the beauty of Portuguese man-of-war

09/08/2014 12:16:51 PM · #1

Photographer, Aaron Ansarov

Samsung Galaxy S21, S21+, S21 Ultra

09/08/2014 01:11:57 PM · #2

Beautiful...
Both the creature and the photography!

Bear_Music

Sony 24-70mm F4 Vario-Tessar T* FE OSS

09/08/2014 01:13:48 PM · #3

Gorgeous!

09/08/2014 05:01:56 PM · #4

I wonder if he tinted them at all. He mentioned that they have beautiful colors, so...

Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

09/08/2014 05:53:56 PM · #5

Originally posted by tanguera:

I wonder if he tinted them at all. He mentioned that they have beautiful colors, so...

I doubt it, though of course it is quite possible that vibrance has been tweaked. I'd love to see his set-up. I *think* I know how he achieves the result he is achieving, but...

CEJ

Canon EOS-40D

09/08/2014 06:01:01 PM · #6

Originally posted by kirbic:

I *think* I know how he achieves the result he is achieving, but...

"Aaron graduated Magna Cum Laude with Best Portfolio from The Art Institute of Ft Lauderdale with a Bachelor of Science in Advertising. A few weeks later, he created a new body of work that has recently become an international sensation. This fine art collection, titled �Zooids�, was created by capturing live Portuguese Man O War photographing them on a home-made light table and then releasing them back to the beach where found. This body of work was produced with the devoted help of his wife Anna and made over the period of several months, countless visits to the beach and the capture and release of hundreds of Man O War. Images from this work can be found at Zooids"

That is from here. Is that what you meant?

Message edited by author 2014-09-08 18:03:53.

09/08/2014 06:39:30 PM · #7

Originally posted by CEJ:

Originally posted by kirbic:
I *think* I know how he achieves the result he is achieving, but...

"Aaron graduated Magna Cum Laude with Best Portfolio from The Art Institute of Ft Lauderdale with a Bachelor of Science in Advertising. A few weeks later, he created a new body of work that has recently become an international sensation. This fine art collection, titled �Zooids�, was created by capturing live Portuguese Man O War photographing them on a home-made light table and then releasing them back to the beach where found. This body of work was produced with the devoted help of his wife Anna and made over the period of several months, countless visits to the beach and the capture and release of hundreds of Man O War. Images from this work can be found at Zooids"

That is from here. Is that what you meant?

Yes, in part... what he's doing is more than that, though. It does seem like he has both strong backlighting (the light table) and front lighting. He also has the light table configured to hold a thin layer of water, just enough so that the animal(s) can move somewhat freely but in a limited manner.

09/08/2014 07:39:13 PM · #8

Since he got these off the beach, it is highly unlikely they are alive. Even if they are, I don't think jellyfish in general have much in the way of musculature....

So the images/gifs where there is movement are a mystery.

09/08/2014 07:54:26 PM · #9

Originally posted by tanguera:

I believe that the motion is entirely natural. I'm quite sure they are alive, because if they were dead, the color and shape would deteriorate *very* quickly.

ETA: Jellyfish don't have muscle tissue as we think of it, but they are very capable of coordinated motion. The Man of War is not truly a jellyfish, in fact it is a communal organism, comprising many individuals

Message edited by author 2014-09-08 19:57:04.

Nikon AF-S DX 18-105 f/3.5-5.6 ED VR

09/08/2014 08:00:53 PM · #10

Originally posted by kirbic:

The Man of War is not truly a jellyfish, in fact it is a communal organism, comprising many individuals

That's the part I find extraordinary!!

jomari

Nikon D7000

09/08/2014 10:51:05 PM · #11

Those are up there with the most beautiful images I've ever seen!

jab119

Canon EOS-70D

Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

09/08/2014 10:56:17 PM · #12

the colors are definitely altered from their natural color. I see them all the time on the beaches in Galveston, TX. They are very pretty when the first wash up, but after a few days the shrivel up and what not.
When I was 17 I stepped on the inflated "body" part and let out a noise like someone farted, my girlfriend slapped me cause she thought it was me. took me a while to convince her I stepped on the man of war