Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu
Bird of the Day: Chestnut-tailed Starling
Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu
Nature Photography
Bird of the Day: Anhinga
Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica
Bird of the Day: Red-billed Leiothrix
Sattal, Uttarakhand
Bird of the Day: Pallid Harrier
Little Rann of Kutch, Gujurat
Drones Shed Light on New Perspective
Aerial night photograph by Reuben Wu, via ThisIsColossal
Photographer Reuben Wu has been practicing a new form of his trade using drones–which many people are, nowadays, but none that we know of so far have used this recent technology to create dramatic scenes at night with lighting from above. On his website, Wu writes of this project, titled Lux Noxtis, that it is:
a series of photographs depicting landscapes of North America within the framework of traditional landscape photography but influenced by ideas of planetary exploration,19th century sublime romantic painting, and science fiction.
We are overwhelmed everyday by beautiful images of the familiar. I imagine these scenes transformed into undiscovered landscapes which renew our perceptions of our world.
Bird of the Day: Blue-faced Malkoha
Sivarpanam Palace, Tamil Nadu
Bird of the Day: Pied Imperial Pigeon
Great Nicobar Island, India
Bird of the Day: Gray-headed Tanager
Carara National Park, Costa Rica
Bird of the Day: Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher
Masinagudi, Tamil Nadu
Bird of the Day: Yellow-throated Vireo
Tacacori, Costa Rica
Bird of the Day: Forest Wagtail
Dandeli, Karnataka
Bird of the Day: Changeable Hawk Eagle
Biligirirangana Hills, Karnataka
Digiscoping in the Tropics
A male Scarlet-thighed Dacnis before zooming in with the camera in the digiscope setup
The first time I digiscoped, I wasn’t aware of the term, and I was using a small, borrowed point-and-shoot camera with a guide’s spotting scope. The results ended up here on the blog, though the images are, in retrospect, fairly low quality. In certain cases, however, digiscoping–basically the pairing of a scope with a camera for photography–can yield quite good shots of wildlife, and is arguably more versatile than having a big camera with a telephoto lens attached. Just check out Sharon Stiteler’s photos in her digiscoping article on Audubon’s webpage last year, or simply look up “digiscoping birds” to find some stunning images. Note, however, that digiscoping almost always refers to using a scope, or, in other words, a high-end piece of optic technology that costs anywhere between $400 and $3000–and that’s without the tripod.
Bird of the Day: Leaf Bird
Masinagudi, Tamil Nadu
Bird of the Day: Snowcap Hummingbird
Braulio Carrillo National Park, Costa Rica
Bird of the Day: Black-hooded Oriole
Koratty, Trichur District, Kerala
Bird of the Day: Common Shelduck
Gazaldoba, Siliguri, West Bengal
Bird of the Day: Andaman Bulbul
Port Blair, Andaman Islands
Camera Trapping Bounty
A female mountain lion called P-35 was photographed by a camera trap in the Santa Susana Mountains northwest of Los Angeles. National Park Service
From today’s Science section of the New York Times:
Photographing Wildlife Without a Photographer
By
Camera traps can help illuminate the world’s most elusive animals. When a cougar, elephant or other creature triggers the device’s motion sensor, it snaps a picture.
“Most animals are hiding, you actually never get to see them and you might be led to believe there’s nothing out there,” said Roland Kays, a zoologist at North Carolina State University and author of the forthcoming book “Candid Creatures: How Camera Traps Reveal the Mysteries of Nature.” Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Steely-vented Hummingbird
Tacacori, Costa Rica
