User:Quartl/Featured
Of these 47 pictures 41 are Featured Pictures on Wikimedia Commons and 29 are Exzellente Bilder in the German Wikipedia (23 are featured in both). 5 pictures are also Featured Pictures in the English Wikipedia and 6 pictures are featured in the Persian Wikipedia.
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Striped Shield Bugs (Graphosoma lineatum) This image shows two pairs of striped shield bugs mating shown from different angles. Note that these bugs are not striped but dotted on the underside.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons | ||||||||||||||
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Golden Barrel Cactus (Echinocactus grusonii) From an unusual perspective, this image shows the upperside of a large cactus sometimes jokingly called the 'mother-in-Law's cushion'. The buds, which only appear in mature specimens of at least twenty years of age, will open to attractive yellow flowers. The high symmetry of this plant, unfortunately disturbed a bit by the background, makes this view quite attractive.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons | ||||||||||||||
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Dead Leaf (Kallima inachus) These butterflies show an amazing type of camouflage as the underside of their wings closely resemble a dead leaf. I found this specimen in a butterfly house since it stood out against the green leaves of the background, but in free nature they are probably very hard to spot.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons, in the English Wikipedia (POTD on December 13, 2013) and in the Persian Wikipedia | ||||||||||||||
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Moorish Villa Being the former summer residence of a king, this villa is nowadays used as a greenhouse. I used a side view from a nearby pavillon here, which also yields nice diagonals. The bright and direct light of this spring day optimally illuminates the building and its surroundings. This panorama was stitched from five images taken with my zoom lens due to the wide angle.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons and in the German Wikipedia | ||||||||||||||
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Flower Crab Spider (Misumena vatia) These spiders have a very variable coloring depending on the color of the flower they are lurking on. On white flowers, like this Common Yarrow, they are nearly white and quite hard to spot. I used an unusual crop here to have the little white flowers act as a blanket background while the potential prey of the spider is located just outside the frame.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons (POTD on June 29, 2012), POTD in the French WP on March 18, 2015 | ||||||||||||||
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Tacking Point Lighthouse For this subject I had to use my zoom lens which is of considerably lower overall quality than my prime lens. Additionally some distortion correction was necessary here, which further reduces crispness. But, I liked this quaint lighthouse with its nice colors and the wide focus gives a good sense of space here.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons and in the German Wikipedia | ||||||||||||||
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Blue Poison Dart Frog (Dendrobates azureus) Brightly blue colored and highly poisonous - that's what these frogs are. I saw this specimen in a zoo sitting in its terrarium at exactly the right distance from the glass partition for my lens. I also like the dynamic sitting position of this frog, as if it is just about to jump away.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons, in the English Wikipedia (POTD on December 19, 2013) and in the Persian Wikipedia, POTD in the French WP on December 8, 2011 | ||||||||||||||
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Steppe Eagle (Aquila nipalensis orientalis) This portrait of a Steppe Eagle emphasizes the striking facial expression of this large bird of prey. In my opinion, the companion image Aquila nipalensis orientalis qtl2.jpg is qualitatively the slightly better picture, the reverse angle the eagle is facing here gives the image an interesting twist, though.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons | ||||||||||||||
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Black Longspine Urchin (Diadema setosum) This is my fist underwater featured picture - though it was taken from outside an aquarium. Due to the thick glass walls you have to be very careful to avoid distortions and only a perfectly right angle to the glass really works. I was fascinated by the periproctal cone in the center, it's some kind of constantly pulsating anus and in the picture it is extended.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons | ||||||||||||||
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Blue-and-yellow Macaw (Ara ararauna) All macaws are beautifully colored birds and this Blue-and-yellow is especially so. In this high resolution closeup I like how every feather is distinctly visible. Due to the friendly expression of the macaw the image always makes me smile.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons, in the German Wikipedia and in the Persian Wikipedia | ||||||||||||||
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Ruddy Darter (Sympetrum sanguineum ) Ruddy Darters are one of the most common dragonflies around here, but they are difficult to photograph nicely due to their dull red color. In this image I had good sunlight and a calm background which makes this attractive dragonfly stand out. The ear makes a really good platform for this shot.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons and in the German Wikipedia | ||||||||||||||
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Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea ) Although this picture was taken in a zoo, it shows one of the wild Grey Herons which are scavenging for food there. Nevertheless, they are obviously used to humans, since normally I don't in photography range with wild birds using my macro lens. The animal displays a good pose nicely showing its back feathers and legs.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons | ||||||||||||||
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Flying Black Kite with falconer (Milvus migrans) My first action featured picture, although my macro lens is not really suited for this kind of shot. I took this picture of a Black Kite in flight during a falconry show using a very open aperture and was very lucky to get both the falconer and the bird in focus. I also like the composition with the falconer looking at the bird and the bird looking towards some other destination.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons | ||||||||||||||
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Caterpillar of a Cinnabar Moth (Tyria jacobaeae) I probably took 100 images of this beautifully yellow-and-black-striped caterpillar until I was satisfied with one. They feed exclusively on ragworts whereon they cannot easily be seen. I used a strongly off-centered composition here to emphasize the inverted position of the caterpillar which invariably draws the eye to itself.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons and in the German Wikipedia, POTD in the French WP on August 25, 2011 | ||||||||||||||
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Small Heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) Small Heath butterflies are quite common but small and agile and thus hard to photograph. They are lateral baskers, which means they warm themselves with their wings perpendicular to the sun. I managed to capture this one unawares on a slightly withered Tansy flower.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons | ||||||||||||||
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Orange Tip (Anthocharis cardamines) In this picture a disturbing leaf at the bottom of the image was deleted by User:Böhringer, so this is my first featured picture which has been seriously digitally manipulated. There was quite some discussion about it in the German Wikipedia KEB nomination. I don't feel entirely comfortable with the manipulation but the vast majority of reviewers said it is ok and well done.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons and in the German Wikipedia | ||||||||||||||
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Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum) With their golden color, female Black-tailed Skimmers are the stars of our native dragonfly fauna. Due to the limited depth-of-field, insects are in macro photography usually pictured from the top or from the side. For this image I used a slanted angle giving the animal more three-dimensionality.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons | ||||||||||||||
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Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) Blue-tailed Damselflies are very common here and can often be found close to the water in high grass. For this image of a juvenile specimen I was able to find a nicely homogeneous background in good light conditions. Female damselflies of this species come in five different color variations, this one is the violacea form.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons and in the German Wikipedia | ||||||||||||||
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Red-veined Darters (Sympetrum fonscolombii) In sunny weather, mating wheels of dragon- and damselflies are a common sight near bodies of water. But getting a good picture of one is quite hard since one has to get two animals in focus simultaneously. I managed to succeed here although the background is a bit distracting. The male is the red one.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons and in the German Wikipedia | ||||||||||||||
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Comma (Polygonia c-album) The Comma is one of the more common butterflies in Germany and displays orange colored wings speckled with brown. The characteristic 'C' is only visible on the underside of the wings which have a more subdued coloring. I spotted this specimen resting on a leaf in the afternoon sun.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons (POTD on February 12, 2012) and in the English Wikipedia (POTD on January 22, 2013) | ||||||||||||||
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Canary White (Pieris cheiranthi) I found this beautiful little butterfly at the northern coast of Tenerife. The species is endemic to the Canary Islands, but occurs only on a few islands and is listed as endangered by the IUCN. The yellow of the sow thistle is mirrored by the butterfly and contrasts nicely with the blue background.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons (POTD on January 15, 2012), in the German Wikipedia and in the Persian Wikipedia | ||||||||||||||
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Atlas Moth (Attacus atlas) It might look like it, but this is not a studio shot. This beautiful butterfly happened to be hanging at the back wall of the insectarium of the zoological garden in Stuttgart and I happened to pass under it (admittedly, looking for butterflies). I climbed onto a bench and held my camera above my head to capture it that way.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons (POTD on January 3, 2012), in the German Wikipedia, in the English Wikipedia (POTD on August 3, 2013) and in the Persian Wikipedia | ||||||||||||||
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Four-spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) Four-spotted Chasers are quite common and approachable dragonflies, but it's hard to get a nice background, since the males tend to hang around close to the water. In this case, the dragonfly was resting on a low stalk and I was able to shoot it from above with a large stone in the background give a nice contrast and bokeh.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons (POTD on December 12, 2011) and in the German Wikipedia | ||||||||||||||
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Running Crab Spider captures Large Red Damselfly (Tibellus oblongus with Pyrrhosoma nymphula) A rare shot of a spider capturing a prey apparently much larger than itself. The damselfly is already dead or at least paralyzed by the spider's bite. The sunlight is a bit harsh in this image, but it also acts as a good spotlight on the "scene of crime".
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons and in the German Wikipedia | ||||||||||||||
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Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) This female Large Red Damselfly is still immature and not yet fully colored. Since it hatched only recently, its wings are especially shiny. The light green bokeh is close to perfect here and gives a good color contrast to the red and green hues of the damselfly.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons and in the German Wikipedia | ||||||||||||||
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Valle de La Orotava
This high resolution panorama was stitched from 36 single images. It shows the Orotava Valley on Tenerife as seen from Humboldt's viewpoint (Mirador Humboldt) with Puerto de la Cruz and surrounding townships in the center, banana plantations in the foreground and Mount Teide in the background.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons (POTD on November 12, 2011) | ||||||||||||||
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Red-veined Dropwing (Trithemis arteriosa) A rare image of a female Red-veined Dropwing (only the males have red veins). At first, I discarded this image due to the disturbing background. But once you view the image in full resolution you only focus on the beauty of this dragonfly.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons (POTD on November 16, 2011) and in the German Wikipedia | ||||||||||||||
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Teide
My first featured panorama showing Spain's highest mountain. It was shot from the crater boundary and shows the famous volcano in its barren surroundings. The image was stitched from 20 single images in two rows covering roughly a 90 degree angle.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons (POTD on October 24, 2011) and in the German Wikipedia | ||||||||||||||
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Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator) Emperor Dragonflies are quite common in Germany too, but the first good picture of one I was able to shoot in Spain. The light on the Canary Islands is simply special. I saw this beautiful male specimen land on a young tree where it positioned itself perfectly for a picture (and, most importantly, did not move). A better camera would perhaps produced a still better bokeh, but I am quite satisfied with the quality nevertheless.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons (POTD on October 18, 2011), in the German Wikipedia and in the English Wikipedia (POTD on August 8, 2013) | ||||||||||||||
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Congo African Grey Parrot (Psittacus erithacus erithacus) African Grey Parrots are highly intelligent, capable of speech and listed as "Near Threatened" by the IUCN. This tame specimen in the Herborn Bird Park, Germany, positioned itself nicely for my photograph. Unfortunately, I had to use flash here (visible in the shadows behind the claws) because it was a dusky day.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons and in the Persian Wikipedia | ||||||||||||||
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Paper Kite (Idea leuconoe on Asclepias curassavica) This Paper Kite in the Wilhelma zoo and botanical gardens, Stuttgart, Germany currently feeds on Mexican Butterfly Weed. This shot required good timing because these butterflies flap their wings while feeding and stay only moments with one bud before moving on. The sun comes slightly from behind here emphasizing the transparent look of the wings.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons and in the German Wikipedia | ||||||||||||||
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Hammerhead (Scopus umbretta) A Hammerhead perches on a wooden platform in the Wilhelma zoo and botanical gardens, Stuttgart, Germany. This bird is native to Africa and got its name from the curiously shaped crest.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons | ||||||||||||||
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Green Shield Bug (Palomena prasina) Nymphae of this shield bug change their color with each moulting, this image shows a nymph of fifth (and last) instar. I like the different shades of green in this image and the two red eyes as highlights.
Featured picture in the German Wikipedia | ||||||||||||||
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Diadem Spider (Araneus diadematus) This image shows the underside of a Diadem Spider. It was shot through its net sitting right in its center. The good thing here is that you do not have to worry about hard shadows when using flash. The bad thing is that the net is set in motion by the slightest breeze.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons (POTD on November 23, 2010) and in the German Wikipedia | ||||||||||||||
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Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria) A young Fly Agaric breaks through the underbrush displacing leaves and woodchips in its progress. Because of the bad lighting conditions in the wood I had to use flash here but luckily the resulting hard shadow was captured by the cavity behind the mushroom here. This picture is probably symbolic, but I really couldn't tell what for.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons (POTD on November 10, 2010) | ||||||||||||||
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House of a day labourer This former house of a day labourer from 18th century Germany is displayed in the open-air museum Beuren. It has an interesting history which can be read on the image description page. The image is shot with my macro lens which, when the distance matches, also gives good results as a telephoto lens. I like the image because of its colors: the evening sun generates a warm, almost romantic mood.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons | ||||||||||||||
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Caterpillar of a Peacock Butterfly (Inachis io on Urtica dioria) These caterpillars are spectacular and I was lucky to spot one at the end of the season. They almost exclusively eat stinging nettles which can be quite painful for the photographer if he is not careful. For this basically black animal I had to use flash, but the white spots are small, so a potential overexposure doesn't disturb here.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons (POTD on October 22, 2010) and in the German Wikipedia | ||||||||||||||
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Buffalo Treehopper (Stictocephala bisonia on Acer pseudoplatanus) A curious animal which is a neophyte (introduced species) in Germany. I caught it boring a hole for laying eggs in the branch. We had quite some discussion if the holes on the left were also caused by the cicadas or are a natural feature of the plant. Probably they are lenticels but nobody is sure about this.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons and in the German Wikipedia | ||||||||||||||
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Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea) For a whole year, I couldn't get a decent image of a hawker, but at the end of summer I was lucky to spot one landing in the low branches. I managed to sneak up on it and took a series of photos of the animal from all angles. The background is a bit disturbing in preview, but this goes away if the image is viewed in full size.
Featured picture in the German Wikipedia | ||||||||||||||
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Crab spider on Marsh Cranesbill (Xysticus sp. on Geranium palustre) Actually, I just wanted to take a picture of the beautiful flower, but as I was focusing this small spider jumped on it from nowhere. So I was able to take flower and spider simultaneously. For composition, I decided to put the spider, not the flower in the center which makes the image look quite aesthetic.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons (POTD on May 23, 2012) | ||||||||||||||
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Willow Emerald Damselfly (Chalcolestes viridis) By that time, f/16 was my fixed standard aperture which I didn't touch. I also had set the ISO-setting to 400 in order to get low exposure times, so the image is a bit noisy. Nevertheless, the image has a clear structure, many diagonals and the different shades of green make it interesting to look at.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons and in the German Wikipedia | ||||||||||||||
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Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) Basically the same setup and colors as for the ruddy darter below, this image of a juvenile common darter was taken with a more suitable aperture of f/16. Note that the two right wings are quite in good focus as well.
Featured picture in the German Wikipedia | ||||||||||||||
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Wild Carrot (Daucus carota) This is one of my first more experimental images. On a nearby field lots of these wild carrot flowers were blooming. I found a particularly big and beautiful one and took a photo of the underside lying on my back on the grass. The image was taken in the evening and I had to apply a much colder white balance to make it look more natural.
Featured picture in the German Wikipedia | ||||||||||||||
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Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) This picture was planned since I knew that these butterflies could sometimes be seen resting on the warm pavement. I managed to sneak up on one and for the shot I could put the camera on the pavement. At that time I played around with different apertures and f/20 was probably a bit too closed for the subject. Unfortunately, the weather was a bit cloudy that day, but I the pastel colors look nice and I could apply the rule of thirds here.
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons (POTD on July 18, 2013) and in the German Wikipedia | ||||||||||||||
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Ruddy Darter (Sympetrum sanguineum) Still stuck with the automatic mode, this freehand picture has a good smooth background and color contrast. With f/8 I really got lucky that everything was in focus (and I had to reject many images for this one).
Featured picture on Wikimedia Commons and in the German Wikipedia | ||||||||||||||
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Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum) I bought my first DSLR in October 2009 but for a long time I was frustrated with the results. Only when I bought a macro lens, things brightened up. For this picture I still used the automatic mode of the camera but was able to rest the camera on the stone.
Featured picture in the German Wikipedia | ||||||||||||||
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Broad-bodied Chaser
(Libellula depressa) My first featured picture! Taken with a compact digital camera which cannot normally compete with DSLRs. By that time I've already taken hundreds of pictures of insects (see User:Quartl/Insects) but only this one got out so well due to good light and the flat subject.
Featured picture in the German Wikipedia |
