In Fairness to the Marmot, That Is a Very Startling Fox
October 17, 2019 7:51 AM Subscribe
The UK's Natural History Museum has unveiled its Wildlife Photographer of the Year winners. Yongqing Bao won the adult award for The Moment, his shot of a Himalayan marmot being surprised by a Tibetan fox. Cruz Erdmann won the youth award for Night Glow, a colorful shot of a bigfin reef squid.
its a fantastic photo, but that squid shot is incredible too! such gorgeous colors.
posted by supermedusa at 8:46 AM on October 17, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by supermedusa at 8:46 AM on October 17, 2019 [3 favorites]
Marmot: "You cannot eat me, I am Lord of the Dance!!"
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:54 AM on October 17, 2019 [13 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 8:54 AM on October 17, 2019 [13 favorites]
that squid shot is incredible too
It's kind of a squid quo pro
(I know my Latin)
posted by Namlit at 9:28 AM on October 17, 2019 [8 favorites]
It's kind of a squid quo pro
(I know my Latin)
posted by Namlit at 9:28 AM on October 17, 2019 [8 favorites]
Seeing that photo made me realize that I'm more marmot than fox.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:46 AM on October 17, 2019 [12 favorites]
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:46 AM on October 17, 2019 [12 favorites]
That said, poor thing.
It's possible that the Himalayan marmot is all peace and love, but its Alpine cousins are into murder and cannibalism (CW: very gory pics of marmot murder victims).
posted by elgilito at 9:52 AM on October 17, 2019 [2 favorites]
It's possible that the Himalayan marmot is all peace and love, but its Alpine cousins are into murder and cannibalism (CW: very gory pics of marmot murder victims).
posted by elgilito at 9:52 AM on October 17, 2019 [2 favorites]
that I'm more marmot than fox.
I feel the opposite. At least this is how I am until I have my coffee.
posted by Fizz at 9:59 AM on October 17, 2019 [4 favorites]
I feel the opposite. At least this is how I am until I have my coffee.
posted by Fizz at 9:59 AM on October 17, 2019 [4 favorites]
this is how I am until I have my coffee
Fast, nimble and calculating??
posted by Namlit at 10:13 AM on October 17, 2019 [2 favorites]
Fast, nimble and calculating??
posted by Namlit at 10:13 AM on October 17, 2019 [2 favorites]
im the marmot and the fox is my visa bill
posted by poffin boffin at 10:42 AM on October 17, 2019 [16 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 10:42 AM on October 17, 2019 [16 favorites]
Make sure to click through to the other photos. The Marmot seems great for photoshops, but some of the best photos were hidden in the other categories.
posted by GoblinHoney at 10:52 AM on October 17, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by GoblinHoney at 10:52 AM on October 17, 2019 [1 favorite]
this is how I am until I have my coffee
Fast, nimble and calculating??
Filled with rage, and ready to attack anyone in my way.
posted by Fizz at 10:54 AM on October 17, 2019
Fast, nimble and calculating??
Filled with rage, and ready to attack anyone in my way.
posted by Fizz at 10:54 AM on October 17, 2019
The marmot is very relatable.
posted by betweenthebars at 11:35 AM on October 17, 2019
posted by betweenthebars at 11:35 AM on October 17, 2019
It's like the marmot Heisman Trophy.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 11:46 AM on October 17, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 11:46 AM on October 17, 2019 [6 favorites]
*peruvian panpipes*
I'd rather be a marmot than a fox...
on second thought, actually not.
posted by otherchaz at 12:02 PM on October 17, 2019 [2 favorites]
I'd rather be a marmot than a fox...
on second thought, actually not.
posted by otherchaz at 12:02 PM on October 17, 2019 [2 favorites]
Looks like the marmot is reading the riot act to the fox.
"What do you mean you left the oven on!?"
"All I said was I think..."
"Think? THINK? You never think! Mother was right, I never should have married you!"
posted by Splunge at 12:13 PM on October 17, 2019 [2 favorites]
"What do you mean you left the oven on!?"
"All I said was I think..."
"Think? THINK? You never think! Mother was right, I never should have married you!"
posted by Splunge at 12:13 PM on October 17, 2019 [2 favorites]
That marmot sings karaoke death metal after work, I'd lay odds.
posted by Wolfdog at 1:38 PM on October 17, 2019 [7 favorites]
posted by Wolfdog at 1:38 PM on October 17, 2019 [7 favorites]
Less amusing, but absolutely stunning, is this runner-up photo of an eagle landing, which was the end result of three years of work: "Audun carefully positioned this tree branch, hoping it would make a perfect lookout for a golden eagle. He set up a camera trap and occasionally left road-kill carrion nearby. Very gradually, over the next three years, this eagle started to use the branch to survey its coastal realm. Audun captured its power as it came in to land, talons outstretched."
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 2:08 PM on October 17, 2019 [14 favorites]
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 2:08 PM on October 17, 2019 [14 favorites]
That eagle photo is insane.
It doesn't look real
posted by Windopaene at 2:13 PM on October 17, 2019 [2 favorites]
It doesn't look real
posted by Windopaene at 2:13 PM on October 17, 2019 [2 favorites]
KNOCK ON THE DOOR BEFORE YOU COME IN GODDAMMIT!1!!
posted by carter at 3:12 PM on October 17, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by carter at 3:12 PM on October 17, 2019 [4 favorites]
It doesn't look real
Standard caveats apply as to how in photography ultimately all colors are artifice, how translating from the mechanical readings of a sensor into the mechanical outputs of a display inherently require on-some-level subjective choices to "match" "what a person would see". But. The contrast and saturation have been pushed way up on that photo.
posted by Pyry at 3:47 PM on October 17, 2019 [5 favorites]
Standard caveats apply as to how in photography ultimately all colors are artifice, how translating from the mechanical readings of a sensor into the mechanical outputs of a display inherently require on-some-level subjective choices to "match" "what a person would see". But. The contrast and saturation have been pushed way up on that photo.
posted by Pyry at 3:47 PM on October 17, 2019 [5 favorites]
Awesome pic. I think my vote would have gone to the similarly-themed A Bite to Eat by Jaime Culebras, in which a comically-delighted looking snake subdues and prepares to eat a frog whose entire demeanour screams "Just my fucking luck".
posted by penguin pie at 4:25 PM on October 17, 2019 [4 favorites]
posted by penguin pie at 4:25 PM on October 17, 2019 [4 favorites]
This post almost makes the Elijah Cummings news bearable.
posted by allthinky at 5:30 PM on October 17, 2019
posted by allthinky at 5:30 PM on October 17, 2019
The first line of elgilito's article: "Cannibalism, the consumption of individuals of the same species, associated with or without previous killing [...]"
...
...?
oh. I think they mean "eating conspecific carrion", not "eating them alive", though I guess there is mantis-style.
Though I wonder if e.g. some lizards bully other lizards into dropping their tails, which Lizard 1 Pete Sessions then eats.
posted by away for regrooving at 10:37 PM on October 17, 2019
...
...?
oh. I think they mean "eating conspecific carrion", not "eating them alive", though I guess there is mantis-style.
Though I wonder if e.g. some lizards bully other lizards into dropping their tails, which Lizard 1 Pete Sessions then eats.
posted by away for regrooving at 10:37 PM on October 17, 2019
That marmot sings karaoke death metal after work
No, it doesn't do that, it doesn't do anything. it's dead. It died.
Less amusing,
I thought it was a very good picture, though horrible to look at, in the way that making people imagine imminent death is often more effective than making them watch the death itself. but if people think it's so funny, I guess not.
posted by queenofbithynia at 2:06 PM on October 18, 2019 [1 favorite]
No, it doesn't do that, it doesn't do anything. it's dead. It died.
Less amusing,
I thought it was a very good picture, though horrible to look at, in the way that making people imagine imminent death is often more effective than making them watch the death itself. but if people think it's so funny, I guess not.
posted by queenofbithynia at 2:06 PM on October 18, 2019 [1 favorite]
I can think of several species that occasionally take bites off their living conspecifics, away for regrooving. Easy to observe (and sometimes induce) in captivity, but also seen in the wild.
posted by clew at 2:10 PM on October 18, 2019
posted by clew at 2:10 PM on October 18, 2019
« Older When Internet Access is a Public Utility | Congressman Elijah Cummings: 1951-2019 Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
That said, poor thing.
posted by Namlit at 8:15 AM on October 17, 2019 [23 favorites]