Royal Air Force Lockheed Hercules C.5 ZH888 about to cross the threshold at her home base of RAF Brize Norton.

Operating with the Brize Tactical Wing, '888' is one of the C-130J models that the RAF acquired back in the 1990's. However, with the excessive workload put upon them with the on-going conflicts that we have been involved in these 'Hercs' will soon be phased out in favour of the new Airbus A400M Atlas that are currently being delivered there.

IMG_0895

I am more than halfway through my enormous workload. Please forgive my absence and thank you for bearing with me. And now to watch history being made ..............

I could not reciprocate much as I am currently busy with some projects therefore please comment/fave ONLY if you really can't help it ;) Nonetheless I still want to thank u all for popping by :)

So far I had processed 98 images (I reckon both good & bad :)) from this europe trip & i think i've only touched about 1/3 of it. Needless to say, I am a bit over processing for the time being :) so glad i can just post them now without having to do much since I've been tied up with so much workload lately. Therefore my apologies for doing lots of future post & run.... anyway take care & catch u soon again!

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About

View of Santa Maria di Loreto & Trajan's Column in Rome, Italy

The Shot

3 exposure shots (+2..0..-2 EV) in RAW taken handheld

Camera :: Canon 5D Mark II

Lens :: Canon EF 17-40mm F/4L USM

Photomatix

- Tonemapped generated HDR using detail enhancer option

Photoshop

- Added 2 layer mask effect of 'curves' for contrast

- Added 1 layer mask effect of 'saturation' (reds & yellows) to tone down the foreground

- Added 1 layer mask effect of 'saturation' (magentas) to slightly darken the building

- Applied slight 'unsharp mask' on background layer

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Tonight's sunset over Portsmouth Harbor. I was hoping the storm clouds would clear just in time for a dramatic and colorful sky, but this is about as good as it got. The usual three tugboats have been joined by one other, probably in preparation for the upcoming workload of the winter season on the waterfront.

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Because I found out at work today that they are going to lighten my workload! They must have heard rumors that I was looking elsewhere....now who started that I wonder....

Thank you for your comments and faves – they are greatly appreciated!

Select photos from my Flickr stream are available for purchase as prints or personal download at [www.winterfirephotographicarts.com].

Haven't had a chance to even touch my camera for weeks now due to very heavy workload, took this one dull evening back in July and just loaded it. Still going to be busy till end of the month but will hope to see something of the summer.

After a rather quiet morning, I thought about my dream. It's odd to think that my dad might've actually cared about me.

As I walk down the stairs, I can't decide if that dream gave me hope or was just an awful nightmare at this point. But I feel like dad still has some input into my life, he has to, so I assume asking him if I can go to the party tonight is a start to knowing more about him. Yet, I don't know what answer to expect other than a no.

I'm fortunate that we live in the suburbs of Detroit. One of the only nicer places, I guess that without my dad being who he is, we could've been much worse. For some reason too, I'm happy he has a job, one that's not too far away from home and still in a nice part of Detroit.

Anyways, if his safety was ever in danger. I trust the head of security, Mr. Orr. He comes off a bit odd but his paranoia gives me a strange sense of relief.

As I make my way towards STAR Labs, I marvel at the building. I'm not an architecture nut in the slightest, but it is an amazing facility for sure.

At the door, the usual scanner greets me. I reach into my pockets for a pass but pull up nothing. I look through the glass and find Mr. Orr, trying to garner his attention, I tap on the glass door repeatedly.

Orr looks my way with a serious glance. I understand the mistake I've made and how seriously Orr takes this but he knows me well enough. Orr walks towards the door and presses a button, the doors swing open as he jokingly mocks me.

Orr - "Other pants, huh?"

Victor - "Hah, something like that!"

Orr looks at me with a death glare.

Orr - "Well next time, I won't be so nice."

Victor - "Understood, sir."

I quickly walk towards the elevator as Orr's glance follows me. Once I step into the elevator, our gazes lock for what seemed like forever. Something's wrong today.

As the elevator ascends, I think about what to say to my dad.

"Hey dad, do you think I could go to this party tonight. I mean, it's nothing huge. It's a good friend, you know Ron, right?"

My dialogue is nothing but shaky in my head. Why am I doing this? I already know the answer will be no. Maybe not.

A 'ding!' snaps me out of my trance. Here comes the big moment. The only thing keeping me from being light headed at this point is my ever growing heartbeat. Why am I so scared of him? He's Silas Stone, my dad, not the Big Bad Wolf!

My heart rate rushes past my steps. Everything just feels wonky, but I haven't been drinking, have I?

The labs are only easily described as Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. But with tech instead of toys and giddy scientists instead of kids. Nevertheless, they can all be the same thing here.

I know exactly where my dad's desk is so I can hopefully avoid any awkward interactions with these guys. As I advance past each station, the notion of everyone working on smaller parts of a bigger machine amazes me. Nobody in science class ever cared this much to collaborate like this.

With a quick turn to the right of the large lab, I see an elevated platform. My dad seems to be working on something else for some reason. My glance shifts downwards as I see a small robot fixing a circuit board under my dad's desk. That's got to be new.

I advance up the steps to my dad's desk and his attention doesn't draw from the work at hand. His desk is cluttered, as always. He seems to be working on some chemical, antidote? Newspapers cover the extension of his desk, they're a week old. One thing catches my glimpse, a red diamond? It's the thing Johnny Thunder went nuts for in the first few issues. I remember my dad reading me these. I always said I'd go on an adventure like Johnny Thunder-- But Detroit isn't quite the Amazon, is it?

With a newfound sense of confidence or the sheer warmth of nostalgia wanting me to ask my father to read me another issue of Johnny Thunder, I try to gain my dad's attention.

Victor - "Hey, dad, how's it going over he-"

Silas - "Victor, I'm busy."

Victor - "Alright, I'll cut the small talk. Ron's throwing a party and he's invited me. I just want to know if I can go."

Silas finally looks up from what he's been working on but he stares at me with a ruthless glance.

Silas - "Ron Evers? You mean the druggie, Ron Evers?"

Victor - "Dad, he's not a druggie."

Silas - "Ah, yes, how could I forget. You are the druggie. Can't seem to pull yourself away from that toxicity, can you?"

Victor - "Don't say that about my friend."

Silas - "Your friend? Hah! Victor, I can't wait for the day when you understand that a waste of air like him isn't a friend. You getting drunk on multiple occasions is one thing, but that 'friend' not even helping your ass up the steps is another. You are worrying your mother, she can't sleep and I can't even believe what torment you put her through with this."

Victor - "Then why don't you ever come home, dad? Maybe the reason mom is so worried is because you are never home!"

Silas - "Your mother and I made an agreement, I already have enough stress at work. I don't need you being my alternate workload. If you insist you're an adult by making these dumb choices, maybe you should own up to your mistakes like an adult."

Victor - "I'm leaving."

Silas - "Good, you need some fresh air to realize that the only bad guy here is Ron. If you weren't my son, I'd give up on you. I'd let you go to that party. But here we are."

I walk away after my dad mocks me. That dream was me being optimistic, my dad will never care about me. If he thinks I'm some thug, I'll show him I'm not. There're other parties anyways.

As I leave STAR Labs, Orr stares at me again. That dude really needs to learn to mind his own business.

I reflect upon what my dad told me while I walk home. Ron isn't a bad guy, just like I'm not. He just likes different things, and he's not dead yet. Not a friend... What a joke.

More of my Golden Gate Bridge photos here; San Francisco photos here.

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It feels like forever ago since I went on this, my most recent "real" photo outing. By "real" I mean that I wasn't just swinging by my usual spots on the way home from work, and instead actually had to go out of my way...imagine that! The last few months of the year are usually pretty busy at work, and this year is no exception. I'm hoping that as the workload winds down with the approach of Christmas I'll be able to get out more, maybe even for some of these dreaded early-morning sunrise shoots. If I'm being honest, they're only dreaded when I'm thinking them in advance...thinking about getting up so early; when I'm actually standing in the spot waiting for the sun to come up it's in fact quite a wonderful experience.

I'm getting over being sick the past few days. Feels nice to be back in the land of the living. I hope everyone had a great start to the work week...only 4 days to go until Friday....you can do it!

-Lorenzo

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In the shadow of DRS 57 304 Freightliner class 90's no's 90 045 & 90 016 arrive for a crew change on Russell's contract container train 4S44 12.13 Daventry to Coatbridge FLT. This traffic switched to DRS from 1st July with a very detrimental effect on the workload at Carlisle Freightliner depot which had previously been hit hard in 2015 with the loss of the Anglo-Scottish coal work. The trains now operate to P.D. Stirling's Freight Depot at Mossend using class 88's but the first week of operations by DRS not only affected Freightliner with work loss but also DB Cargo who's services using PD Stirling's namely 4M35 the Seaforth container train suffered a 97min delay on Wednesday 3rd and a 300min delay on Friday 5th.

India, Kerala or Kēraḷam, Backwaters. Paddy Fields.

….lost in the paddy fields.

The Paddy fields in the Kerala area are below sea level. Bunds around the rice fields keep out overflowing water into the fields. After harvesting the paddy fields, they are used for ducklings where they will thrive on locusts & fishes.

The paddy fields will be used for duck farming where they will live & thrive up to 20 to30 ducks a hectare & the moment when the ducks should be removed from working in a paddy, after 8 weeks, so as not to eat the rice & …the dams will be opened at some strategic points & the shared duck marathon will begin following the farmer in his canoe to the duck farm.

In 1989, the Japanese farmer Takao Furuno, after learning about traditional Japanese rice farming method that consisted of using ducks to eliminate the weeds in rice fields, the "Aigamo Method”, he was able to identify the optimal age at which ducklings should be released into rice fields, 7 days after hatching from the egg & developed this new-traditional rice growing technique. In the meantime, it has become established in every country of Asia some European rice-growing regions & others like Cuba are also experimenting with this method.

The waterfowl turned out to be a perfect alternative to expensive pesticides, other insecticides & chemicals while protecting the soil from chemical pollution as they eat plenty of insects, weeds. The ducks also help to oxygenate the water & their droppings are the ideal fertilizer for the soil.

The "Aigamo" duck is a cross between wild & domesticated ducks. These animals are apparently optimally suited to this method of rice cultivation. They ducklings will be placed in the paddy field about two weeks after the seedlings have been planted. The ducks grow up in the rice field & eat insects, snails & weeds. As a result, the farmer does not have to laboriously remove the weeds & vermin from the fields himself; neither does he have to spray any pesticides & chemical fertilizers can therefore be saved.

After one season in the rice fields, the ducks are kept for up to 3 years to lay eggs or because they have eaten their fill in the rice fields, they can be sold profitably as ducks for roasting & other recipes.

The adoption of this method boosts farmers income by eliminating chemicals, fertilizer etc., by commercializing the ducks later & decreases their workloads by 200-250 human work hours p/hectare.

The system actually seems to work: a study by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization recently showed that crop yields are increased by 20 percent with the "Aigamo Method".

📌….The unique backwaters are a network of interconnected five large lakes linked by canals, both manmade, fed by 38 rivers & brackish lagoons extending nearly half the length of Kerala state. A labyrinthine system formed by almost 1.000 km of waterways lying parallel to the Arabian Sea coast, known as the “Malabar Coast”.

The backwaters have an exceptional ecosystem; freshwater from the rivers meets the seawater from the Arabian Sea, formed by the action of waves & shore currents creating low barrier islands across the mouths of the many rivers flowing down from the Western Ghats range.

👉 One World one Dream,

🙏...Danke, Xièxie 谢谢, Thanks, Gracias, Merci, Grazie, Obrigado, Arigatô, Dhanyavad, Chokrane to you & over

17 million visits in my photostream with countless motivating comments

Stumbled upon this bunch of 'projects' in Livinhac-le-Haut. Some pictures from years ago can be found of some of these cars in a better shape. It seems the workload has grown over the owner's head.

10 years of photography here in Cambodia with so many memories. Here is just one. On a photography tour I took my clients to a local who taught incense stick making, an opportunity to shoot some characters and use the late morning light. Out popped the grand child. For me, it is the beautiful people of Asia that make this country and they were the photography subject I enjoyed working with most. 60k files to sort before my impending road trip around Cambodia. I will shooting mostly video stock to try and vill a void in workload, a few temples included. How things have changed with almost no customers. Still keeping busy, always working on something.

A past work collegue cantacted me last year and asked if I could make her wedding cake. . The original design is from issue 21 of wedding cakes a design source, cake by "Bridal Cakes" page 9. I had to give myself a crash course in lily making, I bought a set if FMM lilly cutters and they were great. Bottom teir choc mud, middle carrot and orange top tier fruit cake. These past three cakes would have to have been the most work I have fitted in for a week. I was up till almost two am after work through the week and got some assistance from a baker of unfished cakes to ease the baking workload a bit. Got everything out to where it needed to be on time and without stress thank goodness

Spotted a pair of chinooks while checking out Flightradar24 and they split up after a fairly erratic route with one of them heading my way . Had time to grab a camera and stand outside at the front where I can see more of the sky and within a short time it appeared , only had time for two shots before it disappeared behind rooftops only to reappear much further on and too small for any more useable shots !!

The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem-rotor helicopter originally developed by American rotorcraft company Vertol and now manufactured by Boeing Defense, Space & Security. The Chinook is a heavy-lift helicopter that is among the heaviest lifting Western helicopters. Its name, Chinook, is from the Native American Chinook people of Oregon and Washington state.

The Chinook was originally designed by Vertol, which had begun work in 1957 on a new tandem-rotor helicopter, designated as the Vertol Model 107 or V-107. Around the same time, the United States Department of the Army announced its intention to replace the piston-engine–powered Sikorsky CH-37 Mojave with a new, gas turbine–powered helicopter. During June 1958, the U.S. Army ordered a small number of V-107s from Vertol under the YHC-1A designation; following testing, some Army officials considered it to be too heavy for the assault missions and too light for transport purposes. While the YHC-1A would be improved and adopted by the U.S. Marine Corps as the CH-46 Sea Knight, the Army sought a heavier transport helicopter, and ordered an enlarged derivative of the V-107 with the Vertol designation Model 114. Initially designated as the YCH-1B, on 21 September 1961, the preproduction rotorcraft performed its maiden flight. In 1962, the HC-1B was redesignated CH-47A under the 1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system.

The Chinook possesses several means of loading various cargoes, including multiple doors across the fuselage, a wide loading ramp located at the rear of the fuselage and a total of three external ventral cargo hooks to carry underslung loads. Capable of a top speed of 170 knots (200 mph; 310 km/h), upon its introduction to service in 1962, the helicopter was considerably faster than contemporary 1960s utility helicopters and attack helicopters, and is still one of the fastest helicopters in the US inventory. Improved and more powerful versions of the Chinook have also been developed since its introduction; one of the most substantial variants to be produced was the CH-47D, which first entered service in 1982; improvements from the CH-47C standard included upgraded engines, composite rotor blades, a redesigned cockpit to reduce workload, improved and redundant electrical systems and avionics, and the adoption of an advanced flight control system. It remains one of the few aircraft to be developed during the early 1960s – along with the fixed-wing Lockheed C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft – that has remained in both production and frontline service for over 60 years.

The military version of the helicopter has been exported to nations across the world; the U.S. Army and the Royal Air Force (see Boeing Chinook (UK variants)) have been its two largest users. The civilian version of the Chinook is the Boeing Vertol 234. It has been used by civil operators not only for passenger and cargo transport, but also for aerial firefighting and to support logging, construction, and oil extraction industries.

the new system we worked on for months is alive and working !!! (finally !!!!) With a delay of 4 months we're saving a workload of the last three years into our new drawing and calculation system..

and, as always, Murphey's Law is around the corner....at the same time I'm rebuilding my bathroom....bad timing, I know, but someone has to do it..;-))))

trying to stay cool......trying to stay frequent on Flickr...

Je maintiendrai ;-))))

Camera Sony DSLR-A500

Exposure 0.013 sec (1/80)

Aperture f/10.0

Focal Length 300 mm

ISO Speed 200

Exposure Bias -1 EV

©All Rights Reserved

Sirius Cyberdine GLB3 surface rover - a small personal transport for the spaceman who desires a vehicle meeting all the needs of an outpost inhabitant. With wonderful fuel economy, a tough exterior to withstand harsh solar radiation, and enough room inside for an extra passenger or loads of gear, the GLB3 is the perfect rover for those worlds where wheeled transport is desirable.

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Febrovery 2018 is here. First, let me apologize to all my friends and followers for the lack of uploads over the past several months. I've been pulled away from the hobby for a myriad of reasons - some personal issues and family crises, as well as a vastly increased workload and other responsibilities. But I wanted to make sure I still made a contribution to my most favorite time of the lego year, Febrovery. I just wouldn't feel right if I didn't get at least one (and maybe one more??) rover uploaded this month. This little guy here was seeded by the rounded rear "windscreen" piece that I really like and used before in a spaceship build. The rest of the build followed easily. For the trans-yellow windscreens I used the yellow Sharpie marker on a set of clear pieces. I hope you all enjoy this little ball of fun and are having a wonderful and productive Febrovery.

Love,

-Tim

With having to do my job online and teach kids at a distance, has doubled my workload and I've had very little time for dolls lately. I've just done some redressing and a couple of silly snapshots of the girls. ;) I hope everyone's keeping safe and healthy! ((hugs))

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Keep in touch on:

Facebook || Google+

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Hello friends, sorry I've been MIA once again for the past few days! The weather was nice, the workload was a little low, so we decided to take a quick trip down to Paris!

It was a whirlwind of a trip...between the millions of things to see in 3 days, Iyana (our 11 months old) in tow, it was quite a rush.

One of the initial trips were to the fabled Notre Dame, magnificent in its entirety. The problem however was that the place was incredibly dim along with the standing order of no tripods. Also the fact that Iyana at that moment decided that she didn't like her shoes anymore and chucked them in random directions didn't help either. All of this resulted in slightly shaky hands that translated to blurry pictures.

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As always, comments/notes/crituques and favourites (just hit F ) will be very much appreciated!

For the best view, hit L .

Some people who's work I admire are tagged in this picture. Please visit their stream!

Click here to see the rest of my HDRs (High Dynamic Range Photos)!

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

Shot details:

6 handheld shots with varying exposures (-1, 0, +1) each taken with: Canon 5D Mark III; Canon 17-40mm f/4,

Post processing:

1. Merged in HDR Efex

2. Worked quite a bit to get the cursed panoramas to align is PS

3. Added in local contrast, saturation and "structure" in PS6

4. Exported to jpeg using Lightroom

Osnabrück

Gorgeous Blue Sky Blue Water Day Tampa Bay At Apollo Beach Florida - IMRAN™

My days usually get spent on the computer in the home office unless I am traveling to client sites. Most days the back to back calls and workload mean I rarely get a chance to step outside and take in the many gorgeous days and views unfolding across the expanse of Tampa Bay, seen from my blessed home and boardwalk in Apollo Beach, Florida. This was a day I made it a point to step outside with the Nikon D850 and shoot a few quick pictures. This is composed of six handheld photos auto-stitched into this stunning blue and blue panorama. The original photos are SOOC (straight our of camera) and there was NO color tweaking of ANY kind done to the scene. I just used autofill for the missing pieces in the corners. These were the truly spectacular colors as I was blessed to see them, on a day when the waters of Tampa Bay have an almost Caribbean and Bahamas feel to them. I am so blessed to be able to share these with you. Keep me in your prayers as I deal with the usual ups and downs of life but remain forever grateful.

© 2018-2019 IMRAN™

© All rights reserved. Use without permission is illegal.

Yes, It has been raining off and on for three days. Only about an inch has fallen on my garden, but without sun and hot temperatures, the moisture isn’t evaporating. Unfortunately, there is no more rain in the forecast for the next 15 days. The situation with our depleting water remains dire. I had a letter to the editor published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution yesterday, urging conservation and, again, a building moratorium, but from what I hear, the Atlanta Regional Council and other governmental bodies have no intention to stop construction, which proceeds at an obscene pace, thus creating more demand on a very rapidly depleting natural resource. The stupidity of our "leaders" here is astonishing. They should have been planning for growth thirty years ago, and now it's too little (or nothing at all), too late. I despair.

Anybody want to advise me where to move to where there is "smart growth," sufficient natural resources, wise planning, great weather, progressive politics and no tornadoes or hurricanes or floods or fires or ice?

This leaf is only about an inch and a half long.

See my shots on Darckr (two by two) or one by one.

No, I'm not back, really, but I just wanted to share this with you. I'm actually making good headway with my workload.

The Cox internet is suck!!

Visibility was reduced this week, and the surge made macro shooting a challenge, but I embraced the workload and came home with some decent slug shots.

Christmas Eve in Hobart delivered a sky devoid of clouds, and a full moon so bright you could walk outside without any lights. This trail was composed of 375 ten second exposures, stacked in StarStax, a free program which handled the workload inifinitely better than both Lightroom and Photoshop.

HBW! Been busy of late - the kiddos started school, the fall schedule is kicking into gear, and the workload has been a bit heavier...hope everybody is well! I'm trying to view & comment as time allows and look forward to more interaction as things smooth out. Peace! ~Lou

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA ,

Meine neue Arbeitserleichterung , Apfelsammler - Erfindung aus England , Respekt !

Angebote dieses Apfelsammler findet man im Internet und auch in guten Baumärkten .

This week began with my last day home for the holidays. I trapped a nerve in my back, which twisted my body and hurt too much to move or sleep, and called off our plans to visit the cinema. Instead, Thomas and I wandered round familiar streets and drank in familiar cafes, for the last time in awhile. I left Thomas, and struggled to sleep by myself, propped awkwardly on hot water bottles to ease the pain. Mum journeyed back to Edinburgh with me fortunately, and we shared peppers and humous in the train's quiet carriage. She learnt what an Edinburgh winter truly means, in a flat with high ceilings and huge windows and faulty heating. We watched stumbling penguins at the zoo, ate at Montpelliers, which I recommend, and shared a picnic with a movie on my laptop on saturday. I waved her off at the station, stood awhile waiting for the coach to depart, miming through the glass. I trotted alongside the train as it left, waving, melancholy. I walked back through town, a mixture of excitement at being back in my own city, and loneliness after the constant company of the weekend. This week has been difficult, catching into the swing of being by myself again, but also with the pressure of designing multiple publicity sets for different theatre groups - all with similar deadlines, and returned with minor adjustments which take far too long. Still working on my final piece, a programme for next week's festival, which is possibly later than it should be, but it's been difficult keeping my head above water and despite resolutions, I'm already barely scraping the university workload. Today is friday, so this is delayed, and I am nervous about the week to come - our theatre festival. I have been at the gym the last two days, and eating resolutely, which makes me feel better, although much more tired. The grey mist that lingers outside doesn't help, nor do cold nights and empty beds. Roll on summer, in every respect.

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The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem-rotor helicopter originally developed by American rotorcraft company Vertol and now manufactured by Boeing Defense, Space & Security. The Chinook is a heavy-lift helicopter that is the second heaviest lifting Western helicopter to the Sikorsky CH-53. Its name, Chinook, is from the Native American Chinook people of Oregon and Washington state.

The Chinook was originally designed by Vertol, which had begun work in 1957 on a new tandem-rotor helicopter, designated as the Vertol Model 107 or V-107. Around the same time, the United States Department of the Army announced its intention to replace the piston-engine–powered Sikorsky CH-37 Mojave with a new, gas turbine–powered helicopter. During June 1958, the U.S. Army ordered a small number of V-107s from Vertol under the YHC-1A designation; following testing, some Army officials considered it to be too heavy for the assault missions and too light for transport purposes. While the YHC-1A would be improved and adopted by the U.S. Marine Corps as the CH-46 Sea Knight, the Army sought a heavier transport helicopter, and ordered an enlarged derivative of the V-107 with the Vertol designation Model 114. Initially designated as the YCH-1B, on 21 September 1961, the preproduction rotorcraft performed its maiden flight. In 1962, the HC-1B was redesignated CH-47A under the 1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system.

The Chinook possesses several means of loading various cargoes, including multiple doors across the fuselage, a wide loading ramp located at the rear of the fuselage and a total of three external ventral cargo hooks to carry underslung loads. Capable of a top speed of 170 knots (200 mph; 310 km/h), upon its introduction to service in 1962, the helicopter was considerably faster than contemporary 1960s utility helicopters and attack helicopters, and is still one of the fastest helicopters in the US inventory. Improved and more powerful versions of the Chinook have also been developed since its introduction; one of the most substantial variants to be produced was the CH-47D, which first entered service in 1982; improvements from the CH-47C standard included upgraded engines, composite rotor blades, a redesigned cockpit to reduce workload, improved and redundant electrical systems and avionics, and the adoption of an advanced flight control system. It remains one of the few aircraft to be developed during the early 1960s – along with the fixed-wing Lockheed C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft – that has remained in both production and frontline service for over 60 years.

The military version of the helicopter has been exported to nations; the U.S. Army and the Royal Air Force (see Boeing Chinook (UK variants)) have been its two largest users. The civilian version of the Chinook is the Boeing Vertol 234. It has been used by civil operators not only for passenger and cargo transport, but also for aerial firefighting and to support logging, construction, and oil extraction industries.

So...I am now working in Geneva 9-5.

Unlike in Beijing where I often eat in restaurant, here I have to go to supermarket and cook myself every day after work. As a result, my diet is getting much healthier. Lots of salad and very little meat. I am sure my shape will improve a lot if I stay in Geneva in the long run. Generally speaking life is peaceful and enjoyable here despite heavier workload.

I visited Paris in early August and shot 3 rolls of film there. But the labs in Geneva charge too high a price for processing and scanning. So I will have to wait and bring them back to Beijing in October. Sorry, folks, no new photos to share for now. Please take care!

Derby on a rather grey 7th August 1976 with 25133 + 25280 waiting departure time for a run to the seaside with a Derby – Skegness service. A bit of litter picking between the platforms would not go amiss.

Locomotive History

25133 was originally D5283 and was delivered from Derby Works to Toton MPD during July 1964. It would spend its entire career allocated to the London Midland Region with the majority allocated to Toton. In 1966 due to a heavy workload at Derby Works, D5283 was one of three Type 2s that were sent to the Brush Works, Loughborough for collision damage repairs. On completion of the repair in early 1967 it was one of the early recipients of the new rail blue corporate livery. It was withdrawn in August 1983 and dispatched to Derby Works in October 1983 for stripping. It remained here for almost eighteen months until towed to Swindon Works in February 1985. However, 25133 still escaped the cutter's torch still being more or less intact when Swindon Works closed in March 1986. In May 1987 eleven locomotives, including 25133 were moved from the Works to Cocklebury Yard, making the final journey to Vic Berry's Leicester yard in June 1987. A month later 25133 finally succumbed, being broken up during July 1987. 25280 was one of a batch of class twenty five locomotives built by Beyer Peacock and entered traffic in September 1965, allocated to Tinsley MPD. After sixteen years service it was withdrawn in November 1981 and broken up at Swindon Works in July 1983.

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Praktica LTL, Kodachrome 64

The day the Merlion stopped spewing water….An early dawn shot of the Merlion a few weeks ago. I’m still digging shots from my archives as of this time as I’m pretty occupied with so much workload lately. Will drop by at your photostreams later…

***Canon EOS 7D ӏ Canon EF-S10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM, 10mm ӏ Bulb mode at f/22, 90s, ISO 200 ӏ Tripod mounted with remote cable release

A classic. A friend asked me to shoot their wedding. Bet not because of me owning a "good" camera, but based om my work. I don´t feel my style is applicable to weddingphotography, nor do I want the pressure or workload surrounding shooting weddings, but I said yes. Can´t say why. This is one of the photos. The only wish from them was to incorporate some of the iconic surroundings where they live, so I did that in some of the shots. I scouted locations and was all set. Unexpectedly it started pouring rain. So the shoot became largely improvised. This shot is lit from camera left by my assistent ( a friend who thought we were going for a beer at first) I think it came our pretty nice. In post all I did was som eye-work, some contrast, dodging, burning, sharpness and spotremovals.

Thought I'd build a few Star Wars MOCs, beginning with an Infantry Support Platform (ISP), otherwise known as a 'Swamp Speeder' from the Galactic Republic used during the Clone Wars.

*Over the past few months I haven't been able to build much due to an increase in workload, but I can reassure you that there will still be models appearing.

*In addition, I will be displaying at Brickvention 2022 if you want to see some of my hidden models.

Have not been feeling well, caught a cold Friday but feel good enough today. Also busy with college workload. I have a two part series idea coming up and I hope to get that started soon. In the meantime, have this other photo I shot in my dorm hall.

Thanks for understanding.

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[077:365]

"Wonder rather than doubt is the root of all knowledge." - Abraham Joshua Heschel

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Well, we're supposed to be getting a heaping pile of something that belongs with s overnight, so I figured I'd better take advantage of this cold, but not buried day and get an outdoor macro since it seems that won't be an option for the next couple days and I will most likely be stuck inside for shooting. Although I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that Mother Nature is wrong and and no snow appears.

Otherwise, a busy Monday, setting the tone for a chaotic but quick work week. It seems that the days before having a bunch of days off are always insane, as though people panic that you'll be gone and suddenly your workload triples. Oh well, at least it will make the week go by quickly.

+1 in the comments.

Hope everyone has had a decent Monday.

Click "L" to view on a darker background.

This past week marks the fifth anniversary of my Flickr account, created right after going to my very first LEGO exhibition as a visitor, back in November 2015.

So I just wanted to take a minute and thank each and every one of you for making these five years such a wonderful and enriching journey. I'm truly, extremely grateful to be part of this community: since I started out here, I've been able to meet incredible and inspiring people, learn and discover tons of stuff, and even make some new friends :)

So thank you!

As an added bonus: I know I always enjoy learning more about fellow LEGO fans, so I thought I'd include here 10 facts about me, if someone was curious...

1) My name is Jonah. Interesting. But what's more interesting (at least for me) is that I have never actually met a single person with the same name as me in my entire life.

2) I'm an old TFOL/young AFOL.

3) I like (among other things) LEGO, calligraphy, reading, road cycling, hiking, photography, books by Tolkien, Don Rosa’s Uncle Scrooge, visiting historical sites and museums, art theory, watching movies, card and board games, and thinking way too much about the how and why of stuff I like ;)

4) I have moved 8 times in my life, and I now live in France.

5) I have two sisters, two parents and two ears. They’re all nice to have around :)

6) I’m currently in second year of University in a selective program in medieval and modern history. The workload is pretty insane but it's super interesting (also explains why I haven't been building much of late)

7) Bionicle is the only thing I’m (kind of) a collector of. I love them but I'm too lazy to try constraction.

8) I believe my first LEGO System set was the 7235 Police motorcycle from 2005. Before that was Duplo ;)

9) Music is a huge source of inspiration for me, even though I don’t play a single instrument. Go figure. I love to listen to any piece of music that tells me a story.

10) First started posting LEGO pictures online about 9 or 10 years ago, on the official LEGO Star Wars gallery 0.0 Must’ve posted there two or three times before dropping it :P

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Moon Flower font by and © Denise Bentulan. I don't claim ownership over this font, nor do I intend on using it for commercial purposes.

Speed Drawing : Blackpink Rose' : What A Chic! 😭 : Rosanna 😭 (Toto) : Haven't Met You Yet (Michael Bublé) : Kiss (Prince) : From the Lost Memories of the Other Realms : The Blackpink Alternate Universe series : Digital Drawing

Follow me on:

Instagram: reymdraws

Flickr: reymdraws

Deviantart reymdraws

Youtube: reymdraws

The insanely naturally beautiful & gorgeous Rose' in pink hair 😭:). Was about to draw Lisaaa then I noticed, hang on, there's an unfinished drawing in my collection going as far as January 😭:). Soo decided to do a smaller side hustle drawing last night to test my new mac mini m2pro as my main workstation - the experience? Felt like drawing on an ipad but with a humongous screen :). There is no delay at all, very responsive, it's soo fluid & buttery smooth, akin to drawing on paper! Unlike my 8yr old 2015 macbook pro's noisy fan 😭:), the mac mini m2pro is silent, even with a large multi window workloads :). Anyhoo, enough of the new hardware, back to the drawing :). Interestingly, my first drawing on the cintiq32pro is Jisoo's Sailormoon, while the first drawing on the m2pro is Rose'...hmmm 😭:). They go hand in hand don't they, just like the hardware 😭:). Rose's main drawing is big & will also be full body but with a spacious landscape as a background :). After that, I will start on Lisa's drawing. Thanks for looking. Drawn using ps cc, cintiq32pro. Enjoy, be a Chic for once 😭:) & sweet dreams :).

Drawing timelapse found here: youtu.be/XDT_35eScpE

Red Stilletto is hanging up the heels on her red 365 and kicking up her heels tonight!

Wow!!! What a year. It doesn't seem like it was all that long ago that I posted my first pic in my red 365 project and now here we are 365 days and 365 red captures later.

For anyone considering doing a 365 project I can not recommend it highly enough. Along the way you will discover a lot about yourself and your abilities, you will be challenged, you will learn to look and see things differently and your photography will improve.

This project has been a big learning curve for me and for the most part it has been very enjoyable and very rewarding experience. My only stresses were a lack of time due to an often busy workload and lack of light in the winter months, but above all I found it thoroughly enjoyable and would definitely consider doing another in future years.

An additional bonus is that you will have created a visual diary for yourself of the past year. I can look at any image and instantly remember where I was that day and what I was doing and for that reason alone this is a worthwhile project. An instant visual cue is a reminder of moments often and easily forgotten.

One of the best things I will take from this amazing red ride is the friendships I have made along the way. Thank you to each and everyone of my dear Flickr friends who have followed my project and taken the time and effort it requires to comment on each and every photo. That in itself is a huge task but I am forever grateful for your ongoing support, encouraging words and enthusiasm.

Finally I would like to dedicate my red 365 to my wonderful husband Ray. Those of us who have completed this project know the support and patience required by loved ones around us when we take on a project like this, as it's not just the time spent behind the lens but the time spent online too. In addition his incredible patience and encouragement and support Ray was always on the look out for red opportunities for me and on many occasions provided me with material and/or inspiration for my shot of the day.

So what's next for Red Stilletto? Project 100 - 100 photos all taken in 2014 that have a chosen theme. I'm very excited about this new project and am basing my theme on my namesake . . . red stilettos!

Each pic will feature a pair of red stilettos, but in different locations and scenarios, sometimes also using selective colour so that the image is mono and just the shoes are red! I will also only use my DSLR for this project, no iPhone or compact digital.

If you're interested you can join. This group will begin on the first day of January 2014 and will close to new members on January 31, 2014.

www.flickr.com/groups/100x2014

More red coming your way very soon!

This past week was ridiculoussss in terms of workload/activities, so I was a bit absent from flickr.

Here is a picture from a fashion show at Penn I got to photograph with student models and designers. It was fun but I wish I was able to watch the show instead of making sure I didn't miss anything. Also, I NEED a bigger memory card! It was pretty scary having to frantically go through and delete old shots because of lack of space!

More in comments :) - minimally edited. Thank god for my 24-70!

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Took me a while to decide on colour or black and white for this photo.

Its good to be posting again to flickr.

My work and little man has been keeping me busy for the past few months but hopefully I will start to claw back at the massive workload I have and try and experiment over the winter months. I have some new toys that I want to try out and havent had much of a chance to use them yet.

+ Model: Aleisha Brookesmith

+ Camera: 5D Mark ii

+ Lens: Canon 24-70mm f2.8L

+ Strobist: Single Canon 580exii full power above, 60" shoot thru umbrella.

Surikats at Kolmården

Since their first appearance lumbering over the fields of the Somme in 1916, the tank has been a core component of warfare, providing mobile, protected firepower. During the Cold War, it was expected that thousands of increasingly advanced NATO and Soviet Main Battle Tanks would clash on the plains of central Europe. Perhaps the ultimate Soviet ‘super-tank’ project, the KMDB (Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau) Object 490 “Poplar” design prototype represented a radical rethinking of tank design to maximize armor, firepower, and protection.

Developed through the 1980s, the Object 490 would have been a monstrous vehicle, crewed by two in a cab at the rear of the hull. Sporting a massive 152mm 2A73 cannon mounted in a low-profile, remotely-operated turret, it could out-range and destroy any NATO vehicle with ease. Vision was provided almost entirely via 1st generation thermal imaging devices, and conventional cameras front and aft to provide vision. Quad tracks and twin engines provided ample mobility and locomotion redundancy. A veritable fortress, it combined heavy frontal armor, with a maximum equivalent of 4500mm of steel, a newly-developed ‘Gofr’ explosive reactive armor, and an advanced sensor suite linked to the (then cutting-edge) ‘Shtandart’ Active Protection System. Given the restrictive arc of fire, a remote weapons system with a 30mm grenade launcher to provide all-round protection against lightly armored threats.

Ultimately, the Object 490 would have been exceptionally complex, expensive, and relied on a plethora of then-immature technologies. Impressive as it was on paper, it had shortcomings in its vision systems, a highly restricted arc of fire (limited frontally to 45 degrees either direction), a high workload for the two-person crew, and mechanical complexity. The project was abandoned following the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, with Ukraine, home of KMDB, being unable to continue funding its development. As far as is known, while individual sub-systems and demonstrators were tested, the design never progressed beyond a full-sized wooden mock-up. Though no modern tanks have emulated the Object 490’s exact layout, it is a testament to the design that many of the ideas demonstrated by the vehicle are only just now being fielded on modern tanks, such as remote turrets and integrated active protection systems.

Built for the Brickfair Virginia 2023 eXperimental Military Collaboration. Joint upload with Aleksander Stein’s fantastic Strv. 141 Garm MBT!

See also: flickriver and 500px.

A report, requested by the UK's chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, stresses there is still a high degree of uncertainty over how the coronavirus pandemic will play out this winter.

But research suggests the virus can survive longer in colder conditions and is more likely to spread when people spend more time indoors.

And experts are concerned the NHS will be under extreme pressure, not just from a resurgence of coronavirus but also from seasonal flu and a backlog of regular, non-coronavirus workload.

After almost a month due to workload, I took advantage of the day off today and went for some shots.

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8. March - International Women's Day

History of March 8

On Day 8 March 1857, workers of a textile factory, located in the North American city of New York, made a big strike. They occupied the plant and began to demand better working conditions, such as reducing the daily workload for ten hours (factories required 16 hours of daily work), Match wages with men (women came to receive up to a third the salary of a man to perform the same type of work) and fair treatment in the workplace.

The demonstration was repressed with full violence. The women were locked inside the factory, which was set on fire. Approximately 130 weavers died carbonized in a totally inhuman act.

extract from

"A History of International Women's Day: "We Want Bread and Roses Too"

www.uic.edu/orgs/cwluherstory/CWLUArchive/interwomen.html

This one-inch wide flower is the only one of a batch of 25 bulbs I planted years ago that has decided, after several years of lying dormant, to surprise me with its bloom.

Because of workload demands, I can't go visiting and commenting, or even reciprocating, as much as I would like to. Please bear with me, and this message. Thanks.

Reminder: Please do not post notes on my photo or any images in your comments unless they are germane to my shot and of thumbnail size. If you do, I will delete the comment without notification. I welcome your input, but please express yourself in text only, or provide a link to your image. Thank you.

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