Search found 590 matches
- April 29th, 2016, 6:13 am
- Forum: Image Lab
- Topic: Photo Critique
- Replies: 12
- Views: 18881
Re: Photo Critique
You should post larger images here. I get a much different feel from the photos when viewed large on your flickr than when looking at the small images in your post. As Bill said, your exposure and focus are spot on, so no need to worry about that. It all comes down to composition and depth of field....
- April 18th, 2016, 6:36 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Louisiana "Snake Rodeo" Killfest (GRAPHIC)
- Replies: 10
- Views: 7603
Re: Louisiana "Snake Rodeo" Killfest (GRAPHIC)
Not that it's any better, but there are at least a 3 cottons in this photo: https://www.facebook.com/1432378320390588/photos/pb.1432378320390588.-2207520000.1460986382./1440786516216435/?type=3&theater It looks as though the bird might have actually been in the stomach of one of the cottonmouths...
- April 16th, 2016, 11:40 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Best GPS for field use
- Replies: 16
- Views: 6917
Re: Best GPS for field use
Also, the directional pad sucks. I don't know how many times I hit one direction and get something different. I don't tend to take notes in the GPS, but if you are someone who does, a touch screen is a must, rather than dealing with the arrow pad. The arrow pad and having to delete points individua...
- April 12th, 2016, 4:34 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Best GPS for field use
- Replies: 16
- Views: 6917
Re: Best GPS for field use
5-10 meters is ok for most navigational purposes, but for some research purposes you would likely want better. Such as if you needed to record telemetry locations or if you are trying to delineate a habitat like a wetland. I've never had a problem getting down to 3 m with my 60CSx or with the Oregon...
- April 8th, 2016, 4:47 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Best GPS for field use
- Replies: 16
- Views: 6917
Re: Best GPS for field use
I have a Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx personally, and it is a great unit, but for work I was using one of the touch screen models (Garmin Oregon 550), which I did not think I would like but was converted so I feel the need to preach it a little. It is so much easier and quicker to do most every task, such as...
- March 30th, 2016, 4:04 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: My favorite shots from Costa Rica
- Replies: 5
- Views: 3516
Re: My favorite shots from Costa Rica
Great stuff. Costa Rica is indeed an amazing place. And definitely one of the most affordable places to visit. Gotta love the Cruziohyla. Your Dipsas bicolor looks to actually be Sibon nebulatus, by the way.
- March 8th, 2016, 4:32 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: ...florida python hunt results ...
- Replies: 35
- Views: 13380
Re: ...florida python hunt results ...
Despite the addition of so many exotic species in ENP, the ecosystem has proven to be resilient and remains functioning and productive. Its biodiversity is greater today then at any time since the settlement of Florida. I think you mean, because of the addition of so many exotic species, its biodiv...
- February 25th, 2016, 4:28 am
- Forum: Image Lab
- Topic: Underwater Photography Question
- Replies: 14
- Views: 9926
Re: Underwater Photography Question
I've thought about trying this, but haven't gotten around to it yet. I think it might work, though. There is more than enough room in the bag to pop up the flash, and most of the bag is clear so I think it should be able to trigger an external flash, but I could see the bag and/or water causing some...
- February 24th, 2016, 8:28 am
- Forum: Image Lab
- Topic: Underwater Photography Question
- Replies: 14
- Views: 9926
Re: Underwater Photography Question
I have the same underwater case Chris mentioned, but in the WS-10 size. It fits my A77 well. I haven't used it a lot, but it is a bit clumsy and takes some getting used to. It does get the job done, though, and as others have mentioned, real housings are even more clumsy in shallow water. A waterpro...
- February 17th, 2016, 12:23 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: different snake species basking together?
- Replies: 23
- Views: 9955
Re: different snake species basking together?
I actually meant: cases where animals really lie on top of each other. I have seen copperheads actually laying on top of timbers, but this: I always GUESSED they were doing it because of the limited shared(seasonally) habitat, and not because of any of the behaviors you mentioned. is almost certain...
- February 17th, 2016, 4:38 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: different snake species basking together?
- Replies: 23
- Views: 9955
Re: different snake species basking together?
Timber rattlesnakes and copperheads commonly bask together in the Appalachians. I have occasionally, but not commonly, seen garter snakes basking amongst a group of rattlesnakes.
- February 9th, 2016, 2:13 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: We're Not Out of The Woods Yet (TX,LA,MS,AL,FL): 2015 EOY
- Replies: 34
- Views: 31873
Re: We're Not Out of The Woods Yet (TX,LA,MS,AL,FL): 2015 EO
Great animals and great photos, as usual, Kyle. Crazy how different those Leptodeira are from the ones further south.
- February 9th, 2016, 2:11 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Costa Rica December 2015
- Replies: 19
- Views: 11674
Re: Costa Rica December 2015
Awesome post! that eyelash viper is great. also the humming bird pictures are fantastic. what kind of camera gear do you use? also was there a feeder or something near by or were you able to get close enough to get those pics of all the hummingbirds without a feeder. either way they were awesome. c...
- February 7th, 2016, 12:08 pm
- Forum: Image Lab
- Topic: Fill flash for daytime shooting
- Replies: 12
- Views: 10392
Re: Fill flash for daytime shooting
Hey Daniel, could you provide us the settings (shutter speed, aperture, ISO (and flash setting if you remember it)) for the image? I am reading the photo differently than Chris is. It seems to me the sun is the primary light source, coming from above and to the left, casting a shadow on the right ha...
- February 6th, 2016, 3:00 pm
- Forum: Image Lab
- Topic: Fill flash for daytime shooting
- Replies: 12
- Views: 10392
Re: Fill flash for daytime shooting
Nicely done. Harsh sunlight is never a photographers friend, but the image is well exposed and the fill flash brought detail out of the shaded area. No one's mentioned it but using flash also will allow you to capture greater depth-of-field because of the brighter light/smaller aperture. It depends ...
- February 4th, 2016, 3:40 pm
- Forum: Image Lab
- Topic: Fill flash for daytime shooting
- Replies: 12
- Views: 10392
Re: Fill flash for daytime shooting
In my experience, dappled lighting, like in your example photo, is tough to deal with. You would be better of moving the animal to a place with even light or shading the animal with your body or a collapsible diffuser. But if you are trying to get in situ shots, you have to work with tough lighting ...
- February 1st, 2016, 4:43 pm
- Forum: Image Lab
- Topic: Calling all Sony A Mount Users
- Replies: 6
- Views: 4924
Re: Calling all Sony A Mount Users
I concur with Owen. I got that lens for that price and it looked like it had never been used. Covers a good range and can be pretty sharp.
- January 28th, 2016, 2:59 pm
- Forum: Bird Forum
- Topic: Osa hummingbird ID help
- Replies: 3
- Views: 13074
Re: Osa hummingbird ID help
Looks like a Charming Hummingbird, Amazilia decora. Thanks. I had a dream last night about a small bird and when I woke up I really wanted to look at some birds up close, like waking up thirsty. This little beauty really hit the spot. Thanks. Haha. Glad it could be of use. This guy was fun to watch...
- January 27th, 2016, 5:57 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Costa Rica December 2015
- Replies: 19
- Views: 11674
Re: Costa Rica December 2015
Thanks, everybody. Everyone should make a trip to Costa Rica at some point in their life. Beautiful place. One correction: your spider monkey is actually a squirrel monkey. Thanks for pointing that out. I knew that, just mislabeled it (I labeled it right on flickr if that counts for anything). It's ...
- January 25th, 2016, 4:14 pm
- Forum: Bird Forum
- Topic: Osa hummingbird ID help
- Replies: 3
- Views: 13074
Osa hummingbird ID help
I need help IDing this hummingbird from the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica. Thanks.
-Kevin
-Kevin
- January 24th, 2016, 4:43 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Costa Rica December 2015
- Replies: 19
- Views: 11674
Re: Costa Rica December 2015
I did not go to Corcovado, so I am not sure whether you need a guide or not.
- January 23rd, 2016, 1:10 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Costa Rica December 2015
- Replies: 19
- Views: 11674
Costa Rica December 2015
Here are some images from a trip to Costa Rica back in December. We spent several day down in the Osa Peninsula and then a few more up in the Monteverde area. Photos are in somewhat chronological order, so the Osa is up first. (note that very few of these critters were actually spotted by me. A lot ...
- January 19th, 2016, 11:36 am
- Forum: Image Lab
- Topic: quick improvements on a cheap point-n-shoot?
- Replies: 5
- Views: 15301
Re: quick improvements on a cheap point-n-shoot?
Hey Rhyno, I think one of the best ways to improve quickly is to find some photos online that you like and really try to dissect them and figure out what you like about them and how to recreate that in your own images. Then you can diverge from there into developing your own style. But here are just...
- January 2nd, 2016, 5:50 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: All them salamanders of 2015
- Replies: 19
- Views: 10866
Re: All them salamanders of 2015
Damn, this is like KW's old pre-crash salamander post, but with better photos. And all from one year. Epic, Jake. Were gonna have to meet up in MD next time you are up there and chase after some redback salamanders and two-lineds.
- December 24th, 2015, 5:45 am
- Forum: Image Lab
- Topic: RAW vs JPEG back to back samples ?
- Replies: 10
- Views: 7894
Re: RAW vs JPEG back to back samples ?
I expect I will shoot in both so I can compare so not to over correct, Im sold on RAW! I shot in RAW+jpeg for a while for exactly this reason. I struggled with how to get the best out of my RAW images and they often looked worse than the out-of-camera jpegs. It was good to have something to compare...
- November 28th, 2015, 8:05 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Q on Sistrurus m. b. natural history
- Replies: 6
- Views: 3752
Re: Q on Sistrurus m. b. natural history
In the southeast, most rattlesnakes mate in the fall and retain sperm until they ovulate in the spring (when the eggs are actually fertilized). So while most mating activity occurs in the fall, it can happen anytime up until ovulation. They can actually retain sperm for years if they do not have eno...
- November 28th, 2015, 6:24 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Herping the smokies
- Replies: 14
- Views: 5731
Re: Herping the smokies
Nice shots! The Smokies are always a good place to be if you're doing 'mandering! Just a few notes on species: 1. Your Jordan's is not a Jordan's; it's an Imitator, which mimics the Jordan's 2. Your huge Seal isn't a seal, that's a Black-belly, a pretty ubiquitous species anywhere in the Smokies 3....
- November 26th, 2015, 4:25 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Tantilla!!!
- Replies: 17
- Views: 6911
Re: Tantilla!!!
Yes, neither of these is T. coronata . T. coronata and T. r. relicta look very similar (see photos below). Noah, I agree your specimens look like neilli and relicta , but there is probably a decent amount of integredation going on in the area. I wouldn't spend too much time worrying about it, rather...
- November 20th, 2015, 6:05 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Nc smoky mountains help
- Replies: 10
- Views: 3448
Re: Nc smoky mountains help
You can flip salamanders when there is snow and ice on the ground.
- November 3rd, 2015, 3:11 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: On the River With an Old Friend
- Replies: 10
- Views: 6893
Re: On the River With an Old Friend
baurii certainly warrants further genetic studies, and I haven't heard of the idea of hippocrepis as being a western variety of baurii , that's really interesting. You'll need a PhD project before too long, right? Your female looks like a typical subrubrum to me, but that male is interesting. You c...
- October 29th, 2015, 6:51 pm
- Forum: Image Lab
- Topic: Review: Fstoppers flash disc
- Replies: 5
- Views: 10467
Re: Review: Fstoppers flash disc
BTW you take less time in the field for great shots than some folks I've been out with. Haha. Well, that's not always the case. But I do try to be quick when I can. Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/Meking-31cm-Multi-function-Speedlight-Flashlight/dp/B00URHR3TW/ref=pd_sim_421_1?ie=UTF8&dpI...
- October 28th, 2015, 9:19 am
- Forum: Image Lab
- Topic: Review: Fstoppers flash disc
- Replies: 5
- Views: 10467
Re: Review: Fstoppers flash disc
Updating this review now that I have had a chance to use it in the field. First, there is a knock-off Chinese version of this on Amazon for half the price (which is much more in line with what this item is worth), so I picked one up. It is identical to the fstoppers version, save for some branding. ...
- October 28th, 2015, 8:02 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: New to Florida area
- Replies: 16
- Views: 5915
Re: New to Florida area
False! Salamanders and chorus frogs all winter long.mtratcliffe wrote:The winters can get too cold there for herps
- October 22nd, 2015, 10:48 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: On the River With an Old Friend
- Replies: 10
- Views: 6893
Re: On the River With an Old Friend
However, at least one turtle researcher has suggested that hippocrepis might in fact just be a western population of K. baurii with no carapace striping. The fact that panhandle (adults anyway) do not possess the carapace stripes seems to support this idea. Interesting. In my very limited search ef...
- October 22nd, 2015, 7:13 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: On the River With an Old Friend
- Replies: 10
- Views: 6893
Re: On the River With an Old Friend
Any trip with a Macrochelys is a good trip. The first (and still only) one I have personally snorkeled up I caught a glimpse of the tail around a boulder and thought was an alligator, too, until I saw the shell. Interesting mud turtles. In southeastern Georgia, K. baurii are pretty easy to identify ...
- October 19th, 2015, 6:46 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Interbreeding question
- Replies: 7
- Views: 3664
Re: Interbreeding question
You are correct. Subspecies are typically described based on morphology. Which often times does not line up with the genetics (see rat snakes for an example). We attempt to put boundaries on these subspecies, but as you mention, they usually occur as a gradient.
- October 18th, 2015, 8:39 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Interbreeding question
- Replies: 7
- Views: 3664
Re: Interbreeding question
^What he said. In general (though there are exceptions), you should not have two separate subspecies of the same species occupying an area. They are just intergrades.
- October 4th, 2015, 2:37 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Georgia Trip Report
- Replies: 12
- Views: 4558
Re: Georgia Trip Report
Definitely looks like a fun trip. And all the better that you got to spend it with your family. Good luck on your deployment.
Re: Ringed Wall Gecko? Wha...whaa... What happened
Just an aside, the CNAH and SSAR lists are now one and the same:
http://www.cnah.org/createdContent.aspx?cnahId=1773|0
http://www.cnah.org/createdContent.aspx?cnahId=1773|0
- September 30th, 2015, 2:15 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Spring and summer in south Georgia and North Florida
- Replies: 13
- Views: 10385
Re: Spring and summer in south Georgia and North Florida
I guess that is a valid excuse. That creek is awesome when it clears up, but walking the bank very far, even with functional knees, is near impossible.
- September 30th, 2015, 8:59 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Spring and summer in south Georgia and North Florida
- Replies: 13
- Views: 10385
Re: Spring and summer in south Georgia and North Florida
Good stuff, for sure. That simus is a beauty, and the basking pine is pretty cool too. Looks like you guys spent too much time road cruising and not enough time in the creek. No Macrochelys? Or any other turtles, for that matter?
- September 28th, 2015, 12:55 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Gray Ratsnake Range Question
- Replies: 9
- Views: 5313
Re: Gray Ratsnake Range Question
Where is that one from? And I'm assuming that's an intergrade? It's from Telfair county, which is a couple hours northwest of the swamp. I would call all of the rat snakes in southern Georgia intergrades except the ones in the extreme southwest (gray) or very close to the coast/barrier islands (yel...
- September 27th, 2015, 7:24 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: RFI: Savannah and Okefenokee
- Replies: 14
- Views: 4301
Re: RFI: Savannah and Okefenokee
Yeah, I know Joseph. He's a good guy. I look forward to your post.
- September 27th, 2015, 7:22 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Gray Ratsnake Range Question
- Replies: 9
- Views: 5313
Re: Gray Ratsnake Range Question
That's an interesting looking rat for the area. You don't really get any pure looking yellow rats in GA except very close to the coast or on the islands (and even those are typically a dull yellow or even gray base color). The background color of yours is normal, but they usually they have a combina...
- September 27th, 2015, 7:22 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Bright femur marks on Hyla squirella?
- Replies: 3
- Views: 1866
Re: Bright femur marks on Hyla squirella?
It's a squirella. That's not abnormal, just a pretty specimen.
- September 16th, 2015, 1:32 pm
- Forum: Image Lab
- Topic: Question: Preferred DOF with reasonable working distance?
- Replies: 15
- Views: 8077
Re: Question: Preferred DOF with reasonable working distance
As Chris said, it is all about trade-offs. A smaller aperture lets in less light, so you will either have to slow down your shutter speed or up your ISO. This is why flash is a necessary component of macro photography (not to imply it has to be used in every macro photo). I shoot with natural light ...
- September 15th, 2015, 11:33 am
- Forum: Image Lab
- Topic: Question: Preferred DOF with reasonable working distance?
- Replies: 15
- Views: 8077
Re: Question: Preferred DOF with reasonable working distance
There is a lot of personal taste involved when it comes to DOF, and I don't have any real solutions for you if you really desire the entire frame to be in focus, but I am going to make a case that it is not really necessary. So, as you've already noticed, DOF decreases with increasing magnification....
- September 12th, 2015, 10:19 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Why Did the Crayfish Snake Cross the Road?
- Replies: 5
- Views: 2852
Re: Why Did the Crayfish Snake Cross the Road?
They have been turned up in Georgia near the swamp, but don't seem to be as common as R. rigida.captainjack0000 wrote: Has anybody else seen striped crayfish snakes in Baker County, Florida?
- September 12th, 2015, 6:44 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: RFI: Savannah and Okefenokee
- Replies: 14
- Views: 4301
Re: RFI: Savannah and Okefenokee
No, I was conducting my own research, but luckily they were able to incorporate the snake into their work, which was just getting off the ground at the time.
- September 11th, 2015, 3:36 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: RFI: Savannah and Okefenokee
- Replies: 14
- Views: 4301
Re: RFI: Savannah and Okefenokee
He wasn't anything special in terms of size, maybe a 4 footer or so, but that was back in 2012. Very pretty snake, though. Glad to hear he is still around. Found him in some really dense, nasty stuff, that nobody in their right mind would have any business walking through. This photo is more or less...