[kcupp95]

[fs999]

Nice shot kcupp95 !

Click on the photos for details...

[rawr]

Some recents.


Father and son


Ferris wheel


Fleet review - Frigate parade

[Jim Radcliffe]

Every picture tells a story.. so the song goes. This one is no exception. Let me tell you about it.

This is the last remaining original structure in Bug Tussle, Texas. I stumbled across this town's history while researching Texas ghost towns that were within a relatively short driving distance from my home in Dallas. It took an hour and a half to get there.

Here's a bit of the history of Bug Tussle, Texas: Bug Tussle is at the junction of Farm Road 1550 and State Highway 34, ten miles south of Honey Grove and five miles north of Ladonia in southeastern Fannin County, Texas. The community was initially called Truss, after John Truss, who settled there. It was founded in the 1890s and had a post office in 1893–94. Later the town's name was changed to Bug Tussle. At least three explanations exist for this unusual name. The most popular is that the name commemorated an invasion of bugs that spoiled a church ice cream social. A variation on this anecdote suggests that the relatively isolated spot, long popular as a site of Sunday school picnics, offered little else for picnickers to do after they ate than watch the bugs tussle. A third story tells of an argument between two old-time residents who wanted to change the name of the town. Their attention was diverted by the spectacle of two tumblebugs fighting. "Look at those bugs tussle," one reportedly remarked, thus settling the argument and rechristening the town. More than seventy Bug Tussle highway signs have been stolen over the years, and for a time it was fashionable for couples to come there to be married, just so that they could say they had been wed in Bug Tussle. In 1990 its population was reported as fifteen.

The building is the only remaining structure of the original Bug Tussle. During the Great Depression, Judge James Bates Fink established a Justice of the Peace court in the store (hence the name "Judge Fink Groceries"), where he performed marriages for any couple that showed up at Bug Tussle wanting to tie the knot. Judge Fink reportedly charged only a dollar for his services, and he may have married thousands of couples in the little general store as word spread that Judge Fink performed the cheapest marriages in Fannin County.

About the photo...
I took the photo below on October 23, 2013. I was looking for a place to practice my night sky photography and the use of LEDs for lighting. The night was very clear with the moon to rise after 10pm. The green cast on top of the roof and the side of the building is from a security light at a residence about 300 yards away. the only other light sources are from a passing car on highway 34 that briefly washed the building with its headlights. The interior of the building was illuminated by three amber LEDs I placed just inside the door of the old building. The rest was starlight and moonlight. The the glow of the rising moon is to the left of the store through the trees. After the moon rose the light was just too bright to shoot anymore.

The exposure time was 20 seconds at ISO 800 using the Pentax K5 IIs and the DA* 16-50mm lens at f/2.8. The photo suffers from slight star trails and coma.. still trying to figure out how to get around the star trails without going to a much higher ISO and the resulting noise that would produce. Post-work was done in LightRoom 5 and Photoshop CS6. Hope you like it.

---

Last edited by Jim Radcliffe; 10-25-2013 at 05:59 AM.

[jbinpg]

Beautiful. Jim. Next shot such as this, I would bump the ISO to 1600 and halve the exposure time to see what you get. It may not be as noisy as you think.

Jack

[rawr]

Bug Tussle, Texas.. a beautiful little ghost town.

Great shot Jim.

And thanks for the context story, and the technical detail too. It's given me some ideas.

[Jim Radcliffe]

Beautiful. Jim. Next shot such as this, I would bump the ISO to 1600 and halve the exposure time to see what you get. It may not be as noisy as you think.

Jack

I usually do shoot at ISO 1600 for shots such as this but noise has still been an issue. The coma is just something I will have to live with on the DA* 16-50. I don't have a wide enough prime to do this kind of work.. the widest prime I have is the 31mm Ltd. I don't want to use a tracking mount or the Astrotracer because then the foreground would be blurred and that is worse than having the star trails.

I need a fast, wide angle prime for this kind of work.

[rawr]

a fast, wide angle prime

The SamYang 14mm f2.8 has many fans around here. Might be worth a look.

[Jim Radcliffe]

The SamYang 14mm f2.8 has many fans around here. Might be worth a look.

I've thought about it but 14 does not go a lot wider than the 16... I'd like a 10 or at least a 12 but then the word "fast" does not apply. SamYang may be the only option at this time.

[Richard Spencer]

Every picture tells a story.. so the song goes. This one is no exception. Let me tell you about it.

This is the last remaining original structure in Bug Tussle, Texas. I stumbled across this town's history while researching Texas ghost towns that were within a relatively short driving distance from my home in Dallas. It took an hour and a half to get there.

Here's a bit of the history of Bug Tussle, Texas: Bug Tussle is at the junction of Farm Road 1550 and State Highway 34, ten miles south of Honey Grove and five miles north of Ladonia in southeastern Fannin County, Texas. The community was initially called Truss, after John Truss, who settled there. It was founded in the 1890s and had a post office in 1893–94. Later the town's name was changed to Bug Tussle. At least three explanations exist for this unusual name. The most popular is that the name commemorated an invasion of bugs that spoiled a church ice cream social. A variation on this anecdote suggests that the relatively isolated spot, long popular as a site of Sunday school picnics, offered little else for picnickers to do after they ate than watch the bugs tussle. A third story tells of an argument between two old-time residents who wanted to change the name of the town. Their attention was diverted by the spectacle of two tumblebugs fighting. "Look at those bugs tussle," one reportedly remarked, thus settling the argument and rechristening the town. More than seventy Bug Tussle highway signs have been stolen over the years, and for a time it was fashionable for couples to come there to be married, just so that they could say they had been wed in Bug Tussle. In 1990 its population was reported as fifteen.

The building is the only remaining structure of the original Bug Tussle. During the Great Depression, Judge James Bates Fink established a Justice of the Peace court in the store (hence the name "Judge Fink Groceries"), where he performed marriages for any couple that showed up at Bug Tussle wanting to tie the knot. Judge Fink reportedly charged only a dollar for his services, and he may have married thousands of couples in the little general store as word spread that Judge Fink performed the cheapest marriages in Fannin County.

About the photo...
I took the photo below on October 23, 2013. I was looking for a place to practice my night sky photography and the use of LEDs for lighting. The night was very clear with the moon to rise after 10pm. The green cast on top of the roof and the side of the building is from a security light at a residence about 300 yards away. the only other light sources are from a passing car on highway 34 that briefly washed the building with its headlights. The interior of the building was illuminated by three amber LEDs I placed just inside the door of the old building. The rest was starlight and moonlight. The the glow of the rising moon is to the left of the store through the trees. After the moon rose the light was just too bright to shoot anymore.

The exposure time was 20 seconds at ISO 800 using the Pentax K5 IIs and the DA* 16-50mm lens at f/2.8. The photo suffers from slight star trails and coma.. still trying to figure out how to get around the star trails without going to a much higher ISO and the resulting noise that would produce. Post-work was done in LightRoom 5 and Photoshop CS6. Hope you like it.

Thanks for posting with history ad image details Jim, sort of makes me feel part of the scene. You have given me the itch to get out there and do something similar, we have an old barn in the village that is to be demolished and would be a prime candidate.

Richard.

[Jim Radcliffe]

Thanks for posting with history ad image details Jim, sort of makes me feel part of the scene. You have given me the itch to get out there and do something similar, we have an old barn in the village that is to be demolished and would be a prime candidate.

Richard.

Go for it, Richard. I have found that not limiting myself to daytime photography has given me the opportunity to shoot anytime... it's a different world after dark and quite fun. My shooting buddie and I are heading to an auto graveyard tonight to light up old cars from the interior and play a bit with painting with light.... might get some starscapes in as well. It's a one hour drive to the graveyard but it should be worth the time spent going there. I tracked down the owner and asked and got permission for the entire evening.

[Jim Radcliffe]

I spotted this old car and many others in a field in Sunset, Texas. I made my way to the house on the property and asked the owner if I might photograph it. He said, "Sure but watch out for the snakes!"

The sun was setting, which was appropriate, as the little community is called Sunset, Texas. The drive was a little over an hour or so from my home in Dallas.

When I photograph old cars such as this I can't help but wonder who owned it, how much pride they felt in owning it when it was new, how many Sunday drives were taken with it and how it came to be sitting in field, rusting away, year after year.

I'm always thankful for finding these relics from the past when the light is right and I can take my time and enjoy the old car, possibly as much as the first owner, if but for just a few minutes on an October day at Sunset.



Taken with the K5 IIs and the DA* 16-50mm

[kcupp95]

[Jean Poitiers]

I spotted this old car and many others in a field in Sunset, Texas. ...
Taken with the K5 IIs and the DA* 16-50mm

Really nice ... I like it, J

[pako80]

K5ii - Pentax SMC DA 18-250mm f/3.5