One of the reason's I haven't been doing anything SL wise is in part due to this game I've been sucked into -- here is one of the things you can do, its an instance set to 400% difficulty - but this character I have is somewhat "broken" and just melts everything (so fun) - plus trying a new video capture that gives no lag when recording. The game is also free if anyone is interested and I can help you with whatever you need.

A tightly fitting Mute Swan, breaking the number one rule in bird photography - don't clip off the wings! (unless it's for artistic purposes)

One needs a lot of practice and swift anticipation to focus and accurately capture quickly evolving flight scenes, and I'm still learning!

The 200-500mm f5.6 lens I use hand held is fairly large and requires a proficient rotation to pull it back from maximum zoom to 200mm - In this instance I didn't turn it to include all the Swan's primaries as it came towards me. Win some - lose some - but I still thought the head focus wasn't too bad.

f/6.3 / 1/2500 sec / Auto ISO 252 / 500mm / Manual mode

Bologna, Italy

Summer

Such a short visit and so much to see. Here is a passing moment as it swept by. Everything about this trip seemed like a snapshot from someone eases memory or photo book. So many cool little instances...I keep going back through my own images and finding cool stuff. I cannot wait to go back..

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A lone Norfolk Southern locomotive pulls a long transfer from the Alton and Southern Gateway Yard in East St. Louis. Its destination is the Terminal Railroad Association Madison Yard.

After seeing several photographers get great shots of this transfer in front of the Arch, I thought I'd give it a try. Next time I hope I can get better lighting and a more interesting locomotive leader.

I totally blew it the day before: ATCS showed it happening and I came here to wait but gave up too soon. Turned out the train was led by two UP locos and the consist included a few other cats and dogs (KCS, for instance). Would have been pretty cool to see.

Terminal Railroad Association

Wiggins East Side Sub

Malcolm Martin Memorial Park

East St. Louis, Illinois

1st July saw the return of National Express services, after they had suspended services due to the virus, they began with a much reduced level of service, with some route alterations, this has meant the past 2 weeks there have been a number of altered route numbers, for instance the 501 has been re-numbered the 903, and the 404 to the 405. The route has also been starting/ending at Plymouth instead of Penzance. An increase in service levels, and a return to previous numbering happens from tomorrow (13th July)

Here we see the first Southbound 405 service passing Livermead at sunrise in the hands of one of Parks's Caetano Levante 3 Volvos, BF68LFK.

Company: Parks

Registration: BF68LFK

New: 2018

Chassis: Volvo B11RT

Bodywork: Caetano Levante 3 C59FLt

Route: 405 (London, Victoria Coach Station-Plymouth, Mayflower Street Coach Station)

Location: Torbay Road, Livermead, Torquay

Exposure: 1/500 @ f3.5 200ISO

Lens Info: Pentax M 50mm f1.7

Date: 2 July 2020

My take on a local land mark. In this instance we have eclipsed our neighbours I think.

eclipse

ɪˈklɪps/Submit

verb

past tense: eclipsed; past participle: eclipsed

(of a celestial body) obscure the light from or to (another celestial body).

"Jupiter was eclipsed by the Moon"

deprive (someone or something) of significance or power.

"the economy has eclipsed the environment as the main issue"

synonyms:outshine, overshadow, put in the shade, surpass, exceed, excel, be superior to, outclass, outstrip, outdistance, outdo, top, cap, trump, transcend, tower above/over, dwarf, upstage, shame, put to shame; More

literary

obscure or block out (light).

"a sea of blue sky violently eclipsed by showers"

synonyms:blot out, block, cover, obscure, veil, shroud, hide, conceal, obliterate, darken, dim;

Island Of Madagascar

Off The East Coast Of Africa

Berenty Reserve

Best Seen In Lightbox-

www.flickr.com/photos/42964440@N08/46558340154/in/photost...

One of many fruit bats hanging from trees ready to take off into the air. I was not in a good position to see any of the bats' faces, and I only photographed one decent shot of a bat flying. This can be seen in the first comment section.

Wikipedia-

The Madagascan fruit bat (Eidolon dupreanum) is a species of bat in the family Pteropodidae. It is endemic to Madagascar and is listed as "Vulnerable" by the IUCN because it is hunted as bushmeat.

The Madagascan fruit bat is found both around the coastal plain and in the inland high plateau. It has not been recorded in some areas but that is likely to be because it has not been observed rather than that it is absent from these areas.

It requires suitable rock fissures and caves in which to roost during the day. Colony size varies between about ten and five hundred individuals.

Examination of the droppings from the Madagascan fruit bat show that it mainly consumes fruit but also feeds on the flowers of Eucalyptus spp.

In its Red List of Threatened Species, the IUCN has classified this bat as "Vulnerable". Its numbers appear to be declining and the greatest threat it faces is being hunted for bushmeat. Under Madagascar law,

Some colonies have been completely wiped out, but in some instances, these sites have been recolonised a few years later. The bat is present in a number of protected areas where it should receive protection. It is an adaptable species in that, if its main food sources are lost, it is able to change to other sources although it seems to prefer the fruit of native trees to those of introduced species.

i miss fresh time-zero. here's an old shot that i have never scanned until now for polaroid week.

time-zero

polaroid sx-70

Back-lighting was sort of problematic in this instance, the result was overall sufficient

This picture is a reproduction of one I first saw in the Athleta catalog (for instance athleta.gap.com/browse/outfit.do?cid=1047782&oid=OUT-...), which seems to arrive at our house once a week. The landscape in the Athleta photo looked at lot like Utah and the signs on the trailhead board offered some clues for a location but it took using a magnifying glass to make out the words. I discovered this is Faux Falls right outside of Moab, Utah. Coincidentally, we were going to be traveling through Moab on our way back from New Mexico and so I got the directions on the internet and we made the slight detour and then the hike to the falls. It was extremely hot. Jessica complained about hiking from the car being the worst experience of her life. When it came to recreating the Athleta picture, as you can see, only one of my models, Kellie, was cooperative while the other one was only looking for shade. Faux Falls got its name because although the water looks like it is coming right out of the desert rock, this is actually a man-made waterfall build by diverting a water source with pipes. Still beautiful!

For more of my creative projects, visit my short stories website: 500ironicstories.com

Another instance of the 7 Tilden drags loads on the appraoch to Eagle Mills.

This was an instance where I just wanted to satisfy the image that had popped into my brain...

Texture by SkeletalMess

Birds by Shadowhouse Creations

Trees by MidnightsTouch

A rare instance of a Sea Otter attacking and eating a bird. Normally Sea Otters feast on shellfish not birds. More on this encounter can be found on my blog entry Sea Otter Attacking a Western Grebe

©2008 Jim M. Goldstein, All Rights Reserved

This image is not available for use on websites, blogs or other media without the explicit written permission of the photographer.

.... for instance, 2 vintages lamps.

yesterday we passed through many flower meadows with lots of wildflowers. So that made it worth to get the macro lenses out :) The flower depicted is a tiny blue wildflower, not larger than than a thumbnail and I still don't know the name of this bewitchingly beautiful wildflower but I had to showcase it in proper manner in a triptych.

In this instance, the title is factual as what appears to be a misty day at the reservoir was in fact somebody burning a lot of stuff nearby and the smoke was drifting over the water at Trenchford reservoir.

Our Daily Challenge ...yes and no, black and white.

In life, there are many instances when it is difficult to make a definite yes or no decision about whether something is good or bad. There is a saying for these situations ... "Things aren't always black and white". I hope this serves as a metaphor for this old and very true saying.

Till Sunday 13th

This (in this instance I am referring to the point of focus - the Anthers) like countless others, isn't 100% sharp. There's nothing wrong with the lens... if I use a tripod and photograph a stationary object at f11 ... no problem at all.

Each time I photograph tulips I realise that I haven't nailed my macro photography at all. It's a huge challenge. The tulips sway in the breeze. The camera focus system isn't flawless... certainly not on a "we must track this moving tulip on a macro scale". I have so many images "almost" sharp. And probably only more experimenting will yield answers. e.g. do I need a shutter speed of 1/640 instead? Are shutter vibrations (at lower speeds) potentially also an issue?

Unfortunately I can't tell, by reference to the camera screen, whether a photo is "totally sharp"... only find out when you get it back on the computer. I am probably pixel-peeping too carefully!

Love to hear from those experienced in this area!

The draconian ruling of the Polish Constitutional Court which bans pregnancy terminations even in instances where a foetus is diagnosed with a serious and irreversible birth defect, has brought thousands of people to the streets. At the same time, the recently appointed catotaliban minister of education announced that students and teachers involved in the protests will be punished. This photo was taken at a rally opposed to that minister of education and demanding his resignation.

Here are some online petitions supporting women's rights in Poland:

secure.avaaz.org/campaign/pl/solidarity_with_polish_women...

www.change.org/p/polish-government-legalise-abortions-in-...

It's interesting how scarcity alters the perception. For instance, I happen to think that the magpie (Pica pica) is one of the absolutely most beautiful birds we have in Sweden with that high contrast white and black plumage and a metallic green shimmer hiding in the black parts - but since it's an extremely common bird, people seem to rarely notice its beauty.

This here is a bee beetle (Trichius fasciatus) which if not common, at least not rare around these parts. I posted a shot of one of these several years back and got an impressed comment from someone in the UK as I in his eyes had shot an extremely rare beetle - as it is much more scarce in the UK than here.

This of course works both ways as there are loads of cool UK bugs that would be awesome to come across up here.

This particular bee beetle was enjoying pollen on a tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) near the boat pier at Lillsved in the northern part of the peninsula of Värmdö, just east of Stockholm, Sweden.

Part 1 here: www.flickr.com/photos/tinyturtle/52254727932/

A very rare instance of a car that had previously looked abandoned, but for one reason or another was brought back into use. Currently taxed and MOT'd until September 2022. A few more new photos in this upload, but I'm determined not to forget about the stuff from the last couple of years that I keep meaning to upload.

“The hypothesis of God, for instance, gives an incomparably absolute opportunity to understand everything and know absolutely nothing. Give man an extremely simplified system of the world and explain every phenomenon away on the basis of that system. An approach like that doesn't require any knowledge. Just a few memorized formulas plus so-called intuition and so-called common sense.”

Arkady Strugatsky, Roadside Picnic

and dream well,

A rare instance of a Sea Otter attacking and eating a bird. Normally Sea Otters feast on shellfish not birds. More on this encounter can be found on my blog entry Sea Otter Attacking a Western Grebe

©2008 Jim M. Goldstein, All Rights Reserved

This image is not available for use on websites, blogs or other media without the explicit written permission of the photographer.

For instance, look at this poor angel, left out in all weathers, either with a goose for company or to contend with. Isn't it time we put an end to child abuse?

Hello there. Relevant comments welcome but please do NOT post any link(s). All my images are my own original work, under my copyright, with all rights reserved. You need my permission to use any image for ANY purpose.

Copyright infringement is theft.

The magnificient temple complex is one of the finest monuments built by the Hoysalas and is regarded as the most exquisite shrine of the South. Its construction was initiated in 1117 A.D., at the instance of King Vishnuvardhana and was completed by his son Narasimha I and grandson, Veera Ballala II. According to historical records, it took about 103 Years to complete this profusely sculpted masterpiece of Hoysala architecture. The temple is said to be built to commemorate the victory of Hoysalas over the Cholas in the great battle of Talakkad. Some also believe that it was constructed when Vishnuvardhana adopted Vaishnavism under the influence of the great Guru Sri Ramanujacharya. The ornamental temple was built in chloritic Schist, a light green soapstone, ideal for carving which acquires granite like harness after getting exposed to the atmosphere.

TEMPLE COMPLEX:

The huge temple complex enclosed by a high wall has a large paved courtyard with a main temple surrounded by subsidiary shrines, colonnades and other structures. There are two gateways, but only the main eastern gateway is crowned by a gopuram, which was built in 1397, by gunda, a general of Vijayanagara King Harihara II, after the original Mahadwara was burnt down by Ganga Salaer, a officer of Tughalaks during the invasion and seize of the shrine. The Vijayanagara kings alos considered the presiding deity as their Kuldevta of patron courtyard is dedicated to Lord Vijayanarayan or Keshava, one of the twenty four forms of Lord Vishnu. The presiding deity is popularly known as Chenna Keshava or the 'handsome' Keshava. The Chenna Keshava temple facing Channigraya. Some other important temples here are of Narasimha, Anjeaneya etc. The courtyard has an idol of Praying Garuda sthambha or pillar erected during the Vijayanagara era and a Deepa sthamba built by the Hoysalas.

TEMPLE PLAN:

The temple is built in charecteristic stellate plan of the Hoysalas and looks like a carved casket made of wood and polished to perfection. It is larger in size as compared with other Hoysalas temples and is about 443 ft. long and 396 ft broad. The main temple set on a raised platform (Jagati) is 178 ft. long from east to west and 156 ft broad from North to South. The platform is also star shaped,similar to the temple built upon it. It is an example of ekakuta vimana or single shrine design. The temple comprises of a garbha griha (Sanctum sanctorium), a large sukhanasi (vestibule) connecting the navaranga mandapa (pillared hall) and garbha griha. The navaranga mandapa noted for its lathe turned pillars and capital was originally an open one, with only parapets. Later on , the space between parapet and the roof was covered by beautiful filigreed panels or pierced window screens depicting puranic themes and geometrical designs, while the base of the temple is decorated with eight levels of horizontal friezes.The unusual Vimana (tower) of the sanctum, made of brick and mortar was supported by wood work and plated with gold glided copper sheets. Unfortunately, the crumbling vimana had to be dismantled in 1879, to protect the main sanctum. The tower was built in bhumija style and not in the regular star shape. The curvelinear outline with a central verticle band and four coulmns of miniature nagar nikharas per side makes it a type of nagara (North India) tower. This type towers can be seen on the miniature shrines.

In a strikingly specific instance of mimicry, the patterns on the wings of this moth (Macrocilix maia) appear to resemble two flies feeding at a glistening bird dropping. This, coupled with a pungent odor that the moth emits, may be enough to dissuade a predator from considering a meal. Although flies are certainly edible, they nevertheless sometimes serve as models for mimicry because they are so quick and agile that most birds won't bother pursuing them. Sabah, Malaysia (Borneo).

For instance Google Maps does not acknowledge that the summer cottage area in Kivinokka actually has street names. The long main road in front here continuing to the far left is called Puistotie (Park road) and the one leading further back is Tammitie (Oak road). Other streets to be found are Pihlajatie, Kuusitie, Rajatie and Supipolku.

Summer skies remembered - in this instance a surreal sky that was in fact frightening - it was spitting lightning - but I had to run out and make this shot! The long aeolian piano was an installation left by a dance troupe at the Convent Country Inn in Val Marie, Saskatchewan, in 2004, following a performance in Grasslands National Park. Long wires were attached to its back and linked to a nearby pole, so that the wind would vibrate them and the sound would resonate through the piano itself. Very unusual. After several winters the piano finally crumbled to pieces, but the "vibes" remain.

Photographed in Val Marie, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without explicit permission © 2006 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

There are instances when I have duplicates of a doll or when two dolls have the same face screening, I will rebody the other one with an older style body so she can wear older fashions.

'Majestic flyby'.

Out of the sun, a majestic flyby by one of our wonderful wildlife success stories here in the UK...The beautiful Red Kite, Milvus milvus... from a few pairs that were breeding in central Wales in the 1980's we now have around 1,800 pairs breeding across the UK.

A Conservation Success Story...

The reintroduction of Red Kites 32 years ago (1990)

32 years on, Natural England's Ian Evans… the first project officer on the pioneering Red Kite reintroduction project to the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty - tells us here the story of his experience on the ground-breaking species reintroduction project in 1990...

Red Kites used to breed across much of the UK, but persecution over a 200-year period saw numbers fall as they increasingly became a target for egg collectors, reducing them to a few breeding pairs in central Wales. By the 1980s, the Red Kite was one of only three globally threatened species in the UK.

On 10th and 19th July 1990, two Welsh birds and 11 Spanish birds from the region of Navarra were released in the Chilterns Hills on the Oxfordshire/Buckinghamshire border. It was the beginning of a tremendously successful species reintroduction programme, which was subsequently followed by the release of four Welsh birds and 11 Navarran birds in 1991, 20 birds in 1992 and 1993 (10 from Navarra and 10 from Aragon in each year), and finally a further 20 birds from Aragon in 1994.

After collecting the unfledged chicks from nests in Spain, and overseeing their transit on a British Airways flight, the chicks had to be quarantined in specially-built aviaries at the release site. Carefully nurtured for over a month, they all successfully fledged became proficient fliers. Even so, it was an anxious moment when the day came to release them to their new home in England. However, with the benefit of hindsight we now know that it this was such a key moment in the project.

Following this initial release, the kites started to breed in the wild from 1991, and established a self-sustaining and expanding population within the Chilterns which can still be seen to this day. For instance, if you visit Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire now - particularly near the M40 - it’s very likely you will see the iconic red kite wheeling around in the sky searching for carrion and other food.

What’s more, subsequent releases in Northamptonshire in 1995, Yorkshire (from 1999), the Derwent Valley, Gateshead (from 2004) and Grizedale Forest, Cumbria (from 2010) have all been able source birds from the southern English populations due to their high breeding success.

From these humble beginnings these first releases in southern England, its sister release project on the Black Isle of Scotland and the ongoing conservation work in Wales have helped facilitate a fantastic population recovery which today’s stands at around 1,800 breeding pairs or about 7% of the world’s population. A magnificent contribution to UK biodiversity and something which 30 years ago was thought to be impossible to achieve.

Today, Red Kites can now be seen regularly in most English counties. To be able to do this 30 years ago would have warranted a special trip to central Wales.

What was then a mere dream in July 30 years ago has today turned out to be a fantastic reality because red kites are now back from the brink and we all now have to opportunity to see them across England. So let’s celebrate this success. Natural England notes.

Many thanks for visiting my Flickr pages...Your visits, interest, comments and kindness to 'fave' my photos is very much appreciated, Steve.

Red Kite Information...

Milvus milvus

The sight of a Red Kite, or two, or three, gently soaring over our countryside is now, once more, a familiar thing. The reintroduction of this species to Britain must rate as one of the conservation success stories of the modern era.

Once a common bird over much of the country, even haunting the litter-ridden and filthy streets of our cities, Red Kites were seen as disease-carrying vermin and bounties were paid for their carcasses. The population retreated, finding a final refuge in the valleys of central Wales. A handful of breeding pairs hung on. In 1989, six birds were released at a site in Scotland and a further four birds were released in the Chilterns.

Red Kites are extremely long-winged and long-tailed and very large, with slightly larger bodies and very much longer wings than a Buzzard. They are predominantly rufous red, with dark wing tips and pale outer wings. The head is pale, with older birds developing almost white heads, and the long, red tail is deeply forked and used as a stabiliser in flight, twisting back and forth – a characteristic clue to the Red Kite’s identity, even with only distant views.

Red Kites are found across much of northern Europe and into Iberia in the south west and Russia in the east. Only populations from the western part of the range are resident, those from further east are migratory and one of the challenges for the reintroduction programme was to source birds from a non-migratory population to ensure a similar lifestyle to the previous British kites. Most of the Chilterns birds were sourced from the sedentary and common Spanish population for this reason, although birds for the later, more northerly reintroductions have often been sourced from the thriving Swedish migrant population.

VITAL STATISTICS

Size: Average 63cm, wingspan 185cm. Females (1.2kg) somewhat larger than males (1kg).

Status: Resident and reintroduced/introduced breeding bird. Passage visitor.

Population size: 2,000 pairs.

Conservation status: GREEN (least concern). Rare breeding bird, having suffered drastic long-term decline but now common after multiple successful introductions.

Lifespan: Average in the wild of 4 years. Adults have an 61% year-to-year survival. About half of all juveniles will survive their first year. The oldest known wild bird was almost 24 years old (ringing recovery).

Nesting: Nests are usually built high up in a tree, in a fork. Red Kites build their own nest but on occasion will take over an old Buzzard nest. Twigs and sticks continue to be added to the nest during the breeding season, and nests are often reused in subsequent years with some well-used nests becoming very large. The nest cup is lined with grass and often wool, but Red Kites are known for decorating their nests with man-made objects. Plastic bags and brightly coloured plastic items are gathered, and items of clothing (especially underwear) have been known to be acquired for the nest. Even Shakespeare warned: “…when the kite builds, look to lesser linen…”!

Number of eggs: 2

Incubation: 31-32 days

Fledging time: 50-60 days

Distribution and Habitat: Now found across much of the country, the distribution map still shows obvious concentrations around reintroduction areas, such as the Chilterns, Northamptonshire, North Yorkshire, southern Scotland, the Black Isle and, more recently, eastern Ireland. The traditional and last remaining original population of Red Kites, in central Wales, has now spread into much of Wales, and into Shropshire and Herefordshire. In winter, birds wander further and they are now a familiar sight along many of our roads. Kites are fairly catholic in their habitat requirements, although they prefer mixed, open countryside with the main requirement being broad-leaved wooded areas in which to roost and breed.

Movements: Once adult, Red Kites in the UK are fairly sedentary but, as youngsters in their first two years before breeding, kites will often wander large distances and can turn up anywhere. Being sedentary is unusual in a species that across its range is migratory, and northern continental birds are regular in the east of the UK in winter.

Feeding: Red Kites are renowned as scavengers and are frequently seen along roads, where they target roadkill. Other, larger, animals will attract kites but they will also take live prey. Small mammals are an important part of the diet but a range of other prey, such as live birds (especially ground-nesting species' chicks), reptiles and amphibians is taken. Earthworms feature highly in the diet in spring. In areas of high kite density, garden feeding has become prevalent, with people putting out chicken and other meat for them. Familiarity with humans providing food has led to occasional records of Red Kites stealing food, such as sandwiches, from people in a similar manner to gulls. Hawk and Owl trust notes.

Rouen, a city on the River Seine in the north of France. It is the capital of the region of Normandy. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, Rouen was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy during the Middle Ages. It was one of the capitals of the Anglo-Norman dynasties, which ruled both England and large parts of modern France from the 11th to the 15th centuries. The population of the metropolitan area (French: agglomération) at the 2011 census was 655,013, with the city proper having an estimated population of 111,557. People from Rouen are known as Rouennais. Rouen was founded by the Gaulish tribe of the Veliocasses, who controlled a large area in the lower Seine valley. They called it Ratumacos; the Romans called it Rotomagus. It was considered the second city of Gallia Lugdunensis after Lugdunum (Lyon) itself. Under the reorganization of Diocletian, Rouen was the chief city of the divided province Gallia Lugdunensis II and reached the apogee of its Roman development, with an amphitheatre and thermae of which foundations remain. In the 5th century, it became the seat of a bishopric and later a capital of Merovingian Neustria. From their first incursion into the lower valley of the Seine in 841, the Normans overran Rouen. From 912, Rouen was the capital of the Duchy of Normandy and residence of the local dukes, until William the Conqueror moved his residence to Caen. In 1150, Rouen received its founding charter which permitted self-government. During the 12th century, Rouen was the site of a yeshiva. At that time, about 6,000 Jews lived in the town, comprising about 20% of the population. On June 24, 1204, King Philip II Augustus of France entered Rouen and definitively annexed Normandy to the French Kingdom. He demolished the Norman castle and replaced it with his own, the Château Bouvreuil, built on the site of the Gallo-Roman amphitheatre. A textile industry developed based on wool imported from England, for which the cities of Flanders and Brabant were constantly competitors, and finding its market in the Champagne fairs. Rouen also depended for its prosperity on the river traffic of the Seine, on which it enjoyed a monopoly that reached as far upstream as Paris. In the 14th century urban strife threatened the city: in 1291, the mayor was assassinated and noble residences in the city were pillaged. Philip IV reimposed order and suppressed the city's charter and the lucrative monopoly on river traffic, but he was quite willing to allow the Rouennais to repurchase their old liberties in 1294. In 1306, he decided to expel the Jewish community of Rouen, then numbering some five or six thousand. In 1389, another urban revolt of the underclass occurred, the Harelle. It was suppressed with the withdrawal of Rouen's charter and river-traffic privileges once more. During the Hundred Years' War, on January 19, 1419, Rouen surrendered to Henry V of England, who annexed Normandy once again to the Plantagenet domains. But Rouen did not go quietly: Alain Blanchard hung English prisoners from the walls, for which he was summarily executed; Canon and Vicar General of Rouen Robert de Livet became a hero for excommunicating the English king, resulting in de Livet's imprisonment for five years in England. Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in Rouen on May 30, 1431 in this city, where most inhabitants supported the duke of Burgundy, Joan of Arc's king enemy. The king of France Charles VII recaptured the town in 1449. During the German occupation, the Kriegsmarine had its headquarters located in a chateau on what is now the Rouen Business School. The city was heavily damaged during World War II on D-day and its famed cathedral was almost destroyed by Allied bombs. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rouen

In an instance the ship vanished beyond the sea.

I have gotten into a slump. because my wife is a disease.

The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel is a British breed of toy dog of spaniel type. Four colours are recognised: Blenheim (chestnut and white), tricolour (black/white/tan), black and tan, and ruby; the coat is smooth and silky.[2] The lifespan is usually between eight and twelve years.[1]

The Cavalier King Charles changed dramatically in the late seventeenth century, when it was inter-bred with flat-nosed breeds. Until the 1920s, it shared the same history as the smaller King Charles Spaniel. Breeders attempted to recreate what they considered to be the original configuration – a dog resembling Charles II's spaniel of the English Civil War period, when supporters of the king were known as Cavaliers.[3][4]

History

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel; lesser stop; skull not inclined to be domed with spot in centre of skull on the Blenheim. A white blaze between the eyes is standard of the Tricolour variety.

Correct Ruby Cavalier King Charles Spaniel; uniform chestnut colour, with no white markings; ears and slippers are often slightly lighter but dark chestnut colour should predominate

During the early part of the 18th century, John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, kept red and white King Charles type spaniels for hunting. The duke recorded that they were able to keep up with a trotting horse. His estate was named Blenheim in honour of his victory at the Battle of Blenheim. Because of this influence, the red and white variety of the King Charles Spaniel and thus the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel became known as the Blenheim.[5]

Attempts were made to recreate the original Cavalier King Charles Spaniel as early as the turn of the 20th century, using the now extinct Toy Trawler Spaniels. These attempts were documented by Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth, in the book "Toy Dogs and Their Ancestors Including the History And Management of Toy Spaniels, Pekingese, Japanese and Pomeranians" published under the name of the "Hon. Mrs Neville Lytton" in 1911.[6]

Divergence from King Charles Spaniel

In 1926, the American Roswell Eldridge offered a dog show class prize of 25 pounds of sterling silver each as a prize for the best male and females of "Blenheim Spaniels of the old type, as shown in pictures of Charles II of England's time, long face, no stop, flat skull, not inclined to be domed, with spot in centre of skull."[7] The breeders of the era were appalled, although several entered what they considered to be sub-par Cavalier King Charles Spaniels in the competition. Eldridge died before seeing his plan come to fruition, but several breeders believed in what he said and in 1928 the first Cavalier club was formed.[7] The first standard was created, based on a dog named "Ann's Son" owned by Mostyn Walker,[8] and the Kennel Club recognised the variety as "King Charles Spaniels, Cavalier type".[7]

The Second World War caused a drastic setback to the emerging breed, with the vast majority of breeding stock destroyed because of wartime hardship and food shortages. For instance, in the Ttiweh Cavalier Kennel, the population of 60 dogs dropped to three during the 1940s.[9] Following the war, few dogs survived as the new beginning from which all present-day Cavaliers descend. And in 1945,[10] the Kennel Club first recognised the breed in its own right as the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.[7]

The first recorded Cavalier living in the United States was brought from the United Kingdom in 1956 by W. Lyon Brown who, together with Elizabeth Spalding and other enthusiasts, founded the Cavalier King Charles Club USA that continues to the present day. In 1994, the American Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club was created by a group of breeders to apply for recognition by the American Kennel Club. It was recognised by the American Kennel Club in 1995,[2] and the ACKCSC became the parent club for Cavaliers.[11] Since 2000, it has grown in popularity in the United States and ranks as the 15th most popular pure-breed in the United States.[12]

Description

"The purebred Black and Tan uniform."

A purebred Black and Tan uniform.

Historically the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel was a lap dog and is small for a spaniel, with fully grown adults comparable in size to adolescents of other larger spaniel breeds. The tail is usually not docked,[13] and the Cavalier should have a silky coat of moderate length. Standards state that it should be free from curl, although a slight wave is allowed. Feathering can grow on their ears, feet, legs and tail in adulthood. Standards require this be kept long, with the feathering on the feet a particularly important aspect of the breed's features.[13]

The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and the English Toy Spaniel can often be confused with each other. In the United Kingdom, the English Toy Spaniel is called the King Charles Spaniel, while in the United States, one of the colours of the Toy Spaniel is known as King Charles. The two breeds share similar history and only diverged from each other about 100 years ago.[citation needed] There are several major differences between the two breeds, with the primary difference being size. While the Cavalier weighs on average between 13 and 18 pounds (5.9 and 8.2 kg), the King Charles is smaller at 9 to 15 pounds (4.1 to 6.8 kg). In addition, their facial features, while similar, are different; the Cavalier's ears are set higher and its skull is flat, while the King Charles's skull is domed. Finally, the muzzle length of the Cavalier tends to be longer than that of its King Charles cousin.[7][14]

Colour

"Two dogs with long ears sit on a wooden platform overlooking the sea. They are mostly white, but have black ears and black and brown markings on their faces. Their fur is ruffled by the breeze."

Tricolour Cavalier King Charles Spaniels

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Blenheim variety, with chestnut brown markings on a white background on its back, patches over eyes and all brown ears

The breed has four recognized colours. Cavaliers that have rich chestnut markings on a pearly white background are known as Blenheim in honor of Blenheim Palace, where John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough raised for assistance in hunting the predecessors to the Cavalier breed in this particular colour. In some Blenheim dogs there is a chestnut spot in the middle of the forehead: this is called the "Blenheim" spot.[15] The Blenheim spot is also known as the mark of the "Duchess Thumb Print", based on the legend that Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough while awaiting news of her husband's safe return from the Battle of Blenheim, pressed the head of an expecting dam with her thumb, resulting in five puppies bearing the lucky mark after news that the battle had been won.[16]

Black and Tan are dogs with black bodies with tan highlights, particularly eyebrows, cheeks, legs and beneath the tail.[17] Black and Tan is referred to as "King Charles" in the King Charles Spaniel.[7] Wikipedia

In one of those divine instances that a family so graciously welcomed me into their home, I was able to marvel at her up-close. This beautiful piece of sculpture, with [by my personal preference] the unmatched visage of a grieving mother -with the right age, unlike very youthful looking Dolorosas- is a gem of Philippine Ecclesiastical Art.

She is enshrined in her urna, assembled on a separate bust, wearing her pre-war faded cobalt blue ensemble -the sequins made of actual pressed metal plates, not synthetic...

another instance of Seville's impressive giant structure called Metropol Parasol, or as the Spanish call it: las cetas (the mushrooms)

So much in life depends on the circumstances of your birth. On the mudflats of Port Royal Sound, for instance, it is pretty good to be a fiddler crab. There are lots of them, and they seem to have lots of whatever fiddler crabs eat. It's even better to be a yellow-crowned night heron. They love fiddler crabs. Just like popcorn, complete with the crunch.

Another instance of me aiming to make something completely different, but ended up drawing too much from something else.

The funny thing is I had the full intention of making a BTR-152 earlier in the week, which this is based off of. I had made the bottom half of it, but had gotten stumped on how to make the armoured windshield and slanted back armour. I eventually gave up on it and went to try making another Metro-inspired armoured truck. Yet the first project was still fresh in my head and I ended up making the BTR anyway (however be with a few creative liberties).

The Moon seen rising over the Goonhilly antenna, taken at 5:27 UTC (06:27 CET) on Monday, 21 January, during an eclipse of the Moon, which gave it a reddish tinge.

If you’re planning on flying a robotic or human mission in the near future to the Moon, an asteroid or even Mars, an indispensable requirement you will face is the need for at least one large tracking dish to communicate with your spacecraft.

ESA has built and operates for this purpose a world-wide tracking network with stations located in Spain, Australia and Argentina. In addition, cooperation agreements between ESA and other agencies allow sharing capacity via their networks as well.

Today, new companies are joining the 'Space 4.0' initiative and are devising innovative solutions in the area of space to ground communication. For instance a company in the UK is redeveloping part of Goonhilly Earth Station, an existing commercial station in Cornwall, to enable it to provide Europe’s first commercial tracking services for missions farther than Earth’s orbit – for example to the Moon.

ESA engineering teams are working to support this effort, as it promises to provide expanded tracking capacity for ESA's own current and future missions.

In addition to expanding commercial tracking services, ESA's mission control and ground station experts are assisting a number of initiatives that revolve around Earth's ‘natural satellite’.

For instance, later this year, ESA tracking stations will provide critical support to China's Chang'e-5 lunar sample return mission, providing communications just after launch and helping Chinese mission controllers determine the precise trajectory of the return capsule.

ESA is also examining how its ground systems and operations teams can support the future space Gateway, a platform in deep space from which human exploration of the Solar System can set forth.

It will operate in the vicinity of the Moon, and serve as a testing ground for the challenges of long-duration human missions in the environment of deep space.

Credits: Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd./Nathanial Bradford

Ybor City is a historic neighborhood just northeast of downtown Tampa, Florida, United States. It was founded in the 1880s by Vicente Martinez-Ybor and other cigar manufacturers and populated by thousands of immigrants, mainly from Cuba, Spain, and Italy. For the next 50 years, workers in Ybor City's cigar factories rolled hundreds of millions of cigars annually.

Ybor City was unique in the American South as a successful town almost entirely populated and owned by immigrants. The neighborhood had features unusual among contemporary communities in the south, most notably its multiethnic and multiracial population and their many mutual aid societies. The cigar industry employed thousands of well-paid workers, helping Tampa grow from an economically depressed village to a bustling city in about 20 years and giving it the nickname "Cigar City".

Ybor City grew and flourished from the 1890s until the Great Depression of the 1930s, when a drop in demand for fine cigars reduced the number of cigar factories and mechanization in the cigar industry greatly reduced employment opportunities in the neighborhood. This process accelerated after World War II, and a steady exodus of residents and businesses continued until large areas of the formerly vibrant neighborhood were virtually abandoned by the late 1970s. Attempts at redevelopment failed until the 1980s, when an influx of artists began a slow process of gentrification. In the 1990s and early 2000s, a portion of the original neighborhood around 7th Avenue developed into a nightclub and entertainment district, and many old buildings were renovated for new uses. Since then, the area's economy has diversified with more offices and residences, and the population has shown notable growth for the first time in over half a century.

Ybor City has been designated as a National Historic Landmark District, and several structures in the area are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. In 2008, 7th Avenue, Ybor City's main commercial thoroughfare, was recognized as one of the "10 Great Streets in America" by the American Planning Association. In 2010 Columbia Restaurant was named a "Top 50 All-American icon" by Nation's Restaurant News magazine.

In the early 1880s, Tampa was an isolated village with a population of less than 1000 and a struggling economy. However, its combination of a good port, Henry Plant's new railroad line, and humid climate attracted the attention of Vicente Martinez Ybor, a prominent Spanish cigar manufacturer.

Ybor had moved his cigar-making operation from Cuba to Key West, Florida, in 1869, due to political turmoil in the then-Spanish colony. But, labor unrest and the lack of room for expansion had him looking for another base of operations, preferably in his own company town.

Ybor considered several communities in the southern United States and decided that an area of sandy scrubland just northeast of Tampa would be the best location. In 1885, the Tampa Board of Trade helped broker an initial purchase of 40 acres (160,000 m2) of land, and Ybor quickly bought more. However, Ybor City very nearly didn't happen at all. Vicente Ybor initially failed to come to an agreement with the owner of the 40 acre parcel. The Tampa Board of Trade was horrified to find that the purchase had failed and hatched a plan to get the buyer and seller back together. Vicente Ybor was sitting in the train station on his way to Jacksonville to look at more property when the Board of Trade (a group of five, one of whom was Frederick Salomonson, future 3-time mayor of Tampa) arrived and persuaded Ybor to reconsider and the deal went forward from there, the birth of Ybor City.

Italians were also among the early settlers of Ybor City. Most of them came from a few villages in southwestern Sicily. The villages were Santo Stefano Quisquina, Alessandria della Rocca, Bivona, Cianciana, and Contessa Entellina. Sixty percent of them came from Santo Stefano Quisquina. Before settling in Ybor City, many first worked in the sugar cane plantations in St. Cloud, central Florida. Some came by way of Louisiana. A number of families migrated from New Orleans after the lynching of eleven Italians in 1891 during the "Mafia Riot". Italians mostly brought their entire families with them, unlike other immigrants. The foreign-born Italian population of Tampa grew from 56 in 1890 to 2,684 in 1940. Once arriving in Ybor City, Italians settled mainly in the eastern and southern fringes of the city. The area was referred to as La Pachata, after a Cuban rent collector in that area. It was also called "Little Italy".

In 1887, Tampa annexed the neighborhood. By 1900, the rough frontier settlement of wooden buildings and sandy streets had been transformed into a bustling town with brick buildings and streets, a streetcar line, and many social and cultural opportunities. Largely due to the growth of Ybor City, Tampa's population had jumped to almost 16,000.

Ybor City grew and prospered during the first decades of the 20th Century. Thousands of residents built a community that combined Cuban, Spanish, Italian, and Jewish culture. "Ybor City is Tampa's Spanish India," observed a visitor to the area, "What a colorful, screaming, shrill, and turbulent world."

Circulo Cubano de Tampa, one of Ybor City's social clubs

An aspect of life were the mutual aid societies built and sustained mainly by ordinary citizens. These clubs were founded in Ybor's early days (the first was the Centro Español, established in 1891) and were run on dues collected from their members, usually 5% of a member's salary. In exchange, members and their whole family received services including free libraries, educational programs, sports teams, restaurants, numerous social functions like dances and picnics, and free medical services. Beyond the services, these clubs served as extended families and communal gathering places for generations of Ybor's citizens.

There were clubs for each ethnic division in the community – the Deutscher-Americaner Club (for German and eastern Europeans), L'Unione Italiana (for Italians), El Circulo Cubano (for light-skinned Cubans), La Union Marti-Maceo (for darker-skinned Cubans), El Centro Español (for Spaniards), and the largest, El Centro Asturiano, which accepted members from any ethnic group[20]

Although there was little racism in Ybor City, Tampa's Jim Crow laws at the time forbade Afro-Cubans from belonging to the same social organization as their lighter-skinned countrymen. Sometimes, differences in skin color within the same family made joining the same Cuban club impossible. In general, the rivalries between all the clubs were friendly, and families were known to switch affiliations depending on which one offered preferred services and events.

Cigar production reached its peak in 1929, when 500 million cigars were rolled in the factories of Ybor City. Not coincidentally, that was also the year that the Great Depression began.

In the early 1980s, an influx of artists seeking interesting and inexpensive studio quarters started a slow recovery, followed by a period of commercial gentrification. By the early 1990s, many of the old long-empty brick buildings on 7th Avenue had been converted into bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and other nightlife attractions.Traffic grew so much that the city built parking garages and closed 7th Ave. to traffic to deal with the visitors.

Cigar making display, Ybor City Museum State Park

Since around 2000, the city of Tampa and the Ybor City Chamber of Commerce have encouraged a broader emphasis in development. With financial help from the city, Centro Ybor, a family-oriented shopping complex and movie theater, opened in the former home of the Centro Español social club.

The Florida Brewing Company building was restored into a commercial building in 2001. New apartments, condominiums and a hotel have been built on long-vacant lots, and old buildings have been restored and converted into residences and hotels. New residents began moving into Ybor City for the first time in many years. The blocks surrounding 7th Avenue also thrive with restaurants, nightlife and shopping. Reflecting the district's status as a party destination, Ybor City is referenced extensively in the lyrics of Brooklyn-based rock band The Hold Steady. The song "Killer Parties", for instance, contains the line "Ybor City is très speedy, but they throw such killer parties." In May 2009 Swedish super-retailer IKEA opened its long-awaited Tampa location in the southern edge of Ybor City.

The local museum is the Ybor City Museum State Park in the former Ferlita Bakery building (originally La Joven Francesca) building on 9th Avenue. Tours of the gardens and the "casitas" (small homes of cigar company workers) are provided by a ranger. Exhibits, period photos and a video cover the founding of Ybor City and the cigar making industry.

Credit for the data above is given to the following website:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ybor_City

© All Rights Reserved - you may not use this image in any form without my prior permission.

Cameras are powerful tools. They don't just create images, they create perceptions... or even perhaps realities. Reality for us is how we see it, right? If our eyes and brains had evolved in such a way that down looked like up and vice versa (not such a far-fetched theory, really) then we would invariably think of the reality of down and up in such reversed roles.

Generally speaking, we use cameras to reflect our reality...or more specifically or perception of reality (not that they are really all that different in a fashion). But cameras can be used to introduce new perceptions, can't they? Look at the popularity of extreme wide angle lenses? Why do photographers like them so much? Because they show us a perception of a familiar world in a way we cannot normally see it in. It's exciting. I sometimes like taking it a step further. After all, there is a difference between stretching your perceptions of reality through wide angle lenses and completely re-arranging them. When you start to the see the world as re-arrangible building blocks, you start to think of the reality you so take for granted a bit differently too. See, that is what I mean by powerful tools. Cameras not only have the ability to show us the world in a different fashion, they have the ability to make us think about a different world, or even on occasion, believe in it. Crazy stuff.

Or maybe I have just had too much juice to drink.

Tribunal Grande Instance er tegnet af Richard Rogers. Selve formgivningen har undret mig. Disse tre fotos er en granskning af det arkitektoniske afsæt for nutidens arkitektur i Bordeaux. Udgangspunktet er, at den er stedsspecifik og inde holder en høj grad af sense of place.'

Tribunal Grande Instance ist designed by Richard Rogers. The architectural expression seems out of place at the very first glimpse of the volumes. Discovering the scale og spaces of the city - both noisy as well as quiet spaces - leaves an understanding of "the sense of place" of Bordeaux.

Tribunal Grande Instance e stato sviluppato dal Architetto Richard Rogers. L'edificio non assomiglia agli altri edifici quotidiani in Bordeaux. Dunque andando in ricerca nei spazi segreti di città, si capisce e sente, che il Trilbunal Grande Instance si adatta ai spazi conosciuti di Bordeaux..

Polaroid SX-70

Time-Zero film

Lake Superior, North Shore

Minnesota, United States

sign the petition to keep polaroid technologies available!

www.ipetitions.com/petition/LicensePolaroidTechnology/sig...

Also send your opinions about the manufacture of instant films to:

Christian Fridholm

Director of Marketing, Imaging Group, Fujifilm, U.S.A.

FUJIFILM U.S.A., Inc.

200 Summit Lake Drive, Floor 2

Valhalla, NY 10595

How to contact the folks at Ilford:

ILFORD Imaging Switzerland GmbH

Case Postale 160

CH 1723 Marly 1

Switzerland

In the rare instances an afternoon eastbound during the summer on the Central of Georgia actually has something worth shooting these days, it's pretty much a mission to find the least-backlit locations. Given the light angles available, was pretty pleased with how this scene turned out as the S&A unit ducks under old US 280 outside of Alexander City. Hard to get more Deep South feeling than the combination of the piney-woods, kudzu, and a tuxedo.

The whole NS road power roster is looking pretty shabby these days, but the poor 1065 might just be one of the dirtiest of them all.

Palmette et feuilles d'acanthe

As an ornamental motif found in classical architecture, the palmette and anthemion[14] take many and varied forms.[15] Typically, the upper part of the motif consists of five or more leaves or petals fanning rhythmically upwards from a single triangular or lozenge-shaped source at the base. In some instances fruits resembling palm fruits hang down on either side above the base and below the lowest leaves. The lower part consists of a symmetrical pair of elegant 'S' scrolls or volutes curling out sideways and downwards from the base of the leaves. The upper part recalls the thrusting growth of leaves and flowers, while the volutes of the lower part seem to suggest both contributing fertile energies and resulting fruits. It is often present on the necking of the capital of Ionic order columns; however in column capitals of the Corinthian order it takes the shape of a 'fleuron' or flower resting against the abacus (top-most slab) of the capital and springing out from a pair of volutes which, in some versions, give rise to the elaborate volutes and acanthus ornament of the capital.

Botanical combinations

Ancient Greek bronze handle of a hydria (water jar), decorated with a pair of palmettes, early 5th century BC

According to Boardman, although lotus friezes or palmette friezes were known in Mesopotamia centuries before, the unnatural combination of various botanical elements which have no relationship in the wild, such as the palmette, the lotus and sometimes rosette flowers, is a purely Greek innovation, which was then adopted on a very broad geographical scale throughout the Hellenistic world.

Wishing a Happy New Year 2024, to all Flickr friends & followers - hope everyone's well. This image was one from a full day spent up on the high plateau of wild Exmoor in the fresh snow. The clearly hungry cattle became very curious while i was set up taking pictures of the foggy snowy trees. I grabbed this one before they advanced any further! Anyone who knows me also knows the many livestock stories from instances where teh animals were somewhat less placid..

Best wishes to all for a happy & healthy 2024 :)

I spent today in the Cairngorms guiding for a group of photographers, I normally don't take pictures when guiding but in this instance the guys were more than happy for me to do so, this was helped by the sheer numbers of Ptarmigan. We must have seen well in excess of fifty birds today. This is as a direct result of the mild and dry early summer months, this in turn greatly reduced the chick mortality rate.

If you're interested in joining me for a day in the Cairngorm's to photograph these delightful wee birds you will find details on my website.

www.andyhoward.co.uk/ptarmigan-guiding