Saturday & Sunday August 26&27

[Don]

Thanks for all the nice images guys. A fairly successful weekend I would say.

Your moody red image is almost surreal, Dave. I like your cloud photo with the bird as a point of interest. The frame color is perfect.

Interesting blossoms Peter. I especially like the last one, although the yellow one is an eye catcher as well.

Nice street food image Rich, looks like everyone is having a good time.

Had a brief T-storm this afternoon, lost power a couple of times but seems calm now. Saw a lot of activity around the flowers in the front yard so I broke out the D500 for some photos. I missed the Hummingbird moth but did get some skippers and a small butterfly.

Fotofriends domain is coming up for renewal next month, so the decision has to be made on whether or not to continue for another year.

[Man From Ironbark]

Thanks Peter! They must be a pretty hardy species to grow in the rocky ground!

Yes Rich. Some species such as this greenhood orchid can grow in a centimetre of moss on top of a rock. They have been here doing their thing since Gondwana time. https://wetlandinfo.des.qld.gov.au/wetla...dom=plants

Here in Australia we are fortunate to have such a variety of orchids. They may not be as big and showy as some of the overseas orchids but the diversity of shapes fires the imagination as reflected in this year’s monthly winners, when put together. The common names of the winners – spider, leopard, flying duck, cowslip, zebra, helmet, bluebeard and greenhood – reinforce this theme of diversity.

Patterns and colours contribute to the variety of our orchids. Australian orchid colours run the gamut of the rainbow and more, with Australia being home to most of the naturally occurring blue orchids in the world. This colour fascinates and allures people around the world so much so that nurseries will dye a white orchid blue because it will sell. https://nossa.org.au/tag/caladenia/page/2/

Don. Your beautiful close-up photos of what looks to me like one of the butterfy species that are commonly grouped as dart, are exceptional. These litte beauties can disappear from the viewfinder just as you start to focus.
https://www.ifoundbutterflies.org/taractrocera-maevius

[Dave]

Thanks Rich. Nice shot of the p;p-up street food stand. Looks like sales were good. I like most street food (and I have the cholesterol level to prove it), but one exception is corn dogs - never could stand them.

More fine photos from down under. Thanks, MFI. Rich noted that the orchids have to be pretty hardy to survive in demanding conditions. I think that is true for all of Australia's flora and fauna - including humans.

Superb set of photos Don. Thanks for commenting on my two.

To renew or not? Renewing the domain name would probably cost little (maybe $15-$20?), but hosting cost probably much more. I suspect that a cold look at the numbers; total costs vs visits would clearly say don't continue. That would be the logical decision. I would really miss this site.

Thinking about how to increase activity, I was wondering if a new category of a thread would generate some activity: a place where we could gather our best photos (maybe call it Member Galleries) and show them off in a separate thread for each person who wanted to participate. Maybe even make it possible for members to create categories for their photos - for me that would be something like: Flora, Fauna, Dawn & Dusk, Landscapes and Waterscapes, Macros, and Miscellaneous. Others might add Architecture, Transportation, Portraits, etc.

[Man From Ironbark]

I hope it isn't a rude question but how much does it cost to renew the domain?
I do agree with the diversification theory proposed by Dave. Maybe by making the site have more diversification of interests it may attract new members and even cause old members to show up more often?