Third Place, Conservation Hope. A male white-spotted pufferfish creates an intricate spawning nest in the sand. The fish carefully shapes a two-meter-wide radial pattern using only his fins. Built over several days, this structure and its subtle details reveal the extraordinary effort this small fish invests in reproduction.This was one of the winning photographs in the Ocean Photographer of the Year competition, from a gallery in The Atlantic. Photo credit Yuta Shigeno,
Nemesis. Winner, Animal Behavior. Parker: “Because the sparrowhawk had never gone to ground before on previous visits to the garden, and not knowing how long it would stay, I just wanted to get an image to record the event before then concentrating on my settings. The story I think the image portrays is evident in the eye contact between the two subjects and the vicelike grip they have on each other, however, the eye contact and grip of the juvenile starling is out of pure fear while that of its nemesis is one of dominance and relief in finally catching a much-needed meal.”
This hand-coloured scanning electron micrograph was the favourite of the jury in the section "Best Scientific Image". The image shows the surface of a mosquito egg (from Culex pipiens), which generates a water repellent network by connecting microscopically small structures to trap a thin layer of air. The vitally important structures avoid immersion and enable the egg to float and aggregate with neighbouring eggs.The website of photographer Martin Oeggerli. Reposted from 2013 because I had my first encounter with mosquitoes this week in the woods behind our house.
Celestial Dance. Shortlist, Motion. This young Lusitano stallion was allowed to move freely during a photography session, enabling the photographer to capture its powerful and graceful movements.
A sika deer with the severed head of a rival male that died in their battle skewered on its antler. Photograph: Kohei Nagira/Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Via The Guardian.
Stanley Kubrick: Couple Flirting on a Fire Escape, Park Benches - Love is Everywhere series, 1946
A widely shared image of federal agents surrounding ICU nurse Alex Pretti as one agent holds a gun to the back of his head appears as real as it does horrific.But a closer look at the photo reveals a headless agent. Such bodily distortion is a red flag that an image used artificial intelligence. In this case, AI enhanced a low-quality screenshot of a bystander video, digital forensic experts said.It’s the latest altered imagery from Minneapolis to make the rounds online during the federal government’s immigration enforcement surge. Other digitally manipulated images circulated after Renee Good’s killing by a federal agent. The White House also shared a fake image of activist and attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong, edited to make it appear that she was crying during her recent arrest for disrupting a church service. Video from the arrest showed there were no tears.AI-enhanced and manipulated images are a new obstacle in the court of public opinion. Their proliferation online is eroding trust and inflaming divisions...The AI image of Pretti’s killing is more nuanced than many, Farid said, because it combines something real with hallucinated elements.In court, the edited image would never be admissible as evidence. But in the court of public opinion, an image that is based in truth but fabricated can make for difficult debates.If someone calls out a friend for sharing the AI-generated image of Pretti and says, “This is fake,” for example, someone can argue that the person is siding with federal agents when really the person is only pointing out the image is digitally altered...“The real poison here is not AI, it’s social media,” he said. “AI is just supercharging it. But if people could make these fake images and fake videos and there was no delivery mechanism, I mean, honestly, who cares? The problem is not the content itself. The problem is that these social media platforms eagerly absorb it and amplify it because it’s good for business.”..At the very least, he advises people to slow down, think critically and look closely at images before spreading misinformation. He said images are made in an instant, often to provoke strong reactions and sow discord.
Mad Hatterpillar. Winner, Behavior: Invertebrates. Georgina Steytler showcases the strange headgear of a gum-leaf skeletonizer caterpillar. This caterpillar’s unusual headgear is made up of old head capsules, each retained with every molt. The resulting tower is believed to help deflect attacks by predators. Location: Torndirrup National Park, Western Australia, Australia.
This was my favorite among the photos from the Wildlife Photographer of the Year entries posted at The Atlantic.
"Two amphipods from the Cyproideidae family, each only measuring around 3 millimeters in body length, rest on a coral. Commonly called “ladybugs of the sea,” these tiny creatures display striking coloration and symmetry." Credit © Yury Ivanov / Ocean Photographer of the Year, via The Atlantic.
Prior to the twentieth century, Holy Trinity had a very difficult approach, requiring crossing a valley and climbing through the rock outcrop to reach the building's entrance. Provisions were placed in baskets drawn up by rope-ladders (now with a winch). In present day, one can walk from Kalambaka for 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) along a foot track to reach the monastery, or use a winch-operated lift. There is a road from the back side of the cliff. It is currently reached via tunnels and 130 steps of stone. The grounds include a 2-acre (0.81 ha) garden at the summit.
Meaning ‘suspended in air’ the name Meteora includes the entire rock community of 24 monasteries. There were no steps and the main access to the monasteries was by means of a net that was hitched over a hook and hoisted up by rope and a hand cranked windlass to winch towers overhanging the chasm. Monks descended in the nets or on retractable wooden ladders up to 40m long to the fertile valleys below to grow grapes, corn and potatoes... the ropes were replaced, so the story goes, only "when the Lord let them break..."
