Edited: 03/23/2023 at 08:55 PM by ww

A fresh re-edit of a 2017 photo, Notre-Dame de Paris on a snowy winter day (the snow was fun). The big circular feature on the ceiling is where the main nave intersects the transepts that give the cathedral its cross shape. A recent video showed a big, heavy, newly cut and carved block of stone being lifted into place to replace one destroyed or damaged by the big fire. That whole vault, including the stone circle, fell to the ground in the fire. Only 15 of the 70 stones in the four ribs were in good enough condition to be used in reconstruction. That big hole, now refilled, was rebuilt once before, in the late 1700s shortly before the French Revolution, when the French government seized the church buildings and persecuted priests and nuns, beheading some of them. The government still owns the church buildings.

A new wood-frame steeple to rise above it, and its huge wooden truss to connect it to the cathedral's stonework, is nearing completion in a big warehouse. It'll be shipped in pieces and assembled late this year. The new stones are from exactly the same quarry as the 1700s stones--historic records confirmed by examination of stone samples found a perfect match.

Photo editing software from Topaz has gotten noticeably better in the past year.

This is getting a bit ridiculous with a small-sensor camera and a hand-held 1.6 second exposure.

Edited: 12/05/2023 at 06:03 PM by ww

My main editing tool, Lightroom, introduced a new AI "denoise" setup to rival what's available from Topaz. So I played with a couple of known grainy photos. My small-sensor camera doesn't take in as much light as larger-sensor cameras, which results in grain under low light conditions. Images from Newport Wedge, I think already posted, but fiddled with today. These images are before and after de-noise. They are small bits of the original photo, expanded 4X for easier viewing.

First, the best I can do to show off a grainy image. This piece of a much larger image was expanded by 4X for better viewing. The second was denoised and sharpened with Topaz software. The third was denoised by Lightroom (Adobe) software. I don't like the lips.

Here's a fresh Dec 2023 edit with the latest Topaz Photo AI, including color edit. I suppose a bit better.

Here's the whole image, Lightroom editing to remove noise.

Edited: 12/11/2023 at 02:40 PM by ww

Another somewhat grainy edit. The grain reduction and sharpening wasn't quite magic, but given that software can mutilate faces, I like the natural result.

Edited with Lightroom denoise.

Here's the original noise. It's not bad and gives the scene a bit of character (sometimes noise is good). But still, I was impressed at how well the editing with up-to-date software worked. I have a couple of non-grainy photos of him, so have a good idea of how he "should" look.

Edited: 04/24/2023 at 01:22 PM by ww

McKee Botanical Garden in Vero Beach. Temporary exhibition of glass and steel flowers by Jason Gamrath.

Pitcairnia flammea, a "basal" bromeliad with normal monocot-type leaves. It's from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, a region that includes Rio de Janeiro. The plant has really bulked up over the past year (bigger pot). It had one infloresence last year, four right now (May 2023)

This turns out to be one of my most popular photos at Flickr, no idea why. A Junior Lifeguard (that's the official backpack for 2021) with what looks like an electric bike going home in the afternoon. The pale swimfins are Yucca. This guy looks old enough to likely be a real lifeguard for 2022. I think the best Juniors can get summer jobs at age 16.

More McKee Garden in Vero. A local guy does amazing water lily photos here.

The enormous table, a single slab of wood from a 1904 world's fair, from the recently-conquered Philippines, made its way to Waldo Sexton's Vero Beach tourist attraction. It lived for a number of years at Dodgertown, returning to its open-air shed when the remains of Sexton's place were refurbished as a botanical garden. I think the wood is what's marketed as Luan. I doubt that such trees exist any more. Big mahogany trees (native to places like Cuba and Honduras) were pretty much all cut in the 1700s and early 1800s. The legacy fancy furniture was made from high quality wood that's no longer available.

Got confirmation, from Bob Okvist Sr. that this is Bob Okvist Jr. at The Wedge, June 2021. Unfortunately, no repeat of this week's spectacular surf seems in the offing. This and other photos from that ride need re-editing.

Lichens on a black mailbox at the IFAS extension office in Oviedo, Florida. The patterns were interesting enough to make a whole bunch of images. This is one of the better.

Edited: 06/03/2023 at 03:22 AM by ww

Funny, I took some shots of the pink Lichens on the trees in the Cypress heads.

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I was right.

Those lichens must have grown fairly fast. Tonight, I checked the Lancetilla mango tree after a violent thunderstorm. Still hanging. I made more tries with the mangos, but this photo, though imperfect, has the magic.

Edited: 10/21/2023 at 12:17 PM by ww

This Encyclia tampensis (Florida butterfly orchid) was grown commercially by Odom's Orchids and planted in the tree. Thriving. Roots have spread all over the branch. It flowered earlier. Now growing seed pods.

Same tree, same branch, a big Tillandsia.

Edited: 07/30/2023 at 05:46 PM by ww

I don't think I posted Boulder Dam.

This one is summer 1978 from a Cessna. Note the high water.

July 7 2020, flying into Las Vegas.

Edited: 07/30/2023 at 03:10 PM by ww

A little break in the wave drought. Aug 21, Vero Beach.

Recent photo of a Vriesea bromeliad while it was in temporary quarters to be out of the way of tree trimming. Babies of plants like this are even at Lowe's.

Wedge guy. Not a big wave (it was a pretty big day) but the sun had come out and he was having fun.

Craig Whetter at the Wedge Sunday ahead of Labor Day

Edited: 09/08/2023 at 07:09 PM by ww

Not a great photo, but it does show the clear water. For whatever reason, it's gotten a bunch of views on Flickr, so maybe I should do a re-edit.

Gotta love the West wetsuit. That brand got bought out, then failed in 2012. A sort-of successor, Volte, came along, then also quit. Now, West is back. I think this back-zip suit must be an old one--they aren't offering backs now.

West

Oddly, this is popular on Flickr.

Edited: 02/10/2024 at 11:31 PM by ww

Kneeboarder. He got started in the crowd.

Edited: 09/13/2023 at 09:54 PM by ww

Cool tattoo.

Same rides, different editing.

Dawn

Edited: 10/17/2023 at 06:18 PM by ww