Rockandroll
having dreams about rocks
Member since January 2008
Posts: 52
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Post by Rockandroll on Nov 2, 2016 22:23:22 GMT -5
A month or so ago I was chatting with txrockhunter about some of the fantastic rocks he's been pulling out of the San Jancinto. A couple weeks later a battered box overflowing with pet wood, coral, and god knows what else he's pulled out of that river showed up. Knowing my small barrel setup he surprised me with some amazing preview chunks of coarse ground material that I certainly can't take credit for having the patience to perfect. I just got to enjoy the week in the lotto  Looks like a blue tigers eye as well as some owyhee jasper fell into the box as well... lol I can't wait to tear into the rest of this stuff whenever the lakers get through my barrels. Thanks again Tx, I owe you! Family Pic  1.  2. This is by far the nicest piece of Tigers Eye I've had a chance to polish. Pics never do Tigers Eye justice, but even more so in this case!  3.  4.  5.  6.  7.  8. Just couldn't do this one justice either.  9.  10. ID help on this one? Not sure exactly what it is, but it took on a great shine, and really has a cool look in real life.  11.  12.  13.  14.  15.  16.  17. Love this one!  18. Van Goh rock!!   |
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Post by Garage Rocker on Nov 2, 2016 22:28:00 GMT -5
Very nice! Jeremy pulls great stuff out of that river. Course ground rocks are like gold, you hit jackpot!
Love the starry night rock.
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ChicagoDave
has rocks in the head
Member since June 2016
Posts: 720
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Post by ChicagoDave on Nov 2, 2016 22:37:44 GMT -5
Love #13. Great batch.
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richardh
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 391 
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Post by richardh on Nov 2, 2016 23:00:08 GMT -5
Fantastic set! I think that last one is Kambaba Jasper. I have a piece and I thought it looked like starry night as well. I couldn't get mine to get a very good shine though.
I've been to the San Jacinto River a few times and never found anything as cool as what TXRockhunter comes up with. Wish I knew better what to look for.
Keep up the good work.
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Post by MrMike on Nov 2, 2016 23:20:18 GMT -5
Just what I want to see, more of those $@*#+ awesome Texas rocks. Just jealous there's nothing Like this in my neck of the woods. That's it..they aren't found in woods. Seriously nice rocks. txrockhunter did you good. |
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jamesp
Cave Dweller 
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,589
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Post by jamesp on Nov 2, 2016 23:42:31 GMT -5
I was fortunate to tumble some of Jeremy's fine agates palms and woods.
Been down here on the Rio for 2 weeks and don't find many of the agates and woods that Jeremy has up his way.
Those gravels Jeremy collects are perfect size for the tumbler.
Texas woods 5(palm)-7(may be palm)-11-12-15 are in high demand. Clearly fine wood.
Number 14 is a common form. In mass down here on the Rio.
9 and 10 look like Texas cherts. Darn hard stuff that puts on a fine shine.
The healed cracks in 10 are typical of Texas cherts.
Curious about the black one at the left side of your pile.
The purple one at the top of the pile looks like jasper.
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ubermenehune
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2016
Posts: 293
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Post by ubermenehune on Nov 3, 2016 6:38:19 GMT -5
I also recently picked up a box from Jeremy. Super excited to work with the material and agree that it's perfectly sized tumble material.
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Post by orrum on Nov 3, 2016 7:01:14 GMT -5
X2 Garagerocker!!! Those b asomeness!!!
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,717
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Post by Fossilman on Nov 3, 2016 8:57:49 GMT -5
txrockhunter,always does a person good with his rocks......That #1 rock,sure could pass for an Oregon Jasper though....
Great tumbles,WOW!!!
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Post by Garage Rocker on Nov 3, 2016 9:00:56 GMT -5
Nice job with the photos too!
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Rockandroll
having dreams about rocks
Member since January 2008
Posts: 52
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Post by Rockandroll on Nov 3, 2016 14:15:46 GMT -5
I was fortunate to tumble some of Jeremy's fine agates palms and woods. Been down here on the Rio for 2 weeks and don't find many of the agates and woods that Jeremy has up his way. Those gravels Jeremy collects are perfect size for the tumbler. Texas woods 5(palm)-7(may be palm)-11-12-15 are in high demand. Clearly fine wood. Number 14 is a common form. In mass down here on the Rio. 9 and 10 look like Texas cherts. Darn hard stuff that puts on a fine shine. The healed cracks in 10 are typical of Texas cherts. Curious about the black one at the left side of your pile. The purple one at the top of the pile looks like jasper. Thanks alot for the help with the identification James! It drives me nuts when I'm digging through my bowl of finished rocks and I have no idea what I'm holding. Nice job with the photos too! Thank you, that means alot to me coming from you. I've definitely been admiring your photography skills. Previously I was using aperture priority, but was setting the aperture too low and had far too shallow DOF. I also had Minimum shutter speed set to 320 to avoid shake when shooting handheld (which wasn't needed on the tripod obviously), so my ISO was 500+ etc. I figured out what was happening and finally dipped my toe into manual mode this time and dropped the shutter to 1/10-1/15 which brought my ISO down to 100, and manually set the aperture to 6.3-8 or so. How low of shutter speed do you feel comfortable using when needed to keep your ISO low? Assuming you're shooting rocks from a tripod that is lol Gah, have a baby due in a week and am racing to figure out what I'm doing with this camera lol. The rocks have been good trial and error subject matter! |
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Post by tandl on Nov 3, 2016 16:02:26 GMT -5
Great post
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Post by txrockhunter on Nov 3, 2016 16:18:05 GMT -5
Rockandroll , I'm really glad you like the package! You did a great job finishing & photographing that batch!!! Really looking forward to seeing the rest of the rocks finished! Congrats on the new family member that's almost here! jamesp , I am very jealous of your rio hunting!!! I'm fishing in Seadrift, TX, about 3 hours from you, and thought seriously about driving down there to snag a bucket of those beautiful rocks you're picking up!!!!! #9 is chert with fossils & #10 is shrinkwood. It almost looked like it had been burned and then fossilized. There is so much variety of pet wood in the San Jacinto gravels, glad to be able to share. Garage Rocker , you are a great influence for photography, as well as finishing rocks. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!!! richardh , you are right, the last one is Kambaba. If you want, I can send you some of the rocks that I've picked up, for refference. Fossilman, no matter how many San Jacintos I send you, I always feel like your packages are better! Jeremy
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Post by Garage Rocker on Nov 3, 2016 21:24:23 GMT -5
Congrats on the upcoming kiddo rockandroll, you will definitely get lots of time behind the camera when that happens. The good thing about digital is the instant feedback. You'll learn more by just taking pictures than anything else. I have many hours with camera in hand. I have been mainly shooting my photos with a strobe flash, so my settings are fairly constant. ISO 100, f13, 1/320 with slight variation depending on the lens I'm using. When using natural light, I'll sacrifice ISO for shutter speed. I'd rather have a slightly grainy photo over a blurry photo. My camera is pretty good to ISO 400, but I'll go to 800 if it means getting me to 1/30 shutter speed. That's with a lens that has image stabilization. Seems to be my limit, and that's best if braced against something. On a tripod, you have a lot more flexibility. Manually set the ISO to 100, pick the aperture you want in aperture mode and let the camera choose the shutter speed. If it's a slow shutter, you can set the timer function so you aren't actually touching the camera when the shutter opens. Or use a shutter release if you've got one. That will cut some camera shake. Only works with a stationary subject though. Rocks qualify, babies do not. If you plan on taking lots and lots of photos of the bundle of joy, a mono light flash unit is an investment most moms would get behind. I more than paid for it with saved trips to a portrait studio. You can get a setup for just over $100. Let me know if you want a suggestion. |
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Post by paulshiroma on Nov 3, 2016 22:10:02 GMT -5
***APPLAUSE*** great set of tumbles. Your photography is pretty good too!
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Rockandroll
having dreams about rocks
Member since January 2008
Posts: 52
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Post by Rockandroll on Nov 3, 2016 23:33:53 GMT -5
Congrats on the upcoming kiddo rockandroll, you will definitely get lots of time behind the camera when that happens. The good thing about digital is the instant feedback. You'll learn more by just taking pictures than anything else. I have many hours with camera in hand. I have been mainly shooting my photos with a strobe flash, so my settings are fairly constant. ISO 100, f13, 1/320 with slight variation depending on the lens I'm using. When using natural light, I'll sacrifice ISO for shutter speed. I'd rather have a slightly grainy photo over a blurry photo. My camera is pretty good to ISO 400, but I'll go to 800 if it means getting me to 1/30 shutter speed. That's with a lens that has image stabilization. Seems to be my limit, and that's best if braced against something. On a tripod, you have a lot more flexibility. Manually set the ISO to 100, pick the aperture you want in aperture mode and let the camera choose the shutter speed. If it's a slow shutter, you can set the timer function so you aren't actually touching the camera when the shutter opens. Or use a shutter release if you've got one. That will cut some camera shake. Only works with a stationary subject though. Rocks qualify, babies do not. If you plan on taking lots and lots of photos of the bundle of joy, a mono light flash unit is an investment most moms would get behind. I more than paid for it with saved trips to a portrait studio. You can get a setup for just over $100. Let me know if you want a suggestion. Thank you for the info, that's really helpful! I did have a shutter release on this last set of pictures, and I can definitely tell the improvement. I haven't tried using the built in flash since the night I got the camera. It just seems to ruin more shots than help. I know strobes etc and quality flashes that you can diffuse are not comparable, and I want to learn how to properly use them soon. Please, I would love to hear some recommendations for the mono light flash. I had to google it just to know what you were referring to lol. I may have mom at the limit with photography gear in the last couple months, but I've been slowly proving the worth with some great maternity pics lol. |
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Post by Garage Rocker on Nov 4, 2016 11:18:38 GMT -5
rockroller, here is an inexpensive setup that will allow you to shoot studio pics at home. I've got 4 strobes, but rarely pull out more than one.
Strobe light kit
That comes with a soft box as well. Sounds like you've already got a tripod and shutter release, so all you would need is some backdrops/props. |
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Post by Jugglerguy on Nov 4, 2016 14:41:01 GMT -5
Great rocks! My favorites are 13 and 17. Is that a transparent window in #13?
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Rockandroll
having dreams about rocks
Member since January 2008
Posts: 52
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Post by Rockandroll on Nov 4, 2016 16:08:16 GMT -5
Great rocks! My favorites are 13 and 17. Is that a transparent window in #13? Thanks! Jeremy had some great material. Yes, here's the other side of it. There was actually one large window and two smaller ones.  |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2016 16:22:37 GMT -5
rockroller, here is an inexpensive setup that will allow you to shoot studio pics at home. I've got 4 strobes, but rarely pull out more than one.
Strobe light kit
That comes with a soft box as well. Sounds like you've already got a tripod and shutter release, so all you would need is some backdrops/props. I paid over $400 for my monolight over a decade ago. Wow. Price a quarter now. Shoulda waited.... |
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Looks like a blue tigers eye as well as some owyhee jasper fell into the box as well... lol I can't wait to tear into the rest of this stuff whenever the lakers get through my barrels. Thanks again Tx, I owe you!
