Remodel, Week 8

Last up from Walmart comes this scene – cosmetics without its makeup, so to speak (ba-dum-tss). The home reset didn't look to be finished – in fact, the main actionway from the left-side vestibule to the rear of the store is nonexistent currently due to so many dislocated shelves and pallets of stock – but the remodel crew is moving on anyway, what with this and sporting goods. Actually, in these cases it's more than likely store employees just carrying out the resets rather than a remodel crew, but you get my point!

(c) 2016 Retail Retell

These places are public so these photos are too, but just as I tell where they came from, I'd appreciate if you'd say who :)

Those days when...

You’ll rather lock yourself in your room and tune out the world.

Be consumed by your emptiness and wish to be nonexistent.

You get easily bruised; live with them for awhile and feel completely torn the next day.

Isn’t it grand that you will get out of your way for absolutely anyone, to make them thrilled with life and no one will ever do the same for you because they think you are perfectly fine???

I’m not!!!;(

Bottom line:

I’ll take a breather; maybe a day or two or perhaps a week, until I feel whole again.

This month’s challenge called I Smell A (Modern) Rat asks us what would rat rodding be like if we applied the same principles to modern cars. For this I chose a Dodge Magnum with a V-8 Hemi. Instead of a more predictable post-apoc Mad Max look, I went with a beach combing car with rugged tires, wood paneling, and a nonexistent roof and tailgate. Just enough rust and patina adds a bit of well loved character while a wooden deck and benches gives this “Magnum Opus” a boat-like appearance that’s suitable for fishing, surfing, or just soaking up some rays. Its the perfect modern rat rod for a hot summer day!

I'm gobsmacked by several things here. First, the light was nonexistent. Yet the Sony A7RII performed extremely well at incredibly high ISO. Second, using knowledge developed around a digital Zone System, I knew precisely where I wanted the tonal values and was able to place them accordingly. Third, I am happy to confirm the dynamic range of the sensor extends usefully to below Zone 0 (Zone -2!), even at such high ISO settings. Fourth, 1950s German optics can do the trick. These images were made using a triplet wide angle. Who would design such a thing and make it work? Micro-contrast is something to be seen, otherwise you wouldn't believe it.

This week the Val Marie group of 4 assignment was "blue". I thought it would be difficult, but it wasn't. Although blue sky was nonexistent for most of the week, I found plenty of blue subjects around the house.

For this photo I had my camera on a tripod and the lens stopped down to a small aperture. Blueberries, of course, are more purple than blue, so I shot the first image at 2500 degrees K - which turned the daylight from my kitchen window very blue indeed. I could have done this in post processing, but wanted to see the result while shooting. Then I made a few shots using auto white balance, and finished with several out of focus shots from the same camera angle, at a wide f-stop. I ended up using one of these in the final composite.

In RAW adjustments, I boosted the contrast so that most of the middle tones were eliminated. Then in Photoshop I did some extreme sharpening, and sandwiched the shot with one of the out of focus images, adjusted the opacity until I had the blend I wanted, et voila!

Most important, though, is that the milk was poured OVER the frozen blueberries so that it partially froze too, and under the blueberries was some Greek yogurt, and under the Greek yogurt was some hot oatmeal with raisins. All of which I ate.

Here are the other interpretations of "blue":

www.flickr.com/photos/rwharwood/8394540138/in/contacts/

www.flickr.com/photos/redcalfstudio/8395152896/in/contacts/

www.flickr.com/photos/pjwoodland/8396790654/in/contacts/

www.flickr.com/photos/pjwoodland/8396790530/in/photostream

Don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without explicit permission.

© James R. Page - all rights reserved

Quite a ways from West Ham

remote nighttime stobe. A possible historical source for Ophelia was Katherine Hamnet, a woman who fell into the Avon River and died in December 1579. Though it was eventually concluded that she had overbalanced while carrying some heavy pails, rumours that she was suffering from a broken heart were considered plausible enough for an inquest to be conducted into whether her death was a suicide. It is possible that Shakespeare - 16 at the time of the death - recalled the romantic tragedy in his creation of the character of Ophelia.[1] The name "Ophelia" itself was either uncommon or nonexistent; the only known prior text to use the name (as Ofelia) is Jacopo Sannazaro's Arcadia, presumably etymologically deriving from Ancient Greek ὄφελος "help, good, benefit, advantage". The early modern stage in England had an established set of emblematic conventions for the representation of female madness: disheveled hair worn down, dressed in white, bedecked with wild flowers, Ophelia's state of mind would have been immediately 'readable' to her first audiences.[12] "Colour was a major source of stage symbolism" Pre-Raphaelite painters siezed on this legend and made great noise of it. (Look up Lizzie Siddal, the original super UeberModel of 1880. View FULL SIZE. always have my SB900 in the water on the gorillaPOD!

What would be a Finnish summer without weddings? I don't know how it happens in the rest of the world, but in Finland majority of weddings are arranged in summer when there is plenty of light and warm. So it happened that my own sister Senja was getting married with Esa and she asked if I could take some pictures of the event. Now, I've never done any wedding photography before but I thought that while I'm trying to stay active with my photography I should also throw myself into situations that are far beyond my comfort zone – and besides being a close relative I couldn't have said 'no' for her anyway. So I decided to try out some wedding photography.

In overall the situation was not as challenging as it first sounds because my role was to act as a 'second shooter' which also meant that I didn't have to sweat for the formal wedding portrait (phew), and I could concentrate on being there at the moment armed with my camera. I chose to work this through with the Batis 1.8/85 and Batis 2/25 because of their autofocus capability. I had plenty of excitement already and I didn't want to mix the challenge of manual focus with the Loxias there. This was definitely an oddball setup as I was basically missing some of the most used focal lengths and was kind of working with the extreme ends of standard 24-70 mm lens which is pretty common in wedding and event photography. Afterwards I think I should have tried the Loxias there as well because for certain kind of pictures focusing manually isn't really a problem (and I've become accustomed to it quite a bit actually). Working with Batis lenses was great from image quality's point of view, but I have to admit that nothing beats a fast zoom like the new Sony 24-70 f/2.8 GM as it would have given me a lot more agility during the fast moments.

I already knew beforehand that the most challenging part of the day would definitely be the ceremony. It's been awhile since I've attended to a wedding and to be honest I didn't have any clue how the ceremony would progress. But preparation is everything and I walked it through with my sister couple of days before the actual event and composed myself a strategy of what I would shoot, where I would be and when I would switch lenses. This was some of the best decisions I made regarding the whole wedding and it was a great help for better pictures. During the rehearsal the light was pretty low inside the church (constantly above iso1600) which made me a bit nervous for the actual wedding day, but when the day came it was a lot better - considering it afterwards it seems I had a bit of beginner's luck as it could have been a lot more difficult regarding the light during the ceremony.

When the ceremony was done the celebration was kicked off in a small local vineyard and I stayed there photographing the event until the night. Over the whole day I shot approximately 1400 shots, and already at the party I thought that the large quantity of pictures could be a potential headache later on when post processing them. Add in a different kind of low light and mixed light situations I was afraid that editing all pictures could turn out to be too laborious work which I would be chewing weeks after the event. In short, I thought this could turn out to be a potential nightmare.

But this is where the Mastin Labs presets kick in (see what I wrote about them earlier here). Since I got the presets and I've liked them a lot I decided that I would edit the whole shoot with just them and nothing else. This way I would become familiar with them and see how they work in this kind of more demanding situation. This turned out to be a very wise choice since the Portra pack, especially the Portra 800 preset, gave me a very nice starting point for the whole project. From 1400 shots I chose 120 final shots which I edited all in just three nights. With my old post processing routines this would have taken a lot more time, and I'm pretty sure I like the result is even better this way. Especially the skin colors were lot easier to achieve and I only had to resort to Photoshop in couple of pictures (everything was originally edited in Lightroom). Another big plus regarding the Portra pack was the consistent look I was able achieve. This is something I haven't really paid attention before, but now that I used basically just one preset (Portra 800) as starting point for the whole project, the end result looks more consistent and 'professional' – if I dare to say that with my nonexistent wedding photography experience (for the b&w I used the Ilford pack which also came out pretty nice in my eye though I'm clearly no expert when it comes to b&w photography). All in all I have to say that the Mastin Labs presets saved me from drifting into too laborious work, and I got the job done with results that I really like. I'm really happy that I came across them since they have change the way I approach the whole post processing thing.

In the end I think I made it through with honorably, and Senja & Esa were also happy with the pictures I did. Of course I missed some situations during the day and having more experience of weddings could have improved my output, but in the end I'm also happy with the results. Being there at their wedding was also one of the summer highlights which I had been waiting for whole summer. And in retrospect it's easy to say that our summer would not have been complete without this wedding celebration. Again, congratulations to Senja & Esa!

Days of Zeiss: www.daysofzeiss.com

I mentioned that the sunset behind me was just as beautiful as the Golden Gate before me. But I only had one camera and one tripod…and I was pretty sure I'd have only one moment in which to shoot the bridge lit up with that golden glow.

Still! I whipped around a few times and snuck shots of the sunset with my Nexus 5X. I only got a few before my battery crapped out.

I've been tempted by the iPhone 7 Plus and Google's new Pixel phone. On a technical level, they both have much better cameras.

But I've become convinced that the difference between "the best" phone cameras and a merely "very good" one is slim today. Do those 2016 phones take better pictures than my 2015 Nexus? Yup! But when we factor in "five or ten minutes of fiddling with the photo, with a free app" the differences become razor thin...or even nonexistent.

So: This was shot with a $300 Nexus 5X, in HDR+ mode (I leave it in this mode all the time). Then I fiddled with it for about ten or fifteen minutes in Snapseed on my iPad.

"Oh, sure..._after_ you fiddled with it!" Yes. It's a fair cop. But I would have fiddled with it later, no matter what camera I used.

Plus! This phone cost me $400 less to begin with. And! I didn't have to spend $700 for a new phone last fall.

(Edited to add: Oh! I stand corrected: I shot this with my iPad Mini 3! Because I had exhausted the battery on my Nexus 5X.

If anything, it's even more wow-able! The iPad Mini 3 came out the same year as my Nexus 5X _and_ it wasn't meant to be an A+ camera to begin with.

Just goes to show: it's hard to come away with a poor photo when you start with a spectacular sunset and you dump it into a good photo editor.)

WEEK 25 – Columbus Kmart, Set 1

What you're looking at here is the store's major vertical actionway; there are several such actionways that traverse the store from front to back, but this one is dead center, and also appears to be the widest one of the bunch, to boot. As you can likely guess from the tables and chairs peeking in on the left of the photo, the clothing departments are very soon about to make way for furniture as our stour progresses...

It feels like much of what I've shown you so far are exclusively actionway shots. Sorry about that. I do like actionway shots, don't get me wrong, but I usually try to get departmental shots too, to balance everything out. Not sure why I got so few in this store. I guess maybe it's because the décor is practically nonexistent, and what is here looks so cheap that I didn't care to photograph it...

(c) 2018 Retail Retell

These places are public so these photos are too, but just as I tell where they came from, I'd appreciate if you'd say who :)

99/365

Week 15 theme: Contronym 7 April- 13 April

Not exactly a Contronym, but hopefully close enough

Inspiration, motivation, mojo… nonexistent over the past 2-3 week. Being extremely busy at work does not help either. I've been going through the motions for this 365 lately but I guess that's expected at one point or another. I just did not think it would happen this early.

But I'm still here. Hopefully things will get better.

Inspired on Venice, Mississippi delta, Dutch compact cities and English neighbourhoods (e.g. Southampton).

Handdrawn with pencils. In the western suburb I erroneously used a black pencil instead of blue. I decided to upload the orginial map as after all it's not too bad (but stupid, stupid me). I don't draw perfect cities as they should be, but realistic cities how they are. But then imaginary.

The city lies within a broader estuary without notable tidal effects (like in the Mediterranian). It's blocked by a dam (north of the mapped area) if a flood should occur. Another city upstream was been absorbed by 1920s expansions, but further urbanisation of open lands came to a halt due to the need of open river water reservoirs in times of high water levels.

Water managment

Upstream, north of the meander, a lock system was built, which regulate water flows into the city center.

At the very mouths of the braches debris platforms collect the sediments and dredge (slib). In the very north of all suburbs a amphitheatre-like neighbourhood is constructed with the material.

North of all built-up environments inundation areas limit town's expansions, as in case of floods the fields will overflow to prevend damage to the city.

Infrastructure

The city is mostly car free. Northern canal districts are connected by roads, but as all roads entering the entire city require toll duties, parking spaces on the western and eastern coast directly link the highway with vaporettos, no fees raised. On the western coast, a multi transport hub exists with a highway, secondary roads, bus routes, a railway, transit railway, a marina, vaporetto stops, float plane base and (for police) helicopter platforms. And of course bicycles, Dutch/Danish-like loads of them. Some canals have been filled up and are visible as broad boulevards, just as happened in many European countries after wars.

Appr. 40×40 cm. 2012. ©

P98 screams out of town and heads past one of the few deciduous trees in the area. Most of the trees in Eastern NC are pine trees, so fall foliage is practically nonexistent.

After a super disappointing overnight for the nonexistent first light, the second one was a hell lot better. Big Huat to everyone of you for this 2015!

hand made fantasy map. I 'design' complete fantasy cities, no new one, but places that are grown over centuries. This city is situated at beginning/end (how does that work?) of an inlet, where two rivers end in sea. Completely drawns with pencils, so notice the colour difference between north and south... as I ran out of pencils :(

2011.

Each day, we see people like him, but we hardly ever notice them. It’s ironic but true. It’s like they are visible ghosts whose existence is on the contrary, nonexistent as far as we are concerned. Let’s wake up and see if we can help, be it as inexpensive as a smile for nothing but a better world to live in.

SHot with : Nikon D700 + Nikon 85mm AF f1.4D IF @ 2500 iso 1/ 125 @ f1.4 Spot

APPROXIMATE RELEASE DATE: 2016-2021

DOLLS IN LINE: Willa; Camille; Ashlynn; Kendall; Emerson

HEAD MOLD: "Willa"

***The girl on the far right is wearing Glitter Girls Ladybug Shimmer.

PERSONAL FUN FACT: For me, I always knew Wellie Wishers were a "when" scenario, not an "if." By that I mean I had immediately connected with the Wellies, but held out for the perfect timing. These dolls debuted in 2016, when I was a full blown American Girl addict. There were so many delightful things to ogle online or in the pages of the catalogue back then. Yet, I still felt drawn to the Wellie Wishers. Admittedly the concept of the line was a tad baffling. Were the doll designers huddled up at a meeting too long, tossing back and forth new ideas for a doll line? Were they cooped up so long that some over caffeinated, under slept business person jumped up and said, "AHA! We can give them wellies and call them...wait for it...WELLIE WISHERS!!!" Why I ask myself constantly. It's not like every outfit has wellies either...as if they possess some magical power that the girls acquire when wearing them. Maybe I'm missing something...I'm not familiar with the background of the dolls. Despite the obvious idea reach, I love the dolls. Even the name is charming (although I can imagine how my dad would twist it to be inappropriate, but I'll spare you). The outdoorsy, cutesy, innocent vibe of these charming dolls is compelling.

Right away, Colleen and I clicked with Kendall and Willa. Emerson was a close third...but Ashlynn and Camille were the "bland" ones. I felt a bond to the dolls because they reminded me a bit of an updated version of the Hopscotch Hill line. In the early 2000s, the Hopscotch Hill gals were the middle aged American Girls. You had Bitty Baby for the young girls, Hopscotch Hill for the early elementary school aged, and of course the 18" dolls for the oldest. The Hopscotch Hill dolls were short lived...and questionably homely. They featured these strange grimacing smiles and jointed bodies (which were notorious for going limp...and the doll hospital stopped repairing them years ago). Don't misinterpret me though...I wanted a Hopscotch Hill doll as a kid (which is why I pounced on Gwen at the local Salvation Army in 2017). I am a lustful doll glutton after all, and American Girl could sell me just about anything if you give them 45 minutes to make a pitch (or if you leave me unattended and bored with a catalogue for 30 minutes). In a strange way, the Wellie Wisher brought me back to my childhood, because they filled in the empty spot that the Hopscotch Hill dolls left behind. Honestly, I expected this line to be a flop, which is part of why I didn't bother putting much thought into getting a Wellie Wisher.

The more time progressed, the more I couldn't resist the lure of the Wellies. They had some of the most eye catching spreads in the catalogue. The photos reminded me of my elaborate outdoor garden setups I'd painstakingly put together as a kid. It also was even harder to resist the dolls when they started appearing at non-American Girl stores. American Girl licensed the Wellies to some other retailers, like Barnes and Noble, Kohl's, Toys 'R' Us, and even Amazon. There were even exclusive outfits only sold at some of these locations. This meant I was likely to encounter one of the cuties in the "wild." I remember before Toys 'R' Us closed, Colleen and I spent WAY too much time ogling the Wellie Wishers. It was the last time we ever went before the store permanently closed its doors. To our disappointment, all the fashion dolls were either not marked down, or not interesting. The Wellies weren't discounted either...but American Girl is strict with things going on sales (like you can't use a store discount on them). There was a moment of strong contemplation...do we buy one? In the end, my rational, responsible side won out. I did not need to splurge $60 on a Wellie Wishers doll and heaven knows how much more on an elaborate wardrobe for her. The time would come...but that occasion wasn't it.

I was pleasantly surprised by how well the Wellies seemed to sell (pun intended). Rather than being discontinued, their little world seemed to develop more and more. I was astonished by how many outfits American Girl cranked out for them. When Colleen and I realized that the Wellies had a matching Star & Snow Dress made for them in 2020, we both desperately wanted a Wellie of our own. What could be cuter than having a Bitty Baby, Truly Me, and Wellie Wishers dolls all wearing MATCHING dresses?!!! I guess fate decided that the time had finally come. If things had played out any other way, I don't think Willa would be standing in this photo before you. It was a dreary Sunday in April...what was supposed to be our second flea market weekend of the year. Since we had done some online shopping that week (cough, Cave Club bonanza), I was hesitant to spend MORE money on dolls. It was cold, dark, and wet from the snow that had melted. We had just gotten a little storm that Friday that left us with four inches of super slushy snow. While it had melted on Saturday, the ground was muddy. I woke up that Sunday morning determined not to go to the flea market. Colleen had also had her second COVID vaccine the day before. We were anticipating that she'd be sick from side effects. However, she felt like her usual ray of sunshine and we were both restless. It's very hard to resist going to the flea market during the first month of the season. The BEST deals are always at the start or end of the season...and we hadn't even reconnected with regular sellers (since the opening week was so slow).

I thought we would go home empty handed as we strolled around the last two aisles of the flea market. Despite the fact that there were a considerable amount of sellers, nobody had anything worthwhile. Then I spotted two friendly faces, and a very distinctive pile of dolls. The elderly couple Colleen and I had been buying from since 2012 had returned!!! They love the flea market as much as we do. It had become a wonderful buyer/seller relationship over the nine years we'd known them. It all started with three "ugly" Bratz dolls they were happy to unload in 2012 (one of them being my first Pretty 'N' Punk Cloe). After that they kept bringing in more and more dolls...and the more we bought, the more deals we got. I was so distracted by "Doll Mountain" that I didn't even look over at the other end of the booth where their more expensive items were usually displayed. It wasn't all that uncommon for this couple to have some sort of American Girl (obviously ones we already had, generic ones we weren't interested in, or overpriced ones). I had already paid for the four fashion dolls when I spotted three Wellie Wishers.

I assumed at a distant glance they'd be expensive. But curiosity compelled me to book it over to the Wellies. It turns out they were just $20 and fully dressed. Well, one of the Willa dolls was missing her boots. I pretended I needed "time" to ponder this purchase. Secretly I'd already made up my mind, but I was feeling guilty about buying two Wellie Wishers because I knew I'd have to get them clothes. You can summarize my personality with "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie." However, my story would go more like this: "If you give Shelly a doll, she'll have to buy her an outfit. Once she has the outfit, she'll have to make her accessories. Once she's done that, the doll will need a friend...." You get the idea...I may or may not have a problem. Anyways, we double backed to the booth after finishing the last aisle and getting some money from the ATM (I was like $5 short). The seller was not surprised that we bought the Wellie Wishers. She knew they'd sell that day since they were affordable and American Girl. She even made sure we snagged the Willa who had her boots (doll on left side of photo). Other than the missing hair accessories, Willa and Camille were complete. Camille had some staining on her face, and part of Willa's wig was coming undone. I had to sew down the prominent weft that was hanging off her head by her hairline. After a bath and laundering their clothes, the gals were good as new...and of course we had to hit up the AG website to get some goodies for them.

All the stars aligned the day we got Willa. If Colleen had side effects from her vaccine, we wouldn't have gone to the flea market. Likewise, if it had rained sooner or if the snow had not melted we would have stayed home. Had we gone later, Willa and Camille might have been sold to someone else! Somehow, I always knew Willa would be one of our first Wellie Wishers. I also had a similar feeling about Camille, despite the fact that I thought she was more boring than the other characters. It's also special that both dolls were bought together. I'm guessing they originated from the same previous home. It was a pleasant addition to the story that we got them from our favorite flea market sellers (who share our passion for said flea market). The best part of the story though was the excuse to finally get my hands on the wonders of the world of the Wellies. These dolls have some of the most whimsical fashions I've ever seen! I also found that Willa and Camille were far more attractive in person than I ever anticipated (and that was with a messed up wig and stained face). Willa is the perfect little sister for my 18" dolls, and a friend for Gwen (who hopes to profit off all the Wellie clothes because she can fit some). Timing really is everything, and I'm so glad that the Wellies joined our dolly family in 2021!

The longer we had Wellies, the more I fell for their fragile, childlike features and whimsical fashions. That's why I was SO excited when five more showed up at my door. It was a little bit before lunchtime one Thursday in February of 2023. I was listening to a Youtube video, while working on a dolly flooring project. I looked up from the table to see the mail truck pulling out of our driveway. I knew that a package must have been delivered, but I was flummoxed. I wasn't expecting anything...so what could have been dropped off? I opened the door to see an ENORMOUS Chewy box sitting on the mat. I was even more baffled...I hadn't ordered anything for the guinea pigs or chinchillas. Then I realized it was a gift, that had simply been packed into a reused Chewy box. Inside there were fifty some odd dolls. FIVE were Wellie Wishers. The doll in the middle of the photo was from the "Wondrous Wellie Wishers Lot" as we dubbed it. She was in the worst condition of the bunch--given her nicked face and messed up wig. Plus, not a single doll had a stitch of clothing on (other than Kendall, who was sporting a non-AG fashion). Although I didn't "need" this duplicated Willa, the thought of turning her out was nonexistent. She was an extremely generous gift, and was in need of TLC. Plus, Wellies are quite small and don't take up too much space. I named this little lady Willow, and found her a "meet" outfit from a lot on Mercari. I didn't "need" another "meet" getup, but I feel weird when my American Girls are missing them (even if they are a duplicate). Her hair went straight after the boil wash--it was so gnarly and dry I had no other choice. Rather than curling it, I kept it sleek for easier maintenance. Plus, it gives Willow her own personality, separate from Willa's. It's funny that the day we bought our first Willa there was a second one at the flea market booth. In the end, we got a second Willa...just not from the same seller!!!

You can tell Willa is a very popular doll...because we ended up with a third. Ironically, the girl on the far right of this photo was also a gift. In July of 2024, my sister and I were surprised with two boxes of dollies! They had been generously sent to us as a surprise. One of the packages contained mostly Barbies. The other, larger one, had bigger scale dolls...like Cabbies and American Girls. This lady needed some work. Her hair was a disaster, she was nude, and she was squalid. Based on the accompanying letter, I believe she was rescued from a thrift store. Wellie Wishers are fortunately very forgiving, so it was easy fixing her up. We opted to name her Wella (keeping the "w" themed name trend going). One day I'd like to get her a "meet" outfit too, but it wasn't a priority when we first got the bin. She too is very special, as she was an incredibly generous gift!

The greatest LEGO Space theme that never was, Seatron was conceived right after Futuron and would have given us our first (and more creative and interesting) LEGO aliens most of a decade before the UFO theme released.

All we have is some intriguing preliminary shots of a fascinating theme with a white, black and trans red "surface" palate and an Aquanauts-like yellow, black and trans blue "underwater" palate.

Anyway, I think it would have been a great theme, and it's well worth a MOC or several. And it being FebRovery let's make a rover.

Probably the Seatron faction minifigures would have been more Futuron-like than CS-like, but my Futuron minifig supplies are practically nonexistent.

I've done some Seatron-like MOCs before, connected with the Ice Planet faction as explorers of a subsurface ocean within Planet Krysto (a subtheme I call "Ice Planet: Aquarius Project"), but this is my first actual Seatron MOC.

It's been a couple of (long) years... With "stay home" orders, park closure and overcrowding, my visits to BPNP had been nonexistent. It was time to see if it still has a place in my heart ...

Centennial Park Coronado, San Diego, California

Michaela - #5 of 100 Strangers

It has been quite a long time since I last contributed to 100 Stranger but when I met Michaela I was inspired. Some good friends and I were enjoying brunch outdoors at a lovely little diner in Willoughby, Ohio and Michaela was our waitress. She was pleasant, efficient and very personable. Honestly we were all quite charmed by her. I asked her if she was familiar with the 100 Strangers Project. She wasn’t certain but thought she had heard of it. I explained the project to her and asked if she would be willing to pose for me. She readily agreed. Good backgrounds were pretty much nonexistent but there was a small patch of uninterrupted brick wall that I thought might work if I kept my depth of field shallow. Michaela lives in the nearby community of Mentor with her husband and one child. She said that a few years ago she had been living part time in Michigan but now was settled in Ohio. Thank you, Michaela, for agreeing to be my fifth stranger.

Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page. To see more of my own photos check out my web site at Gary Bluhm Photography.

Purchased from Transdev Lancashire United, and still in their livery but with same-style branding applied for York route 36, Volvo B10BLE Wright Renown T128 OAH is passing by York Maze heading to the city centre - during the school summer holidays most 36 journeys have been extended further down Elvington Lane beyond the air museum in order to serve the maze, the bus turns around in a small service yard. Before York Pullman took over operating the 36, connections to the Maze by bus from York were poor at the best of times if not nonexistent on some days

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!

Some background:

The outbreak of the war in Europe in September 1939 did not immediately affect the status of the Armée de l'Air in French Indochina because it had the task of defending a wide area of Southeast Asia, including the future Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. And yet its array of airplanes seemed inadequate to perform any kind of real defense against any incursion by an enemy, because there were less than 100 airplanes available to it, all obsolescent or obsolete. In September 1931, Japan invaded and occupied Manchuria. This was an area of northeast China, which encompassed the provinces of Jilin, Liaoning and Heilongjiang. Nearly six whole years later, in July 1937, the Second Sino-Japanese War had begun. As yet, the French colonial authorities were hoping that the Japanese would not be brazen enough to take on the might of a European power. However, it became increasingly likely after the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, since Japan was part of the Axis alliance and thus Germany's ally.

Until then, Japanese authorities heavily influenced the diminishing Vichy French presence in the region and handed over a lot of leftover military hardware to its own allies, primarily the Thai forces. However, there was not much left to be distributed: about 30% of the French aircraft were rendered unserviceable by the end of the French-Thai War in early 1941, some as a result of minor damage sustained in air raids that remained unrepaired. The Armée de l'Air admitted the loss of only one Farman F221 and two Morane M.S.406s destroyed on the ground, but, in reality, its losses were greater and the influence of Japan on the leftover stock was fogged in order to save face. However, even in 1944, single former Vichy French aircraft and tanks were still active in the region, primarily under Thai flag.

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Length: 8.17 m (26 ft 10 in)

Wingspan: 10.61 m (34 ft 10 in)

Height: 3.25 m (10 ft 8 in)

Wing area: 16 m2 (170 sq ft)

Empty weight: 1,895 kg (4,178 lb)

Gross weight: 2,540 kg (5,600 lb)

Powerplant:

1 × Hispano-Suiza 12Y-31 V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine with

619 kW (830 hp) for take-off at 2,520 rpm at sea level,

driving a 3-bladed variable-pitch propeller, 3 m (9 ft 10 in) diameter

Performance:

Maximum speed: 490 km/h (304 mph; 265 kn) at 4,500 m (14,764 ft)

Stall speed: 160 km/h (99 mph, 86 kn) without flaps

135 km/h (84 mph; 73 kn) with flaps

Range: 1,100 km (680 mi, 590 nmi) at 66% power

Combat range: 720 km (450 mi, 390 nmi)

Endurance: 2 hours 20 minutes 30 seconds (average combat mission)

Service ceiling: 9,400 m (30,800 ft)

Time to altitude: 2,000 m (6,562 ft) in 2 minutes 32 seconds

9,000 m (29,528 ft) in 21 minutes 37 seconds

Wing loading: 154 kg/m2 (32 lb/sq ft)

Power/mass: 2.95 kg/kW (4.85 lb/hp)

Take-off run to 8 m (26 ft): 270 m (886 ft)

Landing run from 8 m (26 ft): 340 m (1,115 ft)

Armament:

1× 20 mm (0.787 in) Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannon, firing through the propeller hub

2× 7.5 mm (0.295 in) MAC 1934 machine guns in the outer wings

The kit and its assembly:

This quick build was created in the wake of the “Captured” group build at whatifmodellers.com and actually is a personal interpretation of someone else’s idea, namely of fellow modeler NARSES who came up with the idea of a captured French M.S. 406 in Indochina under a new Thai flag. I found the idea so weird, yet realistic, that I decided to build one, too.

The model is the very simple but quite acceptable M.S. 406 from Hobby Boss. Externally the model is nice, with recessed panel lines and a basic landing gear. Internally, it is rather bleak, even though it has a full cockpit with a floor, integrally molded seat and even some details behind the pilot’s armor bulkhead. The canopy is a single piece and very clear, but it comes with massive locator bars, so that I decided to keep the canopy closed and added a pilot figure to cover the minimal interior. I was lucky to find a Japanese (though pretty “flat”) WWII pilot in the donor bank, left over from a Hasegawa model. I also gave the figure some seat belts (made from adhesive tape), but the rest remained unchanged – even the original metal axis for the propeller was used. I just replaced the machine gun barrels with hollow steel needles and added a pitot on the wing, which is probably part of the kit but not indicated in the instructions. The same is true for the foldable ventral antenna.

The build was finished quickly, in the course of just a single evening, including the pilot and some overall PSR.

Painting and markings:

My interpretation of a French aircraft in Thai service after the French-Thai War stuck closely to the real world Vichy livery, which was the standard French camouflage in grey/green/brown with light blue-grey undersides (all from ModelMaster’s Authentic Color range), together with a yellow-and-red-striped cowling (a base with Humbrol 69 and red decal stripes added later) and a white cheatline long the fuselage. The tail of French aircraft in Indochina was painted all-red from early 1941 onwards upon Japanese command, because of friendly fire incidents. This was adopted for the model (with a mix of Humbrol 19 and some 73), which is supposed to belong into the 1942 time frame.

As a captured aircraft, the original French roundels were replaced/overpainted with red disks/hinomaru, and then Thai elephant markings added on top. That’s a personal idea, ordnance directly supplied to the Thai forces from Japan had the simple, square “elephant flag” emblem directly applied to the wings and the fin (but no fuselage roundel). The all-red tail was taken over, but I painted the rudder in a dark IJA green, since it would formerly carry a French fin flash. The same green was used to overpaint a serial number on the fin and a former squadron emblem under the cockpit.

The hinomaru come from a PrintScale Ki-46 sheet, and these markings are intentionally a bit oversized, so that they cover well the former French markings and are highly visible. The elephant markings some from a PrintScale Ki-27 sheet, so that the red tone on both sources are very close to each other. The Ki-27 sheet also provided the Thai ciphers “3” and “4”, combined into a “34”.

The interior was painted in medium grey, and the model externally received some signs of wear and tear in the form of dry-brushed leading edges and around the cockpit as well as some soot stains behind the exhaust stubs and the machine guns. Finally, the model was sealed with a coat of matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).

A quick build, and the easy-build Hobby Boss M.S. 406 is certainly not as crisp as a “real” model, but in this case the story behind the weird livery was more in the focus than the canvas underneath. However, an interesting result, and the hybrid paint scheme with heritage from three different operators make the aircraft an unusual, if not exotic sight.

After the success of the A-20 Havoc, Douglas Aircraft began design of a successor, with an eye towards an aircraft that also would be able to replace the North American B-25 Mitchell and Martin B-26 Marauder as well. Using the A-20 as a model and drawing on experience with the deHavilland Mosquito as well, famed aircraft designer Edward Heinemann came up with a light bomber design that could be flown by a single pilot. Though similar to the Havoc, the XA-26 Invader had a slightly wider fuselage, larger tail, and laminar-flow wings for better stability in dives. Since Douglas could build on the A-20’s success, testing went smoothly and the US Army Air Force was suitably impressed by its maiden flight in July 1942.

By this time, however, units in the Pacific had demonstrated the lethality of purpose-built low-level attack aircraft with massive forward armament, so the USAAF asked Douglas to develop the A-26 into a strafer as well. Douglas responded with two variants: the A-26B, with a solid gun nose that could carry anything from machine guns to a 75mm antitank gun, and the A-26C, with a glass nose for medium-altitude bombing. The noses themselves could be quickly exchanged to switch A-26Bs to A-26C bombers, and vice-versa. As in the A-20, a crew of three was provided, with the flight crew (the pilot and navigator/bombardier) forward and the gunner in a separate compartment in the rear, controlling both the remote dorsal and ventral turrets. A-26Cs could carry two guns in the nose, but these were deleted in production variants for four wing-mounted machine guns, which were also included in A-26Bs.

Douglas’ commitment to building transport aircraft and the modification of the XA-26A to the B/C dual variant delayed introduction to service until September 1944 in Europe, by which time the A-26 would be operating from newly-liberated bases in France and Italy. Though it arrived late, the A-26s in Europe saw significant action in the Battle of the Bulge and the final drive into Germany, operating mostly as medium bombers and occasionally as night interdiction aircraft. It showed enough potential that, much as Douglas had hoped, it replaced the A-20, B-25, and B-26 in USAAF service, remaining in postwar production.

Though the A-26 had seen World War II service, most of its combat record would be after that war—namely in Korea. The 3rd Bombardment Group, based in Japan in June 1950, saw its A-26s rapidly deployed for Korean service, and undertook the first US Air Force attack on North Korea itself. The A-26 force was quickly augmented by aircraft deployed from the United States, and these undertook bombing sorties in the battles to hold the Pusan Perimeter and in the Inchon invasion. As the Korean War became a stalemate, and due to the interdiction campaign happening in North Korea, Communist forces were forced to resupply mostly at night, and the USAF A-26s in theater were switched to night interdiction operations. These were extremely dangerous in the mountainous Korean Peninsula, to say nothing of the danger from ground fire. Usually, A-26s would operate in hunter-killer teams, with one aircraft using a wing-mounted searchlight to illuminate a target while the other made its attack. A-26s also bookended the Korean War by becoming the last USAF aircraft to attack targets in North Korea, just before the armistice was signed.

By the time of American involvement in Southeast Asia, the A-26 had been redesignated B-26 (this had happened during the Korean War, but it was generally referred to by its former designation). RB-26Cs were among the first USAF aircraft deployed to the area, in 1960, first seeing service under Operation Farm Gate, supporting Royal Laotian Army forces against Pathet Lao guerillas. Later, Farm Gate was expanded to South Vietnam as well and B-26C bombers were deployed for service as well—despite their age, the Invaders were liked for their easy handling and long loiter times, both valuable and necessary in counterinsurgency warfare. (The USAF was not the first nation to use Invaders in Vietnam—the French had used them during the siege of Dien Bien Phu in 1954.)

Age caught up to the force by 1965, and after a number of fatal crashes caused by metal fatigue, the B-26 force was grounded. They were then modified to A-26K Counter-Invaders, with new engines, reinforced structure, and wingtip fuel tanks (and further confusing the matter by readopting the attack designation). Returning to Vietnam in 1966, A-26Ks would remain in service until 1970, gradually replaced by gunship AC-130s, and turned in an excellent performance in the counterinsurgency role. The last A-26 did not leave USAF service until 1972.

A total of 2452 Invaders had been built, and besides its American and French service, others were used in African colonial wars (namely in Angola and Nigeria) and by Indonesia in its invasion of East Timor in 1976, the last time A-26s were used in combat. The CIA also used them in covert operations, especially in the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of 1961. A good number of A-26s were sold as surplus after the Vietnam War and were subsequently converted to firefighting aircraft. Though most of these have been retired in recent years, it ensured that there would be significant numbers of flyable Invaders left. Today, 96 aircraft remain in museums and in private collections.

A-26B 44-34713 was delivered to the USAAF in July 1945, just before World War II ended, but remained with the postwar USAF, converted (and redesignated) as a B-26C. It is not known if 44-34713 saw service in Korea, but in 1954, it was loaned to the French Armee de l'Air for combat duty in Indochina--later known as Vietnam. After flying in Indochina for a year, it was returned to the USAF and went into storage at Clark AFB in the Philippines; in 1958, it was declared surplus and sold off to a private owner, who turned it into an executive transport. It briefly appeared in the James Garner and Natalie Wood romance movie "Cash McCall" in 1960.

In 1963, 44-34713's second career as an executive transport truly began, when it became the second A-26 to be converted to an On-Mark Marksman. The Marksman conversion was a major alteration to the standard A-26 airframe, removing all military vestiges, changing the interior wing spar to a circular one to improve passenger comfort, a larger rudder, pressurizing the aircraft, adding loading stairs through the former bomb bay, and streamlining the upper fuselage. The nose was extended to accomodate luggage, while the cockpit windows were replaced by those from a DC-6. The result was an almost completely new aircraft. From 1963 to 1987, 44-34713 flew with a number of owners as a Marksman.

As there were not many A-26s left by the late 1980s, in 1988, 44-34713 was obtained by the National Warplane Museum in Geneseo, New York. (As it is listed briefly as property of the Wayne County Sheriff's Department in Michigan, it may have been seized.) 44-34713 was due to be restored back to its appearance as an A-26, and the Marksman nose and canopy was replaced by an A-26 gun nose. Restoration went no further than that when it was acquired by a new owner in Texas in 1992, and by 2002 it was stored at Las Cruces Municipal Airport, New Mexico.

And there 44-34713 has remained. It is still owned, possibly by Southwest Aviation, and restoration work may still be proceeding, though the desert sun has taken its toll on the aircraft over 20 years. It still wears the dark blue scheme of its last owner as a Marksman, dating from 1984.

I had seen this aircraft on Google Maps (while looking for a nonexistent F-100), and initially had decided against a side trip to see if I could get a decent picture. It was a spur of the moment decision, and it paid off, not just with 44-34713, but also the PV-2 present at Las Cruces. I didn't know it at the time, but with this picture and one taken a few days later in Phoenix, I have photographed two out of three known remaining On-Mark Marksmen

After spending about a week in the province of Palawan with my family I then took a flight to the Island of Cebu to meet longtime flickr contact Raycoy. I got there Saturday afternoon and then at 7 pm Saturday evening we went to meeting. We got some fun pictures after the meeting and this was one of them. I somehow managed to post this right to flickr from my phone although the internet connection was weak to nonexistent most of the trip.

It was very special to meet with Raycoy after knowing him for so many years through flickr. I've seen the pictures of his family so many times so I feel like I knew them too. You can see the joy on our faces.

To create this photo, I took a broken egg and placed it on top of an LED flashlight on my dining room table. When editing, I cooled down the photo to show more detail on the egg's shell. I also took out the glow that surrounded the egg to give it more of a defined shape. This photo meets the project's goal because without light this photo would be nonexistent. If I were to have taken the same picture just without the flashlight being turn on, the photo would have turned out to be a dark mess with an image of nothingness. A strength this photo captured is the detail in the egg's shell that you could not have seen without having to shine a light through the egg. Finally, a weakness this photo displays is a lack of depth. If I were to change one thing, I would position the egg in a way where shadows could be seen.

Muscovy ducks (Cairina moschata) are neotropical birds not native to North America but populations have been well established in Utah for several decades. In this video a male Muscovy duck approaches a female and mates with her.

Muscovy females reach sexual maturity at 28 weeks and males at 29 weeks. Their mating season is from August-May. Courtship is brief or nonexistent and males are polygamous though sometimes they display social monogamy and help to guard nests and ducklings.

By reproducing sexually, Muscovy ducks, as well as most* other birds, increase genetic variation in their offspring. Sexual reproduction increases genetic diversity because the sperm and egg provided by the parents each offer a different set of genes.

*some exceptions include turkeys who can sometimes reproduce asexually

There are several benefits to increased levels of diversity. On the level of the individual organism, one important benefit is that they are less likely to be affected by deleterious alleles. In avian species this is especially true for males. In birds, females are sex-determining. Males have 2 Z chromosomes whereas females have 1 Z and 1 X chromosome. Therefore, males are less likely to have sex-linked disorders because if they were to inherit a mutated chromosome the second, healthy Z chromosome, would be able to mask the effect of the mutation. If birds were asexual reproducers then both sexes would have a more equal likelihood to inherit sex-linked disorders and the overall percentage for both sexes would be greater due to the absence of the benefit of recombination that sexual reproduction provides.

Increased genetic diversity is also important on a population level. The more variation there is, the more likely it is that some individuals will have variations of alleles that make them suited to survive certain circumstances. Therefore, when conditions are unfavorable for some genotypes, those who are different will not die off with those who are not well suited to their environment. Therefore increasing the overall survival of the population.

This photo was taken on March 17, 2020 at Beus Pond in Ogden, UT.

This month’s challenge called I Smell A (Modern) Rat asks us what would rat rodding be like if we applied the same principles to modern cars. For this I chose a Dodge Magnum with a V-8 Hemi. Instead of a more predictable post-apoc Mad Max look, I went with a beach combing car with rugged tires, wood paneling, and a nonexistent roof and tailgate. Just enough rust and patina adds a bit of well loved character while a wooden deck and benches gives this “Magnum Opus” a boat-like appearance that’s suitable for fishing, surfing, or just soaking up some rays. Its the perfect modern rat rod for a hot summer day!

I am on a desperate search for an unspectacularly looking musician. Based on my current sample, the odds are slim. They seem nonexistent when it comes to guitarists

THEME: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUAcDMHuC2E

Introducing my Self-MOC! This is actually the 12th version (12.4 to be exact) and a character reboot, though, and I have revamped the whole thing again since this version, too. I will post a picture showing some of the previous versions (I don't have pictures of pre-7th versions, except for the very first), just so you can get an idea of the evolution of the character.

---DESCRIPTION---

Nicknamed "Rahksha" due to her Makuta heritage, Nyctoria is somewhat of a Toa: the most accurate way to put it is, she's a protector...of sorts. She has a strong link with the Netherverse, enabling her to draw on its dark power to perform necromancy, as well as harvest souls and summon them as Netherwalkers (inhabitants of the Netherverse) with her scythe. She can also reanimate corpses to serve her by using seals on their Kanohi.

However, the power of the Netherverse always takes it toll, and the user's soul - and therefore body - will decay the more they use it. The only way to maintain oneself is to harvest the souls of others. Hence, Nyctoria hunts down villains to defeat and consume.

While Nyctoria does defend others from Makuta and other threats, she is not altrustic in her motives -- she will just as easily consume innocents if there is no other source available, and rarely helps others unless she perceives them or the target as useful in her quest for revenge against her "father", Teridax -- and by extension, her de facto creator, Mutran.

As an individual, Nyctoria is largely anti-social, apathetic and an on-off misanthrope - hardly surprising considering her origins. That being said, she is not without a sense of justice and empathy, although her concept of morality is nonexistent at worst and dubious at best.

---BIO---

NAME: Nyctoria

ALIASES: Rahksha, Daughter of Teridax, Destral's Shadowborne

SPECIES: Rahkshi/Toa (mutant; Kraata infused with energy from a Nui Stone)

GENDER: Female

KANOHI: N/A

ELEMENT: Shadow

WEAPON: Harvest Scythe - "Slayer's Slave"

An imaginary city I drew by hand. This one is appr. 55x35 cm (14x21 inches). I used to draw my maps in blue, but the pencil shop doesn't sell my pencils any longer - only some red ones were left.

The city is inspired on Dordrecht and Amsterdam. It's a typical Dutch city, as in Holland places can't just expand wherever people want to build; new buildings must be around existing towns. Urban sprawl simply doesn't exist, except very old urban sprawl. Therefore, cities are always distinct from other towns, agglomeration of suburbs is not possible. Between ever-expanding cities, green buffers must prevent cities from growing into one, large megacity,

The city is on the northern bank of the imaginary east-west river (being not far away from the river's mouth into the sea) while at the point where the southern river flows into the main river, a fortress was built in order to have a good view of the river during war time.

The old road to the fortress from the south is still in use, new neighbourhoods have been built around it, so it's a perfect bicycle/bus lane. In the southwest on the river, the Plaza area with a cruise quai, schools, station, P+R, ferry dock, sports palais, outlet shops, many offices and a hotel make this shore a vivid place. Newer neighbourhoods (Dutch: VINEX) are built at the southeastern bank of the river.

2011.

Esperanza Limjap-Osmeña, wife of Philippine President Sergio Osmeña, reserves her first painting at the Filipino painters exhibition, Manila, Philippines, Feb. 23, 1946

She became first lady upon the death of Manuel L. Quezon, when her husband succeeded to the presidency of the Philippine government-in-exile in the United States. However, while her husband was president-in-exile, she herself was still in the Philippines and remained there, during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines during World War II. Mrs. Osmena was in Baguio. She and her three children, Ramon, (22), Rosie (20) and Victor (11), escaped from Japanese held Baguio by walking 50 miles across the mountains to Dagupan, Luzon, Philippines early Feb. 1945.

US Signal Corps Photo, US National Archives

I have been going through the USA National Archives, WWII Philippines photographs albums that are posted on line. The picture here is one of them. It will take a long time to go through them all, as there are 134 albums of about 160 pictures per album that equals approximately 21,000 pictures. I believe it is import to save the most important images and to share them as I have time to work on them and to have them available on a memory drive that will go to researchers for many years to come. There are a lot of pictures of people shaking hands and pinning metals on each other that does not interest me much. The subject mater of the pictures are mostly haphazardly arranged with very poor to nonexistent indexing so I have to look at each what appears in a postage stamp size thumbnail picture to ascertain if it is important to save. Many of the pictures are very gruesome and difficult to look at but needs to be seen for an accurate picture of what truly happened here in the Philippines. I am realizing that what most think of the history of WWII Philippines is not the real picture of what happened but only a selected very condensed picture that often relate to personal views, I will take some of the blame as this includes myself. The pictures I will personally be sharing online will predominately show the humanitarian side of the war.

I am needing a memory storage device such as a USB hard drive that would last a long time and be a safe place to archive all the pictures I am saving if anyone would like to help. Also need advice to where would be best for all my history pictures could be saved for future generations long after I am gone.

Yearly upload. Comment or tag yourself or whatever if you'll be there and want to say hi! I'll be in the bionicle section, specifically the lower left corner of the bionicle section.

Last year was frustrating; with the combination of tight spaces and people sitting far away, socializing was quite the exercise. Hopefully both of those troubles will be nonexistent this year!

If we hung out last year and you want to display near me, send me a PM or something so I can reserve some space for you. I already sent out some PM's but I know I've forgotten or haven't gotten around to a bunch of people.

In other news, I again won't be bringing too many mocs. There should be a few surprises though, and a new collab! Plus lots of new and old faces will be there!

I'm also bringing a lot of sets to sell. Prepare your wallets.

ALSO! Colin (modalt) will be bringing his lightbox setup to brickfair all 5 days if anyone wants to take professional pictures of their mocs.

Model: Martina Pinto

Make up: Nonexistent

Location: When we were preparing there

Unfortunately I couldn't stop down more than f2.8 as the ambient light was nearly nonexistent. So the depth of field is a little limited but I hope the beautifully crafted handrail makes up for that...

Press L for view on black.

Leica M6 TTL 1.4/35mm Summilux ASPH

Fuji Superia 200 (C-41)

I passed by this place one night in Manhattan's lower east side. I've never seen this sort of a store, looking like a refrigerator turned inside out.

I tried looking this place up, to find some more information about it, but the website on their awning doesn't exist. That's strange. Why promote a nonexistent site? I did find reviews of the places though. They run the gamut from "rude and surly" to "friendly and helpful", so I guess it's hit or miss what sort of service you may get. Everyone seemed to agree the prices were on the expensive side though. I'd like to go back and do some shooting here with a tripod some night.

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The Mourning Babbler, previously the Short-tailed Babbler, is a species of bird in the ground babbler family Pellorneidae. A long-legged babbler with an almost nonexistent stump for a tail, found in primary and secondary evergreen lowland and foothill forest.

It is found in the Malay Peninsula, Anambas Islands, Sumatra, Banyak Islands, Batu Islands, Riau Islands, Lingga Islands and the Natuna Islands.

Read more on: wildart.works/behindthelens/short-tailed-babbler

Subscribe to continue reading the stories.

20180818-0I7A0060-DN

I'm gobsmacked by several things here. First, the light was nonexistent. Yet the Sony A7RII performed extremely well at incredibly high ISO. Second, using knowledge developed around a digital Zone System, I knew precisely where I wanted the tonal values and was able to place them accordingly. Third, I am happy to confirm the dynamic range of the sensor extends usefully to below Zone 0 (Zone -2!), even at such high ISO settings. Fourth, 1950s German optics can do the trick. These images were made using a triplet wide angle. Who would design such a thing and make it work? Micro-contrast is something to be seen, otherwise you wouldn't believe it.

Alfred walked back and forth between the various monitors located in Bruce's old lair. HE had rarely visited it since Bruce died.

-Bruce Wayne- Did ya miss me Alfie?

Alfred spun around in shock when he heard this.

-Alfred- Master Wayne! You know as surprised as i am to see you, I had no doubt that Barry would be successful in taking you to Ras.

-Bruce Wayne- Barry? Barry took me there?

-Alfred- After the crash the League decided that you were a valuable member of the team and that you had to be saved. So they made a literal deal with the devil.

-Bruce Wayne- What is the crime rate like since I've been gone?

-Alfred- actually not so high, other than some major threats, small crime has been kept almost nonexistent by a young man who approached me.

-Bruce Wayne- And who was this?

-Alfred- His name is Dick Grayson.

more to come soon, school just started and is kind of fully time consuming though.

“A Little Tale”…

He was born to two very powerful wizards. Both his parents were highly respected for their strong abilities and gifts. Other wizards were in awe of what each could do alone and together. They were a force no one dared to reckon with.

Unfortunately, as life does, it extracts a price for every gift received. Maybe that is Universal Laws’ “Law of Balance”. In the case of the young wizard, he was the price his parents had to pay for their great wizardly and other abilities. You see, their son, their only child, had very little, okay, truth be told, almost no wizardly abilities. And, the ones he did possess were uncontrollable and weak.

Rather ironic, don’t you think? The two most powerful wizards produced an offspring who was barely a wizard; and, they were ashamed of him. He shamed them because they felt they failed to continue the long line of superior wizards, and thus, to them, that meant that they had flaws and were not as perfect as they considered themselves to be. They felt that the other wizards took delight in their son’s lack of powers and abilities and that they were ridiculed behind their backs. So, they regarded their son, their own child, as something less and an abomination. They also believed he was dumb and simple minded.

And, he, their son, knew how they felt and rather than being in their loving sunlight, as their son, he was cast into their shadows. No matter what he did, it never succeeded in pleasing his parents. He always fell short of their mark in some way.

The way his parents felt about and regarded him alienated them from him…He saw each time they glanced at him, they saw failure…his and theirs. But, in truth, it was no one’s failure or fault, but, rather, nature’s doing. But, they did not see him that way. He was an enormous embarrassment and burden to them.

Thus, they avoided him as much as possible and when in his presence, treated him as if were simple minded. And, that could not be farther from the truth. He was, in fact, quite brilliant, in spite of his lack of wizard super powers and abilities. He would have been considered a genius among humans. But, sadly, he was not human and so, his parents were blind to the gifts he was given…all of them.

He had the ability to invent and create gadgets, machines, gizmos, and the like at a time in history when there were no electronics, computer was not nonexistent and neither were many of today’s taken for granted conveniences. Some of his creations, which I am certain you have heard of, include…the Time Reversenum, the Magnifyometer, and the Energy Directiumus.

More than once, he tried to share his inventions with his parents, but they always waved him off like a mere fly. They had no need for gadgets or machinery. They had their powers. Plus, they had, in reality, disowned him, unofficially, as their son. They simply didn’t care about him or want him.

Hurt badly to his very core by his parents’ feelings toward him and their treatment of and disregard for him, he made a vow to himself that he would not let them make him feel as if he was a failure, a nothing or a loser. They, in fact, were the ones, in spite of their super powers, who fell short of the mark as sentient beings. They were conceited, small minded, self involved and self absorbed, vain, and looked down on others. He was grateful he was nothing like them. He was his own person.

So, he packed his things, left them a brief note of goodbye, which he knew would bring them great joy, and set out to follow his own life plan and destiny. He settled in the Enchanted Woods where he was immediately accepted. He found a very old, huge, and dead Oak tree, which had been abandoned. Inside it had so many floors going up to the top of the tree; each connected by spiral branch staircases. But best of all, it had, below the ground, where its dead roots were, a cellar. It was enormous. This was the ideal place to set up his lab and create his inventions.

His neighbors in the Enchanted Woods-elementals, fairies, witches, hobbits, gnomes, squirrels, wizards, and others, delighted in each of his “odd”, scary, and “magical” inventions. They loved to see them work and try them out. They were fascinated by them and by him. The wizards and witches especially loved his Energy Directiumus because it helped them direct the energy needed for difficult or complicated spells.

They would “pop” in unexpected from time to time just to see what he was working on. This was fine with him. He enjoyed hearing the fairies giggle, the gnomes snort in glee, and the wizards and witches saying, “OOOO! or “Hmmmm”. Their reactions gave him great pleasure and a sense of worth. He was accepted for himself and respected for his gifts. The hurt and the pain of his early years with his parents fell away and his life was one of accomplishment, friendship, and happiness.

~ Marsha J. West, Author~ edited for Flickr

(This is my original story or “A Little Tale”. It is my personal property and cannot be copied or used in any medium either online or written without prior approval.)

Free Photoshop actions to make kaleidoscopic and mirrored images:

podsville.wixsite.com/actions

Autumn Leaves, Tahoe Shoreline. Lake Tahoe, California. October 9, 2014. © Copyright 2014 G Dan Mitchell - all rights reserved.

Colorful autumn leaves along the northern shore of Lake Tahoe, California

As part of a project that I'm working on I spent a few days photographing and exploring in the greater Lake Tahoe area in early October. I've gone to Tahoe for years, but mostly in the winter for cross-country or Telemark skiing or in the summer for family trips, back when we would occasionally get a cabin up there. Oddly, my experience with the lake in the fall was almost nonexistent.

So this trip was part of a process to fix that omission. I spent time in some of the surrounding areas where there can be some spectacular autumn color and I spent one full day circumnavigating the lake. It was on that day that I paused at the north end of the lake, just inside the California border, to photograph these colorful trees against the deep blues of the sky, mountains, and lake.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.

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Fellas! Ever have a long night out that ended with an encounter with an "unsavory" lady? Ever have that "not so fresh feeling" after said encounter?

Well worry no more! Introducing Ireland's "Stank Remover". It removes "Stank" from anywhere....namely your hangdown.

If you are lucky enough...you can see the background story on this inside joke right here.

Cold, cold water surrounds me now

And all I've got is your hand

Can you hear me now?

Can you hear me now?

Can you hear me now?

Or am I lost?

{"Cold Water", Damien Rice}

Wow, putting these two side by side really shows how dull and washed out the Humbrol yellow is; I can see why people who do more serious model repaints than me use car body paint. Though, similarly, OOC’s chosen shade of green is really murky compared to the Humbrol no.2, so I guess it goes both ways.

As well as the colours, the thing that connects these two is Stagecoach, since RoadCar 904 went on to be Stagecoach 16904 for most of its life, and the open topper is basically a fictitious version of the exact same thing; a bus new to an operator that was later absorbed into Stagecoach. And the fact it’s in a green and white colour scheme is no coincidence; it can pass itself off as a faux RoadCar vehicle if I ever need it to.

As far as I’m aware, there never was a V320 HBD, and if there was then it definitely wasn’t a Plaxton President Dennis Trident. What used to be my pretty terrible ‘what if’ NCT open topper now assumes the identity of the equally nonexistent Newall Citybus 1220/Stagecoach 18550. The open top President casting offers limited options for depicting real vehicles, so I figured I’d redo it as a member of another fictitious operator I’ve come up with that isn’t Robertson Buses.

I suppose I could’ve had it be part of the RB fleet (and I did consider it), but eh, I didn’t really feel like it. There’s nothing stopping it appearing there on loan, though!

This city is inspired by inland seaports such as Hamburg, a bit of Copenhagen, and the Dutch 'Drechtsteden'. The city draws upon the port for its existence, plus some universities, a zoo, and quite good leisure opportunities. Large parts fall outside the sheet, so imagine that there're many sleep towns attached beyond the map's edges. Otherwise, such a small population could never justify so large a port, which likewise extends far beyond the paper.

Dimensions: 35×43 cm. For the making-off process, see www.flickr.com/photos/31322479@N04/17686915191/in/datepos...

More is explained in a blog called Urban Geofiction: urbangeofiction.stadtkreation.com/zuverdam/

2015.

for nonexistent babies

The distance

Was pretty much nonexistent

But little by little

It started to grow