In Explore Highest position: 447 on Saturday, May 2, 2009

Like three Boss! (BW ero in fondo alla chiesa col 80-200, incastrato tra la folla del matrimonio , mi giro a cercare mia moglie e vedo i tre fuori, 80mm, teste, spinte, ma scatto, mi ricordava una scena del Padrino di M. Puzo se avessi potuto ne avrei fatta entrare di più di auto, una RR bianca serviva per la gamma tonale ;)) )

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Iriny posing behind the log and having her tongue in a special position

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Model: Natalia

Location: St.Albert

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Bien positionnés à l'affût pour la capturer elle a été de nombreuses fois dérangée, une première fois par un faisan arrivé de nulle part puis par une chevrette... Et tout d'un coup la voilà à côté nous surprenant pour la mise au point.

Patience et persévérance........

my workshop on my Facebook just like ;-) Clic Here

my 500px Clic Here

Origins

Although there are no historical records that deal directly with the founding of Venice,[10] tradition and the available evidence have led several historians to agree that the original population of Venice consisted of refugees from Roman cities near Venice such as Padua, Aquileia, Treviso, Altino and Concordia (modern Portogruaro) and from the undefended countryside, who were fleeing successive waves of Germanic and Hun invasions.[11] Some late Roman sources reveal the existence of fishermen on the islands in the original marshy lagoons. They were referred to as incolae lacunae ("lagoon dwellers"). The traditional founding is identified with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo at the islet of Rialto (Rivoalto, "High Shore"), which is said to have been at the stroke of noon on 25 March 421.[12][13]

The last and most enduring immigration into the north of the Italian peninsula was that of the Lombards in 568, leaving the Eastern Roman Empire a small strip of coast in the current Veneto, including Venice. The Roman/Byzantine territory was organized as the Exarchate of Ravenna, administered from that ancient port and overseen by a viceroy (the Exarch) appointed by the Emperor in Constantinople, but Ravenna and Venice were connected only by sea routes and with the Venetians' isolated position came increasing autonomy. New ports were built, including those at Malamocco and Torcello in the Venetian lagoon. The tribuni maiores, the earliest central standing governing committee of the islands in the Lagoon, dated from c. 568.[14]

The traditional first doge of Venice, Paolo Lucio Anafesto, was actually Exarch Paul, and his successor, Marcello Tegalliano, Paul's magister militum (General; literally, "Master of Soldiers.") In 726 the soldiers and citizens of the Exarchate rose in a rebellion over the iconoclastic controversy at the urging of Pope Gregory II. The Exarch was murdered and many officials put to flight in the chaos. At about this time, the people of the lagoon elected their own leader for the first time, although the relationship of this ascent to the uprisings is not clear. Ursus would become the first of 117 "doges" (doge is the Venetian dialect development of the Latin dux ("leader"); the corresponding word in English is duke, in standard Italian duce.) Whatever his original views, Ursus supported Emperor Leo's successful military expedition to recover Ravenna, sending both men and ships. In recognition, Venice was "granted numerous privileges and concessions" and Ursus, who had personally taken the field, was confirmed by Leo as dux[15] and given the added title of hypatus (Greek for "Consul".)[16]

In 751, the Lombard King Aistulf conquered most of the Exarchate of Ravenna, leaving Venice a lonely and increasingly autonomous Byzantine outpost. During this period, the seat of the local Byzantine governor (the "duke/dux", later "doge"), was situated in Malamocco. Settlement on the islands in the lagoon probably increased in correspondence with the Lombard conquest of other Byzantine territories as refugees sought asylum in the lagoon city. In 775/776, the episcopal seat of Olivolo (Helipolis) was created. During the reign of duke Agnello Particiaco (811–827), the ducal seat was moved from Malamocco to the highly protected Rialto, the current location of Venice. The monastery of St. Zachary and the first ducal palace and basilica of St. Mark, as well as a walled defense (civitatis murus) between Olivolo and Rialto, were subsequently built here. Winged lions, which may be seen throughout Venice, are a symbol for St. Mark.

Charlemagne sought to subdue the city to his own rule. He ordered the Pope to expel the Venetians from the Pentapolis along the Adriatic coast,[17] and Charlemagne's own son Pepin of Italy, king of the Lombards under the authority of his father, embarked on a siege of Venice itself. This, however, proved a costly failure. The siege lasted six months, with Pepin's army ravaged by the diseases of the local swamps and eventually forced to withdraw. A few months later, Pepin himself died, apparently as a result of a disease contracted there. In the aftermath, an agreement between Charlemagne and Nicephorus in 814 recognized Venice as Byzantine territory and granted the city trading rights along the Adriatic coast.

In 828, the new city's prestige was raised by the acquisition of the claimed relics of St. Mark the Evangelist from Alexandria, which were placed in the new basilica. The patriarchal seat was also moved to Rialto. As the community continued to develop and as Byzantine power waned, it led to the growth of autonomy and eventual independence.[18]

Expansion

Piazza San Marco in Venice, with St Mark's Campanile and Basilica in the background

These Horses of Saint Mark are a replica of the Triumphal Quadriga captured in Constantinople in 1204 and carried to Venice as a trophy.

From the 9th to the 12th century, Venice developed into a city state (an Italian thalassocracy or Repubblica Marinara, the other three being Genoa, Pisa, and Amalfi). Its strategic position at the head of the Adriatic made Venetian naval and commercial power almost invulnerable. With the elimination of pirates along the Dalmatian coast, the city became a flourishing trade center between Western Europe and the rest of the world (especially the Byzantine Empire and the Islamic world).

The Republic of Venice seized a number of places on the eastern shores of the Adriatic before 1200, mostly for commercial reasons, because pirates based there were a menace to trade. The Doge already carried the titles of Duke of Dalmatia and Duke of Istria. Later mainland possessions, which extended across Lake Garda as far west as the Adda River, were known as the "Terraferma", and were acquired partly as a buffer against belligerent neighbours, partly to guarantee Alpine trade routes, and partly to ensure the supply of mainland wheat, on which the city depended. In building its maritime commercial empire, the Republic dominated the trade in salt,[19] acquired control of most of the islands in the Aegean, including Cyprus and Crete, and became a major power-broker in the Near East. By the standards of the time, Venice's stewardship of its mainland territories was relatively enlightened and the citizens of such towns as Bergamo, Brescia and Verona rallied to the defence of Venetian sovereignty when it was threatened by invaders.

Venice remained closely associated with Constantinople, being twice granted trading privileges in the Eastern Roman Empire, through the so-called Golden Bulls or 'chrysobulls' in return for aiding the Eastern Empire to resist Norman and Turkish incursions. In the first chrysobull, Venice acknowledged its homage to the Empire but not in the second, reflecting the decline of Byzantium and the rise of Venice's power.[20][21]

Venice became an imperial power following the Fourth Crusade, which, having veered off course, culminated in 1204 by capturing and sacking Constantinople and establishing the Latin Empire. As a result of this conquest, considerable Byzantine plunder was brought back to Venice. This plunder included the gilt bronze horses from the Hippodrome of Constantinople, which were originally placed above the entrance to St Mark's cathedral in Venice, although the originals have been replaced with replicas and are now stored within the basilica. Following the fall of Constantinople, the former Roman Empire was partitioned among the Latin crusaders and the Venetians. Venice subsequently carved out a sphere of influence in the Mediterranean known as the Duchy of the Archipelago, and captured Crete.[22]

The seizure of Constantinople would ultimately prove as decisive a factor in ending the Byzantine Empire as the loss of the Anatolian themes after Manzikert. Although the Byzantines recovered control of the ravaged city a half century later, the Byzantine Empire was terminally weakened, and existed as a ghost of its old self until Sultan Mehmet The Conqueror took the city in 1453.

View of San Giorgio Maggiore Island from St. Mark's Campanile

Situated on the Adriatic Sea, Venice always traded extensively with the Byzantine Empire and the Muslim world. By the late 13th century, Venice was the most prosperous city in all of Europe. At the peak of its power and wealth, it had 36,000 sailors operating 3,300 ships, dominating Mediterranean commerce. During this time, Venice's leading families vied with each other to build the grandest palaces and support the work of the greatest and most talented artists. The city was governed by the Great Council, which was made up of members of the noble families of Venice. The Great Council appointed all public officials and elected a Senate of 200 to 300 individuals. Since this group was too large for efficient administration, a Council of Ten (also called the Ducal Council or the Signoria), controlled much of the administration of the city. One member of the great council was elected "Doge", or duke, the ceremonial head of the city, who normally held the title until his death.

The Venetian governmental structure was similar in some ways to the republican system of ancient Rome, with an elected chief executive (the Doge), a senate-like assembly of nobles, and a mass of citizens with limited political power, who originally had the power to grant or withhold their approval of each newly elected Doge. Church and various private properties were tied to military service, although there was no knight tenure within the city itself. The Cavalieri di San Marco was the only order of chivalry ever instituted in Venice, and no citizen could accept or join a foreign order without the government's consent. Venice remained a republic throughout its independent period, and politics and the military were kept separate, except when on occasion the Doge personally headed the military. War was regarded as a continuation of commerce by other means (hence, the city's early production of large numbers of mercenaries for service elsewhere, and later its reliance on foreign mercenaries when the ruling class was preoccupied with commerce).

Francesco Guardi, The Grand Canal, 1760 (Art Institute of Chicago)

The chief executive was the Doge, who theoretically held his elective office for life. In practice, several Doges were forced by pressure from their oligarchical peers to resign the office and retire into monastic seclusion when they were felt to have been discredited by perceived political failure.

Although the people of Venice generally remained orthodox Roman Catholics, the state of Venice was notable for its freedom from religious fanaticism and it enacted not a single execution for religious heresy during the Counter-Reformation. This apparent lack of zeal contributed to Venice's frequent conflicts with the Papacy. In this context, the writings of the Anglican Divine, William Bedell, are particularly illuminating. Venice was threatened with the interdict on a number of occasions and twice suffered its imposition. The second, most famous, occasion was in 1606, by order of Pope Paul V.

Venetian ambassadors sent home still-extant secret reports of the politics and rumours of European courts, providing fascinating information to modern historians.

The newly invented German printing press spread rapidly throughout Europe in the 15th century, and Venice was quick to adopt it. By 1482, Venice was the printing capital of the world, and the leading printer was Aldus Manutius, who invented the concept of paperback books that could be carried in a saddlebag. His Aldine Editions included translations of nearly all the known Greek manuscripts of the era.[23]

Decline

The Grand Canal in Venice

Venice's long decline started in the 15th century, when it first made an unsuccessful attempt to hold Thessalonica against the Ottomans (1423–1430). It also sent ships to help defend Constantinople against the besieging Turks (1453). After Constantinople fell to Sultan Mehmet II he declared war on Venice. The war lasted thirty years and cost Venice much of its eastern Mediterranean possessions. Next, Christopher Columbus discovered the New World. Then Portugal found a sea route to India, destroying Venice's land route monopoly. France, England and the Dutch Republic followed them. Venice's oared galleys were at a disadvantage when it came to traversing the great oceans, and therefore Venice was left behind in the race for colonies.

The Black Death devastated Venice in 1348 and once again between 1575 and 1577.[24] In three years the plague killed some 50,000 people.[25] In 1630, the plague killed a third of Venice's 150,000 citizens.[26] Venice began to lose its position as a center of international trade during the later part of the Renaissance as Portugal became Europe's principal intermediary in the trade with the East, striking at the very foundation of Venice's great wealth, while France and Spain fought for hegemony over Italy in the Italian Wars, marginalising its political influence. However, the Venetian empire was a major exporter of agricultural products and, until the mid-18th century, a significant manufacturing center.

Modern age[edit source | editbeta]

A map of the sestiere of San Marco

The Republic lost independence when Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Venice on 12 May 1797 during the First Coalition. The French conqueror brought to an end the most fascinating century of its history: during the 18th century, Venice became perhaps the most elegant and refined city in Europe, greatly influencing art, architecture and literature. Napoleon was seen as something of a liberator by the city's Jewish population, although it can be argued they had lived with fewer restrictions in Venice. He removed the gates of the Ghetto and ended the restrictions on when and where Jews could live and travel in the city.

Venice became Austrian territory when Napoleon signed the Treaty of Campo Formio on 12 October 1797. The Austrians took control of the city on 18 January 1798. It was taken from Austria by the Treaty of Pressburg in 1805 and became part of Napoleon's Kingdom of Italy, but was returned to Austria following Napoleon's defeat in 1814, when it became part of the Austrian-held Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia. In 1848–1849, a revolt briefly reestablished the Venetian Republic under Daniele Manin. In 1866, following the Third Italian War of Independence, Venice, along with the rest of the Veneto, became part of the newly created Kingdom of Italy.

During the Second World War, the historic city was largely free from attack, the only aggressive effort of note being Operation Bowler, a successful Royal Air Force precision strike on the German naval operations there in March 1945. The targets were destroyed with virtually no architectural damage done the city itself.[27] However the industrial areas in Mestre and Marghera and the railway lines to Padua, Trieste and Trento were repeatedly bombed.[28] On 29 April 1945, New Zealand troops under Freyberg reached Venice and relieved the city and the mainland, which were already in partisan hands.[29]

Subsidence[edit source | editbeta]

Further information: Acqua alta

Acqua alta or high water in Venice.

Venice and surroundings in false colour, from Terra. The picture is oriented with North at the top.

Foundations

The buildings of Venice are constructed on closely spaced wooden piles. Most of these piles are still intact after centuries of submersion. The foundations rest on the piles, and buildings of brick or stone sit above these footings. The piles penetrate a softer layer of sand and mud until they reach a much harder layer of compressed clay.

Submerged by water, in oxygen-poor conditions, wood does not decay as rapidly as on the surface.

Most of these piles were made from trunks of alder trees,[30] a wood noted for its water resistance.[31] The alder came from the westernmost part of today's Slovenia (resulting in the barren land of the Kras region), in two regions of Croatia, Lika and Gorski kotar (resulting in the barren slopes of Velebit) and south of Montenegro.[citation needed] Leonid Grigoriev has stated that Russian larch was imported to build some of Venice's foundations.[32] Larch is also used in the production of Venice turpentine.[33]

History[edit source | editbeta]

The city is often threatened by flood tides pushing in from the Adriatic between autumn and early spring. Six hundred years ago, Venetians protected themselves from land-based attacks by diverting all the major rivers flowing into the lagoon and thus preventing sediment from filling the area around the city. This created an ever-deeper lagoon environment.

In 1604, to defray the cost of flood relief, Venice introduced what could be considered the first example of a 'stamp tax'. When the revenue fell short of expectations in 1608, Venice introduced paper with the superscription 'AQ' and imprinted instructions, which was to be used for 'letters to officials'. At first, this was to be a temporary tax, but it remained in effect until the fall of the Republic in 1797. Shortly after the introduction of the tax, Spain produced similar paper for general taxation purposes, and the practice spread to other countries.

During the 20th century, when many artesian wells were sunk into the periphery of the lagoon to draw water for local industry, Venice began to subside. It was realised that extraction of water from the aquifer was the cause. The sinking has slowed markedly since artesian wells were banned in the 1960s. However, the city is still threatened by more frequent low-level floods (called Acqua alta, "high water") that creep to a height of several centimetres over its quays, regularly following certain tides. In many old houses, the former staircases used to unload goods are now flooded, rendering the former ground floor uninhabitable.

Some recent studies have suggested that the city is no longer sinking,[34][35] but this is not yet certain; therefore, a state of alert has not been revoked. In May 2003, the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi inaugurated the MOSE project (Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico), an experimental model for evaluating the performance of hollow floatable gates; the idea is to fix a series of 78 hollow pontoons to the sea bed across the three entrances to the lagoon. When tides are predicted to rise above 110 centimetres, the pontoons will be filled with air, causing them to float and block the incoming water from the Adriatic Sea. This engineering work is due to be completed by 2014.[36]

Geography

Sestieri of Venice:

Cannaregio

Castello

Dorsoduro

San Marco

San Polo

Santa Croce

The historical city is divided into six areas or "sestiere" (while the whole comune (municipality) is divided into 6 boroughs of which one is composed of all 6 sestiere). These are Cannaregio, San Polo, Dorsoduro (including the Giudecca and Isola Sacca Fisola), Santa Croce, San Marco (including San Giorgio Maggiore) and Castello (including San Pietro di Castello and Sant'Elena). Each sestiere was administered by a procurator and his staff. Nowadays each sestiere is a statistic and historical area without any degree of autonomy.

These districts consist of parishes – initially seventy in 1033, but reduced under Napoleon and now numbering just thirty-eight. These parishes predate the sestieri, which were created in about 1170.

Other islands of the Venetian Lagoon do not form part of any of the sestieri, having historically enjoyed a considerable degree of autonomy.

Each sestiere has its own house numbering system. Each house has a unique number in the district, from one to several thousand, generally numbered from one corner of the area to another, but not usually in a readily understandable manner.

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification, Venice has a Humid subtropical climate (Cfa), with cool winters and very warm summers. The 24-hour average in January is 2.5 °C (36.5 °F), and for July this figure is 22.7 °C (72.9 °F). Precipitation is spread relatively evenly throughout the year, and averages 801 millimetres (31.5 in).

grüner Bambus und pinke Orchidee

green bamboo and pink Orchid

by Camera MX App

ON EXPLORE

2014-06-16

seen

ready on the whipping bench!

Explored 07-12-2024 Highest position #473

Hughenden Manor

Home of the British Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli, who lived here from 1848 to 1881

In 1941, Hughenden Manor was requisitioned by the Air Ministry for top-secret cartography work. It was code-named "Hillside".

Civilian artists, architects and draughtsmen, both male and female, were recruited from all over the country and sent to Hughenden Manor, or Hillside, to produce up-to-date bombing maps.

Hughenden map makers produced maps for targets like Berlin, Hamburg, and Dresden and also for strategic missions like the Dam-Busters raid, the rocket factories at Peenemunde, and the Eagle’s Nest—Hitler's mountain retreat.

Because of these important activities, Hughenden Manor, or "Hillside", was at the top of Hitler's hit list.

It was not until 2005 that National Trust researchers discovered details about the Manor's actual use.

Grade I Listed

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/oxfordshire-buckinghamshir...

www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/oxfordshire-buckinghamshir...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hughenden_Manor#:~:text=In%201947%2....

The North Front

Christmas 2024

Explore Frontpage, Highest Position #15

10.000 views on Nov 15, 2011.

The Floating Pavilion employs the crème de la crème of sustainable technology and is a showpiece for sustainable construction and design. It is heated and cooled using solar energy and surface water, its waste water is purified and reused and plants are used for insulation.

Canon EOS 50D

Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM

Focal Length: 10 mm

F-Number: F/8

Exposure Time: 66 Sec

ISO Speed: ISO-100

Manfrotto 055XDB + 804RC2 Tripod

The lower position of the front indicator lights, the shape of the side air-intake and the smaller and rounder rear lights are three aspects to recognize this VW Transporter MPV as a T2a version.

1584 cc air-cooled boxer engine.

1290 kg.

Production VW Transporter T2: 1967-1979.

Production VW T2a: 1967-1972.

Original first reg. number: June 30, 1969.

New Dutch reg. number: Aug. 27, 2010.

Sold at June 2, 2018.

Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, Rondehoep Oost, June 16, 2016.

© 2016 Sander Toonen Amsterdam | All Rights Reserved

Grand cormoran

Lotus flower and lily pads at St. James Forest Preserve pond

Northern Wheatear captured by Sis

Positioning Down to Rotterdam (RTM)hence the early lift off/rotation.

I saw the sun begin to set behind this mosque. i had to stand on some bricks to obtain a better position! Ivory Coast

Explore #185 21 August 2018

Highest position on Explore: 136

August 10, 2023 - Kearney Nebraska

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On the open plains of Nebraska...

August was a GEM month for severe storm structure. Folks... I didn't miss a beat.

Pure Eye Candy this one is. Open air supercells developing right as the dry line passed over us in South Central Nebraska.

I wasn't going to get underneath this one though it was close. I could have chased it, but I wanted to get the structure that day. Oh I got what I came for!

I had planned accordingly. Knowing that the storm was going to pass as it rapidly developed to the due east. I waited for bit under the hail core before I got into position to capture this storm.

Building Billowing Beautiful updrafts on the back side of this storm were memorizing. Perfect Supercell structure.

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Dale Kaminski @ NebraskaSC Photography

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This image may not be copied, reproduced, published or distributed in any medium without the expressed written permission of the copyright holder.

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Visit my Photostream Archive (On Flickr) of Severe Weather

Explore highest position #319.

December 13, 2013

Thank you

"Enemy forces incoming, hold position, watch for sniper fire."

Notes:

-This is a collaborative project with Verde He will have some more photo(s) of his South Building on his photostream. Please check him out!

-This has been in the works for 2-3 months now.

-EU LRV design by Andreas.

PANAVIA Tornado painted to represent GR.1, ZA447/EA ‘MiG Eater’ of RAF No.15 Squadron, Operation Granby, positioned in front of the setting sun at White Waltham.

dropitgetlow.blogspot.com/…/it-is-not-position-you-s…

www.flickr.com/photos/134300195@N04/

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Highest Position #191

Yes, a manual Superleggera ! Very rare...

And best config ever for it... Tom, there we go :P

Going to travel tomorrow, back in sunday, bye !

Awesome cars accelerating in Brazil in unique videos ? Go to our channel :

Exotcs Cars Brazil

Taken in Oxfordshire, our second visit we went last week and despite several sightings on Birdguides we didn't find it despite being at the locations reported. After 3 hours and our legs loosing the will to live we gave up.

We have been watching the weather forecasts since Friday of last week and decided that today was our best bet, with good sighting over the weekend.

So off we set, the journey was terrible due to heavy rain until just before junction 15 on the M1

On arrival we checked it's last reported position, but no sign so braved the causeway in gale force winds causing difficulty walking in a straight line and hats had to be removed. We were fortunate to meet a fellow birder half way over who gave us its current position.

These are the shots of todays encounter. I probable wont see another one so I've gone a bit mad.

We think it was very much worth the effort, a new species for me and that doesn't happen very often these days

Position: Coast after setting sail from the port of Heraklion towards the strait of Dardanelles.

Great looking Ford Capri competing in the Touring Car Masters round at Winton Raceway. The Galahs in the background (1) are more worried about a seed feed than the noise.

#67, Bilstein/JMG Racing, Jeremy Gray, 1972 Ford Capri Perana.

Winton, Victoria, Australia.

Je vous remercie à tous pour l'accueil que vous avez fait à cette image .

Explore

Highest position: 464 on Wednesday, August 20, 2014

With news that Patrick Henry has replacements in position, I thought I'd pay homage by sharing one of my best of the last remaining double-bracket pair. Nestled alongside the Staunton River in a remote, relatively flat region of Virginia about 90 minutes south of the Shenandoah Valley, Brookneal hosts the intersection of the ex-N&W Durham & Altavista Districts. The grade-separated crossing and connection as well as the east end of the siding are guarded by two N&W bracket posts on the Altavista side, the last arrangement of its kind. Acquired when the Virginian was bought out by N&W on the latter side of the 50s, the N&W quickly re-engineered the entire line with its standard US&S position lights. Entering 2024, the roughly 60-y/o installation is joined by the much older Shenandoah Valley Line as the final mainline hold-outs of the once vast N&W signalling empire

In late Spring 2023, the C of G heritage unit splits the signals on its eastward journey with export coal loads for the Port of Norfolk. It was my first attempt at shooting the Altavista, but careful planning and custom maps made the chase a tad more familiar than a blind run into a dark cavern. After nabbing it at Dogwood, I managed to best 8101 to Brookneal (the control point) by a narrow margin, where I soon discovered that the double-bracket signal did not reside. By fate or by fortune, 8101 would make an unexplained stop shortly thereafter, giving me enough time to make the long drive and walk to Patrick Henry for a 3rd shot. In the end, a real winner

Brookneal, VA

April 23rd, 2023

Merci de vos commentaires.

Thank you for your comments.

Merci pour les favoris.

Thank you for the favorites.

Pole position of Take-off Swallow tailled gull - Galapagos isla lebos

Highest position in Explore: #442 | 21/Dic/2012

Se va un año malo... y viene otro que... ya veremos. En cualquier caso, queremos dejar constancia de nuestros mejores deseos de Paz, Amor, Salud y Prosperidad para todos nuestros contactos y amigos, con esta foto que tomamos en la Plaza de La Constitución, de Málaga.

Best viewed in LARGE (Contacts only, sorry).

.

Explore(138) : Highest position #496

.

All my images are copyrighted.

If you intend to use any of my pictures, for any usage, you need to contact me first.

Thank you.

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About

A second Vertorama from the lake ( De put ) where I went last saturday.

I told I was going to write you a little vertorama tutorial when I had more of these under my belt, but now I think that the method will proof itself much faster if you all give it a try.

The little vertorama tutorial is down below.

The shot

2 x Standard 3 exposures HDR [-2,0,+2EV] in RAW/ISO100 at f/8 using the Sigma 10-20mm lens, on a tripod.

Photomatix

Tonemapped using the detail enhancer.

Vertorama stitching : the lazy bastard way.

As input you need two shots taken horizontally, one above the other with about 30% overlap, I've used 2 horizontal HDR shots taken at 11mm here but that ain't important, just rest assured that there ain't no problem with the widest shots.

So here is the photoshop part :

1) Load both shots into photoshop.

2) If there is too much difference in the colour or brightness of the shot you can alter

one of them to match the most pleasing of the two using the normal tools you

should know by now. This sure doesn't need to be an exact match.

3) Copy paste one of them into the other.

4) Rotate the canvas 90°

5) Select both layers

6) Select 'Edit>Auto-Align layers...' and be sure to select 'Cylindrical stitching'

7) Select 'Edit>Auto-Blend layers'

8) Rotate the canvas 90° in the opposite direction of the previous rotate.

9) Flatten the image.

Now all you have to do is a crop and do all other photoshop work you wish.

Hope it will work out for you too: quick and easy !

In fact this is so dead easy that you can poor this into a photoshop action (step 3 until 9 ) :

I sure did!

You might be wondering what that 90° rotating comes from, but it's plain stupid: the photoshop 'Cylindrical Stitching' algorithm was written to stitch shots taken horizontally, as a cylinder around the photographer, since we're producing Vertorama's here we just fool the algorithm by rotating our images 90°.

You

All comments, criticism and tips for improvements are ( as always ) welcome.

Music

Hunted By A Freak - Mogwai

One of the many Glaciated rocks that can be found laying around the Cumbrian valleys .

This was one that can be found along the Honister pass .

I do find it fascinating to think that ice has moved these rocks , some are massive !

This one was prob six or seven feet hight and must easily weigh a tun or three :)

Mamiya 645 Super

Sekor 45mm Lens

Kodak Ektar 100 film

cokin Nd4 grad

Epson V500 Scanner

Please Press L ....

Breit aufgestellt

A statue of a meditating Buddha sitting in the lotus position in the rain, next to a container with red incense sticks. His saffron shawl adds a touch of colour to the scene and his slight smile and closed eyes suggest a deep mood of peace. A money donation sits on his arm. At the large size you can see the rain drops streaking his face. Taken at Prasat Bayon, Angkor Thom, Siem Reap, Cambodia.

29/03/16 www.allenfotowild.com

Looks like someone needs to find the hairbrush........

Pultney Street - from the bus. This looked like a start of a race. Silver Efex Pro: Kodak 100 Tmax Pro and red filter