Field trip report thread.

[Arete]

Easily the best side benefit to being a scientist is going on fieldwork. As a request to another thread I'm throwing up a field trip report thread to post photos/war stories and reports on fieldwork anyone would like to share.

 

I was recently in the Osa Peninsula region of Costa Rica - nominally looking at amphibian declines post chytrid fungus. The Osa is one of, if not the most biodiverse places on the planet, and well worth a visit for any reason. I took some very (very) amateur photos of some of the critters we saw and am posting up on request. The herpetological bias is unapologetic . Feel very free to put mine to shame, and if people would like I have photo sets from previous trips - mostly in the monsoonal and arid parts of Australia.

 

All photos taken on my Nikon D40 entry level SLR with either a Nikkor 18-55 4.5 or a 55-200 4.5.

Obligatory Ara macao shot

Anolis polylepis

Agalychnis callidryas

Sphenomorphus cherriei

Leptodeira septentrionalis

Coragyps atratus

Dendrobates auratus

Florisuga mellivora

[Appolinaria]

So beautiful. Also put up some of Australia when you get the time

 

Anolis polylepis

 

That guy is tiny

[imatfaal]

Superb shots - is the Dendrobates auratus as poisonous as he/she looks? Do any of them have common names that we might recognize other than the Macao?

[Arete]

Superb shots - is the Dendrobates auratus as poisonous as he/she looks? Do any of them have common names that we might recognize other than the Macao?

 

A - it's a poison dart frog. They don't hide particularly well and they're super bright so they were pretty easy to find. I guess you don't need to run away or be camouflaged when you're as poisonous as a dart frog.

 

B- Sure:

 

1) Scarlet Macaw

2) Gulf Anole

3) Red eyed tree frog

4) Litter skink

5) Cat eyed snake

6) Black vulture

7) Green and black poison dart frog

8) white necked jacobin

[imatfaal]

Thanks Arete - and I think the little red-eyed tree frog starred as the poster frog for the seminal Beeb series 'Life on Earth'

[Appolinaria]

 

Are these smaller than they seem in the picture?

[Arete]

Are these smaller than they seem in the picture?

 

The ones we encountered were approximately 2-3" in height.

[CharonY]

What SS did you use for the Jacobin?

[Arete]

What SS did you use for the Jacobin?

 

Apologies; I can't remember precisely but it was fast - It was a hovering hummingbird hanging out at a feeder and it took me about half an hour to get a semi decent photo.

 

They're very territorial and will chase each other off from a feeder - and appealing very much to my childish side they defecate at each other whilst doing so, so it's not just monkeys that use poop as a weapon...

[imatfaal]

Apologies; I can't remember precisely but it was fast - It was a hovering hummingbird hanging out at a feeder and it took me about half an hour to get a semi decent photo.

 

They're very territorial and will chase each other off from a feeder - and appealing very much to my childish side they defecate at each other whilst doing so, so it's not just monkeys that use poop as a weapon...

 

With a Nikon D40 you should be able to right click on a photo in windows or nikon light box (or whatever you use) and as long as you haven't edited the photo you should have loads of details including shutter speed, fstop etc

[Arete]

With a Nikon D40 you should be able to right click on a photo in windows or nikon light box (or whatever you use) and as long as you haven't edited the photo you should have loads of details including shutter speed, fstop etc

 

Right you are... I wasn't lying when I said very, very amateur...

F stop was 6.3, exposure time 1/640 seconds and focal length was 63mm.

[imatfaal]

Arete - few tips. keep the originals saved as is - make a copy of it for any use. any shots you are not happy with use the program that nikon supplied and try auto-correct for light, colour balance, contrast etc. if you can afford the memory card space double save shots as max-size .jpg and as native format .nef on the nikon. get a tripod. learn about exposure bracketing (v easy on yr camera iirc). snap like a mad thing - you can always delete the chaff at the end of the day

[Joatmon]

I know this is really "off topic"but I can't resist posting.

I am so pleased to be able to take the attached photo. I know it's a terrible photo - cheapest Fujifilm camera you can buy, taken through glass in the dusk of the evening with the flash disabled.

BUT it's my front garden and we have a pair of UK robins feeding young in an overgrown Acacia hedge that really needs trimming - I have a marvellous excuse to put that job off for a while!

Edited June 8, 2012 by Joatmon

[imatfaal]

I know this is really "off topic"but I can't resist posting.

I am so pleased to be able to take the attached photo. I know it's a terrible photo - cheapest Fujifilm camera you can buy, taken through glass in the dusk of the evening with the flash disabled.

BUT it's my front garden and we have a pair of UK robins feeding young in an overgrown Acacia hedge that really needs trimming - I have a marvellous excuse to put that job off for a while!

Never put off till tomorrow that which can be safely postponed to a week next tuesday

[CharonY]

Right you are... I wasn't lying when I said very, very amateur... <br style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; background-color: rgb(248, 250, 252); ">F stop was 6.3, exposure time 1/640 seconds and focal length was 63mm.

Nice, thanks. I tend to have go higher than that to get a nice resolution of the wings. With 63 mm you must have been really close. Nice shot!

 

And in addition to what Imatfaal said, maybe get lightroom (there are student's and educator's licenses) to develop/catalogue the pictures that you may have shot in raw.

Edited June 8, 2012 by CharonY

[Arete]

So an older trip to the Eyre Peninsula for a biodiversity survey.

 

A painted dragon (Ctenophorous pictus) on a sand dune. The males of this species can have either red, blue or orange coloration of their heads - which is used in sexual signalling and territorial displays.

 

Up close shot of a female painted dragon (Ctenophoroous pictus)

 

A Sleepy lizard/Shingleback lizard/Bobtail lizard (Teliqua rugosa). These guys are roughly analogous to land tortoises elsewhere in that they're slow, herbivorous armor plated terrestrial reptiles. They're easy to catch but have a pretty solid bite and will poop on you.

 

Told you all it would fill this thread with lizard photos if no one else added to it

[CharonY]

Told you all it would fill this thread with lizard photos if no one else added to it

 

 

I am a lab biologist the only good pictures I have are from hummingbirds in the backyard. But then, lizards are cool

[hypervalent_iodine]

Caught a snap of a wild column a while back:

 

 

You'll also notice in the background to the right, the rare and elusive freshly distilled methanol.

[secretcompass]

Hi all how do you add an image on here? I just want to add from my desktop

[Spyman]

Save the picture file on your computer.

Open SFN.

Login

Create new post.

When typing your message, below the editor window, you will see a section titled "Attachments."

In that section, click "Browse."

That will open a file search window.

Find your picture file, and select it.

Once it appears in the Attachments prompt, click the "attach this file" button.

Submit post / Add reply.

From this thread: http://www.scienceforums.net/topic/50773-posting-pictures/

[secretcompass]

thanks for that I didnt see the attachment option below the window. Great i'll get some stuff up asap!

[CharonY]

Let's see if the pic is too compressed...