photo sharing and upload picture albums photo forums search pictures popular photos photography help login
Canon DSLR Challenge | all galleries >> Challenge 22: Flight (Hosted by Roberta Fair) >> Challenge 22: Eligible (Hosted by Roberta Fair) > Origin *
previous | next
20-AUG-2004 Jeffrey W. Greeniaus

Origin *

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Little photo showing a very limited but interesting view of the origin of flight. Starting and the bottom with a lungfish, then a primitive dinosaur skull, a Tyrannosaurid tooth (just above the fish), a set of Troodon teeth in jaw, and finally Archaeopteryx, the 'first' bird.


other sizes: small medium original auto
share
Canon DSLR Challenge24-Aug-2004 07:11
Yeah, that order seems about right (though whether 'reptiles' or birds flew first might be a debate for the incredibly picky. :o)

Jeff
Jonathan (Yoni) Nissanov23-Aug-2004 19:53
I too debated the issue of powered flight versus glides when I worked up the dendelion images (I was thinking of balooning spiders since I found a tiny one in the dendelion but figured that's going a bit far!) Hmm on powered flight its insects, birds, reptiles as pterosaurs, and chiroptera. Nothing else we know of, right?
Canon DSLR Challenge23-Aug-2004 16:39
Hi Jonathan, I know, it makes me cringe too whenever I see big generalizations, can't forget fugus spores, and then plant spores, they all flew first too. And for vertebrates it's probably in the fish department for flying first (assuming we count none powered gliding flight), not too mention some of the other gliding animals (snakes, frogs, mammals (but we know mammals came after alot of the other fliers). I was thinking about using some fossil (aka smushed) bugs too, but they're significantly smaller and 2D compared to these ones, so a little less interesting. If I was really sneaky, I'd get a fossil example and a living one flying around it.
:o)

And too everyone else, thanks for the comments; would love to hear a few critisims though if anyone has some suggestions.

Jeff
Jonathan (Yoni) Nissanov23-Aug-2004 12:14
Nicely composed and done. I agree that it matches the quality of a professional advertisement-one you might see for the museum's show. Of course this is not the origin of flight, since insects-in particular the dragon fly lineage-ventured into the air first. Nor is it the origin of birds, it is the proximal lineage of birds. Origin is closer to the single cell or even simple micelles. Don't take me seriously! Such details won't stop the museum from making such a poster (though I suspect that in their collection section, the evolutionary biologists cringe :-))
Guest 23-Aug-2004 09:59
I agree that the lighting works very well, and could easily see this as a poster advertising just as you say - The Origin of Flight. Phil
Canon DSLR Challenge23-Aug-2004 03:18
Jeffrey,
Very original concept and well done. You were successful at setting up a studio shot at work. Hey- makes work more interesting! Nice execution of combining the images in a composite. Roberta
Canon DSLR Challenge22-Aug-2004 11:55
Jeff, I think this in one fine photograph! I like the spot-lighting on all the objects, including the background, but I have always been a sucker for low-key, fade-to-black kind of lighting - really adds drama to the shot! --Olaf
Canon DSLR Challenge22-Aug-2004 07:22
Ha ha, that's true... too bad this stuff just came out of our teaching collection (Only the tyranosaurid tooth is real, the rest are casts (or model for the fish).

Not sure if I like the lighting of the back fossil, any comments on that folks

Jeff
ctfchallenge22-Aug-2004 07:03
Would make a great museum poster! ~ Lonnit
Canon DSLR Challenge21-Aug-2004 09:03
I should also mention, its a composite of 5 shots, as I only had one light that I could direct on the fossils/models. But they are unmoved from where they were on the table I set up.

Jeff