Hi Jerry. Please take another look at your catalog of fears about electric cars. You have been misled by unreliable antidotal and sensational stories. Electric cars are a relatively new product, and have some challenges, but the reporting about them is often unfair and misleading.
With respect to vehicle fires: “In the United States, according to a 2023 study citing recent data from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, gasoline-powered, internal-combustion engine (ICE) cars were involved in about 1,530 fires per every 100,000 sold. On the other hand, pure electric vehicles (meaning those powered only by batteries) were involved in just 25 fires per 100,000 sold.” https://spectrum.ieee.org/lithium-ion-battery-fires In other words, the risk of your gas power car catching fire is about 20 times higher than an electric car. However, fires in gas cars are not newsworthy and not reported, unlike the rare fires in electric fires. Further, many fires the press reports were in electric cars turn out not be correct when examined. On the other hand, fires in electric scooters and bikes are much more common due to unsafe manufacture and charging. It is also true that lithium battery fires are difficult to extinguish.
With respect to sales, press reports that electric sales are tanking is overstated. “Global EV Sales Hit A New Record In November 2023. Plug-in electric car registrations exceeded 1.38 million, taking 19% of the global car market.” “For reference, in 2022, more than 10 million new passenger plug-in electric cars were registered globally for the very first time. This result will be significantly improved upon in 2023, to more than 13 million units.” https://insideevs.com/news/704040/global-ev-sales-november-2023/

With respect to charging costs, electric cars are far cheaper than gasoline powered cars. https://insideevs.com/news/605644/us-ev-annual-fuel-cost-2022/ While there are certainly some teething problems with the charging network, other than the Tesla superchargers, those issues are overstated and nonexistent for the majority of electric car owners, who charge at home. https://insideevs.com/features/698568/flo-ev-myths-debunked/
With respect to reliability, that varies widely with different models, just like in gas powered cars. Tesla, for example, is more reliable than any other American car except Buick. https://insideevs.com/news/698277/ev-reliability-2023-consumer-reports/
With respect to repair costs, it is true that repair costs are about $900 more on average than for gas and diesel powered cars. https://insideevs.com/news/692356/tesla-repairs-cost-more-than-gas-cars/. However, the few reported cases of astronomical costs of repair are not typical and again are sensational reporting rather than factual and fair. The reported $55,000 for a Hyundai battery was what one Canadian dealer said it would charge, probably because it did not want the work. This is more misleading sensational reporting.
With respect to battery life, they are usually warranted for 8 years or 100,000 miles, vastly exceeding the time and mileage usually experienced by most new car owners. With respect to battery cost replacement, the $55,000 figure quoted was what one dealer in Canada would charge on one car and is not representative. In fact, battery replacement costs between $5000 and $20,000. https://www.recurrentauto.com/research/costs-ev-battery-replacement. While not cheap, this is somewhat comparable to replacement of the engine on a gas powered car, which car range from $4000 to more than $20,000. For example replacing an Audi A4 engine ranges from $6000 to $20,000. https://www.jegs.com/tech-articles/rebuilding-vs-replacing-your-audi-engine-everything-you-need-to-know/

I do not sell electric cars and have no financial interest in any company that makes or sells electric cars. However, I have had a BMWi3 electric car since 2015 and have had no repairs or problems with it at all. I also now have a Tesla Model 3, have had no problems, and love it. Both electric cars have saved me thousands of dollars in fuel costs over the Mercedes and Audi cars that they replaced. Plus, for me, they are simply better cars to drive.

Fabulous set. Thank you.

Excellent photos. I have been to Ta Prohm (and 16 other temples in the area) and you captured it beautifully. Thank you.

For an excellent article explaining the relationship between resolution and perceived sharpness I suggest: https://www.photoreview.com.au/tips/shooting/sharpness-acutance-and-resolution/

You are probably familiar with the famous landmarks in Venice, Italy (1st photo) but I find the detail just as interesting. Here are a few photos to illustrate that. In particular, I like the expressions on the lions in the second and third photos.

Red-tail hawks are photographed a lot but here are some interesting poses .

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In Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, the locals talk about a "Sea Eagle" which I have seen from a distance from the beach for many years. This year, I finally had an opportunity to photograph them and it turns out to be a Western Osprey.

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Right. Also the underside of the wings has the same dark feathers on the leading edge and lighter feathers behind. much like the vulture, as shown in the attached photo.

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Zone-tailed hawks have an interesting strategy. When soaring high in the air they look just like turkey vultures, which they often hang out with. Their prey on the ground do not fear vultures so pay no attention to the hawk until it is too late. They also have the unusual habit of carrying around small prey in their talons while still hunting for more. Zone-tailed hawks are difficult to photograph both because they look like vultures from a distance, and appear black against the sky which makes exposure difficult (at least for me).

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The A1 is definitely on my list. I switched from Cannon to the Sony A7rIII mostly to get better autofocus, and then to the A9 for the same reason. The A9 is way better than anything else I have shot but the A1 appears to be better yet. I don't need 30 fps. I don't even use the 20 on the A9. But the better autofocus and dynamic range are a siren call I cannot ignore. I will wait for a few more reviews, and for when it is readily available, but it is coming.

Frigatebirds soar over the sea or ocean, swooping down to catch fish or squid on the surface. Their feathers are not water protected with oil so they cannot touch the water. Their wing area to body weight is the largest of any bird, with a wingspan up to 7.5ft. The soar all day and roost on cliffs at night. The females have a while underbody while the males have a red pouch under the neck during breeding season. They are a boon to those fishing for marlin or large tuna as they follow these fish to grab the scraps and small fish which are chased to the surface, allowing the fishing boats to locate and close on the marlin or tuna. They are very aggressive birds who routinely steal pray from other birds. These photos were taken at Cabo San Lucas, Mexico with a Sony A9, 200-600 G lens and 1.4 teleconverter.

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Thank you both for your helpful comments on bird identification and nice words on the photos. Obviously, I am no expert on bird identification. I have always identified Cooper's hawks by the tail stripes which are broader fewer than a Red-Tailed hawk. This one seem to me to be more like a Red-Tailed hawk than a Cooper's but on reflection, I think you are right. I looked at the Cornell site and see the Cooper's have a dark area on the top of the head, which this bird does, and Red-Tailed do not.

Here are a couple of photos of Red-Tailed hawks, and this time I am pretty sure I am right.

You are absolutely right. Sorry. I pulled the wrong photo. It is a juvenile Red-Tail. Here is the Peregrine. Thank you.

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Cabo San Lucas has several birds that are interesting, including Zone-Tailed hawks, Red-Tailed hawks, Western Osprey, Peregrine falcons, and Frigate birds (of course, there are also many pelicans and vultures, which I rarely photograph). In the first three months of this year, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to photograph many of them, a few of which I will post over the next few days. All were taken with Sony's A9, 200-600 G lens plus a 1.4 teleconverter. Here is one of the Peregrine Falcon.

Seeing this part of the country has been on my bucket list for years but I never made it and am now to infirm, so seeing it through your wonderful photos is a special treat for me. Thank you.