The Picture Thread

[v9733xa]

That's right, it's time once again for the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards!

Let's take a look at some entries for 2018.

Daniel L. Friend/Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards/Barcroft

Amy Kennedy/Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards/Barcroft

Geert Weggen/Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards/Barcroft

Jakob Strecker/Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards/Barcroft

Nick Parayko/Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards/Barcroft

Muhammad Faishol Husni/Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards/Barcroft

[꧁꧂]

May 23, 2018 17:24:37 GMT -5 v9733xa said:

Nick Parayko/Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards/Barcroft

Looks like a typical local hardcore show when a few of your friends are the only paying people.

[v9733xa]

Okay more awards to judge.

The 2018 National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year contest is a big deal, and i'm sure there are thousands of worthy photos. But here are what i found that blew me away.

Bus at Dusk. "At dusk, a bus crosses the Tsing Ma Bridge in Hong Kong." © ChunPong Leung

Chasing Lunch. "A baby black-tip reef shark swims through a swarm of silver sprats at lunchtime in the lagoon of Mirihi Island in the Maldives." © Mohamed Shareef

Super Sonic. "I took this photo from a helicopter with a medium-format camera over Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona." © Dinesh Boaz

Those Zeekeh Brothers in Arms. "A tender moment between brothers on the shores of Cameroon." © Jalan Sahba

Leopard Hunting a Stork. "One-shot capture. I watched the leopard stalking the stork. I only had time to focus at 400 millimeters; no time to change to high speed. I watched the stork and as soon as it flapped its wings I shot one shot. And you don’t know if it got away or not: the beauty of photography... and the Serengeti." © Paul Rifkin

Foam Party. "One of those crazy moments when it all comes together and you don't mind if you're in the way." © Mitchell Pettigrew

Coordillera. "Mexico is one of those countries which surprises you around every corner. The beauty is overwhelming and sometimes unbelievably real. Some years ago I flew over this "coordillera" (mountain range) and was totally overwhelmed by its beauty. Minutes later Monterrey City appeared. Fantastic how close to a big city such a beautiful landscape can be." © Karsten Hoenack

Together. "People and nature." © Hongjun Yue

Hyperspace. "A handheld long-exposure shot from the front of a Copenhagen metro train as it sped through an underground tunnel." © Andrew Robertson

Leopard Seal, Dinner Time. "During my last trip to Antarctica, I was looking for leopard seals. One of the last landings was special, because when we got to the beach there was a leopard seal swimming nearby. I waited to be the last to return to the ship. From the Zodiac, I saw a penguin on a small piece of ice. I asked the skipper to take me closer for some pictures, but suddenly the leopard seal appeared behind us. At that time I prepared my camera. I knew I would go for it." © Eduardo del Alamo

[v9733xa]

A real obit posted on Monday.

Brutal.

[tao]

Jun 5, 2018 17:48:24 GMT -5 v9733xa said:

A real obit posted on Monday.

Brutal.

[Zeke]

Jun 5, 2018 17:48:24 GMT -5 v9733xa said:

A real obit posted on Monday.

Brutal.

Harsh, so much anger. 

[v9733xa]

In honor of the World Cup, let's look at some badass stadiums/pitches around the world.

Players of FC Gspon (white), representing Switzerland, play against FC Zuma (red), representing Spain, during their Mountain Villages international soccer tournament match in Gspon, in the Swiss Alps, on May 29, 2010. The match is played on the highest elevated soccer field in Europe. At about 2,000 meters, the pitch can only be reached by a cable car, which can only carry up to 10 people, or on foot—a 45-minute climb. Michael Buholzer / Reuters

KV Svalbard's crew, formed by Norwegian navy privates and scientists from the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research, play soccer as they are protected from polar bears by armed guards in the sea around Greenland, on March 22, 2018. Marius Vagenes Villanger / Kystvakten / Sjoforsvaret / NTB Scanpix / Norsk Telegrambyra AS / Reuters

The football stadium of Henninsvaer FC is photographed on March 8, 2018, in Henningsvaer, in Norway's Lofoten islands. Olivier Morin / AFP / Getty

Children play soccer after the inauguration ceremony of a new pitch installed at Mineira favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on September 10, 2014. 200 self-energy-supplied Pavegen panels, invented by British Laurence Kemball-Cook, were installed underground to capture kinetic energy created by the movement of the football players. The energy is stored and combined with solar panels' energy to illuminate the pitch during the night. Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP / Getty

Players attend a football tournament among local amateur teams in a stadium made of straw named Zenit Arena, in the settlement of Krasnoye in the Stavropol region of Russia on July 22, 2017. Eduard Korniyenko / Reuters

A futsal pitch, built on the rooftop of a department store next to the Shibuya crossing (bottom left), in Tokyo, Japan, photographed on December 20, 2017. Toru Yamanaka / AFP / Getty

Children play football on a floating pitch in Koh Panyee, in Thailand's southern Phang Nga province, on October 1, 2014. Christophe Archambault / AFP / Getty

[essien]

Here's the story of the Chernobyl disaster told in images:
imgur.com/a/TwY6q

I didn't know much about the accident and found this utterly fascinating.

(Somehow managed to post this in a 'post a picture of yourself' thread first time.)

[bleghberry]

[v9733xa]

I meant to post these on Monday and forgot. Well, here we go.

These are from the Audubon Photography Awards and they're amazing.

Photographer: Cindy Goeddel
Species: Golden-fronted Woodpecker
Location: Ambergris Caye, Belize
Story Behind the Shot: Goeddel is accustomed to hard-earned photographs achieved by spending long hours in unforgiving conditions. But that’s not always the case. While on vacation on Ambergris Caye, Belize’s largest island, she enjoyed photographing this Golden-fronted Woodpecker nest cavity over several days, and captured this image of one of many morning food deliveries as both parents worked tirelessly to bring insects and fruit to their ravenous young.

Photographer: Jesse Gordon
Species: American Oystercatcher
Location: Nickerson Beach Park, Lido Beach, NY
Story Behind the Shot: Gordon was flat on the ground as this American Oystercatcher family approached, both to photograph them from eye level and to avoid disturbing them. The chicks strolled close alongside their parents, watching carefully as the adults dug for sand crabs. Soon they passed right in front of the camera, offering a glimpse of what Gordon calls “a tender and fascinating family moment” and a window into the lives of these beautiful shorebirds.

Photographer: Robert Rommel
Species: Barred Owl
Location: Circle B Bar Reserve, Lakeland, FL
Story Behind the Shot: Any visitor with a phone could have snagged an Instagram-worthy photo of the Barred Owl pair that built their nest right above a popular hiking trail in central Florida’s Circle B Bar Reserve. But Rommel didn’t want just any shot—he spent a week with the duo, waiting for the ideal composition and perfect light. Early one morning, it all came together. Rommel resisted the temptation to move closer to the cooperative owl, instead opting to photograph from a distance in order to show the serene bird surrounded by live oaks draped in Spanish moss.

Photographer: Christopher Schlaf
Species: Wood Duck
Location: Washington Township, MI
Story Behind the Shot: Schlaf is fortunate to have a small lake near his home that hosts a wide variety of waterfowl species. He found this Wood Duck pair there one day and—correctly guessing from its behavior that it was about to take off—locked his camera’s focus on the male. Schlaf’s hunch, coupled with excellent morning light, enabled him to freeze the male’s wings and highlight its rich colors, while also showing the female in crystal-clear focus.

Photographer: Barb D’Arpino
Species: Burrowing Owl
Location: Cape Coral, FL
Story Behind the Shot: By staying low to the ground and keeping her distance, D’Arpino has been able to document the natural behavior of Burrowing Owls on her regular photography trips to Florida. On this visit, she found a mother tidying up her burrow by kicking sand and debris out of the opening—smack into one of her owlets. D’Arpino wondered why the youngster didn’t flee the line of fire, but was happy to photograph this slapstick scene just as the sun broke over the horizon.

Photographer: Cindy Goeddel
Species: Mallard and bobcat
Location: Yellowstone National Park
Story Behind the Shot: Goeddel huddled in a snow pit for nearly five hours on a zero-degree day to get this dramatic photo. When a bobcat spotted a drake Mallard downstream, it used a bison trail through the deep snow to stalk unseen along the Madison River to within striking distance. For nine interminable minutes the predator watched the duck swimming in circles, seemingly waiting for the right moment to make its move. Finally, when the Mallard’s head was down, the cat leapt. After nearly a minute-long struggle in the water, the bobcat carried away its prey.

Photographer: Joe Galkowski
Species: Western Screech-Owl
Location: Solano County, CA
Story Behind the Shot: When a friend told him she’d spotted a Western Screech-Owl a couple of hours’ drive from his California home, Galkowski was intrigued. He had never seen the species, so decided to look for it. He arrived early, found the owl’s tree cavity, and set up a tripod with his longest lens combo. Late in the morning the bird appeared, looked around for a moment, and then promptly went to sleep. Galkowski photographed the bird with its eyes open, but he was more excited by the sleepy behavior and ingenious camouflage highlighted here.

Photographer: Liron Gertsman
Species: Hoatzin
Location: Napo Wildlife Center, Ecuador
Story Behind the Shot: Having only seen the Hoatzin in photographs, Gertsman was eager to see one of the eye-catching tropical birds in real life during a workshop for young conservation photographers in the Ecuadorian Amazon. It didn’t take long to see the odd, prehistoric-looking species known for pungent belches (a characteristic that has earned it the nickname “stinkbird”). Gertsman quickly grew accustomed to its loud squawking along rivers and lagoons, and snapped this photo of a Hoatzin family while out for a walk in the rainforest early one morning.

Photographer: Ly Dang
Species: Black-browed Albatross
Location: Saunders Island, Falkland Islands
Story Behind the Shot: Black-browed Albatross chicks were just-hatched and bashful during Dang’s December trip to the Falklands. Even surrounded by dense colonies, he couldn’t get a single shot of a baby bird on his first day because they were all hiding in nests. But on day two, he spotted this slightly older chick at the back of a colony, begging for food. With so many other birds around, Dang had to crop the photo to achieve this composition, an intimate portrait of the bond between parent and chick.

Photographer: Eugene Huryn
Species: White-tailed Ptarmigan
Location: Jasper National Park, Canada
Story Behind the Shot: When he learned that Whistlers Mountain in Jasper National Park was a hotspot for photographing White-tailed Ptarmigan in late October, Huryn headed out from his nearby Alberta home to see for himself. Despite their brilliant snow-colored camouflage, Huryn laid eyes on a dozen of the birds, including this one that let him approach to within just a few feet. He snapped this photograph as the ptarmigan paused and stared straight at him.

Species: Great Gray Owl (this was the "grand prize" winner)
Location: Teton County, Wyoming
Camera: Nikon D850 with Nikon 300mm AF-S f/4E PF ED VR lens; 1/1000 second at f/4; ISO 1600
Story Behind the Shot: After a six-week drought, I finally spotted a Great Gray flying through the woods on a beautiful fall evening. I ran to catch up, and spent 80 minutes photographing it flying from perch to perch, hunting, and catching several rodents. As I took this image, I knew I was seeing something special: The owl was fighting for balance on a thin branch, giving a very unusual, energetic, asymmetric posture as it stared directly into my lens.
Bird Lore: The Great Gray Owl is a superb hunter. From a perch it watches with eyes larger than a human’s, listens with ears so keen it can detect prey beneath a foot of snow, and attacks silently, due to sounddampening feathers.

Species: Cobalt-winged Parakeet (this was the "youth prize" winner)
Location: Yasuní National Park, Ecuador
Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II with Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5- 5.6L IS II USM lens; 1/30 second at f/13; ISO 250
Story Behind the Shot: Three days in a row I waited in a blind near a clay lick that Cobalt-winged Parakeets and other birds of the Amazon frequent. When hundreds of the birds finally descended from the tree canopy to the mineral-rich forest floor on the third morning, I was ready. I used a slow shutter speed to accentuate the blues in their wings. I don’t think I’ll ever forget the sight of the birds or the deafening roar of parakeet chatter.
Bird Lore: Cobalt-winged Parakeets inhabit the humid forests east of the Andes, from Venezuela to Bolivia. The garrulous birds consume an acidic diet of berries and fruits; it's thought that the clay they ingest, at formations like this one on a riverbank in Yasuní, acts as a natural antacid. Other parakeets, as well as parrots and macaws, also visit such sites regularly.

[Zeke]

v9733xa I love the pictures you post, dude! They are always fascinating.

[v9733xa]

The iPhone Photography Awards were announced the other day. Here are some of the winners.

The first one here won the grand prize; all the rest placed or showed or won in some specific category. Again, these were all shot on iPhones, which is pretty amazing.


“Displaced”
Rohingya children watching an awareness film about health and sanitation near Tangkhali refugee camp in Ukhia.


“Baiana in yellow and blue”
The picture was taken in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, spontaneously, after a truck drove by. The woman with traditional clothes of a “baiana” was looking after the truck, during her work break.


“Django”
Carlsbad, California


“Smiling Fox”
Miyagi Zao Fox Village, Japan


“Rampage”
Rome, Italy


“Jameh Mosque of Isfahan”
Isfahan, Iran


“Air”
Skate park, Haifa, Israel


“Twins”
Fermoy, Cork, Ireland


“At Sycamore Gap”
Northumberland, U.K.


“The Kerid”
Kerid, Iceland


“Iftar Amongst the Ruins”
During a lull in the bombings, Syrians gather, seated on a long 1200-meter row of tables set up among the ruins of Douma, for a public Iftar, the evening meal at the end of the daily Ramadan fast.


“Chasing Light”
San Francisco, United States


“Sunrise in Monument Valley”
Oljato-Monument Valley, Utah

[v9733xa]

I was really affected by this picture so i wanted to share it, but it has some nudity so i put it under a "spoiler" in case for some reason you're at a place where that's not appropriate.

It's an art project about "maps" that a young woman created by taking a photo of a friend and finger painting on a life-size printout of the photo. I'll leave it at that.

SPOILER: Click to show

[SHIRT]

stock photos are so funny

[v9733xa]

Today was the glorious International Cat Day.

So here are some amazing vintage photographs of cats.

The original photo caption from March 23, 1959: "Hep cat. A real live kitten on the keys, this music-loving feline lends vocal accompaniment to his mistress in Worcester Park, England. As Marion Holland 15, plays the piano, Money the cat joins in the singing." - Bettmann / Getty

The feline mascot of the Australian light cruiser HMAS Encounter peering from the muzzle of a six-inch gun, sometime during World War I - Australian War Memorial

A farmer playing guitar on the porch in the evening, with a child and kitten just inside, near Natchitoches, Louisiana, in August 1940 - Marion Post Wolcott / Library of Congress

The Eastwood pet parade, in New South Wales, Australia, on September 5, 1951 - Sam Hood / State Library of New South Wales

A white cat that lives atop one of the pylon supports of the Sydney Harbour Bridge welcomes tourists to the Australian capital in January 1957. - Dennis Rowe / BIPs / Getty

Benjamin Fink of the U.S. Navy holds President Calvin Coolidge’s cat, Tiger, at the White House on March 25, 1924. "Tige" had made a brief departure from the White House grounds, but was promptly returned by Fink. - Library of Congress

Albert Schweitzer (and his companion) writing at a desk - Hulton-Deutsch Collection / Corbis via Getty

A World War II soldier's goodbye, and Bobbie the cat, in Sydney, Australia - Sam Hood / State Library of New South Wales

A cat sitting in a field in September 1918 - New York Public Library

A cat being lowered in a basket in England on September 4, 1933 - Fox Photos / Getty

A portrait of Mark Twain with a porcelain cat on his lap. Twain famously loved cats, owning more than a dozen of them at a time. One of his more famous quotes: "If man could be crossed with the cat, it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat." - Library of Congress / Corbis / VCG via Getty

"Tired of play," a slide from a stereograph made in 1898 - Courtesy trustees of the Boston Public Library

1898!!