Obstructions

carlfogel@comcast.net

Obstructions

On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 21:48:12 -0600, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:

[snip]

Instead of posing for Post Office ads or perching on dead cottonwoods
down at the reservoir where it could get some fish, this obstruction
was circling up a prairie thermal on an unseasonally warm day,
flaunting its white head and white tail feathers.

Here's a full-size photo, with it flying to the right:
http://i25.tinypic.com/mk7uht.jpg

Trimmed pictures:
http://i25.tinypic.com/14mq2c5.jpg
http://i25.tinypic.com/1040w2s.jpg
http://i29.tinypic.com/if1rep.jpg
http://i26.tinypic.com/2zs1uo5.jpg

Next thermal, a few hundred yards over:
http://i25.tinypic.com/s59q3p.jpg
http://i32.tinypic.com/211uu6d.jpg
http://i28.tinypic.com/k04xtw.jpg
http://i29.tinypic.com/vybd78.jpg

Some day, I'll sneak up on one of them sitting on a cottonwood and get
a decent picture, like this redtail at a later intersection:
http://i26.tinypic.com/10cntc3.jpg

Well, at least you can see the red tail and gnarly feet.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

carlfogel@comcast.net

Obstructions

On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 21:48:12 -0600, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:

>On Mon, 16 Jul 2007 20:15:27 -0700, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
>
>[snip]
>
>I thought that I recognized this shell as I went by, but I thought
>that it was empty.
>
>When I went back, the obstruction turned out to be live, so I picked
>it up, brought it home, and took its picture:
>
>http://i21.tinypic.com/al6qac.jpg
>
>Cheers,
>
>Carl Fogel

Today the chinook winds eased up, but it hit 72F, forcing me to ride
in shorts and a ventilated t-shirt in winter in Colorado.

Ice in the shady places down in the river bottom slowed me down, but
not as much as stopping to take pictures of these obstructions as they
ambled out of the junipers and on to the right, eventually posing
against the red rocks on the back of the Pueblo dam:
http://i26.tinypic.com/wk1yll.jpg
http://i29.tinypic.com/2ajayjd.jpg
http://i30.tinypic.com/2eltsh2.jpg

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

carlfogel@comcast.net

Obstructions

On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 21:48:12 -0600, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:

[snip]

It's amazing what a pocket camera can do in even the clumsiest hands.

If I'd gone bicycling in the cold this afternoon after last night's
snow, I'd have stopped for five minutes to take seventeen pictures of
this familiar obstruction, trim them, and post them.

It's just a tiny smudge dead-center in these two full-size versions of
the first and last trimmed photos:
http://i27.tinypic.com/15i1bme.jpg
http://i25.tinypic.com/sbnfbl.jpg

The automatic camera and its trimming program lets you see what caught
my eye:

http://i31.tinypic.com/447bk.jpg
http://i29.tinypic.com/v8mr84.jpg
http://i29.tinypic.com/o032pg.jpg
http://i29.tinypic.com/2nuixr6.jpg
http://i25.tinypic.com/2cwkei9.jpg
http://i28.tinypic.com/19o42e.jpg
http://i26.tinypic.com/qpi3vp.jpg
http://i31.tinypic.com/fynzlv.jpg
http://i32.tinypic.com/2lk7dkk.jpg
http://i28.tinypic.com/152mgas.jpg
http://i30.tinypic.com/mt4753.jpg
http://i26.tinypic.com/2uzsc95.jpg
http://i28.tinypic.com/b7jhjq.jpg
http://i30.tinypic.com/143nk9y.jpg
http://i28.tinypic.com/f2v82b.jpg
http://i26.tinypic.com/21j93q0.jpg
http://i30.tinypic.com/2lm7yw2.jpg
http://i30.tinypic.com/10nwdnb.jpg

Here's a less wary obstruction, a rock-toss from the bike path, to
remind me of recent warmer weather:
http://i32.tinypic.com/15h029y.jpg
http://i30.tinypic.com/oayd6h.jpg
http://i31.tinypic.com/34qmf68.jpg

Full-size:
http://i26.tinypic.com/2138di.jpg

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

datakoll

Obstructions

On Feb 5, 7:41 pm, carlfo...@comcast.net wrote:
> On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 21:48:12 -0600, carlfo...@comcast.net wrote:
>
> [snip]
>
> It's amazing what a pocket camera can do in even the clumsiest hands.
>
> If I'd gone bicycling in the cold this afternoon after last night's
> snow, I'd have stopped for five minutes to take seventeen pictures of
> this familiar obstruction, trim them, and post them.
>
> It's just a tiny smudge dead-center in these two full-size versions of
> the first and last trimmed photos:
> http://i27.tinypic.com/15i1bme.jpg
> http://i25.tinypic.com/sbnfbl.jpg
>
> The automatic camera and its trimming program lets you see what caught
> my eye:
>
> http://i31.tinypic.com/447bk.jpg
> http://i29.tinypic.com/v8mr84.jpg
> http://i29.tinypic.com/o032pg.jpg
> http://i29.tinypic.com/2nuixr6.jpg
> http://i25.tinypic.com/2cwkei9.jpg
> http://i28.tinypic.com/19o42e.jpg
> http://i26.tinypic.com/qpi3vp.jpg
> http://i31.tinypic.com/fynzlv.jpg
> http://i32.tinypic.com/2lk7dkk.jpg
> http://i28.tinypic.com/152mgas.jpg
> http://i30.tinypic.com/mt4753.jpg
> http://i26.tinypic.com/2uzsc95.jpg
> http://i28.tinypic.com/b7jhjq.jpg
> http://i30.tinypic.com/143nk9y.jpg
> http://i28.tinypic.com/f2v82b.jpg
> http://i26.tinypic.com/21j93q0.jpg
> http://i30.tinypic.com/2lm7yw2.jpg
> http://i30.tinypic.com/10nwdnb.jpg
>
> Here's a less wary obstruction, a rock-toss from the bike path, to
> remind me of recent warmer weather:
> http://i32.tinypic.com/15h029y.jpg
> http://i30.tinypic.com/oayd6h.jpg
> http://i31.tinypic.com/34qmf68.jpg
>
> Full-size:
> http://i26.tinypic.com/2138di.jpg
>
> Cheers,
>
> Carl Fogel

I see the snow has yet to melt.
soon!

Tom Sherman

Obstructions

datakoll aka gene daniels wrote:
> ...
> I see the snow has yet to melt.
> soon!
>
Here by The Lake they are forecasting twenty (20) inches of snow in the
current storm, with the possibility of high winds and thunderstorms.

Yesterday it rained. ;)

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful

Ryan Cousineau

Obstructions

In article <arthq3l96g4lg71vomr5rlc44urvvtqt5b@4ax.com>,
carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:

> On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 21:48:12 -0600, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
>
> [snip]
>
> It's amazing what a pocket camera can do in even the clumsiest hands.
>
> If I'd gone bicycling in the cold this afternoon after last night's
> snow, I'd have stopped for five minutes to take seventeen pictures of
> this familiar obstruction, trim them, and post them.
>
> It's just a tiny smudge dead-center in these two full-size versions of
> the first and last trimmed photos:
> http://i27.tinypic.com/15i1bme.jpg
> http://i25.tinypic.com/sbnfbl.jpg
>
> The automatic camera and its trimming program lets you see what caught
> my eye:
>
> http://i31.tinypic.com/447bk.jpg
> http://i29.tinypic.com/v8mr84.jpg
> http://i29.tinypic.com/o032pg.jpg
> http://i29.tinypic.com/2nuixr6.jpg
> http://i25.tinypic.com/2cwkei9.jpg
> http://i28.tinypic.com/19o42e.jpg
> http://i26.tinypic.com/qpi3vp.jpg
> http://i31.tinypic.com/fynzlv.jpg
> http://i32.tinypic.com/2lk7dkk.jpg
> http://i28.tinypic.com/152mgas.jpg
> http://i30.tinypic.com/mt4753.jpg
> http://i26.tinypic.com/2uzsc95.jpg
> http://i28.tinypic.com/b7jhjq.jpg
> http://i30.tinypic.com/143nk9y.jpg
> http://i28.tinypic.com/f2v82b.jpg
> http://i26.tinypic.com/21j93q0.jpg
> http://i30.tinypic.com/2lm7yw2.jpg
> http://i30.tinypic.com/10nwdnb.jpg

Mr. Fogel:

Certainly, this is an elusive creature, though "obstruction"? I daresay
you deceive, sir!

Ahem.

This tool may assist you in getting closer to your photographic quarry:

<http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/find/newsLetter/Mother-of-All-L-Lenses.jsp
>

It's the extraordinarily rare Canon 1200 mm f5.6 prime lens. This is one
of less than 20 examples ever made, and one has come on the market,
lightly used, but ready for years of durable service.

Please note that it is nearly a metre long, weighs more than a nice road
bicycle (36 pounds), and the asking price is $99,000.

On the other hand, that makes the price of the $8000 EOS 1Ds Mk III body
seem like a rounding error, in rather the same way that while one is
buying the expensive bicycle that the household treasury has agreed to
finance, sneaking in a $200 pair of shoes is easy.

Oh, and of course, this post wouldn't be complete without its 19th
century forerunner:

<http://www.mediastorehouse.com/pictures_573612/752/2/TELESCOPE-PARIS-189
9.html>

ObBike: Vancouver is alternating snow and rain, making the streets full
of slushy goodness. It turns out that as long as the slush is shallow
enough (1/2" or so) that my slick tires can push it out of the way,
traction is acceptable. In more dire conditions, I have been resorting
to my cyclocross bike, which provides something like a mud & snow tire
without resorting to the unhappy-on-roads performance of the 2.1" tires
on my MTB.

Having lost an eBay auction for some nice Duegi winter boots, I'm still
looking for a proper winter solution. MEC didn't have the neoprene
booties in XL as I was hoping for. Oh well.

--
Ryan Cousineau rcousine@gmail.com http://www.wiredcola.com/
"In other newsgroups, they killfile trolls."
"In rec.bicycles.racing, we coach them."

carlfogel@comcast.net

Obstructions

On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 21:48:12 -0600, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:

[snip]

Over 70F for the last few days, so obstructions have been interrupting
my daily ride.

***

A beaver arching its back for the next tail-splash after the first
splash caught my attention:

Full-size and almost invisible:
http://i26.tinypic.com/2qcjbs9.jpg

Trimmed:
http://i31.tinypic.com/2s1ani9.jpg

***

Stupid kingfisher zooming away after luring me into the brush with its
harsh cry:

Full-size and almost invisible:
http://i31.tinypic.com/1z34684.jpg

Trimmed:
http://i27.tinypic.com/14aee6v.jpg

***

A familiar friend, trotting through an abandoned waterworks:

Full-size and almost invisible:
http://i27.tinypic.com/xm6a9x.jpg

Trimmed:
http://i25.tinypic.com/t6p215.jpg

***

Five dim-witted deer:
http://i29.tinypic.com/6nt2zo.jpg

Trimmed:
http://i31.tinypic.com/ih1wg5.jpg

Make that six dim-witted deer, plus a few more hidden behind the bush
on the right:
http://i28.tinypic.com/2s6wkcx.jpg

Trimmed:
http://i28.tinypic.com/bhn7lk.jpg

***

Distant dim-witted antelope at 4x, barely visible:
http://i31.tinypic.com/264opaw.jpg

Trimmed:
http://i29.tinypic.com/211or9i.jpg

Still at 4x trotting away:
http://i27.tinypic.com/99ovhk.jpg

Trimmed:
http://i31.tinypic.com/1zqpw1z.jpg

A bit of a walking chase puts Pikes Peak in the background:
http://i25.tinypic.com/s3o8k2.jpg

Trimmed:
http://i32.tinypic.com/34ybeoh.jpg

Beginning to grow suspicious at 4x:
http://i27.tinypic.com/1zcetu8.jpg

Trimmed:
http://i30.tinypic.com/28mfcqx.jpg

Running away again . . .
http://i31.tinypic.com/6575s8.jpg

Trimmed:
http://i27.tinypic.com/30s7sb6.jpg

Running past Pikes Peak, forty miles away:
http://i26.tinypic.com/2dv33h5.jpg

Trimmed:
http://i27.tinypic.com/30ikqvp.jpg

About to stop again and repeat the whole silly process:
http://i28.tinypic.com/209ne49.jpg

Trimmed:
http://i31.tinypic.com/zn1nq9.jpg

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Ryan Cousineau

Obstructions

In article <oc6ks3t9fupgr6n21i0ep816qg593laoi0@4ax.com>,
carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:

> On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 21:48:12 -0600, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
>
> [snip]
>
> Over 70F for the last few days, so obstructions have been interrupting
> my daily ride.
>
> ***
>
> A beaver arching its back for the next tail-splash after the first
> splash caught my attention:
>
> Full-size and almost invisible:
> http://i26.tinypic.com/2qcjbs9.jpg

> Stupid kingfisher zooming away after luring me into the brush with its
> harsh cry:
>
> Full-size and almost invisible:
> http://i31.tinypic.com/1z34684.jpg

> A familiar friend, trotting through an abandoned waterworks:
>
> Full-size and almost invisible:
> http://i27.tinypic.com/xm6a9x.jpg
>
> Trimmed:
> http://i25.tinypic.com/t6p215.jpg
>
> Distant dim-witted antelope at 4x, barely visible:
> http://i31.tinypic.com/264opaw.jpg

Carl! Given the number of "full-size and almost invisible" photos here,
We need to upgrade your photographic equipment.

I suggest:

<http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/find/newsLetter/Mother-of-All-L-Lenses.jsp
>

Price is probably negotiable:

<http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/800557508-USE/Canon__Super_Telepho
to_1200mm_f_5_6L.html>

Cheapskates buy its little brother instead:

<http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/183203-USA/Canon_2532A002_Telephot
o_EF_500mm_f_4_0L.html>

Cheapskates go for the mirror-lens versions, which are dark,
funny-looking, and have only one aperture, but work okay in bright
daylight.

You will of course require a tripod for any of these lenses:

<http://www.henrys.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ItemsDisplay?currency=US
D&affiliate=froogle&storeId=10001&departmentId=10408&itemID=184652&catalo
gId=10101&ddkey=SetCurrencyPreference>

Oddly, that is a straight-up non-joke little tripod-type thing that is
very good at turning a bicycle handlebar into a camera mount.

--
Ryan Cousineau rcousine@gmail.com http://www.wiredcola.com/
"In other newsgroups, they killfile trolls."
"In rec.bicycles.racing, we coach them."

carlfogel@comcast.net

Obstructions

On Sun, 02 Mar 2008 04:52:34 GMT, Ryan Cousineau <rcousine@gmail.com>
wrote:

>Carl! Given the number of "full-size and almost invisible" photos here,
>We need to upgrade your photographic equipment.

Dear Ryan,

I keep looking at stabilized cameras with greater zoom, but I suspect
that it's like bicycles--what I have is probably better than my
ability to use it, so I'm reluctant to lash out for more.

As for tripods, a lot of the time there's no time or handy place to
put the kind that you can carry--I have to drop the bike, hop a fence,
and pursue the quarry.

Another drawback is the memory of the fate of the last stabilized
impressive-zoom camera that I saw in the flesh.

Its owner tooke a short-cut across an apparently dry and frozen pond,
trusting to the tumbleweeds sticking up out of the ice and snow at
10F.

By the time I hurried around the pond, the owner had managed to flail
his way out of the icy water that he fell into and was heading for the
car at a run. I was told later that the camera was kinda-sorta working
after disassembly and blow-drying.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Tom Sherman

Obstructions

John Dacey wrote:
> [...] I found it
> particularly distressing back in the goathead phase when it appeared
> that one of the leading rbt posters was being consistently flummoxed
> by a shrubbery.[...]

Better that than trying to cut down the mightiest tree in the forest
with a herring!

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful

carlfogel@comcast.net

Obstructions

On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 21:48:12 -0600, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:

[snip]

Sunny and over 60F, so the obstructions were feeling even less wary
today than usual.

I noticed this obstruction coming toward me, picking its way down the
far side of a gully full of leafless cottonwoods:

Full-size:
http://i27.tinypic.com/2dq92h.jpg

Trimmed:
http://i29.tinypic.com/3585jyq.jpg

A minute later, the obstruction re-appeared at the bottom of the
gully. My camera either got confused about the lighting or else has a
secret atomic flash setting:
http://i29.tinypic.com/292spcw.jpg

But modern cameras are amazing--despite the lightning-flash, the
obstruction is still visible when trimmed:
http://i27.tinypic.com/33kepfq.jpg

The same view again, a moment later, no atomic flash:
http://i25.tinypic.com/9scdvk.jpg

Trimmed:
http://i26.tinypic.com/2el5l6u.jpg

A few minutes later, another obstruction crept out of the brush to sit
and sunbathe on a convenient cement projection, staring up at me as I
clicked the camera button.

Full-size:
http://i25.tinypic.com/xn812q.jpg

Trimmed:
http://i29.tinypic.com/28rnqx0.jpg

Full-size sunbathing:
http://i30.tinypic.com/awq90o.jpg

Trimmed sunbathing
http://i28.tinypic.com/k3oruu.jpg

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

datakoll

Obstructions

http://www.everwonder.com/david/snakes/

carlfogel@comcast.net

Obstructions

On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 21:48:12 -0600, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:

[snip]

Gray day. Flat landscape. Nothing to do but count obstructions.

Thirteen obstructions:
http://i29.tinypic.com/2h2h6qa.jpg

You three obstructions pose against slightly less boring landscape:
http://i28.tinypic.com/169osgo.jpg

Now scamper to the right, where there may be a more scenic
background--no, to the right, you idiot! Follow the other two!
http://i32.tinypic.com/15q222x.jpg

That's a better background and you're all three together again, but
stop running in silly little circles:
http://i30.tinypic.com/6o1vg8.jpg

Much better background, but one of the three obstructions ran the
wrong way and vanished:
http://i32.tinypic.com/2pp0aa9.jpg

Two obstructions still moving right for a better background:
http://i26.tinypic.com/53n0ic.jpg

Getting a bit cloudy in the background behind those two:
http://i29.tinypic.com/2ex7j8x.jpg

The clouds drop back behind the mountains as the obstructions keep
running to the right:
http://i25.tinypic.com/10qi99y.jpg

The two obstructions join a larger group of obstructions on the right:
http://i27.tinypic.com/al52d3.jpg

Eight obstructions in various poses against non-flat background:
http://i26.tinypic.com/dgwtl.jpg

Three obstructions of a different kind against a different non-flat
background, on the right side of a fence:
http://i27.tinypic.com/2wqwsqr.jpg

Same three obstructions, from much further off, dead-center, still to
the right of the fence,
http://i26.tinypic.com/30b0aia.jpg

Not being too bright, here they are again, closer up, a little later,
having hopped the same fence:
http://i27.tinypic.com/72bsc7.jpg

Fuzzy, but nicely posed above the highway:
http://i28.tinypic.com/i214dj.jpg

Twelve of the original obstructions:
http://i31.tinypic.com/wl6h53.jpg

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

carlfogel@comcast.net

Obstructions

On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 21:48:12 -0600, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:

[snip]

I ignored lots of grouchy red-tailed obstructions, which are perching
everywhere, but tend flap away if I stop for a photo.

But this less common obstruction was working a field next to a marsh,
flying back and forth, swooping up and down about ten feet of the
ground most of the time, harrying unseen rodents, head down like a
good Tour de France rider, so I stopped for a few minutes and took
pictures.

Full-size: http://i31.tinypic.com/2wpnlhd.jpg
Trimmed: http://i30.tinypic.com/e293b.jpg

Full-size: http://i28.tinypic.com/fawh1k.jpg
Trimmed: http://i31.tinypic.com/2j46omw.jpg

Full-size: http://i28.tinypic.com/w0ideq.jpg
Trimmed: http://i27.tinypic.com/2vlla9g.jpg

Full-size: http://i25.tinypic.com/2eg49s7.jpg
Trimmed: http://i31.tinypic.com/2hf6edx.jpg

Full-size: http://i29.tinypic.com/eamqdz.jpg
Trimmed: http://i29.tinypic.com/261ccix.jpg

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

carlfogel@comcast.net

Obstructions

On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 21:48:12 -0600, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:

[snip]

I've been keeping an eye out for a particular obstruction for months
now, but unfortunately it looks a lot like a bird's nest or a paper
wasp nest, so I've been squinting at distant nests in bare trees
without any luck.

Here's what the obstruction looks like at a distance with 4x zoom:
http://i30.tinypic.com/etcpb8.jpg

Closer:
http://i25.tinypic.com/21afthk.jpg

Right underneath:
http://i25.tinypic.com/negn41.jpg

Look closely at the photo above, and you can just make out the
forepaws, which are grasping the branch.

But unless you get lucky with lighting (or tree the obstruction in a
5-foot tall juniper), that's about as good as the detail gets.

For example, this pose shows the profile of the nose and the outline
of one eye, but you need to know what you're looking at:
http://i28.tinypic.com/2eoyxyh.jpg

A nicely lit back view that shows even less detail:
http://i25.tinypic.com/2cs6fx3.jpg

A better back view, showing the back fan of white quills:
http://i27.tinypic.com/24lu0xy.jpg

A side view, showing how hopeless portrait photography can be, even if
the obstruction is willing to pose as long as you like:
http://i26.tinypic.com/nwzvyd.jpg

Sometimes getting closer doesn't help. This is probably about the
right distance:
http://i30.tinypic.com/2v1ovn4.jpg

It's looking right at the camera.

***

East of the Rockies, rivers like the Arkansas flow through a desolate,
arid country, home to antelope, cactus, and rattlesnakes:
http://i26.tinypic.com/1zog4u9.jpg

High up in the pitiless sky, ominous shapes soar against the sun,
wheeling in grim circles above the lonely photographer:
http://i29.tinypic.com/16gee74.jpg

A flock of vultures, right?

Well . . .

Let's go back a few minutes.

Here they are, executing a turn at lower altitude, coming back over my
head before they climbed to altitude and started soaring:
http://i25.tinypic.com/fee6ud.jpg

And here they are even earlier, taking off downstream moments after I
first startled them:
http://i27.tinypic.com/jiopol.jpg

Without pictures, it can be hard to convince visitors to the Colorado
semi-desert that some of the vultures circling overhead are looking
for fish.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Ryan Cousineau

Obstructions

In article <q76eu31133jbq2aq2phv53pv22dqrvd8k3@4ax.com>,
carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:

> On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 21:48:12 -0600, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
>
> A flock of vultures, right?
>
> Well . . .
>
> Let's go back a few minutes.
>
> Here they are, executing a turn at lower altitude, coming back over my
> head before they climbed to altitude and started soaring:
> http://i25.tinypic.com/fee6ud.jpg
>
> And here they are even earlier, taking off downstream moments after I
> first startled them:
> http://i27.tinypic.com/jiopol.jpg
>
> Without pictures, it can be hard to convince visitors to the Colorado
> semi-desert that some of the vultures circling overhead are looking
> for fish.

You had a fair number of fuzzy porcupine pictures in this batch, but the
last shot of the pelicans was great.

--
Ryan Cousineau rcousine@gmail.com http://www.wiredcola.com/
"In other newsgroups, they killfile trolls."
"In rec.bicycles.racing, we coach them."

carlfogel@comcast.net

Obstructions

On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 06:48:03 GMT, Ryan Cousineau <rcousine@gmail.com>
wrote:

>In article <q76eu31133jbq2aq2phv53pv22dqrvd8k3@4ax.com>,
> carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
>
>> On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 21:48:12 -0600, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
>>
>> A flock of vultures, right?
>>
>> Well . . .
>>
>> Let's go back a few minutes.
>>
>> Here they are, executing a turn at lower altitude, coming back over my
>> head before they climbed to altitude and started soaring:
>> http://i25.tinypic.com/fee6ud.jpg
>>
>> And here they are even earlier, taking off downstream moments after I
>> first startled them:
>> http://i27.tinypic.com/jiopol.jpg
>>
>> Without pictures, it can be hard to convince visitors to the Colorado
>> semi-desert that some of the vultures circling overhead are looking
>> for fish.
>
>You had a fair number of fuzzy porcupine pictures in this batch, but the
>last shot of the pelicans was great.

Dear Ryan,

Forgive the repetition, but . . .

Alas, the porpentine is not merely fretful, but inherently
"fuzzy"--the camera resolution in many of the pictures is good enough
to show individual hairs:
http://i29.tinypic.com/11l1jpy.jpg

Left-click on the lower right in Explorer for full size.

The porcupine is about 15 feet away and looking at the camera.

Its hair and quills are so dense and black around its tiny face that
you'll have a hard time making out the nostrils, but they're actually
visible.

The dark coat creates its own shadow, in which the dark skin, eyes,
and nose are lost.

The forelegs are visible, too, but only if you stare at the picture
for a while and know that the legs are wrapped around the upright
branch.

Even with direct sunlight, most people won't recognize this as the
balding back fan of a porcupine's coat:
http://i32.tinypic.com/2d8qgck.jpg

Again, left-click on the lower right for full size, which is about
half life-size on my screen.

The detail is good enough to show the black needle-tips on many of the
white quills on the balding back fan.

Put your hand on a dog's back, between the hips, and that's roughly
the spot.

It's a well-defined area (well-defined for a porcupine) where quills
predominate and hair is scarce. The quills in the center are much
smaller and worn away, tapering away to next to nothing in the center,
with long quills spreading out like a peacock's fan.

***

Here's an example of a much better photographer being bested by a
long-haired porcupine in a portrait contest, even though the beast is
posing on the ground at point-blank range:
http://www.rivernen.ca/animal_p.htm

That upper black area is not the porcupine's eye--that's the ear.

The eye is the barely visible gleam in the upper left corner of the
lower rectangular black facial area--it's looking right at the camera.

***

I've been able to see porcupine eyes clearly a few times when I've
walked back and forth underneath a bare cottonwood in good sunlight,
staring up at various angles at a porcupine hanging out on the end of
a branch.

Using binoculars at such a ridiculously close range, you can actually
see fleas, yet still have trouble making out the eyes, nose, and mouth
that you know must be somewhere in that frustrating blackness.

The best approach is to tree a porcupine on a 5-foot-tall juniper and
then inspect the creature at arm's length.

An intelligent observer will maintain this arm's-length distance and
resist the urge to try to pluck a quill from the beast, which is just
sitting there, motionless.

A less intelligent fellow will curse and pluck the quill from his own
hand. Porcupines may waddle slowly, but they can arch their backs like
lightning if you're dumb enough to put your hand within range.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

Ryan Cousineau

Obstructions

In article <l7neu3hci7akm3mgm7uhoh769k98l8vs1t@4ax.com>,
carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:

> On Mon, 24 Mar 2008 06:48:03 GMT, Ryan Cousineau <rcousine@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> >In article <q76eu31133jbq2aq2phv53pv22dqrvd8k3@4ax.com>,
> > carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
> >
> >> On Sat, 29 Sep 2007 21:48:12 -0600, carlfogel@comcast.net wrote:
> >>
> >> A flock of vultures, right?
> >>
> >> Well . . .
> >>
> >> Let's go back a few minutes.
> >>
> >> Here they are, executing a turn at lower altitude, coming back over my
> >> head before they climbed to altitude and started soaring:
> >> http://i25.tinypic.com/fee6ud.jpg
> >>
> >> And here they are even earlier, taking off downstream moments after I
> >> first startled them:
> >> http://i27.tinypic.com/jiopol.jpg
> >>
> >> Without pictures, it can be hard to convince visitors to the Colorado
> >> semi-desert that some of the vultures circling overhead are looking
> >> for fish.
> >
> >You had a fair number of fuzzy porcupine pictures in this batch, but the
> >last shot of the pelicans was great.
>
> Dear Ryan,
>
> Forgive the repetition, but . . .
>
> Alas, the porpentine is not merely fretful, but inherently
> "fuzzy"--the camera resolution in many of the pictures is good enough
> to show individual hairs:
> http://i29.tinypic.com/11l1jpy.jpg
>
> Left-click on the lower right in Explorer for full size.
>
> The porcupine is about 15 feet away and looking at the camera.
>
> Its hair and quills are so dense and black around its tiny face that
> you'll have a hard time making out the nostrils, but they're actually
> visible.

[&c.]

Thanks for the essay (and amusing pro example) of the difficulties in
photographing porcupines. I have found a new tool which may make your
hobby easier:

http://www.canonfd.com/mirrorlenses/pages/page10.html

Please note the f14 aperture of this 5200mm mirror lens. In the photo,
note the boxy, irregular object attached to the right end of the lens.

That's the camera.

Please also note that this is a specialist instrument, and care should
be taken to observe that in the field, its 100 kg weight (without stand)
must be taken account of.

Also, the minimum distance to your subject is 120 m. Out of quill-shot,
to be sure.

--
Ryan Cousineau rcousine@gmail.com http://www.wiredcola.com/
"In other newsgroups, they killfile trolls."
"In rec.bicycles.racing, we coach them."