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Fluid couplings, fluid flywheels and torque converters, all employ fluid, usually oil, to provide initially, on engine tick over, a degree of slip in the mechanism, ( like a disengaged clutch/ that is pedal depressed ) when we engage drive, as in a car for instance, we release the handbrake, increase the engine revolutions, by means of the accelerator pedal, and by increasing the input speed the fluid friction increases, until we have in effect a "solid" drive, and hence vehicle movement.
The resemblance visually /externally is reasonably accurate, internally there are only vague similarities.......
This image comprises a water fountain head in a domed spray setting or mode, and hence is a fluid form.
I have taken the man out of the engineering ( via retirement ) but i cannot remove the engineering from the man.. it has become too far ingrained, even without conscious thought, the mind flows into it.
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.
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.
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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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WEBSITE .......: www.jeansurprenant.com
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My GETTY IMAGES work
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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.
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) 😊
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.
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 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.
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.
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
One of the photos taken for this week's Macro Mondays theme of Brands and Logos. I wanted something with a bit of interest rather than a flat printed logo, so I was looking for logos that were, for instance etched or embossed.
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
For the Different Perspective challenge for March, for 12 Months for Dogs, I'll keep it simple with Pips.
Here she is, coming out of the pool - not going in - haha ;)
She's a funny girl in so many instances, though, and this is one of them.
Not long ago, when she was continuously getting in the pool, then out, then back in the pool, then back out again …. well, the owner of the pool declared,"Oh, Pips, why don't you just stay in longer - the water level's starting to drop, you're taking so much water out every time !"
A fair statement, as the pool is fed by a large rainwater pipe from the house roof, and there do occur dry spells throughout the year.
When there's been a long, rainless season, more has to be delivered by truck to refill the water tanks.
So fair enough, I thought, but how will Pips get this communication ?
How will I train her to take one long swim, be satisfied with that, then get out and stay out..?
I was worried that she would wear out her precious welcome, as this amazing privelege must be something she really looks forward to.
Haha, well, I didn't have to do anything, she got the message immediately.
How do they do that ?
Next time she emerged from the water, and ever since then, she pauses on the top steps.
It's as if she's gone into meditation, just stays there for a while and lets most of the water drain off her and back into the pool.
While any nearby humans watch, fascinated.
Go figure on that one ...
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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.
Thanks!
© All rights reserved
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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WEBSITE .......: www.jeansurprenant.com
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BUY or LICENCE IT HERE
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.
.
My GETTY IMAGES work
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.
.
Follow me on FACEBOOK
.
.
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WEBSITE .......: www.jeansurprenant.com
.
.
.
My GETTY IMAGES work
.
.
.
Licence disponible sur [ GETTY IMAGES ]
Licence available at
.
.
.
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.
Thanks!
© All rights reserved
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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WEBSITE .......: www.jeansurprenant.com
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My GETTY IMAGES work
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Licence disponible sur [ GETTY IMAGES ]
Licence available at
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This is a Rufous-banded Owl, found in the cloud forests of the Andes. Sometimes these owls materialize out of the night to hunt the moths that swarm to the buildings of research stations. This one was still focused on his quarry despite my light and the excited chatter of our group at the dinner table.
These owls can be quite curious, something I was fortunate enough to experience on multiple nights. Their booming hoots can be heard for kilometers, and occasionally I would imitate them. On a few occasions, the owl would fly right in close and I would get to converse with one of these great beasts for a few minutes! I am always humbled by moments like these, moments where I feel so connected to nature. The beauty of the wild is that if you take a moment to try and understand it, to listen to it, sometimes you can speak back in a magical way. Maybe this is just whimsy, but I always feel a little closer to some proverbial home in these instances.
Yanayacu Biological Station, EC
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.
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.
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.
yet another instance of this pedestrian passage in Edinburgh, which is find utterly wonderful and scifiesque.
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.
Grass Snake (Natrix natrix). Woodwalton Fen National Nature Reserve, Cambridgeshire. Saturday 25th March 2017.
A photomosaic of three images, merged using Adobe Photoshop Elements 12. Can be viewed large (left click or press Z), but no bigger.
One of the more instantly recognisable grass snakes at WWF, this one has a nasty scar on its right flank just behind the collar (not immediately obvious from this angle though) and appears to be missing the tip of its tail. I've nicknamed it Lucky, as in 'Lucky to be alive'.
Lucky can normally be found basking close to Cyclops (see: www.flickr.com/photos/julianhodgson/32759851664/), but is usually tightly coiled amongst the vegetation. In this instance however, Cyclops was nowhere to be seen and Lucky had nicked his place, offering the opportunity for a reasonably unobstructed shot.
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
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!
These two individuals, who have likely weathered many storms in their lives, are savoring a small yet precious moment. They don’t need much—no grand events or luxuries. An ice cream, a spot in the shade, and each other’s presence are enough. It’s a reminder that often, it’s the small moments in life that truly fill the heart. Growing old doesn’t mean losing the joy of life, but rather finding it in these quiet, treasured instances.
THE BEST THING about socializing with the master photographers is that they sensitize and motivate you. You learn how to look around you and spot the potentially interesting compositions. I wouldn't set out looking for such details if I hadn't seen Rita's recent masterpiece flic.kr/p/2pWFsFB, for instance. In a new office building I visited yesterday this "dakkapel" (dormer window) serves as a light source for the middle of the interior, the staircase, the desk counters and the waiting room. A shame I didn't have a real camera on me. But even if I had, so many people watched me doing this that I would probably have had some problems had I used it. The Dutch tolerance threshold has been significantly lowered since the outbreak of plandemic.
This roof window lies at the sea level. The rest: the offices, the shops, the hallways, the waiting room, the staircase etc. are all below it. The ground floor is at –4 m. The staff moved in recently from the other side of the town, which was at zero meter elevation. My dentist told me they needed some time to acclimatize to their new location.
iPhone X back side camera, edited in Snapseed.
~SHORTCUTS~ ...→Press [F11] and [L] key to engage Full Screen (Light box) mode with black background ↔ Press the same key or [Esc] to return... →Press [F] to "Like" (Fave)... →Press [C] to comment.
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...
“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'
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....
Texture is very important, especially in this instance. Following on from the Tour de France starting in Yorkshire in 2014, part of the TDF legacy was to improve miles of the Leeds Liverpool canal towpath so that it had a surface good enough for cycling on. For many months sections were closed off as preparatory work was done. The aim was for the towpath to be suitable for a thin bicycle tyre but when it was again opened many cyclists found the quite large pebbles rather tricky to wade through. I struggled on my mountain bike shod with half off road/half road tyres. I think the Canal & Rivers Trust must have received many emails as shortly after the contractors were back sweeping up miles of the large pebbles. The story is that someone ordered the wrong size gravel. Oops!
All is well now with the beautiful surface you see in this photograph. It is truly a joy to pedal along with the added bonus of no potholes.
HMM to everyone!
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.
Three tiny screwdrivers. For instance, the one in the center is small enough to adjust the tiny screws on eyeglasses.
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/...
Try to tell the truth by taking photographs that lie about it.
- Max Pinckers
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After some days of puzzlement with the instruction, suddenly I thought this could be the easiest 12by12 instruction ever. Actually, telling the truth by lying about it is what almost every photo does on reducing our visual perception to two dimensions. OK, I was wrong, that doesn’t count because the ability is on the medium, and not on the photographer. However a photographer can intentionally do something similar. Think about photographing subjects in motion, for instance. The shutter speed will change the way movement appears in photographs. Short shutter speeds freeze the subject but hide the movement. Long shutter speeds show us the movement, but distort the object in motion. Therefore, we can show the object or we can show its momentum, but not both things on the same photo. Can we square this circle? I dare say yes. One day, an anonymous and genius photographer discovered the panning technique. The moving object is photographed keeping it in the same position of the frame for the duration of the exposure. As a result, the subject remains more or less intact and the background goes blur, suggesting its speed. What is moving is shown frozen, and what is quiet is shown running. So we see the true because a lie is being shown.
I must confess I love the panning technique, especially when its result is imperfect. When imperfect, pannings give us a glimpse of a dimension that it is not exactly space or time, but something in between. A dreamlike dimension. Dreams, so. The stuff that best tells the truth by lying about it. More of the same...
One thing about choosing and processing these a few months after taking them, I forget things! For instance, I rember the sun rising over place Fell, the wind getting up, and the mist all dispersing. I had completely forgotten that it returned...wonderfuly!
In this instance Tufty was without his trademark tufts which moult during the summer months.
Sadly now despite his road safety campaign in the 60's Tufty is very rare in most of the UK.
Was anyone else a member of the Tufty Club - I still have my badge.
Red Squirrel (Sciurus Vulgaris)
Highland Titles Nature Reserve, Duror - Scotland
Many thanks to all those who take the time to comment on my photos. It is truly appreciated.
DSC_4867 Explore 27 January 2024
Having snapped "Pexford Pic" at Gauxholme, it seemed rude not to wait the extra half-hour and snap the freight behind it, the 8.59am Redcar Bulk Terminal - Fiddlers Ferry PS (6M17), especially seeing as it was a relatively rare coal movement. In this instance GBRf Shed 66701 is doing the honours.
Given the lack of time, I simply opted to drop down Pexford Road (which can be seen on the left of the image) and head up the footpath on the other side to the more traditional overlook.
In the foreground is the Rochdale Canal, which has the dubious honour of being the second highest canal in England at exactly 600' (183m) elevation on the stretch between West Summit and Longlees. That section lies a couple of miles behind me where the canal passes over the shoulder of the hill through which the railway burrows via the more well-known (to railfans at least) Summit Tunnel. With around 19 locks between the summit and Todmorden, visible in the distance, anyone navigating this stretch can be sure of a decent workout.
2nd November 2017
Larnaca, 13-10-2012.
VAR_3945ecb
On looker being devoured by the work of art of Andreas Paraskeva to become part of it in the third dimension.
...."In another instance, the artist (Andreas Paraskeva) brings his workshop to the exhibition space. He links this installation with the painted work that refers to the events of 1974. The coup d'etat and the invation overturn the plans of a family of four. Marked by the tragic trouth, everyday people are placed in an environment full of contradictions, both accessible and tragic."...
From the group exhibition by Andreas Paraskeva, Evros A. Evriviades, Mikella Psara and Maria Tourou at the Larnaca Municipal Art Gallery on Europe Square. They are all established artists who live and work in the town and district of Larnaca, Cyprus.
The exhibition will remain open for quite a while longer and I strongly recomment it to local friends and visitors.
I've discovered that our local church yard has several Japanese Cherry trees; this one is of the Pink Blossom variety (unlike the earlier one which was white).
The Blossom in this instance is coming to an end, but there's still a bit of Life in it - enough anyway to attract a hard-working Bumble Bee!
Thanks so much for visiting my Site Folks, and thanks especially for taking the time and trouble to leave a Comment; it's always nice to hear from you...!
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