animals – Free Thoughts by Ranjit Singh

Capturing the Wild: A Journey into Wildlife Photography

Wildlife photography is an art form that combines the thrill of exploration with the patience of a hunter, the precision of a scientist, and the eye of an artist. It’s about capturing the essence of nature’s most candid moments, revealing the beauty and complexity of life in the wild.

Understanding Wildlife Photography

At its core, wildlife photography is about documenting the natural world. It’s a way to showcase the diversity of life on Earth, from the tiniest insects to the largest mammals. This genre of photography requires not only technical skill but also an understanding of animal behavior and a deep respect for nature.

The Ethical Approach

Ethical considerations are paramount in wildlife photography. Photographers must prioritize the well-being of their subjects and the environment. This means maintaining a safe distance, avoiding interference with natural behaviors, and respecting the habitat. The goal is to be a silent observer, capturing images without leaving a trace.

Equipment Essentials

The right gear can make all the difference in wildlife photography. A sturdy tripod, a high-quality telephoto lens, and a camera with fast autofocus are essential. Additionally, items like bean bags for stability, rain covers for protection, and extra memory cards for ample storage are crucial for a successful shoot.

Finding the Perfect Location

Location scouting is a critical step in wildlife photography. Whether it’s the vast savannas of Africa or the dense forests of the Amazon, choosing the right spot is about understanding where certain species thrive and their patterns of behavior.

Capturing the Shot

The magic of wildlife photography lies in the moment of capture. It’s about waiting for the perfect light, the ideal composition, and the decisive action. Whether it’s the grace of a bird in flight or the intensity of a predator’s gaze, each image tells a story of survival, beauty, and the interconnectedness of life.

Post-Processing

After the shoot, post-processing plays a significant role in bringing out the best in your photographs. Adjusting exposure, cropping for composition, and enhancing colors can all contribute to the final impact of the image.

Sharing with the World

Finally, sharing your work is about more than just displaying beautiful images. It’s an opportunity to educate and inspire others to appreciate and protect the natural world. Through exhibitions, social media, and publications, wildlife photographers can advocate for conservation and foster a deeper connection between humans and the environment.

In conclusion, wildlife photography is a powerful medium that requires skill, patience, and respect. It’s a pursuit that challenges us to be better observers and storytellers, all while advocating for the preservation of the natural world we so deeply admire.

For a deeper understanding here are some resources

Some Fastest Species

Speed thrills human beings. But for animals it is the necessity. It makes some of them ace hunters and for others speed is a means of escaping the danger. So in their case it’s a means of survival. Men try to emulate the fastest speeds as in car racing which for sport and thrill.

In this post we will discuss about three species and about their speeds.

Tiger Beetles

Tiger beetles are known for their running speed md aggressive behaviour. It consists of many subspecies. Among them Rivacindela hudsoni species are special. They can run at speeds of 9 km per hour. This is equal to about 125 body lengths per second.

Peregrine falcon

It’s scientific name is Falco peregrinus. It is also called duck hawk perhaps due to its hunting of the ducks prominently. Except for Antarctica, it is found in almost all places around the world. It is an ace hunter. It soars high above the flocks of birds and after zeroing in on a particular bird it dives at speeds which can reach about 300 km per hour. It makes it not the fastest bird but also the fastest animal on the earth.

Cheetah

Cheetah is famous for being the fastest animal on the earth. It’s strong legs, lean body, enlarged heart and nostrils, strong paws which are partially intractable make it ideal for this job. Its average speed is about 64 km per hour. But can attain speeds upto 98 km per hour and that too in very small span of just 3 seconds from 60 km per hour average. But it can’t sustain the top speeds for long. They can run about just 450 meters at top speeds. It covers this distance in just 13 second making for the prey hard to escape.

Animals cannot digest Cellulose

Most plants synthesize cellulose which they use to give strength to their bodies and make them withstand the vagaries of storms. It gives the shape to the trees and branches then expand the tree.

Cellulose becomes the wood when trees become mature. Furniture is made of this material. It is obvious that cellulose is insoluble in water otherwise no one will use it in construction and furniture.

Cellulose and starch and other carbohydrates consist of glucose molecules which are arranged in chains of different styles. In starch, two chains are intertwined.

These chains get separated on boiling the starch in water. This caused the chains to disperse in the water increasing its viscosity. Such starch is called pre-gelatinized starch.

On the other hand, cellulose structure is such that chains are not dispersed and wood remains unaffected in water. Glucose is the basic unit of sugar which is used by animals like humans for obtaining energy to keep the body running.

How do then we assimilate higher sugars like starch. They have to broken down to glucose units. The enzymes found in humans and other animals allow them to digest and metabolize many, but not all, biomolecules. Cellulose is one example of a molecule that defies digestion in many animals.

But the slight difference in the way the glucose molecules are hooked together in starch compared with how they are hooked together in cellulose makes a big difference in their digestibility.

Humans and many other higher animals have the enzyme required to break the bonds in starch, releasing glucose. The particular enzyme is called alpha-amylase.

But because the shape of the linkage is different in cellulose, the same enzyme will not work. In fact, where cellulose is concerned, humans do not have an enzyme that will work.

As it turns out, most humans eat a fair amount of cellulose in the form of fruits and vegetables. Although we cannot digest it, the cellulose serves as roughage or fiber that gives food bulk and keeps it moving through the digestive system. In the end, all of the undigested material ends up being eliminated as feces.

Maybe you are wondering how animals such as cattle, sheep, deer, and goats thrive on a diet of grass or other cellulose-rich food. Can they digest cellulose when humans cannot?

The answer is no. None of these animals have the enzymes required to digest cellulose. Instead they rely on colonies of microorganisms living in their digestive systems.

These simple microorganisms have the correct enzymes to digest the cellulose and to reassemble the products into starches and proteins. From these products, grazing animals acquire their nutrients. The special relationship between these animals and their resident microbes is called symbiosis—two organisms living with each other to the benefit of both.

Lantana Shrubs

It is the start of month of September. Still it is very hot during the day but mornings have begun to become cooler. Sometimes very strong breeze welcomes you when you are outdoors.

While going out these days in the morning, I noticed multitudes of butterflies. These although are very agile and usually rarely sit still at one place are seen sitting peacefully on the leaves of shrubs.

There are many species of shrubs growing wildly in our area. Names of many of these are not known to me as will be to others because no one is interested in knowing the names of weeds and shrubs which are of no tangible use to us although nothing exists in nature that is without purpose.

There is one such shrub which grows abundantly here and these days giving different color of flowers. While passing by these shrubs you will be welcomed by strong aromatic smell exuded by these flowers.

Lantana’s aromatic flowers clusters called umbels are a mix of red, orange, yellow, or blue and white florets. Other colors exist as new varieties are being selected. The flowers typically change color as they mature, resulting in inflorescences that are two- or three-colored.

About 150 species exist worldwide. The leaves contain poisonous chemicals but its ripe berries are eaten by many birds. Thus the plant uses very clever strategy to survive and propagate. Animals don’t eat its leaves and birds spread its seeds far and near helping the plant to proliferate. Thus at many places it becomes invasive irritant.

I took some pictures of flowers of different varieties prevalent here.

Understanding Wildlife Photography

The Ethical Approach

Equipment Essentials

Finding the Perfect Location

Capturing the Shot

Post-Processing

Sharing with the World

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