Posted by Marc Ziccardi on Fri, Oct 23, 2009 @ 04:42 PM
PNY Flash Memory Products Used On the Back of a Humpback Whale
PNY is proud to announce successful flash memory card use on the back of a humpback whale to capture and store video, audio, and data on National Geographic Crittercam®.
National Geographic Crittercam is a scientific research tool designed to be worn by wild animals to capture rare views and invaluable animal behavior and habitat information. The Crittercam records measurements such as depth, acceleration, temperature, and time; along with awe-inspiring audio and video imagery. Crittercams enable scientists to study animals in their own environment and without human interference variables.
As a National Geographic Mission Partner, and the "Flash Memory of Choice" of the Emerging Explorers Program, PNY is dedicated to National Geographic's long-held mission in supporting exploration, education, and conservation. National Geographic's Crittercam team utilized PNY's 16GB OptimaTM Secure-DigitalTM High-Capacity (SDHC) flash memory cards in their latest projects.
Designed for serious photographers and videographers who demand fast, durable, and reliable memory cards, PNY's high-performance flash memory products were used on National Geographic's latest underwater expeditions on great white sharks, humpback whales, loggerhead sea turtles and Humboldt squid. The use of PNY's 16GB SDHC flash memory cards expands recording capabilities to 900 minutes of standard video at 18 frames per second on the Crittercam. During recent Crittercam deployments in Hawaii, humpback whales were regularly recorded with PNY flash memory cards at depths of 500 feet and achieved depths of 977 feet below sea level.
"The large capacity SDHC cards from PNY allow Crittercam to record more video than ever in a very compact size. Using this flash technology also makes the Crittercams tougher and better able to withstand the punishment that they often go through as they are carried by wild animals," said Kyler Abernathy, director of research, Crittercam's Remote Imaging department. "Additionally, PNY's solid-state hard-drives in our field laptops give those devices a better chance to survive the abuse they can endure at the hands of human animals."
Marine biologist and filmmaker Greg Marshall created the Crittercam in 1986 with hopes of a non-invasive way to track animals in the wild. Today, Marshall heads the Remote Imaging Department at National Geographic, which designs and deploys the Crittercams. The advent of compact video and recording devices, as well as flash memory technology, has enabled the Crittercam to reach new heights of animal exploration.
To view a brief video on the Crittercam, click here:
To adopt a Crittercam and help protect endangered wildlife, click here:
Posted by Marc Ziccardi on Fri, Jul 17, 2009 @ 01:12 PM
Our partnership with the National Geographic Society has opened our eyes to a number of amazing projects that they have spearheaded and National Geographic's Photo Camp ranks highly among those. Photo Camp is a series of photography workshops for youth from underserved communities that operates in the United States and abroad. Photo Camp is sponsored by the National Geographic Education Foundation (through funding from the Ferguson-Judge Fund), Special Projects, and Mission Programs, in partnership with VisionWorkshops, of Annapolis, MD.
PNY is proud to support this initiative by providing memory cards for the cameras utilized during the camps, and open the world of photography to groups of children who may not have had any previous experience in digital photography. With over 40 domestic and international camps since 2003, Photo Camp has worked with young people in such locations as Uganda, Mexico, India, Miami, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, Pine Ridge Native American Reservation in South Dakota, Hawaii, Houston, and Washington D.C. Not only do the participants get to show their community from their perspective behind the lens, they are led by a host of world renowned National Geographic Photographers. These luminaries of the photography world have included such names as: Sam Abell, Annie Griffiths-Belt, Reza, Chris Rainier, David Burnett & Ed Kashi. This is truly a life changing program and we encourage you to explore more with the links below.
If you want to see what the Photo Camps are all about please take a look at a recent video, produced by VisionWorkshops Jim Webb.
The next Photo Camp takes place July 17-22 in the Florida Keys. To learn more about Photo Camp and explore photo galleries from previous camps, click here: http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photocamp
To make an online donation and help keep the kids behind the cameras, please click here. https://donate.nationalgeographic.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid=776
Teens from the 2008 Pine Ridge Indian Reservation Photo Camp -
Posted by Marc Ziccardi on Thu, May 28, 2009 @ 12:53 PM
For nearly 20 years now, I've traveled the world for National Geographic Magazine. I've photographed everywhere from the jungles of Bolivia to the wolves of Yellowstone.
Of all the things I've seen, however, none has gotten my attention like the plight of endangered species.
As humans expand out, wildlife has less room. This has been a problem for hundreds of years, but with climate change, things have gotten a whole lot worse lately.
We all know about global ice melting, and how it affects animals like the polar bear and the walrus, creatures that are totally dependent on sea ice to survive.
But did you know about the frogs?
Amphibians are in serious trouble right this minute. Though they've been around for millions of years, they take in toxins through their skin, making them very susceptible to pollution. They're also water-dependent, meaning they can't survive if we drain the wetlands or muddy up the streams where they go to breed.
On top of all this, there's a new threat in town; a killer fungus. It's call chytrid, and it's spreading around the world at alarming rates. Nobody knows how it spreads exactly, or whether climate change encourages it. What we do know, however, is that it's often totally fatal to many species of frog, toad, newt or salamander that it comes across.
I've spent the past couple of years documenting not only the decline of amphibians, from the cloud forests of Ecuador to the High Sierras of California, but I've also been doing studio-style portraits of as many different amphibian species as I can in order to show readers the diversity and beauty of these amazing animals.
I hope you agree that they're all worth saving.
Joel Sartore
Lincoln, NE
www.joelsartore.com
The learn about fight against chytrid, check out the Vanishing Gems story in the April issue of National Geographic Magazine. (http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/04/amphibian/species-photography
