Hi gang,
Added a few more videos to YouTube last night that I thought you would enjoy...
Coppercheek Darter, Etheostoma aquali - Buffalo River
Bluebreast Darter, Etheostoma camurum - Big South Fork of the Cumberland River
(got pixelated, hmmm)
Redline Darter, Etheostoma rufilineatum - Indian Creek
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb-atQGvM40
Bloodfin Darter, Etheostoma sanguifluum - Barren Fork of the Collins River
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3booOPSaNNk
River Chub, Nocomis micropogon; Whitetail Shiner, Cyprinella galactura; Smallmouth Bass, Micropterus dolomieu; Feeding frenzy below a riffle on the Buffalo River.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hy52fY9eTLo
Enjoy!
Todd
A few more videos from Tennessee
Started by
Guest_farmertodd_*
, Mar 20 2010 07:59 AM
12 replies to this topic
#2
Guest_Kanus_*
Guest_Kanus_*
-
- Guests
Posted 20 March 2010 - 08:13 AM
Those are GREAT videos, Todd! That first half of the Coppercheek video makes me think of some cryptically colored species of Dottyback. The shape of the face is nearly dead-on, and he looks almost like he has teardrop-shaped pupils.
#3
Guest_njJohn_*
Guest_njJohn_*
-
- Guests
Posted 20 March 2010 - 10:15 AM
I love your videos. Just as entertaining as a reef dive video.
#4
Michael Wolfe
-
- Board of Directors
-
- North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage
Posted 20 March 2010 - 10:17 AM
Farmer Dude, that video is awesome... I went back and looked at some of that old Conasuaga video and uploaded it to vimeo... it is OK, but noting at all compared to this! Your video skills have improved tremendously! And you are getting very nice resolution on YT. I particularly like the redline video where you can see that the flow is so high that the ricks are moving! Your video there is not quite as still and perfect, but it really does give a feel for what it is like snorkeling in darter habitat.
I'm not even going to post the link to the old video, I am just going to wait for more of your work!
Oh, and I must say that Nocomis rule!
I'm not even going to post the link to the old video, I am just going to wait for more of your work!
Oh, and I must say that Nocomis rule!
Edited by Michael Wolfe, 20 March 2010 - 10:19 AM.
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin
#5
Guest_farmertodd_*
Guest_farmertodd_*
-
- Guests
Posted 20 March 2010 - 10:29 PM
Hey thanks guys, I'm really glad you folks like watching them 
Michael, thanks. Yeah there was quite a learning curve, and it needs re-learned each year, but I think I have it down now. You see, I'm shooting most of this blind. I'm just guessing where the fish is. If it's really overcast, I can see the reflection of the player in the mirror thingie, but that's really only when I'm in shallow water, and the colors suck. Like that ashy darter I post the other day... Totally blind. I was hanging from a rock and was holding the camera straight down just hoping to get the shot.
Most of the time, it fails miserably (I don't even want to think about the awesome footage I blew at my Aunt & Uncles new cottage last year). But when filming our gaudy friends from subgenus Nothonotus, it typically works well because they have such high site fidelity and they're on the bottom, so the camera doesn't focus on detritus in front of the housing, for example. I also had to figure out how to keep it from fogging up (Sea Drops and a maxi pad believe it or not) and then after that, how to keep the Sea Drops from bulking up too much. The colder the water, the worse it is. And if you get a DROP of water in the housing, you're hosed. The camera heats up and turns it right into steam.
So yeah, that Conasauga footage was terrible (although I'm going to snag some of the Alabama shiner stuff again - I wish I wish I wish the housing hadn't fogged on the bronze darter spawning!). I also didn't know to stay in place (I only infrequently film the "Blair Fish Project" these days) and now that I've seen a lot more fish, I'm not so jacked up to be somewhere looking at a species. God forbid I run across a Conasauga logperch or harelip sucker. I'll probably blow it lol
I'm also very jealous of those of you who live with this clear water so close. Man, if I had only an hour or two drive, I'd have progressed a lot faster.
Anyway, I hope this inspires a whole gaggle of folks to explore the waters below with their eyes.
Edit: And yeah, I left all the extra in the redline intentionally. There's solid footage within that can be cropped for a more formal presentation, of course. But I wanted to show how effortlessly these fish live in THEIR habitats. If anyone ever again tells me a fish got "trapped" against a seine, I'm showing them this.
Todd
Michael, thanks. Yeah there was quite a learning curve, and it needs re-learned each year, but I think I have it down now. You see, I'm shooting most of this blind. I'm just guessing where the fish is. If it's really overcast, I can see the reflection of the player in the mirror thingie, but that's really only when I'm in shallow water, and the colors suck. Like that ashy darter I post the other day... Totally blind. I was hanging from a rock and was holding the camera straight down just hoping to get the shot.
Most of the time, it fails miserably (I don't even want to think about the awesome footage I blew at my Aunt & Uncles new cottage last year). But when filming our gaudy friends from subgenus Nothonotus, it typically works well because they have such high site fidelity and they're on the bottom, so the camera doesn't focus on detritus in front of the housing, for example. I also had to figure out how to keep it from fogging up (Sea Drops and a maxi pad believe it or not) and then after that, how to keep the Sea Drops from bulking up too much. The colder the water, the worse it is. And if you get a DROP of water in the housing, you're hosed. The camera heats up and turns it right into steam.
So yeah, that Conasauga footage was terrible (although I'm going to snag some of the Alabama shiner stuff again - I wish I wish I wish the housing hadn't fogged on the bronze darter spawning!). I also didn't know to stay in place (I only infrequently film the "Blair Fish Project" these days
) and now that I've seen a lot more fish, I'm not so jacked up to be somewhere looking at a species. God forbid I run across a Conasauga logperch or harelip sucker. I'll probably blow it lolI'm also very jealous of those of you who live with this clear water so close. Man, if I had only an hour or two drive, I'd have progressed a lot faster.
Anyway, I hope this inspires a whole gaggle of folks to explore the waters below with their eyes.
Edit: And yeah, I left all the extra in the redline intentionally. There's solid footage within that can be cropped for a more formal presentation, of course. But I wanted to show how effortlessly these fish live in THEIR habitats. If anyone ever again tells me a fish got "trapped" against a seine, I'm showing them this.
Todd
Edited by farmertodd, 20 March 2010 - 10:36 PM.
#6
Guest_Doug_Dame_*
Guest_Doug_Dame_*
-
- Guests
Posted 23 March 2010 - 12:02 AM
Really neat. The coppercheek is a spectacular species, which I have not seen before, although I confess the redline is about my favorite. I saw an article a couple of days ago entitled "Do fish have personalities," a question that pretty much proves that most fish behavioralists must not have seen redline darters.
And I REALLY enjoyed the ashby darter footage from one of your other recent posts. I caught one a couple of year ago, dipnetting blind through vegetation, so I never saw it except in my net for a few seconds. Being able to see how they move and act in the environment is really neat.
Thanks for sharing, Todd.
(You can put Fritz' book on your birthday list, but I'm going for mini-submarine.)
Doug
And I REALLY enjoyed the ashby darter footage from one of your other recent posts. I caught one a couple of year ago, dipnetting blind through vegetation, so I never saw it except in my net for a few seconds. Being able to see how they move and act in the environment is really neat.
Thanks for sharing, Todd.
(You can put Fritz' book on your birthday list, but I'm going for mini-submarine.)
Doug
#7
Guest_IsaacSzabo_*
Guest_IsaacSzabo_*
-
- Guests
Posted 23 March 2010 - 01:36 AM
Really cool, Todd. It’s neat to see these interesting fish in their natural habitat (I haven’t seen any of these in real life yet). I think my favorite is the Bloodfin footage.
I battled condensation problems for a while when I first got into UW photography. I tried things like silica desiccant packs and maxi pads before finally coming up with a real solution. As I’m sure you know, the whole issue has to do with water vapor in the air and the fact that warm air holds more moisture than cool air. When you fill your housing with warm air and then submerge it in cold water, the air inside the housing cools down, and the water vapor condenses and fogs up the housing.
The best solution to this problem is to limit the amount of moisture in the air inside the housing in the first place. You can do this by filling your housing with air from an air conditioner (air conditioners remove moisture from as well as cool the air). Just allow an air conditioner to blow cold air into your housing for a few minutes before you seal it up. You can even use your car’s air conditioner to do this. This works really well and you shouldn’t have any more trouble with condensation or have to use sea drops or maxi pads. The only downside is you can’t open your housing out in the field and then go back underwater unless you fill it up with cold air again.
I battled condensation problems for a while when I first got into UW photography. I tried things like silica desiccant packs and maxi pads before finally coming up with a real solution. As I’m sure you know, the whole issue has to do with water vapor in the air and the fact that warm air holds more moisture than cool air. When you fill your housing with warm air and then submerge it in cold water, the air inside the housing cools down, and the water vapor condenses and fogs up the housing.
The best solution to this problem is to limit the amount of moisture in the air inside the housing in the first place. You can do this by filling your housing with air from an air conditioner (air conditioners remove moisture from as well as cool the air). Just allow an air conditioner to blow cold air into your housing for a few minutes before you seal it up. You can even use your car’s air conditioner to do this. This works really well and you shouldn’t have any more trouble with condensation or have to use sea drops or maxi pads. The only downside is you can’t open your housing out in the field and then go back underwater unless you fill it up with cold air again.
#8
Guest_farmertodd_*
Guest_farmertodd_*
-
- Guests
Posted 23 March 2010 - 07:25 AM
Thanks Doug Yeah, I want to know what it's like to have a SAIL for a soft dorsal? A still view:
post-68-1195006813.jpg 46.21KB
0 downloads
Yeap, many times, if you're in the right places, you'll find juveniles living on cutbanks into gravel bars stabilized by Justicia. Is that where you found it? Cool stuff!
Issac, hey thanks, we can put you on them! They're not too far away from you.
That's an interesting idea. If it works with the car, on site, then I'll have to try it. However, I'm thinking that the video camera gets more hot than the cameras because it's always running and has moving parts etc... You aren't flashing right?
The thought that you could cool the air in the housing before leaving your house and get to a stream BEFORE it was back to ambient temperature makes me seriously jealous, man
Todd
Yeah, I want to know what it's like to have a SAIL for a soft dorsal? A still view:
post-68-1195006813.jpg 46.21KB
0 downloadsYeap, many times, if you're in the right places, you'll find juveniles living on cutbanks into gravel bars stabilized by Justicia. Is that where you found it? Cool stuff!
Issac, hey thanks, we can put you on them! They're not too far away from you.
That's an interesting idea. If it works with the car, on site, then I'll have to try it. However, I'm thinking that the video camera gets more hot than the cameras because it's always running and has moving parts etc... You aren't flashing right?
The thought that you could cool the air in the housing before leaving your house and get to a stream BEFORE it was back to ambient temperature makes me seriously jealous, man
Todd
#9
Michael Wolfe
-
- Board of Directors
-
- North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage
Posted 23 March 2010 - 11:52 AM
Todd, your missing the point I think... it is not about the air being cool... it is about the air being dry... air conditioners dry the air as part of the cooling process... so what Isaac is saying is if you fill the housing with the dry air coming from an air conditioner, then no matter what the temperature is, there is no water (humidity) in the air to create the fog/condensation.That's an interesting idea. If it works with the car, on site, then I'll have to try it. However, I'm thinking that the video camera gets more hot than the cameras because it's always running and has moving parts etc... You aren't flashing right?
The thought that you could cool the air in the housing before leaving your house and get to a stream BEFORE it was back to ambient temperature makes me seriously jealous, man
Isaac, I really like that idea, it makes a lot of sense from a simple science standpoint... and is very interesting to me as I am buying some uw equipment myself to try out this spring. Thanks for the tip.
Edited by Michael Wolfe, 23 March 2010 - 11:52 AM.
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin
#10
Guest_farmertodd_*
Guest_farmertodd_*
-
- Guests
Posted 23 March 2010 - 12:53 PM
Well, I usually am missing the point
I see, I see. Okay, I'm gonna give that a try. It'll get the real test coming up in a few weeks with 55 degree water.
Todd
I see, I see. Okay, I'm gonna give that a try. It'll get the real test coming up in a few weeks with 55 degree water.
Todd
#11
Guest_IsaacSzabo_*
Guest_IsaacSzabo_*
-
- Guests
Posted 23 March 2010 - 01:57 PM
Todd, your missing the point I think... it is not about the air being cool... it is about the air being dry... air conditioners dry the air as part of the cooling process... so what Isaac is saying is if you fill the housing with the dry air coming from an air conditioner, then no matter what the temperature is, there is no water (humidity) in the air to create the fog/condensation.
Isaac, I really like that idea, it makes a lot of sense from a simple science standpoint... and is very interesting to me as I am buying some uw equipment myself to try out this spring. Thanks for the tip.
Thanks Micheal. That is exactly what I was just going to try to explain.
#12
Guest_IsaacSzabo_*
Guest_IsaacSzabo_*
-
- Guests
Posted 23 March 2010 - 02:02 PM
...You aren't flashing right?
Todd
If you're referring to using strobes for my underwater photography, then no, I use only natural light.
#13
Guest_blakemarkwell_*
Guest_blakemarkwell_*
-
- Guests
Posted 23 March 2010 - 04:15 PM
Todd the Nothonotus filming Crail! I am loving these videos, please keep them coming!
1 user(s) are reading this topic
0 members, 1 guests, 0 anonymous users
NANFA Youtube Channel 
