All Forum Comments
Comment by Don posted on Buying and Selling in Classifieds - a word of warning at 26/07/2011 - 16:06
I had to dial my samsung monitots wayy down before I could get them to calibrate with the Huey.
seems samsung sets the brightnes up as high as possible for marketing purposes, but for practical uses it was too bright.
seems samsung sets the brightnes up as high as possible for marketing purposes, but for practical uses it was too bright.
Comment by Don posted on Calibration 2 monitors at 25/07/2011 - 23:11
Frogherder wrote:
We have a "bat box" on the wall over the patio and a 100W bulkhead lamp about 1 metre away to provide us with light.
When sitting out at this time of year we frequently see little (pippestrel??) bats emerge and flutter about the garden and listen to them with a bat detector.
They spends ages under the lamp when there are moths to be had so we get to view them at short range and they appear to completely ignor us and often fly within a few inches before shooting off to the end of the garden.
Despite the light enabling me to occasionally see when they are coming close I've yet to get one on camera, even with it set to 18mm, so I for one am suitably impressed.
Regards
Bernard
small, fast, agile, and in the dark.... definitely one of the toughest things to photograph.....We have a "bat box" on the wall over the patio and a 100W bulkhead lamp about 1 metre away to provide us with light.
When sitting out at this time of year we frequently see little (pippestrel??) bats emerge and flutter about the garden and listen to them with a bat detector.
They spends ages under the lamp when there are moths to be had so we get to view them at short range and they appear to completely ignor us and often fly within a few inches before shooting off to the end of the garden.
Despite the light enabling me to occasionally see when they are coming close I've yet to get one on camera, even with it set to 18mm, so I for one am suitably impressed.
Regards
Bernard
Comment by Don posted on Bats.........Again! at 25/07/2011 - 21:01
coker wrote:
You make a good case for your strategy, Don
As soon as you've set it up, let's see those images!
Roger.
(I'll be out again tonight, in about an hour!)
I'm farrr too lazy to do that.... unless Gerri tells me to or somebody pays me to.... but sitting up half the night swatting mosquitos and firing shots in the air hoping to hit a bat is not really my idea of fun.... bring some booze and come on over, and I'll happily set it up and drink your booze while YOU try.You make a good case for your strategy, Don
As soon as you've set it up, let's see those images!
Roger.
(I'll be out again tonight, in about an hour!)
oh, and I do have a pond Gwyn!!!
Comment by Don posted on Bats.........Again! at 25/07/2011 - 20:52
coker wrote:
As with Gareth's pebble-throwing,Don, I'm not sure about "interfering" with their lives/activities that much.
Take that to its logical conclusion for a "sharper" photo, & we might as well put them in a glass tank.
Let them go free, do what they will &, if we don't /can't get a good shot, then so be it!
Bret, thanks for your thoughts.
Should a stronger flash be used, we would still be left with the problem of ... how far away will they be at the point 0of exposure?
Will extra power bring extra
exposure latitude?
The advantage that perhaps that power would bring is shorter flash duration = faster "shutter" speed...?
This is great... thinking on one's feet bowling along in mutual inspiration with fellow AMATEUR photograhers!
Have a go!
Let's all see those bat shots!
Our images are not limited by our equipment, only by our imaginations!!!!!!!!
Roger.
valid argument. From game farm trained model animals, to zoo's to feeding the animals.... there are varying levels of interference.... now what level suits you is a personal choice, and I'm all for going with as little interference as possible.As with Gareth's pebble-throwing,Don, I'm not sure about "interfering" with their lives/activities that much.
Take that to its logical conclusion for a "sharper" photo, & we might as well put them in a glass tank.
Let them go free, do what they will &, if we don't /can't get a good shot, then so be it!
Bret, thanks for your thoughts.
Should a stronger flash be used, we would still be left with the problem of ... how far away will they be at the point 0of exposure?
Will extra power bring extra
exposure latitude?
The advantage that perhaps that power would bring is shorter flash duration = faster "shutter" speed...?
This is great... thinking on one's feet bowling along in mutual inspiration with fellow AMATEUR photograhers!
Have a go!
Let's all see those bat shots!
Our images are not limited by our equipment, only by our imaginations!!!!!!!!
Roger.
The coral method does not trap or injure, but simply takes advantage of their natural obstacle avoidance skills to get them into a predictable flight pattern to increase your number of successful shots. You are also corralling the food for them, so it becomes a win win situation for everybody but the insects.... I can live with that level of interference, myself.
some bat species are nearing extinction right now due to a fungal disease spreading across north america... so anybody that puts up bat houses, and black lights may in fact be saving the species, as the fungal infections are spreading in larger colonies inside caves...
link
Comment by Don posted on Bats.........Again! at 25/07/2011 - 20:33
PentaxExpert wrote:
Have you considered drugging the bats? so they fly slower or not at all, just temporary so no harm to the bats?
I have seen this technique used on other creatures so they can be photographed succesfuly
we don't really want to hear about how your wife shot your avatar...Have you considered drugging the bats? so they fly slower or not at all, just temporary so no harm to the bats?
I have seen this technique used on other creatures so they can be photographed succesfuly
Comment by Don posted on Bats.........Again! at 25/07/2011 - 20:16
thoughton wrote:
All banks stink, bunch of crooks the lot of 'em.
We should go back to carrying our gold pieces in our pants. In fact I have a rather nice kangaroo scrotum money bag which I may start using.
I do not know what to make of this post... my condolences to that poor kangaroo... you sick monster you... lol!All banks stink, bunch of crooks the lot of 'em.
We should go back to carrying our gold pieces in our pants. In fact I have a rather nice kangaroo scrotum money bag which I may start using.
Comment by Don posted on Buying and Selling in Classifieds - a word of warning at 25/07/2011 - 19:34
Hardgravity wrote:
I'd go back with the reciept and get my money back Algi, if the offer is still valid!
Sainsburys have done that to my better half in the past, she always gets a refund.
send MY wife... I don't think she's ever lost an argument.... I'm not saying she's always right... just that she always wins...I'd go back with the reciept and get my money back Algi, if the offer is still valid!
Sainsburys have done that to my better half in the past, she always gets a refund.
Comment by Don posted on Another pointless thread at 25/07/2011 - 18:46
what did you calibrate with?
and yeah they will never look the same.... took me a while to adjust to the flat panels when I moved up from my emac to the imac, but the flat panels we use now are just plain better all across the board...
and yeah they will never look the same.... took me a while to adjust to the flat panels when I moved up from my emac to the imac, but the flat panels we use now are just plain better all across the board...
Comment by Don posted on Calibration 2 monitors at 25/07/2011 - 18:21
coker wrote:
Good afternoon, everyone!
just got in from work & realised what I've been missing since about 8.00 a.m.!!!
sorry to have omitted tech. info., but it's the same as B4, didn't want to raise the boredom quotient too high!
so...
K7, 18-55 "kit" lens, @ 18.
F5, ISO 400, 1/50th. sec.
Built-in flash.
Manual focus.
I set the focal length to wide since, although it renders the bat smaller in the frame, it does at least increase the chance of getting an image in the frame. Crop later (in PSE9).
The bats initial presence is indicated by a bat detector. In the remaining light, at 9.45 - 10.30 p.m., it is quite easy(!) to see them flying around against the sky. The latest ploy, rather than just "point-&-shoot" is , as the flash is "up" I've been using the cut-out in the flash housing as a rapid viewfinder, which makes following the bats easier, if you keep both eyes open.
In our garden which is bounded by 2 walls at right angles, they tend to swoop round & round before flying off over the rest of the garden. This circling adds a certain predictability to their flightpaths.
If nothing else it is very good, but challenging, panning practise!
Again, apologies in delaying my joining the discussion but any further info I can provide, please post!
I would really like to see others' results & any fine tuning / use of different lenses, etc. that you could suggest
Thanks for all the encouragement.
Roger.
I think you could herd them into a smaller shooting zone by running some rope through some trees and hanging mosquito nets or sheer curtians to funnel them into your zone and then using black lights to lure the insects into the center of your bat corral.... they should have no trouble navigating through that, and if the black lights attract enough bugs, the bats will follow..Good afternoon, everyone!
just got in from work & realised what I've been missing since about 8.00 a.m.!!!
sorry to have omitted tech. info., but it's the same as B4, didn't want to raise the boredom quotient too high!
so...
K7, 18-55 "kit" lens, @ 18.
F5, ISO 400, 1/50th. sec.
Built-in flash.
Manual focus.
I set the focal length to wide since, although it renders the bat smaller in the frame, it does at least increase the chance of getting an image in the frame. Crop later (in PSE9).
The bats initial presence is indicated by a bat detector. In the remaining light, at 9.45 - 10.30 p.m., it is quite easy(!) to see them flying around against the sky. The latest ploy, rather than just "point-&-shoot" is , as the flash is "up" I've been using the cut-out in the flash housing as a rapid viewfinder, which makes following the bats easier, if you keep both eyes open.
In our garden which is bounded by 2 walls at right angles, they tend to swoop round & round before flying off over the rest of the garden. This circling adds a certain predictability to their flightpaths.
If nothing else it is very good, but challenging, panning practise!
Again, apologies in delaying my joining the discussion but any further info I can provide, please post!
I would really like to see others' results & any fine tuning / use of different lenses, etc. that you could suggest
Thanks for all the encouragement.
Roger.
Comment by Don posted on Bats.........Again! at 25/07/2011 - 17:36
@ Chris R. yeah the send it first, pay later model will NEVER fly as long as there are people who lie.
at least not as policy... buyer and seller need to reach an agreement, preferably in writing, and stick to it. There are problems and risks either way. This is why I prefer cash in person.