to flash or not

[drache]

Just curious:
do you use flash?
I haven't yet, because snakes can't blink.
There's a limit though to available light . . .
opinions?
experiences?
Any flash blinded snakes out there?

[adamanteus]

Flash is good Rhea, especially if it's auto (which it will be) and especially indoors. Try taking two pics of every shot you want, one with and one without. Then you choose.:)

Rhea, the flash won't harm the snakes' eyes, if that's your concern (just re-reading what you said about snakes not blinking!) If you use the camera on auto flash, until you get more used to the new equipment, you should get the results you want.

[drache]

I have no doubt about the picture quality
- but what about the snake?
can it hurt their eyes?
Rhea

[drache]

okay
Thanks
yes, that was my greatest concern
I still haven't been able to upload images though, either
very weird

[adamanteus]

You could try making the file size smaller....Reduce the definition on the camera. 1mp should be fine for this kind of picture.

[adamanteus]

Or send a PM to Boots and see if there's a problem. But I just uploaded a couple of pics (from the scanner, not digital) no problem.

[drache]

I had no problem when I was uploading before
This time all goes the same
it even tells me that the images uploaded successfully
but they're just not there
Boots contacted me and shot of a quick description
I'll try fiddling with the file size
I just need to figure out how to do that
Thanks
Rhea

[adamanteus]

I had a couple of larger files that did that...said they'd loaded but they weren't there....I just clicked the upload button again and they came up pretty quick second time. Have you tried that?

[abcat1993]

I always use flash on my pics

[Thamnophis]

My experience is that reptiles are not harmed by the flash. In the worst case they are a bit frightened, but they get used to it very fast.

[Stefan-A]

I never use flash, I don't like the way it looks. Unless there is something very specific I want to have a look at and I have to take a picture to see it up close.

[Cazador]

I don't mind admitting that I'm a flasher! I could make a lot of excuses for this, but by golly I just like the way it looks.

Seriously, I like to have good lighting that shows off their colors better. My new enclosure (the white malmite one of which I posted pictures) has good lighting, so a flash isn't necessary. As far as the flash harming their vision, reptiles evolved in hot, dry (presumably sunny) environments. I don't know for a fact, but I presume they would have eyelids if they were vulnerable to bright lighting (unless their spectacle resolves the problem in another way, like filtering the light). If, for example, exposure to bright lighting harmed their vision, then they would likely become more vulnerable to predation, or perhaps not be able to find prey as well. Then blinded (or vision impaired) snakes would die out or not gain enough food to allow reproduction. Those susceptable to intense, or prolonged light exposure wouldn't pass their genes for light vulnerability on to the next generation. I think the lack of eyelids is a major clue, but I'm just speculating.

Rick

P.S. We've all seen how bad Stefan's photography skills are, so I wouldn't take any of his advise :rolleyes:. I bet he has really good lighting and/or an intimate knowledge of how to manipulate his aperature settings, though.

[GarterGuy]

Yeh, I use a flash for all my indoor pics. Sometimes outdoors I'll use a fill flash, when it's bright enough, but the subject matter is in shade. It can really make a HUGE difference in how your pics come out. As far as it being harmful....I don't think it really bothers diurnal critters like garters. I don't like to use it on nocturnal animals, like geckos or such.....think it might be a bit for them to take, don't think it really does any permenant damage to them though.....just like if we get hit with a flash.
Roy

[Stefan-A]

P.S. We've all seen how bad Stefan's photography skills are, so I wouldn't take any of his advise :rolleyes:. I bet he has really good lighting and/or an intimate knowledge of how to manipulate his aperature settings, though.
No, sorry, I don't know more than the absolute basics of how to manipulate aperture settings. :D The camera does all the work, aperture and shutter settings are automatic when you're using the macro function. And the lighting comes from the two 18W lamps that provide lighting for the terrarium.

[Cazador]

That's just amazing, Stefan. Can you imagine somebody 15 years ago trying to take the kind of photos that you're (we're) posting without even giving aperature and shutter settings a second thought.

I haven't done it yet, but a simple experiment to determine if snakes get flash blindness like we do could be performed. Simply take a flash picture and then quickly jerk your hand in front of the snake's face. If it reacts, it's not flash blind. If it doesn't react, it is. Just don't hit anything to cause sudden vibrations. Post results.

[Stefan-A]

I can't imagine anybody doing it 5 years ago. But I do know the basics and I frequently use manual settings to get some certain effect, usually in low-light conditions, but the problem still is that the camera's capabilities are still the limiting factor. After I bought this camera, it didn't take more than a couple of days to find its limitations, so I've just concentrated on getting the best results with the capabilities it does provide. But it is good at guessing the right setting on automatic.

[drache]

Now that I've tried the flash, I don't think it bothers them. They don't have any reaction to it, such as startling, or pulling away.
However, of the pics i've taken so far, I like the ones without flash better. I posted three photos in my my album yesterday that all have depth of field and focus problems. As an image I like the one without flash better than the other two.
So far I haven't taken any with flash I'm truly happy with, but I'm sure I will once I figure things out. I used to do a lot of flash photography in clubs in the old days (B&W) and became rather good at it. Weegee was my idol.
Rhea

[abcat1993]

It does have an effect on my dog, I don't know about snakes though. Whenever I use the flash right next to her eye, she blinks really hard and squints. It's pretty funny actually, makes her look even more like a mouse.

[Gyre]

I was just reading some flashig tips from a 4-H photography booklet. I tried them out, and so far, everything works great. I didn't use a flash on this:
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//526/medium/2006_0317lightprac0028.JPG

It said that if you tape a tissue over your flash, (or my reading light apparently) you don't get that nasty, blinding light all on one side of the object..

I just thought it was a neat idea... and shamelessly showing off the shot. :D

[Thamnophis]

I have done this for years.... a piece of paper over the flash. Works okay.
For my new flash on my Canon EOS 400 D I ordered an omnibounce. It is not meant for the flash that is built in the camera, but for a bigger flash that is used seperated from the camera, connected with a cable.

http://www.fotokonijnenberg.nl/images/content/klein/18611.jpg

[abcat1993]

My parents had/have a nice, non digital camera that has a detachable flash like that. Works great but they don't have a macro lens. Also, unfortunately, my dad got a $300 non-lens changeable (or whatever you'd call it) instead of the $300 changeable lens camera (again, whatever you'd call it) for some strange reason I still don't understand.

[Thamnophis]

I don´t understand it neither.

[GarterGuy]

Just thought I'd give an example of why a flash is very useful sometimes. Here's two pics.....one was taken with out a flash and the other with.


With out flash

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//517/medium/Copperhead4_Lehigh_Gorge_5-05.jpg


With flash

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//528/medium/Copperhead5_Lehigh_Gorge_5-05.jpg

....the flash removed all the shadows from the rock over hang and really showed off the snake a lot better. Very often I will take pics with and with out flash, just to see what affect it has on the final pic.
Roy

[Stefan-A]

I like shadows. :p

[GarterGuy]

Yeh, I do like the first pic....it looks more "natural", but I really think the snake shows up better in the second pic. Guess it depends what affect your going for. That's pretty much why I usually try to do both.

[drache]

I guess both is good in different ways.
I like the first one better visually.
The second seems kind of washed out, when it comes to the overall image impact, but it does show better detail on the snake