8 replies to this topic

[T.C.]

This one was just released.

 

[piratechef]

Been looking for more documentaries, Thanks TC!

[nurbs]

Impressive how Attenborough is still making these. Used to watch him in the early 80s as a kid and even back then thought he was old.

Soneone should dig up the video of him squeezing a frog and making it pee. Then he proceeds to lick the pee.

[ctantkeeper]

I absolutely love anything with David Attenborough in it! You sir have just made my day .

[drtrmiller]

At the end of the video, they show how the program was made.  The most impressive thing is the way the team leveraged the custom-built camera ("Frankenstein") to capture moments never before seen by anyone, including scientists who study these ants in the field, and at the heart of which is a $15 smartphone lens.  Really great technical effort filmed over 100 working days in the course of a year.

 

Also of note were the sheer number of mites and myrmecophiles living on and among the ants.  So many antkeepers become unnecessarily alarmed at the sight of a single mite, or even detritivorous mites that have no interactions with ants, that it's easy to lose sight of the fact that other animals are found coexisting with ants all throughout the natural world, most of whom pose no danger to the colony.

Edited by drtrmiller, January 8 2018 - 7:16 PM.

[nurbs]

At the end of the video, they show how the program was made.  The most impressive thing is the way the team leveraged the custom-built camera ("Frankenstein") to capture moments never before seen by anyone, including scientists who study these ants in the field, and at the heart of which is a $15 smartphone lens.  Really great technical effort filmed over 100 working days in the course of a year.
 

You actually want to use cameras with smaller sensors for macro photography like a smartphone lens. It is advantageous over much larger and expensive cameras and lenses.

The smaller the sensor, the greater your depth of field. The tech in cameras phones have been quite impressive for many years now.

Consequently, I shoot all my youtube videos on an iphone with a cheap $15 clip on Amazon magnifier. The key is not how expensive the gear is, but how to properly light it.

[T.C.]

 

At the end of the video, they show how the program was made.  The most impressive thing is the way the team leveraged the custom-built camera ("Frankenstein") to capture moments never before seen by anyone, including scientists who study these ants in the field, and at the heart of which is a $15 smartphone lens.  Really great technical effort filmed over 100 working days in the course of a year.
 

You actually want to use cameras with smaller sensors for macro photography like a smartphone lens. It is advantageous over much larger and expensive cameras and lenses.

The smaller the sensor, the greater your depth of field. The tech in cameras phones have been quite impressive for many years now.

Consequently, I shoot all my youtube videos on an iphone with a cheap $15 clip on Amazon magnifier. The key is not how expensive the gear is, but how to properly light it.

 

 

Just found this HERE.

[ctantkeeper]

At the end of the video, they show how the program was made.  The most impressive thing is the way the team leveraged the custom-built camera ("Frankenstein") to capture moments never before seen by anyone, including scientists who study these ants in the field, and at the heart of which is a $15 smartphone lens.  Really great technical effort filmed over 100 working days in the course of a year.

 

Also of note were the sheer number of mites and myrmecophiles living on and among the ants.  So many antkeepers become unnecessarily alarmed at the sight of a single mite, or even detritivorous mites that have no interactions with ants, that it's easy to lose sight of the fact that other animals are found coexisting with ants all throughout the natural world, most of whom pose no danger to the colony.

I saw a small mite firmly attached to a worker's head in one of the internal shots of the nest. Any idea what it might be? Mite identification is not really my expertise. Loved the use of the custom camera too.

[EllisWyatt]

I had no idea that Formica behaved parasitically like this. All the parasitic types I've seen people talk about are Lasius. Is this because it's new knowledge, or is it that captured Formica queens are able to self start when in the protection of a test tube? Or are they like some Lasius where they simply have to take over a colony?