My photo
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The photo from the instructor's preferred location. Slight difference, but what a difference
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Small bit of poppies
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A bug. No clue hat kind, but he was a patient dude
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Vertical
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Horizontal from the samish spot
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Horizontal pointed away from the sun
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I'm still not sure which one I like the best

Very nice!

+10 for the snake pics!

Great!

I love the snake pics!

I was going to say that!

Thanks all :D The snake was very patient with us.

Snek is evil!
Snek is an agent of the Debil hisself!
Snek eats campers and steals their credit cards!

http://cellar.org/2015/willy_nilly.gif

Carolina Beach State Park

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Flowers
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Crab! They scattered when I walked over the bridge. I just waited a bit and moved slowly and they all came out again. Thank goodness for zoom lenses
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Beach
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Hiking path
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Sunshine :)
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Same path, different location
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I may have laid on the sand for this
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This one, I put the camera down low and blind shot
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Cypress Lake
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Gross black stuff with a fly crawling on it. I don't know what it is.
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Different hiking day
Mayo River State Park

Trail blazes
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Cool tree
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Falling down Log Cabin
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Hiking path
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Sunshine
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Another blind shot
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Vine on a tree
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Good job, very nice pictures. :thumb:
I hope the gross black stuff wasn't the last chance to stop the alien invasion.

What the hell, Republicans and democrats forced to use the same trail?

If it was, I failed miserably! And no, just two different trails that follow the same path for a bit. It seems like red and blue are really popular colors for blazes. Maybe they stand out more?

Tick nest?

Nothing was really moving. I am not sure at all. I have a couple more pics of it, but they're at home. I'll check and see if I got any better angle on the black mass. A quick google search says not tick eggs - these have legs. The tick eggs seem to be smooth round things. Also, another situation in which I am overly thankful for zoom lenses.

ETA: I can share links of the bigger pics, maybe? Let me know if it works
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ays26B6ij8UulVyu1
https://photos.app.goo.gl/fNTAKtCSJ2xGCQmJ3 <- same photo I posted, but better resolution
https://photos.app.goo.gl/qvjaZA0FlPp5SAJF3

Degrees of difficulty?

Seems all trails would be difficult with no feet.

what? :eyebrow:

Those other pics are visible. It's a mystery but if those things are legs, :bolt:

Right!?! I didn't stay around long. I was afraid of them falling on me or something :eek::greenface

I assume you didn't taste one. :haha:

Nope. I'm on a diet :3eye:

Bwahahaha. :lol2:

I was thinking the different colored blazes night indicate levels of difficulty also.

The hikers represented on the blazes have no feets.

There'd be no getting that stuff outta ya teeth.

I never even noticed that detail!!

The colors don't indicate anything except for which trail you are on. Places with more trails use color and shape for the blazes - no peoples. This park only had 2 trails

Some shots from the dry part of my hike last weekend

Tiny mushroom in the path
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The path
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A stupid flower that I had to get a photo of and I almost fell down the rocky path when I squatted down. Scratched my UV filter on my lens.
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Rainy vines. Should've been an indicator
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Balanced Rock
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Almost to the top
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LIZARD!
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Hanging Rock - what the park is named after. The more popular trail ends up on top over there
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Around the lookout tower
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Storm moving in
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Fairy Rock State Park, VA

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Beautiful day
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Yea, I went down there
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Find the lizard
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Around the corner
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Looking back - the path is in the forest
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Spillway
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Kayakers above me
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Way down low
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Butterflies like poo
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I lost my UV filter here. Then, I went and got it.
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It's called suffering for your art. ;)
Let me know when the coffee table book comes out.

Yea, each of the photos will have something like this. "Bent over too low and just kept going" - lol!

Another benefit of using UV, or, back in the day, sky blue filters, is that they kinda sorta protect the lens.;)

Yep! If it wasn't on there, the lens itself would've been scratched:yeldead:

I have an old zoom tele lens for my Pentax K1000SE (old film camera) with a massive scratch on it.

I've never seen it in the photos. So, maybe you won't have to replace your filter...

I won't yet. It's on the edge. It didn't show up on any pictures after that. Just the first camera injury.....so far. :rolleyes: I may need to get a backup one, anyways. I lost it a couple weeks ago. Imagine my horror as I watched it launch off the lens and bounce down into a ravine. I went and got it, of course. Cause it wasn't too far down.

I noticed these Stink Bug eggs looked similar to your eggs on a leaf. It said they can vary in color from yellow to black.

So, I went hiking at the coast yesterday. Got my bag on, camera all ready, turned it on.....NO FUCKING MEMORY CARD! I couldn't believe it. There is a back up now stored in my pack in case it happens again. I took pics with my cell phone, so it'll be interesting to see how they turned out. I uploaded them to google photos, but haven't looked at them on my computer yet

Pictures taken at Fort Fisher state park. I forgot a fucking memory card, so I had to take everything with my hone. I still think I got some good shots, though

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And now, I have a back up memory card in my hiking pack

Is that boardwalk because it's wet/tidal, or to keep people on one path and not tromping on the flora/fauna?

Both. I would've had better shots of the crabs that lived there, but I couldn't use my camera.

Pretty good pix even with your hone.

Thanks!

Some pictures from the most recent camping attempt
All set up
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River under the hammock
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After the rain
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Weird tree
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Dragonfly
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Moth that I think was dead
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Boat launch
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Cool cloud
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Blue Jay
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Pretty happy about these woodpeckers. The first one has two - can you see them?
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Surf
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So, there's a story behind this one. I was walking down the boardwalk and saw a green thing out of the corner of my eye flitting under my boot. I made a weird step and stopped my foot before I stomped it. I thought it was a wizard, but it was this guy. He stopped to hang out for a bit. This is also when my zoom lens decided to stop working. I was on my knees with close up to this guy and he just sat there. I took about 10 photos, but I was having trouble with the focus. This is the best one I got and it's in focus

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Testing the zoom lens again
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I am going to go to the camera store and talk to them about some macro options. I think I can get some collars instead of a whole lens as a cheaper option.

After the rain? It looks like a stream under the rain fly. :eek:

After the rain is the picture below - with the big puffy cloud :)

To be honest, laying under the hammock in the rain was the most relaxing time I've had in months.....aside from the bugs

Nice pictures bro. When you was at Ft. Fisher you was 40 miles from my house.

Thanks! And, cool! I didn't know you were in the cackalackys :)

I still need to go to Fort Macon and Hammocks Beach near there. I gave up when I discovered my camera was useless.

So, I've actually downloaded an app where you can submit photos for challenges and win stuff. It's called GuruShots. The hardest part is going through everything and trying to decide what's good enough. Unfortunately, the users include professionals. I think I'll try it for a month or so and see if anyone other than the pros win anything

I've also joined a national geographic group online that does something similar. But, it's only on the computer, no app. I haven't explored into it too much, but I think it can be helpful

I got a new toy! So, I think y'all know that I love macro photography. The type of lens I want is super expensive, so I decided to start with a lower cost option. Pretty much a magnifying glass that attaches to the end of the lens. Seems to work well enough for now.

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Can you see the resident??
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I immediately went to the arboretum to try it out. There was a heat advisory today, so I didn't stay out too long

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Ledge illusion
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