Montanoramas

Jun16

Montana really deserves its title as “The Big Sky State”. It is truly the promised land for the panoramic photographer.
As I didn’t bring my tripod with me on my trip, I shot only two panoramas on my D800 (the first two below). The rest were shot with the native panorama function on the iPhone 4s. I apologize for the low quality of these panoramas, but I am also an advocate for the notion that ‘the best camera in the world is the one you have with you’.
Click each panorama to see it in its glorious full size and scroll around the view.

The National Bison Range. Those small brown dots on the hill on the far left? Yes, those are bison.

A spectacular meadow in the middle of the forest on the Idaho-Montana border.

Missoula under the setting sun – iPhone pano

Probably the most moving sunset I have ever experienced – iPhone pano

More soon.

- M

The Great American Outdoors

Jun11

It has been some time since last I posted any content on this website. I warned that this would happen, but it does not make me fell any less bad about it. This is by the by, however. What matters is that I am, for at least a brief while, back to share my photos with you.

I have picked up my camera only a few times since last I posted, but I still have accrued quite a backlog of things about which I intend to post.

I will start, however, with my most recent activity, because it is by far the most exciting, and involves shooting in a style that I am utterly unfamiliar with (which means that many of the photos suck, sorry about that).

Emily Graslie of The Brain Scoop at the National Bison Range in Montana

I flew at short notice across the world to visit Emily Graslie, noted youtuber and museum fiend. If you have not yet seen her show, The Brain Scoop, make sure to check it out at your soonest convenience (by clicking the link). It is fascinating educational content, put out in a funny and easy-to-understand way. Emily is changing the future of museums by bringing their function and behind-the-scenes life to the forefront of the public mind. It is easy to understand why one of the world’s largest and best-respected museums has decided to acquire her.

This was the first time I have visited in America in four years – the first time as an adult – and I had a fantastic time. Emily took me around to see some parts of America that I have only ever seen in movies and read about in books – the parts that it is easy to forget as an expat living overseas, growing up removed and immersed in stereotype.

Some of the landscapes were just incredible. This road up the National Bison Range is one of the most scenic routes I have ever seen. And this comes from someone who lives in Switzerland!

I tried to work some landscapes, first with no foreground interest, and then with some added.

I think the foreground interest gives a much better balance to the shot.

This gnarly pine tree grows near the top of the mountain around which the National Bison Range lies.

Quite spectacular views.

More flowers for foreground interest.

A beautifully bleak view. Emily wanted to paint it, and I can understand why. The drama is just wonderful. This is the kind of scene you just don't see in Europe.

A beautifully bleak view. Emily wanted to paint it, and I can understand why. The drama is just wonderful. This is a kind of scene you just don’t see in Europe.

The landscapes were just wonderful to work with. Unfortunately I found myself woefully out of practice. But some of these are alright.
The wildlife in the National Bison Range is incredible. I haven’t seen large mammals up close since last I was in mainland Africa seven years ago, and never have I had a chance to photograph them properly.

Emily took me up to the National Bison Range, where we saw... Bison.

We went to the Bison range and we saw… Bison. Shock shock.

Not just bison though – we saw pronghorns too!

This particular fellow was grazing right by the road. Which is good, because, as you may remember, my long lens was stolen last year, and the longest I have now is just a 105. And I forgot my teleconverter, because I’m an idiot apparently.

Bighorn sheep resting by the road.

These Bighorns lined themselves up quite nicely for a well-balanced shot.

The National Bison Range was awesome, and Emily was just a fountain of facts, talking about its founding, and the diorama of taxidermied Bison that was set up by William Temple Hornaday to alert America and the rest of the world to their plight, and finally wound up in the Phillip L. Wright Zoological Museum at the University of Montana, where Emily has volunteered for the last two years.

A few days later we drove up to the border with Idaho. This was beautiful country full of more beautiful landscapes.

A logging path through awesome pine forest.

An enormous meadow in the middle of the pine forest.

In the middle of the meadow, a massive rock.

Some more experimentation with foreground interest.

And finally, an adorable ground squirrel.

I have two more posts to follow this one: one on the awesome thing we found whilst hiking through the forest, and one on the museum. So stay tuned – I hope to have the first of those up by the end of the week.

~ M

Andasibe-Mantadia National Park

Feb23

I have finally gotten around to it! I bring you now my final installment from Madagascar 2012;
Rainforest.

After my work for Operation Wallacea had come to a close, and I had recovered from some mystery illness that befell me the day all the volunteers left, Brandon Semel (my lemur-loving colleague) and I headed for a bit of refreshment: rainforest. After trying unsuccessfully to get access to a forest called Ambohitantely (honey forest), as it was apparently on fire, we decided that we would head back to a forest we are both somewhat familiar with: Andasibe-Mantadia NP.

Rice paddies now lie where forest once stood.

Derelict vehicles line the roads

A stray rock stopped this truck in its tracks

We hired a car (and a driver) and made good time over to the forest. Our plan: to make camp, get a guide, and see if, in two half days and one full one, we could find ourselves some Uroplatus or “leaf-tailed” geckos. These unusual creatures fascinate me, and Brandon and I were eager to see if we could find the ever-elusive Uroplatus phantasticus (the Satanic Leaf-Tail Gecko).
We arrived late in the afternoon, after a few delays, and sorted out our affairs. Then we made our way to the main reception of the Andasibe park to see if we could still get a guide for the afternoon.
‘No sir, all of our gecko guides are out right now, and it is not worth going into the park when there is so little time left. But if you go down the road for a little, you will come to a small, private, community-run park. There you can do a short walk.’
So we headed on our way, payed the small fee, and went on our walk with a young female guide. This was an area of forest I had not been to, and I was very pleasantly surprised. Within twenty minutes, we came across a Uroplatus!

Uroplatus sikorae in its resting position. Click to enlarge. It is dead centre.

This is a closer photo of the same animal. Click to enlarge.

Leaf-tailed geckos are among the few animals in the world that you can look straight at and still miss.
On this first day, we also came across three Indri, before heading back to the main park reception to set up our tent.

The next day and a half was spent searching for Uroplatus geckos in a variety of different forest areas. We had a great guide, whose enthusiasm was a little overwhelming at times.
I shot a series of ferns for an exhibition/book I am working on.

A natural clearing in the rainforest becomes home to light-loving ferns and tiny Blommersia frogs

One of my favourite shots from the trip: a bird’s nest fern sits on a vine, while Indri call above me.

The trunk of a tree-fern covered in lichen and moss

But it wasn’t all ferns of course. I was looking for scenes of interest and strong perspective shots, taking advantage of the full 14mm range of my 14-24mm, but also a little bit of macro.
The lighting here was very difficult. I raised my ISO as much as I dared, considering that I was planning to print many of these in large format. Mostly it just required a very steady hand though.

Twisted vines hang low across a clearing in the middle of the forest

Climbing vines cling to the trunk of a tree on the side of the path

A fallen rainforest tree becomes the host of a thousand more creatures

Many of the forest leaves are covered in various different lichen species

Fungi cling to a rainforest trunk

I believe this is from the bamboo family.

Very few plants are still in flower this late into the season.

Unfortunately, the orchids are not in flower. But I find their bulbous forms endearing nonetheless.

Some plants have shocking armament, even in the rainforest.

Alone in a small forest clearing (except for the leeches), this elephant ear grows tall and proud

I was also aiming for the contrast between the intense greenery of the forest, and the incessant decay that fuels it.

Unusual in the extreme. How did it get there?

We came across many animals in our wanderings as well.

I will never get tired of this photo.

These animals included a few Uroplatus geckos. These were all Uroplatus sikorae though.

Uroplatus sikorae, as found. Click to enlarge.

But the main target was the ever elusive Uroplatus phantasticus. These geckos habitually hide among dead leaves, making them incredibly difficult to spot. We spent hours combing branches and leaf bundles.

Prime habitat

Even better.

Finally, and with a triumphant “Ha, I win!”, Brandon found one!

Uroplatus phantasticus as found

Uroplatus phantasticus showing off its camouflage

Uroplatus phantasticus in its nocturnal hunting position.

And just as proof, here’s a shot of yours truly with the gecko!

I was immensely excited to find this species in the wild. I cannot wait to get back out and find more!
Rainforest is my favourite habitat to work in, but I think even photos don’t do it justice. I wrote a piece about it here, which I think does an equally bad job. Together they might just convey the feeling you get from being there. I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter. Leave a comment below!
That is all for this installment from the blog. It will doubtless be another wee while before I get another chance to process and post photos. But I hope this tides you over until then.
~ Mark

A Term of Absence

Nov21

Phelsuma lineata on a Pandanus screw palm in Andasibe National Park

This is probably my favourite shot from the summer in Madagascar. I figured it might go some way towards apologising for my long leave of absence.

I have been off of the website for a very long time, and I am sure many of you are curious as to what I have been up to. Let me explain.

Firstly, I have been working on uni stuff, and consequentially have had very little time to work on my photography, and even less to actually spend on processing images and getting them online. In addition to focusing on uni work, I have also been working on applications for PhD positions, which has been a major time sink, and other little projects.
So what does that mean for the website? Well, not a huge amount. I still have not finished my posts from Madagascar this summer (there are at least two more posts to come), and I’ve shot a few more things since then as well. That means that there are a few more posts to come.
However! There are a few limiting factors on my ability to get these shots online. Most importantly, I am now entering the revision period in preparation for my exams this December (in fact, I am writing this post instead of listening to the lecture I am sitting in). That means that I will be restricted in what I can post before Christmas. Then, over the winter holiday, I will be writing four separate papers, meaning that I won’t have much time to put into the website either.
Nonetheless, I am going to try to at least get up the last of the Madagascar posts before New Year, and we will see where things go from there.

Thanks for your patience! Your readership is most appreciated.

Also, I got featured here. Check it out.

Field Surgery in Madagascar (PG)

Sep4

Before I commence with this blog post, I would like to issue a warning that its contents are extremely graphic, so Parental Guidance and viewer discretion are advised. If you are at all squeamish or uncomfortable with the sight of needles, blood or surgery, please do not continue.

Operation Wallacea operates with a medical officer at each of its research stations. This protocol is obviously required in order to ensure the safety of its staff and volunteers. One positive side effect however is that the operations bring highly qualified doctors into very remote areas, where such expertise is generally lacking. The local people take advantage of this service without much hesitation (it helps that it is generally free). Typically this means that the medical officer is inundated with mundane problems from the people around the camp, and our doctor, Karen, would be visited by the same individuals on a daily basis, each time complaining of different ailments with a variety of symptoms. Having a doctor who can render this kind of service can of course be beneficial on a small scale, and really does help those people with genuine and fairly simple problems. Less commonly, serious ailments present themselves, and it is on these occasions that having a qualified doctor is invaluable. Perhaps unusually for OpWall, Karen is a full-time practicing doctor in the UK, and therefore is able to perform surgical procedures.
Naturally, we thought, or rather hoped, that her surgical skills would not be needed or put to the test while we were in the field. This was not to be the case. On two occasions, local people came to Karen with serious injuries that required her immediate and full attention. Because I was acting as nurse in both cases, large section of the procedures shown here are unfortunately missing. However, I hope that what I managed to capture tells something of the story, and also helps you understand a bit of what it’s like to work as a field surgeon.

One day, a man walked into camp with a yellow cloth clutched tightly around his hand. He came over to the worky-worky, where our doctor, Karen, several Malagasy staff members, and I, were standing. He explained that he had badly injured himself to one of the Malagasy men, at first without removing the cloth from his finger. When he finally did, it was clear that he had badly cut his index finger. Immediately, we sprang to action stations. The medical tent was directly beside the worky-worky, so we were able to get the medical kit ready fast. Water was brought to clean the wound. Then we brought him over to headquarters – a small shady patch with a table and some chairs, some ten metres away from the bustle of the worky-worky. Karen set about preparing the tables for the procedure, placing paper down. Fortunately, the cut was a relatively clean one; Malagasy men are incredibly good at sharpening blades. It was not until the area had been set up properly, and the procedure was underway, that I finally had a moment to run and grab my camera.

The surgery begins.

The concentration is immense.

After inspecting the wound, Karen was able to establish that the cut did not sever any major muscles or nerves. She numbed the finger with lidocaine to make sure that the old man was comfortable. He was astonished with its effectiveness.

After the area has been numbed with lidocaine, the patient can’t feel a thing.

Passing the needle through the skin from one clamp to another.

The man watches as his finger is sutured up.

The cloth used to mop up blood and spread iodine.

The tools are set aside for later.

The wound required six sutures, spaced around the flap of skin.

Just one suture remaining. This, children, is what sutures are supposed to look like.

Sutures require extremely fine dexterity and a great deal of practice.

The final suture is cut

The whole procedure probably took about 45 minutes.

Betadine (Iodine solution) is used to clean the wound before and after sutures.

After cleaning, the finger is prepared to be bandaged.

The happy patient waits to be dismissed.

The man walked away with a full set of fingers. I am pleased to say that the wound also healed well, and although the finger may not regain full mobility, it will remain functional. This is the best outcome that could be hoped for really. It is difficult to imagine what would happen to this kind of injury were it not for the western doctor. Although there are traditional healers, trauma wounds are beyond their scope, and it is likely that they would either apply a tourniquet or simply amputate.

About a week after the finger patient showed up, a boy was carried into our camp on his brother’s back, his foot tightly wrapped in a blood-drenched cloth. Evening was just falling, and light was poor. As soon as he was brought in, we brought him over to the water barrel by the shower, and Karen proceeded to clean his foot. Fortunately, I had my camera near me when he arrived, so I was able to start taking pictures from the moment we first saw the wound. I asked him if it was alright, and started shooting.

The foot arrived extremely bloody and full of dirt – the boy had most likely walked on it for some distance before being carried to our camp.

It was immediately apparent that a great deal of cleaning was needed on the bloody mess that was his foot. I asked the boy and the people who had come with him what had happened. Although my Malagasy is not great, I was able to understand the gist of the situation: he had been cutting wood, and had slipped with the axe, landing it across the toes of his foot. He must have been some distance from help when it happened, for judging by the amount of dirt in the wound, he must have walked on it for quite some time before being brought to us.

The initial stages of the cleaning process, trying to get as much dried blood and dirt out of the wound as possible

The foot is then cleaned in a bucket full of filtered and chlorinated water.

The foot slowly gets cleaner.

Once the cleaning process was nearly finished, I ran over to the medical tent, grabbed the emergency kit, and went over to HQ to clear up the area. The boy was brought over by his brother. Before we let him be set down, we wrapped two planks in clingfilm, creating a relatively sterile surface on which to work. Karen set about preparing the procedure.

The box full of medical supplies is on hand throughout the surgery

A makeshift work surface of clingfilm wrapped around planks of wood is used to keep the area as sterile as possible.

Again, lidocaine was called into action to numb the area in preparation for the procedure that followed.

The doctor fills a syringe with Lidocaine for direct injection into the foot.

The lidocaine gets injected all around the wound, temporarily numbing the whole area.

The doctor checks to make sure that the area is numbed.

Unfortunately, because I was doing research in the forest after dinner, and my nursing services were no longer required, I had to leave the procedure at this point. However, the stitching apparently went well.

The cleaned wound, ready for suturing.

The boy stayed around for quite a while. Although he should really have been resting the foot, that is quite an unrealistic expectation in this kind of environment. Karen proscribed him antibiotics to help keep the wound from going septic. I am afraid to say I do not know how it went in the end, but soon he was running a fever and the wound was certainly infected. It is unclear whether or not he will lose the foot – a terrible loss in this environment. For more complete treatment, he would need to be transferred to Fort Dauphin, where he would be able to recuperate. That is an expensive prospect however, and many of the people in this area simply cannot afford it, no matter how great the need.

I hope this blog post gives you an idea of the great work that our doctor was able to do during her short stay in the field. Not only was she able to help these people in an incredible way, but she also enriched the lives of my colleagues and me, and was well loved by everyone. A great many people owe her their gratitude, myself notwithstanding.

Operation Wallacea in the Field

Aug22

It is about time that I got to the bit where I talk about the whole reason I really went to Madagascar in the first place, and what I did there. That is what this post is about.

The south side of the main camp area sported a massive tamarind tree, at the base of which the food was cooked.

A view from the top of the cliffs above camp, west and downstream.

Operation Wallacea (www.opwall.com) is a volunteer organisation, which deploys paying volunteers (students; predominantly early undergraduates) on projects around the globe. These are mainly zoological and ecological research projects. Madagascar has two separate sites: one on the west coast, near Mahajanga; and one in the arid south, in a camp called Mahavelo, near Ifotaka, in the commune of Amboasary-Sud. The latter site has now been running for two years, and it was there that I worked this summer.

Just after we arrived, a plague of locusts flew through.

Although the locusts eat a great many crops, the local people also consume these insects. They were thick in the air, and made everything look hazy.

The camp had guards who were employed full time to watch all of the equipment. This is Mia, son of the local Ombiasa, or medicine man.

During the initial setup in the field, we cooked together around these fires. When camp was in full swing however, there was always food on the go to feed everyone.

One of the cooks holds up dinner – a helmeted guinea fowl.

Wild boar roasts on spits around a fire in the dry river bed.

Everything had to be built from the ground up, including a large work station. A thousand planks were ordered and cut for the task. These men had the job of assembling the finished structure.

Before any students arrived, all of the staff members were camped in what later became the dining area.

Presentations were given in the worky-worky, in front of the whole team.

Each site has a variety of research projects running simultaneously. In Mahavelo (Ma-ha-vay-loo), these research projects are (i) lemur research, (ii) reptile research, (iii) bird research, (iv) plant and invasive species research, and (v) social research. Each of the first four teams (social is complicated) is composed of a team leader and usually at least one other, Malagasy, staff member. My role this year was team leader of the reptile research. Christian (pictured below) was my Malagasy counterpart, but he was only working with me for two weeks.

This is Christian, my colleague on the herps team for the first couple weeks in the field.

Sylvio, one of the malagasy lemur team members, on the edge of the cliff where they did most of their research.

There are essentially two ways you can come on the Operation Wallacea adventure (aside from being a staff member); either you can come as a standard volunteer and, in the case of the Madagascar project, stay for four weeks of field work; or you can come as a dissertation student, and stay in the field for six weeks, gathering data for your dissertation (usually undergrad, but occasionally masters). It is the dissertation students who shape the research that each team is conducting, and in many cases, they wind up leading particular parts of the research. Each foreign dissertation student has a Malagasy counterpart. This year, my students were Fay Rickeard and Mahandry Razafimandimby.

Mahandry with the boa

Fay with the boa

Chelsea, a dissertation student studying birds, releases an ashy cuckoo shrike.

The Mahavelo site this year received 29 normal volunteers – a staggeringly large number; at peak, camp contained over 100 people. Every day, the herp team received between six and eight of these volunteers, bringing the total size of the team to between nine and eleven individuals, not including the two guides. Occasionally, we were also joined by the camp doctor, and her guide.

The Operation Wallacea Mahavelo 2012 Team

The reptile research was composed of two independent studies: a behavioural study on two species of iguanid lizard; and general biodiversity assessments, looking at the species found in the forest, and how they are being affected by habitat destruction.
Behavioural research basically involves sitting on a rock, watching lizards for the entire sunny portion of the day.

We studied the behaviour of Oplurus saxicola

Oplurus quadrimaculatus is the other species on which we conducted behavioural studies.

Meanwhile, the biodiversity research was conducted using pitfall traps, tree cover objects, and transects.

Pitfall traps are the main method used for surveying shy terrestrial species, and species which live within the soil itself.

Every ten metres, a bucket is sunk in up to the brim, in order to catch animals which run into and then along the plastic drift fence.

The work was hard, but it payed off; we found a total of 37 species of reptile and amphibian, beating last year’s total by seven species.

In the first week, we caught a ground boa, Acrantophis dumerili.

Although they were very scared at first, the local men got over their fears, and wanted to hold this gorgeous snake.

These are by far the heaviest snakes in the region, and reach well over a metre in length. They are generally placid creatures though, and very enjoyable to hold.

Lygodactylus tolyampae, one of the dwarf geckos.

This was by far the largest of the dwarf geckos that we came across.

I finally caught a giant hognose snake, after having been taunted by various reported sightings for weeks.

One of the smallest snake species in Madagascar, and certainly the smallest captured on this expedition – Heteroliodon occipitalis

These snakes were only found using pitfall traps.

A Paroedura androyensis shows off its incredible camouflage.

These geckos were amongst the most common species in the forest at night.

Androngo trivittatus trilineata, a nearly-legless lizard, slithered into camp on one of the last days in the field.

These lizards are apparently quite common at the base of large tamarind trees, though they live within the soil and are therefore rarely seen.

Rare patches of moister gallery forest harbor flowers and ferns and greenery. These forests are little pockets of diversity and life.

Raketa, or Prickly Pear – Opuntia spp. – lines the riverbed. It is a powerfully invasive species with a very complicated history.

Not herps, but still fun: across the pool by camp, lemurs sit on the cliffs every morning to warm up.

So what happens now? Well, Mahandry and Fay are working on their dissertations. Meanwhile, I am in the process of writing a paper on the herpetofauna of the region. The data is also fed back to conservation organisations, such as WWF, to assist in the formation of effective management plans.

Near the end of the trip, each dissertation student had to give a presentation on their research and findings.

During part of the expedition, we also had a vet on site, doing her own research, and helping out where she could.

A Madagascar Kestrel having its wing bones inspected. It was shot out of a tree with a slingshot from over 30 metres – horrible, but very impressive.

It was in shock for some time. Ultimately, it did not survive the ordeal, as it escaped, got in a fight with another kestrel, and finally drowned in the pool by the side of camp. Such a shame.

Field work was great. The whole team had a fantastic time.
But the rest of the trip was also really exciting, and it is this that will follow in the next blog post.

Centre Ecologique de Libanona, The Libanona Ecology Centre

Aug18

Nestled in a grove of pines atop a small hill on the very tip of the Libanona Peninsula, there lies the Centre Ecologique de Libanona – the Libanona Ecology Centre (CEL). CEL was established in 1995, and today remains the only establishment of its kind in southeastern Madagascar. The centre offers an undergraduate course (license professionel) in Environmental Management and Development, and takes on about 20 students a year. Additionally, CEL is a site for the School of International Training, which takes on study abroad students each year. You can read more about the centre on its website, http://cel-ged.org/

The buildings, though beautiful, present an interesting photographic challenge. The light through the trees is mottled and difficult to work with. I implemented the D800′s built in HDR to overcome the problem. Successfully, I feel.

Some things just long to be photographed.

Various states of dilapidation have befallen all of the buildings around the campus.

I came to CEL for the first time last year, at the beginning of my expedition, in order to clarify with the director, Dr. Lalaoharisoa Raolinandrasana, the research we intended to conduct. I returned at the end of the expedition, and gave a short presentation on our findings to the SIT students who were there at the time. The dissertation students who had been working on my team went on to complete their work there, and have now all successfully graduated from their courses.

There are a few gazebos lining the southern edge of the peninsula, with a spectacular view over the ocean.

This year, my business with CEL was much the same, though I did not have the official meetings at the end of the field phase like last year. I stayed at the home of my friend and colleague, Barry Ferguson, who has a bungalow on the grounds, for a week, before being deployed into the field.

Barry’s bungalow at CEL – it’s in need of a lick of paint and a bit of weather-proofing, but otherwise it’s fantastic.

Barry’s annexe is in need of a little work. Artistically perfect though, in my opinion.

I took advantage of the time in CEL to try to capture a bit of the spirit of the place. I would like a chance to go back and get more though – there are many things that are missing from the photos I present here.

Other bungalows are in pretty much the same state as Barry’s.

A cat guards the porch of Jim, head of the SIT programme at CEL

It is hard for me to give you an idea of how beautiful the grounds of CEL are. For reference, I counted about nine species of reptile within and around Barry’s house. I have already shown what the sunset looks like, and that perhaps is the most spectacular part of the whole location. I tried also to capture more intimate and interesting things about the nature around the place though, and this is what follows; a few small scale images of the whole beauty of the peninsula.

For some reason, someone has stuck a bird’s head on a stick at the edge of the path. Curious.

The campus is surrounded in greenery. Every morning, these plants open their riotous purple flowers to entice pollinators to visit them.

Laaast Christmas, agave you my heaaart...

An agave sits at the top of the cliff on the south east edge of the peninsula.

This, the Madagascar Periwinkle, contains the active ingredient in cancer treatments that are, I believe, currently under development. It is also used traditionally as a treatment for cancer. Fortunately, it is also rather abundant.