View allAll Photos Tagged its_dramatic
Cape Cornwall is a headland located on the southwest tip of England, in West Cornwall, near the town of St Just. It's a popular spot for its dramatic coastal scenery and views of the Atlantic Ocean. The National Trust owns most of the headland, and it's part of the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site.
On our way to Iceland in 2019 we had a stop in Denmark not too far from the lighthouse Rubjerg Knude Fyr. I was equally fascinated from the abandoned lighthouse and the dune landscape, with its dramatic falloff to the sea. So this image is my version of bringing these two eye catchers together.
Namdroling monastery is one of the largest buddhist centers in existence today. The monastery is home to nearly 5000 monks and nuns, renowned as a center for the pure upholding of the teachings of the Buddha. Namdroling Monastery , home to the jaw-droppingly spectacular Golden Temple , presided over by an 18m-high gold-plated Buddha. The temple is at its dramatic best when school is in session and it rings out with gongs, drums and chanting of hundreds of young novices. You’re welcome to sit and meditate :-)
Badlands National Park is in South Dakota. Its dramatic landscapes span layered rock formations, steep canyons and towering spires. Bison, bighorn sheep and prairie dogs inhabit its sprawling grasslands.
Badlands National Park is in South Dakota. Its dramatic landscapes span layered rock formations, steep canyons and towering spires. Bison, bighorn sheep and prairie dogs inhabit its sprawling grasslands.
The Eagle Canyon, a breathtaking natural wonder in the Taurus Mountains, impresses with its dramatic cliffs and spectacular views. During this tour, you'll have the opportunity to enjoy the untouched beauty of nature as you hike through the valley and explore the mesmerizing landscapes.
Badlands National Park is in South Dakota. Its dramatic landscapes span layered rock formations, steep canyons and towering spires. Bison, bighorn sheep and prairie dogs inhabit its sprawling grasslands.
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itsukushima_Shrine:
Itsukushima Shrine (厳島神社, Itsukushima-jinja) is a Shinto shrine on the island of Itsukushima (popularly known as Miyajima), best known for its "floating" torii. It is in the city of Hatsukaichi, in Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan, accessible from the mainland by ferry at Miyajimaguchi Station. The shrine complex is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Japanese government has designated several buildings and possessions as National Treasures.
The Itsukushima shrine is one of Japan's most popular tourist attractions. It is most famous for its dramatic gate, or torii on the outskirts of the shrine, the sacred peaks of Mount Misen, extensive forests, and its ocean view. The shrine complex itself consists of two main buildings: the Honsha shrine and the Sessha Marodo-jinja, as well as 17 other different buildings and structures that help to distinguish it.
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itsukushima_Shrine:
Itsukushima Shrine (厳島神社, Itsukushima-jinja) is a Shinto shrine on the island of Itsukushima (popularly known as Miyajima), best known for its "floating" torii. It is in the city of Hatsukaichi, in Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan, accessible from the mainland by ferry at Miyajimaguchi Station. The shrine complex is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Japanese government has designated several buildings and possessions as National Treasures.
The Itsukushima shrine is one of Japan's most popular tourist attractions. It is most famous for its dramatic gate, or torii on the outskirts of the shrine, the sacred peaks of Mount Misen, extensive forests, and its ocean view. The shrine complex itself consists of two main buildings: the Honsha shrine and the Sessha Marodo-jinja, as well as 17 other different buildings and structures that help to distinguish it.
Excerpt from miyajima.or.jp/english/spot/spot_other.html:
Designated as a National Important Cultural Property on August 29, 1910
Senjokaku
Hokoku Shrine is dedicated to the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi (one of the three unifiers of Japan in the 16th century) and his loyal aid Kato Kiyomasa. The reason for building this structure is clearly stated in a letter by Ankokuji Ekei, head monk of Ankokuji Temple. In 1587, Ekei asked Daiganji Temple, the temple in charge of construction and repair work in Miyajima including Itsukushima Shrine, to build a Buddhist library in which the chanting of Senbu-kyo sutras could be held every month. As there is no board ceiling or outer gate, it is believed that the construction of the building was not completed.
Originally, Amida Buddha and two subordinate Buddhist saints, Anan and Kasho-sonja, were enshrined in the Buddhist altar until the early Meiji era. Since that time, however, the altar has been used in Shinto rituals.
The building is called Senjokaku (Hall of One Thousand Tatami Mats), reflecting its standing as the largest structure on Miyajima Island. The shrine was a popular landmark in Miyajima where many people came to relax and cool themselves and to buy popular souvenirs such as tooth picks, and a variety of legends and traditions have been created here.
The fact that this structure, unique among the buildings belonging to Itsukushima Shrine, is unpainted and that its exact date of founding is recorded makes it a valuable gauge of the passage of time. The traces of weathering on its pillars and floor boards can be used to determine the approximate age of any other wooden structure on Miyajima.
Senjokaku
A piece of wood used as a measuring device in the reconstruction work of the O-Torii in 1873 hangs on a pillar under the floor of the south part of the shrine. Countless votive picture tablets that had been hanging on the walls of Itsukushima Shrine buildings until the mid Meiji era decorate the walls inside the hall.
The shrine did not yet exist at the time of the Battle of Itsukushima in 1555 when the Mori clan defeated the Sue clan to unify the Chugoku region. The headquarters of the Sue clan was located on this hill, which was then called To-no-oka (Pagoda Hill). Starting in the Meiji era, the hill was developed through the establishment of stone steps, among other additions.
Lago di Braies (Pragser Wildsee) is one of the most popular places to visit in the Dolomites. This crystal-clear aquamarine lake, with its dramatic mountainous backdrop, easy walking trail, and rowboats, has long been attracting visitors
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Canyonlands National Park in southeastern Utah is known for its dramatic desert landscape of canyons, mesas, and buttes carved by the Colorado River and its tributaries. Print Size 13x19 inches.
Happy Fence Friday
Flickr friends, I will be off for a few days.
Taken on the balcony of Havila Hotel, Geiranger.
Geiranger is a village in western Norway, at the head of Geirangerfjord, famous for its dramatic, UNESCO-listed fjord.
♥ Thank you very much for your visits, faves, and kind comments ♥
Storr and Old Man of Storr in the distance, with a little section of Loch Leathan, seen from the edge of the A855 road, Isle of Skye, Highland council area, Scotland
Some background information:
The Storr is a mountain on the Trotternish peninsula of the Isle of Skye in Scotland. It presents a steep rocky eastern face overlooking the Sound of Raasay, contrasting with gentler grassy slopes to the west. The Storr is a prime example of the Trotternish landslip, the longest such feature in Great Britain. It is the type locality for the mineral gyrolite. The area in front of the cliffs of the Storr is known as the Sanctuary. This has a number of weirdly shaped rock pinnacles, the remnants of ancient landslips.
The main ascent route is a well-constructed path, used by many sightseers, which leaves the A855 just north of Loch Leathan. It heads up through a clearfell area that was formerly a conifer plantation. Most day-trippers are content simply to wander around the Sanctuary, admiring the pinnacles and gazing up at the Storr's eastern cliffs. Walkers can easily ascend to the summit, however, by skirting below the cliffs whilst heading north from the north end of the Sanctuary. An alternative route, involving some mild scrambling, follows the rim of the south-east-facing cliffs from the top of a steep section. The Storr is often climbed as part of a much longer expedition, following the full length of the Trotternish landslip.
The Old Man of Storr is a 48-meter-high rock pinnacle belonging to the Storr. It is one of the most famous landmarks of the Isle of Skye. The name "Storr" comes from Old Norse and means "great" or "peak." Nearby the Old Man of Storr, there are other rock pinnacles that are sometimes referred to as his family. However, a rock pinnacle that was once called his wife, collapsed many years ago. According to a legend, an old man and his wife were searching the area for a runaway cow. During their search, they encountered giants and fled in fear. As they were escaping, they looked back, and as a result, they were turned into stone.
The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the the Black Cuillin and Red Cuillin mountain ranges, which provide some of the most dramatic mountain sceneries in the country. At 1,656 square kilometres (639 square miles), Skye is the second-largest island in Scotland after Lewis and Harris.
The most powerful clans on Skye in the post–Norse period were Clan MacLeod, originally based in Trotternish, and Clan Macdonald of Sleat. Following the disintegration of the Lordship of the Isles in the late 15th century, Clan Mackinnon also emerged as an independent clan, whose substantial landholdings in Skye were centred on Strathaird.
Skye is linked to the mainland by the Skye Bridge, which opened in 1995, while ferries sail from Armadale on the island to Mallaig, and from Kylerhea to Glenelg. The island is 40 kilometres wide at its thickest point and 80 kilometres long. But many inlets reach inland, resulting in a coastline of over 500 kilometres. This includes some sandy beaches, but particularly several enchanting bays such as Talisker Bay, and steep cliffs such as Waterstein Head at Neist Point or Kilt Rock at the island’s northeastern coast. By the way, the inlets also divide Skye into its various peninsulas, of which Minginish, Duirnish, Waternish, Trotternish and Sleat are the largest.
The largest employer on the island is the public sector, which accounts for about a third of the total workforce and the second-largest employer is the tourism industry, but there is also a number of small firms like the Talisker Distillery. However, commercial fishing remains important too, including fish farming of salmon and crustaceans such as scampi.
Due to its dramatic land- and seascape, Skye has been used as a location for several feature films, such as "Flash Gordon“, "Stardust" starring Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer, or Ridley Scott's "Prometheus" from 2012. And the Justin Kurzel adaption of Macbeth starring Michael Fassbender was also filmed on the Isle of Skye.
[ES] El castillo de Zafra, lugar de rodaje de la pasada temporada de Juego de Tronos, destaca por su ubicación en una ladera sobre unas enormes rocas y las formas angulosas de su torre. Muy pintoresco y una recomendable excursión.
[EN] Castle of Zafra, filming location for Game of Thrones, stands out due to its dramatic construction over huge rocks in a hill and its weird main tower.
Beautiful sunset light making the atmosphere orange around the Li river basin and its dramatic mountain peaks geography in the Guangxi province of China.
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Revisiting a vantage point which I last photographed just under two years ago, this is the popular view of St Paul's Cathedral from the southern end of the London Millennium Footbridge. The image was shot about 30 minutes before sunrise on a clear but very hazy morning, creating a soft glow along the horizon and leaving the buildings near Barbican and Moorgate only faintly visible. The view from Bankside had changed considerably since my last shoot: several cranes had sprung up north of the Thames, scaffolding had been set up along the north end of the Cathedral's dome, and graffiti had been scrawled along the glass panels of the Millennium Bridge leading to the river's walkway. It was also a pleasant surprise to find that while St Paul's Cathedral would previously have switched off all external lights at around 1am, several of its dramatic spotlights were still switched on at 4am. All of which made the project a fun challenge to return to, with the peaceful early-morning atmosphere a world away from the bustling scene an hour later when the city's morning commute would begin.
Nine bracketed exposures were captured for the final image, with luminosity masks used in Photoshop to blend the exposures and to ensure a clean finish in the shadows while controlling the highlights, particularly inside the building windows and across the sky, where it was important to me to retain the original tones and colour. I then isolated the sky using a combination of Quick Mask selection and the Pen Tool, as well as the walkway leading from the bridge to the Thames Path. This allowed me to edit the sky and the cityscape separately, and to target my brighter exposures to the walkway and the bridge's railings without affecting the rest of the image. The cranes from the skyline and the scaffolding around St Paul's were removed, but I left the graffiti in, as I felt it added to the story within the scene. After this, the image was colour-graded using a mixture of Colour Balance, Hue/Saturation and Selective Colour adjustments, toning down the yellow along the Cathedral while emphasising the pink tones in the sky and the aqua along the bridge's glass panels.
Inside Nik's Colour Efex Pro, I applied a gentle amount of Pro Contrast to the buildings to give them greater definition against the sky, as well as a very sparing amount of the Detail Extractor filter to bring out the texture inside St Paul's. I also lowered the midtone and shadow contrast along the walkway in the foreground, as a softer finish in the foreground seemed like it would help to guide viewers' eyes to the bridge and Cathedral in the distance. The final adjustments were a low-opacity Gradient Map to inject a small amount of blue into the shadows and to bring out the warmer tones in the sky, and finally, in Camera Raw, a small increase to the highlights around the Cathedral's dome to emphasise the building's lighting.
It will be interesting to see the result of the construction work near St Paul's, which will hopefully complement the skyline without obscuring the view and make the scene as much of a joy to revisit in another couple of years.
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A view of Shafer Canyon from the Island in the Sky plateau at Canyonlands National Park. Shafer Canyon is part of the the desert canyons backcountry. Canyonlands in southeastern Utah is known for its dramatic desert landscape of canyons, mesas, and buttes carved by the Colorado River and its tributaries. Print Size 13x19 inches.
#AB_FAV_IN_AUTUMN_ 🍄🍁🍂
or GOLDEN HANDSHAKE? LOL
An Autumn Sunday in North-Wales.
Little winding roads amongst the golden larches, up towards Mount Snowdon, this river surprised me with its golden and indigo colours, the limpid water ice cold and wild.
Wales, with its dramatic scenery, is steeped in mystery and romance.
Its majestic heather-clad hills cut by cascading waterfalls, and mountain streams rushing through gladed valleys are both the places of legends and of history running back into the mists of time.
Yet, beneath the quartzite surface of this jewelled landscape, there is another treasure, as valuable as it is beautiful – Welsh gold.
Today, Welsh gold is scarcer than it has ever been. When mining took place at the Clogau St. David’s Gold Mine in the late 1990s it used to cost over £1000 an ounce to extract.
Look at that golden hand, maybe a giant fell?
Isn't imagination a wonderful gift?
I wish you all a golden day and thank you for visiting, Magda (*_*)
For more: www.indigo2photography.com
Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved
river, hand, leaves, Snowdonia, rapids, water, rocks, Wales, colour, horizontal, "Nikon F4", "Magda indigo"
The beautiful and now tranquil setting of Augustinian Lanercost Priory belies an often troubled history. Standing close to Hadrian's Wall, it suffered frequent attacks during the long Anglo-Scottish wars, once by Robert Bruce in person. The mortally sick King Edward I rested here for five months in 1306-7, shortly before his death on his final campaign.
The east end of the 13th-century church survives to its full height, housing within its dramatic triple tier of arches some fine monuments.
More photos of Lanercost Priory here: www.flickr.com/photos/davidambridge/albums/72157624989399623
Oddyssey - 2005 is the title of the commissioned mural at the new University Hall, build to celebrate the Singapore’s National University Centennial. Measuring 110 sqm and realized in glazed stoneware, it is Delia’s largest ceramic mural, executed as a continuous composition, which was conceived as an integrated artwork for the new building’s architecture as a functional, "cascading wall". It is an interpretation of a timeless and universal theme- the perpetual journey followed by the eternal return to home, the process of maturation trough sacrifices, struggle and aspiration. The large scale of the mural allowed for the creation of an allegoric, symbolic space which is able to convey the message of conquering the unknown and the pleasure and satisfaction of adventure and discovery. The water, in its dramatic transformation, from quiet river or waterfall to open sea or turbulent ocean is used as a metaphor for the shaping, learning and development process students encounter since their early age to their adult life. The water, as a source of life, is the physical and existential medium for all natural growth as much as schools and university in all human societies are the source of knowledge and spiritual nurturing, inspiration and sublime intellectual achievements.
Honestly it's so boring to have to stay home without too much nature walk in last serval months. I did a virtual walk through my photo collections that were taken in last few years. This photo caught my eyes for its dramatic sky. Still remember the sunset red tone during my last visit in 2019.
This striking photograph features the famous Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse standing on a massive sand dune. Located in Northern Jutland, Denmark, the lighthouse is an iconic landmark known for its dramatic history of being nearly swallowed by shifting sands and coastal erosion.
Guilin’s most renowned feature is its dramatic karst terrain. The peaks are made of limestone. Limestone is formed in part from the shells and skeletons of marine animals. Our reptilian marine reptiles are with us still today, still soaring above that ancient ocean floor upon which Guilin is now situated, looking down from the peaks that are their final resting place.
Prints & Downloads are available on my 👉 H O M E P A G E
P5260869.1 [From the archives 2016]
Carvoeiro is a picturesque resort town located in the Algarve region of southern Portugal, known for its dramatic coastline of golden cliffs, charming whitewashed buildings, and beautiful, sheltered beaches. Once a traditional fishing village, it has retained much of its authentic character while developing into a popular holiday destination.
Lizard Point, is Britain's most southerly point. The area is famous for its dramatic cliff walks, wild flowers and geological features. The point is a spectacular location with steep cliffs and stunning views.
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Europe - UK - England - Devon - Hartland Devon Heritage Coast - Hartland Quay - Dramatic rocky coast along Atlantic Ocean with Warren Cliff and large upright chevron folds
This part of Devon was an incredible surprise for me, although its rough dramatic beauty has been known to photographers for some time. Even producers of the great TV show "Night Manager" situated few scenes there, and surely there were not the only ones ! Add wonderful period of end of May or early June with its Sea Pink or Purple Sea Thrift Flower in full bloom and you get the perfect mix !
Camera Model: Canon EOS 5DS; Lens: EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM; Focal length: 16.00 mm; Aperture: 14; Exposure time: 30.0 s; ISO: 100
Camera Model: Canon EOS 5DS; Lens: EF16-35mm f/4L IS USM; Focal length: 16.00 mm; Aperture: 20; Exposure time: 30.0 s; ISO: 100
All rights reserved - Copyright © Lucie Debelkova www.luciedebelkova.com
All images are exclusive property and may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, transmitted, manipulated or used in any way without expressed, written permission of the photographer.
#AbFav_PHOTOSTORY
#AbFav_WATER_💦
or GOLDEN HANDSHAKE? LOL
An Autumn Sunday in North-Wales.
Little winding roads amongst the golden larches, up towards Mount Snowdon, this river surprised me with its golden and indigo colours, the limpid water ice cold and wild.
Wales, with its dramatic scenery, is steeped in mystery and romance.
Its majestic heather-clad hills cut by cascading waterfalls, and mountain streams rushing through gladed valleys are both the places of legends and of history running back into the mists of time.
Yet, beneath the quartzite surface of this jewelled landscape, there is another treasure, as valuable as it is beautiful – Welsh gold.
Today, Welsh gold is scarcer than it has ever been. When mining took place at the Clogau St. David’s Gold Mine in the late 1990s it used to cost over £1000 an ounce to extract.
Look at that golden hand, maybe a giant fell?
Isn't imagination a wonderful gift?
I wish you all a golden day and thank you for visiting, Magda (*_*)
For more: www.indigo2photography.com
Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved
river, hand, leaves, Snowdonia, rapids, water, rocks, Wales, colour, horizontal, "Nikon F4", "magda indigo"
Reaching the summit of Tête Chevalière, I found myself staring into an impenetrable wall of clouds where Mont Aiguille should have been. Complete whiteout. Most would have turned back, but something told me to wait. Hours passed on that exposed summit as storm systems churned through the Vercors, cold wind cutting through layers, hope fading then rekindling with each subtle shift in the clouds.
My intention became about patience and faith in the mountains - trusting that nature would eventually reveal what it had hidden. When Mont Aiguille finally began to emerge from the storm, appearing and disappearing through gaps in the swirling mists, those hours of waiting dissolved into pure gratitude. Black and white felt essential to capture the raw drama of this moment - the dark brooding sky, the turbulent clouds, and that iconic limestone pinnacle finally revealing itself like a reward for persistence.
What this experience taught me is that mountain photography isn't just about being in the right place - it's about being willing to wait, to endure discomfort, to gamble hours on the possibility of a single moment. This image represents not just what I saw, but what I earned through patience. The "Inaccessible Mountain" living up to its name one more time, making me work for even a glimpse of its dramatic presence.
This is why we return to the mountains - for those hard-won moments when perseverance meets revelation.
The Miami Tower is a 47-story, landmark office skyscraper in Miami, Florida, United States. It is located in central Downtown. It is currently the 8th tallest building in Miami and Florida. On April 18, 2012, the AIA's Florida Chapter placed it on its list of Florida Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places as the Bank of America Tower.
Built for CenTrust Bank in 1987, the 47-story building ranks in the top ten tallest skyscrapers in Miami and in Florida at a height of 625 feet (191 m) and is known for its elaborate night-time illuminations and its dramatic three glass tiers. Designed by the Pei Cobb Freed & Partners architectural firm, the tower consists of two separate structures: A 10-story parking garage owned by the city and the 47-story office tower built upon the air rights of the garage. Preliminary planning for the tower began in February 1980; construction on the garage began by November. The garage was completed in February 1983 and the tower began construction a year later. On August 1984, while the tower was under construction, a 5-alarm fire began on the ninth floor; construction was subsequently delayed for several weeks. On December 15, 1985, the tower was lit for the first time in Miami Dolphins aqua and snowflakes.
By mid-1986, the tower's exterior was complete and the grand opening for the complex was set for early fall that same year. Due to the uneven settling of the tower's foundation to one side by several inches, and the resulting misalignment of the tower's elevator rails, the grand opening for the complex was delayed until February 1987. The complete complex featured the world's only elevated metro station in a skyscraper (Knight Center station). It also gained notoriety for its luxurious interiors, including a sky lobby on the 11th floor covered in marble and gold and a 10,000 sq ft (930 m2) outdoor terrace. Also, its indoor gym features mahogany cabinets. The tower is connected to the James L. Knight Center by a pedestrian walkway and on the first floor is a retail spine covered with green marble. The tower contains 1,160,000 sq ft (108,000 m2) with 503,000 sq ft (46,700 m2) of office space and a 535,000 sq ft (49,700 m2), 1,500 space parking garage.
The building appears during the end credits of the 1986 movie Flight Of The Navigator in an aerial shot of Miami. The very top floors can clearly be seen still under construction.
The roof of the building was the set of Gloria Estefan's 1994 video for "Turn The Beat Around". The building is also one of many featured on the backdrop of the stage on The Tonight Show.
On January 1, 2010, the building was renamed the Miami Tower.
Credit for the data above is given to the following website:
Wat Chaloem Phra Kiat is a stunning temple located in Lampang Province, Thailand, renowned for its dramatic hilltop setting and panoramic views. The temple is built on a series of natural limestone mountains, offering a striking combination of nature and architecture.
A highlight of the temple is the group of stupas and prangs that sit atop the mountains, creating a picturesque skyline visible from miles away.
The temple’s mountaintop location provides not only spiritual significance but also a breathtaking experience for visitors who hike up to the temple’s peaceful surroundings. The intricate architecture, combined with the natural beauty, makes Wat Chaloem Phra Kiat a hidden gem and a symbol of devotion in Lampang province.
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ON EXPLORE
Visit : www.refordgardens.com/
From Wikipedia:
Elsie Stephen Meighen - born January 22, 1872, Perth, Ontario - and Robert Wilson Reford - born in 1867, Montreal - got married on June 12, 1894.
Elsie Reford was a pioneer of Canadian horticulture, creating one of the largest private gardens in Canada on her estate, Estevan Lodge in eastern Québec. Located in Grand-Métis on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, her gardens have been open to the public since 1962 and operate under the name Les Jardins de Métis and Reford Gardens.
Born January 22, 1872 at Perth, Ontario, Elsie Reford was the eldest of three children born to Robert Meighen and Elsie Stephen. Coming from modest backgrounds themselves, Elsie’s parents ensured that their children received a good education. After being educated in Montreal, she was sent to finishing school in Dresden and Paris, returning to Montreal fluent in both German and French, and ready to take her place in society.
She married Robert Wilson Reford on June 12, 1894. She gave birth to two sons, Bruce in 1895 and Eric in 1900. Robert and Elsie Reford were, by many accounts, an ideal couple. In 1902, they built a house on Drummond Street in Montreal. They both loved the outdoors and they spend several weeks a year in a log cabin they built at Lac Caribou, south of Rimouski. In the autumn they hunted for caribou, deer, and ducks. They returned in winter to ski and snowshoe. Elsie Reford also liked to ride. She had learned as a girl and spent many hours riding on the slopes of Mount Royal. And of course, there was salmon-fishing – a sport at which she excelled.
In her day, she was known for her civic, social, and political activism. She was engaged in philanthropic activities, particularly for the Montreal Maternity Hospital and she was also the moving force behind the creation of the Women’s Canadian Club of Montreal, the first women club in Canada. She believed it important that the women become involved in debates over the great issues of the day, « something beyond the local gossip of the hour ». Her acquaintance with Lord Grey, the Governor-General of Canada from 1904 to 1911, led to her involvement in organizing, in 1908, Québec City’s tercentennial celebrations. The event was one of many to which she devoted herself in building bridges with French-Canadian community.
During the First World War, she joined her two sons in England and did volunteer work at the War Office, translating documents from German into English. After the war, she was active in the Victorian Order of Nurses, the Montreal Council of Social Agencies, and the National Association of Conservative Women.
In 1925 at the age of 53 years, Elsie Reford was operated for appendicitis and during her convalescence, her doctor counselled against fishing, fearing that she did not have the strength to return to the river.”Why not take up gardening?” he said, thinking this a more suitable pastime for a convalescent woman of a certain age. That is why she began laying out the gardens and supervising their construction. The gardens would take ten years to build, and would extend over more than twenty acres.
Elsie Reford had to overcome many difficulties in bringing her garden to life. First among them were the allergies that sometimes left her bedridden for days on end. The second obstacle was the property itself. Estevan was first and foremost a fishing lodge. The site was chosen because of its proximity to a salmon river and its dramatic views – not for the quality of the soil.
To counter-act nature’s deficiencies, she created soil for each of the plants she had selected, bringing peat and sand from nearby farms. This exchange was fortuitous to the local farmers, suffering through the Great Depression. Then, as now, the gardens provided much-needed work to an area with high unemployment. Elsie Reford’s genius as a gardener was born of the knowledge she developed of the needs of plants. Over the course of her long life, she became an expert plantsman. By the end of her life, Elsie Reford was able to counsel other gardeners, writing in the journals of the Royal Horticultural Society and the North American Lily Society. Elsie Reford was not a landscape architect and had no training of any kind as a garden designer. While she collected and appreciated art, she claimed no talents as an artist.
Elsie Stephen Reford died at her Drummond Street home on November 8, 1967 in her ninety-sixth year.
In 1995, the Reford Gardens ("Jardins de Métis") in Grand-Métis were designated a National Historic Site of Canada, as being an excellent Canadian example of the English-inspired garden.(Wikipedia) QW636C
Visit : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsie_Reford
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Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itsukushima_Shrine:
Itsukushima Shrine (厳島神社, Itsukushima-jinja) is a Shinto shrine on the island of Itsukushima (popularly known as Miyajima), best known for its "floating" torii. It is in the city of Hatsukaichi, in Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan, accessible from the mainland by ferry at Miyajimaguchi Station. The shrine complex is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Japanese government has designated several buildings and possessions as National Treasures.
The Itsukushima shrine is one of Japan's most popular tourist attractions. It is most famous for its dramatic gate, or torii on the outskirts of the shrine, the sacred peaks of Mount Misen, extensive forests, and its ocean view. The shrine complex itself consists of two main buildings: the Honsha shrine and the Sessha Marodo-jinja, as well as 17 other different buildings and structures that help to distinguish it.
Excerpt from itsukushimajinja.jp/en/route.html:
Asazaya
Asazaya is located where the East Corridor turns to the right. This hall, thatched with cypress bark, was used as a meeting place by Shinto and Buddhist priests. The architectural style is said to date from the Kamakura period (1185-1333).
Marodo Shrine
Marodo Shrine (shrine for guest deities) is the primary auxiliary shrine of Itsukushima Shrine. All ceremonies at Itsukushima Shrine start here. Like the Main Shrine, Marodo Shrine consists of a honden (main hall), heiden (offering hall), haiden (worship hall) and Haraiden (purification hall). This shine has retained its old architectural style as it has needed less repair work than other structures. The stepped eaves of the haraiden and the planks around the verandah for protection against waves are unique features.
East Corridor
The corridors are 3.9 meters wide and about 270 meters long. The distance between the pillars is about 2.4 meters. There are eight floorboards between the pillars and small spaces between the floorboards.
We used to head down the Pacific Coast from Monterey (next to Carmel) to San Simeon almost every January. What better way to spend an anniversary than a week on Big Sur. You would think with all those trips, I would have photos of every highlight, but I haven't been diligent and I missed one of the biggest attraction, Bixby Creek Bridge. One time, winter storms close the highway. A second opportunity, so many tourists, some actually parked ON the Pacific Coast Highway.
This one image will give you some idea why Big Sur is a favorite.
From Wiki: "Big Sur is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast of the U.S. state of California, between Carmel and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. It is frequently praised for its dramatic scenery. Big Sur has been called the "longest and most scenic stretch of undeveloped coastline in the contiguous United States", a sublime "national treasure that demands extraordinary procedures to protect it from development", and "one of the most beautiful coastlines anywhere in the world, an isolated stretch of road, mythic in reputation."
Note thebiggest disappoint was Hearst's Castle in San Simeon, the "getaway" of William Randolph Hearst. Gaudy with neither architectural value or knickknacks bought for his mistress. My brother gave it the best review I've ever read: "Proof that all the money in the worse can't buy good taste."
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itsukushima_Shrine:
Itsukushima Shrine (厳島神社, Itsukushima-jinja) is a Shinto shrine on the island of Itsukushima (popularly known as Miyajima), best known for its "floating" torii. It is in the city of Hatsukaichi, in Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan, accessible from the mainland by ferry at Miyajimaguchi Station. The shrine complex is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Japanese government has designated several buildings and possessions as National Treasures.
The Itsukushima shrine is one of Japan's most popular tourist attractions. It is most famous for its dramatic gate, or torii on the outskirts of the shrine, the sacred peaks of Mount Misen, extensive forests, and its ocean view. The shrine complex itself consists of two main buildings: the Honsha shrine and the Sessha Marodo-jinja, as well as 17 other different buildings and structures that help to distinguish it.
Excerpt from itsukushimajinja.jp/en/route.html:
East Corridor: The corridors are 3.9 meters wide and about 270 meteres long. The distance between the pillars is about 2.4 meters. There are eight floorboards between the pillars and small spaces between the floorboards.
The Colorado River is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The 1,450-mile-long river, the 5th longest in the United States, drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states. The name Colorado derives from the Spanish language for "colored reddish" due to its heavy silt load. Starting in the central Rocky Mountains of Colorado, it flows generally southwest across the Colorado Plateau and through the Grand Canyon before reaching Lake Mead on the Arizona–Nevada border, where it turns south toward the international border. After entering Mexico, the Colorado approaches the mostly dry Colorado River Delta at the tip of the Gulf of California between Baja California and Sonora.
Known for its dramatic canyons, whitewater rapids, and eleven U.S. National Parks, the Colorado River and its tributaries are a vital source of water for 40 million people. An extensive system of dams, reservoirs, and aqueducts divert almost its entire flow for agricultural irrigation and urban water supply. Its large flow and steep gradient are used to generate hydroelectricity, meeting peaking power demands in much of the Intermountain West. Intensive water consumption has dried up the lower 100 miles (160 km) of the river, which has rarely reached the sea since the 1960s.
Native Americans have inhabited the Colorado River basin for at least 8,000 years. Starting around 1 CE, large agriculture-based societies were established, but a combination of drought and poor land use practices led to their collapse in the 1300s. Their descendants include tribes such as the Puebloans, while others including the Navajo settled in the Colorado Basin after the 1000s. In the 1500s, Spanish explorers began mapping and claiming the watershed, which became part of Mexico upon winning its independence from Spain in 1821. Even after most of the watershed became US territory in 1846, much of the river's course remained unknown. Several expeditions charted the Colorado in the mid-19th century—one of which, led by John Wesley Powell, was the first to run the rapids of the Grand Canyon. Large-scale settlement of the lower basin began in the mid- to late-1800s, with steamboats sailing from the Gulf of California to landings along the river that linked to wagon roads to the interior. Starting in the 1860s, gold and silver strikes drew prospectors to the upper Colorado River basin.
Large-scale river management began in the early 1900s, with major guidelines established in a series of international and US interstate treaties known as the "Law of the River". The US federal government constructed most of the major dams and aqueducts between 1910 and 1970; the largest, Hoover Dam, was completed in 1935. Numerous water projects have also involved state and local governments. With all of their waters fully allocated, both the Colorado and the neighboring Rio Grande are now considered among the most controlled and litigated river systems in the world. Since 2000, extended drought has conflicted with increasing demands for Colorado River water, and the level of human development and control of the river continues to generate controversy.
This scene struck me by its dramatic intensity with this incredible confrontation between the Mayan priest and the Fransciscan monk who stops the human sacrifice that was about to be accomplished!
A culture shock remarkably painted!
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Face à face dramatique
Cette scène m'a frappée par son intensité dramatique avec ce face à face incroyable entre le prêtre Maya et le moine fransciscain qui arrête le sacrifice humain qui allait s'accomplir !
Un choc de cultures remarquablement peint !
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Valladolid - Yucatán - Mexique / Mexico
The Wuyi Mountains or Wuyishan[1] (Chinese: 武夷山; pinyin: Wǔyí Shān; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Bú-î-soaⁿ; formerly known as Bohea Hills in early Western documents) are a mountain range located in the prefecture of Nanping, in northern Fujian province near the border with Jiangxi province, China. The highest peak in the area is Mount Huanggang at 2,158 metres (7,080 ft) on the border of Fujian and Jiangxi, making it the highest point of both provinces; the lowest altitudes are around 200 metres (660 ft). Many oolong and black teas are produced in the Wuyi Mountains, including Da Hong Pao ('big red robe') and lapsang souchong, and are sold as Wuyi tea. The mountain range is known worldwide for its status as a refugium for several rare and endemic plant species, its dramatic river valleys, and the abundance of important temples and archeological sites in the region, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[2] —- WikiPedia
We loved Tonga, especially its dramatic coasts. This was recorded during an exploration of the east coast of 'Eua (Island), a coast that sits on the edge of the Australia Plate with the Tonga Trench dropping away to a great depth. This means that the free waves from 1000s km of fetch arrive with uninterrupted power and slam into the coast releasing all their energy as they impact the coast. It's awesome to watch. This image was taken as the trough between the big waves exposed the underlying fringe of coral!
3671
REFORD GARDENS | LES JARDINS DE METIS
Coucher de soleil, Sainte-Flavie.
Visit : www.refordgardens.com/
Photo taken close to REFORD GARDENS. (Sainte-Flavie)
Mrs Elsie Reford loved those beautiful sunsets.
Reference: Elsie's Paradise, The Reford Gardens, Alexander Reford, 2004, ISBN 2-7619-1921-1, That book is a must for Reford Gardens lovers!
''I shall always, all my life, want to come back to those sunsets.'' Elsie Reford, July 20, 1913. (page 25)
" It is just after 8 o'clock and I am sitting in front of my big window with the gorgeous panorama of a glorious afterglow from a perfect sunset. There is every hue of blue on the water of 'the Blue Lagoon' while Pointe-aux-Cenelles is bathed in pink and crimson and the dark hills of the north shore seem no further than two or three miles distant. I don't think in the whole world at this moment there could be anything more beautiful." Elsie Reford, June 2, 1931. (page 81)
''One thing I can do that no one else can is to pass the love that I feel for this place and this woman''. -Alexander Reford
Visit : www.refordgardens.com/
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From Wikipedia:
Elsie Stephen Meighen - born January 22, 1872, Perth, Ontario - and Robert Wilson Reford - born in 1867, Montreal - got married on June 12, 1894.
Elsie Reford was a pioneer of Canadian horticulture, creating one of the largest private gardens in Canada on her estate, Estevan Lodge in eastern Québec. Located in Grand-Métis on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, her gardens have been open to the public since 1962 and operate under the name Les Jardins de Métis and Reford Gardens.
Born January 22, 1872 at Perth, Ontario, Elsie Reford was the eldest of three children born to Robert Meighen and Elsie Stephen. Coming from modest backgrounds themselves, Elsie’s parents ensured that their children received a good education. After being educated in Montreal, she was sent to finishing school in Dresden and Paris, returning to Montreal fluent in both German and French, and ready to take her place in society.
She married Robert Wilson Reford on June 12, 1894. She gave birth to two sons, Bruce in 1895 and Eric in 1900. Robert and Elsie Reford were, by many accounts, an ideal couple. In 1902, they built a house on Drummond Street in Montreal. They both loved the outdoors and they spend several weeks a year in a log cabin they built at Lac Caribou, south of Rimouski. In the autumn they hunted for caribou, deer, and ducks. They returned in winter to ski and snowshoe. Elsie Reford also liked to ride. She had learned as a girl and spent many hours riding on the slopes of Mount Royal. And of course, there was salmon-fishing – a sport at which she excelled.
In her day, she was known for her civic, social, and political activism. She was engaged in philanthropic activities, particularly for the Montreal Maternity Hospital and she was also the moving force behind the creation of the Women’s Canadian Club of Montreal, the first women club in Canada. She believed it important that the women become involved in debates over the great issues of the day, « something beyond the local gossip of the hour ». Her acquaintance with Lord Grey, the Governor-General of Canada from 1904 to 1911, led to her involvement in organizing, in 1908, Québec City’s tercentennial celebrations. The event was one of many to which she devoted herself in building bridges with French-Canadian community.
During the First World War, she joined her two sons in England and did volunteer work at the War Office, translating documents from German into English. After the war, she was active in the Victorian Order of Nurses, the Montreal Council of Social Agencies, and the National Association of Conservative Women.
In 1925 at the age of 53 years, Elsie Reford was operated for appendicitis and during her convalescence, her doctor counselled against fishing, fearing that she did not have the strength to return to the river.”Why not take up gardening?” he said, thinking this a more suitable pastime for a convalescent woman of a certain age. That is why she began laying out the gardens and supervising their construction. The gardens would take ten years to build, and would extend over more than twenty acres.
Elsie Reford had to overcome many difficulties in bringing her garden to life. First among them were the allergies that sometimes left her bedridden for days on end. The second obstacle was the property itself. Estevan was first and foremost a fishing lodge. The site was chosen because of its proximity to a salmon river and its dramatic views – not for the quality of the soil.
To counter-act nature’s deficiencies, she created soil for each of the plants she had selected, bringing peat and sand from nearby farms. This exchange was fortuitous to the local farmers, suffering through the Great Depression. Then, as now, the gardens provided much-needed work to an area with high unemployment. Elsie Reford’s genius as a gardener was born of the knowledge she developed of the needs of plants. Over the course of her long life, she became an expert plantsman. By the end of her life, Elsie Reford was able to counsel other gardeners, writing in the journals of the Royal Horticultural Society and the North American Lily Society. Elsie Reford was not a landscape architect and had no training of any kind as a garden designer. While she collected and appreciated art, she claimed no talents as an artist.
Elsie Stephen Reford died at her Drummond Street home on November 8, 1967 in her ninety-sixth year.
In 1995, the Reford Gardens ("Jardins de Métis") in Grand-Métis were designated a National Historic Site of Canada, as being an excellent Canadian example of the English-inspired garden.(Wikipedia)
Visit : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsie_Reford
LES JARDINS DE MÉTIS
Créés par Elsie Reford de 1926 à 1958, ces jardins témoignent de façon remarquable de l’art paysager à l’anglaise. Disposés dans un cadre naturel, un ensemble de jardins exhibent fleurs vivaces, arbres et arbustes. Le jardin des pommetiers, les rocailles et l’Allée royale évoquent l’œuvre de cette dame passionnée d’horticulture. Agrémenté d’un ruisseau et de sentiers sinueux, ce site jouit d’un microclimat favorable à la croissance d’espèces uniques au Canada. Les pavots bleus et les lis, privilégiés par Mme Reford, y fleurissent toujours et contribuent , avec d’autres plantes exotiques et indigènes, à l’harmonie de ces lieux.
Created by Elsie Reford between 1926 and 1958, these gardens are an inspired example of the English art of the garden. Woven into a natural setting, a series of gardens display perennials, trees and shrubs. A crab-apple orchard, a rock garden, and the Long Walk are also the legacy of this dedicated horticulturist. A microclimate favours the growth of species found nowhere else in Canada, while the stream and winding paths add to the charm. Elsie Reford’s beloved blue poppies and lilies still bloom and contribute, with other exotic and indigenous plants, to the harmony of the site.
Commission des lieux et monuments historiques du Canada
Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.
Gouvernement du Canada – Government of Canada
© Copyright
This photo and all those in my Photostream are protected by copyright. No one may reproduce, copy, transmit or manipulate them without my written permission.
“The Second Greatest Show on Earth!”
That’s what showman P.T. Barnum proclaimed in 1869 as he stepped down off the train and marveled at the view from Mount Washington’s rocky summit. High praise indeed from the man whose grand circus occupied the primary spot.
Today, more than 150 years later, the Mount Washington Cog Railway continues to thrill passengers from all over the world with its dramatic ascent to the summit of the highest peak in the Northeast.
The Cog is the first mountain-climbing cog railway in the world. With an average grade of 25% (some sections approach nearly 38%), it’s also the second steepest! Motive power is primarily provided by a fleet of seven powerful biodiesel locomotives, each custom designed, built and maintained on site. And with a nod to its steam heritage, the railway also continues to operate a pair of coal-fired steam engines in the warmer months, both well over a century old.
This Passion Vine (Passiflora vitifolia) grows along fences, over shrubs and garages here in South Florida. The leaves are glossy green and grape-leaf like. But what will simply knock your socks off are its dramatic, outrageous flowers! Surely they come from another planet! But no, they come from South America.
Legend and romance surround the passion flower - legend because of historical associations with Christianity. And romance because of its suggestion of romantic passion. Early explorers and missionaries to the Southern hemisphere named these dramatic vines Passiflora or Passion Flower to help in their conversion of native Americans to Christianity. They used the beautiful intricate flower parts to tell the story of the death of Jesus, making the story more memorable to listeners. The family name, Passifloraceae, means "Flower of the Passion" or "Flower of the Cross."
The color symbolized the blood shed on the cross; the 10 petals and sepals represented the 10 apostles present of the crucifixion; the 5 stamens, the 5 wounds, the 3 styles, the 3 nails ( or, in some versions, Christ and the 2 thieves crucified with him); the vine tendrils, the ropes and scourges; the 3 secondary leaf bracts, the holy trinity. The flower is usually open 3 days representing the 3 years of Christ's ministry on Earth. Source: Florida's Fabulous Flowers, Their Stories by Winston Williams.
See my set Passionate Passion Vines for more pictures of this amazing exotic, erotic flower.
Biscayne Park FL
Thank you for visiting - ❤ with gratitude! Fave if you like it, add comments below, like the Facebook page, order beautiful HDR prints at qualityHDR.com.
My hometown Schuders in the Swiss Alps greeted me like this when I woke up this morning. We had some fresh snow last night. It's a good feeling to be back at my 82 year old mom's home.
The Schuders village with just 30 people is located higher up in the mountains of Graubünden, a canton in eastern Switzerland. From Wikipedia: Graubünden is known for its dramatic Alpine scenery and winter sports. St. Moritz, an upscale resort town and Winter Olympics host in 1928 and 1948, offers ski runs, an outdoor ice rink and ski jumping. Davos, home to the annual World Economic Forum, is also popular for skiing and hiking. The Engadin Valley has traditional whitewashed houses decorated with sgraffito plasterwork.
I processed a soft and a paintery HDR photo from three RAW exposures, merged them selectively, and carefully adjusted the curves.
-- © Peter Thoeny, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, HDR, 3 RAW exposures, NEX-6, _DSC0493_4_5_hdr3sof3pai1c
Badlands National Park is in South Dakota. Its dramatic landscapes span layered rock formations, steep canyons and towering spires. Bison, bighorn sheep and prairie dogs inhabit its sprawling grasslands.
7774-2F2 | MECONOPSIS BETONICIFOLIA
Himalayan flower imported by Elsie Reford in the early 1930s that has since become the floral emblem of the Gardens.
Visit : www.refordgardens.com/
From Wikipedia: Visit : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsie_Reford
Elsie Stephen Meighen - born January 22, 1872, Perth, Ontario - and Robert Wilson Reford - born in 1867, Montreal - got married on June 12, 1894.
Elsie Reford was a pioneer of Canadian horticulture, creating one of the largest private gardens in Canada on her estate, Estevan Lodge in eastern Québec. Located in Grand-Métis on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, her gardens have been open to the public since 1962 and operate under the name Les Jardins de Métis and Reford Gardens.
Born January 22, 1872 at Perth, Ontario, Elsie Reford was the eldest of three children born to Robert Meighen and Elsie Stephen. Coming from modest backgrounds themselves, Elsie’s parents ensured that their children received a good education. After being educated in Montreal, she was sent to finishing school in Dresden and Paris, returning to Montreal fluent in both German and French, and ready to take her place in society.
She married Robert Wilson Reford on June 12, 1894. She gave birth to two sons, Bruce in 1895 and Eric in 1900. Robert and Elsie Reford were, by many accounts, an ideal couple. In 1902, they built a house on Drummond Street in Montreal. They both loved the outdoors and they spend several weeks a year in a log cabin they built at Lac Caribou, south of Rimouski. In the autumn they hunted for caribou, deer, and ducks. They returned in winter to ski and snowshoe. Elsie Reford also liked to ride. She had learned as a girl and spent many hours riding on the slopes of Mount Royal. And of course, there was salmon-fishing – a sport at which she excelled.
In her day, she was known for her civic, social, and political activism. She was engaged in philanthropic activities, particularly for the Montreal Maternity Hospital and she was also the moving force behind the creation of the Women’s Canadian Club of Montreal, the first women club in Canada. She believed it important that the women become involved in debates over the great issues of the day, « something beyond the local gossip of the hour ». Her acquaintance with Lord Grey, the Governor-General of Canada from 1904 to 1911, led to her involvement in organizing, in 1908, Québec City’s tercentennial celebrations. The event was one of many to which she devoted herself in building bridges with French-Canadian community.
During the First World War, she joined her two sons in England and did volunteer work at the War Office, translating documents from German into English. After the war, she was active in the Victorian Order of Nurses, the Montreal Council of Social Agencies, and the National Association of Conservative Women.
In 1925 at the age of 53 years, Elsie Reford was operated for appendicitis and during her convalescence, her doctor counselled against fishing, fearing that she did not have the strength to return to the river.”Why not take up gardening?” he said, thinking this a more suitable pastime for a convalescent woman of a certain age. That is why she began laying out the gardens and supervising their construction. The gardens would take ten years to build, and would extend over more than twenty acres.
Elsie Reford had to overcome many difficulties in bringing her garden to life. First among them were the allergies that sometimes left her bedridden for days on end. The second obstacle was the property itself. Estevan was first and foremost a fishing lodge. The site was chosen because of its proximity to a salmon river and its dramatic views – not for the quality of the soil.
To counter-act nature’s deficiencies, she created soil for each of the plants she had selected, bringing peat and sand from nearby farms. This exchange was fortuitous to the local farmers, suffering through the Great Depression. Then, as now, the gardens provided much-needed work to an area with high unemployment. Elsie Reford’s genius as a gardener was born of the knowledge she developed of the needs of plants. Over the course of her long life, she became an expert plantsman. By the end of her life, Elsie Reford was able to counsel other gardeners, writing in the journals of the Royal Horticultural Society and the North American Lily Society. Elsie Reford was not a landscape architect and had no training of any kind as a garden designer. While she collected and appreciated art, she claimed no talents as an artist.
Elsie Stephen Reford died at her Drummond Street home on November 8, 1967 in her ninety-sixth year.
In 1995, the Reford Gardens ("Jardins de Métis") in Grand-Métis were designated a National Historic Site of Canada, as being an excellent Canadian example of the English-inspired garden.
LES JARDINS DE MÉTIS
Créés par Elsie Reford de 1926 à 1958, ces jardins témoignent de façon remarquable de l’art paysager à l’anglaise. Disposés dans un cadre naturel, un ensemble de jardins exhibent fleurs vivaces, arbres et arbustes. Le jardin des pommetiers, les rocailles et l’Allée royale évoquent l’œuvre de cette dame passionnée d’horticulture. Agrémenté d’un ruisseau et de sentiers sinueux, ce site jouit d’un microclimat favorable à la croissance d’espèces uniques au Canada. Les pavots bleus et les lis, privilégiés par Mme Reford, y fleurissent toujours et contribuent , avec d’autres plantes exotiques et indigènes, à l’harmonie de ces lieux.
Created by Elsie Reford between 1926 and 1958, these gardens are an inspired example of the English art of the garden. Woven into a natural setting, a series of gardens display perennials, trees and shrubs. A crab-apple orchard, a rock garden, and the Long Walk are also the legacy of this dedicated horticulturist. A microclimate favours the growth of species found nowhere else in Canada, while the stream and winding paths add to the charm. Elsie Reford’s beloved blue poppies and lilies still bloom and contribute, with other exotic and indigenous plants, to the harmony of the site.
Commission des lieux et monuments historiques du Canada
Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.
Gouvernement du Canada – Government of Canada
© Copyright
This photo and all those in my Photostream are protected by copyright. No one may reproduce, copy, transmit or manipulate them without my written permission.
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itsukushima_Shrine:
Itsukushima Shrine (厳島神社, Itsukushima-jinja) is a Shinto shrine on the island of Itsukushima (popularly known as Miyajima), best known for its "floating" torii. It is in the city of Hatsukaichi, in Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan, accessible from the mainland by ferry at Miyajimaguchi Station. The shrine complex is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Japanese government has designated several buildings and possessions as National Treasures.
The Itsukushima shrine is one of Japan's most popular tourist attractions. It is most famous for its dramatic gate, or torii on the outskirts of the shrine, the sacred peaks of Mount Misen, extensive forests, and its ocean view. The shrine complex itself consists of two main buildings: the Honsha shrine and the Sessha Marodo-jinja, as well as 17 other different buildings and structures that help to distinguish it.
The hotel at Portmeirion was originally the mansion of Aber Iâ and the site of the present village, together with its dramatic wooded setting, formed a small estate around the house. It was built c1850 and was described in 1861 as:` one of the most picturesque of all the summer residences to be found on the sea-coast of Wales.' The house and estate were bought by Sir Clough Williams-Ellis in 1925 and formed the focus of the Portmeirion village, conceived and designed by him between 1925 and his death in 1978. The newly restored hotel was opened in 1926, and included a new 3-storey wing added to the W, one of the first of CWE's designs to be executed on this site. In 1930 a new single-storey dining room addition was erected, with later additions of 1935. In June 1981 the hotel was tragically gutted by fire. Its subsequent restoration, however, has successfully recreated the hotel in the spirit of its pre-fire days; it reopened in 1988. Amongst the many of CWE's celebrated guests at the hotel and its associated village structures were Noel Coward, Kenneth Clark, George Bernard Shaw, Bertrand Russell and Frank Lloyd Wright.
Exterior
Victorian former country house, now a large hotel; of rendered rubble construction with slate roofs, fish-scale patterned to the primary part; this also has seven chimneys with grouped Gothic-style terracotta stacks. The original house is of 2-storeys and consists of a principal H-plan section with a subsidiary section of inverted F-plan adjoining to the SW; gables with projecting eaves and plain bargeboards. The main block has a 5-bay eastern (sea-facing) elevation, with bays 2 and 5 projecting as gabled crosswings. These have arched windows with plain 2-pane sashes to the first floor, each with moulded label; bay 2 has a square-headed similar sash with returned, moulded label, whilst bay 5 has a single-storey canted bay with arched, plain-glazed windows. The recessed third and fourth bays have labelled sashes to the upper floor and a large flat-roofed bow window to the ground floor, a C20 addition; this with tall 2-part windows. The recessed first bay, to the S, has a similar arched first floor sash with an entrance to the ground floor via a decorative iron porch with sloped metal canopy. The entrance elevation, facing N, is of 3 bays, with a canted single-storey porch to the right-hand bay. This has an arched entrance with plain glazed doors and segmental overlight; plain round-headed windows to the canted returns. Arched sash windows with labels to both floors; large mural by Hans Feibusch to the first floor, between bays 1 and 2 and below a flush lateral chimney. Adjoining to the S is a bowed, single-storey, flat-roofed restaurant addition with rectangular bay beyond; cross-windows throughout. The southern section of the hotel comprises two C20 4-storey additions, with rendered elevations and hipped slate roofs; the northern-most of the two is set back slightly. 12-pane sashes and 16-pane, 2-part casements under the eaves to the upper floor; all have external wooden slatted shutters. The southern elevation, facing the Observatory Tower, has a depressed arch to the exposed rubble ground floor and a multi-pane window to the first floor above with decorative wrought iron balcony; small-pane, 2-part casements with shutters to the second and third floors. Facing the sea immediately in front of the hotel (to the E) is a Victorian revetted terrace. This has turned balustrading and classical surmounting statuary.
Slowenien - Strunjan
Strunjan Nature Park is a protected gem of Slovenia's coastline, celebrated for its dramatic flysch cliffs, traditional salt pans, diverse wildlife, and lush landscapes shaped by both nature and human hands over centuries. It is a haven for nature enthusiasts and those seeking to explore the harmony between cultural heritage and natural beauty.
What makes Strunjan Nature Park special
Spectacular cliffs and coastal views: The park’s northern boundary features an 80-meter-high flysch cliff, offering breathtaking views over the Gulf of Trieste and the shimmering Adriatic Sea.
Traditional salt pans and lagoon: Strunjan’s still-operating salt pans and coastal lagoon are a living testament to traditional salt-making practices and provide habitats for many bird species.
Rich biodiversity: The park is home to a wide variety of plants and animals, making it an excellent spot for bird-watching and nature exploration.
(portoroz.si)
Der Landschaftspark Strunjan ist ein geschütztes Juwel der slowenischen Küste, bekannt für seine beeindruckenden Flyschklippen, traditionellen Salinen, vielfältige Tierwelt und üppige Landschaften, die im Laufe der Jahrhunderte von der Natur und vom Menschen geprägt wurden. Er ist ein Paradies für Naturliebhaber und all jene, die die Harmonie zwischen kulturellem Erbe und natürlicher Schönheit entdecken möchten.
Was macht den Landschaftspark Strunjan besonders?
Spektakuläre Klippen und Küstenausblicke: Die nördliche Grenze des Parks wird von einer 80 Meter hohen Flyschklippe geprägt, die atemberaubende Ausblicke auf den Golf von Triest und das schimmernde Adriatische Meer bietet.
Traditionelle Salinen und Lagune: Die noch immer aktiven Salinen und die Küstenlagune von Strunjan sind ein lebendiges Zeugnis traditioneller Salzgewinnungsmethoden und bieten Lebensräume für zahlreiche Vogelarten.
Reiche Biodiversität: Der Park beherbergt eine große Vielfalt an Pflanzen und Tieren, was ihn zu einem ausgezeichneten Ort für Vogelbeobachtungen und die Erkundung der Natur macht.
(portoroz.si)
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itsukushima_Shrine:
Itsukushima Shrine (厳島神社, Itsukushima-jinja) is a Shinto shrine on the island of Itsukushima (popularly known as Miyajima), best known for its "floating" torii. It is in the city of Hatsukaichi, in Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan, accessible from the mainland by ferry at Miyajimaguchi Station. The shrine complex is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Japanese government has designated several buildings and possessions as National Treasures.
The Itsukushima shrine is one of Japan's most popular tourist attractions. It is most famous for its dramatic gate, or torii on the outskirts of the shrine, the sacred peaks of Mount Misen, extensive forests, and its ocean view. The shrine complex itself consists of two main buildings: the Honsha shrine and the Sessha Marodo-jinja, as well as 17 other different buildings and structures that help to distinguish it.
Excerpt from itsukushimajinja.jp/en/route.html:
Honden (Main Hall): Features a ryonagare-zukuri roof (roof with extended curved eaves on both the front and the back), thatched with cypress bark.
Kamloops & Whisler, CANADÀ 2024
Mount Currie is the most imposing and recognizable natural landmark that dominates the landscape of the village of Pemberton and the surrounding valley in British Columbia.
Geography: Standing at 2,591 metres (8,501 feet), it is a spectacular alpine peak and part of the Pacific Ranges. Its dramatic presence and silhouette make it easily visible from most of the Pemberton Valley.
Indigenous Significance: The mountain holds deep cultural and ancestral meaning for the St'at'imc Nation (Lillooet), the Indigenous peoples of the region. Its traditional name is Ts'zil, and it forms part of their traditional territory.
Adventure: While the mountain is a technical challenge for climbers due to rocky conditions, it is a popular site for activities like paragliding (as the air currents around the mountain base are ideal) and strenuous hiking in the surrounding area.
Symbol: Mount Currie serves as a visual symbol and focal point for the identity of the Pemberton community.
Excerpt from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itsukushima_Shrine:
Itsukushima Shrine (厳島神社, Itsukushima-jinja) is a Shinto shrine on the island of Itsukushima (popularly known as Miyajima), best known for its "floating" torii. It is in the city of Hatsukaichi, in Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan, accessible from the mainland by ferry at Miyajimaguchi Station. The shrine complex is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Japanese government has designated several buildings and possessions as National Treasures.
The Itsukushima shrine is one of Japan's most popular tourist attractions. It is most famous for its dramatic gate, or torii on the outskirts of the shrine, the sacred peaks of Mount Misen, extensive forests, and its ocean view. The shrine complex itself consists of two main buildings: the Honsha shrine and the Sessha Marodo-jinja, as well as 17 other different buildings and structures that help to distinguish it.