DRF/DFM

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...LF00031_11.jpg
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q...SLF00100_2.jpg

Here are two photos that Davy sent me today...

Thanks AJ.

OK guys.
The first picture shows my master sheet of dubbing blends that l produced, it took me over a year to produce this.
I figured a kind of mathematical way to blend shades by a numbers chart related to the colors.
To do this l first had to figure a standard color range which is left side numbers 1 to 24, then same for top side left to right 1 to 24.
That took the longest time as l had to dye many 100s of samples until l got the shades l was looking for, some of which include FL dye shades toned down with non FL dyes.

As you move down the chart from left to right the number decreases.
So at number 2 Left to right it is 24
Number 3 left to right is 23, and so on to the bottom of the chart which is 24.

By use of blending the colors at cross section by 50%

So no 8 at left side and number 13 at top side the shade you would get by a 50% blend would be that shown at number 13 right side of 8.

If this makes sense to you guys.



I had knew exactly how to reproduce the 24 standard colors, from that point on it was a question of blending two shades for the given shade required which is what the chart shows.

The picture here does not of course show the intensity or subtle shades so well, either way, l doubt there is not a shade here that would cover all the bugs found in the stream.


The chart is not a picture, it is actual dubbing material attached to the chart, the only one in the world., unless someone figured out how to copy me.
Books that depict color plates are not the same, we are dealing with dyed material here.
Which is accurate.


Second picture shows what Gantron Arc Crome filaments look like in the tail of a fly. not easy for me to picture this, but imagine 4 filaments of optical fiber that light travels along and you are looking at the cut ends. They are about a 5x diameter.
These are tied under the fly body.
They are unbelievably intensely bright. I used no UV light to picture this, just my tying lamp at the desk.
The Gantron floss has very much the same effect.


Davy.

Thanks for the insight Davy. It is fascinating. I never fully thought about or appreciated the science behind fly tying materials. Combine that with the artistic aspects and it is easy to see how fly tying can be so addicting!

Well said Sperry. Looks like an incredible amount of work went into that chart. Thanks Davy

When I look at a chart like that I find myself looking at all of the shades of dubbing and thinking to myself, "Where does one color end and another begin?" There are so many shades of similar colors.

For example there are multiple shades of pink. There are even shades of pink that there appear to be so close that they are almost indistinguishable. I can see this a little better with the higher resolution images that you sent me. What would be the reason for choosing one over another even though there seems to be such a slight difference? I know that different fluorescent colors can make for a different effect on flies, but do you think that different shades of the same fluorescent color can create such varied effects?

It is a lot like trying to pick out paint.

Maybe Davy has one of those scanners they use in the paint store; the ones they use to create paint colors based on something you bring in, like a material swatch. I can see him scanning nymphs with that machine and then determining which shade of dubbing is needed. ;)

Hmmm.... wonder where I could get one of those scanners.

So do l Ken,

DW

what you guys need is a spectrocolorimeter. You can most likely find a cheap one used for calibrating printers for less than 250 on ebay. It would be interesting to see if it works...I might give mine a try on some dubbing, of course you need a pretty fancy computer monitor to ensure that you see what your spectrocolorimeter sees, but that's a whole different matter unto itself.

Bear in mind that what you view in natural day light differs when it is tied to a metal hook and then submerged in water, which can change the transmission and emittance of color perception dramatically.
The depth the fly is fished the available light source are also influences here along with the color tone of the body of water.

It would be near on impossible to calculate these differences.

What l have always found interesting is this.

A specific fly pattern that represents a given species, is a killer for a particular water, when used on another the results are very different, why this is so we have no real answer.

Some will argue in the case of natural stream and lake born fish there is some relationship to the genetic background of those fish and how they perceive color, l can buy that to some extent.

As we know for the same species they also vary in color, so add that also into the equation, we also consider that different water systems have a greater or lessor abundance of given species, which may well determine what the fish within that system are more so adapted to what they see on a regular basis. l know that this is a definite factor, and could give you very many examples to prove that point. Here again this is also a related genetic trait for the same species.

Davy

http://www.libstudio.com/Photographs...es/StomFlu.jpg

Aaron, your post and Davy's comments got me thinking. Do you think it'll work?

Mark