Five in a row - Simon Arron

That's a priceless image Simon, a perfect candid which no doubt brings back a lot of memories for you. There is no other comment necessary on this.

Regards
David

I just love the Sunflower shot, incredible sharpness and super DOF, an overall beautiful image.
The portrait of the lady is a lovely natural study

hi simon, #1 love it just what a UWA was made for , #2 she has eyes to die for ,bet she broke some hearts. a great capture of the moment.

Lovely nostalgic feel the portrait, and a great 'knowing look' the lady has.

Phil

Just shows how people interpret things in different ways. I assumed John meant take some off the left side.

Number 2 is a classic. Just look at the detail in the hair, you can see every strand!!

Its a masterful portrait and a great conversion from film to digital. I like the 'period' treatment although even in 1981 sepia would have seemed very retro.
David

PPG: http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/artists/davidtrout

Good point, Barrie. I just assumed John would prefer more foliage beneath the flower, because to my eye cropping from the left would upset the balance (and slice out a couple of yellow flowers, which I'd rather keep).

And thanks to all for the kind comments about shot #2... although I think one or two of you might be reading a little too much into it! Rachel was a close friend, but I was actually going out with somebody else at the time. That's probably enough social commentary from early 1980s Sheffield. Another pic coming shortly... but I fear it might feature some wheels.

#3 - Swinging in the rain


As threatened... Given that much of my everyday output involves motorsport, I thought I'd include one shot apiece on two wheels and four. I wasn't quite sure where to start, given the breadth of choice, but with the British Superbike finale coming up (at Brands Hatch, October 17-19) i thought I'd pick something from last year's corresponding fixture. This was taken as a welcome shaft of sunlight cut through the persistent drizzle, with three bikes turning in to Surtees, the left-hander leading on to the grand prix loop. If I'm panning, I tend to fluctuate between 1/60 and 1/320, depending on circumstance (default starting point is 1/125), but if I'm shooting head-on, or tail-on, I'm happy to let the camera make up its own mind via aperture priority - especially when there's some spray to accentuate the sense of motion. Hence this was taken with K-5 IIs and Sigma 100-300 f4... at 1/2000.

I write far, far more about cars than I do about bikes, but there's something about the latter - more angles, more drama, more physicality, an obvious human element - that makes them particularly engaging to photograph. Thus, after a rare weekend away from racing circuits, I might well attend the classic bike meeting at Snetterton this Saturday, then the British Touring Car Championship finale at Brands Hatch on Sunday...

It's got a colour popped look with all that grey spray and tarmac, black machines and leathers. Three always works well as it does here. Like it

I like the spray and the detail's great, Have you tried converting to to B&W?

However, for me this one is a nearly but not quite. I think that's because with bikes I particularly like the shots from the front so that you can see their eyes through the visors and hence where they are looking.

Phil

What a great shot Simon, can feel the spray

Excellent Simon. And for what its worth, I like the sunflower exactly where it is

This is most odd. At 5.25am I thought I'd posted shot #4 - best to get it done before a quick trip to, erm, a racetrack - but I get back to find it's not here. Suspect I must have hit 'preview' rather than 'add', which equates to 'idiot'.

#4 - Not quite as much of an Arron cliché as motor racing, but..


My first contribution to PU featured a swan... and birdlife has been a fairly regular motif ever since. I've posted lots of robin shots, but don't think this one has appeared before. Like the sunflower, it's from WWT Barnes, albeit taken in December 2012 with K-5 and Sigma 150-500. If memory serves, the robin kept getting so close that a 10-20 might have been more useful. I liked the long Sigma, but recently traded it in to help cover the cost of a DA 300 f4, which I haven't regretted. The Sigma needed a new barrel grip at the time I part-exchanged, so SRS sent it away for repairs... and then due to a crossed wire kindly sent it back to me. I did call to point out that it was no longer mine, so I guess it's now in their shop window... or perhaps already being used by someone else to stalk robins.

There's now just one more to go from me: Gary Catterick (K10D) has kindly agreed to pick up the baton in my slipstream.

Lovely Robin shot Simon, nothing to criticise here!

Regards
David

+ 1, it's super.

Phil