Combining Two Loves - Science and Photography

I have just achieved a milestone. Combining my love for field science and photography, I have the incredible honor of being published in a first-rate Paleontology journal with a true leader in the field, Dr. Robert Weems. Our paper on amphibians and non-marine turtles from the miocene period was published in the July issue of the Journal of Paleontology.

 

(Click Here) to read the abstract.

 

My minor contributions to the work included two things - finding a humerus bone from a several million year old land turtle, and taking all of the photographs for the paper. Dr. Weems provided all of the scientific expertise, writing, and editing.

 

Here's the sample that I found:

 

Miocene Turtle Humerus, by Reed A. George

 

I met Dr. Weems through my association with Paleo Quest, a non-profit organization focused on education and scientific research, specifically in Paleontology.

 

(Click Here) to check out Paleo Quest.

 

What an exciting project! Thanks, Dr. Weems, for all of your assistance and support.

 

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Leica at The White House!

I recently nominated my friend and colleague, Jason Osborne, for a White House science award known as Champions of Change: Citizen Science. Guess what? He won! And, I got an invitation to accompany him to The White House in Washington, DC to receive his award.

 

The White House, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Leica Summilux 35mm f1.4 Lens

iso 160, f16, 1/125 sec.

 

Okay. The event was at The White House, not in The White House. It was actually held inside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB), adjacent to The White House. A massive, imposing structure, EEOB is full of history and executive presence.

 

EEOB, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Leica Summilux 35mm f1.4 Lens

iso 160, f11, 1/180 sec.

 

Stairway, EEOB, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Leica Summilux 35mm f1.4 Lens

iso 640, f2.4, 1/125 sec.

 

 

The event was moderated by Joe Palca, Science Desk Correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR). Philip Rubin, Principal Assistant Director for Science, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and Ellen McCallie, Program Director for informal Science Education, National Science Foundation (NSF) gave brief talks about the importance and wonder of "Citizen Science," which is a new breed of science, where citizens (both ordinary and extraordinary, but not necessarily career scientists) contribute to scientific discovery and advancement, and gain science education through participating in real science projects.

 

Jason won the award because of the citizen science program that he and partner-in-crime Aaron Alford (co-founders of a non-profit called Paleo Quest) developed to involve the public in discovery and description of micro fossils. The program is called SharkFinder. (Click Here) to read about Paleo Quest and SharkFinder.

 

Jason's Talk, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Leica Summilux 35mm f1.4 Lens

iso 640, f2.8, 1/180 sec.

 

After each awardee made a short presentation, there was a panel discussion, addressing questions on citizen science from the audience.

Panel, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Leica Elmarit 90mm f2.8 Lens

iso 640, f3.4, 1/180 sec.

 

Jason at The White House, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Leica Elmarit 90mm f2.8 Lens

iso 640, f4, 1/180 sec.

 

This was an incredible opportunity for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the event, and consider it a once-in-a-lifetime chance to photograph at The White House. I'm also extremely proud of Jason, Aaron, and Paleo Quest for their success - all the result of hard work and concentration on the importance of science and education.

 

For more information on the Champions of Change program, (Click Here).

 

I decided to shoot my Leica M9 at this event, knowing that I'd want a fast lens, quiet operation, and likely no flash. I settled on the Summilux 35 because of the fast f1.4 aperture, and the 90mm Elmarit f2.8 for longer shots. I did not want to be fiddling with lens changes during the event, so I kept it to these two lenses. I'll admit that I was tempted to shoot a Nikon DSLR and zoom, which would have worked fine as well. As it was, I felt that my work was unobtrusive, and I'm pleased with the results overall.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

Fossil Hunting in Maryland with the Lumix DMC-TS3

Erosion Forces, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS3

 
Last Sunday morning, I got up early and headed to a place on the Potomac River known as Liverpool Point, to do some fossil hunting. The video above shows the important parts of the scene - cliffs to the right, literally full of fossil material, the waves coming in from the left, day by day eroding into them. In the middle, beach, and awesome opportunities to find fossils that have washed out of the cliffs.
 
I packed up a Lumix DMC-G3, 14-140mm and 100-300mm zooms, and carried them in a waterproof bag on my back. I never took them out. The TS3 covered everything I needed to shoot. In fact, the TS3 did far better in closeups than I could have done with the G3 and the zooms I had. Of course, if I'd brought along the Macro-Elmarit 45mm f2.8, that would have been a different story. As it was, I just used the TS3, and never worried about getting it wet, etc.
 
Here's a cross-section of the cliff, showing just how dense the fossils are in places.
 

Cliff Cross-Section, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS3

 
This area is known for fossilized sand tiger shark teeth. Here's one sticking out of the cliff matrix.
 
 

Sand Tiger Shark Tooth, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS3

 
I also found a fossilized crocodile tooth - much less common. It's amazing to think that enormous crocodiles and sand tiger sharks once prowled the waters that are now the Potomac River. These ones were from the late Paleocene, approximately 55 million years ago.
 

Liverpool Point, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS3

 
It is great to be able to get out and hike the shore at sunrise, collect fossils from animals that lived there 55 million years ago, and be home in time for lunch (or nearly so).
 
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