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With steam blowin' and smoke flyin' 611 gets a move on out of the NCTM toward VMT in Roanoke in the pre-sunrise hours.
A very thick fog to start the day. This umbrella user is perhaps waiting to see the view if the mists should part. (He will leave disappointed).
Pentax 35-105mm f/3.5
Békéscsaba - Algyő tartályvonat Algyő bejáratán.
video: www.facebook.com/sinekenavonat/videos/462060839105769
I went to the community garden in Gabriel Park for the first time this year. Something beautiful was starting to blossom. I do not have a the name yet :-)
Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius)
My best photos are here: www.lacerta-bilineata.com/ticino-best-photos-of-southern-...
More TICINO/TESSIN Wildlife Photos (all taken in my garden in Monteggio/Ti, Switzerland): it.lacerta-bilineata.com/ramarro-occidentale-lacerta-bili...
If you're interested, you'll find a more detailed closeup here (it's the 8th photo from the top): www.lacerta-bilineata.com/western-green-lizard-lacerta-bi...
My latest ANIMAL VIDEO (it's very brief but pretty unusual: a tiny wall lizard attacks two young great tits): www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQqkSsyrm7E
THE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTO: MY LONG AND ARDUOUS JOURNEY TO BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY
If you've set yourself the challenge of exclusively shooting the wildlife in your own back yard, you might find - as I did - that bird photography is really, really hard.
It's not that reptiles are easy to photograph either, mind - but at least the ones in my garden stay (for the most part) on the ground, and one can learn how to carefully approach them with a camera. They're also clearly egoists, which from a photographer's point of view is is a great character trait: if a lizard detects a human in its vicinity, it's only interested in saving its own skin, and it won't alarm its buddies.
But birds... oh man. Over the years, my feathered friends and I have developed a lovely routine that now defines our peaceful co-existence. As soon as I as much as open a window (let alone the door), I'm instantly greeted by an eruption of panicky fluttering and hysterical shouts from my garden: "SAVE YOUR WOMEN AND CHILDREN AND FLY FOR YOUR LIVES: THE HAIRLESS, PINK MONSTER IS COMING!!! (Yes, I speak bird, and I know that this is exactly what they are shouting 😉).
Needless to say, with the exception of the redstart I already showed here, all my efforts to get the kind of detailed shots I usually strive for with my nature photography ended in complete failure and utter disillusionment. I was ready to give up on stalking the winged misanthropes in my garden altogether, but then winter came - and changed everything.
One day this past January I observed my neighbor Signora P - a kind, elderly Italian lady - putting something on the low garden wall in front of my house. At first I thought she was just putting some treat there for her cat Romeo; the young tom patrols that wall constantly (it's his favorite spot in the garden, and during the warmer months he usually lurks in the thick foliage next to it to prey on lizards).
But once I detected a lot of movement on that wall through my window, I understood she had put a little pile of bread crumbs there; she was feeding the birds who soon arrived in flocks. This was certainly well-intended on my neighbor's part, but her noble action came with a catch, and I'm afraid quite literally.
When I took a stroll through my garden the next day I discovered a suspicious amount of feathers on the ground next to the wall. Romeo had apparently switched from his low-calorie summer diet (lizard) to more energy-rich meals consisting of "fowl" (it was winter after all, so from a nutritionist's point of view this made sense).
I would find fresh traces of Romeo's victims (mostly feathers, but also the odd wing) in my garden over the following days; so my first intuition that my neighbor was feeding her cat hadn't been that far off after all, as Romeo was now clearly being "served" fresh birds on a daily basis. And although the hungry visitors seemed to be aware of the danger and became slightly more prudent, they just couldn't resist the tasty snacks Signora P put on that wall - and neither could Romeo.
It was obvious that I had to act, but talking to my neighbor - who is as stubborn as she is kind - would have been futile, I knew that much. I pondered the matter long and hard - until a light bulb went off in my head. The idea was genius. If successful, what I had in mind would not only increase the birds' chances of surviving Romeo's appetite, but also greatly benefit my own photographic endeavors.
I started to enact my master plan the very next day by buying a giant bag of bird feed (consisting mainly of sunflower seeds) from the store. Then I dragged a huge piece of a tree trunk (approx. 120 cm in height) that we normally chop firewood on in the shed out into the garden and emptied almost half of the bag's content on top of it. Signora P's buffet for birds (and cats) was about to get some serious competition 😊.
My reasoning was as follows: not only would the birds be lured away from the fatally low garden wall to a place where they were safe from the cat - there was nothing around that tree trunk that provided cover for a predator, and the birds had a nice 360° view around it at all times - but I was also able to photograph them while hiding in the shed.
However, in order for my plan to work there was one little extra measure I had to take, and it was one that risked lowering my own life expectancy considerably once the owner of the property - my mom - discovered it. You see, our shed is completely windowless, so if I wanted to use it as a blind, I had no choice but to cut a hole into one of its wooden walls... which I promptly did (I figured all's fair in love - and photography 😉).
Granted, I have absolutely zero carpentering skills, and it showed. That hole was an ugly mess: the shed's wall seemed to have had an encounter with Jack Nicholson's ax-wielding lunatic character from the film 'The Shining'. Needless to say, I was incredibly proud of my work (I mean, come on: there now was a hole where before there wasn't a hole, and it was big enough for the lens of my camera to peek through, so it was mission accomplished as far as I was concerned).
Now all I had to do was wait for the birds to discover the tree trunk. In the meantime I started to mentally prepare myself for the inevitable confrontation with my mom and go through possible explanations for that splintering hole in the wall (it was either gonna be a rabid woodpecker attack or an emergency rescue mission with a feeding tube for a little kid that had accidentally locked himself inside the shed - both seemed valid options, though I slightly preferred the locked-in kid due to the involved drama and heroism 😉).
A whole day went by, and not a single bird visited the sunflower seeds. I had expected that it might take a few hours until the first of the ever curious great tits or blue tits would show up, but given how tiny my garden is, an entire day seemed excessive. Then another day came and went: the birds kept flocking to the bread crumbs on the wall, and my tree trunk kept collecting dust. To add injury to insult, a few fresh feathers on the ground were proof that Romeo was still feasting.
It was incredibly frustrating: I provided my winged guests with a much better view - plus a higher chance of surviving the cuisine - than Signora P's place; I risked (almost) certain death at the hands of my own mother (OK, the act of vandalism on the shed I had committed for my own benefit, but still), yet the birds kept ignoring me.
Then, after three days, just before sunset, I spotted a single blue tit on the tree trunk picking away at the sunflower seeds.
When I got up the next morning I immediately realized that the loud noise that accompanies each and every tit activity had shifted from the wall to the shed. At last the dam had broken: there was a flurry of movement around the tree trunk, and I counted at least 5 different species of birds feasting on the sunflower seeds.
From day 4 onward my plan worked beautifully: the birds now indeed mostly ignored Romeo's "snack wall" and kept to the tree trunk. And yes, I was able to play peeping tom from behind the shed's wall and photograph them!! 😊
Thus, dear readers, I finally managed to produce some acceptable bird photos, and I had even saved my feathered friends from a deadly foe in the process. All through winter and spring I took advantage of my new bird hide, and in late May I started mixing some cherries with the sunflower seeds. The idea was to attract a Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius), and as you can see, it worked!
It took me almost three weeks and more than a few tricks to capture that clever fella, but given how long I've been rambling here already, that's a story for another day. As for my mom, she still doesn't know about the hole in the wall, so please don't snitch! 😉.
I hope you like the photo and wish you all a wonderful weekend! Many greetings from Switzerland, and as always: let me know what you think in the comments 🙏 😊 ❤!
P.S. if anyone has their own funny tale about the obstacles we photographers are prepared to overcome for a desired photo, please write it in the comments: I love such stories 😊
... haben das Pop-up Buch aufgeschlagen und Scout darf der Stationsvorsteher sein !Die kleine Lokomotive wird aufgezogen und fährt los: Choo choo ...
Danke Jesse für Deine Fotos !!
... have opened the pop-up book and Scout is allowed to be the stationmaster ! The little locomotive is wound up and starts to move: Choo choo ...
Thank you Jesse for your photos !!
Well folks the previous image was from the pond to the rail, and the start of the shake, rattle and roll behavior which is what I came for. A friend captured an image that I was trying to replicate and did so 10-times over. If it were any other species I would not not invested this much time and effort, some yes but not this much.
Thank you very much for visiting, and have a great day.
from poet david whyte:
"start close in,
don't take the second step
or the third,
start with the first
thing
close in,
the step
you don't want to take."
My Board “Mother Earth Mother Karagkouna” on gettyimages
My board “Portrait and people” on Getty Images
My Board "Trikala city and countryside" on gettyimages
My Board “Animals,birds,flocks,troops” on gettyimages
My photos for sale on gettyimages
Album Μάνα γή μάνα Καραγκούνα Mother Earth Mother Karagkouna
On my blog Λογεικών Logikon
Συλλογή φωτογραφιών από μιά προσπάθεια αναπαράστασης των παραδοσιακών μεθόδων θερισμού και αλωνίσματος στον Θεσσαλικό κάμπο υπό τον γενικό τίτλο "Μάνα γή μάνα Καραγκούνα"
It's a collection of photos frrom an representation attempt of traditional harvesting and threshing methods in the Thessalic plain under the title "Mother Earth Mother Karagkouna"
20021.05.14
Cuxhaven
AIS Name VOS START
Type Support vessel
Flag Netherlands
IMO 9730505
MMSI 244890845
Callsign PBIH
Year Built 2017
Length 80 m
Width 20 m
Draught Avg 5.5 m / ...
Speed Avg/Max 5.3 kn / 15.8 kn
Deadweight 2506 tons
Gross Tonnage 4965
AIS Class A
Shepherd moving flock from village to nearby meadow for grazing. These are his two livestock guardian dogs to protect sheep from bears and wolves in the area.
Macro Mondays: "Button"
The Start/Stop button in my BMW. It tucked away behind the steering wheel, so this is the best angle I could get.
The image is about 3.8 cm (1.5 inches) square.
Last week I headed down towards the Harbour at Rose Bay, I was taken aback by this sensational Sunset over the city.
As I got closer, I soon discovered that I was not the only one to be mesmorised by this sky - about 20 local residents silently stood by on the usually deserted beach to witness this magical sight alongside me.
Explore, Interestingness: July 3rd 2007 @ #11
☼My works are often BEST VIEWED LARGE ☼
Created for:
Explore Worthy, Challenge 123 - QUOTES.
Man=PNGWING
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Photo shop and Nature ARTISTS:
Multi Group Contest/ Gallery Directory
New contests on the 1st and 15th
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Taken from above Great Cove between the first and second Crinkle. Sun rising above a misty Great Langdale
DropsleeveT/Black_Shi
Panel Short Pants Black Rayon_Shi
Sticker Stompers Night _DRD
Powergaming Headset Black_DRD
Hair I0825 _Tram
Baaahhhg bag _RO
Stretched Ears & Sinra Rings _Mandala
Nova Heads_LeLUTKA
Pose_DM
Taken @ Two Worlds BKLYN
For when instead of hearing "Vroom, Vroom", your car goes "click, click, click" instead.
Shot for Our Daily Challenge :“Start”
- Bryce Canyon, Utah, USA -
Several more 'forest fire' photos from various parts of the world are in the first comment box.
Happy Easter!
60163 Tornado restarts from Leicester with the 1Z59 05.25 Stevenage to Chester special, 19 December 2019
Well then! When the Park screws up your campsite reservation, you wind up where you really didn't want to be in the first place, and the weather gods are being fickle, it's not an auspicious start to a trip far from home. I shot this image the day after we arrived and just before the rain started in earnest (I added just a little drama to reflect my mood of the day). We had to pack up again in rain under a big tarp the next morning but after that, the weather gods took pity on us, the sun came out, and we slept under a very chilly clear sky on heated mattresses. Did I mention that having access to electricity while camping is awesome?