Pictures/descriptions of local areas

[Sarapva]

I thought it might be interesting to post some pictures or describe the places we live, or maybe places we've been or want to go! Here are some of the area of Virginia I'm in:

This is the Appomattox River:



This is what I think is a hawk at the river:



And this is the footbridge over the canal near the river:

 

[made of stone]

A very nice thread, Sarapva!

Imho, this could be in the Community section - after all, what nicer way to get to know members better than the areas near where they live or visit?!

I shall fiddle around with some of my pics, and post them here.

Appomattox rang a bell with me - I thought at first it reminded me of a name from Greek history, perhaps, but after a quick Google I see it was a very crucial site in the Civil War, adjacent to the spot where it was ended, no less! Ah, that must be it, those history tutorials I was half-hungover during university

 

[leonmarino]

Great thread idea!! I think it would be even better if the poster of the picture could also give a short explanation of what the viewer sees.

I don't have any interesting pics at the moment, but I'll post them as soon as I have some.

 

[made of stone]

Great thread idea!! I think it would be even better if the poster of the picture could also give a short explanation of what the viewer sees.

Yes! Great suggestion!

I don't have any interesting pics at the moment, but I'll post them as soon as I have some.

Please do, we'd very much love to see your local spots

I'm working on getting my humble pics hosted right now, watch this space.

 

[Sarapva]

Great thread idea!! I think it would be even better if the poster of the picture could also give a short explanation of what the viewer sees.

Yes, sorry! Let me explain the pictures I posted. The first is the view from a path along the river. And yes, made of stone, Appomattox is a town not far from here where Lee surrendered at the end of the civil war. I remember as a kid whenever we had company, I'd be dragged off to the battlefield park and have to sit through a monotonous talk about the surrender of Lee at Appomattox, while lights played on a circular map in the middle of the room. I think that same recording is still played today!

The hawk picture was taken near the footbridge that crosses the canal at the park. The canal was built about 200 years ago when it was used as a hydro-electric station.

 

[misa.j]

What a beautiful place you live there Sarapva! I love looking at pictures of places full of nature, they are soothing to my eyes.
From the pictures, there seems to be nice trails for hiking in the area.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Sarapva]

Beginning of spring

Thanks, misa,j! Yes, there's a hiking/biking trail that goes along the canal there. Spring is just beginning here, so I thought I'd post a picture of the first maple leaf buds starting to come out. Behind the maple tree branch is a pine tree trunk. The weather is so nice now, bright blue sky, white puffy clouds. It's not always this nice in the summer when it gets humid and hot. Here are the maple leaf buds:

 

[made of stone]

Another lovely photo of the natural world, Sarapva, you have a very good eye!

Here's a pic from the Isle of Wight, a place i've been lucky enough to visit the last few summers. Enjoy the view - my friend's place is on the edge of a (crumbling) cliff and may not be around much longer. Fifty years? Ten? The transience of life indeed. A beautiful spot!

 

[made of stone]

A couple at the winter fair in Leicester Square, London. A place I strongly dislike, actually, but one that often offers up great photo chances!

 

[made of stone]

Apologies for the size of the last picture if you do click on the banner - I wasn't sure both how these things work on this site and the image host itself.

At least you might see the detail if you wish - actually I really must get working on some abstracts for exhibition later this year (as a complete amateur of course, it's very much just a hobby).

Last one for tonight, my local train station - taken in black and white, on a digital cam as usual these days. For good quality images I really must return to film (when I win the lottery lol!):

 

[Sarapva]

Very good photos, made of stone! The Isle of Wight picture looks almost like a tropical place! Nice visual of the train station. I've heard black and white photos come out more clear than color. Do you think regular film makes better pictures than digital?

You're an abstract painter! Would you be willing to post a photo of one of your paintings? It's perfectly understandable if you wouldn't, of course. I've done some painting myself, but none that I'd want to exhibit! I haven't painted lately - acrylic paint is so expensive. I've wondered if just food coloring would work as well??

 

[misa.j]

You're an abstract painter! Would you be willing to post a photo of one of your paintings? It's perfectly understandable if you wouldn't, of course. I've done some painting myself, but none that I'd want to exhibit!

Oh, come on! Please, show us your talent, Sarapva!
Here is a perfect thread for that, exhibition of Jref artists. We can definitely have more good tastes in art around here!

 

[made of stone]

Very good photos, made of stone! The Isle of Wight picture looks almost like a tropical place! Nice visual of the train station. I've heard black and white photos come out more clear than color. Do you think regular film makes better pictures than digital?

Thank you most kindly Sarapva

The IOW picture must have been a trick of the light! Lol - actually it does have nice weather, and is more clement than most of the UK, but prone to high winds and the sea is always freezing...*sigh*...oh if only our islands were further south, and I could swim in the sea every day after breakfast as I dream...

As for film, i'm completely amateur, but my uncle swears by black and white for the clarity of tone and the atmosphere of shadow. And ah, the digital vs film debate is quite heated, but from what i've read and been told, if you're working with high end photography then film is still a must. Probably for snapshots and simple stuff you don't intend to crop or blow up much digital is more convenient. Not to mention far more cost effective (the main point for me). There seem to be quite some experts on photography i've read posts by already here on Jref, I hope to pick their brains!

You're an abstract painter! Would you be willing to post a photo of one of your paintings?

I'm dabbling in abstract and surrealist paintings, but i'm far from where I aim to be, so I won't be posting any here quite yet. The exhibition I wrote of would be of abstracts from my digital or film pics - if you click on the full size image of the fair and then imagine part of it blown up and viewed without any context, that's it. Some people get that kind of stuff, others don' like it at all (my sister hates my works!) And some images 'work' like that, and some don't. Those that don't, I can usually get where I want to with Photoshop, so those are the two (amateur!!!) exhibitions i'll be working on in my free-time, hope they come off!

Oh, come on! Please, show us your talent, Sarapva!
Here is a perfect thread for that, exhibition of Jref artists. We can definitely have more good tastes in art around here!

Many thanks for the tip about the thread! It looks lovely, with some incredible stuff posted there - I will certainly contribute some of my earlier Photoshop works if i may. And misa.j please post your pictures here too!

 

[Sarapva]

Oh, come on! Please, show us your talent, Sarapva!
Here is a perfect thread for that, exhibition of Jref artists. We can definitely have more good tastes in art around here!

Thanks for the invitation, misa.j! I'll think about it!!

Made of stone - I think I know what you mean about taking a certain part of a picture like the one at Leicester Square - it would be a lot of swirling light?

As an update on the spring picture above - it's about 45 F (5 C) here today and cloudy. Not like spring at all today!

 

[made of stone]

Made of stone - I think I know what you mean about taking a certain part of a picture like the one at Leicester Square - it would be a lot of swirling light?

As an update on the spring picture above - it's about 45 F (5 C) here today and cloudy. Not like spring at all today!

Yes indeed, if you view the full size pic and then scroll up to the lighty bits, that's it! Equally, just the flooring could do with some work on Photoshop, a little like a Zen garden perhaps (and don't get me started posting my pics of those from Japan - it needs a new thread!)

5 C...sounds very chilly indeed! We're back to snow and hail here too -2 C tonight, I'll go to bed with my socks on I think!

Anyway, back to posting pictures everybody please! We need more - Sarapva you must have quite a few! - let's find out about where everyone lives or visits - what a great way to know our community better!

:car:

 

[Sarapva]

Today was warm here (70 F/20 C)! It's been back and forth lately. Okay, here is a summer picture of the Outer Banks in North Carolina for you all in cold England!




And this is an out of focus sunrise with three pelicans flying across (and I think a sea gull on the sand):

 

[leonmarino]

I have some flowery pictures!!
http://www.samurai-doraemon.demon.nl/DSC01040.JPG
Here's a picture I took the last time I visited Keukenhof, which is a major flower fair attracting tons of tourists every year. (And lots of Japanese people too!!)
Here's another one:
http://www.samurai-doraemon.demon.nl/DSC01052.JPG
If you would like the original pics, in bigger format, please click the pictures.
I went to one of the biggest flower auctions in the world last week, as a part of a course on International Trade. I was reluctant to go at first but I'm glad I did go!! It's really unbelievable how big the place is.. Did you guys know that Holland accounts for more than 50% of the world export of flowers? Amazing. This company I visited is the market leader in Holland and so probably worth a double digit percentage in world exports..
http://www.samurai-doraemon.demon.nl/DSC02022.JPG
And here are some more pictures, of which I do not have a better resolution:

It is such a huuuuuuuge place..

The last ones are a bit blurry too. Sorry about that.

 

[made of stone]

leonmarino, those first two pictures are very nice indeed, how fitting for a member from the Netherlands! And the last three pics are very interesting too; i've been to Amsterdam and seen the incredible flower industry there, it's quite something!

sarapva, lovely pics as usual! I get the impression you are very much a country person, fascinated with nature. I wonder, do you sometimes visit big cities? It would be fascinating to see what your photographer's eye makes of those cityscapes!

A couple of pictures from me tonight. The first is a nice looking pub on the south coast here, near Rye. I wonder if they serve French beer?!




The second is made of stone's house*






* in my dreams of course! Actually Knole House in Kent. The park it's set in was the backdrop for the first ever promo film for a record, I believe - The Beatles' Strawberry Fields Forever - it is a very nice spot for a picnic and a glass of wine in the sun with good company!

 

[Sarapva]

leonmarino - Beautiful flowers! I'll bet Holland is pretty in the summer. Those warehouses must smell really good!!

made of stone - Nice, very Englishy pictures! I'm sure I've seen Knole House - it looks familiar. It's probably been in other backdrops/movies since the Beatles.

Thank you for your nice compliments of my pictures! I have taken some of big cities, and this is one I have on the computer, a picture of Anchorage, Alaska at sunset taken probably in the early '90s: (I'll look for other city pictures I've taken)

(Both of these pictures were taken with a regular camera and then scanned onto the computer)




This is another Alaskan picture I took in 1986 of a dog sledder - I was a passenger in a car and just happened to have my camera as we drove past. This was near the town of Wasilla in winter (obviously!):

 

[made of stone]

made of stone - Nice, very Englishy pictures! I'm sure I've seen Knole House - it looks familiar. It's probably been in other backdrops/movies since the Beatles.

Many thanks Sarapva

Englishy - I like that description, and yes, I suppose they are lol

I don't think it's been in many other features till recently, though the surrounding park was famous in the Uk for losing a few million (!) trees in the Great Storm of 1987. I still walk and climb on those trees; there's a beauty there that you'd love Sarapva!

The recent feature i'm talking about: they just finished filming a preiod piece there, quite a major production that should be in cinemas in a year or maybe less. Alas, I had a tip-off where the staff were drinking in the evenings, but after nervously practising my introduction to my beloved Natalie Portman in the mirror a few hundred times I decided that I was far too good for her, and decided to use my time more wisely staying at home and dusting my shelves...

 

[misa.j]

Here is a slideshow of pictures I took when I went cross-country skiing on Wednesday. It is from one of the passes that go through in the Adirondack high peaks. There had been the avalanche a week prior to these pictures were taken, and you can see some of the trees had been swept away and lying on the surface of a frozen lake.
the Avalanche Pass

 

[Sarapva]

Nice pictures, misa.j! The Adirondack Mountains are in New York, right? You've had a lot of snow up there this winter - I'm not surprised there were avalanches. It was on the Weather Channel about how much snow Buffalo, NY was getting.

I tried to get another snowy Alaskan picture but couldn't get it to upload. Here is a bird on the beach at the Outer Banks, North Carolina:




And here is some "artistic" photography that I discovered once when I accidentally left my sunglasses in the picture (what do you think of this, made of stone?) - this is near Anchorage, Alaska:

 

[leonmarino]

And here is some "artistic" photography that I discovered once when I accidentally left my sunglasses in the picture

Wow!! This one should be in the "artistic/craft" section! Nice one.

 

[Glenn]

Sort of a "looking to the future" feel to it there.

 

[epigene]

Okay, I admit I'm a cherry blossom lover like Mars Man says, and here I go again! Tokyo will be like this in the next week or so!

Photos taken in April 2006 along a stream in our neighborhood.