Thankful for the feast.
Golden Poison Frog (Phyllobates terribilis)
Thankful for (and looking for) all the ladies.
Green Araçari (Pteroglossus viridis)
Thankful that the carbon-12 nucleic resonance is 7.6 million electron-volts, but somewhat bothered at the anthropocentric bias of the theory.
Peru 2015 – Throwback Thursday
In the Amazon, there is a high- and a low-water season. In the low water season, the water flow is much slower and it comes from much nearer than the mountain highlands. This means that the water where we were is poorly oxygenated, so the fish swim to the surface to get the oxygen they need. This results in rivers of fish within rivers of mud. A cornucopia of fish, if you will.
Red-fan Parrot (Deroptyus accipitrinus)
Thankful that time exists, so that artificial narratives may be imposed upon a chaotic and capricious world.
White-eared Catbird (Ailuroedus buccoides)
Thankful not to be a turkey.
Peru 2015 – Caiman
I guess when you eat dirty fish your entire life, mud doesn’t taste quite so bad.
Peru 2015 – Bug
When you get six of these bugs together, you can make an apple.
Peru 2015 – Sunrise
On land, where you can use a tripod, you can use techniques like HDR to make everything look nicely exposed. When you’re shooting from a skiff, you have to settle for just making things look pretty.
Monkey Monday
Sometimes political debates can get nasty.
Peru 2015 – Black-capped Squirrel Monkey
Gotta keep hold of your tail. Never know what’s going to come to get it in the jungle.
Prairie Dog performing Titus Andronicus
“Of her two branches, those sweet ornaments, whose circling shadows kings have sought to sleep in, and might not gain so great a happiness as have thy love?”
Cormorant
It’s interesting how cormorants queue up and then fly off in order when scared. I’m sure it’s nice from a social perspective, but it seems maladaptive from an evolutionary perspective.
Peru 2015 – Cicada
For as long as I remember, I wanted to see a cicada coming out of its shell. A few years ago, I was lucky enough to watch one climbing a tree, but had to leave before I could get any shots. On the one night hike in Peru, at the very end, my brother point this little guy out. I had about two minutes to get the light set up correctly, using minimal equipment, while there was significant pressure to end the hike and get back in the boats. On one hand, I think I got a great shot giving the conditions. On the other, it was one more example of why large groups and I don’t really work out very well.
Blue-breasted Kingfisher (Halcyon malimbica)
Two different materials comprise the bill. This is why it curves up in the summer and down in the winter.
No longer
It had started out fun, but it had never felt right to her.
The warning sign, really, should have been his friend. Always hanging around the two of them, at first she’d thought he was an awkward “third wheel”, but he’d been his friend longer than she’d been with him, so she tried to keep an open mind.
She’d tried to set him up with some of her friends, and try the couple of couples thing. Neither of her friends lasted more than two dates with him. She’d thought it odd that when she asked why, they had both gotten quiet, looked away and mumbled something about him not really being interested in them.
So, it was back to three for a while, though she tried to make dates for just the two of them when she could. It was hard to play along with the charade of being a happy couple when he was sitting nearby, watching them. Something was wrong with those eyes, looking at his own reflection when he wasn’t staring at her.
She knew he was trying to be friendly. Telling jokes, trying to be witty. Still, it felt forced. Eventually, it felt creepy.
Last night was the last straw. It was just a movie, but he sat a little too close to her. She felt trapped between the two of them, unable to enjoy the night at all. When he’d left and was just the two of them, she tried to talk about but her boyfriend brushed the topic off yet again. She’d tried to make him see, but he wouldn’t.
This morning she sat, phone in hand, thinking, trying to work up the energy to have the discussion. To tell him that he had to make a choice. That it was him or her. But in the end, she decided the point was probably moot. She’d already made her decision.
Today, she was going to break up with Jessie.
She was going to be her own girl.
Blind Cave Fish (Astyanax mexicanus)
You know how, when you go camping, people complain about all the noseeums? This is what they look like.
Peru 2015 – Bird
In a zoo scenario, this photo would not be acceptable because of the branch that cuts across the beak. However, in the wild, you have to make due with what you get.
Throwback Thursday
This fish has overexercised for fin-wrestling and has probably been on steriods. It is not safe to eat and should be thrown back.
Black and White Colobus
What’s black and white and pink inside?