Jellies!

This assignment reminded me of why I never use my Motorola KRZR camera phone. Sure when I first got it I was really excited and I took pictures of everything in sight and my friends warned me that I was becoming stalker status. Luckily that quickly faded when I went on my phone dropping streak, which caused a tiny crack in the screen and the camera to malfunction. The camera still had its cool features with its ability to change the exposure, lighting conditions, and the style of the photo (black and white, blue, red, green tints, negative, and antique). My camera phone was never up to par with my Casio digital camera but the pictures still came out clear and they were decent for quick snap shots. So when I encountered these jelly fish in the science lab building, it was natural for me to bust out my phone and take a shot. The first shot was extremely disappointing as it came out blurry and too bright, but I continued to snap away. When I got home I realized that I have never uploaded any photos off my phone to the computer. I usually just store my pictures or send them to friends through text messaging; so I definitely know how Arlen feels. I asked all my housemates if they knew how but there was no luck. I finally gave up on attempting to upload the photo onto the computer, especially since I wasn’t completely satisfied with how the picture came out. Since I practically live in the science lab building I decided that I would just go in the next day and retake the photos using my digital camera. The photo itself gives away the location of the jellyfish as one of the doors to the lab building is reflected in the photo.

I chose to take a photo of the jellyfish because I have been watching them grow since fall quarter of last year. Initially, these moon jellies were only specs in this large circular tank. Now they have grown into various sizes and this photo documents the progress and growth of the jellies. What intrigues me the most about this photo is that you can easily tell their unique way of moving and being mobile. They swim in a steady motion using jet propulsions with its flowing tentacles. Jellyfish are subtle creatures and they can camouflage well with their translucent bodies. They are secretive both in the sense that they are hard to distinguish in the tank and the location of their tank. If someone is not familiar with the science lab building then they would've never known that there's a tank of jellyfish near the entrance. At the same time they can be toxic and deadly when they use their tentacles to sting. Most of all, whenever I see these creatures it triggers my mind and it brings back memories of BIS 1B, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and dinner.