New York Hiking, Skiing, Climbing and Paddling
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Unfortunately the spider is out of focus but I love this picture.
It was taken by my daughter with her mobile phone and it was an opportunity for the "strict" father to scold her for not carrying her camera at all times!
Whilst out shooting the comet in the Shropshire Hills I turned around to see an opportunity to climb up onto the rocks and stand right in the middle of the Milky Way. 30secs foreground and 240sec tracked sky.
""Cultuur Gent wants to give artists the opportunity to use the streets as their playground and canvas and bring street art to a broader audience.
Jolly, Mesh and Madame La Belge, three female graffiti artists from Ghent and Brussels, transformed a drab school wall into an underwater world during a ‘Femmefastiek’ graffiti jam (2014). The aim was to put female graffiti artists in the spotlight.
They drew inspiration from the harbour area of De Muide. The wall became an underwater world with whales, the harbour and submarines.
Location: Glasgowstraat , 9000 Ghent, Belgium""
Information from the website: Visit Ghent
Opportunities are like sunrises. If you wait too long, you miss them. ~ William Arthur Ward
Sorry to bother you once again with this most-photographed scene on my stream. But once in a while I need to go to this beautiful place to shoot. This time it was really challenging because of many many mosquitos around. So probably this will be the one and only image of that pond this year :-)
Happy Sunday, dear friends!
It just struck me that I have photographed this door a couple of times, been by it hundreds of times, seen the changes around the face of the door, but never ever peek beyond the door. I think I am Inspired to do so next time I am there.
In Parkes, NSW, for the David Malin Awards, I was told the normal floodlighting on The Dish radio telescope would be turned off to allow a timelapse to be made for the CSIRO. I hadn't planned to shoot The Dish as many others already have, but without the excess lighting, and given I didn't find a better site I thought I should try. Sigma lens, processed in Lightroom.
I had the opportunity to photograph this very cooperative Least Tern that was incubating it’s eggs. Knowing that the Sun will go down behind the bird, I decided to spend the rest of the evening photographing the bird. Strangely, she/ he had no help from the partner, every hour or so the bird took a break to feed itself
Nikon D850 | 600mm | f4 | 1/1600 | ISO800
Massachusetts, USA | 28-Jul-2019
The pale chanting goshawk is an opportunistic raptor and eats a wide variety of prey including small mammals, lizards, birds, large insects and carrion. It has also been recorded predating upon Tent tortoise and Leopard tortoise hatchlings which are swallowed whole while the shell is still soft. There is some evidence of social hunting in breeding groups but solitary hunting is the norm. Pale chanting goshawks commonly associate with foraging Honey badgers and feed on organisms that are flushed by the Honey badger's feeding activity. This association increases the hunting opportunities and prey capture success of the pale chanting goshawk while the honey badger does not suffer any loss of foraging efficiency. (Wikipedia)
May I take this opportunity to wish all my Flickr friends a Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and successful New Year. I thank all of you who have taken the time to comment and/or fav my photo's this year. I'm going offline for a couple of months but look forward to catching up with all your fab photos from the beginning of March. Best wishes.
It is fun at this time of year to look for opportunities to photograph Monarchs on interesting flowers. I believe that this flower is a Red Ball Dahlia Tuber.
The sparrowhawk is surely one of the UK's most striking raptors.
Unfortunately this male's own strike was far from successful and his chosen prey had long since fled when I took this shot.
Sparrowhawk (Accipiter Nisus)
Adel Dam Nature Reserve
Many thanks to all those who take the time to comment on my photos. It is truly appreciated.
This Barn Owl was perched on the post behind the tree making it difficult to get a good angle for a shot, when a brief gust of wind moved the branches allowing me to capture this photo, hence the title.
This is my take on this year's Uncommon Common art installation in Grand Pre, Nova Scotia. It was designed and erected by Nicole Evans and Patrick Farrell.
Explored on September 22nd, 2015. Highest position #148.
Created for Kreative People Treat This: 2022.09.15
www.flickr.com/groups/1752359@N21/discuss/72157721917323641/
Many thanks to brillianthues for the beautiful source below:
www.flickr.com/photos/brillianthues/52355320658/in/album-...
Top layer created in Wombo using my artwork as a source, mirrored two times; third layer is my own manipulated photo.
Thank you for your visit, faves, invites and kind comments!
I love this angle looking northeast toward downtown St. Paul. This photo took a long wait, as the glaciers probably moved faster than did this manifest trying to make a start down the Mankato Subdivision. This train left Hoffman Yard and slowly worked its way to under the Wabasha Street Bridge then stopped for 10 minutes. The train then moved the distance of two city blocks near Ontario Street then stopped. I figured there had to be opposing traffic or something causing them to be so hesitant. Sure enough, a long manifest was ending its journey on the Mankato Subdivision and coming into St. Paul. Another 30 minutes went by, perhaps to give traffic downtown a break - the first manifest occupied Chestnut Street for 15 minutes. Finally, this westbound finally moved onto the Mankato Subdivision and completed a glorious scene here viewed from the High Bridge. I estimate it took 1 hour and 30 minutes for this to get here from Hoffman Yard - a distance of only three miles away.
I thought the mama abandoned the nest as they were gone for a day or so, giving me the opportunity to snap a quick image. Thankfully, Mama came back.
The restaurant´s picturesque location by Siglufjord marina creates the opportunity for its guests to view local fishermen bring in their catch of the day, which later might end on Hannes Boy´s dishes.
The name, Hannes Boy, comes from an old sailor that used to spend his time outside of the newly renovated houses. He was popular with the locals and the kids which is where he got his name “BOY” from.
I thought I saw a person working on a farm in the footpath, but in fact it was someone waiting a photo opportunity.😆
農作業中の人がいる、と思ってシャッターを切ったのですが、その人は写真撮影中の人でした😆
(Warning: this is a long one, so grab some popcorn and settle in.)
Photographing landscapes has provided me with countless opportunities to have my mind blown over the past few years. From summits in the Canadian Rockies, to countless sunrises in the Sierras to spectacular night skies in remote corners of Utah to beautiful coastlines in Oregon....so many incredible moments. Of all of these experiences, the one I endured last Friday was truly special. It was a personal triumph and one that I have literally been working toward for the past two years.
Tom Bricker was the first one to mention the Diving Board to me. I had seen the shot by Ansel Adams, of course, and had always wondered where he took that shot from, but I figured you would just...you know. Get closer. I was sure that the location must be just beyond Curry Village. What was the big deal?
The big deal is that the diving board is a location in Yosemite that cannot be reached by taking one of the major, well maintained trails. Back in Ansel's day you just took some ropes and charged up the Leconte Gully. But the gully has long been deemed unstable due to frequent rockfalls. The standard route nowadays begins on the mist trail and winds around behind Lost Lake before heading steeply straight up the side of base of Half Dome. From what we were able to gather from scouting online, this would be a 16 mile round trip hike and the word "strenuous" was being thrown around by some very hard core hikers and climbers. My heart sank as I first heard these reports. After all, the hike up the Upper Falls trail had nearly finished me off a few years before. How in the world could I expect to haul my camera gear up the Mist Trail let alone the nearly vertical sections of this crazy trail to the foot of Half Dome?
But I really wanted that shot. I hit the treadmill and began building up my endurance. (Of course the first night was only 10 minutes, but hey. It was a start.) I also began challenging myself with some more difficult hikes, the most recent of which was up to the Fern Ledge in Yosemite. As the Summer drew to a close, we finally had a chance of thunderstorms and the promise of a possible sunset, and I sent Tom an urgent message: Can we go for it on Friday?
So last Friday, Tom and I took off at 4 AM for Yosemite. By 10:30 AM we were taking off from the Mist Trail parking area. Man I was feeling good! No stops at all on the way up to the first bridge. I was blowing past old people and asian tourists like they were standing still. Then the REAL climbing began. By the time we made it to the top of Nevada Fall, I was wiped. But we hadn't started the tough section yet. Tom and I had found a short cut up from Emerald Pool and we had a GPS map with us on Gaia. We were all set. What could go wrong?
So up we went.
The trip from Emerald Pool to the regular bush trail junction was easily the hardest climbing I've ever done. The nearly 30 pounds on my back turned out to be a huge mistake as I nearly gave up several times. Between the steep terrain and the bushwhacking, I was toast. When we hit the junction, things only got worse. I was having to stop almost every 100 feet and poor Tom just sat there waiting for me. After clawing my way up another 700 feet or so, I finally collapsed, unable to continue. I told Tom to head up without me, but he refused. After a long break, it finally hit me: I could dump whatever I wasn't going to use at the top and grab it on the way down! So out came my 24-70 lens (way too hazy for a valley shot), the tripod, almost all of my food, two jackets and over a liter of water. I dropped by stuff in a neat little pile behind a tree reminding myself that it would be a bad idea to forget those items on the way down.
Suddenly the backpack was WAY lighter and even though it hurt, I continued to force my way up. For the final 500 feet, I hung back and sent Tom up ahead. After another 1/2 hour break, I lurched back onto my feet and with the soundtrack of Rocky playing in my head, I charged up the last 500 feet to the Diving Board...some EIGHT hours after leaving the parking lot.
The view was absolutely spectacular as Half Dome rose far more majestically than I could have ever imagined. Although we didn't get quite the epic sunset we were hoping for, we did get some color during the last few minutes, just enough to give some atmosphere. A goal I had set two years prior had just been achieved. I had made it all the way to the diving board!
Our smiles began to fade as it dawned on us that it was getting dark in a real hurry and my car was still 8 miles away. There would be no "short cut" on the way down as we were pretty sure we would not survive a hike back down the sketchy ravine we had just clambered up. So down we went on the long, normal route around past Lost Lake. About 45 minutes later, I said something like "Hey Tom....where's my stuff?" Both of us were convinced that it must still be below us, so we plowed on. After we had gone another 1/2 hour or so, it dawned on us that we must have passed it. We were both beyond exhausted and nearly out of water. But Tom, being the hero that he is, charged back up to look for it. But didn't find it. He had a quarter of a liter of water left and I had maybe a half. I wasn't even sure if I could make the hike out, so I took a deep breath and told Tom we just needed to leave my lens...and all of my other stuff up there, which would have been roughly $2500 to replace.
Ouch.
Okay...this is taking way to long. I'll skip to the end.
After we passed Lost Lake on the way down, we found water in a creek and used my filter to keep from dying on the way back. Tom made it back to the car around 2:30 AM and very kindly drove the car around to the trailhead as I had some severe blisters. I didn't make it back to the trailhead until 3:30 AM.
Fast forward to last Monday when I drove back to Yosemite to find my stuff. I stayed overnight in El Portal and set off the next morning, this time without the 30 pounds taking only water and food. I left at 4 AM and by 8 AM I found my stuff exactly where I had left it! I made it up there in HALF the time! My lens and gear were undamaged and I breathed a huge sigh of relief before heading back down.
For those of you who might be interested taking this hike, I'll have much more details for you including maps, etc on my blog in the very near future. Sorry for the ridiculously long story and THANK YOU for reading the whole thing if you are still with me! The Diving Board was truly a once in a lifetime trip for me....at least for now. I MIGHT try it again, but if I do, it will be with MUCH less gear and more water!
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Thank you so much for your views and comments! If you have specific questions please be sure to send me a message via flickr mail, or feel free to contact me via one of the following:
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LIFE IS....
by Mother Theresa
Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it.
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I just have to upload and share what is available. From my archive. Hope you all dig it.
I have a very poor memory when it comes to naming flowers. My apology!!!
From our garden.
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All the best to everyone.
Thank you for your understanding, support and comments. Very much appreciated...
Here was me yesterday morning bemoaning my lack of motivation in photography. I posted a photo from June advertising the fact, and a few friendly instapals sympathised in the comments, oh woe is me! Driving back form a dog walk along the coast a spied out of the corner of my eye straw bales on Cleadon hills, maybe a picture there? So I ventured back nearing sunset on the half chance I could make anything of it. When I got there I could see I was losing the clouds big style and at sunset they would be all but vanished. The sun was too strong at the moment I could hardly make out the foreground, so was not too sure about the composition and was iffy on whether to take a photo or not. I took the photo with little enthusiasm on the success and moved on to a less dynamic composition in the light department. So I was surprised to see that this photo had a lot more merit than I gave it credit for and decided to post it.
Opportunity knocks. I wish I had a buck for every time I heard someone say: “You ought to start your own restaurant.”
On my way to the city centre I noticed that the gate to the back yard of a shop was open with fairy lights sparkling, so I took the opportunity to quickly take a photo of the scene.
I can't resist fairy lights when I have mounted a vintage (or fast) lens onto one of my cameras ; ))
[ manual Ricoh XR Rikenon 50mm f1.4 on a Pentax K-70, stopped down a bit ]
I got the opportunity/privilege to spend (almost) a full day on an island in the presence of thousands of seabirds (a good chunk of them being puffins). Just myself, a handful of likeminded wildlife photographers and the birds. Quite the experience that I won't soon forget.
This specific puffin had its burrow along some dense vegetation and every now and then came quite close to check me out (they're very curious birds), allowing me this dreamy looking portrait shot.
RKO_6412. “Shall I…”
While trying to get some shots of the European Kestrel I came across this interesting situation. Obviously the Common Buzzard just killed -and was feasting on- a bird while this crow (?) was nearby waiting for the left overs. You can almost read the common buzzards thoughts......
I couldn't resist to upload this image as it was so interesting to watch.
Copyright: Robert Kok. All rights reserved! Watermark protected.
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I know it is an iconic image and grossly overdone... but it is a cool view and it does taste so much better to get your own shot.
This is a 5 image HDR to properly expose the contrasted scene and then adjusted in Lightroom to match the drama as witnessed. My daughter and I set up 45 minutes early perched on rock overhang waithing for the sun to drop below the storm clouds that had just moistened the rock, increasing the contrast and saturation. It was the first time I planned and executed a shot based on the vision I could see in my mind's eye. It turned out better than I imagined.
An opportunity that was on for some time but 43043 and 43081 were held on the approach to Water Orton and 37059 and 37069 ran a little early so in the end, in reality, it didn't although this is what it could have looked like. The HST's were making that ominous journey to Long Marston from Neville Hill running as 5Z62 while the EE's were on a Derby R.T.C. circular running as 5Z17.
the sun is out and the cormorants took full advantage in soaking up the sun and drying themselves off
a gap of light in the arctic Bodø , since sunset is early in the day , you got to be fast and lucky!
This opportunity was more than a Blessing....when I was photographing the adult, posted subsequent to this set, I had moved on and was exploring the far end of the trail, about a twenty minute walk from where I had been with the adult and the owlet that had their face turned away from us...It began to rain quite heavily and I made my way back on the trail..low and behold, the owlet was on a lower perch enduring its first rainfall on its own outside of the nest. I had the good fortune to come across this and photographed the owlet in the rain for about 10 minutes. It changed perches a few times and I moved on, scrambled back to my vehicle, soaking wet and hoping that the gear would perform the way its intended to perform....I couldn't believe my good luck! Sometimes we win...and sometimes we dont!! Isnt this an adorable creature~~~ :)