Good Morning All, Monday I had the pleasure of seeing how the new On the Road will look and work, and it should be nice. It looks like we have two weeks, perhaps a bit more, until the transition. So, please feel free to submit your pictures and stories using the current form at tools.balloon-juice.com but …
Travel
On the Road and In Your Backyard
by Alain Chamot (1971-2020)| 7 Comments
This post is in: On The Road, Open Threads, Readership Capture, Travel
Good Morning All, I hope this post finds you well. I’m finally getting finished with some post-trip duties and will have some more time to post some neat content this week and next. Later today, keep a look out for my “trailside/emergency canning” post. It’s a simple thing that can help preserve food or keep …
On the Road and In Your BackyardPost + Comments (7)
Today, pictures from valued commenter Mike J.
Had an extra crew member show up for our Wednesday night race.
Taken on 2019-08-07 00:00:00
Tacoma harbor
We race with the Corinthian Yacht Club of Tacoma every Wednesday night. Corinthian racing means everyone is an amateur, and good sportsmanship is the primary rule.
Taken on 2019-08-07 00:00:00
Tacoma harbor
Sea lions swarm the barges outside the marina in early spring, but they’ve moved on. Harbor seals don’t stay out in the harbor, they enjoy the sun warmed walkways. Dozens of seals with their pups hang out and wait for the tide when fishing is best.
Taken on 2019-08-07 00:00:00
Tacoma harbor
Harbor seals can dive up to 1500 feet (which is good in 900’+ Puget Sound) and stay under up to 40 minutes. They weigh up to about 300 pounds, which is puny compared to the sea lions, but still a good sized mammal. They also don’t follow you for days “just asking questions.”
Taken on 2019-08-07 00:00:00
Tacoma harbor
This seal had no fear of us at all, but when we got on the boat and started making noise, she decided she liked sleeping better than sailing.
Thank you so much Mike J, do send us more when you can.
Travel safely everybody, and do share some stories in the comments, even if you’re joining the conversation late. Many folks confide that they go back and read old threads, one reason these are available on the Quick Links menu.
One again, to submit pictures: Use the Form
On the Road and In Your Backyard
by Alain Chamot (1971-2020)| 9 Comments
This post is in: On The Road, Open Threads, Readership Capture, Travel
Good Morning All, Have a wonderful day, and enjoy the pictures!
On the Road and In Your BackyardPost + Comments (9)
Today, pictures from valued commenter Rand Careaga.
Visiting the city for the first time since Tony Blair was PM, I thought to visit the grave of Karl Marx, and while there I took a turn around the grounds, looking in on the graves of Leslie Stephen, Carl Mayer (Weimar-era screenwriter), Douglas Adams and sundry other luminaries, as well as countless obscure and forgotten. Among the latter I noted a preponderance of genteel circumlocutions for, you know, not living anymore (“went to sleep,” “gathered unto God,” et cetera), so it was refreshing to see that Patrick Caulfield’s grave made no, uh, bones about his state.
Taken on 2019-07-29 00:00:00
Highgate Cemetery
Among the monuments to the lesser-known I noted a preponderance of genteel circumlocutions for, you know, not living anymore (“went to sleep,” “gathered unto God,” et cetera), so it was refreshing to see that Patrick Caulfield’s grave made no, uh, bones about his state.
Taken on 2019-07-29 00:00:00
Highgate Cemetery
Grave of a publisher—“remaindered, we might say.”
Taken on 2019-07-29 00:00:00
Highgate Cemetery
“Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read Hegel anyway.”
Thank you so much Rand Careaga, do send us more when you can.
Travel safely everybody, and do share some stories in the comments, even if you’re joining the conversation late. Many folks confide that they go back and read old threads, one reason these are available on the Quick Links menu.
One again, to submit pictures: Use the Form
On the Road and In Your Backyard
by Alain Chamot (1971-2020)| 16 Comments
This post is in: Albatrossity, On The Road, Open Threads, Readership Capture, Travel
Good Morning All, Have a wonderful day, and enjoy the pictures!
On the Road and In Your BackyardPost + Comments (16)
Today, pictures from valued commenter Albatrossity.
More images of the critters found in the Flint Hills of Kansas.
Taken on 2017-10-02 00:00:00
Flint Hills of Kansas
Large herds of bison historically roamed these hills, but nowadays there are lots more cattle than bison. Nonetheless there are still some bison herds in the Flint Hills, both on private ranches and on publicly accessible land like the Tallgrass National Monument near Cottonwood Falls KS. This winsome fellow lives on the Konza Prairie Biological Station south of Manhattan KS. Konza has a trail system that is open to the public, but it does not go through the area of the station where the bison lives. Come visit me sometime and maybe we can get you out there.
Taken on 2017-07-24 00:00:00
Flint Hills of Kansas
The Dickcissel is an abundant and very vocal summer resident throughout the state, but is particularly abundant and vocal in the Flint Hills. This one is perched on another iconic prairie species, the Compass Plant (Silphium laciniatum). If you’ve read Aldo Leopold’s Sand County Almanac, perhaps you remember this passage: “What a thousand acres of Silphiums looked like when they tickled the bellies of the buffalo is a question never again to be answered, and perhaps not even asked.”
Taken on 2013-10-26 00:00:00
Flint Hills of Kansas
Field Sparrows are common summer and rare winter residents of the Flint Hills, but are also found across the North American continent. Their orangish-pink bills and prominent white eye-ring make them stand out even in the grasses and forbs of the prairie.
Taken on 2017-09-07 00:00:00
Bell’s Vireo
Bell’s Vireos are abundant and also very vocal summer residents; just about any patch of Narrow-leaved Dogwood on the prairie will have a proprietary Bell’s Vireo blasting out his territorial song all day long. They are also tiny, and notorious skulkers, so I was very happy to lure this one out briefly for a portrait.
Taken on 2017-05-24 00:00:00
Flint Hills of Kansas
Indigo Buntings are found across much of eastern North America, and are even spreading westward these days. This species was probably not very common on the prairies historically, since there were not very many trees until the land was settled and fires were suppressed. But they are common now in the summer, and a welcome voice during the hot parts of the year.
Thank you so much Albatrossity, do send us more when you can.
Travel safely everybody, and do share some stories in the comments, even if you’re joining the conversation late. Many folks confide that they go back and read old threads, one reason these are available on the Quick Links menu.
One again, to submit pictures: Use the Form
On the Road and In Your Backyard
by Alain Chamot (1971-2020)| 22 Comments
This post is in: On The Road, Open Threads, Readership Capture, Travel
Good Morning All, Have a wonderful day, and enjoy the pictures!
On the Road and In Your BackyardPost + Comments (22)
Today, pictures from valued commenter ?BillinGlendaleCA.
A few weeks ago I posted pictures from a #streetmeetla photo shoot down in San Pedro. Well, they had another one, this time at San Gabriel Valley Airport in El Monte. The theme was VW’s and airplanes(being that it was at an airport, kinda makes sense). I drove alone since I didn’t hear anything from my colleague, but just after I arrived, he showed up with a model I’d shot a couple of times before. Quite a few photographer brought their own lighting equipment, but being that it was outdoors(and I don’t have any), I just had my cameras. Basically the way this shoot worked it that the models(there were both male and female models) would stand by a plane or a VW and do their thing and the photographers would snap away. I think I got some really good pictures at this shoot. After the shoot I started home and figured I’d stop by Mission San Gabriel since it was close by and the IR pictures I shoot 3 years ago sucked. I headed home from the mission fed and walked my girls and then it was off to The Huntington for their evening strolls for members.
On a personal note:
This will be my second to last regular post here at ‘On The Road’, I had hoped to supplement my income by selling my pictures but I’ve only had 3 sales. I’ll close up BillinGlendale.com next April(I think I’m paid up though then) and get regular employment. I’d like to thank all of you for your kind comments and encouragement. My next and last submission will be a good one, stay tuned.
Taken on 2019-07-28 00:00:00
San Gabriel Valley Airport
I had photographed this model earlier in the shoot sitting in a VW bus. She moved out to where the airplanes were and I took a few more pictures. This picture differs from others in it’s processing. I used a color Lookup Table. Color Lookup Tables(LUT) map the colors in a photo to other colors to give a specific feel to the photo, in this case I used a LUT the mimics Kodachrome film. As Paul Simon noted, it makes all the world a sunny day, and is pretty saturated. It made her skin a bit too saturated so I removed it for the areas where her skin was showing and left it on the rest of the photo.
Taken on 2019-07-28 00:00:00
San Gabriel Valley Airport
This model arrived about half way though the shoot, in fact I saw her arrive when I went to my car for a break. She posed in a green VW Bug. I took this shot though the windshield and the RAW shot had quite a bit of glare, some of which you can still see in the processed photo. While I liked the pose, I almost didn’t even process this shot due to the glare. When I did attempt to process it it(bringing out the full dynamic range and applying haze reduction), I found that the glare added almost a dreamy look to face. She had an abrasion on her right elbow that I removed in Photoshop.
Taken on 2019-07-28 00:00:00
San Gabriel Valley Airport
This model also arrived late in the shoot. She posed with another model next to this airplane and the by herself. You can see the San Gabriel Mountains in the background of this shot. One other photographer posted his shot of this young lady in the #streetmeetla Instagram page and I felt that he smoothed her skin so much that she looked like a robot and it seems to me also lightened her skin tone. His photo as taken in full sun and possibly with additional light(flash), so that might account for it. Skin smoothing us useful, but needs to be used sparingly and you should never remove tats or lighten skin tone.
Taken on 2019-07-28 00:00:00
San Gabriel, CA
Driving from the airfield back to the cave, I decided to stop at Mission San Gabriel since it was only a bit out of the way. I have some of my favorite photos in a slideshow as wallpaper on my PC. The day prior to this shoot an IR photo of the mission came up on my screen and it was awful. I took it 3 years ago when I first visited the mission. Since I had my IR camera and we had some nice clouds in the sky, it made sense to stop by the mission for a re-shoot. This photo was taken at the same spot that I’d taken the shot 3 years earlier. As is my procedure now, I took two shots: one with my IR camera and one with my regular camera. I then combined the two shots(with a lot of processing in the mean time on Photoshop).
Taken on 2019-07-28 00:00:00
The Huntington, San Marino, CA
After my return from the airport and mission, I processed some of my photos and fed and walked my girls. Then it was off to the Huntington for the Evening Stroll. My goal was to attempt to get a good sunset in the Chinese Garden. I spent most of my time between the Chinese and Japanese gardens making sure to be in the Chinese Garden for sunset and the garden’s closing. While the clouds had dissipated from earlier in the day, there were still sufficient cloud cover to provide a colorful sunset. This shot is the combined result of 5 shots taken with exposure bracketing and processed with HDR software.
Thank you so much ?BillinGlendaleCA, do send us more when you can.
Travel safely everybody, and do share some stories in the comments, even if you’re joining the conversation late. Many folks confide that they go back and read old threads, one reason these are available on the Quick Links menu.
One again, to submit pictures: Use the Form or Send an Email
On the Road and In Your Backyard
by Alain Chamot (1971-2020)| 8 Comments
This post is in: On The Road, Open Threads, Readership Capture, Travel
Good Morning All, Have a wonderful day, and enjoy the pictures!
On the Road and In Your BackyardPost + Comments (8)
Today, pictures from valued commenter Litlebritdifrnt.
http://www.wolfwood.co.uk/ Wolfwood Family Fun Day and Dog Show was held yesterday. Me, Mum and Norman ran the Cake Stall (Bake Sale for those in the US). It was a great day, the weather stayed fine and everyone seemed to have a great time. My Sister came by along with my Niece Clare and her Children Penny and Stan. Norman’s daughter Elayne and her husband stopped by also. Elayne won two prizes in the Raffle, a bottle of Whiskey and a bottle of Gin. I guess is was well worth buying the tickets. What follows are phots of the day.
Taken on 2019-07-21 00:00:00
Ryelands Park, Lancaster, England
This delightful little goggie was with her owners and her pal and seemed to have no problem getting around the park. It is also nice to see either a) people who are willing to adopt a disabled dog or b) owners who are not willing to give up on a beloved pet. It warms my heart.
Taken on 2019-07-21 00:00:00
Ryelands Park, Lancaster, England
This handsome beast is Ludo. He belongs to the large Vet Practice in the area (Bay Vets) who had a stall here. He was their “model” for a brief dog wellness demonstration that was held in the main tent. What was particularly interesting is that they placed great emphasis on “keeping your dog cool” which is going to be important in the next week when we are supposed to experience some record temperatures.
Taken on 2019-07-21 00:00:00
Ryelands Park, Lancaster, England
This teensy tiny ball of fluff and attitude was wearing a “Guard Dog” harness which I found to be hilarious, not only that but her owner was a huge burly bloke who was wearing a black heavy metal t-shirt. I thought the juxtaposition was just priceless.
Taken on 2019-07-21 00:00:00
Ryelands Park, Lancaster, England
This delightful little Owl was part of the Corio Raptor Care and Rescue Centre display. The poor little thing had been bought as a chick and kept in a Budgie (Parakeet) cage all its life until it was rescued and brought to the centre. Many of the Owls that are rescued there are rehabilitated but many, like this one, because they are not native to the area and have no life skills cannot be released. Again the delightful man who runs the centre is a huge burly bloke with piercings and a white beard is very dedicated to his charges.
Taken on 2019-07-21 00:00:00
Ryelands Park, Lancaster, England
This Jack Russel Terrier ish chappy won third prize in the “Scruffiest Mutt” category. His pal (the Lurcher next to him) won Fifth in the “Prettiest” Category. There are all sorts of cool categories in the show, “Best Rescue” “Best Six Legs (dog and owner)” “Best Child Handler” “Most mis-matched pair” “Prettiest Eyes” “Most Waggy Tail”. It is just a great deal of fun, and it raises money for a great cause. I am proud to take part.
Thank you so much Litlebritdifrnt, do send us more when you can.
Travel safely everybody, and do share some stories in the comments, even if you’re joining the conversation late. Many folks confide that they go back and read old threads, one reason these are available on the Quick Links menu.
One again, to submit pictures: Use the Form
On the Road and In Your Backyard
by Alain Chamot (1971-2020)| 36 Comments
This post is in: Albatrossity, Birdwatching, On The Road, Open Threads, Readership Capture, Travel
Good Morning All, I’m back from my mad dash halfway across the country for some high-altitude mushrooms, Palisades peaches, Pueblo chiles, Pueblo Jalapenos, and some assorted trinkets and touristy stuff. I had a wonderful, if brief time, in a state I had the pleasure of living in for 9 years. I visited a number of …
On the Road and In Your BackyardPost + Comments (36)
Today, pictures from valued commenter Albatrossity.
I do not live in a place with the variety of scenic opportunities that Bill enjoys in SoCal; I live in a place which is largely unknown and underappreciated, the Flint Hills of Kansas. This is the last stronghold of the tallgrass prairie, an ecosystem that once covered 240 million acres in the center of the North american continent, and which has now been reduced to about 2% of that acreage. In other words, the percentage of tallgrass prairie that is left is significantly less than the percentage of old-growth forests remaining in the Pacific Northwest, yet that ecosystem gets a lot more ink and angst.
The Flint Hills remain as a tallgrass ecosystem thanks to that eponymous flint; the soil is only a couple of inches in depth, thus it is too thin and rocky to plow, which was the fate of prairies in Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa and elsewhere. It is grazed for cattle, but since it was originally grazed by bison, that is not a radical change in land management practices, and much of the original biodiversity remains. That is not to say that it is pristine, or protected, or out of danger; it is, however, hanging on pretty well. Periodic controlled burns and grazing, which were historically part of the ecology here, are still used to maintain the grasslands here.
So I’m gonna submit a bunch of photos of this part of the world and some of its denizens. As you might imagine, lots of these images will be birds!
Taken on 2013-07-23 00:00:00
Konza Prairie Biological Station, Manhattan KS
The Flint Hills of Kansas, with a pale rainbow in the dawn sky.
Taken on 2017-06-05 00:00:00
Flint Hills of Kansas
Many sparrows can be found in grasslands, and the grasslands of the Flint Hills host some very fine sparrows. Some are summer residents only, like this Henslow’s Sparrow, which requires “old-growth” grassland, i.e. prairies which have not been burnt that year and which have some standing dead stems and understory. This sparrow was historically much more widespread across North America, but is not doing well in other regions these days.
Taken on 2019-07-24 00:00:00
Flint Hills of Kansas
Another iconic summer resident is the Grasshopper Sparrow, a diminutive but vocal bird in much of the Flint Hills. Like all sparrows, the closer you look at them the more you see; they are not just the LBJs (little brown jobs) that many birders and others dismiss without much appreciation.
Taken on 2013-11-10 00:00:00
Flint Hills of Kansas
Winter brings another sparrow from the far North back to the central prairies, the chunky yet handsome Harris’s Sparrow. If you look at the range maps for this species, you will discover that you might have to visit Nebraska, Kansas or Oklahoma to see one of these sparrows; their wintering range is right in the heart of the continent.
Taken on 2017-10-11 00:00:00
Flint Hills of Kansas
Another winter resident sparrow is the Lincoln’s Sparrow. This species is much more widely distributed across North America, but is not easily seen, since it is what birders call a “skulker”. Sometimes you can lure one out for a portrait, however, so that you can appreciate the fine details of its elegant plumage.
Thank you so much Albatrossity, do send us more when you can.
Travel safely everybody, and do share some stories in the comments, even if you’re joining the conversation late. Many folks confide that they go back and read old threads, one reason these are available on the Quick Links menu.
One again, to submit pictures: Use the Form or Send an Email
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