Ryan M
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distortions.net
Ryan M
@distortions.net
210 followers 210 following 31 posts
Birder. Northern California Native plant gardener. Fujifilm. GIS professional. Geologist. AvGeek.
Views are my own
I regularly delete my posts.
https://distortions.net
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Nass geworden (Got Wet) #FotoVorschlag #Vancouver
At Stanley Park, Vancouver, with copper sculpture of modestly dressed, cross legged, senior lady, with bunned hair and big sun glasses, that has had her nails painted violet and looks like she's crying because of the rain drops
January 16, 2026 at 8:19 PM
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May 2, 2025: Lufthansa B747-8 (D-ABYM) SFO-FRA (Frankfurt, Germany) #HumpDay #B747 #Aviation #AvGeek #PlaneSpotting #Fujifilm
A Boeing 747, owned and operated by Lufthansa, taxies at SFO to 28L. Its at an angle, but the sun is fully illuminating its right side. It is set against buildings and brown hills of South San Francisco. The bay in front is a bit choppy and the photo was taken somewhere above powerlines, as they are visible at the bottom edge of the photo.
January 14, 2026 at 2:38 PM
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December 14, 2025: Emirates A380-8 (A6-EUF), SFO-DXB (Dubai), using 28R  #ThickTailTuesday #A6EUF #A380 #PlaneSpotting #AvGeek #Aviation #Fujifilm
An Airbus 380 is nose-on to the camera, showings its clearly thick tail reaching high above the ground. Its nose gear is turning so it is about to leave the taxiway for a runway. The sky is hazy yet still tinted blue. The bay in front of the runways is calm.
January 13, 2026 at 2:08 PM
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‘Kartonagen’ (Cardboard boxes) #FotoVorschlag #Cat
A orange cat is in a box outside a dumpster on blacktop. It is upside-down and open with korean lettering on it along with a tree graphic.
January 12, 2026 at 1:52 PM
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#SilentSunday #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge #Fujifilm
Dozens of blackbirds are evenly perched in four leafless, dormant trees against a hazy blue sky. Some of the birds may be starlings as they more brown than black,
January 11, 2026 at 7:51 PM
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Today we went to Black Butte Lake and the pelicans were there! This is at the forebay, where a whole lot of water is being released into Stony Creek (tributary of the Sacramento River) mostly in case of future rain & snow melt #AmericanWhitePelican #BlackButteReservoir
Four pelicans floating in some what turbulent water, mostly in shadow, though the back of the neck and wings are lit up by sun. They are big birds!
January 10, 2026 at 11:17 PM
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December 27, 2025: this American Bushtit was perched for an unusually long time, perhaps soaking in the sun’s morning energy like humans do coffee or tea

#AmericanBushtit #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge #Birds #BirdPhotography #Fujifilm #SOoC
An American Bushtit sits perched on a narrow branch. It is looking with beady black eyes slightly up and to the right, fully illuminated by the sun. Its face has brown and the rest of its orb-like body is a light tan. Its tail feathers stick out straight behind it.
January 9, 2026 at 1:44 PM
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This morning, my wife caught early sunlight slowly lighting up our citrus trees #Yarden #HomeOrchard
A mandarin tree and a Valencia orange tree catch early sunlight, illuminating a strip of oranges and foliage with a bright yellow glow. The sky is clear and a eucalyptus tree in the distance is fully lit.
January 9, 2026 at 3:31 AM
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December 17, 2025: At sunrise, a container ship and a helicopter that's coming in for a landing on the Waterfront, Vancouver #Vancouver #Fujifilm #SOoC
A sunrise lit container ship, with its east-facing side lit up and the rest in shadows. There are clouds looming on the mountainous horizon over Vancouver habor waters, including a group of birds flying in front of the clouds. Large cranes are also illuminated from one side. A helicopter is just above the cranes, approaching a nearby landing pad.
January 7, 2026 at 2:33 PM
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December 17, 2025: Sunset over Thurlow Street in Vancouver #Vancouver #StreetPhotography #Fujifilm #SOoC
Thurlow Street is still damp from rain as the sun sets between tower buildings along Thurlow Street. Sunlight reflects off damp streets and there are two fire engines parked on the right-side of the road. A nearby traffic signal has a red light.
January 6, 2026 at 2:55 PM
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Today most people will be back at my work. So to celebrate the return of needless office distractions, enjoy a Song Sparrow, if you can find it #SongSparrow #Birds #BirdPhotography #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge #Fujifilm #SOoC
A brown and tan Song Sparrow, borb shaped, is hanging out on a horizontal reed within a mass vertical brown and green reeds. It is looking towards the camera, helping to illuminate the tan behind its eyes.
January 5, 2026 at 2:33 PM
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The backyard was crowded with hummingbirds enjoying our planted native shrubs, so what the heck. Here’s some photos taken in very poor lighting conditions (cloudy, mid-morning, and winter) #Hummingbirds #BirdPhotography #Birds #Fujifilm #SOoC
A hummingbird is perched in a California rose, showing a red stripe on its throat. It's otherwise gray and brown. There's a blurry branch obscuring the lower part of the bird. A hummingbird is perched on an elderberry branch that has fresh grown leaves. The little bird has an olive head and a dirty-yellow to gray chest and belly. It is looking to the right and the background is blurred out. A profile view of a hummingbird looking to the left, with one eye towards the photographer. It is in a ceanothus bush so there are lots of leaves in the way, but the hummingbird can be seen through a hole in the foliage. It has clear plummage, with a bit of red on its head and greens on its tucked-in wings. Its chest is a light gray. A profile view of a hummingbird looking to the right. It might have a membrane covering its eye? It is another bird with clear sharp individual feathers that are olive green in the back to medium gray to the front. Its long thin beak is pointing straight to the right. The background has blurred ceanothus leaves and branches along with gray skies.
January 4, 2026 at 7:37 PM
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December 6, 2023: Am Flakturm im Volkspark Humboldthain, Berlin #SilentSunday

#Berlin #Fujifilm #SOoC
A large concrete area with a spiraling ramp, where its walls are covered in colorful street art. A lone person stands at the center in front of looming iron rod fence. There's light snow covering the concrete ground and it's completely fogged in so there's no viewl.
January 4, 2026 at 1:36 PM
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January 3, 2026 at 4:53 PM
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May 2, 2025: San Francisco, Geary and Powell streets just south of Union Square #StreetPhotography #SanFrancisco #Fujifilm #SOoC
A sidewalk view of Powell and Geary streets, with a person looking and smiling at a building-side mural of a family of monkey or lemurs. Various buildings loom with Saks Fifth Avenue, Swarovski, and CK Contemporary signs. Two classic palm trees sit between the Saks building and Swarovski, likely at Union Square.
January 3, 2026 at 2:11 PM
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Last weekend, I caught a Northern Harrier in flight. Though the view finder, I only knew it was some kind of raptor #NorthernHarrier #Birds #BirdPhotography #Fujifilm #CropToZoom
A oblique front view of the Northern Harrier, with its head tilted so one eye is looking at the ground, and the other is angled upward. It is in midflight with both wings visible and outstretched. Its face and upper body is lit by sun against a blue sky. A Northern Harrier, in profile view, with only one outstretched wing visible. It has a white ring of feathers around its mostly brown and tan neck. It is looking straight and there's a glint in its eye.
January 2, 2026 at 2:51 PM
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After all that happened in 2025, I’m side-eyeing 2026 like this Towhee side-eyed the space above #HappyNewYear

#CaliforniaTowhee #Birds #BirdPhotography #SacramentoWildlifeRefuge #Fujifilm #CropToZoom
A sun-illuminated brown California Towhee is in a grassy area, taking up the center third of the photo, with its head cocked and eye pointing up to the sky, as if something caught its eye and it needed a better look.
January 1, 2026 at 2:10 PM
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Here’s my RaspiShake results much closer to the quake. I’m still surprised I have the only 4D in the N Sac valley.
A screen capture of a map showing the 155km distance between a seismograph west of Chico and the M5 earthquake near Susanville. The charts on the right show a very clear signal with a significant S-wave peak and a bit of residual shaking.
December 31, 2025 at 7:13 PM
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My home seismometer managed to clearly detect the M5 earthquake near Susanville. I definitely didn’t feel it 114 miles away #Earthquake #RaspberryShake
A screen capture from RaspiberryShake app with a map showing the earthquake’s location vs the seismometer along with two charts showing a clear seismic signal.
December 29, 2025 at 1:36 AM
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A view from yesterday toward Goat Mountain in Northern California’s Interior Coast Range #SilentSunday #Fujifilm #SoOC
A telephoto view of a few steeply rising freshly snow covered forested peaks, including Goat Mountain, in the Northern California Interior Coastal Ranges south of Snow Mountain and east of Lake Pillsbury on the Mendocino National Forest. The foothills and some blurry trees in the immediate foreground can be seen.
December 28, 2025 at 4:50 PM
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Our “Bacon” Avocado tree produced fruit for the first time this year. “Bacon” varieties have very thin skin and, no, they do not taste like bacon. The wind knocked one off and it was ripe. But the bottom had been puncture... https://www.distortions.net/2025/12/26/our-bacon-avocado-tree-produced.html
A "bacon" variety avocado on a cutting board. The bottom quarter has turned dark green compared to the rest of the skin. Its skin is densely spreckled. The "bacon" avocado is cut in half, and pitted, showing where the puncture happened on the bottom, and that some insect(s) likely already dug in for a meal. Its flesh looks soft and is greener near the skin and a olive-yellow toward the pit. A knife lays to the left of the fruit. On a cutting board, the "bacon" avocado is being smeared across a tostada shell. It looks very creamy and indeed it was easy to spread. One hand is holding the tostado and another is smearing the avocado flesh with a fast moving spoon.
December 26, 2025 at 6:12 PM
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I'm not a fan of business or private jets but I like this photo of one taking off from SFO on December 14, 2025. It's a Bombardier Challenger 300 flying to Van Nuys. #Aviation #PlaneSpotting #Fujifilm #SOoC
A private or business jet taking off from SFO 28R, showing its belly, with its gears up and a bit of wispy clouds behind it. Its flaps are still slightly down.
December 25, 2025 at 6:08 PM