All posts by Josh More

Fiction Friday

Buff Cheeked Gibbon (Hylobates gabriellae)

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She returns to the spot where it happened. It’s not everyday. Sometimes weeks will go by with nary a thought to that day. But eventually, she returns.

She remembers her joy that day, the opportunity. It was glorious. Finally, her day in the light. She was noticed. She was with new friends, building a new life. She was elated when she returned, anxious to share her news with him.

But he was gone. He was gone and she hadn’t been there. Would it have happened if she had said no? If she had kept the date? If it had, could she have saved him? Would they have died together? Would they have lived, returning together to this point to share a different memory entirely?

Maybe. Maybe not. But she would know.

Not knowing is truly the worst.

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Mammal, Truth

Japanese Snow Monkey

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Back in the day, zoos were mostly bars and fences (a lot of older zoos still have a lot of fences). Eventually, zoos realized that humans felt better about looking at the animals if there weren’t bars in the way and they started digging pits. Interestingly, this works for real life humans and is the exact opposite for photography. With photography, you want the animal slightly above you, so you feel a sense of connection, even through bars. If the animal is below you, it reinforces the common “humans are better than animals” view, and creates distance. The greater the height, the more the distance and the photos just don’t resonate as much.

That is, unless the animal is interacts directly with the viewer. Then the image can still work.

Insect, Truth

Giant Spiny Leaf Insect (Heteropteryx dilatata)

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Suppose you’re in insect. Your eggs need to be kept under 25 C to hatch, but you don’t want to bother with actually moving them out of the sun or finding a good home for them. What do you?

If you’re a giant spiny lead insect, you’ll coat your eggs in lipids and fling them all over the forest to ants to eat. They’ll find the eggs, carry them to their nest, eat the outer layer and then ditch them in their trash pile … which is kept under 25 C. Then your babies will hatch out, think “WFT? Where am I?”, find their way out and scamper up the nearest tree.

You may not think she’s the greatest mother, but as you can see, she’s punk and doesn’t care about your opinion.

Fish, Truth

Fish

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Taking photos through an aquarium is difficult. The lens must be directly parallel on the “glass” to prevent “fringing”, or the rainbow effect you get from different frequencies of light refracting at different angles. Additionally, there is spillover from the flashes themselves. On old plastic (as seen here), every scratch or imperfection glows. You can get around this with little things by placing the lens and/or flashes directly against the glass and shooting such that no light spills onto the surface you’re surfing through. This is harder with bigger animals like this fish. Here, I had to set the flashes to a fairly tight field of view and hope the fish didn’t move too much as I set up and took the shot. As you can see, it could have worked better. It also helps to clean the glass. The older it is, though, the less well that works. What I need to do it better is some sort of angled “snoot” that allows for better light blocking. I have started some experiments with ThinkingPutty to make some of my own in the field. They’re working well, but as you can see, I need more practice.

Lie, Mammal

Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris)

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Do you like water? Do you LOVE water? … Then you need our newest product! ICE!

ICE is just like water, but portable … WITHOUT a dedicated container!

Take your water to the mall! To the library! On a picnic with friends … or just by yourself.

It’s not just about carrying your water with you. You can stack it! You can juggle it! You can even throw it at your friends!

So you’re tired of both your water AND your water’s CONTAINER, call now and get ICE! Remember … ICE IS NICE!

(Warning, ice is not compatible with certain weather patterns and may revert to its original form. (Do not taunt ice.))

Lie, Mammal

Fennec Fox (Vulpes zerda)

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Fennec Fox (Vulpes zerda)

Shadowfox descends from Felaróf, of the race of the Fuhsazas, the greatest vulpens of Middle-earth. Shadowfox can run faster than the wind … which means his speed is variable based on weather conditions. Though the Rohirrim attempted to tame him, he was too wily and independent. Today, he is mostly seen walking beside younger foxes, whispering wisdom and lies into their ears, hoping that, in time, he will find a partner worthy of his magnificence.