And more precisely, what are you staring at?

Volkswagen T1 models from 1950 (left) and 1966 (special model "Samba", right)

ZeitHaus Museum, Autostadt Wolfsburg

"The VW T1, more precisely VW Type 2 T1, also known as the Bulli, was a small van from the Volkswagenwerk GmbH (from 1960: AG). The T1 was the first model of the VW bus series, the models of which are officially called VW Transporter and internally Type 2. After the VW Käfer [Beetle], internally Type 1, the VW bus is the second series of the VW plant for civil use and is still produced today as the VW T5 / T6. The transporter was developed from 1949 and brought to market maturity in 1950. The car, which was the market leader during its construction, is a symbol of the German economic miracle. One of the first motorhomes was built on this basis.

In the Wolfsburg plant and in the Volkswagen plant in Hanover (from 1956) a total of 1.8 million T1s rolled off the assembly line in various designs. With the start of production of the successor model VW T2 in the Hanover plant, production of the T1 ended in 1967. [...]

Special model "Samba"

The eight-seater special model (official name in the VW range) or type 24S (later type 24G, from 1954 type 241), known in the English-speaking world as “Microbus Deluxe”, was launched at the first post-war IAA in April 1951 presented in Frankfurt. It had chrome hubcaps and a polished VW badge on the front; until the end of 1951 a three-colour, then a two-colour or, rarely, single-colour paint scheme. The different coloured areas were separated by chrome strips. The equipment also included a tube radio and a folding sunroof over the passenger area. From March 10, 1953, a rear bumper was mounted, which the other T1 variants only received from December 21, 1954. The eight to twelve-seater bus had 23 windows. [...]

The Samba was on offer until the model change in 1967. There was no equivalent replacement for the successor model T2.

In the first year 269, in 1959 6241 units were produced. In the last production year VW produced 18,790 of this special model. The price in 1955 was 8,475 DM, which corresponds to a purchasing power of around 21,700 Euros today. [...]"

(Translated from German Wikipedia entry)

I say that because there is almost always a wrong way and if you accept that there was a better way--well that makes two ways already.

All that aside, I attributed this particular event to a phenomenon scientists call *gravity* and to a related paradox we motorcyclists refer to as "the lack of THERE" (as in putting one's foot down, where the THERE is many inches further away than it should be, or, as in this instance, not THERE at all (parenthetically, this is where the phrase: "There's no there, there" actually comes from).

But you may ask yourself, how did I get there? I know I certainly did. Truth is, I knew full well I shouldn't go there--but as Oscar Wilde once mentioned: "I can resist anything but temptation”.

Our story begins in South Dakota, and more precisely in Custer Sate Park. Whilst riding my motorcycle through the park on the very scenic SD87 highway, I spotted a fire lookout tower high up on what turned out to be Mt. Coolidge. I thought to myself, there must be a way up there, and sure enough I found the turnoff another half-mile ahead. I paused briefly at the base of that questionable-looking road to weigh the consequences of heading up a dirt road with a heavily laden, 500-ish pound bike (closer to 700 with me on it), not knowing what the condition of that road might be further along, and most importantly, would there be a graceful way to extricate myself should I suddenly realize, I’d made a bad decision? Competing thoughts raced through my mind—cartoon voices from my childhood asked "Are you a mouse or a man?! I pondered Steinbeck's more serious thoughts Of Mice and Men, and finally I heard the ghost of Robert Burns, who warned, no matter my answer, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry!

Poppycock! I snorted to myself as I gunned the beast up the rutted path—if it wasn’t a safe road, there would surely be a warning sign! As to that, I would say the road (the wide trail) had some good parts and some bad parts. There were a few tense moments (I met a pickup coming down the mountain at an inopportune juncture, but the road was ultimately wide enough to allow us both to pass). Arriving at the top, I immediately saw the problem: the road (now partially paved) was banked at a steepish angle, perpendicular to the direction of travel. At normal speeds, a banked roadway is seldom a problem (in some cases, it's desirable), but at slower, wobbly, piss-poor pavement speeds—“A Question of Balance” can arise!

But here’s the rub: I easily navigated the full loop to the tower (the road splits into two narrow lanes, one going to the tower, the other coming back down to the split). I had already parked, dismounted, examined the tower’s 1929 Civilian Conservation Corps architecture, strolled around the various viewing areas (sadly not ideal weather for that, on this day), and had been thoroughly shocked and revolted by the modern communications technology (crap) that had been so carelessly festooned to every surface of that obviously historically significant structure, and was actually on my way down the mountain, when, while passing the apex of that loop, the split, I thought to myself: you really should go back up and at least try to take some serious pictures of that tower because you're never going to be here again…

And that’s when what happened, happened! Trying to negotiate a combination of competing up, down, and sideways angles, where the gravity and a sudden and very pronounced “lackedness" of THERE, joined forces to ever so rudely interrupt my efforts towards forwardness and replaced it with the road's preference for downwardness (as depicted above).

And yet, dear reader, this is only the point at which my troubles had JUST BEGUN!

Let us again recall our previous musings on the subjects of weight, geometry, and gravity. In all candor, I have dropped that bike before—never at speed, but certainly while stopped. It’s a heavy bike with an unforgiving balance point. Exceed that limit, and there is nothing that will stop it from going down fast (32 feet per second, per second fast—you just can’t stop gravity). One can avoid all this fall-down business by not stopping—ever. However, on those prior occasions I can, with some effort, pick the damn thing back up and go about my business. I can do that because the OEM crash bars limit the angle of the fall to about 45 degrees—it’s never flat on the ground. There are dozens of YouTube videos demonstrating the whole process. Of course, I do allow that it is much easier if someone is available to help, and with three people, it’s no trouble at all. But that method and those results are based on a best-case scenario. My situation was less than ideal. The bike fell down on a surface that was already angled down the hill. That put me, trying to lift the bike, standing on slippery gravel a little below the bike (and not a single Archimedes in sight). I did try—several times, and real hard too, but it was pretty obvious this was going to be a time where I’d need help—especially if I was going to get out of there. By now it was about 3:30 PM starting to get dark and cloudy, and I hadn’t seen anyone coming up the road for at least an hour. The thought of spending the night out in the open at 6,000 feet didn’t sit well with me (did I mention I hate bears?). So there I was trying to figure out a way to MacGyver that pig up (first thought was to at least get the hard cases off)—when all of a sudden—an SUV rounded the bend, with several occupants I will only describe as “tourists.”

Now you might imagine that coming upon that scene—bike down, rider standing alongside with a fraught look on his face, one might stop and ask the obvious questions. This vehicle didn’t stop, and instead, proceeded up to the tower going the wrong way, on the one-way road. And when the vehicle came back down from the tower a moment later, going the wrong way again, the driver leaned out the window and asked me to move my bike so she could pass! Clearly this was not the calvary I had hoped for. When I explained I couldn’t “move the bike”, she sped around my “accident scene" and headed back down the mountain in a huff!

And there I was again—asking myself why hadn’t I done the same thing when I had the chance, back when things were more...vertical, so to speak? At that point, I must admit, I was thinking badly about my adventurous spirit and I was even starting to question my interest in photography—when I heard the sound of "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road” and another vehicle came around the bend! Now this guy (and his wife) did exactly what you and I would do—they got out of their pickup and asked if I was okay and if I needed any help!

Well, as you can imagine, I enthusiastically answered “Yes" to both! I explained the need and showed him where to grab and pull and without much trouble—we got the bike back up. Things were definitely improving now, but I wasn’t out of the woods just yet. I don’t think any bike likes to lie down on its side for two hours, but Beemers are especially squeamish about that sort of thing—they have an ECM that freaks out at the slightest hint of things-not-normal, and as I feared, the bike would not start! I guessed half the issue was the shock to the system, and the other half, a weak battery. Fortunately my newfound besty also had a set of jumper cables—they did the trick! The bike was running rough and blowing smoke, but it was running and it was vertical! I was afraid I’d never get it started again if I stalled it—so I thanked my savior and took off like a bat out of hell down the mountain and back to my base camp!

The moral of the story is twofold: when you come to a fork in the road, don’t take it. And secondly, there are two kinds of people in this world: the jerks, and the nicer ones with jumper cables!

IMG_4836-2

First, I created a very long image plot that precisely describes the scene as a still image and had ChatGPT generate it into a single image. I then made three more corrections or revisions to it in ChatGPT and used the second-to-last result as the image template for Krea-AI (image to video), specifying that everything should be in an endless loop. I made the swing move forward a bit and then return to the rabbit, who then pushes it again. The chick didn't turn out quite right, unfortunately. However, I'm satisfied considering I only ever use the free versions. My goal was to avoid overly sexual content, but also not to create something too childish, and to ensure the whole thing had plenty of humor and wit for a happy Easter.

In the end, when I looked at the result, I was reminded of a black and white film I loved as a child, another "Harvey," also known as "My Friend Harvey," with a quasi-imaginary, but for the main character, life-sized rabbit. A truly exceptional comedy; I wouldn't be surprised if a remake were to be made with AI involvement in the production.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_(1950_film)

I'll refrain from including the exact prompts because they were very long. Krea wouldn't even accept them for frame-by-frame generation—too long! So I used ChatGPT, which, by the way, delivers excellent results, even for free. And Krea is simply very accommodating when it comes to motion rendering. Together, they make a very useful combination if you don't have a large budget, or any budget at all.

Happy Easter to everyone out there from bennoH. and of course Harvey!

Still trying to figure what precisely this vehicle is and where it came from - Can anyone help?

Strangest thing. A species that assumes the shape of a rectangle most precisely.

As observed on planet earth.

More specifically, a handsome mesquite adorns Tohono Chul Park in Tucson, Arizona.

Click "L" to view in LightBox

Indicate precisely

Imposing range

Archeological layers

or, more precisely, loyally, honestly and temperantly

© all rights reserved by B℮n

The general term ice age or, more precisely, "glacial age" denotes a geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in an expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. There have been at least four major ice ages in the Earth's past. Outside these periods, the Earth seems to have been ice-free even in high latitudes. There is evidence that greenhouse gas levels fell at the start of ice ages and rose during the retreat of the ice sheets, but it is difficult to establish cause and effect (see the notes above on the role of weathering). Greenhouse gas levels may also have been affected by other factors which have been proposed as causes of ice ages, such as the movement of continents and vulcanism. Although the last glacial period ended more than 8,000 years ago, its effects can still be felt today. For example, the moving ice carved out landscape in Canada, Greenland, northern Eurasia and Antarctica. The erratic boulders, till, drumlins, eskers, fjords, kettle lakes, moraines, cirques, horns, etc., are typical features left behind by the glaciers.

Photo of hummocks taken at the IJsselmeer (IJmeer) near Amsterdam. A hummock is a boss or rounded knoll of ice rising above the general level of an ice-field, Hummocky ice is caused by slow and unequal pressure in the main body of the packed ice, and by unequal structure and temperature at a later period.

Een ijstijd of glaciatie is een geologisch tijdvak waarin ijskappen voorkomen. In het Engels wordt dit een periode van ice-house genoemd, als tegenhanger van een ijskaploze periode, de greenhouse ("broeikas"). Aangezien er gletsjers liggen op bijvoorbeeld Groenland of Antarctica, leven we tegenwoordig in een ijstijd. Men neemt aan dat dit in de gehele geologische geschiedenis van de Aarde minstens vijfmaal het geval is geweest, waarvan eenmaal zelfs zo sterk dat de ijskappen van de polen vrijwel tot aan de evenaar waren opgerukt. Ook zijn er periodes dat er aanzienlijke opwarming optrad waarbij die ijskappen grotendeels waren weggesmolten. Het klimaat op Aarde wordt beïnvloed door vele factoren, zoals de intensiteit van de zonnestraling, de ligging van de continenten, de continentverplaatsingen, vulkanisme, de zeestromen, de bedekking van het land door vegetatie, het weerkaatsingsvermogen van het aardoppervlak en vele kleine andere factoren. Met behulp van klimaatmodellen wordt door wetenschappers een reconstructie van het klimaat en de klimaatveranderingen in het verleden gemaakt. Alhoewel er een zekere consensus bestaat onder wetenschappers, zijn er nog vele onzekerheden en tegenstrijdigheden in dit onderzoek.

Hierboven een foto van kruiend ijs. Zoetwatermeren kunnen spectaculair bevriezen. Grotere meren zoals het IJsselmeer (IJmeer) hierboven hebben bijna altijd wel golven, en dit werkt directe bevriezing van het wateroppervlak tegen. Eerst vormen zich kleine ijsschotsen, die naar de kust drijven onder invloed van de wind. Deze schotsen vormen zo een ijsveld op het water dat de golven dempt, en uiteindelijk vriezen alle schotsen aan elkaar vast tot een massa. Voordat dit gebeurt schuren de schotsen voortdurend langs elkaar heen en schrapen zo stukjes ijs van elkaar af; elke schots krijgt zo een witte rand. Zulk ijs is dus totaal niet geschikt om op te schaatsen. Wanneer grotere delen van het meer bevriezen beginnen de platen, die soms een paar vierkante kilometer groot zijn, langzaam tegen elkaar te bewegen onder invloed van de wind en stroming. Dit heeft kruiend ijs tot gevolg: de ijsschotsen worden met kracht gebroken en op elkaar gestapeld langs de dijken langs het meer. Dit hoeft niet alleen bij dun ijs te gebeuren; soms kruit het ijs bij een dikte van meer dan 20 cm. De stapels ijs worden dan hoog, en het geluid is oorverdovend.

Week 6, Saturday

I don't know where the idea for this picture came, so don't ask. All I know that I had sight in my mind for couple of days and I wish I would remember where it started precisely. It kept coming back and to realize it I needed to found certain kind of egg cartons which have holes in them. At the first it turned out that they don't make so much that kind of cartons anymore, they are all closed ones. I wandered from shop to another with Aura on a daily basis and just when I was about to give up, we found these 'old kind of egg cartons' and were very happy. Later at same night I found myself laughing alone while I was setting things up for this photograph. It was fun to shoot.

One reason why I started my 365-project (which then turned into 52-project) and this photo blog was that I wanted to be more conscious about my own photographic eye; the use of composition, colors and light, but also a particular way of seeing things and subjects. Having a 365-project would force me to concentrate on photography and my own photographic eye would open up naturally. So far I've found that with this project I photograph very differently that I would without it. I like the stuff I've done and it does something to my intuition, but as I said, I don't know why have the ideas that I have. It seems that I keep coming back to subjects which one could call 'everyday surrealism' or something similar (for example see Day 10 and Day 14). The question is: why this subject and not something else? Is it part of my photographic eye or just a coping mechanism to get me through 52 weeks? Or is my photographic eye formed by the challenges I create for myself and how I solve them? Not sure if I can give any definitive answer at this point, but through the repetition it becomes more clear that there are certain subjects and themes that I'm drawn to. Everyday surrealism seems to be one of them – at least for today.

Ps. Looks like we are going to eat omelets for next couple of days.

Year of the Alpha – 52 Weeks of Sony Alpha Photography: www.yearofthealpha.com

Explore # 157

Almost precisely one year and five months ago, I took this photo while waiting to receive my first Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki in Hiroshima, Japan. While it is very subjective whether Hiroshima-style or Osaka-style okonomiyaki is better, and many people will argue in favour of one or the other merely based on where they are from or what they are used to, I have enjoyed both, and I do much prefer Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki without any bias.

Previously,

Train travelling is tantalizing: all those wonderful photos out there that one has no chance to take. Train travels are wonderful generators of photos in the head: so many diverse sights, moving by at their own speed; unexpected turns and elements moving and shifting alongside the moving train; so many wonderful perspectives on the backyards of cities, rough and unrefined. Still, these photos remain in the head; you know that you are never going to make all those shots. Shooting through the windows of the train is significantly less than taking notes for future elaboration; technically imperfect by necessity, not framed precisely, exposure not under control, and of course taking down a moment that is never to be recovered, and never to be seen more carefully. Still, I found it worthwhile to give in to the impulse to take such notes.

After the dangerous sharks (and hopefully no poop in the pants), I would now like to present the harmless photos of the series. Particularly noticeable here: a few plants (I can't name them more precisely) that float around in the water like cooked spaghetti...

About the Series: The photos were all taken in a large show aquarium (Meereszentrum Fehmarn, located on the German Baltic Sea island of Fehmarn). From a photographic point of view, it was a great opportunity and I can only recommend to visit such an aquarium! Sharks, nasty fish, beautiful fish, small fish, large fish (with and without spines), corals, plants and a lot of the other stuff that originally lived in the sea. Everything can be admired and easily photographed.

I hadn't planned a series, but after I edited some of the shots, I was so impressed with the results, that I went through all of the footage. It is certainly not a masterpiece, but perhaps a fine example of how quickly and easily an appealing series can be realized. I hope you like the photos and of course I'm also happy about your opinion.

About the post-processing: For editing I've used the Lightromm plug-in "Silver Efex Pro". More precisely: Preset Nr. 20 (in German: "Künstlerisch, High-Key-Effekt"). And to be honest: I'm a lazy bastard and I either did nothing for most of the photos or I just used a few of the controls (mostly contrast & exposure) and selected one of the color filters. But that's not just laziness. In my opinion, too much editing is usually bad for the quality and too often it robs the magic of a good shot. I don't like the perfect and I've stopped fiddling with a photo for hours and making it worse and worse that way. The perfect is not perfect, it is mostly boring and we should stop trying to achieve something like this by intensively editing our photos.

© all rights reserved by B℮n

Please take your time... to View it large on black

The general term ice age or, more precisely, glacial age denotes a geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in an expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. There have been at least four major ice ages in the Earth's past. Outside these periods, the Earth seems to have been ice-free even in high latitudes. There is evidence that greenhouse gas levels fell at the start of ice ages and rose during the retreat of the ice sheets, but it is difficult to establish cause and effect. Greenhouse gas levels may also have been affected by other factors which have been proposed as causes of ice ages, such as the movement of continents and vulcanism. Although the last glacial period ended more than 8,000 years ago, its effects can still be felt today. For example, the moving ice carved out landscape in Canada, Greenland, northern Eurasia and Antarctica. The erratic boulders, till, drumlins, eskers, fjords, kettle lakes, moraines, cirques, horns, etc., are typical features left behind by the glaciers. The Dutch IJsselmeer lake is covered with icerocks hummocks, caused by the cold weather of the passed days. At some places even higher than 6 meter!

Photo of frozen common reed along the IJsselmeer lake. It was cold and snowing. Many hummocks at the IJsselmeer (Markermeer) near Uitdam. On the background you can see the smoke of the Powerplant of Diemen. A hummock is a boss or rounded knoll of ice rising above the general level of an ice-field, Hummocky ice is caused by slow and unequal pressure in the main body of the packed ice, and by unequal structure and temperature at a later period. Blue ice occurs when snow falls on the ice. The blue color is actually created for the same reason that water is blue, that is, its slight absorption of red light due to an overtone of the infrared OH stretching mode of the water molecule.

Een ijstijd of glaciatie is een geologisch tijdvak waarin ijskappen voorkomen. In het Engels wordt dit een periode van ice-house genoemd, als tegenhanger van een ijskaploze periode, de greenhouse ("broeikas"). Aangezien er gletsjers liggen op bijvoorbeeld Groenland of Antarctica, leven we tegenwoordig in een ijstijd. Men neemt aan dat dit in de gehele geologische geschiedenis van de Aarde minstens vijfmaal het geval is geweest, waarvan eenmaal zelfs zo sterk dat de ijskappen van de polen vrijwel tot aan de evenaar waren opgerukt. Ook zijn er periodes dat er aanzienlijke opwarming optrad waarbij die ijskappen grotendeels waren weggesmolten. Het klimaat op Aarde wordt beïnvloed door vele factoren, zoals de intensiteit van de zonnestraling, de ligging van de continenten, de continentverplaatsingen, vulkanisme, de zeestromen, de bedekking van het land door vegetatie, het weerkaatsingsvermogen van het aardoppervlak en vele kleine andere factoren. Met behulp van klimaatmodellen wordt door wetenschappers een reconstructie van het klimaat en de klimaatveranderingen in het verleden gemaakt. Alhoewel er een zekere consensus bestaat onder wetenschappers, zijn er nog vele onzekerheden en tegenstrijdigheden in dit onderzoek.

Hierboven een foto van kruiend ijs. Zoetwatermeren kunnen spectaculair bevriezen. Grotere meren zoals het IJsselmeer (IJmeer) hierboven hebben bijna altijd wel golven, en dit werkt directe bevriezing van het wateroppervlak tegen. Eerst vormen zich kleine ijsschotsen, die naar de kust drijven onder invloed van de wind. Deze schotsen vormen zo een ijsveld op het water dat de golven dempt, en uiteindelijk vriezen alle schotsen aan elkaar vast tot een massa. Voordat dit gebeurt schuren de schotsen voortdurend langs elkaar heen en schrapen zo stukjes ijs van elkaar af; elke schots krijgt zo een witte rand. Zulk ijs is dus totaal niet geschikt om op te schaatsen. Wanneer grotere delen van het meer bevriezen beginnen de platen, die soms een paar vierkante kilometer groot zijn, langzaam tegen elkaar te bewegen onder invloed van de wind en stroming. Dit heeft kruiend ijs tot gevolg: de ijsschotsen worden met kracht gebroken en op elkaar gestapeld langs de dijken langs het meer. Dit hoeft niet alleen bij dun ijs te gebeuren; soms kruit het ijs bij een dikte van meer dan 20 cm. De stapels ijs worden dan hoog, en het geluid is oorverdovend. Deze foto is genomen bij Uitdam. Het was behoorlijk koud en sneeuwde op het bevroren riet Op de achtergrond kan je de electriciteitscentrale Diemen zien tegen het licht van de ondergaande zon.

Fog invasion across the whole bay. Captured precisely at 1:07:27am on 3/7/15

© all rights reserved

Please take your time... and enjoy it large on black

The general term ice age or, more precisely, glacial age denotes a geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in an expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. There have been at least four major ice ages in the Earth's past. Outside these periods, the Earth seems to have been ice-free even in high latitudes. There is evidence that greenhouse gas levels fell at the start of ice ages and rose during the retreat of the ice sheets, but it is difficult to establish cause and effect. Greenhouse gas levels may also have been affected by other factors which have been proposed as causes of ice ages, such as the movement of continents and vulcanism. Although the last glacial period ended more than 8,000 years ago, its effects can still be felt today. For example, the moving ice carved out landscape in Canada, Greenland, northern Eurasia and Antarctica. The erratic boulders, till, drumlins, eskers, fjords, kettle lakes, moraines, cirques, horns, etc., are typical features left behind by the glaciers. The Dutch IJsselmeer lake is covered with icerocks hummocks, caused by the cold weather of the passed days. At some places even higher than 6 meter!

Photo taken of hummocks at the IJsselmeer (Markermeer) near Uitdam. A hummock is a boss or rounded knoll of ice rising above the general level of an ice-field, Hummocky ice is caused by slow and unequal pressure in the main body of the packed ice, and by unequal structure and temperature at a later period. Blue ice occurs when snow falls on the ice. The blue color is actually created for the same reason that water is blue, that is, its slight absorption of red light due to an overtone of the infrared OH stretching mode of the water molecule.

Een ijstijd of glaciatie is een geologisch tijdvak waarin ijskappen voorkomen. In het Engels wordt dit een periode van ice-house genoemd, als tegenhanger van een ijskaploze periode, de greenhouse ("broeikas"). Aangezien er gletsjers liggen op bijvoorbeeld Groenland of Antarctica, leven we tegenwoordig in een ijstijd. Men neemt aan dat dit in de gehele geologische geschiedenis van de Aarde minstens vijfmaal het geval is geweest, waarvan eenmaal zelfs zo sterk dat de ijskappen van de polen vrijwel tot aan de evenaar waren opgerukt. Ook zijn er periodes dat er aanzienlijke opwarming optrad waarbij die ijskappen grotendeels waren weggesmolten. Het klimaat op Aarde wordt beïnvloed door vele factoren, zoals de intensiteit van de zonnestraling, de ligging van de continenten, de continentverplaatsingen, vulkanisme, de zeestromen, de bedekking van het land door vegetatie, het weerkaatsingsvermogen van het aardoppervlak en vele kleine andere factoren. Met behulp van klimaatmodellen wordt door wetenschappers een reconstructie van het klimaat en de klimaatveranderingen in het verleden gemaakt. Alhoewel er een zekere consensus bestaat onder wetenschappers, zijn er nog vele onzekerheden en tegenstrijdigheden in dit onderzoek.Hierboven een foto van kruiend ijs. Zoetwatermeren kunnen spectaculair bevriezen. Grotere meren zoals het IJsselmeer (IJmeer) hierboven hebben bijna altijd wel golven, en dit werkt directe bevriezing van het wateroppervlak tegen. Eerst vormen zich kleine ijsschotsen, die naar de kust drijven onder invloed van de wind. Deze schotsen vormen zo een ijsveld op het water dat de golven dempt, en uiteindelijk vriezen alle schotsen aan elkaar vast tot een massa. Voordat dit gebeurt schuren de schotsen voortdurend langs elkaar heen en schrapen zo stukjes ijs van elkaar af; elke schots krijgt zo een witte rand. Zulk ijs is dus totaal niet geschikt om op te schaatsen. Wanneer grotere delen van het meer bevriezen beginnen de platen, die soms een paar vierkante kilometer groot zijn, langzaam tegen elkaar te bewegen onder invloed van de wind en stroming. Dit heeft kruiend ijs tot gevolg: de ijsschotsen worden met kracht gebroken en op elkaar gestapeld langs de dijken langs het meer. Dit hoeft niet alleen bij dun ijs te gebeuren; soms kruit het ijs bij een dikte van meer dan 20 cm. De stapels ijs worden dan hoog, en het geluid is oorverdovend. Deze foto is genomen bij Uitdam aan de rand van het Markermeer.

Her beak was definitely impacted by that paperclip. Please consider that the smallest thing you don't pick up, could impact wildlife. I have to believe that time will straighten out her beak, and it will again be symmetrical and meet properly at the end as it did before. In the meantime, Cherry is healed and eating, which is job one! Lynn the Wildlife Rehabilitator returned Mama Cherry to her family today at precisely 8:56AM EST. Lynn had picked Cherry up at 4AM from the Sanctuary (Save Our Seabirds). She was so kind to call me when she arrived, and she stayed a short distance from our property until we had confirmed the location of the family. She and I hung up, and 10 seconds later Classic, Fanta and Fresca were outside my office window.

When Lynn arrived with Cherry, the rest of the family had circled around another building. Lynn carried Cherry out; Cherry saw Fanta and started to wriggle. Lynn let Cherry go, and she went straight to Fanta. Fanta has been falling behind since Cherry has been gone. Classic and Fresca had already moved up the sidewalk, but they definitely saw Cherry and started making their way back. The family reunited against the mundane backdrop of office windows, but for me, it was one of the most beautiful scenes I have witnessed.

Lynn was surprised there wasn’t any trumpeting between Classic and Cherry, but I was closer to them and I could hear them purring and cooing and the chicks were peeping. They walked off together and then Cherry moved off to the pond when they got to the corner of the building. Classic, ever the good father, continued the daily foraging round without her as she got a drink and started to get used to her blessed freedom again. I told Lynn, she probably wanted to blow the stink off of her, the smell of humans and other birds at the sanctuary. Not that those stink…it’s an expression, you know. She wanted to freshen up! =o)

Later in the day, Classic and the chicks joined her at the pond for more foraging. I sat on the hill, and I just watched them. Of course I took some shots, but I also just enjoyed the splendor of seeing my family, our family, together again. I felt myself exhale, and while I will keep a close eye on Cherry and the family in the coming weeks, I feel better knowing they are together.

Thank you God for the blessing of Lynn and the good people at Save Our Searbirds who removed the paperclip from Cherry’s beak, gave her antibiotics, and cared for her. Lynn is some sweet lady, and she is incredibly dedicated and passionate. She often gets 6 rescue calls a day, most of them Sandhill Crane related. She showed me a lot of pictures. All of them made my heart ache, and some of them were incredible success stories. Lynn’s eye lit up, sharing the joy of those who were successfully released back into the wild, and I could see her heart ache when she spoke of those she euthanized and held as they passed away. “I wouldn’t want to be alone when I die; so I don’t let them be alone.”

I am going to go to the Sanctuary in a week and a half. I know a lot of what I may see there will be heart wrenching, but if I can help and raise awareness, that would be a great gift. Thank you my Flickr Friends for all of your prayers and good wishes. I met so many awesome and simpatico contacts because of this story. In case I haven’t mentioned lately, I HAVE THE BEST CONTACTS ON FLICKR. I hope you will check them out! You will find many nature lovers, bird nerds, macro-tastic bug lovers, tree-huggers, funny, talented, engaged and artistic people!

These are not necessarily shots of epic quality. Sometimes it is what it is with wildlife, and I was definitely respecting their space even more than usual, but the feelings were epic for me. For more information on these and other cranes visit www.savingcranes.org Hugs and thanks for viewing and oh my goodness, for reading this epic description if you were inclined to do so!!! XXOO

***All rights to my images are STRICTLY reserved. Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing my images or if you are an educator or non-profit interested in use. copyright KathleenJacksonPhotography 2009***

Norwegen / Buskerud - Hallingskarvet-Nationalpark

View back on the way to Prestholtskarvet. You can see Prestholtseter down there.

Rückblick auf dem Weg zum Prestholtskarvet. Dort unten ist die Prestholtseter zu sehen.

Hallingskarvet National Park (Norwegian: Hallingskarvet nasjonalpark) is a national park in central Norway that was established by the government on 22 December 2006. The park is located in the municipalities of Hol (Buskerud county), Ulvik and Aurland (both in Vestland county). More precisely, the park comprises the Hallingskarv plateau and the high mountain areas to the west of it. It includes the Vargebreen glacier as well as the valleys of Såtedalen, Lengjedalen, Ynglesdalen, and parts of Raggsteindalen.

The national park covers 450 square kilometres (170 sq mi) of the Hallingskarvet mountain range and hosts large stocks of wild reindeer, an important factor in the establishment of the park. The highest point in the national park is Folarskardnuten which reaches an elevation of 1,933 metres (6,342 ft) above sea level.

The landscape of Hallingskarvet was shaped by multiple ice ages. The park shows the geological history and the connection between this history and the variation in the species living there. It includes areas of special value and which are home to threatened or vulnerable species such as Draba cacuminum (whitlow-grass) and Botrychium lanceolatum (lance-leaf grapefern).

The Bergen Line runs along the southern boundary of the park. There is no road access to the southern side of the park, so Finse Station, a stop on the railway line, is one of the few ways that people can access this part of the park. The Norwegian County Road 50 runs near the northern boundary of the park.

Protection and use

The main objective of this national park is to preserve a large, unique, and largely untouched area in order to protect the landscape and the biome with its ecosystem, species and populations of, amongst others, the wild reindeer. The protection is designed to safeguard a characteristic element needed to understand the geological history of the Norwegian landscape. It is also designed to protect valuable elements of the cultural heritage.

The park is open to the traditional forms of outdoor activities which require little or no technical means.

Name

The first element is halling (inhabitant of the Hallingdal valley) and the last is the finite form of skarv (mountain or mountainous area without vegetation).

(Wikipedia)

Prestholtseter a farm cafe based on traditions. Prestholtseter is located by Hallingskarvet at 1242 m, by Hallingskarvet National Park. It is a popular destination both summer and winter. The café offers waffles, buns, the local specialties "lefsekling" (thin, sheet bread), "Rummebrød" (thin cakes made with sour cream), cakes, omelets, buns and rolls. In summer you can also get cured meats and tasty sour cream porridge By Prestholtseter you will find great hiking in the summer and cross country tracks in the winter. In summer you can hike on dirt roads or paths, either flat or the Prestholt stairs up to the top of Hallingskarvet Mountain. In summer the road goes all the way to Prestholtseter (toll road). In winter there are ski trails that are groomed daily, from Havsdalen and from Ustaoset. Prestholtseter offers catering for groups from 15 -100 people for dinner or lunch. A nice layer at the base of Hallingskarvet provides a unique and beautiful setting for the event. Prestholtseter was built in 1904 and has been in the family Uthus since. In the beginning it was a pure summer farm, where they sold products that they produced themselves. Opning hours 2017: Winter season: Starts week 7, 2017. The road usually opens around July 1st.

(visitnorway.com)

Der Hallingskarvet-Nationalpark (norwegisch Hallingskarvet nasjonalpark) ist ein südnorwegischer Nationalpark. Er umfasst das Hallingskarvet-Hochplateau und erstreckt sich über das Gebiet der Gemeinden Hol (Provinz Buskerud), Ulvik und Aurland (Provinz Vestland) gehört.

Gegründet wurde der Park am 22. Dezember 2006, um die dortige große, unverwechselbare und nahezu unberührte Bergregion, die Artenvielfalt von Flora und Fauna und die dort heimischen Bergrentiere zu schützen. Der Park grenzt an das Naturschutzgebiet Skaupsjøen/Hardangerjøkulen und das Biotop Finse.

Im Süden des Parkes führen sowohl die Bergenbahn als auch die Reichsstraße 7 vorbei.

Geologie, Landschaft und Geografie

Der Nationalpark umfasst größtenteils das Hallingskarvethochplateau, welches aufgrund der Kaledonischen Orogenese entstand. Das vorherrschende Gesteinsmaterial der Bergkette ist präkambrisches Pluton.

Der höchste Berg ist der Folarskardnuten mit 1.933 m. Im Hallingskarvet befindet sich auch Norwegens höchster See, der Flakavatnet, welcher auf 1.453 m Höhe liegt.

Flora

Die Pflanzenwelt gestaltet sich mit über 300 verschiedenen Arten sehr vielfältig. Die am weitesten verbreiteten Pflanzen sind der Weiße Silberwurz, Knöllchen-Knöterich und Herbst-Löwenzahn. In den höheren Lagen kommen vor allem Dreiblatt-Binsen, Polarsimsen, Moosheide und Gletscher-Hahnenfuß vor.

Fauna

Im Park gibt es an größeren Säugetieren Bergrentiere, Elche, Rehe, Polarfüchse und Schneehasen. Nördlich des Parks leben zudem Vielfraße.

Die größten Greifvögel sind Steinadler, Gerfalke, Turmfalke und Raufußbussard. Der Kolkrabe ist im Hallingskarvet ebenfalls heimisch.

Kulturerbe

Im Nationalpark wurden verschiedene Jagdutensilien gefunden, die auf eine prähistorische/historische Nutzung der Berge als Jagd- und/oder Siedlungsgebiet schließen lassen.

Im 17. bis 19. Jahrhundert lag der Park entlang einer wichtigen Handelsroute. Einfache Übernachtungshütten, sog. lægre, zeugen noch heute davon. Im Jahre 1880 ließ der englische Graf Lord Garvagh eine steinerne Jagdhütte, die Lordehytta, errichten, um in der näheren Umgebung auf Rentierjagd zu gehen.

Verwaltung und Tourismus

Der Norwegische Wanderverein unterhält im Park die Hütten Finsehytta im Süden und Geiterygghytta im Norden. Private Unterkünfte gibt es im Raggsteindalen und bei Haugastøl. Zwischen den Hütten gibt es markierte Wanderwege.

Zwischen Finse und Ustaoset verläuft ein Stück des Skarverennet durch den Park. Im Süden des Parks verläuft zudem der Rallarvegen.

(Wikipedia)

"The more precisely

the POSITION is determined,

the less precisely

the MOMENTUM is known."

(Werner von Heisenberg)

Cruzamento no bairro Juvevê, Curitiba-PR. Sábado de tardezinha.

-------------------------------------

Neighborhood crossroad, Curitiba, Brazil. Saturday in the afternoon.

See where this picture was taken. [?]

298/365

"In any weather, at any hour of the day or night,

I have been anxious to improve the nick of time, and notch it on my stick too;

to stand on the meeting of two eternities, the past and future,

which is precisely the present moment; to toe that line." - Henry David Thoreau

How precisely shall we define the word "abandoned" in northern New England, in midwinter? Is a house "abandoned" if the driveway isn't getting plowed? What if the driveway isn't plowed, but there's a rather expensive looking fifth-wheel trailer parked (and snowed in) in the driveway? Does the owner of the trailer also own the farmhouse? Or is someone just taking advantage of a rent-free patch of land to store their trailer?

Fuji X-T20, XF 50mm F2 WR.

Thank you for visiting!

Of course the light wasn't precisely like this.............but I could tell it wanted to be......

The sun was very harsh and very bright. Facing away it was OK of course, but I particularly wanted the light shining throught he petals. I have posted another facing away from the sun...

More precisely Blackfriars Bridge

These are clam shells — marine bivalve mollusk shells. More precisely, they look like single valves from two different clam species, not two halves of the same animal. Bivalves include clams, oysters, mussels, and scallops, and are defined by having paired shell valves joined at a hinge.

Left shell

Likely hard clam / quahog type — Mercenaria sp., possibly Mercenaria mercenaria

Confidence: moderate

The left shell is thick, rounded-triangular to oval, dark gray-brown, and marked mostly by concentric growth bands rather than strong radial ribs. That fits the general look of a hard clam/quahog-type shell. NOAA describes northern hard clams as having thick gray-to-white shells with outer concentric growth rings; other references describe Mercenaria mercenaria as broadly triangular-oval with distinct growth lines.

What prevents a firm species ID: the interior, hinge teeth, pallial sinus, and exact locality are not visible. Those features matter for separating similar clams.

Right shell

Likely a Venus clam-type bivalve, possibly a cross-barred Venus group — Chione sp. / related Veneridae

Confidence: low to moderate

The right shell has a warm orange-brown/cream pattern and a strong crosshatched surface: concentric ridges crossed by finer radial ribs. That points toward the Venus clam family, Veneridae, especially shells with cancellate or cross-barred sculpture. The Florida Cross-barred Venus, Chione elevata, is described as having concentric ridges intercepted by denser radial ribs; the broader Veneridae family includes shells with commarginal, radial, or cancellated sculpture.

Not a firm species ID from this view alone. It could be a related Venus clam rather than Chione elevata, especially if the shell is larger than typical Chione specimens or came from outside the Florida/Caribbean/Gulf region.

Description

The image shows two contrasting clam valves on a white background:

Left: darker, smoother, more subdued; brown, gray, black, and tan horizontal banding; worn surface; low, rounded dome.

Right: larger-looking, brighter, more decorative; orange, rust, cream, and brown color zones; strong ridged texture; pronounced growth bands; more inflated and sculptural.

The pairing works visually because the shells share the same basic bivalve form but contrast strongly in color, texture, and age/wear. The left shell feels weathered and muted; the right shell feels fresher, warmer, and more patterned.

Rocking. That's very precisely what the wave does on this picture - it reaches and hits the rocks (not that they are very much affected by it though). And the lens was Rokinon. Beautiful weather.

Exif: ISO 100 ; f/5.6 ; 1/4 ; @14mm

Handheld

This wonderful grassy Wood-rush indeed gleams and sparkles purplish in the Sunlight. And there's probably some truth to the derivation of Luzula from a form of the Latin Lux, light. But nobody can narrow down the reason for its name more precisely. David Gledhill in his great The Names of Plants is quite right to say: Luzula is 'an ancient name of obscure meaning'.

There are at least four theories. The first is that this Wood-rush gleams in the moonlight like a glow worm, a Lucciola in Italian; another idea is that the flowers and their sheaths (ca. a mere 4-5 mm) dew-wet sparkle in the morning sunlight; third advocates claim the anthers and pistil look like lamp wicks, and hence the connection to light; and finally some have said that the pith of Wood-rush has been used to fashion exactly those candle or lamp wicks. I haven't been able to find any confirmation that Wood-rush pith was indeed used that way except for people claiming it. I'm also sceptical about the 'look-like-candle-wick' assertion. That leaves two explanations. It seems to me a bit far-fetched - having often seen glow worms myself - to put them into the equation; their light is far brighter than the gleam of Wood-rush in the moonlight. Which leaves as most likely the idea that our Plant in flower sparkles in the sunlight, as I myself could see this morning.

precisely 12 o´clock in London

_____________________

tumblr or facebook or portfolio

5/28/16 - Late Breaking News from Texas' Hutto Lake: At precisely 6:04 PM.....nothing happened, and it was wonderful!

The clock is a technical masterpiece which belongs to a group of similar European clocks such as in Danzig, Strasbourg or Lund. But the clock in Rostock is the only one that still has its original mediaeval clockwork from 1472 which still precisely functions. It indicates the phases of the moon and the solar year St. Mary's Church. Each hour the glockenspiel plays a tune that the cantor chooses on a roller depending on the church season The data on the current calendar disc comprise the years from 1885 to 2017, Rostock, Germany

... or more precisely what it displays. GOD-DAMN, WHAT A HOT CHICK!!!!

“And what do ye mean with ‘were takin over yer convoy’?” the elderly dwarf yelled. “Precisely that, miss Stonearm.” Sergeant Haelga Ulrissen replied. “Well, tell that capt’n of yers he can put that request of his RIGHT HERE!” the dwarf pointed at her arse. The folkir sighed, she wasn’t paid enough to enter in a discussion with a dwarf. Then she silently chuckled, the captain would have to deal with this now.

Martin could already tell what was going on from the loud shouts from the distance, hell, he would be surprised if anyone hadn’t. “Let me guess,” he said when the folkir made her approach “the commander has some reservations about our cooperation?” the large, blue skinned woman nodded “Not quite her precise wording sir, but close enough.” Martin silently cursed “Let me guess.” Roger said, “You were hoping that the sight of a seven-foot-tall overgrown blueberry – no offense sergeant – would be enough persuasion?” the human male nodded “Aye, it usually is anyway.” Martin returned to sergeant Haelga “Who is leading them anyway? A minotaur or something?” the folkir chuckled “You’re going to love this sir: it’s an old dwarven lady.” Martin uttered a loud groan and looked at the heavens for a moment “Cemea, why do you hate me?” Unsurprisingly, the goddess of luck remained silent. “alright then chaps, let talk to the lady in question.” Roger said, “We’ll figure something out, we’ll always do.” and began casually walking towards the blockade formed by Martins’ men. The others shrugged and followed.

“Nay can’t do bonny lad.” The dwarf responded to Martins’ request, this time in person, clearly having not a lot of respect for the man to request her to quit her assigned job, something dwarves take great offense to. “I couldn’t care less who ye are. By Murdins’ beard, I’ve got me pride!” The human cursed under his breath. Why couldn’t this caravan have been led by a friendly halfling? He wondered. He had carefully taken over ninety men and women through the dim light of the early morning and through small forest paths that the rangers and mountaineers had found in the previous weeks. He had then carefully hidden them along a rarely used piece of road. It was almost never used, save for experienced cart drivers, who knew it to be a significant shortcut. It was there they intercepted the wagons heading southward. All this trouble and effort, executed without flaw, now stopped by one of the toughest obstacles known by any race or species: a dwarf. Martin looked desperately over his shoulder to what the men had jokingly begun calling “the royal council”. The dwarf Thirn was just shrugging. The sylvaeri druid Elahna Galariel had conveniently shape-shifted into a weasel, hopped onto the shoulders of the other wood elf Celdric and now lay relaxed around her partners neck. The gnomish wizard and other long-time companion, Roger had tried something similar. Unfortunately, he was not a druid, but a mage. So, shape-shifting came far less natural and could only manage one form: that of a massive owl, which had parked its big fat behind on Thirn’s hat. Strangely enough, the dwarf didn’t seem overly pleased by this. The other gnome, Sarah Brightspark was busy loading a small crossbow with what Martin could only hope were stun-darts. When he gave her a disapproving look, she just shrugged “Just wyvern tranquilizer sir.” It was then that Ely Emberchest, a cleric of Ishala, decided she couldn’t stand this sight any longer. The voslar mumbled a quick prayer, quickly followed by a flash of golden light. “Miss Stonearm, if I could have a moment of your time.” She spoke with a voice laden with magic “I understand your reservations, but think about it. The captain is here on request from a member of the Edorian royal family, so if you think about it, nobody is asking to cancel your given assignment. It’s merely been… redirected, so to say.” The dwarf’s eyes filled with a golden light for a single moment. “Aye” she said “Of course, yer right miss.” Ely winked to Martin “So that’s how you do that, a little persuasion can get you a long way.” The human chuckled “Sure, magic can get you a long way you mean.” “I don’t know what you’re talking about sir.”

I felt it was time to post another candid shot of O'Henry's. I was trying to get a close-up shot of his paw, when he started yawning. I thought it was too funny to pass ;-)

Anyway, 'good morning' and have a wonderful weekend everyone.

Title by Eiderdown from the "Title me" group.

The date of the church’s construction was not precisely known until 1969, particularly as the pisanie (inscription) is partly deteriorated.

That year, the parish priest discovered a petition from the Christians of the Broșteni district to the Metropolitan of Ungro-Wallachia.

Authored by Manul "Cavaful", head of the shoemakers’ (cavafi) guild, the document asks permission for building a church on the land of the late Hagi Dumitrache Papazoglu, in accordance with his will.

It is dated July 1815, and construction probably started on August 15, a date mentioned on the inscription.

The structure was probably erected by summer 1816, and was completely finished by November 1817, as attested by a document of that date.

Repairs were carried out in 1868, 1891 and 1906, while the painting was redone in 1929.

Thorough repairs took place in 1949–1950 and 1957.

Repainting was done under Patriarch Justinian, whose portrait appears among the ktetors.

The 1930 parish house was demolished in 1985 to make way for the surrounding apartment blocks.

The church has two spires, one above the nave, the other, the bell tower, above the narthex.

The iconostasis is carved in wood and gilt.

The facades are simple, with a classical cornice and pediment on the western side, painted with three panels of saints’ icons.

Saint Haralambie, whose relics are here, awaits them every day.

The church, in the shape of a cross, was built between 1815 and 1817 on the land left by Hagi Dumitrache Papazoglu, by Maria and Manea Cavafu, the latter being the elder of the tanners in the Broşteni slum.

Over time, the church was repaired several times.

Among the objects of historical or documentary value, the very old icons stand out (the oldest is from the 17th century), but also the iconostasis, which is carved in wood and gilded.

The current painting dates from 1986, made by a certain Gheorghe.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Mary%27s_Church,_Berlin

St. Mary's Church, known in German as the Marienkirche, is a church in Berlin, Germany. It is located on Karl-Liebknecht-Straße (formerly Kaiser-Wilhelm-Straße) in central Berlin, near Alexanderplatz. The exact age of the original church site and structure is not precisely known, but it was first mentioned in German chronicles in 1292. It is presumed to date from earlier in the 13th century. The architecture of the building is now largely composed of comparatively modern restoration work which took place in the late 19th century and in the post-war period. The church was originally a Roman Catholic church, but has been a Lutheran Protestant church since the Protestant Reformation and a united Protestant church since the Prussian Union of churches in 1817.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin

Berlin is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3,723,914 (2018) inhabitants make it the second most populous city proper of the European Union after London. The city is one of Germany's 16 federal states. It is surrounded by the state of Brandenburg, and contiguous with its capital, Potsdam. The two cities are at the center of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region, which is, with 6,004,857 (2015) inhabitants and an area of 30,370 square km, Germany's third-largest metropolitan region after the Rhine-Ruhr and Rhine-Main regions.

Berlin straddles the banks of the River Spree, which flows into the River Havel (a tributary of the River Elbe) in the western borough of Spandau. Among the city's main topographical features are the many lakes in the western and southeastern boroughs formed by the Spree, Havel, and Dahme rivers (the largest of which is Lake Müggelsee). Due to its location in the European Plain, Berlin is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. About one-third of the city's area is composed of forests, parks, gardens, rivers, canals and lakes. The city lies in the Central German dialect area, the Berlin dialect being a variant of the Lusatian-New Marchian dialects.

First documented in the 13th century and situated at the crossing of two important historic trade routes, Berlin became the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1417–1701), the Kingdom of Prussia (1701–1918), the German Empire (1871–1918), the Weimar Republic (1919–1933), and the Third Reich (1933–1945). Berlin in the 1920s was the third largest municipality in the world. After World War II and its subsequent occupation by the victorious countries, the city was divided; West Berlin became a de facto West German exclave, surrounded by the Berlin Wall (1961–1989) and East German territory. East Berlin was declared capital of East Germany, while Bonn became the West German capital. Following German reunification in 1990, Berlin once again became the capital of all of Germany.

Berlin is a world city of culture, politics, media and science. Its economy is based on high-tech firms and the service sector, encompassing a diverse range of creative industries, research facilities, media corporations and convention venues. Berlin serves as a continental hub for air and rail traffic and has a highly complex public transportation network. The metropolis is a popular tourist destination. Significant industries also include IT, pharmaceuticals, biomedical engineering, clean tech, biotechnology, construction and electronics.

Berlin is home to world-renowned universities, orchestras, museums, and entertainment venues, and is host to many sporting events. Its Zoological Garden is the most visited zoo in Europe and one of the most popular worldwide. With the world's oldest large-scale movie studio complex, Berlin is an increasingly popular location for international film productions. The city is well known for its festivals, diverse architecture, nightlife, contemporary arts and a very high quality of living. Since the 2000s Berlin has seen the emergence of a cosmopolitan entrepreneurial scene.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernsehturm_Berlin

The Fernsehturm (English: Television Tower) is a television tower in central Berlin, Germany.

Close to Alexanderplatz in Berlin-Mitte, the tower was constructed between 1965-69 by the government of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was intended to be both a symbol of Communist power and of Berlin. It remains the latter today, as it is easily visible throughout the central and some suburban districts of Berlin. With its height of 368 metres (including antenna) it is the tallest structure in Germany, and the third-tallest structure in the European Union. Of four tallest structures in Europe, it is 2 m shorter than the Torreta de Guardamar, 0.5 m shorter than the Riga Radio and TV Tower, and 8 m taller than the Trbovlje Power Station in 2017. The structure is also more than 220 metres higher than the old Berlin Radio Tower in the western part of the city, which was built in the 1920s.

In addition to its main function as the location of several radio and television broadcasting stations, the building – internally known as "Fernmeldeturm 32" – serves as a viewing tower with observation deck including a bar at a height of 203 metres, as well as a rotating restaurant. Also, the Berlin TV Tower can be booked as a venue for events. The distinctive city landmark has undergone a radical, symbolic transformation: After German reunification, it changed from a politically charged, national symbol of the GDR into a citywide symbol of a reunited Berlin. Due to its universal and timeless design, it has increasingly been used as a trademark and is identified worldwide with Berlin and Germany. In 1979, the Berlin TV Tower received monument status by the GDR, a status which was perpetuated after the German reunification.

The tower has become one of the most prominent symbols of the country and is often in the establishing shot of films set in Berlin, alongside monuments such as the Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Victory Column and the Reichstag building. It is also one of the ten most popular attractions in Germany with more than 1,000,000 visitors every year. Due to its location near Alexanderplatz, it is occasionally called Alex Tower.

*** Don't have to fav/comment.. u can ask qs here tho & i will try to put them up here b4 next post ***

"Not another shameless wanky post from this bugger! Move on & stop showing off!" Well, that's precisely what i was thinking when i'm about to post this shot. Seriously I PROMISEI will not post this type of self-indulge promotional shot ever again unless its something you guys can benefit from. This is most probably my 5th or 6th mag publications to date so THIS IS IT (for shameless post) as Michael Jackson said :)) Quite a no of ppl have asked me qs relating to my photostream, publications etc all along therefore i thought this is the best time to consolidate similar FAQs & answer them here. Hope u can gain something out of them. cheers!

:: FAQs ::

Q. How do I get my photos published in a magazine?

A. Well, its hard to say ...luck plays a part i suppose.. esp for journalists to spot your work out of millions. One thing i know for sure is correctly tagging your photos helps in contributing to the success of others finding your shots. All my published photos were found by editors of the publishing/magazine company through Google, Yahoo search engines & Flickr. Another possible factor is perhaps being known for the sort of photography style u do helps a fair bit too. For instance, if you are into IR photography & your entire photostream is full of IR style images, very high chance when someone is lookin' for IR publication, you will be the outstanding one.

Q. How did I achieve so much attention in flickr?

A. Pretty much the same theory as above... I reckon for me, specialising in just hdr helps bring everyone who has the same interest to my photostream. Perhaps versatility in subject tend to catch ppl's attention too. One definite fact is you should have determination to keep doing what u love & passionate about (it could be flower, macro, seascape, bokeh, BW, night photography, digital manipulation etc..) just pursue this interest be it what others might have said about your images or even negative comments to bring u down along the way (Trust me.. i get those %^$ comments esp when i just started hdr.. even now!). Believe in yourself & others will eventually believe in you & your work ;) go out & make friends in flickr...what goes around comes around.

Q. Am I paid to have your photo published?

A. About 75% of my published photos were paid. Some companies asked for quote before using my photos but usually the publishers seek for publication permission before making an offer.The remaining 25% (non-profit co) either gave me full credit in print with link to my flickr website & free copies of their magazines.

Q. How much do the publishing companies pay usually?

A. I was paid all in USD or GBP... so in Aussie rates, it ranges from 150 -250 per image. Really..all depending on where & what the publisher will be using the images for.. big coverage like front cover/double pages print or just a few small prints.

Q. You have had a lot of your photos on Explore, could you give us any tips or advice on how we could get our images on Explore?

A. Explore is a funny thing. The only tip or advice I can give is if your photo can get enough visits or comments even without adding them to groups, there is a high chance you can get your images on Explore. That's my theory at least. I know its easy to get obsessed with Explore.. i do initially but its good to get over it now :) Seriously, Explore is not about how good your shots are.. being on Explore consistently really does not make one a better photographer. Explore is just a simple way to let one explore the world within a few click of a button. If one is too concern about Explore, it definitely ruins photography in a lot of ways. If you still are really keen, be really active in flickr.. i'm sure you will get your rewards eventually but rem it always take time to build your community of friends here too ;)

Q. Is photography your fulltime job?

A. Photography is not my fulltime job. I only really started photography in April 2008. I work as a computing guy in my state uni. The only time I bring my camera out with me is mostly when i go on a trip. In fact I haven't touch my cam much since April this year except for a couple snapshots here & there... now that's really sad case haha!

The look on this poster felt precisely like being caught while candid-shooting :)

"At least it's not a mullet!" But this is precisely how this bittern looked when he initially arrived in Raleigh last fall. If that's not a hockey mullet he's sporting, I'm Wayne Gretzky. I think this clearly answers the question of where this bittern migrates for the warmer months: Canada. Why not travel a few thousand clicks for some delicious Canadian walleye (or "pickerel" for those in parts of Ontario) and, perhaps, a yummy mummy?

The Omo Valley, often more precisely called the Lower Omo Valley, is a place like no other. Home to a number of tribal communities, the variety and diversity of life, truly a melting pot of humanity.

The Lower Omo Valley region has been as UNESCO World Heritage Site since the discovery of human remains dating back nearly 2.5 million years.

"To possess the world in the form of images is, precisely, to re-experience the unreality and remoteness of the the real." Susan Sontag, On Photography

Biwa, an esteemed Kara elder and charismatic leader, pauses for a moment to volunteer this near-surreal pose during preparations for an early-evening communal dance at a small settlement set high on the east bank of Ethiopia's lower Omo River.

Adorned with finger-painted white-chalk body markings and brass earrings. The ivory lip-button and clay hair bun with ostrich feather reflect a "culture of heroism" shared with other tribes in the region, one that glorifies and rewards individual acts of bravery for the killing of an enemy or a predatory wild animal.

© All rights to these photos and descriptions are reserved.

Südafrika - Kleine Karoo

Red Stone Hills - Window Rock

The Karoo (/kəˈruː/ kə-ROO; from a Khoikhoi word, possibly garo "desert") is a semi-desert natural region of South Africa. There is no exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo, and therefore its extent is also not precisely defined. The Karoo is partly defined by its topography, geology and climate — above all, its low rainfall, arid air, cloudless skies, and extremes of heat and cold. The Karoo also hosted a well-preserved ecosystem hundreds of million years ago which is now represented by many fossils.

The Karoo is sharply divided into the Great Karoo and the Little Karoo by the Swartberg Mountain Range, which runs east-west, parallel to the southern coastline, but is separated from the sea by another east-west range called the Outeniqua –Langeberg Mountains. The Great Karoo lies to the north of the Swartberg range; the Little Karoo is to the south of it.

The Little Karoo is separated from the Great Karoo by the Swartberg Mountain range. Geographically, it is a 290 km long valley, only 40–60 km wide, formed by two parallel Cape Fold Mountain ranges, the Swartberg to the north, and the continuous Langeberg-Outeniqua range to the south. The northern strip of the valley, within 10–20 km from the foot of the Swartberg mountains is most un-karoo-like, in that it is a well watered area both from the rain, and the many streams that cascade down the mountain, or through narrow defiles in the Swartberg from the Great Karoo. The main towns of the region are situated along this northern strip of the Little Karoo: Montagu, Barrydale, Ladismith, Calitzdorp, Oudtshoorn and De Rust, as well as such well-known mission stations such as Zoar, Amalienstein, and Dysselsdorp.

The southern 30–50 km wide strip, north of the Langeberg range is as arid as the western Lower Karoo, except in the east, where the Langeberg range (arbitrarily) starts to be called the Outeniqua Mountains.

The Little Karoo can only be accessed by road through the narrow defiles cut through the surrounding Cape Fold Mountains by ancient, but still flowing rivers. A few roads traverse the mountains over passes, the most famous and impressive of which is the Swartberg Pass between Oudtshoorn in the Little Karoo and Prince Albert on the other side of the Swartberg mountains in the Great Karoo. There is also the main road between Oudtshoorn and George, on the coastal plain, that crosses the mountains to the south via the Outeniqua Pass. The only exit from the Little Karoo that does not involve crossing a mountain range is through the 150 km long, narrow Langkloof valley between Uniondale and Humansdorp, near Plettenberg Bay.

(Wikipedia)

Die Karoo (auch Karroo, früher Karru; Khoisan für Halbwüste) ist eine Halbwüstenlandschaft in den Hochebenen des Landes Südafrika, nördlich der Großen Randstufe und im südlichen Namibia. Unterschieden werden Kleine Karoo, Große Karoo und Obere Karoo sowie Sukkulentenkaroo und Nama-Karoo. Mit einer Ausdehnung von 500.000 km² umfasst die Karoo fast ein Drittel des Territoriums Südafrikas. Die Sukkulentenkaroo gehört zu den Biodiversitäts-Hotspots der Erde und wird u. a. im Rahmen von BIOTA AFRICA systematisch kartiert.

Der Name Karoo kommt von kurú (trocken) aus der Sprache der San, die einst hier lebten und jagten. In Hinsicht auf die geographische Ausdehnung des Karoo-Begriffs sind die folgenden Teilaspekte zu beachten und voneinander zu unterscheiden.

Die Karoo als Landschaft im traditionellen Verständnis ist eine südafrikanische Trockenregion innerhalb der Provinzen Westkap, Ostkap und Nordkap sowie im Süden Namibias. Ihre spezifische kapländische Strauchvegetation weist sie als Halbwüste aus. Ursprünglich wird in zwei Regionen unterschieden: Große Karoo und Kleine Karoo.

Die Große Karoo besitzt eine West-Ost-Ausdehnung von über 750 Kilometern und eine Nord-Süd-Ausdehnung von etwa 110 Kilometern. Sie wird im Westen vom Massiv der Zederberge und im Osten durch die Winterberge begrenzt. Im Norden bilden die Bergketten vom Roggeveld-, Koms-, Nuweveldberge und Sneeuberg und im Süden die Höhenzüge der Witteberge, Groot Swartberge und die Groot Winterhoek die natürliche Begrenzung.

Südlich dieser Region schließt sich die Kleine Karoo an. Diese wird wiederum an ihrer südlichen Flanke von den küstennahen Langebergen und Outeniqua-Bergen begrenzt.

Anders als in dieser traditionellen Gliederung, wird die Karoo heute nach ökologischen Gesichtspunkten in einen östlichen Teil, die Nama-Karoo, und einen westlichen Teil, die Sukkulenten-Karoo, gegliedert, wobei auch die Gesamtausdehnung der Karoo nach diesem Konzept von jener der traditionellen Betrachtungsweise abweicht.

(Wikipedia)

Die Little Karoo (englisch, auf Afrikaans Klein Karoo) ist eine Region in der Western Cape Provinz in Südafrika.

Durch die Little Karoo zieht sich die Route 62.

Die Klein Karoo ist ein halbwüstenartiger Landstrich, der zwischen den Swartbergen im Norden und den Outeniqua-Bergen im Süden liegt. Die Gegend ist fruchtbar und nicht ganz so trocken wie die nördlich anschließende Große Karoo. Die Kleine Karoo ist bekannt für die Straußenzucht, allein in der Umgebung von Oudtshoorn gibt es angeblich über 400 Betriebe, landwirtschaftliche Nutztiere der Region sind auch Schafe und Angoraziegen.

Die Kleine Karoo ist das östlichste Weinbaugebiet Südafrikas. Muskatweine, Portweine und Desertweine gedeihen in dem recht trockenen Klima, ein Teil des Weines wird zu Brandy verarbeitet. Auch das hier angebaute Obst wird teilweise zu Schnaps verarbeitet, man bekommt aber auch überall recht preisgünstig getrocknete Früchte.

(wikivoyage.org)

Precisely one third of the 36 E400 hybrids at Stagecoach's Holbrook depot in Sheffield retain original green and white colours, meaning that they will presumably never receive standard beachball livery before being repainted into one of the 2020 colour schemes. YN62BCY (12163) is seen on Windmill Greenway in Mosborough whilst operating the 14:48 120 from Halfway cross-city to Ranmoor.

The Horsehead Nebula aswell as the Flame Nebula can be found in Orions belt, more precisely near the star Alnitak.

The Horsehead nebula is a darknebula, which you can only see, because its backlit by IC 434, a emissionnebula.

You can also see the Flamenebula (NGC 2024), its also an emission nebula. Both nebulae are star forming regions.

IC434 and NGC 2024 are about 1500 light years away.

Detail about equipment:

TS PHOTON 8" 1000mm f5

EQ6 PRO belt modded

ZWO ASI 1600MM PRO

ZWO ASI 120mini

ZWO EFW

Ts 80mm Guidescope 600mm

PegasusAstro Ultimate Powerbox V2

Bortle Class 3-4

Backyard in my own Observatory

Germany, Lower Bavaria

Image details:

250 x 3 minute lightframes

50x ZWO Luminance

50x ZWO Red

50x ZWO Green

50x ZWO Blue

50x ZWO Ha

Chandra's unique ability to precisely locate and resolve individual X-ray sources in 12 globular clusters in our Galaxy has given astronomers a crucial clue as to the origin of these sources. Two clusters, known as NGC 6266 (or M62) and NGC 7099 (or M30), are shown here in this 2003 image.

A globular cluster is a spherical collection of hundreds of thousands and even millions of stars buzzing around each other in a gravitationally bound stellar beehive that is about a hundred light years in diameter. The stars in a globular cluster are often only about a tenth of a light year apart. For comparison, the nearest star to the Sun, Proxima Centauri, is 4.2 light years away.

Most of the point-like sources in these images are binary star systems containing a collapsed star, such as a neutron star or a white dwarf star, that is pulling matter off a normal companion star. While direct, head-on collisions between stars are rare even in these crowded circumstances, close encounters occur and can lead to the formation of binary star systems containing a collapsed star.

The images illustrate a general trend observed for globular clusters. Clusters such as M62 where the stars are packed very closely together and the rate of close encounters is high have more X-ray binaries than those such as M30 in which close encounters occur less often. This is strong evidence that the X-ray binaries in globular clusters are formed by close encounters.

Image credit: NASA/CXC/MIT/D.Pooley et al.

#NASA #MarshallSpaceFlightCenter #MSFC #Marshall #chandraxrayobservatory #ChandraXRay #cxo #chandra #astronomy #space #astrophysics #nasamarshallspaceflightcenter #solarsystemandbeyond #globularcluster

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Schweiz / Wallis - Ober Gabelhorn (4,063 m), Wellenkuppe (3,898 m) und Zinalrothorn (4.221 m)

seen on the way from Grindjisee to Grünsee (Zermatt)

gesehen auf dem Weg vom Grindjisee zum Grünsee (Zermatt)

The Zinalrothorn (4,221 m) is a mountain in the Pennine Alps in Switzerland. Its name comes from the village of Zinal lying on the north side and from the German word Rothorn which means Red Peak. When it was first climbed in 1864 the mountain was known locally as Moming.

Geography

The Zinalrothorn is one of the high summits separating the Matter valley on the east and the Val d'Anniviers (or more precisely the Val de Zinal) on the west. The summit of the Weisshorn (4,505 m) is located 5 km to the north and the Dent Blanche 7 km to the west. At the western foot of the mountain lies the large Zinal Glacier and, on the northern side, the Moming Glacier. L'Epaule (the shoulder) is a minor summit lying at the base of the northern ridge.

The villages of Täsch and Zermatt are the closest while Zinal on the north-west is located further (9 km).

Climbing history

The first ascent was made on 22 August 1864 via the north ridge by Leslie Stephen and Florence Crauford Grove with guides Jakob Anderegg and Melchior Anderegg (AD). They left Zinal at 1 a.m. and ascended the Zinal Glacier. They reached the shoulder from the ridge connecting the Blanc de Moming at the base of the northern ridge at 9 a.m. The traverse of the ridge to the summit took them 2 hours, Stephen wrote later that it was 'the nastiest piece of climbing I have ever accomplished'.

The slightly less difficult normal route, the south-east ridge, was first climbed by the combined parties of Clinton Thomas Dent with guide Alexander Burgener, and George Augustus Passingham, with guides Ferdinand Imseng and Franz Andermatten on 5 September 1872.

The first winter and ski ascent was by Marcel Kurz and T. Theytaz on 7 February 1914.

In the 1880s Mrs Aubrey Le Blond, the first president of the Ladies' Alpine Club, left her detachable skirt by mistake up the Zinalrothorn. To preserve her modesty, she made the decision to climb the mountain a second time to retrieve it rather than return to Zermatt in trousers.

(Wikipedia)

The Ober Gabelhorn (4063 m) is a mountain in the Pennine Alps in Switzerland, located between Zermatt and Zinal.

Geography

The Ober Gabelhorn lies in the Swiss canton of Valais at the southern end of the Zinal valley (part of the Val d'Anniviers). It rises, together with the Dent Blanche (west) and the Zinalrothorn (north), above the Zinal Glacier. On the south side lies the Zmutt Glacier in the valley of Zmutt, which extends west of Zermatt.

The Ober Gabelhorn has a pyramidal shape, similar to the nearby Matterhorn but on a smaller scale. Only the smooth north face is completely glaciated, the other faces being mostly rocky. The south-west ridge is called the Arbengrat while the north-north-west ridge is the Arête du Coeur. The south-east ridge looking over the Ober Gabeljoch (3,597 m) is the Gabelhorngrat. The Wellenkuppe is a lower prominence on the north-east ridge; it is usually climbed as part of the normal route.

Huts serving the peak are the Rothorn Hut (3,198 m), the Grand Mountet Hut (2,886 m) and the Arben Bivouac (3,224 m).

Climbing history

The first ascent was by A. W. Moore, Horace Walker and Jakob Anderegg on 6 July 1865, via the east face.

The second ascent of the peak, and the first by the north-north-west ridge, was made one day later by Lord Francis Douglas, Peter Taugwalder and Joseph Vianin on 7 July 1865. At the time of their ascent they were not aware of Moore and party's success on the previous day.

Douglas and Taugwalder made several attempts before they reached the summit. P. Inäbnit accompanied them on the first attempt from the south-east ridge. They didn't have enough time to go higher than the base of the mountain. On the second attempt they reached the Wellenkuppe (3,900 m) on the north-east ridge (the normal route today) but they considered that the ridge above was too difficult to continue. They finally reached the summit on their third attempt (Inäbnit having been replaced by Viennin). They were disconcerted to see some footprints on the east face (made by Moore, Walker and Anderegg on the previous day), but were relieved that no traces were visible on the summit. Not aware of the dangers that might have made the previous expedition turn back, they sat down on the summit to have lunch. Suddenly an avalanche started and everything on the summit began to fall away from them. Douglas and Taugwalder were swept away, but they were roped to Viennin who was a little distance below the summit. Viennin was able to belay Taugwalder and Douglas with the rope, which didn't break. Francis Douglas returned to Zermatt, and was killed a week later on 14 July on the first ascent of the Matterhorn.

The Arbengrat was first climbed in 1874 by H. S. Hoare and E. Hulton with guides J. von Bergen, P. Rubi and J. Moser. The route on the Gabelhorngrat was opened three years later by J. Walker Hartley, W. E. Davidson, P. Rubi and J. Juan.

The north face, similar to but 'rather steeper' than the north-east face of the Lenzspitze, was first climbed on 30 July 1930 by H. Kiener and R. Schwarzgruber. They started from Zermatt at midnight and made a direct 2,000-metre ascent to the Triftjoch. They reached the base of the north face after having traversed the crevasses of the Ober Gabelhorn Glacier and successfully climbed it. This route was repeated only once until 1951.

Christian Klucker and L. Norman-Neruda made the first ascent of the east-north-east ridge on 1 August 1890. Nowadays most of the climbers use this route, starting at the Rothorn Hut (above Zermatt) and passing over the summit of the Wellenkuppe. The major obstacle, the Klucker tower, is equipped with ropes since 1918.

(Wikipedia)

The Wellenkuppe is a mountain of the Swiss Pennine Alps, located west of Zermatt in the canton of Valais. It lies on the range separating the Val d'Anniviers from the Mattertal, just east of the Ober Gabelhorn.

(Wikpedia)

Das Zinalrothorn ist ein 4221 m ü. M. hoher Berg bei Zermatt in den Walliser Alpen. Im Gegensatz zu vielen Gipfeln dieser Höhe handelt es sich beim Zinalrothorn um einen reinen Felsgipfel, mit drei Graten in festem Fels.

Den Namen hat es vom Ferienort Zinal im Val d’Anniviers, das sich in der Nähe befindet. Bis zum Aufkommen des Alpentourismus trug der Berg jedoch nach dem Mominggletscher, der an der Nordflanke seinen Anfang nimmt, den Namen Moming. Das Zinalrothorn befindet sich nur 4 km südlich des Weisshorns (4505 m ü. M.). Vom Gipfel hat man einen hervorragenden Blick auf das Matterhorn und das Monte-Rosa-Massiv.

Die Erstbesteigung erfolgte durch Leslie Stephen und Florence Crauford Grove mit den Führern Melchior und Jakob Anderegg aus Zinal über den Nordgrat (ZS, III) am 22. August 1864.

Die drei Grate bieten Anstiege im mittleren Schwierigkeitsbereich. Neben dem Weg der Erstersteiger über den Nordgrat gibt es noch den etwas weniger anspruchsvollen Südostgrat (ZS, III (Stellen), sonst II und I) und den Rothorngrat (ZS+, Südwestgrat, IV (kurze Stelle), III+), einer der schönsten Felsanstiege in der Gegend von Zermatt. Ausgangspunkt für den Südostgrat ist die Rothornhütte auf einer Höhe von 3198 m ü. M., für den Nordgrat die Mountethütte auf 2886 m ü. M. Der Südwestgrat kann von der Rothorn- oder der Mountethütte erreicht werden.

(Wikipedia)

Das Ober Gabelhorn (oft auch Obergabelhorn, jedoch nicht Gabelhorn) ist ein Viertausender in den Walliser Alpen.

Ausgangsorte für eine Besteigung sind Zermatt über das Mattertal oder Zinal über das Val d’Anniviers.

Besteigungsgeschichte

Die Erstbesteigung wurde am 6. Juli 1865 durch Adolphus Warburton Moore, Horace Walker und Jakob Anderegg unternommen. Schon am nächsten Tag folgten die Verlierer beim Rennen um den Gipfel, Francis Douglas, Peter Taugwalder und Joseph Viennin bei ihrem dritten Anlauf. Francis Douglas kam eine Woche später bei der Erstbesteigung des Matterhorns ums Leben.

Der Normalweg führt von der Rothornhütte (3198 m) über den Triftgletscher zur Schulter der Wellenkuppe (3898 m), über diese in leichter Kletterei (III-) hinweg und den ausgeprägten Ostnordostgrat folgend über den grossen Gendarm (Kluckerturm, Fixseile) zum Gipfel. Es handelt sich um eine kombinierte Hochtour (III+, Eis bis 50°, ZS / AD). Weitere interessante Anstiege sind der Arbengrat (Westsüdwestgrat, III+, ZS / AD) und die stark vergletscherte, selten begangene Nordwand (Eis 55°, S / D).

(Wikipedia)

Die Wellenkuppe ist ein 3898 m ü. M. hoher Berg im Kanton Wallis, Schweiz. Er liegt nordöstlich des Ober Gabelhorns und südlich des Zinalrothorns auf dem Grat, welcher das Mattertal vom Val d’Anniviers trennt.

(Wikipedia)