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Looking into the sun - not the best angle. |
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When I posted the GigaPan I shot from Goat Rock State Park, California (http://www.gigapan.org/viewGigapan.php?id=14040) I feared I had lost about 300 photos to the right of that image that covered Jenner, California. As it turns out, I had only misplaced those photos. As a result I can now post the GigaPan from this location that I had originally intended. It is a panorama that spans the Pacific Ocean, the mouth of the Russian River, and now the town of Jenner, California. I realize that the GigaPan stitcher had some troubles with the horizon on the left of the image, but I'm uploading this version to preserve the metadata of the full stitch. I may try photoshopping it to clean it up in the future - if successful I'll add that version when it's available. Meanwhile, see what you can find in the town of Jenner! |
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Murmansk is a city of surprises. Looking at its location above the Arctic Circle, this Alaskan from Kotzebue didn't expect either the verdant landscape nor the warm temperature, even on July 20.
Although it is a little further north than my home, Murmansk benefits from the warm water of the Gulf Stream. The benefits, in addition to warm summer days include an ice-free port that is open year round. Murmansk is a bustling city of around 400,00 people. With that population it is largest city above the Arctic Circle. Murmansk is home to a fleet of ice breakers that support shipping to other communities along Russia's north coast.. It also has a railway connecting it to the Russian interior. There is a lot happening in this panorama. Browse around and see what Murmansk has to offer on a fine summer's day. |
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I shot photos that continued to the right of this panorama to include the town of Jenner, California, however due to a mixup during uploading I deleted most of the town of Jenner. D'oh! |
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Here we are very near to the North Pole, having a party on the drifting ice . The passengers and crew were in a festive mood despite our awakening for the arrival at the Pole in the middle of last night. The sky was clear with a brilliant sun warming us as we ventured off the ship. You might see some people dressed in lighter-weight garb than you would expect so close to the top of the world.
We had our picnic on the port side ice. A ship this large creates a very big blind spot. The starboard side was off limits today as our guards set their perimeter and watched the horizon for large, hungry carnivores. If they spotted one, the planwas to herd us back up the gangway. You can see other activities besides our BBQ-on-ice. Participants in an activity called the Polar Plunge dove into the water at the stern of the ship for a brief swim. The salt water was a few degrees colder than the 0 degrees Celsius temperature that freezes fresh water. Other folks made snow angles and snow balls. With the air temperature at 0 degrees Celsius, the snowballs packed rather well. We took photographs of people "pulling the ship" with the line that you see tied at the bow. Folks sat or stood on the anchor for more photographs. The fun of playing in the snow and the grand scale of the ship and its anchor made some of us feel like kids again. As the party wound down, the helicopter took us up for flights around the ship. Can you find the 3rd quarter moon? It is one week away from a total solar eclipse on August 1. When we get back on board, we will be breaking ice toward the path of totality. With no land details to geocode this panorama, I have tried to use the time of day with the positions of the sun and the moon to orient the panorama in Google Earth. I think that it worked out well. With the drifting of the ice pack, our picnic spot had already move by about a kimometer before the picnic was over. This panorama was photographed with a Nikon D80 and stitched with Autopano Pro. |
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It is the first St.Petersburg-Warsaw railway tunnel was built by Czarist Russian Empire in 1861.
http://galerija.speleo.lt/v/kiti/urbanistiniai_pozemiai/paneriu_tunelis_001/archyvines_foto/ http://www.panoramio.com/photo/27032078 Bat hibernation conditions as well as diversity and abundance of hibernating bats were investigated in the Paneriai tunnel (Vilnius, Lithuania) in 2000-2003. Five bat species were found to hibernate in the tunnel: Daubenton's bat (Myotis daubentonii), pond bat (Myotis dasycneme), brown long-eared bat (Plecotus auritus), barbastelle bat (Barbastella barbastellus), and serotine bat (Eptesicus serotinus). http://www.ekoi.lt/uploads/docs/BaranauskasAZL%2013_379-384.pdf |
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A more detailed view of the mouth of the Russian River. Note the wildlife. |
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Sedova Station is located in Tikhaya Bay on Hooker Island in Franz Josef Land. Franz Josef Land is a small, isolated archipelago located about 800 miles north of mainland Russia.
Check out our ship, The 50 Years of Victory, which sailed into the bay unexpectedly when the weather changed. There was concern that the thickening fog would make helicopter flights unsafe, and we would have to stay at the station until the fog cleared. All went well, and we were all safely back on the ship shortly after this panorama was captured. This abandoned research station has many places to explore. Check out the machinery and the weathered buildings. |
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With its bright white exterior and lapis blue roof, this is a very beautiful church.
There was a wedding in progress the day that we visited Murmansk, so I did not go inside. |