Christmas in June arrived in the mail yesterday, thanks to Pres. Bush's stimulus plan. It is an Olympus Stylus 850 SW (shockproof, waterproof) camera. The camera I have used previously has proven to be entirely unreliable and difficult to use. Of course, I needed to take it to the pond tonight and try it out. The first several pics are with the new camera. It was fun playing with the zoom and macro settings. No more trying to stand on my head or holding the fish way out to take fish pics while tubing. The second pic is of the osprey nest. What do you think? Unfortunately, while the fishing was quite fast tonight, I didn't get any real hogs. In comparison, the last pic shows a nice 17 1/2 er from Thursday taken with my old camera. (One of the few times it actually worked) Now, I need to figure out one issue with the memory card and I'll be set.
As for the fishing tonight, it was very fast, but not much for size. When we have been going to the X during the week though, we have been getting some bigger fish.
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[cool][#0000ff]Lookin' good. Thank you Uncle George W. Bush.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I still haven't hit the upper lake yet. Too many other places to fish and not enough time.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Do you have a good photo software program? I use the ACD See and it works great for cropping, resizing and enhancing. I took a couple of your shots and did a quick "auto enhance" (one button) on them. It also added resolution (file size) Compare to your pics.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have been using the Olympus D-550 for several years. Basically happy, but going to retire it soon. The panel that opens and closes, across the lens, seems to work only when it wants to and I miss some good shots. It is getting old and tired...like me. Hope I don't get replaced by a newer model.[/#0000ff]
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We have one called Micrographix picture publisher. It is about 15 years old. My wife is quite proficient in using it, me, not so much but it does the basics. It might be the next thing to retire. It will be fun to really learn how to use this camera and do some decent photography while fishing. Heck, maybe I'll even learn how to photoshop a few bigguns into my pics when the angling is slow. [
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RC has been fishing great the last 2 weeks, with bass up to 18 inches and a few nice trout to be had. The perch haven't shown up yet, but should make an appearance within a week or two, if this year is anything close to typical.
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[cool][#0000ff]It is usually after the first of July before the cold runoff slows down and the water temps warm up enough to get the perch into those shallows. I plan to come visit them...along with the other residents of the Rock Cliff Fish Condo.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I got some new goodies to show them this year.[/#0000ff]
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I am with Tube Dude. I use the ACD See.....LOVE IT!
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just as an alternative program to use.. try paint.net.. its a free download .. is simple to use.. and does the basics like cropping and resizing and enhancements really well..
MacFly [cool]
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Here are a few more pics from the weekend. The first couple were from lake X on Thursday of a couple of visitors I had while fishing. The others were taken over the weekend. I think my review of this camera is quite favorable for use in tubing and other outdoor activity.
As for Jordanelle fishing, I went out for a couple of hours after work, with a couple of friends in a boat on Thursday, then when they needed to leave, launched the tube. It was still smokin hot. No fish pics, I was too busy testing a new finesse rod, ( i couldn't resist the cicada though) but I did get some decent quality, along with a host of modest sized smallies. No perch. The weekend was spent with the family in the high country.
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Congrats on good reports and pictures with the new camera.
There are two free software programs for manipulating pictures that I am very impressed by. They will allow me to do anything to photos except "air brush".
The programs are Picasa2, a freeby from Google, and Irfanview. The Irfanview I use mostly for size alteration to exact size either by inch or pixel.
BTW, those pics are great, especially the ones of the "little nipper".
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[cool][#0000ff]Lookin' good.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]No perch yet, huh? I am planning an early morning shot at Rock Cliff Thursday morning. Gonna do a "perch search"...along with smackin' some smallies and teasin' some troutski's. Hey, I am equal opportunity.[/#0000ff]
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When I was in the boat, George said he thought he saw one perch in the shallows. We didn't catch any or have the telltale nibbling of plastics that typically betray their presence however. We also were throwing larger plastics for the most part and a "targeted" approach for the perch might just yield a few at this point.
I might be up there Thursday as well, but it will be in the afternoon, after work.
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