Magpye, I somehow missed all of your butterfly pics from Sept 2 above. WOW and WOW again! That painted lady is stunning! and the orange and brown one is simply lovely!!!!
-Julie
Some of my 'entertainment' ..
Hello, I just wanted to say hi from England. I just got a brief use of a computer from friends I am staying with tonight, so had a quick look at DG. Tomorrow I move on to Ecuador and the Galapagos. Back in touch in January,
Ken
Ken,
Can't wait to see your photos!!! They will cheer me up in mid-winter! Hope you have a super trip. What are you "after" this trip? I will live vicariously whatever you post.
Boojum
Ahhhh, sooo thar ya be .. Ken ..
You're off on some more of your world travels, 'ey?! ... Good for you !!
Thanks so much .. for letting us know where you've been migratin' off to .. !!!!!
.. And like boojum stated .. I, too ... will be most thrilled to see all of the wonderful photos you've taken ... when you get 'sat down' long enuff .. to post any of 'em! .. I've no doubt, that you are keeping a mitey fine journal of all of your excursions, sightings, views, and adventures! .. So lookin' forward to hearin' all about it .. !!
Gosh doggit .. Galapogos huh? . . . . (Wellllllll, I reckon some of us can start preparin' to kiss the 2005 DG photo competition b'bye .. with you and that new cam'ra of yorn, bein' turn'd loose on the globe !) .. hee hee ..
We'll certainly be lookin' for your presence here again ... soon!!
((huggeroonies)) to ya Ken .. and take care / and be careful !!!
It's a jungle out'ar!! .. LOL ..
Happy Hollidays .. and, Merry Christmas .. to you and yours !!! .. God bless !!
- Magpye
Hi Magpye:
I love your photos. Do you have a really expensive digital camera? I seem to have difficulty with close-ups or movement with my digital camera.
Another question: Does your Butterfly Weed keep a nice shape, or do you prune it? I've read that it can be a scruffy plant, so I hesitate to recommend it to customers. What is your experience with the plant?
Thanks,
Bonnie
Hello there Bonnie ..
A big ol 'hearty' welcome to Daves Garden too .. !!!
And, thank you .. so very much for the sweet compliments on my ol pitters too. It's most kind of you!
Reckon, some folks may could call the Fuji S5000 expensive, but it's truly not one of them hi tech super dooper image stabilizin' digitals tho' .. It's the 10X optical zoom that cranked me to it .. along with, what I felt was a low price .. for the features she packs! .. I'd bought her, when my prior Fuji S602 pretty much was forced to bite the dust .. (by the post office) .. back in February, I think it was. The price I paid then, was $335 for it @ walmart.com! For the money, I feel it is truly, a wonderful little SLR 'type' digital !!
Quite a few of my shots .. are using my tri-pod. Especially those pushing the limits of my zoom capability. Also (and, what is important to me) is .. that I very rarely crop my photos to enlarge them. The majority of my pics are untouched in any way .. other than a lil highlightin' along the edges and inserting my name on them somewhere ...
IMHO .. She performs more than well, and delivers some mitey fantastic pitters, and then some! I'm more than satisfied with her, for all of my needs .. The capability to record audio and video is another big bonus for me!! I jes eat up all of these shortee movies I make of nature and my grandy-yunkins!! ha
All of the Butterfly Weed we have - we've dug from the roadsides here in NW Arkansas. In all seriousness, I can't even remotely recall it ever gettin' to lookin' scruffy or behaving unruly either. Can grow somewhat tall, and sometimes has a tendency to fall over a bit .. but, that's only with a good wind, or when a hard rain happens. But I've also staked (rather, 'lasso'd it up) a bit sometimes too .. just to keep it from getting beat down.
It's funny tho', I've never given any thought to pruning it tho'. Ha ... It'd be my luck, I'd do it .. at completely the wrong time .. when the Monarchs have jes laid their eggs.
Bonnie .. if I can remember .. I'll try to round up a pic .. of the bed that it grows in .. and post it .. before we leave to head south for a few days .. (jes don't count on it, with the way my ol wee brain is puttin' along today tho'!) .. LOL ..
We wish a very Merry Christmas to you and yours .. And God Bless and keep ya !!
- Magpye
Edited to correct some of my goofs !! .. hee
This message was edited Nov 29, 2004 7:50 PM
Thanks for all the info Magpye.
Guess I better start using the tripod...maybe that is the difference since I'm not as steady as I used to be.
Would love to see more photos of the Butterfly Weed. Take your time finding the photos....even after you return from your trip.
Looking forward to more wonderful photos. Merry Christmas and a healthy happy new year.
Bonnie
Magpye,
I think that you are one of the most gifted photographers that I have had the pleasure of viewing their pictures. I really want to learn how to take pictures like you do. My son bought a digital camera for the family but, although it has 4.0 megapixels, it has digital zoom instead of optical. I am thinking about after Xmas to check out the sales on AOL as they have the most reasonable camera prices that I can find. If any of you have any suggestions please advise me. Is it possible to attach an optical zoom lense to a camera? I was thinking about getting a 5.0 megapixel Fine Pix with 2x optical zoom for $154.95. Is that reasonable? I have heard good comments from another garden site about Fine Pix. If any of you have heard differently, please let me know.
Thanks,
Chuck
Chuck, just a few comments/opinions ...
Digital Cameras generally have both Optical and Digital Zoom. My advice is to not pay much attention to the digital zoom. However, the more optical zoom the better. You mentioned a Fine Pix w/ 2x optical zoom. My first digital was a 3.2 megapixel with a 3x optical zoom. I found the 3.2 megapixel to be adequate but the 3x optical zoom to be inadequate. It all depends on how you plan to use the camera and your own level of self satisfaction. I am seldom satisfied with my photos although others will feel differently. And, I'm sure cost enters into the picture.
I saw where Circuit City is currently offering a Fujifilm Fine Pix S3000 for $169.99, after rebates. It has 3.2 megapixels with a 6x optical zoom. Of the Fine Pix, the one that I would buy is the S5100 for $359.99 at Circuit City. It has 4 megapixels with a 10X Zoom. I did not check prices elsewhere . . .
You cannot attach another lens to this kind of digital. You would have to upgrade to a Digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex). That is the route that I went with my 2nd digital camera (Nikon D70) but then you are looking at $1,000 to $1,500+++ depending on the lenses that you purchase.
Just a little food for thought .... hope it helps !!!
linthicum,
Thank you very much for the input. Believe me, I have a fixed income and two kids in private colleges and one who will be there in Fall 2005 and there is no way right now that I can pay $1000 for a camera. But I am going to go check the nearest Circuit City to see if I can locate the Fujifilm Fine Pix S3000. It sounds like a good beginner digital camera. I have been there once and I didn't see that camera but I will check again.
As far as the usage, I am currently planting and planning a butterfly/bird garden (with emphasis on hummingbirds). I would like to take pics of plants, flowers, butterflies, hummingbirds, wild birds (we live near a wildlife reserve) and post them on the Internet to a couple of garden websites including this one to see what species each of them are.
My goal is to get as good as Magpye and others someday. So far(I started in April, 2004), I have planted monarda Jacob Cline, monarda Violet Queen, Scarlet Hedgenettle, Scabiosa Butterfly Blue, French Lavender, Spanish Lavender, Jasmine, Purple Sage, a pink flower Butterfly Bush, Butterfly Bush Dark Knight, and White Swan Coneflower. They were all planted in Fall 2004 except for the lavenders, butterfly bushes, and the Jasmine. The White Swan Coneflower is the only one I am concerned with right now. It never has done very well but we recently had a surprise snow storm (second one in fifteen years) in November. The snow melted as soon as it touched the ground. For the last five nights, there has been a frost. The lowest temperature has been 29 degrees to 31 degrees Fahrenheit. Now the coneflower only has two leaves left. Well, I guess we will see.
I am planting three kinds of Passiflora this spring. I don't know which ones to plant. I am researching this now and if anyone has any comments, please let me know. They will be in the sun in the summer from 6 am until 2 pm. Is this too much sun or too little? The goal is to attract as many caterpillar species as possible, even if it means replacing the plants every year. I would like three unique Passifloras if I will be able to.
Sorry about the long winded message. Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks,
Chuck
Chuck, I wouldn't worry about the coneflower. It should come back by seed in the springtime if it had any flowers on it before at all.
I would recommend going to the vines and climbers forum for advice on the passifloras. They know EVERYTHING about passifloras over there! :-)
-Julie
Chuck, my reference to Circuit City was from their web site - www.circuitcity.com
Do a search for Fine Pix - as I recall 8 different models were displayed. And, NO INTEREST UNTIL 2007. Just may be an incentive to upgrade. --- lol Then, you will be on par with Magpye. She said she has the Fuji S5000. I assume the S5100 is just a more current version of the same camera.
Good Luck.
CBernard .. I need to be beat with a wet noodle .. or, perhaps a far more punishing thrashin', surely .. but I can only apologize deeply, for not getting back here .. and at least kindly acknowledging you.
I'd jes written to Linth, in the last day or so .. and have attempted to offer due apologies to him also. I'd stated, that it seems that DG is rapidly becoming far too large a play ground for me ... Something's gotta give somewhere - but I most sincerely do not desire, andhaven't meant to risk making those that seem to think somewhat highly of my lil pitters - feeling shunned by me. Please know, that it truly is not my nature to do so ... Reckon, I'd best start a new resolve to improving such .. You guys just please, try .. to bare with me.
Certainly mitey kind of Linthicum to give you some pointers here about some prospective new digitals cam'ras!! So, I am even more curious now . . . Have you found something that suits your fancy yet ? I'll go back and take a bit closer look at the forums, and see if you've already posted pics .. and I've managed to miss them ...
Secludedgardens .. I'm jes gonna have to designate some time to getting all of my pics in order. Since they're on 4 different hard drives, may oughta get my fanny busy, 'ey?!! .. I'll dig a bit deeper, and come up with a shot of my ol wild Butterfly Weed pics!
I get to lookin' at everyone else's threads, posts and photos .. and am letting so much other stuffs to jes go by the wayside ...
- Magpye
This message was edited Mar 24, 2006 10:58 PM
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