I'm no expert on the technical aspects of portraiture, so I'll just go with my gut feeling.

My favourite (by far) is the last one, the group shot. It's very relaxed, but just slightly formal if you know what I mean, and the effect is very nice.

I'm really sorry Ralph but I can't get excited about any of the other ones. I think it may be the processing rather than the images themselves, they all just look 'flat' to me. Andrew may have hit the nail on the head when he posted one that has had the levels lifted, I think it would make a tremendous difference to the vitality of these images to get the levels right in all of them.

Hope this is not too harsh, but you did mention at the beginning of the thread about the new levels of honest critique!

Regards
David

On the very odd occasion I use HDR, it is the 'Fusion' option I usually go for as it is much more subtle than Tonemapping. Also, I don't often use just the HDR image, I will take the original and do as Nigel suggested, blend it with layers over the HDR and selectively erase parts or use the opacity slider to get the finish I want. This is the only way I've found of keeping it looking natural.

Regards
David

I find them in my garden John! We have quite a large garden and I've purposefully left an area to grow semi wild, with as many grasses and wild flowers as I can get to grow there. It attracts all sorts of things, some of which I've not photographed yet.

Regards
David

There's no comparison, the crop / paste image is light years ahead. The photomatix one is devoid of any realistic detail and just looks false to me.

BTW, the portrait image I posted is a blend of a traditionally processed shot with one of the same image processed as a very mild 'fusion' HDR in Photomatix. The 'normally' processed shot is dominant in the blend but there are HDR elements there too. My objective with the processing was to make it look natural.

Regards
David

Funny this, I have the same issue when viewing K-3 DNG files but fine with all JPEGs and also fine with K-5IIs DNG's. Also, all are fine in Photoshop and Adobe Camera RAW, but Adobe Bridge will not render the K-3 DNG's. I've mentioned this before and found no solution to date.

Regards
David

Winning? Losing? Level Pegging?

It's not about that is it? Just keep posting Nigel, you are a great counterpoint for other views on here so it matters not if you win, lose or draw.

Sorry to Dr O as it seems the thread is getting a bit off topic.

Cheers
David

I think the point being made, albeit a little disrespectfully, is that the film cameras didn't have sophisticated metering and demanded a more 'gut feel' and 'instinctive' approach.

There's room for us all on here, I don't agree with most of what you say Nigel, but respect to you for taking it all on the chin and getting back up off the canvas each time you are knocked down!

Regards
David

I get a similar issue with Adobe Bridge CS3 on my Windows 8 64-bit laptop, running 8gb of RAM, especially if I use the magnification tool thingy in Bridge. I've never re-installed anything, I have a 1TB drive with masses of room on it, not sure what my cache settings are.

Regards
David

What a gorgeous set Steve! Number 11 is just wonderful, as is 14, they convey the (perceived) character of these birds so well.

Regards
David

All good, some are a bit tight on the framing, e.g. #2 in particular.

I love #7 and #9, great shots, all the others are good but these are my favourites.

Regards
David