Photography
grrlscientist | September 20, 2009tags: Eastern Double-collared Sunbird, Cinnyris mediocris, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Eastern Double-collared Sunbird, Cinnyris mediocris, photographed in the West Usambara Mountains, Tanzania. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Dan Logen, 4 September 2007 [larger view].
Nikon D2X, 200-400 VR lens at 400 mm. ISO 400. 1/250 f/7.1.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
laelaps | September 20, 2009
A view of Hayden Valley in Yellowstone National Park. Those are bison (Bison bison) in the foreground.
aardvarchaeology | September 19, 2009
Somebody calls you and you answer quite slowly: a girl with kaleidoscope eyes.
awild | September 19, 2009
It's been ages since I hatched out monarch butterflies. But old habits die hard, and we've been raising a monarch caterpillar on our kitchen counter for the past few weeks.
This morning the orange and black product of our labors crawled from his chrysalis, inflated his wings, and flew off to an uncertain future.
photo details: Canon 100mm f2.8 macro lens on a Canon EOS 50D
ISO 125, f/2.8 1/160 sec, ambient light
grrlscientist | September 19, 2009tags: nature, Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
I photographed this fence on Seurasaari (Helsinki, Finland).
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
I really like this image because of the contrast between the irregularity of the forest and the regularity of the fence.
grrlscientist | September 19, 2009tags: Scarlet Honeyeater, Myzomela sanguinolenta, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Scarlet Honeyeater, Myzomela sanguinolenta, photographed at Yungaburra, Queensland, Australia. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Steve Duncan, 26 August 2009 [larger view].
Nikon D200 w/ Nikkor 300mm f/4 1/1250 sec, f/4 iso 400.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
The photographer writes:
One of the fun things about photographing wild birds and nature are the unexpected encounters. I've learned that the best shots happen only because…
laelaps | September 19, 2009
North American river otters (Lontra canadensis), photographed in the Lamar Valley at Yellowstone National Park.
grrlscientist | September 18, 2009tags: nature, Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
Looking out from the island of Seurasaari (Helsinki, Finland).
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
Can anyone identify the birds in this image?
awild | September 18, 2009
Odontotaenius disjunctus, the horned passalus
Friday Beetle Blogging returns this week with portraits of an unusually social beetle. The horned passalus Odontotaenius disjunctus lives in groups in rotting logs, where adults practice a form of parental care. I photographed this individual last weekend in southern Illinois, but the species ranges from the tropical forests of Central and South America Texas to as far north as New York.
photo details (all photos): Canon 100 mm f2.8 macro lens on a Canon EOS 50D
ISO 160, f/10-13, 1/125 sec, indirect strobe diffused in a white box
grrlscientist | September 18, 2009tags: Black-headed Gull, Larus ridibundus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Black-headed gull, Larus ridibundus, photographed on Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]
Photographed with Canon SX100 IS: exposure time: 1/400, F-value: 4.3, ISO: 80, Focal length: 60mm.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
laelaps | September 18, 2009
One of the "staircases" of rock in the thermal basin of Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone.
awild | September 17, 2009
Cimex lectularius - the common bedbug
Bed bugs are back. The resurgence of these blood-feeding pests is perhaps the biggest entomological story of the past decade. Take a look, for instance, at the Google search volume for "bed bugs" over the past few years:
Google Trends shows an increase in bed bug interest relative to other pests, 2004-2009
Why am I telling you all of this?
I've just posted a new online bed bug photo gallery. I was fortunate to get my hands on a vial of live bed bugs recently, and it turns out that the little guys are excellent entomological models. Cute, cuddly…
grrlscientist | September 17, 2009tags: nature, Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
I photographed this sculpture as I walked to Seurasaari (Helsinki, Finland).
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
grrlscientist | September 17, 2009tags: Red-headed Woodpecker, Melanerpes erythrocephalus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Red-headed Woodpecker, Melanerpes erythrocephalus, photographed in Minnehaha County, South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Terry Sohl, 31 July 2008 [larger view]
Photo taken with Canon 40D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
The photographer writes:
This photo pretty much sums up my relationship with these guys. I see them all the time, but whenever I get within 1/4 mile of one, they either fly off, or…
grrlscientist | September 16, 2009tags: nature, Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
Seurasaari Etelainen Pukkisaari (Helsinki, Finland).
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)
grrlscientist | September 16, 2009tags: Eastern Towhee, Pipilo erythrophthalmus, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] female Eastern Towhee, Pipilo erythrophthalmus, photographed at Newton Hills State Park in South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you in 48 hours]
Image: Terry Sohl, 13 May 2009 [larger view]
Photo taken with Canon 20D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
awild | September 15, 2009
Aphaenogaster tennesseensis ants and Entylia treehoppers
Cameras do not see the world the same way as do human eyes. Sometimes extra technological trickery is needed to make a scene appear as real in a photograph as it does in life. The above image is one of those cases.
I found these ants beautifully silhouetted on a sun-soaked leaf next to a lake in southern Illinois. But, the shade under the leaf was strong enough to require long shutter speeds for proper exposure. That made the moving ants blurry. The solution was to hold a flash behind the leaf to augment the natural…
grrlscientist | September 15, 2009tags: nature, Seurasaari, Helsinki, Finland, image of the day
Building on the island of Seurasaari (Helsinki, Finland).
Image: GrrlScientist, 4 July 2009 [larger view]. (raw image)