113 replies to this topic

[Casper]

Thanks for the invite / return to VA Drew, Laura, Gerald. The opportunity with the VA Nature Camp sounds especially intriqing. $210 for 5 days, lodging and food included and all the interesting activities offered. Im sure i can fit in enough snorkeling to satisfy me. Excellent.
Check it out... August 19 -23rd, perhaps we could get a couple more NANFA members along who did not get enough activity last week.


http://naturecamp.ne...ssion-programs/

Thanks for the corrections and help on the ID's. Roanoke Darters! No wonder they did not look like Gilts to me. Especially those females. White and Rosyface Shiners. Excellent. And a Bigmouth Chub! I did not catch that possibility on the VA Virtual Aquarium site, good job Michael. I will send the pic to Ed Scott as he was immeressed with Chub Head Tubercules a couple 3 years ago on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Here is a nice pic showing the rock formations lining the New River. Fine day.

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[Josh Blaylock]

This was my first convention. I had an excellent trip and enjoyed every minute of it. My thanks go out to everyone who had a part in organizing/running it. I enjoyed the company, location, presentations, and collecting. I'd like to thank Fritz for sticking with the pursuit though his back was hurting on Saturday. Thanks to Scott, Uland, and Matt for the seining/kick netting opportunities. It was a good day even without that one target species. Thanks again, Fritz, for the locations on the New for Sunday on my way home. I hit BEAUTIFUL locations on the New, but no Kanawha Darters.

It was great to finally meet several of you and I look forward to future conventions.

This was my first convention. I had an excellent trip and enjoyed every minute of it. My thanks go out to everyone who had a part in organizing/running it. I enjoyed the company, location, presentations, and collecting. I'd like to thank Fritz for sticking with the pursuit though his back was hurting on Saturday. Thanks to Scott, Uland, and Matt for the seining/kick netting opportunities. It was a good day even without that one target species. Thanks again, Fritz, for the locations on the New for Sunday on my way home. I hit BEAUTIFUL locations on the New, but no Kanawha Darters.

It was great to finally meet several of you and I look forward to future conventions.

I for one enjoyed meeting you as well. We did not find our target fish that day, but we had a good group, that was at least as interested in releasing fish as it was in keeping them. We were able to move quick, except for Uland. Dang photos. Like takin' your kids fishin'. We were a good team, and we tried as hard as we could

[farmertodd]

Casper, your chub is indeed a bigmouth chub. The tubercles extend behind the eye (they are only found from the eye forward on river chub). That's a very nice diagnostic picture of a spawning male! If you want me to give that a bump in zee photo programme, I'd be glad to

Todd

[natureman187]

Was also my first convention. A long drive it was, but I enjoyed meeting everybody and spending time with familiar faces.

Admiring first fish of the convention.
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Michael Wolfe explaining why there's 5000 people next to this guys front yard when he went to get the mail.
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Riverweed Darter (Etheostoma podostemone)



Orchids!
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Candy Darter (Etheostoma osburni)


Crescent Shiners
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[fundulus]

I like Michael as NANFA PR guy.

[farmertodd]

Beautiful work, Lance, that riverweed really turned out! Really like the picture of the gang at the photo tank too.

Here's another people shot I liked. This is Lance stalking a candy darter. Brrrrrrrr.

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Todd

[Irate Mormon]

Is that Pierre Gagne on Casper's right?

Edited by Irate Mormon, 02 June 2011 - 11:30 PM.

[farmertodd]

Is that Pierre Gagne on Casper's right?

Yessir.

[Casper]

I dont see Martin in any pictures! I did get to see him last year though when he visited Chattanooga and the Moon Pie Factory.

I recently added a bunch of photos of the NANFA Virginia convention and post activities at...

http://gallery.nanfa...nia Convention/

Full captions are at the top of each phot if you view them individually.

Also I thought i would bump this Virginia Nature Camp opportunity, as it sounds pretty cool. Are any NANFA members considering attending?

Here is the VA Nature Camp offer...

http://naturecamp.ne...ssion-programs/

Thanks for the invite / return to VA Drew, Laura, Gerald. The opportunity with the VA Nature Camp sounds especially intriqing. $210 for 5 days, lodging and food included and all the interesting activities offered! Im sure i can fit in enough snorkeling to satisfy me. Excellent.
Check it out... August 19 -23rd, perhaps we could get a couple more NANFA members along who did not get enough activity last week.

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•  MoonMartin.JPG   19.29KB   20 downloads

[kalawatseti]

Great photos, Casper! Thanks for posting.

Say, there was another photographer who went to Goose Creek, a professional photographer, if I'm not mistaken. He took some underwater photos of my son. Anybody got a name and/or email addy? I would love to get some shots of my son frolicking among the fishes.

Thanks muchly.

Chris

[Irate Mormon]

I dont see Martin in any pictures! I did get to see him last year though when he visited Chattanooga and the Moon Pie Factory.

Yes, and I shan't forget how you tried to pose me in front of that park fountain, hoping I would get hosed!

I don't get to do conventions much any more - my schedule is just too unpredictable. So I mostly hang out with local fish-heads (not the roly-poly kind), and make the occasional road trip as time permits.

[Casper]

That would be Jeremy Monroe of Freshwaters Illustrated. He is on the road currently but will later be assisting me with Conasauga fishy photos, i will ask him then.

Martin come on back, you can seine with a roly poly fishhead and we will cook a fishhead stew that evening.

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[Casper]

Ive been meaning to get to this, and post and share...
Lance did Michael and i the honor of color correcting, tweaking a few of our underwater shots.
Amazing the improvement. Now if he could just fix focus.

You can't fix focus, unfortunatly. With these cheap cameras you just have to shoot a bunch and hope for the best.
From top to bottom is...
( The first 3 are Michael's... )
White Shiner over the Bigmouth Chub nest in the New River.
Bigmouth Chub with another horny headed male behind him.
Nice tuberculed male Stoneroller.
( Next, my 3... )
Swarming White Shiners and a Hornyhead.
2 shots of a Fantail Darter ( exact specie? ) from Dismal Falls ( Saturday's VA field trip ), note the egg mimics on his dorsal.

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•  VA-ColorCorrect.jpg   689.99KB   31 downloads

Edited by Casper, 13 July 2011 - 02:32 PM.