Weather Today- in Your Vicinity

[aster]

ps. probably a good thing it was converted to diesel, those old coal fired boilers produced lots of black smoke and soot...kaf kaf

You're pretty good with your observations and facts on ships and maritime architecture, though, Greg.

Here's a photo from its steam turbined days, while the black smoke is caught in the wind...

Yildiz

[Greg Beetham]

Yeah I remember seeing photos of old ships, and battleships especially producing copious amounts of black smoke, and the amount of manpower it took too keep those boilers up too a full head of steam, amazing the sheer number of people it took too run a ship back then compared to today. I was reading a while back the official account of the NAVY enquiry into the loss of the light cruiser HMAS Sydney (with all hands) in the battle with the German raider Kormoran, (also lost but some survivors) the crew on board was around 650, a similar sized ship today would probably only have a couple of hundred.
Greg

[Birma]

ps. probably a good thing it was converted to diesel, those old coal fired boilers produced lots of black smoke and soot...kaf kaf

... and think of the stokers, and stoker's mates - one hell of a job that must have been, in every sense

Very interesting pictures Yildiz. It would be great to have a "run about" like that at one's disposal . Even the UK royal family couldn't afford to keep their "yacht" (HMS Brittania) going any longer and had to sell it off, and that was before the world recession.

[aster]

Yeah I remember seeing photos of old ships, and battleships especially producing copious amounts of black smoke, and the amount of manpower it took too keep those boilers up too a full head of steam, amazing the sheer number of people it took too run a ship back then compared to today. I was reading a while back the official account of the NAVY enquiry into the loss of the light cruiser HMAS Sydney (with all hands) in the battle with the German raider Kormoran, (also lost but some survivors) the crew on board was around 650, a similar sized ship today would probably only have a couple of hundred.
Greg

Hi Greg, : )

I've been reading a little on these ships myself and found the stories attached tot he ships very interesting and intriguing. Especially the Q-ships and their encounters with the submarines had me thinking: the wolf in a lamb's disguise... Sometimes it worked and sometimes failed tragically and at the expense many dear lives in the shape of crew.

Nowadays, 30 crew members can man the essential tasks on a ship like MIR-tall ship, which usually requires a crew of 200. Of course it's a sailing ship of 100+meters but still, cruising in general has become less of a burden for ship staff and captain.

ps. probably a good thing it was converted to diesel, those old coal fired boilers produced lots of black smoke and soot...kaf kaf

... and think of the stokers, and stoker's mates - one hell of a job that must have been, in every sense

Very interesting pictures Yildiz. It would be great to have a "run about" like that at one's disposal . Even the UK royal family couldn't afford to keep their "yacht" (HMS Brittania) going any longer and had to sell it off, and that was before the world recession.

I agree most definitely, Birma; a 'hell' of a job and risk!

The restoration of this yacht was extremely costly too but the way it looks today, inside out, it was well worth it. The ship can be chartered for special trips, hence aiding in the cost of keeping it. It's a very dear yacht for the Turkish people because Ataturk, founder of Republic of Turkey, lived aboard it during during his last days for six weeks, only months before he died of a fatal liver failure in 1938.

And any cruise would be grand aboard this one with only a limited number of people on board...peaceful and making as many stops at the ports as possible, sampling the food and the beauties of each destination.

Thanks

Yildiz

[BruceKingston]

Summer is definitely on the way here. This photo was made yesterday up the road from home.

SafetyBay.jpg (190.44 KiB) Viewed 3816 times

[David Kilpatrick]

Just send that sun up here please! Which lens for the great sunburst effect from the aperture?

David

[BruceKingston]

No problem David, I've just put it in a padded post bag for you and addressed it. Please take care when you open it to keep your eyes closed!

Shot five frames at 0.7EV bracket with a CZ16-35mm f2.8 on the A900 at ISO200, f14, 17mm according to the EXIF then post using Exposure Fusion in Photomatix to avoid the HDR effect. I have to say that all five frames present the sun in pretty much the same way, even those on the positive EV side so the effect has little to do with Photomatix. I was surprised at the rendition of the scene and expected A LOT of flare given the write-ups the 16-35 has received but there was only the very smallest amount right at the bottom center of the frame that needed content aware fill to remove. Here is the 1 3/10 EV frame unedited (with the exception of spot removal because there was a TON of dirt on the sensor that I didn't notice until afterwards). As you can see the suns rays are pretty much as they appear in the original post (and you can see the flare at the bottom

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No "starburst" filters, no ND filters, no polarisers - nothing of any kind in front of the lens (except the hood of course).

[aster]

A very serenely cheerful shot, Bruce. : )

Incredible cluster of clouds and amazing flare on a magnificent blue...

Yildiz

[aster]

Autumn shows in the ripened quices on the bush...

(The camcorder was used for this shot on my way back home, so the bokeh is nothing like a fine lens can do.)

Weather in Istanbul:
23° C | 14° C
Chance of Rain. Scattered Clouds. Low: 14 °C . Wind ENE 18 km/h . 20% chance of precipitation (trace amounts)

Quince-1.jpg

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[Greg Beetham]

I like those amazing diffraction spikes on the sun as well Bruce, I don't remember seeing them that prominent on any of my lenses before.

Ya gotta love that effortless DOF of a small sensor though Yildiz, don't you think, it still takes a very good pic too, and it's probably closer too how the eye would see it as well. Those look like a sort of smooth skin orange or lemon, I'm not familiar with Quinces, funny how it looks like it grows it's fruit in the interior of the bush/tree where all the thorns are, at least a lemon or orange grows most of it's fruit near the outside ha ha.
Greg

[aster]

Hi Greg, : )

Thanks a lot. The quince fruits are nothing like oranges or any other citrus fruit actually; they are more like apples in structure but it's almost impossible to bite into with one's teeth because of its hardness.
They can be cut and sliced with a knife and boiled with sugar to make quince jam. Once boiled its flesh turns soft and becomes a delight to eat. Pretty tasteful and healthy actually.

Yildiz

I remember sending a photo of it when still flowering in the past but here's the plant while flowering (from the web)



Here's a photo of a quince cut in half from the Internet.



Yildiz

[Greg Beetham]

Ah ha, it looks sortof like a pear, maybe a cross between a green apple and a pear kinda look too it. Is it a bitter type jam like Grapefruit? or sortof neutral like a Kumquat type taste?
Greg

[aster]

Ah ha, it looks sortof like a pear, maybe a cross between a green apple and a pear kinda look too it. Is it a bitter type jam like Grapefruit? or sortof neutral like a Kumquat type taste?
Greg

Yes, you can say that it has a little grainy mesocarp like a pear's while tassting more like a sour-sweet apple that enbodies less juicy cells. It has a consistent and tight-textured fibre formation which can only be softened when exposed to heat in a process like jam-boiling.

Quince jam is sour-sweet and very delicious and the yellow colour turns red-auburn after being boiled with sugar.

I'll try to send photos of quince jam when I make some... Quince is just recently started to appear in market stalls and some more wild ones in our garden.

You'll find the colour of the jam interesting.... : ))


Yildiz

[david antony]

Like the photos of the quince Aster. Which I remember from The Owl & the Pussy Cat. They dined on mince and slices of quince, which they ate with a runcible spoon.

[Birma]

Hi Yildiz - interesting Quince background - the thorns look nasty on the tree

Well remembered poetry DA .