Evandr, I can probably come up with something but about that bread box - our oldest son married a Mormon girl from Collinston and there were 13 people in her family. I reckon they'd need a small barn for a bread box. That's not what you're talking about is it. How about some sage. Y'all do have some sage out your way don't you. That ought to work and add a little color in the process. Or maybe a yucca plant. Heck, I've never been to the upper part of Utah. I don't know what you folks have laying around on the ground or what your chances are of having a pretty background. Or, how a bout a catsup bottle sitting somewhere around where there's an interesting background, sort of a "busy" or cluttered background. I don't know if you want to do this indoors or out. Help me out a little. How about across the hood of your car diagonally so the car can be identified and toward some trees or mountains in the distance, if you have them. Without knowing what you've got around you there, it's a little to think of very much to do.

I've been trying to get rid of stuff, you know, sort of ahead of time, yep, "that time," but I'll take a load to Goodwill and bring another load back home, stumble over it for a few weeks or months and do it again. I keep thinkin' if I can just get me one more good unused "ab" machine, I'll eventually develop a some of them six pack abs I keep hearing about. I've got the ab doer, the ab trainer, the ab rocker, the ab twister, the ab... They're all in the basement. Still no abs. Someone the other day told me I would have to actually use the things and then I told them something.

I've been wondering what you've been up to. Missed you. You've been sitting around smackin' your lips over that new lens. Makes me a little jealous. I haven't gotten anything new in so long, I've forgotten what it's like. We'll be looking for some of those new images.

It sure looks to me like you've got it figured out. I'll be watching for more. There's nothing like a good wide angle shot.

Certainly can't argue with those shots. Excellent.

You're just feeling sorry for me and trying to get me kicked out of the house. My wife said, "just one more stinkin' camera," and she won't even go in the same room with them with a duster in her hand. Very generous of you. Thanks. I'll pm you.

Well, I'll tell you, there's a lot of folks in here who can help out more with other things so I jump in when I can on some of the simpler stuff like this. I'm a fair mechanic - not too much of an arteest. I figure if I help with the simple stuff it'll free up the experts a little more to handle the real tough stuff and then I can enjoy their efforts too right along with everyone else.

Here's some more bird shots I'd like you to criticize for me. I don't think they'll need any introduction. The first one is one of the reasons that I am not enthralled with artificial or PS selective color. Selective color occurs naturally on occasion and when it does it is usually pretty striking. I am not a fan of artificial selective color and think it merely robs naturally occurring selective color of its impact, but that's just me. Your mileage may vary. :)

The second is of a pair of Golden Eye ducks. They had been swimming along side by side and I waited 'til they started to swim apart so I could catch them perfectly within the Rule of 2/3rds or am I allowed to do that or is it even possible. It looks like it to me. :)

The last one is obviously a "light of the moon" shot.

Any time, my friend. Hope it solves that puzzle. One more out of the way.

By the way, that honkin' looking flash on the Canon outfit with the big lens is a flash extender that is designed to throw your flash on out there. It's just a frame with a fresnel or plastic sheet lens magnifier held on with velcro. They're real good for wildlife shots at a distance. They don't really throw all that much light but just enough when used just right. Extension tubes can be picked up at Amazon, Kenko brand, for about $175. Flash extenders can be bought online for around $40. You can see and buy flash extenders at http://www.photoxplore.com/extenders.htm and there are other places you can google up. This gives you a quick reference so you can see pictures of them. For bird photography, they're very useful.

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Bill, DB is a little under the weather and she asked me if I would reply to you for her. She bribed me with a piece of apple pie and I couldn't refuse. Simplistically, the tubes usually come in a set of three. They are separate and of differing thickness. They have the male and female ends on them so you can mount them between your camera and lens. You put one on your camera body and then attach your lens to the other end. Depending on the lens you're using, you can put one, two, or all three between your camera and lens. They are hollow tubes and what they do is put space between your camera and lens so it causes your camera to focus much closer than it would with a particular lens. In so doing, it brings you much closer to your subject and causes the subject to appear much larger than it might otherwise.

By combining all three tubes on a 50mm lens, depending on what you're shooting, you may have the lens only inches or less away from your subject. That's what makes such a picture of a small bug fill the whole frame of a picture. You can also use the tubes on a long telephoto lens to put some distance between you and a subject that might be too skittish to get a photo of is you were closer. I've added some pictures of what they look like and how they're used. It is a real good way to take advantage of the lens you already have to take close ups with and avoid having to buy any new special lens. It's the cheapest way to get good closeups if you already have lens. Being a hollow tube, there's nothing to alter the quality of the shot you would get with a lens you already own because all it does is move your lens a little farther from your camera body.

You can use them also in conjunction with lens extenders which are basically a very similar mechanism but with glass in it that magnifies the focal length of the lens you already have. For instance, if all you have is a 50mm lens, if you put a 2x or doubling magnifying extender between your camera and the lens, you convert your lens to a 100mm lens and then you can also add the extensions tubes to take macro shots further away from where you are and not "spook" your subject. You have to be careful with the 2x extenders though because if you get a real cheap one you may not get good glass in it which will cause distortion and unclear shots. If you shoot Nikon, a Nikon 2x magnifying extender will most likely be of the quality of your lens and won't degrade your images. Likewise, naturally, with Canon and other brands. Extension tubes are not so critical although you would want to know that your lens may not auto focus. And, another consideration is that your lens with a 2x magnifier on it will double your f-stop reading. So, if you have a 50mm f1.8 lens, it becomes a f3.5 for your aperture. Not anything to worry about but something you want to know.

I hope this is clear for you and if you have any further questions, don't hesitate to ask. If I don't know the answer, someone else will. If not, I'll find the answer for you.

What a relaxing way to start the day is right. With the mirror lockup tirade I was replying to a post by TJ that seemed to have gotten overlooked. I'm sure you, DB, didn't need that but it might help TJ. Those extension tubes in conjunction with an extender on that 200 will let you get some macro shots of those birds next spring. Can't wait to see that. :-)

Yep. I'm not happy with that. Looks like I could spend a whole career on that one goose. :)

I really like the bird shots. Good, sharp, nice!!

Hey again TJ. If you're shooting a SLR, which your profile pic would indicate, your camera has a mirror in it that allows you to see through the lens. When you trip the shutter the mirror flops up out of the way so the light from the lens can get through to your sensor or film. When that mirror flops up it almost invariably causes the camera to shake. A shaking camera causes un-sharp results in the finished image. In your menu, there should be a selection that will allow you to lock that mirror in the up so there's no camera shake from it when you fire a shot. You can do everything else to keep your camera still and that mirror alone will cause you to ruin shots. It's not so important on everyday snapshots but if you really want to get tack sharp shots, those things need to be done, all of them in combination. Your manual should discuss it in length. Try it. I think you'll be pleased with the results. Good luck with it.