1, 4, 5 and 10 for me but they all have a lot of interest. Bob used the word Turneresque and that came my mind also. The blurred colours look great but the mono horse is also very effective.
David

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

I returned to Beamish this week with the K3 and K5. The working locomotive giving rides to visitors on the 1820s colliery line was Steam Elephant, built about ten years ago from plans dating from 1816.

The fireman's gloves



Steam Elephant at work



On Track



At Pockerley Manor Farm




In the Pit Vilage...a woman's work is never done



A typical backyard.. in any North of England industrial area




In a pit village bedroom - a scene which could be any time from the late 1800s through to the 1950s. I spotted a burglar alarm censor on the wall at the top of the picture, but only later when I opened it up on the computer



David

Feel free to comment

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

I shall try to avoid the use of superlatives when I say how much I enjoyed this delightful set of images. I'm not a macro photographer, or even a pixel peeper, so I'm going risk saying I find them excellent.
I like the purple splodge Chris refers to in #1, its obviously an OOF flower and I like it and would have left it in had I been able to produce a picture anywhere near as good as this.

David

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

Peter, this was panned at 1/200th sec at F7.1, ISO 640 on the K5 with the 16-50mm lens at 50mm.
It was on a very steep part of the hilly course and they came down this section at terrific speed. Unlike some faster sports, motor racing for instance, competitors and spectators are much closer and distance from the subject is an essential element in an impression of speed.
David

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

I really like these Peter. My favourites are the action shots where the cyclists are cornering. I particularly like the very tight crop of #7 and that final panned shot. The sunlight has given you some vibrant colours.
David

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

Although it stayed fine the light wasn't brilliant so a high ISO was essential to get any sort of shutter speed that was going to give me reasonably sharp images. Even the panning shots needed a minimum of at least 100th/sec because of the downhill speed and the closeness you get to the riders at this kind of event. Some panning speeds were much higher than that.
I had the K3 and K5 on continuous drive all the time and shot off hundreds of frames on each of the cameras with a high wastage rate. I wasn't alone in this; two mates from the camera club, both using high end Canons, also struggled to get a good percentage sharp.
It emphasised something I've always been aware of; in action photography you need to be like the athletes themselves, match fit. The more you do this sort of subject the better you get at it. That's why the pros who are covering events regularly tend to be much better than amateurs regardless of what gear they use.

There's been a lot of debate on here about the K3 being faster than the K5 at focus locking for fast action.
The K3 was slighter better than the K5 last night but I reckon that more about the lenses used - DA*200mm vs DA*16-50.


You've lost me Nigel - what's your point.

David

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

I do very little sports photography, perhaps once year on average I get to cover cycle racing and Durham Regatta. They are both challenging events for a photographer, particularly the cycling because of the speed and the jostling crowds.
Please feel free to comment on these.
The DA*200 lens was used on the K3 for close action and long views while the DA*16-50 on the K5 for panning. This was an evening event with failing light so the K3 was at 2000ISO all evening and the K5 ranged from 640 ISO to 1000.
1 Roll out from the start



2




3




4



5



6



7


David

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

I'm not qualified to comment on macro photography as I have never done any. But that doesn't deter some theatre and opera critics or football commentators passing judgement on subjects they've never actually tried themselves.
So here goes.
I'm mightily impressed by first rate macro photos simply because they open up an unfamiliar world to me. In the very best of them the subject is critically sharp - for instance the eyes of a bee, the filigree wings of a dragon fly etc. And they all have wonderful bokeh.
Your pictures David are amazing for someone who is not a specialist in this subject. They are not however all critically sharp at the point where they should be.
This might be because of the restricted file size of images this site allows or because your camera was handheld.
I always imagined macro photographers had tripods welded to their cameras.
But the best ones in this set are really very good indeed. My favourites are Launch pad, Female Common Blue, Early Lunch, Yellow and Green.

David

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

A long time ago I was a road racer in amateur events. Competed in some events with the pros, including guys who had been in the Tour de France.
Nowadays there's no pro-am distinction but back in the 1960s there were some 1st cat events which also had semi pros (Independents) riding in them I gave it up when I got enaged and work became more demanding but came back to cycling in my 40s as a leisure hobby and after retirement rode a mountain bike on the many railway lines converted into cycle tracks near where I live. I don't ride any more now.
Carl you make me envious. Eurocar is more than just one of France's top teams, its one of the world's. That guy Tommy Voeckler in your team was a true star of the Tour de France a couple of years ago.
David

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

I love the pics of the rusty old trucks, particularly Nos. 2+3. The PP treatment has worked out exceptionally well. I also really like the yawning tree in No.5
David

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