Carlin

If you want, we could see so many eagles you would never want to see 'em again.

Phenomenal pictures guys! I'm working my way into the photography thing, but in the meantime, here is my favorite eagle shot taken by my Mom who is a talented amateur photographer. Sorry it is low res, but you get the picture.

I'm sure you could use a non-prime reversed as well, I just happened to have a cheapie 50mm prime on hand.

I was reading up on macro photography a bit this week and decided to give the reverse-lens thing a try. Basically, take a small prime lens and hold it face-to-face (reverse) against your normal lens/camera setup. The prime acts as a magnifier so you can get really closeup shots, though you have to be within an inch or so of your subject, and as you can see the focal length is SHORT. This was taken with a Canon 30d with a Sigma 18mm-200mm f/3.5-6.3 and Canon 50mm f/1.8 under a couple standard 60w bulbs. Nothing fancy, but fun! In fact, I liked the preliminary results so much that I ordered a coupler from eBay for $10 that will screw the two lenses together. :headbang: Here are a couple shots that I took last night while testing the setup. My favorite, the anther of an Amaryllis flower we have in our living room. Actual size ~5mm lengthwise. A bamboo cutoff. Actual size 1/4". A close up of a 4wt silk fly line.

I'm with Will. The Rebel series from Canon definitely have a cheap, plastic-y feel, though they do take excellent photos and feel comfortable in the hand (I too have small hands - no 'small hand, small...' jokes funny guys. ) I haven't had a Nikon in hand so I can't say much about it. Well I did take a few photos with Grahams and it was sweet! Another thing to consider Alex is the Canon 30d. It is a much sturdier and better built magnesium body (not plastic), with plenty of bells and whistles. I know it is more than either body you are looking at, but Canon has a double rebate going on if you get the 30d body and a qualifying lens or flash. That knocks $200 off the price of the 30d body getting it down to $974 (Amazon), which is a steal. Get the Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens for $369 ($409 less 2x$20 rebate) and you're in business. At least for starters... I got a Rebel package from Nick just a little bit ago and liked it so much I gave the whole shebang to the gal as a Bday present and upgraded myself to the 30d. Damn nice camera. :headbang:

Alex, I'm in a similar situation as you, but I have the advantage of having a 300D here at my disposal as well as a professional photographer in the family who is always happy to offer advise. My feeling is that you are going to want one lens that will do as much as possible, otherwise you'll be playing the lens swap game, especially as you are learning what situations and type of photography you will mainly be doing. Once you have some experience under your belt, and some more $$ in your pocket, it is easy enough to add some specific prime or zoom lenses to your arsenal. To that end the Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 was highly recommended as a walk-about lens. Of course there is some sacrifices with using a lens of this range, especially at the edges of the photos at the extremes; its not the fastest lens in the world and it is slightly slower to focus and noisier than a Canon USM or L series lens. However, according to my sources, the glass is of very high quality, is lightweight and reliable and at $350 (Amazon) is a great choice for a good general knock around lens (an even more attractive price when you knock $100 of the price of an Xti by skipping the kit lens) . This is from a professional photographer who uses this lens more than any other for casual, non-specific use. The Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM was on the short list as well, especially because of the image stabilizer, but I found from fiddling around with a 28-105 I wanted a bigger zoom for outdoor use, even with the 1.6x crop factor, and again, want to spend some quality time with the camera before I start getting more specific and pricey lenses. I'll be picking up one of these shortly so I can begin to learn what I really need in a high dollar lens (or rather, lenses ).

We are down to one of the final polls, and this one gives the rod most of its character. Head on over to RBF and help us decide on the final wrap colors for the rod. http://www.rodbuildingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=13891 So we've decided on a 4wt Perfectionist 2pc rod in a light blonde color: With a beautiful light box elder burl reel seat from Bellinger: And a western style grip:

The next two polls for the Fly Tyer of the Year bamboo rod are going to be the ones that give the rod its real aesthetic character. The wrap color will be the next poll in line after the current reel seat poll is concluded later this week. Come on over to RBF and put in a vote for your favorite! Here is a preview of the seats that we get to choose from this year, all of which were graciously donated by Chet from Bellinger.

The taper that was chosen is a Paul Young Perfectionist which is a 7'6" 4wt. Young rods are typically parabolic, but the Perfectionist feels more like a medium-fast action rod until you get a lot of line out and the butt section starts flexing and doing its work. A truely wonderful 4wt taper. :headbang:

I have just put up a couple new posts showing some more steps in the FTOTY bamboo rod build. The last handful of polls are on hold for a few more days as I am awaiting delivery of some special reel seats from Bellinger. Chet has kindly donated some very unique inserts, as well as allowing me to roll out some new reel seat hardware that they are now making, so by the end of the week or early next week, that poll should be up and we can see the stunning seats that Chet has generously donated (I've already seen pics and they are amazing ). After that we'll be choosing the wrap colors and a few other details before the build is completed late this month, so stay tuned and please vote for the reel seat and wraps as they will give the rod much of its final character. :yahoo:

I've got a couple of flies decided on but haven't had the chance to tie them up yet. The bamboo rod is progressing nicely, and we'll be moving along pretty quickly over the next few weeks so keep an eye on the build thread on RBF to watch the rod being built: http://www.rodbuildingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=13427 Also, please stop by and vote for the preferred snake guide color. The poll ends Wednesday at 9pm EST: http://www.rodbuildingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=13649

http://www.flytyersdungeon.com/

Consider it sold Nick. :headbang:

I have the next FTOTY poll up and running. In this poll we'll choose the shape of the grip. This poll closes down on Wednesday, Oct. 18th at 9pm EST. Please head on over and cast your vote. http://www.rodbuildingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=13431 I'll be putting up a new poll every week or so as we are getting down to the wire on the deadline for the FTOTY contest! :yahoo: I have also begun the post on the actual build process. You can keep an eye on the progress here: http://www.rodbuildingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=13427

Last chance to cast your vote in this poll! I'm going to close it down to voting tomorrow evening at 9pm EST.

With this next poll we get to decide the color of the bamboo rod. Please head on over and vote for your favorite. http://www.rodbuildingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=13118 Once this poll is completed we can get started with the actual construction. I'll be posting photos and descriptions of the process as the making of the rod progresses, so keep an eye open for updates. :yahoo: So far we have decided on a 7'6" 2pc 4wt rod based on a Paul H. Young Perfectionist taper.

Also note the roof. It isn't a true Alaskan home if the roof isn't covered with a blue tarp!! Of course it should be sided with straight Tyvek so they lose a point for that. :hyst:

I'm going to close the voting on this poll tomorrow at 5pm EST, so please head on over and vote if you haven't already.

Hey all, The first poll finished up last week and it was decided that we build a 4wt rod this year. The past two years we did 5wt rods, so I'm especially looking forward to the results of the current poll that will determine the taper, and therefore action, of the finished rod. Please head on over to the RBF post linked below and cast your vote for your preference. I held of posting the poll link here for a few days so that we could get some member input on the tapers that hopefully will help you decide on which action you like best. If not, just vote for whatever! http://www.rodbuildingforum.com/index.php?...=13010&st=0

Good site! The best I've found is www.addall.com. They have both a new and used site, and basically do the same as Fetchbook, though I don't know which hits more sites.

Also, if you are a complete novice, the best book for a very quick and easy to follow introduction to Excel is Teach Yourself Visually Excel 2003, ISBN 0764596888. In fact, that particular series is the best I've ever seen or used for first-step introductions. They cover a wide range of computer related topics.

Funny you ask right now... I have used Excel A LOT. I'm certain there are a number of good Excel forums out there, but I've only used them as I've Googled for answers to specific questions. The absolute best book on Excel is called Excel 2003 Formulas by John Walkenbach, ISBN 0764540734. I just got a 2nd copy so that I could have one at work and one at home. Walkenbach's is superior in every regard to any other book I've seen or used on the topic. Dummies is decent for a quick intro and overview of some of the most often used formulas but won't serve you well if you get into more advanced formulas, text manipulation and things like arrays, VBA or charting.

Great pictures Graham! I want to see the ones that your wife took of you running around the yard chasing flies though.

Jeez, didn't mean to start a debate! Ben has pretty much got it right, though 20mpg might be a bit optimistic for my truck. I was basically going off the last trip I did up north where I put $50 in the tank and had just a tad more gas left than what I started with, so perhaps $40-$45 is closer to the mark. And yes, Europe has it much worse than we do! Canada too if I'm not mistaken. I feel for you Peter.

They are not shutting down the pipeline, only some of the BP lines that feed into it. There is regular maintenance done on the main pipeline, and apart from the stray idiot with a gun shooting at it, it has aged relatively well. Gas in Anchorage is running in the $2.80-$2.90 range. Turns a couple hour drive to a stream into a $50 ordeal.