Hard to believe we're now into the last stretch of 2018, so time for a new thread. Naples seems to be getting it's act together . . . slowly, but it still has to be Europe's most fascinating city. And long may it remain so! Some recent pics, including one with a rather peculiar minor error:

Braybuddy.

Nice pictures. In one picture, I see FUK on the old doorway up in the right top corner. On another picture of the waitress cleaning the floor, I see a reflection in the marble counter of her arm and shoulder. In the picture with the Mannequins, I see a bandaged and painted finger of the finger, right hand. Obviously broken previously. The left arm of the same Mannequin, something about the arm and hand does not seem right. It almost looks like a mismatched arm, color difference and right arm muscular , left looks skinny and twisted. All I have so far.

The waitress in the second to last pic has written the € sign mirrored.

Otherwise, great pics as always!

BartSimpson wrote:

The waitress in the second to last pic has written the € sign mirrored.

Otherwise, great pics as always!

I now see it, of course if I knew how it was to be written, that might have helped.

BartSimpson wrote:

The waitress in the second to last pic has written the € sign mirrored.

Otherwise, great pics as always!

Well spotted, and thank you! I didn't notice it at the time, only during editing, which is surprising, as (probably due to my background in printing) I can spot upside-down or reversed letters on signage a mile away (the letters N, S, H, A, U and V being particulary susceptible!). I probably didn't notice because it was hand-written. I did scrach my head on realising it, wondering what prompted her to write the symbol backwards: is is some form of dyslexia, is she Russian . . . I don't know. Strange, but it does make the image more interesting!

WarRI1 wrote:

I now see it, of course if I knew how it was to be written, that might have helped.

I suppose you were at a disadvantage this time WarRI1, so I'll forgive you . . .

I'll stretch the definition of "non-av" a bit in order to share my photos of the Falcon 9 launch last night:

Cool stuuf, Vik!

Mine is a bit more "earth-bound" - a crane ballet:

Shot from an old iPhone 5 - Dan Moignard on Col D'Izoard, final hairpin. He's a bloody fast rider - pretty clever with cars too.

Braybuddy wrote:

BartSimpson wrote:

The waitress in the second to last pic has written the € sign mirrored.

Otherwise, great pics as always!

Well spotted, and thank you! I didn't notice it at the time, only during editing, which is surprising, as (probably due to my background in printing) I can spot upside-down or reversed letters on signage a mile away (the letters N, S, H, A, U and V being particulary susceptible!). I probably didn't notice because it was hand-written. I did scrach my head on realising it, wondering what prompted her to write the symbol backwards: is is some form of dyslexia, is she Russian . . . I don't know. Strange, but it does make the image more interesting!

WarRI1 wrote:

I now see it, of course if I knew how it was to be written, that might have helped.

I suppose you were at a disadvantage this time WarRI1, so I'll forgive you . . .

I thank you kind Sir. Keep em coming.

Bangkok sunset, Silom Rd

Helyes.

Is that smog we see, or the weather?

Vikkyvik


Those are cool pictures.

BartSimpson

Delicate, dangerous work.

cpd

A pretty good picture from a camera phone.

WarRI1 wrote:

Helyes.

Is that smog we see, or the weather?

The air is rather polluted in central Bangkok, probably that and the right weather conditions give great sunsets..

A mixed bag this week, including autumn leaves, black and white builders, Iron Man and Vikings

Braybuddy.

Interesting how the man carrying the board has his fingers so distorted. What are those obviously new airbags being used for ? I see you captured a picture of what looks like a fly in the sign picture. Nice going, sharp eye.

WarRI1 wrote:

Braybuddy.

Interesting how the man carrying the board has his fingers so distorted. What are those obviously new airbags being used for ? I see you captured a picture of what looks like a fly in the sign picture. Nice going, sharp eye.

They aren't fingers WarRI1, they're gloves, but I was fooled too. I thought they looked strange and had to enlarge them to find out. The airbags were used -- I presume -- as markers for the first part of an Iron Man triathlon. Unfortunately I was late and missed the swimming, but the airbags made a nice image themselves, as they were dragged out of the water. As for the fly -- well spotted! -- I saw it during editing and assumed it was a hole in the wall, so left it for reasons of accuracy (translation: I was just too lazy to remove it ). You know I watched that guy paint that sign last week over two days (it's right beside my house, so I was able to follow it closely) and he painted the whole thing freehand. No stencils, no rulers, no pencils, and I never even saw him looking at a printed or drawn image, or paint over any badly painted bits or strokes.

Extraordinary, and amazingly talented!

Braybuddy wrote:

WarRI1 wrote:

Braybuddy.

Interesting how the man carrying the board has his fingers so distorted. What are those obviously new airbags being used for ? I see you captured a picture of what looks like a fly in the sign picture. Nice going, sharp eye.

They aren't fingers WarRI1, they're gloves, but I was fooled too. I thought they looked strange and had to enlarge them to find out. The airbags were used -- I presume -- as markers for the first part of an Iron Man triathlon. Unfortunately I was late and missed the swimming, but the airbags made a nice image themselves, as they were dragged out of the water. As for the fly -- well spotted! -- I saw it during editing and assumed it was a hole in the wall, so left it for reasons of accuracy (translation: I was just too lazy to remove it ). You know I watched that guy paint that sign last week over two days (it's right beside my house, so I was able to follow it closely) and he painted the whole thing freehand. No stencils, no rulers, no pencils, and I never even saw him looking at a printed or drawn image, or paint over any badly painted bits or strokes.

Extraordinary, and amazingly talented!

I missed that Euro sign, but I never miss a fly. Those markers for the race sure were noticeable and I guess when swimming you need that. To do that sign freehand does take talent, a talent I do not have for sure. Gloves, now that explains it.

Not posted anything for a while but here's a selection of shots since the end of September so it's mostly variations on an Autumnal theme

Lyme Hall, Disley. The Italian Garden on 30th September


Powis Castle, Welshpool on 7th October


Chatsworth House on 28th October


"Flora Bee", Bee in the City project, Heaton Park, Manchester on 13th November


Dove Stone Reservoir near Oldham on 15th November


Skipton Castle on 17th November


Sunset on the lake by the Wooded Knoll, Sizergh Castle, Kendal on 18th November

Good job with the pictures. The Reservoir looks very low. Is there drought conditions?

Thanks! Very nearly got to be formally declared a drought but the rains came to slightly fill the reservoirs up in late summer. The area is virtually next door to Saddleworth Moor which may have featured in international media due to the fire conditions that raged for a good portion of the summer due to the lack of rain and someone allegedly being a bit slack with cigarette ash; the smell of the grass burning extended to a good 10 miles away (some people where choking in central Manchesrter)

Thank goodness in our area, some many years ago planned for this eventuality, our main reservoir is now feeding almost the entire metropolitan area and holding up well. also we are the smallest state here. Many have wells further out.

Most of my recent photos are of the dogs...









But also snagged some shots of a Mantis perched on the window screen:

Vikkyvik

The second one down is the topper to me. What is he/she thinking?

Braybuddy.

Where are you?

WarRI1 wrote:

Vikkyvik

The second one down is the topper to me. What is he/she thinking?

She's likely thinking "why are you sticking a camera in my face when I'm trying to sleep?"

vikkyvik wrote:

WarRI1 wrote:

Vikkyvik

The second one down is the topper to me. What is he/she thinking?

She's likely thinking "why are you sticking a camera in my face when I'm trying to sleep?"

At least she did not bare her teeth, then we would know what she was thinking.

Some lovely pics up there guys, I particularly like David_itl's beautiful landscapes and Vikkyvik's black and white dog with coloured eyes -- superb!

WarRI1 wrote:

Braybuddy.
Where are you?

I'm not that easy to get rid of, WarRI1! I always save the main holiday of the year till November (helps kill the winter) so I've been busy sorting and editing over 2,300 pics from the trip. With new direct A350 flights from Dublin to Hong Kong a Chinese rail trip was a complete no-brainer. And China is a fascinating and very affordable destination, even if language can be a problem, but we always enjoy a challenge! Here's a selection from the first part of the trip, from Hong Kong to Xiamen:









































More to follow.

Braybuddy.

A slice of life I will never see. These pictures remind me of a story from my Nephew who did a six month tour in Hong Kong a few years ago. He told me that I would probably not care for the cuisine there. After looking at a few of the pictures, I agree with him. I assume that the safety razor near the chopping block is for tidying up the cut of whatever cut you buy. I do not think it is for his personal use, I hope! I like your pictures, it allows me to see such from afar. I find the bonfire on a city street interesting also. The other pictures are well done as usual. You do the traveling, I will do the looking from afar.

WarRI1 wrote:

Braybuddy.
A slice of life I will never see. These pictures remind me of a story from my Nephew who did a six month tour in Hong Kong a few years ago. He told me that I would probably not care for the cuisine there. After looking at a few of the pictures, I agree with him.

No animal dies in vain: every single scrap of the carcass is used in some form or other. Anything that walks, flies, swims or crawls seems to be on the menu. You can be as adventurous as you want, but we played fairly safe and has some delicious meals. We passed on the bats though.

WarRI1 wrote:

I assume that the safety razor near the chopping block is for tidying up the cut of whatever cut you buy. I do not think it is for his personal use, I hope!

I hadn't noticed it, so well spotted. Maybe he uses it for shaving hairs off the animal skin? I don't know.

WarRI1 wrote:

I like your pictures, it allows me to see such from afar. I find the bonfire on a city street interesting also. The other pictures are well done as usual. You do the traveling, I will do the looking from afar.

Thank you! I prefer to shoot ordinary, everyday scenes that give a flavour of everyday life, rather than the headline main attractions. They've all been photograped a million times before, by much better photographers than myself, so I don't really see the point, unless I can add something unusual to them. That bonfire, believe it or not, was a practice run for the local firemen. Wood boxes, chairs, pallets etc were piled high in a sidestreet early one morning and set alight for the local fireman to take turns on. I love these countries where the rulebook gets thrown out the window: cars and vans drove casually past while all this went on, and you can see a fireman hosing-down the buildings on the right to stop them igniting . The local school seemed to be treated to a morning's entertainment as dozens of schoolkids watched on, mesmerised.

Braybuddy.

I agree with you, very interesting shots showing how the other 99.9 % live. Keep them coming.

petertenthije.

Very interesting shots. Talk about building on solid foundations and being able to survive with strife all around them.

petertenthije wrote:

Two weeks ago I spend a day at the Metéora monasteries overlooking Kalampaka Greece. They are build on top of pillar rocks and are truly spectacular.

Indeed: they have an otherwordly look. Great pics!

One last dip into the China folder makes-up my last post of 2018. Pics were taken around Fuzhou, Shanghai and the beautiful water town of Zhujiajiao:

Braybuddy

Great pictures as usual. I find the preparation and serving of foods fascinating there. Are they coffee percolators that the girl is arranging? I like the wearing of the mask by the woman preparing the food, that should be done here. The guy on the bike hauling the cement mixer tank had better not stop quickly. I like his mud shield on the front wheel, making do with what you have. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

WarRI1 wrote:

Braybuddy
Great pictures as usual. I find the preparation and serving of foods fascinating there. Are they coffee percolators that the girl is arranging?

Indeed they are: she's working in the largest Starbucks in the world -- 30,000 sq ft -- which is a factory, cafe and library rolled into one -- and quite an experience.

WarRI1 wrote:

I like the wearing of the mask by the woman preparing the food, that should be done here.

Face masks are quite common in parts of Asia, and for various reasons: for protection against various forms of 'flu, or because breath is central to good health in traditional Chinese medicine, and also for hygiene purposes, so it's hard to know why this worman was wearing hers, but it's certainly good practice where serving food is concerned.

WarRI1 wrote:

The guy on the bike hauling the cement mixer tank had better not stop quickly. I like his mud shield on the front wheel, making do with what you have.

I hadn't noticed that at all, so well-spotted. It's a nice little modifcation, and I notice it's held in place with a handful of bull-clips! That's the nice thing about countries like China: you have this amazing mix of high- and low-tech.

WarRI1 wrote:

Merry Christmas to you and yours.

And the same to you and your family WarRI1, and the very best wishes for 2019!

Id love to post some photos I have here but I dont know how to post them directly from my phone. I have an Android. Does someone know how?

TWA772LR wrote:

Id love to post some photos I have here but I dont know how to post them directly from my phone. I have an Android. Does someone know how?

You can't directly. You need to upload your pictures first onto a picture storage site like Flickr. There you can get a link that you paste in your post here on a.net.