I like all of your photos Mac. But, the framing on the one on the bottom is especially outstanding. It really suits the relationship with the photo very well. As does the one at the very top with all the various sea shells. Very well done.
Don't know how you do it. Last time we all went on a canoe trip, the friend I ended up sharing a canoe with we had so much crap in there. Snacks, coolers, water proof boxes for phones and things, water from tipping over...
We did have snacks up front, but we were in the water less than an hour so they never came out. I didn't want to get too much stuff in there with the dog.
Nice looking tat. My ex hubby got one on Tijuana MX and it faded like that too. I don't know if it is the ink they use, or if they do it on purpose hoping you'll come back for a re-do at more money.
Have to admit I have no love for tatoos, and I almost flipped right out when my daughter came home one day with a small sun tatooed on her shoulder. Do you have French ancestry? Your tatoo is the Fleur de Lis, a French symbol.
German and Irish, that I know of. At the beginning of the last century this area was a popular getaway destination for people in New Orleans. The symbol is very popular and all over the place.
To most Native Americans the moon is the symbol of the protector and guardian of the earth. Its spirit watches over us and can change our moods based upon the moon's cyclical stages. It is also a symbol of Spirituality.
The Shaman in the image is giving Spiritual homage to the moon.
Thank you so much. I have a tremendous appreciation for art and come from a family of artists, so I try to pay careful attention to composition. Sometimes, it works out. I can't take credit for how beautiful the flowers are though! I do have a nice garden. I have many more fairly nice photos, not just of flowers, I can post on here sometimes. I really like this column and the photos everyone is posting are just wonderful.
You're welcome G. My Mother was very interested in the oriental flowers, and loved the Japanese iris. She had them growing in her oriental garden every year.
I am good at growing a vegetable garden, but, not decorative flowers. They would simply up and die. No matter what kind they were, or how well I took care of them. But, although there are flowers people can eat, it is better for me to grow vegetables.
She grew a lot of the vegetables that she used for her Stir-Fry. It was great to pick the vegetables fresh out of the garden. Sure makes a much better taste.
Interesting - When I look at this photo, I find my eye being drawn to the painting of the sailboat. It wsn't until after that that I noticed the piano.
The painting is one of many by my mother. I love it. She was an exceptionally talented artist. A brilliant colorist. I should take and post a photo of the full painting so you can see how truly beautiful it is. Maybe some of her other paintings also. I guess I am biased, but she really was a great, great artist.
I didn't realize it was jade, wherein, as you probably kniow, the most common colour is a medium green. That is one big piece. Did you know that back in the Dynasty periods only Emperors and Empresses were permitted to wear jade?
I'm glad to find another person who has been in China. So far I only know of only one or two NT members who have.
You're welcome G. My Mother was very interested in the oriental flowers, and loved the Japanese iris. She had them growing in her oriental garden every year.
I am good at growing a vegetable garden, but, not decorative flowers. They would simply up and die. No matter what kind they were, or how well I took care of them. Even the false ivy ould put in my kitchen for decoration would turn yellow and shrivel up.
But, while there are flowers people can eat, it is much better for me to grow vegetables.
There is a saying that to know China one must do three things - climb The Great Wall, watch the Peking Opera, and eat Peking duck. All three are in or near Beijing. All are famous tourist attractions. I did all 3 during Christmas holiday about four months after I first arrived in China.
Buzz on The Great Wall weathering a really cold December wind (wearing his famous Greek fisherman's cap).
.
I took this photo of the performance at a Peking Opera House. Visually it is magnificent, but the cacophony from the traditional Chinese instruments is deafening.
.
This was long before a virus outbreak - all the chefs wear masks and carve the ducks beside your table. When Peking Duck is rubbed with the proper herbs and oils and roasted over the right kind of burning wood, it is fantastically delicous. This was taken at a famous Beijing Peking duck restaurant that was hundreds of years old.
.
Other main tourist attractions:- photos taken by me during some of my adventures through China.
Ancient history fairly recently discovered - the Terra Cotta Warriors in Xi'an (formerly Chang-An, one of China's dynasty capitals).
.
Cruising down the Li River through the Karst mountains in Guanxi province.
.
The biggest Buddha in China, the Giant Buddha of Leshan, in Sichuan province.
Your China photos are amazing. I spent 3 weeks in China in the spring of 2017. Awesome trip, but horrendous air pollution everywhere we went. I do have some very great photos from that trip.
I was there when you came. I arrived there August 6 2006 and except for a 10 day trip back to Canada and Baltimore for my son's wedding, have lived here ever since. I had lived in a suberb of Zhengzhou in Henan province where I taught in a private high school for 6 years, then moved into the city of Zhengzhou and taught English and IELTS privately, then moved to Chengdu in Sichuan province for a year teaching privately again, and finally, for the past few years I've been in Chongqing, which is my wife's home town, where I'll probably remain for the rest of my life, both tired and retired.
China is doing a fairly decent job of following the international requirements of reducing the pollution, although Beijing is lagging behind. But the pollution is why so many Chinese people already had masks, and for the latest virus they wore them which could be one explanation of why the numbers seem so low here.
I have been posting similar photos of what you've now seen in photo-essays on Creative Arts, Discovery Group and previously on the Front Page for many years. Where were you and what did you see in China when you were here? Why don't you post some of your photos, here and/or on the Discovery group? I won't post them on the Front Page any more because there are too many members who will use it as an opening to attack China, its governmernt and me, in order to support Trump's scheme of attacking everything about China in order to deflect from his screwing up the USA.
We were in Shanghai (where my wife's cousin was working before he returned home to the U.S.), Nanjing (very beautiful city), Beijing and Xi'an. We also took 2 day trips out of Shanghai to Suzhou and Zhouzhuang, an ancient water village. Of course, we went to the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, and the Summer Palace in Beijing. We saw the terracotta soldiers in Xi'an. We went to lots of temples and tombs. The Lama Temple in Beijing was particularly nice. We loved The Humble Administrator's Garden in Suzhou. What a great experience. It is getting late here now. I will post some photos from China tomorrow. I have photos from other travels I can show, also.
You've been to a lot of places that I've been to, like Shanghai, Xi'an, Suzhou (The Humble Administrator's Garden - did you take a canal boat tour?), Beijing (Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, The Summer Palace, the Wall, The Lama Temple with its huge wooden Buddha) - as you have now seen, there is SO much to see here.
Althoiugh I've had decent Peking duck in other cities, they never got the skin as crispy and delicious as the restaurant in Beijing that I posted above. For our anniversary last December, we ate Peking duck at this restaurant walking distance from where we live now. I posted a photo-essay about the experience:
More people than NT members NEED to see your images, RW. That is why I made the suggestions that I have. From what is happening in the USA and what is being reported, it seems to me that more people are waking up to the rights and causes of the Native Americans, and they need to see the kind of positive images that you can provide.
Thank you Mac. I was not sure what the technique was called, but, I had seen it before and wanted to try it myself. The Shawl dancer seemed to be a good image to try it on. I'm very glad that you like it.
I guess that in this life there is no guarantee of anything. I thought affixing the copyright notice would be a good idea. Actually, the copyright exists whether there is a copyright notice or not, but then it just requires extra steps to enforce the copyright, as I understand it.
I took a similar photo when we were there - I think yours is better, but this isn't a competition. By the way, I bet you have "Paint" on your computer - it's an easy way to enlarge and crop images for you.
.
Other than "Garden City" Suzhou is also known as "The Venice of China". Did you take photos of the canals?
.
I had posted a whole photo-essay on Suzhou with photos taken on a nighttime boat cruise through the canals.
During our afternoon in Suzhou, we first had lunch at a hotel in the modern part of the city, then spent the rest of the afternoon at The Humble Administrator's Garden. We did not really see too much of the canals there. Two days later we went to Zhouzhuang where there are a lot of canals.
Let's see if we can take this into Saturday … and let me add that we have started to see old and new friends recently which is a real plus for the GROUP!
I don't think they were occupied. Probably their storage location waiting to be taken and used for tours. I saw one or two occupied that were cruising around on other canals there. I liked the blue color of the canopies.
Zhouzhuang is about the same distance from Shanghai as Suzhou. Well worth visiting. Lots of canals, old bridges, great buildings. Some old houses you can tour. There was a small admission fee to enter the town. Very interesting. I really liked it.
We were there with my wife's cousin and his wife who is Chinese, both fluent in Chinese, of course. In one small residential area we encountered an man in his 90s, in very good shape. They were chatting with him for a while, when they told me he referred to me as "younger brother". I thought that was fantastic, after having traveled 1/2 way around the world.
Painting by J D Challenger entitled, ''Apache Wind''. As most of you are probably aware there has been a decades-long fight to get rid of the name of the Washington Redskin. (it is an insult to the vast majority of Indians.) You may be wondering why the US Army names its helicopters after Native American tribes or individuals. The Army is not using us or demeaning us in any way. If you wish to see the reason here is an excellent link.
The painting has an Apache warrior and an Apache Attack Helicopter
That's a beautiful painting, Kavika. Very well done. And indeed the name of the helicopter is paying tribute to the many Native Americana from any Tribes who have served our country through the many years of its conception.
Thank you Buzz. It's a collection of the various Native American Clan symbols. My Mother was of the Bird Clan. My Father was of the Wolf Clan, which is not shown.
Show your stuff … variety in subject matter, presentation and commentary makes the article special.
Love your photos, Mac.
I like all of your photos Mac. But, the framing on the one on the bottom is especially outstanding. It really suits the relationship with the photo very well. As does the one at the very top with all the various sea shells. Very well done.
Playing with frames these days, I see. Well, variety is the spice of life, isn't it.
We finally got out in the canoe on Sunday morning. It was Kobe's first canoe ride.
The Oliver Bridge with a train taken from the canoe.
Great photos EG. Good to see Captain Kobe is in charge of the adventure.
The still waters...
Love his lifevest...
Don't know how you do it. Last time we all went on a canoe trip, the friend I ended up sharing a canoe with we had so much crap in there. Snacks, coolers, water proof boxes for phones and things, water from tipping over...
We did have snacks up front, but we were in the water less than an hour so they never came out. I didn't want to get too much stuff in there with the dog.
Great photos EG. Looks like Kobe has his sea legs under control very well.
Thanks for invoking the memory of paddling my canoe....with my son in the bow.
Prince stopping by for a visit.
Here's looking at you kid...
Prince is a beauty. His majestic feather array is awesome. Does he stop by often?
Looking for ladies to impress with his tail?
It kinda sucks that I haven't really been going anywhere to take new pics. I even stayed home 4th July. Didn't want to be around a bunch of people.
I am also upset my tattoo I got in Mexico didn't last very long. Haha
It was cool having one, made me feel like a badass. Now I want to get it permanent.
Nice looking tat. My ex hubby got one on Tijuana MX and it faded like that too. I don't know if it is the ink they use, or if they do it on purpose hoping you'll come back for a re-do at more money.
Well that one was fake. Like a henna tattoo. The younger people with us all wanted to get one and I got one with them.
I was thinking about getting a permanent one but with things the way they are, kinda on hold.
Have to admit I have no love for tatoos, and I almost flipped right out when my daughter came home one day with a small sun tatooed on her shoulder. Do you have French ancestry? Your tatoo is the Fleur de Lis, a French symbol.
German and Irish, that I know of. At the beginning of the last century this area was a popular getaway destination for people in New Orleans. The symbol is very popular and all over the place.
It's a common symbol in Quebec as well.
Nice colours reflecting on the lake.
Here is an oldie, but, I hope you will enjoy it again.
Very strong - but what is it saying?
To most Native Americans the moon is the symbol of the protector and guardian of the earth. Its spirit watches over us and can change our moods based upon the moon's cyclical stages. It is also a symbol of Spirituality.
The Shaman in the image is giving Spiritual homage to the moon.
From my garden in the spring.
Very beautiful flowers, in a photo that is excellently composed.
Thank you so much. I have a tremendous appreciation for art and come from a family of artists, so I try to pay careful attention to composition. Sometimes, it works out. I can't take credit for how beautiful the flowers are though! I do have a nice garden. I have many more fairly nice photos, not just of flowers, I can post on here sometimes. I really like this column and the photos everyone is posting are just wonderful.
More from my spring garden.
Beautiful Blue and white Iris, Gsquared. They are both so very frilly.
I also like the Japanese iris, as they are also very frilly.
This is the Geisha Girl Japanese Iris
This is the Geishunka Japanese Iris - Grown by the Mt Pleasant Iris Farm
It looks so soft and silky. There are just so many varieties of iris.
Thanks Raven Wing! The Japanese Iris are beautiful. I am not familiar with that variety.
You're welcome G. My Mother was very interested in the oriental flowers, and loved the Japanese iris. She had them growing in her oriental garden every year.
I am good at growing a vegetable garden, but, not decorative flowers. They would simply up and die. No matter what kind they were, or how well I took care of them. But, although there are flowers people can eat, it is better for me to grow vegetables.
A beautiful variety of Iris - I never realized they came in so many varieties.
I didn't either. But, like many other types of flora and fauna, there are many types based upon where they are being grown.
i bet your mother's garden was extraordinary.
She grew a lot of the vegetables that she used for her Stir-Fry. It was great to pick the vegetables fresh out of the garden. Sure makes a much better taste.
Sounds delicious!
Interesting - When I look at this photo, I find my eye being drawn to the painting of the sailboat. It wsn't until after that that I noticed the piano.
The painting is one of many by my mother. I love it. She was an exceptionally talented artist. A brilliant colorist. I should take and post a photo of the full painting so you can see how truly beautiful it is. Maybe some of her other paintings also. I guess I am biased, but she really was a great, great artist.
Did you also notice the orange jade disc partially shown in the lower left of the photo? I got it in Xi'an. It is just amazing.
I didn't realize it was jade, wherein, as you probably kniow, the most common colour is a medium green. That is one big piece. Did you know that back in the Dynasty periods only Emperors and Empresses were permitted to wear jade?
I'm glad to find another person who has been in China. So far I only know of only one or two NT members who have.
A woman who was looking around in the store where we purchased the disc told us the orange colored jade meant "happy family". I liked that.
You're welcome G. My Mother was very interested in the oriental flowers, and loved the Japanese iris. She had them growing in her oriental garden every year.
I am good at growing a vegetable garden, but, not decorative flowers. They would simply up and die. No matter what kind they were, or how well I took care of them. Even the false ivy ould put in my kitchen for decoration would turn yellow and shrivel up.
But, while there are flowers people can eat, it is much better for me to grow vegetables.
A mini-tour of some of China's most famous sites.
There is a saying that to know China one must do three things - climb The Great Wall, watch the Peking Opera, and eat Peking duck. All three are in or near Beijing. All are famous tourist attractions. I did all 3 during Christmas holiday about four months after I first arrived in China.
Buzz on The Great Wall weathering a really cold December wind (wearing his famous Greek fisherman's cap).
.
I took this photo of the performance at a Peking Opera House. Visually it is magnificent, but the cacophony from the traditional Chinese instruments is deafening.
.
This was long before a virus outbreak - all the chefs wear masks and carve the ducks beside your table. When Peking Duck is rubbed with the proper herbs and oils and roasted over the right kind of burning wood, it is fantastically delicous. This was taken at a famous Beijing Peking duck restaurant that was hundreds of years old.
.
Other main tourist attractions:- photos taken by me during some of my adventures through China.
Ancient history fairly recently discovered - the Terra Cotta Warriors in Xi'an (formerly Chang-An, one of China's dynasty capitals).
.
Cruising down the Li River through the Karst mountains in Guanxi province.
.
The biggest Buddha in China, the Giant Buddha of Leshan, in Sichuan province.
All totally beautiful and fascinating. Thank you for sharing them.
Your China photos are amazing. I spent 3 weeks in China in the spring of 2017. Awesome trip, but horrendous air pollution everywhere we went. I do have some very great photos from that trip.
I was there when you came. I arrived there August 6 2006 and except for a 10 day trip back to Canada and Baltimore for my son's wedding, have lived here ever since. I had lived in a suberb of Zhengzhou in Henan province where I taught in a private high school for 6 years, then moved into the city of Zhengzhou and taught English and IELTS privately, then moved to Chengdu in Sichuan province for a year teaching privately again, and finally, for the past few years I've been in Chongqing, which is my wife's home town, where I'll probably remain for the rest of my life, both tired and retired.
China is doing a fairly decent job of following the international requirements of reducing the pollution, although Beijing is lagging behind. But the pollution is why so many Chinese people already had masks, and for the latest virus they wore them which could be one explanation of why the numbers seem so low here.
I have been posting similar photos of what you've now seen in photo-essays on Creative Arts, Discovery Group and previously on the Front Page for many years. Where were you and what did you see in China when you were here? Why don't you post some of your photos, here and/or on the Discovery group? I won't post them on the Front Page any more because there are too many members who will use it as an opening to attack China, its governmernt and me, in order to support Trump's scheme of attacking everything about China in order to deflect from his screwing up the USA.
We were in Shanghai (where my wife's cousin was working before he returned home to the U.S.), Nanjing (very beautiful city), Beijing and Xi'an. We also took 2 day trips out of Shanghai to Suzhou and Zhouzhuang, an ancient water village. Of course, we went to the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, and the Summer Palace in Beijing. We saw the terracotta soldiers in Xi'an. We went to lots of temples and tombs. The Lama Temple in Beijing was particularly nice. We loved The Humble Administrator's Garden in Suzhou. What a great experience. It is getting late here now. I will post some photos from China tomorrow. I have photos from other travels I can show, also.
You've been to a lot of places that I've been to, like Shanghai, Xi'an, Suzhou (The Humble Administrator's Garden - did you take a canal boat tour?), Beijing (Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, The Summer Palace, the Wall, The Lama Temple with its huge wooden Buddha) - as you have now seen, there is SO much to see here.
BTW The best Peking duck we had was in Shanghai. Go figure...
Althoiugh I've had decent Peking duck in other cities, they never got the skin as crispy and delicious as the restaurant in Beijing that I posted above. For our anniversary last December, we ate Peking duck at this restaurant walking distance from where we live now. I posted a photo-essay about the experience:
Adding one and saying "good night".
Very pretty.
Wow.
Beautiful birds sharing a moment of peace and quiet. Serenity at it's best.
Here is another shawl dancer.
More people than NT members NEED to see your images, RW. That is why I made the suggestions that I have. From what is happening in the USA and what is being reported, it seems to me that more people are waking up to the rights and causes of the Native Americans, and they need to see the kind of positive images that you can provide.
Isn't she just great! What a wonderful artist. Total professional quality.
Nice use of the drop shadow.
Thank you Mac. I was not sure what the technique was called, but, I had seen it before and wanted to try it myself. The Shawl dancer seemed to be a good image to try it on. I'm very glad that you like it.
Thank you for your very kind compliment, Gsquared.
Thank you Buzz, and thank you for all your very kind support and suggestions over the years that I have been sharing my artwork here on NT.
LOL. In her case it accompanies the common sense and commendable comments she makes on NT.
You are very welcome Raven Wing.
I have noticed.
It's easy to get a close-up when it's stuffed and on display...LOL!
LOL
Let's keep it going!
Fanciful Angel Fish
© A.Mac/A.G.
I've seen Rainbow Trout, and that is a Rainbow Angelfish?
At The Humble Administrator's Garden, Suzhou, China.
I think I am going to follow A.Mac's lead and affix a copyright notice since I may publish some of my photos in the not too distant future.
©G.Gam2020
I'm not certain how to make the image larger.
While there's no guarantee that an image posted on-line will not be pirated, it is still wise to affix copyrights info.
I guess that in this life there is no guarantee of anything. I thought affixing the copyright notice would be a good idea. Actually, the copyright exists whether there is a copyright notice or not, but then it just requires extra steps to enforce the copyright, as I understand it.
There is small article in the Help section here on NT that might help you with that problem Gsquared. I't called:
For New NT Members - How To Resize Pictures In Comment Windows
Check it out and see if it will help.
Thanks Raven Wing! You are so helpful.
You are most welcome, Gsquared.
It seems like that should work.
They work great on short walks & in low light.
Freesia and droplets ©G.Gam2020
Got it.
©G.Gam2020
Beautiful subject … perfect composition!
Thank you. I really appreciate the compliment.
I took a similar photo when we were there - I think yours is better, but this isn't a competition. By the way, I bet you have "Paint" on your computer - it's an easy way to enlarge and crop images for you.
.
Other than "Garden City" Suzhou is also known as "The Venice of China". Did you take photos of the canals?
.
I had posted a whole photo-essay on Suzhou with photos taken on a nighttime boat cruise through the canals.
During our afternoon in Suzhou, we first had lunch at a hotel in the modern part of the city, then spent the rest of the afternoon at The Humble Administrator's Garden. We did not really see too much of the canals there. Two days later we went to Zhouzhuang where there are a lot of canals.
Let's see if we can take this into Saturday … and let me add that we have started to see old and new friends recently which is a real plus for the GROUP!
Tropical Afternoon
© A. Mac/A.G.
Very nice picture Mac. I like the leaves extending onto the frame. Lots of lovely colors. I have a few other bits of artwork to share as well.
Good choice of frame. This article will stay active well past Saturday, I promise.
Zhouzhuang, China
©G.Gam 2020
Never got there. That looks like a traffic jam.
I don't think they were occupied. Probably their storage location waiting to be taken and used for tours. I saw one or two occupied that were cruising around on other canals there. I liked the blue color of the canopies.
Zhouzhuang is about the same distance from Shanghai as Suzhou. Well worth visiting. Lots of canals, old bridges, great buildings. Some old houses you can tour. There was a small admission fee to enter the town. Very interesting. I really liked it.
We were there with my wife's cousin and his wife who is Chinese, both fluent in Chinese, of course. In one small residential area we encountered an man in his 90s, in very good shape. They were chatting with him for a while, when they told me he referred to me as "younger brother". I thought that was fantastic, after having traveled 1/2 way around the world.
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, near Brisbane, Australia
©G.Gam 2020
Super action shot - needed a fast shutter speed for that one.
It was from a few years ago using a small camera, not a cel phone. I was lucky to get that shot. Kangaroos in the air.
Run Kangies! RUN!!
There was a large "mob" of kangaroos, as they call it. When the whole group of them went running by it was almost surreal.
boing, boing, boing, boing, boing.....
Painting by J D Challenger entitled, ''Apache Wind''. As most of you are probably aware there has been a decades-long fight to get rid of the name of the Washington Redskin. (it is an insult to the vast majority of Indians.) You may be wondering why the US Army names its helicopters after Native American tribes or individuals. The Army is not using us or demeaning us in any way. If you wish to see the reason here is an excellent link.
The painting has an Apache warrior and an Apache Attack Helicopter
That's a beautiful painting, Kavika. Very well done. And indeed the name of the helicopter is paying tribute to the many Native Americana from any Tribes who have served our country through the many years of its conception.
Great painting!
Fierce! Awesome.
Here is one I posted some time back. However, we have a few newcomers to the group who might enjoy it, as well as some who may have seen it before.
I don't recall seeing it before, but I am VERY impressed now.
Thank you Buzz. It's a collection of the various Native American Clan symbols. My Mother was of the Bird Clan. My Father was of the Wolf Clan, which is not shown.
That is really very interesting Raven Wing. Seems highly symbolic.
Thank you Gsquared.
Quite a while ago I took this photo of dead lotus leaves protruding above a pond in which they had grown - called it "Leaf Shadows".
And then a while after I did, I posted a photo-essay of a Chinese professional photographer which included this photo of dead lotus leafs in a pond.
So both he and I saw that it made an interesting photo - his is much better than mine - especially because of the reflections along the top half.
Both very nice photos, but yes, the second one is spectacular.
Both are very impressive, Buzz. They make a very interesting picture.