Greetings. I've been posting on ETL & OOTB for some time now but haven't gotten around to becoming a member or introducing myself. I've finally joined and now the intro...
Maybe some day I'll get around to a proper self-portrait but until then this is a shot through my dog's eye...
I live in the beautiful coastal town of Santa Cruz, California, on the northern edge of Monterey Bay and I work for NASA at Ames Research Center which is situated on the south western edge of the San Francisco Bay. Both locations offer many opportunities for shooting birds, which is how I happened upon bird photography.
Before digital photography became an avocation, I researched and developed methods for producing digital imagery from synthetic sources. Scientific visualization, one might say, converts numerical data to a visual image to provide insight into the patterns contained in the data. I primarily worked with data from computations of the dynamics of fluid flow in three dimensions.
So, one day my wife bought me Photoshop and a point & shoot, saying... this is kinda like what you do but with photographs instead of scientific data. That was 4 years ago... and I was hooked. 3 cameras (D80, D200, D3), 3 lenses (70-200VR, 200f/2, 24-70) and nearly 100K shots later...
I've been working in high tech since the earliest days of the internet, well, even before the internet and this is one of the finest sites (quality, information, community, talent, beauty, learning) that I've run across. Thanks to all the organizers, moderators, contributors for all the work and kind sharing.
Hi Michael- Now I know you better! Welcome as a fully-fledged BPN member! I've enjoyed our interactions on ETL.
It sounds like some of your data visualisations could be posted to the Out of the Box forum! Would love to see one sometime. I am fascinated by this concept. I am not a physicist but am interested in fluid dynamics from the point of view of particle transport in tidally-influenced marine environments. "My" birds - phalaropes- feed on small planktonic animals that are advected from their source by these processes. We have evidence that the particular process responsible for this, which is driven partially by salinity (density), has weakened over the past 30 years, and has caused a huge reduction in food availability. The birds voted with their wings and have disappeared from the area.
Thanks for the welcome... Alas, I'm no longer working in data vis, but I might have something that would be appropriate for OOTB.... I'll look. Your example is just the sort of thing the data visualization is used for (provided the data, usually from computationally simulated sources).
Welcome to BPN...I recognized your name immediately but it's great to hear you took the steps to become a member. I love your neck of the woods. My parents lived in Davis, CA for 25+ years (recently retired back here in Kansas City) but not before I got to come and wander around their state a time or two. The Monterrey area was definitely one of my favorite spots!
Hi Micheal, I too have enjoyed seeing your work and look forward to years more of it. And thanks a ton for your membership support. Your work sounds quite interesting. See you on line :)
BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.
Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,
YAW. And the image is well worth checking out here.
BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.
Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,