White birch in late Autumn

This is taken from the top of a fire tower about 30 feet high which stands on a mountaintop or more precisely a kame. (A kame is a conical hill that was formed when streams on top of a glacier deposited sand and gravel into a crevasse). This viewpoint looks down onto treetops.

I guess it is hard to mess up ICM that is intentional camera movement because it is hard to make rules when most is left to chance ;-)

My photography is now available for purchase on my store site at the link attached. If anyone is interested in anything and they don't see it on my site, please contact me here or on my store website email service and I can add it to my store. Thank you for looking!

fineartamerica.com/profiles/linda-rasch

© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

©Skyelyte Photography™ Copyright, All Rights Reserved

None of my images may be downloaded, copied, reproduced, manipulated or used on websites, blogs or other media or used in any way without my express written permission.

More precisely, as I see this season staying home

Tanjung Mangsit - Mangsit Point or Bluff - is supported by huge rocks and boulders. You can climb either down to those rocks or up to the Tanjung from there (as I've often described, dear Flickrites, in my photos). Great place...

Today has been rather glum and just not raining; So a good time to look for Moths. Here's a Geometrid Moth - I think, but someone may identify it more precisely, I hope. It might be thought the name 'Geometrid' refers to its markings, but that's wrong. Geometrid come from Greek words that mean something like measuring the earh. That name is used because its caterpillars 'inch' forward, as if it were taking measure of the way to go.

Quote Douglas Adams: "I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." it was precisely that quote that sprang to my mind when we past numerous tunnels in great Fittipaldian manner while going from one Lofoten island to the other :D

"Ogni strada seguita precisamente fino alla sua fine non porta proprio in nessun luogo. Scala una montagna solo un poco, per verificare che sia una montagna. Dalla cima di una montagna non puoi vedere che si tratta di una montagna."

"Every road followed precisely until its end does not lead anywhere. Climb a mountain just a little, to make sure it's a mountain. From the top of a mountain you cannot see that it is a mountain."

Frank Herbert

The confusion of all nonhuman living creatures within the general and common category of the animal is not simply a sin against rigorous thinking, vigilance, lucidity, or empirical authority; it is also a crime. Not against animality precisely, but a crime of the first order against the animals, against animals.

Jacques Derrida

Kovero Crown Tenant Farm

Kovero Crown Tenant Farm is a valuable cultural environment with protected buildings.

The estate consists of old and in parts original structures including the farmhouse, a bakery as well as shelters for horses and grain. Construction of the magnificent main house began in 1881.

Kovero is part of Seitseminen National Park's cultural landscape area and farm has been restored as precisely as possible to resemble those from the era of horse agriculture, meaning 1927-1941. Much of the farm's restoration work and other daily tasks have been realised by volunteers from the community.

Kovero Crown Tenant Farm features everyday life at a farm during the beginning of the 1900s in the Seitseminen backwoods area. At Kovero farm the traditional cultural landscape is maintained through old farming methods.

During the summer, guests are welcome to follow the daily chores of the house and take part in events and work demonstrations. Visiting the farm is free-of-charge.

In winter, the place can be viewed from the garden, through which runs a cross-country skiing trail.

Seitseminen National Park's is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Pirkanmaa Region.

Koveron kruununmetsätorppa

Koveron kruununmetsätorppa on arvokas kulttuuriympäristö suojeltuine rakennuksineen.

Kartano koostuu vanhoista ja osittain alkuperäisistä rakennuksista, mukaan lukien maalaistalon päärakennus, leipomo sekä hevostalli ja vilja-aitta. Upean päärakennuksen rakentaminen aloitettiin vuonna 1881.

Kovero on osa Seitsemisen kansallispuiston kulttuurimaisema-aluetta ja sitä on entisöity mahdollisimman tarkoin vastaamaan perinteisen hevosmaatalouden aikaa eli noin vuosia 1927 - 1941. Entisöinti- ja muita tilan töitä on toteutettu paljon talkootyönä.

Koveron kruununmetsätorppa esittelee viime vuosisadan alun elämänmenoa Seitsemisen saloseudulla. Koverossa vaalitaan perinteistä kulttuurimaisemaa vanhan ajan menetelmin.

Kesäaikaan vieraat ovat tervetulleita seuraamaan talon arkiaskareita sekä osallistumaan tapahtumiin ja työnäytöksiin. Kohteeseen on vapaa pääsy. Talvisin paikkaa voi katsella pihalta, jonka läpi kulkee hiihtoreitti.

Seitsemisen kansallispuisto sijaitsee Ylöjärven ja Ikaalisten kaupunkien alueella Pirkanmaan maakunnassa.

Hidden Layer of Reality “in the city space that watches”

In a world that appears ordinary, there exists a layer you cannot see unless you stop.

It is a space where as Orwell wrote, and unfortunately he was right

“nothing is your own except the few cubic centimetres inside your skull.”

And it is precisely there that the real struggle for freedom begins.

This is the space of the city that watches, that observes not only through cameras (though those as well), but through rhythm, geometry, repetition.

Control no longer needs eyes ... our everyday life is enough.

In the ordinary, daily spaces we pass without reflection, there is a layer invisible at first glance.A quiet geometry of modernity: lines, reflections, rhythms that organise movement and thoughts before we even name them.

This is not an image of the future. This is a portrait of a world that has already happened.

This project is my manifesto about freedom ... , the kind we are losing irreversibly.

After reading the book (for the second time), I decided to set out on a photographic journey with this project,

creating an atmosphere of suspension, as if reality held its breath for a moment,

allowing us to see what is usually hidden:subtle surveillance, invisible presence, the delicate tension between freedom and observation....

it was precisely a raining day when I toke it.

He had purchased that rowing boat precisely for this occasion. He knew she'd go right for it and pull him close. He had fantasised this moment so clearly: she would hold him gently, whisper and bare her soul. Never had she'd been more attractive than in those simple slacks and jumper, and never had he more desired to feel her smile. He listened quietly, enjoying the Linden breeze on his face and hearing the pixel waves break on the shore. He wondered about cicadas singing in September and if that long grass might itch her skin. They were there together, unravelling the threads of their fleshless lives, leaning on that boat that does not exist, enjoying the evening light on a late morning. See, it's all there, in this picture! The pure magic of a second life chat.

Il s'était procuré cette barque juste pour cette occasion-là. Il savait qu'elle s'y assiérait immédiatement et qu'elle lui ferait une petite place. Il avait rêvé de ce moment tellement souvent, où elle le frôlerait tendrement et lui dévoilerait son âme en murmurant. Elle n'avait jamais été aussi envoutante et il voulait tant voir son sourire. Il écoutait silencieusement, sentant la brise des Linden sur ses joues, dans le clapotis d'une mer de pixels lapant les rochers. Il se demandait s'il était normal que les cigales chantent en septembre et si ces herbes hautes la piqueraient. Ils étaient là ensemble, démêlant avec précaution les écheveaux de leurs vies sans chair, appuyés contre cette barque qui n'existe pas, baignant dans une étrange lumière lunaire tard le matin. Fantasmée, cette conversation? Voyez, la photo montre tout!

A Studios Claris production. Check album here: flic.kr/s/aHsmVxZ9mw

The Monostor Fortress - the largest modern fortress in Central Europe - was built between 1850 and 1871. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the neoclassical military monument is a fascinating sight with its huge walls of precisely hewn stone, the 3-4 metre thick earthen ramparts covering the defences and its network of underground passages (kazamata) several kilometres long.

Its monumental dimensions are evidenced by the following figures: The fortress covers 25 hectares, the total area including the firing ranges is 70 hectares, the floor area of the buildings is 25 680 m2 and the number of rooms is 640.

After the fortress was built, it served generations of soldiers of the Hungarian Defence Forces. Its tasks included the defence of the central fortress (North - Komárom) and the control of shipping on the Danube. It was never used in combat and served mainly as a training centre and weapons depot. During the First World War it was used as a conscription and training centre. During the Second World War, the 22nd Infantry Regiment had its headquarters at Fort Monostor, and the soldiers of the 1st and 2nd Infantry Regiments were stationed there. After the Second World War.

Between 1945 and 1990, the Red Army's Army Group South set up the largest ammunition depot in Central Europe in the fort. With their withdrawal, the military function of the fortress ended forever.

Today the fort is a popular destination with a military history exhibition, Cold War vehicles, a bread museum, a boat exhibition and numerous events.

www.iranykomarom.hu/en/fort-monostor-en

Roadside Guatemala, 2012.

“It was said by Epicurus, and he was probably right, that all philosophy takes its origin from philosophical wonder. The man who has never at any time felt consciously struck by the extreme strangeness and oddity of the situation in which we are involved, we know not how, is a man with no affinity for philosophy - and has, by the way, little cause to worry. The unphilosophical and philosophical attitudes can be very sharply distinguished (with scarcely any intermediate forms) by the fact that the first accepts everything that happens as regards its general form, and finds occasion for surprise only in that special content by which something that happens here today differs from what happened there yesterday; whereas for the second, it is precisely the common features of all experience, such as characterise everything we encounter, which are the primary and most profound occasion for astonishment; indeed, one might almost say that it is the fact that anything is experienced and encounter at all.”

― Erwin Schrödinger, My View of the World

Circling the base of the colossal Cerro Paine Grande (3,050 meters / 10,006 feet), Patagonia's undisputed king, a hollowness gnawed at me. The iconic, two-pronged silhouette of Cerros Norte (2,400 meters / 7,874 feet) and Principal (2,600 meters / 8,530 feet) loomed in the distance, a stark contrast to the desolate landscape around me.

This was supposed to be a postcard moment – the majestic Cerro Paine Grande reflected in the serenity of Sköttsberg Lagoon, a place I'd left you yearning to see. Yet, the reality was a crushing blow.

My shame was a heavy weight. For three days on the W Trail, I'd been a silent witness to a heartbreaking crime – the park ablaze. Photos captured the devastation, but shame kept them buried. The park's rules are clear, yet respect for this natural treasure seemed tragically absent.

The fires weren't a recent tragedy. In 1985, a tourist's carelessness ignited a blaze that devoured 150 square kilometers (58 square miles) around Lake Pehoé, precisely where I stood – that's an area roughly 93 miles (150 kilometers) long and 36 miles (58 kilometers) wide. Years later, another fire, sparked by a Czech backpacker, raged for ten days, scorching 155 square kilometers (60 square miles) and swallowing 2 square kilometers (0.77 square miles) of native forest – that's an area of about 96 miles (155 kilometers) long and 37 miles (60 kilometers) wide, consuming an additional 1.2 miles (2 kilometers) of precious forest. The Czech government's remorseful million-dollar donation for reforestation offered a glimmer of hope.

Then came 2011, with an Israeli backpacker accused of starting a fire. Though charges were dropped, the flames consumed 176 square kilometers (68 square miles), charring 36 square kilometers (14 square miles) of precious forest. Lake Pehoé and areas bordering Lake Sarmiento bore the brunt of this devastation – an area roughly 108 miles (176 kilometers) long and 42 miles (68 kilometers) wide, blackening 22 miles (36 kilometers) of forest.

A flicker of relief came in 2019 when a cigarette butt, a potential disaster, was quickly extinguished. But these recent events were mere blips compared to the 12,800-year history of wildfires in the region, a chilling reminder of nature's raw power.

Yet, amidst the scars, the indomitable spirit of Patagonia lingered. The Italian Trail stretched before me, leading 7.6 kilometers (4.7 miles) to Refugio & Camping Paine Grande, my destination for the night. The remaining 23 kilometers (14 miles) of the W Trail beckoned, but a heavy heart would accompany my weary legs.

(Merops apiaster)

Constância

Portugal

My great friend and excellent photographer, Amaro Carvalho, took some magnificent photos of this species at the beginning of this season and kindly, as always, shared the location with me. Not only did he precisely indicate the location down to the meter, but he also gave me all the tips on where to set up the hide and perches.

With such detailed information, we couldn't go wrong, but, nevertheless, since the location was about 230 km from our home, and in this kind of hide photography, it's crucial to set up the hide very early, we didn't want to take any chances. So, we went there the day before to confirm onsite everything Amaro had told us.

Once we arrived, it was very easy to find the perfect spot for the hide and the perches. The number of birds seemed to be smaller than expected, but still, there were about two dozen of them. After setting up the perch in the right place to have a clean and pleasant natural background, they didn't take long to choose it. However, as the sun, in late afternoon, was obviously on opposite direction, we didn't set up the hide. We just observed them and watched their behavior, which was fantastic. At one point, there were even four in a row on the preferred perch! We could already imagine the fantastic photos we would get the next day with the right and soft morning light.

The following day, around 6:20 AM, with the sun already up, but still early enough for the bee-eaters to be active, we were there setting up the hide. The three of us sat inside and waited, patiently, for two hours. The sunlight was perfect, and the trees in the background provided a beautiful natural colours to create perfect backgrounds. However, the birds seemed reluctant to wake up. It could have been due to the strong gusts of wind that day, but they were there, and they would have to start hunting when the right moment came!

So, it was with no rush that, when this "friend" perched in front of us, I started photographing it. I took a single burst of 9 shots, but perhaps it heard the noise of the cameras, so she/he flew away. But we knew she/he and its friends would come back, so we waited for one more hour. Unfortunately, no more of them perched.

I don't know what we did wrong! It wasn't our first experience photographing bee-eaters and/or using a hide; on the contrary, we had plenty of experience. But without these 9 photos, it would have been a complete failure!

==================***==================

All my photos are now organized into sets by the country where they were taken, by taxonomic order, by family, by species (often with just one photo for the rarer ones), and by the date they were taken.

So, you may find:

- All the photos for this order CORACIIFORMES (240)

- All the photos for this family Meropidae // Meropídeos (87)

- All the photos for this species Merops apiaster (44)

- All the photos taken this day 2023/05/18 (1)

==================***==================

The mottled plumage on this bird indicate immaturity. From the white-flecked dark juveniles to adulthood takes 5 years but there is much individual variation on the amount of white plumaged attained and as far as I can make out, birds in the above plumage cannot be aged more precisely thank "immature". I have noticed this year that there are quite a lot of immatures about in the Forth. With the decimation last year from HPAI on the Bass Rock colony it will be interesting to find out if any of these younger birds were catapulted into the breeding population before they are fully adult. On what is known, this bird may be in its third calendar year

Nice photo op on female ruby-throated hummingbird @ Longfellow Gardens ~ Minneapolis, Minnesota.

I've posted photos of Asparagus flowers - Asparagus officinalis -

and Triangle Hoverfly - Melanostoma mellinum - here before and even of Marmalade Hoverfly - Episyrphus balteatus - feeding on Asparagus pollen. But this time my subject is neither the pretty, petite flower nor the tongueing insect. Olymp expertly focused on that little green globe just under Insect's forewing.

That small, wonderfully green appendage - there's one on either side of Hoverfly - is called a haltere (plural: halteres). Entomologists are today not yet entirely sure of their working except to say that they intricately play an important part in stabilising Fly flight.

The first naturalist to draw attention to these halteres was one William Derham (1657-1735). Derham was an English clergyman, naturalist and scientist, and he sought to combine all of that in an as-it-were cosmological theology, in which the Book of Nature played as important a part as the Book of Revelation in the demonstration of a Creator. He writes about halteres in his Physico-theology: or, a Demonstration of the Being and Attributes of God from his Works of Creation, being the Substance of Sixteen Sermons delivered in 1711-1712, p. 316. There he waxes precisely eloquent on his observation of what he calls 'poises' or 'pointells', without which - yes! he experimented insecto-surgically - diptera such as hoverflies can't fly. Obviously for him this, too, demonstrates the God of Nature's precise engineering.

Paris, France

Precious vestige of the royal palace of the CityThe Sainte-Chapelle was built in the middle of the 13th century by Louis IX, future Saint Louis, to house the most prestigious relic of the Passion of Christ: the Crown of Thorns and a fragment of the True Cross.

Built in less than 7 years, a record time, the Sainte-Chapelle was conceived as a piece of goldsmith's art, whose walls of light exalt the Capetian monarchy and the kingdom of France.

Damaged during the Revolution, the former palatine chapel became a laboratory for the restoration of historical monuments in the 19th century. Divided into 15 stained glass bays of 15m height, the 1113 stained glass panels of the windows relate scenes of the Old and New Testament and tell the history of the world, according to the Bible, until the arrival of the relics in Paris in the 13th century.

Key historical figure, Louis IX, known as "the Prudhomme" and more commonly called Saint Louis was a Capetian king of France born on 25th April 1214 in Poissy and died on 25th August 1270 in Carthage, near Tunis. He reigned for over 43 years, from 1226 until his death.

Louis IX was considered a saint during his lifetime and was canonized by the Catholic Church in 1297.

He inherited the crown upon the death of his father, King Louis VIII, when he was only twelve years old. It is Blanche of Castile, his mother, from whom he receives a strict and pious education, who ensures the regency until his majority.

If we do not know precisely the master builder of the Sainte-Chapelle, there is no doubt that its patron, Saint Louis, played a considerable role in the conception of this building, conceived as a giant reliquary exalting the relics of the Passion and the political power of the monarch.

In medieval times, Christian fervor attributed great value to relics, whose possession conferred considerable prestige.

In 1239, after two years of negotiation, Louis IX acquired the Crown of Thorns from Beaudouin II of Courtenay, Latin emperor of Byzantium.

Other relics (22 in total, including a fragment of the True Cross) were acquired in 1241, and Louis IX decided to build a monument worthy of this treasure.

With this extraordinary acquisition, 135,000 livres tournois, or half the annual income of the kingdom, Saint Louis expressed his piety, but also increased the prestige of France.

Paris became, in the eyes of medieval Europe, a "new Jerusalem", and thus the beacon of Western Christianity.

www.sainte-chapelle.fr/en/discover/history-of-the-sainte-...

Almost precisely..

ROARING ON OUR WAY home from the airport, bending together with the shore curves along the coast, our trusty 1991 Passat young-timer broke half way – precisely at this spot. It would not be so strange if almost 24 years ago my family life hadn’t stranded too on this very spot (see the roof closest to the bottom). I had still tried to repair it during the next 7 years (the family life, not the roof). All in vain. Some people simply don’t care about other people.

Thinking back, I realize that some early signals and signs people hand you out are strong enough to tell the whole story – if you are discerning enough. I also realized long ago that the natural beauty of a place has nothing to do with the quality of inner life people lead all over the world, and the relationships they live in. In fact, those things often stand in sharp contrast with each other.

Protea is a genus of South African flowering plants, also called sugarbushes . It is the type genus of the Proteaceae family.

In Vienna's main shopping street, Innere Mariahilferstraße

The young woman played a masterpiece of the young Beethoven, the piano sonata No. 8 in C minor op. 13, called Grande Sonate Pathétique, more precisely the first movement (Grave/Allegro di molto e con brio). Beethoven composed this sonata, when he was 27 years old.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=79gzdskOGu4

The piano was provided by the social music school DoReMi. They "place freely accessible pianos in public spaces. Everyone can play." openpianoforrefugees.com/?lang=en

They "offer music classes in pair lessons for refugees and socially disadvantaged people paired up with people being socioeconomically more fortunate and mostly German-speaking. Sustainable integration and appreciation of cultural diversity are promoted through an innovative “Pay as much as you can” concept while enjoying music classes together..." openpianoforrefugees.com/about-us/?lang=en/#concept

The Monostor Fortress - the largest modern fortress in Central Europe - was built between 1850 and 1871. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the neoclassical military monument is a fascinating sight with its huge walls of precisely hewn stone, the 3-4 metre thick earthen ramparts covering the defences and its network of underground passages (kazamata) several kilometres long.

Its monumental dimensions are evidenced by the following figures: The fortress covers 25 hectares, the total area including the firing ranges is 70 hectares, the floor area of the buildings is 25 680 m2 and the number of rooms is 640.

After the fortress was built, it served generations of soldiers of the Hungarian Defence Forces. Its tasks included the defence of the central fortress (North - Komárom) and the control of shipping on the Danube. It was never used in combat and served mainly as a training centre and weapons depot. During the First World War it was used as a conscription and training centre. During the Second World War, the 22nd Infantry Regiment had its headquarters at Fort Monostor, and the soldiers of the 1st and 2nd Infantry Regiments were stationed there. After the Second World War.

Between 1945 and 1990, the Red Army's Army Group South set up the largest ammunition depot in Central Europe in the fort. With their withdrawal, the military function of the fortress ended forever.

Today the fort is a popular destination with a military history exhibition, Cold War vehicles, a bread museum, a boat exhibition and numerous events.

www.iranykomarom.hu/en/fort-monostor-en

This mission church can't be dated precisely but is generally considered the oldest non–Native American religious space in Colorado still in use. It was probably built around 1868. Services are still held occasionally.

El Rio Tinto recibe su nombre por el color rojo intenso de sus aguas y recorre 100 km atravesando la provincia de Huelva (Andalucía, Sur de España).

El color rojo es debido a la presencia de cationes de metales pesados erosionados por causa de la acidez de las aguas (ph tamponado de 2.4, muy ácido). La abundancia de minerales de Pirita y Calcopirita (sulfuros de hierro y cobre) y la presencia de unas extrañas bacterias acidófilas que oxidan estos minerales, generan el ácido sulfúrico que a la postre re-alimenta el proceso de lixiviado de los metales.

En el agua del rio sobreviven bacterias, microorganismos y vida en condiciones extremas, la NASA lo está estudiando y ha descrito recientemente este microsistema como el más parecido a Marte que podemos encontrar en la Tierra.

Los minerales de cobre, hierro, manganeso, …, se extraen en las explotaciones mineras de Rio Tinto desde hace 5000 años por íberos, fenicios, romanos y musulmanes, y ha sido explotada durante los dos últimos siglos por la compañía británica Rio Tinto Company Limited.

En el pequeño pueblo de Rio Tinto se pueden encontrar casas Victorianas, precisamente en los barrios que habitaron los Ingleses durante ese tiempo.

Para la visita y el recorrido del cauce del rio puedes contar con Fieldwork Riotinto (rio y minas) .

In my por English:

Rio Tinto is named for the deep red color of its waters and travels 100 km through the province of Huelva (Andalucía, southern Spain).

The red color is due to the presence of heavy metal cations eroded because the acidity of the water (pH 2.4 buffered, strongly acidic). The abundance of minerals Pyrite and Chalcopyrite (copper and iron sulfides) and the presence of strange acidophilus bacteria that oxidize these minerals, generate the sulfuric acid media that eventually re-feeds the process of leaching of metals.

In the river water surviving bacteria, microorganisms and life in extreme conditions, NASA is studying this media and has recently described this microsystem as the closest thing to Mars on Earth can find.

Copper, iron, manganese, ..., are extracted in the mines of Rio Tinto for 5000 years by Iberians, Phoenicians, Romans and Muslims, and has been exploited for the last two centuries by the British company Rio Tinto Company Limited .

In the small town of Rio Tinto Victorian houses can be found precisely in neighborhoods inhabited by the English people during that time.

To visit and travel the river bed you can count on Fieldwork Riotinto (rio and mines visits).

The history of Le Castella and long and follows more or less the same events of the surrounding territories. For His landscapes That aroused admiration among the ancient travelers, Le Castella was subject of many legends and even, according to some scholars, the Calypso Island described by Homer in the Odyssey USA, would have to be placed precisely in the Village Proximity it is part of the mythological three Headlands "Japigi", Capo Rizzuto identification tags, Cimiti Head and Le Castella, so called from the presence of the legendary Japyx, the son of Daedalus, one of the more talented artists of ancient Greece. In fact, According to report SOME ancient literary evidence (Herodotus, Strabo, etc.), or Japyx Japige Escape from Crete following his father in Shipping A in Sicily; but during the return, I DID A violent storm wrecked at the coasts of modern Calabria, and the town was given the name "Japigia Earth".

Le Castella would first be born a Roman colony (but the remains of a Greek wall in the back of the Fortress may deny it, Advancing hypothesis of an ancient phrourion). A pact between Rome and Taranto military truce, Stabili That was Established A Roman colony of settlers 3000, Castra call (or Castrum) surveillance of each other's ships, if EITHER cities exceeded the minimum By Which dove Surfing, then the truce it would have vanished. SOME legends tell of coming Hannibal refuge under SOME rocks of the cliff and from there I run From the Romans, during the era of the Punic Wars.

Just a bee eating my flowers. Well it should be more precisely a flower fly or hover fly.

An insect of the family Syrphidae that imitates the colours of the bee.

Two budgies sit close together on an old tree trunk—a quiet moment full of warmth. For me, these little birds bring back memories: I had one myself as a child, and later my son did too. Perhaps that is precisely why this sight moves me so deeply—lovable companions whose soft chirping evokes a piece of family history.

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

Farben meiner Kindheit

Zwei Wellensittiche sitzen eng beieinander auf einem alten Baumstamm – ein stiller Moment voller Wärme. Für mich tragen diese kleinen Vögel Erinnerungen: Als Kind hatte ich selbst einen, später auch mein Sohn. Vielleicht berührt mich gerade deshalb dieser Anblick so sehr – liebenswerte Gefährten, die mit ihrem leisen Zwitschern ein Stück Familiengeschichte wachrufen.

26-September-2019: in the notes what you could see.

The northern Adriatic section in this photo is called, precisely, Kvarnerić (little Kvarner/Quarnerolo in Italian) and is part of the Mountain-Coastal Region (Primorsko-Goranska Županija) of Rijeka, that is the main Center of the Croatian North/West.

As many as 4 inhabited islands, among which the largest in the Adriatic (Cres) bathe part of their coasts in this sea-lake, while numerous uninhabited islands, of various dimensions, are visited by a (left) couple of specimens of monk Seal, the only ones of North Adriatic, among the 3-400 that still inhabit the Mediterranean, especially between southern Croatia, Montenegro and the Aegean Sea.

About twenty-five years ago 4 specimens of Eurasian brown Bear, swimming across the narrow northern part of the Novi Vinodolski and Velebit channel (Vinodolski-Velebitski Kanal), reached the island of Krk, probably attracted by the smell of many sheep bred on the island, some become wild, and driven by the overpopulation of brown Bears of the neighboring Gorski Kotar, the mountainous part of the Kvarner Region (Quarnero in Italian).

This is the nickname of this beautiful mountain in Piedmont, Monviso (mt 3841), from which Italy's longest river rises. I had tried to photograph it twice last July, but the humidity of the hottest alpine summer kept it hidden. After a long chase, the longed-for day arrived.

Years ago, newspapers had a slogan ‘slam the monster on the front page’ putting sad news had a certain effect.

Now that we are asphyxiated by only bad news, the slogan must become this " Put beauty on the front page! "

We use Flickr precisely for this.

Have a good week everyone.

Il Re di Pietra

Questo il soprannome di questa bellissima montagna in Piemonte, il Monviso (mt 3841) da cui sorge il fiume più lungo d'Italia, il Po. Avevo tentato di fotografarlo due volte nelle scorso di mese di luglio, dal bellissimo balcone naturale offerta dalle altura e colli sopra Ostana, ma l'umidità della estate alpina più torrida lo teneva nascosto con nuvole dispettose, una perfino assumendo la forma di montagna.

Eccole !

Dopo una paziente attesa è arrivato il giorno tanto desiderato. Di ritorno dalla VDA, sono salito ad Ostana (CN) per un paio di giorni. Ero rimasto fulminato da una bellissima puntata de "Il Provinciale" di Federico Quaranta, dedicata proprio al Re di Pietra; la trovate ancora su Raiplay. Ne è valsa la pena !

Raccomandazione ovvia, meglio andarci tra lunedì e venerdì, perchè le strade son strette ma i costruttori continuano a sfornare auto gigantesche più simili a furgoni !

Buona settimana a tutti.

Enlarged view

All rights reserved © Nick Outdoor Photography

IN ENGLISH BELOW THE LINE

La primera excursió per "caçar" aurores del 2025 (la tercera en total per a mí) fou llarga i gairebé fallida. Però al final la aurora va recompensar l'esforç.

Tot i que entorn la posta de sol (a quarts de dues de la tarda!) el cel semblava parcialment serè, aviat es va anar tapant completament tot al entorn de Tromsø. Per això el nostre guia Vidar ens va recollir a quarts de 6 per a fer molts quilometres en una excursió nocturna i gelada per les carreteres norueges. La primera parada fou més d'una hora després, en una benzinera de Nordkjosbotn.

Allà va recollir informació per al seguent tram de la ruta, en busca d'una zona sense nuvols. Ens dirigirem vers el nord-est, cap al interior, buscant posar muntanyes (els Alps de Lyngen) entre nosaltres i les nuvolades que venien de l'oceà. Després d'una parada a Hatteng per a posar-nos més capes de roba per al fred intens, ens endinsarem a la vall de Skibotn, famosa precisament pels seus cels clars. Varem parar entorn Bulldosarveien i Lulledalen, però res. Teniem estrelles i el cel serè, però encara no es veien aurores. Varem fer un darrer tram (ja a més de 2 hores / 150 km. de distancia de Tromsø), com a darrera oportunitat, fins un punt molt proxim a la frontera amb Finlandia. I allà, per fi, es veia la aurora!

Molt fina al començament, lentament es va anar animant moderadament. L'entorn era ple bosc sub-artic de Laponia, prop del llac Gálggojávri. Allà varem fer una petita foguera per escalfar-nos i menjar sopa calenta.

Imatges d'un petit però concentrat viatge per Tromsø i el seu entorn gelat, el novembre de 2025.

================================

The first aurora "hunting" excursion of 2025 (the third in total for me) was long and almost a failure. But in the end the aurora rewarded the effort.

Although around sunset (at 1:30 pm!) the sky seemed partially serene, it soon completely covered all around Tromsø. That's why our guide Vidar picked us up at 5:30 pm to do many kilometers on a night and icy excursion along the Norwegian roads. The first stop was more than an hour later, at a gas station in Nordkjosbotn.

There he collected information for the next section of the route, in search of a cloudless area. We will head northeast, inland, looking for mountains (the Lyngen Alps) between us and the clouds coming from the ocean. After a stop in Hatteng to put on more layers of clothing for the intense cold, we entered the Skibotn valley, famous precisely for its clear skies. We stopped around Bulldosarveien and Lulledalen, but nothing. We had stars and the sky was clear, but still no auroras were visible. We did one last stretch (already more than 2 hours / 150 km. away from Tromsø), as a last chance. When we finally stopped a short distance from the Finland border, we finally saw the Northern Lights!

Modest at first, they slowly gained momentum. We where in the middle of the Lappland forest, by the lake Gálggojávri. There we lit a little campfire to eat some hot soup.

Images of a short but intense trip to Tromsø and it's frozen surroundings, in november 2025.

Taj Mahal, Agra, India, 2018.

Inspired by my brother's great blog article on reductionist bnw photography. You may read it here.

“The state of man's mind, or the elementary phase of mind which he so far possesses, conforms precisely to the state of the world as he so far views it” ― Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

The Sesto Sundial is an imposing natural monument: it is made up of five peaks which are all located in the municipality of Sesto and ... They tell the hour! It is a real natural clock and the course of the sun gives its name to the mountains on which it falls at the exact time: Top Nine, Top Ten, Top Eleven, Top twelve and Top One.

The Temple of Artemis or Artemision , also known less precisely as the Temple of Diana, was a Greek temple dedicated to the goddess Artemis and is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It was located in Ephesus and was completely rebuilt three times before its eventual destruction . Only foundations and sculptural fragments of the latest of the temples at the site remain.turkey june 2015

This female caught three voles in a row, it might look a bit discusting if you look closely but i was amazed how precisely it removed the guts while feeding, Bavaria, Germany

Pour un court séjour à Sète. Plus exactement Frontignan La Peyrade où nous avons la chance de posséder une baraquete sur le canal Rhône Sète donnant sur l'étang de Tau. Non loin se trouve les cuves alimentés par les raffineries. Un univers magique que j'ai traité un peu "Drama" cette fois.

Suivront les maisons face à la plage de Frontignan. Encore un monde de baraque fait de bric et de broc mais avec un charme populaire qui éloigne un tourisme BoBo. Puis quelques images de Sète.

Le tout traité dans un monochrome loin de mes traitements colorés de Sète comprenant 60 albums déjà ...

www.flickr.com/photos/patpardon/collections/7215762742003...

...

For a short stay in Sete. More precisely Frontignan La Peyrade where we have the chance to own a baraquete on the Rhone Sete canal overlooking the pond Tau. Not far away is the tanks supplied by refineries. A magical world that I treated a little "Drama" this time.

Follow the houses facing the beach Frontignan. Another World booth did bits and pieces but with a charm that repels a popular tourist BoBo. Then some pictures of Sète.

All treated in a monochrome color away from my treatments Sète with 60 albums already ...

www.flickr.com/photos/patpardon/collections/7215762742003...

I returned to this location last week, and conditions have changed. The ice edge seen here has expanded, pushing out of the shadow of the tall riverbank behind me. Consequently, the cool-warm contrast that I've been playing with is no longer present. There was still some open water, but not much. I think this amazing combination of colours and shapes is gone until next winter.

But that's why we do it, don't you think? Being a nature photographer is to recognize the temporal beauty of all things wild and cyclical, and to feel a compulsion to capture some of the essence even as it fades or makes the transition into something else. And to understand that every moment is unique. The clouds above that peak will never again look precisely like this; the combination of lines, shapes, and textures in front of my lens right now will never be repeated, no matter how long the future stretches out for our species. It's the same with human faces, with fingerprints.

And yet, even as the ice melts away - or in this case, expands until the river fully freezes over - I experience a sort of speechless wonder when I'm out there, especially when I'm alone, as if I have entered a zone of timelessness. This seems to happen most often when I'm shooting macro. Somehow, the viewfinder image becomes the world. After twenty minutes or so of intense concentration, I may look up and feel astonished, because I've lost track of the larger world and where I am in it - in this instance, lying flat on the ice with my tripod, a few inches from the edge of a rushing river. It's almost an out-of-body experience. It's when I feel most alive.

Photographed in Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2021 James R. Page - all rights reserved.

Schon eine Weile rätsele ich, weshalb die evb eine ihrer Loks "Kratos" nennen. Bei Wikipedia wurde ich schlau gemacht: Kratos ist in der griechischen Mythologie die Personifikation der Macht und rohen Gewalt, ein Sohn des Pallas und der Styx. Hm, na ja, Geschmackssache. Hier entflieht Kratos alias 2159 229 der Unterwelt, und zwar der des Ebertsbergs bei Schlüchtern-Elm.

For quite a while I was wondering why evb had given the name "Kratos" to one of their locos. So I checked with Wikipedia and learned that in the Greek mythology he is the synonym for power and brute force, a son of Pallas and Styx. Well, ... . Here we see Kratos emerging from the underworld, or precisely from Ebertsberg Tunnel near Schluechtern-Elm.

Elm, 19. November 2022

Architecte : Koen OLTHUIS

Le premier théâtre construit sur l'eau, précisément sur le Rhône près du pont Galliéni à Lyon. Inauguré le 13 janvier 2023, il est entièrement édifié en CLT (bois lamellé croisé).

The first theater built on water, precisely on the Rhône near the Galliéni bridge in Lyon. Inaugurated on January 13, 2023, it is entirely built in CLT (cross-laminated timber).

An Immature Harris's Hawk lets me know precisely how it feels about being photographed 😉

©R.C. Clark: Dancing Snake Nature Photography

All rights reserved - Pinal County, AZ

#PeaceLoveConservation

Precisely formed

Relations contained

Superposed intensities

"Mister Rabbit! Wait!" calls that little girl again.

She has been chasing after me for precisely 32 minutes! UGH! I've said it before, and I'll say it again!

“I'm late, I'm late! For a very important date! No time to say 'hello, goodbye,' I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!”

This was inspired by Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland."

Unter der Lupe Linse. Kratzer und Flecken.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Imperfection? The scissors have broken apart and they now have many scratches and paint stains. The nail polish is not applied very precisely. You can only really see all that if you take it under the lens. That often makes the charm. The nail polish I should maybe renew again ;-) The half scissors does their job very well – I use them to scratch away the overpainted. She is perfect for that ...

///

Unvollkommenheit? Die Schere ist auseinandergebrochen und sie hat mittlerweile viele Kratzer und Lackflecken. Der Nagellack ist nicht besonders exakt aufgetragen. All das sieht man nur wirklich, wenn man es unter die Lupe nimmt. Das macht oft erst den Reiz aus. Den Nagellack sollte ich vielleicht noch einmal erneuern ;-) Die halbe Schere tut ihren Dienst sehr gut – sie verwende ich, um das Übergemalte wegzukratzen. Dafür ist sie perfekt ...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

#MacroMondays 2018 / March 12 / #Imperfection

/ HMM to everyone!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Nikon Micro-Nikkor-P / 1:3.5 / 55 mm

A 13th century marvel.... was framed at the Konark sun temple, associated with twelve pairs of gigantic wheels. This chariot wheel is actually a clock. Yes, you can precisely calculate the exact time of the day from the shadow of your finger only, using the sundial. It's difficult explaining this amazing technique here but still pretty interesting and accurate.

In effect, it functions in anti-clockwise direction. Major spokes, minor spokes along with small beads in between, all are the part of this whole technique.

Brilliant architecture !!!!

Not precisely sure what this is, a juvenile hawk, Swainson's I'm thinking. But there were four or five along this stretch of road in Saskatchewan, likely feasting on the gophers being hit by vehicles.

An ordinary sight—a large bird landing on water—is in fact an extraordinary display of skill.

When I processed this photo, I saw how the bird's wings and individual feathers were precisely placed to balance on the water's surface.

This intricate design reminded me of humanity's early attempts at flight. It's a clear reminder that when it comes to engineering, Mother Nature's designs are far more advanced than our own.

(Sony, 200-600 @ 474 mm, 1/2500 @ f/6.3, ISO 1000, edited to taste)

"Penso che nessun'altra cosa ci conforti tanto, quanto un amico, la gioia della sua confidenza o l'immenso sollievo di esserti tu confidato a lui con assoluta tranquillità appunto perché amico."

David Maria Turoldo

_____

"I think that nothing else comforts us as much as a friend, the joy of his confidence or the immense relief of having confided to him with absolute tranquility precisely because he is a friend."

David Maria Turoldo

www.youtube.com/watch?v=74MiuF-4NnQ

IN ENGLISH BELOW THE LINE

La primera excursió per "caçar" aurores del 2025 (la tercera en total per a mí) fou llarga i gairebé fallida. Però al final la aurora va recompensar l'esforç.

Tot i que entorn la posta de sol (a quarts de dues de la tarda!) el cel semblava parcialment serè, aviat es va anar tapant completament tot al entorn de Tromsø. Per això el nostre guia Vidar ens va recollir a quarts de 6 per a fer molts quilometres en una excursió nocturna i gelada per les carreteres norueges. La primera parada fou més d'una hora després, en una benzinera de Nordkjosbotn.

Allà va recollir informació per al seguent tram de la ruta, en busca d'una zona sense nuvols. Ens dirigirem vers el nord-est, cap al interior, buscant posar muntanyes (els Alps de Lyngen) entre nosaltres i les nuvolades que venien de l'oceà. Després d'una parada a Hatteng per a posar-nos més capes de roba per al fred intens, ens endinsarem a la vall de Skibotn, famosa precisament pels seus cels clars. Varem parar entorn Bulldosarveien i Lulledalen, però res. Teniem estrelles i el cel serè, però encara no es veien aurores. Varem fer un darrer tram (ja a més de 2 hores / 150 km. de distancia de Tromsø), com a darrera oportunitat, fins un punt molt proxim a la frontera amb Finlandia. I allà, per fi, es veia la aurora!

Molt fina al començament, lentament es va anar animant moderadament. L'entorn era ple bosc sub-artic de Laponia, prop del llac Gálggojávri. Allà varem fer una petita foguera per escalfar-nos i menjar sopa calenta.

================================

The first aurora "hunting" excursion of 2025 (the third in total for me) was long and almost a failure. But in the end the aurora rewarded the effort.

Although around sunset (at 1:30 pm!) the sky seemed partially serene, it soon completely covered all around Tromsø. That's why our guide Vidar picked us up at 5:30 pm to do many kilometers on a night and icy excursion along the Norwegian roads. The first stop was more than an hour later, at a gas station in Nordkjosbotn.

There he collected information for the next section of the route, in search of a cloudless area. We will head northeast, inland, looking for mountains (the Lyngen Alps) between us and the clouds coming from the ocean. After a stop in Hatteng to put on more layers of clothing for the intense cold, we entered the Skibotn valley, famous precisely for its clear skies. We stopped around Bulldosarveien and Lulledalen, but nothing. We had stars and the sky was clear, but still no auroras were visible. We did one last stretch (already more than 2 hours / 150 km. away from Tromsø), as a last chance. When we finally stopped a short distance from the Finland border, we finally saw the Northern Lights!

Modest at first, they slowly gained momentum. We where in the middle of the Lappland forest, by the lake Gálggojávri.There we lit a little campfire to eat some hot soup. My daughter is the one admiring the lights on her own...

From southern Central Anatolia. Likely made by settled Hotamis Turkmen in the Aksaray region. Size 185 x 100 cm.

Sold for EUR 11,590.00

From the auctioneer's description:

"In this two-panel Aksaray kilim, the extremely fine weave has resulted in a precise drawing. Any connoisseur of Anatolian weavings will be enchanted by its magnificent colours; it is considered the most beautiful surviving example. Four large hexagons oppose each other in the white field, their sides decorated with horizontal arms and small stepped diamonds. Four rows of smaller octagons are interspersed between them. A horizontal row of six amulets placed at the exact centre of the field constitutes the pivotal point of the precisely drawn, mirror-image composition. A red-ground border of double serrated diamonds surrounds the entire field, clearly separating this section from the two unusually long elems whose motifs relate to the field and border designs."

Auctioneer photo, cropped and levels touched up by me. PD for age (in US).