Tag Archives: Oceans

Incredible Coral Reef Time-lapse by Daniel Stoupin

March 29th, 2014 | Space

Coral Reef Time-lapse

Coral Reef Time-lapse 2

Often called the “Rainforests of the Sea,” coral reefs represent one the most diverse natural habitats in the world. They grow best in warm, shallow, clear, sunny and agitated waters, and when thriving, provide food and shelter for 25% of all marine life.

Videographer, Daniel Stoupin, spent nine long months creating an award-deserving time-lapse of this habitat, and the final result is incredible! The project required 150,000 22-megapixel RAW exposures, which he compiled into a 4K masterpiece (despite Vimeo only showing it as 1080p).  I had no idea how mobile the coral and sponges were.

From the creator:

“To make this little clip I took 150000 shots. Why so many? Because macro photography involves shallow depth of field. To extend it, I used focus stacking. Each frame of the video is actually a stack that consists of 3-12 shots where in-focus areas are merged. Just the intro and last scene are regular real-time footage. One frame required about 10 minutes of processing time (raw conversion + stacking). Unfortunately, the success rate was very low due to copious technical challenges and I spent almost 9 long months just to learn how to make these kinds of videos and understand how to work with these delicate creatures.

I am glad that I abandoned the idea of making this clip in 3D (with two cameras) – very few people have 3D screens and it doubles processing time.”

Would have loved to see it in 3D though… This is one of the coolest things I’ve seen on the Internet in quite some time.

-RSB

Recycled Animal Sculptures by Gilles Cenazandotti

March 21st, 2014 | Brain, Robot

Gilles Cenazandotti 1

Gilles Cenazandotti 2

Gilles Cenazandotti - Cheetah

animal sculpture

Gilles Cenazandotti 4

Gilles Cenazandotti 5

The ocean is full of trash. If you don’t believe me, check out this post. Just like Mandy Barker, artist Gilles Cenazandotti was inspired by the mass of ocean debris which affects our habitat. The animal sculptures above (from a project titled “Future Bestiary”) were formed from recycled products found on beaches — plastic bottles, lighters, combs, bags, etc…

Speaking about his work Cenazandotti said:

“Impressed by everything that the Sea, in turn, rejects and transforms, on the beaches I harvest the products derived from petroleum and its industry. The choice of animals that are part of the endangered species completes this process.
buy vardenafil generic noprescriptionbuyonlinerxx.net over the counter

In covering these animals with a new skin harvested from the banks of the Sea, I hope to draw attention to this possible metamorphosis – to create a trompe l’oeil of a modified reality.
buy aciphex generic buynoprescriptiononlinerxx.com over the counter

You can find more work from Gilles at his site.

-RSB

[via The Inspiration Grid]

Alien Creatures of the Mariana Trench

May 15th, 2013 | Space

Mariana-Trench-Anglerfish

The Mariana Trench is the deepest, darkest portion of the ocean.  Its maximum-known depth is 10,911 meters, which is over 2000 meters deeper than Mount Everest is tall. Light only travels about 1000 meters into the ocean water, so more than 90% of the Mariana Trench exists in complete darkness.  This absence of light creates wild-looking animals that don’t seem to come from this world, so I thought it would be interesting to highlight some of the alien creatures here on the site.  I must admit, they all look a bit terrifying…

Mariana Trench map

The image at the top is a photograph of the Deep Sea Anglerfish.  It gets its name from an elongated dorsal spine that supports a light-producing organ, which it uses as a fishing lure to attract prey. It then uses those giant teeth to finish the victims off.

Mariana-Trench-Barreleye

The Barreleye fish is very strange.  What you think are sad looking eyes are actually decoys, and the real eyes are those large, globes under the transparent dome of soft tissue.  Stephen Colbert called it the craziest F&@*ing thing he’s ever seen.

Mariana Trench Benthocodon

Benthocodon is a genus of jellyfish.  Like the Anglerfish, this animal uses bioluminescence to attract prey.  Those red wisps on the edge of its dome are fine red tentacles, which the animal uses to propel itself quickly through the water.

Mariana Trench Dragon Fish

The Deep Sea Dragonfish is a ferocious predator that lives at depths of up to 5000 meters. This animal is only about 6 inches long, so no need to fear for your life.  It has a striking resemblance to a Chinese Dragon, which is most likely where its name comes from.

Mariana-Trench-Dumbo-Octopus

The Dumbo Octopus is straight out of a Disney movie.  Its tentacles have a row of suckers and two rows of fleshy spikes for feeding.  Interesting fact: they don’t have a tough tongue with teeth like many molluscs.  Instead, they swallow their prey whole!

Mariana Trench Fanfin Seadevil

 The Fanfin Seadevil is another version of the Anglerfish, yet it doesn’t use bioluminescence to attract prey.  It is almost completely black, which makes it very stealthy in the dark depths of the ocean.  Interesting fact: the male is only 1/2 inch long, while the female grows up to 8 inches.

Mariana-Trench-Football-Fish

The Football Fish (great name!) is a globose Anglerfish, and it is said to be the first deep-sea Anglerfish ever discovered, washing ashore on a beach in Greenland in 1833.

Mariana-Trench-Frilled-Shark

This Frilled Shark was discovered back in 2007 by a Japanese fisherman.  Experts sometimes call this animal a “living fossil” because it belongs to a primitive species that has changed very little over millions of years.

Mariana-Trench-Goblin-Shark

The Goblin shark is one scary looking fish.  It hunts by sensing prey with electro-sensitive organs in its snout.  Once a goblin shark finds its prey, it suddenly protrudes its jaws, while using a tongue-like muscle to suck the victim into its sharp front teeth.  Wow!  It grows up to 3.3 meters and 159 kg.

Mariana Trench HatchetFish

Deep Sea Hatchetfish have extremely thin bodies which resemble the blade of a hatchet, but what I find more fascinating are those facial expressions!  Apparently, its eyes can focus close up or far away.

Mariana-Trench-Martensia-Ovum

Martensia ovum also known as the Arctic comb jelly or Sea Nut, is a ctenophore that was first described back in 1790.  They can deploy tentacles that are up to 10-20 times its body length.

Mariana-Trench-Telescope-Octopus

The Telescope Octopus gets its name from its uniquely-shaped tubular eyes.  It is transparent and nearly colorless, giving it an eery ghost-like appearance.

Mariana Trench Unidentified Anglerfish

 Another Anglerfish… from my nightmares… :/

Mariana Trench Unidentified Species

I have no idea what this thing is, nor could I find any useful information. Those sure do look like human lips though.. I could think of some creative (and NSFW) names for this one.

Mariana-Trench-Viper-Fish

And last but not least, we have the Viperfish.  Its fangs are so large that they can’t fit inside its mouth.  Instead, they curve back very close to the fish’s eyes.  The Viperfish is thought to use these sharp teeth to impale its victims by swimming at them at high speeds.

Ok, that’s all for now.  It is important to note that these animals don’t really live at deepest portions of the Mariana Trench (10,000 meters +), where you’ll mostly just find bacteria and Xenophyophores. These creatures usually lurk somewhere between 1000 and 5000 meters.

Sweet dreams tonight!

Interested in this topic? You can find an awesome book on the creatures of the deep here:

It has 160 color photos of some incredible sea animals.

-RSB

Alien Reef from Felix Salazar

March 12th, 2013 | Space

Alien Reef - Felix Salazar 1

Alien Reef - Felix Salazar 2

Alien Reef - Felix Salazar 3

Alien Coral Reef

Alien Reef - Felix Salazar 5

Alien Coral

Alien Reef - Felix Salazar 7

Reef Creatures 1

Reef Creatures 2

The Ocean covers roughly 71% of the Earth’s surface, yet more than 95% of it remains unexplored! At one time, we believed that all life on Earth was part of a photosynthetic food chain, drawing energy from the sun, but we have since learned that life can appear in some very strange places, even in the deepest crevices of the sea. Reefs are particularly diverse ecosystems hosting over 4,000 species of fish, massive numbers of cnidaria, mollusks, crustacea, and many other animals, and unless you scuba dive, you probably haven’t had the opportunity to see one up close.  They are absolutely incredible.
buy actos generic myindianpharmacy.net over the counter

LA-based photographer and composer Felix Salazar shot the images you see above.
buy viagra generic mexicanpharmacyonlinerx.net over the counter

 I think he captured the strange plant and animal lifeforms that flourish here in excellent form.
buy advair generic myindianpharmacy.net over the counter

 The colors are brilliant.

For more of the Alien Reef, visit Felix’s website.

[via But Does It Float]

The Ocean Soup

February 23rd, 2012 | Space

Floating along, hidden beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean, you will find the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a collection of ocean trash measuring about twice the size of France.  The term “Soup” is given to the plastic debris that is suspended in the sea.  Mandy Barker, a photographer from the UK, created this series of collages to represent the global collection of refuse that exists within Earth’s oceans.
buy aygestin online andnewonlineblo.com no prescription

Here is a description of her work:

SOUP is a description given to plastic debris suspended in the sea, and with particular reference to the mass accumulation that exists in an area of The North Pacific Ocean known as the Garbage Patch.

The series of images aim to engage with, and stimulate an emotional response in the viewer by combining a contradiction between initial aesthetic attraction and social awareness. The sequence reveals a narrative concerning oceanic plastics from initial attraction and attempted ingestion, to the ultimate death of sea creatures and representing the disturbing statistics of dispersed plastics having no boundaries.

All the plastics photographed have been salvaged from beaches around the world and represent a global collection of debris that has existed for varying amounts of time in the world’s oceans.

These collages are both eerie and beautiful.
buy Cozaar online blobuyinfo.com no prescription

  It’s as if humans have given birth to some mysterious form of life deep in the ocean waters.  Or maybe, these are photographs from the depths of space — from some newly found galaxy.  But alas, no, we are ultimately only destroying marine environments a little bit more every day…
buy avapro online andnewonlineblo.com no prescription

and Barker’s images are a disturbing reminder — but they are certainly an aesthetically pleasing reminder.

-RSB

[via NPR]