Trike83's random photos NEW FROM PAGE 4

[triceratops83]

Ammonite swimming around coral


Now comes the tricky part.


Loch Ness


Polly wanna cracker?


The first hatchling emerges


These damn things are always pinching my bait

[Halichoeres]

New theory: pterosaurs went extinct choking on crabs.

[triceratops83]

New theory: pterosaurs went extinct choking on crabs.

I'm now wondering if something like a Pteranodon would or could have picked up a crustacean and crunched it up - how powerful its jaws were? It's easy to imagine say, Dsungaripterus doing this, but were most Pterosaurs very specialized or were they prone to generalist tendencies? Most DO look like they were highly specialized for their particular lifestyles. Obviously a Petrodaustro or Anurognathus stuck to their niches, but could Pteranodon or Ornithocheirus have been more open to trying new things?

[SidB]

New theory: pterosaurs went extinct choking on crabs.

Distemper - became crabby?

[Halichoeres]

New theory: pterosaurs went extinct choking on crabs.

I'm now wondering if something like a Pteranodon would or could have picked up a crustacean and crunched it up - how powerful its jaws were? It's easy to imagine say, Dsungaripterus doing this, but were most Pterosaurs very specialized or were they prone to generalist tendencies? Most DO look like they were highly specialized for their particular lifestyles. Obviously a Petrodaustro or Anurognathus stuck to their niches, but could Pteranodon or Ornithocheirus have been more open to trying new things?

Good question! I don't know for sure, but long bills have low mechanical advantage, generally speaking, so I think they would be ill-suited to cracking crabs. Except at molting time, of course! But who knows, sometimes odd behaviors evolve that enable animals to eat things not obvious from their morphology.

[Libraraptor]

I like your approach of putting figures of extinct species into a recent context. Imagine someday we find a real Anomalocaris in a fishing net

[triceratops83]

Good question! I don't know for sure, but long bills have low mechanical advantage, generally speaking, so I think they would be ill-suited to cracking crabs. Except at molting time, of course! But who knows, sometimes odd behaviors evolve that enable animals to eat things not obvious from their morphology.

Odd behaviours are the best behaviours! If they were around today, I can picture Pteranodons stealing fish and chips from beachgoers like the world's most intimidating seagulls.

I like your approach of putting figures of extinct species into a recent context. Imagine someday we find a real Anomalocaris in a fishing net

I think I'd actually keep it. It looks like a tasty prawn and probably easier to peel.

[triceratops83]

Well, here's my entry from the contest - Leaping (Fish) Lizards!

[triceratops83]

Haven't been anywhere interesting lately, I just seem to be working a lot, so all of these are shot around my house yard.

Smile!


I brought you a stick, Mum!


Dusk


Roundup


Pursuit


That last shot I took in the duck pen, and I took a while to balance the figures and get the right angle, so I was pretty focussed for a bit. But then I noticed how quiet it was and turned to find my ducks were standing directly behind me and staring intently at the toy dinosaurs. I guess they thought they were some sort of small animals.

[Halichoeres]

I would not want to be the cowboy who has to lasso an Arsinoitherium!

Who knew ducks were so inquisitive? Well, you, a duck keeper, probably.

[ceratopsian]

Dusk is beautifully composed and lit. And I'm so glad you included the shot if your ducks!

[DefinitelyNOTDilo]

Omg Moscovies! I love em so much, they do tend to be quite curious animals, they like to just watch things.

[triceratops83]

I would not want to be the cowboy who has to lasso an Arsinoitherium!

Who knew ducks were so inquisitive? Well, you, a duck keeper, probably.

A day or so later the ducks came to the kitchen door wanting bread, so I stuck the PNSO Alamosaurus in the doorway to get a reaction, and yeah, they were just spellbound.

Dusk is beautifully composed and lit. And I'm so glad you included the shot if your ducks!

Thank you! Although it took no effort - it was just me holding the toy against the sky.

Omg Moscovies! I love em so much, they do tend to be quite curious animals, they like to just watch things.

They're really interesting pets with a lot of odd behaviours. One thing that irks me though is how fussy they are - they almost never try new foods, even things ducks supposedly love. And the difference between things they will or won't eat is razor thin - raw rice, yes... cooked rice, no.

[triceratops83]

I meant to post these shortly after the diorama contest, but what are you gonna do? Here's my entry "The Valley of Gwangi Remake"


This was my first time actually constructing a diorama from scratch. Usually I do a kind of combo by shooting in nature but adding fake plants to enhance the scenery. Obviously this isn't as elaborate as the excellent dioramas that feature every year, but I started with a wooden board and built a wall of cardboard held up by cheap plastic rulers.


Then I crumpled up sheets of aluminium foil, stretched it back out and attached it to the backing to make a cliff face and tried to paint it as real as I could.


I glued model scenery grass to the base to create a foreground, added some trees and sticks then threw on a bucket of beach sand. You can't notice it but I laid grit at the base of the cliff.


I cut the guns out of the cowboys' hands and added string lassos and they sat snuggly on the necks of the Lambeosaurs. I had this idea years ago for a sequence in which the heroes ride hadrosaurs instead of horses and decided to recreate the roundup scene with that in mind. For those familiar with the movie, here's a little extra that didn't show up in the final picture - a Safari mini donkey as the Eohippus.


Thanks to everyone who voted for this!

[DinoToyForum]

That rock face turned out well, convincing! I would never have guessed it was made of foil.

[triceratops83]

That rock face turned out well, convincing! I would never have guessed it was made of foil.

Thanks! Though it was difficult to paint without deforming it. But I was too lousy to buy spray paint, which would have worked better.

[Halichoeres]

I definitely didn't recognize it as foil either, very clever! Thanks for sharing your behind-the-scenes.

[triceratops83]

I definitely didn't recognize it as foil either, very clever! Thanks for sharing your behind-the-scenes.

Years ago my friend and I used to make short movies and attempted a doomed feature length film, and I made all the miniatures and in camera effects. I had to be creative because we simply had no money for a budget, so yeah, simple things like al foil and plaster came in very useful.

[triceratops83]

"Well, what's he doing in my icebox?"

[Libraraptor]

I enjoy behind- the- scenes insights like your one very much. Creativity can´t be overestimated. Thank you for sharing!