Random Photos

DennisN · Jun 19, 2025

DennisN said:

This barren tree top is close to where I live, so I'll go there today with my zoom lens
and see if I can get closer to this group of crows .

I didn't find any crows at that time, but I found two blackbirds, one male and one female, and a seagull juvenile...

Blackbird (male)

Male blackbird with black plumage and bright orange-yellow bill perched among green leaves and unripe cherries on a branch.

The female blackbird was running around with food in her mouth, and I had a thought that if I sit down and act calmly maybe she'll get curious and come a bit closer. Luckily, she did

:

Female blackbird standing on a concrete path among pine needles and leaves, with a piece of food held in its orange-yellow beak.

Female blackbird standing on green grass with a worm or grub in its orange-yellow bill, facing left.

And last, a seagull juvenile (the parents were close by and keeping a watch):

Juvenile gull standing on a cobbled pavement with grass tufts, mottled grey and white plumage, dark-tipped bill, pinkish legs and feet.

(all shot with Sony 55-210mm)

pinball1970 · Jun 19, 2025

DennisN said:

I didn't find any crows at that time, but I found two blackbirds, one male and one female, and a seagull juvenile...

Blackbird (male)
View attachment 362291

The female blackbird was running around with food in her mouth, and I had a thought that if I sit down and act calmly maybe she'll get curious and come a bit closer. Luckily, she did :

View attachment 362292

View attachment 362293

And last, a seagull juvenile (the parents were close by and keeping a watch):

View attachment 362294

(all shot with Sony 55-210mm)

We have lots of swifts nesting in my area, one under the gutter!
I would need something a little better than my tablet to get an image however!
The little blighters dive bomb me in the morning and when I am coming home sometimes.
Astonishing manoeuvres, in pairs or single they come in low then swerve off at crazy angles at speed. One was so close I could have jumped up and touched it.
Every time I get my tablet to video them they hit the sky.
One day I'll get something.

Borg · Jun 20, 2025

Midnight last night.

Sunset over open sea seen through a glass balcony door, with two wooden deck chairs and a small round side table on a wooden balcony deck, and a metal railing in front of the water.

collinsmark · Jun 20, 2025

Pink balloon tied to a metal railing at night beside a brown ceramic trash can, with shopping carts and a bare tree in a dimly lit car park.

"Outside the pub" (ambient, artificial light)

Taken with my cellphone (Google Pixel 6). This photo was taken back in February. I had nearly forgotten that I even took the photo because, well, the pub I guess.

[Edit: As I recall (as best I can) there was a lovely going away party going on inside for a good friend. Maybe I should have titled the photo "Going away" or something like that.]

jtbell · Jun 20, 2025

Borg said:

Midnight last night.View attachment 362346

What was the temperature outside?

Borg · Jun 20, 2025

jtbell said:

What was the temperature outside?

Not tropical. :oldwink:

jtbell · Jun 21, 2025

In a yard down the street this morning:

A tall grey heron standing on a lawn beside a large pine tree trunk, with a stone bench and green shrubs in the background.

Point Conception · Jun 22, 2025

Borg said:

Midnight last night.View attachment 362346

Is this location close

Screenshot of a ChatGPT mobile chat showing a table of Arctic travel suggestions (Tromsø to North Cape, Svalbard, Svalbard cruises) and a 'Best Match' conclusion about a cruise ship in Far-Northern Norway.

Borg · Jun 22, 2025

First one.

More travels today. I'm home!

Blue road sign reading Borg in white letters on two grey metal posts, with a two-lane road with yellow centre lines and a white house beyond under a cloudy sky.

DennisN · Jun 22, 2025

These guys made my day, truly... it was very fun to watch them.

Regretfully I had not the best gear for the occasion, I was just walking around in a park with a 35mm lens, so these are heavily cropped...

Edible frogs (Pelophylax kl. esculentus)

Two green frogs with dark spots sitting on a grey rock beside dark leaves, one in the foreground facing right and one partly behind it on the left.

Hello...

Close-up photo of a green frog with dark spots and a pale throat, sitting on a grey stone beside grass blades and water.

In the right habitat... it's amazing how well their camouflage works; they were very, very
hard to spot in this environment!

Close-up of a green frog with dark spots partly submerged among reeds and pond plants, its eye and head visible above the water surface.

Here is an uncropped photo as an example; go ahead, try to spot the frog!

The frog is right in the center of the photo.

Green grass blades and leafy weeds in dense vegetation, with a grey paved edge at the lower right; a camouflaged frog is hard to pick out among the plants.

Frog party!

Several green frogs with dark spots and pale stripes piled together on a grey stone surface beside green grass and leaves.

And last, a beautiful old tram in operation (which @jtbell probably will appreciate

).

Green and cream vintage electric tram with a pantograph, route board showing 3 and MUSEIHUSET, and two Swedish flags on the roof, travelling along a tree-lined street.

jtbell · Jun 22, 2025

I wasn't acquainted with that museum tram, so I did some Googling and turned up the Malmö museum tram. It started in 1987, hence about ten years after my brief visit to Malmö.

jtbell · Jun 22, 2025

Meet the Atomic Mouse of Georgia, which overlooks highway I-75 near Ringgold, about ten miles south of the Tennessee border.

Large grey cartoon mouse statue holding a yellow block of cheese, mounted on a steel frame behind a chain-link fence, with a white semi-truck passing on a highway beside it.

Point Conception · Jun 23, 2025

Only go to the T21 mall for the Foodland supermarket. But give them credit for design

Long white-tiled corridor lined with tall pillars wrapped in rainbow gradient panels bearing black handwritten-style script, with Terminal 21 printed at the base of the pillars.

see

DennisN · Jun 23, 2025

My cat lying strategically in front of the tablet, again.

She wants max attention.

Long-haired grey and white cat with tabby markings stretched out on a bed in front of a tablet propped on the pillows.

(shot with smartphone)

collinsmark · Jun 23, 2025

Mr. Mittens, my neighbor's kitty, snuck in and up to the guest bedroom on trash day (See Fig. 1). He looked so cute I couldn't resist getting the camera out.

Tabby cat with eyes closed, curled up asleep on a dark patterned bedspread in front of white curtains.

Figure 1. "Late morning trash day."

I have yet to determine if trash day is Mr. Mittens' favorite day of the week, or his most stressful. Though I am certain it is one of the most exciting for him, as an outdoor kitty.

New smells, new piles of stuff, lots of activity, as the humans drag their sacrifices out for the upcoming procession of the great trash beast. I venture to guess he may very well enjoy the early morning part of the day.

But then, invariably like clockwork, the trash beast arrives. It slowly perambulates though his familiar turf, roaring, grunting, beeping and squawking to no end, enormous in size and sound. All the while it grabs, lifts and undulates the recently placed sacrificial containers high in the air, devouring their contents and punishing them for being close to its path. I can imagine that Mr. Mittens finds the climax of the weekly ritual unnerving.

After all is said and done, It's understandable that Mr. Mittens seeks repose in the warmth and safety of a bed comforter to reflect on the recent excitement.

jtbell · Jun 23, 2025

On the way home from Huntsville, Alabama earlier this month, I stopped in Blue Ridge, Georgia to ride the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway.

Blue and yellow diesel locomotive numbered 4631 at a railway station platform, with a crowd of people walking past a red caboose and a historic depot building.

Shallow, fast-moving river with white rapids flowing between green trees on both banks, with a small wooden building partly visible among the trees in the distance.

The other end of the line is in the conjoined towns of McCaysville, Georgia and Copperhill, Tennessee. The boundary crosses the station platform and the main street.

Passengers walking along a station platform beside a dark blue vintage railway car lettered Blue Ridge Scenic and The Blue Ridge; a sign reads Tennessee and Georgia.

Main street in Copperhill, Tennessee, with a Copper Basin sign on a brick corner and a sign reading GA and TN on a pole, showing the state line; cars and pedestrians on the road and sidewalk.

This steel bridge originally spanned a different river in a different town.

Photo of a white steel truss bridge spanning a calm river, with American flags hung along its trusses, a restaurant deck with diners on the left, and trees along the far bank under a partly cloudy sky.

Group of people standing on a steel truss bridge looking down at a river, where several Canada geese and a pair of ducks swim near a rocky bank.

Large wooden sculpture of a bear-like creature covered in shaggy bark-like slats, standing outside a shop with a stone facade and an open door.

Better not mess with the folks here!

Storefront of McCaysville Drug & Gun with a red sign reading McCaysville Drug & Gun, a McCaysville Pharmacy sign below, and a brick pillar sign advertising Vortex Optics; a white SUV is parked out front.

I arrived back in Blue Ridge in time to watch the departure of a rail-bike tour.

Rail bike pedal cart with a row of passengers seated on the track, a worker in a high-visibility vest standing beside the rails holding an orange flag, trees and parked cars behind.

Point Conception · Jun 23, 2025

What a Beauty

Blue diesel locomotive numbered 4631 on gravel track beside a red passenger car, with people with strollers walking past under a crossbuck and yield sign on a sunny day.

jtbell · Jun 23, 2025

There's something about that blue...

Blue diesel locomotive numbered 4631 with yellow stripes, lettered Blue Ridge Scenic Railway, parked in green vegetation beside road signs reading JCT and 68 Tennessee 5.

Blue diesel locomotive numbered 7529 with yellow stripes and the lettering BLUE RIDGE SCENIC RAILWAY and a circular emblem on its side, parked on grass beside a passenger car.

Point Conception · Jun 24, 2025

Good day to get out of Dodge

Rusty cargo boat with white superstructure and the lettering MING HUA 81 BANGKOK on its hull, run aground in shallow surf on a sandy beach.

Jomtien Beach

Wet sandy beach under a heavy grey sky, with choppy greenish waves on the left and a row of high-rise towers and a tall tower along the distant shoreline.

A white egret standing in shallow surf on a beach, with its reflection in the wet sand and dark hills across the sea behind it.

jrmichler · Jun 24, 2025

Just came back from the hardware store, getting ready to turn down my driveway, and look what's in the way. I need a dash cam with a better camera.

A black bear walking across a paved road in front of a green roadside sign, with a yellow deer crossing warning sign and forest behind it.

jrmichler · Jun 27, 2025

Four little guys running around the back yard this morning. No mom in sight. We regularly have does drop their fawns on our property, generally near the upper left in this photo. Adult deer walk through our yard, while the fawns bound around and act like a bunch of very active three year children. Saw four fawns with a doe a half hour ago, but did not get a good photo. Taken through the living room window with a cell phone camera, not cropped.

Four spotted fawns standing together in tall green grass in a wooded yard, with tree trunks and a small pond visible behind them.

gmax137 · Jun 27, 2025

I know it's not a photo but I thought it belonged in this thread

Black-and-white cartoon of a hat-wearing man with a bow tie holding a camera, talking to a man at a shop counter under a sign reading PHOTO SUPPLIES. Caption: "Just what I've been looking for!" Credited to Popular Photography and Angelo Stangas.

jtbell · Jun 28, 2025

Front lawn with many pink plastic flamingo yard ornaments, a large inflatable pink flamingo on the right, and a pink sign on a stake, beside a hedge and brick house.

davenn · Jun 28, 2025

Aurora in Iceland from my 2023 visit

Green aurora curtains with faint red edges streaking across a starry night sky above a dark silhouetted hillside at the lower left.

Algr · Jun 28, 2025

Lions are growing like yellow roses on the wind.

Several adult male lions with dark manes walk and lie on an empty city street lined with tall brick and stone buildings and scattered rubble.

Algr · Jun 28, 2025

Sunset over a flat grassy field, with the bright sun low on the left in an orange sky under dark clouds, silhouetting trees, utility poles and a building on the right.

DennisN · Jun 28, 2025

Some shots taken today, shots I usually don't do (black and white and street photography)...

Black and white street photograph of a busy pedestrian lane lined with old multi-storey buildings, with crowds of people walking and street lamps overhead.

A very cool place called "Arsenik" (eng. "Arsenic"), inspired by gothic fiction

Black and white street photo of an outdoor café terrace with people seated at small round tables in front of a building with an arched entrance and the sign ARSENIK.

Black and white street photo of a cobbled pedestrian street lined with old multi-storey buildings, shop signs and street lamps, with a crowd of people walking toward the camera.

The Central Station

Black and white street photo of a waterfront with a clock tower, a sign reading CENTRALSTATION, a canal with moored boats, and office buildings behind.

(Gear: Sony A7R + Helios 44 58mm f/2 + Hoya orange filter, which increases contrast when shooting black and white)

collinsmark · Jun 28, 2025

gmax137 said:

I know it's not a photo but I thought it belonged in this thread

View attachment 362640

Black and white cartoon of a man in a fedora and bow tie holding a twin-lens reflex camera, talking to a shopkeeper under a sign reading PHOTO SUPPLIES. Caption: "Just what I've been looking for!"

Figure 1. Comic

Just in case anybody is scratching their head as to why this strip is funny (and it is funny. See Fig.1). The customer is holding a twin-lens reflex (TLR) camera.

TLRs were very popular and pretty common during the middle (maybe early middle) 20th century.

Here's a picture of my Yashicaflex, a TLR camera (see Fig. 2):

Black twin-lens reflex camera labelled Yashicaflex on a wooden table, with two lens caps lying in front of it.

Figure 2. My Yashicaflex, a twin-lens reflex (TLR) camera.

Unfortunately for me, the aperture dial is frozen. I haven't attempted to repair it (yet). At least the shutter mechanism still works, although I haven't tested the timing.

You can still find used/second hand TLRs for pretty cheap. They're a great and relatively inexpensive way to get into medium format film photography, if you wanted to introduce yourself to the art while film still exists. (You just need to find one that still works).

Here's a wikipedia article on TLRs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin-lens_reflex_camera

jrmichler · Jun 28, 2025

This little robin was the last one to leave the nest. An hour after this photo was taken this morning, it was gone. I put up the nesting platform to stop robins from building nests in that gutter. I take the nest down after the new birds leave. Sometimes another bird will come along and build a second nest immediately after the first nest is removed. I have another nesting platform on the other side of the house that stops birds from building nests on a light fixture. Cell phone camera with minimal cropping.

A young speckled bird perched on the edge of a wooden nesting platform mounted under a green gutter on a cream siding wall, with a loose grass nest hanging below it.

Borg · Jun 29, 2025

In a museum in Scotland.

Museum display of antique large-format and folding bellows cameras with wooden bodies and brass lenses on shelves inside a glass case, with a wooden camera on a tripod in the foreground.

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