With good lighting and a little luck, amateur videographers can use inexpensive digital cameras to transform blurred flight into breathtaking glimpses of animal behavior.
In that spirit, a Dutch program called Vilegkunstenaars, or Flight Artists, sent high-speed video tools to amateurs around the world. The challenge: Capture nature in flight.
Over the course of a year, the contest drew 460 amateurs who uploaded more than 2,400 slow-motion video clips shot with their complimentary cameras. A jury of scientists, philosophers and video experts then picked their favorites, which can be seen on these pages. The rest can be watched on Flight Artists.
Above:
Dueling Sparrows
Sparrows seem pleasant, but fluttering feathers can hide vicious claw-to-claw combat at feeders.
One judge, science philosopher Bas Haring of Leiden University, said in a press release that the “harsh reality unveils the ongoing struggle between these so-called sweet birds.”
Video: Liset Karman and Cees Keyer/Flight Artists