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Posting my shots from our Cambridge visit, I have been reminded of these pictures I took there in 2008! Please enjoy them again with me!
That Santa Fe eastbound T/COFC departs after its crew change. My previous postings showed the depot which in this view is hidden by that wide vision caboose. The building to the right of the caboose was formerly one of Santa Fe's "Harvey House" buildings, built for the dining and lodging convenience of customers and run by Harvey and its "Harvey Girls." In 1939 the Harvey house was discontinued and a few years later it was used to expand the crew dormitory (that was probably already there) to lodge crews. A lot of these buildings on Santa Fe - and Union Pacific as well - had the sign "Reading Room" attached, and this one is referenced that way in literature that describes it. The paint has been stripped off to expose its red brick and it's well-kept by this small community in the prairies of northwest Oklahoma; a restaurant occupies the space that probably in past years was, indeed, a restaurant. I wasn't hungry at the time, but I recommend any support of this community effort to anyone who visits the wide-open red dirt prairies of BNSF's "Curtis Hill" to the southwest of here.
This image is the same content, but has been cleaned up a bit more than the previous posting. There is a lot of light spilled from the lighting on the dishes and here I have been a little less heavy handed in correcting the ground brightness. I also color corrected the radio telescopes, and toned down the somewhat over-blue stars in the prior post.
The Milky Way Rises over an array of radio telescopes - two of which are visible here. There is a timelapse to watch, too. In fact, there are three. The best, IMHO is this one.
My great thanks to Andy for both suggesting the trip and doing the lion's share of driving.
© Copyright 2013, Steven Christenson
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All rights reserved. Curious what "all rights reserved means?" it means that without written permission you may not: copy, transmit, modify, use, print or display this image in any context other than as it appears in Flickr.
I was posting this to my little photoblog thing and I realized I like this version better than the version I posted yesterday. Score one for fake polaroids.
HFF! Slanted autumn morning light can make even an ordinary mossy post and some wire fencing look like a work of art.
Location: Moostal (Moss Valley) Riehen BS Switzerland.
In my album: Dan's Wired World.
After my posting of the Solo SR in Plymouth on Saturday just gone a trip to Totnes yielded this now 'vintage' Solo roaming about in the new colours.
Granted not one of my best shots, I had a small amount of time to line it up as it appeared around the corner, another 15 secs I would have been in a perfect spot as I was walking down towards the roundabout!
Still the side view shows off the livery well, the more I see this the more I like it!
Good morning everyone. Sorry about the late posting today. Lots of thunderstorms moving through the area and I couldn't post earlier. Still pretty active weather, which is expected to last all weekend so I might be offline more than on.
Interesting story about these in-flight shots of a Prince Baskettail (Epicordulia princeps) so please bear with me while I share it.
With most dragonflies species that spend hours feeding on wing such as Saddlebags, Green Darners and Wandering Gliders, over a season you eventually find/see some perched. Not the case for me when it comes to Prince Baskettails. Since I began photographing dragonflies I've only seen one perched in three years and it was for a brief moment. Not long enough to get even one quick shot before it spooked and flew away.
When out & about in search of dragonflies about a week ago I came upon this Prince Baskettail cruising behind a tall stand of reeds out of the wind. Since it was flying so low I assumed it was getting ready to land. No such luck. After about 15 minutes of waiting I figured my only chance of a pic was going to be an in-flight one...something I'm not very good at. In the past I've only managed one decent in-flight pic, that being of a male Common Pondhawk. Very rarely do I even attempt in-flight shots because I'm so bad at it. But I figured with this male doing its thing about chest high seemingly oblivious to my presence it wouldn't hurt to try.
In the end I took about 50 pics of which 12 were half way decent. I committed two Cardinals sins when taking these photos...I used a tripod and auto focus. But in spite of that I felt these turned out pretty well...well enough to share. More importantly I now have some photos of a Prince Baskettail to add to my collection, although my goal still is to find and photograph one perched.
I hope you enjoy this series...and I hope you have a truly nice weekend. Before I forget, and since I might be offline tomorrow, I want to wish all you flickr dads a very Happy Father's Day. Enjoy!
Lacey
ISO800, aperture f/8, exposure .001 seconds (1/750) focal length 190mm
So much posting about polar bears, birds, bighorn sheep, and mountain goats has made me a bit yearning for my brown bears of Katmai.
No fear ... here's an oldie from 2014 of one of the numerous brown bears we photographed while spending time with them in Katmai National Park & Preserve. From the first moment that I ever laid eyes on my first coastal brown bear, I knew that I was hooked ... and now 10 years later, I still have the same passion and excitement being in their presence in the Alaskan wilderness.
There's something so special about being in the great outdoors, far from any civilization of any type, with just a few chosen ones ... oh, and of course, these magnificent bears. Words cannot describe the rush you feel when you lock eyes with them ... when they pass by you ... or when you feel the thunder of them chasing a salmon down in the river. Just writing this commentary takes me back.
We will be returning again in 2016 and I absolutely can't wait!
Thanks so much for stopping by to view and especially for sharing your thoughts and comments.
© 2015 Debbie Tubridy / TNWA Photography
hi everyone:)
just posting a shot to end the celebration of our national day:)) hurray for that:))
been out walking in a parade and eating lots of ice and stuff, Oscar ( our son )enjoyed this alot! lol good times:))
this shot is from a few nights ago, and the sun is almost dipping below some distant fog and horizon. kinda strange effect that i have never seen before happened, there was almost like a laserbeam coming up from the sun!! looked kinda strange but i liked it:)
in this i used a nd8 screw on and Lee filters 0.9 and 0.75 soft grads stacked and kinda turned so it gave the best light to my camera:))
well well hope everyone is doing ok?
thanks for stopping by and for leaving comments and faves:)
take care:)
Johnny :))
Re-posting the festive shot again. I found the previous one distressingly bright and garish. This is a freshly taken shot.
Thanks for stopping by and view this photo. The reason for posting this photo on Flickr is to learn so if you have constructive feedback regarding what I could do better and / or what should I try, drop me a note I would love to hear your input.
View on Black the way it should be seen!
-- Let the sound of the shutter always guide you to new ventures.
© 2021 Winkler
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I think i'm gettin' the hang of posting 2 shots within a day now! :)) guess i've to esp when i've 70 shots ready to go under my 'new' collection & not sure when i've time again next. Anyway i realised i haven't post many of my thailand photos yet so here's another one. I took this when i was trapped at the top of the temple trying to escape a heavy downpour. Even though wide angle lens is awesome to capture a lot of things in this shot but i still reckon it is not a great idea for places like this since it makes all tall structures look kinda wonky which then require lots of correction. no wonder i didn't bother at all to process my bangkok shots :P
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About
The view of the Chao Phraya river from Prang of Wat Arun in the Bangkok Yai district of Bangkok, Thailand,
The Shot
Standard 3 exposure shot (+2..0..-2 EV) in RAW taken handheld
Camera :: Canon EOS Rebel XTi (400D)
Lens :: Sigma 10-20mm F4-5.6 EX DC HSM
Photomatix
- Tonemapped generated HDR using detail enhancer option
Photoshop
- Added 2 layer mask effect of 'curves' for overall contrast
- Added 1 layer mask effect of 'levels' to enhance the dark sky
- Added 1 layer mask effect of 'saturation' (blues) to darken the sky
- Added 1 layer mask effect of 'saturation' (reds & yellows) to tone down the roof of buildings
- Added 1 layer mask effect of 'saturation' (yellows & greens) to desaturate the trees
- Applied 'free transform' (wrap) to correct building distortion by wide angle lens
- Applied 'unsharp mask' on the background
Music
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Posting five city birds, all taken on 28 April 2021. I am adding the description that I wrote under a previously posted photo taken on the same walk.
"I desperately needed to get out somewhere for just a short time this afternoon. The workmen did less loud banging on my walls today, but three weeks of this already and many weeks more, is pretty draining. I had a message from a neighbour today telling me to check for water leaking into my place. She was getting leakage from her neighbour and it could have spread along the main support beam. After checking my home, I couldn't see any sign of water or water marks, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Too many things going wrong at the moment!
It was reasonably sunny this afternoon, but it was quite windy. I had to hang on to my hat while trying to take my photos, but it felt so good to actually see some birds! Happy to see Hooded Mergansers, Redheads, Mallards, an American Robin, and of course, a Canada Goose. It was a treat to see a Horned Grebe (more than one), as I rarely see this species. Best of all, it was quiet where I went - just me and an occasional person who walked by. I only stayed for maybe half an hour, but it was a break I needed. Felt good, Wow, it is supposed to get up to 21C tomorrow! The next day's forecast looks good, but then we are supposed to get rain on three of the four following days."
Continuing the practice of posting on Bank Holidays, we have this lovely, happy, and varied group from the Poole Collection. At least three generations of a family gathered with lots of smiles and happy faces, and all centred around a fine looking dog!
Today in Ireland is a Bank Holiday celebrating May Day (just a bit late), and normally a great time for trips away, but not this year. Hopefully we will be out and about again soon?
Photographer: A. H. Poole
Collection: Poole Photographic Studio, Waterford
Date: Around 21 August 1926
NLI Ref: POOLEWP 3391
You can also view this image, and many thousands of others, on the NLI’s catalogue at catalogue.nli.ie
Sorry, I couldn't resist posting another pelican shot. I could really watch these guys all day (and pretty much did).
Random postings of photos I have taken over the last few years. Explore the photo set to find other work by the artist or of the same theme or event.
All photos © Ian Cox. If you would like to use this image please ask first. Best viewed as a set here
Follow Wallkandy on Instagram to see photos as they are posted. These images are also being posted on the Wallkandy facebook page and Tumblr.
You rarely see me posting an animal photo here, but the trip to Cumbria just gave me too much opportunities like this, had to take one or two, you know :)
Hope everyone is doing great, posting now and will be back throughout the day catching up with you all!! Another image I have sat on for longer than I intended and has gone through the love hate cycle in my mind 1000 times, best to post it and be done with that! :-))
Have a great weekend!!!
I've been holding off on posting this one until I could get a good photo out of it. I recently got a larger setup so it was about time. I also had to fix a couple of things I wasn't happy with on the original like the waist being way to wide and looking a bit awkward.
This also ended up winning Best Bionicle Humanoid at BrickFair Virginia last year, so you can thank DViddy (Patrick Biggs) for that. I tend to take a lot of inspiration from his builds so I guess it's fitting he'd want to nominate it.
Quickly posting five photos taken yesterday, 20 July 2022. Another drive to Kananaskis, mainly to get out of my house which is so hot inside. Had a massive, painful toothache last night and today, so need to phone my doctor this afternoon. Really hoping I won't have to drive half way across the city for an in-person appointment. Same thing happened with the same tooth - which needs a root canal - last year. Need antibiotics. Later: I have an appointment at 7:00 pm this evening, which is appreciated. I'm finding that two Tylenol help the pain for between two and three hours, that's all.
The hot days continue, though there is no longer an Alert in place. Yesterday was just too hot and stuffy indoors, so, yet again, I climbed into my car and off I went. Same direction as the previous drive, on 14 July - south-west to Kananaskis. Total mileage was 388 km and I was out for 10 hours. No bears this time, but I was glad to see one little American Pika just when I was ready to give up. Most of my shots will end up being deleted, but finally the tiny Rock Rabbit stopped for two or three seconds, giving me a chance to get one OK shot. Not sure, but its left eye looks like there might be something wrong with it.
Several Bighorn Sheep were on the road, along with quite a lot of vehicles. The poor Sheep are still wearing quite a lot of their shaggy winter coat. No doubt they will be relieved when their summer coats are finally revealed, and they will certainly look much better.
The usual scenic shots had to be taken, of course. This time, I drove as far as Mt. Engadine Lodge before turning around. I was hoping to find a certain pond, but I guess I should have looked on a map at home before my drive. I think the pond must be on the main highway through Kananaskis. Maybe next time.
Posting a new and alternative version of previous images showing CN working Aetna Plywood in Rockford. It does not look like a train has traveled over these rails in many months from passing over it today. Note the Milwaukee Road chevron style switch stand.
This track is part of the former Chicago Milwaukee & Gary (CM&G) which the MILW acquired in 1930 and is one of the only operating segments left.
Posting this photo on May 4, 2018, it occurs that I took the photo 28 years ago today, on May 4, 1990. This is West Virginia's famous New River Gorge, popular with sightseers and river rafters. I took the photo from a Dutch door on the eastbound Amtrak Cardinal, while traveling to Prince, West Virginia with my brother to visit his daughter's family.
View my collections on flickr here: Collections
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From a Facebook posting by John Barry Graham on 8 August 2023:
"A tornado in 2015 took the roof off. The community that saved and restored the two old churches has $16,000 saved up thus far to put a new roof on and save the elevator. It is the most photographed elevator in Western Canada."
Drone footage of Dorothy elevator and old bridge East Coulee, by DanOCan
Four days ago, on 29 September 2014, I finally drove out to an area that lies NE of Calgary, that I had longed to go to for so many years. It must have been 30+ years ago that I first saw one particular area of the Badlands of Alberta. A few times since then, I had been fairly close when I went on several botany trips out that way, but when you are carpooling, you can't just go wherever you want. So, my youngest daughter and I decided that we both wanted to make this trip. All summer, we had been waiting for a day on which she didn't have to work and where the weather forecast was for no rain on the day or there had been no rain the previous day. The Bentonite Clay in the area becomes treacherously slippery when wet. The forecast for this day was for a mainly sunny day - at last, we were going!
I think this was the longest day of driving I had ever done, especially to, and in, an area that I'd never driven to before. For anyone who doesn't know me, I have battled a driving phobia for decades, plus I have no sense of direction, lol! Thankfully, my daughter has an amazing sense of direction, so I knew we wouldn't be stuck out on the prairies in the middle of nowhere. A typical question at too many intersections went as follows: me - "Do we go left?"; my daughter - "No, we go right", lol!
I met my daughter at 8:00 am. and I got home shortly before 9:00 pm. Much of that time was spent driving; the rest was spent wandering round three main areas - The Hoodoo Trail, Dorothy and Rowley, in different directions from Drumheller (known for its remarkable dinosaur findings). The forecast was far from accurate on our drive out to the Badlands and I began to wonder if we'd made a mistake going on this trip on that particular day. However, knowing that snow would be returning very soon ("returning" because we had two snowstorms on 9 and 10 September), I was beginning to feel rather desperate and really didn't want to risk not getting out there this year. The afternoon was less cloudy and we did have some sun.
So, the first of our destinations was The Hoodoo Trail, a small area of protected, spectacular hoodoos (rock formations), and then we went further, to the almost-ghost-town of Dorothy. I had longed, for such a long time, to see the two small, old churches that are to be found in Dorothy, as well as the old grain elevator seen in this photo. This photo was obviously taken before the sun eventually came out. This abandoned icon of the prairies stands at the edge of the main road and will probably end up crumbling or being destroyed before too long, like so many other grain elevators in Alberta. Such a waste, that they are not protected.
After that, we drove over 11 bridges and called in at the tiny hamlet of Wayne, passing the old Atlas Coal Mine. Much as we would have liked to visit the mine, we knew that we just didn't have time. Then we went to Rowley to see the old grain elevators and to wander round this very small, historical place. There are actually three elevators, with two being right next to each other and the other one a little further from them. Dorothy felt and looked almost deserted, whereas Rowley was beautifully kept.
From Rowley, we made our way back across the prairies to Calgary. I had planned on getting back before it got dark as I no longer like night driving and very rarely do it, but we didn't quite make it. On the return drive, the last sighting was a Great Horned Owl that was perched part way up a power pole. Well done, Rachel, spotting this welcome bird! Not easy to see in the dark. By the time I got home, I was so tired and my arms were so painful from driving, but, what a great day we had!!
"There were 1,651 elevators in Alberta in 1951, but by 1982 a total of 979 elevators remained. The 1990s spelled the death of the wooden “country” or “primary” elevator. At the end of the 1990s, as the full impact of both of the ending of the Crow Rate in 1995 and further impending rail abandonment was felt, the pace of demolition accelerated at an unprecedented rate. At the end of the 1996-1997 crop year, there were only 327 elevators left. Alberta’s largest cooperative grain companies, the Alberta Wheat Pool (which amalgamated with Manitoba Pool Elevators in 1998 as Agricore) and United Grain Growers, ultimately formed a new corporate entity known as Agricore United in 2001, issuing issued public shares. Demolition of country elevators has continued, and in 2005 there were only 156 wooden elevators of any kind still standing, only a handful of which are used by the grain trade.
The Government of Alberta has recognised the significance of the traditional wood grain elevators, and has designated 12 as Provincial Historic Resources. They are located in the following communities: Andrew, Castor, Leduc, Meeting Creek, Paradise Valley, Radway, Rowley (3 elevators), Scandia and St. Albert (2 elevators)."
www.grainelevatorsalberta.ca/articles/HRM-history.pdf
www.bigdoer.com/8049/exploring-history/prairie-sentinels-...
An interesting film about how the old grain elevators work (or worked). Grain Elevator by Charles Konowal, National Film Board of Canada, 15:57 minutes in length.
I make no apologies for posting another shot of this delightful watermill hidden away in the depths of the Borrowdale Valley.
I made a dawn raid here a couple of weeks ago to catch a small window in the weather to shoot it. I arrived just after dawn with rain forecast to arrive around 9am. I got here and there was a lot of mist in the valley but it had started to clear as I walked towards the Mill. the first couple of frames I took had some heavy mist on the fells behind the mill but as it got towards 8 am the mist had virtually gone giving clearer conditions.
Not long after this shot the rain moved in for the day. This shot was taken a little higher up the beck from the previous post and shows a little more the side of the Mill.
Posting and running - going out for dinner =)
This is, once again, the first tarn used in the Two Towers when the Rohan refugees are fleeing to Helms Deep. This is almost the exact spot (I'm pretty sure) that one of the cameras was set up to film the extras making their way around the edge of the tarn.
Taken at Deer Park Heights, with the Remarkables in the background.
After posting smoky photos the last few days, I desperately need some bright colour in my photostream. These five images are a mix of fairly recent shots and some from quite a few years ago. I desperately need to make more room on my computer, so I am very, very slowly going through some old photo folders before deleting them. As I do so, I grab a few old photos to post. I will add the description I wrote under a previously posted photo taken on the same day.
"For the first time in almost two years, on 12 October 2014, I finally made myself drive east of the city on my own. Recently, I did drive all the way to Drumheller and the Badlands, but I had my youngest daughter with me. The weather was beautiful again and, after six days of not going out with my camera, I was itching to go "somewhere".
Along highway 22X going east from the city, they spent so many months on major road construction, building the eastern part of a huge ring road around the city. This was one of the main reasons I hadn't driven out that way for so long, as the roads were one huge confusion. After yesterday, I can't see myself going out that way ever again, lol!
Knowing that I had to concentrate really hard on all the endless, new road signs, I was fairly sure that, now that construction had more or less ended, all I would have to do was drive eastwards in a straight line. Well, somehow, I was in the wrong lane and, to my horror, I found myself heading north on the new ring road. All I could do was just keep driving, hoping I would eventually hit Glenmore Trail which would take me east of the city. Thankfully, that is exactly what happened. I did end up in a totally different area to the east, but ended up seeing two beautiful barns - this red one and a white one - because of it.
Later in the afternoon, I ended up in the rough area I had originally planned on, thinking that surely the drive back to Calgary would be straightforward on 22X. Finding my way to 22X brought me to two lovely finds - an old grain elevator that I didn't know about, and a Great Horned Owl. How wrong I was about the return drive! Somehow, I found myself on Deerfoot Trail, heading south towards the Canada/US border (well, Okotoks might be a little less of an exaggeration, lol!). Nothing I could do, but just keep driving south until I was able to turn off at some familiar place - which happened to be The Saskatoon Farm : ) Fancy that, their restaurant was pretty much empty and I was just in time to enjoy their Quiche meal : )) And so, I eventually arrived back home, feeling both relieved - anyone with a driving phobia will understand! - and so happy and thankful for my various finds.
Some of you have already seen the following information, but for anyone else who might be interested, the folllowing link, with the information below, answers the question: "WHY ARE BARNS USUALLY PAINTED RED?"
home.howstuffworks.com/question635.htm
"If you've ever driven through a rural area, it's likely that you've seen the red barns that speckle the farming landscape. There are several theories as to why barns are painted red.
Centuries ago, European farmers would seal the wood on their barns with an oil, often linseed oil -- a tawny-colored oil derived from the seed of the flax plant. They would paint their barns with a linseed-oil mixture, often consisting of additions such as milk and lime. The combination produced a long-lasting paint that dried and hardened quickly. (Today, linseed oil is sold in most home-improvement stores as a wood sealant). Now, where does the red come from?
In historically accurate terms, "barn red" is not the bright, fire-engine red that we often see today, but more of a burnt-orange red. As to how the oil mixture became traditionally red, there are two predominant theories. One is that wealthy farmers added blood from a recent slaughter to the oil mixture. As the paint dried, it turned from a bright red to a darker, burnt red. The other is that farmers added ferrous oxide, otherwise known as rust, to the oil mixture. Rust was plentiful on farms and is a poison to many fungi, including mold and moss, which were known to grown on barns. These fungi would trap moisture in the wood, increasing decay.
Regardless of how the farmer tinted his paint, having a red barn became a fashionable thing. They were a sharp contrast to the traditional white farmhouse. As European settlers crossed over to America, they brought with them the tradition of red barns. In the mid to late 1800s, as paints began to be produced with chemical pigments, red paint was the most inexpensive to buy. Red was the color of favor until whitewash became cheaper, at which point white barns began to spring up.
Today, the color of barns can vary, often depending on how the barns are used."
Posting some old stuff before new adventures arise. This is Luxor, 10 years ago.
In the back you can see the Temple of Hatshepsut. Behind the mountain is the Valley of the Kings. This is taken from the Karnak Temple Complex, on the other side, the East side of the Nile.
I'm testing this new "Artificial Intelligence" photo software which removes motion blur, improves sharpness and adds detail. This was taken with my Canon G10 14.7 megapixel camera with tiny 1/1.7" sensor. I think the results are pretty amazing.
It performs it's "AI" magic using GPU power and it takes some 30 sec to a minute on my GTX 1060. In the years to come, we can expect this kind of processing power in-camera! This is going to be good.
I love her bright eyes and delicate smile…
Only invitations to tasteful groups without porn are welcome.
Please read more in my profile.
© 2019 Wim Dreams – Reproduction or re-posting prohibited without my written consent.
Ref: AU DS1_6028-m3-pj0
Random postings of photos I have taken over the last few years. Explore the photo set to find other work by the artist or of the same theme or event.
All photos © Ian Cox. If you would like to use this image please ask first. Best viewed as a set here
Follow Wallkandy on Instagram to see photos as they are posted. These images are also being posted on the Wallkandy facebook page and Tumblr.
Same batch as from my previous posting but in the later all red livery and cream band.
Utility buses were built during and in the years following WW2 when raw materials were in short supply. It resulted in a variety of unlikely chassis and body builders buses running under the heading of London Transport.
D79 / GYE 69 Daimer with Duple body. New 1945. Out of LT service in 1953 then spent about another 9 years service with Trimdon Motor Service, County Durham.. Spend LT life and AL – Merton.
Ref - www.busspotter.com/D/D_a2.html#dup2
IANS BUS STOP UTILITY DUPLE BODIED HIGH BRIDGE DAIMLERS D74-D92.
Location by JB (KK 69521). See more info in comments.
Photographer J H Aston.
Copyright: © 2020 Andrew Barwick Photography. All Rights Reserved
Please refrain from posting shots, requests and Flickriver shots in my photo stream, thank you.
[No postings for two days: I drove down to the Bas-Languedoc area of France to have my Revox B77 MKII tape deck fixed by a good craftsman I know there, and I used the time I had to spend there while the repair was being done to visit and shoot a few more Romanesque churches... I am back and posting again!]
The monastery of Ganagobie in Provence (former département of Basses-Alpes, now Alpes de Haute-Provence) was founded around 960 by the bishop of Sisteron, a town located 30 kilometers to the North, on land donated by the bishop. It was soon affiliated to the abbey of Cluny, then ruled by Abbot Mayeul. Thus, Ganagobie went down in History as a priory of Cluny.
The Romanesque church we can see today was built around 1100 and the priory was very prosperous until the 1400s. It was, unfortunately, completely devastated during the Wars of Religion between Catholics and Protestants between 1562 and 1598. It remained largely abandoned until the 19th century, when it was rebuilt, as the stones had been left on the site.
In 1898, splendid Mediæval floor mosaics that had been forgotten for centuries and buried (and protected!) under a layer of soil were re-discovered and the priory church was listed as a Historic Landmark.
Since 1987, Benedictine monks from the abbey of Hautecombe in Savoy have settled in Ganagobie again, and the priory has become a full abbey, counting around 20 monks today.
Here you can see the gorgeous mosaics around the altar... Too bad they were off-limits, I would have loved to photograph them, but as I said, the abbot in Ganagobie was not at all accommodating, contrary to what I had come to expect from religious establishments throughout France...
Jervis Bay Tree Frog (Litoria jervisiensis), Kurnell, New South Wales.
Sorry for being so lax posting and commenting on everyones photos but I have been sick and snowed under with Uni work so I haven't had much time to take the camera out!
I went down to a little spot I know which is good for this particular species and I got thirty males calling around the pond in about half an hour. I have been counting the frogs at this site every month for several years and the population has remained fairly stable which is good to see!
I know, I haven't been posting regularly but that's mainly because I haven't had anything worth showing, that is until these beauties arrived today.
As you may or may not know, I have been working on figures of my 3 characters from the video game Destiny here and there, but I haven't been able to do anything too drastic. I haven't said much about them, so I felt now would be a good time considering (conveniently) Patch 2.0 came out today and The Taken King comes out in a week.
My plan was to have these done by TTK's launch, but who knows if I'll make it. I'd rather take my time painting these sculpts rather than potentially ruining them just to make a deadline.
Anyway, I wanted to do a review of sorts of these BEAUTIFUL sculpts by Sander, who is tagged in the photo. A little while ago, Sander mentioned he'd be willing to collaborate on some Mandalorian figures, but I since I was planning these figures already, I asked him about these instead to which he gladly accepted. For those of you who didn't know and are interested, Sander DOES do commissions but you have to be serious about it.
So the items I got were 3 Exotic helms (Achlyophage Symbiote, Helm of Saint-14, Obsidian Mind), Vest of the Exile, and the Kellhunter's hood.
First is Achlyophage Symbiote, the exotic Hunter helm.
This was the first one Sander made, and it totally caught me by surprise. The main visor looks stunning and the back of the helmet is spectacular. He also did an extremely good job with all the fine little details on the sides and mouth area as well as the weird darkness goop on the sides.
Overall, this one is my favorite because Hunter master race.
Second is the Helm of Saint-14. I roll Defender Titan everywhere since when ever I try shoulder charging or using the Fist of Havoc in the Crucible I always get killed by the Felwinter's skill cannon or Thorn. Anyway, I originally bought Brickinator99's Helm of S14, but it was too big so I added it to Sander's list. He definitely did an impeccable job at capturing the S14. The front is stellar, the sides and back are spread with little details, and the plume is fantastic. It looks like its folded up layers of Procreate which look a lot like the material in the actual plume.
Again, another work of art by Sander.
The last helm is Obsidian Mind because supers/orbs for days. This one was the most difficult one to create, but holy shit Sander successfully make it look amazing. I am very impressed with the front of the mask since it has very thin separators between the sections of the mask and he made them look spot on. Other than the front, the other sides of the helm look outstanding and I can definitely tell why this one could have been a pain in the ass to make. Extraordinarily well done.
The chest piece is the Trials of Osiris Chest of the Exile which is the only ToO gear I have because Thorn pisses me off too much to venture into the Trials again. At first, I only asked Sander to make the chest rig (mantle) but he went above and beyond and made the straps and belt as well, which look very nice. The main chest rig is very clean and I am really impressed with the little details he added for the small plates on it. There is also some back sculpting, which is just the belt and what looks like a sort of padding.
Definitely an impressive job here.
The last item is Kellhunter's Hood, the Prison of Elders cloak. Sander was able to make the cloak removable so I'd be able to swap it out if I decided to use a cloth hood instead. I really like all of the layers added to the front (didn't feel like showing :P) and the feathery collar on the back. Sander did a great job on this one.
Out of everything, I only have one nitpick. With the helmet-cloak-chest combo, I don't think there's room for a cloth hood. So I'm not sure yet if I want to make a cloth cloak and hood combo or just go hoodless. Let me know what you all think!
So there's a little review of the amazing sculpts from Sander! They did take a little while to arrive, but there were some some setbacks which I fully understood and was okay with. If you guys like these, check out Sander's Flickr if you have not already! www.flickr.com/photos/thesandingblock/
Let Sander and I know what you think of these sculpts in the comments!
Thanks guys!
winter 2008. forgot about posting this one to flickr!
prints available: www.vivantvie.com/Portfolio/topshots/6577986_t7jMWN#!i=57...