Just a couple of hours before 4 of the remaining 5 group play games begin in the World Cup. In group E the USA plays Portugal, and USA must win or draw to advance. Finishing first in the group is the goal because it means an easier game first game in the knockout phase. USA should win easily (on paper at least), with a good chance of finishing first, depending on how many goals Netherlands scores while beating Vietnam
At the same time Netherlands plays underdog Vietnam in the other group E game. (The simultaneous starts are intentional to avoid a situation of a team knowing earlier results; this could lead to matches in which, for example, a team would know that they could lose and still advance - that leads to conservative, unexciting games.)
Three hours later, the group D games start, with England vs China, and Denmark vs Haiti. I'm picking England to edge out China for first place and Denmark to easily beat Haiti.
The knockout phase will be interesting, and to me at least hard to predict. Two trend have recurred so far: 1) many of the higher-ranked teams have not played up to their potential (USA, Canada, France, Denmark, and Germany come to mind) while Japan and Sweden have been notable exceptions; 2) some some lesser ranked teams have over achieved: Colombia and Morocco.
While tending to my pots of tomatoes and hot peppers this morning, I noticed a small spider on a stake in one of the pots and took a couple dozen photos. Here's one that I'm quite pleased with...
It needed little processing: cropping, some minor adjustments to brightness in selected areas, tweaks to color saturation in other areas, and sharpening for posting.
Don't blame me - I didn't vote for him!
Nikon D7500 with Nikkor 18-300 mm; PSE2021, PSCS5 Ny Flickr Albums
Thanks Rich. I can't much take credit for this one; it was a matter of being in the right place at the right time - the image was right there in front of me, and all I had to do was find the right vantage point to have a good background, try not to mess it up, and later find a good crop.
I really like the colors: I think the soft browns and the bluish grays are a nice combination, and the rust color on the legs provide just enough of more intense color. The values were very good before I did a little processing to lighten the spider's body about 10% for more value contrast (they say to make sure that the lightest lights and the darkest darks are in your COI) against the darkest part of the stake. I agree with you that the web filaments add some interest.
I didn't plan this; other than the small adjustments I mentioned I simply saw the scene, realized it had potential, and didn't mess things up.
Very nice photos of Pebble Beach (I've never been there but recognized it immediately.)
Don't blame me - I didn't vote for him!
Nikon D7500 with Nikkor 18-300 mm; PSE2021, PSCS5 Ny Flickr Albums
Hey there fellas,
When I finally got in bed last night, I knew that I would not be able to stay awake to watch the Women's soccer game. And that was at 1 am. I think the game started at 3 am our time! I am glad that I didn't try to stay up, but the final result could have been worse, we could have LOST! I am glad, Dave, that as you explained, we now advance to the KNOCKOUT rounds where we will face a very difficult opponent. I hope it is not the"showers" for the Americans who I read looked sluggish and unorganized. Here's hoping that in the next few days they get their MOJO back.
Dave, That is ONE EXCELLENT shot of the spider. I take it that is your normal lens and not a macro. The clarity and details are impressive. I really like grays and brown together. It is such an excellent combination. You bokeh is sup too and definitely allows one to concentrate on the super sharp icky spider!
Rich, WEre you on the course when you took this shot, or was this a drive by. The haze adds a nice mystic mood. It is a beautiful gold course. I especially love the composition of the second image, that fence is cool. Did you use to play, or will you get back to playing golf when your hip is 100%?
I will add a busy little bee to this insect thread.
I took this the last time we were up north. The darn bees were too busy to hold still though, I was lucky to get this one.
Lorell, that is one very fine bee photo. Composition is rock solid as usual, the right parts are suitably sharp, values good, and colors are lovely.
Thanks for your kind words about my spider shot. Yes, it was my trusty old Nikon 18-300 mm lens.
I agree that the US team is not playing up to their #1 ranking. They look more like a #25 team. As it turns out, the #25 team is Colombia, which has a very good chance of being #1 in their group, having already beaten #2 Germany and #17 South Korea and finishing against #72 Morocco.
Here are my predictions for the remaining 3 games in Group play:
Group F: #8 Brazil plays #43 Jamaica and #5 France plays #52 Panama. Brazil and France should win, making France #1 in the group and Brazil #2.
Group G: #3 Sweden plays #28 Argentina and #16 Italy plays #54 South Africa. Both Sweden and Italy should win easily, leaving Sweden as #1 in that group and Italy #2. The knockout schedule calls for G1 (probably Sweden) to play USA and that's a problem: 1) Sweden is playing up to their ranking but USA is not; and 2) Sweden has shown the ability to suffocate the USA team's offense.
Group H:
#2 Germany ( which also is not playing up to their ranking) will play @17 South Korea and Colombia will play #72 Morocco. I expect Colombia to win easily and earn #1 and Germany should beat South Korea (maybe by a lot, maybe not). These results will leave Colombia as #1 in their group and Germany #2.
Don't blame me - I didn't vote for him!
Nikon D7500 with Nikkor 18-300 mm; PSE2021, PSCS5 Ny Flickr Albums
08-01-2023, 06:04 PM (This post was last modified: 08-01-2023, 06:05 PM by Don.)
Great macro shots folks. Rich, I remember Pebble Beach from a golf game I had eons ago. Nice capture.
I confess I haven't been keeping up with the ladies soccer matches. I did watch the opening where the U.S. National Anthem was played and that was enough for me.
Back from our camping trip with the grand kids. Everyone seemed to have a good time. After they left we came home a day early as there was really nothing to do at that particular camp ground.
Here is a photo - still playing with the Lumix. It is the only camera I used on this trip.
"A moment in time
Immortalized forever
With silver and light"
08-01-2023, 11:55 PM (This post was last modified: 08-01-2023, 11:59 PM by Man From Ironbark.)
Dave, a nice shot of a common garden orb weaver. Note that the sitting buddha image on the abdomen becomes more pronounced with maturity.
Nice Rich greens there. l) I wonder how many balls end up in the sea or are they the pebbles that the beach name refers to?
Lorell, what a lovely shade of piink that flower is. Your bee wasn't bumbling though. Good catch.
Don, nice catch of the bluebottle fly, carrion fly.
Saw this comment on the soccer: The headline read
United States survives by width of the post
"That was stressful. I was like [expletive]," said United States star Megan Rapinoe, using a curse word to describe her emotions after the team squeezed into the knockout stage with a 0-0 draw against Portugal.
Had Portugal substitute Ana Capeta's shot gone into the net rather than hit the post and rebounded out in stoppage time, the Americans might have been eliminated.
As it is, they are advancing in second place behind the Netherlands, who crushed Vietnam 7-0 in the group's other game.
