Photography
awild | February 4, 2009It's 6ºF (-14ºC) here in central Illinois. Can't do much about that, but here are some shots of warmer times and warmer places.
Monument Valley, 2006
Southern California, 2004
Tucson, Arizona, 2006
Joshua Tree National Park, 2005
Cholla at Joshua Tree National Park, 2005
near Nogales, Mexico, 2006
grrlscientist | February 4, 2009tags: Golden Rays, cow nosed rays, Rhinoptera steindachneri, Sandra Critelli, image of the day
Golden (cow nosed) Rays, Rhinoptera steindachneri, gathering off the northern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula, near the coast of Mexico. This spectacular scene was captured as the magnificent creatures made one of their biannual mass migrations to more agreeable waters.
Image: Sandra Critelli [larger view].
Looking like giant leaves floating in the sea, thousands of Golden Ray s are seen here gathering off the coast of Mexico. The spectacular scene was captured as the magnificent creatures made one…
grrlscientist | February 4, 2009tags: Varied Thrush, Ixoreus naevius, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Varied Thrush, Ixoreus naevius, photographed in central Ontario. The bird died after striking the window of lakeside cottage fringed with Eastern Hemlock, Red Oak, Winterberry and American Bittersweet. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Michael Butler, 16 November 2008. [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Original blog entry about this bird.
Review all mystery birds to date.
laelaps | February 4, 2009
California sea lions (Zalophus californianus), photographed at the Bronx Zoo.
bioephemera | February 3, 2009
Devana chasma
Peter Wasilewski
Dr. Peter Wasilewski, a NASA scientist, creates these beautiful photographs by passing polarized light through freezing films of water in Petri dishes. He calls the results "frizions":
The eye and brain combine the mixture of physical colors to produce a striking color impression. I began to control the way the ice grows, into forms I desired, always with color as my guide. Simple forms, detailed and complex forms, and forms that simply happened, as though I imagined them, established my medium. Ice growth became the landscape, and thickness and the polarizer…
grrlscientist | February 3, 2009tags: mystery bird, identify this bird, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
"What species of bird was in the shortest Superbowl commercial in history?"
[Mystery bird] Glaucous-winged Gull, Larus glaucescens, an image grab from the television in Seattle during the Superbowl 2009 .. this bird was featured in shortest Superbowl commercial ever shown (0.5 sec) -- can you identify this mystery bird?
Image: a Tweeters list subscriber, 1 February 2009. [larger view].
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Here's another look [0:03]:
And here's the original image…
laelaps | February 3, 2009
A North American river otter (Lontra canadensis), photographed at the North Carolina Zoo.
awild | February 2, 2009Among the least understood technical aspects of photography, at least for novices, is aperture. Yet aperture has profound effects on the resulting image. Consider the following series of photos, each taken with a macro setup of an MP-E lens on a Canon dSLR camera, focused at the foremost tip of an ant head head shot at increasingly smaller apertures:
What's going on?
Most lenses contain a diaphragm that can constrict from full open down to a little hole, controlling the amount of light that travels through the lens on its way to the film or sensor. The size of the hole is called the…
grrlscientist | February 2, 2009tags: Grand Central Station, 42nd Street, Fast Track and Speedwheels, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Fast Track and Speedwheels, 1990.
Mixed-media sculptures in the passageway between the S and 4, 5, 6 lines in NYC's Grand Central Subway station, detail 4.
Artist: Daniel Sinclair.
Image: GrrlScientist, 12 January 2009 [larger view].
Dan Sinclair's Fast Track and Speedwheels are assemblages crafted from bright metallic sections that include wavy aluminum sheets, steel wheels, brass disks, copper springs and wires. Installed within a long passageway between the subway…
grrlscientist | February 2, 2009tags: Masked Bobwhite, Colinus virginianus ridgwayi, Joel Sartore, National Geographic, image of the day
Masked Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus ridgwayi)
700 (Nearly extinct in the wild, some 700 captive).
Image: Joel Sartore/National Geographic [larger view].
Joel Sartore has shared some of his work on this blog before, so I am thrilled to tell you that National Geographic also appreciates his exemplary work. You can view more endangered animals of the United States that were photographed by the talented Joel Sartore here at National Geographic online. All images appear here by permission…
grrlscientist | February 2, 2009tags: Darwin Day, Idaho Museum of Natural History, Darwin's Green Side: Discoveries in Evolutionary Botany, evolution, education, teaching, public outreach
Here's some interesting news: the Idaho Museum of Natural History asked permission to use some of my images from Darwin's Garden and Greenhouse photoessays for their Darwin Day celebration! (Do you remember my wonderful trip to London that you paid for?) The museum is presenting a special exhibit, Darwin's Green Side: Discoveries in Evolutionary Botany [free PDF], that focuses on Darwin's work with plants. If you live in Southern Idaho…
grrlscientist | February 2, 2009tags: Chestnut-sided Warbler, Dendroica pensylvanica, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Adult male Chestnut-sided Warbler, Dendroica pensylvanica, in breeding plumage, photographed on the grounds of the USGS EROS Data Center in Minnehaha County, South Dakota. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Terry Sohl, 22 May 2008 [larger view].
Photo taken with Canon 40D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | February 1, 2009tags: Grand Central Station, 42nd Street, Fast Track and Speedwheels, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Fast Track and Speedwheels, 1990.
Mixed-media sculptures in the passageway between the S and 4, 5, 6 lines in NYC's Grand Central Subway station, detail 3.
Artist: Daniel Sinclair.
Image: GrrlScientist, 12 January 2009 [larger view].
Dan Sinclair's Fast Track and Speedwheels are assemblages crafted from bright metallic sections that include wavy aluminum sheets, steel wheels, brass disks, copper springs and wires. Installed within a long passageway between the subway…
grrlscientist | February 1, 2009tags: Red-Cockaded Woodpecker, Picoides borealis, Joel Sartore, National Geographic, image of the day
Red-Cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis)
Estimated 12,210 breeding birds.
Image: Joel Sartore/National Geographic [larger view].
Joel Sartore has shared some of his work on this blog before, so I am thrilled to tell you that National Geographic also appreciates his exemplary work. You can view more endangered animals of the United States that were photographed by the talented Joel Sartore here at National Geographic online. All images appear here by permission of National Geographic…
grrlscientist | February 1, 2009tags: Surfbird, Aphriza virgata, birds, mystery bird, bird ID quiz
[Mystery bird] Surfbird, Aphriza virgata, photographed at "Land's End", an area in San Francisco on the Pacific Coast. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]
Image: Terry Sohl, 18 December 2008 [larger view].
Photo taken with Canon 50D, 400 5.6L.
Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.
Review all mystery birds to date.
grrlscientist | January 31, 2009tags: Grand Central Station, 42nd Street, Fast Track and Speedwheels, subway art, NYC through my eye, photography, NYC
Fast Track and Speedwheels, 1990.
Mixed-media sculptures in the passageway between the S and 4, 5, 6 lines in NYC's Grand Central Subway station, detail 2.
Artist: Daniel Sinclair.
Image: GrrlScientist, 12 January 2009 [larger view].
Dan Sinclair's Fast Track and Speedwheels are assemblages crafted from bright metallic sections that include wavy aluminum sheets, steel wheels, brass disks, copper springs and wires. Installed within a long passageway between the subway…
grrlscientist | January 31, 2009tags: Hawaiian Goose, Nene, Branta sandvicensis, Joel Sartore, National Geographic, image of the day
Hawaiian Goose or Nene (Branta sandvicensis)
2,100 (Estimated 2,000 wild and 100 captive).
Image: Joel Sartore/National Geographic [larger view].
Joel Sartore has shared some of his work on this blog before, so I am thrilled to tell you that National Geographic also appreciates his exemplary work. You can view more endangered animals of the United States that were photographed by the talented Joel Sartore here at National Geographic online. All images appear here by permission of National…