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The "Post a Picture You Took" thread


Patricio Swayze

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I gotta say, seeing wolves or grizzlies is always amazing, but I consistently have the most fun photographing coyotes. They express a lot of personality, especially playfulness and intelligence. They're wicked smart little tricksters, and sometimes seem to purposefully **** with me (they'll walk out in the open, looking my way every few seconds if they know I'm tracking them; then as soon as I look away for a moment to fiddle with the camera, they'll crouch in the sagebrush, slip away in a completely different direction, and then I'll see them moments later as they give me one last glance while they trot out of sight, ****-eating grin on their face).

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6 hours ago, LTbear said:

I gotta say, seeing wolves or grizzlies is always amazing, but I consistently have the most fun photographing coyotes. They express a lot of personality, especially playfulness and intelligence. They're wicked smart little tricksters, and sometimes seem to purposefully **** with me (they'll walk out in the open, looking my way every few seconds if they know I'm tracking them; then as soon as I look away for a moment to fiddle with the camera, they'll crouch in the sagebrush, slip away in a completely different direction, and then I'll see them moments later as they give me one last glance while they trot out of sight, ****-eating grin on their face).

That's awesome.  I really enjoy seeing coyotes too and it's usually when I'm least expecting to see one.  I guess I like them because I'm less likely to see a wolf and coyotes are extremely adaptable and yet still maintain that Wild West perception.  

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Have any of you bird photographers been to Concan? Supposedly it’s at some confluence of a few different habitats. At least that’s what they told me when I worked there as a kid. That’s their main source of tourism in the off season. 

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6 minutes ago, GRHorn said:

Have any of you bird photographers been to Concan? Supposedly it’s at some confluence of a few different habitats. At least that’s what they told me when I worked there as a kid. That’s their main source of tourism in the off season. 

Haven't been there, but as an aside Texas is literally as good as it gets for birding in the US. Many different habitat types and also positioned just so on the continent such that many bird migrations funnel through the state. 

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Haven't been there, but as an aside Texas is literally as good as it gets for birding in the US. Many different habitat types and also positioned just so on the continent such that many bird migrations funnel through the state. 
Yep, you can get almost all of the eastern US birds in the eastern half of the state and many of the western birds out in BBNP/GMNP area, plus occasional Mexican species. Easily 500+ of the 800ish regular continental US species are seen in TX each year.
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3 minutes ago, hookem2010 said:
20 hours ago, LTbear said:
Haven't been there, but as an aside Texas is literally as good as it gets for birding in the US. Many different habitat types and also positioned just so on the continent such that many bird migrations funnel through the state. 

Yep, you can get almost all of the eastern US birds in the eastern half of the state and many of the western birds out in BBNP/GMNP area, plus occasional Mexican species. Easily 500+ of the 800ish regular continental US species are seen in TX each year.

Ya, Big Bend has more bird species than any other national park, including one that lives nowhere else in the world (Colima warbler).

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On 6/30/2021 at 5:23 PM, GRHorn said:

Have any of you bird photographers been to Concan? Supposedly it’s at some confluence of a few different habitats. At least that’s what they told me when I worked there as a kid. That’s their main source of tourism in the off season. 

I've hardly even been out of the county. I really need to make some trips before long.

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I need to see how much yellowing is affecting exposure.  I have seen all the videos on how to fix it, so just need to know if I should do it now or wait a bit.  I have a few frames left on a roll in my Canon and 9 frames in the Pentax.  Maybe I shoot all that by the weekend and send both off.

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FWIW, I tried Richard Photo Lab last time and they were awesome. Doesn’t really cost much more than Darkroom (at least for 120; didn’t compare 135). Their customer service was incredible, too. They also included a report that describes any issues they saw. There’s a main page plus 14 pages describing various issues.

This is a screenshot of the first page. My film didn’t have issues, but it’s cool that they include this.

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What resolution do they scan at?  What was the turn around time and how are the digital files sent?

My 6x7 files are 5902x4815 on a Noritsu scan, which looks like is the same res The Darkroom provides. They do not provide tiffs, only jpeg (believe Darkroom is the same).

They received my order on a Tuesday, and it entered production on Wednesday (I assume) and I had the scans on the following Wednesday. They say their minimum turnaround on Noritsu scanned orders is 4 business days. I was shooting E-6 this time which may have added a day or two to that time.

I received them in a download link sent to my email, though I did have to search to find it the first time in GMail and then move it to my Primary folder, so it’s good now.
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First three are cell phone pics, the grasshopper from this afternoon.

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Painted bunting a while back, pretty much symbolizes the year...

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Camera pic of a slightly healthier one from last week. Not much of a setting but the best I've been able to do with what little effort I have put forth.

paintedbunting.jpg

Other sightings at the lake on the same day.

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blackvulturevert.jpg

 

That's about all I got.

 

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On 7/1/2021 at 2:11 PM, hookem2010 said:
On 6/30/2021 at 5:30 PM, LTbear said:
Haven't been there, but as an aside Texas is literally as good as it gets for birding in the US. Many different habitat types and also positioned just so on the continent such that many bird migrations funnel through the state. 

Yep, you can get almost all of the eastern US birds in the eastern half of the state and many of the western birds out in BBNP/GMNP area, plus occasional Mexican species. Easily 500+ of the 800ish regular continental US species are seen in TX each year.

This spring we even had an influx of Western Bluebirds and Mountain bluebirds right here in central Texas due to all the 2020-21 weirdness.

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On 7/6/2021 at 9:27 PM, Anton Chigurh said:


My 6x7 files are 5902x4815 on a Noritsu scan, which looks like is the same res The Darkroom provides. They do not provide tiffs, only jpeg (believe Darkroom is the same).

They received my order on a Tuesday, and it entered production on Wednesday (I assume) and I had the scans on the following Wednesday. They say their minimum turnaround on Noritsu scanned orders is 4 business days. I was shooting E-6 this time which may have added a day or two to that time.

I received them in a download link sent to my email, though I did have to search to find it the first time in GMail and then move it to my Primary folder, so it’s good now.

Richard Photo Lab will do a TIFF file if you ask (and for a price), but they actually recommend against it.

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Sent of a roll of 135 and 120 Portra 400 to be processed.  Just stuck with the dark room for now.  The 120 was the test roll from the 6x7, so not much thought put into the shots.  Bought a UV light and when it comes in I plan to de-yellow the lenses.

A few recent shots...

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Edited by Patricio Swayze
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A few more

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The wife almost walked into these two until I showed her a head poking out from behind a tree.  We sat and waited and they eventually buckled and went to sleep next to the path so we headed the other way.  Saw a bunch of smaller bushes moving and walked a little faster--didn't feel like messing with a bear.

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After all these years of photography, I still don't know how to gauge which photos will resonate and sell.  I posted that Mom's shot on my Instagram and someone wanted to buy a print.  That is awesome.  Paid for the gas on that particular trip.  Really all I can ask for.

Yeah, it never makes any damn sense.

I suppose it helps that they have zero context behind the shots. Sometimes you “win” by getting an incredibly easy shot that you didn’t have to work for, and people like it. Sometimes you “lose” by working your ass off for one, and no one gives a fuck.

It’s weird.

I really like the Mom’s shot.
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Yeah, it never makes any damn sense.

I suppose it helps that they have zero context behind the shots. Sometimes you “win” by getting an incredibly easy shot that you didn’t have to work for, and people like it. Sometimes you “lose” by working your ass off for one, and no one gives a fuck.

It’s weird.

I really like the Mom’s shot.

Hahaha exactly. I was out shooting with a friend that was in town recently and mentioned that.

I went back to the same spot 3 days in a row. Maybe 6 hours total time sitting in the same spot to get this shot I thought would be amazing. Personally I am pretty happy with it. However, not much interest on social media. Which is fine, I hate to judge myself by social media, but all of us get caught up in appreciation/acceptance type stuff.
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I *think* I mentioned this up thread, but I have donated 350 photos to the UH Library Special Collections. I don’t think they will show up in the search function on the website for awhile. Mostly photos of the 5th Ward, travelers (hobos), Houston graffiti and street art. This obviously doesn’t pay anything, unless a author/film maker is doing research and comes across a photo they want to use. Regardless, feels good to have a bunch of photos at a university for research purposes.

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18 hours ago, Patricio Swayze said:


Hahaha exactly. I was out shooting with a friend that was in town recently and mentioned that.

I went back to the same spot 3 days in a row. Maybe 6 hours total time sitting in the same spot to get this shot I thought would be amazing. Personally I am pretty happy with it. However, not much interest on social media. Which is fine, I hate to judge myself by social media, but all of us get caught up in appreciation/acceptance type stuff.

That's because your expectations and public's don't match.  Y'all have really fine tuned your mechanical eyes to pursue your horizon chasing expectations.  Also, there's no understanding other people's taste.  Hell, try to wrap your head around tattoo choices.  

Additionally, there's art for artists and not just for public consumption.  My guess is that what the public understands is probably really basic, consumable and most likely shaped by advertising.  .  

 

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Got the scans back for the first roll I have shot with the Pentax 6x7.  Portra 400.  I can see that the yellowing of the lens does add a slight tint to the image, and when the light is not the best, it feels a little underexposed.  So I will de-yellow the lenses as soon as my UV bulb arrives.  Here are a few shots (I corrected the color somewhat in PS).

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And here are some shots with my AE-1, also Portra 400.  This first shot I had hoped to use for a book I am working on.  I wish I would have had the Pentax for it.

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Hello skilled photographers.  I've found that I'm getting interested in birds.  I'd like to get a good camera/lens combo for photographing them.  I'm a beginner obviously so I was looking to get some insight on a good low to mid range set up to get started with.  I'm fine spending a little to get started but not like 5 grand or anything.  I'm doing some online research but I find this community to be an outstanding resource for things like this.

Thanks in advance.

Edited by Felix
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On 7/23/2021 at 3:01 PM, Felix said:

Hello skilled photographers.  I've found that I'm getting interested in birds.  I'd like to get a good camera/lens combo for photographing them.  I'm a beginner obviously so I was looking to get some insight on a good low to mid range set up to get started with.  I'm fine spending a little to get started but not like 5 grand or anything.  I'm doing some online research but I find this community to be an outstanding resource for things like this.

Thanks in advance.

You can get a good rig well under that price range. Pick a Nikon or Canon body that you like, then get one of a few models of long zoom lenses that have become really popular for birding photograph that range around 150mm-600, by Nikon, Sigma or Tamron. All good lenses and pretty close in price.

I'm a Nikon guy and I often use a D7500 with the Nikon 200-500mm zoom. That combo would run a shade over 2 grand and will do just fine for a long time. The Sigma and Tamron lenses are a bit cheaper. If you want to spend a little less you can get a factory refurb camera body, but I would probably recommend a brand new lens.

I normally use a D500 which is a bit higher end camera, faster frame rate and a bit more advanced AF, but I haven't been using it because I have taken tons of sports and wildlife photos with it and it needs some attention, dust spots I haven't been able to blow off and controls are a bit sticky. I also have a more expensive lighter weight 500mm lens I use a lot, but the 200-500 will do just about as well in most cases and you also have the shorter range to work with, it's just a good bit heavier to carry around.

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