Thed best photographs of 2017 – by the people who shot them

From Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, to the disaster at Grenfell Tower and a seahorse clinging to a cotton bud: photographers describe how they took some of the defining images of 2017. Selection by Sarah Gilbert

by Leah Harper, Larry Ryan, Emine Saner & Shaun Walker

(01)

A seahorse grabs on to rubbish in IndonesiaJustin Hofman

17 September I’m an expedition guide and I had taken clients snorkelling. It was good at first, but then the tide changed and all this debris and trash started drifting over the reef. What started out as a pleasant afternoon turned into swimming in garbage. It was pretty disgusting. At first I just saw the seahorse and I thought it was cute. I stayed with it and it grabbed on to the cotton swab. There are only really three colours in the image, so there’s a beautiful graphic quality to it, but it also generates feelings of disgust. I see trash and wildlife together a lot, but this is the most dramatic interaction I’ve seen.

Hiking Sri Lanka's Hill Country

While soft-sand beaches and lowland jungles may be the first images that leap to mind when you imagine Sri Lanka, this tropical isle is endowed with a mountainous interior that is every bit as scenic as the coast, blessed by pleasantly cool temperatures that rarely tip 21ºC.

Rising at dawn is the best way to see this region of Sri Lanka burst into life, as the rising sun spills across lush and sweeping amphitheaters of green, and views stretch to the horizon, undimmed by early mists and the clouds that roll in mid-morning, obscuring famous vistas.

Tea pickers near Haputale in Sri Lanka's Hill Country © Ella Tuul and Bruno Morandi / Getty Images 

On the southern slopes of the Hill Country, the towns of Haputale, Bandarawela and Ella are surrounded by a blanket of vast, eye-pleasing tea estates, where swirls of planted tea bushes are stamped onto the landscape like colossal green fingerprints. It's truly delightful hiking territory, criss-crossed by trails that serve up some of Sri Lanka’s best views.

Know Before You Go:

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka offers refreshing beaches and standout cultural sites without the mass of tourists that often come with those treasures. Here is how to plan your headache-free trip.

By. Eric Rosen   (To. NationalGeographic)on APRIL 8, 2016

MONOVISIONS PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

2018

MonoVisions Photography Awards are an international open call for photographers using black and white medium to express their visual language.Our aim is to discover the best monochrome photographers from all over the world and deliver the best opportunities to be recognized and rewarded for their work. You can compete for $5000 in cash prizes in two categories: Black and White Photo of the Year 2018 and Black and White Series of the Year 2018.Our annual competition is open to photographers of all backgrounds and all levels, including - professionals and amateurs. We accept all forms of black and white photography created with traditional or digital methods.Our categories: Abstract, Architecture, Conceptual, Fine Art, Landscapes, Nature and Wildlife, Nude, People, Photojournalism, Portrait, Street Photography and Travel.

click here to SUBMIT..!

 

Prizes:Grand Prizes winners will receive the following: - $3,000 cash prize for Black and White Series of the Year. - $2,000 cash prize for Black and White Photo of the Year. - Individual certificate. - Digital statue. - Press coverage by our media partners.Eligibility:The competition is open to everyone of all levels using black and white medium and anyone can win.Copyrights & Usage Rights:Copyright of the images will remain at all times with the photographer.Theme:Black and White Conceptual Abstract Architecture Documentary Fashion Fine Art Landscape Nature NudesPeople Portrait Photojournalism Seascapes Street Travel Urban Wildlife

Article from http://photocontestguru.com

Nikon D850 Review.

Nikon D850 Review.

Higher resolution. Higher speed. Greater versatility. Pure potential for stills and video.

Witness the next stage in evolution for high-resolution photography. The D850 doesn't simply surpass the incredible image quality of the D810, with 45.7 effective megapixels and ISO sensitivity from 64-25600. It pairs these with a new level of versatile and uncompromising performance, including continuous shooting speeds of 7 fps (up to 9 fps with the optional MB-D18 Multi-Power Battery Pack*¹) and the 153-point AF system used in the flagship D5. It's the first Nikon FX-format D-SLR camera to offer full-frame 4K UHD video, while time-lapse shooters can create high-resolution sequences even under extremely low light. From landscape to commercial sports, wedding and fashion photography, as well as multimedia shooting, the D850 lets you create astounding images that meet the strictest professional requirements.

Overview...

• Nikon FX-format, backside illumination sensor delivers superb 45-megapixel images at ISO 64-25600 (expandable to ISO 32-102400 equivalent) that are ideal for massive billboards and 8K monitors
• 153-point AF system with 99 cross sensors provides powerful subject acquisition in diverse situations
• Approx. 9-fps high-speed captures 45-megapixel images with the optional MB-D18 Multi-Power Battery Pack*1 attached, or at 7 fps with the body only
• Silent photography function*2 in live view mode utilizes an electronic shutter, causing no mechanical vibration or shutter release sound
• Full-frame, 4K UHD video maximizes the capabilities of wide-angle NIKKOR lenses with minimal noise
• Optical viewfinder with 0.75x magnification*3 providing a wide field of view for easier subject confirmation, while keeping a sufficiently long eye point
• Up to approx. 1840 still images*4 can be taken from a single charge of an EN-EL15a Rechargeable Li-ion Battery

Contest...

World Photography Organisation 

         Open competition

Photographers of all ages, backgrounds and experience levels are invited to enter their best single images for a chance to win $5,000 (USD), Sony Digital Imaging Equipment, a trip to London, and be crowned 'Open Photographer of the Year'. 

The judges are looking to award the best single images from across the 10 diverse categories, from Architecture and Landscape to Still Life and Street Photography.

In addition to the main prizes, winning and shortlisted photographers will be included in a global press campaign, featured across the World Photography Organisation website and exhibited at Somerset House, London in Spring 2018. 

In each category judges will award:

·         1 winner

·         Up to 10 shortlisted photographers

·         Up to 40 commended photographers
 

“The risk is none and the opportunities are endless. There's not a single reason not to try.” - Jaime Massieu Marcos, Winner, Open, Split Second, 2015 Sony World Photography Awards 

Please note:
You may only enter one competition. Once you have successfully submitted your images into the Open competition you will not be able to enter the Professional or Youth competition.

The closing date for the 2018 Open competition is January 4, 2018 - 13.00 GMT.
 

Prizes

·         Open Competition winner​ - $5,000 (USD) / Sony digital imaging equipment / Flights and accommodation to the awards ceremony in London / Included in exhibition at Somerset House, London
 

·         Category winners - Sony digital imaging equipment / Publication in winners’ book / Included in exhibition at Somerset House, London
 

·         Shortlist - Digital exhibition at Somerset House, London / Publication in winners’ book
 

·         Commended - Digital exhibition at Somerset House, London

  

                                                      Click here to Register Free..

Buildings To The Sky..

World Trade Center & BOC Merchant Tower 

Location :- Bank of Ceylon Mawatha, Colombo.
Captured by :- Mohammad Ashfaque.

Date :- 3rd Mar 2017.

Time :- 12:50

Big news!

Announcing our new logo and look!

Big news! Today, after two months, we’re releasing an updated brand identity, which includes a new logo, colors, and font. You’ll see the new look anywhere we’re out in public, like our website, & Facebook; very soon you’ll see it in all of our products, as well. We believe the new look better matches what we’ve become since 2017.

Pansy Flower

The garden pansy is a type of large-flowered hybrid plant cultivated as a garden flower.^[1] It is derived by hybridization from several species in the section Melanium ("the pansies")^[2] of the genus Viola, particularly Viola tricolor, a wildflower of Europe and western Asia known as heartsease. Some of these hybrids are referred to as Viola × wittrockiana Gams ex Nauenb. & Buttler. For simplicity, the older name Viola tricolor var. hortensis is often used.

The garden pansy flower is 5 to 8 centimetres (2 to 3 in) in diameter and has two slightly overlapping upper petals, two side petals, and a single bottom petal with a slight beard emanating from the flower's center. These petals are usually white or yellow, purplish, or blue.^[3] The plant may grow to 23 cm (9 in) in height, and prefers sun to varying degrees and well-draining soils.

Captured by :- Mohammed Aashik.

Silhouette trunk with nature

Silhouette trunk is making the nature more beautiful.

it's so awesome enjoy.  

Location :- Ulappane,Sri Lanka.

Captured by :- Mohammad Ashfaque.
Date :-  2017 Dec 05

Twilight - By Margaret Yacavace.

Soft comes the hush of eventide
And songbirds hide
In limbs of budded trees
To bid farewell to setting sun
With lullabies they've sung
Each night for centuries.

A lark is winging swiftly home -
Black dot alone -
Beneath auroral clouds.
All nature makes a homeward rush
As twilight's rosy blush
The eyes of night arouse.

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Look for the Sunlight through the Clouds @ Estuary (place that river meets the sea)

light is always more beautiful when it has to fight to be noticed, like Sunlight fighting though the Clouds.

Location :- Akkarapthu Potthuvil road

Captured by :- Mohammad Ashfaque.
Date :- Dec 2016

"A Gleam Of Sunshine - Poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

This is the place. Stand still, my steed,
Let me review the scene,
And summon from the shadowy Past
The forms that once have been.

The Past and Present here unite
Beneath Time's flowing tide,
Like footprints hidden by a brook,
But seen on either side.

Here runs the highway to the town;
There the green lane descends,
Through which I walked to church with thee,
O gentlest of my friends!

The shadow of the linden-trees
Lay moving on the grass;
Between them and the moving boughs,
A shadow, thou didst pass.

Thy dress was like the lilies,
And thy heart as pure as they:
One of God's holy messengers
Did walk with me that day.

I saw the branches of the trees
Bend down thy touch to meet,
The clover-blossoms in the grass
Rise up to kiss thy feet,

"Sleep, sleep to-day, tormenting cares,
Of earth and folly born!"
Solemnly sang the village choir
On that sweet Sabbath morn.

Through the closed blinds the golden sun
Poured in a dusty beam,
Like the celestial ladder seen
By Jacob in his dream.

And ever and anon, the wind,
Sweet-scented with the hay,
Turned o'er the hymn-book's fluttering leaves
That on the window lay.

Long was the good man's sermon,
Yet it seemed not so to me;
For he spake of Ruth the beautiful,
And still I thought of thee.

Long was the prayer he uttered,
Yet it seemed not so to me;
For in my heart I prayed with him,
And still I thought of thee.

But now, alas! the place seems changed;
Thou art no longer here:
Part of the sunshine of the scene
With thee did disappear.

Though thoughts, deep-rooted in my heart,
Like pine-trees dark and high,
Subdue the light of noon, and breathe
A low and ceaseless sigh;

This memory brightens o'er the past,
As when the sun, concealed
Behind some cloud that near us hangs
Shines on a distant field. 

END"                     

Grand Hyatt Building Viewing from Araliyagaha Mandiraya Sri Lanka.

Location :- viewing from Araliyagaha Mandiraya Sri Lanka.(06°54′57″N 79°50′52″ ECoordinates: 06°54′57″N 79°50′52″E )
Captured by :- Mohammed Ashfaque.
Date :- 3rd Mar 2017.
Time :- 13.00

Grand Hyatt Colombo is a 47-storey five star hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The hotel features 475 guestrooms and 84 serviced apartments.^[2] It is the first Hyatt-branded hotel in Sri Lanka.^[3][4] The hotel neighbours the S. Thomas' Preparatory School in Colombo 3. It is currently the tallest building in Colombo, and the 7th tallest building in South Asia

Former names	Ceylinco Celestial/Celestial Residencies, Hyatt Regency Colombo
Alternative names	Hyatt Colombo
General information
Status	Complete[citation needed]
Type	High-rise
Architectural style	Modern
Location	Colombo
Town or city	Colombo 3
Country	Sri Lanka
Coordinates	06°54′57″N 79°50′52″ECoordinates: 06°54′57″N 79°50′52″E
Groundbreaking	2007
Completed	2015[citation needed]
Owner	Government of Sri Lanka
Height	229.5 m (753 ft)[1]
Technical details
Floor count	47
Design and construction
Structural engineer	MAGA Engineering (Pvt).Ltd
Services engineer	UTE Limited.
Other designers	Design Consortium. Ltd
Other information
Number of rooms	475+84 apartments

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Insects Life...

"If all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed ten thousand years ago. If insects were to vanish, the environments would collapse into chaos."

_E.O.WILSON_

Location :- Balanthota.

Captured by :- Mohammad Ashfaque.
Date :- 11th Nov 2017

Time :- 17:50 - 18:00

Insects or Insecta (from Latin insectum, a calque of Greek ἔντομον [éntomon], "cut into sections") are by far the largest group of hexapod invertebrates within the arthropod phylum. Definitions and circumscriptions vary; in one approach insects comprise a class within the Phylum Arthropoda. As the term is used here, it is synonymous with Ectognatha.

Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes and one pair of antennae. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet, including more than a million described species and representing more than half of all known living organisms.^[2][3] The number of extant species is estimated at between six and ten million,^[2][4][5] and potentially represent over 90% of the differing animal life forms on Earth.^[6] Insects may be found in nearly all environments, although only a small number of species reside in the oceans, a habitat dominated by another arthropod group, crustaceans.

The life cycles of insects vary but most hatch from eggs. Insect growth is constrained by the inelastic exoskeleton and development involves a series of molts. The immature stages can differ from the adults in structure, habit and habitat, and can include a passive pupal stage in those groups that undergo four-stage metamorphosis (see holometabolism). Insects that undergo three-stage metamorphosis lack a pupal stage and adults develop through a series of nymphal stages.^[7] The higher level relationship of the Hexapoda is unclear. Fossilized insects of enormous size have been found from the Paleozoic Era, including giant dragonflies with wingspans of 55 to 70 cm (22–28 in). The most diverse insect groups appear to have coevolved with flowering plants.

Adult insects typically move about by walking, flying or sometimes swimming (see § Locomotion below). As it allows for rapid yet stable movement, many insects adopt a tripedal gait in which they walk with their legs touching the ground in alternating triangles. Insects are the only invertebrates to have evolved flight. Many insects spend at least part of their lives under water, with larval adaptations that include gills, and some adult insects are aquatic and have adaptations for swimming. Some species, such as water striders, are capable of walking on the surface of water. Insects are mostly solitary, but some, such as certain bees, ants and termites, are social and live in large, well-organized colonies. Some insects, such as earwigs, show maternal care, guarding their eggs and young. Insects can communicate with each other in a variety of ways. Male moths can sense the pheromones of female moths over great distances. Other species communicate with sounds: cricketsstridulate, or rub their wings together, to attract a mate and repel other males. Lampyridae in the beetle order communicate with light.

Humans regard certain insects as pests, and attempt to control them using insecticides and a host of other techniques. Some insects damage crops by feeding on sap, leaves or fruits. A few parasitic species are pathogenic. Some insects perform complex ecological roles; blow-flies, for example, help consume carrion but also spread diseases. Insect pollinators are essential to the life cycle of many flowering plant species on which most organisms, including humans, are at least partly dependent; without them, the terrestrial portion of the biosphere (including humans) would be devastated.^[8] Many other insects are considered ecologically beneficial as predators and a few provide direct economic benefit. Silkworms and bees have been used extensively by humans for the production of silk and honey, respectively. In some cultures, people eat the larvae or adults of certain insects

From :- https://en.wikipedia.org

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