135. Dinosaur - January 10-16, 2016
Paul-
I was always fascinated by dinosaurs—whether captured in exquisite detail and artistry preserved in a large, hardbound edition (of uncertain title) my family owned—or through the jerky stop-motion creatures I watched in countless B movies of my youth.* (You can tell I was young: In the ridiculously cobbled together romp “One Million Years B.C.” I was much more interested in watching the big beasties than scantily-clad Raquel Welch. What she was doing there amid dinosaurs and prehistoric savagery—with a terrific complexion, all her teeth, and shaved legs no less—wasn’t adequately explained. Irwin Allen’s “Lost World” had marginally better effects…though I could have done without the addition to the cast of a toy poodle. “Gertie the Dinosaur”? Not terribly scary or fleshed out. Merely brilliant.)
In any event, The Age of the Dinosaurs lasted longer than and, arguably, was more biologically stable than what a number of scientists around the world are currently lobbying to call the Anthropocene Period. Specifically, this has been proposed as a newly minted term to describe the time period in which humanity has made significant changes to the earth…many being not especially laudable changes as you might imagine. I like the idea, but there a lot of controversy about precisely as to what event should mark this Period’s beginning. Among some of the popular temporal suggestions: The beginning of organized, sustainable, agrarian enclaves. The Industrial Revolution. And some minor ordinance testing in the New Mexico desert in 1945. By the way, the proposal for the establishment of a new geological age has to be ratified by the International Union of geological Sciences. Until then, we’re pretty much stuck here buying Powerball tickets in the officially established Holocene epoch.
But back to the Thunder Lizards and their enumerable ilk. It’s hard not to wonder what the current caretakers on this little planet might look like had not about 95% of life been wiped out by events both cosmic and terrestrial. They dinosaurs were magnificent, and positively flourished for millions of years sans Walmarts, Apple products, and grape slushies.
This picture is a small part of an extraordinary elaborate mosaic on the floor of the Great Hall of the Nebraska State capitol building. It’s very large and—in a state as conservative as ours—it depicts an expansive ribbon of time through which organisms and more complex creatures evolved into…well, us. Evolution touted in a Midwestern state capitol. Love it. Okay, there’s an Adam & Eve scene in the building somewhere, and an obscure biblical scene or two rendered in stone on the parapets. But that evolutionary “grand tour” lovingly laid out in chips of rock and tile is a big draw. I only wish my close up picture had done some credit to it, and a bit of glare wasn’t so evident.
Our story so far: 18-55mm lens set at 10mm; pattern metering; ISO 2000; 1/50 sec.; f/9; -2EV; camera is tripod-mounted.
* Thank you, Mr. Harryhausen, for making a Midwestern kid giddy. I’m glad someone wrote a book about your remarkable contribution to both film and dinosaurs—and under the same cover! [http://www.amazon.com/The-Dinosaur-Films-Ray-Harryhausen/dp/0786469366]
I was always fascinated by dinosaurs—whether captured in exquisite detail and artistry preserved in a large, hardbound edition (of uncertain title) my family owned—or through the jerky stop-motion creatures I watched in countless B movies of my youth.* (You can tell I was young: In the ridiculously cobbled together romp “One Million Years B.C.” I was much more interested in watching the big beasties than scantily-clad Raquel Welch. What she was doing there amid dinosaurs and prehistoric savagery—with a terrific complexion, all her teeth, and shaved legs no less—wasn’t adequately explained. Irwin Allen’s “Lost World” had marginally better effects…though I could have done without the addition to the cast of a toy poodle. “Gertie the Dinosaur”? Not terribly scary or fleshed out. Merely brilliant.)
In any event, The Age of the Dinosaurs lasted longer than and, arguably, was more biologically stable than what a number of scientists around the world are currently lobbying to call the Anthropocene Period. Specifically, this has been proposed as a newly minted term to describe the time period in which humanity has made significant changes to the earth…many being not especially laudable changes as you might imagine. I like the idea, but there a lot of controversy about precisely as to what event should mark this Period’s beginning. Among some of the popular temporal suggestions: The beginning of organized, sustainable, agrarian enclaves. The Industrial Revolution. And some minor ordinance testing in the New Mexico desert in 1945. By the way, the proposal for the establishment of a new geological age has to be ratified by the International Union of geological Sciences. Until then, we’re pretty much stuck here buying Powerball tickets in the officially established Holocene epoch.
But back to the Thunder Lizards and their enumerable ilk. It’s hard not to wonder what the current caretakers on this little planet might look like had not about 95% of life been wiped out by events both cosmic and terrestrial. They dinosaurs were magnificent, and positively flourished for millions of years sans Walmarts, Apple products, and grape slushies.
This picture is a small part of an extraordinary elaborate mosaic on the floor of the Great Hall of the Nebraska State capitol building. It’s very large and—in a state as conservative as ours—it depicts an expansive ribbon of time through which organisms and more complex creatures evolved into…well, us. Evolution touted in a Midwestern state capitol. Love it. Okay, there’s an Adam & Eve scene in the building somewhere, and an obscure biblical scene or two rendered in stone on the parapets. But that evolutionary “grand tour” lovingly laid out in chips of rock and tile is a big draw. I only wish my close up picture had done some credit to it, and a bit of glare wasn’t so evident.
Our story so far: 18-55mm lens set at 10mm; pattern metering; ISO 2000; 1/50 sec.; f/9; -2EV; camera is tripod-mounted.
* Thank you, Mr. Harryhausen, for making a Midwestern kid giddy. I’m glad someone wrote a book about your remarkable contribution to both film and dinosaurs—and under the same cover! [http://www.amazon.com/The-Dinosaur-Films-Ray-Harryhausen/dp/0786469366]
Jerry-
I went to the local Michael's and bought the cheapest dinosaur toy they had, only $1.99 - not so bad. My idea was for my daughter's hamster to wrestle with the thing and just see what kinds of photos would happen. The hamster ignored the plastic dino until I put some peanut butter on it! A kind of UFC match with Holly Hamster versus Ronda TRexy.
D750 with 24-85mm at 85. ISO 1600, f16 @ 1/200 with light from the SB700 in bounce mode.
I went to the local Michael's and bought the cheapest dinosaur toy they had, only $1.99 - not so bad. My idea was for my daughter's hamster to wrestle with the thing and just see what kinds of photos would happen. The hamster ignored the plastic dino until I put some peanut butter on it! A kind of UFC match with Holly Hamster versus Ronda TRexy.
D750 with 24-85mm at 85. ISO 1600, f16 @ 1/200 with light from the SB700 in bounce mode.
Don-
dinosaurs
My goodness what to do. There is no dinosaur stuff in town. Just south of town there
are dinosaur track preserved in fossilized mud but its fenced off by the
arco-dino-university-types to keep the public out. So no pictures there. Well how
about I take a picture of a Jurassic World image that is on my computer monitor.
Well that does not work. So my wife and I went to the local museum, but no pictures there. Then we went to the
children museum only to discover that the dino stuff (impressions of the footprints from the area that I
am not allowed to enter) has been put in storage. So, what the heck, pictures of a dino herd that is for sale at the
children's museum.
The Parasaurolophus at an exposure of 1/80th sec, f/9, ISO 100 and the lens set to 62mm.
dinosaurs
My goodness what to do. There is no dinosaur stuff in town. Just south of town there
are dinosaur track preserved in fossilized mud but its fenced off by the
arco-dino-university-types to keep the public out. So no pictures there. Well how
about I take a picture of a Jurassic World image that is on my computer monitor.
Well that does not work. So my wife and I went to the local museum, but no pictures there. Then we went to the
children museum only to discover that the dino stuff (impressions of the footprints from the area that I
am not allowed to enter) has been put in storage. So, what the heck, pictures of a dino herd that is for sale at the
children's museum.
The Parasaurolophus at an exposure of 1/80th sec, f/9, ISO 100 and the lens set to 62mm.
Byron-
On our way to California we traveled part of the way on the old Route 66. Back in the 30's, 40's and 50's Mom & Pop Motels were very popular. As the freeway system came into being, those establishments went by the wayside. They became the dinosaurs of the lodging industry. The Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, NM is a rare, surviving example of the breed. After importing the picture I toned down the saturation and contrast levels to give it a more vintage look.
18mm, f5.6, 1/350 sec, ISO 100
On our way to California we traveled part of the way on the old Route 66. Back in the 30's, 40's and 50's Mom & Pop Motels were very popular. As the freeway system came into being, those establishments went by the wayside. They became the dinosaurs of the lodging industry. The Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, NM is a rare, surviving example of the breed. After importing the picture I toned down the saturation and contrast levels to give it a more vintage look.
18mm, f5.6, 1/350 sec, ISO 100
Deron-
I'm working with two dinosaurs on this one. First, the purple kind. Yes, Barney The Purple Dinosaur. That beloved and flippin' annoying, Saturday morning children's television show character. Luckily, for anyone over the age of six, Barney has seemingly gone the way of his ancestors.
Secondly, the VHS cassette. Back in the day, WOW, what a technology! Keane Reeves' poor acting on a ribbon of tape forever... or until it gets creased a little bit. It's also my contention that the VHS cassette was a big reason the world is so angry these days... it's due to the lack of people following the rule of 'Be Kind, Rewind'. I know I am guilty of a drive by egging... or two, because I started my movie during the closing credits! Good riddance VHS cassettes... and take Barney with you! (mike drop)
I'm working with two dinosaurs on this one. First, the purple kind. Yes, Barney The Purple Dinosaur. That beloved and flippin' annoying, Saturday morning children's television show character. Luckily, for anyone over the age of six, Barney has seemingly gone the way of his ancestors.
Secondly, the VHS cassette. Back in the day, WOW, what a technology! Keane Reeves' poor acting on a ribbon of tape forever... or until it gets creased a little bit. It's also my contention that the VHS cassette was a big reason the world is so angry these days... it's due to the lack of people following the rule of 'Be Kind, Rewind'. I know I am guilty of a drive by egging... or two, because I started my movie during the closing credits! Good riddance VHS cassettes... and take Barney with you! (mike drop)
Kevin-
It felt like Paul, when designating this theme, was trying to encourage us to think about the idea of a dinosaur in a new or more interpretive way. Perhaps capturing a person or an object that seemed ancient, fossilized, or at least dinosaur-like.
But heck, I am in Palm Springs, California just 20 miles east of Cabazon, California and a strange exhibit known as the Cabazon Dinosaurs, quite visible from I-10. Now, there aren't really many, or any dinosaur fossils being discovered in California, as 65 million years ago California was mostly below sea level. But that didn’t stop Claude Bell from building a roadside attraction with a number of full scale dinosaurs on display. On weekends you can supposedly even explore the insides of these dinosaurs, climbing stairs to look out the jaws, past the rows of massive teeth. I suppose that exploring the inside of a real dinosaur’s mouth might have been possible all those years ago, if humans had existed then. But it probably would not have been a survivable adventure.
Claude Bell passed away nearly 30 years ago. But the dinosaurs live on. One, a T-Rex is known as Mr. Rex, and stands 65 feet tall. In the photo Mr. Rex stands next to a palm tree. I had originally driven over there shortly before the 5:00 PM closing time for the exhibit, not bothering to bring my tripod as I knew the sun would not be fully set at that time. But I was delighted to find that the two largest dinosaurs (the other is a 150 foot long Brontosaurus) were actually in the parking area outside the exhibit, no admission necessary and hours didn’t matter. So I returned pre-sunrise the next morning, and with tripod, when I knew there would be interesting sky color. I will note that Cabazon is basically at the point where the mountain gap begins, so it is quite windy there as you can tell by the movement in the palm tree.
Interestingly, this dinosaur exhibit has supposedly been purchased by creationists, who plan to use it to reinforce their theories that dinosaurs existed side by side with Adam and Eve around 6000 years ago. So maybe people did get to explore the insides of dinosaurs, unfortunately as they were being eaten alive?
Nikon D4s, tripod mounted. 70-200mm f/2.8 Nikkor lens set to 80mm. ISO 100. f/8 at 1/6th second.
It felt like Paul, when designating this theme, was trying to encourage us to think about the idea of a dinosaur in a new or more interpretive way. Perhaps capturing a person or an object that seemed ancient, fossilized, or at least dinosaur-like.
But heck, I am in Palm Springs, California just 20 miles east of Cabazon, California and a strange exhibit known as the Cabazon Dinosaurs, quite visible from I-10. Now, there aren't really many, or any dinosaur fossils being discovered in California, as 65 million years ago California was mostly below sea level. But that didn’t stop Claude Bell from building a roadside attraction with a number of full scale dinosaurs on display. On weekends you can supposedly even explore the insides of these dinosaurs, climbing stairs to look out the jaws, past the rows of massive teeth. I suppose that exploring the inside of a real dinosaur’s mouth might have been possible all those years ago, if humans had existed then. But it probably would not have been a survivable adventure.
Claude Bell passed away nearly 30 years ago. But the dinosaurs live on. One, a T-Rex is known as Mr. Rex, and stands 65 feet tall. In the photo Mr. Rex stands next to a palm tree. I had originally driven over there shortly before the 5:00 PM closing time for the exhibit, not bothering to bring my tripod as I knew the sun would not be fully set at that time. But I was delighted to find that the two largest dinosaurs (the other is a 150 foot long Brontosaurus) were actually in the parking area outside the exhibit, no admission necessary and hours didn’t matter. So I returned pre-sunrise the next morning, and with tripod, when I knew there would be interesting sky color. I will note that Cabazon is basically at the point where the mountain gap begins, so it is quite windy there as you can tell by the movement in the palm tree.
Interestingly, this dinosaur exhibit has supposedly been purchased by creationists, who plan to use it to reinforce their theories that dinosaurs existed side by side with Adam and Eve around 6000 years ago. So maybe people did get to explore the insides of dinosaurs, unfortunately as they were being eaten alive?
Nikon D4s, tripod mounted. 70-200mm f/2.8 Nikkor lens set to 80mm. ISO 100. f/8 at 1/6th second.