Photography
grrlscientist | July 8, 2008tags: Whimbrel, Numenius phaeopus, birds, nature, Image of the Day
I love shorebirds, and I miss seeing them every year. Besides being beautiful to look at and fascinating to watch, shorebirds remind me of my travels to Japan, where I saw 17 new species of birds (all shorebirds, and all in breeding plumage) in ONE DAY! Needless to say, I nearly died from joy on that particular day. When I lived in Seattle, I also spent a tremendous amount of time birding at a variety of shorelines from British Columbia all the way down through California, and I also regularly visited several migrating long-…
laelaps | July 8, 2008I made a bit of an error this past weekend. Wanting to make better use of my camera I eschewed the automatic settings I previously relied on for one that would allow me to change the shutter speed, contrast, white balance, etc. The photographs looked absolutely amazing when I saw the previews on my camera screen, but when I got home I noticed something disconcerting. You see, I had selected a high iso value, essentially making sure that I would have a fast shutter speed even in dim conditions. The trade-off is that the pictures come out incredibly grainy, looking flat rather than crisp. Take…
laelaps | July 8, 2008
A ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta). Photographed at the Bronx zoo on July 5th, 2008.
grrlscientist | July 7, 2008tags: West 66th street/Lincoln Center Subway Art, Artemis, Acrobats, Divas and Dancers, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Artemis, Acrobats, Divas and Dancers.
Artist: Nancy Spero, 1999. Installed 2004.
West 66th Street/Lincoln Center Subway tile mosaic art #2 [Detail 1] as seen at NYC's Lincoln Center stop at Broadway for the downtown (southbound) 1 train.
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].
Glass mosaic murals depicting scenes of theater, dance, and orchestra-related subjects are scattered throughout this station.
I have photographed tile artworks from several NYC…
grrlscientist | July 7, 2008tags: Eastern Kingbird, Tyrannus tyrannus, birds, nature, Image of the Day
Eyes on the Prize.
Eastern Kingbird, Tyrannus tyrannus, eyes a butterfly.
Image: Dave Rintoul, July 2008 [larger view].
laelaps | July 7, 2008
A black leopard (Panthera pardus). Photographed at the Bronx zoo on July 5th, 2008.
grrlscientist | July 6, 2008tags: West 66th street/Lincoln Center Subway Art, Artemis, Acrobats, Divas and Dancers, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Most of the artworks at this station are too large to photograph, so I have broken them up into smaller pictures, all of which should be correctly labeled as "details" but I decided to dispense with that formality for this particular station. This particular image is an example of what I am talking about, but it is much smaller than the others, so I can actually fit it into one frame without falling onto the subway tracks in the process (although I did lean…
grrlscientist | July 6, 2008tags: English Elm Tree, Ulmus procera, tree bark, Image of the Day
Bark of the English elm tree, Ulmus procera.
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].
laelaps | July 6, 2008
A pair of ring-tailed mongoose (Galidia elegans). Photographed in the Madagascar exhibit at the Bronx zoo on July 5th, 2008.
grrlscientist | July 5, 2008tags: Lincoln Center Subway Art, Artemis, Acrobats, Divas and Dancers, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
At last, a new subway platform for you to enjoy looking at!
This station was recently renovated with a "retro look" makeover, complete with new plaques and tablets in the original 1904 Heins-LaFarge style. The new plaques are made of faïence and look like restorations of original work (but they are not; Lincoln Center did not exist in 1904!).
West 66th Street/Lincoln Center Subway tile mosaic art #1
as seen at NYC's West Lincoln Center stop at Broadway for the downtown…
laelaps | July 5, 2008
One of the two snow leopard sisters (Panthera uncia) I first saw two years ago, all grown up. Photographed at the Bronx zoo on July 5th, 2008.
I'm still learning how to use all the functions on my new camera but I have to say that I think I took some of the best photographs I have ever taken on my trip to the Bronx zoo today. Although the fossas were asleep in corners of their enclosure (depriving me of any good photo opportunities) most of the other creatures I visited at the zoo were active and awake. The photographs I took will appear one-by-one each day but you'll definitely see some…
laelaps | July 5, 2008
A young western gorilla (Gorilla gorilla) fast asleep against an adult female. Photographed at the Bronx zoo on July 5th, 2008.
grrlscientist | July 5, 2008tags: White Ash Tree, Fraxinus americana, tree bark, Image of the Day
Bark of the white ash tree, Fraxinus americana.
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].
grrlscientist | July 4, 2008tags: maidenhair tree, Ginkgo biloba, tree bark, Image of the Day
Bark of the maidenhair tree, Ginkgo biloba.
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].
aardvarchaeology | July 4, 2008
I've put some pix from my recent trip to Tuscany in Italy on-line.
In other news, my wife has suggested a brilliant and radical re-interpretation of the Swedish 70s dansband pop hit "Margareta", by Sten & Stanley. Comprehensible only to speakers of Scandy, I'm afraid.
laelaps | July 4, 2008
A polar bear (Ursus maritimus) playing catch with itself, photographed at the Bronx zoo in the spring of 2008.
[As a side note, I'll probably head back to the Bronx zoo tomorrow to get some new photographs. The forecast is calling for thunderstorms but I'll probably go anyway; I just can't say no to fossas.]
grrlscientist | July 3, 2008tags: West 34th street Penn Station subway art, Circus of Garden Delights, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
This is the last artwork from this station that I will show you -- tomorrow I will feature a new (to you) subway station!
Circus of Garden Delights.
West 34th Street/Penn Station Subway tile mosaic art #5
as seen at NYC's West 34th Street stop at 8th for the A, C and E trains.
Artist: Eric Fischl, 2001.
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].
According to the artist, this subway station artwork "depicts a commuter being drawn into the bizarre and surprising world…
grrlscientist | July 3, 2008tags: Norway Maple Tree, Acer platanoides, tree bark, Image of the Day
Bark of the Norway maple tree, Acer platanoides.
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].
laelaps | July 3, 2008
A five-lined skink (Eumeces fasciatus), photographed at the Delaware Water Gap in the summer of 2007.
grrlscientist | July 2, 2008tags: West 34th street Penn Station subway art, Circus of Garden Delights, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Circus of Garden Delights.
West 34th Street/Penn Station Subway tile mosaic art #4
as seen at NYC's West 34th Street stop at 8th for the A, C and E trains.
Artist: Eric Fischl, 2001.
Image: GrrlScientist 2008 [larger view].
According to the artist, this subway station artwork "depicts a commuter being drawn into the bizarre and surprising world of the circus, meeting animals, clowns, acrobats and fire-breathers on his way to work."
I have photographed tile…