It was quite a shock to read your post Derek.

It's hard to know what to say other than it has obviously hit you hard. You seem a strong, determined person with a massive positive attitude which will
hopefully carry you through this difficult time. My thoughts are with you and your family...all the very best and I hope your very inspiring fund raiser is
hugely successful.

I hope you're able to keep something that will allow you to continue posting here as otherwise the site and forum will be greatly diminished by your absence...
your landscapes, bugs and experimental light stuff have been truly inspirational to me personally and i'm sure to many more people on the site.

All the Very Best...

Karlo

I always wondered what a Tobacco plant looked like Derek

Great shots, especially the second.

Regards

Karlo

Really good shots technically with great compositions.

Hard pushed to choose a fave...but No.2 by a whisker.

Regards

Karlo

There is a vibrant enthusiasts community with close ties to local police/security at the airport. They (security) do regular patrols and rely in part on the reporting of anyone acting suspiciously in the vicinity of the airport...in return we get probably the best 'spotting/photo' viewing spots of any major airport in the UK. It helps also that when the airport was extended 20 years ago that the boundaries abutted farmland and public rights of way. Spoilt for choice really, the only downside is that depending on prevailing winds a lot of legwork is necessary sometimes to get into the best positions depending on the type of shots you want to achieve.

Cheers Nigel...the "atmosphere in the backgrounds" is entirely dependent on the amount and colouring of the original clouds which is why a plain blue sky gives less interesting effects...in my opinion.

I'll happily post some 'straight versions' ...although there might be a collective groan from every corner of the land

Karlo

Pleased you like them! No posterisation as such selected although the 'Curve' selection I use seems to be a bit of everything built-in depending on which direction I take it. Still using Serif PhotoPlus x4 to manipulate the JPEGs taken at the highest quality setting straight from camera...it's almost too convenient sometimes.

Lol...thanks Mike. I've got another 5 or 6 I was going to include but had to leave out as my internet is slower than a snail with crutches at the moment...changing suppliers soon and upgrading to fibre so hopefully things will speed up significantly...one or two might just appeal!

Err, quite possibly as I only ever post 'true to life' images of the highest quality..

My sentiments Phil...although I do generally make sure I like them before posting them! It's good fun...another aspect to the enjoyment i get from the hobby and as you say, sometimes you get a nice surprise from the experimentation.

Regards,

Karlo

All images taken within a couple of hours yesterday from the end of the runway at Manchester. Some of the images have been relatively minor tweaked whilst some have been totally altered into a more abstract end result...I blame the atrocious weather over the past 24 hours...Hopefully you might find one or two you like.

1.


2.


3.


4.


5.


6.


7.


8.

Nice project Bill.

Images 3 and 8 standout for me.

I have to say as a 'Mancunian' , much as I love the people i'm not a fan of the development that has blighted the appearance of the city centre over the past 20 years or so.

Regards

Karlo

Nice images Chris. Particularly like the Typhoon against the skyline and as Mike mentioned the prop blur on the Tucano is superb...would look great larger size.

Still not managed to get across there yet this year, hope to get the opportunity in a month or so.

Regards

Karlo

Didn't surprise me to learn they were Sandisk. Most of the cards i've ever bought have been Sandisk as I was under the impression that they were the best reliability wise. Over the past 18 months or so though, out of the 4 or 5 Sandisk cards i have bought two have been faulty. I've since switched my allegiance to Kingston and haven't had any problems since.