#truly no one can make maria angry like autumn can

[cerealbishh]

"You get to see her understanding of how things really are. And so that becomes much more present on the surface. (...) In this season, we get to see her fall deeper in love with him but also navigate those challenges. And also becoming an anchor for Rhett but also struggling with his decision, 'Is this what I want for my future as well, as much as I love this man?'." - Isa in an interview with The Knockturnal(x)

[manuscripts-dontburn]

Living with Ghosts: Eleven Extraordinary Tales

Author: Prince Michael of Greece

First published: 1996

Pages: 192

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

How long did it take: 1 day

I was hoping for a cozy-creepy reading for an autumn day, unfortunatelly, Prince Micheal failed me yet again. The man is, at best, and average writer, and this book more than any other shows how self-obsessed and special he (thinks) he is. Because this Prince can see ghosts. Literally any place he steps in he can see them and they narrate their stories to him. The worst parts of the book were him trying to "sound" like the female ghosts he chose to present, because they all sound like a machine. And a male one at that. His stories, so completely and obviously made up by him (whereas I had hoped he was simply rewriting an original lore) were uninspired and for most part bland. Finally, the dude cannot even get his own family history accurately right, so how am I supposed to believe even the parts which are supposed to be a real depiction of history? Greatly disappointed.

House of Glass

Author: Susan Fletcher

First published: 2018

Pages: 368

Rating: ★★★★★

How long did it take: 7 days

This book is like a strong summer heat, the kind which flows through your bones and closes your eyes and everything feels lazy and languishing, the pleasant type of exhaustion. There are so many aspects to it, and so many things I love, that I do not feel the need to explain and describe it. I just want to bask in its feeling for a little while more.

The Romanov Royal Martyrs: What Silence Could Not Conceals

Author: Mesa Potamos Monastery

First published: 2019

Pages: 512

Rating: ★★★★☆

How long did it take: 7 days

This book offers yet another view of the Romanovs, their personalities, decisions and influence on the Russian history (as well as guilt/innocence). Naturally one needs to take into account that this ais a book by deeply religious Orthodox Christians about other deeply religious Orthodox Christians and the faith and its importance for the last Imperial family is the underlying theme for this whole book. The writing flows very naturally, and even though at times I thought the book was way too apologetic in regards to Nicholas and his share of blame on the minefield of events between 1894-1917, it does make one consider those events from a perspective rarely explored by historians (who in general tend to be snarky and smart-ass, if not outright damning). Finally, one has to admit this publication is simply beautiful. Richly illustrated with black and white photos and a bunch of coloured ones near the very end as well.

Maria and Anastasia: The Youngest Romanov Grand Duchesses In Their Own Words

Author: Helen Azar (editor)

First published: 2015

Pages: 191

Rating: ★★★★★

How long did it take: 5 days

Excellent resource focused on two msot overlooked girls in the family. The letters written by Maria Nikolaevna especially give the Grand Duchess her own distinctive voice.

Man's Search for Meaning

Author: Viktor E. Frankl

First published: 1946

Pages: 165

Rating: ★★★★★

How long did it take: 6 days

What makes this recollection of Holocaust different from all other books on the same topic is the chosen point of view. The horrible situation of the prosoners, the torture, the humiliation, all of it is there, but instead the focus is on looking for a viable reason for living. Extremely interesting, uplifting and definitely offering food for thought and self-reflection. The only problem I had was the audiobook, where the narrator, for whatever ungodly reason, decided to speak with a ridiculous German accents every time a fellow prisoner or a guard was quoted.

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America

Author: Eric Larson

First published: 2003

Pages: 496

Rating: ★★★★★

How long did it take: 7 days

What an excellent book! (at least as far as the enjoyment goes)I was honestly surprised at how much it grabbed me and did not let go. The juxtapositioning of the achievement of the human effort and inspiration (and pigheadedness) to the lowest brutality which forms the other part of the human nature was well balanced. Whenever the parts about the World exhibition started to be a bit too tiring, one was thrust into the cold and horrifying world of a serial killer. And when those became too overwhelming, returning to the lights of the White city felt like a welcome reprieve. Definitely a non-fiction worth your while.

Anna Pavlova: Twentieth Century Ballerina

Author: Jane Pritchard

First published: 2013

Pages: 208

Rating: ★★★★☆

How long did it take: 2 days

This is a beautiful tribute to Anna Pavlova the Dancer and her enormous legacy. It is richly illustrated with high-quality photographs and makes for a perfect cofee table book. Sadly, I still know next to nothing about Anna Pavlovna the Person.

Children of Blood and Bone

Author: Tomi Adeyemi

First published: 2018

Pages: 531

Rating: ★★★☆☆

How long did it take: 15 days

Sooooooo..... this is one of those books I probably would have loved had it been around when I was 14, but at 32 and some pretty decent reading behind me I feel rather indifferent to it. I appreciate the underlying thought as well as the African-inspired setting, but other than that the book felt extremely awkward in pacing (the first half is literally just action with hardly any world-building, other times the story seems to simply stop.... and not do anything). The author holds a promise, but as of this book it is far from genius (the random modernized language thrown into the conversation rubbed me the wrong way) and all three main protagonists were extremely interchangable when it came to their "voices". I prefer some mystery to my stories too, so the very much linear and served-all-at-once kind of storytelling here did not suit me. Add to it the book is full of YA chlichés, and what you get is a competent book that can take your mind off of your own daily worries for a bit, but that could also have been so much more.

Chernobyl Prayer: A Chronicle of the Future

Author: Svetlana Alexievich

First published: 1997

Pages: 294

Rating: ★★★★★

How long did it take: 5 days

I have read books about torture and plagues, about wars and pandemics, about murders and slavery, but few of those raised such horror in me, made me so utterly exhausted and left me both angry and just numb. I am one of the children who were born in the central Europe shortly after the Chernobyl disaster and as such I have heard the name and have always had some knowledge of the event. But this book finally put it into perspective, made me aware of the acute danger, criminal decisions and human despair the name of Chernobyl truly stands for. It is as important as it is horrifying.

A Dog's Heart

Author: Mikhail Bulgakov

First published: 1925

Pages: 125

Rating: ★★★☆☆

How long did it take: 5 days

I love Bulgakov with all his feverish energy, poetic descriptions of the ordinary and racing imagination, but though I liked this book, it was, in parts, way too jumpy and sketchy to be truly enjoyed. Would probably work better as a theatrical play.

Marina

Author: Carlos Riuz Zafón

First published: 1999

Pages: 196

Rating: ★★★★☆

How long did it take: 3 days

In spite of some issues I had with the pacing and revelations of vital information..... I enjoyed this book and read it very quickly. It holds the same love of old Barcelona as the author´s more famous The Shadow of the Wind, it has the same issues of feeling abandoned, experiencing first love and raking through a mysterious past to reveal something extraordinary. Unlike The Shadow of the wind it holds some supernatural elements and would make a good read even for younger readers. Me myself just needed a bit more flesh on the solid bones of the story for the book to be simply excellent.

[joannemaly]

The Coolest Photography Links Of The Week

We've had another great week in the world of photography with pictures and articles being posted by some of the best contemporary contributors of our time.

This weeks list contains a deep set of links to tutorials, special features and great photography, all hand selected by Toad Hollow Photography for your reading and viewing enjoyment.

We really hope you enjoy this list as much as the Toad did in bringing it to you.

Tutorials

How The Beauty of Geometry and Symmetry Can Enhance Your Compositions – exploring and finding shapes and geometry within compositions is a fun and powerful way of expressing your photographic vision. This terrific article walks us through this concept and includes a great set of sample shots, helping you to visualize the application of the technique while you are out shooting.

Sean O Riordan

Black and White Toning in Lightroom – Behind My Eyes – this terrific tutorial covers the process of working with tones in a black-and-white paradigm. The results are subtle, yet they definitely affect the feel of the overall image once the conversion to monochrome is completed. Excellent sample shots are included which really help you visualize the process as it unfolds.

How I Add Realistic Flames to My Commercial Work – adding fire to your work can bring in some drama and dynamic tension and is a great element to add to a picture. This tutorial shows us how to avoid problems in a shoot that involved fire, and how to add it in post-production with a very realistic look to it.

Bennilover

How to Capture a Bold Wine Bottle Photo with a Single Speedlight – for those who work shooting commercially, particularly in the field of product photography, this is a terrific 14 minute video tutorial that takes you through shooting a bottle of wine and into post-production where some great techniques are used to finish off the composite shots. The most interesting aspect of this tutorial is that only a single speedlight is used to create the end-result that is rather striking.

9 Creative Photography Tricks You Can Do at Home – it’s amazing what you can learn in 4 minutes, as shown here in this brief video segment that shows us 9 really cool ideas for photography tricks you can do yourself at home. This fun video not only shows us how to perform these techniques, but also shows the wonderful results you can get by applying them.

The Back Road Photographer

Discovering Flower Photography – there is much more than meets the eye at first glance when it comes to photographing flowers. This short article discusses some key aspects to this style, including backgrounds, depth-of-field and color management, all with some great sample shots to show you how to apply these techniques yourself.

Official U.S. Navy Page

This short tutorial makes it easy to create composites in Lightroom and Photoshop – this article includes a short 12 minute video presentation that walks you through the process of creating a composite image. The trick with composites is in making them look real, and this quick approach to creating one does a fairly good job and could provide a great starting point for everyone trying their hand at one.

The Power of Seeing Monochrome: Tones of Black and White – many of us are rather used to shooting in full color with our modern gear and the plethora of images we see on a daily basis exuding vibrant palettes that add to the overall composition. This article discusses the field of black-and-white photography, and how to see that in your composition as you shoot. The article includes some terrific color shots converted to black-and-white that do a great job of visually conveying the power of working in this style.

Special Features

29 amazing shots of the record-breaking waves in Ucluelet and Tofino – we recently had a massive storm system hit Vancouver Island, ravaging several of our beaches with 30-50ft waves. Even with the best that Mother Nature could throw at us, Vancouver Islanders lived through the event with typical excitement and respect for the power of extreme weather events. Check out this collection of amazing shots of this once-in-a-lifetime event.

Michael Seeley

Capturing Dramatic Portraits Against the Spectacular Icelandic Landscape – an indelible sense of the surreal converges with magic in this photo presentation that features a model set against the dramatic backdrop of Icelandic natural features. These photographs were carefully constructed on-site, often battling extreme weather conditions, and the mesmerizing results were definitely worth the effort.

Novosibirsk 2017 – an amazing collection of over 150 photographs of the city of Novosibirsk in Russia is presented in this special feature, many of them captured from an elevated perspective. The amazing detail in all the shots reveals various architectural landmarks and features of the region, creating a complete collection of shots that form a picture story of this amazing place.

Corey Fonseca

My Visit to the Abandoned Radioactive City of Pripyat – the nuclear accident at Chernobyl remains one of the worst accidents of this kind in human history, and today the site remains as a monument to a lack of planning for such and incident that resulted in significant loss of life. This photo-essay takes us for an in-depth look at the decaying remains of this once thriving city with images that express the artistic tension of a place quickly abandoned as the voices of those who once lived here still resonate against the cement structures.

Great Photography

Polar Bear Showdown – Ron Niebrugge takes us deep into the northern territories where he finds a group of polar bears doing their bear thing in their natural habitat. In this shot we find a challenger bear taking on a mother bear with three cubs over a chunk of food. The ethereal ambience of the misty landscape adds a perfect element to this scene.

beyond_the_sea01

Angry Bird – the popular video game that almost everyone knows of has nothing in terms of attitude in comparison to this terrific portrait of a small owl looking straight at Jon Albert’s camera as it vociferously complains about something. The shallow depth-of-focus used to capture this great shot isolates the little complainer from the backdrop and the other owls lingering about the scene, really making it stand out.

Cape Light – Cape May, New Jersey – Len Saltiel takes us to the east coast of the US where he awakens early one morning to capture the perfect light that greets the new day. In this landscape shot Len uses a fence as a leading line that gracefully leads off into a great vanishing point.

Maria Eklind

Slovenia – Daniel Kordan shares a colorful landscape shot taken from a high perspective overlooking the rolling hills of the region as vibrant autumn colors dominate the frame. A home sits perched on a hill that you are led to by the winding ribbon of roadway that acts as a leading line here.

An afternoon at Emerald Lake – once again the Canadian Rockies are featured on our weekly list, in this case we find a great shot from Jim Nix captured at one of the amazing lakes that dot the landscapes and mountains of the national park. A row of boats sits in the foreground acting as a great anchor into the shot where the dramatic mountains and beautiful colors of the lake really pop.

SpaceX

Belvedere – the rolling hills of Italy are always wonderful photography subjects, as we see in this terrific shot by Gürkan Gündogdu. As the hills undulate off into an endless horizon, the shadow-play creates a sense of depth and texture, and in the case of this shot we also enjoy the color casting treatment applied during post-production to highlight the overall feel of the image.

Burnaby Strait – the epic and dramatic ocean scenes of the west coast of Canada are explored here in this wonderful photograph from Ehpem. This seascape setting features a vast expanse of open ocean, peppered with the tree covered islands that are found everywhere in this region of the coast. A mirror-like reflection in the foreground finishes it off perfectly.

Venkat Mangudi

november fog – it is often said that perspective is everything, as we find here in this dramatic shot from Kai Ziehl that follows the lines created by a bridge from a very low angle. As we follow the lines of the architectural feature into a thick fog in the distance, we also see a person walking away, adding a wonderful dimension of artistic tension to the shot.

Meet Max and Evie – if you love great photographs of dogs you won’t want to miss this great post from Lisa Gordon. Lisa shares a set of photographs of adopted dogs that both her and her son have recently brought into their family’s fold, sharing a set of personal shots that truly reveal the wonderful character that these dogs possess and share with everyone.

Jorge Franganillo

小天真和小智慧 – whimsical doesn’t even begin to describe the feeling of joy you have when looking at this great shot from Kant that features a pair of owls peering out of an opening in a tree trunk. One of the owls is looking straight at camera with quite an intense look, while the other looks away somewhat indifferently, creating an image that is full of wonderful personality.

Sunrise on the Kanc – check out this stunning morning sunrise as the early morning colors run across the skies and accent the untouched landscapes below in this breathtaking shot from Michael Criswell. Subtle colors in the trees from the autumn foliage find harmony with a depth of this vista that also has low hanging fog covering portions of the valley in the distance.

FOTOGRAFÍAS CANAL SUR RADIO y TELEVISION

M a g i c – Jovana Rikalo shares a portrait oriented shot of an amazing castle in Europe surrounded by a thick cloak of fog to highlight the inherent drama of the setting. The wonderful architectural features of this old building work in harmony with the surrounding ambience to create an indelible sense of magic, as the picture is so aptly titled.

Beautiful Tuscany – Daniel Metz delivers a shot that takes on a highly cinematic feel to it, featuring the rolling hills of the Tuscany region in Italy on a particularly moody day. The muted colors and wisps of fog work together to finish off this picture just perfectly.

aotaro

autumn leaves must fall – Diane Schuller is a Vancouver Island based photographer, as we are, who loves to share wonderful images and personal stories and insights from this beautiful part of the world we both call home to. This post features some prose accompanied by beautiful autumn themed photographs that bring you to our part of the world.

Осень… – incredible autumn colors splash across your screen in this amazing shot from Ed Gordeev taken in a park-like setting with a footbridge and a small pool of water surrounded by the vibrant foliage. A soft reflection of the scene is found in the waters, finishing off the shot with a fantastic element.

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

Cloister – we often hear that light is key in great photography, and this shot from Tubb Meiko shows us all just why as wonderful light streams in through openings inside an old stone structure that resembles something straight out of a Harry Potter movie. Tubb processes the shot as a black-and-white, taking advantage of all the drama found in the scene.

In the mood for Paris – Mathias Lucas takes us along for a trek through Paris as he explores some of the sights found in this old city. Mathias uses cinematic styling in his post-production for many of these shots, adding a touch of visual nostalgia and drama to the pieces.

A new day – strong silhouettes of the buildings and a traffic-laden bridge create striking lines and shapes against a blast of color in the sky as a new day emerges over the horizon. David Dai’s shot is full of rich artistic tension as all the architectural elements blend in with the endless string of traffic from early morning commuters.

[Read More ...] The Coolest Photography Links Of The Week was originally posted by proton T2a