Last weekend I ventured for the first time into Ithaca’s Sapsucker Woods – a forested area adjacent to Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology, which among many other projects, strongly influences ornithological citizen science far and wide. Sapsucker Woods, however, is not merely a place where birds nest and feed. It is a living, breathing organism – an ecosystem that is more than the sum of the parts of the intricate denizens, both biotic and abiotic, within it. The complexity of a forest is fractal – from the way sunlight is distributed to the canopy, to the well-known food chain, to the molecular structure of the enzymes saprophobic fungi use to break down the hydrocarbon bonds in the wood they devour. Through a magnifying glass, or a microscope, or out of an airplane’s window – a forest is beautiful. Continue reading
Author: Milo Inman
Georgian Dragon
I shall resist the underwhelming urge to throw in a bit of canonical wordplay concerning St. George, and merely say that this is my first insect photograph with my new 50mm F1.8 lens. The dappled sunlight behind the dragonfly is a testament to the glory of shooting with this enormously apertured lens – the bokeh is a pleasure to both create and to view. I was only in Georgia for ten days in between Kerala and New York, but it was a pleasure to step out of my grandmother’s (an avid odonatophile) back door to find this dragonfly patiently waiting for me. Continue reading
Granite Ghost – Revisited
As the monsoons blow through Kerala, the native dragonfly and damselfly populations in the area appear to wax and wane along with the water levels. A sunny day by any water body guarantees sighting at least one species, but as is only so common during the season, overcast days dominate the calendar. Nevertheless, Kerala’s entomological biodiversity remains as strong as the summers, during which dozens of Odonate species whizz back and forth teritorially over their little stretch of pond-shore or riverbank. The main reason that these insects are not out in force as frequently as the rest of the year is that they are most active in hot and dry climates, particularly in direct sunlight. Contrarily, monsoons traditionally offer respite to natives, being wet and (slightly) cooling. When they’re not visibly hunting or mating, dragonfly and damselfly populations are probably strongest in the larval stage – extraordinarily aggressive aquatic predators. I got lucky a few days ago on a sunny day on the backwaters when I saw a Granite Ghost – in my books a rarer species of dragonfly that I’ve only sighted once in Goa.
Wadi Feynan’s Copper Mines: Part I (History)
Wadi Feynan was one of the first 
places in the world where copper was mined and smelted by humans, which when
paired with one of the first Neolithic settlements in the world, makes Feynan an extremely important area in terms of prehistoric human development. Few places in the world can boast this sort of historical wealth – and visitors to Feynan can journey into the past with or without a guide. From the first bit of ore extracted to the collapse of the Roman Empire to the 20th century, copper mining has been a major aspect of human settlement in these valleys. Innumerable shafts have been opened, collapsed, reopened, and abandoned using a wide range of methods and technologies. Today, guests at Feynan Ecolodge have the chance to venture into the past by walking or biking to these historic sites nestled in the rocky foothills of the Dana Biosphere Reserve – and learn about their historical significance. Continue reading
Bamboo Bats
Last year, Sung wrote about the bats in the bamboo stands next to Cardamom County. I’ve always been aware of their presence, but I always lacked the equipment to get a closer look, and even more prominently lacked the equipment to photograph them. This year, my arsenal remains limited, but I have one more telephoto lens than I did previously. From the restaurant’s roof on a sunny day, I’m less than 20 meters away from well-lit subjects. On a windy sunny day, the subjects are generally stirring, as mentioned by Sung – the ideal time to photograph them. 
Continue reading
Odonata Hotspots
It’s always a delight when I stumble upon a pond or stream with dragonflies and damselflies flying around, defending their territories, basking, hunting, and propagating, their very existence a pleasure for me to witness. However, the rare joy is when I find a gem of a habitat – an area so ideal for odonate life that while I photograph one new species, I have to avoid being distracted by the other four or five more colorful new species I’m simultaneously seeing out of the corner of my eye. I had one such explosive pond-wading experience several days ago while visiting a spice estate near Kumily. Continue reading
Shoot The Moon
One of the advantages of consistently cloudless skies is the ability to view celestial objects without difficulty. Although there’s a telescope available for use every night at Feynan, I found the experience of simply watching the moon’s transit across the sky beautiful. On a moonless night, the stars perforate the sky in their multitude. Photographing the moon, however, was something I’d never done before. Having a powerful lens (300mm) opens up a huge range of possibilities, and one that few people consider is that of night photography. Continue reading
Wadi Dana – Valley of the Rising Sun
Jordan is a composite of valleys and gorges, gullies and canyons, gulches and sand. Dry, warm air is blown through every nook and cranny, a stark contrast from the moist, muggy air I’ve grown accustomed to breathing in the south of India the last two years.
In fact, the only real similarity between Kerala and Jordan in my mind is how different they are (if you have been to both and think they are birds of a feather, let’s agree to disagree) – particularly climatically. I took advantage of my enhanced ability to physically exert myself without rapidly dripping sweat as often as possible during my time at Feynan; I accompanied the guides on as many activities as possible, and also did a fair bit of hiking on my own.
One of my favorite (as well as most convenient) hikes was from Feynan up the first valley to the north-east: Wadi Dana. I spent at least 24 hours walking in this valley on my own – and probably nearly that long with guides and guests. It was a boon to watch the lodge’s Bedouin guides walking through the lands they grew up in, as well as learning about the area’s natural bounties from them; every hike yielded a treasury of information on goat udder infection remedies, headache alleviation; arthritis, diabetes, and chronic headache treatments – all sourced from plants that appear to an outsider’s eyes as weeds growing from the cracks in the mountain. I learned how to sanitize my hands with “Bedouin Soap”, how to find a decent snack when feeling peckish, and what type of branch to use to make a splint if one of your goats breaks its leg (although I wasn’t taught how to actually do so, I was in someone’s tent and watched it being done), as well as several other folk remedies and fixes based on native plant life. Continue reading
Beauty of Jordan: Namila
To get from Feynan to Petra, one has two options. The first is a relatively normal road, with pavement and double lanes. This is the longer road. The second one, which I took when driving to Petra, Shobak, and several places in between, is called Namila. By any light, the long, snaky road with dozens of hairpin turns is beautiful, albeit in a slightly Mordorian way. The geological diversity is nowhere near as extreme as it is within the Dana Biosphere Reserve, but impressive nonetheless. Panorama below (click image for higher resolution): Continue reading
Beauty of Jordan: Rummana
There are dozens of Wadis (valleys) in the Dana Biosphere Reserve, most of which I haven’t been to. Each has its unique landscapes and geological features – such that if you show a local a picture of just about any place he will recognize its location. Chances are, he also will have a story relating to it – quite possibly about the time he lived there when he was younger. Jabal Rummana is a campsite overlooking Dana – common spotting grounds for Ibex, as well as other wildlife, the valley itself is a breathtaking sight. For a panoramic view, Continue reading
Beauty of Jordan: Sheep in Shobak
A Bedouin man herds his sheep up a hill overlooking Wadi Araba, where Feynan is only barely covered by mountains. Continue reading
Beauty of Jordan: Wadi Dana at Dawn
This is a series of posts on Jordan’s natural wonders, which will mainly include only one or two pictures and a brief description per post. I’m working at Feynan Ecolodge for this reason; Jordan is beautiful, culturally, historically, but most of all naturally. The wilderness here is something else, and it is my duty to share that beauty with the world. Continue reading
Feynan Ecolodge at the Dana Biosphere Reserve
When I stepped into the cool morning air outside Amman’s airport two weeks ago, I knew I was in for an interesting time. For the next seven weeks I would be staying at Feynan Ecolodge as a live-in writer and photographer, spending time with Bedouin locals, adventuring through the Dana Biosphere Reserve, which was established as a protected area in 1989 by Jordan’s Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature, and experiencing Feynan in a way few people are able to. I hope to become familiar with both the magnificently diverse geological and biological features of the area, as well as the Bedouin culture, which is as steeped in mystery to me as their chai is with sugar. Traditions and rituals, beliefs and taboos which seem impractical or unsophisticated to the Western world all have significance which might not be superficially visible. Continue reading
Feelings on Ficus
Ficus. The word brings to mind many things – the juicy sweetness of a ripe, freshly picked fig; the summer heat of any tropical or Mediterranean setting; fertility. But recently, Ficus means one thing to me: strangler figs. This may sound morbid, and in a branchy way, it is. Many species of ficus begin their lives epiphytically – generally after a seed is dropped by a bird or arboreal mammal onto the upper branches of what will become a host tree. Over time, the seeds will germinate and sprout aerial roots, which make their way to the ground by either hanging freely or by crawling down the host tree’s trunk. It is not at all uncommon in Indian forests to see roots hanging from the canopy.
Gavi’s Gangly Forest
In early summer the forests of the Western Ghats are roaring with the sounds of insects. Crisp dried leaves crackle underfoot, and monkeys howl in the distance. I didn’t really expect to see animals – any intelligent enough to survive would be sleeping in a cool hollow somewhere. Despite the heat, the woods are beautiful, and the scenes unfolding before my eyes as we trek deeper into the reserve grow more and more unusual, with trees’ limbs and roots seeming to grasp and grope. Continue reading
Looking: Over and Out
India’s Western Ghats are one of our planet’s most biodiverse zones – as well as an intensely beautiful geological spine that separates the southwestern coast of the subcontinent from the southeastern. Kerala’s border with Tamil Nadu coincides with the range, which poses no mysteries. Transportation over the hills and mountains is tedious, and each side has it’s own cultural and meteorological identity; the border makes sense to an outsider. Continue reading
The Unseen Scenes
March 2012
A morning on Kerala’s Backwaters. Although in the general sense you know what to expect in terms of how the day will play out, you are guaranteed to see some strange and possibly surreal things between breakfast and lunch. More if you rise before the sun comes up. This is purely out of self-preservation – during the heat of the day, any significant physical activity ends up being exhausting, and the locals know best. That said, it’s worth being up early to catch a number of interesting photographs that you would have been unable to were you sleeping. To the left are two fishermen – one rowing slowly while the other (suitably attired for protection from the sun) checks nettings for a catch. This was my first time seeing fishermen wearing umbrella hats, but I see workers in the paddy fields with them often. Despite this fact, I haven’t photographed them due to poor lighting conditions and a significant distance between us every time. Continue reading
More on Urban Decay
I’ve portrayed urban decay in an artistic light once or twice before – and since then, Kochi has had nothing but time to become more pitted and scarred (in a pleasant and non-violent way). The same walls I’ve walked past a dozen times seem to have sprouted roots – literally. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Peacock
Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala
The Truly Golden Dartlet
The Golden Dartlet, or Iscnura aurora, is a small species of damselfly that resides in the general vicinity of small streams and ponds. The above photograph was taken several hundred meters from any sizable body of water – a testament to the creature’s rugged and functional, yet beautiful design. Continue reading
Organikos 