Charlie and the Nature Factory [Warning: Stunningly Beautiful Large Photo Images]

parumpdragon

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It would be really neat to see time-lapse photography/animation or whatever-it's-called of this.

Just sayin'. :D


That flower photo was taken in 2008 and the plant has long since died. I'd have to go buy another one :D lol. Too cold right now.
 

Tepelus

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Had a beautiful sunset tonight. Too bad I live in town. Power lines and poles and houses ruin an otherwise beautiful picture.

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LadyV

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I took a fabulous closeup of a bird. Then I realized it was just a dream. :(


Had a beautiful sunset tonight. Too bad I live in town. Power lines and poles and houses ruin an otherwise beautiful picture.

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I wouldn't even have noticed if you hadn't said other wise. Great picture.
 

L. Y.

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night-flyer

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*wanders off to look for nightflyer, too.*

This could be a long journey.

Beautiful photo, Tepelus. I love the color of the clouds against that deep blue.

Great pics everyone. I may not always comment on all of them, but I'm always going back and looking through them and admiring your talents. Beautiful work. :)
 

night-flyer

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I caught this guy in Idube, Africa. First one I've ever seen there. And while I was excited to see him/her I must say that I'm a bit uneasy for the nearby deer life and the Egyptian geese family that live there, a mom and dad with four goslings. Do you think he'll eat them? :( And is this a croc?

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night-flyer

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The intruder did not go unnoticed. Mommy and daddy goose chased after it all the way across the watering hole. They were honking and making shrill noises which really seemed to agitate it. For a moment I feared that the geese were actually going to get in the water and try to take him on. :scared:

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After it got far to the other side of the watering hole, mom went back to her babies...

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while dad stood watch and yelled at the croc for several hours.
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I'm very relieved to see that all the babies are there and counted for, they used to have five, but one went missing some time back. :/ However, there is a dead deer at the other end of the wateringhole and I wonder if croc dude was the cause. :Shrug:
 
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LadyV

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I caught this guy in Idube, Africa. First one I've ever seen there. And while I was excited to see him/her I must say that I'm a bit uneasy for the nearby deer life and the Egyptian geese family that live there, a mom and dad with four goslings. Do you think he'll eat them? :( And is this a croc?
It is indeed. Alligators are found only in America and China. :)
 

night-flyer

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Wow, really? Thanks LadyV. I thought it was a croc by his shape, I didn't know that they only lived in America and China.

aw......love your avie! :)
 

L. Y.

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Cool photos, NF. :)
 

swachski

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Dang, Nif, those geese got balls!
 

Silver King

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Iguana!

Palm trees!
Very nice, Jude. Are those palms on your property?

Dino, that third one of the egret flying, with the curved neck and the reflection in the water is stunning.
I was fortunate to be standing on a rise above the lake while looking down at the bird. She was mostly gliding, using a tail wind that made her easier to capture. And the sunlight was just right at the time.

something that makes me smile
That made me smile also. :)

Some daylily photos to share on this gloomy day. Well, gloomy here. These were taken in 2011, and they are all plants in my gardens. I have lots more than these, but I won't overrun the thread with them.
Those are lovely. Please feel free to overrun this thread with them at any time.

I'm curious if you've ever experimented with using flash on close subjects such as flowers, even when they are well lit by natural light. I've found that in some cases, it helps to highlight deeper tones that are otherwise muted. It's also interesting to compare photos later, made with and without flash, to see which ones turned out better.

Had a beautiful sunset tonight. Too bad I live in town. Power lines and poles and houses ruin an otherwise beautiful picture.

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Looks like a storm of molten lava heading your way. (It would've been cool, for the heck of it, to experiment with flash in that scene as well.)

I caught this guy in Idube, Africa. First one I've ever seen there...
Are those shots taken from a live cam feed, NF? I remember you shared a link a while back to a site that records African wildlife, but I didn't save the link at the time.

Very dramatic sequence, in any case. :)
 

Lady MacBeth

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I caught this guy in Idube, Africa. First one I've ever seen there. And while I was excited to see him/her I must say that I'm a bit uneasy for the nearby deer life and the Egyptian geese family that live there, a mom and dad with four goslings. Do you think he'll eat them? :( And is this a croc?

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I was watching this too, but I had to turn it off before I knew if the goslings were safe! :)
 

Cricket18

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Just wanted to peek in and say hi...thank you to all for these gorgeous photographs. It's nice to be reminded that the world is still full of beauty and grace.

:heart:
 

Silver King

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I saw a beautiful anhinga today with fishing line wrapped tight around her beak. She was doomed to starvation unless the line was cut free.

A man walking his dog happened by, and we discussed how best to help the bird. She was close to shore and eyed us warily but didn't seem spooked.

I removed my t-shirt and ripped it down the front so that I was left with a wide piece of cloth. The plan was for me to approach the anhinga ever so slowly and toss the shirt over her body, where she could then be subdued and set free of the fishing line (a tactic I've used successfully in the past for other birds).

My partner, if he were to be trusted, would step in if the bird gained the upper hand and tried to peck out my eyeballs. The man's dog, an old chocolate lab, did his part by promptly falling sleep in the shade.

We were all set to go when two park ranges arrived on the scene and directed us to stand back while the anhinga was captured. They produced an impressive yet wholly ineffective net that's used for skimming the surface of swimming pools. I told them their approach wouldn't work and was ignored. And just as I'd predicted, the anhinga evaded capture by ducking below the net and flew away.

I was angry then and wanted to tell them off but held my tongue, which I regret now.

The doomed anhinga:



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night-flyer

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:( Isn't there a way that the bird can get it loose with it's claws? Too bad the rangers couldn't have showed up a bit later. Maybe you'll see it again while you're out taking photos. :( In any case, I think that you are heroic and the animals are lucky to have you there. I'd be scared to death to try and wrestle a bird that size, though I'd definitely would have to do something to try and keep it from dying. :cry:


Are those shots taken from a live cam feed, NF? I remember you shared a link a while back to a site that records African wildlife, but I didn't save the link at the time.

Very dramatic sequence, in any case. :)

Yes. And I know it's not like I'm out in nature and getting photos, but it takes a lot of patience to get the photo right, the animals move, the camera moves. And since I have no control over the camera, I have to wait until it decides to go back on the animal to get just the right shot and then some turn out blurry or dim. But it's exciting and I'm kind of attached to the little beasties and don't really have anyone to share it with. So I thought since it's live feed and takes hours to actually get the scenes on photo that you guys wouldn't mind me sharing them.

The croc was new to that wateringhole and caused quite a stir.



Dang, Nif, those geese got balls!

One of them even went in the water a ways after it! I was yelling at the screen. NO! What are you thinking? :D I could just picture the goslings being left in the wild as orphans. :/


Cool photos, NF. :)

Thanks L.Y.! :)

I was watching this too, but I had to turn it off before I knew if the goslings were safe! :)

Last I saw, they were fine and I think mom and dad will make sure that the croc gets nowhere near them. :)
 

LadyV

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Wow, really? Thanks LadyV. I thought it was a croc by his shape, I didn't know that they only lived in America and China.

aw......love your avie! :)
Thanks N-F!

There's actually an American species of crocodile found in the Everglades, but it's endangered. I think there's something like only 1300 of them.

The doomed anhinga:

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That's so sad. I hate when the carelessness of a human threatens the life of an innocent animal. And poo on those stupid rangers. A pool skimmer. Really? I hope she can be found again.
 

swachski

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That breaks my heart too. I'm really really hoping SK gets another chance to help her, or she's able to pull the line off on her own..
 

Silver King

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:( Isn't there a way that the bird can get it loose with it's claws? Too bad the rangers couldn't have showed up a bit later. Maybe you'll see it again while you're out taking photos. :(
The bird is going to need help removing the line, which effectively has sealed her mouth closed.

I was happy to see the rangers at first, who'd been alerted to the anhinga's plight before I arrived. Unfortunately, they turned out to be a couple of bumbling fools who couldn't catch a cold if they tried. I was dumbfounded by their sheer ineptitude, as well as their lack of concern when the bird escaped, almost as if they'd deliberately foiled the capture for some reason.
In any case, I think that you are heroic and the animals are lucky to have you there. I'd be scared to death to try and wrestle a bird that size, though I'd definitely would have to do something to try and keep it from dying. :cry:
It would've been far more heroic if I'd tossed those rangers into the lake after the bird flew away...

Yes. And I know it's not like I'm out in nature and getting photos, but it takes a lot of patience to get the photo right, the animals move, the camera moves. And since I have no control over the camera, I have to wait until it decides to go back on the animal to get just the right shot and then some turn out blurry or dim. But it's exciting and I'm kind of attached to the little beasties and don't really have anyone to share it with. So I thought since it's live feed and takes hours to actually get the scenes on photo that you guys wouldn't mind me sharing them.
I very much like the images you've shared, and how you transport us to a part of the world most of us are never likely to experience in person. :)

That breaks my heart too. I'm really really hoping SK gets another chance to help her, or she's able to pull the line off on her own..
I saw her again today, diving below the surface in search of food. She didn't have any trouble spearing fish but couldn't open her mouth to eat them.

There's still hope, but her prospects for survival appear dim at the moment.
 

night-flyer

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I saw her again today, diving below the surface in search of food. She didn't have any trouble spearing fish but couldn't open her mouth to eat them.

There's still hope, but her prospects for survival appear dim at the moment.

:( Those dumbasses should be out there everyday waiting to see if she comes back. Then again, little good that will do. *sigh* I know that the rangers are aware of it, but isn't there someone else you could call? Maybe you could call their office and tell whoever is in charge that they loused up the job and that they need someone that knows what they're doing out there to save that bird's life. :Shrug: It's a shame that it'll die when there's still time and the means to save it. I'm sure it visits that same spot often.

I very much like the images you've shared, and how you transport us to a part of the world most of us are never likely to experience in person. :)

:hooray: I wasn't sure if I should post them since I wasn't taking the photos in person, but they are live. And I really don't have much else to contribute to this thread. :/
 

night-flyer

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Croc dude seems very content with his new home except when the elephants came to play last night and drove him to the other side of the watering hole. Spotted the geese family and all are doing fine. :) Though if any come up missing I'll be glaring at Mr. Croc through the screen. I hope he sticks to eating fish...well, he can have a deer or two, I suppose as long as I don't have to see it. The dude does have to survive after all. :D
 

night-flyer

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I take that back. There is a deer in Africa right now, practically sniffing the freakin' croc! I'm going to crap myself. :scared: STUPID DEER!