Francis E. Walter Dam after the final large water release (which is part of drawing the reservoir down to its winter elevation level of 1300’ above sea level). The dam was built in 1961 by the Army Corps of Engineers to help minimize flooding in the Lehigh Valley Of Pennsylvania.

Honeycomb is considered by engineers to be the ultimate in construction techniques

Honeycomb structures are natural or man-made structures that have the geometry of a honeycomb to allow the minimization of the amount of used material to reach minimal weight and minimal material cost. The geometry of honeycomb structures can vary widely but the common feature of all such structures is an array of hollow cells formed between thin vertical walls. The cells are often columnar and hexagonal in shape. A honeycomb shaped structure provides a material with minimal density and relative high out-of-plane compression properties and out-of-plane shear properties.

There's a sign just before this section of the trail that warns of a very narrow crevice and is not for someone with claustrophobia or with a larger backpack. It looks a bit dubious from this end but proved just wide enough - if you turned your shoulders in some passages. It was pretty cool, actually, both literally and figuratively, but I sure wouldn't want to meet a skunk in there.

As for the picture, with the sun behind the clouds and the ISO kept down to 640 to minimize the noise in my trusty old Canon, I just managed a handheld shot at 1/25th sec.

Located between downtown Hilo and Port of Hilo is the old Hilo Iron Works Building, that survived not one, but two tsunami’s in 1946 & 1960. Eight survivors in 1946 clung to the rafters as 30 foot waves pummeled the huge Hilo Iron Works complex. Ironically the complex survived the destructive 1946 Tsunami fortuitously because the factory has a breakaway corrugated iron roof & exterior because it was the cheapest and most cost-effective way to enclose the factory and that is why it stands today. Today’s modern buildings hotels in Hilo since it is always under threat of tsunami is breakaway exteriors to minimize the structural damage to the footing of buildings. Serendipitously the frugality of the Hilo Iron Works ensured its survival in both tsunami’s. Today, it serves as an industrial park, the iron works long gone. - [ ] #developportdev @gothamtomato @developphotonewsletter @omsystem.cameras #excellent_america @apple @bheventspace @bhphoto @adorama @tamracphoto @tiffencompany #usaprimeshot #tamractales #iphone13pro @visithilohawaii

On a (mostly) different topic, does anyone have recommendations for a black and white film/developer combination at least EI 400 (800 probably better) for indoor use, to minimize grain and also keep contrast from becoming excessive?

Mamiyaflex C2, f2.8, 1/50, FP4+

D-76 1+3, 11 min

This image is protected by copyright and may not be used in any way, for any purpose, without my written permission. Please contact me if you would like to use any of my photos.

[18-084-010]

The breakwaters are there to minimize beach erosion when storms come from the north. Lake Michigan (Highland Park, Illinois).

White hiking the Alkali Flat Trail with a view looking to the southeast across the white sands and dune formations present in this part of the national park. My thought on composing this image was to take advantage of the way the dune formation to my immediate front seemed to cut across the landscape. I found that added a layered look, that would lead one further into the image with the other more distant dunes. I brought the horizon a little higher into the image by angling, my Nikon SLR camera slightly downward. While I did feel that the blue skies with the thin clouds above were a complement to the whites in the sands, I also noted that it was kind of a negative space and wanted to minimize that taking up any more of the image.

There are two pairs of Canada Geese nesting on small islands on our lake here on Bluebird Estates. On the far right you can see the nesting female while the soon-to-be Dad (with his one leg stance) on guard on the far left.

Birds' legs have an adaptation called "rete mirabile" that minimizes heat loss. The arteries that transport warm blood into the legs lie in contact with the veins that return colder blood to the bird's heart. ... And by standing on one leg, a bird reduces by half the amount of heat lost through unfeathered limbs. Bird Note

Will post photos of the recently hatched cute goslings:-))

BC Place Stadium (center) is a multi-purpose stadium located on the northern side of False Creek,

The stadium is home to the BC Lions, CFL (Canadian Football League). The Vancouver Whitecaps FC of Major League Soccer

and the annual Canada Sevens (part of the World Rugby Sevens Series) as well as the BC Sports Hall of Fame. The stadium also served as the main stadium for the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2010 Paralympics which Vancouver hosted

Canoe bridge was designed in the shape of a canoe and spans Jarvis Inlet and is located in the 2010 Winter Olympics athletes' village.

Appropriately named, this walk bridge was built on the waterfront of False Creek - well known for Kayaking, Canoeing & Dragon Boating.

The bridge was designed with the environment in mind. The bridge deck is made up of closely spaced slats that allow plenty of sunlight to shine through. This design minimizes bridge shadows on the water below, so that aquatic plants and creatures aren't affected by the darkness..

BC Place was lit in red in honor of Remembrance Day. Remembrance Day (sometimes known informally as Poppy Day) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth of Nations member states since the end of the First World War to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty.

Vancouver,

BC

Canada

Mistassini primrose (Primula mistassinica), is native to East North America and is considered to be rare throughout most of its range.

It is a very small plant (flower stem height 5-10 cm; flowers 1-1.3 cm wide) that grows on wet river and lake shorelines underlain with calcareous (high pH) rocks where seasonal flooding and ice scouring minimize competing vegetation.

The apparent rarity of the Mistassini primrose is largely due to the plants' specific habitat requirements, to the scarcity of its habitat and to habitat destruction. This diminutive plant is often found growing together with carnivorous butterwort plants (Pinguicula vulgaris).

Mistassini primrose is named after Lake Mistassini, the largest natural freshwater lake in Quebec, Canada where it was first discovered.

Flowering occurs in Spring (usually in June depending on location).

For more information see: gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/primula/mistassinica/

and

www.saskwildflower.ca/nat_Primula-mistassinica.html

and

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primula_mistassinica

Photograph taken in June 2024 (a limestone river bank, Gaspésie, Quebec Canada).

P6160116

An ultra close up of a single flower. This plant grows in dense, matted cushions, and may be found from Alaska east to Greenland, south through BC and Washington to northern Oregon, and through the Rockies. Widespread, successful, and a nightmare to photograph. The flowers are sooo tiny! Try to show the entire plant and the flowers look like pinheads, although in reality they are about 1 cm in diameter (that's a guess, based on memory).

I do have shots of the clustered flowers in landscape shots (you know, foreground interest), but this time in Waterton may have been my first attempt to photograph an individual flower. It was really pretty and looked far more delicate and dainty than expected. The plant, of course, is hardy, robust, and superbly adapted to rocky terrain, short summers, and long winters.

I don't normally use f/36, because there is a dropoff in sharpness, but in this case depth of field was so shallow at minimum focus that I took a chance. I kept the flower dead centre to minimize distortion, chromatic aberration, and similar problems, and got a surprisingly good result. With my shutter down to 1/30 and an intermittent, slight breeze, I shot dozens of backup frames to increase my chances of getting one that wasn't blurred from subject movement. Even the slightest tremble will show when you focus this close. The camera was on a tripod; there was no other way to do it. That was fine, because I worked all day from the tripod, except for some hand held wildlife shots. I also locked the mirror up - a problem many shooters no longer have - and waited a couple seconds for any vibrations to die down before exposing each frame. So it actually took some time and effort to get this shot.

Photographed near Red Rock Canyon in Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2015 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Such an amazing work by Hurricane!!!

Come and grab yours: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sunny%20Point/197/86/1502

HUD Functions:

-- Eating Speed:

With this option, you can choose between 3 different speeds, which affect the speed between every fries. *Fast* 0 Seconds, *Medium* 10 Seconds, *Slow* 20 Seconds

-- Auto Eating:

-- When you turn this option ON, the avatar will eat the entire Package of Fries, and then the avatar will throw the package away, and the avatar will resume eating after grabbing a new package from his/her back pocket.

-- When you turn this OFF, the avatar won't eat any fries unless you manually click on the fries in the package.

-- Share with Friends:

-- Your friends can click on the RED part of the package to receive one *INVISIBLE* French Frie that they need to attach, and right after, they need to keep on the yellow part directly on the fries to eat one.

-- Particle FX:

-- In the first 20 fries, they are still HOT and produce a small hot vaper particle effect =).

-- RESET Function: This function will reset the French Fries from any state to a full package.

-- Chris Two Design's HUDs now have a minimized HUD, so please select the * - * Button at the top right Corner to Minimize or the * Square * Button to Maximize the HUD.

_______________________________________________________________

******* FRENCH FRIES VIDEO TUTORIAL *******

Link: youtu.be/G5VyxKLy07Q

_______________________________________________________________

Hey, we will be moving soon. Save our new landmark: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Chris%20Two%20Designs/61/1...

Would you like to be our Blogger?

Our Blogotex Blogger Application is OPEN: members.blogotex.com/s/WJK

YoUnique Couture Bethe

Dress – Stocking – Kristal Neckwear

Hud 10 Colors Dress

Hud 20 Colors Neckwear – Optional Shine Layer

Stocking BoM

Body Maitreya/Petite, Kupra [Original – Kups – Bimbo], Ebody [Curvy – Reborn], Belleza [Freya – Isis], Hourglass, Love Momma, Tonic [Curvy – Fine – Minimizer]

✈ MAIN STORE YoUnique

maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/East%20Oakdale/87/253/22

✈ Flickr YoUnique

www.flickr.com/photos/150883724@N06/

✈ Marketplace YoUnique

marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/167562

BC Place Stadium (center) is a multi-purpose stadium located on the northern side of False Creek,

The stadium is home to the BC Lions, CFL (Canadian Football League). The Vancouver Whitecaps FC of Major League Soccer

and the annual Canada Sevens (part of the World Rugby Sevens Series) as well as the BC Sports Hall of Fame. The stadium also served as the main stadium for the 2010 Winter Olympics and 2010 Paralympics which Vancouver hosted

Canoe bridge was designed in the shape of a canoe and spans Jarvis Inlet and is located in the 2010 Winter Olympics athletes' village.

Appropriately named, this walk bridge was built on the waterfront of False Creek - well known for Kayaking, Canoeing & Dragon Boating.

The bridge was designed with the environment in mind. The bridge deck is made up of closely spaced slats that allow plenty of sunlight to shine through. This design minimizes bridge shadows on the water below, so that aquatic plants and creatures aren't affected by the darkness..

Vancouver,

BC

Canada

I can't thank-you enough for all your views and most generous comments.

I truly appreciate your visits.

~Christie

With tripod and 2 sec delay to minimize shake

The Mallard, or Wild duck (Anas platyrhynchos[1]), probably the best-known and most recognizable of all ducks, is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and sub-tropical Americas, Europe, Asia, New Zealand (where it is currently the most common duck species), and Australia.

The male birds have a bright green head, while the female's is light brown. The Mallard lives in wetlands, eats water plants, and is gregarious. It is also migratory. The Mallard is the ancestor of all domestic ducks, and can interbreed with other species of genus Anas.[2] This interbreeding is causing rarer species of ducks to become genetically diluted.

The Mallard is 56–65 centimetres (22–26 in) long, has a wingspan of 81–98 centimetres (32–39 in), and weighs 0.9–1.2 kilograms (32–42 oz). The breeding male is unmistakable, with a bright green head, black rear end and a yellowish orange (can also contain some red) bill tipped with black (as opposed to the dark brown bill in females), and is also nature's most feared duck. The female Mallard is light brown, like most female dabbling ducks. However, both the female and male Mallards have distinct purple speculum edged with white, prominent in flight or at rest (though temporarily shed during the annual summer moult). In non-breeding (eclipse) plumage the drake becomes drab, looking more like the female, but still distinguishable by its yellow bill and reddish breast.

In captivity, domestic ducks come in wild-type plumages, white, and other colours. Most of these colour variants are also known in domestic Mallards not bred as livestock, but kept as pets, aviary birds, etc., where they are rare but increasing in availability.

A noisy species, the male has a nasal call, the female has a "quack" stereotypically associated with ducks.[3]

The Mallard is a rare example of both Allen's Rule and Bergmann's Rule in birds. Bergmann's Rule, which states that polar forms tend to be larger than related ones from warmer climates, has numerous examples in birds. Allen's Rule says that appendages like ears tend to be smaller in polar forms to minimize heat loss, and larger in tropical and desert equivalents to facilitate heat diffusion, and that the polar taxa are stockier overall. Examples of this rule in birds are rare, as they lack external ears. However, the bill of ducks is very well supplied with blood vessels and is vulnerable to cold.

IMG_7378

It was trying to sleep or resting from the cold weather, so it folded its wings and minimized its movements which gave me a chance to capture a good shot.

Thank you, dear friends, for your support, and for your faves and kind comments, very much appreciated - deaR♥‿♥

Please see my blog for links to mainstores and events, thank you

rachelswallows.blogspot.com/2020/11/meet-me-at-court.html

EVE

EVE'Olution Kimi BOM Mesh Head

Bemto, Facial Ao

Ruby Mesh Body

Bento, includes Fitness Tattoos and complimentry outfit.

Nat Skin

BOM also includes Applier for Genus

6 Tones, Brow and No Brow.

@ The Mainstore

HOPE'S CREATIONS

Vanita Outfit @ The Mainstore

Crop top, Shorts and Boots, Sold Separately. Singles and Fatpack

Sizes include:

* Slink Physique Original & Hourglass (incl. Petite & Homme)

* Belleza, Isis, Venus & Freya (for Perky)

* eBody Classic & Curvy

* Tonic Curvy, Fine & Minimizer

* Maitreya, Lara Petite & Flat Chest

* Signature Alice

* Legacy & Perky

I am wearing the Hourglass Size which fit perfect on the Eve Ruby Body

Hair by Foxy, Necklace by Venge, Choker by Salt and Pepper

The Jaguar D-Type was a highly successful sports racing car, winning the Le Mans 24 Hours race three times consecutively (1955-1957), and was known for its aerodynamic design and powerful XK engine, and was a direct evolution of the C-Type.

Here's a more detailed look at the Jaguar D-Type:

Key Features and Achievements:

Le Mans Dominance:

The D-Type secured victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1955, 1956, and 1957, solidifying Jaguar's reputation in endurance racing.

Evolution of the C-Type:

The D-Type built upon the success of the C-Type, incorporating advanced aerodynamic principles and a more powerful engine.

Aerodynamic Design:

The car's body was designed to minimize drag, inspired by aircraft design, allowing it to achieve high speeds, including a top speed of 172.8 mph on the Mulsanne Straight.

Monocoque Chassis:

The D-Type featured a monocoque chassis, a revolutionary design for the time, which contributed to its lightweight and rigidity.

Powerful XK Engine:

The D-Type utilized the powerful XK engine, initially a 3.4-liter inline-six, which was later enlarged to 3.8 liters for the 1957 season, further enhancing performance.

Disc Brakes:

The D-Type was equipped with superior disc brakes, which were a significant advantage over the competition.

Continuation Production:

In 2018, Jaguar Classic announced the production of 25 new D-Type models, fulfilling the original plan to build 100 cars, with only 75 completed in the 1950s.

High Value:

D-Types are highly sought-after today, with some examples fetching millions of dollars at auction.

1957 Le Mans:

In 1957, D-Types took five of the top six places at Le Mans, with Ecurie Ecosse finishing 1st and 2nd.

Prototype D-Type:

The Prototype D-type XKC401 is a unique car, being the factory prototype for the machine which set the seal on the Jaguar Le Mans legend, culminating in a hat-trick of victories from 1955 to 1957.

In Summary: The Jaguar D-Type was a groundbreaking racing car that revolutionized sports car design and achieved remarkable success in endurance racing, particularly at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

I am not aware of ever having seen ducks other than mallards, but this spring, our little pond has had a few more exotic (to me) visitors. I have seen an American Widgeon, and there is a hooded merganser in this photo, hanging about wit the geese. Some locals have also sighted a bufflehead (?) if I recall correctly.

They inevitably seem to take a position far from me, so on this day I dusted off my old crop sensor 7D which gets me 50% closer. To minimize shake from a long zoom which I also handheld, I used a high ISO and shutter speed. But it still required cropping.

© AnvilcloudPhotography

No, not my cat Sprocket and that one-pound (454g) thing she's embracing, but a much lighter intermittent sprocket, weighing about 0.7 ounces (21g).

As this sprocket had to decelerate, pause, and accelerate in the span of one twenty-fourth of a second, again and again for a hundred thousand times or more for each showing of a feature film, it was made as lightweight as possible to minimize inertia, reducing wear on the intermittent movement and film.

The sprocket is 1⅜" wide and 1-1/16" diameter (tip to tip) (35mm x 27mm).

One more thing: the background itself is also a reflection. This time, I slipped a T-shirt over the matte board I suspend at an angle over the mirror to create the light blue look.

Full color. Fog. No visible traffic (nor much of anything else). Sam Houston Monument. Hermann Park. Houston, Texas

LeiMotiv - Helga Shorts

Compatible : Altamura / Legacy / Perky / Maitreya / Petite / eBody / Freya / Isis / Hourglass / Tonic Curve, Fine and Minimizer

Available in 20 colors

LeiMotiv - Vanka Top

Altamura / Legacy / eBody / Maitreya / Freya / Isis / Hourglass / Kupra / Tonic

Available in 20 colors

Set will be available on Saturday Sale 19 and 20 June 2021

Credit

Colour is hard to find on the northern prairie in March. The hills are yellow-brown, the valley bottom is yellow-brown, my front lawn and backyard garden are yellow-brown.Certainly I'm glad to see the departure of winter, but the land is still warming. The first green grass blades are still tentative. It will be a while before we see the rolling green hills of spring, dotted with wildflowers, graced by the flash of bright feathers.

I spent some time on a recent hike searching for the first prairie crocus, to no avail. Soon, but not yet. Then, cutting across a broad slope littered with big rocks, I noticed the one constant that's available to me in all four seasons: lichens on rocks. One of the boulders - the largest, as it turned out - was made of pink granite, which instantly informed me that it didn't "grow" here. This was a glacial erratic, deposited by retreating glaciers ten thousand years ago or more, at the end of the most recent Ice Age. It was covered in lichens.

Lichens, which are neither plants nor animals, consist of an alga ("alga" is singular; "algae" plural) and a fungus in a symbiotic relationship. Map lichens, such as the ones seen in this image, are the oldest living organisms on earth; an Arctic species has been dated at more than 8,000 years old.

My concerns that morning, however, were purely photographic. I was carrying the tripod. I still have one of those old fashioned DSLRs with the mirror, so I used a cable release to lock it up before each exposure and thus minimize vibration from mirror slap. I focused on the shaded side of the rock; illuminated from the blue sky above kept the colours relatively cool. I lined up my camera's sensor parallel to the plane of the rock and stopped my lens down to ensure edge to edge sharpness. I briefly considered flattening those dead grasses, but in the end chose to leave them in, for context.

Photographed near Eagle Butte in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2022 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

ADN Falone

Mesh Top + skirt + HUD

Sizes: Maitreya + Petite

KUPRA Original Bimbo Low + KUPS A + B (Bimbo shown)

Legacy + Perky

Slink Hourglass

Belleza Freya + Isis

eBODY Curvy

Tonic Minimizer Fine Curvy

Altamura

ADN Mainstore

I've been to this falls three times over the years and never tire of the view, and it's never disappointing, needless to say. For this image, I set up on the main overlook to both the upper and lower falls with the Benson Footbridge going across the center. I decided to zoom out a little bit in order to capture more of this lush, vibrant greenish of the trees and leaves all around the falls. With the fog and slight overcast skies, I found it best to minimize that portion of the sky and focus on the falls. In the end, I wanted to capture that feel of standing in front of Multnomah Falls and hearing the roar of the falls with the spray of the water all around...a delight for all the senses!

Of course I had to include one waterfall shots in my 365. More to come for sure. Actually I have not taken a waterfall shot since my Scotland trip back in September. I almost forgot how to do it.

I was attracted, not only by the water, but the frozen balcony were pretty neat. Normally I try to minimize the balcony in the composition, but in this case the opposite was true.

Better for the eyes and soul in the light box. Press L

5/365

LeLutka will be releasing two brand new heads, updated to 4.0 at The Skin Fair that begins on March 8th! I'm wearing Billie with The Skinnery's Saige skin at The Fifty, and I am very excited to try out more of my skin favourites with her and do some experimenting!

www.flickr.com/photos/15634428@N06/53565085162/in/datepos...

Billie (female) and Aaron (male) heads have the latest 4.0 update! Some of the highlights of 4.0 are:

- Improved material features with dialogue box controls for fine-tuning your materials on all diffuse texture layers, skin, and HD layer materials.

- Added a second layer to your HD lips and separated eyes as independent entities that you can edit and hide individually or together for more versatility and creativity.

- Updated Style HUD with slots to save your favourite eye looks and revamped main HUD with an extra mode option and a transparent/opaque minimized icon to customize your experience according to your needs and preferences.

-There is a lot more that has been don under-the-HUD to speed up and better your experience but the list is too long to put in this short announcement.

- Full list of updated features is listed in your "Update Log" inside your Head folder.

To view complete credits, visit my blog: slovesadventures.wordpress.com/2024/03/05/billie-dont-los...

If we minimize grace the world sees no hope for salvation. If we minimize truth, the world sees no need for salvation. To show the world Jesus, we must offer unabridged grace and truth, emphasizing both, apologizing for neither. - Randy Alcorn

Not sure about the color combo or the processing today but I do love the stem on my pear. I finally made it out of my house yesterday and picked up some fresh produce from the grocery store. I would love to replace all of my colored plates with more matte finishes because the reflections are so bothersome to try to overcome. I have set up a bunch of black cards to try and minimize all of the light but to no avail. Practicing with intention and hoping to improve a bit every day. Wishing you all some healthy food, color and love today.

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:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Palm_Beach,_Florida

Brenda Dress is a new release exclusive and is available now at Girls Heaven for 25% off for the duration of the event!

It has an 8 texture HUD and is fitted for a whole host of bodies! Legacy, Maitreya, Hourglass, Physique, Freya, Isis, Venus, Sig Alice, Ebody Curvy, Ebody Classic, Altamura, Tonic Fine, Tonic Curvy and Tonic Minimizer! Demo available

maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Dreamy%20Days/230/31/36

Flower salad en virtue

what are thy names

for thy stable heart wavers much

in the rose of things

___ virtuous needs a dressing bar

the gambit be nimble spin

in the weller seed

Thy fragrance is like a leaf

dearer to the ground in sound

than in part

__ what mazes me

dressel craft

my known stored certain

actualize the minimizer

oh on

__ thy own sweet hand

music: Gloria in Excelsis Deo

lyrics of the music: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloria_in_excelsis_Deo

in honor of thanksgiving

music (lyrics) can be for any religion

Arizona is beautiful and the landscape varies from North to South in ways that are unique and incredible but my favorite source of landscapes so far has been Sedona, the red sandstone just feels warm and homey to me and it helps that these monuments to nature are scattered everywhere you look.

Sedona has less than 15,000 permanent residents in the city proper and is very in tune with its natural surroundings, they strictly enforces city ordinances to be mindful about the city and its inhabitants in construction and business development.

Light pollution laws and innovative city planning that minimizes all lighting locations and installed shielding to direct light downwards where needed makes Sedona a star gazers paradise and a great place for astrophotography with plenty of foreground material.

I took this with my D750 and Tamron SP 24-70mmmm 2.8 G2 Lens at 31mm 1/13s, f/16 ISO 100 processed in LR, PS +Lumenzia,

Disclaimer: My style is a study of romantic realism as well as a work in progress.

What you see here is a classic example of how even ugly cars (IMO) can have interesting, and sometimes even beautiful details that are worth highlighting in a photo. The car, a 1939 "sharknose" Graham was one of those cars that had very limited success, and was widely not accepted by the 1938-1940 buying public. And, probably even less than the controversial designs of Chrysler's Airflow models of the middle thirties. It's unique design, for the times, with it's protruding hood and front fenders gave it it's shark like looks, and it's subsequent moniker, "sharknose Graham." Most would agree that it was a diving catch for the Graham-Paige automobile company at the time that was significantly suffering financially far greater than most of it's competitors. Unlike some company's that had rebounded some from the Great Depression Graham had not been one of them. And this was in spite of having some very good earlier successes with their early thirties Blue Streak models, a car that had also been designed by the talented Amos Northrup who had penned and designed the sharknose above. But, by the end of the decade the country was entrenched in a deep recession that impacted the overall auto industry, and that had car sales off by slightly over 50%. However, that was still somewhat better than what Graham was experiencing at the time with it's sales by 1939 being off slightly more than 70%. Needless to say Graham-Paige Company did not survive long into the 1940's, and the sharknose was it's final nail in the coffin! Ironically, and also sadly, Amos Northrup did not live to see his final design effort go into production. He had taken a bad fall on ice and died from a fractured skull before production on the car had begun.

My shot above, as I noted, is a detail of just a small portion of the hood, grill, and headlight on the subject car. As what's often the case it's hood was open which only proved to minimize it's bizarre shark nosed appearance so I managed to find a photo off the internet in the inset so that you can see a bit of the looks, and style of the front of the car.

Vince

Francis E. Walter Dam after the final large water release (which is part of drawing the reservoir down to its winter elevation level of 1300’ above sea level). The dam was built in 1961 by the Army Corps of Engineers to help minimize flooding in the Lehigh Valley Of Pennsylvania.

AMUI ADHARA

Across the canyon floor, she searches

for lingering lizards and toads.

In her pointy boots, she shoos them out

along with brittle weeds. Her wicked laugh spirals,

cloaks the moon in amber mist.

She ruffles feathers of those she casts south

as shadows twist up the trees...

Amui Adhara

Dress & panties

Maitreya, Maitreya Petite, Legacy Classic, Legacy Classic, Legacy Perky, eBody Curvy, Slink Hourglass, Belleza Freya, Isis, Tonic: Fine, Curvy, Minimizer

Landmark: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Kalamay/64/190/3302

Marketplace: marketplace.secondlife.com/es-ES/stores/49559

Blog: amui-pretaporter.blogspot.com.es/

Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/amui_pretaporter/

Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/groups/AMUI.PRETAPORTER/

I met with a photographer today at a coffee place in town. I was so nervous about it ! I hate going to coffee places!! My anxiety just goes through the roof. The fact that she was a woman was easing my mind a bit cause I knew this is a photographer that really is interested in talking to me and not looking to get me naked you know… I just never know with men. Anyway she's an amazing fashion photographer and she also shoots " real " woman nude. When she told me about the process she puts them through finding that voice inside of them and letting them move on their own and each woman is nervous in a different way and relaxes in a different way it was making me want to cry right there and then cause it's so fuking scary!!! How do they do it?!?! Just stand naked infront of a photographer and eventually just dance and move around?!?! WTF!??!

It just made me petrified and I wasn’t even going through with it.

She told me about this woman who wasn’t young but for the first time is loving and excepting herself now that her boobs are falling and everything .

she has a man in her life who tells her shes beautiful and she finally sees it in her.

I starting tearing up!! She asked me why am I crying

- "Cause its beautiful and sad at the same time!"

-" why is it sad?"

- "its sad that she has to be so old to finally see it! Wasting all those years "

imagine not loving yourself when your young and your skin is tight and your boobs are up! Wasting all those amazing years!

you know I never knew what my boobs looked like when I was growing up I never looked at them. I would hide them in minimizer bras all the time. And that was that I think I even slept with a bra on at some point.

when my sister was growing up and I saw her boobs that were and are amazing I realized that I never saw mine at that age I think I only looked at them for the first time about 4 or 5 years ago all those years that they were standing so beautifully I missed!! And now im still hating myself! Wasting some more time.

So I shot myself naked today sitting!! With my tire and everything and I'm sorry but it's so ugly!and so unattractive I had to go put a shirt on. I hope I don’t get to be really old to be accepting myself and I HATE !! that im so superficial and obsessed with it. I hope it ends really really soon!

And so my photos will suck for a while now … I apologize in advance (to my self of cours)

-------------------------------------

QUICK MESAGE

im not saying this to get comments telling me in beautiful and that my curves are sexy i know my curves are sexy thats not the problem. and not the issue . im just speaking my mind and my insecurities that are taking over again... thats all.

When the daylight comes you feel so cold,

You know

I'm too afraid of my heart to let you go

Waiting for the fire to light

Feeling like we could do right

Be the one that makes tonight

'Cause freedom is a lonely road

We're under control...

SWANK EVENT

Model: HS1

Nala Design

More info, music and photos:

romantomas.blogspot.com/2022/01/964-under-control.html

While in my previous picture I tried to minimize the perspective by moving from the center here I squared it all directly in the middle to accentuate the draw of the perspective.

A female Ring-necked Duck flaps its wings on the Bow River in Carburn Park, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The male Ring-necked Duck in the background in this image illustrates the usually significant differences in appearance between the sexes in ducks. The females are typically better camouflaged to minimize detection by predators while on the nest.

The Laguna Garzón Bridge in Uruguay is a 202-meter circular structure designed by Rafael Viñoly. It connects the department of Rocha (East) with Maldonado (West), crossing the Laguna Garzón—a body of water separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a narrow strip of sand.

Its unusual ring shape serves two main purposes: it inherently forces drivers to slow down for safety and transforms the crossing into a pedestrian-friendly public space with panoramic views. Engineered with widely spaced pillars, the design also minimizes continuous water shading, protecting the lagoon's fragile ecosystem and its status as an Important Bird Area. In the distance, toward the upper left, the seaside resort of José Ignacio can be seen.

Experimenting with shots using Live Bulb mode, which I have discovered works much better than Live Composite for this type of photography. HANDHELD. Only leaning on a strong cement post to minimize camera movements.

Blutmond während der Mondfinsternis am 27.07.2018. Belichtungszeit 20 x 1 sec. Um das Flimmern bzw. Schärfeverlust durch atmosphärische Störungen zu minimieren, wurde hier ein Stack aus 20 Einzelbilder in PixInsight übereinandergelegt.

Leider war in meiner Region der Höhepunkt der Mondfinsternis 2018 schon annähernd vorbei, als der Blutmond endlich über dem Dunst am Horizont emporstieg und sich uns zeigte. Diese Aufnahme entstand zum Ende der Mondfinsternis, bei dem der Mond den Kernschatten der Erde allmählich wieder verließ.

Blood moon during the lunar eclipse on 27.07.2018. Exposure time 20 x 1 sec. To minimize flickering and loss of sharpness due to atmospheric disturbances, a stack of 20 frames has been superimposed in PixInsight.

Unfortunately, in my region the climax of the moon eclipse in 2018 was already almost over when the blood moon finally rose above the haze on the horizon and showed itself to us. This picture was taken at the end of the lunar eclipse, during which the moon gradually left the Earth's umbra.

Website: www.heiko-roebke-photography.de

The Mallard, or Wild duck (Anas platyrhynchos[1]), probably the best-known and most recognizable of all ducks, is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and sub-tropical Americas, Europe, Asia, New Zealand (where it is currently the most common duck species), and Australia.

The male birds have a bright green head, while the female's is light brown. The Mallard lives in wetlands, eats water plants, and is gregarious. It is also migratory. The Mallard is the ancestor of all domestic ducks, and can interbreed with other species of genus Anas.[2] This interbreeding is causing rarer species of ducks to become genetically diluted.

The Mallard is 56–65 centimetres (22–26 in) long, has a wingspan of 81–98 centimetres (32–39 in), and weighs 0.9–1.2 kilograms (32–42 oz). The breeding male is unmistakable, with a bright green head, black rear end and a yellowish orange (can also contain some red) bill tipped with black (as opposed to the dark brown bill in females), and is also nature's most feared duck. The female Mallard is light brown, like most female dabbling ducks. However, both the female and male Mallards have distinct purple speculum edged with white, prominent in flight or at rest (though temporarily shed during the annual summer moult). In non-breeding (eclipse) plumage the drake becomes drab, looking more like the female, but still distinguishable by its yellow bill and reddish breast.

In captivity, domestic ducks come in wild-type plumages, white, and other colours. Most of these colour variants are also known in domestic Mallards not bred as livestock, but kept as pets, aviary birds, etc., where they are rare but increasing in availability.

A noisy species, the male has a nasal call, the female has a "quack" stereotypically associated with ducks.[3]

The Mallard is a rare example of both Allen's Rule and Bergmann's Rule in birds. Bergmann's Rule, which states that polar forms tend to be larger than related ones from warmer climates, has numerous examples in birds. Allen's Rule says that appendages like ears tend to be smaller in polar forms to minimize heat loss, and larger in tropical and desert equivalents to facilitate heat diffusion, and that the polar taxa are stockier overall. Examples of this rule in birds are rare, as they lack external ears. However, the bill of ducks is very well supplied with blood vessels and is vulnerable to cold.

Old Digital Camera: Nikon D300 (2007)

Old Telescope: Celestron Firstscope 80 EQ (2000)

(Press "L" or click on the image for a large view).

Travel Notes: Took image with an old Achromatic refractor + 2X low quality teleconverter. Making it like a 1,800mm telephoto; but when you add the X1.5 crop factor of the DSLR, is like a 2,700mm Telephoto on a full-frame camera. Use a cable release, timer, and Nikon exposure Delay mode in order to minimize shutter vibration. No crop was done to the image. Edited on Adobe Camera Raw and Google Nik Collection, Color Efex Pro 4. If you click two times on the image for a 100% view; you will be able to see craters as small as 5 miles or 8 kilometers in diameter.

(Spanish/Bitácora: Utilice un viejo telescopio junto a un multiplicador. Lo cual lo convirtió en una distancia focal de 1,800mm. Pero al añadir el "crop factor" de la cámara, es casi equivalente a un lente telefoto de 2,700mm.

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