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: Close Up. Let’s get up close and personal (impersonal is okay too).
Website of the Week: Endless Interestingness.
AndiF Close Ups
 |
Light, Rocks, and Water
Click image for larger version |
 |
Bubble, bubble
Click image for larger version |
 |
Bud there will be no leaves
Click image for larger version |
olivia’s close-ups
 |
Nose
Click image for larger version |
 |
Party Favours
Click image for larger version |
 |
Venus Flytrap
Click image for larger version |
- Next Week’s Theme: Random. Surprise us!
Info on Posting Photos
When you post your photos, please keep the width at 500 or less for the sake of our Bootribers who are on dial-up. If you want to post clickable thumbnails but aren’t sure how, check out this diary:
Clickable Thumbnails. If you haven’t yet joined a photo-hosting site, here are some to consider: Photobucket, Flickr, ImageShack, and Picasa.
Previous Friday Foto Flogs
Thanks for the wonderful comments last week. This weeks were all taken at night, with flash, at The Ormond Beach Christmas Antique and Classic Car Parade.
Well I gotta admit I never expected to see an electra or bonneville at a car show.
I’d almost forgotten how handsome a big whitewall tire is.
I personally think whitewalls look best with shiny mooncaps.
Hi Bob … 🙂 Kewl cars … Love the second shot!
I’ve been told that I have good jeans.
Ba-dump-dump! Thank you, thank you! I’ll be here all week!
And please, try the fish sticks, they’re fabulous!
Boran2,
There may have been too much bleach in that jean pool.
And no doubt your progeny has the best ones all sewn up.
very clever b2…groan.
now if you’d only gotten the red ‘levis’ tag it coulda been a commercial success.
LOL … love it. 🙂
First a few shots from the Cape May Shore Lines museum and railway:
Car Number
Anti-slip Brake Device
Valentine’s Day Dinner
Me, Up Close And Personal
Nice dinner you got there!
it was delicious, too! Coming from New England, I can never pass up a lobster dinner.
With warm drawn butter…
Fresh corn on the cob…
Gaaaahhhhhhhhh……
Stand strong,
That`s a terrific find on the “shrink & curl” effect, on the numbers.
It would be a great font.
If you could get all the numbers, and/or all the letters,(if they are used in the same context on the cars), you could have a signature set.
Good portrait.
You look marvelous. Your dinner, a bit less so. 😉
After Dinner
And from the lobster’s perspective, that especially unappetizing. 😉
great set ss.
ypu get some great effects with those convex mirrors…the ‘fisheye effect’ superimposed on the normal view of the cam is very interesting.
and man! did that lobster dinner look good.
bon appetite
Nice shots ss … love the variety of stuff that you find/shoot.
Love the dof in the second shot — and the vignetting really boosts the colour. And as d mentioned, your self-portraits are wonderful — how you play with all the reflective surfaces.
It actually wasn’t vignetting, although it has that appearance. It was more the boosting of dark colors and the lowering of recovery.
Photoshop and Camera RAW can be fun, although I don’t do anything too extensive with deep menu items.
Mum
More party favors
Naughty bits
Pointy
Pollinate
Scrumptious. The mum is wonderfully delicate and the naughty bits are wonderfully … well … naughty.
Hi SN. Those definitely liven up the joint … lovely colours and details!
up close
green t w/ construction paper:
clik to enlarge
clockwise: green, magenta, yellow ochre, orange. windows at a contemporary art gallery in an old building undergoing renovation and remodeling…rather clever l thought.
(any resemblance to the earlier color/colour FFFlog is purely coincidental :{)
That’s a wonderful set — the reflections are the perfect finishing touch.
l really hoped the reflections would be more dominant. but l just had the cam and one lens…no bag…so l didn’t have the polarizing filter with me.
l should revisit that and shoot it again. plus downtown is always a
targetsubject rich environment.LOL d … love the colour! Nicely done … and that would be a great to try out the pol filter. (Besides, I don’t think we’ve done a reflection theme.)
Little Dude in Big Straw Hat
Uber Cool Little Dude
School Girls, Southern Syria
Bride, Sialkot, Pakistan
My apologies to the bride but the little kids, especially the fine young man in the straw hat (a truly wonderful portrait) are just irresistible.
The young man in the straw hat and in the sun glasses is an Iraqi-Lebanese-American from mixed Muslim-Christian (Maronite)-non-believer stock.
Those are wonderful Hurria, just wonderful. I have to agree w/ Andi — those little spots of sun through the straw hat on the little dude are irresistible, but I also love the school girls.
🙂
Thanks Olivia.
The picture of the girls was taken at the Roman Theater in Bosra in southern Syria. The place was simply crawling with school kids on field trips. Those three girls asked me to take their picture, and I happily obliged.
the little dude” lighting, especially the’ freckling’ dots from the sun coming thru the hat is wonderful., and the bride shots are as beautifully done as she.
l do have a question tho. is her jewelry and general attire…for lack of a better term… traditional and a display of the dowry that she brings to the union? or more simply, is there any symbolism attached to them? in particular, the “nose ring” fascinates me and brings to mind things l’ve seen in other cultures.
whatever the answer, l find your photos of that part of the world fascinating, and would really like to know more about the culture. it’s a region l’ve never had the opportunity to visit, although it is, and has been, high on the wish list.
kudos
Thanks, Dada.
The gold jewelry is a gift from the groom’s family. Very traditional, and one of its functions is to serve as “insurance” in case something goes wrong.
The wedding celebration takes place over four nights. On some nights the groom’s family provides the clothing for the bride. One one of the nights the bride’s family provides the clothing for the groom. The groom’s family hosts the event on this night, and the bride’s family, without the bride, come bearing gifts of food, and the groom’s outfit, which he must wear until the third day of festivities, after which they are considered married, and go home together for the first time. On another night, the roles are reversed. This is a specifically Panjabi tradition.
Groom’s clothing brought by the bride’s family
Unfortunately, I don’t have a good picture of the groom in all his finery that night. The crowd sitting around are members of the bride’s family.
There are many set reciprocal events before, during, and after the wedding celebration that are clearly designed to bring the families together, which is one of the things I really admire about the Panjabi tradition. In some areas the woman simply leaves her family and becomes a member of her husband’s family, for better or for worse, but not here. In this case it is really a joining of two families, and is really very lovely and nice.
I am not aware of any particular significance for any specific piece of jewelry other than adornment, except, of course, for the gold.
Regarding visiting, unfortunately, right now is not the best time in the world to be visiting Pakistan, what with the shaky government, Obama continuing the policy of regular bombings in the north (HUGELY disappointing!), and the giving over to the Taliban of one of the loveliest parts of the country. The Pakistani people in general are wonderful and hospitable, especially if they know you, but it is a very unsettled time there.
The Arab world, such as Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, ‘Oman (in my opinion the only Gulf country worth spending any time in), are great places to visit at any time (well, OK, Lebanon can get a bit dicey from time to time, but generally is fine). You will find the people very friendly and welcoming toward American people. They hold no grudge against the American people for their government’s behaviours, although they are a bit baffled by some of the choices (e.g 2004).
Each society has a somewhat different character. Syrians are my favourite national group.
Contrary to the popular image, you will be safer in the Middle East than in most American cities. Violent crime is a real rarity in the Middle East, but as I suggested, theft can be a big problem in some countries.
thanks for the info. l have no plans to travel to that part of the world, especially pakistan, in the near future…it’s due as much to the economic circumstances as my aversion to putting myself needlessly in harms way.
Regarding putting yourself in harms way, you needn’t worry about that. As I said, you are safer virtually anywhere in the Arab world than you are in most American cities. I nearly always travel alone, walk around alone at all hours of the day and night, and have always felt safe. The likelihood that you would experience anything but friendliness is close to zero. An American is far less likely to experience any kind of hostility in the Arab world than an Arab is in the United States. People there are much better than Americans are at separating the people of a country from the actions of their governments.
My selections are, alas, a bit more mundane…
CBtY, hand model:
A cupcake close-up for AndiF (they disappear way too quickly!):
A Valentine’s Day dessert as a follow-up to stand strong’s lobster above:
You didn’t think I’d leave out a close-up of my latest knitting project, did you??
That’s it for me.
Well at least you got a shot off before all I got to see was the empty wrapper. 🙂
My selections are, alas, a bit more mundane…
And what pray tell is wrong with mundane? 😛
Heh!
At least it brought you out of lurker mode…
Hiya Ask,
How’re things up in the chilly North? The other day we were almost up to 80F and today we’re down to mid 50’s.
Hey!
Well, they’re chilly…
Back down in the low 20s this morning after a few comfy days.
Are you up and about?
I’m up and about for awhile. The back is getting much better, but I’m a wimp and if it even starts to ache somewhat, I’m back in bed.
Hey this morning we were in the mid 20’s and we’re not supposed to get back into the 70’s until next week. Of course when we do get back to those temps, it brings some pretty bad thunderstorms. I’ll stick with the cold for awhile. 🙂
Glad to hear you’re doing better.
I wouldn’t mind to see some spring overtures soon – winter loses a lot of its charm as I age (unless I lived close to a ski resort…).
Mundane is just fantastic — especially when it’s upright. 🙂
Hi Andi,
The upright position is a very good one to be in, but being a slacker of some renown I do prefer reclining a lot. 🙂
Okay, I’m good with reclining — it’s just prone that’s a bummer.
I have to admit that with the back being the way it has that the prone position is not one I’ve enjoyed. All I can say is thank god for tv remotes. 🙂
There is absolutlely nothing wrong with mundane, nothing at all. And honestly, mundane just doesn’t describe the 2 guy is the pictures I poster… 😉
Glad to see you lurking about, FM.
OMG, all those typos in my comment…you’d think happy hour had already started or something!
I must be half way through happy hour. I didn’t see any typos. Then again, I never could spell. 🙂
Good to see you too. I saw the other day where you are going back for your Phd. I was thinking then and now that I’m very happy about that and very proud of you. Gooooooooo Gaters I guess? 🙂
Aww, thanks, FM.
I’m excited to be finally going back and finishing what I started. Class starts in the beginning of May!
That is really exciting and inspiring CG.
Missed you.
OK so I’m not a big summer fan, but I’m ready for May to get here. Although I have no understanding of what it takes to get a Phd, I have faith that you’ll fly through it. Good for you!!!!!!!!
Happy hour!?
What were you smoking? I’d like something really euphoric after the week that was…
I just had myself a nut brown ale that somebody brewed especially for me…yum. I’m hoarding them, so maybe we’ll get to have one together the next time we see you.
This week was better than some I’ve had lately, but 2009 is off to a bit of a rocky start for me. I’m glad it’s Friday night.
Hey dude! 🙂
Hey yourself!
So good to see you. Stay warm. 😉
Hi CG! Love seeing your knitting projects (and really miss your diaries … 😉
I made some of the cupcakes too — oh yummy. I couldn’t find any Mexican vanilla though. I went to a few stores and they only carried the fake kind — and even though it said coumarin-free, I didn’t trust it b/c it was so cheap. But even w/ regular (pure) vanilla, they were so good. (And the scent — oh, it smelled so good.) I made the parchment wrappers too:
They can really hold a lot of icing … 😀
Stone Lion, Aleppo Museum, Aleppo, Syria
Basalt Lion, Aleppo Museum, Aleppo, Syria
Bronze Lion, Aleppo Museum, Aleppo, Syria
Aleppo Museum, Aleppo, Syria
Baalbek, Lebanon
Baalbek, Lebanon
Very Famous Really, Really, Really, Really Old Face, Cairo, Egypt
The basalt lion is definitely my favorite.
I liked him a lot too – better in person, of course. I wish I could have taken more pictures, but photographing the exhibits was not allowed, so these are all stealth photos.
stealth photos
Nicely done. 🙂
You captured the detail well … I love the eyes in the bronze lion.
Thanks Olivia. To be specific, the four from the Aleppo museum are stealth. The man’s head from Baalbek is in a small museum on the rather enormous grounds, and the lion head is just lying out there in the open with an unbelievable plethora of other incredibly fabulous stuff. The sphinx, of course, is right out there much bigger than life along with the three pyramids.
I was a little nervous taking the shots in the museum, not because anything horrible would have happened, I just would have been reminded of the prohibition against taking pictures, but one does not want to offend one’s hosts.I got some short videos on my camera as well, but have not figured out how to embed those in a comment.
I like him but the bronze lion is my favorite.
The expression on that bronze lion is something, isn’t it? I will revisit this museum when I visit this year, and try to get some more snaps if I can get away with it. Also, they were renovating some of the exhibits when I was there last year, and I believe it’s all finished, so it should be a nicer experience this year.
Wildflower with Passenger, Coastal Mountains, Syria
Wildflower, Coastal Mountains, Syria
Guilded Lilly, Sialkot, Pakistan
What intricate designs — and what patience it must take to create them.
I love your “guilded lily” picture.
Agree w/ both CG and Andi … It’s stunning.
Squeak and Gar (with The Dude’s foot back on Gar’s neck).
Squeak picks an interesting place to sleep.
Probably a type of grass moth. Less than half-an-inch in lengh.
A Tobacco Looper moth.
Same moth. Different angel.
Meadow Argus.
Eastern Spinebill (the closest thing we have to a hummingbird).
Sorry, I uploaded the wrong one. I’ve deleted it and added the right one here.
Hi Keres,
Well lets get it together now with these pictures. 🙂
BTW when you click on that picture it says Forbidden.
Sorry, ImageShack just went kablooy on me. I’ll have it fixed shortly.
Never any problem with me. Actually the puppies are the big thing. It has almost got me wanting to get a puppy. However, the last time I got a puppy it grew up to be George. I really love him, but I would need to find a dog that was as slackerly and lazy as me. Unfortunately there are very few things that are as slackerly as me. 😉
Next time get a whippet. I know that sounds wrong, their being a running breed, but in truth they are very comfort loving and quiet. Cat like, almost.
On the animal channel here they had a series about dogs. It usually encompasses 3 or 4 breeds per show. I saw the one on whippets. They do look like they love to lay around. Actually I probably need a dog like Scooby Doo. One that I can say, “Scoob go and get us a pizza.” Ruttt wrooo! 🙂
Luna could probably be trained to get the pizza . . .
Which reminds me of a story in a book about Pyrs. Years ago someone in France was told the story a Pyr trained to take a bucket to the village water tap. The dog would turn on the tap, fill the bucket, turn off the tap, and bring the bucket home. The man being told the story advised the teller to leave out the bit about turning off the tap, or else no one would ever believe it was a true story.
Yep you can train a dog to do just about anything. It took next to no training for George to become a yapper. However, I never could get him untrained from that. I’m still trying to think back when I did train him to do that.
That’s called “you trained him to do that when you didn’t train him not to do that.” It’s the most common form of training for dogs.
OK I admit that George has never had any training. Many times he has driven me up the wall with his barking, but I have to admit in one place I lived that twice my house would have been broken into while I was asleep. George and his brother Henry woke me up, and I was able to turn on lights and start yelling.
My brother and I were talking last month about the places I’ve lived before. He told me of all the places there was one that he was amazed that I wasn’t robbed or killed there. This is the place that George and Henry woke me up.
So as much as I hate his yapping, he is the best alarm system I could ever want. 😉
So that’s the ugly overload to counterbalance all that cute you’ve given us.
Someone has to counter the cute, or the universe will swing wildly out of balance.
LOL.
The picture of Squeak sleeping between Luna’s legs is wonderful.
Here’s the follow up shot:
Okay, I’m dying of cute here. You may have to post another ugly moth picture to save me.
One of our teeny tiny scorpions (and my thumb).
Hi keres — the pups are growing so fast! I can’t believe how big they are … 🙂
And the Eastern Spinebill photo — gorgeous!
It’s not just the growing, which is impressive enough, it’s the development. One week they’re furry slugs and the next week they are walking (not well, mind you, getting much better).
They’ve also started eating meat, and just in general acting like real dogs (i.e. they eat, play, and then sleep a lot).
They had their first outing yesterday, to the nursing home Luna and I visit. Lots of people very happy to hold or pet a puppy. And Luna was glad to be the center of attention and something other than mom for an hour.
There was a reporter and photographer there to do a piece on Delta Dogs. I’ll scan and post the photos from the newspaper when the spread runs (probably tomorrow).
Please do! Would love to see/read that.
That’s great that you all got out to the nursing home … I can’t imagine how lethal the pups are in-person, when they are so adorable in the photos and video.
I had pre-arranged for three other Delta members to puppy wrangle, but I needn’t have bothered since the young women who work there as nurse’s aids each snagged one to carry around to the individual residents.
We were gone about three hours total, and the pups actually handled the whole thing very well. When in the car I had them all in a big box on the floor of the back seat, with Luna perched on the seat above them. There was a bit of fussing on the way down, but not too much. If I had to I could put a hand in the box and quiet them down.
#32
Good to see you Many. Was that in the FDR memorial? I remember reading about it years ago when it was being built. There was a big brewhaha about whether a sculpture would show him in is wheelchair of not.
hi keres, yup. I try to always make it to the fountains, the FDR Memorial is my favorite quiet place in D.C. with great views of the city.
adding that he is shown seated in his wheelchair at the entrance to the 4-term walking exhibit. there’s a picture at the wiki
Huh — must have been some party — he sure looks green around the gills. 😉
Hate to say it, but it’s time for me to become prone again. Damn this back!
I’d suggest lying supine (face up) instead of prone (face down). At least I find that’s better where my back’s concerned.
Verdigris, please. He looks verdigris around the gills.
Yes ma’am. I
standsit (must be precise) corrected.heh. i’ve got nuthin’
Hi Manny!
Nice verdigris detail you captured.
Ice Witch. It’s cold here
But I think if you throw water on that witch, she will definitely melt. 🙂
True. But I like the Ice Witch’s crown.
I forgot this, however
We liked it so much, we’ve almost changed our mind about removing it so we have more sun.
That’s very nice. I like trees with peeling bark — around here we’ve got sycamores for that.
We have their cousins, huge London plane trees across the street in the park. They are gorgeous, the trunks look like massive elephant limbs, peeling gray and white.
Hi Kidspeak!
We saw those all over when we were in France. They are amazing trees — the mottling trunks were so eye-catching, and they had leaves similar to maple leaves.
I love that tree with the hole – we’ve one in a planetree in our park, and I see children leaving messages and toys in that hole. It reminds me of some children’s story that I can’t quite recall.
Hi KS!
That’s really pretty w/ the yellow and the ice/snow.
We’ve got the cold too … brrr. Ready for spring.
Thanks, Olivia. It’s a miracle that the picture isn’t just a blob of yellow and white. I have an old digital camera that’s pretty good at taking pictures of the plants in my garden at a distance of 1 meter or so – but not close-up and not far away. However, we had this great corn snow, and I just had to have something to remember it. It’s so good to see something blooming this time of year in Michigan.
A shot I took in Sedona when I met boran2 and his family a couple of years ago
For purpose of clarity, this is not one of my family members. But a good time was had that day.
Art along the Not-So-Great Wall of America™ in Nogales, Sonora
I’m glad they found something wonderful to do with that wall.
Hi Everyone,
I can`t make it tonight, but dropped off tonight`s sunset till I can post some tiny stuff tomorrow. There`s a whole lot of setting in this sunset. There were “sundogs” on the sides, & a rainbow arcing over the peace sign in the middle.
I don`t know what the coiffure to the right is.
As usual, this is from my back deck.
Till tomorrow.
That’s exquisite. Lucky you. Lucky sunset to have such a good photographer there to catch it.
Praying Mantis
A Monarch Butterfly Caterpillar
Both the subjects and the photography are amazing. Thank you for posting these!
Wow, the caterpillar shot is fantastic. And how nice of it to give the perfect background.
That’s the garage wall. I took the photo before we moved it because we thought it would be too vulnerable to predators on that surface.
Actually, I’m pretty sure nothing was going to eat that caterpillar (not that moving it was a bad thing). The high contrast colors scream “poisonous”.
Tatoo and all!
I’m ready for my close up, Mr Demille.
Great capture.
This reminds me of my cat. She is a brown tabby also.
I was away last night and couldn’t participate, but I see that all our photographers have outdone themselves again! What a great collection!