The ghostly webs covering specific trees in Orwell Country Park alerted me to the presence of these Small Ermine Moth caterpillars!

The webs hide hundreds and sometimes tens of thousands of caterpillars of the Small Ermine moths. In the UK there are eight species of Small Ermine Moths, but only the Orchard Ermine (Yponomeuta padella), Spindle Ermine (Y. cagnagella) and Bird-cherry Ermine (Y. evonymella) tend to produce such extensive webbing, the former mainly on blackthorn and hawthorn, the others on spindle and bird-cherry respectively.

The Bird-cherry Ermine tends to have a more northern distribution compared to the other two and occasionally whole trees can be covered by their webs, the leaves stripped bare giving the tree an eerie appearance. Sometimes these webs are so extensive that they can cover nearby objects such as benches, bicycles and gravestones.

There had been 8 or 10 grosbeaks in the mountain ash, happily munching away. Then, something spooked them, and this was the moment of explosive departure.

Su nombre científico Thraupis palmarum proviene de griego thraupís: Ave pequeña, no identificada y del latín palmarum: De las palmeras. Thraupis equivale a tangara en ornitología.

Orden: PASSERIFORMES

Familia: Thraupidae

Genero: Thraupis

Nombres comunes: Azulejo Palmero, Tángara Palmera

Nombre científico: Thraupis palmarum

Nombre en ingles: Palm Tanager,

Lugar de captura: El Poblado

Región: Medellín, Colombia

Por: Carlos Iván Restrepo Jaramillo

The Parish Church of Saint Thomas of Canterbury

The village of Digby sits on the B road between Lincoln & Sleaford, The parish church is located in the centre of the village and is dedicated to St Thomas of Canterbury.

It has Norman zigzag carving in the doorway, 13th century arcades and west tower, which is capped by a 15th century crocketed spire.

Close to the village is RAF Digby which opened in 1918 and is still an active militay base, it is also home to the Sector Operations Room Museum which was opened in 1997 and is usually open to the general public at specific times during the year.

The village was also served by it's own railway station on the Lincoln to Peterborough line, the station opened on 1st August 1882, the same day as the railway line. The station closed to passenger on 11th September 1961, however the line is still in use.

No. Definitely not. The gallic wasp with her specific long legs hanging around during flight.

Looks a little bit oversized with the artifical clouds. Without the ivy in the image one might think of the end of the human world. Canons 300L Non-IS in combination with 3 Kenko Extenders on the Sony A7R with Metabones V isn't a perfect choice to track an half inch sized Insect during a flight. This was the best catch I could do.

Upper Antelope Canyon is called Tsé bighánílíní, 'the place where water runs through rocks' by the Navajo People in that specific area. The canyon was formed over thousands of years by the erosion, often in flash flooding, of Navajo sandstone, resulting in narrow passageways with smooth, flowing walls.

Times are changing in London. Cycle lanes are appearing, cycle specific traffic lights and of course plenty of cyclists.

A gaggle of a dozen cyclists are seen passing through Parliament Square and heading home after a day in the office.

In the background is the newly restored Elizabeth Tower the home of Big Ben.

Churches in England are often aligned in a specific direction, typically with the altar at the east end and the main entrance at the west end, a practice known as orientation.

All Saint's church Walcott in the foreground aligned with St Mary's Church in Happisburgh some 2km distant.

A snapshot from a walk around local lanes recently.

Each and every year this specific Malva plant produce two almost flawless little pink flowers right next to each other. I think this is my 3rd year posting a photo of this, changed the angle a little this year.

Nature Lovers Group: Your Favorite Plant

Geraniums originated from South Africa. For interesting read about Geraniums and how it gained popularity across the globe:

wimastergardener.org/article/ngbs-annual-of-the-year-2012...

Using the Tamron SP AF 60mm f/2 Di II MACRO 1:1 LD (IF) (model G005N II) lens.

Critique is welcomed.

Thank you all very much for your visits, favs and comments.

I just edited the last 3 shots of this series that were caught with very late warm sunlight and merged a panorama with them. View is a bit more concentrated to the mountains of Estergebirge and Wetterstein but still some part of Murnauer Moos can be seen at the foreground as we have a ratio of 3:1 for this panorama – just like the classical 6x17 film format.

I called it »Last sunlight at Werdenfelser Land« - this is more specific than the bavarian alps. The region has got its name by the old castle of Werdenfels and these mountains can be seen as the heart of it or at least as very typical for that bavarian region.

Speculating on the Blue

Flaka Haliti

2015

Sand, Metal, Light

56th Venice Biennale, Kosovo Pavilion

«Speculating on the Blue is a site specific installation conceived by Flaka Haliti for the Kosovo Pavilion at the Biennale Arte. With this work she addresses the topos of borders that are not only part of her personal history but also our everyday global reality. The artist specifically examines the features of the borderland, often deserted and seemingly decaying within a short period of time. Barriers are manmade manifestations of political decisions made about territories, which are often drawn with little regard for natural and ethnical boundaries. Haliti aims at de-militarizing and de-familiarizing the aesthetic regime that is embodied by physical borders through the creation of a counter image. In doing so she transforms the former into a sign of optimism. Her approach is one of recontextualizing global politics through disconnection from its regime of appearance. The metaphor of the horizon, simultaneously emblem of possibility and enigma of our limitations is woven into the fabric of our past and present.

By drawing on the universal meaning of this metaphor, the artist removes the image economy of the horizon from any specific spatial-temporal context and speculates on its validity as an eternal truth.»

www.kosovopavilion.com/

The term “badlands” refers to a specific type of geology that forms when soft sedimentary rock is extensively eroded in a dry climate forming an exposed rugged terrain with iconic shapes and topographies. There are “badlands” all over the world. The Lakota were the first to call the land now protected as Badlands National Park “mako sica" or "land bad."

Badlands National Park only gets on average 17 inches of rain per year, but of course it got some the day we were there.

Pinnacles Overlook, Badlands National Park, South Dakota, USA. Elevation: 3,234 ft. August 5, 2019.

Specific Perfection enb

Iris pseudacorus, the yellow flag, yellow iris, or water flag, is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae. It is native to Europe, western Asia and northwest Africa. Its specific epithet pseudacorus means "false acorus", referring to the similarity of its leaves to those of Acorus calamus (sweet flag), as they have a prominently veined mid-rib and sword-like shape. However, the two plants are not closely related. The flower is commonly attributed with the fleur-de-lis.

Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

When I drove past this beautiful old barn I immediately saw the potential it has. I had no time to stop, so I decided to go back another day, to scout a good composition. I really like the cow parsley in the foreground, and maybe even more the church of Den Hoorn very small in the background, which is well known for anyone that is familiar with the island Texel. (As it turned out this specific barn also is pretty well known, and it’s the one that’s photographed the most of all on the island. So me seeing the potential wasn’t particularly unique!) With PhotoPills I found out that I could have some nice sidelight in the morning, but of course this is very early nowadays. I was on a family vacation in the first place and already captured one sunrise, and sleeping maybe four hours at night is usually something you’ll pay back later in the day. But the circumstances looked right the last morning I was there, with maybe even some fog. And so I went, only to find out that the weather forecast was wrong. No fog, no high clouds, actually no clouds at all! Since it was the last day, coming back another day wasn’t an option. So all in all I came back a little disappointed, and wasn’t excited about the shots I took.

But this is where the latest techniques in post-processing comes into play. Intelligent software is able to create almost the circumstances I hoped for, in just a few clicks. In this case a sky replacement. Of course this subject isn’t new and forms an interesting topic to discuss about. When I first read about it, I thought this was quite amazing, but not for me and it detracts from reality to much. But this time I just wanted to see what it looks like, more as some kind of experiment. And man, I am pretty impressed and I think it makes the photograph much stronger. Even though I thought I would never do this, I was feeling the temptation. I still think it goes a step too far, and takes away from the moments everything does fall in place. But on the other hand, I do manipulate quite a lot already, by removing distractions, change colour temperature and exposure, tweaking colours, using an orton effect etc. This post-processing techniques are considered, by most of the people I speak with, to be fully legitimate. So how much of a step is it really to add some clouds on a boring sky in photograph you’ve worked so hard on?

If it’s up to me I’m going to remove the one with the clouds. Although I think it is the better image, it is not the direction I want to take in my landscape photography. But I am very interested in which one you would show, and I will let your decision be decisive.

So please feel free to let me know how you think about this!

Thanks for having a look! All faves and comments are highly appreciated!

You do me (and hopefully yourself) a big favour by pressing L and then F11, to view at maximum size.

There's no specific blog post for this photo, so here are your credits!

Body: Maitreya

Head, LAQ Gaia Bento Mesh Head

Skin: The Plastik, Elvenne Skin, Sunshula

Hair: Magika, Solace

Makeup: Alaskametro, Black Magic

Eyebrows: Queen of Ink, Definite Eyebrows

Ears: Swallow, Pixie Ears

Eyes: Arte, Galaxy Eyes

Tank Top: Goth1c0, Kath Loose Dress, Goth (At Trick Or Treat Lane)

Trousers: The Annex, Rae Skinny Pants, Orange Tartan (for Spookzilla)

Boots: Sweet Lies, Ragnarok Boots

Environment:

Backdrop: WeArH0uSE, Platform

Trolley: WeArH0uSE, Harry Props

Owl: Hextraordinary, Snowy Owl

Pose: Infiniti, Blowing Smoke

Specific feelings.. smells that remind you of someone or that brings back memories...

© Please don't use this image without my permission. -.2013

Kern County, CA.

The typical farm land of Kern County turns into a scene like this one in spring, but only for a very brief period of time. A storm just moved out of the area and I got this idea the hills are coming alive.I have a very specific area to shoot and hoping the scene will be as to what I'm envisioning.It didn't disappoint, but the light was only good for a few minutes and everything turned gray.

Have a "GREAT EASTER" to all.

Malayan tiger, from a specific population of the Panthera tigris tigris subspecies, that is native to Peninsular Malaysia. Classified as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2015.

Older zoo shot but I came across it today while looking for something specific.

The fledged young barnswallows are quite capable of flying and fend for them selfs but still like to get that extra mouth-stuffer.

Poole wetland. St.Albert, AB.

Excerpt from Wikipedia:

The Rockwood Conservation Area has a rich and unique geological aspect. A few specific features that are a part of the environment at the Rockwood conservation area include glacier bluffs, potholes, caves and some of the oldest dated trees in Ontario.

The cave system includes a series of 12 caves, which is one of the most extensive networks in Ontario. Within the caves is a prominent feature called flowstone, which over many years is created by flowing water that deposits a type of calcium carbonate called calcite.

Another feature at Rockwood are the potholes. Within the conservation area, there is over 200 potholes that all vary in measurements. These potholes are also known as giant's kettles, which are large cavities that have been drilled by flowing water carrying stones and gravel.

As well, glacial bluffs are seen at Rockwood. These have been formed over thousands of years after the earth’s most recent ice age ended. They can be relatively small and get as large as 30 meters deep and 200 meters wide.

There is that specific times of the year when I think you have elements and touches of all seasons in the landscapes. The greys of winter, the greens of summer, the reds of autumns and the yellows of spring! I do love nature

This image was was captured in the corner of a wild desolate field near the forest with some rocks and stones left to decay.

Camera: Rollei 35

Lens: Tessar f/3.5 40 mm

Film: Fomapan Action 400, rated @ ISO 200

Exposure: 1/125 sec and f/5.6, hand-held

Film developed and scanned by Foto Brell, Bonn

Edited under Adobe Lightroom

Fomapan Action 400 has a quite different look and seems to be a suitable alternative for specific intensions and photographic subjects. This classic film emulsion delivers more distinct grain, more sooty dark tones and some blooming of the highlights, which can emphasize the mood of a picture favorably. However, the sensitivity of this film emulsion seems to be lower than box speed, because the shadows tend to lose detail.

The more distinct grain results from the cubic grain structure of the emulsion. In contrast to the softer grain pattern of the tabular grain of modern films like the Ilford Delta or the Kodak TMax film series, cubic grain is more apparent. The softening effect by overexposure is said to result from a poor anti-halation layer. The light bouncing around causes halos and glowing highlights, creeping into the darker areas and tending to wash out the highlights.

The darkening of the foliage and the shadows seems to pretend the higher contrast. Fomapan Action 400 has much more sensitivity to the red end of the spectrum than in the blue and green region, so to speak a built-in orange or red filter. As a result, green leaves and shadows in general come darker in tonality. However, the contrast and graininess can both be reduced by overexposure. Meanwhile, I expose Fomapan 400 at ISO 200 (rather than rating the film at box speed) to open up the shadows for showing more detail.

This film definitely has a unique look, which is much appreciated by many photographers. Together with its deep black and the glowing highlights, Fomapan Action 400 can produce the beautiful and timeless look of classic film emulsions, different from other b&w films and quite different from digital rendering. This film and a vintage camera seem to be a good combo.

Har ni hört talas om håris?

Det är ett vitt hårsvall som fastnar i grenarna när vättarna varit uppe och festat om natten och vid gryningen får bråttom ner i sina hålor!

SMHI:s förklaring är dock lite annorlunda:

När lufttemperaturen är strax under noll grader och vatten tränger ut ur ett icke fruset stycke trä, fryser vattnet i omgångar och bildar detta svall av is som ser ut som sockervadd eller varför inte vätteskägg.

Det verkar inte vara ett helt förklarat fenomen eftersom SMHI skriver att det (nog) inte rör sig om rent regnvatten utan möjligen har en inblandning av bakterier, pseudomonas syringae.

Hair ice (also known as ice wool or frost beard) is a type of ice that forms on dead wood and takes the shape of fine, silky hair.It is somewhat uncommon, and has been reported mostly at latitudes between 45 and 55°N in broadleaf forests. The meteorologist and discoverer of continental drift, Alfred Wegener, described hair ice on wet dead wood in 1918, assuming some specific fungi as the catalyst, a theory mostly confirmed by Gerhart Wagner and Christian Mätzler in 2005. In 2015, the fungus Exidiopsis effusa was identified as key to the formation of hair ice.

I made these windlights to use either for a specific land theme or portraits, if the picture is going to be taken outside of the studio. Not relying too much on projectors but on the environment.

Windlights:

🌃 Night in my room - Good for indoors and balcony view. Night sky with stars.

☁️ Rainy day - Foggy day, make it shine with street lights and rain.

🐑 Grass field - For nature landscape. Beautiful with shadows of trees.

📷 Polaroid - Basic polaroid color with clear sky.

🌸 Blue Water - Dreamy blue sky with sun light. Nice with pastel colors.

🚲 Playground - A sunny afternoon for portraits and landscapes.

If you are curious, I share them in my store LUVN!

Lansing-Grand Rapids local D707 is simultaneously climbing out of and descending into the Thornapple River valley, with the middle of the train on the bridge over the river.

Interested in purchasing a high-quality digital download of this photo, suitable for printing and framing? Let me know and I will add it to my Etsy Shop, MittenRailandMarine! Follow this link to see what images are currently listed for sale: www.etsy.com/shop/MittenRailandMarine

If you are interested in specific locomotives, trains, or freighters, please contact me. I have been photographing trains and ships for over 15 years and have accumulated an extensive library!

Excerpt from Wikipedia:

The Rockwood Conservation Area has a rich and unique geological aspect. A few specific features that are a part of the environment at the Rockwood conservation area include glacier bluffs, potholes, caves and some of the oldest dated trees in Ontario.

The cave system includes a series of 12 caves, which is one of the most extensive networks in Ontario. Within the caves is a prominent feature called flowstone, which over many years is created by flowing water that deposits a type of calcium carbonate called calcite.

Another feature at Rockwood are the potholes. Within the conservation area, there is over 200 potholes that all vary in measurements. These potholes are also known as giant's kettles, which are large cavities that have been drilled by flowing water carrying stones and gravel.

As well, glacial bluffs are seen at Rockwood. These have been formed over thousands of years after the earth’s most recent ice age ended. They can be relatively small and get as large as 30 meters deep and 200 meters wide.

Dave: Bruno, who is your little friend?

Bruno: He's NewToy72. But sometimes I call him Toppy.

Dave: Well, that's specific.

Bruno: I'm nothing if not specific.

Dave: What happened to NewToy71?

Bruno: Eva. She's also responsible for the premature departure from my life of the majority of my other NewToys.

Dave: And what makes you think that NewToy72 will do any better?

Bruno: I'm keeping him close to me. That and he's a dinosaur. Nothing bad ever happens to dinosaurs.

Dave: Um, Bruno, there's something you should know.

Bruno: Is it taco Tuesday?

Dave: Nope.

Bruno: Then I'm pretty sure that whatever you were about to tell me is 'optional knowledge'. Toppy and me are just gonna hang and rule the family room. Nothing bad can happen when you're hanging with a dinosaur.

-------

Bruno and his stuffy dinosaur. This is a tribute to Duncan and his human tv writer (link in the first comment). I couldn't believe it when I saw that Duncan had the exact same dinosaur as Bruno. That and the fact that it's Dinovember (a real thing according the the Royal Tyrrell Museum) made for the perfect opportunity to get a photo of Bruno with his new BFF. And yes, Eva is often the destroyer of toys in our house. They tend to do well - until all of a sudden they don't and are transformed into a pile of fluff.

Found these rare beauties at a Travelling Stock Reserve south of Rydal in NSW. They are endangered and only found in very specific areas, in specific conditions, on specific plants for 2 weeks of the year! I was fortunate enough to see them thanks to the help of a passionate scientist and conservationist at the Saving Our Species program (Dept. of Planning, Industry and Environment NSW).

Here's some information in the PCB:

"The Purple Copper Butterfly (Paralucia spinifera) is one of Australia's rarest butterfly species. It is also known as the Bathurst copper butterfly. It is only found in the Central Tablelands of NSW. Its habitat is restricted to elevations above 900 metres. The Purple Copper is a small butterfly with a thick body, and a wingspan of only 20-30 millimetres. Adult males fly rapidly at about 1 metre from the ground and rest in the sun with their wings parted. It feeds exclusively on a form of blackthorn (Bursaria spinosa subspecies lasiophylla).

The butterfly's life cycle relies on a 'mutualistic' relationship with the ant Anonychomyrma itinerans, and on the presence of blackthorn.

[Read more here: www.environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/animals-and-plants/nati... ]"

In the ten years I lived in Alaska I only tried this specific angle once, and I'm not sure why I didn't try again. I suppose it was because it took a bit of a walk to get to this spot, but I'm glad I have a few to show for it. I did do sort of a reprisal in 2014 but from far higher up the bluff overlooking the river.

Here is the southbound weekly Winter Aurora passenger train back when it was a diminutive consist of just a baggage car, a single coach, and a diner trailing an SD70MAC/GP40-2 combo. They are coming across the 800 foot long Knik River Bridge at MP 146.4. This bridge dates from 1937 and consists of nine orignal 80 ft. pony plate girder thru spans and one 100 ft. span that dates from a 2004 rebuilding. In that year the Alaska Railroad installed new concrete pilings and caps and shifted the old 80 foot spans over and installed a broad new 100 ft span, which is the one closest in this image and featuring a large yellow ARR logo.

The Knik River is 25 miles long flowing down from its start at the foot of Knik Glacier which is one of the largest ice fields in South Central Alaska flowing down off th Chugach Range. The river here forms the boundary between the Matanuska-Susitna Borough af the Municipality of Anchorage which the train is entering, despite being 30 miles away from downtown still!

In the distance 20 miles away almost due north sparkling in the afternoon spring light are the 6000 ft peaks of the Talkeetna Mountains surrounding Hatcher Pass.

Knik River

Municipality of Anchorage

Sunday April 8, 2012

Every photographer has a bucket list. Or sometimes even two: one with locations, and one with specific subjects. For many years my two bucket lists had something in common - both the #1 location and the #1 subject were in the same country: Yemen.

Some 240 kilometers (150 mi) east of the coast of Somalia and 380 kilometers (240 mi) south of Yemen lies the island of Socotra. The island is very isolated, and home to 700 (!) endemic species; up to a third of its plant life is endemic. It has been described as “the most alien-looking place on Earth” and “the jewel of the Arabian Sea”. In 2008 Socotra was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

One of the most striking of Socotra’s plants is the dragon blood tree (Dracaena cinnabari), which is a strange-looking, umbrella-shaped tree. Its red sap was thought to be the dragon’s blood of the ancients. It is this tree that was at the top of my bucket list for a very, very long time.

But Yemen has been unstable for decades. Civil wars, a revolution, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, starvation. The current civil war started in 2015 and has cost the lives of over 20,000 civilians. In 2018, the United Nations warned that 13 million Yemeni civilians face starvation in what it says could become “the worst famine in the world in 100 years”.

As a result, it has been impossible to visit the island for many years - no planes or even boats would go there (I tried). Until suddenly there was an opportunity and I took it. It turned out to be one of the most intense projects I have ever done, and over the next few weeks, I will share my experiences here with you.

>>> You can help the people in Yemen by donating here: rescue.org

[Nikon D850, AF-S 14-24/2.8, 0.5 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 3200]

Marsel | squiver.com

Completed my first architecture specific workshop last weekend and it couldn't have went any better or been any more enjoyable.

Day 1 we photographed around Glasgow in the lovely grey weather and then headed east to Edinburgh once the rain started.

Day 2 we learned in-depth post processing techniques in Lr and Ps

Day 3 we put those skills into practice and all worked through our chosen image together followed by an open question/request session.

Was great to meet the guys who were really enthusiastic and produced very impressive images, I can' wait to see more.

This is a recent image from the Riverside Museum, Glasgow.

Website (Holidays, Courses, Workshops) - Facebook - Twitter - 500px - etc : all in my profile

Spaß mit KI!

(Kein bestimmtes Thema)

„Mit KI erstellte Fotos”

Die KI hat dieses Bild auf Grundlage einer von mir eingegebenen Textbeschreibung erstellt.

AI created this image based on a text description I entered.

Portret of a tiger, taken in the zoo in Płock :)

The Siberian tiger is a tiger from a specific population of the Panthera tigris tigris subspecies native to the Russian Far East, Northeast China, and possibly North Korea. It's the largest of the subspecies of the Asian tiger, a predatory mammal of the felidae family. It lives in mountain coniferous and mixed forests, near rivers and streams. A mature male reaches a length of over 300 cm (including the tail) with a body weight of up to 300 kg. Females are smaller - they reach 260 cm in length and weigh from 100–167 kg. As a result of warfare in the areas occupied by the Siberian tiger, as well as hunting, its population decreased to about 20-30 individuals in the 1940s. In 1947, a total ban on hunting Siberian tigers was issued. In the 1990s, a number of measures were introduced as part of the plan to stabilize the Siberian tigers population. It is now recognized that the primary goal has been achieved and the number of Siberian tigers is beginning to increase. Despite this, the species is still threatened with extinction.

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Portret tygrysa, spacerującego w płockim zoo :)

Tygrys syberyjski, tygrys amurski (Panthera tigris altaica) – największy z podgatunków tygrysa azjatyckiego, drapieżnego ssaka z rodziny kotowatych. Zamieszkuje Kraj Nadmorski i Kraj Chabarowski na wschodnich krańcach Rosji a część występuje na granicy rosyjsko-chińskiej, w dolnym biegu Amuru. Żyje w górskich gęstych lasach iglastych i mieszanych, w pobliżu rzek i potoków. Dojrzały samiec osiąga długość ponad 300 cm (razem z ogonem) przy masie ciała dochodzącej do 300 kg. Samice są mniejsze – osiągają do 260 cm długości i ważą od 100–167 kg. Na skutek działań wojennych na terenach zajmowanych przez tygrysa syberyjskiego, a także polowań, jego populacja zmniejszyła się do około 20-30 osobników w latach 40. XX wieku. W 1947 roku wydano całkowity zakaz polowań na tygrysy syberyjskie. W latach 90-tych wprowadzono szereg działań w ramach planu ustabilizowania syberyjskiej populacji. Obecnie uznaje się, że podstawowy cel został osiągnięty, a liczba tygrysów syberyjskich zaczyna wzrastać. Mimo tego wciąż gatunek ten znajduje się na granicy wymarcia.

Without any specific planning we just happened to pick a perfect night to capture some moonlit landscape photos. The combo of low tide and being in a spot well-protected from the wind meant the fjord was remarkably placid -- perfect for capturing reflections during a long exposure.

How is this week not over yet?! Normally a week when I've been this busy would seem to fly by. Not this one; it's been craaaawling at a snail's pace. Thank goodness it's finally Friday. Have a great one!

-Lorenzo

________________________________

The new Flickr photo page was killing my eyes, so I came up with a way to switch back to the old page style (black text on white background). Here's a quick how-to guide I put together: How to switch back to the old (and readable) Flickr photo page.

Feeling social? You can also find me here:

facebook | google+ | tumblr

instagram | 500px | elmofoto.com

________________________________

This specific aircraft, wonderfully restored by the Central Texas Wing of the Commemorative Air Force to original condition, led the Airborne Forces dropping paratroops in the early morning hours of D-Day, the Sixth of June, 1944. She reprised her role in 2019, carrying 18 reenactor paratroops & leading over 30 other C-47/DC-3's over Normandy for the 75th anniversary of D-Day. _DSC4472_HDR

Ce sont de véritables acrobates. Les mésanges bleues recherchent souvent leur nourriture suspendue à de fines branches, c'est pourquoi elles préfèrent les boules ou les anneaux de graisse. Malgré leur taille modeste, elles sont très batailleuses et généralement très agressives et elles n'hésitent pas à chasser de la mangeoire des espèces de même taille qu'elles, telles les mésanges noires ou nonnette. Quelquefois, elles osent même se mesurer à la mésange charbonnière pourtant plus grande. La mésange bleue menace les autres oiseaux en gonflant son plumage, ce qui la fait paraître plus grosse. Elles voyagent en troupes éparses en hiver, se disputant parfois pour se poser sur les distributeurs de graines et de noisettes disposés pour elles. Outre sa formidable capacité, propre à la famille des mésanges, d'ouvrir les graines en martelant leur coque, la mésange bleue se distingue par une autre méthode : elle incise la coque grâce à son bec tranchant et picore la graine morceau par morceau. En marquant des mésanges bleues, on s'est aperçu que plus d'une centaine pouvait se succéder dans un jardin, même si on n'en voit que quelques-unes à un moment donné.

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They are real acrobats. Blue tits often look for food hanging from thin branches, so they prefer balls or rings of fat. Despite their modest size, they are very aggressive and generally very aggressive and they do not hesitate to hunt from the manger species of the same size as they, such as black tits or nonnette. Sometimes, they even dare to measure themselves against the coal tit, yet larger. The blue tit threatens other birds by inflating its plumage, which makes it look bigger. They travel in scattered troops in winter, sometimes arguing to land on seed and nut dispensers arranged for them. In addition to its great ability, family-specific tits, to open the seeds by hammering their hull, the blue tit is distinguished by another method: it incises the hull with its sharp beak and peck the seed piece by piece. By marking blue tits, it was discovered that more than a hundred could succeed in a garden, even if we only see a few at a given moment.

To be more specific, this is the lower part of the palouse falls.

The height of the lower part is 180 feet which makes it higher than the Niagara falls. And, the height of the cliff I was standing on is about 377' above the pool of water. My tripod was within 1 foot of the edge of the cliff... it was scary to look down. I took this shot without looking at the viewfinder. This was taken at 14mm focal length using live view. Later i cropped it after correcting distortion.

... a hot day at Knepp Wildland Project ...

Knepp is a 3,500 acre estate just south of Horsham, West Sussex. Since 2001, the land – once intensively farmed - has been devoted to a pioneering rewilding project. Using grazing animals as the drivers of habitat creation, and with the restoration of dynamic, natural water courses, the project has seen extraordinary increases in wildlife. Extremely rare species like turtle doves, nightingales, peregrine falcons and purple emperor butterflies are now breeding here; and populations of more common species are rocketing.

The vision of the Knepp Wildland Project is radically different to conventional nature conservation in that it is not driven by specific goals or target species. Instead, its driving principle is to establish a functioning ecosystem where nature is given as much freedom as possible. The aim is to show how a ‘process-led’ approach can be a highly effective, low-cost method of ecological restoration - suitable for failing or abandoned farmland - that can work to support established nature reserves and wildlife sites, helping to provide the webbing that will one day connect them together on a landscape scale.

knepp.co.uk/home

I had a conversation with a friend recently where the topic of failure came up. In specific, he was reflecting on the failure of his photography business and how that led to him avoiding photography for several years after his business went under. That brief conversation has been kicking around in my head ever since, particularly the power that the idea of failure has over us. We struggle with this concept in so many different ways, related to photography and otherwise. All of us have a fear of failure on some level or another and it influences our behavior and choices. To keep the scope of this manageable, I'll keep it revolving around photography. A good example is the idea of "bad pictures". We try to avoid making bad pictures, right? Why? What exactly is wrong with a bad picture? Well, it is a little failure on our part and enough of those strung together... so we follow trusted formulas, trends and cliches to make photos, that while not original, are at least better guaranteed of "success" both in our own eyes and those of others. It is fear of failure that makes it so hard for many photographers to share their work with their peers. What if it is not received positively? What does that say about me? It was fear of failure that led my friend to giving up photography after the perceived failure of his photo business. And I am sure there are many other ways we can list that this fear insinuates itself into our photographic lives.

I don't think I have all the answers on this. On some levels I am as much a victim of this fear as others. But I also feel like in some ways I have learned to inoculate myself against this fear as well, at least in photography. A big part of the way I did that was redefining what "success" and "failure" meant to me. It is a simple and tricky thing to do. But if you take a moment to consider that the rules of failure that we play by are rules that we have the power to dictate then it is simply a matter of changing those rules. I sometimes tangentially lecture on this to classes when I talk about the whole idea of "bad pictures". I encourage my students to not think of bad pictures as bad just because they didn't turn out like you wanted or expected, but rather to see them as learning opportunities with each picture you make teaching you something new and making you a slightly better photographer in the process. In that sense, no picture is a bad picture and every picture makes you more experienced and competent, even if that growth is incremental. That is changing the definition of both success and failure and by doing so eliminating to some degree the fear of failure via bad pictures at least.

I do think it is worth considering what you define as success and how wise a definition you are following. Is the success you are chasing financial? creative? social popularity? It is not that these are wrong answers per se, but they might be, or at least they might be wrong for you in that particular circumstance or moment. And if you are tripping up against that struggle with perceived failure, try changing you how perceive success and failure.

I don't know if this image embodies fear as much as it does disappointment (which is a lower version of fear I suppose). This was one of those photos that I liked the idea and execution but problems with the film itself manifested causing the speckling and mottling across the image. I scanned it anyway and left it for months in my To Edit folder, just sitting there. Then one night recently I was looking at it again and didn't see the failure I had seen before. That allowed me to see a success I had not seen before. And so I present this image with these thoughts today.

Hasselblad Flexbody

Rollei Retro 80S

"Sometimes I try to forget about the specific subject and

just look at what I'm seeing in terms of light." Arthur Meyerson

www.mehrdadazadi.com

The theme for week 27 is 'Numbers or one specific number' The number is on the side of a small boat in Peel harbour. I was hoping for a better reflection but there has been just a bit of wind that with the natural movement of the water combined to form ripples. Had a play in Topaz adjust to see if I could get the numbers clearer so posing for Sliders Sunday as well!

I was surprised to find a Rufous-crowned Sparrow in my archives, but then I can't remember every specific hike and trail from seven years ago. But, I do remember that this sparrow could be found scampering on, in, and around wood piles which tells me he's an insectivore, not a seed eater. That will come in handy if I ever see another woodpile, even a cord of firewood stacked against a house. Probably a few mice as well in which case, I'll look up for Kestrels and Cooper's Hawks.

The Rufous-crowned sparrow (Aimophila ruficeps) is a small American sparrow. This passerine is primarily found across the Southwestern United States and much of the interior of Mexico, south to the transverse mountain range, and to the Pacific coast to the southwest of the transverse range. Its distribution is patchy, with populations often being isolated from each other. Twelve subspecies are generally recognized, though up to eighteen have been suggested.

These sparrows feed primarily on seeds in the winter and insects in the spring and summer. The birds are often territorial, with males guarding their territory through song and displays. Flight is awkward for this species, which prefers to hop along the ground for locomotion. And, outside of Mexico, these birds live in a narrow band running through coastal California.

This should be great information in finding this bird. Look down, not up. Don't try to entice them with seed in spring and summer, and forget about visits to a back patio where there's already enough territorial fights between Anna's Hummingbirds.

Habitat is a “home ground” or an environment in which an organism or group of species normally lives or occurs. In this sense, a habitat is any particular place that supports animal or plant life. From the habitat is where plants or animals get their survival essentialities such as water, food, shelter, and breeding grounds.

Different plant or animal species have different necessities for water, shelter, nesting and food. Thus, each and every plant or animal is adapted to survive in a specific kind of habitat. For instance, some turtles live in the seas while others live on land. Some plants grow in the deserts, some in the seas, and some in swampy areas. This shows different species have different needs. Examples of habitats include oceans, streams, or forests.

When a habitat is dramatically altered due to natural or anthropogenic activities such as earthquakes, agriculture, pollution or oil exploration, these places may no longer be able to provide shelter, food, water, or breeding grounds for the living organisms.

Such kind of events lessens the places where plants or animals such as wildlife can live and threatens the survival of various species. That sort of habitat degradation or fragmentation is what is termed as habitat loss and destruction. Habitat loss and destruction are influenced by several drivers which include:

1. Agriculture

Agricultural production has claimed much space of the natural habitat since settlers began converting forests and grasslands to croplands. In the modern world, the pressure to convert lands into resource areas for producing priced foods and crops has increasingly led to habitat loss.

Runoff of agricultural waste, fertilizers, and pesticides into marine and freshwater environments has also transformed streams and water systems. As a result, there has been a tremendous loss of natural crop species, aquatic life, and wildlife habitat.

2. Animal Waste, Sewage, Fertilizer, and Mining Waste Pollution

Marine and freshwater life forms are the most affected by pollution. Pollutants from animal waste, untreated sewage, fertilizers, pesticides, and heavy metals find way into wetlands and water systems and subsequently end up in the food web.

Animal wastes and fertilizers generate nutrients that cause an outburst in algae growth that depletes dissolved oxygen in aquatic systems. Mining wastes may also contain heavy metals that affect the health and breeding of aquatic organisms. Sewage sediments may destroy dwelling grounds of aquatic animals.

3. Industrial and Automobile Pollution

The majority of animal and plant habitats have been destroyed due to the toxic substances and chemicals emitted from industries and automobiles that pose long-term cumulative impacts on the species health. Seriously polluted regions have become dead zones since the conditions have become very harsh for biotic survival. A prime example is an acidic lake which cannot support aquatic life forms. In some areas, only a few organisms can survive owing to the cumulative effects of industrial and automobile pollution.

4. Water Projects

The development of water projects such as hydropower plants, dam construction, and water diversion frequently disconnect or draw off waters thereby altering water chemistry and hydrology. This is because such water projects limit the amount of water and nutrients running downstream.

The downstream section of the river can dry out and the nutrients supporting aquatic life can significantly reduce. As an outcome, gradual habitat loss happens as the water flows downstream.

5. Land Use and Development

The conversion of lands into urban settings, housing developments, office spaces, shopping malls, industrial sites, parking areas, road networks, and so on takes away the naturally occurring land that provided habitat for wildlife and other living organisms. This practice has substantially led to the loss and destruction of millions of acre of natural habitable environments.

6. Global Warming

Global warming is one of the recent leading causes of habitat loss since it changes the physical environmental factors such as temperature and moisture which are essential for a sustainable habitat.

For instance, wildlife that requires cool temperatures of high elevations such as the rock rabbit and mountain gorillas may in the near future run out of habitat due to global warming. Excessive rains, flooding or drought arising out of global warming have also impacted several habitats, contributing to the loss of wildlife and other living organisms.

7. Diversity Loss and Invasive Species

When a certain ecosystem which is home to numerous species collapse, more aggressive species may enter the territory. As the original species struggle to cope in a harsher environment, the invasive species contributes to a further and rapid decline of the habitat and subsequently dominates.

The explosive entry of invasive species into a habitat presents a strong threat to the native species as they struggle to survive in the increasingly changing environment. Invasive species directly competes for food with the native species and can also alter the structure of the habitat.

8. Vegetation Removal and Logging

Vegetation removal and logging destroy the structure of the habitat since it takes away the vital materials and natural systems responsible for replenishing and purifying the habitat. Removal of vegetation cover and logging also creates room for soil erosion and decrease stormwater infiltration which leads to the degradation of water quality, further destroying the habitat.

9. Dredging and Bottom Trawling Fishing

Dredging and bottom trawling fishing gives rise to the physical destruction of the dwelling, feeding and breeding areas for aquatic plants and animals. The displaced sediments may further smother the bottom dwelling organisms. Fish gills can as well become blocked with sediments and plant life activity is reduced due to limited light.

Dredging might also release underground toxic materials into aquatic habitats. Besides, bottom trawling fishing can by-catch unmarketable fish which turns out to be the food for other bigger fish in that particular underwater habitats.

Inframe :

The greater sand plover (Charadrius leschenaultii) is a small wader in the plover family of birds.

It breeds in the semi-deserts of Turkey and eastwards through Central Asia. It nests in a bare ground scrape. This species is strongly migratory, wintering on sandy beaches in East Africa, South Asia and Australasia. It is a rare vagrant in western Europe, where it has been recorded as far west as Great Britain, France and Iceland. It has been spotted twice in North America, the most recent being on May 14, 2009, in Jacksonville, Florida.

This species is fully migratory, and is likely to migrate without stopping on a broad front between breeding and non-breeding areas . Migratory flocks form after the end of breeding between mid-June and early-August, and arrive in the wintering grounds between mid-July and November (adults and immature birds arriving before juveniles. Those birds wintering in South-East Asia start moving northwards to the breeding grounds in late-February (the migration peaking in March to early-April), arriving from mid-March to May; whereas those wintering in East Africa and southern Asia depart for breeding grounds from mid-April to early-May. Most non-adult wintering birds remain in the wintering areas during the breeding season . The species is typically gregarious, feeding in flocks of 2-50, and sometimes congregating in groups of up to 1,000 when roosting (Urban et al. 1986, del Hoyo et al. 1996). Habitat Breeding During the breeding season this species is predominantly found in open, dry, treeless, uncultivated areas up to 3,000 m , including dried mud, silt and clay flats, hard salt-pans overgrown with halophytic plants , and rocky plains near mountains in desert or semi-desert . In Turkey the species frequents heavily grazed saline steppe . The species usually breeds near water but exceptionally it will nest up to 20 km away from it. Non-breeding During the non-breeding season this species shows a preference for littoral habitats with mixed sand and mud substrata . It is found on sheltered sandy, shelly or muddy beaches, large intertidal mudflats, sandbanks, salt-marshes, estuaries, coral reefs, rocky islands, tidal lagoons and dunes near the coast , although it may sometimes feed on coastal grasslands . Whilst on migration the species will occasionally utilise inland habitats such as salt-lakes and brackish swamps, usually roosting on sandbanks and spits . Diet This species is carnivorous: during the breeding season its diet consists mainly of terrestrial insects and their larvae (especially beetles, termites, midges and ants), and occasionally lizards whereas during the non-breeding season its diet contains mainly marine invertebrates such as molluscs (snails), worms and crustaceans (such as shrimps and crabs). Breeding site The nest is a shallow scrape on the ground amongst sand-hills, gravel, or on other barren substrates.