View allAll Photos Tagged morphe
A little different this time, but fun to make, allthough it is not all perfect yet :p Think I will try this again another day :)
It seems Bear's eyes have morphed from blue into green recently. I think I like the green yellow of his eyes. I hope he keeps this color but the blue was pretty awesome too. Only time will tell.
Here he is collapsed on the waiting room floor of the vet clinic I work at. He had just gotten done tearing around after Charlie our clinic cat; they are buds. Sleepy puppy eyes were kicking in. A patch of sunlight was just touching him.
And Flickr over sharpened this one on me. Ugh.
10 weeks, 17.6 lbs today.
""Legendary" is the only word for the JetStar. It was designed by the celebrated Lockheed Skunk Works in the late 1950s, which was at the time under the incredibly intuitive genius of Kelly Johnson. Johnson was the brains behind many aircraft, from the P-80 Shooting Star to the U-2 spy plane, as well as the awesome A-12, which in turn morphed into the incredible SR-71 Blackbird. These planes were all designed before computers and all work was done on a blackboard and with a slide ruler.
When Kelly got the 'go ahead' on the JetStar, the story goes, he wrote down that day the first flight would be 8 months away, to the day - and it did fly on that designated day, as promised. The plane was designed with every back-up system of a Boeing 707 and the initial pilot training took 6 months to teach them to think fast enough and far enough ahead in anticipation of the plane's needed inputs.
The aircraft's original purpose was to compete in a competition to provide a general Utility Transport Category plane for the Air Force. The two aircraft that made the final grade were the two-engine versions of the JetStar from Lockheed and the Saberliner from North American. The JetStar was the initial choice by the Air Force. Meanwhile, the Kennedy White House was looking for Presidential/VIP transport to augment the first 707s that were being used as Air Force One aircraft, and they contacted Lockheed asking if the JetStar could be re-configured as a four-engine aircraft. Lockheed turned to Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Engines about replacing the two French-built Orpheus engines on the original design with four Pratt engines and the plane was re-engineered to its current design, adding slipper tanks on the wings for extra fuel and range.
However, there is another side to the JetStar: its commercial history. Of the 206 JetStars built, only 15 or so were actually delivered to the Air Force inventory. The rest were purchased by individuals and corporations who needed trans-continental and trans-oceanic transportation. The earliest planes went to the likes of the Vanderbilts, the Shah of Iran and a myriad of Fortune 500 companies (Howard Hughes had four of them through his Summa Corporation).
The aircraft went through 3 engine up-grades in its history, each of which added to its range, reliability and legend. Going on 50 years later there are still over 80 of the planes in use by high net-worth individuals, corporations, and several governments around the world. Current users think nothing of gutting a used JetStar and investing millions (the original JetStar was the first non-military plane of its type to cost more than $1 million). They put new interiors in them now that are alone worth more than twice the plane itself cost - now or originally! In addition, to date, no JetStar has ever gone down due to component failure. Lockheed estimates that half of the planes today are used by people who still do not trust two-engine aircraft - even the likes of the ultra-modern and state-of-the-art Gulfstreams.
This C-140B-LM, S/N 62-4201, was manufactured by Lockheed Corporation in Marietta, Georgia, and delivered to the USAF on 3 July 1963. The aircraft was sent to the 1254th Air Transport Wing at Andrews AFB, Maryland, where it remained until January 1966, when it was transferred to the 89th Military Airlift (Special Air Mission) Wing at the same base. The 89th SAM Wing provides transportation for the President and other cabinet-level VIPs. This aircraft was assigned to President Lyndon Baines Johnson and First Lady Claudia Taylor "Lady Bird" Johnson.
In June 1972 this aircraft was redesignated as a VC-140B and by the summer of 1977 was shipped to Ramstein AB, Germany, to serve with the 435th Tactical Airlift Wing. The aircraft was once again redesignated and reconfigured as a C-140B in February 1978, and later that same year moved to the 58th Military Airlift Squadron at Ramstein. The 89th Military Airlift Wing acquired the aircraft again in March 1982 and kept it until it was returned to the 58th in January 1987.
This JetStar returned to the United States in October 1987 when it was sent to serve with the 375th Aeromedical Airlift Wing and the 1467th Facilities Checking Squadron stationed at Scott AFB, Illinois. The plane was used to check aircraft instrument landing systems, a truly tough job for any airplane, and after a left wing spar cracked she was sent to Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona for storage in January 1989. In January 1992 the Jetstar was acquired for static display at Hill Aerospace Museum.
The aircraft began restoration four years ago and has consumed approximately 2,000 manhours and $35,000 on its journey back to presentability. Work should be completed by the end of 2004.
Our restoration goal is a unique one: we want the plane to look as nearly as possible as it did when first delivered July 3, 1963, inside and out. When delivered to Hill Aerospace Museum from storage at Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona there was only carpeting and side panels in the main cabin and one-half of the cockpit was missing.
The initial restoration of the cockpit was done by contacting current owners of JetStars and asking them where they went for mechanical parts, etc. Those companies in turn were contacted and over the course of a year, mostly all JetStar parts and instruments were located to fill in the gaps on the instrument panel. Then we located various flight navigation instruments that the pilots would have used in that era and put them in the cockpit along with charts, etc., so it would look like the pilot had just left the aircraft.
The cabin section was a much more difficult job, primarily since the existing seat frames are still in demand for current flight restorations. The old carpet was removed and used as a template for cutting and then installing new padding and carpeting throughout the aircraft. While doing this, over 300 emails and faxes went out trying to locate seats. Finally, we got a call from the prop master at Universal Studios, who said they had a set of JetStar seats that had been used in the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie "True Lies," which we could buy from them. Eventually they were delivered and their installation was completed. Finally, we contacted the company that made the first JetStar interior kits for the Air Force and they kindly duplicated the headrests and our seats were complete.
The rest of the cabin interior was then treated as "theater" and appropriate knick-knacks (including original 1965 air-sickness bags) were put in the cabin. We even acquired a deck of "Aboard The Presidential JetStar" playing cards that President Johnson had ordered and laid them out on a table, to appear as if the President had just departed the aircraft.
Then something VERY interesting happened: while closing the air stair door a chip of white paint flaked off and we found the one-of-a-kind Air Force blue paint that indicates Presidential usage. We then had some individuals who had worked on the plane at the 89th SAM Wing at Andrews AFB come by and they confirmed that both President Johnson and Lady Bird used the plane extensively. We will be re-painting the aircraft in Presidential livery and moving it inside a gallery so the cockpit and interior will be available to the public for viewing." - www.hill.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/3972...
*They started their primordial existence as microscopic lifeforms placed on separate parts of the Earth's Oceans by a dying race of ancients with the hopes of reviving a once great species. Over ions of existence the unpredictable conditions of this planet slowly morphed them into strange and unrecognizable versions of themselves."
MAKARA
"She grew to embrace the warmth of the sun, despite it's harsh conditions and unforgiving intensity. Through the millennia, her skin flooded with rich dark melanin and she eventually abandoned the ocean as her home. However, life on land has it's own dangers with many predators of all sizes. With that, her hunting techniques became much more aggressive and her food sources more abundant. Through the years, many forms of life on Earth came and gone. Eventually, the rise of bipedal creatures emerged with and strange concepts such as "societies" and "governments" and "currency" arose. Humans have, for one reason or another, evolved to to look and behave strikingly similar to her and she hides among them, despite the fact that she is not human at all. One of these cultures called her Makara and she took the name as her own. In the current age she does not hunt or fight for food or survival. Humans have built mega metropolis' which provide a luxury of easy living, away from the constant hunting and fear of outside predators. Makara has all but forgotten her ancient aquatic past, as she has evolved to live on land among humans and speak their many languages. She thrives within the crowded streets filled with light even in the dark of night. One night, she mind stirs with strange telepathic messages in an ancient tongue..."
Makara is a OOAK Nnaji in Coffee skintone and Busty chest option. Her body blushing is aubergine and deep green, and her body covered in gruesome scars. Her lips and nails are a deep burgundy and her alien gharial eyes vivid shades of green.
SOBEK
"Like her sister, was born in water. But unlike her sister she felt cradled by the dark. The depths of the ocean provided solitude. She feared the sun and it's violent rays. Unable to stand even the faint light that peaked through the surface she delved into the darkest depths she could find. A large section of this ocean is an endless expanse of pitch black water or an "abyss" which interconnects with countless maze-like rocky passageways that expand for thousands of miles. This entire area, completely void of sunlight and home to very few lifeforms, provided a shelter for the her. However, while these underwater caverns are mostly void of life, the few that do manage to exist are extremely aggressive and monstrous in appearance. In the abyss she evolved into a silent ambush predator to feed and hide from horrifying creatures that roam the deep dark. Millenniums pass and she can heard the voices of humans in the water. They tell legends of her and call her Sobek. After ions of lonely existence something in the void calls to her and she discovers an ancient life form of unknown origin even older than herself. A sentient orb covered in metallic scales that is able to telepathically communicate with her. The creature reveals ancient cosmic knowledge, telling her she has a sister, and proposes a trade. It will guide her to her brethren and protect her from the sunlight she fears, but only if she allows the scaled orb to bond with her flesh."
Sobek is a OOAK Nnaji in Milk skintone and Busty chest option. Her body blushing is lilac and burned turquoise. Her head is covered in hand sculpted scales to enhance her monstrous looks. Her lips and nails are a palest pearl pink and her fanged teeth share the same steel grey as her alien gharial eyes.
Strange invention. It has the Jeepney passenger section body, but with an automobile front. I don't get it!
Morphed view of the Gothic-style bank building, erected in 1808 after the designs of Benjamin Henry Latrobe at the southwest corner of Fourth and Chestnut streets. Shows the building projecting upward from the plane of the paper causing a cathedral like effect to the architecture. A gate, lawn, and trees surround the building. An outbuilding is visible on the property. Couples and a lady with a parasol stroll on the sidewalk. The Philadelphia Bank or Bank of Philadelphia (predecessor of the Philadelphia National Bank), formed in 1803, and was incorporated in 1804 as the unofficial bank of the commonwealth. The building was razed in 1836. Print is the only recognized American "Horizontorium" image and one of two known views of the bank.
By 1992, my tastes in railroad photography had morphed from quantity to quality. The Amador Central hit my radar, as it was dependent on the beleaguered timber industry, and its motive power was a pair of 40+ year old Baldwin S-12s. Just 55 miles to the south of AMC's base at Martell, California, the Sierra Railroad had a trio of Baldwin S-12s at its enginehouse in Oakdale. If you had an affinity for photogenic shortlines - especially those with elderly locomotives constructed by minority builders - the Sierra foothills in Central California were the place to be.
These photos were taken the first time I visited the Amador Central Railroad in July 1992. My wife and I had chased the SP 4449 south from Portland the previous weekend, and we were visiting our friend Tom Messer in Fair Oaks. He took me to Martell so we could chase AMC. Unfortunately, the day we chose for a visit was a day that the railroad only switched out the Georgia Pacific mill, and did not run down the hill to the Southern Pacific interchange at Ione. These are the images I recorded on Kodachrome that day.
Here, AMC 9 fouls the California Lane grade crossing as the brakeman throws a switch.
You met her in a chat room as Kate 26
Laughed and confided, you even shared pics.
This message is posted to tell Kate is away,
She has morphed into someone quite different today !!!
You will find her in chat rooms as wildgentlebreeze
Her hormones are raging, quite hard to please
She's cutting, sarcastic and sometimes quite lewd,
Not at all like the Kate 26 that you knew !!!
The seasons change less than Kate 26 moods
Sometimes she's a cartoon, at others a nude.
With each different picture she changes her name,
Don't take it personal, it is part of her game.
Sometimes she is funny, flirtatious and fat,
At others real lonely and missing her cat.
She is friendly or furious, on Mondays she's meek,
At least five different people by the end of the week !!
On Tuesday she has kids, on Wednesday there's none,
Cause this is the night Kate 26 has her fun.
She is hetro and mono, bi and is gay,
This isn't confusing, it just depends on the day !!!!
On Fridays real sporty, off with the crowd,
On Saturdays dancing, with music played loud.
She climbed mountains and sailed, loved and she lost,
Went riding on horseback, took drugs and smoked pot !!
Lived in Perth and Kentucky, sometimes as a bot,
Lived in cold snowy places, others quite hot.
But the truth to be known; ask if you dare,
Kate 26 never moved from her chair !!!!!!!!
And I guess that's the magic of internet chat,
Some people are honest, some wear different hats.
So remember behind clever names on the screen,
There are people there typing, who are not what they seem !!
And as for your new friend, young Kate 26,
She looks nothing like that sexy young chic.
Though her mind is still sharp, her fingers move quick,
She probably thinks you're a bit of a Dick !!!
She has four grown children, she's old and is grey,
Re- living her youth in a 'virtual' way.
To find the real person, I'm sorry to say,
It's a pity but matey ____ You picked the WRONG DAY !!!!
~Ken Hodgkinson
Julie - 8Apr11
The long running Ralston Type-8 morphed into the 'Tigre' line in 1938, running late, as the promised V8 from Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Cord line failed with that company, and the inline-8 which had similarly been bought it from A-C-D (used in the Auburn), was also no longer in series production from the engine works.
No matter. There was a modest stockpile of inline-8 engines which was gradually depleted in the manufacture of the Rhino model. Meanwhile 1938 brought with it a V8 engine from Cadillac, fitted to a chassis frame of Ralston's own design. The shorter engine allowed a greater allocation of overall length to the passenger area - though truth be told, more of if went to providing greater luggage capacity, and a more cab-forward look to the cars.
The Tigre MkI, still know as the Type-8 Tigre was replaced after WWII, with a MkII design, losing this Type-8 appellation. The new model appeared at the end of 1953, the car based on the new post WWII Cadillac frame, engine and underbody of the 1948-53 Series 60 (in particular the slightly longer 60 Special). The tooling was transferred to Ralston upon completion of the 1953 model year. By this stage the preceding MkI was now 15 years old, though this included the period through the war years.
The adoption of Cadillac underpinnings provided the Ralston Tigre MkII with the calibre of running gear demanded by the marque's premium position, though with a much reduced outlay, particularly compared to their premium US-based builders such as Packard. Key differentiation with the originating Cadillac was the Ralston themed 'X' radiator grille, unique bumper treatment, and completely reprofiled rear fender tops, truncating in a rocket-pod tail lamp cluster, instead of the Cadillac 'fin'. Not elements sat completely at ease with the carryover Cadillac based structure.
An update to the Tigre MkII in 1956 led to the MkII-B. a few of the elements were cleared up in the styling, plus the addition of a number of 'flourishes' that had emerged during the 1952-55 model years. Chief among these were 'tailfins' no longer the preserve of Cadillac, but sprouting taller and wilder each year on all US domestic brands. Compared to the 1954 model, the MkII-B had slightly taller fins, but they were much more prominent in the styling, as they were accentuated by both chrome trim separating them from the fender bulge, and also incorporating one of the zones for the bi-colour and tri-colour themes.
In 1958 the car was upgraded further with the advent of the MkII-C. This model again received changes to the fender, front and rear. At the front, the fender height was increased, making the car look both more modern, and also tying the top ridge into the unmodified doors and sides. The rear fender was modified to include a tapering fin, which then led to a tail lamp treatment which was to evolve further into a 'rocket pod' on subsequent models. The 'X' theme was continued to include a 'X' rocket, mounted centrally in the trunk lid. This could alternatively be swapped out for a conventionally styled horizontal trim, if the Continental spare wheel option was included (though this had also phased out of popularity over a short time period). The new trunk lid also shared the tapering profile of the fins. Although this look less modern compared to the newly squared up trunk lids from GM and Ford's divisions, it suited the 'classic' lines of the Ralston Tigre model, leading many to state that the MkII-C was perhaps the most conservatively handsome of mid-century Ralston models, particularly on the SWB closed models.
Additional styling changes included a modest reinterpretation of the grille, including the addition of 'Dagmars' at its extremities, and a new front bumper including marker lights.
The 1954 car launched with the same tune 331 CID (5.4 litre) V8, producing 230 bhp (175 kW), for 1956 this was raised to 285 bhp (213 kW) with an increase in capacity to 365 CID (6.0 litres). The 1958 MkII-C retained the 365 CID V8, but power increased to 310 bhp (230 kW).
Shown here is the 1958 MkII-C 6-Window Limousine in single-colour midnight black. This was a commonly ordered model using the long wheelbase chassis (along with the 4-window Limousine and Phaetons). The LWB chassis featured the 147 in (3,729 mm) chassis from the 1950-53 Cadillac 75 Series.
This Ralston Tigre MkII-C 6-Window Limousine (1958) has be built on Lego miniland scale for Flickr LUGNuts 95th Build Challenge, - 'Designing the Ralston Legacy' - a challenge to design the fictitious Dragon 'Motorcycle' model for the fictitious Ralston company, though any of the previous Ralston challenge vehicles, the Tiger or the Rhino are also eligible to be submitted. The chief stipulation is that the model must feature a 'X' in the styling.
morphed from a crocus flower and a glass of water! ;~) Mardi Gras is on my Bday this year so I've gotten into it a little more than usual...
Morphée remontre le bout de ses bois un peu plus loin, traversant calmement l'allée enherbée avec femme et enfant.
Cerf élaphe en forêt de Mormal
I can't believe that the Whole Foods that I cherished in my youth growing up in Austin, Texas - the one that vigorously promoted healthy eating and where hippies roamed barefoot in the aisles while savoring the scent of patchouli incense - has morphed into an institution bolstering neo-con "values."
Tonight, I will purchase from WF for the last time (at least until they change their policies). Franc and I had already planned to have dinner from there, so I will go through with that - but when I go there to buy the meal, I will tell them why I am boycotting them hereafter. And later I will make flyers and distribute them at WF.
I go to my local Farmer's Market more often anyway, but occassionally I do go to WF, as they have some good stuff (their organic cooked chickens are SKRUM). But it's pricey and the store has such an elitist atmosphere - it's teeming with liberal bourgeois, or just outright bourgeois. Our Farmer's Market fucking ROCKS and is AFFORDABLE and peeps from all cultures and income levels swarm the place.
----------
Why You Should Boycott Whole Foods
By Russell Mokhiber , CounterPunch. Posted August 14, 2009.
The company's CEO has just launched a major campaign to defeat a single payer national health insurance,
John Mackey is a right wing libertarian.
He’s a union buster.
He believes that corporations should not be criminally prosecuted for their crimes.
He has just launched a campaign to defeat a single payer national health insurance system.
And he’s the CEO of Whole Foods.
Primo hangout of liberal Democratic yuppies.
“We are all responsible for our own lives and our own health,” Mackey wrote yesterday in the Wall Street Journal. “We should take that responsibility very seriously and use our freedom to make wise lifestyle choices that will protect our health. Doing so will enrich our lives and will help create a vibrant and sustainable American society.”
Yes it will, John Mackey.
Yes it will.
I do take that responsibility very seriously.
I try to eat well.
And exercise regularly.
I also take my responsibility as a citizen seriously.
After all, Mr. Mackey, we are all responsible for our own civic lives and our own civic health.
We should take that responsibility very seriously and use our freedom and make wise civic and consumer choices that will protect our nation’s health.
Doing so will enrich our civic lives and help create a vibrant and sustainable American society.
That’s why, today, we are calling on all American citizens to boycott Whole Foods.
Why?
Because Mackey has launched a public campaign to defeat single payer national health insurance.
This despite the bottom line reality that single payer is the only way to both control health care costs and cover everyone.
As Dr. Marcia Angell says in today’s New York Times, “if you keep health care in the hands of for-profit companies, you can increase coverage by putting more money into the system, or control costs by decreasing coverage. But you cannot do both unless you change the basic structure of the system.”
Mackey leads his Wall Street Journal diatribe against national health insurance with a quote from one of his heroines – Margaret Thatcher: “The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.”
And the problem with Mackey’s campaign is that it results in the deaths of 60 Americans every day due to lack of health insurance.
Mackey is responsible for these deaths as much as anyone.
And we are responsible for putting money into his Whole Food bank account so that he can continue his campaign without resistance.
I know that this boycott of Whole Foods will upset many liberal Democrats.
Where will they buy their organic wines?
And cheeses?
And tofu?
There are options.
Your local health food co-op.
Farmers’ markets.
Community supported agriculture.
Other corporate chains like Trader Joe’s.
So, please, join the Single Payer Action Boycott of Whole Foods.
Don’t cross the picket lines.
Don’t spend another penny at Whole Foods until John Mackey and his right wing friends are defeated.
And single payer is enacted.
Onward to single payer.
By 1992, my tastes in railroad photography had morphed from quantity to quality. The Amador Central hit my radar, as it was dependent on the beleaguered timber industry, and its motive power was a pair of 40+ year old Baldwin S-12s. Just 55 miles to the south of AMC's base at Martell, California, the Sierra Railroad had a trio of Baldwin S-12s at its enginehouse in Oakdale. If you had an affinity for photogenic shortlines - especially those with elderly locomotives constructed by minority builders - the Sierra foothills in Central California were the place to be.
These photos were taken the first time I visited the Amador Central Railroad in July 1992. My wife and I had chased the SP 4449 south from Portland the previous weekend, and we were visiting our friend Tom Messer in Fair Oaks. He took me to Martell so we could chase AMC. Unfortunately, the day we chose for a visit was a day that the railroad only switched out the Georgia Pacific mill, and did not run down the hill to the Southern Pacific interchange at Ione. These are the images I recorded on Kodachrome that day.
In this image, the Baldwin locomotive shoves two loads into AMC's modest yard at Martell.
Michaela Gaborova morphed as Mona Lisa by Scott Lund
#MonaLisaCode #ScottLund #LeonardoDaVinci #MonaLisa #LaJoconde #LaGioconda #Bramante #Tempietto #Janiculum #LisaGherardini #Leonardo #DaVinci #DaVinciCode #ArtHistory #History #Art #Painting
Foto was rotated: Its bottom is bushes, its pink is sunset after-glow, its clouds have morphed into smoke signals. Is it only in history books and movies were our children will learn of the smoke signal languages? Such smoke some of our ancestors used before telegraphs, telephones, or iphones took much of disorganized Humanity on this wild goose chase. Many allow their lives to be so entrapped materially.
Lets resolve and work so life's Rat-race, Almighty Money Chase, and Greed will control less of each of our lives>
Have you also heard the banks in Paradise do not accept cash, checks, or credit cards? Now are you collecting up acceptable tender for that last bank in the sky? How long is eternity?
"My soul yearns for you in the night, yes, my spirit within me keeps vigil for you;
When your judgment dawns upon the earth, the world's inhabitants learn justice."
Isaiah 26:9
EXPLORE # 269 & 442 & 487 on Saturday, January 26, 2008
Music:
Song 1 and 2
Artist: El Twanguero
Album: Carreteras Secundarias Vol. 1
Songs: Ciego Solitario, Green Eyed Girl
Song 3
Artist: Mark Orton
Album: Nebraska - OST
Song: Their Pie
Day 29-30 of 40
Day 29
Once we reached the far end of Cecile Lake (10239) and where the route down was, I was finally able to gaze down onto the dark blue waters of Iceberg Lake (9774), 465 ft below me. Iceberg Lake has a large wedge of granite that juts out into it forming a peninsula, which I'm assuming gives the lake it's name, since it has a grayish white color and kind of resembles the appearance an iceberg.
From here we began our decent to Iceberg Lake. At first the climb down was steep, over hard packed dirt covered by loose, slippery pebbles, with rock out croppings on our right side that worked well as hand holds. In this particular section we were guided by a primitive trail. As we worked our way down, Logan and Todd blazed on ahead, while Clare and Marissa took their time, followed by myself. After we climbed down that steepest section we could level out our routes and the primitive trail became broken and not easily followed as it appeared in multiple places at once as a kind of “choose your own path” and eventually disappearing altogether and turning into cairns every dozen feet or so. The hard packed dirt of the decent morphed into talus that dominated the steep terrain for the rest of the way until we reached the far side of Iceberg Lake, where we were greeted and relieved of our struggles by soft grass and a few small trees.
Here the terrain leveled out and a well worn path appeared as a deeply cut rut in the grasses, we stopped here and rested. I told them that the trail from here to Lake Ediza was easy and I felt comfortable leaving them to travel it without me. Clare returned my hiking pole and Logan gave me two of the fish they had caught earlier at Cecile Lake. I thanked them for the fish, and they thanked me for staying with them and making sure they made it safely to where we were now. I wished them Happy Trails, then I began to hike away as Logan and Todd once again headed down to the lake shore to try their luck at fishing.
I was once again on my own. I crossed over the outflow creek that flowed from Iceberg Lake to cascade down into Lake Ediza. I followed that as long as I could until it carved a deep gully into the terrain. Here I veered off to the west and made my way over slabby mounds of rock. Working my way up, over, around, and down them and in places clinging closely to them with my hands and feet, on my way to the meadowlands that stretch westward, up from the shores of lake Ediza.
My plan today was to reach Nydiver Lakes, but as I entered the meadowlands the sun was setting behind the Ritter Range, casting *crepuscular rays through the atmospheric haze and since I did not want to hike cross country in the dark I decided to spend the night here.
*(Sometimes English is not a very elegant language, for example crepuscular rays. Crepuscular sounds like a horrible skin condition. In Icelandic the word for it is solstafir, which has a very beautiful soulful sound. Even Japanese has a better name for it, komorebi, which is more appropriately used for sunlight filtering through the forest canopy, which is created by a similar atmospheric condition. I suppose I could use sunbeams or sun rays, but those just don't properly convey the sight.)
I found a place by a creek to take some quick photos of the beautiful solstafir, then I looked for a place to set up my tent. I found a nice spot beneath a large, old juniper.
Now the sun had completely set behind the mountains and their shadows fully embraced me I took some time to photograph all the little intricate details of the foliage and rocks that surrounded me. After the light of day faded from the sky and there was not enough light left to take any more photos, I headed back to my tent beneath the sheltering branches of the wise old juniper for the night. Just before I crawled into my sleeping bag, I remembered the fish that had been given to me. I didn't want them to spoil, so I grabbed the bag that held them and took it down to the stream to keep them cold until breakfast tomorrow.
Day 30
There was not the slightest breath of breeze this morning and the still air was crisp and cold. Grabbing my camera gear I headed down to the creek where I had stored the fish last night to make sure no critters had wandered off with them as I slept. Frost embraced the grasses that crunched beneath my feet and my breath condensed into clouds. When I reached the creek my fish were undisturbed and thin layers of ice had formed in the slower moving sections of the creek.
I had no idea how the light of sunrise was going to paint the landscape this morning so I just sat down on a rock near the creek and waited. I did not plan ahead for any photos this time, so as the earth's purple shadow crawled nearer to the tops Mt. Banner (12143) and Mt. Ritter (13143) I just returned to the same spot as yesterday and hoped for the best. Shortly after the shadow sunk behind the peaks, Banner and Ritter glowed in the most subtle, yet beautiful pink I have seen so far on this journey.
After I got the sunrise photos I wanted I went back to get the fish. The icy water was so cold it was almost painful as I stuck my hand in it to pull out the bag of fish. The fish themselves were frozen and stuck in the position that the bag had stored them in. I took them back to camp. Before preparing them, I thanked the fish for their nourishment and sacrifice. Then I cut them into chunks and put them into my small jet boil pot, heads and all, covered them with water and boiled them up. Once they were done I pulled them out and used the already boiled water full of fish oils and fats to rehydrate one of my dehydrated meals. As that was rehydrating I pulled the bones easily out of the fish and ate. I left the heads and bones on a rock so any critters could have themselves a meal. Then I ate the rehydrated food.
I headed back down to the creek to wash the fish from my hands in the painfully cold water. By this time the sun had risen enough to cast light on the area and I spent some time taking more photos. The frozen grasses were now steaming, as the warm rays of sun melted and evaporated the frost into a mist that swirled like spirits ascending skyward. Once the interesting light conditions faded as the sun climbed higher I headed back to my campsite and packed up my stuff.
I then started on my way to Nydiver Lakes (10095). I followed the creek, that I had stored the fish in last night and photographed this morning, up stream in a northwesterly direction towards a little tarn at the foot of Mt. Ritter. At first the going was easy, but it soon grew more difficult as the terrain began to slope steeply up. I contoured my way up gradually, hugging the mountain slope instead of going straight up. The meadowlands where ringed by a patchy forest of pine, hemlock and willow, which I had to make my way through. When I emerged on the other side the steepness of the terrain relaxed and became more gradual. I crossed over the creek and followed its babbling cascades towards it's source.
Looking back I could see Lake Ediza (9265), shrinking away below me. I could also see the summit of Mammoth Mountain and the ski lift that was was build on her. Since I could see the ski lift I wondered if I might have cell service. So I pulled out my cell phone and turned it on. I had one bar, so I tried to send a text message, but it was not able to send, so I held my phone higher to get a better signal. As I was doing this two backpackers where descending and seeing me with my phone out, one of them asked, “Would you like me to take it?”
“Take what?” I asked.
“Your picture,” He replied.
I was at first confused by the seemingly weird, out of the blue question, but I then realized that he thought I was trying to take a selfie.
“No”, I answered, “I was trying to get a better signal, but thanks for the offer.”
“No problem,” he said as he turned to leave, “Have a great day.”
“You too, happy trails.” I said as the two of the wandered off.
The other one that hadn't said anything then flashed the peace sign as they continued downhill away from me.
A short distance later I reached the small tarn that I was aiming for. Mt Banner's and Ritter's towering summits looming over it's still, shallow, clear waters. This is a beautiful tarn (10000) that would have made for some excellent morning photography. Had I continued further last night instead of stopping I would have spent the night here. I took my pack off as well as my shoes and socks. I switched to my wide angle lens and after soaking my feet in the cold snow melt I took some photos.
Then I took out my map to figure out what I was going to do. There is a beautiful tarn above Garnet Lake that I have been to once before, but I did not have the proper wide angle lens to photograph it with, nor did I have the time to spend the night there so I could photograph it at sunrise because I was with a group that wanted to keep moving, so I made a promise to myself that I would return there. In planing this journey, I made sure that my route would take me by that particular tarn and that was one of the two, now three, for sure stops I had planed, every other place I have stopped for the night was determined by one thing: what kind of photos can I get there at either sunrise or set. I had a general idea of where I would stay each night but it was all open. The second was Vogelsang High Sierra Camp because Mark, my old scout master wanted some photos of it. The third for sure stop was the place that Carl had told me about that was a favorite spot of Ansel Adams. Anyways, I now had to decide if I was going to go to Nydiver Lakes or go to the tarn above Garnet Lake. After calculating my food and the other areas I wanted to check out for photography opportunities I decided to skip Nydiver Lakes this time and head over to the tarn that I promised myself I would return to.
I put my shoes and socks back on and continued on up hill to Whitebark Pass (10740) between Nydiver Lakes and Garnet Lake (9678). As I climbed higher the small tarn faded away behind the rolling landscape and the multiple Nydiver lakes appeared below and to my right. I made my way over some steeply sloping mountainside strewn with lots of loose rocks, not big enough to be considered talus but still dangerous. Eventually I reached the top of the ridge line. I walked along it until I reached the pass. Here I stopped for another break, and to take in the view. From here I could see Mammoth Mountain (11030) far off in the distance in front of me to the east and Donahue Pass (11056) on the PCT/JMT to the north, behind me to the west Banner and Ritter towered into the clear sky. To the south where the Minarets and the tiniest speck of Cecile Lake nestled beneath them. Below me on my right where the Nydiver Lakes and immediately below me to my left was Garnet Lake (9678) with it's many islands scattered throughout her deep blue waters. At the western tip of Garnet Lake where two jeweled tarns, one of which was my destination for today and the place that I had promised myself I would return to. On the far northern most shore of Garnet Lake rose a rounded ridge beyond which lay Thousand Island Lake (9833), that I would be passing by tomorrow on my way to North Glacier Pass.
As I rested, I heard, and then saw two backpackers ascending the pass where I would soon be descending. Before they even reached the top one of them waved and called out to me. I waved back and responded. Once they reached the top I noticed one of them had a pair of oars sticking out of the top of his pack.
After inquiring about the oars I found out that they have a lightweight, custom made raft with them and that they had spent the night on the largest island in the middle of Garnet Lake. We talked a bit longer and then they asked if I could take their photo with the lake below them. Once I took theirs, they took mine. After that I wished them happy trails and the two of them continued on to Nydiver Lakes.
I began my decent down to the western shore of Garnet Lake to a grassy meadow with a meandering creek flowing through it. As I navigated my way down the the steeply sloping talus marmots scurried away from me. Eventually I came to a unkempt trail winding it's way downward. The rocks in places were loose and shifted under my weight, but all in all they were pretty stable. The trail appeared sandy and gravely, which means it would be slippery. I decided to try the trail. After fifteen feet or so of slipping and sliding I went back to rock hopping over talus. Soon clumps of grass poked their way through the boulders and beyond that I saw a large patch of grass. I aimed for that. When I reached it I got a short reprieve from the arduous rock hopping and I was relieved to be on solid earth once again.
After a short break I continued downhill towards the grassy meadow. Once I left the patch of grass more talus awaited me, but much less than before. After not much time at all I was at the bottom and making my way across the meadow, over the creek and around a small hill. Once that was behind me the tarn I promised myself I would return to lay before me, it's waters sparkling in the sunlight. I knelt down on it's bank, took my hat off, dunked it into the refreshing water then put it back on my head and let the cool water trickle down my face and neck.
I followed the shoreline to the tarn's eastern edge and dropped my pack in the shade beneath a stunted pine tree. I then searched for a flat spot to set up camp. As I was searching I noticed that all of the small bushes that lined the tarn were full of blue berries. Once I found a good spot for camp I spent the next few hours filling up a one liter water bottle half full of the delicious berries, though it would have been fuller had I not eaten handfuls of them as I picked them. I decided I would save the rest for breakfast tomorrow.
After I finished gathering what I could I went back to where my stuff was and I lied down to take a nap. A while later I was awoken to the sound of hoof beats rushing by. Sitting up as quickly as I could I saw the tail end of a deer as it dashed away over a hill in the direction of the lake. At first I was startled then I was in awe of the close encounter, but then nervousness and fear crept in as I wondered what had scared it. I remembered back to when I had heard the mountain lion near Duck Lake days earlier. I grabbed my knife and scanned my surroundings for movement. Then I saw two figures moving along the ridge line of the pass I would be going over tomorrow. The two of them slowly made their way down from the ridge towards the tarn. As they got closer I waved to them. Seeing me, they diverted their course and headed in my direction. As they got closer I began to hear music playing, I recognized it as Jimi Hendrix's “Purple Haze”. How any one could ruin the wonderful silence of the mountains with music is beyond my comprehension, but to each their own.
When they reached me I said, “How's it going, would you two like some blueberries?”
“Blueberries?” They asked.
“Yeah,” I repeated, “Blueberries.” Then I explained, “This tarn is lined with them.” As I pointed to a bush.
“Sure.” They said.
I handed them the bottle and they each poured a small amount out into their hands.
“Purple Haze” faded into Cream's “Sunshine of Your Love”, and one of the guys said, “ We don't have much to trade but if you'd like some whiskey we got some Jameson.”
“I don't need anything, but thanks for the offer.” I replied.
He then said, “It wouldn't feel right if I didn't give you something in return.”
Then he asked his hiking partner to reach in his pack for the whiskey. He handed me the flask. Not wanting to be rude I took it and took a swig, then I handed it back and thanked him. We talk for a bit longer then they continued on their way.
As they walked away the sun sank behind Banner Peak and I headed over to where the deer had disappeared over the hill. Here I had a beautiful view of the sapphire blue waters of Garnet Lake dotted with islands. I sat down on a large rock and watched Mt. Banner's shadow slowly creep across the lake until the hill on the far side glowed pink in the alpine glow. Once the light faded and the sky grew dark I headed back to my campsite, climbed in my tent, crawled in my sleeping bag and fell asleep.
The benefits of living @ Morphe, Inc. Castles... cathedrals.. heaven.
Dress ImmateriA "Sanguisuga"
Skin JOLI "Lucretia" / Alabaster
Tattoo Goth1co "Whatever Tomorrow Brings" from Creepy Cutie Carnival
FK! "Cthulhu collar
By 1992, my tastes in railroad photography had morphed from quantity to quality. The Amador Central hit my radar, as it was dependent on the beleaguered timber industry, and its motive power was a pair of 40+ year old Baldwin S-12s. Just 55 miles to the south of AMC's base at Martell, California, the Sierra Railroad had a trio of Baldwin S-12s at its enginehouse in Oakdale. If you had an affinity for photogenic shortlines - especially those with elderly locomotives constructed by minority builders - the Sierra foothills in Central California were the place to be.
These photos were taken the first time I visited the Amador Central Railroad in July 1992. My wife and I had chased the SP 4449 south from Portland the previous weekend, and we were visiting our friend Tom Messer in Fair Oaks. He took me to Martell so we could chase AMC. Unfortunately, the day we chose for a visit was a day that the railroad only switched out the Georgia Pacific mill, and did not run down the hill to the Southern Pacific interchange at Ione. These are the images I recorded on Kodachrome that day.
This was the builders plate on AMC 9. At the time, the locomotive was 41 years old. Ironically, 53 years to the day after AMC 9 was constructed, our daughter was born.
The long running Ralston Type-8 morphed into the 'Tigre' line in 1938, running late, as the promised V8 from Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Cord line failed with that company, and the inline-8 which had similarly been bought it from A-C-D (used in the Auburn), was also no longer in series production from the engine works.
No matter. There was a modest stockpile of inline-8 engines which was gradually depleted in the manufacture of the Rhino model. Meanwhile 1938 brought with it a V8 engine from Cadillac, fitted to a chassis frame of Ralston's own design. The shorter engine allowed a greater allocation of overall length to the passenger area - though truth be told, more of if went to providing greater luggage capacity, and a more cab-forward look to the cars.
The Tigre MkI, still know as the Type-8 Tigre was replaced after WWII, with a MkII design, losing this Type-8 appellation. The new model appeared at the end of 1953, the car based on the new post WWII Cadillac frame, engine and underbody of the 1948-53 Series 60 (in particular the slightly longer 60 Special). The tooling was transferred to Ralston upon completion of the 1953 model year. By this stage the preceding MkI was now 15 years old, though this included the period through the war years.
The adoption of Cadillac underpinnings provided the Ralston Tigre MkII with the calibre of running gear demanded by the marque's premium position, though with a much reduced outlay, particularly compared to their premium US-based builders such as Packard. Key differentiation with the originating Cadillac was the Ralston themed 'X' radiator grille, unique bumper treatment, and completely reprofiled rear fender tops, truncating in a rocket-pod tail lamp cluster, instead of the Cadillac 'fin'. Not elements sat completely at ease with the carryover Cadillac based structure.
An update to the Tigre MkII in 1956 led to the MkII-B. a few of the elements were cleared up in the styling, plus the addition of a number of 'flourishes' that had emerged during the 1952-55 model years. Chief among these were 'tailfins' no longer the preserve of Cadillac, but sprouting taller and wilder each year on all US domestic brands. Compared to the 1954 model, the MkII-B had slightly taller fins, but they were much more prominent in the styling, as they were accentuated by both chrome trim separating them from the fender bulge, and also incorporating one of the zones for the bi-colour and tri-colour themes.
In 1958 the car was upgraded further with the advent of the MkII-C. This model again received changes to the fender, front and rear. At the front, the fender height was increased, making the car look both more modern, and also tying the top ridge into the unmodified doors and sides. The rear fender was modified to include a tapering fin, which then led to a tail lamp treatment which was to evolve further into a 'rocket pod' on subsequent models. The 'X' theme was continued to include a 'X' rocket, mounted centrally in the trunk lid. This could alternatively be swapped out for a conventionally styled horizontal trim, if the Continental spare wheel option was included (though this had also phased out of popularity over a short time period). The new trunk lid also shared the tapering profile of the fins. Although this look less modern compared to the newly squared up trunk lids from GM and Ford's divisions, it suited the 'classic' lines of the Ralston Tigre model, leading many to state that the MkII-C was perhaps the most conservatively handsome of mid-century Ralston models, particularly on the SWB closed models.
Additional styling changes included a modest reinterpretation of the grille, including the addition of 'Dagmars' at its extremities, and a new front bumper including marker lights.
The 1954 car launched with the same tune 331 CID (5.4 litre) V8, producing 230 bhp (175 kW), for 1956 this was raised to 285 bhp (213 kW) with an increase in capacity to 365 CID (6.0 litres). The 1958 MkII-C retained the 365 CID V8, but power increased to 310 bhp (230 kW).
Shown here is the 1958 MkII-C 6-Window Limousine in single-colour midnight black. This was a commonly ordered model using the long wheelbase chassis (along with the 4-window Limousine and Phaetons). The LWB chassis featured the 147 in (3,729 mm) chassis from the 1950-53 Cadillac 75 Series.
This Ralston Tigre MkII-C 6-Window Limousine (1958) has be built on Lego miniland scale for Flickr LUGNuts 95th Build Challenge, - 'Designing the Ralston Legacy' - a challenge to design the fictitious Dragon 'Motorcycle' model for the fictitious Ralston company, though any of the previous Ralston challenge vehicles, the Tiger or the Rhino are also eligible to be submitted. The chief stipulation is that the model must feature a 'X' in the styling.