flowers

Dombes – France

  • 30/04/2017

The Dombes is an area in southeastern France, once an independent municipality, formerly part of the province of Burgundy, and now a district comprised in the department of Ain, and bounded on the west by the Saône River, by the Rhône, on the east by the Ain and on the north by the district of Bresse.

The region forms an undulating plateau with a slight slope towards the north-west, the higher ground bordering the Ain and the Rhône attaining an average height of about 1,000 ft (300 m) The Dombes is characterized by an impervious surface consisting of boulder clay and other relics of glacial action. To this fact is due the large number of rain-water pools, varying for the most part from 35 to 250 acres (1.0 km2) in size which cover some 23,000 acres (93 km²) of its total area of 282,000 acres (1,140 km²). These pools, artificially created, date in many cases from the 15th century, some to earlier periods, and were formed by landed proprietors who in those disturbed times saw a surer source of revenue in fish-breeding than in agriculture.

Disease and depopulation resulted from this policy and at the end of the 18th century the Legislative Assembly decided to reduce the area of the pools which then covered twice their present extent. Drainage works were continued, roads cut, and other improvements effected during the 19th century; partly as a result of Napoleon III’s installation of Trappist monks in the district to set about the task. Large numbers of fish, principally carp, pike, and tench are still reared profitably. The pools are periodically dried up so the ground can be cultivated.

[See more...]

Flowers

  • 08/04/2014

With its emphasis on detail, pattern, and texture, macro photography can yield rewarding and unique results. In this gallery, learn what makes a great macro shot and get tips on how to turn your extreme close-ups into compelling photographs.

[See more...]

Sustenpass

  • 17/08/2012

Susten Pass (German: Sustenpass) (el. 2260 m.) is a mountain pass in the Swiss Alps. The pass road, built from 1938–1945, connects Innertkirchen in the canton of Bern with Wassen in the canton of Uri. A 300 metres long tunnel crosses the pass at 2,224 metres.

The pass is popular with tourists, especially for the views of the Stein Glacier on the south side.

[See more...]

Italy – Pisa, Rome, Vatican & Cinqueterre

  • 22/06/2012

Pisa is a city in the Tuscany region of Central Italy straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower (the bell tower of the city’s cathedral), the city of over 91,104 residents (around 200,000 with the

[See more...]

1st of May

  • 01/05/2012

Spring in the fields

  • 24/04/2012