View allAll Photos Tagged orchestration
May 5, 2023 - East of Wilcox Nebraska US
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36 Years ago, with a peaked curiosity, I dove feverishly into the world of storm chasing and well, the rest is history. Fast forward a few years and my current journey in storm photography & videography has unlocked a completely new life that I never imagined would exist. Oh how my adventures continue...
Mother Nature definitely orchestrated her magic on this first storm chase of the season. Warm front had positioned itself right over the state of Nebraska. Pulling in all that warm moist air from the south created the perfect conditions for severe thunderstorm development. I was on the hunt & wouldn't be denied this day.
I got to witness 3 very sculptured Supercells that afternoon.... This was Supercell #2!!!
Was just east of Wilcox & the dirt roads hadn't been rained on yet. (I usually don't travel them anymore if they are) to watch this 2nd Supercell develop.
*** Please NOTE and RESPECT the Copyright ***
© Dale Kaminski @ NebraskaSC Photography - All Rights Reserved
This image may not be copied, reproduced, published or distributed in any medium without the expressed written permission of the copyright holder.
#ForeverChasing
#NebraskaSC
I can hear that which is seen
the aria of twilight
becoming ever clean
reflecting feelings in sight
taking me now, for all my cares
following me now, a gimmal of night and day
upon my finger this moment lays it's wares
taut by the radiance only nature can portray
heaven is a movement composed on earth
within view a concert suite for us all
our very presence, the ensemble for completeness and worth
this orchestration of the senses is sure to enthral.
by anglia24
22h50: 29/06/2007
♪
●●●●●●●●●●●●
© 2007anglia24
Why should mankind believe in God?
The Answer from God's word:
God created all things, and so He makes all creation come under His dominion, and submit to His dominion; He will command all things, so that all things are in His hands. All creation of God, including animals, plants, mankind, the mountains and rivers, and the lakes—all must come under His dominion. All things in the skies and on the ground must come under His dominion. They cannot have any choice, and must all submit to His orchestrations. This was decreed by God, and is the authority of God. God commands everything, and orders and ranks all things, with each classed according to kind, and allotted their own position, according to God’s will. No matter how great it is, no thing can surpass God, and all things serve the mankind created by God, and no thing dares to disobey God or make any demands of God. And so man, as a creature of God, must also perform the duty of man. Regardless of whether he is the lord or ruler of all things, no matter how high man’s status among all things, still he is but a small human being under the dominion of God, and is no more than an insignificant human being, a creature of God, and he will never be above God. As a creature of God, man should seek to perform the duty of a creature of God, and seek to love God without making other choices, for God is worthy of man’s love.
from “Success or Failure Depends on the Path That Man Walks” in The Word Appears in the Flesh
God created this world and brought man, a living being unto which He bestowed life, into it. In turn, man came to have parents and kin and was no longer alone. Ever since man first laid eyes on this material world, he was destined to exist within the ordination of God. It is the breath of life from God that supports each living being throughout his growth into adulthood. During this process, none believe that man lives and grows up under the care of God. Rather, they hold that man grows up under the love and care of his parents, and that his growth is governed by the instinct of life. This is because man knows not who bestowed life or from whence it came, much less how the instinct of life creates miracles. Man knows only that food is the basis of the continuation of life, that perseverance is the source of existence of life, and that the belief in his mind is the wealth of his survival. Man does not feel the grace and provision from God. Man then squanders the life bestowed upon him by God…. Not one man whom God looks upon day and night takes the initiative to worship Him. God continues to work as He has planned on man for whom He holds no expectations. He does so in the hope that one day, man will awaken from his dream and suddenly comprehend the value and purpose of life, understand the cost at which God has given man everything, and know how fervently God longs for man to turn back to Him.
Recommended for You: What is salvation
May 5, 2023 - West of Holdrege Nebraska US
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Prints Available...Click Here
Watch short time-lapse video of this supercell on Flickr Click Here!
36 Years ago, with a peaked curiosity, I dove feverishly into the world of storm chasing and well, the rest is history. Fast forward a few years and my current journey in storm photography & videography has unlocked a completely new life that I never imagined would exist. Oh how my adventures continue...
Mother Nature definitely orchestrated her magic on this first storm chase of the season. Warm front had positioned itself right over the state of Nebraska. Pulling in all that warm moist air from the south created the perfect conditions for severe thunderstorm development. I was on the hunt & wouldn't be denied this day.
Supercell #3
Hwy 6 westbound to Holdrege Nebraska. Where I encountered this Monster Supercell just to the west of Holdrege Nebraska.
Nicely defined structure on this storm cell as it crested almost due east towards my location.
*** Please NOTE and RESPECT the Copyright ***
© Dale Kaminski @ NebraskaSC Photography - All Rights Reserved
This image may not be copied, reproduced, published or distributed in any medium without the expressed written permission of the copyright holder.
#ForeverChasing
#NebraskaSC
May 5, 2023 - East of Wilcox Nebraska US
*** Like | Follow | Subscribe | NebraskaSC ***
Prints Available...Click Here
36 Years ago, with a peaked curiosity, I dove feverishly into the world of storm chasing and well, the rest is history. Fast forward a few years and my current journey in storm photography & videography has unlocked a completely new life that I never imagined would exist. Oh how my adventures continue...
Mother Nature definitely orchestrated her magic on this first storm chase of the season. Warm front had positioned itself right over the state of Nebraska. Pulling in all that warm moist air from the south created the perfect conditions for severe thunderstorm development. I was on the hunt & wouldn't be denied this day.
I got to witness 3 very sculptured Supercells that afternoon.... This was Supercell #2!!!
Was just east of Wilcox & the dirt roads hadn't been rained on yet. (I usually don't travel them anymore if they are) to watch this 2nd Supercell develop.
This is where most say I'm just simply down right nuts.... I had to get closer.
I've done this so many times I don't get nervous at all. Simply stating. I know what is safe & what is not. If you want the good pics / video. You gotta get into the action... but do is safely. Again Storm chasing isn't for everyone. But for me its what I do best!
*** Please NOTE and RESPECT the Copyright ***
© Dale Kaminski @ NebraskaSC Photography - All Rights Reserved
This image may not be copied, reproduced, published or distributed in any medium without the expressed written permission of the copyright holder.
#ForeverChasing
#NebraskaSC
With freight train congestion ahead, a slick move by the BNSF dispatcher, at least for the passengers of Amtrak’s train 5, crossed the westbound California Zephyr over to the south track or Main 2, all the way from Montgomery to Galesburg, Illinois, on May 21, 2023. During that time, the Zephyr passed five westbound BNSF freights and met an eastbound BNSF Z train flying toward Chicago, all neatly orchestrated to keep the passenger train from losing time on the busy subdivision. We pass the third westbound at track speed zipping toward Galva as seen from Roomette 9 in the 531 sleeper. And the windows were clean too!
───
/// TOKYO ZERO
January 10th - 30th
➤ EYEBROWS. Knife Party - Striking Eyebrows
➤ FACE IMPLANTS. Effervescence - Sentinel Implants
➤ EYES. Effervescence - Silas Overlay
───
/// OTHER CREDITS
➤ HAIR. KMH - Hair F227
➤ TOP. [R2L] Hatsuharu Dress
➤ GLOVES. [R2L] Kochi Gloves
➤ ACCESSORIES.
• torment. protocon
• :::SOLE::: FBC Kit Backpack
───
Additional details on my blog.
The Gift : Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World by Lewis Hyde.
By now a modern classic, The Gift is a brilliantly orchestrated defense of the value of creativity and of its importance in a culture increasingly governed by money and overrun with commodities. Widely available again after twenty-five years, this book is even more necessary today than when it first appeared. An illuminating and transformative book, and completely original in its view of the world, The Gift is cherished by artists, writers, musicians, and thinkers. It is in itself a gift to all who discover the classic wisdom found in its pages.
Devenu un classique moderne, The Gift est une défense brillamment orchestrée de la valeur de la créativité et de son importance dans une culture de plus en plus régie par l'argent et envahie par les marchandises. Largement disponible à nouveau après vingt-cinq ans, ce livre est encore plus nécessaire aujourd'hui que lors de sa première apparition. Un livre éclairant et transformateur, totalement original dans sa vision du monde, The Gift est chéri par les artistes, les écrivains, les musiciens et les penseurs. C'est en soi un cadeau à tous ceux qui découvrent la sagesse classique trouvée dans ses pages.
Amidst the gentle sway of the windmill's blades, nature orchestrates its symphony. Cows graze lazily, sheep roam freely, while the sea whispers tales of old to the mountains. Shadows dance across the field, as trees stand sentinel to the passage of time.
happy new year flickr friends. we can expect more orchestrated chaos and distraction in 2015, but understand that the financial "elite" require it for cover.
saturated reflection seen near the seattle public library. the white segment in lower left is from the library.
Blackcap - Sylvia Atrcapilla (M)
The Eurasian blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) usually known simply as the blackcap, is a common and widespread typical warbler. It has mainly olive-grey upperparts and pale grey underparts, and differences between the five subspecies are small. Both sexes have a neat coloured cap to the head, black in the male and reddish-brown in the female. The male's typical song is a rich musical warbling, often ending in a loud high-pitched crescendo, but a simpler song is given in some isolated areas, such as valleys in the Alps. The blackcap's closest relative is the garden warbler, which looks quite different but has a similar song.
The blackcap feeds mainly on insects during the breeding season, then switches to fruit in late summer, the change being triggered by an internal biological rhythm. When migrants arrive on their territories they initially take berries, pollen and nectar if there are insufficient insects available, then soon switch to their preferred diet. They mainly pick prey off foliage and twigs, but may occasionally hover, flycatch or feed on the ground. Blackcaps eat a wide range of invertebrate prey, although aphids are particularly important early in the season, and flies, beetles and caterpillars are also taken in large numbers. Small snails are swallowed whole, since the shell is a source of calcium for the bird's eggs. Chicks are mainly fed soft-bodied insects, fruit only being provided if invertebrates are scarce.
In July, the diet switches increasingly to fruit. The protein needed for egg-laying and for the chicks to grow is replaced by fruit sugar which helps the birds to fatten for migration. Aphids are still taken while they are available, since they often contain sugars from the plant sap on which they feed. Blackcaps eat a wide range of small fruit, and squeeze out any seeds on a branch before consuming the pulp. This technique makes them an important propagator of mistletoe. The mistle thrush, which also favours that plant, is less beneficial since it tends to crush the seeds. Although any suitable fruit may be eaten, some have seasonal or local importance; elder makes up a large proportion of the diet of northern birds preparing for migration, and energy-rich olives and lentisc are favoured by blackcaps wintering in the Mediterranean.
The German birds wintering in British gardens rely on provided food, and the major items are bread and fat, each making up around 20% of the diet; one bird survived the whole winter eating only Christmas cake. Fruit is also eaten, notably cotoneaster (41% of the fruit consumed), ivy and honeysuckle, and apple if available. Some birds have learned to take peanuts from feeders. Blackcaps defend good winter food sources in the wild, and at garden feeding stations they repel competitors as large as starlings and blackbirds. Birds occasionally become tame enough to feed from the hand.
Aristotle, in his History of Animals, considered that the garden warbler eventually metamorphosed into a blackcap. The blackcap's song has led to it being described as the mock nightingale or country nightingale. Verga's 1871 novel Storia di una capinera, according to its author, was inspired by a story of a blackcap trapped and caged by children. The bird, silent and pining for its lost freedom, eventually dies. In the book, a nun evacuated from her convent by cholera falls in love with a family friend, only to have to return to her confinement when the disease wanes. The novel was adapted as films of the same name in 1917, 1943 and 1993. The last version was directed by Franco Zeffirelli, and its English-language version was retitled as Sparrow. In Saint François d'Assise, an opera by Messiaen, the orchestration is based on bird song. St Francis himself is represented by the blackcap.
Folk names for the blackcap often refer to its most obvious plumage feature (black-headed peggy, King Harry black cap and coal hoodie) or to its song, as in the nightingale names above. Other old names are based on its choice of nesting material (Jack Straw, hay bird, hay chat and hay Jack). There is a tradition of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm bases being named for birds. A former base near Stretton in Cheshire was called HMS Blackcap.
Population:
UK breeding:
1,200,000 territories
UK wintering:
3,000 birds
If you want beautiful, pitiful, have me in a picture
and if you want make me dance, throw me round spin upon yourfinger
Blind labors the blind and I am unwilling to uncover my eyes
And if you want take your time rifle through, find a very niceone
if there's a crease in my face over time, there's plenty morewhere that came from
Words, frozen, will thaw when I am wasted, I am better shut up
and a frame is quite confining, hang me up...hang me up
I'm in the photograph
When i'm alone and the world is a fist, I am weightless
a universe, gravitate, orchestrate, I am fearless
and spin, the sky surrounding free from all the picture perfect
and spin the sky surrounding, larger than life, meanwhile
NOT TAKEN BY ME ...
OK, this does not relate to the fractal patterns of the sand being located in Colorado, where marijuana is legal, but rather to their origin from mass wasting, a type of erosion due to gravitational slumping of sediment on steep slopes. Moisture seeping into the sand from recent storms influences the rate at which the layers slump down under the orchestration of gravity and wind, producing the unusual patterning. Erosion, the magician...
Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp | kmska.be/en
The KMSKA approached Boy & Erik Stappaerts (BES, 1969, Antwerp) to create a new installation here, with the support of the National Lottery. The artist devised a two-part work of art: 2 Conflict Paintings + Color Method in 7 Layers.
Conflict Painting orchestrates different color groups in horizontal lines and hues, which are broken up by dissonant colours. A tsunami of colors overtakes you and offers a physical experience with emotional impact.
Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp
Burlington Northern train Nos. 103 and 13 trade crews at Burke, Illinois, on April 7, 1990. Train 103 with GP39M No. 2830 was in the siding at Burke after delays and picking up cars at Eola created some concern that the crew would not make it to the next crew change at La Crosse, Wisconsin. Instead of sending out a new crew to dog catch the train somewhere, a clever solution of exchanging crews was used where No. 103’s crew would trade places with the crew of a higher priority train. In this way, No. 103’s former crew, with fewer hours of service left to them, would step aboard the hotter train and make the crew change point before “going dead on the law.” The hot train’s crew, with more available hours, would slog along with their “new” train, but they too would make the crew change point before going dead. I’m not sure how the crews felt about the situation, but it was a great way to keep the railroad fluid.
A pair of intermodal trains departed Chicago every early afternoon—Nos. 3 and 13—somedays with train 13 shadowing 3 by a block or two. This day was no different as No. 3 pounded past the stopped freight without stopping. The exchange of crews was going to be with No. 13, which came into view only a few minutes later. After making the crew “exchange,” train 13 took off like a bat out of hell with the hours-short crew. Burke siding’s signal blinked from red to yellow to green, and once again No. 103 headed west, albeit not as fast as the trains in front of it. The dispatcher got two hot trains around a slow freight in single-track territory and prevented a crew from dying on the law, all in one well orchestrated move.
Painting: 'Own Light' (2017)
Artist: Lara de Moor
Location: Museum MORE, Gorssel, The Netherlands
"""Nothing within her compositions occur by chance. The often monumental interior scenes are carefully orchestrated still lives. As part of het creative proces, Lara de Moor, constructs installations using precisely positioned objects, either in her own home or in other characteristic spaces. She photographed these scenarios and then translates them into oil on canvas.
By blending familiar elements with unsettling ones, here representations appear infused with emotions or thoughts, acting as a filter over the depicted spaces or even distorting the overall image."""
Info: Museum MORE
The skies over City Island a people went to vote last Wednesday during early voting in Daytona Beach looked like angel wings. I couldn't help but feel that there was, indeed, something spiritual happening as I watched. I think we would be wrong to think that everything that is happening now goes on without the Lord noticing. Whatever the outcome of this election that has turned our country upside down in conflict, American against American, it is still being somehow orchestrated by God, and His hand is on that outcome. Ultimately, though we don't know the future, and agonize about the after effects off whichever candidate may win, God isn't perturbed, and He isn't shaken. He knows, and will still work His purposes out.
Sometimes just looking up in the sky is a reassuring thing.
May 5, 2023 - West of Holdrege Nebraska US
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Prints Available...Click Here
Watch short time-lapse video of this supercell on Flickr Click Here!
36 Years ago, with a peaked curiosity, I dove feverishly into the world of storm chasing and well, the rest is history. Fast forward a few years and my current journey in storm photography & videography has unlocked a completely new life that I never imagined would exist. Oh how my adventures continue...
Mother Nature definitely orchestrated her magic on this first storm chase of the season. Warm front had positioned itself right over the state of Nebraska. Pulling in all that warm moist air from the south created the perfect conditions for severe thunderstorm development. I was on the hunt & wouldn't be denied this day.
Supercell #3
Hwy 6 westbound to Holdrege Nebraska. Where I encountered this Monster Supercell just to the west of Holdrege Nebraska.
Nicely defined structure on this storm cell as it crested almost due east towards my location.
*** Please NOTE and RESPECT the Copyright ***
© Dale Kaminski @ NebraskaSC Photography - All Rights Reserved
This image may not be copied, reproduced, published or distributed in any medium without the expressed written permission of the copyright holder.
#ForeverChasing
#NebraskaSC
There is only one contemporary artist – Haegue Yang from South Korea – who works with geometrically shaped blinds. I saw a large-scale installation in the Tate Modern (2015, London), another at a central place in Centre Pompidou (2016, Paris).
The remarkable installation that Yang is now showing in the Kunsthal in Rotterdam is called 'Star-Crossed Rendezvous after Yun'. By adding light and sound, an orchestrated form of time is created. Whoever opens up awaits a theatrical experience. While various light sources skim unpredictably along the metal grid, Isang Yang's plaintive 'Double Concerto' carves itself ever deeper into the soul.
This artistic encounter between Haegue Yang (1971, Seoul) and Isang Yun (1917-1995) could be called a leap in time. Yun wrote his 'Double Concerto' (for small orchestra, harp and oboe) in 1977, when Yang was just a little girl. The rendezvous (the meeting) expresses a long-standing wish, namely the reunification of North and South Korea.
"Color is like music. The palette is an instrument that can be orchestrated to build form."
- John French Sloan
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May 5, 2023 - West of Franklin Nebraska US
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Prints Available...Click Here
36 Years ago, with a peaked curiosity, I dove feverishly into the world of storm chasing and well, the rest is history. Fast forward a few years and my current journey in storm photography & videography has unlocked a completely new life that I never imagined would exist. Oh how my adventures continue...
Mother Nature definitely orchestrated her magic on this first storm chase of the season. Warm front had positioned itself right over the state of Nebraska. Pulling in all that warm moist air from the south created the perfect conditions for severe thunderstorm development. I was on the hunt & wouldn't be denied this day.
I got to witness 3 very sculptured Supercells this day. The first encounter was north of Franklin Nebraska. Was right along side this beast via Nebraska Hwy 136 & Hwy 10. Storm was cresting to the northeast & I had the perfect view...
*** Please NOTE and RESPECT the Copyright ***
© Dale Kaminski @ NebraskaSC Photography - All Rights Reserved
This image may not be copied, reproduced, published or distributed in any medium without the expressed written permission of the copyright holder.
#ForeverChasing
#NebraskaSC
May 5, 2023 - East of Wilcox Nebraska US
*** Like | Follow | Subscribe | NebraskaSC ***
Prints Available...Click Here
36 Years ago, with a peaked curiosity, I dove feverishly into the world of storm chasing and well, the rest is history. Fast forward a few years and my current journey in storm photography & videography has unlocked a completely new life that I never imagined would exist. Oh how my adventures continue...
Mother Nature definitely orchestrated her magic on this first storm chase of the season. Warm front had positioned itself right over the state of Nebraska. Pulling in all that warm moist air from the south created the perfect conditions for severe thunderstorm development. I was on the hunt & wouldn't be denied this day.
I got to witness 3 very sculptured Supercells that afternoon.... This was Supercell #2!!!
Was just east of Wilcox & the dirt roads hadn't been rained on yet. (I usually don't travel them anymore if they are) to watch this 2nd Supercell develop.
This is where most say I'm just simply down right nuts.... I had to get closer.
I've done this so many times I don't get nervous at all. Simply stating. I know what is safe & what is not. If you want the good pics / video. You gotta get into the action... but do is safely. Again Storm chasing isn't for everyone. But for me its what I do best!
*** Please NOTE and RESPECT the Copyright ***
© Dale Kaminski @ NebraskaSC Photography - All Rights Reserved
This image may not be copied, reproduced, published or distributed in any medium without the expressed written permission of the copyright holder.
#ForeverChasing
#NebraskaSC
The show is organised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board and is displayed every night with good weather at 8 pm Hong Kong Time (UTC+8). An orchestration of music, decoration lights, laser light displays, and pyrotechnic fireworks, the multimedia light and sound show lasts for around 14 minutes and was conceptualised, created, and installed by Laser Vision. (short from Wikipedia)
There is only one contemporary artist – Haegue Yang from South Korea – who works with geometrically shaped blinds. I saw a large-scale installation in the Tate Modern (2015, London), another at a central place in Centre Pompidou (2016, Paris).
The remarkable installation that Yang is now showing in the Kunsthal in Rotterdam is called 'Star-Crossed Rendezvous after Yun'. By adding light and sound, an orchestrated form of time is created. Whoever opens up awaits a theatrical experience. While various light sources skim unpredictably along the metal grid, Isang Yang's plaintive 'Double Concerto' carves itself ever deeper into the soul.
This artistic encounter between Haegue Yang (1971, Seoul) and Isang Yun (1917-1995) could be called a leap in time. Yun wrote his 'Double Concerto' (for small orchestra, harp and oboe) in 1977, when Yang was just a little girl. The rendezvous (the meeting) expresses a long-standing wish, namely the reunification of North and South Korea.
"Visions of a Sunset" by Shawn Stockman
Oh Yeah
Lived all my days trying to embrace
Life with my heart by all the beauty
I feel and create it spins and moves
Flows at my pace telling its story
From the tear running down my face
Visions of a sunset just appear when
I close my eyes
Takes my closer to heaven when the
Flute starts to fly
And the violin cries
Confusion leaves while peace
Orchestrates runs through my
Veins and in other seekers it
Penetrates my reason why
The big city air smells so
Sweet takes me through journeys
In time from my youth to as
Far as I can see
It's all I need in my life
It's all I need and no one
Can take your place by my side
You're all inside of me
We'll free from all sorrow
Like the wind blows from the sky
Takes me closer to
Heaven when the
Flute starts to fly
~Inspiration~
"Las maravillas de la vida diaria son emocionantes; ningún director de cine puede organizar lo inesperado que encuentras en la calle.”
—Robert Doisneau
"The wonders of everyday life are exciting; no film director can orchestrate the unexpected you encounter on the street."
© Leanne Boulton, All Rights Reserved
Street photography from Glasgow, Scotland.
I shoot street in drab and unassuming colours in order to blend into the masses. If everyone dressed like this I'd have to up my colour game too. I absolutely love the riot of colour that she is orchestrating here. Enjoy.
Last from the winter series from Lake Gnangara. The lake is now full from the winter rains. Over the next few months the water will disappear leaving a dry salty bed awaiting next winters rain. Its a brutal cycle but does make you realise how beautiful orchestrated the seasons are.
Blackcap - Sylvia Atrcapilla (M)
The Eurasian blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) usually known simply as the blackcap, is a common and widespread typical warbler. It has mainly olive-grey upperparts and pale grey underparts, and differences between the five subspecies are small. Both sexes have a neat coloured cap to the head, black in the male and reddish-brown in the female. The male's typical song is a rich musical warbling, often ending in a loud high-pitched crescendo, but a simpler song is given in some isolated areas, such as valleys in the Alps. The blackcap's closest relative is the garden warbler, which looks quite different but has a similar song.
The blackcap feeds mainly on insects during the breeding season, then switches to fruit in late summer, the change being triggered by an internal biological rhythm. When migrants arrive on their territories they initially take berries, pollen and nectar if there are insufficient insects available, then soon switch to their preferred diet. They mainly pick prey off foliage and twigs, but may occasionally hover, flycatch or feed on the ground. Blackcaps eat a wide range of invertebrate prey, although aphids are particularly important early in the season, and flies, beetles and caterpillars are also taken in large numbers. Small snails are swallowed whole, since the shell is a source of calcium for the bird's eggs. Chicks are mainly fed soft-bodied insects, fruit only being provided if invertebrates are scarce.
In July, the diet switches increasingly to fruit. The protein needed for egg-laying and for the chicks to grow is replaced by fruit sugar which helps the birds to fatten for migration. Aphids are still taken while they are available, since they often contain sugars from the plant sap on which they feed. Blackcaps eat a wide range of small fruit, and squeeze out any seeds on a branch before consuming the pulp. This technique makes them an important propagator of mistletoe. The mistle thrush, which also favours that plant, is less beneficial since it tends to crush the seeds. Although any suitable fruit may be eaten, some have seasonal or local importance; elder makes up a large proportion of the diet of northern birds preparing for migration, and energy-rich olives and lentisc are favoured by blackcaps wintering in the Mediterranean.
The German birds wintering in British gardens rely on provided food, and the major items are bread and fat, each making up around 20% of the diet; one bird survived the whole winter eating only Christmas cake. Fruit is also eaten, notably cotoneaster (41% of the fruit consumed), ivy and honeysuckle, and apple if available. Some birds have learned to take peanuts from feeders. Blackcaps defend good winter food sources in the wild, and at garden feeding stations they repel competitors as large as starlings and blackbirds. Birds occasionally become tame enough to feed from the hand.
Aristotle, in his History of Animals, considered that the garden warbler eventually metamorphosed into a blackcap. The blackcap's song has led to it being described as the mock nightingale or country nightingale. Verga's 1871 novel Storia di una capinera, according to its author, was inspired by a story of a blackcap trapped and caged by children. The bird, silent and pining for its lost freedom, eventually dies. In the book, a nun evacuated from her convent by cholera falls in love with a family friend, only to have to return to her confinement when the disease wanes. The novel was adapted as films of the same name in 1917, 1943 and 1993. The last version was directed by Franco Zeffirelli, and its English-language version was retitled as Sparrow. In Saint François d'Assise, an opera by Messiaen, the orchestration is based on bird song. St Francis himself is represented by the blackcap.
Folk names for the blackcap often refer to its most obvious plumage feature (black-headed peggy, King Harry black cap and coal hoodie) or to its song, as in the nightingale names above. Other old names are based on its choice of nesting material (Jack Straw, hay bird, hay chat and hay Jack). There is a tradition of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm bases being named for birds. A former base near Stretton in Cheshire was called HMS Blackcap.
Population:
UK breeding:
1,200,000 territories
UK wintering:
3,000 birds
Last from the winter series from Lake Gnangara. The lake is now full from the winter rains. Over the next few months the water will disappear leaving a dry salty bed awaiting next winters rain. Its a brutal cycle but does make you realise how beautiful orchestrated the seasons are.
First B/Cap of 2022
Blackcap - Sylvia Atrcapilla (M)
The Eurasian blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) usually known simply as the blackcap, is a common and widespread typical warbler. It has mainly olive-grey upperparts and pale grey underparts, and differences between the five subspecies are small. Both sexes have a neat coloured cap to the head, black in the male and reddish-brown in the female. The male's typical song is a rich musical warbling, often ending in a loud high-pitched crescendo, but a simpler song is given in some isolated areas, such as valleys in the Alps. The blackcap's closest relative is the garden warbler, which looks quite different but has a similar song.
The blackcap feeds mainly on insects during the breeding season, then switches to fruit in late summer, the change being triggered by an internal biological rhythm. When migrants arrive on their territories they initially take berries, pollen and nectar if there are insufficient insects available, then soon switch to their preferred diet. They mainly pick prey off foliage and twigs, but may occasionally hover, flycatch or feed on the ground. Blackcaps eat a wide range of invertebrate prey, although aphids are particularly important early in the season, and flies, beetles and caterpillars are also taken in large numbers. Small snails are swallowed whole, since the shell is a source of calcium for the bird's eggs. Chicks are mainly fed soft-bodied insects, fruit only being provided if invertebrates are scarce.
In July, the diet switches increasingly to fruit. The protein needed for egg-laying and for the chicks to grow is replaced by fruit sugar which helps the birds to fatten for migration. Aphids are still taken while they are available, since they often contain sugars from the plant sap on which they feed. Blackcaps eat a wide range of small fruit, and squeeze out any seeds on a branch before consuming the pulp. This technique makes them an important propagator of mistletoe. The mistle thrush, which also favours that plant, is less beneficial since it tends to crush the seeds. Although any suitable fruit may be eaten, some have seasonal or local importance; elder makes up a large proportion of the diet of northern birds preparing for migration, and energy-rich olives and lentisc are favoured by blackcaps wintering in the Mediterranean.
The German birds wintering in British gardens rely on provided food, and the major items are bread and fat, each making up around 20% of the diet; one bird survived the whole winter eating only Christmas cake. Fruit is also eaten, notably cotoneaster (41% of the fruit consumed), ivy and honeysuckle, and apple if available. Some birds have learned to take peanuts from feeders. Blackcaps defend good winter food sources in the wild, and at garden feeding stations they repel competitors as large as starlings and blackbirds. Birds occasionally become tame enough to feed from the hand.
Aristotle, in his History of Animals, considered that the garden warbler eventually metamorphosed into a blackcap. The blackcap's song has led to it being described as the mock nightingale or country nightingale. Verga's 1871 novel Storia di una capinera, according to its author, was inspired by a story of a blackcap trapped and caged by children. The bird, silent and pining for its lost freedom, eventually dies. In the book, a nun evacuated from her convent by cholera falls in love with a family friend, only to have to return to her confinement when the disease wanes. The novel was adapted as films of the same name in 1917, 1943 and 1993. The last version was directed by Franco Zeffirelli, and its English-language version was retitled as Sparrow. In Saint François d'Assise, an opera by Messiaen, the orchestration is based on bird song. St Francis himself is represented by the blackcap.
Folk names for the blackcap often refer to its most obvious plumage feature (black-headed peggy, King Harry black cap and coal hoodie) or to its song, as in the nightingale names above. Other old names are based on its choice of nesting material (Jack Straw, hay bird, hay chat and hay Jack). There is a tradition of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm bases being named for birds. A former base near Stretton in Cheshire was called HMS Blackcap.
Population:
UK breeding:
1,200,000 territories
UK wintering:
3,000 birds
The Scott Monument
61 metre high monument to Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832), designed by George Meikle Kemp
The Scott monument is famously the largest monument to a writer in the world. The question is, why was Walter Scott so important? Born and raised in Edinburgh, from a young age Scott collected the folk tales of the Borders - tales considered so lowly that it was frowned upon to write them down. They became his source for poetry and his series of novels, starting with Waverley which Scott published anonymously in 1814. It was an instant success and even the regent King George IV wanted to meet him.
Scott's romantic tales created a new genre the historical novel - which became key to Scottish and world literature influencing writers as diverse as Tolstoy and Victor Hugo. Almost single-handedly, he rehabilitated the international image of Scotland at a time when many considered it dangerous and backwards. He 'discovered' the Honours of Scotland, helped reinstate outlawed tartan, and orchestrated the first visit of a monarch to Scotland in 171 years. in many ways, the romantic image of Scotland that many people around the world hold today is a result of Scott's genius.
Last from the winter series from Lake Gnangara. The lake is now full from the winter rains. Over the next few months the water will disappear leaving a dry salty bed awaiting next winters rain. Its a brutal cycle but does make you realise how beautiful orchestrated the seasons are.
May 5, 2023 - West of Franklin Nebraska US
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36 Years ago, with a peaked curiosity, I dove feverishly into the world of storm chasing and well, the rest is history. Fast forward a few years and my current journey in storm photography & videography has unlocked a completely new life that I never imagined would exist. Oh how my adventures continue...
Mother Nature definitely orchestrated her magic on this first storm chase of the season. Warm front had positioned itself right over the state of Nebraska. Pulling in all that warm moist air from the south created the perfect conditions for severe thunderstorm development. I was on the hunt & wouldn't be denied this day.
I got to witness 3 very sculptured Supercells this day. The first encounter was north of Franklin Nebraska. Was right along side this beast via Nebraska Hwy 136 & Hwy 10. Storm was cresting to the northeast & I had the perfect view...
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© Dale Kaminski @ NebraskaSC Photography - All Rights Reserved
This image may not be copied, reproduced, published or distributed in any medium without the expressed written permission of the copyright holder.
#ForeverChasing
#NebraskaSC
May 5, 2023 - West of Franklin Nebraska US
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Prints Available...Click Here
36 Years ago, with a peaked curiosity, I dove feverishly into the world of storm chasing and well, the rest is history. Fast forward a few years and my current journey in storm photography & videography has unlocked a completely new life that I never imagined would exist. Oh how my adventures continue...
Mother Nature definitely orchestrated her magic on this first storm chase of the season. Warm front had positioned itself right over the state of Nebraska. Pulling in all that warm moist air from the south created the perfect conditions for severe thunderstorm development. I was on the hunt & wouldn't be denied this day.
I got to witness 3 very sculptured Supercells this day. The first encounter was north of Franklin Nebraska. Was right along side this beast via Nebraska Hwy 136 & Hwy 10. Storm was cresting to the northeast & I had the perfect view...
*** Please NOTE and RESPECT the Copyright ***
© Dale Kaminski @ NebraskaSC Photography - All Rights Reserved
This image may not be copied, reproduced, published or distributed in any medium without the expressed written permission of the copyright holder.
#ForeverChasing
#NebraskaSC
Blackcap - Sylvia Atrcapilla (M)
The Eurasian blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) usually known simply as the blackcap, is a common and widespread typical warbler. It has mainly olive-grey upperparts and pale grey underparts, and differences between the five subspecies are small. Both sexes have a neat coloured cap to the head, black in the male and reddish-brown in the female. The male's typical song is a rich musical warbling, often ending in a loud high-pitched crescendo, but a simpler song is given in some isolated areas, such as valleys in the Alps. The blackcap's closest relative is the garden warbler, which looks quite different but has a similar song.
The blackcap feeds mainly on insects during the breeding season, then switches to fruit in late summer, the change being triggered by an internal biological rhythm. When migrants arrive on their territories they initially take berries, pollen and nectar if there are insufficient insects available, then soon switch to their preferred diet. They mainly pick prey off foliage and twigs, but may occasionally hover, flycatch or feed on the ground. Blackcaps eat a wide range of invertebrate prey, although aphids are particularly important early in the season, and flies, beetles and caterpillars are also taken in large numbers. Small snails are swallowed whole, since the shell is a source of calcium for the bird's eggs. Chicks are mainly fed soft-bodied insects, fruit only being provided if invertebrates are scarce.
In July, the diet switches increasingly to fruit. The protein needed for egg-laying and for the chicks to grow is replaced by fruit sugar which helps the birds to fatten for migration. Aphids are still taken while they are available, since they often contain sugars from the plant sap on which they feed. Blackcaps eat a wide range of small fruit, and squeeze out any seeds on a branch before consuming the pulp. This technique makes them an important propagator of mistletoe. The mistle thrush, which also favours that plant, is less beneficial since it tends to crush the seeds. Although any suitable fruit may be eaten, some have seasonal or local importance; elder makes up a large proportion of the diet of northern birds preparing for migration, and energy-rich olives and lentisc are favoured by blackcaps wintering in the Mediterranean.
The German birds wintering in British gardens rely on provided food, and the major items are bread and fat, each making up around 20% of the diet; one bird survived the whole winter eating only Christmas cake. Fruit is also eaten, notably cotoneaster (41% of the fruit consumed), ivy and honeysuckle, and apple if available. Some birds have learned to take peanuts from feeders. Blackcaps defend good winter food sources in the wild, and at garden feeding stations they repel competitors as large as starlings and blackbirds. Birds occasionally become tame enough to feed from the hand.
Aristotle, in his History of Animals, considered that the garden warbler eventually metamorphosed into a blackcap. The blackcap's song has led to it being described as the mock nightingale or country nightingale. Verga's 1871 novel Storia di una capinera, according to its author, was inspired by a story of a blackcap trapped and caged by children. The bird, silent and pining for its lost freedom, eventually dies. In the book, a nun evacuated from her convent by cholera falls in love with a family friend, only to have to return to her confinement when the disease wanes. The novel was adapted as films of the same name in 1917, 1943 and 1993. The last version was directed by Franco Zeffirelli, and its English-language version was retitled as Sparrow. In Saint François d'Assise, an opera by Messiaen, the orchestration is based on bird song. St Francis himself is represented by the blackcap.
Folk names for the blackcap often refer to its most obvious plumage feature (black-headed peggy, King Harry black cap and coal hoodie) or to its song, as in the nightingale names above. Other old names are based on its choice of nesting material (Jack Straw, hay bird, hay chat and hay Jack). There is a tradition of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm bases being named for birds. A former base near Stretton in Cheshire was called HMS Blackcap.
Population:
UK breeding:
1,200,000 territories
UK wintering:
3,000 birds
May 5, 2023 - East of Wilcox Nebraska US
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Prints Available...Click Here
36 Years ago, with a peaked curiosity, I dove feverishly into the world of storm chasing and well, the rest is history. Fast forward a few years and my current journey in storm photography & videography has unlocked a completely new life that I never imagined would exist. Oh how my adventures continue...
Mother Nature definitely orchestrated her magic on this first storm chase of the season. Warm front had positioned itself right over the state of Nebraska. Pulling in all that warm moist air from the south created the perfect conditions for severe thunderstorm development. I was on the hunt & wouldn't be denied this day.
I got to witness 3 very sculptured Supercells that afternoon.... This was Supercell #2!!!
Was just east of Wilcox & the dirt roads hadn't been rained on yet. (I usually don't travel them anymore if they are) to watch this 2nd Supercell develop.
*** Please NOTE and RESPECT the Copyright ***
© Dale Kaminski @ NebraskaSC Photography - All Rights Reserved
This image may not be copied, reproduced, published or distributed in any medium without the expressed written permission of the copyright holder.
#ForeverChasing
#NebraskaSC
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Blackcap - Sylvia Atrcapilla (M)
The Eurasian blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) usually known simply as the blackcap, is a common and widespread typical warbler. It has mainly olive-grey upperparts and pale grey underparts, and differences between the five subspecies are small. Both sexes have a neat coloured cap to the head, black in the male and reddish-brown in the female. The male's typical song is a rich musical warbling, often ending in a loud high-pitched crescendo, but a simpler song is given in some isolated areas, such as valleys in the Alps. The blackcap's closest relative is the garden warbler, which looks quite different but has a similar song.
The blackcap feeds mainly on insects during the breeding season, then switches to fruit in late summer, the change being triggered by an internal biological rhythm. When migrants arrive on their territories they initially take berries, pollen and nectar if there are insufficient insects available, then soon switch to their preferred diet. They mainly pick prey off foliage and twigs, but may occasionally hover, flycatch or feed on the ground. Blackcaps eat a wide range of invertebrate prey, although aphids are particularly important early in the season, and flies, beetles and caterpillars are also taken in large numbers. Small snails are swallowed whole, since the shell is a source of calcium for the bird's eggs. Chicks are mainly fed soft-bodied insects, fruit only being provided if invertebrates are scarce.
In July, the diet switches increasingly to fruit. The protein needed for egg-laying and for the chicks to grow is replaced by fruit sugar which helps the birds to fatten for migration. Aphids are still taken while they are available, since they often contain sugars from the plant sap on which they feed. Blackcaps eat a wide range of small fruit, and squeeze out any seeds on a branch before consuming the pulp. This technique makes them an important propagator of mistletoe. The mistle thrush, which also favours that plant, is less beneficial since it tends to crush the seeds. Although any suitable fruit may be eaten, some have seasonal or local importance; elder makes up a large proportion of the diet of northern birds preparing for migration, and energy-rich olives and lentisc are favoured by blackcaps wintering in the Mediterranean.
The German birds wintering in British gardens rely on provided food, and the major items are bread and fat, each making up around 20% of the diet; one bird survived the whole winter eating only Christmas cake. Fruit is also eaten, notably cotoneaster (41% of the fruit consumed), ivy and honeysuckle, and apple if available. Some birds have learned to take peanuts from feeders. Blackcaps defend good winter food sources in the wild, and at garden feeding stations they repel competitors as large as starlings and blackbirds. Birds occasionally become tame enough to feed from the hand.
Aristotle, in his History of Animals, considered that the garden warbler eventually metamorphosed into a blackcap. The blackcap's song has led to it being described as the "mock nightingale" or "country nightingale", and John Clare, in "The March Nightingale" describes the listener as believing that the rarer species has arrived prematurely. "He stops his own and thinks the nightingale/Hath of her monthly reckoning counted wrong". The song is also the topic of Italian poet Giovanni Pascoli's "La Capinera" [The Blackcap].
Giovanni Verga's 1871 novel Storia di una capinera, according to its author, was inspired by a story of a blackcap trapped and caged by children. The bird, silent and pining for its lost freedom, eventually dies. In the book, a nun evacuated from her convent by cholera falls in love with a family friend, only to have to return to her confinement when the disease wanes. The novel was adapted as films of the same name in 1917, 1943 and 1993. The last version was directed by Franco Zeffirelli, and its English-language version was retitled as Sparrow. In Saint François d'Assise, an opera by Messiaen, the orchestration is based on bird song. St Francis himself is represented by the blackcap.
Folk names for the blackcap often refer to its most obvious plumage feature (black-headed peggy, King Harry black cap and coal hoodie) or to its song, as in the "nightingale" names above. Other old names are based on its choice of nesting material (Jack Straw, hay bird, hay chat and hay Jack). There is a tradition of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm bases being named for birds. A former base near Stretton in Cheshire was called HMS Blackcap.
Population:
UK breeding:
1,200,000 territories
UK wintering:
3,000 bird
I've learned a few things about image processing since 2017 and revisited in March of 2020 data I collected during the August 2017 solar eclipse.
This photo, an HDR composite of images taken at different exposure lengths, reveals the detailed structure of the solar corona as well as reflected Earthshine illuminating the surface of the moon. Regulus, the brightest star in Leo, is visible to the far left and another star can be seen toward the upper right.
Telescope: Tele Vue 76mm f/6.3 refractor
Mount: iOptron iEQ45 Pro
Camera: Nikon D7100
Capture Software: Eclipse Orchestrator v3.7
Integration: 4 sets of exposures at 1/1600, 1/400, 1/100, 1/25, 1/6, 1/3, and 6/10 sec @ ISO 200, stacked to reduce noise and enhance detail.
Location: Madras, Oregon
Date: 2017-08-21
May 5, 2023 - West of Holdrege Nebraska US
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Watch short time-lapse video of this supercell on Flickr Click Here!
36 Years ago, with a peaked curiosity, I dove feverishly into the world of storm chasing and well, the rest is history. Fast forward a few years and my current journey in storm photography & videography has unlocked a completely new life that I never imagined would exist. Oh how my adventures continue...
Mother Nature definitely orchestrated her magic on this first storm chase of the season. Warm front had positioned itself right over the state of Nebraska. Pulling in all that warm moist air from the south created the perfect conditions for severe thunderstorm development. I was on the hunt & wouldn't be denied this day.
Supercell #3
Hwy 6 westbound to Holdrege Nebraska. Where I encountered this Monster Supercell just to the west of Holdrege Nebraska.
Nicely defined structure on this storm cell as it crested almost due east towards my location.
*** Please NOTE and RESPECT the Copyright ***
© Dale Kaminski @ NebraskaSC Photography - All Rights Reserved
This image may not be copied, reproduced, published or distributed in any medium without the expressed written permission of the copyright holder.
#ForeverChasing
#NebraskaSC
Blackcap - Sylvia Atrcapilla (M)
Double click!
The Eurasian blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) usually known simply as the blackcap, is a common and widespread typical warbler. It has mainly olive-grey upperparts and pale grey underparts, and differences between the five subspecies are small. Both sexes have a neat coloured cap to the head, black in the male and reddish-brown in the female. The male's typical song is a rich musical warbling, often ending in a loud high-pitched crescendo, but a simpler song is given in some isolated areas, such as valleys in the Alps. The blackcap's closest relative is the garden warbler, which looks quite different but has a similar song.
The blackcap feeds mainly on insects during the breeding season, then switches to fruit in late summer, the change being triggered by an internal biological rhythm. When migrants arrive on their territories they initially take berries, pollen and nectar if there are insufficient insects available, then soon switch to their preferred diet. They mainly pick prey off foliage and twigs, but may occasionally hover, flycatch or feed on the ground. Blackcaps eat a wide range of invertebrate prey, although aphids are particularly important early in the season, and flies, beetles and caterpillars are also taken in large numbers. Small snails are swallowed whole, since the shell is a source of calcium for the bird's eggs. Chicks are mainly fed soft-bodied insects, fruit only being provided if invertebrates are scarce.
In July, the diet switches increasingly to fruit. The protein needed for egg-laying and for the chicks to grow is replaced by fruit sugar which helps the birds to fatten for migration. Aphids are still taken while they are available, since they often contain sugars from the plant sap on which they feed. Blackcaps eat a wide range of small fruit, and squeeze out any seeds on a branch before consuming the pulp. This technique makes them an important propagator of mistletoe. The mistle thrush, which also favours that plant, is less beneficial since it tends to crush the seeds. Although any suitable fruit may be eaten, some have seasonal or local importance; elder makes up a large proportion of the diet of northern birds preparing for migration, and energy-rich olives and lentisc are favoured by blackcaps wintering in the Mediterranean.
The German birds wintering in British gardens rely on provided food, and the major items are bread and fat, each making up around 20% of the diet; one bird survived the whole winter eating only Christmas cake. Fruit is also eaten, notably cotoneaster (41% of the fruit consumed), ivy and honeysuckle, and apple if available. Some birds have learned to take peanuts from feeders. Blackcaps defend good winter food sources in the wild, and at garden feeding stations they repel competitors as large as starlings and blackbirds. Birds occasionally become tame enough to feed from the hand.
Aristotle, in his History of Animals, considered that the garden warbler eventually metamorphosed into a blackcap. The blackcap's song has led to it being described as the "mock nightingale" or "country nightingale", and John Clare, in "The March Nightingale" describes the listener as believing that the rarer species has arrived prematurely. "He stops his own and thinks the nightingale/Hath of her monthly reckoning counted wrong". The song is also the topic of Italian poet Giovanni Pascoli's "La Capinera" [The Blackcap].
Giovanni Verga's 1871 novel Storia di una capinera, according to its author, was inspired by a story of a blackcap trapped and caged by children. The bird, silent and pining for its lost freedom, eventually dies. In the book, a nun evacuated from her convent by cholera falls in love with a family friend, only to have to return to her confinement when the disease wanes. The novel was adapted as films of the same name in 1917, 1943 and 1993. The last version was directed by Franco Zeffirelli, and its English-language version was retitled as Sparrow. In Saint François d'Assise, an opera by Messiaen, the orchestration is based on bird song. St Francis himself is represented by the blackcap.
Folk names for the blackcap often refer to its most obvious plumage feature (black-headed peggy, King Harry black cap and coal hoodie) or to its song, as in the "nightingale" names above. Other old names are based on its choice of nesting material (Jack Straw, hay bird, hay chat and hay Jack). There is a tradition of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm bases being named for birds. A former base near Stretton in Cheshire was called HMS Blackcap.
Population:
UK breeding:
1,200,000 territories
UK wintering:
3,000 bird
Layaku (Durbar Square)
Bhaktapur Durbar Square is a conglomeration of pagoda and shikhara-style temples, mostly dedicated to Hindu gods and goddesses grouped around a 55-window palace of brick and wood. The square is one of the most charming architectural showpieces of the valley as it highlights the ancient arts of Nepal. The golden effigies of the kings perched on the top of stone monoliths, the guardian deities looking out from their sanctuaries, the wood carvings in every place — struts, lintels, uprights, tympanums, gateways and windows — all seem to form a well-orchestrated symphony.
The royal palace was originally situated at Dattaraya square and was only later moved to the Durbar square location. The square in Bhaktapur was severely damaged by an earthquake in 1934 and hence appears more spacious than the ones at Kathmandu and Patan.
There is only one contemporary artist – Haegue Yang from South Korea – who works with geometrically shaped blinds. I saw a large-scale installation in the Tate Modern (2015, London), another at a central place in Centre Pompidou (2016, Paris).
The remarkable installation that Yang is now showing in the Kunsthal in Rotterdam is called 'Star-Crossed Rendezvous after Yun'. By adding light and sound, an orchestrated form of time is created. Whoever opens up awaits a theatrical experience. While various light sources skim unpredictably along the metal grid, Isang Yang's plaintive 'Double Concerto' carves itself ever deeper into the soul.
This artistic encounter between Haegue Yang (1971, Seoul) and Isang Yun (1917-1995) could be called a leap in time. Yun wrote his 'Double Concerto' (for small orchestra, harp and oboe) in 1977, when Yang was just a little girl. The rendezvous (the meeting) expresses a long-standing wish, namely the reunification of North and South Korea.
Blackcap - Sylvia Atrcapilla (M)
The Eurasian blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) usually known simply as the blackcap, is a common and widespread typical warbler. It has mainly olive-grey upperparts and pale grey underparts, and differences between the five subspecies are small. Both sexes have a neat coloured cap to the head, black in the male and reddish-brown in the female. The male's typical song is a rich musical warbling, often ending in a loud high-pitched crescendo, but a simpler song is given in some isolated areas, such as valleys in the Alps. The blackcap's closest relative is the garden warbler, which looks quite different but has a similar song.
The blackcap feeds mainly on insects during the breeding season, then switches to fruit in late summer, the change being triggered by an internal biological rhythm. When migrants arrive on their territories they initially take berries, pollen and nectar if there are insufficient insects available, then soon switch to their preferred diet. They mainly pick prey off foliage and twigs, but may occasionally hover, flycatch or feed on the ground. Blackcaps eat a wide range of invertebrate prey, although aphids are particularly important early in the season, and flies, beetles and caterpillars are also taken in large numbers. Small snails are swallowed whole, since the shell is a source of calcium for the bird's eggs. Chicks are mainly fed soft-bodied insects, fruit only being provided if invertebrates are scarce.
In July, the diet switches increasingly to fruit. The protein needed for egg-laying and for the chicks to grow is replaced by fruit sugar which helps the birds to fatten for migration. Aphids are still taken while they are available, since they often contain sugars from the plant sap on which they feed. Blackcaps eat a wide range of small fruit, and squeeze out any seeds on a branch before consuming the pulp. This technique makes them an important propagator of mistletoe. The mistle thrush, which also favours that plant, is less beneficial since it tends to crush the seeds. Although any suitable fruit may be eaten, some have seasonal or local importance; elder makes up a large proportion of the diet of northern birds preparing for migration, and energy-rich olives and lentisc are favoured by blackcaps wintering in the Mediterranean.
The German birds wintering in British gardens rely on provided food, and the major items are bread and fat, each making up around 20% of the diet; one bird survived the whole winter eating only Christmas cake. Fruit is also eaten, notably cotoneaster (41% of the fruit consumed), ivy and honeysuckle, and apple if available. Some birds have learned to take peanuts from feeders. Blackcaps defend good winter food sources in the wild, and at garden feeding stations they repel competitors as large as starlings and blackbirds. Birds occasionally become tame enough to feed from the hand.
Aristotle, in his History of Animals, considered that the garden warbler eventually metamorphosed into a blackcap. The blackcap's song has led to it being described as the mock nightingale or country nightingale. Verga's 1871 novel Storia di una capinera, according to its author, was inspired by a story of a blackcap trapped and caged by children. The bird, silent and pining for its lost freedom, eventually dies. In the book, a nun evacuated from her convent by cholera falls in love with a family friend, only to have to return to her confinement when the disease wanes. The novel was adapted as films of the same name in 1917, 1943 and 1993. The last version was directed by Franco Zeffirelli, and its English-language version was retitled as Sparrow. In Saint François d'Assise, an opera by Messiaen, the orchestration is based on bird song. St Francis himself is represented by the blackcap.
Folk names for the blackcap often refer to its most obvious plumage feature (black-headed peggy, King Harry black cap and coal hoodie) or to its song, as in the nightingale names above. Other old names are based on its choice of nesting material (Jack Straw, hay bird, hay chat and hay Jack). There is a tradition of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm bases being named for birds. A former base near Stretton in Cheshire was called HMS Blackcap.
Population:
UK breeding:
1,200,000 territories
UK wintering:
3,000 birds