landscape

Build A Bridge And Get Over It!

September 21, 2020 — 14 Comments

F/25.0, 73.0, ISO 250.

Golden Gate Bridge

Why did a boy build a bridge across the river?

So he could have shade when he swam across.

Interesting Fact: The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the one-mile-wide (1.6 km) strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the American city of San Francisco, California – the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula – to Marin County, carrying both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1 across the strait. The bridge is one of the most internationally recognized symbols of San Francisco, California, and the United States. It has been declared one of the Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Gate_Bridge ) 

Just Give Me The Lights!

September 18, 2020 — 12 Comments

F/22.0, 66.0, ISO200.

East River, Manhattan, Brooklyn Bridge.

What did daddy spider say to baby spider?

You spend too much time on the web.

Interesting Fact:  The area that is now Manhattan was long inhabited by the LenapeNative Americans. In 1524, Florentine explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano – sailing in service of King Francis I of France – became the first documented European to visit the area that would become New York City. He entered the tidal strait now known as The Narrows and named the land around Upper New York Harbor“New Angoulême“, in reference to the family name of King Francis I that was derived from Angoulême in France; he sailed far enough into the harbor to sight the Hudson River, which he referred to in his report to the French king as a “very big river”; and he named the Bay of Santa Margarita – what is now Upper New York Bay – after Marguerite de Navarre, the elder sister of the king. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan )

NEVER FORGET

September 11, 2020 — 3 Comments

F/22.0, 77.0, ISO 125.

New York City Skyline 9/11 Tribute

A Time To Remember Those Who Died, Those Who Served, And Those Who Carry On.

Interesting Fact: The Tribute in Light is an art installation of 88 vertical searchlights placed six blocks south of the World Trade Center on top of the Battery Parking Garage[1] in New York City which create two columns of light to represent the Twin Towers in remembrance of the September 11 attacks.[2]Tribute in Light began initially as a temporary commemoration of the attacks in early 2002 but became an annual commemoration, currently produced on September 11 by the Municipal Art Society of New York.[3][4][5] The Tribute in Light was conceived by artists John Bennett, Gustavo Boneverdi, Richard Nash Gould, Julian LaVerdiere, and Paul Myoda, and lighting consultant Paul Marantz. ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribute_in_Light )

 

 

 

The Crack Of Dawn!

July 25, 2020 — 12 Comments

F/10.0, 1/400, ISO 125.

John Deere Tractor At Dawn

What do you get when you cross a robot and a tractor?

transfarmer.

Interesting Fact: The first powered farm implements in the early 19th century were portable engines – steam engines on wheels that could be used to drive mechanical farm machinery by way of a flexible belt. Richard Trevithick designed the first ‘semi-portable’ stationary steam engine for agricultural use, known as a “barn engine” in 1812, and it was used to drive a corn threshing machine.[4] The truly portable engine was invented in 1839 by William Tuxford of Boston, Lincolnshire who started manufacture of an engine built around a locomotive-style boiler with horizontal smoke tubes. A large flywheel was mounted on the crankshaft, and a stout leather belt was used to transfer the drive to the equipment being driven. In the 1850s, John Fowler used a Clayton & Shuttleworth portable engine to drive apparatus in the first public demonstrations of the application of cable haulage to cultivation. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tractor#History )

Keep Off My Grass!

June 12, 2020 — 8 Comments

F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 400.

Northern Mockingbird vs American Robin

Why should you keep away from dermatologists?

They make rash decisions.

Interesting Fact: Mockingbirds are also territorial around other bird species as well as dogs and cats. The flight style of mockingbirds is variable but typically leisurely, with showy wingbeats. Sometimes Northern Mockingbirds simply drop quickly from a perch with their wings folded. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Mockingbird/lifehistory# )

 

 

 

 

Mouth Full!

May 5, 2020 — 24 Comments

F/7.1, 1/160, ISO 320.

American Robin

Why are vampires so easy to fool?

Because they are suckers.

Interesting Fact: An American Robin can produce three successful broods in one year. On average, though, only 40 percent of nests successfully produce young. Only 25 percent of those fledged young survive to November. From that point on, about half of the robins alive in any year will make it to the next. Despite the fact that a lucky robin can live to be 14 years old, the entire population turns over on average every six years. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Robin/lifehistory )

The Sky Speaks In A Thousand Colours.

January 24, 2020 — 17 Comments

F/4.5, 1/60, ISO 400.

Did you hear about the astronaut that stepped on the chewing gum?

He got stuck in orbit !

Interesting Fact: As a ray of white sunlight travels through the atmosphere to an observer, some of the colors are scattered out of the beam by air molecules and airborne particles, changing the final color of the beam the viewer sees. Because the shorter wavelength components, such as blue and green, scatter more strongly, these colors are preferentially removed from the beam. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunset#Historically )

 

May All Your Troubles Soon Be Gone. Oh, Christmas Lights Keep Shining On.

December 23, 2019 — 13 Comments

F/22.0, 87.0, ISO 125.

Jersey City Downtown

What did the stamp say to the Christmas card?

Stick with me and we’ll go places!

Interesting Fact: The first known electrically illuminated Christmas tree was the creation of Edward H. Johnson, an associate of inventor Thomas Edison. While he was vice president of the Edison Electric Light Company, a predecessor of today’s Con Edison electric utility, he had Christmas tree light bulbs especially made for him. He proudly displayed his Christmas tree, which was hand-wired with 80 red, white and blue electric incandescent light bulbs the size of walnuts, on December 22, 1882 at his home on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Local newspapers ignored the story, seeing it as a publicity stunt. However, it was published by a Detroit newspaper reporter, and Johnson has become widely regarded as the Father of Electric Christmas Tree Lights. By 1900, businesses started stringing up Christmas lights behind their windows.[14] Christmas lights were too expensive for the average person; as such, electric Christmas lights did not become the majority replacement for candles until 1930. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_lights#History )

 

 

 

Snow Fun

February 10, 2019 — 8 Comments

Snow Fun

F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 100.

How do you know if there’s a snowman in your bed?

You wake up wet!

Interesting Fact: Snow forms when  water vapor in the atmosphere freezes into ice crystals.

 

 

It’s Not What’s Under The Tree That Matters It’s Who’s Gathered Around It.

December 25, 2018 — 19 Comments

F/11.0, 1/500, ISO 400.

Merry Christmas And Happy Holidays To You All!

Why is Santa so jolly?

Because he knows where all the naughty girls live.

Interesting Fact: Modern Christmas trees originated during the Renaissance of early modern Germany. Its 16th-century origins are sometimes associated with Protestant Christian reformer Martin Luther, who is said to have first added lighted candles to an evergreen tree. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_tree )