kbobam

Okay. I'm completely embarrassed. From what you said, I thought I was actually looking at pictures of the 'night sky'. The white areas do sort of look like clouds.

It is a nice one from what we can see, in my opinion as well. This is one of my favorite marbles of all time. But it's hard to find one that's 'just right'. I missed getting a great one many years ago and have always regretted it. I'm particular partial to those that are 'clearly defined' in their pattern. Many of them have a kind of 'splatter' look, which just doesn't do it for me. Ha! Just took a look at current listings, and a real beauty came up! (Coincidentally from a good friend of many, and the most-trusted seller of all time.) Hopefully I will be forgiven for independently taking the liberty of doing an indirect shameless bay-plug, but anyone who doesn't 'invest' in this one is out of their mind! ( : http://www.ebay.com/itm/AKRO-AGATE-SILVER-OXBLOOD-WITH-BLUE-ACCENTS-MARBLE-/331482013020?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4d2dde1d5c

Holy cow. On some level I've been aware of Mike's talents for a long time. But it's clear that I haven't had enough exposure overall. The diversity from 'smooth and sophisticated elegance' to 'cutting-edge insanity' is breath-taking. And the understated hilarity of the logos just makes everything more wonderful.

Had to look up this word to make sure it was right. These are very 'ominous' looking! What's going on?

I appreciate you mentioning it! Was a little bummed that no one seemed to even notice the Yoda shot.

'Nanners'! I've been enjoying the bright colors and three dimensional effect of my newest marbles. ( :

Thanks, guys! I was just getting bummed-out that no one seemed to be around. I'm in the middle of looking for some unposted images (probably because they're second-rate) to which I can add some ridiculous comments. I'm sure whoever's here can hardly wait!

You got me. I am a little. Wish it was practical to be even more so. If you'll allow me, I'll borrow your classic sign-off and say 'Peace'.

Don't know my technical terms, but 'exotic' wouldn't be a bad word for these. Outrageous! ( :

This is pretty tricky to navigate. But if you figure out how to get to marbles you're interested in and 'full-screen' them, the pictures are really good.

I've always enjoyed old catalogues, ever since I was a little kid and someone got the wonderful idea to publish a modern full-size version of the Sears & Roebuck 1909 catalogue. (Think that's the right year.) It was number one on my Christmas list and one of the best presents I ever got. And I'm pretty sure that most people here enjoy marbles which are "incomparable for their colorful eye appeal"! ( :

Ha! If you're using casual terms like that, you're clearly out of my league! (But they do sound logical.)

So a priest, a minister, and a rabbi are in a bar..... (Oh gosh. I'm so sorry. I couldn't help it!)

Sounds good to me! Winnie, I know this isn't the 'What Are You Listening To Now' topic, but I can't help myself. Here is one of the greatest songs of all time. From long ago, when I was a hippie! ( : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZYgWn7-WOw

Chiberia! Ha! It's been very cold here too. Wish I knew how to 'read' tracks. All that's happened here this winter has been a little snow at times. But it's interesting to me how these small events make the presence of the usually invisible 'creatures of the night' known. ( :

Winnie, was it you who ignored the 'Please Don't Feed The Ducks' sign?

Hey, Leroy! Glad you're still with us. Have you confirmed that your identity is okay? Like using your ATM card, or something like that? I'm just hoping that this was only a 'casual' nasty rumor, and not something that might get into the 'system' somehow. Just looking out for you! Don't mean to be a bring-down! ( :

Couple of yellows. One's a big wild 3D shape, and the other's more a traditional Chiquita! ( :

Found a bunch of Bananas in the mail yesterday. Thanks so much to those responsible! They're great! (Say, do they still make banana frosted flakes? They were great too.) One of the mibs had me confused for a while. It looked strangely familiar. Finally figured it out! ( :

Wishing the moderator a Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm glad you said that. Part of the reason that I just mentioned being 'straight-forward' was because I wasn't sure that people would believe that these are actual shadows. They sort of look like they were 'painted'. For what it's worth, the camera is pointed straight down to ground level. The sun, if we call being directly overhead 90 degrees, was at about 75 and slightly to the right. .

I really admire the people here who are skillful with photoshop and similar programs. I've tried using them and have failed miserably. They also just scare the heck out of me. It makes me feel 'limited' at times. But every once in a while there's a situation where I can take a pretty straight-forward photo and have it come out looking kind of outrageous. This makes me feel better. ( :

The last shot looks really good. My vote at this point is red-eye off, safety FE on. I had to do a little quick research on 'safety FE'. (That particular terminology is specific to your type of camera.) It sounds like having it 'on' gives you more of a balance between the natural light and the flash output. This would more generically be referred to as 'fill' flash. Just enough flash to add detail where required. If it's 'off', you basically only have the light of the flash exposing your photo. That can be a little artificial-looking, like taking a flash photo in a completely dark room.

I had an immediate gut-instinct thought which isn't based on anything factual I can think of, but sometimes these are the best thoughts. Would be interested in hearing if your marble photos benefit in your opinion from turning off your flash's 'red-eye' setting. The red-eye setting makes the flash go off one or more times before it flashes again for the actual photo. Happens very quickly. This is so when you're shooting people at parties their pupils will shrink just before the shot's taken, which prevents that 'pink' result we've all seen. (Cleopatra, with her large atropine-induced pupils might have been beyond help with this.) But it has no benefit whatsoever for marbles, and I'm wondering if it might possibly hurt. Deep in the bowels of your camera menus, under 'flash settings' or something similar, you're probably set on 'auto/redeye'. This might also be shown as a squiggly arrow and an 'eye' symbol. If you're in the mood, try changing this to auto without the redeye, or the squiggly arrow without the eye symbol. ( :

I think I missed the beginning of this endeavor, but glad you're having a good time! Like the opening marbles, and the photo looks fine as far as normal reflection. Are you saying that the 'snowy' look is reflection, and not there in real 'non-flash' life?