These are a nice set Nigel, lovely bright colours and sharp. There are a few points I would make though if you want some constructive criticism, which I know you invariably do:

- 4, 5, 6 and 7 are quite a bit over-exposed, you have lost the detail in the blooms and the skies because of this

- Overall I like the compositions, the most successful ones for me are those that lead the eye to the distance, i.e. 1, 2, 3 and 7

- I would have liked to see some more creative use of DOF. These are all sharp from front to back, it is often effective with flowers to use a wide aperture to blur elements of the shot

- I agree with Russ in that they look a little over-sharp. The 'bicubic sharper' option can be quite aggressive, particularly when reducing images significantly for web uploads

Best wishes
David

Don't be afraid, they are great.

The best way to learn is to judge ourselves by others and take on board their comments and constructive criticism. My only comment is on 2 and 3, the shadows need some detail bringing back, you should learn how to do this and your images will improve!

Regards
David

It's bright Smeggy, but not over exposed.

Regards
David

After having owned a 12-24 for approx. 1 year now, I can confirm it is a belting lens. I don't feel the need to look for anything else in the wide angle area.

Regards
David

This really is a stunning image Mike, all the more so because it was shot with a zoom. I would struggle to better this with the DA*300 and that is saying something. I take my hat off to you.

Regards
David

I think the PA Z refers to power zoom lenses that were released in the 1980's and 1990's, these had a powered zoom feature. Lenses with Power zoom are compatible with the current K mount on digital SLR's but the power zoom feature will not work (not that this is a disadvantage anyway).

Regards
David

The problem we have Dave is that a huge number of talented photographers and forum contributors have moved to other sites as a result of the heavy-handed moderation. This leaves the site short of contributors, both from a photographic and forum persepective. The site is in danger of dying slowly, you only have to see the number of members who have joined Smeggy's Pentax Forum to get a feel for what's going on. I too have joined the other forums and feel that Smeggy's in particular is a real rival to this site. I stay on here because I feel a loyalty to it, but if it doesn't retain the members then I feel the days may be numbered.

Regards
David

What lens do have mounted on the camera when it is doing this? I have seen this behaviour with lenses that won't autofocus, e.g. AF teleconverters that are not compatible, but not on any other occasions. My best guess, if not an incompatible lens, would be lens contacts. Try it with a different lens and if the behaviour doesn't occur you know it is the lens that is causing it.

Thoroughly clean all contacts if you don't have another lens to try.

Regards
David

I agree with everyone.

Regards
David

Lovely occasion and a lovely shot.

Our first was born at 24 weeks and weighed about 1.5lb's. He would fit in the palm of a hand. He is now 19 and nearly 6ft tall.

Regards
David