Rod Sorensen

I love this.

I'll second that!

Baldie getting ready to leave. WI

I'd describe myself as ambivalent concerning the "like" button, so I could take or leave it. I agree with jordan that "like" is not particularly objective, but I disagree that a great photo wouldn't get likes because the poster isn't "one of the boys", as I know it would get my like and probably others. I will comment on how I use it, both in giving the like and interpreting a like on my photo. As opposed to DawsonPointers, I use my personal reaction to evaluate the photo. I don't give a bunch of likes just because someone has posted, is a regular, whatever. I "like" a photo if I think it is really good, maybe 20% of the posts or less. My hope is that the person getting my like will use it the way I do when I get a like. When I get a like, I first notice who gives it. If it is someone that likes a bunch of photos, including some that I don't think are very good, I pay no attention to it. If it is someone that is usually somewhat critical in their evaluation, I will use it to tell me that I'm probably doing something right. If I don't get many likes and it is a photo that I thought was great, I will reassess whether my eye toward my own photos is accurate. So, if it is used correctly - and it won't always be - I think it can be useful. My longwinded 2 cents.

Fred, I think I do understand what you are and aren't suggesting. I certainly didn't figure you were trying to change photographic styles of individuals. I also think your suggestions may have no major negative impact on the forum. But weird things happen sometimes, totally unforeseen. I just know that for ME, I like this forum because of the posted nature images (narrowly defined) and the advice given for locations, equipment, techniques, etc. related specifically to doing nature photography. I'm hoping it will continue primarily in that direction. Perhaps wide latitude for this new thread could work fine. Like you say, neither you or I will make the decision. :-)

Buena Vista Wildlife Area - WI

I like Dawson’s proposal. If tweaks are needed, they should be minor. I would not support Fred’s ideas, as I think they risk totally changing the overall subject content that people have come to desire in this forum. I may (or may not) support conservation, various “interpretations” of nature, activism of various types. But none of those are what brings me to this forum or what I want it to trend toward.

I like the "unlimited" or "unrestricted" descriptors, but the name really doesn't matter much to me. I would like it to be nature, and I would like to see it limited to one post. I'd like to see everyone's work and have it be their best stuff. I don't want to step on toes, but some people's images (maybe mine, actually) aren't as good as they think and I don't want a bunch of posts from them spoiling the experience we are striving for. I'd also like us to not have any repeat posts from MiN to this new thread - must be a different image.

I'd like to have places to post pictures like this Snowy and Short-eared that I got yesterday, but I also really like the MiN and would prefer that nothing happens to dilute what we get posted there.

You've got your dragonfly technique dialed in. Curious on your focal length.

You're welcome, but it's well deserved. It has all the elements I aspire to when I'm capturing a nature image, but rarely accomplish. :-) Seems like there is always something out of focus, distracting branch, boring composition or whatever.

Superb sharpness and details, interesting shapes and NO distractions. Phenomenal image.

I certainly was not suggesting this was anything other than a totally legitimate and unedited image. I just think it is cool that it is unexpectedly two deer, not one. And only after looking closely and seeing that something doesn’t look right do you see what is really going on - seemingly a deer in front grazing toward the rear and a second deer in the back looking at you. Sorry if my post sounded accusatory. Actually I think this also belongs in the “didn’t see that when I took the pic” post. :-)

I just see one tail, but I think there has to be two deer, because the rear end that you can see can't be connected to the head unless a deer can turn it's head 220 degrees to the left, which it can't. :-) I think that makes this a cool trick picture.

Mary, Two deer, correct?

Great Gray Owl, Sax-Zim Bog, MN, 2/17. Wish I could get my images to post full size.

In the original picture, it would be hard to age the bird although it seems to have some raggedy feathers on the upper chest, a feature of a more mature bird. The plume is usually not up when the bird is at rest. You can see from Shun's obviously mature GBH that it has a plume as there appears to be a very slight gap of the black "cap" at the bottom of the neck. I very much admire good pictures of this bird like Bill's, probably because of the below. I see these birds all the time in WI, but in the wild where they have very limited human exposure. In that setting they are very timid and almost impossible to stalk and get a closer picture or a good flight picture. I have tried to do this scores of times over many years. They fly off long before I am in optimal photography range. I suspect there are more populated areas where they frequent and become much more tolerant of human presence. Those just don't happen to be close to where I live. :-)

Whooping Crane at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge in WI a couple weeks ago. Need to do some post processing to sharpen it.

Found it. I was looking at the publication page numbers.

Don't find anything on page 59 about this. One review at Amazon. Below link. https://www.amazon.com/Life-Edge-Sight-Photographic-Exploration/dp/067497591X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1505926571&sr=8-1&keywords=life+at+the+edge+of+sight

Tim, I don't know you, but I'd wonder if you are being a bit of a devil's advocate. The biggest reason your idea wouldn't work in MiN is that it is in your kitchen and you created the bubbles. Hand of man. There might be very rare instances this sort of thing could be captured in a truly natural setting, but that would be seldom seen. I would probably personally not see it as belonging in the nature forum at all, but I'm not sure there is a prohibition of it outside MiN. There is no question that we have to trust people, because it is impossible to always validate whether the rules have been followed.

Sandy, et al, If it were for me to determine, I might do it differently, but we don't always get to do it our way. I'm guessing there are some people here that I might not get along with easily, but that is the same where I work, play, etc. I have come to understand how we do the MiN and actually believe there are a lot of very positive things about the way we do it. I think it is one of the best recurring posts that occur on photo.net. I think other people feel the same which is why criticism comes out when the guidelines aren't followed. I don't think it is personal, but rather a fear that something good might get messed up. I definitely would like to keep having the chance to misidentify the bird pictures you post. :-) Rod

You had a filter on, so you're fine. The people who did this damage needed to do a little more homework or think through their plan a little bit better. Ouch!

I was in eastern NE, so I didn't. For total eclipse locations that possibility was limited to a very small area in Wyoming.

I agree with your sentiments, David. Hard to describe the experience in words. Despite being somewhat burned by thick clouds during totality, the experience of sudden darkness, 10-15 degree temperature drop, wind dying from 15-20 mph to perhaps 5 mph, cicadas briefly sounding at "dusk", oohs and ahhs from folks watching, sudden light, temperature and wind back up to prior levels, cicadas briefly sounding at "dawn" all happening in about 3 minutes - well there is just no other experience like it. I will remember it for a long time. I also plan to see the 2024 eclipse and perhaps an earlier one also somewhere in the world. Meantime, while I am still excited I want to get all my other ideas developed and my set-up ready while things are still fresh in my mind. I'm a notorious procrastinator trying to avoid my normal tendencies.