Travel Photography: Exclusive travel report from Palau Micronesia, some call it the last Paradise on Earth.
A Special
& exclusive Travel Report from Palau Micronesia,
& if you visit Palau make sure you don’t forget
your Camera.

©
Gunther Deichmann - just relaxing... awesome Palau
Waterfall
Palau
the hidden Crown Jewel in the Pacific…never heard
about it? About time we introduce you to one of the
most charming places on Earth… some call it… the
forgotten Paradise!
Palau has been in the NEWS lately with the
Detainees from Guantánamo Bay,
Discovery Channel or the French Survivor
Series, produced only recently
on the Islands.
Why only now everybody is talking about it? I guess
some of them have seen the sheer beauty now and come
to realize its amazing ecosystem, seldom found
anywhere else on this Planet.

© Gunther
Deichmann - aerial of the Rock
Islands
I have been traveling to Palau the past 15 years and
I still cant get enough of its beauty above and below
the waves. Quoted as one, if not the
Best Dive destination in the
world.
Like a child in a candy shop, I am like that every
time I travel to Palau, discovering new things all
the time…it is just awesome.

© Gunther
Deichmann - watch Turtles swim by, Blue Corner
Palau

© Gunther
Deichmann - colors below the waves, Blue
Corner
The information below is courtesy of
Palautours.com
containing
information how to get there and a very brief
inside of this truly remarkable place. For all our
Camera enthusiast we highly recommend
Sam’s Tour’s Digital Photo
Center which is fully equipped
with iMac Computers and state of the art Software
like Aperture, plus an in-house Video
facility
operated by award-winning High Definition Underwater
Filmmaker and Digital Video Producer, Dr. Nick
Martorano, Ph.D.
GD

© Gunther
Deichmann - “arriving in
Palau”
There are many ways to get
to Palau and flying direct is not always the most
economical or timely method. Many guests that fly in
from the states catch a flight out of L.A. or San
Francisco to Japan and then catch a flight from Japan
to Guam (there are multiple flights a day from Japan
flying into Guam) and then Guam to Palau. The use of
frequent flyer miles is also available, remember to
book early or have a great travel agent if you are
trying to go that route.
Continental Micronesia is the major
airline of Micronesia and flies into Palau 6
days a week: 2 times a day on Wednesdays,
Saturdays and Sundays; and once a day on Tuesdays,
Thursdays and Fridays. (Please
note: these schedules are subject to change it is
advisable to check with your airlines first)
They have service from Guam
6 days a week, with connections to and from Yap on
Wednesdays and Sundays. There is service to and from
Palau from Manila, Philippines (this seems to be the
best way to travel to Palau from Asia or Europe);
twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays. There is
service to and from Kaoshiung and Taipei, Taiwan on
Tuesdays and Saturdays; and service to and from
Taipei, Taiwan on Thursdays and Sundays on Far
Eastern Air Transport (or FAT Airline). Japan
Airlines (JAL) has flights to and from Palau twice a
month.
Palau offers you the world's
most beautiful tropical paradise. Famous for its
diving, Palau is rated as one of the world's best
diving destinations by scuba aficionados. And why
not...Palau has unspoiled reefs, caves, and walls
with the most amazing array of marine life you can
ever imagine.

© Gunther
Deichmann - get close to Marine
life.
Palau
beckons to you with some of the world's most
awesome natural wonders.
Imagine the whitest beaches you will ever see,
gardens of coral just beneath the clearest waters,
lakes filled to the brim with "sting less"
jellyfish. Forests, waterfalls and
caves that have never been ravaged by man, and
hundreds of islands of the purest beauty abound
all along our pristine archipelago.

© Gunther
Deichmann - swim with jelly fish
and not getting stung.
Palau beckons to you with
some of the world's most awesome natural wonders.
Imagine the whitest beaches you will ever see,
gardens of coral just beneath the clearest waters,
lakes filled to the brim with "sting less"
jellyfish.

© Gunther
Deichmann - hire a Helicopter and get a
Birds-eye View.
Palau. To many the name conjures up images of lush
jungles atop mushroom-shaped limestone islands
surrounded by turquoise waters so abundant with life
that it is nearly impossible to ingest it all. With
magnificent reefs that contain over 1300 species of
fish and 400 species of coral, it is no surprise that
it is recognized as one of the best and most
consistent places to see a huge diversity and
abundance of both small tropical fish and large
pelagic predators.

© Gunther
Deichmann - Explore amazing Palau by
Kayaks
There are several reasons for Palau's diversity of
life, particularly the marine life, with some of the
major factors being the variety of habitats and reef
structures as well as its location. Between the
coastal mangroves of Babeldaob and the outer reef
walls of the Ngemelis and Pelelui, exists an extensive
shallow and deep water lagoon containing limestone
islands, sheltered marine lakes, and narrow
passages that provide a mixture of different
habitats that support a variety of fish and coral.
Further, the ranges of reef structures, from sheer
vertical walls to underwater caves provide
numerous places for species to live. If the
diversity of habitats in Palau is poised to
accommodate a terrific amount of marine life, its
location is the reason that much of the marine
life made it here in the first place. Palau
resides just outside of the ‘Coral Triangle' an
area recognized as the center of marine
biodiversity and has three major bodies of water
converge on the island. To the east is the Pacific
Ocean, to the west the Philippine Sea, and to the
south, the Celebes Sea.

© Gunther
Deichmann - paradise is waiting for
YOU.
As the Pacific Ocean, the Philippine and Celebes Seas
circulate, the potential to bring larva of coral,
fish, and invertebrates to Palau from different parts
of the Indo-Pacific region is very high.

© Gunther
Deichmann -have your own
Island
Terrestrially, Palau has one
of the most diverse assemblages of flora and fauna in
Micronesia The different geology, predominantly the
limestone Rock Islands
and the large
volcanic main island of Babeldaob provide
excellent substrate for a diverse number of trees,
plants, birds, and reptiles. There are over 1250
species of plants, 140 species of birds (including
8 endemic species), and 50 species of amphibians
and reptiles (including the largest reptile,
the Saltwater Crocodile, (Crocodylus
porosus ). With all of the
diversity in Palau , both above and below the
water, it will amaze even the most seasoned
naturalist.
© Gunther
Deichmann - enjoy the Spa at the Palau Pacific
Resort.

© Gunther
Deichmann - see You soon in Palau
Micronesia.
See pages
after pages with stunning images and information on
Palau @ http://www.palautours.com/
You
can Check also with the
Palau Visitors Authority (PVA)
for more
local information once you have arrived in Palau.
For an Birds-eye view of Palau
check
out Palau Helicopters @ http://www.palautours.com/palauheli-other.html
Underwater Photography: After running out of film it was difficult finding this tiny & elusive critter again.
The interesting part… the image below was shot on film…yes, on Fuji Velvia …in the good old days.

© Gunther
Deichmann - this juvenile Frogfish is
only around one centimeter in
length
The original Image had been
scanned & stored as digital file in tiff format
on my external hard drive, I just imported the file
into Aperture 2 made minor correction & a long
forgotten image became a life again.
Frogfish Memories
Posted by Gunther Deichmann on May 21, 2009 in Blog,
Destinations, Marine Life,
FINS
Online
While going through my archives the other day I came
across an image from film days, and I fondly recalled
the story behind this photograph.
It was during a night dive in Anilao in the
Philippines that I spotted this amazing miniature
frogfish, around one centimeter in length. But…since
it was near the end of our dive, I had run out of
film. I cursed and blew bubbles in frustration.
Since it was a shallow dive, my guide and I still had
plenty of air, so I signaled to him, then went back
up to the boat to change film.
Crazy, I know…the things you do for a shot sometimes.
However, my main concern at the time was how to find
this little guy again. He was so tiny and could’ve
easily disappeared.
After I changed film and went back down to where my
trusted dive guide was waiting for me, it took a
while, but we found the little frogfish again.
After I took three shots, he disappeared into a
crevice. We waited a few minutes before surfacing and
heading back to the resort for a well deserved beer.
GD
Wildlife Photography: Is Kakadu National Park in Australia under threat? Cane Toads invaded the far north.
Endemic wildlife under
threat!

©
Gunther Deichmann - Aerial photo: Thousands
of
Magpie Geese
on the
Flood Plains near Kakadu National Park, Northern
Territory, Australia.

©
Gunther Deichmann
- Whistling
Ducks, Kakadu National
Park
The Cane Toad is posing a serious threat to
Australia’s endemic Wildlife.
During my days when I roamed
around in Kakadu National Park
some 25 years
ago there where NO Cane Toads, now they have
invaded this rich in wildlife ecosystem. In recent
years they have not stopped and now moving towards
north-western Australia invading the
Kimberley region too.
Freshwater Crocodiles and a unique type of
pygmy crocodile
found only in
Australia could be wiped out by the dreaded cane
toad unless prompt action is taken, zoologists
have warned.
Just two populations of the endangered pygmy
freshwater crocodile are known to exist, both of them
in the country's tropical north. The crocodiles are
at risk because they prey on cane toads and then die
from the amphibians' highly toxic skin. Isolated in
remote rivers and creeks by waterfalls and steep
sandstone escarpments, they are about half the size
of normal freshwater crocs.

© Gunther
Deichmann - Australian Freshwater Crocodile
(Image showing a true gallop), fighting for
survival.
“Thanks” to the introduction
of Cane Toads to Australia in August 1936. We’re
tried to solve a problem… but created a much bigger
one.
The idea was to eradicate the grey back cane beetle
pests, now the cane toad is considered a pest and
invasive species in many of its introduced regions
because its toxic skin kills many native predators
when ingested.
It has also many negative effects on farmers because
of pets and animals eating the creatures.
The cane toad has poison glands, and the tadpoles are
highly toxic to most animals if ingested. Because of
its voracious appetite, the cane toad has been
introduced to many regions of the Pacific and the
Caribbean islands as a method of agricultural pest
control, notably failing in the case of Australia in
1935, and derives its common name from its use
against the grey back cane beetle pests.
All creatures small and
big have the right for their existence on this
planet, but the Cane Toad does not belong in
Australia, STOP interfering with mother nature.

All images ©
Gunther Deichmann - from left: Sea
Eagle, Jabiru black-necked
Stork
Tree Snake, large Goanna in front of
Termite
mounds
A Queensland study showed more than a 50% decline
in Gould’s goanna
numbers over
a seven-month period coincident with the arrival
and build up of cane toad numbers.
A fauna survey in Kakadu showed that Gilbert’s dragon
and all goanna species significantly declined
following cane toad invasion.
Frog-eating snakes in general are susceptible to
impacts. These include the northern death adder,
western brown snake and red-bellied black snake.
There are also numerous reports of freshwater
crocodiles dying after eating cane toads in
northern Queensland
and the
Northern Territory. Some water fowls are also no
exceptions including the White Breasted Sea
eagle.
GD
CANE
TOAD FACTS
Cane toads
are expanding
their range across Northern Australia faster than
ever expected, and have been recorded moving up to
20km in just a few weeks.
They have reached the western part of the Northern
Territory, and without intervention, are expected to
reach the east Kimberley region of Western
Australia in one to three years
time.
Cane toads need water to survive. With only a
relatively narrow band of non-arid country between
the eastern Kimberley and the Top End of the Northern
Territory, suitable cane toad habitat funnels down to
such a relatively small ‘land bridge’ that there is a
unique opportunity to slow and hopefully halt their
march westwards across Northern Australia.
Since its original
introduction the cane toad has had a particularly
marked effect on Australian
biodiversity.
Cane Toad
Research
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cane_toad
Photography: Leichardt Grasshopper, a rare & bizarre Insect from a remote part in Arnhem Land, N. T. Australia
The
Australian Aboriginals call it…
”Children of the Lightning Man”
Years
ago during a Photography excursion into a remote part
of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia
I encountered a very rare and strange looking Insect.
It was during the month of November just before the
onset of the wet season, camping over night at this
small rock outcrop, when I got the urge for “natures
call.”
I squatted behind some rocks and as I looked up I
spotted this bizarre Insect, but not just one, a
dozen or so brightly colored orange Grasshoppers
covering the small plant right in front of me.
Wow… I hurried up… run back to the campsite and
grabbed my Camera. My first approach was very slow,
scared that I would spook them, but then to my
amazement the Grasshoppers would not move at all,
they just sat there like wax figurines.

© Gunther
Deichmann - the rare Leichardt Grasshopper
from Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, Australia
Once I had my shots, I started to realize that this
maybe something very special, sure enough, after my
return to Darwin I showed the one specimen, I had
collected to the Curator of the Northern Territory
Museum.
Gunther - this is the very rare Leichardt Grasshopper
he said with excitement, they are only found in
remote parts of the Northern Territory there have
been no sightings for hundred years.
It's named after the explorer, Ludwig Leichhardt who
reported great numbers of them as he crossed the
Arnhem Land plateau in 1845.
Leichhardt's Grasshopper is bright red, blue and
orange. Its strong colors are a defense against
predators which works so well that this little
grasshopper has Attitude - often it doesn't even
bother to fly away when predators approach, exactly
what happen when I took the Photos that morning.

© Gunther Deichmann
-
left: deep inside Arnhem
Land, it is here where you can find the Leichardt
Grasshopper, if you lucky.
right: tribal Aborigines
retouching ancient rock art in Arnhem Land,
Australia
Normally I leave animals where I find them and don’t
interfere with nature, but in this case the Curator
thanked me for bringing in just one specimen for
research, it was after all about 100 years later.
I have more images but those are tucked away in
archives with my international agency Picture Press
in Germany.
For the Australian Aboriginals the Grasshopper has a
very special meaning, the Jawoyn and Gundjeibmi
people of Western Arnhem Land call the grasshopper
Alyurr, children of the Lightning Man Namarrgon. A
powerful ancestral being, this is evident in the Rock
art through out the Arnhem Land Escarpment.
GD
Photography: Australian Saltwater Crocodiles from Hatchlings to 22 feet & the Giant Crocodile “Sweetheart”
Back into the
wild again...

1975 © Gunther Deichmann -
a tranquil and serene setting in this wetland
from the Top End of Australia, but it is also the
home of the Saltwater
Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus)
Kodachrome 25
Minolta X700 20mm lens
This is my follow up article
on Images long forgotten and
somewhere tucked away in our archives or hard
drives...Memories of Outback adventures from the
past.
The Australian Saltwater Crocodile and the famous
“Sweetheart” from the Finnis River in the Northern
Territory some 55 kilometers south west of Darwin
City. I used the same process importing the old
digitized images from my external hard drives into
Aperture 2 applying some adjustments and using the
Monochrome Mixer for the Black and White images.
Aperture does a great job not only with todays RAW
files but also with scanned tiff files from slides or
negatives.
Once imported and you made some adjustment you can
always revert back to your original file just like
you would do with Raw images, this makes Aperture 2
perfect for archiving, cataloging even for your older
images, using just one system instead of
many.

1979 © Gunther Deichmann -
surrounded by flowers a very large
apprx. 16 foot Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus)
in Yellow Waters
Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia
Kodachrome 25 Minolta X700

1979 © Gunther Deichmann -
see if you can spot this perfectly
camouflaged large about 20 foot Crocodile
(Crocodylus
porosus) on
a
muddy River Bank Northern Territory, Australia.
Kodachrome 25 Minolta X700
Close encounter of a different
kind…and I got very close… sometimes too close to
these ancient reptiles during my days in the Northern
Territory of Australia. Saltwater or estuarine
crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is the largest of all
living crocodilians. Some old historical records from
1930 or there about claim they had been caught up to
33 feet in length, however no photographic records
has surfaced to prove this, but I do believe it.
I myself encountered Crocs bigger then the Boat I was
sitting in and the boat was 22 feet, it is no joke
sitting in an Aluminum Dingy and this massive Croc
slides in from the muddy banks hitting in your
direction.
A fantastic and a great experience getting up close
to these prehistoric animals evolved millions of
years ago and still with us today.

1975 © Gunther Deichmann -
Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus)
on the
banks of Yellow Waters in Kakadu National Park
Northern Territory, Australia. Kodachrome 25 Minolta
X700.
(using Aperture 2 for the B&W
conversion)

1978 © Gunther Deichmann -
“blowing bubbles” Crocodile
(Crocodylus porosus)
on the banks of the
Adelaide River in the
Northern Territory,Australia. Kodachrome 25 Minolta
X700.
(using Aperture 2 for the B&W
conversion)
I could fill up a book with the
many encounters I had with these amazing animals,
feeling scared at times and vulnerable, but I am also
happy that in my life time I experience the only true
survivor of our prehistoric past.
Spending many days out in Bush with Dr. Graham Webb
(see my previous article) going where no man has gone
before collecting Saltwater Crocodile Eggs for
research and a conservation program at the time.
Photography was extremely difficult under these
circumstances, wearing a water proof shooting vest
which could also act as a floating device, not for me
mind you... but for my Cameras, have to get our
priorities right!

© Gunther Deichmann - Two days old! Crocodile
hatchlings in a holding tank before
their release into the wild.

© Gunther Deichmann - an interesting reflection -
Two days old! Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus)
Hatchling in a holding tank before its release into
the wild.
Part of the research involved being
dropped off by helicopter on to floating mats to
collect Crocodile Eggs. Floating mats are; a natural
floating interwoven grass found in Wetlands at the
Top End of Australia, you can actually walk on this
grass mat, a very strange feeling, like walking on a
water bed. Of course there is always the risk you
break through, ending up to your neck in water, not a
good feeling with large Saltwater crocs nearby.
However this floating mat is the perfect habitat for
the Crocs to build their nest and the ideal location
for researchers. The research involved collecting
eggs, temperature measurements and other data, a
high-risk research with nowhere to run in case “Mum”
decides to return.
Back at the Laboratory; the Eggs where placed in an
Incubator and after hatching the small crocs where
tagged and released back into the wild.
GD
Then there was “Sweetheart” a 5.5
meter saltwater crocodile that lived in the Finnis
River in the Northern Territory of Australia, some 55
kilometers south west of Darwin city. This enormous
Croc was very territorial. It became famous because
it took a dislike to the sound of outboard motors and
would often attack small boats entering its
territory. Presumably it viewed them as a threat or a
challenge from a rival Croc.
The Giant Crocodile “Sweetheart”
More info and photos of
“Sweetheart.” Check the links below
http://inny.ipbfree.com/index.php?showtopic=1810
http://www.all-about-reptiles.com/crocodile.html
Photography & Australian galloping Crocodiles, rare & long forgotten photos imported into Aperture 2
Images from the past can have a good market value even today, shooting for so many years and we’re all getting older (and wiser I hope) we sometimes forget these cool images from the past, some of them will never outdate.

© Gunther
Deichmann - Take off... Australian Freshwater
Crocodile
(Crocodylus
johnstoni)moving at high speed
towards a Billabong.
Photo from the mid seventies.
The other day I went through
my Archives looking for a particular image when I
came across my series on Australian Freshwater
Crocodiles. (Crocodylus johnstoni) I remember that
time I went out with Professor Dr Graham Webb an
expert on Australian Crocodiles collecting data deep
inside the Australian Bush in the Northern Territory.
Spending days on end camping at Billabongs catching,
tagging and releasing these truly amazing Reptiles
for research and conservation.

© Gunther
Deichmann -
One of the very first images showing a true
gallop.
Australian Freshwater Crocodile
(Crocodylus
johnstoni)
Photo from the mid seventies.
It was during this project
that we discovered that the Crocodile (not only the
Freshwater one) displays a true Gallop, movements
just like a Horse, not known previously until this
research by Dr. Graham Webb.
The images on todays Blog and many other where most
likely the very first showing Crocodiles in a full
Gallop, amazing and thrilling times long gone but not
forgotten. At the time they where published in a
various magazines.
The Black & White Images are from one of those
trips, the originals had been shot on Kodachrome
film, afterwards or I should say many years later I
scanned the slides, now the digital images residing
in my archives. By the way this was long before my
Nikon days using the X700 Minolta bodies and lenses.

© Gunther
Deichmann - Lift off...Australian Freshwater
Crocodile
(Crocodylus
johnstoni)moving at high speed
towards a Billabong.
Photo from the mid seventies.
I imported the tiff files
direct from my external hard drives into Aperture 2
and converted them to B&W. So, if you have images
from way back have a good look at them you never know
what you might come across and if you end up using
them or not makes no difference it is worth the
memory from times long gone.
A few years later Dr. Graham Webb also discovered
what was thought first a new species of a Freshwater
Crocodile in a very remote part of Arnhem Land, an
Aboriginal Reserve in the Northern Territory. Almost
half the sizes of the other know Freshwater Crocs,
after a long study it turned out they are exactly the
same species but had adapted to this size due to the
lack of food in this remote part of the Arnhem Land.
Consequently they where named the
Pygmy Crocodiles but it is the same species
(Crocodylus johnstoni) yet another proof that these
reptiles, which developed over million of years, can
adapt to changes depending on their location or
climate.
The Australian Freshwater Crocodile is at risk today
from the increasing number of introduced Queensland
Cane Toads and human interference in their habitat.
The toad is lethally poisonous to Freshwater
Crocodiles (although strangely harmless to
Saltwater Crocodiles.
In
one of my next articles I introduce you to the
Australian Saltwater Crocodile, (Crocodylus porosus)
experience with the same Research team…from
Hatchlings to a large 22 foot Croc.
GD
See below some info and facts on the Australian
Freshwater Crocodiles:
The Australian
freshwater crocodile is a relatively small
crocodilian. Males can grow 3 meters
(9.8 ft) long, while females reach a maximum
size of 2.1 meters (6.9 ft). The body color
is light brown with darker bands on the body and tail
- these tend to be broken up near the neck. Some
individuals possess distinct bands or speckling on
the snout. Body scales are relatively large, with
wide, closely-knit armored plates on the back.
Rounded, pebbly scales cover the flanks and outsides
of the legs.
The Freshwater
Crocodile is not capable of killing or even seriously
harming a human. There has only been one recorded
attack by a freshwater crocodile on a human; this
attack took place at Barramundi Gorge (also known as
Maguk) in
Kakadu
National Park and resulted in very
minor injuries to the victim, who managed to swim and
walk away from the attack. It is believed the victim
swam directly over the small crocodile, in general it
is still considered safe to swim with this species.
Distribution and
habitat
They are found in the
states of Western
Australia,
Queensland,
and the Northern
Territory. Main habitats include
freshwater wetlands,
billabongs,
rivers, and creeks. It competes poorly
with Saltwater
crocodiles but is saltwater
tolerant. As an adult its diet
consists of
birds, bats, reptiles, amphibians and fish. This
species can be found in areas where
Saltwater
Crocodiles cannot and are known to
inhabit areas above the escarpment in
Kakadu
National Park and in very arid &
rocky conditions (such as Katherine
Gorge, where they are very
common and relatively safe from saltwater crocodiles
during the dry season.) That being said, they are
still consistently found in low-level
billabongs,
living alongside their larger evolutionary cousins.
This species, until
recently, was common throughout much of
northern
Australia, especially where the
much larger and far more dangerous
Saltwater
Crocodile is not found (such as
more arid inland areas and higher elevations) but in
recent years the population has dropped dramatically
due to the ingestion of local populations of the
invasive Cane
Toad. The toad is lethally
poisonous to Freshwater Crocodiles (although
strangely harmless to Saltwater Crocodiles) and is
rampant throughout the Australian wilderness. The
crocodiles are also infected by
Griphobilharzia amoena, a
parasitic trematode,
in regions such as
Darwin, Australia and
Irian Jaya.
News: Two Interesting stories...Delete, Delete & Undelete from the New York Times plus Dinosaurs from Tony Wu
The first
one:
Delete! Delete!
Delete! (Undelete)
An amazing story how
a Photo-Journalist recovered his images, brought to
my attention by Robin Grabherr.
http://baghdadbureau.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/22/delete-delete-delete-undelete/?scp=1&sq=delete%20camera&st=cse
The second one:
A Dinosaurs
afternoon with Tony Wu...Tony made me green with
envy, he had the opportunity in Japan to Visit my
“past” yes, you all know I still love my fossils. As
a good friend would do... he send me some Images in
the past few days...to get me going...grrrrrrr, but
thanks anyway Tony, much appreciated.
Below excerpts
from his Blog...
Walking with
Dinosaurs...
Dinosaur, It seems
like this was my week to see old stuff…expensive
fossils on Monday, and yesterday, a dinosaur exhibit
at the National Museum of Nature and Science Tokyo.
This will probably come as no surprise, but I was
obsessed with dinosaurs and other prehistoric life
forms when I was a kid. I devoured every dinosaur
book in every library and bookstore that I came
across, and I probably spent hundreds of hours
digging through gravel, mountain rocks, river beds,
construction sites, etc. for fossils. (I found a
lot!)

© Tony Wu
-
Dinosaur Exhibit
at the National Museum
of Nature and Science Tokyo
I drew dinosaurs at
school (usually during reading and grammar classes),
and dreamed up all sorts of little projects to pursue
in lieu of doing homework. When I visited Washington
DC…straight to the dinosaur exhibit.
…so seeing the dino displays at the museum yesterday
brought back a flood of fond memories.
The were a number of dinosaurs on display. True to
form, I gravitated to the ones with big teeth and
sharp claws, giving only a casual glance to the
duck-like, pacifist “veggisaursuses”.
The one at the top of this post was the first to
greet visitors to the hall. It’s a Cryolophosaurus
ellioti (can you hear me saying “cooooooolllllllll”
as I walked in?).
...read more at Tony Wu’s Blog @
http://www.tonywublog.com/20090613/walking-with-dinosaurs.html
Nikon D700 v. Nikon F5 film Camera, a test between digital and film photography, check out this cool video.
The show was produced on the Gadget Show with a good English humor using a Pro Photographers Studio.
The Blow Up challenge is a test between digital and film photography. Digital cameras have improved in leaps and bounds over the last few years but does film still produce the best results?
I am not going to give you the results, that would be to easy but you can find out on
The Gadget Show @ http://fwd.five.tv/videos/challenge-blow-up-part-3
Both Cameras had the same ISO setting at 400 & the blow up size of the images measured from top to bottom 17 meters and took two days to print.
Get the results and check out this truly fun video.
GD
Underwater Photography: Underwater image of an Octopus makes the science paper…
I supplied this image for research purpose some time ago and now it is published in a study on Octopuses.
If you interested in Octopuses or if you are a Marine Biologist and like to read the complete article you find the address below.
To many pages to post here.
Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review, 2008, 46, 105-202
© R. N. Gibson, R. J. A. Atkinson, and J. D. M. Gordon, Editors
Taylor & Francis
Biology of the planktonic stages
of Benthic Octopuses
ROGER VillANUEVA & MARK D. NORMAN
Institut de Ciències del Mar (CSIC), Passeig Marítim de la
Barceloneta 37–49, E-08003 Barcelona, Spain
Sciences, Museum Victoria, GPO Box 666, Melbourne, Vic 3001, Australia

Colour Figure 16 (Villanueva & Norman)
Adult
Octopus
cyanea in camouflage display
amongst soft corals,Puerto Galera, Philippine
Islands.
(Photo: Gunther Deichmann.)
A glimpse at the very rare Leichhardt Grasshopper from Arnhem Land, Northern Territory Australia, plus PhotoShelter update...more than 4500 images are now available in high resolution in my PhotoShelter Archive...
During my frequent travel in the Northern Territory between 1974 and 1986 I came across this amazing Grasshoppers one morning sitting on a small bush, only a few feet away from my camping ground.
© Gunther Deichmann - the rare and very unique
Leichhardt Grasshopper from Arnhem Land in the
Northern Territory of Australia, found nowhere else
in the world. Visit Gunther Deichmann website
@
www.deichmann-photo.com
or click on the image
above.
I was very deep inside Arnhem Land and in Aboriginal
Territory, I had heard about this amazing Grasshopper
before and had seen a specimen at the Darwin Museum
(the only one) and now I was confronted with these
rare creatures sitting sluggish on a bush right in
front of me. I understand the Aboriginals a lot
better now, the Dream TIme and myth, I can imagine
when they saw this orange colored Grasshopper for the
first time, how Alien this must have been.
I was told by the Curator of the Darwin Museum that
this Grasshopper had not been seen for some 100
years, I did collect a specimen for the Darwin Museum
for Research purpose. All the other ones which where
clinging on this bush I left where I found them, but
of course took some Photos first, I might never see
them again.
The Leichhardt Grasshopper is only found in the
Northern Territory, Australia.
Another endangered
species?
See below some more info and excerpts
courtesy of:
http://www.abc.net.au/cgi-bin/common/printfriendly.pl?/
science/scribblygum/November2000/default.htm
It's
named after the explorer, Ludwig Leichhardt who
reported great numbers of them as he crossed the
Arnhem Land plateau in 1845. However, after a few
more sightings, Leichhardt's Grasshopper went
incognito for 120 years. It's only reappeared on the
scientific record recently, around 1973, when the
mining industry boomed and access into Leichhardt's
grasshopper territory was improved.
In Australia's Top End a
beguiling grasshopper is heralding the coming of the
wet season by putting on its gaudiest outfit.
Leichhardt's Grasshopper is out in full adult glory.
It's Australia's most brightly coloured grasshopper
and one of the most spectacular in the world.
Leichhardt's Grasshopper is bright red, blue and
orange. Its strong colours are a defence against
predators which works so well that this little
grasshopper has Attitude - often it doesn't even
bother to fly away when predators approach.
Leichhardt's
Grasshopper's scientific name is Petasida
ephippigera. Grasshoppers come from the group of
insects known as Orthoptera, which includes crickets,
locusts and grasshoppers.
Jawoyn and Gundjeibmi people of Western Arnhem Land
call the grasshopper Alyurr, children of the
Lightning Man Namarrgon, a powerful ancestral being.
Catching sight of these grasshoppers requires a bit
of effort and some patience. Most sites are
accessible only by foot more than a day's walk from
any roads. Even then it may not be worth it. Numbers
fluctuate so greatly that grasshoppers may only be
around one year in three.
This remoteness has made Leichhardt's Grasshopper
difficult to study and also to protect. Even though
it is quite rare, the grasshopper isn't able to be
covered by Endangered Species Legislation because we
don't fully understand its basic distribution,
biology and ecology.For more info and some of the
interesting Aboriginal
legends go to:
http://www.abc.net.au/cgi-bin/common/printfriendly.pl?/
science/scribblygum/November2000/default.htm
We
have just removed the PhotoShelter widget on my main
site...the PhotoShelter
Archive has just been updated with all
the images from the PhotoShelter collection.
The PhotoShelter Collection is not available anymore,
however I have “JUICED”
up my
PhotoShelter
Archives, now with over
4500
high res. images from more than 25 Countries and many
other commercial subjects.

© Concept and design Copyright Gunther Deichmann
Click on the “Hot Couple” or the banner above
and go direct to my PhotoShelter Archives.
Late NEWS...RAINFOREST Reveals NEW Species in Guyana, a bit different from the usual Photography and Aperture stories, a Scince & Environment article from the BBC
© 2007
Gunther Deichmann - prestine Rainforest
in Micronesia/Pacific
I
thought I share this
interesting science article with you, yes a bit
different from the usual Photography and Aperture
stories.
But I am very fascinated by this article from the
BBC. New rainforest species revealed. Parasitic
vampire catfish caught on camera for the first time
An expedition to the rainforests of Guyana has
discovered species new to science. A team of
researchers and wildlife film-makers spent six weeks
searching the pristine forest as part of a BBC
documentary.
The group believes it has revealed two fish species,
one frog species and a number of bat flies that have
not been described previously. The finds are detailed
in the BBC series Lost Land of the Jaguar.
The three-part documentary includes footage of the
elusive South American cat. Dr George McGavin (BBC)
was astonished at the variety of life on show. "In a
short time, we caught hundreds of species, 10% of
which may be new to science. It was unreal,
unbelievable," exclaimed Dr George McGavin, a
zoologist and one of the four presenters of the
documentary.
Images/Video and
a lot more about this amazing story
at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7531537.stm
Interesting NEWS...not my usual Photography and Aperture topic but it made me laugh...GarageBand 400 Million years ago?
Not quiet... but very interesting reading and I thought I share this with you... oh boy what they discover these days...
Grunting fish
have helped scientists to date the origins
of vocal sounds to about 400 million years
ago.
Photo:
Screenshot Courtesy of the BBC, click on the image
or use the link below for the video and complete
article.
Toadfish and midshipman
fish use a variety of different sounds to attract
mates and scare off rivals. Now US researchers have
found that the area of a fish's brain that drives
vocalization is extremely primitive. Writing in the
journal Science, they say it suggests that the
ability to communicate through sound emerged very
early in the evolution of vertebrates...read the complete article and watch
the Video...
@ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7510443.stm
Mac Technology and fossils…they do have something in common... a very cool science article…if you interested in Fossils and Dinosaur you need to check this out.

left:
Ammonite from 160 million years ago - right: Nautilus
a close
relative from Palau
Micronesia
Some
of you know my background with fossils or
Paleontology…but what has a Mac in common with all of
this?
Read
this amazing and very cool article
below…
Running
with the Dinosaurs
Mac
Technology Helps Put the Spring in a Hadrosaur’s
Step
Read
more about this amazing story with cool images @
http://www.apple.com/science/profiles
Website update and upcoming Photography Magazine spreads
I like to inform you that I have just updated my website: www.deichmann-photo.com
New look at the home page, change of image, I have also added a new category on Environment within the site. (top bar in between Tibet and Wildlife)
Within the next two weeks you be able to download also some pdf files;
Portfolio spread and the cover in Click Magazine, the Digital Photography Magazine from Malaysia.
Also Portfolio spread in the Asian Photography Magazine, talking about Aperture and Photography, I inform you all on my blog once both Magazines can be downloaded as a pdf file from my site under publication.
Enjoy the new images and thanks for all your support,
thanks,
GD
www.deichmann-photo.com

Global warming, Photo ©
Gunther Deichmann
Sharks and Discovery Channel, voices of concern
and offered their support, please read the unedited letters I have so far received, thank you all for your feedback, from Germany, Australia and Singapore so far.
For those who have not read the letter please go to: http://www.divephotoguide.com/discovery_shark_week.php
Gunther
www.deichmann-photo.com
Snail055@web.de
Subject: open letter (sharks)
Date: July 21, 2007 4:50:21 AM GMT+08:00
To:gdeichmann@mac.com
Hi Gunther
Den offenen Brief zur Rettung der Haie ist sehr bewegend. Diese phantastischen Tiere muessen einfach in ihrer Artenvielfalt ueberleben. Leider ist der Mensch das groesste "Raubtier" und jagt diese Tiere manchmal nur aus Vergnuegen. Ich habe gesehen, wie ein Haendler (irgendwo in China) tausende von Haifischflossen gelagert hatte, nur um sie fuer die "Haifischflossensuppe" zu verwenden. Diese Flossen sind den Tieren bei lebendigem Leib abgeschnitten worden, was den sicheren Tod zur Folge hat. Leider koennen diese Tiere keine entsetzliche Schmerzensschreie ausstossen. Es ist ein Jammer, das diese Menschen es nicht verstanden haben, das diese Lebewesen zum Oekosystem der Meere gehoeren. Sterben die Haie aus, kippt das Meer um und bringt das Gleichgewicht der Natur durcheinander, was auch auf die Landtiere Einfluss hat. Diese Denke trifft natuerlich auch auf andere vom aussterben bedrohte Tiere (Berggorillas, Wale, Meeresschildkroeten, etc.) zu. Bedauerlicherweise haben die Menschen, die diese Tiere ausrotten, es nicht begriffern, das mit diesen Tieren der Tourismus eine sehr gute Einnahmequelle sein kann. Die Meere werden ueberfischt, unsere Luft wird verschmutzt, die Umwelt durch Gifte und Pestizide verseucht. In Deutschland wird zur Zeit mit einem Zeppelin, der in großen Hoehen fliegt, geprueft, ob die belasteten Luftschichten sich regenerieren. Passiert das nicht, erstickt die Menschheit an ihren eigenen in die Luft geblasenen Schadstoffen. Die Automobilindustrie ist an dieser Miesere nicht ganz unbeteiligt. Hinzu kommen noch die natuerlichen Belastungen aus den Vulkanen mit den pyroklastischen Wolken. Die Reihe laesst sich weiter fortsetzten. Es muss eine umweltgerechte Denkweise der Menschen einsetzen, die nicht nur auf den (schnellen) Profit ausgerichtet ist, aber in den "armen Laendern" ist dieser Denken reiner Luxus. Hier geht es ums taegliche Ueberleben.
Cheers Mojan
From: dcallard@bigpond.net.au
Subject: Sharks.
Date: July 21, 2007 9:56:36 AM GMT+08:00
To: gdeichmann@mac.com
Hello Gunther,
I have read your blog re shark conservation with great interest. I watch Discovery, History, Nat Geo to be educated. I too have been appalled by the negative portrayal of sharks as man-eaters while largely ignoring the larger vital role they play in the functioning of the ecosystem. I expect truly objective science from programs such as Discovery, and Nat Geo, which also seems to have sold out to the public fascination with disaster; I am thinking of NG programs like "Raging Planet", even docos about American prisons!
The sensational Discovery programs about sharks seems to have more to do with the ratio of ratings to the $ bottom line. It is certainly not objective science. Anyway, if it takes sensationalism to sell a program Discovery could objectively promote their cause and that of conservation by highlighting the real issue which of course is the truth about sharks. This approach would provide all the sensationalism they want while coincidentally telling the real story. In other words, the truth is likely to be more 'sensational' and marketable than mythological conceptions of sharks (and many other examples of Nature).
I find it interesting to contrast the issue of shark conservation with that of whales. The campaign to "Save the whales" has been high profile and effective in promoting that cause. I see no difference between the basic priorities: sharks, whales, frogs, butterflies and so on. We must protect them all from us!
Never has the world needed objective, informed and balanced media more than it does now. Yet what do we get? CNN devotes headlines to Paris Hilton! For goodness sakes, enough, enough I say! The important truths will always sell, if only we can get them.
Well, those are my thoughts Gunther. Keep up the good work! I am just about to get back behind the camera myself.
Cheers,
David.
On Jul 20, 2007, at 3:04 PM, aaron@lennoxnooi.com wrote:
Dear Gunther,
I've just read through the letter. I agree 100%.
Aaron
Please help our Sharks and Turtles, an Environmental message
Unborn Shark, it's Mother and Baby got
Murdered!

Stop
the killing and say no to Shark fin soup, it
is
Disgusting.
Sharks
are
NOT
man-eaters, it is us who eat and destroy them,
and why do we kill Turtles and burn our forests?
Why???????
Gunther
Deichmann and his friends are fully in agreement with
this letter!


Photos
© Gunther Deichmann,
www.deichmann-photo.com

Please take a good look at the images above,
there is a community in Bataan, who used to collect
turtle eggs and sell them.
No
more,
they now take care of these precious creatures,
collect the eggs and once they have hatched release
them back into our Ocean, I wish we had more
communities like this, and who thought this is happen
in the Philippines, but this is the fact, including
road signs in this area have been put up for our oil
guzzling cars.
More in details about this amazing Turtle loving
community in one of my future blogs, but please read
on regarding the letter which I have
received
from my friend and supporter Jason Heller at
DivePhotoGuide and get all the info
@
http://www.divephotoguide.com/discovery_shark_week.php
For
those of you have not seen this yet, please feel free
to post it. It is a formal
response from the world’s foremost shark scientists,
researchers and conservationists
regarding this year’s Shark Week content. If you
support shark conservation, please
consider posting or publishing it.
http://www.divephotoguide.com/discovery_shark_week.php
Our Environment-some of us do care!
Interesting
note from David Callard in Australia, his comments on
the Environment issue and images, please read below,
some of us do care.
Thanks David for your views and nice words.
G.D.
From: dcallard@bigpond.net.au
Subject: The planet in the
oven.
Date: June 9, 2007
10:19:28 AM GMT+08:00
To: gdeichmann@mac.com
Hello Gunther,
Love the new
environment images. I think my favorite is the plain
water drop on the leaf; that really says it for me.
Addressing climate change has to be the biggest
challenge mankind has faced, yet I am not totally
pessimistic about our ability to solve it. Unlike the
Mesopotamians or the Aztecs modern man has the
scientific knowledge to identify the problem and
propose solutions. Yes, we will have to accept some
major changes to our lifestyles and means of
production but capitalism has clearly won the
ideological wars and of course its greatest strength
is its capacity to rapidly adapt to change. So, I put
my faith in science to find alternative energy
sources. I am in favor of nuclear power as a stopgap
solution until we can get solar and other sources
fully developed. More later - have to do some more
study.
Cheers, David.

To
view my new collection on Environment images,
please go to my Aperture Gallery:
http://homepage.mac.com/gdeichmann/ENVIRONMENT%20PART%202/
or
go to my PhotoShelter archive for high res. images:
http://www.photoshelter.com/c/gdeichmann
Some of us do care!
Just received
this nice note from Mark Cox, please read below:
Hi Gunther,
You are so right mate! all we humans ever do is
take take & more take, then we start crying when
its too late, we will definitely destroy our
selves its just human instinct I think. If all the
tree's & rain-forest disappear human
life will cease to exist. I'm the same as you Gunther
the world has to come together before its too late
really.
Great Work Gunther.
Mark Cox
mark@tech-dive-academy.com
Photographer & Adventurer
Global warming and water crisis


I have created some images trying to portrait the on
going world water crisis and Global warming issue.
enjoy these images and...
THINK!
It is indeed a serious problem world wide,
lets do something about it.
THANKS!
You can help.
Too!
Click this link to view more images on
my Aperture web Gallery
Blue Planet Run: The Water Crisis
We do have a problem, no arguments about that. Not only in Africa......
.......but on a Global scale.
I have provided a link to the Aperture Users Professional Network.
AUPN BLOG.
There you can read the whole article/story how we can be part of this and help,
I certainly will!
Gunther
Photo: © Gunther Deichmann
The world is just a drop away from disaster
Photo: © Gunther Deichmann
It is in our hands to make a difference!



