This is it, folks: the end of the photo line—unless some readers step up to send in good wildlife pictures.
Today we have a diverse batch of photos from Richard Pieniakowski, but not much information about them though I suspect they’re from British Columbia. Richard’s short captions and IDs are indented (I found the binomials), and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus):
American Black Bear (Ursus americanus):
Belted kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon):
“Caught in a moment of time” [read the bus sign]:
Common garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis):
Closeup of common garter snake:
Epic sky:
Grasshopper:
Great blue heron (Ardea herodias):
If readers don’t send in more photos, I’ll shoot this duck*:
*Just kidding; it’s an AI drawing.
The urban shot is Granville St, Vancouver, B.C. Note the trolley-style electric bus.
I thought the photo had a Vancouver look to it. Looked at it again when I read your post and there’s the Regal Hot(el), the Vogue, the Orpheum and the Belmont Hotel, all names anyone in the lower mainland would know.
My home town!
I was wondering where that was, Eric!
— Great photos, particularly the eagle and with the boss now playing around with AI images… we’re in for trouble!!
D.A.
NYC
Ahhh, these are simply gorgeou—
AHHHHH! 🫣
I’d like to help out, but I’m afraid all I have are landscapes from Vermont and England without any wildlife. Not sure if landscapes without wildlife qualify or if there is interest?
Landscapes are probably acceptable. Years ago I submitted photos taken around the top of Mount Etna, which generated some interest.
Landscapes are nice to me.
Nice picture. Scary ending!
Knew it was ai as soon as I saw it. But even the thought bothers me.
Chem trails in the epic sky image!
Do readers know the reference that Jerry used, regarding the duck?
National Lampoon cover? Too bad about the d*g, in real life:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheeseface
Nope, but google did. (I never saw the show.)
Pretty sure Jerry’s bluffing, but if there are reports of blood and feathers at Botany pond, perhaps not 🙂
The AI generator needs better trigger discipline. Remember: finger outside the trigger guard until you mean to squeeze it, and at that moment your eyes need to be looking where the bullet’s going to go. Every gun is loaded, even AI representations.
/PSA
Good job.
Fatalities with prop guns: ask actor Alec Baldwin, movie Rust, 2021, and the crew of movie The Crow, 1993, about Brandon Lee, (son of Bruce).
The gun Alec Baldwin shot Halyna Hutchinson and Joel Souza with was a real gun, not a prop gun. Baldwin, Hutchinson, Souza, and everyone else on the set knew it was real gun (supposedly the responsibility of a licensed armorer) yet he was allowed to point it at Hutchinson whereupon it discharged. The script called for real gun, a period-correct revolver, because for cinematographic purposes there was supposed to be a close-up of the cylinder turning as Baldwin would pull back the hammer, placing a round (which is visible from the front in a revolver) into the path of the barrel. A gun used as a prop in make-believe is still a gun, just as a man-eating tiger used as a prop is still a tiger.
Brandon Lee was shot with an improperly prepared blank round, but fired also from a real gun.
There is a shooting scene in the movie House of Games where you can see that a body double, presumably a trained shooter, points the (prop?) pistol well away from the actor/actress being “shot” at close range who “dies” convincingly even though it’s clear that s/he was in no danger of being hit no matter what came out of the muzzle even if everything went wrong. You only notice this if you watch the movie three or four times as I have. No spoilers!
Given that top gun manufacturers allow toy gun makers to make theirs indistinguishable from the real ones, I think I will just automatically consider anyone pointing a gun in my direction to be a real one.
Trigger discipline now!
Heck it’s been over 10 years since I’ve handled a firearm and when using tools that are held a similar way I do it out of habit!
Good habit. Yes.
And I never even had a great deal to do with firearms.
Nice photos. And Jerry’s threat made me smile!
I hope the photo of the bear was taken using a long lens :). Good spot, though, in the trees.