Milk Bottle

Milk Bottle

Shot this on the way in Great Ocean Road on the way from the Otways National Park to the Camp Cooriemungle. I guessed that the farmer or you can say the cow's master stays in that little white house which has what looks to me like where it store the mild products. There will normally be giant truck which will come by at night to buy the milk.



Milk is the nutrient fluid produced by the mammary glands of female mammals (including monotremes). The female ability to produce milk is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. It provides the primary source of nutrition for newborns before they are able to digest more diverse foods. Humans, like other mammals, consume mother's milk during their infancy, but many human societies consume the milk of domesticated ruminants as well, especially milk from cows, but also that from sheep, goats, yaks, water buffalo, horses and camels. Milk can be processed into dairy products such as cream, butter, yogurt, ice cream, cheese, casein, whey protein, lactose, condensed milk, powdered milk, and many other food-additive and industrial products.

Aquatic mammals, such as seals and whales, produce milk that is very rich in fats and other solid nutrients when compared with land mammals' milk. Donkey and horse milk have the lowest fat content, while the milk of seals contains more than 50% fat.

Animal milk was first used as human food at the beginning of animal domestication. Cow's milk was first used as human food in the Middle East. Goats and sheep were domesticated in the Middle East between 9000 and 8000 BC. Goats and sheep are ruminants: mammals adapted to survive on a diet of dry grass, a food source otherwise useless to humans, and one that is easily stockpiled. The animals were probably first kept for meat and hides, but dairying proved to be a more efficient way of turning uncultivated grasslands into sustenance: the food value of an animal killed for meat can be matched by perhaps one year's worth of milk from the same animal, which will keep producing milk — in convenient daily portions — for years.

Milk, sold commercially in countries where the cattle (and often the people) live indoors, commonly has vitamin D added to it to make up for lack of exposure to UVB radiation. Milk often has flavoring added to it for better taste or as a means of improving sales. Chocolate flavored milk has been sold for many years and has been followed recently by such other flavors as strawberry and banana.

South Australia has the highest consumption of flavoured milk per person, where Farmers Union Iced Coffee outsells Coca-Cola, a success shared only by Inca Kola in Peru and Irn-Bru in Scotland.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

Risk

Risk

This was taken at the Port Campbell. This where we had out lunch break on the way back to Melbourne. I was taking picture of the port when i looked back and say sea gullssss surrounding my friends. One of them was eating ice cream, a few was eating french fries. Sie Vun took the risk to give a fries to the sea gulls. Being bitten by these hard beak thing won't be so fun. The sea gulls too take risk. In fact, this sea gull bite the fries and jump off to the air to seek for safety.

The Dilemma

To laugh is to risk appearing a fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out for another is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings is to risk rejection.
To place your dreams before the crowd is to risk ridicule.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To go forward in the face of overwhelming odds is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The person who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing, is nothing.
He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he cannot learn, feel, change, grow or love.
Chained by his certitudes, he is a slave.
He has forfeited his freedom.
Only a person who takes risks is free.

- Author Unknown

(courtesy cndcountrygifts.com)

Power of Nature

Power of Nature

This was at the Loch Ard Gorge. Most of us who went there were busy running about and taking picture. However, see what this man is doing. This picture was taken is a slightly slow shutter speed as to get the silky waves which were about to crash down on the beach.



Loch Ard Gorge visitors are treated to a beautiful vista of towering cliffs, sparkling blue-green sea and a small, sandy beach. It’s hard to imagine that the drama of one of Victoria’s most tragic shipwrecks was played out at this very spot more than 120 years ago, giving a name to the gorge.
Fifty-two people died after the sailing ship, the iron clipper Loch Ard, rammed into the sheer cliffs of Muttonbird Island in stormy weather on 1 June, 1878, just days from completing a three-month voyage from England to Melbourne. The island lies near the entrance to the long, narrow gorge. It was this gorge and its tiny beach that were the lifesavers for apprentice crewman Tom Pearce and young passenger Eva Carmichael, both 18 years old.
According to Tom’s account of the disaster, the ship had been sailing in thick, hazy weather. When noticed it was rapidly heading toward shore, Captain Gibb began evasive action and dropped the anchors. But the ship dragged the anchors and desperate attempts to raise the sails were abruptly cut short when the Loch Ard struck the cliffs. “The ship commenced to roll, and was fast sinking, the sea breaking aboard her on both sides,” Tom said in his account. “Captain Gibb ordered the lifeboat to be got ready to receive the ladies. They could not get the boat clear of tackling for some time, owing to it being stuck on the skids.”
Tom said he and five seaman managed to launch the port lifeboat and hold it against the ship to receive passengers. But a huge wave struck and washed them away. Tom was eventually washed into the gorge.
“During the whole of these proceedings, the captain stood on the port side of the ship giving orders. The ship went down within 10 minutes or quarter of an hour after striking the bluff,” Tom said.
Eva was lucky to survive. Washed into the boiling sea with only a life-belt, she managed to grab hold of a floating chicken coop.
“By this time, the Loch Ard had disappeared under the waves,” Eva said in her statement. “In a few minutes, after turning the point of the rock, I saw Tom Pearce standing on the beach. I shouted to him, where upon he walked into the water and swam towards me.
“Tom had a desperate struggle to bring me ashore; and from the time I shouted to him to the time we were safe on the beach about an hour must have elapsed.”
Tom took Eva to the cave in the cliff behind the beach. They found a case of brandy and drank a bottle.
“Cold and exhausted - for we must have been in the water for about five hours - we lay down on the ground. I soon fell into a state of insensibility, and must have been unconscious for hours,” Eva said.
Tom climbed the precipitous cliffs and met a party from nearby Glenample homestead. Eva also was soon rescued and taken back to the homestead to recuperate.
Visitors to Loch Ard today can descend the staircase to the beach and see where Tom and Eva struggled to survive. They can visit the cave where the teenagers collapsed, exhausted. Visitors also can walk along the headlands and overlook the very spot where the Loch Ard smashed into the sheer cliffs. Storyboards on the paths explain the Loch Ard story. A path also leads to the small cemetery where there is a monument to the Carmichael family and where the few bodies that were recovered are buried.
When the sun shines and the weather is calm, it is difficult to understand how this tragedy happened. But visit when storms and galeforce winds are whipping the sea into a frenzy, and you’ll quickly realise it’s miracle anyone survived.

(courtesy greatoceanroad.org)

Blown Down

Blown Down

This is the Thunder Cave in Great Ocean Road. The other side of this small passage links up to trough a cave to the other side, Blow Hole, In my previous post. The walls of the cliff feels soily and rocky. Anyway, there were many "Unstable Cliff" signs everywhere.

Blow Hole

Blow Hole


This is the blow hole. The feature of this place was of the cave it has and when there is a high tide and a strong wave, waters will come "spurting" out of the hole. This picture was taken with a slow shutter speed on a tripod. This helps to create the negative touch of the picture. Instead of being blown out of the hole, it seems that we are being sucked into the hole itself.

In geology, a blowhole is a cavity formed in the ground at the inland end of a sea cave. When waves enter the mouth of the cave they will be funneled up towards the blowhole, which can result in quite spectacular splashes if the geometry and state of the weather is appropriate.

Also the name of a rare geologic feature in which air is either blown out or sucked into a small hole at the surface due to pressure differences between a closed underground cavern system and the surface. The most famous are the blowholes near Flagstaff, AZ US. It is estimated that the closed underground passages have a volume of at least 7 billion square feet. Wind speeds can approach 30 miles per hour.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

Vain Growth

Vain Growth

This was taken at the Gibson's Steps Beach. My friend asked me to take this picture and added to make it black and white. So there it goes. I'm not very sure why this tree branch is here. Washed up? or could it be that it was growing on this beach last time? No matter what, it seems dead. It is not mangrove tree.



Mangroves (generally) are trees and shrubs that grow in saline coastal habitats. Mangal is found in depositional coastal environments where fine sediments, often with high organic content, collect in areas protected from high energy wave action.

Adaptations to low oxygen

Red mangroves, which can live in the most inundated areas, prop themseles up above the water level with stilt roots, and can then take in air through pores in their bark (lenticels). Black mangroves live on higher ground, and make many pneumatophores (specialised root-like structures which stick up out of the soil like straws for breathing) which are covered in lenticels. These "breathing tubes" typically reach heights of up to 30 centimeters, though some species have ones that reach over 3 meters high. There are four types of pneumatophore - stilt or prop type, snorkel or peg type, knee type and ribbon or plank type. Knee and ribbon types may be combined with buttress roots at the base of the tree. The roots also contain wide aerenchyma to facilitate oxygen transport within the plant.

Limiting salt intake

Red Mangroves exclude salt by having rather impermeable roots which are highly suberised, acting as an ultra-filtration mechanism to exclude sodium salts from the rest of the plant. Water inside the plant shows that 90%, and in some cases of high salinity, up to 97%, of the salt has been excluded at the roots. Any salt which does accumulate in the shoot is concentrated in old leaves which are then shed, as well as stored away safely in cell vacuoles. White (or Grey) Mangroves can secrete salts directly, they have two salt glands at each leaf base (hence their name - they are covered in white salt crystals).

Limiting water loss

Because of the limited availability of freshwater in the salty soils of the intertidal zone, mangrove plants have developed ways of limiting the amount of water that they lose through their leaves. They can restrict the opening of their stomata (small pores on their leaf surfaces which exchange carbon dioxide gas and water vapour during photosynthesis) and also have the ability to vary the orientation of their leaves. By orienting their leaves to avoid the harsh midday sun, mangrove plants can reduce evaporation from their leaf surfaces. Anthony Calfo, a noted aquarium author, has observed, anecdotally, that a red mangrove in captivity will not grow unless its leaves are misted with fresh water several times a week, simulating the frequent rainstorms in the tropics.^{[citation needed]}

Nutrient uptake

The biggest problem that mangroves face is nutrient uptake. Because the soil that mangroves live in is perpetually waterlogged, there is not much free oxygen available. At these low oxygen levels, anaerobic bacteria proceed to liberate nitrogen gas, soluble iron, inorganic phosphates, sulfides, and methane, which help contribute to a mangrove's particularly pungent odor and also make it a hostile environment to most plants. Since the soil is not particularly nutritious, mangroves have adapted by modifying their roots. Prop root systems allow mangroves to take up gasses directly from the atmosphere and various other nutrients, like iron, from the otherwise inhospitable soil. They quite often store gasses directly inside the roots so that they can be processed even when the roots are submerged during high tide.

Increasing survival of their offspring

In this harsh environment mangroves have evolved a special mechnanism to help their offspring to survive. All mangroves have buoyant seeds that are suited to dispersal in water. Unlike most plants, whose seeds germinate in the soil, many mangrove plants (e.g. Red Mangrove) are viviparous, i.e., their seeds germinate while still attached to the parent tree. Once germinated the seedling grows either within the fruit (e.g. Aegialitis, Acanthus, Avicennia and Aegiceras), or out through the fruit (e.g. Rhizophora, Ceriops, Bruguiera and Nypa) to form what is called a propagule (a seedling ready to go), which can produce its own food via photosynthesis. When the propagule is mature it drops into the water where it can then be transported great distances. Propagules can survive desiccation and remain dormant for weeks, months, or even over a year until they arrive in a suitable environment. Once a propagule is ready to root, it will change its density so that the elongated shape now floats vertically rather than horizontally. In this position, it is more likely to become lodged in the mud and root. If a propagule does not root, it can alter its density so that it floats off again in search of more favorable conditions.

Mangrove ecosystems

Mangroves support unique ecosystems, especially on their intricate root systems. In areas where roots are permanently submerged, mangroves may be host to a wide variety of organisms, including algae, barnacles, oysters, sponges, and bryozoans, which all require a hard substratum for anchoring while they filter feed. Mangroves are excellent buffers between the violent ocean and the fragile coast, especially during hurricanes, which can bring powerful storm surges onto shores. The massive mangrove root system is quite efficient at dissipating wave energy. This same root system also helps prevent coastal erosion. As tidal water flows through the root system, it is slowed substantially enough so that it deposits its sediment as the tide comes in, and the return flow is kept slow as the tide goes out to prevent resuspension of some of the finer particles. As a result, mangroves can build their own environment. Because of the uniqueness of the mangrove ecosystems, they are frequently the object of conservation programs including national Biodiversity Action Plans.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

Sponge of Sea

Sponge of Sea

This was taken again at the Gibson's Steps beach. This plant looks like a sponge which people normally use for bathing and it has a distinct comb shape like and able to catch all those "hair" on it. This beach is not often visited by large tourists as they would have to climb down and up the steps. This maybe a blessing because this plant might have been destroyed.



Biologists, specifically marine biologists, consider seaweed to be any of a large number of marine benthic algae that are multicellular, macrothallic, and thus differentiated from most algae that tend to be microscopic in size. Seaweeds are not to be confused either with plants like seagrasses (which are vascular plants), or actual weeds in the sense of nuisance blooms or accumulations of unwanted species — certainly, seaweeds are natural components of pristine marine ecosystems. (The best definition of "weed" is "A plant in the wrong place").

Seaweeds are extensively used as food by coastal peoples, particularly in Japan and Korea, but also in China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Peru, Taiwan, the Canadian Maritimes, Scandinavia, Ireland, Wales, Philippines, and Scotland, among other places. For example, Porphyra is a red alga used in Wales to make laverbread, and in Japan dried, formed into sheets called nori which is widely used in soups, and for wrapping sushi, boiled rice stuffed with bits of raw fish, sea urchin roe, or other ingredients. Chondrus crispus (commonly known as Irish moss or Carrageen Moss) is another red alga used in producing various food additives, along with Kappaphycus and various gigartinoid seaweeds.

Seaweeds are also harvested or cultivated for the extraction of Alginate, Agar and Carrageenan, collectively known as hydrocolloids or phycocolloids. Hydrocolloids have attained commercial significance because they are used in various industries, the most common being food production^[2]. Agar is found in foods such as confectionary, meats and poultry products, desserts and beverages and moulded foods. Carrageenan is used in preparation of salad dressings and sauces, dietetic foods, and as a preservative in meat and fish products, dairy items and baked goods. Alginates enjoy many of the same uses as carrageenan, but are also used in production of industrial products such as paper coatings, adhesives, dyes, gels, explosives and in processes such as paper sizing, textile printing, hydro-mulching and drilling. The food industry exploits the gelling, water-retention, emulsifying and other physical properties of these hydrocolloids. In the biomedicine and pharmaceutical industries, alginates are used in wound dressings, and production of dental moulds and have a host of other applications. In microbiology research, agar is extensively used as culture medium. Carrageenans, alginates and agaroses (the latter are prepared from agar by purification), together with other lesser-known macroalgal polysaccharides, also have several important biological activities or applications in biomedicine. For instance, it has been demonstrated in laboratory studies that seaweeds may have curative properties for tuberculosis, arthritis, colds and influenza, and worm infestations. [1]

A number of research studies have been conducted to investigate claims of seaweed's effects on human health. [2]

Other seaweeds may be used as seaweed fertiliser.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

Wide Flare

Wide Flare

Where is this? This is the Gibson's steps beach itself. Well, not a good weather when I was there, The sky was neither blue or colorful. Even with the additional twist of the picture I take, it still looks plain boring. So what's next? Craze the curve option in photoshop and adjust the channel mixer to get this frenzy, rock & roll (my opinion) style. What's your opinion about this weird, seems like infrared heat image?

Never Too Stable Cliff

Never Too Stable Cliff

This was taken at the beach of the Gibson's Steps. This caught my eyes. Notice the strength of the "hill" of the sand at the background. The "hill" there are taller and thus heavier. However, the hill at the foreground had shown sign of weakness in the structure even though it is much shorter compared to the one at the back.



The Gibson Steps are an area of cliffs on the south coast of Australia, located at 38°40′06″S, 143°06′43″E. The cliffs are the first sightseeing stopoff in Port Campbell National Park for travellers heading West along the Great Ocean Road, located about 5 minutes drive away from The Twelve Apostles. The name Gibson Steps refers to the staircase leading down to the stretch of beach.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

Backwash

Backwash

This is at the Gibson's Steps. My friend, enthusiastic always, is the first one to reach the beach after climbing the steps down from the cliff. I was still busy taking photograph when I notice her at the bottom of the cliff. You may manage to see a silhouette of me in the picture. The title of this photograph is not attributed much to the girl, but the beach. The foam created by the waves form streaks of line when the water rushes back into the sea as part of backwash. Backwash is the process when a wave breaks on the shore and the water starts to rush back into the sea again.

Head To Timber

Head To Timber

This photo was taken on the way back form Camp Cooriemungle. Jim, the driver spot on those ducklings and its parents on the side of the road. They are called the Mallard duck. I had to shoot through the window as opening the door will let out a loud mechanical sound and I guess would scare the ducks even further. This photo was post processed into black and white.



It also frequents Central America and the Caribbean, and has been introduced into Australia and New Zealand. It is now the most common duck in New Zealand. It is probably the best-known of all ducks.

The breeding male is unmistakable, with a green head, black rear end and a blue speculum edged with white, obvious in flight or at rest. Males also possess a yellow bill with a black tip, whereas females have a dark brown bill. It is a bird of most wetlands, including parks, small ponds and rivers, and usually feeds by dabbling for plant food or grazing. It nests usually on a river bank, but not always particularly near water. This is a noisy species. The male has a nasal call, whereas the female has the very familiar "quack" always associated with ducks.

Mallards form pairs only until the female lays eggs, at which time she is left by the male. The clutch is 9–13 eggs, which are incubated for 27–28 days to hatching with 50–60 days to fledging. The ducklings are precocial, and can swim and feed themselves on insects as soon as they hatch, although they stay near the female for protection. Young ducklings are not naturally waterproof and rely on the mother to provide waterproofing. Mallards also have rates of male-male sexual activity that are unusually high for birds. In some cases, as many as 19% of pairs in a Mallard population are male-male homosexual.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

Unforgiving

Unforgiving

This is Miechelle. Yes, no mistake in that spelling. This was taken at the Camp Coorimungle during the morning's breakfast. I was outside taking photos of the flowers when she started to walk out. Pointed the camera and her and "snap". She was actually giving me those faces and just nice, I had captured a very interesting and valuable moment.



Glass is a uniform amorphous solid material, usually produced when the viscous molten material cools very rapidly to below its glass transition temperature, without sufficient time for a regular crystal lattice to form. The most familiar form of glass is the silica-based material used for windows, containers and decorative objects.

Common glass contains about 70-72 weight % of silicon dioxide (SiO₂). The major raw material is sand (or "quartz sand") that contains almost 100% of crystalline silica in the form of quartz. Even though it is an almost pure quartz, it may still contain a small amount (<>Cold work includes traditional stained glass work as well as other methods of shaping glass at room temperature. Glass can also be cut with a diamond saw, or copper wheels embedded with abrasives, and polished to give gleaming facets; the technique used in creating waterford crystal. Art is sometimes etched into glass via the use of acid, caustic, or abrasive substances. Traditionally this was done after the glass was blown or cast. In the 1920s a new mould-etch process was invented, in which art was etched directly into the mould, so that each cast piece emerged from the mould with the image already on the surface of the glass. This reduced manufacturing costs and, combined with a wider use of colored glass, led to cheap glassware in the 1930s, which later became known as Depression glass. As the types of acids used in this process are extremely hazardous, abrasive methods have gained popularity.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

Outstanding One

Outstanding One

We had the blooming of the flowers. Now, of course we must also have the end. Everything in this world will come to an end. This flower is shot nearby and it seems that it is wethering. However, one must notice that it still have one of its beautiful petal extending proudly outwards. The strongest survivor?

Quench of Thirst

Quench of Thirst

Same flower as yesterday. However, for those who are detailed will see that there are "water" on the flower. It is actually the dew. After the sun comes out, the dew start appearing on the flower. One thing that I noticed is that the centre of this flower is different to the centre of the yesterday's flower. Could it be that this flower is more mature and it had start to "spike".

Too late but too early

Too late but too early

Too late but too early is the picture about the contrast between a fully "springed" flower and a still budding flower. Not only the time difference when they bloom are depicted, the different size and shape are significantly unique. However, one must realise that these two subjects come from the same bush. Why the lateness? I do not know too. I do not know the name of the flower. Is it daisy? Euryops? or Marguerite?

Pointing to heaven

Pointing to heaven

This is another HDR shot. This was again at the Camp Cooriemungle. The ground was the picture in the previous post, "Royalty Ground". The trees were out of leaves as it was during winter and spring is not here yet. The tree branches were curving out and poiting up towards the sky! I guess these were the symtomps that the tree need more sunlight and had to branch out and reach out for the sky in order to survive.

Heaven is an afterlife concept found in many religions or spiritual philosophies.

Those who believe in heaven generally hold that it (or Hell) is the afterlife destination of many or all humans. In unusual instances, humans have had, according to many testimonies and traditions, personal knowledge of Heaven. They presume this is for the purpose of teaching the rest of humanity about life, deities and notions of the afterlife.

One popular medieval view of Heaven was that it existed as a physical place above the clouds and that God and the Angels were physically above, watching over man. With the dawn of the Age of Reason, science began to challenge this notion; however Heaven as a physical place survived in the concept that it was located far out into space, and that the stars were "lights shining through from heaven".

Religions that teach about heaven differ on how (and if) one gets into it. In most, entrance to Heaven is conditional on having lived a "good life" (within the terms of the spiritual system). Catholicism and Anglican Christianity states that "He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved." However, these religions also state that pride (the feeling of knowing that one is going to Heaven) can keep you from getting in Heaven. These religions also state that you must live a repented life in order to get to heaven.

Roman Catholics believe that entering Purgatory after death cleanses one of one's sins and makes one acceptable to enter Heaven. This is valid for "venial sins" only. Some within the Anglican Church also hold to this belief, despite their Anglican history. However, in Oriental Orthodox Churches, it is only God who has the final say on who enters Heaven.

The Seventh-day Adventist understanding of heaven is based on Biblical writings which set out the following:

• That heaven is a real place where God resides.
• That earth and all the animate and inanimate things therein and within its celestial space are products of God's creative work.
• That God sent His Son, Jesus Christ to earth to live as a human being, but who "perfectly exemplified the righteousness and love of God. By His miracles He manifested God's power and was attested as God's promised Messiah. He suffered and died voluntarily on the cross for our sins and in our place, was raised from the dead, and ascended to minister in the heavenly sanctuary in our behalf." ^[5].
• That Christ promises to return as a Saviour at which time He will resurrect the righteous dead and gather them along with the righteous living to heaven. The unrighteous will die at Christ's second coming. ^[6].
• That after Christ's second coming there will exist a period of time known as the Millennium during which Christ and His righteous saints will reign and the unrighteous will be judged. At the close of the Millennium, Christ and His angels return to earth to resurrect the dead that remain, to issue the judgements and to forever rid the universe of sin and sinners. ^[7].
• "On the new earth, in which righteousness dwells, God will provide an eternal home for the redeemed and a perfect environment for everlasting life, love, joy, and learning in His presence. For here God Himself will dwell with His people, and suffering and death will have passed away. The great controversy will be ended, and sin will be no more. All things, animate and inanimate, will declare that God is love; and He shall reign forever." ^[8]. It is at this point that heaven is established on the new earth.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

Royalty Ground

Royalty Ground

More than a luxury it is. Walking on a groud full of those small flowers lined with other colourful ones on the sides. This was again at the Camp Cooriemungle. The shot was captured with an aperature of f/10. This is to try to get as much depth of field (DOF) as possible or in layman's words, so that the whole picture is as focus as possible. Taking with a smaller aperature like f/14 will even make it more focus, but this would means the shot will have to be taken with a slower shutter speed and casue a blur picture due to the winds blowing the flowers.

Lake

Lake

This was the lake in the Camp Cooriemungle. The lake was significantly peaceful and there were some duck quacking across the lake at some point. The still water acts like a giant mirror, reflecting the trees and bush on the lake.



A lake is a body of water or other liquid of considerable size surrounded by land. The vast majority of lakes on Earth are fresh water, and most lie in the Northern Hemisphere at higher latitudes. In ecology the environment of a lake is referred to as lacustrine. Large lakes are occasionally referred to as "inland seas" and small seas are occasionally referred to as lakes.

Salt lakes (also called saline lakes) can form where there is no natural outlet or where the water evaporates rapidly, and the drainage surface of the water table has a higher than normal salt content. Examples of salt lakes include Great Salt Lake, the Caspian Sea and the Dead Sea.

Small, crescent-shaped lakes called oxbow lakes can form in river valleys as the result of meandering. The slow-moving river forms a sinuous shape as the outer side of bends are eroded away more rapidly than the inner side. Eventually a horseshoe bend is formed and the river cuts through the narrow neck. This new passage then forms the main passage for the river and the ends of the bend become silted up, thus forming a bow-shaped lake.

Lake Vostok is an subglacial lake in Antarctica, possibly the largest in the world. The pressure from ice and the internal chemical composition means that if the lake were drilled into, it may result in a fissure which would spray in a similar fashion to a geyser.

Some lakes, such as Lake Baikal and Lake Tanganyika lie along continental rift zones, and are created by the crust's subsidence as two plates are pulled apart. These lakes are the oldest and deepest in the world, and may be destined over millions of years to become oceans. The Red Sea is thought to have originated as a rift valley lake.

• The largest lake in the world by surface area is the Caspian Sea. With a surface area of 394,299 km², it has a surface area greater than the next six largest lakes combined.
• The deepest lake is Lake Baikal in Siberia, with a bottom at 1,637 m (5,371 ft.) and is the world's largest freshwater lake by volume.
• The world's oldest lake is Lake Baikal, followed by Lake Tanganyika (Tanzania).
• The world's highest lake is Lhagba Pool in Tibet at 6,368 m.
• The world's lowest lake is the Dead Sea, currently (2005) 418 m (1,371 ft.) below sea level. It is also one of the lakes with highest salt concentration.

• Africa - Lake Victoria, also the second largest freshwater lake on Earth. It is one of the Great Lakes of Africa.
• Antarctica - Lake Vostok (subglacial)
• Asia - Caspian Sea, also the largest on Earth.
• Australia - Lake Eyre
• Europe - Lake Ladoga, followed by Lake Onega, both located in northwestern Russia.
• North America - Lake Superior
• South America - Lake Titicaca, which is also the highest navigable body of water on Earth at 3,821 m above sea level.

• Finland is known as The Land of the Thousand Lakes (actually there are 187,888 lakes in Finland, of which 60,000 are large)
• Minnesota is known as The Land of Ten Thousand Lakes.
• The license plate of the Canadian province of Manitoba used to claim "100,000 lakes" as a direct upmanship on neighboring Minnesota.
• The Great Lakes of North America originated in the ice age.
• Over 60% of the world's lakes are in Canada; this is because of the deranged drainage system that dominates the country.

Mono in Complex

Mono in Complex

This flower was again shot in Camp Cooriemungle. Mono in Complex decribes the special attention of the red tulip and especially the interesting part is that the contrast it made with it's own deep green stalk adn also the green bud on the left. I do still remember that my friend wanted to get this flower for a birthday surprise and it really cost very expensive in Singapore as these tulips have to be flown all the way from Holland.



They are perennial bulbous plants growing to 10–70 centimetres (4–27 in) tall, with a small number of strap-shaped, waxy-textured, usually glaucous green leaves and large flowers with six tepals. The fruit is a dry capsule containing numerous flat disc-shaped seeds.

The tulip is the national flower of Iran and Turkey, and tulip motifs feature prominently in Persian and Turkish folk arts. The European name for the flower comes from the Persian word for turban, a origin probably originating in the common Turkish custom of wearing flowers in the folds of the turban. Alternatively, the use may have arisen because this eastern flower, when not yet in full bloom, resembles a turban.

ass now known as South Holland, due to its drained fens similar to Holland, plus it is easily the main centre of the UK bulb industry. To reflect this, the local radio station is named Tulip Radio [1].

Between 1634 and 1637, the early enthusiasm for the new flowers triggered a speculative frenzy now known as the tulip mania and tulip bulbs were then considered a form of currency. The Netherlands and tulips are still associated with one another. The term 'Dutch tulips' is often used for the cultivated forms.

Tulip Festivals are held in the Netherlands and in North America every May. Tulips are now also popular in Australia, and several festivals are held during September and October in the Southern Hemisphere's spring.

Spot Light

Spot Light

You there! Yes, there flowers seems to be calling you to its nest. Pollinate me! The bright yellow and spreading outer hand are waving and the centre deep orange are spotlighting on you. These flowers were shot in the Camp Cooriemungle again. Lots of flowers I must say. Anyone knows the name of this flower?

There are many general principles to lighting a stage, although to allow for artistic effect, no hard and fast rules can ever be applied. The principles of lighting include:

• Illumination: The simple ability to see what is occurring onstage. Any lighting design will be ineffective if the audience has to strain to see the characters; unless this is the explicit intent.

• Revelation of form: Altering the perception of shapes onstage, particularly three-dimensional stage elements.

• Focus: Directing the audience's attention to an area of the stage or distracting them from another.

• Mood: Setting the tone of a scene. Harsh red light has a totally different effect than soft lavender light.

• Location and time of day: Establishing or altering position in time and space. Blues can suggest night time while orange and red can suggest a sunrise or sunset. Use of gobos to project sky scene, moon etc

• Projection/stage elements: Lighting may be used to project scenery or to act as scenery onstage.

• Plot: A lighting event may trigger or advance the action onstage.

• Selective visibility: Lighting may be used to show only the areas of the stage which the designer wants the audience to see.

A dimmer is a device used to vary the voltage to the instrument’s lamp. As voltage to the lamp decreases, the light fades or dims. It is important to note that some color change also occurs as a lamp is dimmed, allowing for a limited amount of color control through the dimmer. Fades can be either UP or DOWN, that is increasing or decreasing the intensity. Today, most dimmers are solid state, although many mechanical dimmers still exist.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

Speed Limit

Speed Limit

Warning to all humans for the earthworms and the animals living below. Please enter this hole only at max 20 km/h or you may hurt the earthworms and the bugs sleeping deep down in the earth. This is in Camp Cooriemungle with some sign stucked on the ground. This shot was composed with a flash fired. It provides a strikingly bright fall of light on the reflective sign while stoping any light from reaching the signs behind.

Dandelion

Dandelion

This was shot at the Camp Cooriemungle. I saw this round puffy thing on the grass field and is such a perfect subject. I shot it with the minimum aperature which cause only some part to be in the focus but I find that it is too shallow. I have no choice as shoot with the smallest aperature to achieve a shutter speed without blurring the picture. This is mainly because of the dark setting sun.



Dandelion (Taraxacum) is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. They are tap-rooted biennial or perennial herbaceous plants, native to temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere of the Old World.

Away from their native regions, they have become established in the Americas, Australia and New Zealand as weeds. They are now common plants throughout all temperate regions.

While the dandelion is considered a weed by many gardeners, the plant does have several culinary and medicinal uses. Dandelions are grown commercially at a small scale as a leaf vegetable. The plant can be eaten cooked or raw in various forms, such as in soup or salad. Usually the young leaves and unopened buds are eaten raw in salads, while older leaves are cooked. Raw leaves have a slightly bitter taste. Dandelion salad is often accompanied with hard boiled eggs. The leaves are high in vitamin A, vitamin C and iron, carrying more iron and calcium than spinach. [1].

Dandelion flowers can be used to make dandelion wine. The recipe usually contains citrus fruit. Another recipe using the plant is dandelion flower jam. Ground roasted dandelion root can be used as a coffee substitute. Drunk before meals, it is believed to stimulate digestive functions. Sold in most health food stores, often in a mixture, it is considered an excellent cleansing tonic for the liver.

Dandelion root is a registered drug in Canada, sold as a diuretic. A leaf decoction can be drunk to "purify the blood", for the treatment of anemia, jaundice, and also for nervousness. The milky latex has been used as a mosquito repellent; the milk is also applied to warts, helping get rid of them without damaging the surrounding skin. A dye can also be obtained from the roots of the plant. A new mixture of roasted roots is sold as a product called DandyBlend which tastes like coffee after the inulin in the dandelion is roasted.

"Dandelion and Burdock" is a soft drink that has long been popular in the United Kingdom with authentic recipes are sold by health food shops, but it is not clear whether the cheaper supermarket versions actually contain either plant.

This plant also is useful in farming, because its deep, strong roots break up hardpan.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

Leading Line

Leading Line

This is int he camp Coorimungle. Nice? Of course! Well, may not be the taste for those who are looking for "real" subject. This shot is made from 3 shots taken over, under and normal exposure. What this means is that one of the picture is taken very very bright and one very very dark and another normal. These three pictures are then combined using High Dynamic Range (HDR) rendering program to create one HDR image.



HDR allows a far greater dynamic range of exposures (i.e a large difference between light and dark areas) than normal digital imaging techniques. The intention of HDR is to accurately represent the wide range of intensity levels found in real scenes ranging from direct sunlight to the deepest shadows.

One problem with HDR has always been in viewing the images. CRTs, LCDs, prints, and other methods of displaying images only have a limited dynamic range. Thus various methods of "converting" HDR images into a viewable format have been developed, generally called "tone mapping".

Early methods of tone mapping were simple. They simply showed a "window" of the entire dynamic range, clipping to set minimum and maximum values. However, more recent methods have attempted to show more of the dynamic range. The more complex methods tap into research on how the human eye and visual cortex perceive a scene, trying to show the whole dynamic range while retaining realistic colour and contrast.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

Butt Cover

Butt Cover

This is a baby Llama in the Camp Coorimungle. It is very cute. The name Llama is often mispelled as lasounds very chinese. One thing which caught my attention was the butt. It's tail is wide and looks like some floor mat. What other animal which cover it's ass so well as this Lama?



The llama (Lama glama) is a large camelid that originated in North America and then later on moved on to South America. The most apparent visual difference between llamas and camels is that camels have a hump or humps and llamas do not.

Llamas who are well-socialized and brought up by loving families are very friendly and pleasant to be around. They are extremely curious and most will approach people easily. Llamas who are not well-socialized or who have been abused or mis-treated, however, are quite stand-offish. They are also more likely to treat humans as they treat each other, which is characterized by spitting, kicking and/or neck wrestling.

Llamas are very social herd animals and spitting is a part of that. They often spit at each other as a way of disciplining lower-ranked llamas in the herd. Spitting at a human is a rare thing unless the llama is being trained. A llama's social rank in a herd is never static. They can always move up or down in the social ladder by picking small fights. This is usually done between males to see who becomes alpha. Their fights are visually dramatic with spitting, ramming each other with their chests, neck wrestling and kicking, mainly to knock the other off balance. The females are usually only seen spitting as a means of controlling other herd members.

While the social structure might always be changing, they are a family and they do take care of each other. If one notices a strange noise or feels threatened, a warning scream is sent out and all others come to alert. They can also make a humming sound, which is usually a sign of recognition.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

The Grass Is Greener

The Grass Is Greener

Taken at Great Ocean Road. Is the grass over that side greener? Of course not, there are FENCE! I love the way how the land mass and the tree curve up and down while the river at the foreground stay straight and still.

Emission

Emission

Refuel station at Port Campbell on the way to the camp Coorimungle. I noticed that the setting looks very old fashioned and the white rusty beetle car and the gas tank will definately add an an impact when made into black and white photo.



Some stations carry specialty fuels such as liquified petroleum gas (LPG), natural gas, hydrogen, biodiesel, ethanol, or kerosene. In recent times filling stations have also begun to sell butane and added shops to their primary business, and convenience stores are now a familiar sight alongside pumps.

As automobiles became popular in the United States, the need for gas stations arose. (The first places that sold gasoline were pharmacists, as a "side line" business.)^{[citation needed]} Henry Ford's use of mass-production techniques to manufacture automobiles made it possible for consumers to purchase cars at an affordable price. This increase in car ownership resulted in a greater demand for filling stations. The first gas station was built in 1907 by Standard Oil of California (now Chevron) in Seattle, Washington. Early on, they were known to motorists as "filling stations". Standard Oil began erecting roadside signs of their logo to advertise their gas stations.

In small towns and rural areas, gas stations sometimes allow customers to pump gas first and pay afterwards. Due to the higher incidence of crime in large urban areas (especially drive-offs), customers must generally pay before pumping fuel.

Modern gas stations have pay-at-the-pump capabilities — in most cases credit, debit, and ATM cards are accepted. At some stations, cash is also taken at the pump, although customers must collect their change at a cashier window which is often bullet-proof. Occasionally a station will have a pay-at-the-pump-only period per day, when attendants are not present, often at night, and some stations are pay-at-the-pump-only 24 hours a day.

Today, few stations advertise full service, and those that do usually only provide mini service unless a manager is involved. However, full service stations are common in wealthy and upscale areas. The cost of full service is usually assessed as a fixed amount per gallon.

It is prohibited to use open flame and, in some places, a mobile phone on the forecourt of a gas station. This is because of the risk of igniting gasoline vapor. The safety issue with mobile phones, however, is disputed. While mobile phones can distract people and increase the chance of an accident occurring, there is no significant danger from the radio waves emitted by a mobile phone. In fact, many petrol station display towers in the UK are also relay transmitters for the mobile phone networks.

Although it has been claimed that a faulty mobile phone can cause sparks or a build-up of static electricity in the user, this has not yet been conclusively proven, however mobile phone manufacturers and gas stations still tend to ask the users to switch off their phones. One is more likely to get a spark from wearing nylon clothing than from a mobile phone [1]. Also, the static charge acquired by a person as he or she leaves the car (due to triboelectric charging from friction between the person's clothing and the car seat) is thought to be the culprit in over 50% of fires which occur during refuelling. Usually, when a person leaves the car, he or she must open the door covering the gas cap and remove the cap itself, thus dissipating any static charge through a small shock as he or she is "grounded" to the car's metal body.

However, if the person has set the pump to continue filling automatically, returns to the car, then leaves the car again to check the pump before it has fully stopped, an explosion could easily result. This is because after the person has left the car for the second time, he or she is likely to remain electrically charged up to the point of touching the nozzle, at which point the concentrated vapour expelled from the tank can be ignited by sparks jumping from the person's hand to the nozzle. In the UK automatic filling is outlawed except for HGVs filling with diesel fuel to minimise the risk of fire. A recent investigation by the Discovery network found that the main culprit in most gas station fires were women, as they are 6 times more likely to get in and out of their vehicles during refueling.

It is therefore always good practice, especially in arid climates, to safely ground oneself by touching any part of the car away from the gas tank port before filling the tank or touching the filling nozzle. The effect has also been noted in several instances where jerrycans were filled in the back of a pickup truck which had a plastic "bed liner". These tanks should always be removed from the vehicle and filled while on the ground.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

Touching Nature

Touching Nature

This once again is at the Otways National Park in Great Ocean Road. There is some of these tall straight shooting tree around. I had placed one of my finger in the picture initially wanting to show the scale of how big these trees are. But of course the stupid me realises that I will hav to stick my hand near the tree to get the correct proportion. So finally, I "touched" the tree using my index finger. This was further enchanged in photoshop to create a higer dynamic range by using a brightened and another normal picture and masking them. I do not know the name of the tree, it might be the same family as the one featured below.




According to the researches of Dr A.C. Carder, the tallest tree ever measured was an Australian Eucalyptus regnans at Watts River, Victoria, Australia, reported in 1872 by forester William Ferguson. It was 132.6 m (435 ft) tall and almost certainly measured over 150 m (500 ft) originally.

Another Eucalyptus at Mt Baw Baw, Victoria, Australia, is believed to have measured 143 m (470 ft) in 1885.

The Dyerville Giant, a coast redwood, estimated to be 1,600 years old when it fell in March 1991, was proven to be 113.4 m (372 ft) high, not counting the 1.5 m (5 ft) of buried base. It grew in Humboldt Redwoods State Park, California, USA and was the tallest tree of modern times.

(courtesy guineessworldrecord.com)

Curly Beans

Curly Beans

These are the fern moss's early stage "arm". It will slowly uncurls and become the stalks which you see in the picture too. This picture was taken at the Otways National Park in Great Ocean Road. It is one of the few forest left in Australia. There was a lot of those "Curly Beans" around as we are slowly moving to spring season.



Otway National Park is perfect for a wide variety of recreational and nature-based activities. Some of the most rugged and inaccessible coastline in Victoria lies in the 12,876 hectare park, an invitation to the adventurous to explore this 60-kilometre stretch from Apollo Bay to Princetown, reached via the Great Ocean Road.

The Otways were formed 150 million years ago when the great southern land mass known as Gondwana began to break up. Part of the coastline is rich in fossils, including those of a dinosaur that roamed here 105 million years ago. Aboriginal communities hunted in the coastal woodlands with fire, dingoes and spears. Although the steep slopes and tall forest of the Otways were a barrier to European settlement, settlers eventually began to move in.

(courtesy greatoceanrd.org.au)

No Imi

No Imi

For a change of colours from the sandy brown, blue sky and the black and white yesterday, I am jumping through my photo to my recent visit to the Royal Melbourne Show 2006. It was a great place with the damn hot sun hanging high and showers approaching the night. The colours were great. I told myself that I should have went there earlier as 1st October was the last day. This featured ride inmy blog is called No Imi. A 360 degrees turn ride with some hanging in the air still moments. Of course I didn't ride it or else the people bellow better start opening their umbrellas. This ride was powered by a fan. Yes, a FAN! a gigantic fan fixed to main arm. It is able to stop the ride in the mid air and turn it the make it swing the other way round!



There are three main types of fans used for moving air, axial, centrifugal (also called radial) and cross flow (also called tangential). The axial-flow fans have blades that force air to move parallel to the shaft about which the blades rotate. Axial fans blow air across the axis of the fan, linearly, hence their name. This is the most commonly used type of fan, and is used in a wide variety of applications, ranging from small cooling fans for electronics to the giant fans used in wind tunnels. The centrifugal fan has a moving component (called an impeller) that consists of a central shaft about which a set of blades form a spiral pattern.

Fans typically go along together with electric motors. An electric motor's poor low speed torque and powerful high speed torque are a natural match for a fan's load. Fans are often attached directly to the motor's output, with no need for gears or belts. The electric motor is either hidden in the fan's center hub or extends behind it. For big industrial fans, 3-phase asynchronous motors are commonly used.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)

Saunter

Saunter

Isn't it getting boring looking at all those blue sky and brown sand for the past few days. Well, at least I am. This is a black and white post-processed photo of an old couple walking along the Apollo beach. it features a small cave hole breaking wave. Romantic walk or sunbathing is common at this beach. Who knows the couple might be just some friends trying to get to the carpark on the right!?!

1. Matira Beach, Bora Bora, Tahitian Islands
It's not the soft white sand, the spectacular sunsets or the languid tropical breezes that put Matira Beach, located on Bora Bora's southern tip, at the top of our list of the world's most romantic beaches. It's the calm, warm, crystal-clear water -- the perfect playground for dolphins, ray, vibrant tropical fish and you! The island of Bora Bora is completely encircled by reefs and smaller islands, creating a shallow, protected lagoon that offers the best swimming and snorkeling around. For a day -- or a year -- of pure, lazy pleasure on one of the world's most romantic beaches with your new spouse, Matira Beach is an unbeatable choice. Everyone who visits this magical place agrees that it's well worth the long trip to Bora Bora see this number one "most romantic beach".

2. Pink Beach, Harbour Island, Bahamas
No list of "Most Romantic Beaches" could possibly be complete without including the Bahamas most famous romantic beach, Pink Beach. Wide and lined with towering palms, this romantic beach is made up of fine-grained sand in a glorious shell-pink. The unique color of Pink Beach would be stunning even without the warm and welcoming turquoise-blue ocean lapping at its edge, but the combination of pink sand, azure-blue sky, turquoise water, and green palm trees is so delightful, particularly at sunset, that you almost won't believe your eyes. In fact, Pink Beach is consistently voted one of the most romantic beaches in the entire Caribbean! Spend a day at this romantic beach and we bet you'll decide to come back for your first anniversary -- and maybe your second and third.

3. Promenade des Anglais, Nice, France
Picture a wide promenade lined with stylish boutiques, elegant hotels, and sidewalk cafes just steps away from the clear, azure waters of the Mediterranean. Jaunty blue and white umbrellas dot what must be the world's most chic beach -- the Promenade des Anglais on the glamorous French Riviera.

The Promenade des Anglais offers beautiful sand and swimming to rival other top beaches, but with an aura of pampered sophistication that can only be found in France, as formal waiters can bring cocktails, snacks, or even champagne right to your beach chair! If you're looking for the pure delight of the most romantic beach in France, turn your attention to Nice and the Promenade des Anglais.

4. Green Sand Beach, Hawaii, USA
White-sand beaches aren't common. Pink-sand beaches are downright unusual. But only on the geological wonderland that is the Big Island of Hawaii can you find the rarest of them all -- a romantic beach made of deep green crystals. The green sand is formed almost entirely of olivine, a crystal found in the nearby volcano. The beach itself is very tiny but beautiful, and offers wading more than swimming. And considering you have to hike three miles to get there, the Green Sand beach is one romantic beach experience that you have to earn! But don't be discouraged - the memory of standing with your new spouse, watching the blue waters of the Pacific crash against glowing green sand, will fill your dreams for a lifetime. Many couples claim an almost "spiritual awakening" here and cite it as the reason they vote this particular beach to be one of the most romantic beaches in Hawaii!

5. South Beach, Florida, USA
If your idea of a romantic beach includes plenty of energy, activity, and nightlife, then South Beach in Miami, Florida, is for you. Sherbert-colored Art Deco buildings vie with the warm turquoise water of the Caribbean for your attention. What makes this one of the most romantic beaches in the US is the eclectic blend of cuban and european cultures mixed with elegance and sophistication. Whether you spend the day walking for miles along this romantic beach hand in hand, picking up souvenirs in any of numerous designer stores and boutiques, or enjoying a meal in cheerful sidewalk cafes, South Beach is sure to make you realize that being part of a couple makes every experience double the fun.

(courtesy honeymoons-by-sunset.com)

Hurry Sis!

Hurry Sis!

This was taken at Apollo bay in Great Ocean Road. Over this "sand dunes" is the Apollo beach. These two girls were coming back from the beach when the elder sister decided to rest or maybe play with the sand. The younger sister, giving an impatient look and holding a doll on one hand, makes my main subject. The look and the way how the doll was held gives the uncongenial perception of the situation.



Dolls are often intended as toys for children but other uses of dolls include as a keepsake or collectible item for any age, namely older children to adults. However, dolls are also used because of their cultural significance, possibly for use in a ceremony or ritual, or even as a physical representation of a deity, these uses of course go along with a simpler, a doll is another way for decoration. As time has gone on, it's become more important for dolls to be as lifelike as possible, and these dolls can be used for professional use, (see anatomically correct doll), or as sex toys (see sex doll). Artists' mannequins are also known as "artists' dolls." Dolls with action figure-like articulation are sometimes referred to as "action dolls^[1]."

Dolls have been around for far longer than most would think, archaeological evidence placing dolls as foremost candidate for oldest known toy, having been found in Egyptian tombs which date to as early as 2000 BC. In Egypt, as well as Greece and Rome, it was common to find them in the graves of children, these were mainly made from wood, however, among the wealthier families, pottery dolls were also found.

Many suggest that dolls were around even before 2000 BC, going further back to prehistoric times, and were probably made from materials such as clay, mud, fur, wood, etc.

(courtesy wikipedia.com)