View allAll Photos Tagged successfully
There are some things that always get my attention even during my more successful days. One is the Snowy Egret. Then there are certain cactus blossoms. And then I'll stop for any opportunity to photograph butterflies, as frustrating as that can be.
One day at the Garden, I saw this Gulf Fritillary. More inportant, I saw him (yes, it's a him) with wings folded, and it has the most interesting colors and patterns on the ventral side. I must have covered a mile around the garden trying to get one good shot. Well, not once did I get the other side, but I was willing to settle for this perfect dorsal image.
The difference in the sides finally got me to look up why the ventral can sometimes be the most intricate in patterns, yet almost always the less colorful side. Lesson for today: The ventral side (underside, seen when wings are closed together) is often used for camouflage and predator avoidance, whereas the dorsal side (top side, seen when wings are open) is used for sexual signaling. This guy was indeed signalling. Too bad I had to shoot from some distance (15 feet) between two cactus leaves.
The Gulf fritillary or passion butterfly (Dione vanillae) is a bright orange butterfly in the subfamily Heliconiinae of the family Nymphalidae. That subfamily was formerly set apart as a separate family, the Heliconiidae. The Heliconiinae are "longwing butterflies", which have long, narrow wings compared to other butterflies.
Gulf fritillaries are found primarily in the southern parts of the contiguous United States, from Florida to Texas and California.
It was a very successful day at the Swamp: five species of damsel and dragons (plus one unknown orange species). Four of the five had emerged from their larval exoskeletons indicated by the fact that their wings hadn't "hardened" and were a bit misshapen. Note the left - not that left, the other left - wings: they are not full, but in an hour or so this dragonfly will be patroling his territory.
Found in the lagoon where the majority were last year, he was in the company of a Flame Skimmer and two Cardinal Meadowhawks. I'll reintroduce you to them in the next few days. The Blue Dasher is a relatively small dragonfly found throughout the U.S. (and Vancouver, Canada) except for Idaho, Colorado, Montana, and North Dakota. It is one of the most common, but still beautiful dragons. Note the yellow band on the side of the thorax.
The blue dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis) is a dragonfly of the skimmer family. It is the only species in the genus Pachydiplax. Blue dashers live near still, calm bodies of water, such as ponds, marshes, slow-moving waterways, and ditches, in warm areas typically at low elevations. The adults roost in trees at night not that I've ever found one in a tree. They are, along with most dragonflies. the primary predator of mosquitoes, larval and adults, and can eat 100 or more in a day. As I said last summer, I have not had a mosquito bite in the 50+ years I've lived near "the swamp."
In the weird way that train roulette works out, the RF&P heritage unit is yet to lead a train on the RF&P. While I don't necessarily go crazily out of my way to photograph these units, I certainly will prioritize them when I am out. On President's Day, I had intended to focus my time in and around Richmond, getting shots of the ACL bridge, and filling in some gaps in locations, if you will. This empty coal drag was supposed to be just another empty coal drag running the Buckingham Branch (empties west) with the RF&P as the trailing unit. But the head end unit had issues, so the power set was swapped around in Fulton. All of a sudden, they were toning up with the 1836 in charge, and I scrambled to figure out where they were heading. As 2 of the trailing units had minimal fuel, it was unclear whether the Buckingham Branch would take them, as it's apparently their policy that CSX units have certain amounts of fuel on board. Unfortunately, their desk made the call to allow this train West. If they hadn't, this train would've run the RF&P. The lighting was spectacular in Beaver Dam, affording me the opportunity to get this roster shot at the depot. It's certainly a fine photo, but man, we were ONE dispatch decision away from the main event we've all been waiting for. Hopefully that day will come soon, and we can finally have the RF&P (we've had seemingly ever other one of these things) on home rails, and complete the circle.
Jessie sez:
"Oh yes, I FINKS that my successful security approach has prevented this printer from gettin' stoled!
Editor's note: Only for now Jessie! - don't bet the bank on it!
Jessie sez:
Oh! - a little van made out of plastic, with the words BUNNY LOGISTICS LTD. painted on the side has just delivered what looks like a little four-wheeled trolley and left it standing there.
I wonders what that mite be for? Any ideas?"
One of the most looked-to examples of successful wildlife overpasses is in Banff, over the Trans-Canada Highway. A study there shows that in just one two-mile stretch, wildlife-vehicle crashes reduced from an average of 12 a year to 2.5, reducing costs of crashes by 90 percent—over $100,000.Apr 16, 2019
Grizzlies and ungulates prefer the open sightlines offered by the overpasses.
"Over the span that they have existed, they've reduced wildlife mortality by 80 per cent, which is incredible. For deer alone and other ungulates, it's 96 per cent, so they're very effective."
Banff National Park.
Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada
The Brighton Eye
Brighton used to have a Brighton Eye the same as this one but it had to go when Brighton and Hove City Council agreed a deal with British Airways to build the i360 on the site of the old West Pier. The attraction cost £46 million, with £36 million being funded by a Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) loan through B&H City Council.
Formerly known as the "Brighton i360", the project aimed to attract up to 800,000 paying customers every year. The owner of the site, the West Pier Trust, hoped in 2014 that a successful i360 would lead to the rebuilding of the historic West Pier.
In June 2018, disappointing visitor numbers forced the owners to ask B&H City Council and the LEP for better loan repayment terms. The local paper reported that "in the first full year, from August 2016, the i360 had just over 500,000 visitors, significantly fewer than the 800,000 predicted." The shortfall in visitors was blamed on “poor weather and the unreliable train service to and from London”.
The i360 made a loss of more than £5 million last year, the latest financial reports have revealed. B&H City Council are now owed almost £48 million as the attraction suffered another successive year in the red.
Another Green Heron from yesterday. This one also struck for a fish, but I completely missed any photos of it. They are incredibly quick, which is why they are so successful. Maplewood Nature Center, Ramsey County, MN 08/10/25
A Kingfisher snapped last year in March. I wasn't quite set up for this shot hence the framing, but I still like it nonetheless. Hoping to get a few betters shots in a couple of weeks time!
"No person who can read is ever successful at cleaning out an attic."
~ Ann Landers
I have been spending most of my time lately preparing for my move next week. I'm not moving far and pretty much the only thing about my life that will change is my house number. But I must go through the exercise of sifting through my belongings and decide what to keep and what to let go. It's funny how I can throw out mountains of paper in an instant, but unearthing an old letter or even a simple note to myself can send me spiraling back years into my past - when I was a different person in a different place. The next thing I know an hour has gone by and I slowly crawl back into the present. And I toss them into the "keep" box to be discovered again another day.
Today was a rainy warm autumn day and I picked up my camera this evening for the first time in nearly two weeks. Here's the obligatory autumn shot.
Thanks to everyone that views and comments on my images - very much appreciated.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. On all my images, Use without permission is illegal.
Sony ILCE-7RM5
The first successful Milky Way capture of the season during the new moon. It never ceases to amaze me the light and colors the camera picks up that the human eye cannot see, such as the light on the horizon, which was probably a combination of South Lake Tahoe light pollution as well as the sun below the horizon. I used the Photopills app to determine when the Milky Way would be vertical and in a location that rises from the best angle of Bonsai Rock, off Lake Tahoe's eastern shore. www.optimalfocusphotography.com
After successfully completing the 365 Days Project in 2007, 2008 marks the start of a new project for me.
2008 : A Year in Pictures is perfect for me. It encompasses the three projects I had planned to participate in this year. These projects include 52 Weeks, 100 Strangers, and Project 365.
2008 will be such a HUGE year for me.
2008 will be the first year without my beloved grandmother AND it marks the start of my social work career. After being a full time mom for over 5 years, in 2008 I will be working in not one, but TWO roles. Well three if you count being a mom of three little ones :) I know I certainly count THAT ONE as the biggest role.
I will be working at a domestic violence shelter and as a foster care case manager. And most importantly as a mom to my three beautiful kiddos.
2008 is sure to be a roller coaster of highs AND lows with all the changes in my daily life...one that I look forward to documenting through my photography and most of all one I look forward to sharing with all of you.
Starting this new project was HUGE for me and quite a leap of faith.
After my devastating hacking experience with my 365 Days Project, starting a second year long project is VERY hard emotionally but I MUST because I will never let cruelty win.
Watched this cormorant fishing for 20 minutes and I observed he was very successful. A fisherman would be very impressed.
Island of Hiddensee, Baltic Sea, Germany
After successfully completing their northern patrol, 1st Lieutenant Dirk Allcock's troop is assigned the more challenging South Western sector, near the ill defined southern border. This area has a vastly different environment to the cooler North, here the pine forests give way to arid grasslands and desert. The locals are a mixture of races and cultures and the cavalrymen encounter many colourful characters. At a traditional southern house, the patrol are welcomed by the locals, who offer them a place to stay for the night. In the morning, they will continue to search for the bandit gang plaguing the area. Tonight; however, they can relax to the upbeat music and fiery food of offered by their hosts.
A lot of inspiration from Norton74's Mariachi wagon and Mexican house in this one!
Breathtaking Last Sunset Of September 2020 On Tampa Bay Florida - IMRAN™
This is what tonight's sunset - the last sunset of September 2020 - unfolded looking like. I knew I had to take some photos as I juggled two steaks on the grill, two German Shepherds playing hard drenched from being in the swimming pool, and two cameras to take photos with. What can I tell you... I am a Gemini. Two of everything. LOL.
2020 has been a surreal year for us. For all of us. Globally, as a species under attack from a pandemic. Nationally, America literally facing an existential crisis brought on by a constitutional crisis being foisted upon us by the agents of an enemy state. And even personally, by the many shocking blows I was hit with this year.
But, at the end of it all, the day, the month, the quarter, soon the year, the decade, and one day my earthly time itself, I cannot deny all the unbelievable blessings I shall forever be grateful for. That is why almost everything I am writing this year makes me refer to things with the particular year 2020 mentioned.
I hope that we all survive this year all the horrendous things that threaten us, our health, our democracy, and our nation. I pray that we grow stronger, smarter, happier, more loved, and more successful in the years to come. I dream of the times we can look back at the writings from these moments in time and be grateful to have made it into those dates in the future. I hope you will be with me then too. Amen.
© 2020 IMRAN™
How can it be a successful trip without a couple of best star trails pics. Startrail is now one of the things I would always try on a trip. Its a tricky type of photography, since you can only click about 2 or 3 long enough star trails in a single night, thus the composition has to be well thought and pre planned, rest have to leave it on the camera, and having a moonless night is an advantage here :), The only problem being was that in Mt Cook, the nights are very small, Sunlight starts to completely fade away by 10:30pm and by 4:30am you can see the morning hues by the horizon, that would give me a night window of only 6hrs (this shot was already 3hr:30mins of that), I was hoping for 3 long star trails (I got 2 long and 2 short startrails), but I am satisfied with what I got. I enjoyed one of the calmest sunrise in my life.
The shot above consists of 210 exposures of 30secs each @ f4 ISO800 10mm giving me 3hrs:30mins of star trail. The main difference in this pic is that the Polaris captured int his shot is the South Polaris, rather then the North one that is usually captured from India
Mt Cook being far far away from the city lights has one of the darkest sky i have ever seen in my life, giving me 10 times more stars to witness then the darkest sky i have seen in India or South Africa, Once your eyes gets adjusted to the darkness of the sky, you can see the Milky Way and a few star clusters and 3 Super novas named SN 1604 (20,000 light years away) and SN 1987A (168,000 light years), 3rd one I couldnt recognize, all this was according to Stellarium on the iphone ;) and with just naked eyes, I wish I had a telescope
The Red light beam you see in the shot was from the night vision torch I used to for keeping an eye on the camera just in case nothing goes wrong and the camera is keeping on clicking, But i wasnt aware it was included in the frame, I kind of like it this way, it gives the shot a Sci-fi feel
The giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) is a South American carnivorous mammal. It is the longest member of the Mustelidae, or weasel family, a globally successful group of predators, reaching up to 1.7 m (5.6 ft). Atypical of mustelids, the giant otter is a social species, with family groups typically supporting three to eight members. The groups are centered on a dominant breeding pair and are extremely cohesive and cooperative. Although generally peaceful, the species is territorial, and aggression has been observed between groups. The giant otter is diurnal, being active exclusively during daylight hours. It is the noisiest otter species, and distinct vocalizations have been documented that indicate alarm, aggressiveness, and reassurance.
The giant otter ranges across north-central South America; it lives mostly in and along the Amazon River and in the Pantanal.
Its distribution has been greatly reduced and is now discontinuous. Decades of poaching for its velvety pelt, peaking in the 1950s and 1960s, considerably diminished population numbers. The species was listed as endangered in 1999 and wild population estimates are typically below 5,000. The Guianas are one of the last real strongholds for the species, which also enjoys modest numbers — and significant protection — in the Peruvian Amazonian basin. It is one of the most endangered mammal species in the neotropics. Habitat degradation and loss is the greatest current threat.
The giant otter shows a variety of adaptations suitable to an amphibious lifestyle, including exceptionally dense fur, a wing-like tail, and webbed feet. The species prefers freshwater rivers and streams, which are usually seasonally flooded, and may also take to freshwater lakes and springs. It constructs extensive campsites close to feeding areas, clearing large amounts of vegetation. The giant otter subsists almost exclusively on a diet of fish, particularly characins and catfish, but may also eat crabs, turtles, snakes and small caiman. It has no serious natural predators other than humans, although it must compete with other species, including the neotropical otter and caiman species, for food resources.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_otter
I was really happy to see them in the wild! It was one of my dreams and goals of my last trip to Pantanal!
Wishing everyone a wonderful Tuesday!
Thanks a lot for your visits, comments, faves, invites, etc. Very much appreciated!
©All rights reserved. Do not use without my express consent. Please contact me at thelma.gatuzzo@gmail.com if you intend to buy or use any of my images.
Pied cormorant (Phalacrocorax various) basks in the morning sun after a successful hunt for catfish in Currumbin Creek. Mangroves are rough condition due heavy summer rains. Gold Coast Queensland.
After a successful rebuild, Union Pacific's famed FEF-3 #844 returned to excursion service pulling the 2016 addition of the Cheyenne Frontier Days special between Denver, CO and Cheyenne, WY. Having highballed Denver right on the advertised the big ALCO has command of 22 passenger cars as it storms across Sand Creek in Commerce City with the downtown Denver skyline in the distance.
UP 844 ~ PDVDV1 ~ Commerce City, Colorado
Union Pacific's Greeley Subdivision
07.23.2016
There is something to be said about the intrinsic link between failure and expectation. It seems to me that a key component of failure is expectation. Try to imagine failure without expectation? It's tricky. Because in order to fail, you have to have somehow defined what failure is. And we do this with expectation in hand all the time, be it consciously or otherwise. This image is an example of just that. I set it up, had a shot in mind, calculated my exposure, sat on the tracks counting that exposure off mentally, got up closed the shutter and wound the film. All with an expectation of something. Part of that something was a vague notion of how I wanted the image to look. Another part of that something was the expectation that I calculated the technical aspects of the image correctly - focus, exposure, etc. Yet another part of that something was the expectation that the film would be processed correctly. And so on. You get the idea of how something like this is built off a chain of expectations, even when we don't necessarily think of those expectations. Then, when something doesn't go as expected, for example I somehow blew the exposure and overexposed the frame by several stops thereby producing a more faded, washed out image with a bit of a color cast. Well, that goes against my expectation of how I thought this would turn out. My initial reaction was, "Well, blew that one" and mentally began the process of writing this image off. It was just one photo after all and I make a lot of photos. Also, I am no stranger to "blowing it". I often tell people I could bury them with the boxes of throwaway sample prints from "failed" images that I have accumulated over the years. But then again, as I implied above, what is failure really, other than unmet expectations? And if that is really a key to failure, can failure not be converted to something else merely by either tweaking those expectations or simply by not handcuffing yourself to them. It is fine to have expectations, it is also fine to set them aside. After a day, and a second visit to this negative, I gave my initial expectations of this photo a rest and what was left behind was something that was neither expected nor failed. I don't know what it is, nor do I really need to. It is another image in my collection that has something that intrigues me, that has given me something to consider and think about. I used to remark to students that if a every photo you make teaches you something, are there really bad photos?
Anyway, just some thoughts inspired by my misexposure in the making of this particular image. And no, I still don't quite know how I goofed this one up. But I am ok with that too. If I knew, I might want to do it again and that wouldn't be nearly as fun as when it happens incidentally.
Hasselblad Flexbody
Silberra Color 160
A successful marriage requires
falling in love many times,
always with the same person.
(Mignon McLaughlin)
My twin daughters gave these tiny dolls to Freya (their elder sister) and Sam on their wedding day (October 28, 2016).
Last Tuesday, July 10 2018, Freya gave birth to our first grandchild:
a boy named Eli! :-)
an alphabet book - bokeh
Smile on Saturday! :-) - Lucky Charm
(photo by Freya)
1951 Cunningham C2R (race), one of three that Briggs built to compete in that year's LeMans.
Very few privateers have been as successful in sportscar racing than Briggs Swift Cunnigham. Born as a rich banker's son in 1907, Cunningham got actively involved in motor racing rather late at the age of 41. He had previously backed others, but he did not drive himself until after his mother died, who very opposed to him racing. His first race was at Watkins Glen and the car was a Buick / Mercedes-Benz hybrid, known as the 'Bumerc', the construction of which Cunningham had backed in 1939. This race really spiked his interest in road racing, in which he actively participated for two decades.
More than anything, Cunnigham was interested in long distance racing and he set his sights on the most legendary of all, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He did not just want to win the event, but he wanted to be the first to do so with an all-American team. After the Duesenbergs and Millers of the 1920s, very few American successes were scored in Europe. Prepared by Phil Walters and Frick and with the help of 1949 winner Luigi Chinetti, two Cadillacs were entered in the 1950 Le Mans race. One of these was fitted with a stock body, but the second was fitted with a custom built, supremely ugly body, which for obvious reasons was nick-named 'Le Monstre' by the French.
Although the cars were not on the pace, the 10th and 11th place finishes ensured that Cunningham's entries for the 1951 race would be accepted by the picky Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), which organized the legendary race. To take on the strong competition Cunnigham bought Walters' and Frick's shop to form B.S. Cunningham Co, which was based out of West Palm Beach, Florida. Over the winter of 1950/51 a prototype racer was constructed, the C-1, powered by a Cadillac engine. Cunningham quickly abandoned the Cadillac engine, because of a complete lack of support from the company. He turned to Chrysler, who were willing to support the development and offer their HEMI engines at a 40% discount.
Dubbed the C-2R, the HEMI powered Cunningham was a sophisticated and well constructed affair. A simple, but effective steel tubular frame chassis formed the basis of the C-2. It was suspended at the front by unequal A-arms and at the rear by an exotic DeDion rear axle. The only gearbox available strong enough to cope with the Chrysler Firepower's enormous torque was a Cadillac three speed 'box. The package was clothed in a simple aluminium barchetta style body. Being very well built and very large, the Cunningham was rather overweight, which made the car very hard on the brakes. This was made even worse by the lack of engine braking by going down the gears compared to other cars fitted with four or five speed 'boxes.
Chrysler modified the Firepower engine to produce around 250 bhp, from the 180 bhp available in stock form. Despite the enormous weight of the car, the C-2Rs proved surprisingly competitive. Three cars were entered livered in white with two blue stripes, the first use of racing stripes ever. Two crashed out, including this car, but the third car held 2nd position when a bearing and valve failure threw it back considerably. It eventually finished in 18th position. Back in North America, Cunningham started to rack up victories with his racers. At the West Palm Beach factory work was started on a new racer for 1952 and a road car, of which the ACO required 25 to be produced to make Cunningham eligible to run as a separate manufacturer.
(thanks to help from Ultimatecarpage)
AS ALWAYS....COMMENTS & INVITATIONS with AWARD BANNERS will be respectfully DELETED!
Lake State Rwy. is crossing the Saginaw River in Bay City, Michigan with the PM heritage up front with this installment of watch out for drone killing bald eagles while flying above this spot - August 23, 2025.
So the seeds are contained in a plastic cylinder and the plastic cylinder is contained in a cage. Why? To contain the seeds for the birds and keep the squirrels out. This containment is mildly successful.
The development of NASA's next-generation crew launch vehicle, the Ares I rocket, took another step forward on Jan, 29 as Alliant Techsystems, or ATK, successfully tested a critical piece. ATK conducted a full-scale separation test of the forward skirt extension for the Ares I-X flight test at its facility in Promontory, Utah.
The Ares I-X test launch is scheduled to lift off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida during 2009. The rocket will climb about 25 miles in altitude during a two-minute powered flight. The launch will culminate with a test of the separation of the first stage from the rocket and deployment of the accompanying parachute system that will return the first stage to Earth for data and hardware recovery.
The test simulated the separation event that will take place following the first stage flight of Ares I-X. During the Ares I-X flight, the booster will separate at the frustum, a cone-shaped piece that attaches the first stage to the larger diameter upper stage.
Image credit: ATK/NASA
Read entire feature:
www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/ares/flighttests...
p.s. You can see all of the Ares photos in the Ares Group in Flickr at: www.flickr.com/groups/ares/ We'd love to have you as a member!
So, here is my friend Andrew, who I have known since we were 7, in the 2nd grade. Were both seniors in high school, and still good friends. One day, he comes up to ask me in 2nd per. about a month ago to do this drawing/painting. I finally come to find out what the significance of the eyeball and toast is.. It is so interesting yet weird in its own little way. This painting I done using his ideas and putting our weird minds together looks like this. But why, you ask... When he and his girlfriend met in the summer of this year, he was doing water polo or swim... He got a bit tan, and he is a quarter mexican. Im more mexican then him and were bth so white looking, anyway. She said he looked a bit, toasty, yet he replies he's just mexican. She laughs in denial. She also tells him something, but really isnt true. She said she had a glass eye due to this tragic accident I believe, bt she doesnt. He totally believed her though! He can be gullible at times and so... This painting depicts my friend Andrew as the piece of buttery toast, and his girl friend, the eyeball. Reminding them both about when they met. "Eye Love Toast" and good relationships. I wish the best for them. I heard she loved the painting when he gave it to her for X-mas, so im glad. A job well accomplished.
During the final days of the Siege of Leningrad Soviet troops crossed the frozen Lake Ladoga in order to get to the besieged city. The frozen lake was stable enough to have a ice road on it used to transport cargo and help evacuate civilians. The Soviets efforts were successful and ended the 900 day siege of Leningrad.
Just another small build. Wanted to experiment more with frozen landscapes. Might keep doing these until my BL orders arrive for my large project.