# I have no structure...



## RustyBrown (May 29, 2004)

So I stayed with a sucessful formula and went to BBSP after work. I think everyone's getting cabin fever. No composites or blends here. So which shot is best?


----------



## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

I like the first one a lot but the second shot is the consensus favorite at my house tonight.

Very nice work again.


----------



## Bobby (May 21, 2004)

I like the first one and the second one, but I like the last one best.


----------



## NaClH2O (May 25, 2004)

I like all of them, but the 2nd one is my favorite as well.


----------



## EchoDuck Jr. (Jul 16, 2004)

i like the 2nd


----------



## Blue Water Ho (May 21, 2004)

In the 2,3,5 pictures (if any) what filters were you using?


----------



## Pod (Dec 11, 2004)

I like the wildlife shots. The gator picture is great. The roseate spoonbill pic really caught my eye. They are neat birds and made for a great picture.


----------



## RustyBrown (May 29, 2004)

*Filters*



Blue Water Ho said:


> In the 2,3,5 pictures (if any) what filters were you using?


A polarizer was used on all shots. The sunsets also had a graduated neutral density filter to help balance the lighter sky against the darker forground. I never though about it until I processed the spoonbill shot, but due to the shape of their beak wouldn't they have to keep their heads in one position when flying to avoid lifting or diving?


----------



## Dorado-Mahi (May 23, 2004)

Nice work Rusty. I like them all but that second shot is the one I kept going back to. Incredible colors, composition and perspective. Did you shoot it from that observation tower?


----------



## RustyBrown (May 29, 2004)

*Yep, from the tower*



Dorado-Mahi said:


> Nice work Rusty. I like them all but that second shot is the one I kept going back to. Incredible colors, composition and perspective. Did you shoot it from that observation tower?


Ray,

A few things you should know 1) entrance fee has been raised to $4 2) the road to Elm Lake is closed for construction. I fought traffic and construction for an hour last night trying to get back to "my spot". Well I went to Plan B and thought I'd walk around the west side of 40-Acre Lake and come in from the South. Never made it there.

First there was Bubba Gator. He went about 7' and is the biggest I've seen so far in my three trips. Coots were literally just a few feet away from his nose. His head is enormous. I had no intention of shooting from the tower. I've seen shots from Webshots and Pbase from there and have never really been impressed with what I've seen, but I'm happy with the result. Cloud cover was just too heavy for the moonrise. That's the way it goes.


----------



## trout chaser (Oct 21, 2005)

I like the last best.


----------



## Cutter (Jun 23, 2004)

not asking for all of your trade secrets RB, but can I see your exif for those? (one of the purple lake photos in particular) Not sure I would know how to recreate something like that ... perhaps that grad ND is tripping me up in my evaluation..


----------



## RustyBrown (May 29, 2004)

*Save to desktop*



Cutter said:


> not asking for all of your trade secrets RB, but can I see your exif for those? (one of the purple lake photos in particular) Not sure I would know how to recreate something like that ... perhaps that grad ND is tripping me up in my evaluation..


Cutter you should be able to save to desktop as a jpg (make sure there no parenthesis in the file name) right click then choose /properties/summary/advanced that should give full exif. as far as trade secrets I'm an open book.


----------



## Cutter (Jun 23, 2004)

I already checked.. you must have "saved for web" in photoshop.. cause exif was stripped out


----------



## RustyBrown (May 29, 2004)

*Weird*



Cutter said:


> I already checked.. you must have "saved for web" in photoshop.. cause exif was stripped out


I'm on one of my manager's PCs this morning and tried it before I replied. Don't know why it's working for me. Try this link...

http://www.photochimps.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=671

Click any of the images and scroll down for exif. If this doesn't work I'll send an original from home tonight.


----------



## chicapesca (Jun 7, 2004)

I like all of them, but my first favorite is the spoonbills, and second is the second photo. Wow! What does BBSP stand for?


----------



## RustyBrown (May 29, 2004)

*At least one person agrees with you...*



chicapesca said:


> I like all of them, but my first favorite is the spoonbills, and second is the second photo. Wow! What does BBSP stand for?


My wife loved the spoonbill picture. I think it's good because there's some blur of the wings, the formation, and each bird is in a different aspect of the "flap". BBSP is Brazos Bend State Park.


----------



## Cutter (Jun 23, 2004)

Ok, I was able to see it in PS.. I guess my right click->properties->advanced is acting weird (or maybe cant read exif 2.0 ??)


----------



## RustyBrown (May 29, 2004)

*Throw me a bone...*

So what was tripping you up?


----------



## Cutter (Jun 23, 2004)

I couldnt figure out how you were getting such strong foreground (eg the water) AND background (sky), without overexposing the sky (I figured it was a long exposure). But I never considered that you were using a grad ND to darken the top half. Which grad ND are you using? The 1, 2, or 3 stop adjustment?


----------



## RustyBrown (May 29, 2004)

*Like I said "Open Book"*



Cutter said:


> I couldnt figure out how you were getting such strong foreground (eg the water) AND background (sky), without overexposing the sky (I figured it was a long exposure). But I never considered that you were using a grad ND to darken the top half. Which grad ND are you using? The 1, 2, or 3 stop adjustment?


I'm using two ND's and a polarizer. The NDs are Cokin 120 & 121. They haven't received the greatest reviews, but they work for me. The polarizer let's me control the intensity of the reflection on the water as well as helping with overall saturation. Because the Cokin Filters slide into a holder I can stagger them and better control how much detail I want to pull out of the sky and where. It is manipulation, but it's manipulation to correct what the camera just can't do that the human eye can.

I heard something interesting from one of the Academy Award people last week. They said (paraphasing) that the "craft" is an understanding of the technology in creation and that "art" is in your ability to hide the craft. Thought it had an interesting application to photography.


----------



## Mrs Backlasher (Dec 19, 2004)

RustyBrown said:


> ... I heard something interesting from one of the Academy Award people last week. They said (paraphasing) that *the "craft" is an understanding of the technology in creation and that "art" is in your ability to hide the craft*. Thought it had an interesting application to photography.


That's a very profound statement. I'm glad you shared it with us.

I'm one of those who doesn't possess the craft yet. LOL


----------

