Welcome to Friday Foto Flogging, a place to share your photos and photography news. We were inspired by the folks at European Tribune who post a regular Friday Photoblog series to try the same on this side of the virtual Atlantic. We also thought foto folks would enjoy seeing some other websites so each week we’ll introduce a different photo website.
This week’s theme: Cold: Anything that is cold, feels cold, looks cold, reminds you of cold, or even just gives you the cold shoulder
Website of the Week: scottcritiques.com: Send your photographs to professional photographer Scott Bourne and get his opinions and suggestions on how to improve it and your photo skills
AndiF Gets Chilly
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Self-Portrait in Ice (can you find me?) Click image for larger version |
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Artful Creek
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This week’s storm departs
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olivia gets cold
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Skating on the Canal
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Frozen waterfall at Hog’s Back Falls
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Mouse-y Mittens keep hands warm
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- Next Week’s Theme: Blue. Bring us the blues … literal or figurative, solid or sensed.
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Previous Friday Foto Flogs
Mmmmmmmmmmm. Tasty!
Franz Josef glacier, New Zealand.
And speaking of Lake Wanaka, I just finished this panorama.
The lake is entirely snow and glacier melt, and trust me, it was chilly.
Also glacier fed.
Does the water smell like snow?
I don’t know. But then I didn’t know that snow “smelled”.
Scents are very difficult to describe, but there can be a quality in the air that people will recognize and say, “Snow’s coming. I can smell it.”
And once the ground is snow covered the air will be cold and “clean.” There is an absence of earth and plant scents. But there is something else too.
I was thinking how ocean can smell differently than a lake. And minerals in the water can flavor the scent. So I was wondering if the lake is made from melted snow then it might have a distinctive flavor – maybe the absence of plant and fish, but with something else… the scent of cold?
Just my ruminations 😉
Glacier water is highly silty, but I don’t know that I’ve ever smelt the silt. I’ve tasted it, used floating bits of ice as ice cubes, and even waded in it, but the last I don’t really recommend.
What a great set of shots.
The close-up shot of Franz Josef glacier is spectacular and makes the cold palpable.
Speaking of palable, here’s a shot showing some of the people who took the trek up the face. Needless to say, I was not one of them.
WARNING VERY LARGE IMAGE!
Earlier this evening I was at a shopping center with parking lot snow that looked a lot like this. If I still had Lego people around, it would be fun to arrange them on a “climb” and take a picture.
That would have been hilarious.
I wanted to slip in here and offer my congratulations on your new puppies. I have very much enjoyed your photos.
When I was 12. our dog had an unplanned pregnancy, resulting in 9 puppies. The birthing was phenomenal and the following 6 weeks of living with puppies was pure magic. I vividly remember walking very carefully through puppies as they chased and chewed on my shoe laces, watching them waddle through a baking pan of puppy chow, and watching them running – tumbling after their mom!
Nothing new, here’s a repeat:
I didn’t take this one, but it sure was cold.
Oldies but goodies. I especially love the bottom one. 🙂
I got back home from a drive into town, and 20 miles to the east the trees look like those in your first picture. Which is why I’m not at school again today. I think your second picture is going to be the winner in the makes-me-the-coldest competition.
Sauna/snow bath/sauna(/maybe another snow bath/sauna).
Verrry refreshing (I think, no, I know I am too old for it now).
The camps boats are getting rested up for the busy summer to come..
Click for larger
Looks very restful.
I find looking at undisturbed snow very restful, preferably when it is outside my windows. Even better is when there is enough to make the world slow down… and… pause…
There is a real mixture of light in this one. Was the sun shining? The light and shadow under the canoe rack seems more intense than the light and shadow on the posts and canoe.
Thanks for all the great comments last week.
I like that snake. I was thinking about putting up a photo of something cold-blooded and reptilian, but I never took a picture of Dick Cheney.
::big grin:: Very clever! 🙂
I really like the snake — it’s gorgeous.
Very clever idea!
Especially looooooove the snake (I’ve always liked snakes).
Very good depth of field in the snake shot. What kind of snake is it?
I only know it as a red banded water snake(Nerodia fasciata pictiventris).
Say that five times fast.
I was wondering what you might post from FL. I find the eyes of the alligator very chilling – no nose ruffles, so I suppose it is safe (that and the glass separation).
He was in a five gallon aquarium. They have that translucent eyelid that protects the eye in water and when the attack something, kind of creepy.
Slop forming
Slop – Day 2
Ice Leaf
Ice Leaf 2
Summer Home
That ice leaf is amazing! How did that happen…it looks like there is no leaf under the ice.
I have never seen anything like that either. I am not sure if it warmed enough for the leaf to separate from the ice and return to a more normal position or if the leaf broke off and fell away. I couldn’t see a matching leaf.
It lingered all through one day and into the next, even as the bush began to reshape itself as ice fell off.
Best of all this was happening right outside a window 😉
I love the photo too, reminds me of when they ice the orange groves in the winter to protect the trees from the freeze. You’d often see ice leaves with no visible leaves from whence they came.
Those are all very good. The ice leaves are really dramatic but I’m even more attracted to the Summer Home shot — it’s got a great story to tell.
Thanks.
One aspect I enjoy about autumn are the nests that I discover. I think this was a robin’s nest, but there were a variety of birds in the tree throughout the spring and summer. I noticed some mourning doves hanging around for a while. I have seen their nests which look like a few sticks chucked into a very sloppy pile, so I’m pretty sure they didn’t build it. I don’t know if they use other birds empty nests.
The ice has flattened the piece of plastic that was used in the nest’s construction. It has worked loose and is usually fluttering in whatever wind blows.
The ice leaf is amazing. I love when nature offers up little unexpected gems.
deck w/ knothole
reflection
clik to enlarge
[experimenting with sepia tones]
The top one, of the deck, is optically confusing. (a good thing)
A terrific shot.
thanks head, but optically confusing?
interesting… l don’t/can’t see it, but l took the picture, so l’m not an unbiased observer.
At first glance it looks like a vertical panel with rods threaded through holes.
But then again, I have baked goods for breakfast.
ahh….l see what you mean.
mes compliments au boulanger
You are so good as doing so much with so little. It’s always surprises me how long I can spend looking at what seem at first glance to be simple photos.
thanks andi. l’m pleased that you find them worthy of your time.
mies said it all: less is more
l took it to heart.
Both have a very subtle sepia quality which makes me thing of a platinum palladium print.
I found the enlarged picture of reflection feels very warm – I very much like the subtle glitter of the snow and the angle of the twig.
thanks tampoco.
aside: your nest photo is very good…very evocative, kudos. as andi alludes to…there’s an interesting story there, fluttering plastic and all.
Someone forgot to turn off the fountains at the FDR Memorial last week…
Hey Manee,
Some one is in deep doodoo over this, I bet.
So the water froze the pipes which exploded, blasting the memorial apart.
Caskets strewn about make it all that much more horrific.
That`s cold Manny, really really cold.
Great capture. It’s kind of pretty — maybe that did it as a work of art. 🙂
It’s very cool looking.
Man Eegee – seems like every time you come to D.C. things chill 😉 Hope you are doing well.
Note: I did not take these shots. They were taken by a friend of mine from Rawanduz.
Is the top one taken on the route between Erbil and Suleimaniah? The vantage point looks vaguely familiar (I drove through there, but it’s more than 10 years ago).
I believe it is. That is what the topography looks like, though it has been many years since I was up there, and have never been there in Winter (I try to avoid real cold).
That is what the topography looks like
Yes – I was there in the early fall – dry, not too hot. The other ones look like the Dohuk region – cannot recall those bridges on the other route.
That river is near Rawanduz. I have some beautiful shots of that same area taken in Spring/Summer.
Unfortunately, never made it that far east.
And please, put up some of your own from the area.
What were you doing there?
I was there in a small team on assignment for a big international organisation to assess whether certain activities were conducted in an effective way given the sanctions in place at the time. It involved visits to all 3 Kurdish governorates.
Those are all great shots. Thanks for posting them. And the second one could be the dictionary definition of cold — I get the shivers just looking at it.
but prefer it in the woods of S. Jersey than the blocks of West Philly where there is simply less to photo to capture the feeling of winter, IMO.
With that in mind, here’s some cold Jersey…
I might’ve posted this before, I’m really not sure though. It’s actually from S. Philly, not S. Jersey.
Great lighting on both of those but particularly the top one. The light on the ripples is lovely.
Seeing other area photogs whose work I admire, respect, and attempt to emulate, I feel that the bottom pic is the closest I’ve come yet to that.
It’s best viewed at full size.
I love the “street scene” down in the urban jungle.
Speaking of which, it looks like King Kong did a suitcase test on that fire barrel.
Nice capture of guys freezing, to make a home warmed, by the christmas trees they sell.
Mutrah Fish Market, Musqat, `Oman
Now I’m really hungry — a crab boil is sounding really good right now.
Mmmmmm……shrimp……had some for dinner last night!
Steal away, I like the cuttlefish pic not something you see everyday. Crab boil Mmmmmm.
We’ve had LOTS of snow in NE Ohio. There’s probably about 18 inches on the ground now and that’s after thawing and settling. But it sure is pretty.
Street light at night with snow.
No warm meals here…
Mr. Pig is hiding…
This is not a prediction…
and had to drop this. I call it Snow Meteors.
Snow meteors is a wonderful description. Snow in the headlights of a moving vehicle makes me think of going into hyperspace mode.
Coneflower,
That Swiss chalet bird feeder is great.
I spent my first forty years in NE Ohio, man that constant cold and snow almost killed me, I tell ya. My Cleveland relatives are having an especially cold and snowy winter this year, as you know.
Wonderful snow pictures! I especially like under the street light. The glow on the telephone/electric lines just adds to the sense of magic. I just love snow.
And in all this white – there are cardinals – a mystery. Thanks!
Okay, I’m convinced. It is cold where you are. 🙂
The snowfall picture is great but my favorite is the cardinal and the sparrow(?) — the slash of red in the gray (and white) world.
Where did you get the cardinals, Central Casting? The cardinals here won’t sit still long enough. Nice!
from the other day. First I took Elliott out. Then later, my neighbor took her kid and together we all went out and wrote some more.
Snobama
A very charming image.
I found this poor creature on my lawn. We attempted to rescue him from his icy overcoat but, alas, he remained …(wait for it) … a pupsicle.
Cuuuuuuuute!
Obligatory groan for bad pun. 😉
If your forecast is like ours, he’s going to be around long enough to become a full-grown dogsicle. 😉
I try my best to post images related to the suggested theme.
My problem is that it`s been in the 80`s here for months, so I don`t get many opportunities to shoot snow scenes. I mention this not only as an excuse, but also to make sure you all realize I know what you`re all going through. Hah.
I did include a snowflake as much as it looks like one.
Also, to compensate for the unrelated subject matter, I spent a little more time in the presentations.
These images were all shot this past week in my reef, here at home.
Enjoy.
Emerald Zooas
(3/8`s inch dia.) with surrounding red polychaetes
Calloplesiops altivelis
(Steindachner, 1903)
Commonly called a Comet,or Marine Betta
I`ve had this beauty for many years.
It`s about 6″ longhas a maximum length of 8 ” & is from the Indo Pacific
Emerald Crab
I have three or four in this reef. They are part of the “cleaning crew”,
a critical group of scavengers on a living reef reef.
You can see the scraped areas in white, where the crab has cleaned away algae.
Synchiropus splendidus
(Herre, 1927)
Green Mandarinfish
These fish eat only live organisms on the reef surfaces, & moves about the reef nonstop, pecking away at things mostly too small to see.
It must be introduced only to a well established reef to prevent it from starvation.
A lovely fish, that is not bothered by any others, due to the noxious slime it exudes,
It may very well be eaten by an anemone.
Amphiprion ocellaris
(Cuvier,1830)
Ocellaris , False Percula
This one, familiarizing itself with a Torch Coral, by sucking on it`s elongated body parts, is usually found paired with an anemone.
It will though, choose any number of different coral heads to call home, & will sleep at that location every night.
Istiblennius chrysospilos (Bleeher,1857)
Redspotted Blenny
This one is a little shy in this new reef, but can always be found peeking about to see what is going on.
Purple Snowflake
(Knucklehead 2009)
I obviously just made up the name for this colony.
As you can see in this image, there is a “mouth” in every circular formation.
The little white dots around the inside of the rims, will extend at night to feed, making the whole coral head look like a dandelion.
Pistol Shrimp
I`ve had this one for years.
It comes out at feeding time & at night, when most of the main reef inhabitants are snoozing.
Homer Simpson Blenny
Ocellaris
This one is the same fish as above, but it is now making friends by sucking on this Leather Toadstool`s polyps.
Tomato Clownfish
This clownfish may belong to a different species but I`ll stick with Tomato.
Here it is in it`s buddy, a Purple Anemone.
BLUE TANG
This beauty is one of my fish that knows me quite well.
As you can see, the closest one would normally get to a fish would be a dead one.
This one is very much alive, & I`m only separated from it by glass & less than one inch of water.
Wow.
To give this the rating it deserves — 4 to the who-knows-what power — would probably blow the rating system to smithereens.
Well, thank you, no3reed
Do you play the sax? (username question)
You’re more than welcome, and yes.
All very cool photos – love the purple snowflake!
Thanks tampopo,
I just took a shot of a snow covered urchin. The tomato clown gets all frustrated when anyone is looking at the anemone, so he tail_fans sand which covered the urchin. I`ll post it, to keep with the “cold” theme.
I thought of you last night – the wind picked up and began blowing the heavy storm clouds away just as the sun was setting. On the horizon to the southwest it was white fields with pastel pinks and blue in the sky – a winter sunset. But, to the west the deeper blue gray clouds became a backdrop to the lower fog clouds that were reflecting the setting sun’s light. These were bright orange and yellow. The fog clouds were just skimming along, changing form and dispersing quickly.
I wanted to take a photo but didn’t have my camera. And I didn’t want to go inside for it cause I didn’t want to miss any. So I danced around outside – open the door, shut the door, all the while watching the sky and oohing and aahing.
Sorry. Guess you had to be here 😉
tampopo,
I was there, as you described it.
Here`s a few “snow shots”.
DEEP POWDER
SNOW FURRIES
Just perfect – thank you.
Well said.
Purple Snowflake
As I mentioned in the main post, the coral will open at night & the tentacles will come out. I just took this a few minutes ago to show you what it`s like at night. This was taken in total darkness with a flash unit. I locate it for the camera sensors to focus using a little pen light flashlight.
Dandelion
Speechless, exhausted, me. Thanks.
This reminds me of an experience of my first trip to the big island of Hawaii. I discovered a place not heavily frequented by tourists, and spent a lot of time in the water there where I stayed as much past sundown as possible. At some point the temperature of the water would cool noticeably, and the population would change completely. The fish all had much bigger eyes, for one thing. Of course, it was the change from diurnal to crepuscular life. I was not able to see the nocturnal population due to lack of both endurance and equipment.
Hurriah,
Here`s a night time reef lurker. (Taken 30 mins ago.)
(Go see the large or original file, please)
I want to know more about this reef of yours. Where, how, why, what size, do you do all the care yourself? Sounds like a major commitment!
Hurria,
The reef where all these images were shot is in my living room.
It`s a 120 gallon reef with hundreds of lbs. of live rock.
It has a filtration sump below it in the stand where all the equipment is.
The water overflows into a chamber which then drains into the sump through a filter bag. this is the mechanical filtration. It flows through the sump, & the water gets picked up by a skimmer pump. This pump swirls the water into an enclosed chamber while injecting air into i. All organic wastes cling to the air bubbles which creates a foam that rises up into a secondary chamber where it is trapped. This chamber is removable, to be cleaned. I clean it every day. This action simulates the foam that crashes onto the beach leaving all the stinky detritus in a line that you can see on any beach.
The water exits the skimmer & is pumped back into the tank, after passing through another chamber that has an enclosed UV (ultra violet) light inside it. The light irradiates the water killing things that need killing. Before it`s final journey, the water also passes through a chiller, to keep the water at a constant temperature.
I have to chill the water, rather than heat it as in freshwater tanks.
I make all my own saltwater, mixing RO ( reverse osmosis) with prepared sea salt.
I replenish the evaporated water in the reef with this water also.
The evaporation only depletes the water & not the salt, so to retain the optimum salinity or Specific Gravity (1.024) of the salt water, fresh RO water must be added.
I always have barrels of water handy out on my deck, & use about three pitchers a day in replenishing. I have a line drawn on the sump, that I marked when I set the reef up, so I just keep it filled to that line.
The lighting in the reef is time specific & mimics the light cycle at the equator. I have actinic lights that come on first, (Very blue) then an hour later high intensity lights come on for about 10 hours, then back to the actinics for another hour, then lights out. I usually cover the tank at night by drawing a drape in front of it, so it gets no ambient light, (TV, desk lamp, etc.
The water parameters are also important, besides salinity & temperature. Calcium has to be at approx. 450 ppm, Magnesium at 1350, no Nitrates, no phosphates(I use a phosphate sponge to remove that) PH 8.3 bla bla bla.. While this may all seem complicated, I often don`t test the parameters for months on end. As long as I keep the water clean, by doing regular water changes, ( 30 gallons a week) changing the filter bag every day, emptying the skimmed waste & not over feeding. It really is a self sustaining biosphere once it is set up properly. Like an automobile, you have to makes sure there is water in the radiator, oil for lubrication, & gasoline to run it.
You do need to occasionally replace the brake pads, get new tires, check your fluid levels & so on. The only thing different is that your tires are not trying to eat the stick shift. Everything in a reef is all about kill or die, (or eat or die). I do not let anyone, & I mean anyone touch anything having to do with this reef. I`ve had many reefs, & this one I just started about a month ago. I broke down a few other reefs, & combined them into this larger one. Some of the fish & shrimp in this reef I`ve had for years. The only thing different is the size of the tank.
All the rock, I`ve had for ears also.
Here`s a collage of shots that is linked to each individual shot. I put this together for someone asking about zoas, (like the “Emerald” ones in my post). These can be deadly, did I mention that. hah. (I`m not kidding)
You can go to the link included here to see more.
http://www.rarezoanthids.com/
Here`s a link to the toxic nature of these zooanthoids.
It is one of the most toxic organic compounds known.
It is deadly, & I have felt the effects of it before.
The fact that I have many in my reef, is not dangerous. (trust me. Hah)
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~bemorton/Neuroscience/Neurochemistry/Palytoxin.html
Incredibly beautiful, as always, and definitely not a hobby for the casual, it seems.
Indianadem,
Good morning.
Yes reefs are amazing. As a matter of fact, I just discovered a new Anemone clone in the reef a few mins. ago.
It`s a Rose Bubble Tip Anemone. It`s a very small one, but it will grow into a beautiful large one within months. It looks to be a clone of some others I had. They split into clones of themselves, & I have given or traded all of my previous clones. (over a dozen)
I can`t shoot it presently, because I have a tiny shrimp that`s living on the rock the anemone is on. I`d have to rotate that rock to have it in camera view, but risk disturbing the shrimp.
As soon as the shrimp moves away, I will shoot the new find.
It`s an exciting discovery.
This morning while changing a filter, I discovered the little shrimp, which would have soon died, that had gone over the overflow box & into the filter bag. I always check the bag for any kind of life, (usually worms or small copepods), & reintroduce them to the tank.
When putting the shrimp back into the tank, it swam down onto the closest rock. While taking shots of the shrimp, I noticed the new anemone.
Here`s the little shrimp.
In the bottom image, the snail at upper right (purple) is no more than 1/2 inch in dia.
Indianadem,
I just discovered another new life form. It`s an Orange Ball Anemone. It is closed right now, but here is a shot of one from my other reef.
As always you take my breath away. Thank you.
Well, Coneflower,
You have me panting,… over your nice compliment
Beautiful color all around, especially like the green on the emerald zooas.
Thank you BobX,
If you liked those, I just posted a multiple image shot that is linked to all the individual shots.
And very, very cool = cold. So you satisfied the theme perfectly. 🙂
I love the shy blenny (oh really? who would have guessed?) but the Emerald crab picture is my favorite.
As always, I very much like your photos. What am I looking at in the top one? Ice in water? It is so clear, yet all rounded. I keep looking at it, trying to puzzle out what I am seeing.
My favorite is the Artful Creek – the subtle colors and strata and the light seeming to come from above and from under – just beautiful.
Thanks tampopo. And I liked your pictures very much as well. Now that you’ve posted a couple of times I hope you’ll be a regular.
The top one is a frozen stream of water where there’s a small cascade. Several of the little nodules of ice are reflecting the sky and woods and, in one of them, me taking the picture.
Your mouse-y mittens are delightful – had to laugh out loud.
Interesting to see people skating, as if going for a walk. The only ice skating I have done has been at a rink which is very organized and controlled. Everyone goes clockwise until directed to go the other way for a short time, then back to clockwise.
Love the waterfalls! Talk about frozen in time. Oh to see it change from free flowing water to frozen to flowing…
against the Reaganesque policies of President Sarcozy. I was cold taking these photos in Paris.
The demonstration was Thursday afternoon.
Frankencozy is hilarious.
If advertising for a new president can get rid of one you don’t want, I’m going to kick myself for not placing an advertisement in the local paper right after the 2000 election.
Olivia, love the canal pic, looks like you could skate right into the buildings in the distance. Reminds me of how cold we would get as kids playing pond hockey, my feet hurt thinking about it. Funny how an image can provoke response like that, well done.
Andi, I like the Artful creek, it’s always interesting to watch running water form into ice. The pond we skated on as kid had a running spring inlet and would only freeze when it was super cold. One year it was late in the winter, the ice was soft and went over to see the melting ice near the inlet and went in up to my knees, soaking wet, cold walk up the hill. To add insult, my mother rode me for weeks about wet skates and “I told you to stay away”.
I think the ice formed that way because the creek takes a curve at that point and so the water has a bit of a swirl.
to sit while looking at this week’s FFF. 🙂
click for larger
that goes well with this table:
al fresco indeed.
Excellent! Now we’ve got a place to put our ice cold brews. 🙂