I started messing around with my camera, using the CHDK firmware, allowing .crw, or Canon Raw or Camera Raw....I have done a couple of cool shots, but have a bunch more in the camera.....I will pop up one teaser shot and will try to do a better post soon....

Here is a CRW file saved as a JPG....

That's the first converted Raw Image I've ever saved!

BTW...It's the Silver Bullet Bonzai

More to follow.....

Did you get a chance to check out WWC's frag sale yet Mitch? I got 5 nice acro frags and some blue hornets for $20 (total!). Some of the frags need some TLC. But for $3 each, how can you complain?

Awesome picture Mitch. I am going to need to put a nice camera on my Xmas list now. WWC is having a sale? Uh oh. I was trying not to buy any more corals for awhile. But I can't pass on a sale. How long is the sale going on for?

I so desperately wanted to go to their sale, but I could never get there on a work night, and I'm going to be away this weekend.....

Anyway, I love this Raw image stuff...I never realized just how much the JPG compression inside the camera screws with your pictures...That's the reason we never ger pics that show the green sheen....the Raw images will prolly get it, as it captures ALL the light that hits the sensor...Then they have to be opened by a capable software and saved as a JPG....it really makes a difference....here are a few more random shots....








I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with this feature.....I got this camera last year for christmas....It's a very nice "advanced point and shoot" Canon SX100is.....the current model last year was the SX110is and by finding the prior model I got a phenomenal buy....Now, the trick was the CHDK software / firmware that lets me access a whole lot more of the camera's potential....The software loads to the memory card and can be loaded into the camera's firmware...It is only resident until the camera is powered off as it lives in the fluid memory....that's how I get Raw output from a camera that cannot do that!!!!

nice shots!

Thanks a million...I really owe my camera a lot of the credit....I've been getting much better with it, but the camera amazes me....I gotta show a totally unrelated picture, from my Step-daughter's HS Graduation....


Mind you now...I was prolly about 150 yards away, shooting natural light, HAND HELD with Image Stabilization turned on....It appears that the IS locked onto Allison, and it made the motion the background....Pure fluke of a shot....but amazing for a point and shoot....

Soooo....I took a day of PTO and we drove up to see my Step Daughter at FSU.....we came up to Tallahassee last night and totally surprised her because she thought we were coming tonight...Anyway, a friend of mine told me to check out a LFS here, by the name of High Tide Aquarium....very nice store....great looking corals, and a lot of realy nice pieces....The best thing was his prices....I will be stopping there on Sunday to pick up a nice frag of a Neon Green favia, about 1 X 2" that I got for $7.95.... didn't think you could get a frag of anything that you would want in your tank for $7.95....especially from a LFS!!!!

Anyway, it seems to be a really nice and clean shop with quite knowledgeable staff and what appeared to be healthy stock....

I will post pics after we get home and put the frag in the QT....BTW...I will be getting the frag shortly before we leave to go home....More to come.....

I mentioned my trip last week, and the frag I picked up...It's been resting in the quarantine tank since Sunday evening. It will go into the display some time this weekend, after a magnified inspection. Anyway, it's looking really good and I decided to go ahead and put some pics up. It's a favia that I've seen some folks referring to as a "Green Lantern" favia. I was just amazed to get a frag for $7.95! Here are a couple pics...




I'm thinking pretty low light.....any input on that?

Def low light compared to all your SPS.
I'd start it out on the bottom.
Nice find!

Here is a little update....I recently acquired a no-name Fiji Acropora...here it was on 10/24/09....


and today 11/13/09....

the Mother colony is a rich baby blue with deep purple tips and polyps...it's starting to get there....

Here is a nice frag resource....green Montipora digitata...

I've taken a few large frags off that one over the past few months....

Here is a shot of a little zoa garden area....

You can see Whammin Watermellons, Yellow polyps, Pinwheels and Teal palys....

Hopefully Scooternerd and I can get together this weekend for a swap that we have arranged and I will be adding frags of ORA Red Planet and of Green Slimer....pics to follow...

As many of you know our situation is bad and finances are starting to get critical for us. We have already effectively written the Holidays off for this year, and are just trying to stay afloat.

What all this means to you: I'm having a big ole frag or colony sale. I have MANY beautiful corals stuffed into my system, and anything there is for sale. I will be making deals on anything, but will not give the corals away. If anybody wants any GREAT corals, or wants to help please get in touch. They are basically all SPS or LPS, but I have a few really nice zoanthids. I would like to keep a small frag of anything I'm getting rid of, as I will be trying to set up a grow out system for a future start.

I cannot ship unless there is a large-scale purchase, as my job is relentless on hours and I just don't have the time to put into boxing and shipping.

Sorry to hear about your finacial troubles. It's tough economic times to have an expensive hobby. Let me know when I can drop off the box of gloves and I'll come by and check out the frags.

I forgot to post a link to the sale info....http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=215385&st=0&gopid=2524980&#entry2524980

The Silver Bullet Bonsai is gone.....

I just wanted to post a few shots of the tank after my big sale....It still looks good, but some of my pieces are just tiny frags now....

Chip's acro missing a few hunks...


Likewise for the Acropora desalwii....


Rose Acropora millepora...


My Pink zoanthids....


Here is all I kept of my Rainbow Montipora...


This one is my ORA Borealis Acropora....


This is what's left of my Greg Hiller's Aquadelight....


This shot shows the Silver Bullet Bonzai, Blue-Green Acropora echinata, and behind that one is my tiny frag of the Blueberry Lemonade Acropora nasuta....


This is the previously overcrowded Frag Rack...


The Tricolor Acropora valida...


Here is the fixed Frag Rack....


These next couple are not effected by the sale, I just wanted to post these new pics....
Pinwheel zoanthids....


My ORA Hawkins Blue Acropora echinata....


A couple of area shots to show that the reef didn't take too hard a hit....




There are hunks missing from some colonies, and a lot of tiny frags to grow, but it's still a Happy Reef....There are a few pieces still in there that are just waiting to go out to folks, and there are a few people coming over this next weekend for shopping trips...I will see what's left after all that....

Okay...I get it...I chopped up all my corals and now nobody has any love for my reef anymore....

Everything I got from you last weekend is looking amazing. I guess I need to set up a thread for my tank and to show off what I have of yours. I have enrolled at Valencia for spring so I might be over your way for a few more frags. I'd like some of the grape cap. So I can get that reverse color other side of the tank look like you have with your monti caps. I think I'm going to need a bigger tank once everything starts to grow out.

Therein lies the danger of success!

By the way, the long awaited shipment of corals to JKunz went out last night, for delivery this morning...I always hate this part of a transaction....C'mon FedEx, treat that little box nice.....

Any way, the tank REALLY looks different now...I have a number of things I need to mount in the rockwork, but haven't gotten to that yet....I may even be taking the magnetic frag rack down at some point soon!

It's always good to create some new grow out room!

I just shipped my first corals, can I join the fragmen's local #69?

The more important Membership criterion is becoming one with the coral....you have to get a cut while fragging so that the coral mixes with your blood....like the old Indian Blooe-Brothers thing....I did mine with a HATCHET!!!! Duh....

Hope everything is still looking good for you...

JKunz got his box and had everything floating when I talked to him....said all the pieces were richly colored and there was no leakage...

Let's see how his pieces settle in....

Good to hear the shipment made it there in good shape.
All we can do is pack them up the best way we know how and hope for the best.

The reef still looks incredible Mitch!

Hopefully, some good grow time, a few more sales and trades and that beauty will be overflowing with awesomeness once again.

Thanks a lot Richie. I am very proud to have good words from you and a number of the others on here. There are just some folks that seem to have the edge, and you are in that list.

Reef is still looking awesome Mitch.
But no frag rack???

This reef is absolutely breathtaking.

If I were you, I don't think I'd be able to tear myself away from the tank, ever.

Man your tank is amazing. I wish i had MH.

Actually it's still there, but it's held by "The Magic of Magnetics!!!" and I slid it out of the line of sight for these pics....It is nearly empty now though

Thanks so much to everybody else....It really looks different after the last week and a half....

I wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving. This has been one of the most challenging years of my entire 52, but I am still oh so thankful for all that I have. I give thanks for my beautiful bride, my daughter and step-daughter, the reef that brings me calming joy when I'm down, for my silly cats and for all of the friends that help to fill my world. I never would have imagined myself part of an internet family, but I feel that way about NR. This community is the best.

Thanks to all,
Mitch

to Mitch and Family, may have an awesome, blessed day together.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours Mitch!

* wipes a teary eye *


Looking at your reef is enjoyable for many of us too!

A very Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours as well Mitch!
Enjoy the day!

I cannot believe that we are actually awake already, getting ready to go out into this morning of idiocracy.....we are going to join the mass and throng trying to get the elusive "good deal" on Black Friday....and we don't really even have any money to spend!!!! Great people watching though....

I think they say God loves children and fools, and I ain't feeling any younger......

Your comment above reminded me of the first 2 lines of one of my favorite songs:

"I hear You have a soft spot for fools and little children
and I'm glad cause I've been both of those..."

(from Farther On by Russ Taff)

Hope you have fun (relatively speaking) and don't get trampled today.

We survived, and actually had a pretty good time of it. When all of the shopping is highly limited by funds being short it makes things much easier, and with a well planned out list and two people working the list it was a breeze. We did Kohl's, Walmart and Target and were done before 7:30. I went to WorldWide Corals for their 40% off sale and with a little nudge, nudge, wink, wink with Victor got an amazing deal on a frag of Season's Greetings encrusting Montipora. Pictures will follow.....I met some people there who decided to follow me home and they took a big bag of frags home as well!

A quick trip to pick up a pre-purchased item and I was home in time for a nice 2 1/2 hour nap! Our Holiday shopping is complete (except for a small item I need to get for my Bride) and the season is still young enough to kick back and enjoy!

Your reef still looks sick even after the frag raid!

And the amazing thing is that I must have moved 50 to 60 frags, most being quite generous ones!

Quick picture update....

Here is my new frag, Seasons Greetings encrusting Montipora....


And a couple of update pics....this first one is a poor focus shot, but the AA Meteor Shower is coloring back up....


Here is what's left of my Area 51 favia....


My fairly new California Blue Tort....


Here is what has grown out from where my Rainbow Montipora was originally mounted....this is the growth from what grew down under the bottom of the original tile....


And I had to snap one of goofy Lennie the Blennie relaxing under the recently fragged Duncans....

that guy has all the personality of any fish there is....

Thanks for looking,
Mitch

Great stuff Mitch!

Lovin' those monti's!

That new Monti is gorgeous, and Lenny is quite the character!

Yup, I'm really starting to love the encrusting ones too....that Rainbow is absolutely beautiful....I only kept a tiny frag of it for myself, except for that piece that is growing on one of the supporting rocks of the whole island. It will have to just grow out and stay there, cause there is no way to ever frag it.

I love the Season's Greetings and have wanted it for a while now.....

I want. 5.0????

EDIT: and the red planet!

so like, whyb are you cuttin up all your coralz again?

BTW i still want a dewalsii (or however you spell it) frag.

Well Nate, it was a bit of a necessity....My family has gotten about to the end of our financial means....BUT!!!! MY wife starts a full-time job that should last at least 4 to 5 months, maybe more....this is her first regular (non temporary) job in 15 months!!!!

I cut a bunch of frags, but I still have quite a presentable reef, If I may say so myself....

As for a frag of the desalwii....maybe we can work out something sometime.....the problem is getting home in time to pack up a shipping box, then the FedEx alone from Florida could turn out to be a killer!!!!

Any shots of that little Fiji acro frag? I'm curious to see how it's coming along

I just moved it up a bit during this week, so I haven't grabbed a shot of it in its higher light yet....working my way up to bright lighting.....It is looking MAJOR healthy but is still toward green in color...I need to get it to a stable high light location and then let it color up...it may take a few weeks once I settle on location....I believe it has grown a noticable amount though.....

Cool. The mother colony is green with pink tips so it will probably stay that color, but you never know...

I got some new zoanthids and just had to show them off....they were sold as "Wagon Wheels" and they are close to the original Pink Wagon Wheels, they are close enough that I would call them a Morph of Pink Wagon Wheels.....they are still in the QT, and were just 3 days here when I got this pic....

They are completely open and looking sassy now....

Just had to snap a few again this evening....

That's my little frag of UnderWaterWorld's Rainbow Sunburst Monti....I got that fraglet for resuscitating a friend's piece of it!


ORA Borealis


ORA Blue tort


I had to get this closeup of a pale spot of my Neon Green Montipora digitata, because I don't think I've EVER seen a Monti with such PE....look at the lower left part of the extending nodule!


Purple Slimer


Pinwheels


Martian


BibleSue's Teal Palys....these things are reproducing like rabbits!!!


If you look carefully at the stalk that is clearly visible you can see the true determining factor af Palythoa....The stalks take up sand that can actually be seen and if the sand isn't there it isn't a paly....

Just a little Taxonomy lesson....
Mitch

Wow, I didn't know that! You're saying the sand sticks to the stalk? Or that the stalk ingests the sand particles?

My understanding is that "Uptake of Sand" is the defining feature of Palythoa.....and, like I said, if you magnify deeply you can see the sand, either at the surface or deeper in the stalk tissue, but that's the real difference.....

What type of placement do you have the Suburst Monti. Its funny, because i also purchased a frag...and Im in orlando....and mine barely made it, but its doing ok now. I have it on the bottom of my tank.