Lake Superior Rocks & Gems - Big Agate
The Steemit Life is serious business so I bring you another beautiful agate to enjoy. I've been trying to post these every day but as you can see it's gotten difficult. Now that my agate posts have fully evolved into amazing articles, they do consume quite a bit of time. Time that sometimes I don't have. Whether I'm stuck getting business calls or at a friends house. Working out every day is using up a lot of time too.
The other day I was up all night and all morning. I had to drive my wife to an appointment and then to her work to turn in a Doctors note. As tired as I was, I still managed to get out of the car and search for agates in the rock beds outside her work while I waited for her to come back out. It was well worth it because i found at least 3 agates and brought home about 10 interesting rocks. Here's the big agate I found that day. Since this was my first agate hunt of the month, this is the agate of the month so far, much less the agate of the day. Not super big, but certainly bigger than a lot of the small ones I share.
Lights Off
You can click on the images to view full screen!!
You can click on the images to view full screen!!
You can click on the images to view full screen!!
Through the 60mm Macro Lens
I knew this agate was going to shine bright. I feel like the quartz in the middle helps spread the light throughout the whole rock because the whole that the light is coming out of is smaller than a penny.
You can click on the image to view full screen!!
You can click on the image to view full screen!!
You can click on the image to view full screen!!
You can click on the image to view full screen!!
No Shine
I skipped the Jewelers Loupe in the last segment because all the pictures came out terrible. I am actually phasing out the jewelers loupe. It's tedious and with 24 MP and a 6000 x 4000 pixel image, cropping is more effective then the jewelers loupe, so I am thinking this will be the last post that will include loupe pictures. The quality of the macro lens is so much better!
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Through a Jewelers Loupe 40X25 mm - No Shine
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Shine
The size of this rock gave it so much unbelievable character. You really can't see much detail with out shine. It's crazy how much it changes. I also washed it with soap before I added the oil, so after washing some dirt away I could see a lot of detail! My wife says there's always people hunting for agates at her works rock beds. I can't believe people passed this one up!
You can click on the image to view full screen!!
You can click on the image to view full screen!!
You can click on the image to view full screen!!
Through the 60mm Macro Lens
You can click on the image to view full screen!!
You can click on the image to view full screen!!
You can click on the image to view full screen!!
You can click on the image to view full screen!!
Through a Jewelers Loupe 40X25 mm - Shine
So this is probably going to be the last group of pictures that I upload using the Jewelers Loupe. It was good while it lasted, but it's becoming more tedious every time. It's mostly because I have to struggle with the focus of the camera plus the focus of the loupe. The slightest movement of either while I'm holding the loupe with one hand and the camera with the other, and the picture comes out blurred. It's just not worth it anymore and I've realized I can get the same exact effect with the macro lens, so begone jewelers loupe! This doesn't mean I don't have a use for it. I still use it to help me find errors in coins when I search through rolls of coins.
You can click on the image to view full screen!!
You can click on the image to view full screen!!
How Big is it?
You can click on the image to view full screen!!
| Flashlight Settings | ISO 100 35 mm f/4.5 1/100 sec |
| Settings both Lights Off & On | ISO 800 55 mm f/5.6 1/50 sec |
| Camera | Nikon D3400 24 MP |
| Lens | AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR |
| Lens | AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60mm 1:2.8 G ED |
| Location | Superior, WI |
Fun Fact: I took a total of 182 pictures of this rock bring you the best quality! It takes me about 45 minutes to take the pictures, another 45 minutes to pick the best ones and re-scale them, plus another 20-30 minutes to make the post!
I really love sharing these agate photo's with you all. The quality of this Nikon just blows me away and it makes me feel good that they come out this perfect. I am still using manual focus when I take the pictures with the lights off because auto focus tells me it's too dark. With the lights on, I use Auto Focus now and I am consistently taking 150+ less pictures each round. It's also set to Vivid so that the colors stand out a little more.
Taken on 4/24/18
Thanks for stopping by! God Bless!
Previous Rock Posts
Lake Superior Rocks & Gems - Awesome Bullseye
Older than 7 days
good for viewing, not for voting!
April
Lake Superior Rocks & Gems - April Rocks
March
Lake Superior Rocks & Gems - March Rocks
February
Lake Superior Rocks & Gems - February Rocks
January and Beyond
Lake Superior Rocks & Gems - January Rocks [and 2017]
When I joined Steemit I made the decision to always Power-Up my earnings. For now, payouts are set to 50/50 but you bet I will convert & Power Up! Besides internal transfers, I have never cashed out and don't plan on it! Power-Up only!
Love this one it reminds me of food for some reason lol
Maybe you're just hungry haha. It was a good find for me.
Hi @bitfiend, I just stopped back to let you know your post was one of my favourite reads and I included it in my Paddling Nature Ramble. You can read what I wrote about your post here.
Thank you @peddlingnature I appreciate the support and the exposure!
oh my goodnes - this is the same rock??? just after its been soaped and oiled??? what a difference! I came to enjoy your post because of @artemisnorth's curation :) She found you even before the Curie curators did hehehehe Congrats on the Curie!!!!! :)
Yes it is! I love to showcase the beauty of these agates. So much detail at every bend. Thank you for your comment and support
Awesome find @bitfiend. All the details that show up after applying the oil were capture in your images. Nice!
Thanks I'm glad you like it! It's always like unboxing a new mystery when I add the oil. You never know what kind of detail will pop out!
Hola amigo, buenas fotografías y muy interesante,saludos.
Gracias @yosicrespo por tu apoyo
Gracias a ti amigo, te invito a que pases por mi blog y me des tu opinión sobre mis ultimas publicaciones sera de gran apoyo para mi.
You never know where the next agate will be waiting...nice find, you have inspired me to get out and do some looking!
That's true I didn't think I would even find one that day! Get inspired! There's an agate somewhere on the ground waiting for you!
Awesome photos as always! Keep sharing the great rock photos!!! Thanks again.
thank you, glad you enjoyed them!