Resistence is futile! Well worth getting out in the cold for pictures like these.

Agree with K10D about the stand outs. But No. 1 reaches my soft spot for pictures of paths that go off into who-knows-where.

Steve

Does it need left handed lenses? A big new opportunity for LBA...

Steve

Enough snow to transform the landscape, not enough to totally disrupt life. And snow with interesting skies is a perfect combination.

Like Gareth and Kris, I wish I were there...

Steve

Perhaps he did. But the quote is attributed to a Dr Joseph Goebbels. Cognitive psychologists have given it a name - the "illusory truth effect” - and studied it in psychology experiments. Very important in advertising as well as politics. You know how it goes, keep repeating that a certain camera brand is no good at something and people come to believe it...

Re Covid-19 not being a High Consequence Infectious Disease, thank goodness the chance of dying if you catch it isn't as high as ebola... Doesn't mean it isn't a very bad disease though. And, of course, the death rate would be much higher if the NHS couldn't cope with the number of people needing hospital treatment .

Keep away from other people, folks, and don't believe everything a politician, advertiser or web reviewer says - particularly if they keep repeating it without evidence!

Steve

The regulatory assessments, including the reasoning behind them, for the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines are all in public documents here and here. The assessments (which I don't suggest you read unless you're used to that sort of thing!) don't just consider the number and severity of cases of Covid in the trials, they also take into account such things as measured immune responses and other bits of biology. What is clear is that the vaccines strongly reduce the chance of developing Covid symptoms. And taking all the evidence together, it is reasonable to expect that this will significantly reduce the number of deaths.

It is worth noting that the regulator has given temporary authorisations specifically "for the medicine to be used for active immunization to prevent COVID-19 disease". Nobody is claiming that all questions about the efficacy of the vaccines have been answered, but enough is known for the remaining uncertainties to be outweighed by the public health benefits of getting the vaccines into people's arms.

If you're called for a jab, go for it! Not just for your own sake, but for the rest of us too.

Steve

These plants always take us by surprise. We don't notice the flowers coming, suddenly they are flaunting themselves, a few days later they are past their best. This time, the camera was ready. It makes a change from the greyness of the great outdoors at the moment.

K3 + DA 35mm macro. Focus stack of 19 images with Affinity Photo.

Comments etc. welcome as usual.




Steve

The first picture was impressively interesting, but you've now revealed a fascinating exploration of a miniature, alien landscape. Such a huge variety and all done so artistically, too.

I hope that Mrs. C. appreciates your efforts with her silver cleaning fluid - or was she expecting you to clean the family silver rather than take photographs of the cleaner?

Steve

Worth noting that the Pfizer vaccine comes in batches, each batch must be used pretty quickly because of temperature issues. If there is any left from a batch after top priority people have been dealt with (no-shows etc.), better to use it on other suitable people who happen to be around than throw it away because it is time-expired. That's what I've been told by someone from the local medical fraternity.

Steve

Today, I broke open a couple of Chinese fortune cookies that had been hanging around since our last Chinese takeaway (during the November lockdown!). In the first was "An unexpected news brings you surprises and happiness". In the second was "A holiday is in sight". Any suggestions where Mrs L and I can go in the next month or two??

Steve

Thiourea - I used to know the chemical formulae for things like that . Brings back memories...

Interesting picture. Nicely composed. How small are those threads of crystal?

Steve