expat

That is stunning. Craftmanship at its finest

Think he needs a bit more time, but it is on its way more beards

Wow, a great selection. Thanks for sharing. As far as I know ours were created by the same person, but he said he often takes inspiration from others in the field and modifies to his own capabilities.. We were even invited to observe him at work. Fascinating, I think you need a tolerance for heat and a healthy set of lungs.

Next: Another smoothie! Nice even wear and a lovely colour NEXT: Keep the smoothies coming

And finally, part four

Part three

Part two

What next?

About 1000 meters up in the Sierra de Gador mountains lives an artisan. He is an old school blacksmith/welder and glassblower. We met him around two years ago when we were showing a couple a property for sale. His metalworking skills were exemplary but what caught our eyes were his stunning paperweights. We bought a couple and have continued purchasing whenever we are nearby. If you have any to share or want to post handmade items, please show them here. The first ones we bought. More to come

Should be removed immediately in case another newcomer sees it and gets fleeced. Obvious fakes, disgusting to see this forum used for such deception

A great competition, good fun for all who participated, and a wonderful prize. Enjoy. Kudos to @Ocatarinetabellatchitchix for his generosity

Discovered this today. In the 18th century, King Charles III commissioned German painter Anton Raphael Mengs to paint The apotheosis of Trajan (depicting the deification of deceased Emporer Trajan AD 117) on the ceiling of the banquetting hall at the Royal Palace, Madrid.

And here are our two. Forgot to slide the mosquito screen open,

Nice artifact. When I was a growing lad in England, it seemed there was a find or a hoard discovered on a regular basis. More so in England than elsewhere in Europe. I spent 30+ years in Suffolk which had it's share of important discoveries.

When we were given this one we assumed it was a stunning looking key. However, a twist and pull reveals it's true identity and use

Good info, I never looked into the descriptions of parts of a key.

Yes, we have a selection of fincas and cortijos on our books, and the keys are often 10-15 cm in the Alpujarra Granadina and a bit smaller in in Alpujarra Almeriense.

And with the open toed sandal type footwear in those days, I wouldn't want to drop it on my foot either. We are going to have it mounted in a glass fronted case and hang it on the wall of our office.

A number of years ago our real estate office sold a de-commissioned nunnery. It was authorised by Felipe III in 1617 and the construction for the Fransican Order was finally completed in 1646. After the mid 1800's it went through a series of owners and uses. In the 1990's it was entered into the special and historical interest register. When we sold it there were conditions applicable to the new owner, specifically there must be retained a portion of the exisiting facade and the stone doorway. This she complied with We were contacted by her lawyer last week informing us of her passing and that he had in his posession a gift for us in thanks for helping her with her dream. The original key to the entrance. She had it blackened and hung in a display case. It is a foot long and weighs over 3 pounds.

Haven't added this one on this thread. So far the best struck coin I have

Love all the above ideas. But seriously if you clamp the bottom of the slab in a vice and twist the top clockwise and anti it should crack the heat sealed join around the slab.

I found a tripod on Amazon a few years ago. The ballhead is rated for more than my camera plus lens, and it has 105 Degrees limit to it's vertical rotation. With the legs completely retracted, the standard lens is 28cm from the surface. The legs have 3 extension points and when fully extended the camera body is 1.5 mtrs from the ground. Strong, lightweight and have never had a problem with overbalancing or the legs getting in the way.

Great quiz @Ocatarinetabellatchitchix and well done @wittwolff enjoy your prize. I have only been collecting ancients for 3 months so thought I would struggle. I wrote down 9 answers #1-8 plus #10 and was stunned to see from your list of answers that I had all 9 correct. The other 6 would have been guesses. Great fun and well done all who actually took part especially those who got all 15 correct.

Good start for an experiment. Aside from your lighting issues which, as stated above, can be enhanced by diffusion, raising the coin slightly from the background, I use different diameters and thicknesses of cork for instance, will allow the camera to focus on the subject rather than the overall view including background. It also enhances and defines the edge. Trying different solid color backgrounds can make enormous differences to the outcome depending on the color and tone of the subject. Also, if you have a timer setting on the Note, set it for two seconds and you can remove the possibility of camera shake. To effectively remove the background one of the best free software I have found is https://www.remove.bg/

It is now Sunday here in Spain. So I will start early