{
  "id": 19507790,
  "title": "What do a bean and a flamingo have in common? Finding the unexpected in nature photos",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/11/what-do-a-bean-and-a-flamingo-have-in-common-finding-the-unexpected",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-11-11T14:41:21.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Mongabay",
    "slug": "mongabay",
    "url": "https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/11/what-do-a-bean-and-a-flamingo-have-in-common-finding-the-unexpected-in-nature-photos/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Photographer Andrew Zuckerman stumbled upon an intriguing similarity between a bean and a flamingo while examining a sprouting bean in his studio. He noticed the bean's elegant curve, which reminded him of a flamingo he had photographed years earlier. This realization sparked a journey through Zuckerman's extensive archive of over 2,500 images taken over the past 25 years. His method involves taking multiple photographs, adjusting the focus for each shot, and subsequently combining the sharpest details using a technique called focus stacking. By doing so, Zuckerman can reveal aspects of a subject that the naked eye cannot see. This process led him to discover unexpected connections between various elements in nature, including seeds and birds, jellyfish and crystals. Zuckerman attributes his ability to make these discoveries to letting his intuition guide him rather than relying on intellectual analysis. He describes his approach as tapping into a more primal part of his response system, allowing him to feel his way through the images rather than thinking about them.",
  "summary": "Photographer Andrew Zuckerman took a moment longer than usual to look closely at a bean that was sprouting in his studio. “There was this one bean that sort of had this incredibly elegant curve, and I thought, ‘God, that’s exactly like the flamingo from like 15 years ago,’” Zuckerman tells Mongabay in a video call. […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}