A Little Introduction

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Jeremy Wright
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Joined: December 14th, 2015, 4:56 pm

A Little Introduction

Post by Jeremy Wright »

Hello everyone,
My name is Jeremy, and I'm a 16 year old passionate herper and photographer from Claremont, right on the LA and SB county lines. My dad is a biologist here in the Claremont Colleges, and he is the one that initially got me hooked on the outdoors and animals. I have been following the forum for years know, and it is essentially the main reason I decided to get into herp photography and continue my passion for herping as I've gotten older and busier. I know quite a few members through instagram (Dave Z, Devin B, Kevin P, Kyle J, Nick H) and they have helped me tremendously and befriended me, which I am hugely grateful for. I'm excited to finally join the forum and meet / talk to all you amazing herpers and photographers. I have a flickr page with a few photos, and I'm in the process of trying to add a few hundred photos to it, so it should be a bit more interesting for you all if you would be so kind enough to pay my page a visit! ( https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeremywrightphotography/ )

I will post some photos asap.
Thanks for looking and I'm exited to be a part of this community!
-Jeremy Wright :) (@wrightzle and @wrightzlephotos on instagram)
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Fieldnotes
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Re: A Little Introduction

Post by Fieldnotes »

Great pictures, just like a pro! :thumb:
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Jeremy Wright
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Re: A Little Introduction

Post by Jeremy Wright »

Thank you very much Fieldnotes :)
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SurfinHerp
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Re: A Little Introduction

Post by SurfinHerp »

Like Fieldnotes said: great photos Jeremy!

I'm jealous of your Galapagos trip :mrgreen: One of these days I'd love to go there.

Jeff
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Jeremy Wright
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Re: A Little Introduction

Post by Jeremy Wright »

Thank you Jeff! It means a lot. My dad actually leads tours there occasionally alongside the Lindblad / National Geographic crew, so he was able to take me along essentially free, only paying for the airfare. It was definitely one of the best weeks of my life. I'm bummed the photos didn't turn out better; that was literally my first trip with a dslr I had just purchased so I was still learning (and still am!)
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Porter
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Re: A Little Introduction

Post by Porter »

Nice kingsnake shot with the tongue flickr. I especially like the shot of the ruber with the hard shadow casting :thumb: nice job
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Jeremy Wright
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Re: A Little Introduction

Post by Jeremy Wright »

Thank you Porter! I wasn't fond of the shot initially but it has grown on me. I'm hoping I can get similar effects just way less harsh with a diffusor on my flash.
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Porter
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Re: A Little Introduction

Post by Porter »

I think it looks great as is. I like the obscurity and how the coils of the snake are coming out of the black darkness. That would make a good black n white shot. Although the natural orange color of the ruber works good foe that concept...like a BnW stained with orange.

So, was that shot taken with a flash set on the ground, off to the left of the camera, and no fire of a flash on the mount? Maybe a flashlight over the top of the snake would lighten up the contrast if held at the right distance. Giving more a better view of the snake under shadow and less black contrast... I saw a shot on a sidewinder similar to this by a guy named Zack West, about a year ago. I really like the result.Nice job croping as well :thumb:
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Jeremy Wright
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Re: A Little Introduction

Post by Jeremy Wright »

Exactly! My external flash was to the left, being triggered by my on camera flash. The on camera flash did fire, it's just that on my nikon d200, the flash output is significantly lowered when in commander mode. And thanks for the compliments, I appreciate it!
RobertH
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Re: A Little Introduction

Post by RobertH »

Hi Jeremy,

Nick and I are glad you finally joined the forum and are sharing some of your excellent photography.

I agree with Porter that the shaded ruber shot is good the way it is as far as the lighting is concerned. The only thing you may want to try is to shoot the head more from the side next time. A head-on shot doesn't display as much of the snake's features as a profile shot. This goes for all snakes, but is particularly true for crotes. The problem, of course, with crotes is that they track your every movement and thus tend to look directly into the lens of the camera at all times. Nick and I overcome this problem by using me as a decoy. :lol:

Anyway, we really need to get out into the field together soon. Nick and you would make a great team. As he may have told you, we usually head out every Saturday, though this weekend we will be going on Sunday. If you (and your dad) care to join us, this weekend or any other weekend, pm me or contact Nick by whatever method you guys are communicating.

One other thing:

Become a member of the CA chapter of the NAFHA so you can go on surveys. The Tejon Ranch surveys are coming up soon, and you don't want to miss them. They are the highlight for us every year.

To become a chapter member, you need to 1) join the HERP database (http://www.naherp.com) and enter at least one record (I think) and 2) simply ask our secretary, my esteemed friend Derek (screen name El Garia) to add you as a member.

To join HERP, go to the above website and create an account. Be sure to use the same username as you use for this forum. When you are registered, we'll be happy to help you out with entering your first records. It's really easy. Once you have done a few records, it will become second nature. Nick entered over 1,700 records last year winning the 2015 database contest (more on the contest later, if you want).

By entering your finds you will not only contribute valuable scientific data that will be used by wildlife management agencies and researchers, but also create very useful records for your own purposes. Nick and I honestly don't know how we could herp without it.

Looking forward to meeting you and your dad soon.

Robert
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Jeremy Wright
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Re: A Little Introduction

Post by Jeremy Wright »

Hello Robert,
Thank you very much! I'm glad Nick and I were able to talk over flickr and instagram and we should definitely hit the field sometime. Often the trips we take can be kind of spontaneous and not planned ahead, but when we eventually plan a trip we should definitely meet sometime! I agree with what you said about the ruber; they do seem to track you everywhere, a decoy is a really good idea! I will definitely join NAFHA. My dad and I have a record document on our computers so we could probably copy those over and attach photos fairly easily. I would love to visit Tejon Ranch with the survey crew! Does NAFHA also have surveys down near San Diego too, or am I thinking of something else?
All the best and hope to see / meet you soon!
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JAMAUGHN
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Re: A Little Introduction

Post by JAMAUGHN »

Welcome, Jeremy! As everyone has already said, great photos. I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next!

JimM
RobertH
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Re: A Little Introduction

Post by RobertH »

Jeremy,

If you already have your own personal records of your finds, that's great and should make entering your data a lot faster.

Nick and I are tentatively planning to attend the Tejon Ranch survey on April 10, 2016. Maybe, you and your dad could join us for that. If your dad doesn't have time - it is an all-day effort - he could also drop you off at our house in Glendale and you could carpool with us from there.

There are also NAFHA surveys going on in San Diego, for example on lands of the Fallbrook Land Conservancy. The person to talk to about those is Jeff Nordland (surfinherp).

Also consider joining the chapter outing to the Eastern Sierras in late June (see the thread on this forum).

Robert
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Jeremy Wright
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Re: A Little Introduction

Post by Jeremy Wright »

Thank you Jim!
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Jeremy Wright
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Re: A Little Introduction

Post by Jeremy Wright »

That sounds awesome Robert! I would love to attend the Tejon Ranch survey and as of now that weekend is free for us. The Fallbrook Land Conservancy surveys would be awesome too; I would love to go to one of those sometime. The eastern Sierra trip will probably coincide with our annual trip to England to visit my dad's family.
All the best.
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