The Four Ages Of Sand

Answer to What is it? 246

Cheap China Shoes gets it!

Fingers over a lens?

Posted by: Cheap Shoes China | February 13, 2012 at 09:35 PM

It's actually fingers over an under-lit pedestal at the Bowling Alley in Rugby, but to deny CSC the chocs would be sheer pedantry, something which you could never accuse 4AoS of, or more accurately; something of which 4AoS could never be accused. And anyway, since CSC hasn't identified himself/herself yet, I have nowhere to send the chocs to, so we're all winners really.

This is nephew Luke:

 

Answer to "What is it? 245"

Alan gets it again!

 

"I suppose you're saying it's not a house sparrow? I guess it must be a tree sparrow then is it? Ain't that just a sparrow in a tree?"

Posted by: Alan | February 06, 2012 at 07:11 PM

Ironically, I did see them in a tree.

The Tree Sparrow is now sadly very scarce in the UK, in fact the RSPB has them as a Red 'at risk' species, having declined by 93% since the 70s.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/t/treesparrow/index.aspx

I've never knowingly seen one in this country (though lots in Poland) and I only know where a small flock lives because Alan R showed me a couple of years ago.

They can be found in a field by Tyttenhanger Gravel Pits, just down the road from Hatfield. 

Here's my vid, taken on Saturday.

 

 

Answer to "What is it? 244" Panasonic SD900 + Pixco Wide Converter WC-46E45 0.45X

Alan gets it!

"Jigsaw.3ww74x"

Posted by: Alan | January 30, 2012 at 03:30 PM

If only he'd said "Jigsaw, Tiger" he'd have got the chocs.

This was taken with the Panasonic SD900.  Many reviewer knock the stills camera on the SD900. I bought it anyway because a) You don't buy a Video camera to take stills, and b) the reviews are often wrong! And so it proves to be in this case. In my opinion, the stills option is excellent. The above was taken with the Macro attachment on the Pixco Wideangle lens (previous post)

For £19 (free postage) you get an excellent 0.45 wide angle lens and a very decent macro.

Here's the best shot I could get without the Macro:

 

Answer to "What is it? 243"

Well done to Ted!

Sun reflecting off an aeroplane.

Posted by: Ted Boatman | January 23, 2012 at 02:56 PM

I don't know who he is but he appears to have a Welsh email address...

It's an aeroplane flying past Venus at Sunset, which is not something you see every day.

The Zoom in the second half of the clip is 250X. The quality is rubbish at that kind of zoom of course, but the image stabilisation still does an amazing job. To get a usable image at 250X really is impressive.

 

 

And for those without Vimeo, here's a single frame:

Answer to "What is it? 242"

 

Some great guesses this week, from Trifle to Scallops, but none close to the answer I'm afraid

It's...

Well, watch the video to find out (it's at the end)

I've been playing around with creative filters in Corel VideoStudio Pro X4.

Is the result great Art? That's not for me to say, but a metaphor for my work might be the vision of a young child taking its first tentative steps in a freshly mown meadow...

For busy 4AoSers or those without access to Vimeo, the answer is here too:

Answer to "What is it? 241"

Uni C had the answer within his grasp!

"Is it an observation dome you have installed in the roof of your car so that UniM can take 360 degree panoramic photos as you are driving along?"

Posted by: UniC | January 10, 2012 at 01:00 PM

But he clearly didn't have the confidence to finish the job and claim the chocs.

It is indeed an observation dome but not in the roof of the car, in the roof of....

... The de Havilland Mosquito Bomber, modelled here by the lovely UniM herself:

e Havilland Mosquito
Bomber Plan

 

 

 

Answer to "What is it? 239"

What is it?

The Rupes Altai scarp (Ooo you were all so close ;-) 

Ever since I saw the stunning video on Vimeo, turning a 2D image of a crater on the Moon into 3D image (previous post) I've been trying to do the same with my own photos. 

This one is from a post over 4 years ago! 

The huge crater in the centre is Theophilus, one of the most impressive on the Moon. It is 62 miles in diameter and the ridge of the crater wall rises 3930 feet above the neighbouring landscape. It overlaps Cyrillus, another huge crater, and you can clearly see the 3 mountains at its centre. The 3rd crater in the trio is Catharina. All 3 are easy object to find with binoculars. Below the trio is a beautiful Scarp, Rupes Altai. You can clearly see the shadows cast by the 3000 ft cliff face, running for 291 miles.

The result of my 3D manipulation?

Er not that good:

Answer to "What is it? 237"

It's...

A flower seen through a Clearwing Butterfly at Butterfly World

 

Answer to "What is it? 236"

Something Paul saw on his way home from work on the tube the other day.

Over-confidence can be a danger attribute in Wii?

It's a dog.

Alan R

But on this occasion it's entirely justified

Answer to "What is it? 235"

No guesses on this one?

It's a....

... butterfly's eye, photographed at Buttterfly World. The apparent design is an illusion caused by the flash. 

Beautiful. And the red heart on the wing is a nice touch too