Good night G+

Couldn't sleep, switched on the pc, entered G+, +1 a few of your wonderful photos (too sleepy and tired to actually be able to write comments), uploaded this, falling asleep again, trying to find my way back upstairs in the dark to my bedroom, ouch hit as usual the edge of the bed, swearing.......night night G+ (this time hopefull for real.....)

EDIT: and I was too gone to add #FloralFriday :)

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Today I introduce you to my friend and super talented photographer +Ulla Jensen.
She still hasn't uploaded much here in G+ but if you have some time do yourself a favour and steer your browser towards her website:
http://www.ullajensen.com/
where you'll find her excellent works!!

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Another shot for #FloralFriday and its curator +Tamara Pruessner.
When I look at this in large, for some reason, that little insect never fails to scare me a bit, I dont really know why :)

A submission for #FallFriday curated by +Karin Nelson and +Alexander S. Kunz
I had to cheat here 'cause this year Fall doesnt really want to show its face here in Sicily. This was actually taken in my garden during Spring.

White sea of oblivion

A last one (did I already say that?) for #FloralFriday that is curated by +Tamara Pruessner
This is quite an oldie that I took with my first P&S.
Have a great weekend G+

I am such a bad liar......here I have another shot for #FloralFriday and its host +Tamara Pruessner :)
Have a great weekend G+

#plusphotoextract

I wish you all a good night, old and new G+ friends!

#FloralFriday curated by +Tamara Pruessner

A winter sunset in Saynatsalo's harbour.

For #SunsetSaturday and its curator +TJ Kelly

And another Finnish sunset to show the contrast with the previous one.
This is also from Lake Paijanne but a bit more south.
Reposting this for my new G+ friends.

#SunsetSaturday curated by +TJ Kelly

A contribution to #SongbirdSaturday curated by +John Briggs

Leave me alone

Someone (+Myrna Weinreich) today asked me if it was possible to see a shot of Stinky looking straight at the camera. So this morning I went outside and I did as instructed. Problem is that Stinky is not just a very thoughtful cat (see post of Oct, 8 2011) but also very very lazy....This was the most attention I could get out of him.....

PS Stinky in reality is called Stitch (my daughter Luna gave him this name)....but to me Stinky is a more appropriate name for reasons best left undisclosed in a public post :)
#Caturday

La Japonaise

I almost forgot that today is also a #SepiaSaturday.
Thanks to +Renee Stewart Jackson for curating this theme.

Contrasts in Tokyo

Tokyo's (Otemachi) skyscrapers as seen from the Imperial Garden's grounds.

Kogetsudai

Ginkakujii is one of my favourite temples/gardens in Kyoto.

Starry birch

Just wanted to wish you plussers close to my time zone a Good Night!!!

'Morning everyone, I just woke up and I am headed for the shower...
Have a great Sunday G+

Floating yellows

Have a great day G+!

This is my submission for #TreeTuesday curated by +Christina Lawrie

I have already seen lots of nice submissions for this theme today.

California dreamin'

Good night G+!!

This is a portrait of my adored daughter Luna.
And I am posting this for the #WhateverWednesday theme.

Since Luna was gifted with some extra chromosomal material (and therefore has Down's Syndrome) according to Ricky Dene Gervais (English "comedian", "actor", "director", "radio presenter", "producer", "musician", and "writer" but mainly a great a$$hole) she should be referred to as a "Mong", and this term is not supposed to be at all offensive....no not at all.......

Hot as p!nk...

Who wants to play with me?
Let's see who will be the first to guess correctly to which plant this pistil belong!
There might even be a mighty prize :)

Now I am going to sleep so I wish you all G+ friends a Good night!!!

Hint: the length of this pistil is 3mm
Hint 2: The plant it belongs to is a succulent

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Wildlife photographers v. 8.0

If you post wildlife photos regularly on G+, please comment here (https://plus.google.com/104042965789095032304/posts/KkZ6VvX9ST5) and I'll include you in the next update. And please reshare - more wildlife photographers will be found this way.

Adam Kumiszcza shared a circle with you.

#SilhouettesOnThursday hosted by +Siddharth Pandit

Niña, Pinta, and the Santa María

Another one for #SilhouettesOnThursday curated by +Siddharth Pandit

A last entry for #SilhouettesOnThursday curated by +Siddharth Pandit

A contribution to #FloralFriday and its curator +Tamara Pruessner

Ready to fly away

another entry for #FloralFriday hosted by +Tamara Pruessner
While technically not a flower anymore but just a bunch of seeds, I still think you can forgive me this once :)

My last (maybe :) ) submission to #FloralFriday is a repost from way back (1 month ago....) when I had only 100 followers, now you're more than 5000 and I thank you all for having put me in your awesome circles!!!
Thanks to +Tamara Pruessner for curating this theme (a definite favourite of mine).

Some superb shots from a very gifted photographer here in G+ +Kimberly Hosey
Her blog simply rocks!!

Death's reflection...

I must go to bed now G+, have a Good Night!

Lighthouse blues

my entry for today's #SunsetSaturday curated by +TJ Kelly

Cric and Croc

Considering that today is also a #Caturday I give you this mischievous couple.

Streamin'

my submission for #SepiaSaturday curated by +Renee Stewart Jackson

And this is for #SpeedySaturday

I love these daily themes :)

The Tree

I just discovered that there is a #RuralSaturday curated by +Mario Cerroni so I had to re-post this.
Good for #SepiaSaturday (+Renee Stewart Jackson) too.

A creamy afternoon...

too busy at work at the moment but soon I will start spamming your streams again :) I bet you cannot wait :)
Have a great afternoon G+!!!

Old but still beautiful

Alright I decided that today I will start a new theme that IMO is still missing from the awesome and ever growing list of G+ themes......TexturesOnWednesday....What do you guys think? And is there anyone interested in curating it?
#TexturesOnWednesday

Struggle....

Does this count as a silhouette? If so then it is my entry for #SilhouettesOnThursday curated by +Siddharth Pandit

What about this for #ThirstyThursday? Well, she definitely was thirsty if she had to go through all that trouble to drink :)
This theme is curated by +Giuseppe Basile

Stick out your tongue and say aahhhhhhhhh

A few more days and then I'll be back full-fledged and with a vengeance :) my dear G+ friends.

Faded.......

Daguerreotype process in Exposure 3.

A test shot of a smc Pentax-FA 1:2.8 50mm macro at 2.8 on my NEX-3.

I have finally said goodbye to Flickr (I guess I'll still visit it from time to time....awesome people I have met over there) and from tomorrow I will be more active again here!
Have a great day G+
#MacroMonday

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If SOPA passes, it will destroy the Internet. That's not hyperbole, that's simple fact.

Please read this, and please make as much noise as you can about it: tell people, share this post, put it on your networks, and call your congressman and tell them in clear and simple terms that you want them to vote against SOPA.

I am re-posting this, that I had originally posted in #MacroMonday a while ago, for #GrassTuesday curated by +Ray Bilcliff
Enjoy your day G+!

My star...
I decided to give a try to #textureblendphotography curated by +Gemma Costa with this revisitation of an old shot.

Heavenly rays

With this shot I wish you all a good night and I go to bed.
'Bye G+!!!

Shelob's Lair

A late entry (for my time zone at least) for the wonderful #WildlifeWednesday curated by +Mike Spinak
This "monster" is in reality only half of a centimeter wide and has taken full residency in our shower......

Is this considered to be good for #TextureBlendThursday curated by +Christine Hauber and +Matt Suess ?


#TextureBlendPhotography by +Gemma Costa

Piercing the sky

For #silhouettesonthursday curated by +Siddharth Pandit
In this one I love the position of the people that completely casually walked into the shot around the sun.

Kärkistensalmen silta

Is #ThirstyThursday by +Giuseppe Basile still running?
I tried a more unusual view of the Karkistensalmi bridge in Central Finland (Paijanne Lake) shooting from a speeding boat.

If you are around on 500px give me a shout so that I can add you to my friends list and if you have the time check my photos please :)

#LeafOnThursday curated by +Ray Bilcliff & +Marilou Aballe

A lonely leaf of Acer Palmatum var. Dissectum on a bed of aquatic plants.

Dark Ripples

An entry for #ThirstyThursdayPics, curator +Giuseppe Basile
This was shot in Lake Paijanne, Finland.

Lighthouse blues

For #LighthouseThursday that is curated by +Heiko Köster

Too many nice themes on thursday!!!

A great idea +Rolf Hicker !!!

For #TravelThursday by +Laura Mitchum one of my favourite corners of Kyoto.

Today I literally stumbled upon the photoblog of this amazingly skilled nature and landscape photographer and boy I am glad I did!!!

Peach melba

For #SunsetSaturday by +TJ Kelly

Macros

Ring the bell please

Can anyone help me to ID this wildflower please? I literally have it on the tip of my tongue and I am going crazy trying to remember it!!

EDIT wife found it, its a Geum Rivale. You can still comment it if you like it though :D

Do Fieldfares belong to the songbirds? I'd say yes but I am not so sure.

Anyway this is for #SongbirdSaturday hosted by +John Briggs

Surprise!

Look carefully at the shot to see what surprised me :)
I didn't actually notice the chick until I started working on the shot back home a few days later.....

Have a good night G+

Morning G+

See you later when I'll have finished to work for my wife........DIY sunday.....

Heaven is up there alright

This one is for #SkySunday by +Simone Linke.

Kogetsudai (or Moon-viewing platform) in Ginkaku-ji temple.

"There are several theories about this mountain shaped creation. Some believe it is meant to resemble Mount Fuji, while others say it was designed as a simple mound of sand used to replenish the walkways. Still others say that the cones of this type (they are located in other temples in Japan) are meant to reflect divine light into the hearts of the visitors. No matter what the true purpose is, the Kogetsudai illuminates the Silver Pavilion on moonlight nights, making for a magnificent sight. In addition, it is said that from above the Silver Pavilion the Kogetsudai upon the Ginshaden resembles the silvery full moon reflected in a deep lake." (http://www.yamasa.org/japan/english/destinations/kyoto/ginkakuji.html)

Sharing this entry for #ZenSunday curated by +Charlotte Therese Björnström and +Simon Kitcher.

Peek-a-boo

Posting this for #SpiderSunday hosted by +Kjetil Greger Pedersen +Chris Mallory and +Kimberly Hosey

Feeling blue

Re-posting this for the new #WhatTheDuckMonday theme curated by +Phil Armishaw

Another entry for #WhatTheDuckMonday by +Phil Armishaw
and #MonochromeMonday by +Siddharth Pandit

Pink marble

A new entry for my favourite daily theme #MacroMonday and its awesome and beautiful curators +Kerry Murphy +Jennifer Eden and +Kelli Seeger Kim

the pink texture of the title was given from the petals of the clematis where this little (5mm in width) moth was resting.

Another messy bee

I wonder how these little bees are actually able to see anything with all that pollen stuck in their eyes :)
#MacroMonday curated by +Kerry Murphy , +Jennifer Eden and +Kelli Seeger Kim .

my last entry for #MacroMonday hosted by +Kerry Murphy +Kelli Seeger Kim and +Jennifer Eden

You see, this bee was jealous of yesterday's spider (https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/113722211762693166526/albums/5677177800613554737) :)

Holga.....

An entry for #MoodyMonday by +Philip Daly

Kodak Ektachrome GX100 - Holga 120 (Exposure 3)

You really stink mate...No, you stink more

for #WildlifeWednesday curated by +Mike Spinak

Purple sun

This is for all the people that like me or +Kerry Murphy are already longing for some floral bliss :). In other words I couldn't wait until #FloralFriday :)

Sunny rain...

SOOC
This is for #ThirstyThursdayPics by +Giuseppe Basile
#ThirstyThursday

Midnight Sunset

This is for #SilhouettesOnThursday curated by +Siddharth Pandit
And a BIG Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends!!!

I am sharing this silhouette of a pine tree, taken in Tokyo's Imperial Gardens by my then 9 years old daughter Anthi, for #SilhouettesOnThursday hosted by +Siddharth Pandit

Last month I shared this for #treetuesday but maybe it would have been better suited for #LeafOnThursdays curated by +Marilou Aballe and +Ray Bilcliff

Happy Thanksgiving Day!!

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Re-sharing this now that I discovered #ThirstyThursdayPics curated by +Giuseppe Basile.

#ThirstyThursday

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A second entry for #MacroMonday.
This was the first time in my life that I saw a spider drinking. The temperature outside was around 40 degrees Celsius and as soon as one of the sprinklers of my garden started to spill water on this guy's web he started drinking desperately.....
In fact it was quite difficult to take a decent shot without the flash and high ISO and thin DOF were a must.

One last entry for #ThirstyThursdayPics and its curator +Giuseppe Basile
Good night G+

Black Passion

An entry for #FloralFriday by +Tamara Pruessner and a homage to all the wonderful and awesome people I have met here in G+ (you know who you are :) ).
Have a good night friends!

#PlusPhotoExtract

Fishin'

Good morning G+
This is for #SunsetSaturday curated by +TJ Kelly

Rose in sepia


darkness pervading in the night
one sole flower incredibly bright
this picture lends a somber tone
reminding us we are alone

these words were written for this photo by a good friend of mine, Iris Zuares.
She is not here in G+, so the only way to acknowledge her is by giving you a link to her Flickr album:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/painted_cakescookies_painted_tables_beaded_fringe_on_painted_tableshand_decorated_cookies/

this is for #SepiaSaturday by +Renee Stewart Jackson

#PlusPhotoExtract

The Sun in a droplet
Today is a wonderful sunny day here in Sicily, with a clear sky and a few nice clouds still left from the rain we had in the early hours of the day.
So I headed outside with my mind set on taking some shots for the Sky Sunday's theme hosted by +Simone Linke
Walking around our little japanese garden and seeing the bamboos' leaves still dripping water I had the idea to try to take the sunny sky reflected in those droplets.
This shot could also be considered for #MacroMonday and #GrassTuesday.
#SkySunday

Incy Wincy

An apology to some of my more sensitive G+ friends for this "scary" spider shot.

This is my entry for #SpiderSunday curated by +Kjetil Greger Pedersen +Chris Mallory and +Kimberly Hosey

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I wish +Liz Caldwell all the best in managing to reach her goal,so lets help her by sharing this as much as possible and also by heading to the link below and donating.

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PLEASE CLICK (and share) THIS LINK
Hey guys, I really need you help now more than ever... I have 22 days until funding ends, which is the most important time. I need your help by simply clicking the link, resharing the post, or by making a pledge.

Every click will move me up on the popular projects list which will get me seen by more people and increase my chances of successful funding. Every backer gets a gift for their support, and it's 100% risk free - if I don't make my goal you will be charged nothing.

Please take just one moment to help me out, I really believe in this project, but it can't happen without your help.

People

My Sun!

Luna, my very special daughter, sends a big hug to all my G+ friends today.

This is for #SentimentalSunday and its lovely and awesome curator +Louisa Catharine Forsyth

Feeling Blue


If this is feeling blue
i want to feel it too
color is astounding on petal ribbons all curled
a welcome sight in this complicated world.

Iris Zuares (http://www.flickr.com/photos/painted_cakescookies_painted_tables_beaded_fringe_on_painted_tableshand_decorated_cookies/) a good Flickr friend of mine, wrote this little poem for my shot.

This is for #SentimentalSunday curated by +Louisa Catharine Forsyth

Vain Seagull


"an egotistical vain little seagull
studies himself and then takes a stroll
making sure he lookes just right
when he meets his lady in the moonlight"

Thank you Iris Zuares for the words.

Low IQ I know but it is a nearly 100% crop of a shot taken with a 2x extender........me needs a 600mm!! Anyone care to throw one in this direction?

For #ShorebirdSunday by +Phil Armishaw

I took this shot this morning for #SOOCSunday curated by +John Kosmopoulos.
Shot in raw and jpeg'd and watermarked in LR3.

Here in Sicily Fall has basically just started.......

This Calotype portrait of my moody cat Stitch that I took yesterday morning in dappled light is my entry for today's #MonochromeMonday and #MoodyMonday curated by +Siddharth Pandit and +Philip Daly respectively.

Stitch has to be the moodiest creature I have ever met :)

#PlusPhotoExtract

Another shot from the macro shoot I had yesterday in my garden.
This is obviously for #MacroMonday and its super lovely curators +Jennifer Eden +Kerry Murphy and +Kelli Seeger Kim. You rock girls!
You can find another one here: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/113722211762693166526/albums/5674187321774756993/5679629478217239714

#PlusPhotoExtract

When life seems like an uphill struggle.....
.....just remember that the view from the top will be breathtaking!!!!!

Maybe.......:)
Iris Zuares (check my previous posts) kindly wrote the following poem for this shot.

"a long upward climb what purpose we may ask
is this the lady bird's pleasure or task
upon reaching her goal and what then
she'll probably fly off and start all over again"
This is for #Macromonday and its beautiful curators :) +Kerry Murphy +Kelli Seeger Kim +Jennifer Eden and now also +Melanie Kintz?
Wait a sec, this is way too sexist....:) Can I join you in curating the theme? You know, just to make it a bit fairer :))

Thoughtful...

Since I posted (a bit earlier today) a photo of my cat Stitch doing what he knows best (blankly staring for hours at the hyperspace of the parallel universes that surround us.... :)), my lovely blond Roxy has started to show some signs of jealousy....So here we go with a shot of her doing....well doing exactly the same than Stitch.....
The redness in the background is from one of the japanese maples in our garden (a Bloodgood) that has finally decided that Fall is upon us....