The Butter Stripe Line..

[LindsayMarie]

I was wondering if you had any plans to sell any butter stripes next year? I am assuming if you do, it would only be a few if that and was wondering if a deposit could be sent sometime in the winter and if you decide not to sell any it could be refunded or used towards other cultivars in the spring? Also, if you dont plan on selling the Butter Stripes how about the others produced in that line:
Butter het stripe
Amel Stripe het butter
Amel het butter & stripe
Stripe het butter
Normal het stripe, butter
Normal Stripe het butter
Would you happen to know an estimate of how much any of those would cost? This way I know how much to start putting away each month. Thanks Rich, hope to hear something soon. Lindsay

 

[Rich Z]

Well, I haven't given it much thought...

But I believe I had four of them hatch out last year, and maybe I'll have twice that or better this year, so perhaps I can sell a pair or two of them for the 2003 season. This year I only offered a single pair of Lavender Motleys for sale and they sold immediately. The deal was a 50 percent deposit (nonrefundable if the animals are available), with the balance paid upon delivery of the pair of animals. I sold them for $2,000 for the pair.

Let me talk to someone whom has been asking me about the Butter Stripes first before I make any sort of general offering for a single pair of them next season. I want to give him first crack at them. (Walter, are you listening in here?)

As for the het animals, considering that I do not have any adult Butter Stripes, think about what it would take to produce the animals you want and tell me if it is likely I will have them next year. This is a test, and ONLY a test............

 

[LindsayMarie]

Re: Well, I haven't given it much thought...

As for the het animals, considering that I do not have any adult Butter Stripes, think about what it would take to produce the animals you want and tell me if it is likely I will have them next year. This is a test, and ONLY a test............

What do you mean by this is a test and only a test? Thanks for replying and if you could let me know when you talk to the guy interested in the butter stripes that would be great Maybe he will let a pair pass him up! Take care, Lindsay

 

[Clint Boyer]

I know, I know!

Rich is using snakes that are het for one or all traits crossed with another snake het for one or all traits. Unless the snakes that are used are at least homozygous for one of each trait, there is no guarantee that the offspring would be het for all three.

Example #1:
Amel Stripe X Caramel

Offspring are predicted to be...
100.00%, Het for Butter, Het for Stripe

Example #2:
Amel het Caramel and stripe X Caramel het Amel and stripe

Offspring are predicted to be...
12.50%, Butter, Het for Stripe
12.50%, Caramel, Het for Amel, Het for Stripe
12.50%, Amelanistic, Het for Caramel, Het for Stripe
12.50%, Het for Butter, Het for Stripe
6.25%, Butter, Striped
6.25%, Caramel, Striped, Het for Amel
6.25%, Amelanistic, Striped, Het for Caramel
6.25%, Striped, Het for Butter
6.25%, Butter
6.25%, Caramel, Het for Amel
6.25%, Amelanistic, Het for Caramel
6.25%, Het for Butter

The above is from Mick's progeny predictor.
As you can see from the 2nd example, there would be no way to know for sure if any snake was het for Amel, Caramel and stripe.

 

[LindsayMarie]

Oh ok!

I see! Thanks for explaining Clint! For some reason I thought he was breeding butter stripes already. But now that I think back, I think he told me he was only breeding hets right now. Im sorry! Thanks again, Lindsay

 

[Rich Z]

Sorry, couldn't help myself...........

 

[SilverTongue]

Rich! Santa is gonna put you on his naughty list! LoL

 

[Jimmy C.]

Wow!!!Thats it thats all I can say WOW!! I love Stripes and this guy is just beautiful.
Jimmy C.

 

[LindsayMarie]

TEASING ME!

See now that picture is teasing me! GOD I love the butter stripes. They are on my want AND need list. hehe Beautiful picture Rich. BTW you take some great photos! You dont have to answer this question if you think it is out of line, but I was wondering, around how much did your whole camera set up cost? I am looking into buying a good digital camera with flash hook ups etc. Take care, Lindsay

 

[Rich Z]

The above is a photo of my camera rig I use.

It will not be cheap for you to make up the same thing. The camera is the Fuji FinePix S1 Pro, which cost me $2,100, and I felt I got it cheap. The lens is the Nikkor 105mm Micro lens which will cost another $700 or so. The flashes are Nikon SB26s which I think were around $300 each, but it's been a while since I bought them and can't remember. I don't remember the source or make of the bracket itself, but it was probably in the $100 range.

Yeah, that was a lot of money to spend on a camera system, but fortunately I did not have to spend it all at one time. I already had my Nikkor lenses, which are some of the best in the world, for my 35mm setup. I was looking for a digital body that would use my lenses for a long time, but prices were running in the $8,000 range, which just was out of my ballpark. It was just a miracle that I got that Fuji camera like I did. I was just killing time and logged onto Ebay and thought I would check to see what prices were running on that particular camera. I glanced at one that had a REAL good price on it and thought there must be something wrong. Come to find out that this was bought by a professional photographer that decided to go into video instead of stills, so he just wanted to move it out quickly. I just happened to log onto Ebay about 2 minutes after he posted the auction and he had it at $2100 with a BUY IT NOW button. Talk about snap decisions! I thought that at any second someone else was going to be looking at this auction and beat me to the punch! My mouse never moved so fast before to click on that sucker!

When I got the camera, it was as close to being brand new as you could imagine. Matter of fact, if the guy had told me it had never been out of the box, I would have believed it. I LOVE this camera. If it were to burst into flames today, I would buy another one ASAP. As you can see, combined with the right lenses, this camera does a superb job. And I haven't even touched on all of the options it has. It can take up to 54 photos in it's highest resolution of 3040x2016 in TIFF format. I forget how big each file is, but seems to me it is like around 20 to 50 megabytes per photo at it's highest resolution and finest detail.

The camera has a removable 1 gigabyte hard drive in it.

Heck, I guess I could run on and on talking about this thing all day long! Guess you can see that I really like it.

I'm considering selling my Mavica FD-91 camera, if anyone is interested. After using the Fuji, I doubt I will use it much. That's what I used to take the photo of the Fuji above.

 

[LindsayMarie]

Great deal!

Sounds like you got a great deal! Your camera setup is nice and surely takes beautiful pics. I have a few Nikon Lens for my Nikon SLR camera. Now all I need to do is find a digital that will allow me to use them Within my price range of course. What I should have done was stay in college for photography! ARGHGG I could kick myself in the butt! Anyways, thanks for letting me know and I will look up the camera your using and prices around here etc. Take care, Lindsay

 

[Rich Z]

College for photography??

All it takes is perhaps one good book on technique, particularly concerning flash and lighting, then LOTS of practice. With digital cameras, which takes away the consideration of the price of film for that practice, there is no excuse for not knowing your equipment intimately. Before I went out on a camping trip to California years ago, I used up several rolls of film with my old Canon practicing in the dark to get a feel for photographing animals on the road in the dark while road cruising. I did this in my basement with the lights out and a mini-flashlight held between my teeth. But I learned what I needed to know.

With photography, there is no better teacher than plain old experience.

 

[LindsayMarie]

Very true

Experience is the best teacher! But if you take photography in college you get to develop all your film for free Thats what I did all through high school as well! Of course photography wouldnt be my only major! I would like to go to school to be a vet! We will see. Back to the subject! I cant wait to invest in a good digital camera so that I dont have to hold back on the number of photos I take. Film developing is just way to expensive! Take care, Lindsay

 

[Stephen29]

Rich,

I went to on Ebay the other day and tried to see what it would cost to build up a similar camera unit like yours .

I found the Fuji Fine Pix S1 Pro for: $ 242
lens $ 172
SB 26 ONE flash $ 160. total $ 574

So the prices have come down , but that is to be expected. Five yrs later of course.

Would it be better to try to buy used parts to build a set up like yours or, just get a newer , lower end model. Maybe like an entry level Cannon etc.

Also how do the up close snake pics turn out w/ just ONE FLASH ?

Thanks, Stephen

 

[TripleMoonsExotic]

Hey, Rich! I have that same green counter top installed in the 2nd floor apartment! :crazy02:

 

[Joejr14]

Hey, Rich! I have that same green counter top installed in the 2nd floor apartment! :crazy02:

Hey that counter top is stylin! The snakes love it!

:rofl:

 

[Joejr14]

Rich,

I went to on Ebay the other day and tried to see what it would cost to build up a similar camera unit like yours .

I found the Fuji Fine Pix S1 Pro for: $ 242
lens $ 172
SB 26 ONE flash $ 160. total $ 574

So the prices have come down , but that is to be expected. Five yrs later of course.

Would it be better to try to buy used parts to build a set up like yours or, just get a newer , lower end model. Maybe like an entry level Cannon etc.

Also how do the up close snake pics turn out w/ just ONE FLASH ?

Thanks, Stephen

Obviously not Rich, but...

I for one like Nikon lenses much more than Canon. I think Nikon has the better glass, and if you were to get a Canon body there goes your ability to use Nikon lenses. That's why Rich went with the Fuji body---because it can take Nikon lenses.

You can pick up a new D40 (entry level) with kit lens for under $500. I'd suggest that option over a used DSLR body. A new 105mm Nikkor micro is gonna run ya at least $700, and a single flash can range from $125 (SB-200) to $300 (SB-800). I opted for the SB-600 (~$200) and that's all I've got for a flash. Eventually I'll pick up the R1C1 macro flash ring, but that's a bit down the road....

As far as pictures go with a single flash...

 

[Rich Z]

Rich,

I went to on Ebay the other day and tried to see what it would cost to build up a similar camera unit like yours .

I found the Fuji Fine Pix S1 Pro for: $ 242
lens $ 172
SB 26 ONE flash $ 160. total $ 574

So the prices have come down , but that is to be expected. Five yrs later of course.

Would it be better to try to buy used parts to build a set up like yours or, just get a newer , lower end model. Maybe like an entry level Cannon etc.

Also how do the up close snake pics turn out w/ just ONE FLASH ?

Thanks, Stephen

The S1 Pro is still a nice camera, even though it is several generations old. Fuji has recently come out with the S5 Pro. I'm currently using the S3 generation.

The lenses will make all the difference, and in my opinion Nikon has the best lenses available. Fact of the matter is that it is difficult to use a single lens to do everything well. So removable lenses are pretty much required if you are going to be serious about photography. Don't get me wrong, I have seen excellent shots taken with fixed lens cameras, but to cover the range of taking a photo of an eyeball of a baby snake to taking a photo of an eyeball of a hawk sitting at the top of a tree will tax and single lens far beyond it's capabilities.

I still have my S1 Pro body, but need to get it repaired as it is now throwing error codes. I think it is still a great camera body and well worth the money they are apparently asking on Ebay. Just make sure it comes with some sort of warranty, as anything electronic can be a problem, and Ebay is just chock full of people willing to scam you out of your money for junk.

As Joe mentioned, the 105mm Nikkor Micro lens is one KILLER piece of equipment. I use it in all my shots of the baby snakes. For adults, I tend to use the 60mm Nikkor Micro.

As for using a single flash, the problem with this is that you often get very harsh shadows that will be distracting in the photo. Using two or more lenses helps to reduce the shadows and make the color more uniform in areas that would normally be shadowed out. To get by, you could use one flash mounted on the camera, and a second one mounted to a fixed location above the subject firing in slave mode. This will help quite a bit.

Good luck!

 

[Stephen29]

Obviously not Rich, but...

I for one like Nikon lenses much more than Canon. I think Nikon has the better glass, and if you were to get a Canon body there goes your ability to use Nikon lenses. That's why Rich went with the Fuji body---because it can take Nikon lenses.

You can pick up a new D40 (entry level) with kit lens for under $500. I'd suggest that option over a used DSLR body. A new 105mm Nikkor micro is gonna run ya at least $700, and a single flash can range from $125 (SB-200) to $300 (SB-800). I opted for the SB-600 (~$200) and that's all I've got for a flash. Eventually I'll pick up the R1C1 macro flash ring, but that's a bit down the road....

As far as pictures go with a single flash...

Nice pic Joe, Thanks.

 

[Stephen29]

Rich,

Is the Nikkor Micro lens MADE by Nikon ? And what is flash mode ? I have alot to learn about photography, but am very interested in it. Just one more HOBBY to add to the rest of the ones I have.

Thanks for sharing some of your secerets to great photography. I'm addicted to your photos.

Thanks again.

Stephen Howard