Nature Photography

[snolly50]

Ken, as always, wonderful images; but which one's the crab?

The moon shot is nice. I can't imagine trying to deal with the motion of the deck. The image displays the "high key" lighting that is typical in the debris field around the Tycho crater. I struggle with getting that exposed like I want without underexposing the rest. Here is my werewolf eliciting shot from last night.

You probably have posted the info before, but it's slipped me. What equipment do you use for those fantastic underwater shots? Is it a specialized underwater outfit or a regular "landlubber" camera in an enclosure?

Edited April 6, 2015 by snolly50

[digit]

Ken, as always, wonderful images; but which one's the crab?

The moon shot is nice. I can't imagine trying to deal with the motion of the deck. The image displays the "high key" lighting that is typical in the debris field around the Tycho crater. I struggle with getting that exposed like I want without underexposing the rest. Here is my werewolf eliciting shot from last night.

You probably have posted the info before, but it's slipped me. What equipment do you use for those fantastic underwater shots? Is it a specialized underwater outfit or a regular "landlubber" camera in an enclosure?

I'm the one holding the coconut--I love fresh coconut.

That night back in 2013 in Fiji was an ultra bright "super moon" so I wonder if that contributed to over-exposing Tycho? I also remember having to push the ISO way up to reduce motion blur from the ship's rocking.

I felt the hairs on my arms stand up when I saw your image--perhaps a case of late-onset lycanthropy?

Underwater I use a Nikon D700 (12mp) in a Nexxus ND700 underwater housing. The lens is a Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 which I usually have set to 17mm for the widest view when I'm photographing the reef through my 1m x 1m PVC quadrat doing coral photo transects. I can zoom in to 55 to try to shoot smaller items and pull fishes and other subjects in to fill the frame a bit more but as I use a wide-angle dome port I get no 25% magnification from diffraction as you would with a scuba mask. For smaller items I zoom in, cut the power from the dual Ikelite DS160 strobes back to a small fraction of their power (so as not to blow out the subject) and count on the minimum focus distance of 36 cm to get me close and the reasonable resolution to crop out an acceptable resolution photo for web use.

I'm much more happy with a 60mm macro lens and a flat port when I am shooting for fun and not doing science work. Much easier to bring macro subjects to life and to shoot good fish portraits and the like. That setup however doesn't work as well for sharks, large turtles or reef scenics so, given the setup I use for my work, I focus more on larger items and try my best when an interesting macro subject presents itself like these Black-spotted Egg Cowries (Calpurnus verrucosus) in the process of making more of the same.

Cheers.

-Ken

[snolly50]

Ken, thanks a bunch for the run down on your underwater efforts. Your results are just wonderful. I look forward to your posts. It affords me the pleasure of seeing well done images of critters I would not normally see.

[digit]

Just as TFF allows me the pleasure of seeing fossils I would not normally see. Of course, if I become so enamored of something I see here it gets added to my fossil bucket list and I start plotting how I might organize a trip to go find one of my very own. I'm that way about magazines and nature shows as well. A front cover of a National Geographic several hears ago instantly set into motion a trip to the Hebrides Islands off Scotland's coast though I still haven't made it to the Ethiopian Highlands to see Gelada Baboons.

Leaving again Friday for the second leg of the mission to the Chagos Archipelago. Will post some new eye candy if I shoot something of merit.

Cheers.

-Ken

[Plantguy]

This thread is really becoming addicting! Thanks for all the plants and critter shots....I guess I missed my opportunity for some moon shots--dang...

All kinds of things growing, hopping, chewing, singing down here. I was watering Sunday morning early and managed to actually water a duck in the yard..cant say that I've done that before..I was just trying to water the gardenias and this fairly large blob with feathers came out of a low spot in the flower bed and almost ran me over/flew into me. I didnt think female mallard ducks could show that much expression but a shot of cold water from the hose at 730 in the morning will wake anyone up pretty fast!

So here's the latest bug shot....an IO moth in a relaxed state and then after I riled it up a bit!! Automeris io

Keep em coming...

Regards, Chris

[digit]

Cool bug--love the false eye spots. Enough to make any predator think twice.

-Ken

[snolly50]

Chris, outstanding shots!!!

[Coco]

Waouh ! Digit, your pic is marvelous !

This post is a nice way interesting to see things which we shall never meet in our life !

Coco

[digit]

Thanks Coco. That's one of the main reasons I enjoy taking (and sharing) images of the natural world--from interesting landscapes to critters of all manner. I am often fortunate enough to be able to visit remote and seldom visited areas and I enjoy capturing 1/60 to 1/1600 of a second of reality in digital form to be able to study later in all its glory. Images, and the process it takes to make them, can often help me remember the places I've been with much more detail than my gray matter seems to store and retain these days. I can often remember the circumstances behind a photograph taken 10-20 years ago--a look at an image can bring me right back to the moment I snapped the shutter.

Images can also be very evocative. After watching a television show mentioning how President Obama has visited every state except South Dakota they showed images of Badlands National Park. The Badlands have been on my bucket list for years but have just jumped up to within my top 5. I need to organize a trip to South Dakota soon--maybe I'll even look up some TFF members there and see what's shaking in terms of local fossiling opportunities.

Cheers.

-Ken

[snolly50]

We have seen flowers, heralds of Spring; but there are other, sometimes more subtle, indicators.

In spring a young man's (or lady snapper's) fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love - Tennyson

Here is the business end of Chelydra serpentina, the common snapping turtle. We also have the larger Alligator Snappers, but this is the one I see most. Also pictured is a view of the magnificent, prehistoric-looking tail. This one was about 12" from front to rear shell margin. That is not a giant one. They can get up to around 18", I think. She had left the lake and traveled about 75 yards to a wooded area. She was on her way to lay eggs.

A caution to those not raised in the South and therefore not privy to important lore - "If a snapper bites you, it won't let go 'til it thunders!"

[snolly50]

The mourning dove, Zenaida macroura or "Carolina pigeon"

[Missourian]

Pale corydalis (Corydalis flavula):

Lounge lizard:

[snolly50]

I'm likin' that lizard shot. It's a wonderful mix of shape and texture.

[snolly50]

This past weekend we attended a gathering of my wife's extended family. These events take place every other year on the family property on Wadmalaw Island, south of Charleston, SC. This idyllic local has been mercifully spared "development." These events evoke fond childhood memories in my wife and she very much enjoys seeing her cousins. I soak in the beauty of this unspoiled place. Oh, and there's food, tons of food. Prominent among the food are bushels and bushels of oysters, gently steamed and dumped in great piles on the wooden tables. Here are a couple of photos that show the tremendous, moss draped live oaks that grace the property near the water. If you have an opportunity to visit SC's Low Country, don't pass it by. It is a wonderful place.

Nikon D600, Nikkor zoom at 70mm, images are greatly reduced in size/resolution for uploading.

[Harry Pristis]

Anyone recognize this little horror? I found it on my young grapefruit tree, just huggin' a leaf, pretending to be a bird dropping. This one is about 1.5 inches long, but I removed two earlier this week which were much smaller.

When provoked, it emits an unpleasant musk while it extends a bright-red forked appendage from its head! I didn't capture the appendage (first image) fully extended, but it was about 3/4 inch long. I have never seen this caterpillar before this season. Maybe it is a citrus pest . . . I haven't done any research yet.

[Auspex]

Giant Swallowtail butterfly (Papilio cresphontes)

Citrus tree leaves are indeed one of their larval foods, but they are not considered destructive.

[Harry Pristis]

Thank you, Auspex!

[digit]

Indeed. One of the extra bonuses to having citrus trees in your yard (besides the abundant fresh fruit) is to see swallowtails flitting about the tree. The state of Florida was kind enough to remove most of the residential citrus trees in South Florida in a misguided attempt to control citrus canker and I haven't seen a swallowtail in my yard since. Thankfully, the mango tree I used to replace my Valencia orange tree and two grapefruit trees provides me with sweet treats though no lepidoptera bonus.

Cheers.

-Ken

[Auspex]

See if you can get a couple Hoptrees {Ptelea trifoliata angustifolia) to grow in your yard. They are native in N. FL, and might do well further south with a little care. The swallowtails will come

[Plantguy]

Anyone recognize this little horror? I found it on my young grapefruit tree, just huggin' a leaf, pretending to be a bird dropping. This one is about 1.5 inches long, but I removed two earlier this week which were much smaller.

When provoked, it emits an unpleasant musk while it extends a bright-red forked appendage from its head! I didn't capture the appendage (first image) fully extended, but it was about 3/4 inch long. I have never seen this caterpillar before this season. Maybe it is a citrus pest . . . I haven't done any research yet.

caterpillerA.JPG caterpillerD.JPG caterpillerB.JPG

Harry, nice little stinker--cool photos!...We had some last year on our lemon and they did an incredible job of defoliating our small tree! I never did locate any chrysali anywheres so I'm not sure if we contributed to the adult population or not. Saw some adults later in the year but I dont think I got any good photos of them.

The wife told me yesterday when I got home that we had bright orange ants on the blueberries....Nope, we got assassin bug babies! Too windy and rainy and they were too small so unfortunately again no decent photos...

Regards, Chris

[Plantguy]

This past weekend we attended a gathering of my wife's extended family. These events take place every other year on the family property on Wadmalaw Island, south of Charleston, SC. This idyllic local has been mercifully spared "development." These events evoke fond childhood memories in my wife and she very much enjoys seeing her cousins. I soak in the beauty of this unspoiled place. Oh, and there's food, tons of food. Prominent among the food are bushels and bushels of oysters, gently steamed and dumped in great piles on the wooden tables. Here are a couple of photos that show the tremendous, moss draped live oaks that grace the property near the water. If you have an opportunity to visit SC's Low Country, don't pass it by. It is a wonderful place.

Nikon D600, Nikkor zoom at 70mm, images are greatly reduced in size/resolution for uploading.

DSC_5730az.jpg DSC_5842psz.jpg

Hey John, I remember some of this....hoping to get up there to SC that a way some time this year!

Regards, Chris

[Plantguy]

Pale corydalis (Corydalis flavula):

1714-pale-corydalis.jpg

1718-pale-corydalis.jpg

Lounge lizard:

1364-lounge-lizard.jpg

Havent seen that circular behavior before....looks skinky!

Regards, Chris

[snolly50]

The singles bar scene of the bird world

"Heeeey chickie! You come here often? Can I buy you some seed? What's your sign? I'm an Avis. Those are beautiful feathers you're wearing! Whatdoyousay we flock together?!?

"Fly off, LOSER!"

[snolly50]

Muskrat, Ondatra zibethicus

From a footbridge high over the Saluda River near Columbia, SC. This critter is about 30 yards away, so it required the most zoom I had available (300mm) to get any kind of shot. Even with that, I did not notice the many freshwater mussels he had been scarfing, until I got the image on my computer. Reportedly these animals are 95% vegetarian, but apparently this guy didn't get the memo. He was laying waste to a slew of mussels.

And since it's Spring and he's, well, a muskrat....

AMERICA.11.Muskrat Love - YouTube

[Plantguy]

Muskrat, Ondatra zibethicus

From a footbridge high over the Saluda River near Columbia, SC. This critter is about 30 yards away, so it required the most zoom I had available (300mm) to get any kind of shot. Even with that, I did not notice the many freshwater mussels he had been scarfing, until I got the image on my computer. Reportedly these animals are 95% vegetarian, but apparently this guy didn't get the memo. He was laying waste to a slew of mussels.

DSC_6004ac.jpg

And since it's Spring and he's, well, a muskrat....

AMERICA.11.Muskrat Love - YouTube

Hey John, very cool muskrat photo....I'm not sure about the song though!! I think its haunting me...the guys at the end of video were even teasing themselves/crowd about it...rock and muskrat love.....Glad it wasnt the Captain and Tenille version..LOL, Just teasing!!.

I snagged one of the chocolate mournful sphinx moths last week ....Enyo sp. Here's a rather poor photo but the tail on this species always is intriguing...got a much better photo but it requires a cable which I cant find at the moment...

Regards, Chris