# Unexpectedly good photographs **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 5, 2006, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-photographs/371570 "2006-09-05T23:51:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2006, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-photographs/371570/1 "2006-09-05T23:51:59Z")
Ones you’ve taken, I mean. I was bored and sitting in a car waiting for people to change into their swimsuits when I snapped [this one](http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/mulderscreek/detail?.dir=/5947re2&.dnm=7623re2.jpg&.src=ph). I really like how the clouds seem to flow into the building. Who’d of thought you could get a half-decent photo through a car window? So, which pictures of yours came out better than you thought they would? ---
**Author:** ![threemae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-photographs/371570/2 "2006-09-06T01:20:01Z")
I’m sorry, so where did you say the people changing into swimsuits were? ---
**Author:** ![myskepticsight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@myskepticsight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myskepticsight)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-photographs/371570/3 "2006-09-06T01:27:53Z")
[This](http://www.flickr.com/photos/27783469@N00/233328280/) is one of the first pictures I took with my camera when it was new and I didn’t know how to use it yet. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-photographs/371570/4 "2006-09-06T01:47:29Z")
Wow. I really like the ones posted so far. Mine is far less artistic, but I still like it. I was at the beach with my family a little over a year back and was taking pictures of my brother and cousins playing in the sand. As usual, someone got buried and I snapped a picture. It turns out I managed to cut my cousin’s head off in the picture and the result was [this](http://www.flickr.com/photos/75511996@N00/235501251/). ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-photographs/371570/5 "2006-09-06T01:54:55Z")
I was at the Museum of Flight in Seattle and took [this picture](http://www.muppetlabs.com/~eric/enhanced/museum_of_flight_21.jpg) looking in through the windows. I love the silhouettes and the light coming through the gap at the rudder hinge. And looking again I can see the reflection of the airport behind be, including an old Junkers that was at the museum, and even my own reflection. Fireworks pictures are hit and miss. [This one](http://www.muppetlabs.com/~eric/enhanced/harrisburg_fireworks_23.jpg) turned out pretty well. That’s from Camp Hill, Pennsylvania looking east across the river to Harrisburg. Cat threads must have pictures; seems only fair that a picture thread have [a cat](http://www.muppetlabs.com/~eric/enhanced/maggie_13.jpg). Just taking some snaps and I got lucky. Can I post a picture that I thought would be spectacular, but then wasn’t as good as I’d hoped? I was in Paris, at sunrise, at the Arc de Triomphe looking up the Champs Elysees. And the light turned the most beautiful red I have ever seen. It only lasted about 30 seconds. I took a shot looking toward the sun, with the light reflecting off the windows of the terraces. It’s not a bad [picture](http://www.muppetlabs.com/~eric/enhanced/champs_4.jpg), but it’s nothing like it was in person. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-photographs/371570/6 "2006-09-06T02:04:33Z")
I like what I got when I set the camera to macro mode, spun it around, and took [my left eye](http://home.earthlink.net/~ahunter03/Stuff/Left%20Eye.JPG). (yeah, it looks like that. no there’s no trauma or anything, just a funny stripe that’s always been there) ---
**Author:** ![myskepticsight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@myskepticsight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myskepticsight)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-photographs/371570/7 "2006-09-06T02:06:37Z")
Macro is fun to play with. I spent a lot of time taking pics of my eyes. I got some good ones, but I don’t have any uploaded anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-photographs/371570/8 "2006-09-06T02:14:54Z")
[QUOTE=threemae] I’m sorry, so where did you say the people changing into swimsuits were? [/QUOTE] Inside the little building. Sadly, I haven’t invested in an X-ray camera yet. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-photographs/371570/9 "2006-09-06T02:31:07Z")
Very cool photos so far! Wow! (I love the one with the kid buried in sand!) [Here](http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m81/fwhited/beeyooteeful.jpg) is one I took on a really crappy day at a place overlooking the New River in WV. One of the things I love about this is that my dad always used to say, “Fog goin’ to the hill, more rain for the mill.” ---
**Author:** ![myskepticsight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@myskepticsight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myskepticsight)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-photographs/371570/10 "2006-09-06T02:44:28Z")
I forgot [this one](http://www.flickr.com/photos/27783469@N00/233328286/) earlier. I had my camera sitting on my parents’ kitchen table and just kind of snapped because i was bored. ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-photographs/371570/11 "2006-09-06T02:48:53Z")
The best, hands down, picture I’ve ever taken was of Spaceship Earth at Epcot. I only have a paper copy, and haven’t scanned it - during a bright daytime exposure the exposure was on the ball, and the sky came out looking black. Lately, I’d call it [this one of Cuervo](http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a39/keylimepie630/cat%20pictures/peekabootoo.jpg) He likes to sit on the upstairs landing sticking his thread through the railing like that but always runs away when I start talking to him. This time, I just kept chatting at him where he couldn’t see me, then I snuck out from underneat, focused and got the shot. Photobucket doesn’t do this justice, the full size image is amazing in it’s detail. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-photographs/371570/12 "2006-09-06T03:49:20Z")
It’s funny isn’t it. We spend all this time posing and framing shots, but the best ones are the ones that capture a moment in a way that words never could. Anyway, my contribution: [link](http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l104/treistetter/Beijing/DSC00412.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-photographs/371570/13 "2006-09-06T03:59:23Z")
This is one of my favorites. There’s some lense flare or something in the background that gave the picture a nice effect. [Here.](http://img62.imageshack.us/my.php?image=meboomky1.jpg) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-photographs/371570/14 "2006-09-06T04:28:11Z")
I took several photos within about 30 seconds of each other and came out with these three photos: [http://gallery.opalcat.com/albums/Sunsets2006/NH\_074.jpg](http://gallery.opalcat.com/albums/Sunsets2006/NH_074.jpg) [http://gallery.opalcat.com/albums/Sunsets2006/NH\_076.jpg](http://gallery.opalcat.com/albums/Sunsets2006/NH_076.jpg) [http://gallery.opalcat.com/albums/Sunsets2006/NH\_077.jpg](http://gallery.opalcat.com/albums/Sunsets2006/NH_077.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-photographs/371570/15 "2006-09-06T04:53:11Z")
[QUOTE=AHunter3] I like what I got when I set the camera to macro mode, spun it around, and took [my left eye](http://home.earthlink.net/~ahunter03/Stuff/Left%20Eye.JPG). (yeah, it looks like that. no there’s no trauma or anything, just a funny stripe that’s always been there) [/QUOTE] Your eye is now my desktop wallpaper. ---
**Author:** ![Thalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f475e1/32.png) [@Thalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thalion)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-photographs/371570/16 "2006-09-06T04:55:59Z")
I’ve become quite the obsessive photographer (carrying a camera at all times) lately, so I take tons of shots. I’m frequently surprised by the good ones. The reflection of the water came out nice: [Clamdiggers crossing the creek](http://flickr.com/photos/hyak82/204881691/) I was driving down the beach, trying to catch a shot of this eagle sitting on a log. It turned out better when he took off: [Eagle at sunset](http://flickr.com/photos/hyak82/204881704) I snapped this picture, just thinking I was getting the kayaker. I was surprised to see that I caught the wave breaking right around his head:[Kayak](http://flickr.com/photos/hyak82/206355149/) I was really surprised how the lighting came out just right and showed this little lady’s face so well: [Come into my parlour . . .](http://flickr.com/photos/hyak82/206355146/) ---
**Author:** ![Ruffian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@Ruffian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruffian)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-photographs/371570/17 "2006-09-06T05:09:14Z")
I don’t know that it was unexpected, but [this](http://deathllama.com/Misc%20Photos/GallopingAna1.jpg) is my favorite action shot I’ve taken of my mare, Ferrana. She was in high gear and I just snapped pix at random; it seemed to really frame up nicely and really captures her spirit. Never would guess her to be 18, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-photographs/371570/18 "2006-09-06T05:12:29Z")
Those are beautiful, **OpalCat** – especially the first one. I thought [this pic I took of my nephew](http://garnet.acns.fsu.edu/~rmyers/pics/farmer_logan.jpg), a month before he turned 2, turned out rather well. It’s my mother’s favorite picture of him now. ---
**Author:** ![Critical\_Mass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@Critical\_Mass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical_Mass)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-photographs/371570/19 "2006-09-06T06:00:27Z")
[QUOTE=Thalion] I’m frequently surprised by the good ones. [/QUOTE] Very true. On the other hand, sometimes I’m disappointed when I see the results of something that I was sure was going to be great only to realize that it looks like crap. I was taking pictures of the ruins of a majestic looking burned out cathedral. I glanced over to my right and saw [this](http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmac_997/195156165/). I vaguely remembered taking it when I downloaded the pictures. I think it turned out better than anything else from that day. ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-photographs/371570/20 "2006-09-06T07:16:10Z")
Warning: huge. [Bastian in the sun](http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/7426/img0556qf1.jpg). I just like the way it looks. She was originally [dozing](http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/7708/img0551aa3.jpg) in the sun, but upon hearing the camera click, she immediately sits up and looks expentant. I have no idea why. I’ve never given her a treat for having her picture taken. Maybe she thinks I should. At the zoo, I aimed and shot and hoped and… caught a nifty shot of a [piranha](http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/2806/img0761zr8.jpg) - not too shabby. 🆒 Also, taking random shots of beautiful foliage in the rainforest display at Woodland Park Zoo, I managed to get [this](http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/5649/img0773wt4.jpg), which certainly could be better, but isn’t _too_ bad. My two favourite, however, are [this one](http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/7254/img0829qf9.jpg) and [this one](http://img129.imageshack.us/img129/2949/img0826uu4.jpg). Give a monkey a camera, and they’re bound to get a couple decent shots. Ooh ooh eee eee eee eee. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-photographs/371570.md?page=2)