# Cool pictures caught by dumb luck thread
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-pictures-caught-by-dumb-luck-thread/463799
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [September 16, 2008, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-pictures-caught-by-dumb-luck-thread/463799 "2008-09-16T04:34:57Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 5
### Author:  [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2008, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-pictures-caught-by-dumb-luck-thread/463799/81 "2008-09-19T09:39:23Z")
Cool pics, sdmbers! I especially like the flying alien cats and the fairy. I take my camera whenever I go, including when driving. Lots of times I’ll just kind of aim my camera out the window and hope for the best. Every once in awhile one of those will come out surprisingly well, though it’s made me want to advocate for putting telephone wires underground. I also did some self portraits which involved putting my camera on automatic and doing various spontaneous poses. Out of maybe twenty five attempts, [one picture](http://flickr.com/photos/74153009@N00/2787994110/) came out fairly well.
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### Author:  [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)
#### Post date: [September 19, 2008, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-pictures-caught-by-dumb-luck-thread/463799/82 "2008-09-19T15:10:29Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#):
>
> I also did some self portraits which involved putting my camera on automatic and doing various spontaneous poses. Out of maybe twenty five attempts, [one picture](http://flickr.com/photos/74153009@N00/2787994110/) came out fairly well.
Aren’t you a cutie pie! Very nice color.
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### Author:  [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)
#### Post date: [October 5, 2008, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-pictures-caught-by-dumb-luck-thread/463799/83 "2008-10-05T19:04:47Z")
It’s dumb luck if you’re trying to take a picture of something else, isn’t it? I was at Plumb Island in Newport, Mass on Friday, and it wasn’t nice weather. It was drizzling, but the clouds had this amazing illuminated look to them, so I spent much of the time at the beach trying to capture that quality. I came the closest [here](http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e130/theevilwriter/Plumb%20Island/SANY0465.jpg).
But, while trying to take pictures of the clouds, I ended up with [this picture](http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e130/theevilwriter/Plumb%20Island/SANY0393.jpg) and [this one](http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e130/theevilwriter/Plumb%20Island/SANY0462.jpg) too. I don’t think I could have gotten the second of these two shots with deliberate effort. I like the first one of the salt marsh too, because that’s exactly what a rainy gray day it was.
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### Author:  [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)
#### Post date: [October 5, 2008, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-pictures-caught-by-dumb-luck-thread/463799/84 "2008-10-05T19:18:22Z")
Just wonderful!! Especially #1 and #3.
Thanks for resurrecting this thread.
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### Author:  [@wfudan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wfudan)
#### Post date: [October 5, 2008, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-pictures-caught-by-dumb-luck-thread/463799/85 "2008-10-05T19:58:53Z")
There are some stunning pictures in this thread.
My entry-level digital camera rarely captures anything beautiful, but a trip around Arizona a few years ago produced a few that I really like. They don’t compare to most here, but they’ve served me well as desktop backgrounds for a while.
[This one](http://picasaweb.google.com/dglassick/Tucson?authkey=ky8PwyL8tH4#5253759162707184290) is my favorite by far. Rarely does my camera capture that kind of detail or such deep colors.
[This one](http://picasaweb.google.com/dglassick/Tucson?authkey=ky8PwyL8tH4#5253759553842161586) isn’t framed particularly well, but I like the colors.
Finally, I took [this](http://picasaweb.google.com/dglassick/Tucson?authkey=ky8PwyL8tH4#5253759620328010226) without realizing how it would turn out. For some reason I find the contrast of the bright rock in the foreground followed by shadows then the Grand Canyon in the background very pleasing.
Although blaming the equipment is a cheap way out, I really wish I had a bigger chunk of my budget available for a quality digital camera.
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### Author:  [@Landshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Landshark)
#### Post date: [October 5, 2008, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-pictures-caught-by-dumb-luck-thread/463799/86 "2008-10-05T23:25:44Z")
Easy for me to remember the date I took the photo, because it happened to be September 11 of 2007. I had gotten home from work and gone out for an exercise walk. I try to take my camera with me as often as possible when I go out, and did so then.
So, I’m walking along and something odd in my peripheral vision registers on me. I stop and find myself [looking at this](http://www.dslreports.com/showpic/dimaging?lid=136252&1=1). (I’m also Landshark on the linked-to site.) A Stargazer lily somebody had presumably dropped on the concrete among many dead leaves.
I took several exposures and eventually decided this was the best of them.
I’ve been very pleased with it.
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### Author:  [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)
#### Post date: [October 5, 2008, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-pictures-caught-by-dumb-luck-thread/463799/87 "2008-10-05T23:29:32Z")
Co-incidentally I saw this on another message board around the same time as seeing this thread…
[ ](https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v98/lobley/10282099199ch.jpg)
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### Author:  [@Landshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Landshark)
#### Post date: [October 5, 2008, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-pictures-caught-by-dumb-luck-thread/463799/88 "2008-10-05T23:36:03Z")
> [@Lobsang](#):
>
> Co-incidentally I saw this on another message board around the same time as seeing this thread…
>
> [http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v98/lobley/10282099199ch.jpg](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v98/lobley/10282099199ch.jpg)
As the saying goes, timing is everything! 😃
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### Author:  [@Deereman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deereman)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2008, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-pictures-caught-by-dumb-luck-thread/463799/89 "2008-10-06T00:01:26Z")
I think almost ALL my photography is by dumb luck!
A bee in midflight
> **[Restless Search by Mopar on DeviantArt](https://www.deviantart.com/mopar/art/Restless-Search-99852957)**
A deer visiting my grandpa’s horses in the pasture
> **[The wild amongst them by Mopar on DeviantArt](https://www.deviantart.com/mopar/art/The-wild-amongst-them-99807835)**
A tractor puller
> **[The smell of dirt in the air by Mopar on DeviantArt](https://www.deviantart.com/mopar/art/The-smell-of-dirt-in-the-air-95684407)**
Fourth of July Fireworks
> **[Fire Rain by Mopar on DeviantArt](https://www.deviantart.com/mopar/art/Fire-Rain-90837903)**
Fourth of July insanity (this one could be better)
> **[Man learns the art of fire by Mopar on DeviantArt](https://www.deviantart.com/mopar/art/Man-learns-the-art-of-fire-90827751)**
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### Author:  [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2008, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-pictures-caught-by-dumb-luck-thread/463799/90 "2008-10-06T00:07:03Z")
I’m a SAHM with two little boys, so they are my subject most of the time. Here’s one of Spencer I took and converted to black and white [Photo Storage | Photobucket](http://s203.photobucket.com/albums/aa246/LeahandPhil/Spencer/?action=view¤t=IMG_3010-1.jpg)
And here’s a great pic of Colin, just a few days old [Photo Storage | Photobucket](http://s203.photobucket.com/albums/aa246/LeahandPhil/Colin%20Matthew/?action=view¤t=IMG_2873.jpg)
Dumb luck on both of them.
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### Author:  [@Hokkaido\_Brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hokkaido_Brit)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2008, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-pictures-caught-by-dumb-luck-thread/463799/91 "2008-10-06T00:13:57Z")
Here’s one of my lad; he was just playing nicely when suddenly he went into [Aggressive Little Beastie Mode](http://www.flickr.com/photos/hyotenka_v/2852437817/) just as I clicked the shutter!
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### Author:  [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2008, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-pictures-caught-by-dumb-luck-thread/463799/92 "2008-10-06T00:16:11Z")
> [@Hokkaido\_Brit](#):
>
> Here’s one of my lad; he was just playing nicely when suddenly he went into [Aggressive Little Beastie Mode](http://www.flickr.com/photos/hyotenka_v/2852437817/) just as I clicked the shutter!
He’s probably parroting a kung-fu movie he’s seen. Hey, I noticed your username before I thought of that. Hokkaido sounds like a martial art.
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### Author:  [@Hokkaido\_Brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hokkaido_Brit)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2008, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-pictures-caught-by-dumb-luck-thread/463799/93 "2008-10-06T00:19:19Z")
> [@Lobsang](#):
>
> He’s probably parroting a kung-fu movie he’s seen. Hey, I noticed your username before I thought of that. Hokkaido sounds like a martial art.
Funny!
Actually you are more right than you know - the “do” in Hokkaido and the “do” in the martial arts like kendo etc is the same character.
北海道 is the name of the northernmost major land mass in Japan, and it’s where I live, oddly enough. My user name is so boring it makes me cry.
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### Author:  [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2008, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-pictures-caught-by-dumb-luck-thread/463799/94 "2008-10-06T00:24:52Z")
> [@Hokkaido\_Brit](#):
>
> Funny!
>
> Actually you are more right than you know - the “do” in Hokkaido and the “do” in the martial arts like kendo etc is the same character.
>
> 北海道 is the name of the northernmost major land mass in Japan, and it’s where I live, oddly enough. My user name is so boring it makes me cry.
If it makes any difference. I meant to say ‘after that’ not ‘before that’. In other words I connected your son’s face with martial-art before I saw what your username was.
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### Author:  [@drewbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewbert)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2008, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-pictures-caught-by-dumb-luck-thread/463799/95 "2008-10-06T01:44:32Z")
[A shaky night in Nashville](http://www.circumspectfiesta.com/images/sdmb/shaky-night.jpg), taken from the General Jackson riverboat years before I moved here.
Not a great shot by any means, but I’ve had my kitty Z for years before I realized her [eyes](http://www.circumspectfiesta.com/images/sdmb/Z-eyes.jpg) were slightly different colors if lit just right. I first noticed it with this picture.
Slightly less random, [this one](http://www.circumspectfiesta.com/images/maine/maine3.jpg) was taken by a cabin on a lake in central Maine over a Columbus Day weekend years ago. My GF at the time just happened to be standing in just the right spot. Possibly my favorite shot I’ve ever taken.
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### Author:  [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2008, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-pictures-caught-by-dumb-luck-thread/463799/96 "2008-10-06T02:45:21Z")
> [@Hokkaido\_Brit](#):
>
> Funny!
>
> Actually you are more right than you know - the “do” in Hokkaido and the “do” in the martial arts like kendo etc is the same character.
>
> 北海道 is the name of the northernmost major land mass in Japan, and it’s where I live, oddly enough. My user name is so boring it makes me cry.
Think of a better one and ask permission to change your “boring” name. I’ve done so at least 3 times.
ETA I think I wrote to a mod each time.
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### Author:  [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2008, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-pictures-caught-by-dumb-luck-thread/463799/97 "2008-10-06T02:59:07Z")
I got this one at the zoo in San Diego. It’s rare that the pandas show you anything but their butt while they’re sleeping, but for once I got a [doozy](http://picasaweb.google.com/ejsgirl/SanDiegoZooMarch2008#5229314363523945202).
🆒
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### Author:  [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2008, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-pictures-caught-by-dumb-luck-thread/463799/98 "2008-10-06T05:24:41Z")
[This](http://www.flickr.com/photos/11822576@N08/2917991390/sizes/l/) wasn’t completely by accident, but the timing worked out perfectly. One of my favorite shots from our Italy trip.
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### Author:  [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2008, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-pictures-caught-by-dumb-luck-thread/463799/99 "2008-10-06T13:22:53Z")
I was testing some macro filter in my old P&S, when I saw the picture enlarged was when I noticed the tiny bug. It was almost invisible to the naked eye: [Wee bug | Taken with the macro filters, this is the tip of a… | Flickr](http://flickr.com/photos/tropicalnadia/112181791/)
I unwittingly find myself part of a social experiment: [I once had a nightmare like that | It was a hot day. Las Ram… | Flickr](http://flickr.com/photos/tropicalnadia/189156857/) (Mild nudity!)
I found this eerie picture in my memory card and I didn’t shoot it and don’t remember where it might have come from: [http://flickr.com/photos/tropicalnadia/298488006/](http://flickr.com/photos/tropicalnadia/298488006/)
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### Author:  [@Hokkaido\_Brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hokkaido_Brit)
#### Post date: [October 6, 2008, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-pictures-caught-by-dumb-luck-thread/463799/100 "2008-10-06T13:25:35Z")
> [@BarnOwl](#):
>
> Think of a better one and ask permission to change your “boring” name. I’ve done so at least 3 times.
>
> ETA I think I wrote to a mod each time.
Yes, I should but I have had this name here for years now. And the “cool” name I would choose is my blog name which would identify me… Intertia has got hold of me.
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