Less procrastination in November, though also no travel, so still a high number of photos processed. Notably, the oldest unprocessed set is now December 2023, so less than 2 years of backlog.

I find it difficult to get through days where I have 100+ pictures (typically hiking or city visits); there were 13 such sets in October. I plug away at them, usually over multiple sessions and sometimes over multiple months. Accept rate this month was in line with usual, though a bit lower than October.

Picture logs available, and, as always, pictures are clickable to go to the full gallery.

Sets of pictures processed: November=27, October=39, September=10
Total pictures selected: November=1043, October=1330, September=414
Total pictures in selection pool: November=3592, October=3883, September=1486
Accept rate: 29% (min 10%, max 69%)
Pictures posted on this page: 158

Portrait of me; fare in New Caledonia; limestone roofs; Lujia skyline across from Bund in Shanghai; giant panda at Shanghai zoo; monochrome Alpine peaks; MP and me; Aiguillette des Houches; TMB gateway at Les Houches; on the final ridge at Mitre Peak; temporary lake on Ruapehu Summit Plateau.

This month I’ve separated birds from non-birds. Many birds from New Caledonia, some from Whitehorse, and a couple from Aotearoa.

Ouvéa parakeet; Society kingfisher; cloven-feathered dove; New Caledonian friarbird; New Caledonian silvereye; New Caledonian myzomela; rusty blackbird (Whitehorse); black-billed magpie; common raven; hihi (Zealandia); black-backed gull (Ruapehu).

Not birds:

Tiger spiders (female and male); swimming dog; lychee; vanilla pods; dog; caper white; skink; caledopteryx maculata; African giant snail; red-eared slider; ibex boquetin; Piedmont ringlet; puriri moth; fungi (family hymenochaetaceae).

Waiopehu (November 2023)

Overnight tramp reachable by a short drive from Wellington (rental car easiest), with views of Levin:

Wellington citrus; church of 3 chapels; mini chapel; mini chapel at Mount Olympus in Greece; Waiopehu Hut; inside the hut; Tararuas; towards golden hour; pink moonrise; Levin at dusk; deer mushrooms.

Nouvelle-Caledonie (November/December 2023)

Managed to process all the photos from this trip, including some sets that I uploaded prematurely. First, travel to Ouvéa and a stay in a fare at Beauvoisin, where we also went for a walk back into town. There was also a super sketch rental car that we borrowed in Ouvéa from other travellers. Also some pictures from Noumea.

WLG; Bouraki Bay; Magenta airport; unloading an Air Caledonie flight; Ouvéa palm trees at sunset; chicken plus four; clothing for sale; super sketch rental car; in our own rental car; judo score; gripping.

Noumea Zoo: Pacific emerald dove; nankeen night heron; ring-tailed lemur; three cockatiels; peacock; Noumea Aquarium: longhorn cowfish; grape coral; sailfin tang.

Santa, eh?; baguettes; carving; friarbird about to take off; Noumea sunset; zoomed-in picture of Noumea; hikers on Malawi summit; dog; naval ceremony; Aerogare Nouméa (looks CDG-like to me).

Shanghai, June 2025

Moving right along, I was in Shanghai for a day on my way to Seoul for PLDI.

Apple Store on E Nanjing Road; man riding an old bike; waiting for the walk signal; use the urinal correctly; HSBC building; Russian flag; western pop options on Asiana; sunset on the ramp.

I had some trouble finding the zoo, but it’s large and one could get sidetracked finding the giant pandas. I found them, though.

Silver pheasant; yellow-billed stork; two flamingos and a third wheel; Mandarin duck; red panda; giant panda.

Tour du Mont Blanc, July 2025

Travel day plus day 1 of the Tour du Mont Blanc: we stayed in Les Houches but took the bus back to Chamonix and then up to Planpraz, walking back down to Les Houches.