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I made this from 22 exposures with the help of enfuse to minimize noise, maximize detail, and turn the crowd into ghosts (not really what I was going for). I also used Rawtherapee rather than Canon's software to work with the images. It allows for finer control and seems to maintain more detail.
I tried to minimize the stain across the middle. Actually it is probably where the fixitve bath had a bubble or somehow the print was not submerged completely. Old dark room experts will know.
A triple take: 3 simultaneous shots: Our granddaughter, JP and myself.
Our two granddaughters inside the Garden...
REFORD GARDENS | LES JARDINS DE METIS
Beautiful flowers at Reford Gardens.
Visit : www.refordgardens.com/
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MAKING CIRCLES IN THE WATER (2011)
Faire des ronds dans l'eau (2011)
Balmori Associates, New York, USA.
Visit: www.balmori.com
GROUNDED IN ECOLOGY
Balmori Associates is an international urban and landscape design firm founded by Diana Balmori. Balmori Associates is recognized across the globe for its creative interfacing of landscape and architecture and expanding the boundaries between nature and structure. As distinguished leaders in the field of urban design and the design of innovative public spaces Balmori Associates gives form to the processes of sustainability, producing ‘green infrastructures’ while revealing the constructed and natural operations of a site.
Balmori Associates strives to achieve the highest standards of environmental responsibility by rooting our work in two basic sustainable design principles: Low-Impact and Regenerative . Low-Impact to reduce potential detrimental effects of local and project-related construction, development or consumption and to minimize environmental impacts, while sustaining the health and resilience of ecological systems. Regenerative Design to integrate building systems within landscape for resource renewal and the restoration of constructed landscape.
Our diverse portfolio includes executed projects at all scales, and award-winning competitions and has garnered numerous awards for design excellence; and sustainability is a central concern in all our work. In 1998, Balmori Associates’ Master Plan won the international competition for the waterfront development of the Abandoibarra district of Bilbao, Spain. We provided design leadership on the greenroof at Silvercup Studios in Queens, New York, the largest scientifically monitored green roof in the United States. In the fall of 2012 Korean Prime Minister and several ministries moved from Seoul to Sejong, South Korea new multifunctional administrative city, a zero-waste urban plan designed by Balmori Associates. (Info from Balmori's website)
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LES JARDINS DE MÉTIS | REFORD GARDENS
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)
Visit : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsie_Reford
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Visit : www.refordgardens.com/
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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.
REFORD GARDENS | LES JARDINS DE MÉTIS
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
Visit : www.refordgardens.com/
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.
I added a filter in post-processing to this image, trying to minimize the really bad heat haze distortion that had given the photo a rather unpleasant bluriness. Never before had I seen The Famous Five from this angle, as I had never driven along this particular road. You can see the new coniferous trees that were recently planted along the fence line and within the field, added by the new landowners. I really hope that they let the row of granaries stay there.
In the morning of 25 September 2015, six of us were lucky enough to explore a tiny part of the land belonging to Frances and David Dover. For two of us (myself and our leader), this was our second visit - for the rest, it was a first time there. This photo was taken looking across the large pond on the Dovers' property.
I will copy and paste the description I posted on Flickr from our first visit to the Dover's acreage, on 7 August 2015 (to jog my own memory!):
"Yesterday, 7 August 2015, four of us were extremely fortunate to have the chance to visit the home and highly varied topographic 62-acre property belonging to Frances and David Dover. We felt honoured and privileged to meet and spend time with Frances and David, and also their daughter Carolyn and her husband Clair. A delightful family who welcomed us so warmly into their home and land.
This acreage of grassland, forest, rolling hills - and special gardens - is not far from Millarville, SW of Calgary. In fact, it's in an area that I often drive through when I only have time for, or only feel like doing, a short drive. Amazing what little gems exist out there.
This is not just a beautiful property, but is very special for various reasons. For one thing, read any history of Alberta and you will find the Dover family, including David's mother, Mary Dover. Second, among the trees and open "lawns", there are Peony flower beds, containing 100-150 heritage Peonies, each one different, that have now multiplied to more than 300 plants. Unfortunately, they bloomed a couple of weeks early this year, and all the flowers had gone to seed. Another open area had a different kind of ground cover - Thyme, which smelled wonderful. If I remember correctly, this was the open space where the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra performed on one occasion!
There are two large ponds on the property and another smaller area of water that they hope to turn into a Japanese Garden. It was while walking around the latter that a large brown 'shape' could be seen through the dense trees - a handsome Moose buck. I will look properly at the four or so photos I just managed to get and will slip one of them into my photostream sometime soon, just for the record, definitely not for the photo quality : ) This was also where a Great Horned Owl was seen flying through the trees by some of us (not me, ha!).
There are grassy paths winding through the acreage, up and down hill, that take David seven hours to mow. They are not pristine, velvety paths, but instead, they seem to take nothing away from the wildness of the whole area. One of the animals that have passed through is the Cougar. In fact, several years ago, I saw a video taken on a nearby (or adjacent?) property, where a 'kill' and night-time camera had been set up and a total of six different Cougar individuals were seen!
Even the Dover's home is unique and beautiful. It is completely built of concrete - floors, walls, ceilings, roof, deck, and so on. A Hummingbird feeder and regular bird feeders, set up on the patio, attract a variety of birds. We sat on the patio after our walk to eat our packed lunches - and to enjoy a delicious Orange Pound Cake that Frances had made for us, along with refreshing Iced Tea - thank you so much for this, Frances! Yesterday, while I was waiting for one of three tiny Calliope Hummingbirds to come back, I was lucky enough to see a little Mountain Chickadee, along with many Pine Siskins. We could also hear a Red-tailed Hawk in the area.
There is just so much I could write about this visit and family. Instead, or for now, I will add several links to more information on the Internet. This was a memorable day for us. Thank you so much, Frances and David, Carolyn and Clair, for being so kind and welcoming us into your home and gardens.
books.google.ca/books?id=Tr36Tq_gadcC&pg=PA290&lp...
www.westernwheel.com/article/20110727/WHE06/307279983/-1/...
David's mother, Mary Dover (her father was A. E. Cross), was "a dynamic and distinguished Calgarian, particularly known for her work with the military during World War II." As well as being an army officer, and an alderman, she was also a preservationist. See the following link.
www.albertachampions.org/champions-mary_dover.htm#.VcY1KP...
ww2.glenbow.org/search/archivesMainResults.aspx?XC=/searc...
glencoe.org/documents/10184/637479/The-History-of-Elbow-P... page 44-45 ."
After our visit to the Dover's on 25 September 2015, I decided to drive eastwards along a road that I'd never driven before, until I reached the main road going south. From there, it was a fairly short drive to the Saskatoon Farm. As usual, I wandered round the grounds with my camera and then, when I was ready to leave, I ordered a pizza to take home with me. The inside of the gift shop has recently been renovated and they now have a pizza oven and area. Or should I say, they "had", as the last time I called in, I was told that they no longer make the pizzas.
I don't usually take, or necessarily look for, minimalistic images. But when one practically jumps in your lap, like this one while boating off the coast of Australia, it would be sinful to ignore it.
Milkweed seeds after the rain. Our front yard milkweed plants, though dried and minimized, had just weathered 17 inches of snow. A few days later, a short warm spell quickly melted all the local snow, which culminated with a warm (for December in New England) rain that dewed up our surroundings. These stay-at-home milkweed seeds took it all in. Here are two seeds, all dewed up! Laowa 25mm at 2.5X.
-ever since i bought domo, he goes EVERYWHERE with me ^_^
-i've also minimized the amount of junk i carry 'round :D yay!
This is part of my pandemic project. The project was created to minimize the number of people that I would come into contact with and to help keep my sanity. The location is a local university. From what I can tell the vast majority of classes are being held online leaving the campus empty with the exception of a few nursing students and an occasional group of Frisbee golf players.
The project started when my wife and I used the campus to walk the dog in the evening. I began to notice the architecture and interesting light fixtures. I started to return and photograph and soon had a project.
The project is to examine the lights and architecture of the empty Campus at night.
Canon 6D
Trioplan 100mm f2.8
I created this image with my wide angle Fujinon XF 10-24 lens, but it minimized the size of this peak a little too much. So I simply cropped it during editing. Two Trees Trail, Riverside, CA
acrylic on canvas, 2016, 70 x 100 cm
“La manipulation des élites est encore plus facile que celle des masses.” [Jean Yanne]
Les dix stratégies de la manipulation par Noam Chomsky
www.breizh-info.com/2015/01/13/les-dix-strategies-de-la-m...
1/ La stratégie de la distraction
Élément primordial du contrôle social, la stratégie de la diversion consiste à détourner l’attention du public des problèmes importants et des mutations décidées par les élites politiques et économiques, grâce à un déluge continuel de distractions et d’informations insignifiantes. La stratégie de la diversion est également indispensable pour empêcher le public de s’intéresser aux connaissances essentielles, dans les domaines de la science, de l’économie, de la psychologie, de la neurobiologie, et de la cybernétique. « Garder l’attention du public distraite, loin des véritables problèmes sociaux, captivée par des sujets sans importance réelle. Garder le public occupé, occupé, occupé, sans aucun temps pour penser; de retour à la ferme avec les autres animaux. » Extrait de « Armes silencieuses pour guerres tranquilles »
2/ Créer des problèmes, puis offrir des solutions
Cette méthode est aussi appelée « problème-réaction-solution ». On crée d’abord un problème, une « situation » prévue pour susciter une certaine réaction du public, afin que celui-ci soit lui-même demandeur des mesures qu’on souhaite lui faire accepter. Par exemple: laisser se développer la violence urbaine, ou organiser des attentats sanglants, afin que le public soit demandeur de lois sécuritaires au détriment de la liberté. Ou encore : créer une crise économique pour faire accepter comme un mal nécessaire le recul des droits sociaux et le démantèlement des services publics.
3/ La stratégie de la dégradation
Pour faire accepter une mesure inacceptable, il suffit de l’appliquer progressivement, en « dégradé », sur une durée de 10 ans. C’est de cette façon que des conditions socio-économiques radicalement nouvelles (néolibéralisme) ont été imposées durant les années 1980 à 1990. Chômage massif, précarité, flexibilité, délocalisations, salaires n’assurant plus un revenu décent, autant de changements qui auraient provoqué une révolution s’ils avaient été appliqués brutalement.
4/ La stratégie du différé
Une autre façon de faire accepter une décision impopulaire est de la présenter comme « douloureuse mais nécessaire », en obtenant l’accord du public dans le présent pour une application dans le futur. Il est toujours plus facile d’accepter un sacrifice futur qu’un sacrifice immédiat. D’abord parce que l’effort n’est pas à fournir tout de suite. Ensuite parce que le public a toujours tendance à espérer naïvement que « tout ira mieux demain » et que le sacrifice demandé pourra être évité. Enfin, cela laisse du temps au public pour s’habituer à l’idée du changement et l’accepter avec résignation lorsque le moment sera venu.
5/ S’adresser au public comme à des enfants en bas-âge
La plupart des publicités destinées au grand-public utilisent un discours, des arguments, des personnages, et un ton particulièrement infantilisants, souvent proche du débilitant, comme si le spectateur était un enfant en bas-âge ou un handicapé mental. Plus on cherchera à tromper le spectateur, plus on adoptera un ton infantilisant. Pourquoi ? «Si on s’adresse à une personne comme si elle était âgée de 12 ans, alors, en raison de la suggestibilité, elle aura, avec une certaine probabilité, une réponse ou une réaction aussi dénuée de sens critique que celle d’une personne de 12 ans». Extrait de «Armes silencieuses pour guerres tranquilles»
6/ Faire appel à l’émotionnel plutôt qu’à la réflexion
Faire appel à l’émotionnel est une technique classique pour court-circuiter l’analyse rationnelle, et donc le sens critique des individus. De plus, l’utilisation du registre émotionnel permet d’ouvrir la porte d’accès à l’inconscient pour y implanter des idées, des désirs, des peurs, des pulsions, ou des comportements…
7/ Maintenir le public dans l’ignorance et la bêtise
Faire en sorte que le public soit incapable de comprendre les technologies et les méthodes utilisées pour son contrôle et son esclavage. « La qualité de l’éducation donnée aux classes inférieures doit être la plus pauvre, de telle sorte que le fossé de l’ignorance qui isole les classes inférieures des classes supérieures soit et demeure incompréhensible par les classes inférieures. Extrait de « Armes silencieuses pour guerres tranquilles »
8/ Encourager le public à se complaire dans la médiocrité
Encourager le public à trouver « cool » le fait d’être bête, vulgaire, et inculte…
9/ Remplacer la révolte par la culpabilité
Faire croire à l’individu qu’il est seul responsable de son malheur, à cause de l’insuffisance de son intelligence, de ses capacités, ou de ses efforts. Ainsi, au lieu de se révolter contre le système économique, l’individu s’auto-dévalue et culpabilise, ce qui engendre un état dépressif dont l’un des effets est l’inhibition de l’action. Et sa Et sans action, pas de révolution!…
10/ Connaître les individus mieux qu’ils ne se connaissent eux-mêmes
Au cours des 50 dernières années, les progrès fulgurants de la science ont creusé un fossé croissant entre les connaissances du public et celles détenues et utilisées par les élites dirigeantes. Grâce à la biologie, la neurobiologie, et la psychologie appliquée, le « système » est parvenu à une connaissance avancée de l’être humain, à la fois physiquement et psychologiquement. Le système en est arrivé à mieux connaître l’individu moyen que celui-ci ne se connaît lui-même. Cela signifie que dans la majorité des cas, le système détient un plus grand contrôle et un plus grand pouvoir sur les individus que les individus eux-mêmes.
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1-The strategy of distraction
The primordial element of social control is the distraction strategy which consists of diverting the public's attention from major problems and the changes decided by political and economic elites, through the flooding technique or flooding continuous distractions and insignificant information.
Distraction strategy is also essential to prevent the public from becoming interested in essential knowledge in the area of science, economics, psychology, neurobiology and cybernetics. Keeping the audience's attention deviated from real social problems, imprisoned by themes without real importance.
Keeping the public busy, busy, busy, with no time to think, back to the farm like other animals (quoted in the text ′′ Silent weapons for quiet wars ′′).
2-Creating problems and then offering the solutions.
This method is also called a ′′ problem-reaction-solution ". It creates a problem, a ′′ situation ′′ planned to cause a certain reaction from the public, with the aim that this is the source of the measures they want to accept. For example: letting urban violence intensify or intensify, or organize bloody attacks, with the aim of the public being those requiring security laws and policies to the detriment of freedom. Also: create an economic crisis to make social rights demotion and dismantle public services accept as a necessary evil.
3-The Strategy of Graduation.
To make an unacceptable measure accepted, you only need to apply it gradually, to dropper, for consecutive years. This is how radically new socioeconomic conditions (neoliberism) were imposed during the decades of the 80 s and 90 s: minimum state, privatisation, precariousness, flexibility, mass unemployment, wages that no longer guarantee dignified incomes , so many changes that would have brought about a revolution if they were implemented at once.
4-The Strategy of Deferring.
Another way to get an unpopular decision accepted is to present it as ′′ painful and necessary ", gaining public acceptance, in the moment, for future application. It is easier to accept a future sacrifice than an immediate sacrifice. First, because effort isn't that taken immediately. Second, because the public, the mass, always tends to naively hope that ′′ everything will be better tomorrow ′′ and that the required sacrifice could be avoided. This gives the audience more time to get used to the idea of change and accept it resigned when the time comes.
5-Reach to the public like children.
Most advertisements directed at the large audience use speeches, arguments, characters and a particularly childish intonation, many times close to weakness, as if the viewer was a few years old creature or a mental moron. When you try to deceive the viewer the more you tend to use a childish tone. Why? Why? ′′ If someone addresses a person as if they are 12 or under, then based on suggestionability, they will probably tend to a response or reaction even without a critical sense like that of a 12 person. years or less ′′ (see ′′ Silent Weapons for quiet wars ′′).
6-Using emotional aspect much more than reflection.
Take advantage of emotion it's a classic technique to provoke a short circuit on a rational analysis and finally the critical sense of the individual. Additionally, the use of emotional register allows the unconscious access door to implant or inject ideas, desires, fears and fears, compulsions, or induce behaviors.
7-Keeping the public in ignorance and mediocrity.
Making the public incapable of understanding the technologies and methods used for their control and slavery.
′′ The quality of education given to lower social classes must be as poor and mediocre as possible, so that the distance of ignorance that plans between lower classes and upper classes is and remains impossible to fill from the lower classes ".
8-Stimulating the public to be complacent with mediocrity.
Pushing the audience to think it's fashionable to be stupid, vulgar and ignorant...
9-Strengthening self-guilt.
Making the individual believe that he is only the culprit of his disgrace, because of his insufficient intelligence, skills or efforts. So, instead of rebelling against the economic system, the individual devalues himself and blames himself, which in turn creates a depressive state, one of whose effects is the inhibition of his action. And without action there is no revolution!
10-Knowing individuals better than they know themselves.
Over the past 50 years, science's rapid progress has generated a growing gap between public knowledge and those possessed and used by dominant elites. Thanks to biology, neurobiology, and applied psychology, the ′′ system ′′ has enjoyed advanced knowledge of the human being, both in its physical and psychological form. The system has managed to learn better about the common individual than he knows himself. This means that, in most cases, the system exercises greater control and greater power over individuals, greater than that which the same individual exercises over himself.
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Jan Theuninck is a Belgian painter
www.boekgrrls.nl/BgDiversen/Onderwerpen/gedichten_over_sc...
www.forumeerstewereldoorlog.be/wiki/index.php/Yperite-Jan...
www.graphiste-webdesigner.fr/blog/2013/04/la-peinture-bel...
The entire wing assemblies are ever so slightly inclined inwards.
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It's been, what...three, four years since my last proper MOC? Well, now that I know I'll be renting the same room for the rest of my time at university, I moved a good chunk of my collection in with me and went on a Bricklink spree.
Then I had a quick conversation with EB member LilMeFromDaFuture, (www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=112692&s...) and he was looking into different combinations of slopes to minimize the stepped effect of SNOT wings. Well, if you really want to get rid of that stepped edge, you flip the entire thing around and put the flat edge on the outside, right? So I did that.
As usual, reference material is Toromodel:
www.flickr.com/photos/toromodel/albums/72157620639122395
And the venerable Starship Modeler:
www.starshipmodeler.com/starwars/smith_sw.htm
And you can still see some of the influence of Larry Lars's speeder, especially in the canopy.
So named because Satan himself must have planted that tree that makes it basically impossible to get an unobstructed shot? My attempt to get as far to the right as possible minimizes the tree, but also kind of minimizes the falls.
A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. The two surviving species of camel are the dromedary, or one-humped camel (C. dromedarius), which inhabits the Middle East and the Horn of Africa; and the Bactrian, or two-humped camel (C. bactrianus), which inhabits Central Asia. Both species have been domesticated; they provide milk, meat, hair for textiles or goods such as felted pouches, and are working animals with tasks ranging from human transport to bearing loads.
The term camel is derived via Latin and Greek (camelus and κάμηλος kamēlos respectively) from Hebrew or Phoeniciangāmāl.
"Camel" is also used more broadly to describe any of the six camel-like mammals in the family Camelidae: the two true camels and the four New World camelids: the llama, alpaca, guanaco, and vicuña of South America.
Biology
The average life expectancy of a camel is 40 to 50 years.A full-grown adult camel stands 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) at the shoulder and 2.15 m (7 ft 1 in) at the hump. Camels can run at up to 65 km/h (40 mph) in short bursts and sustain speeds of up to 40 km/h (25 mph). Bactrian camels weigh 300 to 1,000 kg (660 to 2,200 lb) and dromedaries 300 to 600 kg (660 to 1,320 lb).
The male dromedary camel has in its throat an organ called a dulla, a large, inflatable sac he extrudes from his mouth when in rut to assert dominance and attract females. It resembles a long, swollen, pink tongue hanging out of the side of its mouth.[ Camels mate by having both male and female sitting on the ground, with the male mounting from behind.The male usually ejaculates three or four times within a single mating session. Camelids are the only ungulates to mate in a sitting position.
Ecological and behavioral adaptations
Camels do not directly store water in their humps as was once commonly believed. The humps are actually reservoirs of fatty tissue: concentrating body fat in their humps minimizes the insulating effect fat would have if distributed over the rest of their bodies, helping camels survive in hot climates. When this tissue is metabolized, it yields more than one gram of water for every gram of fat processed. This fat metabolization, while releasing energy, causes water to evaporate from the lungs during respiration (as oxygen is required for the metabolic process): overall, there is a net decrease in water.
Camels have a series of physiological adaptations that allow them to withstand long periods of time without any external source of water. Unlike other mammals, their red blood cells are oval rather than circular in shape. This facilitates the flow of red blood cells during dehydration and makes them better at withstanding high osmotic variation without rupturing when drinking large amounts of water: a 600 kg (1,300 lb) camel can drink 200 L (53 US gal) of water in three minutes.
Camels are able to withstand changes in body temperature and water consumption that would kill most other animals. Their temperature ranges from 34 °C (93 °F) at dawn and steadily increases to 40 °C (104 °F) by sunset, before they cool off at night again.] Maintaining the brain temperature within certain limits is critical for animals; to assist this, camels have a rete mirabile, a complex of arteries and veins lying very close to each other which utilizes countercurrent blood flow to cool blood flowing to the brain. Camels rarely sweat, even when ambient temperatures reach 49 °C (120 °F). Any sweat that does occur evaporates at the skin level rather than at the surface of their coat; the heat of vaporization therefore comes from body heat rather than ambient heat. Camels can withstand losing 25% of their body weight to sweating, whereas most other mammals can withstand only about 12–14% dehydration before cardiac failure results from circulatory disturbance.
When the camel exhales, water vapor becomes trapped in their nostrils and is reabsorbed into the body as a means to conserve water.Camels eating green herbage can ingest sufficient moisture in milder conditions to maintain their bodies' hydrated state without the need for drinking.
Camels' immune system differs from those of other mammals. Normally, the Y-shaped antibody molecules consist of two heavy (or long) chains along the length of the Y, and two light (or short) chains at each tip of the Y. Camels, in addition to these, also have antibodies made of only two heavy chains, a trait that makes them smaller and more durable. These "heavy-chain-only" antibodies, discovered in 1993, are thought to have developed 50 million years ago, after camelids split from ruminants and pigs.The kidneys and intestines of a camel are very efficient at reabsorbing water. Camel urine comes out as a thick syrup, and camel feces are so dry that they do not require drying when the Bedouins use them to fuel fires.
more candids here
www.flickr.com/photos/23502939@N02/albums/72157622769131641
More Morocco here
A mother and cubs look for seafood along the shores of Glendale Cove, British Columbia. This is another capture from my Tide Rip Tour outings. All these bear shots were taken off a boat specially designed for bear viewing. I like Tide Rip because they are very conscious of minimizing any disturbance to the bears. They float the boat towards the bears with no motor, and stay a very safe distance (around 100m I think) from them. They do not allow eating on the boat, no perfumes or noise of any kind. This is also a very safe way for the bear-watchers to view these amazing animals.
© Mark K. Daly - All Rights Reserved Worldwide In Perpetuity - No Unauthorized Use. Absolutely no permission is granted in any form, fashion or way, digital or otherwise, to use my Flickr images on blogs, personal or professional websites or any other media form without my direct written permission.
Griffon vultures have been used as model organisms for the study of soaring and thermoregulation. The energy costs of level flight tend to be high, prompting alternatives to flapping in larger birds. Vultures in particular utilize more efficient flying methods such as soaring. Compared to other birds, which elevate their metabolic rate to upwards of 16 times their basal metabolic rate in flight, soaring griffon vultures expend about 1.43 times their basal metabolic rate in flight. Griffon vultures are also efficient flyers in their ability to return to a resting heart rate after flight within ten minutes.
As large scavengers, griffon vultures have not been observed to seek shelter for thermoregulation. Vultures use their bald heads as a means to thermoregulate in both extreme cold and hot temperatures. Changes in posture can increase bare skin exposure from 7% to 32%. This change allows for the more than doubling of convective heat loss in still air. Griffon vultures have also been found to tolerate increased body temperatures as a response to high ambient temperatures. By allowing their internal body temperature to change independently of their metabolic rate, griffon vultures minimize their loss of water and energy in thermoregulating. One study in particular (Bahat 1995) found that these adaptations have allowed the Griffon vulture to have one of the widest thermal neutral zones of any bird.
It declined markedly throughout the 19th–20th centuries in much of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, mainly due to direct persecution and "bycatch" from the poisoned carcasses set for livestock predators (Snow and Perrins 1998, Ferguson-Lees and Christie 2001, Orta et al. 2015). In some areas a reduction in available food supplies, arising from changes in livestock management practices, also had an impact (Ferguson-Lees and Christie 2001, Orta et al. 2015). It is very highly vulnerable to the effects of potential wind energy development (Strix 2012) and electrocution has been identified as a threat (Global Raptors Information Network 2015). Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) used for veterinary purposes pose a threat to this species. One case of suspected poisoning caused by flunixin, an NSAID, was recorded in this species in 2012 in Spain (Zorrilla et al. 2015). Diclofenac, a similar NSAID, has caused severe declines in Gyps vulture species across Asia.
I've spent the past few months figuring out how to scale down many of the things i don't need and keeping my home office very minimal. That included ditching the large 30" apple cinema display (it blocked my view out the windows!) and going back to a simple laptop with two headless servers (on old G5 osx server pictured, and one ubuntu dual core 2.8ghz hp proliant server hidden behind the desk)
I've hidden my speakers behind the desk and stream via an airport express station to minimize cord plugins. The two cables visible below the desk have been hidden (ethernet for the osx server and some other cable) didn't see them in the photo til it was too late.
I've purchased an all-in-one scanner/printer that fits comfortably in the sliding glass door cabinet for easy access.
My old and faithful aeron chair finally made it's return home from vermont. Thank you for the gift adam, it's lasted me years!
For white board drawings, i use dry erase markers on the glass windows. I make sure i don't write any sensitive data on them as they're clearly visible from the street :)
This provides maximum desk space to work with while not being distracted. i work from home occasionally (i'm a senior linux systems engineer for mtv networks/viacom) so i wanted someplace enjoyable to work without losing focus on my tasks.
I didn't have any stones to put in the vase for the flower, so i ended up using all the silver change i could find. This works great because it looks interesting, but also makes it easy to ditch extra pocket change into it conveniently. No pennies allowed!
Pre-cleaning: www.flickr.com/photos/mkosut/2583927058/in/set-7215759430...
It's been, what...three, four years since my last proper MOC? Well, now that I know I'll be renting the same room for the rest of my time at university, I moved a good chunk of my collection in with me and went on a Bricklink spree.
Then I had a quick conversation with EB member LilMeFromDaFuture, (www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=112692&s...) and he was looking into different combinations of slopes to minimize the stepped effect of SNOT wings. Well, if you really want to get rid of that stepped edge, you flip the entire thing around and put the flat edge on the outside, right? So I did that.
As usual, reference material is Toromodel:
www.flickr.com/photos/toromodel/albums/72157620639122395
And the venerable Starship Modeler:
www.starshipmodeler.com/starwars/smith_sw.htm
And you can still see some of the influence of Larry Lars's speeder, especially in the canopy.
An 'eat your heart out' cluster of Large Yellow Lady's Slippers (Cypripedium parviflorum var pubescens). It is important to be aware of the ecological sensitivity of the location. I stay on the trails and minimize my impact on the environment at all times. I practice wildflower-friendly photo techniques only, to prevent damage to flowers and their habitat. Copyright © Kim Toews/All Rights Reserved.
We need body rockin’ not perfection
Let me get some action from the back section
Body movin’ body movin’
A1 sound in the town so soothing
Body movin’ body movin’
We be getting down and you know we’re crush groovin’
(Beastie Boys)
I’m walking, I’m falling. Centripetal force keeps this surfer on this board at this ridiculous angle. Centripetal force is the ”center-finding force” that drives the car through the turn (the driver thinks he is driving…ha). Center-finding force. I like that. Bodies at rest tend to stay at rest and bodies in motion (love that phrase) tend to stay in motion, which is why speed counts. To make changes, to turn in my life, I need a critical speed to stay moving, and it turns out that speed is any speed, as long as it is not none. Make a move, turn, walking, falling. The trust in walking is that the earth will once again show up to minimize the fall–it does not always turn out that way, but the alternative is to sit on my ass and do nothing and never get the feeling of floating above the ground, step by step, and definitely never get the feeling of finding my center as I whip through a moving wall of water. Body moving.
It was harder for me to shoot toward land in the helicopter going back from Post Ranch, but I did my best to minimize reflections.
Taken on 1/21/2023 under excellent skies. This is my first image processed using the BlurXTerminator add-on tool in PixInsight. It does a great job of bringing out DSO detail and minimizing stars and star bloat. This little module comes in super handy when dealing with a faint galaxy like this. Love the result, and this is my best M33 image yet.
Spiral galaxy M33 is located in the triangle-shaped constellation Triangulum, earning it the nickname the Triangulum galaxy. About half the size of our Milky Way galaxy, M33 is the third-largest member of our Local Group of galaxies following the Andromeda galaxy (M31) and the Milky Way. The galaxy lies about
2.7 million light years away.
Image Details:
- Imaging Scope: William Optics 61mm ZenithStar APO
- Imaging Camera: ZWO ASI183MC Color with IR Cut filter
- Guiding Scope: William Optics 31mm Uniguide
- Guiding Camera: Orion Starshoot Auto Guider
- Acquisition Software: Sharpcap
- Guiding Software: PHD2
- Light Frames: 25*4 mins @ 50 Gain, Temp -10C
- Dark Frames: 25*4 mins
- Stacked in Deep Sky Stacker
- Processed in PixInsight, Adobe Lightroom and Topaz Denoise
. Singapore Chinese Garden, : Location Yuan Ching Road
Canon EOS 5D Mark2
Canon 24-105 F4L @24mm.
.
Please Click Auto Slide show for ultimate viewing pleasure in Super Large Display .to enjoy my photostream . ..
Due to copyright issue, I cannot afford to offer any free image request. Pls kindly consult my sole permission to purchase n use any of my images.You can email me at : men4r@yahoo.com.
Just to share some fast technical facts. I really love Photoshop CS5 as compare to my previous software. It make life much easier n swift to complete task instantly with fuller details n subtle control of colors. The ultimate end result had handsomely reward me with contention n satisfaction. The hour n effort put in had also tremendously minimize to allow for other great purpose in life, like admiring other photographers works as well. For all serious photographers to be..., Life is significantly much wonderful to unlease photoshop potential capability soon from a scratch start for those seriously interested in photo rendering business n assessment work.
Shame on me to have indulge 3 sentimental years hands on managing such inferior software, Photoimpact X3 with toil n pain end production result. Now, with comparison, I enjoy n witness the total evolve of my work flow been resurrect with life n satisfaction end production. Kudos to photoshop software.
Thanks for viewing!!!!
Don't use this image on Websites/Blog or any other media
without my explicit permission. © All rights reserved
Female Marl Pennant in the obelisk posture. Some dragonflies do this to minimize the surface area they expose to the sun. When the temperature gets too high, one of these dragonflies will lift her abdomen so that it's pointing directly toward the sun. Other species go the other way and point it groundward.
I'm happy to announce that I had a good show. Now I'll start getting ready for the next one on the 24th.
This is my first 'organized' Milky Way shot, meaning that i knew when & where it was going to be view-able. The rainbow is a lens flaw by-product of a strong light source on the lower right, which is cropped out of the picture.
From a very good timelapse video: vimeo.com/170495270
The Outer Banks is in general a 'dark' area, the middle of Rodanthe village is probably not the darkest spot, though.
The Rokinon 14mm f2.8 lens is totally manual, very sharp, but distorts a lot so that i usually use a lens profile to try & minimize the distortion effects.
That is myself on the lower left lighting up the Rodanthe pier with a 'long throw' flashlight.
Milky Way photo obsession is not good for sleeping.
#L6281-Edit-2-16x9
A simple mission. Liberate the small farming collective from the soviet communists, minimize damage to the crop and equipment, and wait for reinforcements from the 14th Grenadier Division. The Reds didn't even put up a fight, there was no more than thirty of them waiting we dispatched them fast enough with no casualties. The people in town seemed indifferent to us. During our search of the town, the sun began to set. Curious, it was only noon and the sergeant hadn't come back from town hall yet. A blood moon started to rise over the fields, illuminating the the entire complex with a deep red hue. Light reflected off the tractors, shadows were cast in ways that didn't make sense. Some stretching up walls, some looping into themselves, some didn't exist at all. Those were the one's we should've paid attention to. An MG42 ripped into the darkness engulfing the opposite side of the street, panicked men opened fire, but when the shooting stopped the only thing we found where the bodies of the machine gun team. Broken, shattered, looks of terror frozen on their faces, blood and brass mixing in the dirt next to them. Without warning, I watched something appear out of the shadow and turn Jörg into two clean section at the waist. Someone threw a grenade and Karl dissipated in the explosion, his blood splattering my face. Men we're being torn apart around me I ran. I ran back towards town, to escape, to get my sanity back, to live. Doors were shuttered, windows covered, nobody would answer my cries for help. Basking in the glow of that blood moon I felt a chill run through my body. The gunfire by the warehouses had stopped. A rifle shot to my left, maybe someone from the division, maybe the sergeant, he'd know what to do. It was the only thought I could cling to as I made my way over. The town hall was close, I could see floodlights illuminating the streets, fighting back the shadows, a ring of safety. I wept at the sight, relief flooded my body. A flash illuminated the second story balcony, a rip tore through the air, the rounds stitched their way across my body, and I still felt nothing but relief. That wherever I would go next is free of the terror of Cultivation Area 03.
13-10-1942
Report: Book of Veles recovered. Division losses ninety-nine percent. Acceptable results. Operation Winter Storm can commence within 48 hours.
~Life update: I won't be at BFVA, and my debit card got hacked so anyone that bought stuff from me I can't ship until I have access to my money again sometime within the next 5-7 days (unless the USPS and the bank totally fuck me again) will throw in some freebies to make up for it
Graffitiwear - Maiteya, Petite, Freya, Hourglass, Tonic Curvy, Tonic Fine, Tonic Minimizer, outfit, jacket, skirt, top, bra, rigged mesh, fitmesh, fitted mesh, HUD, Fatpack
marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Graffitiwear-Girly-Girl-DEMO...
It is -22C in Toronto and the locals are doing their best to minimize time outdoors. A nook in the lobby of a shopping center is a pretty good place to spend a bit of screen time out of the cold.
Bavaria, Germany (Photo taken from a moving train. Photo edited to minimize the reflective light effects on portions of this photo)
The area that was to become West Palm Beach was settled in the late 1870s and 1880s by a few hundred settlers who called the vicinity "Lake Worth Country." These settlers were a diverse community from different parts of the United States and the world. They included founding families such at the Potters and the Lainharts, who would go on to become leading members of the business community in the fledgling city. The first white settlers in Palm Beach County lived around Lake Worth, then an enclosed freshwater lake, named for Colonel William Jenkins Worth, who had fought in the Second Seminole War in Florida in 1842. Most settlers engaged in the growing of tropical fruits and vegetables for shipment the north via Lake Worth and the Indian River. By 1890, the U.S. Census counted over 200 people settled along Lake Worth in the vicinity of what would become West Palm Beach. The area at this time also boasted a hotel, the "Cocoanut House", a church, and a post office. The city was platted by Henry Flagler as a community to house the servants working in the two grand hotels on the neighboring island of Palm Beach, across Lake Worth in 1893, coinciding with the arrival of the Florida East Coast railroad. Flagler paid two area settlers, Captain Porter and Louie Hillhouse, a combined sum of $45,000 for the original town site, stretching from Clear Lake to Lake Worth.
On November 5, 1894, 78 people met at the "Calaboose" (the first jail and police station located at Clematis St. and Poinsettia, now Dixie Hwy.) and passed the motion to incorporate the Town of West Palm Beach in what was then Dade County (now Miami-Dade County). This made West Palm Beach the first incorporated municipality in Dade County and in South Florida. The town council quickly addressed the building codes and the tents and shanties were replaced by brick, brick veneer, and stone buildings. The city grew steadily during the 1890s and the first two decades of the 20th century, most residents were engaged in the tourist industry and related services or winter vegetable market and tropical fruit trade. In 1909, Palm Beach County was formed by the Florida State Legislature and West Palm Beach became the county seat. In 1916, a new neo-classical courthouse was opened, which has been painstakingly restored back to its original condition, and is now used as the local history museum.
The city grew rapidly in the 1920s as part of the Florida land boom. The population of West Palm Beach quadrupled from 1920 to 1927, and all kinds of businesses and public services grew along with it. Many of the city's landmark structures and preserved neighborhoods were constructed during this period. Originally, Flagler intended for his Florida East Coast Railway to have its terminus in West Palm, but after the area experienced a deep freeze, he chose to extend the railroad to Miami instead.
The land boom was already faltering when city was devastated by the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane. The Depression years of the 1930s were a quiet time for the area, which saw slight population growth and property values lower than during the 1920s. The city only recovered with the onset of World War II, which saw the construction of Palm Beach Air Force Base, which brought thousands of military personnel to the city. The base was vital to the allied war effort, as it provided an excellent training facility and had unparalleled access to North Africa for a North American city. Also during World War II, German U-Boats sank dozens of merchant ships and oil tankers just off the coast of West Palm Beach. Nearby Palm Beach was under black out conditions to minimize night visibility to German U-boats.
The 1950s saw another boom in population, partly due to the return of many soldiers and airmen who had served in the vicinity during the war. Also, the advent of air conditioning encouraged growth, as year-round living in a tropical climate became more acceptable to northerners. West Palm Beach became the one of the nation's fastest growing metropolitan areas during the 1950s; the city's borders spread west of Military Trail and south to Lake Clarke Shores. However, many of the city's residents still lived within a narrow six-block wide strip from the south to north end. The neighborhoods were strictly segregated between White and African-American populations, a legacy that the city still struggles with today. The primary shopping district remained downtown, centered around Clematis Street.
In the 1960s, Palm Beach County's first enclosed shopping mall, the Palm Beach Mall, and an indoor arena were completed. These projects led to a brief revival for the city, but in the 1970s and 1980s crime continued to be a serious issue and suburban sprawl continued to drain resources and business away from the old downtown area. By the early 1990s there were very high vacancy rates downtown, and serious levels of urban blight.
Since the 1990s, developments such as CityPlace and the preservation and renovation of 1920s architecture in the nightlife hub of Clematis Street have seen a downtown resurgence in the entertainment and shopping district. The city has also placed emphasis on neighborhood development and revitalization, in historic districts such as Northwood, Flamingo Park, and El Cid. Some neighborhoods still struggle with blight and crime, as well as lowered property values caused by the Great Recession, which hit the region particularly hard. Since the recovery, multiple new developments have been completed. The Palm Beach Mall, located at the Interstate 95/Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard interchange became abandoned as downtown revitalized - the very mall that initiated the original abandonment of the downtown. The mall was then redeveloped into the Palm Beach Fashion Outlets in February 2014. A station for All Aboard Florida, a high speed passenger rail service serving Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Orlando, is under construction as of July 2015.
Credit for the data above is given to the following website:
8/20/16 Update!! I just found out that this image won he Best Digiscoped Image category of the Bird Photographer of the Year Contest!
A recent incident reminded me of this sweet little owl, and I edited another photo of him last night. My time with him taught me a valuable life lesson. tucsonaudubon.blogspot.com/2014/10/minimizing-birder-dist...
Digiscoped using manual focus and only natural light. ISO 320, 1/60sec
Background: Grand Teton from my 2023 trip.
Model: www.deviantart.com/faestock/art/Dusk-5-394373570
Traditional Photoshop Manipulation, no AI.
When I go on trips, I usually take a few blank background photos just so I can add a model in afterwards.
Have a great day dear friends!
Looks better in Large. Hit F11 and then the "L" key or click on
the photo.
Copy Rights Reserved!
UP 8730 North slows to a stop at the south end of Barr so that the conductor can climb down and line the hand throw switch for the siding. I was surprised that the southbound grain train crew hadn't already lined these guys into the siding to minimize the delay for motorists at the Route 29 crossing in the background. Traffic was backed up for about a mile in both directions by the time this northbounder finally cleared the crossing. The Friday night biker gangs were not amused.
UP 8730
UP 5740
UP 2668
We minimize our joy when we neglect the daily worship of God in private. It is one of the great blessings of life that God does not limit our access to Him and enjoyment of His presence to one day per week! Daily strength, guidance, and encouragement are available to us. An invitation to grow in intimacy with Jesus Christ Himself is open every day. Think of it: The Lord Jesus Christ is willing to meet with you privately for as long as you want, and He is willing- even eager- to meet with you every day! (Don Whitney)
I've been totally smitten with bighorn sheep lately ... specifically desert bighorn sheep. They are a somewhat smaller subspecies of bighorns and they roam freely upon the nearby Colorado National Monument. It's never a sure thing to find them while visiting, but we've been quite lucky so far. Sometimes it's one or two ... sometimes it's a harem with a ram ... or sometimes it's a ewe and her lamb. One thing it always is though is an enjoyable encounter.
Many of you know that I have a thing for the eyes of an animal, especially fox, but honestly closely behind is that of the sheep. I'm mesmerized by their stare, generally coupled with its motionless movement other than its continued chewing. It's like a staring contest ... and they normally win. LOL
When I run into them on the Monument, I often wonder if I'm seeing new ones or if it's the same ones every now and then. Like other wildlife, I try to take stock in identifiable features to assist me. Studying wildlife is fascinating and I never tire of it, however, I also try to read their body language to try to minimize the impact of my presence with them as much as possible. But I do know one thing ... I think we'll be seeing a lot of one another as the time goes on ... and I'm looking forward to their next generation. :-)
I trust that everyone had a wonderful Christmas ... we sure did. Thanks for stopping by to view.
© 2017 Debbie Tubridy / TNWA Photography
Looking down Bronte Creek to Lake Ontario in Oakville, Ontario
Lens: Rokinon (Samyang) 7.5 mm f3.5 fisheye, used at f5.6
Fisheye effects were minimized by using the horizontal and vertical levels in the camera, placing the horizon in the middle then cropping the uninteresting foreground.
I continue my recent investigation of the old railroad grade cut with aspirations of reaching Lefthand Canyon, Jamestown and the western slope of the Rockies. Ah dreams of vast wealth. Realistically, miners opted for mills as close as possible to the mines in order to minimize the costs of (rail) transportation. Processed ore is far less a load than raw ore. I am posting the best captures of the traces I found. It is reasonably visible here on the trail north. This footpath follows the grade, as if trekkers know what are actually following. The path seems to follow the grade all the way to the former Beech Aircraft plant on Google maps. There, they built the Apollo fuel tanks. The B,LH&MP (also seen as B,LH,JT&MP) grade dropped from the northern Boulder bluff behind me where it was slowly gaining altitude from the south. Here, I wandered the footpath north until I found another revealing view. The trail along the route cuts across the foot hills dropping from the hogback and north toward Lefthand Canyon. Early on, Boulder and Longmont graded routes up Lefthand and thence James Canyon to the booming camp of Jamestown. Traces show most of the way into the mouth of the canyon. Longmont was an agricultural community while Boulder had rail access to mountain mining communities and may have had ore mills and smelters. Boulder would have been the more reasonable narrow gauge route to the booming Jamestown mining camp.
The old grade of the Boulder, Left Hand & Middle Park (officially, The Boulder, Leftland, Jamestown and Middle Park RR and Telegraph company, whew) can be seen much if the way from north Boulder, along #36 on the foothills to the west of the highway north from Boulder, Colorado to where it turns into Lefthand Canyon near the Greenbriar Restaurant. I spotted traces into the canyon for a short stretch. Obviously, they fell far short of their goal of Jamestown let alone Middle Park, Colorado which would have entailed an impossible crossing of the Continental Divide. And it fell short of its goal of Jamestown (and/or Ward), Colorado. The lower canyon pinches tightly below the confluence. It did achieve the Left Hand River Valley and through the very best of fortunes retained, rails were never laid on the grade. The canyons uphill from Jamestown are a choice of bad and a much worse grades. They lost just a fraction of the investment they easily could have.
Fatal Fashion - Outfit 290
Street girl outfit super cute!!!
::FF:: Earring Bow Silver L & R
::FF:: High Tennis White
::FF:: Necklace Heart and Balls Silver
::FF:: Shorts Nance
::FF:: Sleeve Nance
::FF:: Top Nance
This outfit is for the bodies
- ALTAMURA
- eBODY CURVY
- FREYA
- HOURGLASS
- KUPRA BIMBO
- KUPRA LOW
- KUPRA ORIGINAL
- LEGACY
- LEGACY PERKY
- MAITREYA
- MAITREYA PETITE
- TONIC CURVY
- TONIC FINE
- TONIC MINIMIZER
Store Name: ::Fatal Fashion::
Landmark: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Quirky/142/158/3002
Store Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/142099540@N06/
Bloggers Flickr: www.flickr.com/groups/fatalfashion/pool/
tag Stefhany Ruby and Aziza Style
Bloggers Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/270105347065625
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Stefhany Ruby (owner)
www.flickr.com/photos/142099540@N06/
www.facebook.com/StefhanyRuby/
Aziza Style (blogger manager)
www.flickr.com/photos/160847275@N05/
www.facebook.com/aziza.walker.9/
The Notorious B.I.G. - Sky's The Limit
www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3vOeCkeCNA
Good evenin' ladies and gentlemen
How's everybody doin' tonite?
I'd like to welcome to the stage, the lyrically acclaimed, ha
I like this young man, because, when he came out
He came out wit the phrase, he went from ashy to classy
Haha, I like that
So everybody in the house, give a warm, round of applause for
The Notorious B.I.G. *clapping*
The Notorious B.I.G. ladies and gentlemen give it up for him ya'll
Uhhh
A nigga never been as broke as me, (I like that)
When I was young I had two pair of Lees, (besides that)
The pin stripes and the gray (uh-huh)
The one I wore on Mondays and Wednesdays
While niggas flirt, I'm sewing tigers on my shirt
And alligators
Ya wanna see the inside, huh, I see ya later
Here come the drama, oh, that's that nigga with the fake- blaow!
Why you punch me in my face? Stay in ya place
Play ya position, here come my intuition
Go in this nigga pocket
Rob him while his friends watchin'
And hoes clockin', here comes respect
His crew's your crew, or they might be next
Look at they man eye, BIG man they never try
So we roll with 'em, stole with 'em
I mean loyalty, niggaz bought me milks at lunch
The milks was chocolate, the cookies, buttercrunch
In gear - Oshkosh with blue and white dunks
Pass the blunt
Sky is the limit and you know that you keep on
Just keep on pressin' on
Sky is the limit and you know that you can have
What you want, pressin what you want
Sky is the limit and you know that you keep on
Just keep on pressin' on
Sky is the limit and you know that you can have
What you want, be what you want, have what you want, be what you want
(Notorious B.I.G.)
Uh-huh, I was ashamed, my crew was lame
I had enough heart for most of 'em
Long as I got stuff from most of 'em
It's on, even when I was wrong I got my point across
They depicted me the boss, of course
My orange box-cutter make the world go round
Plus I'm fuckin', bitches ain't my homegirls now
Start stackin, dabbled in crack, gun packin'
Nickname Medina, make the seniors tote my ninas
From gym class, to Englass, pass off a global
The only nigga wit a mobile, Can't You See like Total
Gettin larger in waist and taste
Ain't no tellin where this felon is headin, just in case
Keep a shell at the tip of ya melon, clear the space
Ya brain was a terrible thing ta waste
Eighty-eight long gates, snatch initial name plates
Smokin spliffs with niggaz, real life beginner killers
Prayin God forgive us for being sinners, help us out
Sky is the limit and you know that you keep on
Just keep on pressin' on
Sky is the limit and you know that you can have
What you want, pressin' what you want
Sky is the limit and you know that you keep on
Just keep on pressin on
Sky is the limit and you know that you can have
What you want, be what you want, have what you want, be what you want
(Notorious B.I.G.)
After realizin, to master enterprisin'
I ain't have ta be in school by ten, I was in
Began to encounter, with my counter-parts
On how ta burn the block apart, break it down into sections
Drugs by the selection
Some use pipes, others use in-jec-tions
Syringe sold seperately, Frank the deputy
Quick to grab my Smith-n-Wesson, like my dick was missin'
To protect my position, my corner, my layer
While we out here, say the hustlas prayer
If the game shakes me or breaks me
I hope it makes me a better man
Take a better stand
Put money in my moms hand
Get my daughter this college plan, so she don't need no man
Stay far from timid
Only make moves when ya heart's in it
And live the phrase Sky's The Limit
Motherfucker... see you chumps on top
Sky is the limit and you know that you keep on
Just keep on pressin' on
Sky is the limit and you know that you can have
What you want, be what you want
Sky is the limit and you know that you keep on
Just keep on pressin' on
Sky is the limit and you know that you can have
What you want, pressin' what you want
Sky is the limit and you know that you keep on
Just keep on pressin' on
Sky is the limit and you know that you can have
What you want, be what you want
Sky is the limit and you know that you keep on
Just keep on pressin' on
Sky is the limit and you know that you can have
What you want, be what you want
Sky is the limit and you know that you keep on
Just keep on pressin' on
Sky is the limit and you know that you can have
What you want, be what you want...
I bought this navy blue Lilyette by Bali Minimizer Underwire bra a few weeks ago to wear specifically with my navy blue slips. (And the matching panties under my girdle)
Now I'm going to need to dye a girdle navy blue so I have a completely matching set.
Is this elderly gentleman homeless or just enjoying an afternoon nap? Likely both. Regardless he selected a 3 side protected venue to minimize interruption however uncomfortable it may look.
A total of 3,634 people were identified as experiencing homelessness in the Metro Vancouver region during the 2020 count.
The largest numbers of people experiencing homelessness were found in Vancouver (2,095), Surrey (644) and Langley (209).
Health concerns were again found to be a significant factor in relation to homelessness, with 87% of respondents citing at least one health condition including a physical disability, illness, addiction, mental health issue or cognitive impairment.
Among those reporting a health condition, 60% reported an addiction (including substances, alcohol, cigarettes, gambling, etc.).
This figure is particularly concerning given the ongoing dual public health emergencies in B.C. (drug use & COVID-19), and speaks to the deep connection between severe trauma, substance use, and homelessness.
The findings also show that the general social, demographic profile of those experiencing homelessness may be shifting with more seniors (55 and over) and fewer youth (24 and under) found to be experiencing homelessness when compared to the count in 2017.
ABOUT THE COUNT
Point-in-time counts have been conducted in Metro Vancouver every three years since 2002 and annually in the City of Vancouver since 2010.
The purpose of the count is to estimate the number of people experiencing homelessness, obtain a demographic profile of those individuals, and identify trends compared to previous counts.
Governments, funders and community agencies rely on data from homeless counts to help make informed policy and program decisions.
The count takes place over a 24-hour period to provide a snapshot of individuals experiencing homelessness in 18 communities across the region, including an extended count pilot project on the North Shore.
The 2020 Homeless Count in Metro Vancouver is a community-driven initiative of the Reaching Home Designated and Indigenous Community Entity, Lu’ma Native Housing Society, in partnership with Vancity Community Foundation together with the Greater Vancouver Community Advisory Board, the Indigenous Homelessness Steering Committee and the Council of Community Homelessness Tables.
The count was conducted by BC Non-Profit Housing Association (BCNPHA).
The Dutch Baroque architecture of Het Loo takes pains to minimize the grand stretch of its construction, so emphatic at Versailles, and present itself as just a fine gentleman's residence. Het Loo is not a palace but, as the title of its engraved portrait (illustration, below) states, a "Lust-hof" (a retreat, or "pleasure house"). Nevertheless, it is situated entre cour et jardin ("between court and garden") as Versailles and its imitators, and even as fine Parisian private houses are. The dry paved and gravelled court, lightly screened from the road by a wrought-iron grill, is domesticated by a traditional plat of box-bordered green, the homey touch of a cross in a circle you'd find in a bougeois garden. The volumes of the palace are rhythmically broken in their massing. They work down symmetrically, expressing the subordinate roles of their use and occupants, and the final outbuildings in Marot's plan extend along the public thoroughfare, like a well-made and delightfully regular street.
Garden
The private "Great Garden" is situated in the back. This Dutch Baroque garden, often mislabeled the "Versailles of Holland", actually serves to show more differences than similarities. It is still within the general Baroque formula established by André Le Nôtre: perfect symmetry, axial layout with radiating gravel walks, parterres with fountains, basins and statues.
The garden as it appears in the engraving was designed by Le Nôtre's nephew, Claude Desgotz.[1] Throughout his military and diplomatic career, William of Orange was the continental antagonist of Louis XIV, the commander of the forces opposed to those of absolute power and Roman Catholicism. André Le Nôtre's main axis at Versailles, continued by the canal, runs up to the horizon. Daniel Marot and Desgotz's Het Loo garden does not dominate the landscape as Louis' German imitators do, though in his idealized plan, Desgotz extends the axis. The main garden, with conservative rectangular beds instead of more elaborately shaped ones, is an enclosed space surrounded by raised walks, as a Renaissance garden might be, tucked into the woods for private enjoyment, the garden not of a king but of a stadhouder. At its far end a shaded crosswalk of trees disguised the central vista. The orange trees set out in wooden boxes and wintered in an Orangery, which were a feature of all gardens, did double duty for the House of Orange-Nassau.
Outside the garden there are a few straight scenic avenues, for following the hunt in a carriage, or purely for the vista afforded by an avenue. Few of the "green rooms" cut into the woodlands in imitation of the cabinets de verdure of Versailles that are shown in the engraving actually got executed at Het Loo.
The patron of the Sun King's garden was Apollo. Peter the Great would opt for Samson, springing the jaws of Sweden's heraldic lion. William opted for Hercules.
In the 18th century, William III’s baroque garden as seen in the engraving was replaced by a landscape park in the English taste.
We are south shore and enjoy. Shots are Fuji GFX and of course minimized the the image size here. There is also some Photoshop and 2 images composed together. Both GFX 100 from my camera
South facing Needles overlook after moon descended behind me. 5 vertical exposures less than 12 seconds to comply with the rule of 500 to minimize streak.
In an effort to minimize accidental environmental damage, Biotron contracted Sirius Cyberdine Industries to produce the P.O.D.s - Personal Outdoor Defense system. With a notable lack of corners, these round rovers were ideal for moving through environments thick with flora while minimizing damage in their wake. Teams could opt for either the vertical or horizontal versions, although both were outfitted with identical communications and life-support systems. PODs were self-sealing and heavily armored, ideal for travel on planets with the most inhospitable and aggressive flora and fauna found in the galaxy.
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More Febrovery fun today. I initially was only going to present the vertical version of this but got caught up in the challenge of making the horizontal version as well. Both will easily fit a minifig or two inside but the occupants must be good friends. :) Oh, and the lid on the horizontal version is not hinged, it only attaches via four studs for playing with.
Enjoy, everyone!!
The F4, Nikon's fourth generation and first autofocus pro-level camera system, was produced from 1988 through 1997.
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The Nikon F4, technologically speaking, is a major upgrade from the F3HP. The F4 has autofocus, motorized film advance, program and shutter priority exposure modes (in addition to aperture priority and manual), multi-segment (Matrix) exposure metering, and advanced fill-flash capabilities. Although the camera is fully electronic, it maintains the façade of mechanical camera controls. In fact, there are no external digital readouts or multi-function dials on this camera. All controls are presented as traditional knobs or switches, although they control sophisticated electronic functions, internally. Significantly, for those with a pre-existing collection of manual focus Nikon lenses, the F4 provides matrix metering, but not Program or Tv modes, with Ai manual focus lenses. It also has a built-in diopter control in the viewfinder. Finally, the F4 system has an amazingly broad system of accessories of all types.
The F4 system includes the F4s, which is the basic F4 body plus the enhanced MB-21 battery grip instead of the basic MB-20 grip. The MB-21 grip uses 6 x AA alkaline batteries compared with 4 batteries in the MB-20 and provides slightly faster motor drive. Unfortunately, the Nikon F4 was not designed to work with light-weight lithium AA batteries, which are not recommended by Nikon. When I bought my F4, it was only available in a package with the larger MB-21, which I immediately replaced with the MB-20 to cut down on weight.
The major disadvantages of the F4 compared with its predecessor F3HP are almost 50% greater weight, and increased size and decreased battery life, primarily due to the motor drive. As indicated above, the F4's program and Tv modes cannot be used with manual focus Nikkor Ai lenses (you need a Nikon FA for that). The F4 does not yet support AF-D technology. AF-D technology, which only appears on future generations of Nikon SLRs, transmits distance information from AF-D lenses and permits better flash and fill-flash performance. Still, when combined with the concurrent SB-24 or newer dedicated flash units, the Nikon F4, even without D technology, has great flash performance in its own right. Unlike the later F90x/SB-26 combination, the F4/SB-24 is smart enough to automatically switch from balanced fill flash to full TTL flash when ambient light is insufficient.
I think that I purchased one of the last F4s to come off of the production line. I was perfectly happy using my F3HP, and continued to use it as my primary camera throughout the production life of the F4, which started in 1988. Finally, the F5 came out in 1996 and I saw that it had reduced functionality with manual focus Nikkor Ai lenses compared the F4. Worse, from my point of view, the F5 is also much larger and even heavier than the F4, with its permanently attached larger grip and battery pack.
Although I still tended to pick up the F3HP instead of the F4 for travel kits to cut down on weight, I really liked using the F4 when weight was not an issue. The F4 fits great into your hands, with its built-in hand grip and non-slip rubberized finish. The camera has the four PSAM modes, single and continuous autofocus, as well as multi-segment (matrix), center-weighted (60/40), and spot exposure metering systems. Although the camera has many electronic functions, there are no hard-to-read external digital menus. All functions are controlled with the traditional knobs and switches, which makes it really easy to adjust all features by feel or by watching the comprehensive digital display in the viewfinder. The viewfinder display is illuminated by ambient light, or by switching on the viewfinder illuminator light with a switch at the base of the shutter speed dial.
If you do need to use a manual focus lens, you can still take advantage of the focus indicator when focusing manually. In fact, you really need to use the electronic rangefinder, because the standard focusing screen has no split image or microprism aid besides a matte field. Just place the central focusing brackets on your subject and focus manually until the red in-focus circle is display in the viewfinder. The F4's early generation autofocusing system is slow compared with subsequent technology, but more than sufficient for stationary or slow moving subjects.
As an advance over the F3, the F4 recognizes DX-coded film canisters. When rewinding film, you can either use power rewind to save time, or manual rewind to save battery power and minimize noise.
The F4's first generation five segment matrix metering system was a major technological advance over traditional center-weighted metering. This is basically the same early generation multi-segment metering that is used in the Nikon FA. While not as sophisticated as later generations of Nikon's matrix metering systems, the F4's five segment pattern and software works fine for typical scenarios. For extreme lighting situations, it is still recommended to switch to center-weighted or spot and set exposure compensation, as necessary.
The F4's shutter is much more advanced than the shutter in the F3. The F4 shutter speed can be manually set as fast as 1/8000 sec. or as slow as 4 seconds. Maximum flash synch speed of 1/250 sec. is much faster than 1/80 sec. on the F3. In P and A modes, the shutter operates steplessly from 30 sec. to 1/8000 sec.
I use all of the F4's modes and light-metering systems, depending on the situation. But for flash photography, it is often easiest to just turn on Program mode and matrix metering to take advantage of completely automatic matrix balanced fill-flash or standard TTL flash. For special flash situations, the F4 also allows complete manual adjustment of all parameters.
The F4 marks marks the beginning and end to Nikon's pro-level body support for both auto focus and manual focus lenses, while also providing a mechanical style control interface. The F5 scales back support for manual focus lenses, and converts to a control dial driven interface. The F6 (like modern higher-end Nikon digital SLRs) finally adds back the F4's manual focus lens support, but of course has a modern display menu interface. The traditional mechanical interfaces are great, but the F6 is a much superior film camera because its features are state of the art across the board, including, for example, Nikon's most advanced matrix metering in a film camera. As other alternatives to the F4, one could look at the F90X, the F100 or the older FA. The F90X moves to an early-generation control dial driven interface, but offers D technology support for flash, more sophisticated matrix metering, and faster autofocusing. The F100 is an upgrade of the F90X and has technology similar to the F5 in a smaller package. The amazing FA is like the traditional-style FE-2, but with the addition of complete and unique support for manual focus Ai lenses with matrix metering (similar to F4 generation) as well as all four PSAM modes!
Finally, there is now a more or less similar interface alternative in the Nikon digital SLR world. The Nikon Df finally provides modern functions, some of which are descendents of the advanced features of the F4, while also resurrecting the convenient mechanical/analog interface of its famous predecessor.
Copyright (c) 2013 Timothy A. Rogers. All rights reserved.
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The months of November-December are when thousands of Common Cranes stop over at the Hula Lake in northern Israel on their migratory path from Europe and Asia (the heart of the breeding population for the species is in Russia) to its wintering sites in northern Africa, the river valleys of Sudan, Ethiopia, Tunisia and Eritrea. The best place to see and photograph them in Israel is the Agamon HaHula reserve.
For the past four years, intensive research on the topic of cranes in the Hula Valley has been conducted. Since the beginning of the present decade, their number has risen sharply. Approximately 20,000 cranes pass the winter in the Hula Valley, between November and March.
Hula Valley farmers, together with the ISPN and the Nature and National Parks Authority, the Ministry for the Environment and Project LIFE, are partners in a project whose aim is to minimize the damage caused by cranes, on the one hand, and to enable them to pass the winter in this country, for the sake of both conservation and tourism.
A great many visitors come to see the flocks of cranes, especially in the evenings, when the cranes congregate noisily at their rest-grounds at Agmon Lake and the Hula Nature Reserve, flying in formation. The project is based on closing some of the area to movement, including tourism. These are fields, which farmers have agreed to leave fallow that year, against compensation, and form part of a plan to establish “safari” areas of the Hula Project.
Sometimes we make our own photography opportunities when we are aware of our impact on our surroundings. While shooting in nature I try to minimize my presence, in this case, I was hidden amongst some tall pine trees quietly taking photos with my camera set to silent mode. I heard some rustling bushes a few hundred feet to my right and watched as a cow elk cautiously walked into the water to get to the other side. I quickly but quietly switched to my telephoto lens and captured the picture before it crossed to the other side. I'm sure it knew I was there long before I saw it, but keeping quiet and calm surely helped my case.
© 2018 Chris Ross Photography. All Rights Reserved. Do not copy, share, link, or use this image in any form, digital or otherwise, on blogs, personal or professional websites or any other media form. This work is protected by international copyright laws and agreements. No part of this photostream may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without my prior permission.