But it might just be another Butterfly. I can’t tell for certain. So again with the Butterfly/moth thingy.
Observations
I like this video because we actually get to see the proboscis rolling up on itself as the moth/butterfly takes flight. It is also interesting to watch how the moth achieves vertical flight with those wings. Those are my favorite parts, the rest I leave to you.
Today we look at another Butterfly taking flight from a Lantana bloom.
Observations
This is an interesting look at how the Butterfly feeds. In this video you can see it moving from one bloom to another. What I like in particular about this video is the chance to see the Butterfly turning around mid-air. I’m still trying to figure out how exactly that happened, I wish I had a better view of it. If you step through frame by frame on the take-off you can see why a Butterfly has a set of split wings. Apparently they move them independently of one another.
Today we look at a Butterfly taking flight from a Lantana bloom.
Observations
Watching the Butterfly walk across the Lantana is interesting to watch, it is neat to see how carefully it plucks its way across. If you look closely you can see the proboscis pulling out of the flower and going into the next bloom as it walks along. The wing motion as it takes off is interesting to me because ordinarily when you watch a Butterfly in flight the wings look rigid, however as we can see here they are quite flexible.
Today we get up close and personal with the creepy crawly from yesterday’s post.
Observations
Again, I have to say its gangly limbs are the star of the show here, only now we get to see a lot more detail. It is quite amazing how flexible its legs are. The random wing flapping is also kind of neat. Though, I am not sure why it does that. It doesn’t appear to have any obvious purpose, unless perhaps for cooling or balance. At any rate it is a fascinating looking creature.
Today we look at a creepy crawly. This thing was lumbering around the flowers. It flopped from flower to flower poking its head in here and there to snag some nectar or another insect, I was never really sure. I’m not positive what this insect is off hand. It kind of resembles a mud dauber (Trypoxylon politum), but I don’t think it is.
Observations
I like watching this thing try to manage its limbs. The limbs are so incredibly long that it seems to have some problems getting them on target. I have another shot of this fellow that I’ll post tomorrow, it is considerably closer up. I like the sporadic wing twitches. If anyone happens to know what this insect is please fill us in!
I had absolutely nothing to do with this shot but I couldn’t resist posting it as it was such an amazing use of slow motion.
Materials
Lots of little pies and lots of little flies (perhaps its only bees either way its cool!)
A tiny catapult.
Procedure
Bombs away! (Since I can’t even hazard a guess as to how this was done!)
Observations
I love this video, this is truly some of the most amazing slow motion work I’ve had the pleasure of seeing. The picture quality is amazing, I’m rather curious as to their camera and lens setup. For something like this I would have assumed 3d but the quality of the fluids really make me doubt the use of CG. You can get nice looking fluids with CG but generally not this good. In the first few seconds of the video you get a glance at the camera and if I am not mistaken that looks like a Vision Research Phantom V Series camera.
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Full Resolution Download: Not mine to give sadly.
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This shot is interesting, not necessarily for what it was intended to be, but more for what it ended up being. This is what we call a happy accident. As I was filming a rather mundane marble dropping into a rather mundane pile of salt a few flies decided to drop in.
Materials
The usual background materials
A large pile of standard table salt
A clear glass marble
A pair of flies, one of which has some serious perception issues.
Result
Ok, let us just skip the whole splashing thing, we can cover that another time. Let us look instead at the amazing achievement of nature that is the common house fly. Nature gifted the fly with wings, and a body small enough to be supported by said wings. However nature forgot one crucial item, a brain large enough to really understand flight…and obstacles apparently. I am still researching why exactly this happens, but apparently the fly knows there is something there it is interested in, but it cannot quite judge where it is. Twice in this video we watch the fly misjudge and slam full force into the salt. The second time it does a face plant. Way to go Mr. Fly. This video is a fantastic illustration that flies “fly” not with forethought and purpose but with utter reckless abandon. All that aside it is fun to watch a fly zip around, they appear to be rather maneuverable.
Lighting
A note on the lighting setup for this shot. Two lights were placed to the right of the salt pile with a bounce card off to the left. The purpose to this particular lighting setup was to create contrast and depth.
