Tag: nature

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Arty Video Clips

Watch: Spinning Blooms

Blooms by John Edmark

University lecturer John Edmark creates spinning sculptures that come to life when they’re lit by a strobe light or captured by a video camera using an extremely fast shutter. Edmark calls his 3D-printed sculptures Blooms and says they’re designed using the same method nature uses in pine cones, sunflowers, and artichokes. You may know this method as the Fibonacci sequence — it is nature’s numbering system.

Check out the hypnotizing animations created by Edmark’s spinning Blooms.

[via Business Insider]

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Animal Kingdom Arty

Chart of Things that Glow

Bioluminescence is, by it’s definition, emitted light from living things. It serves several purposes in life, including warnings to others, attracting food, and attracting mates. We know that a good many things have glowy bits, but it’s hard to get a good idea of just how many things around us can create their own light. Now we finally have a very pretty chart, courtesy of artist Eleanor Lutz, that details a (non-exhaustive) number of luminous species. It’s a lot more than you’d think. Check it out.

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Animal Kingdom Video Clips

Flying Eagle’s Point of View

You may have seen our previous post about of a Peregrine Falcon killing a duck in mid-air. If you’ve ever wondered what it must be like to fly on an eagle’s back, this little compilation from YouTube user Srachi lets you vicariously soar through the skies and view life from the bird’s point of view.

[via Laughing Squid]

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Animal Kingdom Arty Awesomeness

Beautiful Bees and Wasps

Beauty is in the eye of the bee-holder. The people over at the USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab do research on the native bee populations in the greater United States to get a better picture of how these bees interact with their natural environment. Speaking of pictures, they take multiple macro shots and stitch them together to create a complete and up-close view of the amazing insect. Lab chief Sam Droege makes their large catalogue of scientific photos freely available on Flickr.

Have a look at some of the lab’s stunning macro bee and wasp photos after the jump.

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Animal Kingdom Awesomeness

And Here we see David Attenborough in his Natural Habit

Observe the specimen, Sir David Attenborough. In 2012, the natural history filmmaker celebrated an astonishing 60-year career documenting the natural world that we live in.

In this rare look, Rosemary Mosco of Bird & Moon nature comics turns the attention firmly on Attenborough, wondering what it be like if he were the subject of a nature documentary. Check out the full strip after the jump, and read it aloud in your best David Attenborough voice.

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Animal Kingdom Arty Awesomeness Featured Video Clips

Starlings Take Flight in Amazing Murmuration

A flock of birds. A murder of crows. A parliament of owls. The English language certainly provides descriptive terms for collections of birds. Perhaps one of the most interesting collective nouns is a murmuration. This term describes a gathering of starlings, and Vimeo user Sophie Windsor Clive was lucky enough to experience such a murmuration on the River Shannon in Ireland.

Clive recorded the amazing phenomenon where thousands of starlings are in flight, with one bird trying to copy the movement of the other. What results is a collections of wonderfully swirly, hypnotic patterns. It’s a breathtaking sight, you must see it.

What looks like a mating dance is actually a form of survival says The Telegraph. Starlings are prey for other larger birds and to avoid being the next meal, the starlings seek safety in the flock. They fight to stay away from the edge, because it’s easier predatory birds to snatch them up from there.

[via @Deems]

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Animal Kingdom Arty Awesomeness Featured Photoworthy

Incredible Macro Photography by Igor Siwanowicz

If you have a penchant for macro photography like I do, you’re sure to love the exceptional talents of Igor Siwanowicz. There isn’t much information about the photographer so his photos will have to do the talking. The subjects in front of Siwanowicz’s lenses include all manner of amphibians, insects, and reptiles. He captures the everso cute expressions on the faces of the chameleons and the Kung Fu poses that praying mantises are fond of.

Have a look at some of his stunning macro photos after the jump.

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Animal Kingdom Arty Featured Photoworthy

Beautiful Macro Insect Photos by Leon Baas

If you liked Miroslaw Swietek’s shots of dew-covered insects, you make take a shine to the macro photos by Leon Baas.

The Dutch photographer has always been fascinated by insects, and with the help of books, he taught himself how to take close-up photos. Afters years of experimenting with different lighting methods and equipment, Baas says he has managed to develop a style of this own. Have a look at his some of his wonderful macro insect photos after the jump.

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Arty Photoworthy

Macro Flowers: Up Close & Beautiful

Some years back, we visited a lovely lady in Hermanus. She had the most wonderful garden and early one morning I got up to take some photos of the flora. I took a macro shot of some dew-covered daisies that I am to this day especially proud of – click here to see it. It’s not a professional-looking photo but I like it and entered it in a competition under the DOF category. Surprisingly I won.

Anyways enough of the preamble. I just stumbled across 15-year-old Polish photographer, Magda K. Her macro shots of flowers have such a beautiful, serene look about them. When I grow older, I want to be like her – a better photographer, not a Polish girl, because that wouldn’t make much sense. See some of Magda’s wonderful photos after the jump.

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Animal Kingdom Arty Awesomeness Featured Video Clips

This is Beautiful: My Father’s Garden

We had a garden once. And then came the two terrors, Big Min and Lil’ Pun, who decided to re-decorate it for us by digging up the soil and gleefully eating the succulents. I would have severely disciplined them if not for the fact that they’re so very cute. Yes I know, I have a soft touch. But you didn’t visit to hear about my appendages.

Mirko Faienza, a cameraman from Italy, decided to document his father’s front garden and the insects that call it home. It’s an amazing little world made that much better by Mirko’s spectacular videography. The music is great too, it’s a truly beautiful piece. See My Father’s Garden below or watch it in HD on Vimeo.

He created the short film with his Panasonic 500 camcorder and an HD lens. See more of Mirko’s work on his website.

[via Laughing Squid]