April 2009 Photo of the month thread - post contest images here - Page 9 - Wildlife Gardeners

Barbara E · 04-25-2009, 11:01 PM

I took the picture (060414_4410_cr) on April 14, 2006 while out looking for wildflowers for the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden Wildflower Show. I was in the field (Santa Ana Mts.) with my boss. When we heard the rattle I instinctively jumped behind her - showing my true colors. After regaining my composure, I got some pictures, though we were on a slope below the rattlesnake and it was hard to get high enough, safely, to get a great shot.

The next picture (030417_1185_cr) taken on April 17, 2003, is a mallard swimming in the Arroyo Seco. This was once a magnificent waterway but is now one of the many concrete flood control channels that govern the hydrology of the Los Angeles basin. I use this image to convey the cost of lawn-dominated landscaping - excessive runoff, nitrogen and herbicides in the water, etc.

Equilibrium · 04-25-2009, 11:07 PM

And a great photo it is. We should be ashamed of ourselves for what that duck is swimming in. Great photos Barbara.

charlotte · 04-26-2009, 01:42 AM

Check out http://www.expoimaging.net/product-d..._Flash_Adapter. They have a $200 ring flash that attaches to the hotshoe of the larger flash units that mount of the camera. The ring flash will fit over lenses up to 4 inches in diameter. I only checked to see if it would fit Nikon's flash units (it fits a couple of them). It lists other major camera models, too.

Editing by FW to repair above link to direct to the ring flash.

TheLorax · 04-26-2009, 08:47 AM

I am afraid you have totally lost me. I clicked all over the Expo Imaging site and could not find any information on a ring flash or what it does. I am one of those people who is camera illiterate. Does a ring flash help take better wildlife photographs or better close ups or what exactly does it do for $200? Sage is the token non-gardener and I am the token non-photographer at Wildlife Gardeners.

Sage · 04-26-2009, 02:45 PM

Lorax, don't know about post 83, but ring flashes are good for portraits or close-ups where flash is needed, but if they're very expensive if it's not something you need alot. Use a diy foam bowl for a cheap effective alternative.

TheLorax · 04-26-2009, 03:14 PM

I have a cut out round food storage container that I can slip over my lens to take close ups. I used it for a fly I took a picture of this morning. That was a really good idea. It has the added benefit of keeping raindrops off the lens. Now I need a styrofoam piece? I took over 100 photos to get 3 good photos of Ambystoma laterale (Blue-spotted salamander) and the flash turned the little guy white. The good photos I got were when the sun came out for a bit and I didn't need flash. What would the styrofoam do and what shape do I need to cut it into to make it work?

Fearless Weeder · 04-26-2009, 03:36 PM

Lorax. You will have to try again to post your salamander. That might have been a temporary burp.

TheLorax · 04-26-2009, 03:39 PM

This is a photo of the little salamander I mentioned before.

Sage · 04-26-2009, 03:44 PM

Good shot, girl!

TheLorax · 04-26-2009, 03:45 PM

And one more for the contest. This little guy is Pseudacris triseriata (Western Chorus Frog).

04-25-2009, 11:01 PM	#81
Barbara E Unicellular Fungi Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Southern California	So Cal photos, April I took the picture (060414_4410_cr) on April 14, 2006 while out looking for wildflowers for the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden Wildflower Show. I was in the field (Santa Ana Mts.) with my boss. When we heard the rattle I instinctively jumped behind her - showing my true colors. After regaining my composure, I got some pictures, though we were on a slope below the rattlesnake and it was hard to get high enough, safely, to get a great shot. The next picture (030417_1185_cr) taken on April 17, 2003, is a mallard swimming in the Arroyo Seco. This was once a magnificent waterway but is now one of the many concrete flood control channels that govern the hydrology of the Los Angeles basin. I use this image to convey the cost of lawn-dominated landscaping - excessive runoff, nitrogen and herbicides in the water, etc. Attached Thumbnails

04-25-2009, 11:07 PM	#82
Equilibrium Official Plant Nerd Join Date: Dec 2008	And a great photo it is. We should be ashamed of ourselves for what that duck is swimming in. Great photos Barbara. __________________ "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." - Dr. Seuss

04-26-2009, 08:47 AM	#84
TheLorax Unicellular Fungi Join Date: Nov 2008	I am afraid you have totally lost me. I clicked all over the Expo Imaging site and could not find any information on a ring flash or what it does. I am one of those people who is camera illiterate. Does a ring flash help take better wildlife photographs or better close ups or what exactly does it do for $200? Sage is the token non-gardener and I am the token non-photographer at Wildlife Gardeners. __________________ "In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; we will understand only what we have been taught." -Baba Dioum, Senegalese ecologist

04-26-2009, 02:45 PM	#85
Sage POM Judge & Official Non Gardener Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Buffalo, NY, USA	Lorax, don't know about post 83, but ring flashes are good for portraits or close-ups where flash is needed, but if they're very expensive if it's not something you need alot. Use a diy foam bowl for a cheap effective alternative. __________________ *~Facebook~ ~Peregrine Place~ ~Flickr~ ~Instagram Pix~*

04-26-2009, 03:14 PM	#86
TheLorax Unicellular Fungi Join Date: Nov 2008	I have a cut out round food storage container that I can slip over my lens to take close ups. I used it for a fly I took a picture of this morning. That was a really good idea. It has the added benefit of keeping raindrops off the lens. Now I need a styrofoam piece? I took over 100 photos to get 3 good photos of Ambystoma laterale (Blue-spotted salamander) and the flash turned the little guy white. The good photos I got were when the sun came out for a bit and I didn't need flash. What would the styrofoam do and what shape do I need to cut it into to make it work? __________________ "In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; we will understand only what we have been taught." -Baba Dioum, Senegalese ecologist

04-26-2009, 01:42 AM	#83
charlotte Carbon Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Pebble Beach, California, USA	Check out http://www.expoimaging.net/product-d..._Flash_Adapter. They have a $200 ring flash that attaches to the hotshoe of the larger flash units that mount of the camera. The ring flash will fit over lenses up to 4 inches in diameter. I only checked to see if it would fit Nikon's flash units (it fits a couple of them). It lists other major camera models, too. Editing by FW to repair above link to direct to the ring flash.

04-26-2009, 03:36 PM	#87
Fearless Weeder Administrator Join Date: Nov 2008	Lorax. You will have to try again to post your salamander. That might have been a temporary burp. __________________ Welcome to Wildlife Gardeners! Please join us today to participate in the discussions.

04-26-2009, 03:39 PM	#88
TheLorax Unicellular Fungi Join Date: Nov 2008	This is a photo of the little salamander I mentioned before. Attached Thumbnails __________________ "In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; we will understand only what we have been taught." -Baba Dioum, Senegalese ecologist

04-26-2009, 03:44 PM	#89
Sage POM Judge & Official Non Gardener Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Buffalo, NY, USA	Good shot, girl! __________________ *~Facebook~ ~Peregrine Place~ ~Flickr~ ~Instagram Pix~*

04-26-2009, 03:45 PM	#90
TheLorax Unicellular Fungi Join Date: Nov 2008	And one more for the contest. This little guy is Pseudacris triseriata (Western Chorus Frog). Attached Thumbnails __________________ "In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; we will understand only what we have been taught." -Baba Dioum, Senegalese ecologist

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