# Golden Gator



## RustyBrown (May 29, 2004)

After shooting many, many gator shots at BBSP it takes something special there now to catch my eye. Found this one tonight I never post processed, but I found the end result to be above average. Double click for larger image.


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## Charles Helm (Oct 22, 2004)

That is a great shot!


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## Richlyn Concepts (May 12, 2006)

I really like that!


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## richg99 (Aug 21, 2004)

That is a definite winner... It is amazing how we somehow pass over good shots when looking through our results, and then..... occasionally.... find a gem that we missed. 

Must the be the "prettiest girl at the dance syndrome"...You know..you chase her all night.... she goes home with somebody else, and you missed her twin sister, standing right next to her all along! 

regards, rich


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## Mrschasintail (Dec 8, 2004)

Do you see alot of deer there? I was doing patrol in our neighborhood and there are some awesome brand new baby deer and lots of them. I thought of you when I saw them. Would be a great picture to take.


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## rendon (Jul 15, 2006)

That is a nice photo.......


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## TooShallow (May 21, 2004)

Exceptional shot. One of those rare images where everything comes together; light, color, detail, composition, etc. Fantastamagorical.


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## RustyBrown (May 29, 2004)

Rich you're right. With digital due to the additional quantity of images, I often pick the "best" of a series and disregard the rest. With limited opportunities lately I'm revisiting what I've shot in the past. 

What I'm finding interesting is the frequency of "good" shot decreases as I go further back in time - it's indisputable. The positive side of that is that the more I learn what does and doesn't work the more I'm putting that into practice and getting positive results. The negative side is that I have higher standards now.

One thing's for certian now. I will only shoot RAW going forward. The only disadvantages are card space and a little more PP. The flexibility it affords you in the long run by far outweigh the negatives.

The other nice thing about looking back is the fun I've had sharing my continued progress with people here. I especially like the critisim (that most usually save for PMs) and most of the time the arguments are valid. Please keep it coming.


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## RustyBrown (May 29, 2004)

Although I've seen some they've been few and far between. That may be because I'm hanging out with the gators though and they're more prevalent in the camping areas.



Mrschasintail said:


> Do you see alot of deer there? I was doing patrol in our neighborhood and there are some awesome brand new baby deer and lots of them. I thought of you when I saw them. Would be a great picture to take.


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## richg99 (Aug 21, 2004)

On "shooting RAW only"...interesting.. I finally downloaded the "hack" that allows the S3is to shoot RAW. I haven't tried it out yet ...but...I hope you are right. I'd like better pictures every single time. 

regards, Rich


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## RustyBrown (May 29, 2004)

richg99 said:


> On "shooting RAW only"...interesting.. I finally downloaded the "hack" that allows the S3is to shoot RAW. I haven't tried it out yet ...but...I hope you are right. I'd like better pictures every single time.
> 
> regards, Rich


Rich just to build on it a little bit more...consider RAW as your digital negative. Side by side with the processed jpg it doesn't look as good, but if I intend to print the file I can create a 16 bit tiff file (superior to the 8 bit jpeg) and I can make the adjustments I think need to be made. How many times do we override auto settings? This is no different.

Precise control of WB makes a huge difference in the final outcome. The plumeria series is a good indication of that. You can also adjust exposure somewhat, but there's no substite for getting it right in the camera using the histogram. I think anyone tht's been doing this for any length of time would agree that in postprocessing you can make great images excellent, good images great, but fair and poor images will always be just that. RAW also enables me to save several files at different exposures and then combine them in Photomatix from a single image. This is big when you have blowing branches for example.

There's a learning curve with it like everything else in this hobby.


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## Gator_Nutz (Sep 27, 2006)

Good description and narrative Rusty and I whole heartedly agree. I don't think I will shoot anything but RAW ever again. What I need to do now is work on what I do with the RAW images (I won't embarrass myself by saying what I do now is a "workflow") so that I can take less time in doing the basic, necessary things. That is one of my current goals.


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## Hook 'Em (Jan 3, 2005)

2cool


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## reel love (May 21, 2004)

nice shot, i like your frog avatar pic too.
michelle


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## Koru (Sep 25, 2006)

that gator sure looks like he's swimming in a golden lake... 

(wonder if there's a haiku in there somewhere.) 

beautiful Rusty. 

rosesm


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## Guest (Jul 29, 2007)

Koru said:


> that gator sure looks like he's swimming in a golden lake...
> 
> (wonder if there's a haiku in there somewhere.)
> 
> ...


5 - 7 - 5

A wistful gator
swiming in a golden lake
. . . ? . . .


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## SweetBlueButterfly (Apr 15, 2007)

Nice shot! I like how the golden sun is reflecting off the water! It will take at least 50 years before I take a shot like that!


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## wil.k (Aug 22, 2005)

great pic!


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