Saw some recent postings about DIY bokeh’s and just in time for the holidays.
Here are some awesome effects of different Christmas Tree bokehs.
How to make your own heart shaped bokeh.
And another great bokeh tutorial.
IBM has just released a pretty neat iPhone app to help monitor water conditions and levels of California creeks. Creek Watch is completely free and allows anyone to report their photos and observations based on GPS coordinates.
IBM designed the app to make it as easy as possible for local residents and visitors to contribute productively to the management of the state’s ecosystem, and to do so without any expert knowledge.
“Creek Watch lets the average citizen contribute to the health of their water supply — without PhDs, chemistry kits and a lot of time. Harnessing the crowdsourced data movement for a cause people care about is a win-win-win for citizens, local water boards, and IBM’s desire to solve big data challenges.”
I often find myself photographing in the field along creek beds around Southern California so I will certainly by contributing to this great effort.
Hollywood Hills dwellers have been cautioned to keep their eyes peeled for a bobcat who is “on the prowl in the neighborhood,” according to ABC7.
The wild cat has been spotted on at least three different occasions over the past month. Residents who have seen the animal say they are both stunned by its beauty and taken off guard.
The intent of the community is not to eradicate the bobcat, or bobcats, should there be more than one brave enough to come into the populated area. “Residents said they don’t want to call authorities or have the bobcat put down, they just want to get the word out to protect small house pets from being attacked.”
According to Indian Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, Harry Potter fans who want their own Hedwig are responsible for the rapid demise of wild owls in the country. These remarks came right after a wildlife group presented a study suggesting that an increasing number of owls in India were being killed and traded in black magic rituals. The countdown until religious groups that wanted to ban the series scream “Told you so!” starts now. Meanwhile, I had no idea it was so easy to capture wild owls. [AFP via Gawker]
The report’s author, Abrar Ahmed, wrote that he decided to investigate the owl trade after being asked by a friend to procure a live white-coloured owl for her son’s Harry Potter-themed 10th birthday party.
“This was probably one of the strangest demands made to me as an ornithologist,” he wrote.
Yes it’s rather disturbing and apparently it’s been happening all over the Bay Area in California. There is now a $2,000 reward leading to the capture of the individual or individuals responsible for these horrific acts on helpless animals.
Western Gull with beer can around neck
“Instead of attempting to capture the birds, which can make them more wary and harder to catch, sightings should be reported immediately to a dedicated paging service 831-429-2323 or emailed to rescue@wildrescue.org,” the group stated.
WildRescue said it had alerted the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
“This is a federal crime punishable by severe fines, imprisonment, or both,” said Rebecca Dmytryk, WildRescue’s spokeswoman.