I agree with Paul and Terry, you need to keep the background sharp so use faster shutter speeds. The idea is good, keep experimenting.
David

Excellent set of action shots with good humour as well.
David

Fine piece of lurking Tim, you captured some images which display the art of capturing the decisive moment.
David

When I'm not shooting steam trains or framing modern architecture I just love street grab shots. Here are some of my latest efforts in Newcastle
[IMG]http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy273/Davidtrout2/1Colour3797resize.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy273/Davidtrout2/Exitleft.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy273/Davidtrout2/1Colour3809copy.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy273/Davidtrout2/Newc1Colour3776.jpg[/IMG]

Well it's back, thanks for the vote of confidence. It seems if you remove your photo its a good way to stir up some support.
Neil I thought the firemen laid on the smoke specially for us photographers. This was some experience, a massive scarey engine belching smoke and bearing down on you at about 60mph, seen through the view finder.
David

Sorry from me too for not entering. I thought it was a good subject and I did have a couple of ideas but they didn't work out. I have no excuses like too much on at work or been ill or anything, just photographer's block. Sorry.
David

Yup. I removed it. It wasn't a great image and no one had commented on it so I took the hint.
David

My view is you don't have to be religious to appreciate religious art and icons although many of the icons, as has already been said, are trite. I'm bowled over by the great European cathedrals (I live within two miles of one of the very best examples) and consider good architetcure to be a major art form.
So whatever your beliefs you can't fail to be stopped in your tracks by this photo, for all the reasons stated by the previous commentators. Keep up the good work Paul.
David

I like the set as a whole JudithAnn, puffins make great photo subjects. There's a colony near where I live, the Farne Islands off the Northumberland coast and many of my friends go to capture photos there. I'm not a bird photographer but I can appreciate the skill involved. You ask how can you improve your image quality. I would say lots of practise. Any photographer who specialises in particular subjects gets better at it the more they do it. High shutter speeds, quick reactions and bags of good light help.
David

[IMG]http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/yy273/Davidtrout2/LizzieatDurham21402143_1copy.jpg[/IMG]
I know this isn't a high quality photo but it illustrates how the world's railways were showering coal smoke across the landscape until the mid 20th centiury, before anyone had heard of global warming. This shot was taken earlier this year at Durham when a charter steam special hauled by the ex-LMS Pacific loco 'Princess Elizabeth' sped through on full throttle. The image is a big pull from a 10Meg file from my K10 taken with the DA*50-135mm lens. After cropping this image is down to 1.77mp. Apart from the image noise at 400ISO it shows perspective compression, and the trail of smoke back into the distance.