"Dont stay home without it"(new photo gallery!)

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Don’t leave home without it – during a long time this was the slogan of a famous credit card company. I decided to adapt it to my reality as a nature photographer, hence the title of today’s story. “It”, in this case, is my photo camera, who is always with me when I’m away and also ready to work when I’m at home.

Last November I posted here at FotogramaBits a text telling how the photographable things of life may be closer than we imagine. Some months later, with more evidences that this is very true, came the idea.

So, the new Month’s Gallery at Fotograma comprises pictures done exclusively around my house, by the Japi Mountains. All pictures were done from my garden (some of them INSIDE my house!) and show beauties, serenity and environmental impacts.

To see the images, please click on the "MONTH'S GALLERY" box, located on the right-side column of Fotograma's main page. If you experience any problems, please try this alternative link.
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Once in a Blue Moon

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.”Moonshine after rain”
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2008

On more than one occasion I posted pictures here in FotogramaBits of striking moments that I captured from my porch, showing the Japi Mountains. The most recent one was the sunset that I shot last week after a rainy day. And when I thought that every possibility of capturing surprising images without having to leave home were gone, I came across another of these almost magic moments (which will be the theme for Fotograma’s next Month’s Gallery, coming in March).

It happened last Saturday, a sunny day that ended with a wind storm and 30 millimeters of rain in about half an hour – as if each 1 x 1 meter section (1 sq meter) had received 30 liters of water, nearly 1 liter per minute!

It was almost 7 PM when electricity went off and the phone line too. I had two DVDs to watch and decided to wait for the power to be reestablished, which only happened at around 11 PM... But it couldn’t be better: a bit later, at about 2 AM, I was prized by this moonshine illuminating the mist at the foothills. If it wasn’t for the power outage, I’d probably have missed the whole show...

Japi Mountains, 2:30 AM
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2008.
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Cats!

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."Satisfaction guaranteed!"
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2008

Fotograma’s first Gallery in 2008 is specially dedicated to people who like these (almost) domesticated felines: a selection of 18 cat pictures.

While enjoying the photos, you can listen to the song “When Cats Take Over The World", by Jamie Anderson. Have fun!

To see the images, please click on the "MONTH'S GALLERY" box, located on the right-side column of Fotograma's main page. If you experience any problems, please try this alternative link.
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"Photo in Natura" ?!?

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Our new upcoming logo!
Concept and artwork: © Daniel De Granville | Tietta Pivatto, 2008

Many of you who are used to visiting Fotograma | Photography and Environment have been asking me what's this "Photo in Natura" story all about. Well, here's the explanation: my website is being totally re-created with a brand new design, a lot of unpublished pictures and many other online resources. As part of this new process of visual identification, the brand Fotograma will become Photo In Natura.

In the mean time, you are invited to keep on visiting the original versions of Fotograma and its equivalent blog, FotogramaBits, always with new contents. Be welcome, and please don't forget to bookmark us for future references!

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Spiders in my Backyard (again!)

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.One little, two little, three little spiders...
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2008

A couple of weeks ago I posted a story here in FotogramaBits about a Brazilian Wandering Spider who decided to take a stroll in our garden. Well, last night one of its relatives (a wolf spider of the genus Lycosa) dropped by for a visit – and this time with a bunch of babies on its back! I obviously registered the event with my camera, but despite the fact that this spider can be dangerous, I was more worried that it wouldn't drop a baby on the way than about getting bitten...

Now, changing subjects, I’d like to recommend a peculiar website that I came across (tailor-made for photographers and cat lovers): this German lady places automatic mini-cameras on her cats’ collars, who inadvertently register their walks through the neighborhood. The idea isn’t exactly new – the so called critter cams have been used by the National Geographic and other companies, but I never heard of them on house cats...

... a whole bunch of little spiders!
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2008
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