Sorry to say this Andrew, and apologies for being so blunt, but I don't think this is one of your better ones. I very nearly just skipped this one, but as I am a great admirer of some of your other work I thought it is not fair to just comment on the pictures of yours that I like (either partially or wholly) and skip this one, which I don't. I don't think that approach to critique is constructive.

Green and cream usually owrk well together, but I don't think they do here, and the shelf/mantlepiece simply looks cheap and tatty. The darker patch to the right of the vase doesn't help, upsetting any symmetry that is otherwise apparent. The composition is good, the image looks sharp, but overall, for me, it just does not work.

Regards,
Jon

Thanks for the link Stefan. That's amazing, 500 light-years away and they can get an image of a planet! Scientifically we live in exciting times.

What camera and lens were they using? I gotta get one!

As the owner (well, my wife, Jackie (Aurora-B on here) is really responsible: I thought we were getting one!) of three former feral cats (two kittens and one 6 month old) here in Qatar, I would advise keeping the remaining kitten if you want to give him a home. The feral cats lot is not a pleasant one. I would not let him see his mother at all, as it will not help him settle.

Make sure you give it kitty food rather than adult food, but I'm sure you know that already. I wouldn't let him out for quite a while, except the garden if you can seal it off. We found all three took to litter trays very quickly, bar a few accidents with one that Jackie rescued off a roundabout, blocking rush-hour traffic in the process, then lost under the dashboard of the car. We had to have the car dismantled at the Nissan garage too get her out!

Hi Mark, welcome!

I find the images a bit soft, and the colours a bit dull, which makes me wonder how these shots would look in mono?

I prefer the B+W version, but I also think this type of shot only ever works when taken with an ultra-wide, maybe even fisheye, lens, so that the whole of the room (and the window) are in the frame. As it is, it just looks like a single mans room, as Tim said.

it looks a bit soft and I find the colours a bit insipid to be honest. It would work better with more sharpness and contrast.

My second SLR (after a Zenit) was the same camera. I found it in my car a few days after giving a hitch-hiker a lift in Botswana in the early Eighties. I developed the film inside it in the hope of getting a clue as to the owners identity, but never traced him, so I put it to good use for 20 years before unfortunately losing it in a house move. I hope someone else found it and is still using it!

I have polarisers, which I use quite often, ND Grads which I use ocasionally and an ND filter which I have used once. The polariser is great for skies and controlling reflections.