Random Photos

[collinsmark]

... Part III

I love this time of year.

"Screw the box. I think outside the straight jacket."

I like the fence/gate, and of course the brick sidewalk.

Very photogenic. And a puppy!

How adorable!

I like the lamp in the window.

Continued in part IV (last part) ...

 

[collinsmark]

... Part IV

Definitely outside the Gaslamp Quarter.

This is a keeper. I was crossing the street on the way to the trolley station and I spotted this person just standing motionless, basically in the middle of the street. 'Just standing there. After I got to the sidewalk, the person did move. I think they were just waiting for the bus. -- It's for shots like this that I keep my camera in my hand and not in my bag.

This building is named the "Hall of Justice." Super Friends (DC Comics) fans will know the name from childhood. Yes, San Diego has a "Hall of Justice" where the courthouses are. There's also a cafe/foodcourt on the ground floor that serves a good Justiceburger with cheese and fries (menu items may vary).

Back to the trolley station. 'Good thing too, my feet were getting sore. I need to exercise more often.

It was getting late by this time, so I had to wait a half-hour for my trolley, but it was a pleasant wait.

 

[jack action]

Puppies!

Back to another time, getting a dog was an excuse to force yourself to exercise. Ah well!

 

[DennisN]

Some more autumn shots...

An ivy in lovely autumn colors:

An autumn leaf:

A small autumn tree:

Another leaf:

Leaves...

...and more leaves :

(Gear: Sony A7R + Canon nFD 50mm f/1.4 + CPL filter)

 

[morrobay]

Arranging a speedboat day trip out to a remote island (ko khram) about 30km off shore... Finally found some people I can trust out there if you know what I mean.

 

[nsaspook]

Random driving to work images.

 

[nsaspook]

10Hr smoked Brisket.

 

[Rive]

Airing cat TV:

 

[jtbell]

I'm finally approaching the end of my August road trip. This stop was actually early in the trip, on my way north, but I passed it again in the other direction, during the next to last day.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luray_Caverns

On one of my first road trips with my parents as a 7-year-old, we passed many billboards for this place. I wanted to stop here, but we didn't. This time I finally made up for it. Admission is a bit expensive at $34, but I think I got my money's worth.

An underground pool mirrors the ceiling.

The "stalacpipe organ's" keys trigger hammers that tap against stalactites that resonate at specific frequencies. Sensors pick up the vibrations and amplify them. I got to hear the end of a performance for a tour group ahead of me. Spooky!

The beginnings of stalactites stalagmites:

This pool was specifically designated for donations to charitable causes. I guess tossing coins isn't enough nowadays because of inflation.

There are several other attractions here, including a classic car exhibit, a garden maze, and a regional heritage museum, all covered by the admission fee. One could easily spend most of a day here.

(skip to the next post in this series)

 

[Rive]

A hike in a national park

Plains in close view:

'Plain' is not always 'flat', as it seems...

Strange and pretty unique view on this continent:

May seem tragic, but in historical context it's actually not that bad. Once upon a time (two or three centuries ago) these were actual sand dunes, but then by some effort and stroke of luck they were tied down by vegetation. In the latter part of the XX. century somebody had a great idea to plant pines there, further distorting the landscape.
By the changes in the last decades, the pines are drying and dying in large patches, so now it's about cleaning up the site and replacing them with trees compatible with the area.
The new trees right now are still smaller than those tumbleweed-like weeds (they are not the actual/original tumbleweeds of North-America). But the new trees are striving there, even with the sand out in the open again.
In the background, some living pines left there to guard against the wind.

The original vegetation of the sand dunes is still there in patches and the goal of the project is to protect, preserve and restore them as much as still possible:

 

[nsaspook]

 

[berkeman]

LOL, Dunkin' Donuts.

 

[phinds]

LOL, Dunkin' Donuts.

HEY ... it's a cop car! He's just doing his best to reinforce the stereotype.

 

[pinball1970]

November the 5th we celebrate the night some guy tried to blow up some Government buildings, or perhaps celebrate the fact he was caught. Not sure, anyway.

 

[pinball1970]

 

[jack action]

My kind of abstract art:

​

​

Spoiler: What is it?

Simple Kiss​

an abstract design for a simple action
​

BY Jared Yamahata​

​

​

 

[jtbell]

Looking back at the pics from my August trip, I realized that I never got around to showing any from Hartford, Connecticut except for the stamp show that was the reason for this trip. I did walk around downtown a bit before going to the show.

The Ancient Burying Ground dates from the mid 1600s. Among others buried here are the leaders of the group of settlers from the Massachusetts Bay Colony that founded Hartford in 1636. Thomas Hooker is known as the "father of Connecticut".

The settlement was named after Samuel Stone's birthplace, Hertford, England.

The Old State House (1796) is now a museum. If I visit Hartford again, I'll set aside time to go inside.

The current state capitol replaced the Old State House in 1879.

The Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch (1886) honors the Hartfordians (?) who served in the Civil War.

After the stamp show I visited the house where Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain) lived 1874-1891. Unfortunately, photography is not allowed inside the house. When I finished the guided tour, it was pouring rain so I couldn't take pictures outside, either. I had to settle for this display in the visitor center.

(skip to the next post in this series)

 

[pinball1970]

Rather than get a bus right into Mossley Lancs we got off a few stops early and walked over the hills. A little misty.

 

[pinball1970]

 

[pinball1970]

 

[jtbell]

A few hours before arriving home at the end of my August trip, I stopped at the Yadkin River Park in North Carolina, near I-85 where it crosses the river north of Salisbury. Next to the park is the Wil-Cox Bridge (1924), the first free highway bridge here, succeeding privately owned toll bridges going back to 1818.

It's now closed to traffic, and part of a bike/hike trail.

Looking north gives a good view of the river.

Looking south, you can see the current US-29 / US-70 / NC-150 bridge which replaced it, along with a pair of railroad bridges (the North Carolina Railroad, operated by Norfolk Southern), and in the distance, the I-85 bridges.

In the satellite view, you can see the path of the original 4-lane I-85 which was replaced with the current 8-lane version in the early 2010s.

(skip to the next post in this series)

 

[pinball1970]

Sunset over Manchester.

 

[pinball1970]

Not quite in the hills, too tired after an hour. Hyde towards Werneth low.

 

[pinball1970]

 

[morrobay]

 

[morrobay]

This Sunday night and standby for day trip island photos of ko Khram

 

[pinball1970]

 

[jtbell]

A bit like Lieutenant Columbo, I'm back with "just one more thing" from my August trip. After my ride on the Lehigh Valley Scenic Railway in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, early in the trip, on my way out of town I visited the memorial to the town's namesake, athlete Jim Thorpe.

For the story of how he ended up there, despite never having visited while he was alive, see the linked Wikipedia article about him, toward the end.

(skip back to the first post in this series)

 

[jtbell]

 

[pinball1970]

View attachment 353727

Perfection.

 

[pinball1970]

I bobbed up to the higher floor to get this. Manchester skyline.

 

[BillTre]

 

[berkeman]

Future firefighters...

https://www.usfra.org/photos/firefighter-baby-d7a3

 

[BillTre]

Those are some impressive mountains!

 

[berkeman]

Wow, some impressive shots!

 

[collinsmark]

View attachment 353771

That's not the Helix Nebula. That's just something an artist made up.

Also, for what it's worth, the Helix Nebula's (NGC 7293) angular diameter is many times larger than the field of view of the HST. Even in principle, it would take a pretty massive mosaic for HST to produce a full representation of the Helix.

 

[pinball1970]

An earlier image but enhanced.

 

[jtbell]

In the outdoor sculpture park at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, today:

 

[BillTre]

 

[Arjan82]

Alright, that's too much fakeness...

This is fake:

View attachment 353771

This is also AI:

Future firefighters...

View attachment 353773

https://www.usfra.org/photos/firefighter-baby-d7a3

And this is fake staged as well:

Wow, some impressive shots!

View attachment 353797
View attachment 353796

https://www.imaging-resource.com/ne...-faking-viral-lava-photographer-on-fire-photo

 

[Arjan82]

View attachment 353841

And almost sure that at least the sky here is AI as well...

[EDIT]

It seems to originate from this facebook account which only seems to post AI fotos of nature:


[/edit]

 

[berkeman]

And this is fake staged as well:

Interesting. I saw something about National Geographic photos, and assumed that made them valid. But it looks like that was part of the fakeness, saying that they were from National Geographic. I'll try to be more careful.

 

[pinball1970]

Interesting. I saw something about National Geographic photos, and assumed that made them valid. But it looks like that was part of the fakeness, saying that they were from National Geographic. I'll try to be more careful.

This is from Bill though! Has someone hacked his account?

 

[pinball1970]

An earlier image but enhanced.

View attachment 353829

The pub on the right is a mid 16th C building and was removed brick by brick and rebuilt 300 meters away from the original spot, following the 1996 IRA bombing.
Before that the area was redeveloped in the 1970s after surviving the blitz so Manchester pubs seemed to have got a lucky pass.
This is called "Shambles" square. The the square took its name from the butchers and abattoirs which once stood in its place - the blood and guts leftover from slaughter and butchering being known as 'shambles."

 

[Arjan82]

Also, for what it's worth, the Helix Nebula's (NGC 7293) angular diameter is many times larger than the field of view of the HST. Even in principle, it would take a pretty massive mosaic for HST to produce a full representation of the Helix.

But it was captured by Hubble:

It looks rather different though :)

The observation with the spitzer telescope comes closer:

Here some more and a comparison:
https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/videos/1102-Video

 

[collinsmark]

But it was captured by Hubble:
View attachment 353877

It looks rather different though :)

The observation with the spitzer telescope comes closer:
View attachment 353878

Here some more and a comparison:
https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/videos/1102-Video

Part of it was done by Hubble (i.e., HST). But I don't think the whole thing was. I'm pretty sure the rest was done with a wider field telescope.

Here's an an article from Hubblesite.org:
https://hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2003/news-2003-11.html?news=true

"The composite picture is a seamless blend of ultra-sharp images from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope combined with the wide view of the Mosaic Camera on the National Science Foundation's 0.9-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, Ariz."

I'm pretty sure the reason they referenced Hubble in the link you gave, is not to say that HST imaged the whole thing, but rather that they were comparing visible to infrared, and Hubble (HST) is in the visible.

[Edit: By the way, I have new data from my backyard telescope (C14 EdgeHD) of The Helix Nebula in the queue to be processed. It was shot in the visible spectrum, of course, but with narrowband filters. I'll post it in a few weeks in the "Our Beautiful Universe" thread." So far, it looks very promising. It's amazing what you can do with a backyard telescope these days.]

 

[Tom.G]

It's amazing what you can do with a backyard telescope these days.

... and high-end software, a knack for artistry, and weeks of free time!

Nice work @collinsmark.

 

[pinball1970]

The Lass O'Gowrie

 

[jtbell]

If you look carefully, you can also see geese on the far shore of the pond.

 

[pinball1970]

Hyde

Evergreens and deciduous