Photo Contest - I'm Ready For My Closeup, Mr. DeMille (8/23-8/30)

[Mk]

http://static.mwnx.net/mac/PF%20photo%20contest/Snapshot%202006-08-29%2009-37-45.tiff
I took this picture by placing a neodyminum magnet under a petri dish filled with ~5 mL of ferrofluid. You can see onlooker's reflections, as well as palm trees surrounding us reflected on the surface. Down near the bottom right, you can see a fairly clear reflection of above, including the camera, my finger, a palm tree, my head, and a nearby apartment building. Every piece of dust from the air that hit can be seen interacting with the surface tension of the fluid.

It was soo fun! This was only about 5 mL of fluid, I have 15 left! Can't wait to do it again!

 

[Cyrus]

Man, these pictures are too good!

 

[zoobyshoe]

You'd better resize it before ZZ sees it.

Otherwise: VERY cool, and pretty!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/1629/crash017gj4.jpg

 

[hypatia]

wow what a licker-kisser! {my pet name for dogs tongues}

 

[ZapperZ]

I took this picture by placing a neodyminum (N42 grade) magnet under a petri dish filled with ~5 mL of ferrofluid. You can see onlooker's reflections, as well as palm trees surrounding us reflected on the surface. Down near the bottom right, you can see a fairly clear reflection of above (another dome formed by a 3 millimeter long rectangular magnet), including the camera, my finger, a palm tree, my head, and a nearby apartment building. Every piece of dust from the air that hit can be seen interacting with the surface tension of the fluid.

It was soo fun! This was only about 5 mL of fluid, I have 15 left! Can't wait to do it again!

<sigh>

I'm beginning to think that people don't read the rules at all. :(

I'm sorry, but if this isn't resized as stated in our rules, it will not be included in the final voting.

Zz.

 

[Mk]

Sorry. I am not sure how small that is, but I made it smaller.

Thanks.

 

[Gokul43201]

I can no longer see Mk's picture.

 

[Mk]

Here it is again, at a different place.
http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/2217/ferrozd5.jpg

And it is 640x(whatever). Wow, I'm getting good.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Even slightly smaller it remains a VERY cool and pretty picture, MK.

 

[zoobyshoe]

I just realized why: it looks like a jellyfish.

 

[Mk]

Jellyfish? I thought it looked like a zoobyshoe or a penguin. Or yomomma.

 

[ZapperZ]

Just a reminder that this is the last day to submit a picture for this brutal contest.

Zz.

 

[aereal]

mary had a little lamb

nice photos over there!

here's my close-up:
http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/9112/sheepcql6.jpg
the guy was sentenced to death and they wouldn't even hesitate to eat him, however after some negotiations with the farmer, he was given freedom!
for a while...

 

[Mk]

This is going to be brutal. Absolutely the toughest one yet.

 

[turbo]

This is going to be brutal. Absolutely the toughest one yet.

No doubt! Your ferrofluid is truly "alien", GeoMike's rose has an awesome range of coloration...what can I say? There are things to like about every shot in the contest, and I cannot predict a winner, nor even predict if any particular one of my favorites is going to get into the top 50%. This may be the highest-quality lineup since ZZ started the series. (Great idea, BTW, ZZ!)

 

[ZapperZ]

Well, I have decided that I will either NOT vote, or simply pick at random, for this contest. There is no freaking way I can pick 1. I don't thnk I can even pick 5.

And thanks also to everyone who have participated. When I started this (with Evo's blessings), I had no idea the pictures submitted would be this good, and I'm not just talking about the technical quality. Even pictures that didn't make it into the final voting had some appeal to me, because they came from a certain location at a certain time, with a certain point of view. I especially love it when participants told stories behind the pictures. That simply add richness and context to the pictures.

So everyone who participated in all the picture contests so far, give yourself a deserved pat on the back.

Zz.

 

[Mk]

I am sorry to cause trouble if I did, for a possible error. After I had posted my last comment I saw it five times listed. It may have just been my browser being confused, or an error in submitting the comment five times.

 

[turbo]

Well, I have decided that I will either NOT vote, or simply pick at random, for this contest. There is no freaking way I can pick 1. I don't thnk I can even pick 5.

I can narrow my favorites to 5 or 6, I think, but the quality and variety of the entries make further narrowing pretty darned impossible. When I think that I might be able to favor an entry for some reason, another entry manages to be "better" for some other reason. I don't think I can either abstain or vote randomly (out of fairness to all the contributors), but I'm having a hell of a time comparing these images to one another. What carries weight? Composition (including framing and depth-of-field), lighting, subject matter, technical difficulty of the shot, the imagination behind the choice of subject, overall pleasing appearance? There are more factors, too, and every one of them has pushed one image or another to the top of my list (more than once, in most cases).

 

[Ivan Seeking]

In situations like this, it is usually best to vote according to tongue size.

 

[ZapperZ]

In situations like this, it is usually best to vote according to tongue size.

That doesn't work either, since Gene Simmons is not a member of PF and didn't submit a picture. Or did he register secretly?

Zz.

 

[Mk]

Something interesting about my photo that I forgot to mention was that the ferrofluid is actually a very dark red, like you can see up in the top right. When I was directly over it, and the sun was at about a 75 degree angle, it somehow turned silver. I have no idea what the physical phenomenon is behind that.

 

[zoobyshoe]

In situations like this, it is usually best to vote according to tongue size.

OK, but you should know the woman who's eyeball picture I posted has a tongue like a giraffe.

 

[Mk]

It looks like a jellyfish

I guess I lose. Jellyfish don't have tongues.

...and neither do superparamagnetic colloids.

 

[Kurdt]

I think we should change the rules and everyone vote for the one they hate the most then the winner is the person with the least votes.

 

[Mk]

Ha ha, that would make it easier, wouldn't it?

But the voter feels kind of guilty of accusing people I guess. They wouldn't be as eager to vote.

 

[turbo]

In situations like this, it is usually best to vote according to tongue size.

Holy Crap, Batman! Gene Simmons will win every contest (I assume you're talking about the photographer and not the subject). Although if you have seen a ruby-throated hummingbird stick out its tongue, it is over twice as long as its beak, and the base of it resides at the back of its head and it extends through a channel reaching over its skull.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

That doesn't work either, since Gene Simmons is not a member of PF and didn't submit a picture. Or did he register secretly?

Zz.

I don't know Gene...uh...I mean, Zapper.

 

[ZapperZ]

I don't know Gene...uh...I mean, Zapper.

You saw my make-up kit, didn't you?

Zz.

 

[Moonbear]

I think very clever close-up photos of screens should win, especially if a really cute kitten happens to stray into the photo. Besides, that kitten's tongue is about the best exfoliator around!

Zz, that's what I'm enjoying about these contests too. I know I'm not a photographer, but it's fun sharing and seeing what others contribute just for the stories behind the photos. With each photo, we learn a bit more about the others here...their interests, places they visit, creativity, even the flora and fauna found around their homes.