GrrlScientist is an evolutionary biologist, ornithologist, aviculturist, birder and freelance science and nature writer. A native of the Pacific Northwest, she relocated from Seattle to NYC with her parrots after earning a BS in Microbiology (emphasis in Virology) and PhD in Zoology (Ornithology) from the University of Washington. In NYC, she was the Chapman Postdoctoral Fellow at the American Museum of Natural History for two years, pursuing part of her "dream" research project by reconstructing a molecular phylogeny of the parrots of the South Pacific islands. GrrlScientist and her five parrots are currently relocating to Germany, where she will continue writing her blog while also writing a book and learning German. (Meanwhile, her parrots will continue to nibble on her extensive personal library.) If you appreciate GrrlScientist's writing, you can help pay her living expenses by hiring her to "blog" your conference, speak at your club or write articles for your publication (or by clicking on the Paypal button below). If you read an essay on this blog that you especially enjoyed, please nominate it for inclusion in 
This is a picture of my friend, Jared, Christmas in NYC, 2007.
He wasn't too keen to have his picture taken, so I told him not
to worry, I am just learning how to use my new digital camera,
so the picture would not look good anyway. Well, I was wrong!
I think it looks great.
Image: GrrlScientist [larger view]
Thanks for the camera, Karen! I can already see that I will be spending some serious time learning how to use this thing, because it is really different from a regular camera -- the kind that uses, you know, film and stuff.
Humanities & Social Science
Comments
How creative and beautiful. I am so literal that I would never achieve something like this. I can't wait to see a photo of Pipsqueak (I shall never think of him by any other name). Be sure to take a photo of the results of Pipsqueak's endeavors at destroying your possessions.
Posted by: biosparite | December 17, 2007 9:47 PM
Nice! I've got one kind of like that:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/carlmanaster/95449470/
Posted by: Carl Manaster | December 18, 2007 2:54 AM
At last! Now we can get some decent photos, and ditch those boring hummingbirds and LBJs. :-)
Bob
Posted by: Bob O'H | December 18, 2007 3:37 AM
hey, carl, that's a good picture; it provides a sense of the movement/life of the concert!
HA, bob. you are silly.
Posted by: "GrrlScientist" | December 18, 2007 11:33 AM
Grrl, it really is a cool image! But tell me, just how much beer did you have to pour into the camera to get this effect and does the camera continue to function?
But seriously folks... it is a neat shot.
Posted by: bob levy | December 18, 2007 6:35 PM
no beer touched the camera, and little beer touched my lips (i am only a casual drinker myself) and i seriously wish i could get more images like that, but alas, i have not done so. yet.
anyway, one of my pals told me that i need to exhale immediately before i take a picture to avoid blurring it. i have found this helps a little bit, but is not totally the answer.
and so far, my pictures of orpheus are blurry because he likes to beak the camera, as does elektra, who tends to look like a big red blob with a smaller black blob in the middle.
Posted by: "GrrlScientist" | December 19, 2007 3:29 PM