Showing posts with label Video. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Video. Show all posts
In Japan there's a huge aquarium, actually the world's second largest behind the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, called Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium. The flagship of this aquarium is the main tank, called the Kuroshio Sea, that holds 7,500 cubic metres (1,981,000 USgal) of water and features an acrylic glass panel measuring 8.2 by 22.5 metres (27 by 74 ft) with a thickness of 60 centimetres (24 in), the largest such panel in the world when the aquarium was opened. Whale sharks and manta rays are kept alongside more than 60 other fish species.
Surfers raise their arms in honor of the late Andy Irons during a paddle out memorial service in Porta Del Sol, Puerto Rico, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2010.
A few hundred surfers from the northern beaches community gathered for a tribute paddle-out to celebrate the life of American surfer Andy Irons.
The three-times world champion died suddenly last week, aged just 32, just a month before he was due to become a first-time father. The three-times world champion was found dead at a hotel in Dallas, Texas on Tuesday, November 2.
Irons had reportedly been suffering from Dengue Fever in the lead-up to his shock death and had pulled out of a surfing event in Puerto Rico late last month to battle the viral infection.
Sterling Johnson is a "bubblesmith", better, he is The Bubblesmith!
According to his own website he is the only performer who specializes in blowing bubbles using only his hands.
The act of drinking may seem like no big deal for anyone who can fully close his mouth to create suction, as people can. But the various species that cannot do so — and that includes most adult carnivores and our cats and dogs — must resort to some other mechanism, so if you have wondered how our pets drink this is the post for you:
This boat may look like it's sinking fast, but don't worry, it's perfectly upright. That's because this boat, called "Love Love," was designed by artist Julien Berthier to look like it's in the process of going under!
Every time I saw one of those cages that are used to allow people to see the great white sharks in their own environment I've always felt a mix of adrenaline and fear, it should be absolutely fantastic but also scaring as hell... well, after seeing this footage from a 2007 accident, I've finally decided: Cage Diving is not for me!
Read here what happened in the words of the protagonist, cameraman Patrick Walsh:
Lüderitz is a harbour town in south-west Namibia, lying on one of the least hospitable coasts in Africa. It is a port developed around Robert Harbour and Shark Island but most of all Lüderitz is home to the Lüderitz Speed Challenge, the only international sporting event held in the town. This is an annual month-long speed sailing event held in the last quarter of the year under the auspices of the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC).
National Geographic delights us with this first ever video of sea lions hunting a large octopus. The footage is from a project intended to help save the endangered sea lions, in part by uncovering where and how the animals eat. It has been realized thanks to a Crittercam, the small package of instruments including a camera that can be attached to a wild animal to study its behaviour in the wild. Crittercam was invented by National Geographic marine biologist Greg Marshall in 1986. Since than it has been employed in studies on over 40 marine and terrestrial animals and on the Emperor Penguin obtaining the footagr used in the Oscar-winning documentary March of the Penguins.
©Carlo Borlenghi
If you are close to the Alpina Hütte, Corviglia, St.Moritz, Switzerland and skiing in one of the most beautiful mountains all over the world isn't fun enough for you, you may evaluate the idea of taking part to the Alpina Surfover. What is it?
Photograph courtesy Brooke McDonald, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society via AP
First of all: the picture above has not been altered in any way, what yyou see is blood, dolphin's blood
Probably you've already had listened something about the documentary "The Cove" especially now that it has won the Academy Award, if it's not the case you really should inquire about it.
The Cove is a 2009 American documentary film that describes the annual killing of dolphins in a National Park at Taiji, Wakayama, in Japan from an anti-dolphin hunting campaigner's point of view. The film highlights that the number of dolphins killed is several times greater than the number of whales killed in the Antarctic, and claims that 23,000 dolphins and porpoises are killed in Japan every year. The migrating dolphins are herded into a hidden cove where they are netted and killed by means of spears and knives over the side of small fishing boats, a particularly horrible (at least from my point of view) way of fishing called "Dolphin drive hunting". I had already spoken about this kind of fishing in the post entitled "The sea became bloody red.. the horrible bloodshed of the pilot whales in the Fær Øer islands." about the pilot whales slauthering that occurs each year in the Fær Øer islands.
The film was directed by former National Geographic photographer Louie Psihoyos. Among the challenges faced by the production team were the tight security and inaccessibility of the cove therefore portions were filmed secretly during 2007 using underwater microphones and high-definition cameras disguised as rocks.
The documentary won, amongst many other prizes the U.S. Audience Award at the 25th annual Sundance Film Festival in January 2009. On March 7, 2010 The Cove won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Film at the 82nd Academy Awards.
The movie follows former dolphin trainer Ric O'Barry's quest to document the dolphin hunting operations in Taiji, Wakayama, Japan. In the 1960s, O'Barry captured and trained the five wild dolphins who would play the role of "Flipper" in the hit television series of the same name. This pop-culture phenomenon fueled widespread public adoration of dolphins. It was when one of the dolphins committed a form of suicide in his arms, closing her blowhole voluntarily in order to suffocate, that O'Barry came to see it as a curse not a blessing. Days later, he found himself off the island of Bimini, attempting to cut a hole in the sea pen in order to set free a captured dolphin. Since then O'Barry has worked tirelessly as an advocate on behalf of dolphins around the world.
After meeting with O'Barry, Psihoyos and his crew travel to the small town of Taiji, a town that appears to be devoted to the wonder of the dolphins and whales that swim off their coast. But in an isolated cove, surrounded by wire and "Keep Out" signs, some of the townspeople hide a stark reality. It is here that the fisherman of Taiji, driven by a multi-billion dollar dolphin entertainment industry and a dubious and artificial market for mercury-tainted dolphin meat, engage in the unseen killing. Local volunteers physically block attempts by outsiders to view the dolphin killing taking place in the cove. Together with the Oceanic Preservation Society, Psihoyos, O'Barry, and the crew utilizes special tactics and embark on a mission to get the truth on what is really going on in the cove and why it matters to everyone else in the world.
For further info you can:
- Visit the official website of the movie: THECOVEMOVIE.COM
- Read an interesting article from National Geographic about the consequencies of The Cove movie winning the 2010 Oscar.
- View the official HD Trailer of the movie:
- View a new video about the dolphin slaughter in Taiji:
Consider this post the third part of a trilogy video about the incredible skills of the octopuses after the previous posts:
Octopus, master of disguise
Octopus, the master contortionist
That Octopus is the most inteligent of the invertebrates is a well known fact but this footage provided by Dr Julian Finn of Museum Victoria takes it to a new level. In the video you can see a Veined Octopus, Amphioctopus marginatus, showing sophisticated tool use behaviour, a coconut that he seems to use as a portable armour/hiding place and, using both halves, as a den
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's vessel Ady Gil had its bow sheared off and was taking on water Wednesday after it collided with the Japanese whaling ship in the frigid waters of Antarctica. The boat's six crew members were safely rescued. The clash was the most serious in the past several years, during which the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has sent vessels into far-southern waters to try to harass the Japanese fleet into ceasing its annual whale hunt. Each side routinely accuses the other of dangerous activity during what has become a cat-and-mouse chase in one of the world's most remote regions.
Video from the Japanese boat:
Video from another Sea Sheppard boat:
Some frames of the collision
©Paul Nicklen/National Geographic
I've already spoken about Paul Nicklen on the post entitled The Polar Bear reflection so make reference to that article to have more info about this extraordinary National Geographic Photographer
The first time that I've seen the amazing picture here above depicting what seems an incredibly close-up shot of a Leopard Seal chasing a penguin I was stunned and I thought "How can the photographer be so close to the action?!?". In the following video Paul Nicken tells us the story behind the shot which is quite different from what I previously thought (the penguin is already dead) but this doesn't take out anything of the charme of the picture, on the contrary it probably increases it beacuse Nicken was the protagonist of what was in my opinion one of the most amazing experience a photographer could ever have. First of all, you have to understand that Leopard Seals are huge voracious predators that can be very dangerous for human beings (in 2003 a scientist was killed). Paul Nicklen in this case came face to face with an oversized specimen of almost 4 meters. What happened later is almost incredible: the Leopard Seal, over the course of four days, started to behave in an unexpected way traying to fed penguins to Nicklen's camera (that it thought it was his mouth) and tried to teach him how to catch prey! Take a look at the video and you'll understand what I'm talking about:
A couple of images depicting Paul Nicken during this fabulous experience:
©National Geographic
©National Geographic
Some of the hundreds of fantastic Leopard Seal pictures that Paul Nicklen made for National Geographic (taken from this Gallery):
©Paul Nicklen/National Geographic
©Paul Nicklen/National Geographic
©Paul Nicklen/National Geographic
©Paul Nicklen/National Geographic
©Paul Nicklen/National Geographic
©Paul Nicklen/National Geographic
The following ones can also be downloaded in a bigger size in the wallpaper section of the National Geographic website:
©Paul Nicklen/National Geographic
©Paul Nicklen/National Geographic
©Paul Nicklen/National Geographic
©Paul Nicklen/National Geographic
©Paul Nicklen/National Geographic
Now you can:
- visit Paul Nicklen's own website
- visit Paul Nicklen's page on National Geographic site
- buy his book Polar Obsession
- Take a look at the National Geographic Leopard Seal gallery by Paul Nicklen
- Read a National Geographic article by Kim Heacox about Leopard Seals
- View a National Geographic "Deadly Beauty" interactive video
©PaulNicklen - source
Speaking about Paul Nicklen is for me speaking about one of my favourite photographers. One whose pictures has contibuted so much in seeding inside me that deep love for nature that I feel and in making me decide to become a photographer myself. He is one of the most prized National Geographic photographer and inside that glorious fellowship he is the undisputed Polar expert. The picture here above, one of the most famous Polar Bear images of all time is one of his masterpieces. In the following short video he disclose to us the story behind this image:
This video is one episode from the National Geographic's "Behind the photo" series. A collection of really interesting clips about the background of many of the most famous National Geographic pictures.
Now you can:
Enjoy!
I've always wondered how winter sports athletes could train during summer months. TIME has answered to this wonder with this nice video that shows us U.S. athletes of nine different winter sports training for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. In some cases like with the Ski Jumpers, they seem so at ease that you may wonder if the snow is really essential!
Working as a sailing photographer I've attended many boat launches but always something smaller than 90 feet (mainly racing yachts). Being curious about how does the launch of a huge ship look like I've found this interesting video. Now i know that big ship's launches are a pretty terrific stuff!
Imagine a flood that suddenly cover the ground of the forest with many inches of water. You would think that this should mean a doom for an anthill. But ants are clever. A fire ant colony infact can create a sort of living lifeboat. Linking the legs of each ant they take advantage of the surface tension of the water. This way they can save and keep dry the precious queen and larvae until they reach a dry ground again. Enjoy this amazing BBC video.
"Tapped" is a new documentary about the bottled water industry from director Stephanie Soechtig and the producers of "Who Killed the Electric Car ?" and "I.O.U.S.A.".
I really suggest you to see it if you can (as far as I know it is hosted in just a few theaters in USA but I hope it will arrive in Europe sooner or later).
I was already aware, thanks to the efforts of Piero Angela, a famous italian science journalist, of how useless, stupid and harmful for our planet is bottled water but this movie has perfectly clarified the mechanisms that have enabled what is probably the biggest and most succesful marketing campaign of all history (together with tobacco).
First of all bottled water is a clear waste of resources; Can you imagine how much oil is wasted for the plastic bottles and how much to transport them? I've seen bottles from a very famous italian brand on sale in the USA, does it make sense? Do you think that italian water is different from the american one? It's always h2o!
Furthermore the ecological impact is terrible: only 20 percent of plastic water bottles used in the United States are recycled, and far too many of the rest probably end up in the Pacific Garbage Patch (I've written a post about it here).
It’s an incredible waste of money for consumers, who pay more than the price of gasoline for water that’s marketed as “pure,” but in reality is largely unregulated, full of harmful toxins like BPA, and far less safe for drinking than free tap water. (In fact, 40 percent of the time, bottled water is nothing but municipal tap water, freed from the government oversight that keeps it safe.)
Take a look at the movie trailer and reflect about the senselessness of bottled water!
"Tapped" has a film’s official website and there’s also a Facebook page
©Mike Hollingshead - www.extremeinstability.com
Could you imagine 1.2 million geese together?
I've never been so lucky to see so many animals all together, at most I've seen some thousands mosquitos attacking me in a ricefield... but that was not a nice experience!
However, photographer and storm chaser Mike Hollingshead had the chance to film and photograph one of nature's most amazing displays: 1.2 million snow geese all together.
He was in the Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge near Mound City Missouri between February 17 and March 14, 2009. In that period of the year the snow geese spring migration takes place through the Central Flyway and hundreds of thousands (this year, more than a million) pass through the refuge.
©Mike Hollingshead - www.extremeinstability.com
Curiously at the beginning of the 20th century the Snow Geese were in decline but the population had increased of more than 300 percent since the mid-1970s and keeps increasing at a rate of more than 5 percent per year. Population indices are the highest they have been since population records have been kept, and evidence suggests that large breeding populations are spreading to previously untouched sections of the Hudson Bay coastline. They have increased to the point that the tundra breeding areas in the Arctic and the saltmarsh wintering grounds are both becoming severely degraded, and this affects other species using the same habitat.
©Mike Hollingshead - www.extremeinstability.com
Apart ecological concerns this is indeed an astonishing show.
In the following video Mike Hollingshead give us a better idea of what I'm talking about because sometimes pictures does not justice to something so huge, dynamic and loud!
©Mike Hollingshead - www.extremeinstability.com
©Mike Hollingshead - www.extremeinstability.com
©Mike Hollingshead - www.extremeinstability.com
©Mike Hollingshead - www.extremeinstability.com
©Mike Hollingshead - www.extremeinstability.com
©Mike Hollingshead - www.extremeinstability.com
©Mike Hollingshead - www.extremeinstability.com
©Mike Hollingshead - www.extremeinstability.com
©Mike Hollingshead - www.extremeinstability.com
Check Mike Hollingshead's website www.extremeinstability.com at the snow geese page to see many other of his shots from this mind-blowing migration and don't forget to take a look to his storm pictures too!
©Mike Hollingshead - www.extremeinstability.com
