Random Photos

Rive · Mar 23, 2024

A holiday at some nearby city...
...
...and a sudden 'wedding tram ' :doh:

Yellow and blue vintage tram with open-sided passenger compartments turning across a city intersection, with a zebra crossing in the foreground and multi-storey buildings behind.

(On-demand retro vehicle from the city hall to the usual celebratory spot)

And a random spring street photo:

Night photo of a tree in full white-pink blossom lit warmly by a street lamp, with a dark sky above and a café awning with lit windows below.

docnet · Mar 23, 2024

Hazy view over a green golf course with a sand bunker and pond, framed by dense eucalyptus-style trees, white flowering shrubs and a wooden pergola, with a distant city skyline under a pale sky.

Tree-lined residential road climbing a hill in morning haze, with willow-like trees on both sides, red flowering shrubs, and white houses on the slopes above.

Tree-lined street with large spreading trees forming a canopy over the road, parked cars along the left, and a white van and white car driving on the right.

Grey, hazy seascape at dusk with a low dark island of palm trees and a tall drilling rig silhouetted on the horizon, two small posts in the water in the foreground.

The last photo is one of artificial islands called THUMS islands. They're facades that hide the drilling rigs behind a series of artificial landscape and fake condos. The islands pollute the nearby beaches.

Andy Resnick · Mar 24, 2024

Went to a Great Blue Heron Rookery (a Heronry) today:

Leafless trees against a blue sky with scattered clouds, many of them holding dark stick nests high in their branches, with power lines running across the scene.

Silhouette of a great blue heron in flight, wings spread, with long legs trailing, against a blue sky and bare tree branches holding large stick nests.

Silhouetted large wading birds perched in bare winter trees beside stick nests against a blue sky, one bird sitting on a nest in the centre.

Silhouette of a great blue heron standing on a bare tree branch against a clear blue sky, one wing spread wide and the other raised behind it.

Great blue heron standing on a bare tree branch against a clear blue sky, with long plumes trailing from its head and back.

WWGD · Mar 25, 2024

jtbell said:

A couple of years ago, I introduced you to Joel Poinsett, who brought a certain festive holiday plant to the US.

He appears every year in Greenville SC's Poinsettia Christmas Parade.

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He looks pretty good for a 244-year-old.

He's the precursor of Topology as well, Poinsett Topology.

DennisN · Mar 26, 2024

Close-up of a candle, shot a while ago for fun:

Close-up of a lit candle flame on a dark background, with a blue base and bright yellow-white tip rising from the blackened wick above the candle's top.

Close-up of the burning candle wick:

Close-up photo of a burning candle wick: a charred, blackened wick tip with a glowing orange ember at the top, surrounded by the pale yellow flame and a blue base.

(shot with Sony A6000 + Canon nFD 100mm Macro f/4 + a 15mm extension tube)
(I've had the lens for a while, got it for a good price second hand; what's nice with a 100mm macro lens is that you can shoot from a bit larger distance than with a 50mm macro lens)

berkeman · Mar 26, 2024

DennisN said:

Close-up of the burning candle wick:

I won't ask if any recreational substances were involved in this photo shoot...

Averagesupernova · Mar 26, 2024

As with all of my photos, the focus is never the best, etc. Usually only have a cell phone cam to work with. Just interesting subject matter. My 4-leggers are very difficult to get good pix of.

A golden-coated dog lying on its side on a concrete floor, asleep, with a grey cat curled up against its legs and belly.

jtbell · Mar 27, 2024

Dense shrub covered in spidery magenta flowers with narrow, strap-like petals among dark reddish-purple leaves.

Branches of a tree covered in white and pale pink cherry blossoms against a clear blue sky, with power lines and evergreen trees below.

nsaspook · Mar 29, 2024

Wooden picnic table on a grassy clifftop overlooking white-capped waves rolling toward the shore under a blue sky with scattered clouds.

Wide panoramic photo of a sandy beach with waves breaking under a cloudy blue sky, with people walking and standing on the sand and a small wooden lifeguard-style hut at the left edge.

nsaspook · Mar 29, 2024

Black SR-71 Blackbird spy plane on display in a museum hall, with a large engine nacelle visible, and a smaller black drone aircraft hanging overhead.

Black SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft on display in a museum hall, with a DONATE HERE sign and QR code in the foreground.

Museum display of a Saturn V rocket's lower stages, with the F-1 engine cluster and a ring-shaped section marked -Y, beside a sign reading Light to the Moon and a Saturn V panel.

Grey jet fighter with a mottled camouflage pattern on display in a large hangar, with a big transport aircraft and glass wall behind it.

Wide panoramic view inside a large aircraft hangar museum with aircraft on display, including a grey jet on the right with a dark intake and a smaller grey fighter on the left, with orange safety cones on the floor and a person standing among the exhibits.

berkeman · Mar 29, 2024

@nsaspook -- Is that the museum in McMinnville, Oregon? I may add that to my bucket list...

This is my semi-local one that I've been to several times, including to see General Chuck Yeager one time several years ago: https://aerospaceca.org/

Andy Resnick · Mar 29, 2024

Buds on a lilac getting ready to pop:

Extreme close-up of clustered purple flower buds covered in fine glistening water droplets and pale hair-like fibers around their edges.

1:1 crop from image using 55 mm Micro-Nikkor + extension tube M2 at close focus (1:1 reproduction), f/8 1/500s auto-ISO. Handheld +light breezes = spray and pray :)

Borg · Mar 29, 2024

berkeman said:

@nsaspook -- Is that the museum in McMinnville, Oregon? I may add that to my bucket list...

That did look like the Spruce Goose in the background of the second to last photo.

nsaspook · Mar 29, 2024

berkeman said:

@nsaspook -- Is that the museum in McMinnville, Oregon? I may add that to my bucket list...

This is my semi-local one that I've been to several times, including to see General Chuck Yeager one time several years ago: https://aerospaceca.org/

Yes, it's McMinnville, Oregon. They also have a 747 themed water-park.

Indoor wave pool with swimmers, a lifeguard in a red shirt on the deck, and wall signs reading USA, APOLLO and SAFETY OPERATIONS; a pair of light blue clogs sits on the wet floor in the foreground.

Parking lot in front of a low tan building with a white Boeing 747 jumbo jet mounted on its roof, with EVERGREEN and a striped tail livery visible under a cloudy sky.

nsaspook · Mar 29, 2024

Borg said:

That did look like the Spruce Goose in the background of the second to last photo.

Large grey flying boat with four propeller engines on its wing, shown in a hangar with a steel truss roof; a white aircraft with the number 8 and a Danger sign sits in the foreground.

Interior of a large aircraft museum hangar with a polished concrete floor, displaying several propeller aircraft including a small single-engine plane in the centre and a twin-engine plane on the right marked 712, with a tall glass wall behind them.

DennisN · Mar 29, 2024

nsaspook said:

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I don't see any loose doors on your photos... so I guess there's no Boeing there, right?

Tom.G · Mar 30, 2024

Too many years ago, I watched the Spruce Goose being moved from dead storage, down the Los Angeles River, to a custom-built geodesic dome in Long Beach CA.

My next door neighbor was a retired heavy-construction foreman who was consulted about the move; that's how I got an early enough warning to get on a chartered boat on the river to watch the move.

The Goose was lifted by a large crane with slings under the wings (and probably under the tail, but I don't remember that detail) and placed on a barge to float down the river to its new home as a tourist attraction. After several years it was moved 'up North' for display.

The geodesic dome is still there and is now a cruise ship terminal, and occasionally a movie set.

Photos were taken but I would have to go thru a few thousand 35mm slides from the back of a closet to find them.

In place of doing that, here are a few links.

A few years ago, a local newspaper did a short article and video about the dome and Goose:
https://www.presstelegram.com/2021/...e-forgotten-history-of-a-long-beach-landmark/

More history of the Goose can be found with:
https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=when+was+the+spruce+goose+in+long+beach+ca

Cheers,
Tom

jtbell · Mar 30, 2024

Painted sign on a brick wall reading "Beautify the Beast Pet Grooming" in pink script over a light blue background with soap bubbles, with a black and white Boston terrier's head in the lower centre.

Rive · Mar 31, 2024

Li'l neon party garden in the kitchen...

Indoor seedling setup under magenta LED grow lights, with young tomato, pepper and other seedlings in trays and small pots on a shelf.

Weather is good: a week or two and the'll be planted outside...
Well, a week or two and some of them will try to attack the lamps :doh:

ps.: protagonists: tomatoes, bell peppers, celery, eggplants, kohlrabi

berkeman · Mar 31, 2024

Me at track days...

Two motorcycle racers leaning hard into a corner on a track with red and white kerbs; the top rider wears a dark blue and black suit with green logos, the bottom rider a purple, white and pink suit with prima logos.

berkeman · Apr 2, 2024

Too cute not to share

Firefighter in turnout gear and red helmet standing on a blue step ladder in a backyard, reaching into a tree to hand down a small white kitten. Wooden fence and flowering shrubs behind.

berkeman · Apr 4, 2024

I'm very impressed by Angel Reese after watching the big rivalry game between LSU and Iowa in the women's March Madness tournament last weekend (where LSU lost to Iowa and the amazing Catlin Clark). Angel is a beast around the hoop, and played much of the game on an injured ankle that would have taken most players out of the game.

But her shooting on field goals and freethrows was awful (was she ~50% from the line?), with a goofy style that will not serve her well next year when she goes pro. I can only guess that she refused to listen to her coaches who were trying to help her learn better shooting technique. Hopefully her professional coaching staff will lay down the law next year.

Basketball player in a purple and gold LSU jersey shooting an orange Wilson NCAA basketball, her arms raised above her head.

DaveC426913 · Apr 7, 2024

Strolling through the parking lot at my yacht club.
(These are not colour-enhanced! Cropping and exposure-balancing only! (honest!))

Tangle of brightly coloured extension cords lying on dry grass and gravel, including blue, red, yellow, pink and green cables, with a blue plug at the left end.

Several loose cables in red, blue, green and yellow with black stripes lie tangled across gravel, moss and dry twigs on the ground.

Tangle of colourful extension cords lying on dry grass and gravel, including blue, red, pink, yellow and green cords, with a blue plug on one cord.

Tangle of coiled extension cords in yellow, red, orange, green, blue and black lying across a wooden power strip and a wooden wall of electrical outlets; one pink plug with a cord is visible at lower right.

DennisN · Apr 7, 2024

DaveC426913 said:

(These are not colour-enhanced! Cropping and exposure-balancing only! (honest!))

I believe you.

Sunlight, brightly colored cables and a less vidid background, yes, the colors are going to pop out.

I wonder how the colors would look using a CPL filter in front of the lens (if you didn't use one).

Point Conception · Apr 8, 2024

Nice clear on-shore Westerly. Air humid 30 C, water 30 C @ Jomtien Beach

Choppy sea with small white-capped waves under a hazy sky, with a distant hilly coastline on the horizon and foamy surf in the foreground.

Close-up of a breaking wave washing over sandy beach, with white foam spreading across wet sand and a translucent wave crest in the background.

Sandy beach with small waves breaking on the shore, several people wading and running near the water, and a row of high-rise hotel buildings along the coastline in the background.

jtbell · Apr 8, 2024

Sandy beach beside a calm lake under a clear blue sky, with several people walking and standing near a line of broken concrete slabs and rubble along the shoreline, and a metal railing at right.

Sunday afternoon at the beach, on Lake Erie in Ashtabula, Ohio. The shoreline has receded because of erosion since I came here as a kid about 60 years ago.

jtbell · Apr 9, 2024

Today we started our trip home from "eclipse day", and passed through Chester, West Virginia, at the state's northern tip between Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Giant red and white teapot sculpture reading WORLD'S LARGEST TEAPOT and CHESTER WV, with a smaller matching teapot on a stone base to the right, beside a roadside gas station.

Large white teapot sculpture with red trim and the words WORLD'S LARGEST TEAPOT and CHESTER WV painted on its side, beside a smaller teapot on a stone pedestal, on grass with a white fence and flagpole.

My father was born in this area. When I was a kid in the 1960s, my parents and I came here every year to visit relatives. I remember the Teapot in its original location at the other end of town, operating as a refreshment and souvenir stand.

History of the Chester Teapot

An information panel near the Teapot displays the linked history, with an addendum about its second restoration in 2014-15. Since then, an annual festival raises funds for its continued maintenance.