Royal Ontario Museum Blog
Monthly Archive: December cont
A little piece of the puzzle – Citizen Science works!
ROM Ornithologist, Mark Peck describes one of the ways he contributes to Citizen Science
Family Camera: Mystery Missionary
If family albums are understood as social artifacts, rather than simply images, perhaps their vulnerability towards dehistoricization and aestheticization can be overcome. Written by Aliya Mazari.
National Volunteer Week 2016 | The Best Thing About ROM Camp
![Johnson, a former volunteer an now instructors, teaches his 5 year old class about the Good Mother Lizard Maiasaura. Johnson, a former volunteer an now instructors, teaches his 5 year old class about the Good Mother Lizard Maiasaura.](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/romkids_mbc_2016-johnson_the_5s.jpg?itok=s3Y48Ufa)
By: Kiron Mukherjee, ROMKids Coordinator
When we receive our evaluation forms back at the end of every session of camp, our number one piece of positive feedback is not what you may think.
Five Answers to WP "Y?"
!["A Tale of Two Foxes" by Don Gutoski - Winning photo of the 2015 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition A red fox carries the smaller body of an arctic fox in its mouth that it has hunted and killed. The 2015 winning photo by Canadian Don Gutoski of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/wpy_blog_evc_foxes_cropped_for_banner.jpg?itok=b4J4IQa1)
Guest Blog written by Environmental Visual Communication student Jessica Gordon
We live in an age where almost anyone with a cell phone can take a picture and share it with everyone almost instantly. In spite of this we continue to take and fall in love with photos of nature and the wildlife that surrounds us. We continue to push the boundaries of where we can go while taking cameras along with us. The question becomes: why do we still carry on the tradition? Why is wildlife photography so important to us? Here are five answers to the question, "why?".
Wildlife Photography: Behind the Camera
![Thunderstorms in the mountains and forests of Sri Lanka - just another day at the office for a wildlife photographer. Photo by Vincent Luk A bolt of lightning streaks across a purple sky over the mountains and rainforests of Sri Lanka](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/2015-09-02_romsrilankalightning01-2.jpg?itok=esAXquhk)
Guest Blog written by Environmental Visual Communication students Aisha Parkhill-Goyette and Jeff Dickie
Imagine you are deep in the jungle of Sri Lanka. You find yourself blinded by the pouring rain, knee deep in a rushing river, desperately trying not to fall in. Lightning strikes only meters away, but instead you are worried about the small tickle by your left elbow, and you are hoping that it is not one of the dozens of land leeches that keep falling onto you from the trees above. Not everyone has what it takes to be a wildlife photographer. It takes a special kind of dedication and a special kind of person - someone who is just as wild as the creatures they are trying to capture on camera.
EVC Students Jeff and Aisha interviewed a pair of up-and-coming wildlife photographers who travelled with ROM mammalogist Burton Lim to Sri Lanka last fall, to share some stories about what it's like behind the camera.
How Drone Photography is Saving Wildlife
![Research conducted by scientists from the NOAA Fisheries and the Vancouver Aquarium using the hexacopter to capture images of killer whales to assess their health. Photo from NOAA Fisheries. Research conducted by scientists from the NOAA Fisheries and the Vancouver Aquarium using the hexacopter to capture images of killer whales to assess their health. Photo from NOAA Fisheries.](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/lisa_milavic_evc_blog_wpy_-_photo_2.jpg?itok=cD_-3Hz7)
Guest Blog written by Environmental Visual Communication student Lisa Milosavljevic
A number of photos in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibit make use of aerial photography techniques, including the use of drone photography. There is also a growing demand for its use in professional and academic fields as people are recognizing how drones can be a valuable tool in their work; one of these areas is wildlife conservation. Here we are going to look at the different ways in how drone photography is saving wildlife around the world, as well as some of the controversies and questions that this developing technology raises.
#EmptyROM 3 - Hungry in the Hammer
![](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/20160224_0725412.jpg?itok=xl1DGJp8)
Leslie from Hungry in the Hammer sent in some of her photos from our last #EmptyROM tour!
Captivating Images from Winners of the ROM Photographer of the Year Contest
![Scarborough man wins trip to Greenland with winning photo of coyote in downtown Toronto winning photo of the ROM Wildlife Photographer of the Year Photo Contest - a coyote drinks from a stream in Toronto, photo by Steven Rose](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/1_steven_rose-3.jpg?itok=PPPu6KFL)
More than 2250 photos were submitted by people from across Ontario in the 1st Annual ROM Photographer of the Year Contest, and a shot from Steven Rose of Scarborough of a coyote drinking from a stream in an undisclosed Toronto park takes home the grand prize.
#EmptyROM - Libby Roach
![The Giant Sloth on a recent #emptyROM tour](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/_mg_7822.jpg?itok=XtTA-TdO)
On Feb. 24th we held our 3rd #EmptyROM tour. Here are Libby's photos
Remembering Kiowa Wind McComb
![Portrait of Kiowa Wind McComb at the ROM.](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/kiowa_web.jpg?itok=MjfUoe5P)
Kiowa was the Indigenous Youth Intern in the ROM Learning Department through the generous support of Miziwe Biik Aboriginal Employment and Training and was an exceptionally promising young man.