Ranan Samanya Photography
fashion runways, portraits & personal branding, environment, and documentary photography
development of a lime swallowtail 2
I have grown much bigger since yo saw me the first time. I’m now in instar 5th stage, the last stage before I turn myself into a pupae. I’m as hungry as ever, and continue to eat whatever is left from this lime tree. I need to keep enough energy for my transformation into an adult lime swallowtail later.
I have four pairs of prolegs on my belly (abdomen), and another pair behind on my last segment. These prolegs will dissapear once I transform into an adult butterfly. On my chest (thorax) I have three pairs of true legs that will remain after the transformation. My true legs help me in getting the best position to get the food with my very strong jaws (mandibles) that will also reduce once I transform. Oh, and I have 6 pairs of eyelets (stemmata).
Now do allow me to go back to chewing and eating….
development of a lime swallowtail 1
Hello world! my name is Lime, I’m a caterpillar of a lime swallowtail. Some people call me a lime butterfly. I’m probably in the third instar stage; and at 1.5cm long I am almost always hungry! I may be ugly but you will be surprised how beautiful I will become later.
In the following days I’ll tell more about myself, but for now, I’m telling you your momma’s right when she told you not to touch me. See those spines on my back? They are full of hairs. The scientifically correct term for this awesome gadget is urticating setae. Each hair has a funnel in the middle with toxin that will help me survive. Yeah, be affraid!
That white patch on my back? I am a big fan of Batman, but actually mother nature put it there to disguise me as a bird’s poop, another defence strategy against my predators.
Oh, BTW, these macro selfies are each a composite of four images focused at different distance and then stacked together, a technique they call focus stacking, to get a completely sharp head to tail picture of me. Ain’t it cool or what?!
Hong Kong: Tsim Sha Tsui Clock Tower
I was lucky to get a steady shot from the moving 1958 Meridian Star, one of the many Star Ferry fleet going back to Victoria harbour from Hong Kong island. The Clock Tower of Tsim Sha Tsui was prominent in the foreground with Hong Kong curved cultural centre behind it, the twin Peninsula Towers with two helipads on top, and the Masterpiece with its 6-storey K11 shopping centre. The Masterpiece is also the 11th tallest building in Hong Kong at 261m. Another Star Ferry berth at the Star Ferry pier on the left.
Have a great weekend all!
Hong Kong: Madame Tussaud
Would you believe me if I tell you that I have met the infamous one and only Madame Tussaud? Well I met her lifelike wax figure in Madame Tussaud’s Museum Hong Kong. Here she is, eternally smiling for us while holding one of her works.
I hope you enjoy her smile. See you around!
Hong Kong: Wetland Park Light Rail Station
Last March I stopped short on my posting from my Hong Kong travel. Consider this as the beginning of the sequel. <grin>
The Wetland Park Light Rail Station is located in the Northern Territory, and one of the easiest way to reach the beautiful Wetland Park by public transport. You need to change MTR in Tin Shui Wai (TSW) Station; walk around 15 minutes before reaching the Light Rail platform. Hop in to train number 705 and enjoy the ride. It is a circular train, which means it will go round and round and round, so if you miss the station you can always wait for the second round, or the third round, or the fourth round (if you have the time). But I doubt you will miss the station, for the Wetland Park Station name is clearly displayed and likely most of the passengers of the train will alight here, so you can watch the crowd. The circular train runs both ways, with the other route numbered 706.
It was a cold afternoon, but the sun was shinning beautifully. I took a quick three handheld shots using my X100s AE bracketing feature with 1 stop interval, and did a composite of the three using Photomatix.
progress
(click on the image for to see a higher resolution frame)
From our 69th Independence Day celebration, a favourite game – panjat pinang, i.e. climbing a heavily lubricated Areca trunk to get various rewards. And a quote befit the activity from Henry Ford, “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”
Have a good week ahead!
reflection in the morning
I got up too early, so I strolled by this small uncharted marina near Harris Resort Waterfront Batam, Indonesia, and took a few frames. This one is a composite of 3 frames with 2 stops interval, handheld. Have a great weekend all!
Flight of the Eurasian Curlew II
A quick post of the beautiful Eurasian Curlews (Numenius arquata orientalis) -Gajahan Besar in Indonesian- over-wintering in northern Bintan. Their wingspan were around 1m. These are the same flock with those I posted before. Take a look for more pictures and description from my earlier posts here.
Thank you for stopping by and have a great week ahead!
Ranan Samanya Photography 
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