Nature Shots

[ArcticDude]

Now that you mention it, I'm not sure .... I'll stick with ants, it sounds good.

Yes, it's ants hill.. Unfortunately spring ain't that far where I'm living.. Yet

 

[paul1598419]

Great photos, Tero. Wow, that's a lot of ants. I hate ants as they will invade your home if you are not vigilant here. Out or rep at the moment, but I have a rep primed and ready to blast you with as soon as the system will allow.

 

[Nutball]

Same problem here, outa rep, and ants in the house. Here they are going up the gutter:

My first attempt at taking a video. The fast clip is real time, all other clips are 1/4 speed. It takes a bit of getting used to, but I think I have a lot of room for easy improvement with experience. It's just hard keeping the lens straight, and tracking ants running full speed while trying to get the focus right on a medium resolution camera display that doesn't have focus assisting indicators. For full screen HD: https://youtu.be/-GYol2FGNU8

This guy gave me so many chances, but my strategy at getting close without scaring it failed. At least I got the wings.

And just for fun, not for art:

I just can't get worthwhile quality out of the super zoom lens except for tripod use with very flat, and not overly bright stuff.

 

[Nutball]

I found the pot, but the gold was already gone

Looks like spores or flowers in this moss.

 

[paul1598419]

Some more very nice macro photos, Nutball. + Rep.

 

[BowtieGuy]

Really liking these macro photos, Nutball; I've always liked macro photography, and your pics don't disappoint! :beer:
:kewlpics: +rep!

 

[Nutball]

Now I just need to figure out how to make a few dollars off em to fund better camera stuff. I looked at the websites where the pros sell theirs, and it is amazing how sharp and bold of pics those 35mm cameras can make, although a good editor helps. I've used LightRoom before, and it's pretty good. There's a clarity adjustment that is like a combination sharpener/contraster/noise reducer and when it does work well, it's truly amazing.

It kind of sucks some of those sites are not taking any more photographers because their variety and number of macro nature pictures is very lacking in my opinion, and I'd happily step things up a notch with a little incentive.

At least I have another fun hobby

 

[paul1598419]

When it comes to photographic art, your name is more important than the photo. See Ansel Adams.

 

[Nutball]

Why is that? I know what you mean, but why is that? Obviously people make a name for themselves by doing something that stands out. The first guy to take many good pictures is noteworthy, but does that mean he's the go to guy for picture? There may be someone out there who now takes better pictures, or one who is complementary. I think society puts to much value on names. A name may represent a reputation you can trust to perform in a certain way, but it doesn't mean other's can't do the same.


You live in a wet and green place don't you Paul? You should post a few nature pics.

I need to remember to take the laser with me next time I take pictures to try to get some beams in the shot.

My interest in taking pictures is more science related than art, maybe a 60/40 relation at least when it comes to small things.

 

[paul1598419]

People who invest in art may buy art from an unknown artist and hope their career will make the art valuable one day. But, since photographs are so reproducible, one can never make a good living from it unless you have a name. Too bad you can't paint or sculpt. You would have a better chance. Anyone with a camera can take photographs. That is a whole lot of people with no decernable talent at all.

 

[Nutball]

My thoughts exactly. I've thought a few times in the past is there any worth while way I could make money by taking pictures? Nope. Anyone can take pictures and learn to take good ones. But, my point was how lacking some of the picture selling websites are. They do take requests, but it also helps to just have some extra pictures available to catch a browser's attention and give them idea's they hadn't thought of before.

Where my thoughts differ is how I tend to think pictures like what I take could be more useful for scientific needs, and less for art. Maybe someone want's picture references for an encyclopedia, or pictures to help research. Not that what I have is up to those standards because all I'm doing is having fun snapping random subjects.

You never know, maybe I could make some prints for the local Hobby Lobbies to sell in their frames with the rest of their random overpriced vain art crap. That reminds me of something funny. My mom brought home a bag of goodies she won at work (she's a nurse (why can't us guys get some manly goodies from work?)). Anyway it had a couple mini watering cans, and a metal sign in a wood block that says kitchen (like anybody needs a sign to tell you where the kitchen is), and I said "where did that stuff come from, Hobby Lobby?" And sure enough HL stickers were on the bottom. They just have their own theme, just the way things look, no matter what it is, that says HL all over it. They probably have their own famous name making all that stuff.

Anyway, I don't wan't a name. That's the last thing I want. It's just fun sharing what looks good and interesting with others for them to enjoy. It starts out kind of like "hey dude, check out this giant thorn I found". "Hey, you take some good pictures" and the rest is history.

This one could be good for a scientific reference for how big these thorns can get. JSYK it's a Honey Locust thorn.

 

[StealthyMcStealth]

Some Cholla cactus at the base of a cliff that is part of the Superstition Mountains.

20180314_095640 by Doug Lastname, on Flickr

 

[paul1598419]

I guess if you want to make a living out of taking pictures, journalism would be a good degree to get. You can always sell photographs of war torn areas and the like. That or get a job at J C Penney's potrait studio. :crackup:

 

[Nutball]

I like those Cacti, I don't get to see much of them around here.

EDIT:
Another video and pictures, It looks really good and sharp on the TV, but I still need practice and an old british narrator with creepy crawly sound effects
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikcGuEM6wYg

I'm working on modifying my ring lights again. Now I don't have as much trouble with shutter speed, but enough light should force the camera into small aperture mode. I'll be going from around 600-750lm to 1500-2000lm hopefully without cooking the bugs, or scaring them with brightness.

 

[Nutball]

I don't know what the limit is for max pictures in one burst, but with the Sony RX10 capable of 24fps burst shot speed, so camera tech isn't far from taking 20MP videos! Is that bigger than 8k?

 

[Nutball]

There's a tiny spider in this one: