| Actual Image
Top Gun (20)
JPlumb
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 643 W: 160 N: 894]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-g-g.gif) (2837) | I remember several years ago watching the movie Top Gun, with Tom Cruise joy riding on and off the aircraft carrier. In the movie we had a very good display of the jets coming in and landing and catching a cable with a hook to keep them from flying off the end of the runway. It’s much the same with these guys, but I’m sure they didn’t learn this by watching Top Gun.
In this shot you can see the Grey Headed Flying Fox (Fruit Bat) coming in for a landing. He has picked his spot (near the tops of the tree), his wings are spread, his toes extended down and he is gliding in to grab a branch. As he passes, he grabs the branch and swings down to hang from his feet, head downwards. It’s all a very quick, slick operation.
They can’t land or stand like a bird as their legs are like strong cords, with no bulky muscles. Such muscles would make them too heavy for flight. Birds are made lighter by having hollow bones, but flying foxes are mammals, and mammals have solid bones.
You see these bats occasionally flying in the daytime. Daytime is surprisingly busy for these animals that we usually think of as creatures of the night. You will see them fanning their wings to keep cool when it is hot, grooming, giving birth, tending young, mating, looking around, fighting amongst themselves, even flying around: all during daytime. However they will not be eating. This is reserved for the night.
Much of this from: http://www.bellingen.com/flyingfoxes/the_flying_foxes.htm
Workflow was as follows:
Shot in Raw – NEF file adjusted for shadows and highlights
Adjusted levels
Adjusted RGB and Colour curves separately
Dodged and burned with overlay layer
Saved as a tiff
Cropped, resized, framed and sharpened with smart sharpen for this post.
In the workshop I've included another shot, of another bat, coming straight towards the camera, landing in another tree. |
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