Henry's Webiocosm Blog

Dandelion Clock Opening and Flower Closing, Time-lapse

2009-11-12T20:05:00.000-08:00

Here is my most recent time-lapse project. I started by digging up a small chunk of my yard containing this dandelion and placing it in a bowl. Then I set up my Canon PowerShot S3 IS overhead attached to my laptop using GBTimelapse software to control the camera. I originally set it to shoot a pic every 30 seconds but when played back at 30 frames per second, it was too slow and the file size was too large. So I used every 3rd picture making it 1 picture per 90 seconds played back at 30 fps. I used Quicktime Pro to make the movie from the still shots.

2009 Family Pumpkin Carving Contest

2009-10-29T14:22:00.001-07:00

A few days ago we had our annual family pumpkin carving contest again. It was alot of fun as usual. The dynamics of the contest changed this year with the expected results. The above jack-O-lanterns were only from members of my household. My wife and I carved our own pumpkins as expected. Hers is the toothy one on the far left. It won first place out of a total of nine entries. Her work has improved greatly over the last couple of years. Mine was the one with the sword through it which was made from the cut out portion of the mouth. It suprisingly only got fourth place. Now here is where things changed from previous years. My five year old drew his design for me to cut out which is the standard of our family for his age. It came in dead last and is the third from the left. Traditionally children too young to understand the meaning of this activity like my 23 month old are allowed to have a parent design and cut their pumpkin. However, this year due complaints from other jealous family members that this gave me 2 entries, we compromised on letting my 5 year old draw the the others while I cut it out. He used the same design as with his but I interpreted it a little differently and the result earned a second to last place finish and is seen on the far right. Happy Halloween to all!

Milky Way Time-lapse

2009-09-12T19:38:00.000-07:00

I have tried to do some time-lapses of the night sky. Some have been okay, but not really worth showing off. This one from William Castleman is probably the best that I have seen.

You should probably go to his website or his YouTube page and check out the larger HD versions.

Knucks: The Official Handshake of the 2009-2010 Flu Season

2009-09-06T14:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, while preparing to go a football game, I became excited, thinking about all the old friends I would see. Then I thought about all the hands I would be shaking. After hearing several reports of local influenza activity, I became just a little worried about getting the flu myself. That's when I had the idea; you'll get nothing but a set of knucks from me brother. So I decided to make an image to help spread the idea. I know I am not the first to think of this as a more sanitary version of a greeting or high five, but I couldn't find anything on the web presenting it this way, so here you go. If you prefer the term fist bump, here is a blog sized version and here is the larger version. Feel free to pass on these links or even to hotlink the images if needed.

Please keep in mind, I am not trying to add to the hysteria we are facing with the novel H1N1 (swine) flu (I've already dealt with plenty of that). I just think that during this time of year, it is good to minimize unnecessary contact, wash hands frequently, and to keep your hands out of your eyes, nose and mouth especially when you have been out in crowds.

The Good News of Health Care Reform

2009-08-26T13:30:00.001-07:00

I got the idea for this cartoon after recently attending a statewide conference for family physicians. During one of the gatherings a senator had to field some questions from some of the physicians regarding their patients concerns over euthanasia and 'death panels' as part of the new healthcare system. My initial thinking while formulating the above scenario was mocking the hysterical reactions to health care reform, but it also reflects my concern for the inefficiency we might get if we let the government take over our health care.

Sunrise over the Arkansas River, Time-lapse

2009-08-07T18:07:00.000-07:00

I just shot this yesterday, I think it turned out great. It was made from the top floor of the Double Tree Hotel looking over the Arkansas River in Little Rock Arkansas. The Main Street Bridge, I-30 Bridge and Alltel Arena in North Little Rock are seen in the background.I used my Canon PowerShot S3 IS and GBTimelapse software. I took a picture every 20 seconds and playback is at 30 fps. It is my first time-lapse done in HD so be sure and check it out on the full screen in HD mode.

Superbowl XLIII Predictions Update

2009-02-02T13:24:00.000-08:00

Well I guess I got what I asked for, a good close game, exciting until the very end.

As far as my sole prediction, I feel like I did pretty good. I predicted the Steelers would win over the Cardinals 24-20. I was on the money with the spread of 4 points for the right team, but with a final score of 27-23 I was off by 3 points for each team.

Congratulations to the six time champion Steelers.

Video of the Game Winning Touchdown

Super Bowl XLIII Predictions

2009-01-31T20:53:00.000-08:00

Due to the extreme ice storm, causing massive power outages, I have had very limited access to the internet for the last several days. This is not a complaint, because so many have had it so much worse than I have. I am just mentioning that as a reminder and as an explanation for why I will only have one prediction this year...........

The Steelers will win over the Cardinals 24 to 20.

I have mixed feelings about this game. I like Pittsburgh and I think they probably are a better team, but I would love for Kurt Warner to go all the way. I mostly just want it to be a close game until the very end.

Enjoy the game!!!!!!!

The Set Up for the Rotting Fruit and Vegetables Time-Lapse

2008-12-25T09:00:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of the set up for my most recent time-lapse project. The lights were not initially so close, but when the weather turned cold, I moved one light in closer to keep the temp. up and keep the process going at a better pace.

Fruit and Vegetables Decomposing, Time-lapse

2008-12-17T17:00:00.000-08:00

This is probably my most extensive time-lapse project yet. I Placed the fruit and vegetables in a large tub in the storage area under my house and took a picture every ten minutes. The playback at 30 frames per second took too long and was not as exciting, so I used a quarter of the pictures, making it 1 picture every 40 minutes. This video spans 74 days. The growth at the end of the video is from the potato. Also, the hundreds or thousands of little specks you see buzzing around are fruit flies. I used my Canon PowerShot S3 IS and GBTimelapse software on a laptop. I used Sony Acid Music Studio to make the accompanying music.

2008 Family Pumpkin Carving Contest

2008-11-08T11:49:00.000-08:00

This year's family pumpkin carving contest for halloween was pretty exciting. There were 14 entries and all of them were interesting. The jack-o'-lanterns you see above were from my household which again did well. The toothy one on the far left was my 11 month old's entry; it won first place with a little help from dad. The sad one next to it was my wife's second place winner, much better than last year's sorry effort. The hellish jack seen swallowing up a desolate soul which is third from the left was my entry. It got 4th place. I really expected better, but my hat's off to the others. The one on the far right was my 4 year old's, he was deemed big enough to create his own this year; he drew it and I cut it out, hence the very avant-garde final product. It actually placed seventh, not bad out of 14.

Common Housefly Life Cycle In Time-lapse

2008-07-24T12:08:00.000-07:00

Time-lapse fly development, 640x480, .mov, 9.9 mb, 2 min.
Time-lapse fly development, 640x480, .AVI, 9 mb, 2 min.

This is a time-lapse video of the growth and devopment of the common housefly, Musca domestica. I started the project by taking a leftover piece of baked chicken and leaving it outside, in the warm summer sun for a few hours. I then took the container in overnight. By the time I came back the next afternoon, the eggs had hatched. This is where the video picks up. After about 4 days, I moved some of the maggots to the glass container, where it was cooler and dry, so they could pupate, which began taking place a couple of days later. Then, I removed the pupae and placed them in the small bowl containing sand. I left the glass container in view in the back so the remaining larvae could continue to be observed. As an afterthought, I placed a larva that had gotten away on the sand beside the pupae and luckily it stayed in view as it prepared to pupate. You can see the pupae darken as they age, which is typical. After about 5 days the adult flies began to emerge and this lasted for several more days. I used my Canon PowerShot S3 IS and GBTimelapse software on a laptop. Until the adult flies emerged, I was shooting each picture at a rate of 1 picture every 3 to eight minutes. Then I had to speed it up to every 5 seconds because they came out so fast. The movie was then played back at 30 fps. I used Sony Acid Music Studio to make the accompanying music. The YouTube version of this video is available here. I also Made a real time video of an emerging fly which can be seen below or a higher quality wmv version can be seen here.

I used the U of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences' web page for the house fly as my resource for the expected timing of the stages of development and other information.

All my time-lapse and other videos viewed from my time-lapse home page or on my YouTube player page.

Don't forget to check out Modulator's Friday Ark.

Formation of Cumulus Clouds From Burning Wheat Fields, Time-lapse

2008-06-27T19:41:00.000-07:00

Time-lapse Burning Wheatfields, 640x480, .mov, 8.6 mb 51 sec

For the last few weeks, farmers have been finishing their wheat harvest and burning the stubble to prepare the field for the next crop (the value and safety of this practice is debated), mostly soybeans around here. On this hot, humid day I saw some huge beautiful cumulonimbus clouds forming as a result of these burning fields. By the time I was able to get home and get out to our farm to set up for shooting, the clouds were not as impressive. I was impressed, though by the number of distant fields I was able to get, just in this frame, in this hour and a half period. At the top of some of these plumes of smoke, you can see the condensation, which is where they turn fluffy and white, before it cools and drops a bit then evaporates again. This time-lapse video was made last week using my Canon PowerShot S3 IS and Granite Bay Time-lapse software with my old Dell laptop. I took 1400 pics at a rate of 1 picture every 4 seconds. I made the music with Sony Acid Music Studio.

For the record, although I was involved with burning a few fields when I was younger, my family's farm hasn't grown wheat in the last couple of years so don't gripe at me if you are opposed to this practice. Here is a somewhat neutral story about the debate over this practice of burning wheat stubble from reflector.com. Also here is a recent letter and thread with some good old down home fussin' about whether to burn or not to burn from DailyAdvance.com in Elizabeth City, N.C.

You can see this time-lapse video of the burning wheat fields at my YouTube player page if you can't view quicktime videos.

UPDATE 7/10/08: Here is a good still shot of a cumulus cloud forming from the burning of wheat stubble by professional photographer Judd Patterson.

Friday Herplogging - Red-eared Slider, Trachemys scripta elegans

2008-06-27T06:01:00.000-07:00

This is a red-eared slider, Trachymys scripta elegans. It is one of 4 subspecies of a turtle known as sliders. This turtle is commonly found in the south central and south eastern U. S. The most distinguishing characteristic of this turtle is the horizontal red patch behind each eye, though they are not actually ears as the name would imply. This one was found in the garage of my neighbor and kept as a pet for a few days by their young daughter who is almost always holding on to some kind of little creature. Red-eared sliders are commonly kept and sold as pets. Because of their size as adults, their longevity and their heavy trade, they are also frequently dumped in both native and non-native habitats and are therefore considered invasive species in some areas such as Florida.

Pictured above is the carapace, which is smooth, slightly domed and hard. The color and markings are usually yellow-green to green and can darken to black with increasing age, especially in males. The rear of the carapace is mildly serrated.

The plastron pictured above is hingeless, and is yellow with dark markings in the center of each scute.

The above picture is a close-up of the serrations along the rear of the carapace.

Don't forget to check out Modulator's Friday Ark.

This and other animals can be seen anytime at the Webiocosm Zoo.

Tiger, Your're a Freak. Plinko is your game.

2008-06-15T17:53:00.000-07:00

It's not so much that I love Tiger Woods, but I love drama in sports, and he just caused some spectacular drama. Tiger Woods, just rimmed in a 12 foot birdie putt on the final hole of the U. S. Open at Torrey Pines to force a playoff against Rocco Mediate tomorrow. They both finished tied through 72 holes at 1-under par. I have to say that at this point the U.S. Open is Woods' to lose. I will be following closely tomorrow. What did he say about the wobbly put that went in? He made a reference to playing the game Plinko from 'The Price is Right'. You never know what is going to happen. However, Mediate said he knew that Tiger would hit the shot.
Here is the video on YouTube but it probably won't last long.

Cumulonimbus Clouds, Time-lapse

2008-06-13T19:16:00.000-07:00

I just filmed this time-lapse video a couple of hours ago. It was late in the day and I was out pushing my 6 month-old boy through the neighborhood when I realized that there was an incredible number of cumulonimbus clouds booming all over. I went back home and got all my gear out, but I have such a limited range of viewing from my home due to trees, houses and hills that I was lucky to get this shot between the trees. I was filming the clouds in the first scene when it suddenly got much darker and my neighbors alerted me to the nasty looking clouds coming at us from behind. I turned the camera around and started filming. I should have left everything alone there so the film would have been smoother. Oh, well practice makes perfect. The pictures were taken with a Canon PowerShot S3 IS and Granite Bay Time-lapse software. I took one picture every 4 seconds. The movie was made with QuickTime Pro playing the pictures back at 30 fps.

You can see my other time-lapse videos at my time-lapse home page or you can view my time-lapse and other videos at my YouTube player page if you can't view quicktime videos.

A Mother's Day Time-Lapse for You and Yours

2008-05-08T18:33:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day Time-lapse, 640x480, .mov, 8 mb 25 sec.

This time-lapse video took about a week to make. I made it for my wife, the beautiful mother of my two wonderful children. I used beans for the I (heart) U on the top because I knew they would germinate first. I had no idea they would grew out of control. I used some flower seeds for the 'mom' part. Obviously they looked alot better. The music is just a sample piece from the Sony Acid Music Studio stock. I used my Canon PowerShot S3 IS and Granite Bay Time-lapse software for the shooting. I made the movie with QuickTime Pro playing the pictures back at 30 fps.

You can see this Mother's day time-lapse video at my YouTube player page if you can't view quicktime videos.

You can also see my other time-lapse videos at my time-lapse home page.

How to Make a Time-lapse Video

2008-03-29T15:21:00.000-07:00

No, I am not going to tackle this, but Jay at MIlapse has intiated this undertaking in a YouTube series. Up to this point, he has made Timelapse Guide (The Basics - Part 1) and Timelapse Guide (Compact Digital Cameras - Part 2). So far so good.

Ten Days of Tulips - Time-lapse

2008-03-29T08:34:00.000-07:00

Time-lapse Tulips Growing, 640x480, .mov, 9.9 mb 36 sec

I do believe that this is my best time-lapse yet. I just finished the filming a few days after easter. The pictures were taken at a rate of every fifteen minutes when the overhead grow light was on, or every 20 minutes when it was off. It was an attempt to simulate day and night. Finally I just left it on because it didn't seem to make much difference. I was really impressed with how much the plants moved and how the blooms would open in unison, even when there were no apparent changes in this otherwise completely dark room. I used my Canon PowerShot S3 IS and Granite Bay Time-lapse software for the shooting. I made the movie with QuickTime Pro playing the pictures back at 30 fps. I created and added the hip hop music using Sony Acid Music Studio. The music seemed appropriate given the movement of the tulips. You can see this tulip time-lapse video at my YouTube player page if you can't view quicktime videos.

You can also see my other time-lapse videos at my time-lapse home page.

Time-lapse March Clouds Over Reservoir

2008-03-08T06:48:00.000-08:00

Time-lapse Clouds, 640x480, .mov, 8.5 mb 38 sec

I am sure that I will eventually get tired of doing time-lapses and move on to something else, but I just can't quit thinking of all the different things I could film. The main thing I want to do with clouds is get some huge cumulonimbus clouds boiling up from a distance, but that will probably have to wait until summer. So in the meantime I am just trying lots of different things for practice, like this one. It was made on a very windy day beside a reservoir at sunset. It took approximately 1 and a half hours. I started at 1 picture per 5 seconds then decreased the frequency to every 4 seconds. I used my Canon PowerShot S3 IS and Granite Bay Time-lapse software for the shooting. I made the movie with QuickTime Pro playing the pics at 30 fps. I made the music with Sony Acid Music Studio. The YouTube version of this cloud time-lapse video is available if you can't play quicktime vids.

This and other time-lapse videos and stop motion videos can be seen at my time-lapse home page.

Fruit Lapse

2008-03-04T08:47:00.000-08:00

Time-lapse Decaying Fruit, 640x480, .mov, 6.7 mb 39 sec

This is a time-lapse video of some fruit - banana, apple chunks, kiwi, lemon, grapes- deteriorating over exactly 3 weeks. The pictures were taken several times per hour at first then the rate was slowed down to once per hour toward the end. It is played back at 30 fps initially the replayed at a much faster rate. I used a Canon PowerShot S3 IS and Granite Bay time-lapse software for the video and made the music using Sony Acid Music Studio. I think it turned out fairly well. The biggest problem with this one was that I got tired of the continuous loud whirring of the laptop used to control the camera so I shut it down and just used the intervalometer on the camera to take a picture every hour. In doing so, I unavoidably moved the camera a little which readjusted the focus and caused a few wobbles in the video. This change can be seen toward the end when the banana goes slightly out of focus. The YouTube version of this time-lapse decomposing fruit video is available if you can't play quicktime vids.

This and other time-lapse videos and stop motion videos can be seen at my time-lapse home page.

Circus of the Spineless #30

2008-02-28T12:31:00.000-08:00

Circus of the Spineless #30 is now up at A DC Birding Blog, so get on over and check it out.

Time-lapse Sunset Over Reservoir

2008-02-14T13:08:00.000-08:00

Time-lapse sunset, 640x480, .mov, 9.8 mb 19 sec

This time-lapse video was made a couple of weeks ago with my new setup including the Canon PowerShot S3 IS and the Granite Bay Time-lapse software. I think it turned out fairly well for my first try. I made the accompanying music with my Sony Acid Music Studio software. It is kind of eerie, which was not really intentional, it just turned out that way. I had a couple of problems with the video. One was that I took the pictures every 5 seconds, which was too frequent for the mininmal action involved so I had to play it back at 60 fps rather than 30 fps. Also, my laptop ran out of power before the sun was completely down so it was cut short. I did like the contrails left behind as the jets flew over and I enjoy the appearance of the water as the wind died down and the water became perfectly still. The above video is a rather large file for the short time but is of fairly good quality. The YouTube version of this time-lapse sunset video is not quite as good but is a quicker download.

This and other time-lapse videos and stop motion videos can be seen at my time-lapse home page.

Arhtropod Friday: Triops, Triops longicaudatus

2008-02-08T09:50:00.000-08:00

This is a Triops, or Triops longicaudatus. It is in the class Branchiopoda and order Nostraca and is sometimes also referred to as a tadpole shrimp. This little crustacean was raised from an egg along with a bunch of other eggs that came in a kit called "Triassic Triops", which I purchased at a local hobby store. I was hoping to put the eggs in a small container and then make a time-lapse video of these things growing over a week or so. For many reasons it didn't work out but I have had a good time watching the two that made it. They are intersting because according to Wikipedia, Their external morphology has apparently not changed since the Triassic appearance of Triops cancriformis around 220 million years ago. Triops cancriformis may therefore be the "oldest living animal species on earth." They also grow very fast and for the first week or more, a substantial increase in size can be seen from day to day. Having had no prior knowledge of this animal, there are too many fine details about its morphology and habits for me to try to get in to so I will just leave you with a couple of good links from people who actually know these animals. Here is the page of the company that produces the kit I bought. Here is the Triops information page.

The above pics show the size of my triops after 2-3 weeks, what the underside looks like (they frequently swim upside down), and the box that the kit came in.

Here is a brief video of my Triops pair at YouTube or a larger, sharper Quicktime Triops video is here (7.5 mb, 27 sec.).

Don't forget to check out Modulator's Friday Ark.

Also visit Circus of the Spineless #30 at A DC Birding Blog for some down home invertebrate goodness.

Super Bowl XLII Predictions Recap

2008-02-07T19:18:00.000-08:00

Well I guess I didn't do to well again this year with my predictions for Super Bowl XLII.
Here is a recap:

1. Final score: New England 34, New York 24.
Way wrong, NY 17, NE 14.

2. Tom Brady will throw for 3 touchdown passes and have 2 interceptions.
Wrong again, Brady threw 1 touchdown and had no interceptions.

3. Randy Moss will catch 1 of those touchdown passes.
Correct, Moss had 1 touchdown reception.

4. Wes Welker will once again exceed what is expected of him and he will catch 2 touchdown passes.
Nope, Welker did lead with 11 catches and 103 yards, but no touchdowns.

5. Laurence Maroney will rush for less than 90 yards but he will run one in for a score.
Woo hoo! I got another one right! Maroney had 36 rushing yards with one rushing touchdown.

6. Manning will not play a perfect game and will therefore lose, but he will make a decent effort throwing for 2 touchdowns with 3 interceptions.
Wrong. Manning did not play a perfect game, throwing 1 interception, but he did have a great effort with two touchdowns including a game winner with less than a minute in the game.

7. Plaxico Burress will top 100 yards receiving with 1 touchdown reception.
Nah. Burress did have a single touchdown reception but only 27 yards.

8. Amani "its not a" Toomer will catch the other touchdown pass.
NO! He did lead the team with 84 receiving yards but no score.

9. Brandon Jacobs will have 100+ rushing game with a single goal line touchdown run.
Another bad guess. Jacobs only had 42 rushing yards and no touchdowns.

As always, my excitement about Super Bowl Sunday will go way beyond the game itself. I will be spending the afternoon with my good friends with whom I have enjoyed many great games leading up to this grand finale. Whether the Giants upset the offensive juggernaut, or the Pats do as expected and go undeafted all the way, it is too late for this game to be anything but a big damn deal.
Yes. As far as I am concerned, this game was a big damn deal and I say congratulations to the New York Football Giants for a wonderful game and to the New Enlgand Patriots for a fantastic season which made this Super Bowl Sunday so exciting.