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.
From about 40 thousand years ago to 2008…we still share our thoughts and ART… except in a different way but very much related to India and Aperture 2…a real Time Machine in Photography.
Creativity and Art has been around for thousands of years and yesterday I received an interesting email from Santosh Verma in Mumbai.
Santosh is a real nice and cool Photographer from Mumbai…well Santosh is not just anyone, he is an excellent and very creative Photographer plus a super nice guy.
I had the chance chatting with him during the Aperture 2 Event in Mumbai and we stayed in touch since. Santosh does some real amazing work, check out his website at
Digital Railroad @ www.digitalrailroad.net/photoeditor
©
Santosh Verma - Mumbai India, “Color Printers
recyceld”
With his email came this
super cool shot (see above) and I just fell in love
with it.
Now we are in 2008 and seeing images like this…very
colorful and creative…so I decided to bring you
Images which I took some 30 years
ago…no Aperture
and Photoshop then.
The images are related somehow, showing art in its
oldest and most recent form, the Australian
Aboriginals used to use earth color (Ochre) and paint
on Tree bark or retouch 40 thousand year old
paintings in caves…now it is Inkjet Printers that
translate our artwork on to paper, an amazing
contrast.
©
Gunther Deichmann - painting Mimi Spirit figures
on Tree bark,
Arnhem Land Northern Territory,
Australia
©
Gunther Deichmann - retouching old cave
paintings or creating a new one,
seldom practiced today, deep in Arnhem Land, Northern
Territory, Australia
When I received the email
from Santosh I was working on some old Australian
Aboriginal images and that gave me the Idea to show
the ancient and new way of reproducing our thoughts
and Ideas…now that
is contrast!
For restoring old images with Aperture
2 (one of
my previous blogs) go to: GD Photo
Tutorial @
http://www.deichmann-photo.com/page1/page1.html
Enjoy
the images and thanks to Santosh for letting me use
his Image… see below his recent letter to me…I guess
he is just about to move over to Aperture
2.
GD
Dear Gunther,
Just a note to say that your feature-the feature on
you
-in the magazine looks great! I was so delighted with
the way
it has come out. Hearty Congratulations Gunther.
And yes, I am persuaded to download the Aperture now,
the one you gave me, after reading so much of your
blog and being
encouraged by how good it is.
I will first have to learn how to download stuff with
it and then, how to
make the ' photoshoop' work on the RAW.
Don't be disappointed if I ask you for help
in such elementary steps!
Oh yes! Nikon has loaned me a D3!!!! and I will be
using it for the next
one week on a Test Drive!!!
Look forward to hearing from you and working like you
Gunther.
Warm regards,
Santosh
