Here are the finalists of the 2016 photography contest. We received 38 photographs from 14 photographers. We had considerable difficulty choosing a half-dozen finalists -- most of the pictures were excellent, as you will no doubt see during the coming months. We finally enlisted our wife to help with the choices, which are displayed below the proverbial fold. Unfortunately, the submissions did not lend themselves to being divided into categories, so we present one general category (which includes as much variety as we could muster). The text was written by the photographers and lightly edited for consistency.
The finalists are presented in alphabetical order of last name. Please look through their photographs before voting for your favorite. You will have to be logged in to vote in the poll. We know it is possible to game these polls. Please be responsible and vote only once. If we think that the results are invalid, we will cancel the contest.
Polling will close Friday, July 29, at approximately 12:00 CST.
Reed Cartwright contributed to this post.
Mama kildeer, by Paul Burnett.
Charadrius vociferus -- killdeer standing her ground, protecting her eggs from a vicious photographer three feet away.
Magnolia green jumping spider, by Al Denelsbeck.
Lyssomanes viridis -- Magnolia green jumping spider, juvenile female. All jumping spiders have excellent binocular vision for use in obtaining food, but since the cornea is a fixed part of the exoskeleton, the eyes must move internally. With the magnolia green jumpers, the exoskeleton is translucent enough to allow the internal movement of the eyes to be seen, and they can move independently. I had captured this one and was keeping it in a small terrarium, providing appropriately-sized prey, and when it snagged a small midge while perched on a weed, I was able to move the entire plant out to obtain a decent photography angle.
Katydid nymph, by Richard Meiss.
Scudderia sp. -- Scudder's bush katydid nymph, bedded down for the night in the flower of a lily (Lilium maculatum [?]). Not shown in this view are the several species of ants that have also found this refuge to be congenial. For (temporarily) flightless insects, such cover must have some survival value.
The family, by Dan Moore.
Macaca fuscata -- snow monkey, or Japanese macaque, mountains of Nagano, Japan, due west of Tokyo, March, 2016. These monkeys have adapted to the cold more than any other subspecies, and they have adapted to almost totally ignoring humans (which is good for photography).
Chapman's Peak, by Neil Taylor.
A group of (shortly to be long distance running*) Homo sapiens enjoying the sunset at Chapman's Peak, Capetown. Chapman's Peak is an offshoot to Table Mountain and hence has the same geology. There is a famous and very beautiful road between Noordhoek and Hout Bay which has been cut right into the vertical cliff which makes up the southern side of the peak. The photo is at one point on the route where they've had to blast a cutting into the cliff to get the road through. We are standing on one side of the cutting with the shadow cast on the cliff on the other side of the road. Table Mountain is about 10 km to the North. [*Mr. Taylor explains that the 56 km Two Oceans Ultra Marathon was run the next day, and he and all the shadows ran it.]
I believe, from the, er, writing style and multiple-post trademark, that this is the same flake who used to post under the handle of "Thrinaxodon" on a number of different boards. It may be "George" as well. One of his many interesting little hobbies is mass production of net identities. Since he is never coherent enough to be intelligible, it's impossible to know what's set him off this time, but trust me, it's not worth inquiring about it.
Henry J · 20 July 2016
That poor killdeer, having to put up with that paparazzi...
Matt Young · 20 July 2016
Please send George to the BW.
Done!
Henry J · 20 July 2016
Would the humming bird have gotten any votes if it had learned the words?
PaulBC · 20 July 2016
Henry J said:
Would the humming bird have gotten any votes if it had learned the words?
Or it was being eaten by a large spider?
PaulBC · 20 July 2016
And what does mama have against the deer anyway?
Henry J · 20 July 2016
PaulBC said:
And what does mama have against the deer anyway?
It probably ate part of her garden. (That's what deer do, after all! :) )
Only 26 votes, and right now it is a dead heat. I plan to close the poll Friday around noon MDT, so you have a bit less than 2 d to make up your minds.
eric · 27 July 2016
Matt Young said:
Only 26 votes, and right now it is a dead heat. I plan to close the poll Friday around noon MDT, so you have a bit less than 2 d to make up your minds.
Thanks for the update, I voted and (unbeknownst before I voted) broke the tie. At least for now....
Keelyn · 27 July 2016
eric said:
Matt Young said:
Only 26 votes, and right now it is a dead heat. I plan to close the poll Friday around noon MDT, so you have a bit less than 2 d to make up your minds.
Thanks for the update, I voted and (unbeknownst before I voted) broke the tie. At least for now....
Thanks for the update, I voted and (unbeknownst before I voted) tied it back up! At least for now.... Sorry.
eric · 27 July 2016
Touche! :)
Matt Young · 29 July 2016
For those who do not live in the Mountain Time Zone, approximately 2 h before we will close voting.
20 Comments
verne_julius1 · 19 July 2016
This comment has been moved to The Bathroom Wall.
verne_julius1 · 19 July 2016
This comment has been moved to The Bathroom Wall.
verne_julius1 · 19 July 2016
This comment has been moved to The Bathroom Wall.
verne_julius1 · 19 July 2016
This comment has been moved to The Bathroom Wall.
fnxtr · 19 July 2016
Please send George to the BW. Thank you.
verne_julius1 · 20 July 2016
This comment has been moved to The Bathroom Wall.
Dave Luckett · 20 July 2016
I believe, from the, er, writing style and multiple-post trademark, that this is the same flake who used to post under the handle of "Thrinaxodon" on a number of different boards. It may be "George" as well. One of his many interesting little hobbies is mass production of net identities. Since he is never coherent enough to be intelligible, it's impossible to know what's set him off this time, but trust me, it's not worth inquiring about it.
Henry J · 20 July 2016
That poor killdeer, having to put up with that paparazzi...
Matt Young · 20 July 2016
Henry J · 20 July 2016
Would the humming bird have gotten any votes if it had learned the words?
PaulBC · 20 July 2016
PaulBC · 20 July 2016
And what does mama have against the deer anyway?
Henry J · 20 July 2016
verne_julius1 · 20 July 2016
This comment has been moved to The Bathroom Wall.
George Frederick Thomson Broadhead · 21 July 2016
This comment has been moved to The Bathroom Wall.
Matt Young · 27 July 2016
Only 26 votes, and right now it is a dead heat. I plan to close the poll Friday around noon MDT, so you have a bit less than 2 d to make up your minds.
eric · 27 July 2016
Keelyn · 27 July 2016
eric · 27 July 2016
Touche! :)
Matt Young · 29 July 2016
For those who do not live in the Mountain Time Zone, approximately 2 h before we will close voting.