Photography
grrlscientist | February 25, 2010tags: Black-crowned Night-heron, Nycticorax nycticorax, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Juvenile Black-crowned Night-heron, Nycticorax nycticorax, photographed in California. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Steve Duncan [larger view].
Nikon D200 w/ Nikkor 300mm f/4 & TC17E.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
laelaps | February 24, 2010
A Cuban crocodile (Crocodylus rhombifer), photographed at the National Zoo in Washington, DC.
grrlscientist | February 24, 2010tags: Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias, photographed in California. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Steve Duncan [larger view].
Nikon D200 w/ Nikkor 300mm f/4 & TC17E.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
laelaps | February 23, 2010
A reconstruction of a dead Edmontosaurus on display at the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point, Utah.
awild | February 23, 2010...at the scope.
Photo details: Tamron SP 11-18mm 4.5 on a Canon EOS 50D
ISO 800, f4.5, 1/50 sec
sciencepunk | February 23, 2010For my birthday I was given a vintage Super Baldina camera. A German model first manufactured in 1938, it has a coupled rangefinder and pop-out lens. At the time it cost an impressive $58 dollars, around $900 in today's money. Wow! It's very pretty.
My flatmate picked it up in an antiques store for £25. That's about £25 in today's money. When I opened it to put in some film, however, I discovered a secret surprise! There was a roll of film already in the camera! Winding it up, I realised that near enough the whole film had been exposed. What could possibly be on there?
The film is…
grrlscientist | February 23, 2010tags: Eared Diver, Black-necked Grebe, Eared Grebe, Podiceps nigricollis, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Eared Grebe, also known as the Black-necked Grebe or the Eared Diver, Podiceps nigricollis, photographed in California. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Steve Duncan [larger view].
Nikon D200 w/ Nikkor 300mm f/4 & TC17E.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | February 23, 2010tags: Old Spice commercial, manmercial, television, Superbowl, advertizing, technology, computer-generated imagery, CGI, wow, I'm on a Horse, Isaiah Mustafa, funny, humor, streaming video
Daily, men ask themselves, What do women want? We want a gorgeous bare-chested man with a beautiful voice on a horse, that's what! And this is exactly what Old Spice gave us with bare-chested Isaiah Mustafa, a TV actor and former NFL player, in their "manmercial" that first aired during the Superbowl. But how was that amazing commercial made? Maybe you think it was stitched together from a lot of separate '…
laelaps | February 22, 2010
A Madagascar giant day gecko (Phelsuma madagascariensis grandis), photographed at the National Zoo.
awild | February 22, 2010
Zootermopsis soldier termite, jaws at the ready.
If you think of termites as pasty white squishy things, here's one that'll jar your preconceptions. Zootermopsis dampwood termites of western North America have large soldiers- over a centimeter long- that are muscular and well armored.
Soldiers are deployed not against predators but against other termites, as colonies within a single rotting log fight when they encounter each other. Those jaws are ideal for slicing through an enemy queen, for example, or for protecting their own.
Photo details: Canon mp-e 65mm 1-5x macro lens on a Canon EOS…
grrlscientist | February 22, 2010tags: Anna's Hummingbird, Calypte anna, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Anna's Hummingbird, Calypte anna, photographed in California. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Steve Duncan [larger view].
Nikon D200 w/ Nikkor 300mm f/4 & TC17E.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
awild | February 21, 2010As winter doesn't have much insect activity, it's the season I use to work on my equipment. Yesterday I tried out a new arrangement to diffuse the heads on my mt-24ex twin flash when the heads are mounted on long, moveable arms. Here's a time-lapse video showing the construction, plus a short clip of the gear in use:
Note the effect of the diffusion:
A bare, undiffused flash produces harsh shadows and glare
A diffused flash provides softer, more even lighting
grrlscientist | February 21, 2010tags: Brown-breasted Barbet, Lybius melanopterus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Adult with fledgling Brown-breasted Barbet, Lybius melanopterus, photographed in the Pangani River Camp, Tanzania, Africa. [I will identify these birds for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 9 January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300, 600 mm lens, ISO 800, 1/640 sec, f/7.1, Exposure compensation +1.7.
A little known fact about the Pangani River Camp is that it is owned by Massey Swynnerton, whose grandfather was a pioneer ornithologist in Africa. Swynnerton's Robin is named for him. Perhaps…
laelaps | February 21, 2010
A Coquerel's sifaka (Propithecus coquereli), photographed at the Bronx Zoo.
grrlscientist | February 20, 2010tags: African Golden-breasted Bunting, Emberiza flaviventris, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] African Golden-breasted Bunting, Emberiza flaviventris, photographed in Mikumi, Tanzania, Africa. Surely one of the prettiest little birds in Tanzania. They were quite common farther south, especially around Mikumi National Park. This one was near Mikumi town, not in the park. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 9 January 2010 [larger view].
Nikon D300, 600 mm lens. ISO 500, f/6.3, 1/800 sec. Exposure Compensation 0.
Please name at least one field…
laelaps | February 20, 2010
A gull stands at the edge of the surf while sanderlings scuttle about in the background. Photographed at Spring Lake, New Jersey.
awild | February 19, 2010
Ostoma pippingskoeldi, Sierra Nevada, California
If you peel back the bark of an old stump in the forests of western North America, there's a good chance you'll find some of these attractive tank-like insects. This is Ostoma pippingskoeldi, a predatory beetle in the family Trogossitidae. They lurk about under bark searching for soft-bodied prey, including the larvae of other beetles.
All legs and antennae tucked safely away.
Photo details (top): Canon mp-e 65mm 1-5x macro lens on a Canon EOS D60
ISO 100, f13, 1/200 sec, diffused flash
(bottom): Nikon coolpix 995, ambient light
grrlscientist | February 19, 2010tags: African Orange-bellied Parrot, African Red-bellied Parrot, Poicephalus rufiventris, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] African Red-bellied Parrot, Poicephalus rufiventris, photographed at the Pangani River Campground, Tanzania, Africa. This bird flew in with a few friends, hung around for only a minute, then went on. The Pangani River Campground is a wonderful rustic campground along the Pangani River, a couple hours south of Moshi. Fee is $5 per person per night. Lots of birds in the area, and Greater Galagos come out every night. They spent the night eating palm nuts…