drive down a couple of back alleys. Of course. That's where we saw this garage.
To the immediate left, just out of the frame, is a hulking pickup truck, battered and rusting with a license plate that says "Evil, Wicked Mean and Nasty." I've seen this plate before, of course. But it seemed to fit here, looking like a vehicle direct from a Stephen King novel, parked in a back yard where they do unspeakable things late at night while late autumn leaves dance in the wind.
We paused to look at this building and take some shots because it is, well...a really interesting building.
"Someone's coming," said Sheree...rather suddenly, I thought.
I was about 40% freaked out by Champion so I drove away with as much nonchalance as I could muster under the circumstances, trying hard not to spin the tires because everyone knows that the jerk who spins his tires as he drives away from the cannibal hillbilly is the first to die. (Right before the brain-dead-heroine-who-for-reasons-only-a-brain-dead-heroine-could-possibly-understand-goes-down-into-the-basement-of-an-abandoned-building-in-her-underwear-carrying-a-flashlight-powered-by-dubious-batteries-even-though-she-freaking-KNOWS-some-nut-with-a-chainsaw-has-just-murdered-all-of-her-friends gets killed.)
"Did you see that guy?" asked Sheree. She went on to describe a guy in a cowboy hat who looked like one of the inbred wild eyed psychopaths from "The Hills Have Eyes."
"Why did you drive away?" she asked.
It seemed pretty obvious to me, so I just looked at her, as visions of my own head mounted on the wall just under the STOP sign came to mind.
I love road trips.
Magpies are birds of the Corvidae family. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's smartest creatures, and is one of the few non-mammal species able to recognize itself in a mirror test. In addition to other members of the genus Pica, corvids considered as magpies are in the genera Cissa, Urocissa, and Cyanopica.
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.
Forest pictures are something i really find difficult. The light is often difficult, and it is difficult to cast the feeling you have when walking in it. The size of the trees for instance hardly can be expressed (by me).
When I was walking to the Butze Rapids (see www.flickr.com/photos/115540984@N02/20187529544/) these plants, with the obscure and not so inviting name of Skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus), were lit by the sun in a great way. The plant belongs to the family of the Araceae, which is very common in the tropics, and also lots of them are houseplant. It took quite some time to puzzle how I could make the best picture. In the field, how to catch the light in the best way, and afterwards how to process it. In the end I decided to crop it somewhat to have a better balance between the light and the dark parts, and to focus more on the flower. I hope you like this one.
From the 11th of June till the 25th of July, I traveled in Canada. Starting in Brighton Ontario, where my sister lives at the border of an amazing part of lake Ontario, I flew to Vancouver, and Vancouver island where I took the boat at Port Hardy to take part 1 of the Inside passage, to Prince Rupert in BC. Two days later I took part 2 to Skagway in Alaska. When coming from Skagway Alaska, you can take the train to Carcross. it is a very scenic train ride that halts at Bennet lake.
And then to Whitehorse and further on by car to Kluane National park in the Yukon district. Whitehorse is situated at the border of the Yukon. Frow there I flew back to Vancouver, rented a car, and traveled three weeks in the BC- and Alberta Rockies, visiting the famous, and less famous Nature parks like Banff and Jasper. Last few days back to Brighton Ontario to enjoy lake Ontario once more, before going home. A picture of my itinerary can be found on Facebook (www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152940536581759&set...).
4000 pictures later, it is quite a task to show the right stuff, although the stunning scenery guarantees at least a few great shots to share. Objective will be to make a book (for myself mainly), and that might take a while.
I hope you will enjoy the impression of my travel, one that equals earlier journeys to Alaska and south America, this journey was the first in the digital era, and equally intensive because of all the hiking activities every day on and on. I loved every minute of it.
The bond between man and dog (or in this instance a woman)
I couldn't resist capturing this beautiful moment.
This lady and her husband were siting beside me with the dog between them. They were stroking the dog reassuringly and affectionately. A very special bond.
The heart may 'jump' once too often, it is said
from the moment we raise a thought from it's bed
eyebrows might rouse the sight ahead of it's own sound
the speed with which we are lost and preferably found
is entwined into intervals and silhouettes by sunsets
the duality of senses find an enclave before light forgets
swamped is the benevolent piece of mind, head in the clouds
seeking Sun and warmth taken up by Pine and Oak shrouds
from all this land failed to embrace let it never be forgotten
but forgive the unprincipalled leaders and all their begotten
for the Suns of evolution will shine when the time is absolutely right
and before any questions are raised when the day is out of sight
rains continue to fall this apparently peaceable day
cloud banks my mind ever further beneath the covers where I pray
for the warmth of a Summer true to bring me out of the malaise
the one that preaches as much as it disobeys
my command of rites to empower a season's trestle
as July cold becomes insupportable for Summer to wrestle
away from it's misplaced instatement, a nutcase unresolved
for it's we that'll crack first now in dire need of heat devolved
the days shrink from haphazard deluges: an unruly mob in tow
battering down our resistance to a futile mope apropos
of the nothingness now felt between showers victory chants
such weather is maddening for our routine it now transplants
give a chance and be fair when instance becomes habitual
grief-ridden forecasts dampen down what is now a long-range ritual
postponements become abandonements all too quickly
and all of a sudden the season is lost when we give in so meekly...
fight, fight, fight it, don't ever be so much as slighted by it!
for it is our life, our world, our hopes and dreams we must acquit.
by anglia24
10h20: 17/07/2008
©2008anglia24
The draconian ruling of the Polish Constitutional Court which bans pregnancy terminations even in instances where a foetus is diagnosed with a serious and irreversible birth defect, has brought thousands of people to the streets. Protesting during the COVID pandemic is bit weird, but if a government full of cowards tries to use the pandemic to push an extremist agenda, people will react. So Poland says enough: Women's rights are human rights.
Here are some online petitions supporting women's rights in Poland:
secure.avaaz.org/campaign/pl/solidarity_with_polish_women...
www.change.org/p/polish-government-legalise-abortions-in-...
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.
We have a few spaces left on one of our two Polar Bear tours in Svalbard later this year. That happens to be very good news for you, because we have decided to offer a whopping 1,000 Euro discount for that trip. And if you have traveled with us before, we even offer you a 1,500 Euro discount - we like to reward our frequent flyers :-)
The date is: 24 July – 2 August 2015
This is the perfect time of year for bear viewing with best chances of finding polar bears on the ice - our main objective.
If the polar bear is on your bucket list, this is your chance to join a small group of like minded enthusiasts to photograph this magnificent, and highly endangered animal in the most stunning scenery.
We have chartered a small vessel for just our group, so we are often able to get closer to the bears than the large and intimidating ships. This image for instance was shot with a wide angle lens.
Another advantage of shooting from a small vessel is that you get a nice low perspective - our main reason to select this particular ship.
If you're interested in joining us on this spectacular trip, please check out my website for more details:
Hope to see you there!
Marsel
©2015 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.
Actually there were wonderfully healthy looking Cormorants down there. But only one in this photograph.
There's a trick I use to check my long exposure quickly. Once the dark ND filters are on the lens I set the ISO to 6400 and make a shot (in this instance the exposure time was half a second). Have a look. Exposure ok? Focus fine? If good, then turn your seconds into minutes; return ISO to base; and let it go. So the next shot, at ISO100, could be 0.5 x 6400/100 (basically just simplify it to 0.5 x 60) = 30s (basically half a second turns into half a minute*).
But sometimes I discover I quite like the shot at ISO6400. Here I caught a nice wave rolling through and half a second worked quite well. That sucks because ISO6400 is noisy, isn't it. Or, maybe it doesn't suck that much these days. The noise isn't as serious as it used to be. And the pic next door was shot at ISO64 and ended up looking ancient since I've added noise in "to taste"!
* assuming your cameras base ISO is 100 or close enough to that. If your base ISO is 200 then, in this example, 0.5s would turn into 15s, not 30s. Or to make it sound so confusing, each second would turn into half a minute.
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.
A beautiful Barred Fruiteater - - we saw a number of males but they were always behind alot of branches except for this one instance when he came into the clear before heading off to some more fruit trees.
Barred Fruiteater - Colombia highlands
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
At the time of taking this I wished I'd had a good looking model to put in the foreground, the little boy from the shot before last for instance, but there was no one there, but now several months later I quite like the picture.
A single exposure processed in Lightroom.
So, this evening my flickr pages have changed again..... Why is it they always add something that makes it worse!!!
Edit: have I been the subject of a hoax? Pages I opened over about half an hour had a new appearance, and now they've gone back to how they were before....phew!
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
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.
Oregon’s tallest peak, Mt. Hood, on a summer morning deep into the northern backcountry on a backpacking trip. I have a special bond with this mountain, as I grew up near it and spent all of my younger years snowboarding there. That said, there were two instances that this mountain really fucked me over.
One time in 7th grade I went up snowboarding with my dad on a crisp blue-bird day. My pops insisted that I put sunscreen on my face, especially because the “bright sunlight will even burn you from underneath” since it reflects off of the snow. Being a douchebag 7th grader, I was WAY too cool to put on sunscreen. But since my dad insisted, I put a dab of sunscreen on my hands, rub them together, then made the laziest swipe on each side of my face. Long story short, going to school the next day was nothing but jokes at my expense because I was sun burned on my entire face… except for two perfect handprints on each cheek.
The other time Mt. Hood screwed me over was when I literally busted my ass grinding a rail. Seriously, my ass was actually broken. But I’ll tell that story another time if anyone wants to hear it.
As always, thanks for scrolling far enough to see my dumb little picture. If you are interested in learning how I create my dumb little pictures, reading my dumb stories or seeing more mediocre photography, you can head to www.ryandyar.com or check out the link in my profile. Email subscribers get free quick video lessons monthly.
Dilmun is associated with ancient sites on the islands of Bahrain in the Persian Gulf, the Cradle of Civilization.
Dilmun (sometimes transliterated Telmun) is associated with ancient sites on the islands of Bahrain in the Persian Gulf. Because of its location along the sea trade routes linking Mesopotamia with the Indus Valley Civilization, Dilmun developed in the Bronze Age, from ca. 3000 BC, into one of the greatest entrepots of trade of the ancient world.
There is both literary and archaeological evidence for the trade between Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley (probably correctly identified with the land called Meluhha in Akkadian). Impressions of clay seals from the Indus Valley city of Harappa were evidently used to seal bundles of merchandise, as clay seal impressions with cord or sack marks on the reverse side testify.
A number of these Indus Valley seals have turned up at Ur and other Mesopotamian sites. "Persian Gulf" types of circular stamped rather than rolled seals, known from Dilmun, that appear at Lothal in Gujarat, India, and Faylahkah, as well as in Mesopotamia, are convincing corroboration of the long-distance sea trade. What the commerce consisted of is less sure: timber and precious woods, ivory, lapis lazuli, gold, and luxury goods such as carnelian and glazed stone beads, pearls from the Persian Gulf, shell and bone inlays, were among the goods sent to Mesopotamia in exchange for silver, tin, woolen textiles, olive oil and grains. Copper ingots, certainly, bitumen, which occurred naturally in Mesopotamia, may have been exchanged for cotton textiles and domestic fowl, major products of the Indus region that are not native to Mesopotamia - all these have been instanced.
Mesopotamian trade documents, lists of goods, and official inscriptions mentioning Meluhha supplement Harappan seals and archaeological finds. Literary references to Meluhhan trade date from the Akkadian, the Third Dynasty of Ur, and Isin - Larsa Periods (ca. 2350 - 1800 BC), but the trade probably started in the Early Dynastic Period (ca. 2600 BC). Some Meluhhan vessels may have sailed directly to Mesopotamian ports, but by the Isin - Larsa Period, Dilmun monopolized the trade. By the subsequent Old Babylonian period, trade between the two cultures evidently had ceased entirely.
The Bahrain National Museum assesses that its "Golden Age" lasted ca. 2200 - 1600 BC. Its decline dates from the time the Indus Valley civilization suddenly and mysteriously collapsed, in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. This would of course have stripped Dilmun of its importance as a trading center between Mesopotamia and India. The decay of the great sea trade with the east may have affected the power shift northwards observed in Mesopotamia itself.
Evidence about Neolithic human cultures in Dilmun comes from flint tools and weapons. From later periods, cuneiform tablets, cylinder seals, pottery and even correspondence between rulers throw light on Dilmun. Written records mentioning the archipelago exist in Sumerian, Akkadian, Persian, Greek, and Latin sources.
Dilmun, sometimes described as "the place where the sun rises" and "the Land of the Living" is the scene of a Sumerian creation myth and the place where the deified Sumerian hero of the flood, Ziusudra (Utnapishtim), was taken by the gods to live for ever.
There is mention of Dilmun as a vassal of Assyria in the 8th century BC and by about 600 BC, it had been fully incorporated into the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Dilmun then falls into deep eclipse marked by the decline of the copper trade, so long controlled by Dilmun, and the switch to a less important role in the new trade of frankincense and spices. The discovery of an impressive palace at the Ras al Qalah site in Bahrain is promising to increase knowledge of this late period.
Otherwise, there is virtually no information until the passage of Nearchus, the admiral in charge of Alexander the Great's fleet on the return from the Indus Valley. Nearchus kept to the Iranian coast of the Gulf, however, and cannot have stopped at Dilmun. Nearchus established a colony on the island of Falaika off the coast of Kuwait in the late 4th century BC, and explored the Gulf perhaps least as far south as Dilmun/Bahrain.
From the time of Nearchus until the coming of Islam in the 7th century AD Dilmun/Bahrain was known by its Greek name of Tylos. The political history for this period is little known, but Tylos was at one point part of the Seleucid Empire, and of Characene and perhaps part of the Parthian Empire. Shapur II annexed it, together with eastern Arabia, into the Persian Sassanian empire in the 4th century.
Unlike Egyptian and Mesopotamian tablets and cylinders, the Dilmun legacy has been discovered on circular seals. The primitive forms of images carved on the seal indicate they were used as charms or talisman. Carved on wood, soapstone shells or metal, these images clearly define a complex society. Temples in the center of the agrarian village, towns, city-states, religious, and economic cultural life. All facets of the emergence of an evolutionary society are reflected in the inscriptions about the seals.
Impressions found on pottery and property is a probable usage of the seals. Burying them with the dead was probably to avoid misuse. Tiny fragments found impressed, suggest identifying property. Clearly there was an intrinsic value; each seal tells a story, has an identity.
Seals depict Enki, God of wisdom and sweet water. Gilgamesh as a massive and heroic figure, the 'Bull of heaven' hat. Ladies of the mountains 'Inanas' servants wearing her triangle signs depicting space for her power. 'Nana' is the moon god who was also named 'sin'. Symbol was the bull of heaven head. Inana, goddess of immortality.
From the dreams of Gilgamesh, to the philosophy of life. Seals depicting a harmonious life with nature and god are painted here in the colors and form I hope you enjoy. The colors naturally excite and stimulate, often sexually. Indisputably the ancient myths of immortality and resurrection influenced Dilmun beliefs and are abundantly supported in the seal designs, represented by gods of the sun and moon.
The Mesopotamian texts described Tilmun as situated at the 'mouth' of two bodies of water. The Sinai peninsula, shaped as an inverted triangle indeed begins where the Red Sea separates into two arms - the gulf of Suez on the west, and the Gulf of Elat (Gulf of Aqaba) on the east.
The texts spoke of mountainous Tilmun. The Sinai peninsula is indeed made up of a high mountainous southern part, a mountainous central plateau, and a northern plain (surrounded by mountains), which levels off via sandy hills to the Mediterranean coastline. Sargon of Akkad claimed that he reached as 'washed his weapons' in the Mediterranean; 'the sea lands' - the lands along the Mediterranean coast - 'three times I encircled; Tilmun my hand captured'. Sargon II, king of Assyria in the eighth century BC, asserted that he had conquered the area stretching 'from Bit-Yahkin on the shore of the salt Sea as far as the border of Tilmun'. The name 'Salt Sea' has survived to this day as a Hebrew name for the Dead Sea - another confirmation that Tilmun lay in proximity to the Dead Sea.
The cradle of civilization is sometimes referenced by the name Dilmun, or Tilmun. Here, it was said, the god Ea and his wife were placed to institute 'a sinless age of complete happiness'.
Here too animals lived in peace and harmony, man had no rival and the god Enlil `in one tongue gave praise'. It is also described as a pure, clean and `bright' `abode of the immortals' where death, disease and sorrow are unknown and some mortals have been given `life like a god', words reminiscent of the Airyana Vaejah, the realm of the immortals in Iranian myth and legend, and the Eden of Hebraic tradition
Although Dilmun is equated by most scholars with the island of Bahrain in the Persian Gulf, there is evidence to suggest that a much earlier mythical Dilmun was located in a mountainous region beyond the plains of Sumer.
But where exactly was it located Mesopotamian inscriptions do not say; however, the Zoroastrian Bundahishn text and the Christian records of Arbela in Iraqi Kurdistan both refer to a location named Dilamƒn as having existed around the head waters of the Tigris, south-west of Lake Van - the very area in which the biblical Eden is said to have been located.
Furthermore, Ea (the Akkadian Enki) was said to have presided over the concourse of Mesopotamia's two greatest rivers - the Tigris and Euphrates - which are shown in depictions as flowing from each of his shoulders.
This would have undoubtedly have meant that the head-waters, or sources, of these rivers would have been looked upon as sacred to Ea by the cultures of Mesopotamia's Fertile Crescent.
- Zecharia Sitchin The Stairway to Heaven
Dilmun was allegedly a magical land, the birthplace of the gods and the place where the arts of civilization where said first to have been transmitted to men. It was the subject of many legends told by the Sumerians, the people of southern Iraq; it was famed as a land where death and disease were unknown and men and animals lived at peace together.
It was the home of the Sumerian king who was the origin of the myth of Noah, the immortal survivor of the Great Flood, a story retold in the Qu'ran and the Bible.
The first great hero of world literature, Gilgamesh the king of Uruk, journeyed to Dilmun in search of the secret of eternal youth.
He found it deep in the waters of the Persian Gulf, off Bahrain, but lost it when the flower which restored the youth of those who sought it, was stolen by a snake, lurking in a pool as Gilgamesh returned to his kingdom; this is the reason why the snake sloughs his skin.
Symbolism - All is Myth and Metaphor in our reality
* water: flow of consciousness - creation
* restore to youth: move out of the physical body and return to higher frequency forms of sound, light, and color
* snake: DNA - the human bio-genetic experiment in time and emotion
* kingdom - Leo - Lion - King - Omega - closure
Dilmun was also the center of the most important trade routes of the third and second millennia BC. The most important commodity was copper for which Dilmun was famous and the dates for which Bahrain was always celebrated, from ancient times until the present day.
Because Dilmun was so sacred a land, there were many temples built there, the impressive remains of which can be seen today. The largest and most splendid temple surviving in Western Asia is at Barbar on Bahrain's northern shore.
The most famous of all Bahrain's rich archaeological heritage are the 200,000 grave mounds which are a feature of the landscape in the northern half of the island and which, by their size and quality of construction, show how prosperous Bahrain must have been in ancient times.
Dilmun continued to be the most important center of trade in the Gulf region throughout its history.
After the Sumerians, the Babylonians, Assyrians, even the Greeks, settled on the islands, because of their strategic importance in the movement of merchandise, north and south, east and west, by sea and by the land routes to which the seas gave access.
The records of their diplomatic relations with the kings of Dilmun, some of whose names are known from the records, testify to the importance of the islands throughout antiquity.
All left evidence of their presence, preserved today in the Bahrain National Museum and in the immense archaeological sites in which Bahrain is particularly rich.
Bahrain is an open-air treasure house of the past, a unique heritage from the earliest times when men first began to keep records of their hopes, fears and achievements.
It is the contemporary of ancient Egypt with Sumer and the peoples who succeeded them, of the great cities of the Indus Valley.
Source: www.crystalinks.com/dilmun.html
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.
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.
yet another instance of this pedestrian passage in Edinburgh, which is find utterly wonderful and scifiesque.
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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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Follow me on FACEBOOK
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My GETTY IMAGES work
It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it! In this instance it's 'Terry Baker', Colas' 66847, seen here passing Worksop East box on the front of 3S13, the 09.26 leaf busting run from Sheffield to Woodburn Junction via Gainsborough Central.
Probably a dream for some dads to own such a prestigious car as a red Ferrari. It doesn't hurt to dream and set your sights high, as long as you face reality and do not become disillusioned. Wishing all the Dads on Flickr a great Father's Day, Sunday, June 17th, 2018.
NB: Did you know that 17 is a lucky number in many instances?
It proved right for my son today and for me to be on Explore. I have often used it and felt it was meant to be, besides, my birthday falls on the 17th and it was an Easter Sunday in April when I was born. My lucky Mom too?! RIP to her.
Asymetrical Cocktail Dress in what used to be called 'Tonic' fabric. ie.,the warp threads are one colour, the weft another - mid blue and pink in this instance, resulting in a mauve.
Balsams make really nice, and fragrant, Christmas trees... string together some of those berries from the mountain ash to get a head start on decorations!
I may be preaching to the choir here as I point out that Joyce and I are always quite busy this time of year. I’ll be scrambling around today for last minute ingredients for meals I’m preparing for a Christmas gathering of international students from Duke University with International Students, Inc tomorrow evening at our church’s fellowship hall. The meal is potluck-style, with many members of our church pitching in, as we may be feeding 150+ people. We must be concerned about dietary restrictions of some the students, Muslims for instance, so I’m making a huge pot of gluten-free rotini pasta with Bolognese sauce and southern-style chicken and dumplings… comfort food. Others will be making vegan dishes and desserts. I will be there early to coordinate the kitchen and the food… Joyce will be there to help with finishing touches on holiday decorations.... after she returns from Boydton, Virginia, where she's also setting up decorations at the historic Boyd Tavern along with the mayor's wife... she knows how to hobnob.
At this gathering last year, I sat at a table with a few first-year engineering students from China. Engineering is something I understand, so we had a pretty good conversation going on. That conversation led to issues of regionalism and colloquialism that we found quite funny. "Regionalism" eventually reached across the world when they asked me what I thought of them. I'm sitting there with science-minded young adults brilliant enough to attend one of the most elite schools in the world from a country that insists communism is their only God... and yet, I was able to explain God to them and why we celebrate His birth at Christmas. In doing so, I explained how God tells me that I can't say that I love Him without also loving them... that's much of the theme of the Book of James. They sat silent for a bit after that, though I could see something was whirling around in their heads. As I gathered my stuff to leave that evening, they were lined up at the door to thank me and hug me for talking to them... and one of them now attends church with us. Time spent with God never returns void.
After church this Sunday, we're both headed back to Boydton, a little over an hour away on the far side of Kerr Lake, to participate in the open house Christmas activities there. I will be taking photos of kids with Santa Claus... which should up my ante on the naughty or nice quotient. Time will tell.
Love is in the air at the Small Mammal House at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo this Valentine’s Day weekend. Animal keepers helped set “the mood” for their animal friends, doling out hand-crafted valentines and heart-shaped treasures unlike anything from any greeting card company or chocolatier.
These holiday treats were all given as a form of “enrichment” – items that make an animal’s environment stimulating or challenging through the use of toys, scents, puzzles, and anything else that might provide novelty.
To provide enrichment, the keepers created heart-shaped treats (some frozen) made of a variety of foods including beet juice (hence the red color), pureed apples, grapes, and bananas. In other instances, they wrapped up some small mammal favorites: meal or wax worms in bright Valentine’s Day decorative paper, allowing the animal to mentally and physically decipher how to get to their goodies.
Photo credit: Mehgan Murphy, National Zoo
Vista con más detalle de la bóveda de la primera instancia abres de recorrer el Palacio de la Seda
View more detail dome open the first instance to travel the Silk Palace
Staling murmurations are most spectator when they being harassed by pray, In this instance a peregrine falcon which you can see to the left of the starlings, This was taken in February 2018.
You can see more of Brighton Starling photos in this Flickr Album.
I've always wanted to do one of these. I know, how original, right? lol. I actually had a lot of fun doing this, and laughing at myself.
well...what can I tell you about me? hmmm....well, I can tell you that I don't mine sharing (smile)....okay, okay...I have to be the most low maintenance woman that you would ever meet. For instance, purses and shoes aren't my thing. I mean what is the purpose in having a ton of purses w/no money to put in it. If I didn't carry so much stuff around I wouldn't even carry a purse. Oh, but I do love hello kitty, earrings and necklaces...See there's a girlie girl in there somewhere;p Other than that, give me a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, oh and flip flops if it's warm and I'm a happy camper....
There have been a few instances a while back last year when I posted a picture that got almost no hits for a couple days, as if it was not showing up correctly on Flickr. Once such case is the STL 673, which I am reposting here in the D&H album. Thanks to those who saw it before; for those who didn't, I present the RPPY of 11 November 1985, heading west at BD in Binghamton, part of the great tunnel detour that routed all D&H traffic over the Penn Division in one last blaze of glory. Leading a bunch of Alco power is C-424m No. 456.
Scientific name: Podargus strigoides
Size Range34 cm to 53 cm
With their nocturnal habit and owl-like appearance, Tawny Frogmouths are often confused with owls, but are actually more closely related to the nightjars.
Identification
The general plumage of the Tawny Frogmouth is silver-grey, slightly paler below, streaked and mottled with black and rufous. A second plumage phase also occurs, with birds being russet-red. The eye is yellow in both forms, and the wide, heavy bill is olive-grey to blackish. South-eastern birds are larger than birds from the north. Tawny Frogmouths are nocturnal birds (night birds). During the day, they perch on tree branches, often low down, camouflaged as part of the tree.
Habitat
The Tawny Frogmouth can be seen in almost any habitat type (except the denser rainforests and treeless deserts), including heath, forest and woodlands, urban and rural areas.
Distribution
The Tawny Frogmouth is found throughout Australia, including Tasmania.
Feeding and diet
The bulk of the Tawny Frogmouth's diet is made up of nocturnal insects, worms, slugs and snails. Small mammals, reptiles, frogs and birds are also eaten. Most food is obtained by pouncing to the ground from a tree or other elevated perch. Some prey items, such as moths, are caught in flight, which has led to many unfortunate instances of birds being hit by cars while chasing insects illuminated in the beam of the headlights.
Other behaviours and adaptations
During the day, the Tawny Frogmouth perches on a tree branch, often low down, camouflaged as part of the tree.
Communication
A soft, deep and continuous low oom oom oom. Also makes a loud hissing noise when threatened.
Breeding behaviours
Tawny Frogmouths have a regular breeding season, but birds in more arid areas may breed in response to heavy rains. Both sexes incubate the eggs. The male sits during the day, but both sexes share sitting at night. The nest is a loose platform of sticks, which is usually placed on a horizontal forked tree branch. Normally only one brood is raised in a season, but birds from the south may have two.
Breeding Season: August to December
Clutch size: 2 to 3