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Archive 2007 · #267: Prehistoric Grandma
  
 
James Markus
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · #267: Prehistoric Grandma


This is an old fossil I have had since I was a boy. It is some kind of trilobite, and best I can tell it is the "bug shaped" type. The plates are stone, but the underbelly is like dessicate leather. It is remarkably like a modern roly poly - pillbug - wood louse - or slater. Thus, I gave the kids a mission...find me some roly polies and quick. They did an admirable job in helping me with this family reunion of sorts.

http://www.photomatter.com/_images/WebPosts/GrandmaRolyPoly.jpg
Oct 04, 2007 at 09:11 PM
Bill Sutherland
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · #267: Prehistoric Grandma


Unique and interesting shot. Those little ones seem quite fascinated by their several million times great grandma.
Oct 04, 2007 at 09:53 PM
Carrol
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · #267: Prehistoric Grandma


Cool looking fossil and Good shot.
Nice that your kids could get involved, too. :-)
~ Carrol
Oct 04, 2007 at 11:59 PM
Grant Gordon
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · #267: Prehistoric Grandma


Fantastic shot, very interesting indeed.


Oct 05, 2007 at 08:38 AM
Karen Gilligan
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · #267: Prehistoric Grandma


Wonderful! Perfect choice of background for this. The gray really enhances the details. Looks like you had fun. Do we now call you a roly poly cowboy. Bet you had to round up those guys a couple of times.

On a tech side. Can you share your lense info and settings for this shot?

Good Luck,

Karen
Oct 05, 2007 at 10:55 PM
James Markus
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · #267: Prehistoric Grandma


Bill, Carrol, Grant, and Karen thanks for the comments!

Karen, From the EXIF data...

Make = NIKON CORPORATION
Model = NIKON D2X
Exposure Time = 1/250"
F Number = F14
Exposure Program = Manual
ISO Speed Ratings = 100
Focal Length = 60mm (It is the 60mm f2.8 Nikon Macro lens)
Color Space = sRGB (Not sure why this is here...unless PS changed it - I always shoot in Adobe 98)


I was about 9-10 inches away from the subject. I shot in raw, and imaged from the resulting 16 bit tifs. The 60mm Nikon macro is very sharp. On one of the roly polies shots I could see an albino flea + his eye. Fact is there were all kinds of parasitic critters on the roly polies...so I washed up after shooting this. I had three keepers that were very hard to choose which to enter...two others I shot on a mirror, and were quite dramatic. However, the reflections were multiple images because the mirror has clear glass on top the mirror surface...so it looked blurry. I have a fero plate in my darkroom...that would work better. That brings back memories. Use to be you couldn't buy glossy paper, you had to make it glossy yourself on a fero plate. (In the days before RC coated papers) You had to get the paper on the fero plate just right or bubbles would ruin the glossy finish.
Oct 05, 2007 at 11:24 PM
Strad
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · #267: Prehistoric Grandma


Beautiful, beautiful shot, Jim, my friend! Yikes! Those Rolly-pollies are a lot bigger out where you live than the itty-bitty ones we have here in California. I love how sharp it all is. Great work, as usual!

Fond regards,

Endre


Oct 07, 2007 at 02:40 AM
bouchto
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · #267: Prehistoric Grandma


Very sharp and an interesting shot.
Best of luck,
Tom
Oct 07, 2007 at 07:24 AM
Tom Basore
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · #267: Prehistoric Grandma


I have an artist/illustrator friend, Ron Spencer, who is inspired by trilobites and implements them into his artwork regularly. This is a great take on the assignment and as Endre commented, the scale of your pill bugs seems to make mine look very small! Nice work!
Oct 07, 2007 at 09:16 AM
James Markus
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · #267: Prehistoric Grandma


Thanks Endre, Tom, and Tom. The fossil is 1.875 inches long...which makes the roly polies about 0.25 to 0.375 inches long. I would have thought that is standard size for modern roly polies. But the big one...now what did they eat? Since they find these fossils all over the place...maybe they are the reason it took dinosaurs, and then mammals so long to reach the top of the food chain.
Oct 07, 2007 at 10:23 AM
Alex Conrath
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · #267: Prehistoric Grandma


Thank you for your story and this great shot. I like the way you tied the past with the present .

Good luck
Alex.
Oct 07, 2007 at 06:12 PM
Philly Rains
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · #267: Prehistoric Grandma


Very interesting, Jim! I'm glad you added the little ones for scale. That fossil almost looks like an Armadillo shell....especially if the underneath is like leather. Great lighting, and composition, as always.

Your roly-polys (how does one pluralize roly-poly?) look different than the ones here in the Ozarks, too. Ours look more like gray school buses...not as pointed on the ends.
Oct 09, 2007 at 02:57 AM
Clee Villasor
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · #267: Prehistoric Grandma


A strong contender, I should say!


Oct 09, 2007 at 03:17 AM
Clee Villasor
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · #267: Prehistoric Grandma


I would vote for this as the winner!


Oct 09, 2007 at 10:06 PM
James Markus
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · #267: Prehistoric Grandma


Alex, Philly and Clee...thank you for the comments.
Oct 09, 2007 at 10:14 PM
Karen Gilligan
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · #267: Prehistoric Grandma


Jim,

I have to say I am floored this did not make it the finals. It had my vote.

Karen
Oct 11, 2007 at 11:21 AM
James Markus
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · #267: Prehistoric Grandma


Karen, I am delighted you liked my shot so much. You have to appreciate the position that Fred is in. No matter who he picks...some will disagree with his decision. It is as subjective as equally beautiful women with different hair color...some men will prefer a brunette, and some a blond or redhead. There is just no pleasing everyone all the time. I don't take it personally. I just keep striving to do my best for each assignment. For you...here are the other two I considered entering this week...hopefully you will like them as well. Keep on shooting and entering. The process is really the best part for me, after that, well, of course we all like positive affirmations of our work. Thanks for yours.

Jim

http://www.photomatter.com/_images/WebPosts/GrandmaRolyPoly2.jpg
http://www.photomatter.com/_images/WebPosts/GrandmaRolyPoly3.jpg
Oct 11, 2007 at 11:45 AM





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