Lagavulin hanging out

Lagavulin hanging out Originally uploaded by soozika soozika seemed to get a good giggle out of the "Fishin' Wine" episode. This shot on the right of a wine bottle was in her photostream and was very tempting. Ingredients and recipe: One old wine bottle (empty...slowly... and scrape label) One Screw Top Lid One Brown paper sack (shredded) One Sheet Green construction paper (shredded) Design, print label for La Conga Rum (no insects were harmed in making this label) Design and print a new tax stamp (official for Puerto Salsa) Mix shredded paper and make nest in an old soft drink carton. Gluestick label and stamp to bottle in approptiate places. Place newly labeled bottled in the nest and photograph. Skew and rotate photo in photoshop to match the original. Save.

The family. Life is hard. (Book 2)

soozika says: Oh dear, they sure do not look like happy campers. I think I also have a few scanned ones of those REALLY old photos of my forefathers (and 'foremothers' ) ... remember they sported quite stern gazes as well. What a difference to the photos that people snap these days... Hi soozika. True, they don't look like a very happy family. In these old photographs they do often look that way. In those days a photographer was a novelty, an expensive one. The photographer seems always to have caught them just after the children have been admonished to "hold still and quit fidgeting or you'll regret it when we get home." The stern expressions still linger on the adult's faces and the children are still playing innocent. Sometimes the children look downright fearful though, and the adults just look tired. It really was a hard life back then. The youngest child clearly holds a feeling of fear and distrust, possibly for the photographer but probably of life itself. That aura is in all of them to some extent. The three youngest are holding wreaths, probably the camera-man’s idea; the oldest child holds a hat. The young ones are wearing dresses of identical fabric but different patterns. Quite likely they are home-made by mother, as much of the clothing was then. The oldest is wearing a dress she probably made herself. She has a scarf, a broach and a pendant, once belonging to mother. I would guess the children to be 14, 10, 8 and 6, or near that. That would make the mother in her thirties. She looks 60 and very tired. And very determined. The firmly bitten lower lip is part of her expression now, her face nearly incapable of a smile. The child on the left matches her closely. The man spends much of his time on horseback. His jacket is perhaps leather, as it has a bit of sheen. His hair appears to be trained with a hat or sombrero. His hands are gnarled and the knuckles swollen. He is not a banker or a merchant. Farming or ranching is his trade probably. He has worked hard. The girls help greatly but he has always wished he had a son or two to help with the heavy work. The struggle has been relentless but the family prospers to a degree as photographers were expensive luxuries then. A family photograph was a symbol of success. The photographer may have given up aspiring to create a work of art, settling for just “thanks”, a few positive responses and a living. But here he has at last, had someone study his work, appreciating his craft and ability. On the back of the photo is written in an ancient penmanship: Grandpa & Grandma. Then script in different ink and hand: Dad’s great grandparents. That would mean it was at least four generations ago. Well over one hundred years. The man in the picture could have been born as late as 1850 but probably earlier. In the photo with four children he is at least in his 30's placing the date about 1875 to 1880.

The family. Life is hard. (Book 2) Originally uploaded by anyjazz65.

Brownie Hawkeye with Flash Attachment

Brownie Hawkeye with Flash Attachment Originally uploaded by anyjazz65 As a kid I borrowed several cameras including a 2x3 Crown Graphic and I had several hand me down box cameras early on. But after the Hawkeye, I bought a Kodak Pony 135 when they first appeared. It has been a series of 35mm cameras since then. In 2001 I bought a Nikon 995 digital and I have never looked back.

religious 12x12in

religious 12'12in
Originally uploaded by fartparty.org.

What a thought.

This talented artist should have two size prints made. One should be the original size and the other should be postcard size. The small prints should sell for about 2 bucks, the full size for 35-40 bucks. The original should sell for $250.

The Business of Religion.

What a thought. That religion has played a beneficial part in the growth and quality of humankind is a given. Organized religion promotes faith and self confidence and solace and a slate of things that humans need. No doubt that most wars have religion somewhere in their description. Maybe all. There has been for a long time a nagging wonder about the business of religion. Perhaps I should say the "business" of religion. In the name of religion there are many peoples being herded into groups in order to raise money. Does anyone remember any religious function that did not involve money? A wedding? A funeral? A Wednesday night prayer meeting? Of course the church building must be cleaned, maintained. The activities, children’s programs, missionary work, must be financed. There are many “Ordained” ministers that hold services in their rec-room basement for a few neighbors and friends. There are church buildings that cost in the millions with vast flocks of members officiated by a TV personality minister. And of course, it is tax free…

Bee

Bee Originally uploaded by soozika. This is from the wonderful photostream of soozika on Flickr. I did a slide show all the way through her stream once a while back, looking at every picture. I didn't see this one. On a wander back through today it caught me. Perhaps it is a mood or a chemistry or a frame of mind that makes us see things one time and not another. This time I was looking through the stream back to front but I doubt that would make a difference. I will have to think about this. The photographs there are thoughtful and carefully framed. Shot with little or no post production, I would bet. They cover a wide range of subjects, each photo carefully crafted and selected. There is an artist at work here.

bee in flight-closeup

bee in flight-closeup
Originally uploaded by drgnstyl.

And science PROVES that bees can't fly...

Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men...

Interestingness.

Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men...
Originally uploaded by anyjazz65.

I don't know how it works either. I THINK I know what the big boys tell me. There are 500 photographs chosen for explorer each day and their rankings change within the day (how many times I couldn't guess. ) If your photo drops to #501 in the rankings it will drop off the charts until it maybe jumps into the top 500 again. The rankings are based (again, as the big boys taught me) on how many visits, favorites and comments each photo has and how FAST it collects them. The Favorites probably outweigh the Comments and the Comments probably Outweigh the visits. The number of groups they are posted in also adjusts the rank somehow. (the fewer postings, the higher the rank). The number and kind of tags figures in too. Beyond that, I understand, Flickr isn't telling. If anyone can correct or supplement this loose description, help out!

Here is a nice LONG discussion on it:
www.flickr.com/groups/central/discuss/72057594093319838/

Well as long as I'm on a rant about it, I might as well add this too. Apparently Flickr gives each photo a unique number by just numbering them consecutively upon arrival. The number for the above bird picture is 218727061...(see the URL line at Flickr...) and

this is one of the first photogrphs I uploaded which was #45142957.

If that is true, using my own numbers over the past 11 months, Flickr has upoladed at least 170 million photos. That's an average of more than 15 million a month, over 500 thousand a day. Average. To have ONE photo in the top 500 for that day is pretty rare atmosphere. Flickr has more than 200 million photographs numbered now (AT THIS DATE!).

Of course when the photosite was younger there were fewer members, fewer photos per month, perhaps as few as 10,000. Now of course it is probably 25 million a month. Or so.

Connie

Yes, I refused to use Kleenex until this mess was cleaned up. AND THEY DID!.

Connie originally uploaded by anyjazz65 She sat alone in the corner Dreaming her fading dreams, Watching her world whistle and whine, Away and without her. Once more she thought, once more in the sky. Once more where there is no horizon, To fly, once more, to fly. First, I must make it clear that I have an odd fixation for any old aircraft. There is just something about their appearance and history that makes me drift a bit. I have never wanted to be a pilot, I just get fascinated by the histories of these machines, especially the military types of WW11. That said, the Lockheed Constellation was another brainchild of the illustrious Howard Hughes. This one considerably more useful than his Spruce Goose. Set apart by its distictive triple tail rudder profile, it dominated the skies just before the jet airliners flew into the scene. Of the 856 that were built, there are only five still flying. The "survivor" shown above sat at the Smoky Hill base in Salina, Kansas for years, a decade ago. I have no idea where it is now.

Castles in air

opie_jeanne says:
Wow. Did you photoshop this?
Posted 18 hours ago.

anyjazz65 says:
Straight out of the box-camera. But I had about five shots to choose from.

I seldom think about post production of a shot really. Just stuck in a film-camera rut, I guess. I use photoshop some to clear up found photos.
Posted 14 hours ago.

opie_jeanne says:
The sky is so dark. That's why I asked.
Posted 14 hours ago.

anyjazz65 says:
I know. It was a dramatic sky to watch. These clouds were moving fast. This is looking almost straight east at nearly sundown. The sun caught only the highest clouds.
Posted 14 hours ago.

opie_jeanne says:
I think I understand. It was one of those hot days that feel like the air is quivering as you wait for it to rain?
Posted 13 hours ago.

anyjazz65 says:
Yes. Like that.

But, it didn't rain. We are losing trees now. Even the sturdy crepe myrtle needs the hose run on it constantly. The grass is long gone. I have birds at the birdbath that normally wouldn't come out of the wild into a "civilized" yard. Bob White, Flicker, Red Shoulder Hawk. I have to fill the birdbath six or seven times a day and it automatically refills three times on its own.

I lost a huge mimosa this week. Looks like a 40 year old cottonwood is next. It is really sad.
Posted 12 hours ago.

opie_jeanne says:
I hear you. It doesn't rain here either, most of the time it threatens us like this. We think we are losing our jacaranda but not from drought; it had termites when we first moved here but we think an ant colony has taken care of that problem, but the tree is struggling. I will weep if that happens.
Posted 9 hours ago.

queen of the universe says:
I love this shot. I would like to see it in b&w or sepia...(maybe). Sounds like you are in the grip of Ole Mom Nature's whims too. Where do you live? I live in central Florida. We've got several big ole oaks that look dead, and it's breaking my heart. The county extension sez it's possible they are in shock, because we had a full year of crazy high water, and now it's been rather dry... it always seems to be a Lesson in Patience, doesn't it?
Posted 2 hours ago.

anyjazz65 says:
This is in south-central Oklahoma about 30 miles from Texas. This is where the "Dust Bowl" was, where the "Grapes of Wrath" began. Much has been done over the last 70 years to prevent that circumstance again but it is still scary and depressing. Patience is the remedy, yes. I do hope Mother Nature does not run short of patience with us.

Now it's stuck to my foot...

Now it's stuck to my foot... Originally uploaded by anyjazz65. This photograph was deep in my Flickr photostream. It had been there for some time. It amazes me. I couldn't believe it had not been visited more. So I changed the upload date so that it would reappear on the top of the stack. We'll see. Update 20070304: Now the photo has been viewed 163 times and added as a "favorite" three times. In my usual mode of thoroughness, I didn't make note of how many times it had been viewed before I moved it ten months ago. Oh well.