trail riding, dirt bikes and quads
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#macromondays
#smallandsmaller
Some bling in four different sizes for Macro Mondays and "Smaller and smaller". Real diamonds are born under pressure, but these Swarovski rhinestones were born from dust. We are in macro world, after all, which means: magnified dust. After a first rather frustrating round of doing some focus stacking and still finding the diamond-shaped Swarovski crystals, which I had so carefully cleaned with a fresh microfibre cloth beforehand, covered in dust, I had what you might call a sudden "de-dusting" inspiration: wet wipes for glasses. You know, those single-packed wipes that you shouldn't use all too often because they might damage the glasses' coating. And honestly, wet wipes for glasses never work without a good amount of repolishing with a microfibre cloth, because all they ever do is smudge the glasses further. But used on these small and smaller glass stones? It was worth a try, and it kind of worked. I'm not saying that the wet wipes removed every single speck of dust, but the crystals were much cleaner than I'd ever managed to get them with a dry microfibre cloth :)
The different sizes of the crystals are: 1,7/1,4/0,6/0,3 cm (0,6/0,5/0,2/0,1 inches) in diameter. I've placed the crystals on a glossy black tile and illuminated them with a soft photo LED light from above, white light from the left, yellow light from the right, and a handheld flashlight set on "spotlight" handheld from the front. The final image is an in-camera focus stacking JPG which I've further processed in Lightroom (clarity) and Color Efex (filters "Brilliance and Warmth", "Reflector Efex Gold", and "Skylight"). I did some final
de-dusting with the healing and copy brushes in PS.
Happy Macro Monday, Everyone!
Numerous quad tracks can be seen running over the hill here that vanish in the morning cloud. This is rough sheep faming country near Fruid. A lovely morning in the hills.
Out on the Dotsero Cutoff I ran across this gem of a consist, 4 SD50s, one in SP paint and a pair of AC4400Ws about to cross the trestle at Range, CO 10.97
While passing through the Quad Cities yesterday, I heard the Iowa Interstate 708 copying a warrant on the Industrial Track from Silvis to Rock Island, and having that great combo of great sunlight and free time at my disposal, I had to go after it.
This is the IAIS' RISW (Rock Island Switcher), and even though it was running Long-Hood Forward, I was still happy to nab this shot, as any given opportunity to photograph a 51 year-old unit (!!!) on the point is a good one these days. From here, it was to run down the Milan Branch, but I didn't have time, or available sunlight to chase it.
The 708 was built in June 1972 as the PC 7974, before finding its way to Conrail four years later, and eventually the LLPX lease fleet.
M39491 14 rolls through Paris Junction with CN 2032, CN 2500, CN 2450, CN 2551, and 141 cars.
Not too often you can get four different model's from the same make together!
SHOW SET SHOTS
For: X-QUAD ♦
As soon as they stepped on stage they unleashed a dose of energy!!!
it was a magnificent show!
The Classic Space Bubble Quad was a fast and fun way to travel across the moon. Its big tyres and independent suspension could easily cope with the deepest craters or roughest moon rocks. The bubble canopy afforded unrivalled visibility, though nobody ever worked out where the door was...
See all of the photos and a video in this album.
A pair of MNNR units, including unit T-3 and unit 88, prepare to reverse back into the yard after lining up their route. Always a fun time watching the interplay between the different jobs in the morning as they go about their routine.
This is the second week of taking the photo I submitted to the group Fotosondag (Photo Sunday) the theme there this week was Advent. I put the post processing to this frame to make it a Sliders Sunday shot. This way one can compare the changes easily since they are side by side in my photostream. Oh and by the way it was only one candle I could come up with so I would turn it and move the camera over and then blend the four shots together.
Vang-Vieng (Laos) - Photo prise à 15 bonnes minutes à pied du centre-ville en 2015.
Cette ville aujourd’hui peuplée de 20.000 habitants, était considérée jusqu’au milieu des années 1990, comme l’un des paradis terrestres. Je n’y suis malheureusement pas venu lors de mon premier voyage dans les années 1990.
De paradis terrestre, Vang-Vieng s’est muée en enfer touristique en moins de deux ans, sous les assauts des investisseurs chinois et vietnamiens, attirés par un décor de rêve autour de la rivière Nam-Song, cernée de majestueuses montagnes calcaires truffées de grottes plus ou moins sacrées.
Le tourisme de masse s’est abattu du jour au lendemain sur cette jolie vallée qui attirait depuis quelques années tous les junkies du monde. Conséquence, ce un lieu est devenu peu fréquentable avec un fort taux de criminalité.
Vang-Vieng a vite été rebaptisée " le cancer du tourisme " dans les années 2000. Mais en 2012, après avoir largement profité de la corruption, le gouvernement laotien à été obligé de mettre un terme à cette débauche, peu compatible avec l’image qu’il voulait donner du pays.
Aujourd’hui, la région est redevenue plus apaisée et sécurisée. C’est toujours un haut lieu du tourisme avec ses quads pétaradants, perturbant la tranquillité des campagnes environnantes. Mais il est possible de pratiquer un tourisme plus respectueux de l’environnement en parcourant la région à pied ou à vélo.
Vang-Vieng, the lost paradise
Vang-Vieng (Laos) - Photo taken a good 15 minutes walk from the city center.
This city, now populated by 20,000 inhabitants, was considered until the mid-1990s as one of the paradises of earth. Unfortunately, I did not stay there on my first trip in the 1990s.
From earthly paradise, Vang-Vieng has turned into hell in less than two years, under the onslaught of Chinese and Vietnamese investors, attracted by a dream setting around the Nam-Song river, surrounded by majestic limestone mountains dotted with caves more or less sacred.
Mass tourism swept over this pretty valley overnight, which for several years had attracted junkies around the world. As a result, this place has become infrequent with a high crime rate.
Vang-Vieng was quickly renamed "the cancer of tourism" in the early 2000s. But in 2012, after having profited greatly from corruption, the Laotian government was forced to put an end to this debauchery, which was hardly compatible with the image he wanted to give of the country.
Today, the region has once again become more peaceful and secure. It is still a hotspot for tourism with its backlashing quads, disturbing the tranquility of the surrounding countryside. But it is possible to practice more environmentally friendly tourism by exploring the region on foot or by bicycle.
CN train L50881-20, the local that serves the large Quad Graphics printing plant at Lomira, Wisconsin, just south of Fond du Lac, heads back north towards town after finishing up its work just after sunset.
Power for the local today is a pair of veteran CN SD40-2s, CN 5266 and 5268 built in 1975.
The all-clean combination, led by EL56 returning to the RailFirst workshop in Goulburn, leads CLP9, 4908 and CLF2 up the Cullerin range with loaded grain train 3242 loaded grain from Naradhan in Central West NSW to Allied Pinnacle at Maldon.
EL56 has spent time working on SSR's Victorian "Green" rake since May 2023 and was returning for repairs and de-hire.
Sunday 3rd December 2023
I was digging the shadows of the cones on the curtains, So I gently backlit them with purple. Hit the back up light with red too. The rest is just moonlight and a crop to 16:9.
C507, C504, C509 and C506 head through Dargan with empty SSR coal train AR07 to Airly.
Tuesday 22nd October 2024
Tour through the sand dunes near Langstrand in Namibia.
I had to put in a new roll of film so the rest of the group are a bit miffed with waiting, hence the 80s album cover poses.
SHOW SET SHOTS
For: X-QUAD ♦
As soon as they stepped on stage they unleashed a dose of energy!!!
it was a magnificent show!