From the Field

15 Apr 2002

What the heck is that!!!! That was what we said when we first laid eyes on this very strange, almost spooky looking flower. For a moment we couldn't tell what it was for sure. Was it plant or animal? Some sort of Fungus? Or a creature from another world, the underworld?

Lance wanted to photograph the thing and ordered me to "put my hands under it and lift it up just slightly", that way he could get a better view of whatever it was. "Like heck" I replied. "It" could have teeth or jump on me or something!"

The vine was growing in a thick tangled forest. The blooms and buds started on the ground but the vine itself weaved its way up through the tangled undergrowth for many meters, further than we could see. Although the blooms were at ground level we never actually found where the vine rooted into the ground.

After some heavy investigative work back in our office we discovered this strange, but beautiful, flower has a name ! But do you think we can remember what that name was or where we could have possible found it? We have thumbed through all our plant keys (again) and resource books (again). Both of us suffer from R.M.S. (recall malfunction syndrome) and have called off the search until some future date. Sorry.

01 Mar 2002

Indigenous natives of the Amazon utilize many different natural materials when making arrows and bows for hunting, clothes, dyes and other traditional utilitarian objects. Materials such as tree barks, seeds, feathers, natural dyes made from fruits and other sources, including mud. Native artisania has always been very popular among tourist who come to visit the rain forest. Although the export/import of artisania incorporating such things as harpy eagle feathers is prohibited in many countries, including Peru, tourist lodges are still demanding the use of these animal parts because they are considered "prettier" and have a greater "sales appeal". Isn't this the same attitude many people had regarding ivory?

We believe the traditions of the indigenous people should be allowed to remain the same as they have always been. Using Harpy eagle feathers and macaw feathers are a traditional necessity for maintaining a cultural heritage.

We encourage those individuals who are making artisania for tourists lodges to use other feathers and animal parts from domestic chickens, ducks and geese, and non endangered species and to refuse to sell traditional artisania that incorporates protected animal species parts.

Note: For many native community members, especially the elderly, making artisania for resale is the only source of income. Laws prohibiting hunting and the wholesale destruction of native lands by foreign and domestic mining and lumber companies have left few options for many communities.

"Tourism" provides an important source of revenue.

Help support native communities by buying native art. Make conscious consideration of all Nature's forest inhabitants. Respect indigenous spiritual customs.

Macaw feather traditional native head ornament.

Red/black huayruro seeds and harpy eagle feather are popular native art materials.

Geometrical symbols in Shipibo native art. Right: designs are painted on material with natural plant dye and mud. Left: design showing intricate hand work using colored thread.

Two fine examples of native cushma (dress) made from yanchama tree bark. Designs are hand painted onto the dress with seed and plant dyes.
left: Amahuaca symbols on cushma. right: Ese'eja symbols on cushma.

17 Feb 2002

Been practicing photographing hummingbirds between rain showers. (It is the wet season). Trying to learn how to shoot with the digital Olympus E10 camera as opposed to 35mm film cameras. Getting a good natural background is tough. Seems there is almost always a dark area where a wing or some body part disappears into nothingness. This is not a problem unique to digital cameras and also not to just hummingbird photos.

For years photographers have argued over the digital tweaking of images. With images shot with digital cameras there is a need to adjust digital "image levels" in almost every image. This is designed into the cameras by the manufacturers to allow better field performance and faster processing of images by the camera as they are taken.

The digital adjustment of the images is comparable to darkroom processing of film prints and is not "tweaking" or an alteration of the original image. However, the background of the above photo was "tweaked" using a digital blur filter. The image below is the original image with normal processing adjustments and the natural background, without the blur filter.

Now we are asking you to tell us which you like best and why. If you have an opinion about digitally altering a photograph we would like to hear it.

Please take a moment and email us your opinion. Just click here…
Here is my opinion!

The other day I photographed a hummingbird feeding on an orchid flower. It just so happened to be one of my favorite orchids, Galeandra pubicentrum. The hummingbird came to the flower; it hovered, and then went right in for nectar. I was delighted to see the bird feed on the flower as I had only thought he may hover by it for a shot or two. I was able to get only one image with the bird actually in the flower. He would zip in and zip out so fast that in a few seconds he was gone.

Sometimes digital enhancements can save a beautiful photograph. Although the flower of the orchid is not pure white, it is very light in color. The hummingbird is very dark in color. The proper exposure for the hummingbird would leave the flower totally overexposed, while the proper exposure for the flower would under expose the bird. I chose an exposure half way between both ends and got a flower that was to light and a bird that was to dark! Thanks to the digital darkroom I have in my laptop computer I was able to develop the image into a picture I really liked. Perhaps it is more art than photography…but then after all, photography is art with light as paint, isn’t it?

14 Feb 2002

Keep checking. We should be having more crabs in the future…….if all goes

13 Feb 2002

We visited Roberto's "picaflor" project. There has been so much rain that we really did not expect to see any hummingbirds. But Lance set up his camera and flash system and then we waited inside one of the viewing bungalows. Behold a hummingbird did came and feed on lantana.
Flowering plants that attract hummingbirds and butterflies are being planted. Seed and fruit feeder stations are positioned near each viewing bungalow.

English: hummingbird / Spanish: picaflor / Ese'eja: Qua ii

We have been unable to identify this hummingbird species (above photo)
Nor can we find this bird in " A Field Guide to the Birds of Peru".

Are there any bird experts out there that want to give this one a try?
If so, please tell us : gonewild@gonewild.net