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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/...
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
One of those instances where everything came together perfectly. I just love that little hint of unhappy expression on the kid's face! 😂
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
"It is senseless to claim that things exist in their instancing only. The template for the world and all in it was drawn long ago. Yet the story of the world, which is all the world we know, does not exist outside of the instruments of its execution. Nor can those instruments exist outside of their own history. And so on. This life of yours is not a picture of the world. It is the world itself and it is composed not of bone or dream or time but of worship. Nothing else can contain it. Nothing else be by it contained."
Cormac McCarthy - Cities of the Plain
Faux cowboy atop Kallison's Western Wear shop in downtown San Antonio, Texas.
Recording that instance before the Deluge.
"Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house."
Matthew 5:15
Another instance where the morning light streaming into my flat inspired me to grab a quick photo. Here the shadow frame of the kitchen window provided the perfect opportunity for a silhouette self portrait, complete with my ever growing level of bed hair!
El Monte Park nest and chicks:
They say persistence pays off and in this instance it truly did...
I have always said that a good photographer works very hard at getting unique good images that tell a wonderful story. I happen to get very lucky!!!
If you look back two posts at the two fledgling Red-tail Hawks in their nest I said there was another downstairs in the deep nest. Well going back each day to chronicle their growth and life I got the frame of a lifetime. This folks is the very first flight leaving the nest of "one" of those Red-tailed chicks in that very nest that I posted two posts prior to this one. I am absolutely thrilled to offer this to YOU as the "FIRST FLIGHT OF ONE OF THOSE CHICKS"
This is NOT about me as I am doing the last post a disservice by posting this so early on the back of the last post. But I could not wait to share this epic event with my flickr friend. This is what flickr is all about to me...sharing of great moments in time and this certainly qualifies as a great moment for this new fledgling dropping down out of his security blanket as the adults offered a a meal on a rock as shown in the comment section.
This flight was unintentional as the branch he or she was using to catch air and lift off for practice gave way and he glided out of frame in front of a tree blocking the cameras view onto the ground about 100 yards away. The frame in comments shows him on the rock where the adults left dinner enticing any of the three to leave and come get the spoils. Enjoy I hope as much as I the wonderful event of the first flight...
As always I so appreciate you dropping by and if you choose to leave a comment all the better.
Make it a wonderful week and sore like an Red-tail Hawk in life tossing caution to wind and following your dreams.
This is one of the numerous Merops family of colorful fly catchers, in this instance photographed in Zimbabwe near the Zambezi river.
Red stripe Railfreight was one of my favourite liveries of the BR era although in this instance has been slightly sullied by the scratch along the bodyside. The Tinsley allocated Duff ducks under the South Central and South Western mainlines just as a 159 passes overhead.
It's August. Swallows of every kind--in this instance, mostly Barn Swallows--gather in small flocks wherever insects can be found. Roadside wires provide an ideal perch from which to survey the surrounding fields. But in a matter of weeks they'll depart on their long journey to Central and South America, not to be seen again in these parts until next April or May.
Here is an example of the benefits of using a program such as Adobe's Lightroom (v2.5 in this instance). I have only used one type of processing within this picture, which is the Local Adjustment filter. This is an excellent tool, as it allows specific editing of points, for example, brightening the forground, whilst still darkening the sky exposure and adding shadow detail to one specific tree.
Originally when I took this photo, I was amazed at the beauty of the view, the colours, the atmopshere, it was almost magical. Yet this was totally lost within the stock output photo. I also happened to be tripod-less at the time, so a quality HDR was going to be out of the picture. I was going to bin this picture finally as I couldn't get the process I needed to bring it back to life..
I have been using lightroom now for multiple versions, and I have only just stumbled on this feature myself whilst perusing Lightroom tutorial videos on a Lightroom group. Anyway, I hope this is informative to people, and can maybe enlighten others as too how some people seem to get such excellent results from almost nothing, or those that don't see how one D40X puts out a picture like the top, and another puts out a picture like the the second... (PS I'm not blowing any trumpets here, I just think the change in picture is somewhat astonishing when some development of the article is actually taken on - after all, photographers for years have been developing in darkrooms, why shouldn't the PC and technological age give us our own "Lightroom"!)...
Please take the time to view large & on black
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Enjoy.. thanks for any comments, always appreciate those of you that take the time to leave comments or suggestions.. ta people :)
Habitat is a “home ground” or an environment in which an organism or group of species normally lives or occurs. In this sense, a habitat is any particular place that supports animal or plant life. From the habitat is where plants or animals get their survival essentialities such as water, food, shelter, and breeding grounds.
Different plant or animal species have different necessities for water, shelter, nesting and food. Thus, each and every plant or animal is adapted to survive in a specific kind of habitat. For instance, some turtles live in the seas while others live on land. Some plants grow in the deserts, some in the seas, and some in swampy areas. This shows different species have different needs. Examples of habitats include oceans, streams, or forests.
When a habitat is dramatically altered due to natural or anthropogenic activities such as earthquakes, agriculture, pollution or oil exploration, these places may no longer be able to provide shelter, food, water, or breeding grounds for the living organisms.
Such kind of events lessens the places where plants or animals such as wildlife can live and threatens the survival of various species. That sort of habitat degradation or fragmentation is what is termed as habitat loss and destruction. Habitat loss and destruction are influenced by several drivers which include:
1. Agriculture
Agricultural production has claimed much space of the natural habitat since settlers began converting forests and grasslands to croplands. In the modern world, the pressure to convert lands into resource areas for producing priced foods and crops has increasingly led to habitat loss.
Runoff of agricultural waste, fertilizers, and pesticides into marine and freshwater environments has also transformed streams and water systems. As a result, there has been a tremendous loss of natural crop species, aquatic life, and wildlife habitat.
2. Animal Waste, Sewage, Fertilizer, and Mining Waste Pollution
Marine and freshwater life forms are the most affected by pollution. Pollutants from animal waste, untreated sewage, fertilizers, pesticides, and heavy metals find way into wetlands and water systems and subsequently end up in the food web.
Animal wastes and fertilizers generate nutrients that cause an outburst in algae growth that depletes dissolved oxygen in aquatic systems. Mining wastes may also contain heavy metals that affect the health and breeding of aquatic organisms. Sewage sediments may destroy dwelling grounds of aquatic animals.
3. Industrial and Automobile Pollution
The majority of animal and plant habitats have been destroyed due to the toxic substances and chemicals emitted from industries and automobiles that pose long-term cumulative impacts on the species health. Seriously polluted regions have become dead zones since the conditions have become very harsh for biotic survival. A prime example is an acidic lake which cannot support aquatic life forms. In some areas, only a few organisms can survive owing to the cumulative effects of industrial and automobile pollution.
4. Water Projects
The development of water projects such as hydropower plants, dam construction, and water diversion frequently disconnect or draw off waters thereby altering water chemistry and hydrology. This is because such water projects limit the amount of water and nutrients running downstream.
The downstream section of the river can dry out and the nutrients supporting aquatic life can significantly reduce. As an outcome, gradual habitat loss happens as the water flows downstream.
5. Land Use and Development
The conversion of lands into urban settings, housing developments, office spaces, shopping malls, industrial sites, parking areas, road networks, and so on takes away the naturally occurring land that provided habitat for wildlife and other living organisms. This practice has substantially led to the loss and destruction of millions of acre of natural habitable environments.
6. Global Warming
Global warming is one of the recent leading causes of habitat loss since it changes the physical environmental factors such as temperature and moisture which are essential for a sustainable habitat.
For instance, wildlife that requires cool temperatures of high elevations such as the rock rabbit and mountain gorillas may in the near future run out of habitat due to global warming. Excessive rains, flooding or drought arising out of global warming have also impacted several habitats, contributing to the loss of wildlife and other living organisms.
7. Diversity Loss and Invasive Species
When a certain ecosystem which is home to numerous species collapse, more aggressive species may enter the territory. As the original species struggle to cope in a harsher environment, the invasive species contributes to a further and rapid decline of the habitat and subsequently dominates.
The explosive entry of invasive species into a habitat presents a strong threat to the native species as they struggle to survive in the increasingly changing environment. Invasive species directly competes for food with the native species and can also alter the structure of the habitat.
8. Vegetation Removal and Logging
Vegetation removal and logging destroy the structure of the habitat since it takes away the vital materials and natural systems responsible for replenishing and purifying the habitat. Removal of vegetation cover and logging also creates room for soil erosion and decrease stormwater infiltration which leads to the degradation of water quality, further destroying the habitat.
9. Dredging and Bottom Trawling Fishing
Dredging and bottom trawling fishing gives rise to the physical destruction of the dwelling, feeding and breeding areas for aquatic plants and animals. The displaced sediments may further smother the bottom dwelling organisms. Fish gills can as well become blocked with sediments and plant life activity is reduced due to limited light.
Dredging might also release underground toxic materials into aquatic habitats. Besides, bottom trawling fishing can by-catch unmarketable fish which turns out to be the food for other bigger fish in that particular underwater habitats.
Inframe :
The greater sand plover (Charadrius leschenaultii) is a small wader in the plover family of birds.
It breeds in the semi-deserts of Turkey and eastwards through Central Asia. It nests in a bare ground scrape. This species is strongly migratory, wintering on sandy beaches in East Africa, South Asia and Australasia. It is a rare vagrant in western Europe, where it has been recorded as far west as Great Britain, France and Iceland. It has been spotted twice in North America, the most recent being on May 14, 2009, in Jacksonville, Florida.
This species is fully migratory, and is likely to migrate without stopping on a broad front between breeding and non-breeding areas . Migratory flocks form after the end of breeding between mid-June and early-August, and arrive in the wintering grounds between mid-July and November (adults and immature birds arriving before juveniles. Those birds wintering in South-East Asia start moving northwards to the breeding grounds in late-February (the migration peaking in March to early-April), arriving from mid-March to May; whereas those wintering in East Africa and southern Asia depart for breeding grounds from mid-April to early-May. Most non-adult wintering birds remain in the wintering areas during the breeding season . The species is typically gregarious, feeding in flocks of 2-50, and sometimes congregating in groups of up to 1,000 when roosting (Urban et al. 1986, del Hoyo et al. 1996). Habitat Breeding During the breeding season this species is predominantly found in open, dry, treeless, uncultivated areas up to 3,000 m , including dried mud, silt and clay flats, hard salt-pans overgrown with halophytic plants , and rocky plains near mountains in desert or semi-desert . In Turkey the species frequents heavily grazed saline steppe . The species usually breeds near water but exceptionally it will nest up to 20 km away from it. Non-breeding During the non-breeding season this species shows a preference for littoral habitats with mixed sand and mud substrata . It is found on sheltered sandy, shelly or muddy beaches, large intertidal mudflats, sandbanks, salt-marshes, estuaries, coral reefs, rocky islands, tidal lagoons and dunes near the coast , although it may sometimes feed on coastal grasslands . Whilst on migration the species will occasionally utilise inland habitats such as salt-lakes and brackish swamps, usually roosting on sandbanks and spits . Diet This species is carnivorous: during the breeding season its diet consists mainly of terrestrial insects and their larvae (especially beetles, termites, midges and ants), and occasionally lizards whereas during the non-breeding season its diet contains mainly marine invertebrates such as molluscs (snails), worms and crustaceans (such as shrimps and crabs). Breeding site The nest is a shallow scrape on the ground amongst sand-hills, gravel, or on other barren substrates.
Before I knew much about landscape photography, I would often look at striking photos with brightly colored autumn leaves in bright white snow, for instance, and think, "wow, that photographer got so lucky to happen upon these leaves so perfectly placed!" Now, sometimes that does happen. Other times, a little bit of pre--photo staging helps the scene. I think about that every time I'm fortunate enough to stumble on well-placed objects to use in a foreground--like you see in this picture.
Hello everybody :)
Here´s my latest creation I made for my current "ExploringTheShire" project. The MOC shows the Hobbit hole from the Sackville-Baggins. I had a lot of fun building that creation, I tried to include some new techniques, for instance for the bench, the bird house or the mailbox and I also tried to make some kitbash minifigures for the Sackville-Baggins. For Otho I used the head of Kimi Räikkönen from an old Ferrari set :D
Credits to Sanel Lukovic for the use of the whips for the tree (www.flickr.com/photos/92767814@N02), Markus Rollbühler for the use of the quarter-tiles for the bushes (www.flickr.com/photos/moriartus) and to Travis Brickle for the idea with the flower box and for the rake (www.flickr.com/photos/brick_surgeon)
I hope you like it :)
Coccinellidae is a family of beetles, known variously as ladybirds (British English, Australian English, South African English), ladybugs (North American English) or lady beetles (preferred by some scientists). Lesser-used names include ladyclock, lady cow, and lady fly.
They are small insects, ranging from 1 mm to 10 mm (0.04 to 0.4 inches), and are commonly yellow, orange, or scarlet with small black spots on their wing covers, with black legs, head and antennae. A very large number of species are mostly or entirely black, grey, or brown and may be difficult for non-entomologists to recognize as coccinellids (and, conversely, there are many small beetles that are easily mistaken as such, like tortoise beetles).
Coccinellids are found worldwide, with over 5,000 species described, more than 450 native to North America alone.
A few species are pests in North America and Europe, but they are generally considered useful insects as many species feed on aphids or scale insects, which are pests in gardens, agricultural fields, orchards, and similar places. The Mall of America, for instance, releases thousands of ladybugs into its indoor park as a natural means of pest control for its gardens.
Believed to be the first instance of a 5 engine lashup on the SCFE, CSX sending TRRA 3004 (USSC 6327) back and forth through Florida for a week ultimately coincided the delivery of 3004 with the completion of traction motor swaps at Childs for 6322 and 6323, making for a massive power move of 3 SD40s DIT. One of the wackiest consists to date
SCFE SBT-25 w/ USSC 4204, USSC 6325, USSC 6322, TRRA 3004 (USSC 6327), & USSC 6323
A rare instance of level and almost centered framing from a moving car. I was driving, so I only took a fleeting glance as I held the camera out to the side at arm's length. I did crop it some on the right side to put the tree more in the center, but made no other adjustments. The odd sky color must be the result of shooting through a dusty window. I like how opaque the sky looks and that the tree is in focus, also a hit or miss phenomenon in drivebys.
Alco YDM-4 unit 6515 crosses the busy level crossing at Pilibhit as it arrives with the 12.50pm from Tanakpur (train 52220) on 14th October 2015.
Tanakpur lies 39 miles from Pilibhit and the train is scheduled to take 2 hours 10 minutes with 4 intermediate stops. This includes waiting time for trains to pass on the single track route, and also follows what seems to be the usual habit of inserting plenty of recovery time between the penultimate stop and the terminus - for instance today's train left Nyoriya Husenpur 2 minutes late and arrived in Pilibhit (9 miles away) 15 minutes early!
For anyone with a geographical bent, Tanakpur lies surprisingly close to the Nepal border - about 2 miles as the crow files. It would be a wet walk though seeing as the Sarda River needs to be crossed! Road traffic make the crossing a few miles downstream where there's a bridge and border crossing.
This shot was taken from Pilibhit East Box with the generous permission of the signalmen.
On June 5, 2012, Hinode captured this stunning view of the transit of Venus -- the last instance of this rare phenomenon until 2117. Hinode is a joint JAXA/NASA mission to study the connections of the sun's surface magnetism, primarily in and around sunspots. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages Hinode science operations and oversaw development of the scientific instrumentation provided for the mission by NASA, and industry. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Mass., is the lead U.S. investigator for the X-ray Telescope.
Image credit: JAXA/NASA
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
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Thanks to Kim for situating the diptych!
It is often hard if not downright difficult to identify fritillary butterflies from their upperwings. In this instance it is possible. The butterfly to your right, as you look at the screen, is a male Silver-washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia) photographed at a small RSPB reserve on the Dosret / Wiltshire border. Note the four dark thick veins on each forewing.
The butterfly to the left is a Dark Green Fritillary (Speyeria aglaja), probably a female. It was photographed on the chalk grasslands of the Purbeck Ridge, Dorset. This is much more difficult to identify from the upperwings because there are several other similar species in the UK. However, the key here is local knowledge as none of the other UK possibilities can be found anywhere near where this was photographed at this or any other time of the year.
These two fritillaries are the UK's most common. The Silver-washed Fritillary largely uses broad-leaved woodland and is more than holding its own in suitable habitat in the southern half of England and Wales and also in northern Ireland. The Dark Green Fritillary, although declining, can still be found in suitable habitats throughout Britain.
(I've geotagged the photo to Garston Wood which is where the Silver-washed Fritillary was photographed.)
The rose is England's national flower. Usually red, it is used, for instance, in the emblems of the English Golf Union and England national rugby union team.
Terry Eve Photography Copyright 2018
This is a low resolution watermarked upload, for a full size copyright free image please contact Terry Eve Photography via Flickr mail in the first instance.
The Vélez Blanco castle is a Spanish castle situated in Almería.
It is one of a series of fortresses built at the beginning of the 16th century by Pedro Fajardo y Chacón, first Marqués de los Vélez and Governor of the kingdom of Murcia.
The fortress has an elongated ground-plan and is crowned on the north front by a keep.
According to an inscription in the courtyard, the castle was built between 1506 and 1515 after Fajardo received the lordship of the town from Ferdinand II and Isabella, took up residence there and was given the title of Marqués (1507) by Ferdinand, who was then regent. The heraldry of the principal areas of the castle, including the coat of arms of his second wife, Mencía de la Cueva, belongs to this period.
The fortified areas of the castle, particularly the defences and the Late Gothic east gallery of the courtyard, are examples of late 15th-century Spanish art.
Attempts have been made to link this building with the chapel of the Vélez family in Murcia Cathedral (completed in 1507), which is also Gothic. By contrast, the three other galleries of the courtyard have columns, arches and windows with Italian Renaissance detailing and sculpture.
The Velez Blanco Castle was one of the first buildings in Spain to present this style, which reflected the Italianate education of the Marqués de los Vérez (a disciple of the humanist Pietro Martire d’Anghiera), who is portrayed in a frieze as accompanying the Emperor Titus on his triumphal entry into Rome.
All of these elements were carved in local marble, and each of the three decorated galleries has a different composition. The gallery at the south entrance, beside the staircase which leads up two flights, has two levels of arcading.
The castle itself has been implausibly attributed to Lorenzo Vázquez de Segovia on the grounds that both La Calahorra Castle and Vélez Blanco Castle derive from models in the Codex Escurialensis, but Vázquez de Segovia’s use of Italianate elements in La Calahorra differs considerably from Velez Blanco.
At La Calahorra the detailing of the windows and the incorrect mouldings and curves of the arches indicate the presence of Italian craftsmen working under a Spanish architect unused to the contemporary forms of architecture in Rome.
Like La Calahorra Castle, though less perfectly, Vélez Blanco Castle is a good example of the early application of Italian stylistic elements in Spain at the beginning of the 16th century. They are subordinated here to Spanish structural traditions without really transforming them, at the instance of a member of the Spanish nobility with humanist and antiquarian interests.
Part of the pleasure of holidays (in this instance the Easter holidays) is having a bit more time to oneself to go out to the beach with the camera again (the last time was in January to Saltwick Bay).
Being over at the in-laws in Rochdale gave us the opportunity to take a visit to Formby, just north of Liverpool. This was my first visit, so I didn't know quite what to expect.
When I got to the beach I was presented with a length of sand which reminded me of Bamburgh, such was its vastness.
Not having the Nikon I took this with the point-and-shoot Ricoh GX100. Even though the Ricoh doesn't have the ultra-wide aspect of the Tokina 11-16mm I thought it managed to capture the vastness of the this beach quite well, with the dunes captured to the right of the composition being the only other main feature of this beautiful stretch of beach.
This was one of those rare instance in which I liked the way my camera’s LCD looked better than the view out in front of me. The long exposure, which was made well after sunset, brought out the subtle colors and smoothed the rough water. While not my typical shot, I like the way it turned out and realized once again it pays to experiment.
Large on black is nice for this one
As always, thanks for your input!
Barrett
9
Best viewed large.
Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta, BC.
Their breeding habitat is bogs and marshes in the boreal forest region of Canada and Alaska. They migrate to the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States and south to South America.
Tringa is a genus of waders, containing 13 species of shanks and tattlers in the sandpiper family, Scolopacidae.
Large sandpipers were once popular game for bird hunters. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, many a fashionable restaurant featured gourmet meals with willet or curlew. Now shorebirds are protected, but only after many species were brought to the edge of extinction. The common names of large pipers often derive from the hunting era. Yellowlegs, for instance, are also called tattlers because these high-strung birds would be the first to raise a noisy alarm when shooters were spotted.
Wikipedia.
Photo of Icicle Creek captured via Minolta MD Zoom Rokkor-X 24-50mm F/4 lens. On the Snow Lakes Trail and on the way to the Core Enchantments. Alpine Lakes Wilderness. Stuart Mountain Range. Central Cascades Range. Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. Chelan County, Washington. Late October 2017.
Exposure Time: 1/100 sec. * ISO Speed: ISO-200 * Aperture: F/5.6 * Bracketing: None * Color Temperature: 9000 K * Plug-In: Vibrant Fall Minimal - Lou & Marks
Nature always amazes me. For instance the rain splashed on the ground made the woods debris bounce up and make shapes and forms as they attached to just a blade of grass beside
a mushroom. On top of the mushroom you can see the grains of sand on top of it that were there when the mushroom was raising itself out of the ground. Love nature! Macro photography gives a way to see this
Bore Sadwrn : Saturday Morning
"Penrhyn is one of the most admired of the numerous mock castles built in the United Kingdom in the 19th century; Christopher Hussey called it, "the outstanding instance of Norman revival." [1] The castle is a picturesque composition that stretches over 600 feet from a tall donjon containing family rooms, through the main block built around the earlier house, to the service wing and the stables.
It is in a very solid, sombre style which allows it to possess something of the medieval fortress air despite the ground-level drawing room windows. Hopper designed all the principal interiors in a rich but restrained Norman style, with much fine plasterwork and wood and stone carving. The castle also has some specially designed Norman style furniture, including a one ton slate state bed made for Queen Victoria when she visited in 1859.
In 1951 the castle and 40,000 acres (160 km²) of land were accepted by the Treasury in lieu of death duties. It now belongs to the National Trust and is open to the public. Penrhyn's attractions include a formal walled garden, extensive informal gardens, a dolls museum, an industrial railway museum, a model railway museum and an adventure playground. It has views over the Snowdonia mountains. In 2007/08 it was the National Trust's seventh most visited paid-entry property, with 212,727 visitors."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penrhyn_Castle
www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/...
Halation: The scattering of light. To surround, as if with a halo. The instance where light disperses while hitting film emulsions, especially around highlights.
I try to keep my geeky, technical side in check with photography. I am a bit wary of it, truth be told. I try to make my photography less technical and more creatively by chance. But I do enjoy geeking out now and again while learning the technical nuts and bolts of how film emulsions work and why certain films do certain things that other films don't. When pursued properly, such technical information can inform the less formal creative exploration of film photography. As long as I don't get too fixated on it, or too narrow-visioned, I find it can open possible avenues of exploration.
Anyhow, I was reminded of this general philosophy recently while researching the characteristics of Fomapan 400, which is kind of a unique film among black and white negative films. There are two things it does kind of strangely. The first is that it has a very uncharacteristic spectral sensitivity chart. While most black and white films kind of balance out in their sensitivity to the visible spectrum, Fomapan 400 starts out with relatively low blue sensitivity and progressively gains sensitivity as it moves to the red end of the spectrum. It makes the film behave almost as if it has a built-in red filter in terms of how it renders tonality and translates color into shades of gray. The other thing it does is exhibit frequent halation, especially in 120. I am guessing this is because the 120 format is coated onto a polyester base instead of the more usual triacetate base, and polyester bases are prone to "light piping". Fomapan 400 has an anti-halation layer added to it to help prevent this but apparently it is not super effective, as evidenced by this and other images I have made.
Anyhow, I dig this kind of thing and just wanted to share a little bit of it. I don't think I was aware of all these qualities while making this image, so they were a bit of a surprise... but a good one.
Hasselblad 500C
Fomapan 400
Like this lamppost is alien between the trees I feel often alien between other humans.
Alien - Lebanon Hanover
I like to wander some graveyards alone
And think of all that I've become
What kind of box I would go and would you even notice?
My disappearance
My impressions
Iʼm just waiting... waiting...
[Chorus]
And until then, my desolation
Will be my trademark, I'll always remain alien
And however hard I try to integrate
I'll always remain alien
[Verse 2]
You say I should go out
In every brutal town
There is someone of substance
Forcing me to do things I never do
For instance, laugh at jokes of you
Small talks have simply no relevance
[Chorus]
And until you change, I'll keep my delighted face
It is my trademark to always remain alien
And however hard I try to integrate
Iʼll always remain alien
Stieglitz would never say that certain objects of the world were more or less beautiful than others...telegraph poles, for instance, compared with oak trees. He would accept them for what they are, and use the most appropriate objects to express his thoughts and convey his vision. -- Ansel Adams
I picked up this vintage chair at a garage sale, several years ago, and it's been rusting away in the back corner of the yard ever since. My intentions were to remove the rust and repaint it as no one wants to sit in it as it is. Well, along came flickr and now who's got time to de-rust an old patio chair. Oh well, I've gotten some great texture shots off the seat so it's still functional for something and maybe I'll take a day off from flickr someday soon, grease my elbows, and get this old timer cleaned up.
I will be driving to our mountain cabin today and won't be back on the computer until later this even. Yippee...fall color coming up...I hope!
Always a balance. Each instance is only one moment, one idea, one event. At the same time, each instance is a reflection of and part of the overall.
May your Friday be full of peace and reflection.
Photons emitted from the surface of the Sun (sunlight) take an average of 8 minutes and 20 seconds to travel to the Earth. So, when you look at the Sun, you're actually viewing about 8 minutes in the past.
Why did I say "an average of"? Obviously, the speed of light doesn't change. However, the Earth's distance to the Sun does change, due to its elliptical orbit.
By comparison, other stars in the night sky are so far away from us, light takes much, much longer to reach us. From the closest stars, light takes a few years to get to Earth. From the farthest stars, light has taken literally billions of years to reach us.
So when you view these stars, you are actually viewing the distant, distant past. For instance, the light that you're seeing may have left that star while dinosaurs walked the Earth.
If you took the time to read this, I appreciate it. Hopefully, you found it interesting. I personally think the notion of viewing the distant past in the night sky is fascinating.
By the way, I took this photo of the sunset at a local park. I was able to capture the distant treetops over a large pond.
another instance of York's impressive Victorian railway station. You can tell that I am a convert ;)
A very different approach to the crocus shot from yesterday. In that instance, I isolated two on a hillside, shooting upslope and trying for as clean a look as possible. Here, in contrast, a beautiful cluster buried in a tangle of old and new grasses. I did think of doing some grooming, ie. removal of dead material, but two things stopped me: 1. the grasses provided some insulation - protection from wind and cold - and removing them would expose the plant and maybe damage it; 2. this is how we often see wildflowers, in context, as part of their habitat, not neat and clean, not calendar-worthy... so why not show them like this? Perhaps the pattern of blue splashes is enough to cut through the chaos of criss-crossing lines.
The two photos were made minutes apart. Are they equally successful? I don't know; probably not. But there's no point in endlessly repeating what I know will work.
Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission © 2019 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
Well, as usual, I screwed up! In this instance I screwed up big time.
First, I did not pay much attention to my wife telling me there will be light. I said not in California and that too in Bay area.
Second, I did not take the tripod ball head and any other lens than a 20mm F1.8. It was a huge struggle to mount my camera on the gimbal head and adjust the tripod legs to get the right angle. So I wasted much precious time.
Third, I did not know anything about how to photograph auroras. So, stupid me used 30s-60s exposure to get the photos. And this last mistake was the absolute blunder. This is unfixable. My stars are long and my Aurora strikes are not that prominent.
But it was worth experiencing what might be once in a while event. I also went to the nearest darkest area that I know too well. Thankfully, most of the Bay area was busy doing what they do.
The naked eye did not see much other than some faint colors. But a 60s exposure did gather a lot of the hue of the Aurora. I am told this hue is not often seen.
Other than the stray cats and trees, the other living thing in significant numbers at Dakota Crescent happen to be the pigeons, which can be seen hanging in the most unusual places sometimes. Like for in this instance, hanging on a clothes drying pole.
Chandeshvara Nayanar
The South Indian legend, narrated, for instance, in the Periyapuranam, states that he was born into a Brahmin family and was called Visarasarman. When he was a young boy, he found that cows remain uncared for, and hence he himself commenced tendering and caring for the cows. While doing so, he would pour some milk on a lingam, which he made of sand. The news of this wastage of milk reached the ear of his father, Datta; and he himself came to the field to scold his son. Chandesha was deep in meditation in front of the sand lingam, and he did not see his father. The enraged father kicked the sand lingam. At this Chnadesha’s meditation was interrupted, and he struck his father’s leg with a staff. The staff turned into an axe and his father’s leg was severed. At this point, Shiva manifested himself, and blessed Chandesha, declared that he would become a father to Chandesha; and restored the severed leg of Datta to normal state.
First manned fligh.The first clearly recorded instance of a balloon carrying passengers used hot air to generate buoyancy and was built by the brothers Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Etienne Montgolfier in Annonay, France. After experimenting with unmanned balloons and flights with animals, the first tethered balloon flight with humans on board took place on October 19, 1783 with the scientist Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, the manufacture manager, Jean-Baptiste Réveillon and Giroud de Villette, at the Folie Titon in Paris. The first free flight with human passengers was on November 21, 1783. King Louis XVI had originally decreed that condemned criminals would be the first pilots, but de Rozier, along with Marquis Francois d'Arlandes, successfully petitioned for the honor. - Wikipedia