View allAll Photos Tagged Rehydrate
Was a long hot day wandering round the mountains time to sit down and rehydrate for the walk out of here. Nature provides the best chairs in the forest.
A curculionid beetle found at Meise Botanic Garden (Belgium, July 2019, id. not known yet).
Studio work with a dead specimen, rehydrated and staged. Focus stack, 70 images, assembled in Zerene Stacker (Pmax & Dmap). Sony A7Rm3 + Canon MP-E 65 mm at 2.5x; ISO-50, f/5.6, 1/160s, 1 diffused flash.
There is nothing better! Getting rehydrated with some JUICY watermelon straight from the Farmer's Market. =)
So I don't love this photo, but I remember how it felt yesterday to feel the heat of the sun and eat watermelon at the same time... there is just something about it!
So this brings me to say:
You know its summer when...
...you can't even walk on grass barefoot
you do without makeup because it melts right off
the pool is like a lukewarm bath
you have to put ice in the dog's water bowl
the asphalt turns to liquid (in Texas at least)
OK- I have a quick funny story about the last one. One summer my mom and her sister noticed the asphalt was melted (this is in Texas, people!). So what else does a girl do during the hot summer?
How about paint the neighbors car with it!! So long story short, she got in big trouble. =)
Another hot day requiring the bats to descend and skim across the water to wet their fur and rehydrate.
What a gorgeous day it was on Sunday for our dog walk.
We headed off early as not to be out in the heat of the day, but there was plenty of water about for the dogs to rehydrate and cool off in if it got too warm!
Make a broth by boiling the heads and shells of 4 or 5 tiger prawns for 15-20 minutes, add a splash of Maggi sauce, fish sauce, and Lemon (or lime) juice.
Dry marinate the prawns with the spices of your choice (I used GFresh Thai seasoning) and set aside.
Sauter a bit of ginger, garlic, and chilli in some oil (I used rice bran and sesame) and add the broth.
Prepare flat Thai rice noodles in the broth, simmering for about 20 minutes (or according to instructions). Add some mushroom slices and rehydrated wakame, simmer for a few more minutes. Add the prawns for a few minutes.
Warm a bowl and serve topped with sliced green onions.
This Mushroom was drying out a couple days ago (see 1/4/19 Dehydrated) but has perked up with the recent rains
A fairly large fungus weevil (23mm, female Xenocerus sp.; Coleoptera, Anthribidae; ID credit: thaptor) from Indonesia (C. Moluccas, Kelang I., 400-900m, Telaga Indah Mt, III. 2014; dried collection specimen).
Studio work with a dead specimen, it was rehydrated and staged. Focus stack, 55 images, assembled in Zerene Stacker (Pmax). Sony A7Rm3 + FE 2.8/90mm Macro G OSS; ISO-50, f/7.1, 1/250, 1 diffused flash. See a portrait of this specimen in the first comment line.
This is a dead rehydrated staged and beautifull beetle which i bought online from "The Bughouse" in Bruges Belgium.
I was always thinking as i looked at other's macrophoto's " where do they find these creatures and how do they get such sharp images"!?
Well there are people that get very good results with shooting stacks from living insects outside in nature. But that, i think is not for me. It's not easy at all to get good results because living creature's just don't want to sit still as you install tripod and stackrail and try to look for good composition.
Then you need a quick stackingtechnic and learn how to work quickly with it, before the moment is gone.
Also, you have to really find them in nature!!
I live in Holland, and finding interresting insects is not easy over here.
So i stick with the dryed, dead species, from all over the world: I rehydrate them, pin and glue them, let them dry again, take out the pins and put the insect in a nice composition of stuff i got out of the woods, and place it in a big plastic drum (sliced in 2 parts) for nice diffused light.
Mostly i use just 1 flash placed 20cm outside of the drum, the light bounces around in the drum, it reaches almost every corner.
Sometimes i use one more flash to fill in some shadows.
Working this way, is big fun and gives me results i'm happy with.
Haven't posted a Scotch photo in a bit so here's one from this past weekend. I think we both forget sometimes that he's almost 12 and gets worn out faster.
(Persimmon Tree Farm, Westminster, Maryland)
A tiny Apple fruit weevil (3.5-4.5 mm, Tatianaerhynchites aequatus, Coleoptera, Attelabidae) from Meise Botanic Garden (Belgium, July 2019).
Studio work with a dead specimen, it was rehydrated and staged. Focus bracketing, 92 images. Images assembled in Zerene Stacker (Pmax & Dmap). Canon EOS M6 Mark II, EF 100mm macro 1:2.8L IS USM; ISO-100, f/3.5, 1/80, 1 diffused daylight LED. Slightly cropped, image ca. 22mm high.
Lines of day-old button mushrooms emerging on a stump after overnight rain. Fasciatus is an Australian species that is very similar to this one. The slightly hairy trumpets are a purple shade when young and they dry out to become hard and tough. They rehydrate in rain and last for several weeks, unlike the more common white to orange Lenin's species found locally.
See ... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panus_fasciatus
A spectacular East Asian Tiger beetle (Cicindela chinensis var. flammifera; Coleoptera, Carabidae, Cicindelinae). From Korea, dried collection specimen (Bugmaniac, 11 May 2013).
Studio work with a dead specimen, it was rehydrated and staged. Focus stack, 12 images, assembled in Zerene Stacker (Pmax). Sony A7Rm3 + FE 2.8/90mm Macro G OSS; ISO-100, f/8, 1/200, 1 diffused flash.
2020-09-07, Day 3
Snow clouds roll in over a glassy un-named lake that sits at the foot of a talus-decorated cirque down which we must descend, high in the trackless northern Wind River Range, Fitzpatrick Wilderness, Wyoming.
The descent to this lake marked an incontrovertible tipping point for us. If the weather brought snow, as it seemed increasingly likely to do, it would be impossible to climb back the way we had come with the gear we had on our backs. Above where I stand here are one or two narrow or difficult places that required some Class 3 scrambling, and we lacked both metal foot-traction and ice-axes to make it an option both plausible and safe once covered in (more) snow and ice. As we picked our way carefully down through patches of vegetation interspersed with bands of talus, we crossed paths with a weasel racing uphill with a fat pika in its mouth. Helluva day to be that pika; on the other hand, it's time for a weasel celebration party.
If one looks at this photo closely, it is apparent that there are two lakes, separated by a small bridge of land. Judging from the rocks we could see, we figured we might find a flat place to pitch a tent in the patch of trees at about 11 o'clock on the far shore of the near lake. We also hoped that we would be protected from the worst of any snow and wind that the clouds might deliver after nightfall.
We made beef and bean burritos with cheese and rehydrated salsa for dinner, and we brewed a hot cup of herbal tea. Before our repast was complete, the temperature began to drop, the light commenced to fade, and the first flakes floated down through the wind-battered trees and landed on our jackets. We cleaned up the pot, hung the food, and climbed into the down sleeping bags to stay warm. The snow began to drive into the tent fly as it got dark, and I watched pellets of corn snow repeatedly gather in a few flatter parts of the fly, then slide down the vestibule toward the ground once a certain critical mass was attained. The tent did seem to be protected from the worst of the wind but the thin canopy of trees was doing very little to shield us from the accumulating snow.
Not long after dark, the snow and wind were joined by near simultaneous exclamations of thunder and lightning. The inside of the tent lit up like bright electric day, and enough detail could be made out of the sky immediately above us that it seemed as if we were on the inside of a snow-globe. Up to this very moment, I had never camped at the very edge of timberline in a high-elevation cirque in the middle of a full-on raging winter storm, with no trail anywhere close-by, and the surrounding talus now getting buried in who-knew-how-many inches of snow and ice. I thought somewhat academically that rest might be a good idea, but it proved difficult to relax. Every time I rolled over and glanced up at the tent fly, I noticed the weight of accumulating snow, and I hit the nylon to keep the vestibules on either side of the tent from collapsing. I have a two-person MSR backpacking tent that weighs just over 3 pounds (1.4 kg), including poles and stakes. It is a fabulous, light-weight, 3-season tent, and the conditions outside could only properly be described as that other, most unwelcome fourth season.
Wearing all of our clothing, and wrapped tightly in the down sleeping bags to try and retain as much warmth as possible, I can report that we were not downright cold. As the hours slowly passed, we noticed a change to the tenor of the storm. What was corn snow gave way to gusts of snow flakes complemented with a peppering of larger pea-sized ice particles. These hailstones irregularly collided with the aluminum poles of the tent frame, and we were treated to the relatively frequent pinging sound of the ice as it danced merrily off our stretched nylon bubble.
The only way out of this place in the morning would be to navigate the talus and attempt to find the nearest trail. The maps we consulted a month or so earlier when we identified bail-out points suggested that would be a distance of a little over 2 miles (3.2 km), with a descent of 1,000 feet (300 m) through what we surmised would be talus of some size, interspersed with bands of spruce forest and copious downed logs that would be slippery with snow and ice. Our initial assumption that the storm would likely bring only a few early-season inches to the Wind Rivers was clearly incorrect, and we would now pay whatever price the wilderness required to return to the warmth and comfort of the vehicle, which was over 20 miles (32 km) and one 11,000 foot (3,350 m) pass away from where we huddled. Apparently, getting older does not necessarily guarantee that one accrues any real wisdom.
Some wild geranium leaves have found their way into this photo of one of my favorite flowers in my garden. It’s a small rose, but the happiness it gives me exceeds its small size.
In case you’ve wondered where I’ve been, on the 5th I came down with food poisoning/gastroenteritis, with violent, shaking chills and a fever that hit 102.8º F before I called my health care provider. After bringing my dogs to the vet for boarding shots (they then brought them to the nearby boarding facility), I came home to get taken by ambulance to the hospital, where I stayed for the weekend of the 8th and 9th, getting rehydrated and generating the immense bill that hospitals are wont to do and which I hope my insurance pays most of. The first thing I did when I got home was get the pups, who did very well for their first time ever away from home. It has taken until two days ago for me to feel I’m finally on the mend and that food tastes good again. I’ve got a ways to go, still, to build my strength back up, but the worst is over.
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A colourful rove beetle (13mm, Staphylinidae; Actinus sp. or related genus; ID credit: afnewton2) from the South coast of Wokam (Indonesia, SE moluccas, Aru Island, January 2015; collection specimen).
Studio work with a dead specimen, it was rehydrated and staged. Focus stack, 40 images, assembled in Zerene Stacker (only Pmax). Sony A7Rm3 + FE 2.8/90mm Macro G OSS; ISO-50, f/6.3, 1/13sec, -0.7step, 1 diffused daylight led.
A cacao beetle (27mm, Steirastoma breve, Cerambycidae, Coleoptera) from Bolivia (collection specimen, Oct 2010).
Studio work with a dead specimen, rehydrated and staged. Focus stack based on 78 images, assembled in Zerene Stacker (Pmax & Dmap). Sony A7Rm3 + FE 2.8/90 Macro G OSS; ISO-100, f/5, 1/13s, -0.3step, diffused natural light (shots taken in a greenhouse).
This is the first time poor Sunny was taken ill since I adopted him. I discovered him hiding under the bushy ferns in the garden and refused to come out. He would usually greet me when I call his name, but this time he stayed put.
Initially I thought that he hid because there were workmen in our garden, but apparently that wasn't the case. Shortly after I took this picture of Sunny, he thew up gastric juices on the bed.
As it was a Sunday, our regular vet was closed half day. Fortunately I called up a different vet and they told me to send him in the evening when the doctor was available.
Sunny threw up at least two more times before we rushed him to the vet. The vet noted no obstruction in his stomach or intestines and suggested it could be acute gastroenteritis from bad food or something that he had eaten.
He was given a metoclopramide injection to alleviate the nausea, a Vitamin B injection to boost his appetite and 200 ml of subcutaneous fluid infusion to rehydrate his body.
By nightfall Sunny started eating and he regained his full and enormous appetite the next morning. I am so relieved because taking care of Joey my other cat, who has Chronic Kidney Disease is already an ongoing challenge.
"mee goreng" (fried noodles) from Zi Char stall.
Use and purpose of alkaline water:
Alkaline water, also known as “gan sui” in Cantonese and “air abu” in Malay, is a clear solution of the salts sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate, and sometimes sodium phosphate.
Because it is often called “lye” water, it is frequently confused with lye or caustic soda, which is sodium hydroxide, a much harsher chemical that has limited culinary applications in the West.
In the Asian kitchen, alkaline water has few and specific uses. The characteristic springiness of Hong Kong style “mee” noodle is due to “gan sui”, which is added to noodle dough to firm up its texture, and give it a yellow tint.
It does the same for glutinous rice in “kee chang” (yellow alkaline glutinous rice dumplings) and in their Malay cousin, “kuih lopes”.
Steamed rice-flour dough, for example, in Nyonya “kuih kosui” and “ang koo kuih” skin, can also be given a firmer consistency by carefully measured amounts of alkaline water.
Dried cuttlefish or squid are sometimes briefly soaked in “gan sui” for the opposite effect - it makes them more tender when rehydrated.
As Asians do not fancy the slightly sour, acidic flavour of slowly fermented bread dough so beloved in the West, dim sum chefs add alkaline water to buns “pau” dough to neutralise any yeasty, sour overtones.
Alkaline water is sometimes used as a rising agent in the same way that baking soda is. For instance, it is stirred into “ma lai kou” batter, where it reacts with acids in the brown sugar to produce bubbles that yield a light, fluffy steamed cake.
Tips extracted from Sunday Times
Morphett St - at the lights. Time to rehydrate. Silver Efex Pro 2: Fuji Neopan ACROS 100 with 100% Green filter
Portrait of a large fungus weevil (23mm long, Coleoptera, Anthribidae) from Indonesia (C. Moluccas, Kelang I., 400-900m, Telaga Indah Mt, III. 2014; dried collection specimen).
Studio work with a dead specimen, it was rehydrated and staged. Focus stack, 114 images, assembled in Zerene Stacker (Pmax). Sony A6500 + Metabones EF-E + Canon MP-E 2.8/65mm 1-5x; ISO-100, f/5, 1/250, 1 diffused flash. Image ca. 7mm high. See full insect in the first comment line.
Another hot day requiring the bats to descend and skim across the water to wet their fur and rehydrate.
Use and purpose of alkaline water:
Alkaline water, also known as “gan sui” in Cantonese and “air abu” in Malay, is a clear solution of the salts sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate, and sometimes sodium phosphate.
Because it is often called “lye” water, it is frequently confused with lye or caustic soda, which is sodium hydroxide, a much harsher chemical that has limited culinary applications in the West.
In the Asian kitchen, alkaline water has few and specific uses. The characteristic springiness of Hong Kong style “mee” noodle is due to “gan sui”, which is added to noodle dough to firm up its texture, and give it a yellow tint.
It does the same for glutinous rice in “kee chang” (yellow alkaline glutinous rice dumplings) and in their Malay cousin, “kuih lopes”.
Steamed rice-flour dough, for example, in Nyonya “kuih kosui” and “ang koo kuih” skin, can also be given a firmer consistency by carefully measured amounts of alkaline water.
Dried cuttlefish or squid are sometimes briefly soaked in “gan sui” for the opposite effect - it makes them more tender when rehydrated.
As Asians do not fancy the slightly sour, acidic flavour of slowly fermented bread dough so beloved in the West, dim sum chefs add alkaline water to buns “pau” dough to neutralise any yeasty, sour overtones.
Alkaline water is sometimes used as a rising agent in the same way that baking soda is. For instance, it is stirred into “ma lai kou” batter, where it reacts with acids in the brown sugar to produce bubbles that yield a light, fluffy steamed cake.
Tips extracted from Sunday Times
Flourishing after sustained rain. Fasciatus is an Australian species that is very similar to this one. The slightly hairy trumpets are a deep purple shade when young and they dry out to become hard and tough. They rehydrate in rain and last for several weeks, unlike the more common white to orange Lenin's species found locally.
See ... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panus_fasciatus
Part 16
Shade here is sparse, for hardly a tree grows and those that do are on the northern slopes far above me. What shade there is clings to the eastern faces of rocks and stones; large boulders shed from the high peaks when glaciers ground these cirques and lake beds out with icy weight. The air is cool but the sunlight is intense especially with the lack of wind compounded with the high elevation (11531) so my first priority is to find one of those boulders so I may seek shelter from the glaring sun. It was with luck that I found a nice shady spot not fifteen steps from my camp and only five steps from the smooth water. I sat here and rested as I enjoyed the beautiful view.
I decided that now was a good time to make my daily meal since all I had eaten so far this morning had been handfuls of homemade trail mix consisting of almonds, pecans, banana chips, and dried blueberries. And so it was that in the shade of this sheltering boulder, on the shores of this beautiful lake perfectly reflecting the majestic Mt. Humphreys and the vibrant blue expanse of High Sierra sky, that I ate my not so great rehydrated meal of chicken and rice. The chicken pieces just as sparse as the shade.
Once the meal was eaten I closed my eyes to rest. When I awoke I noticed that the shade had shifted as the sun journeyed further through the sky. A wind had also begun to blow and had chased away the perfect reflections. Along the crest of Goethe Cirque that rose high behind me, large ominous clouds had arisen and were about to swallow the sun. I got up and thought it was best to set my tent up and prepare for potential rain. As I was doing that the sunlight faded and the lake shore grew dark, enveloped in a growing shadow.
Kingfish fillet marinated in oils (rice bran & sesame), lemon juice, soy sauce, Maggi, grated ginger, and a good squeeze of wasabe. Wrapped in 2 sheets of nori, sealed with Chinese cooking wine, and baked (covered) for ±15 minutes in a convection C1/ microwave @ 170°C. Topped with cilantro leaves.
Potato bits, steamed then sautéed in rice bran oil, sesame oil, with rehydrated wakame.
Served on a warmed plate.
Jerusalem, Israel: A man, who had become extremely dehydrated while jogging in a park, in the city’s noontime heat, spent so much time rehydrating himself at this water fountain, that he left an impression there.
With this hot weather, water outside with sticks rocks , so all animals and insects can rehydrate in this hot dry summer we are having,=))
Macro Mondays - Keeping It Cool
114in2014 97 - splash
I definitely need to rehydrate when the temps are above 35C. I've taken to drinking water flavoured with whatever I have available. In this case it's lemon and lime and strawberries. If it's hot in the morning it's usually made with tap water. Later in the day it's made with sparkling water. By the late afternoon it's time to throw in some white wine for a a nice "sangria" or spritzer-type concoction.
The truth within the glass - In addition to the lemon, lime, strawberry, and pelligrino, I must confess to a splash of Triple Sec and another of white wine.
Sláinte
A manipulated image showing staged material in a nearly impossible combination (Chrysidid wasps are not known to visit orchids). The image is actually made to show how pollinia are transported from one orchid flower to another, at least this is true ;-)
Studio work with a flower of Maxillaria pseudoneglecta (Orchidaceae, Ecuador), grown in our greenhouse and a Cuckoo wasp (Hedychrum sp., Chrysididae, ID credit: Henrik Gyurkovics) found dead (June 2014, preserved in ethanol).
The wasp was cleaned and rehydrated in water with 2% ammonia. Then gently pressed into the centre of the flower and pulled back. The base of the pollinia glued to the pronotum, eventually pulling it loose from the flower. The wasp was then carefully staged into place.
Focus stack based on 120 images, assembled in Zerene Stacker, not cropped. Canon 5D mkii, Canon MP-E 65mm at 2.5x, ISO-100, f/5, 1/160s, tracing paper diffused flash.
2024-09-08, Day 2
The Kluane Parks Canada patrol cabin sits nestled in the lee of a rock outcropping that, when paired with its twin on the other side of the creek, forms a gateway to the Burwash Glacier and mountain passes that wait not far upstream, Kluane National Park, Yukon.
A distance of 16.5 miles (27 km) separates the Alaska Canada Highway from the patrol cabin, which is a decent day’s walk for a fit Ranger who knows the route. The cabin contains a wood stove, a two-burner gas cooker, two bunks, a work area, and a nearby outhouse with a spectacular view down the valley. The stove is powered by two massive propane tanks propped and lashed to the outside wall, and I can only imagine a helicopter is required to deliver them when full. The cabin was locked up for the season, and outside on the porch a defunct can of bear spray appeared to have been punctured in multiple places by large-diameter canines. A spartan accommodation, but able to meet all the basic needs. The siting of the cabin is obviously a studied choice to avoid the worst of the cold, katabatic winds that plunge from the ice-clad higher elevations visible just beyond the rocky cliffs.
We set up our tent on a lovely bench some little distance behind me and perched above the rock-blasted creekbed. Once the shelter was assembled and the sleeping bags unfurled, we turned toward the cabin to cook dinner and noticed a Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) hunting ground squirrels in the rocks visible toward the right of the frame. The fox caught a large squirrel and then retreated to a small cave-like crevice in the rocks and disappeared from view. Several minutes later it emerged again and began pursuing another ground squirrel up and down amongst the rocks.
Following our repast of pasta with rehydrated tomato sauce leather from my garden, parmigiana, and freeze-dried sausage, we concluded that we had not yet walked enough for the day, and we ambled up the stream bed toward the Burwash Glacier. Just out of view around the corner, it was evident that a Grizzly Bear had annihilated a colony of ground squirrels, excavating many square meters of earth and flinging large rocks and significant volumes of soil some distance in its haste to capture its quarry. No squirrels appeared to remain.
Looking up the valley, the view was blocked by a thick wedge of hard looking rock that is perhaps 50 feet thick and 30 feet high. The stream has cut a narrow crevice through this massive, perplexing chockstone, and I was able to touch both sides of the rock walls with my arms extended on either side as we hopped carefully upstream from rock to rock. A moonscape unfolded on the other side of the chockstone with more jumbled rocks than seems reasonable to exist in all of creation and scant plant life to be found. High up on the steep, unstable, and eroding slopes, we could see where a bear had walked and then paused in two places to dig furiously into the loose substrate.
We returned slowly to camp, picking a careful route amongst the stones and many channels of the braided creek. Returning to the cabin and our cooking area, we sipped herbal tea and ate biscuits as we watched the light finally begin to fade close to 9:30p. Unexpectedly, a small falcon-like bird swooped down along the outcrop above the cabin and attempted to grab the hat from my friend’s head. Failing to remove the object of its pursuit from the dome of its rightful owner, the baffling bird flew quickly across the creek and disappeared into the gathering darkness. This place seems to burst with inscrutable messages.
Three years ago studio stack of a dead specimen found in my garden.
I tried to rehydrate the eyes with a mixture of warm water, soap and a few drops of vinegar, seemed to go well until the right eye began to change color ...
65 shots taken with 1000d + reversed Tokina 28mm+extension tubes.Illuminated with two Ikea led lights.
f5.6 ; iso200 ; v=0,5seg
I continue here with my microscopic dissection of the Alyssum flowering plant. I believe that the small yellow structure shown here is the Stigma end of the Pistal. My image was created using a Nikon light microscope. Six images focused at different planes were photostacked together using Helicon Focus, with additional post processing work in Lightroom and Photoshop. The width of the stigma in this image is approximately 0.8 mm.
Further information
"The pistil is the name given to the entire female reproductive system contained in a flower. It is composed of the stigma, style and ovary, which houses the ovules that eventually become seeds. The pistil contains all the structures required to trap and grow compatible pollen tubes until they are capable of successfully fertilizing ovules.
The stigma is the sticky, swollen structure at the top of the pistil. Its job is to capture and hold onto pollen grains. As they cling to the stigma, these dry reproductive structures are rehydrated; the stigma then sends hormonal signals to the pollen grains that tell them to elongate into the pistil.
The style is a long, hollow tube that holds the stigma far enough away from the ovary to be able to catch pollen grains as they pass by or positions the stigma in such a way so pollinators will rub against it. The length of the style is different depending on the plant, helping the pistil weed out any incompatible pollen tubes when they fail to grow long enough to properly fertilize the ovules."
Source: homeguides.sfgate.com/part-flower-contains-stigma-style-6...
Easily rehydrated by spraying with water...
Taken at The Regency, Laguna Woods, California. © 2013 All Rights Reserved.
My images are not to be used, copied, edited, or blogged without my explicit permission.
Please!! NO Glittery Awards or Large Graphics...Buddy Icons are OK. Thank You!
HMM!
Rough violet ground beetle (25 mm, Carabus problematicus; Coleoptera, Carabidae) found years ago in Montenau, Wolfsbush (453 m, Belgium, 19 July 1996; collection specimen).
Studio work with a dead specimen; first cleaned and rehydrated, then staged. Focus stack based on 117 images, assembled in Zerene Stacker (Pmax & Dmap). Sony A7RM5, FE 2.8/90 Macro G OSS; ISO-100, f/6.3, 1/2 sec, diffused combined LED and daylight.
Lots of yard work today in high temps.
Wish I could have stood under this for a while.
Happy fourth everyone.
Apologies for the drab background. Easy enough to fix in Elements but I decided to leave as is because it’s kind of an indication of what we are going thru up here courtesy of the state of Washington with its wildfires. Usually it’s the Canadian wildfires drifting down to the northern states but they decided to return the favor this year. Yes, and that’s me behind the lens (not visible) coughing and sputtering and trying to retain focus on this female Northern Harrier. She completely ignores me which does not surprise me because she’s about a 100 yards or so away and I had no idea what she was until I cropped this shot on the computer and did some research. Who do I think you are?
Supremely proud of this shot, no, not because of its quality, it really is not that great, but because of the trials and tribulations I went thru just to get to the location to get this shot. It actually took me two attempts spread over two days to find the viewing platform on Big Lake in Lois Hole Centennial Park. (Another sign why I don’t work as a tracker). This is a wonderful park with an amazing variety of wildlife. The only thing more amazing is the lack of signs directing you to this park. And once you get to the parking lot, there is the fifteen minute walk to get to the platform. It’s actually a very nice walk if you are into walking and the view from the platform is well worth the effort. As I collapse onto the bench (provided on the platform) catching my breath, I am wondering why I can’t be satisfied with yard shots where refreshments of my choice are only a wish away and where I could await the return of normal air in comfort.
Be that as it may, I remain out there for about four hours in 28C degree heat until the lack of breakfast and dehydration get the better of me and I need to return to the fridge to rehydrate. Some more shots from Big Lake to be posted later. After rehydration process is complete.
The very common Bluebottle fly (Calliphora vomitoria, Calliphoridae, Diptera; Boom, Belgium, 15 December 2018).
Studio work with a dead specimen, it was rehydrated and staged. Focus stack, 49 images, assembled in Zerene Stacker (Pmax & Dmap). Sony A7Rm3 + FE 2.8/90mm Macro G OSS at 1x; ISO-50, f/5, 1/25s, -0.3step, diffused ledlight.
Burgers are on the menu! Well, at least, my (space) version of them: Tortillas, rehydrated beef patty, our last fresh onion from HTV6, a slice of lettuce (grown on ISS for a scientific experiment: don’t tell), and various sauces. It tasted like heaven, and flew like an angel ;)
Au menu de ce soir/midi, burger maison ! La recette de ma version spatiale : des tortillas, des galettes de bœuf réhydratées, les derniers oignons frais qu’il nous reste du ravitaillement de l’HTV-6, une feuille de laitue (cultivée dans la Station spatiale pour une expérience scientifique, mais il a bien fallu faire une petite exception pour ce repas...) et des sauces diverses et variées. Un met divin qui vole avec une grâce angélique ;)
Credits: ESA/NASA
GMT361_13_36_For ESA_Thomas Pesquet_Dimburger - 35mm_140_VIDEO_458912_Ch1
Flat ground beetle with greenish spots (22 mm, Carabus depressus; Coleoptera, Carabidae) found years ago in Austria (1500m, Ischgl, 7 July 1993; collection specimen).
Studio work with a dead specimen; first cleaned and rehydrated, then staged. Focus bracketing, 89 images, assembled in Zerene Stacker (Pmax & Dmap). Sony A7RM5 (crop mode), FE 2.8/90 Macro G OSS; ISO-100, f/5.6, 1/5 sec, diffused LED light.
Every night at the fair they had a different musical act that was included in your admission. There was a wide variety of artists such as The Village People, Anthrax, Easton Corbin, and Los Tucanes De Tijuana. A little bit of something for everyone.
We were sitting in a covered pavilion taking a rest and getting rehydrated when I got this shot. The roadies were in the process of setting up for that nights show. Don't know who the musical act was that night, we didn't stick around to find out!
Portrait of a carabid beetle (16mm, Pseudozaena sp., Coleoptera, Carabidae). Collection specimen from Indonesia (C. Moluccas, Buru island., ca. 200-350m alt., Dec. 2019).
Studio work with a rehydrated collection specimen. Focus stack of 59 images, assembled in Zerene Stacker (Dmap & Pmax). Sony A7Rm5 (in cropped mode), FE 2.8/90 Macro G OSS; ISO-100, f/6.3, 1/50sec, diffused led light (Nanlite Forza 60B II).
Headed into the Mojave. Gordo had driven up in his bus after yesterday’s shoot and slept in a rest area. I stayed at the hotel, waking every couple hours so I could rotate all the batteries through the chargers. It was nearly 10 am by the time they were done and I was fully awake and somewhat rehydrated.
Coffee and egg sandwich from Starbucks and a sandwich for lunch and a salad for dinner from Walmart. Forgot to get some sunscreen. I should have gotten some chapstick.
It’s an hour and a half to Ludlow. The wildfire smoke dissipated along the way. I drove through a dust storm.
After meeting up at the town’s gas station we drove out a disconnected section of Route 66 until we came to a bridge out. Left the roadway and continued to a dirt road via a wash. On the west side of town is a 100’ high hill covered in sand and volcanic rock. We set up on the far side of the hill. We tried to guess how far we could see in either direction. 20 miles? Only one other car came through all day.
Today’s lighting setup was a little less technically challenging than yesterday’s. I made a few mistakes including leaving my camera at the top of the hill. Gordo seemed far less affected - perhaps he’s acclimated during the last couple weeks. Perhaps I can’t be trusted in the desert.
We lit up just about 3/4 of a mile of track with the 8 speed lights on hand. We lifted one light up to probably 16’ feet by placing it on the roof of the bus.
As soon as we finished setting up the lights a flood of trains arrived. We photographed the first two and cleaned up while trains passed in both directions. On the way out, saw flashing yellow lights used on railroad trucks. It pulled up as I refueled at the gas station. “Are you rail fans or railroad employees?” He repeated my answers into his radio and I left after taking on 7 gallons for my trip back to Cajon Pass via Barstow.
This is a Lymexylidae beetle, one of the most amazing beatle families. This guys have a fairly reduced elytra, and very large eyes. That together with the long slender body make them hardly indentifeied as a beatle by untrained eyes.
Specimen was found dead, rehydrated, cleaned, mounted, dried and then photographed (hence the eye damage). This is a stack of nearly 30 shots, at around 5x magnification. Focus rail is my trusty and funky homemade one. Shots were lit using two flash, and a stryrofoam cup difuser atached to the lens, surrounding the insect.
Found at Reserva Biológica de Poço das Antas, RJ, Brasil