Yes, and most certainly in the case of the final one: it's super.

So THAT's where the monkey puts them !!

While Nigel prefers the highly technical precision of the latest kit I have to confess that I simply don't understand it. Here is my pragmatic method:

Put a 1970s Helios compact flash on an old Pentax A3 body (it's only being used as a stand)
Plug in a Nissin optical trigger
Wait for her to go out and plonk the marbles on the ceramic hob in the kitchen
The K5 is on a tripod with the built-in flash up, set to manual, 160th sec with a Pentax M 100mm macro lens
The Helios flash intensity is controlled by how far away you put it and the K5 flash by how many layers of folded bubble wrap you hold in front of it as a diffuser.

Here are some results:

1. Very formal



2. Anything but formal. These are in orbit with a starscape in the background !



3. All alone



4. Close-up and detailed (these marbles have seen some use)



5. A darker formal version



I had a lot of fun messing around with these. I hope you enjoy them

The K5 has a "permanent" Tamron 28 - 135 on it which has served me very well for a long time and the K3ii usually has either an F 35 - 70 or a DA 55-300. Of the two, the 35 - 70 is a stunning performer. These are for carrying around. I nearly always use 'old glass' whenever the tripod comes out, such as Meyer Optic 135 and 200 and the Pentax M 100mm macro gets a lot of use too. On top of that there is a comprehensive set of Takumars and a few Russian guest performers, notably a 58mm Helios 44M7 and a Jupiter11A 135mm.

Wow and more wow. Especially September! No apology needed for any of these.

I generally dislike IR but that one is certainly a good ambassador for it. I like the simplicity of the starling too. As with everone's images, the range here is quite remarkable, both for its content and quality.

Something recently prompted me to get the Spotmatic out (and it all still works) so I shall be looking forward to the anticipation of getting one's processed film back once again. It is surprising how much you have to think about what you are doing with it so the first bit of 2017 will be a retro learning curve for me.

How do you pick a 'best' one out of this lot? I can only choose the black 5 steam locomotive in Yorkshire as a favourite because I like black 5s. The only thing this variety of images have in common is their excellence.

These are all excellent but the B&Ws stand out for me

Summer evening meadow and particularly Catch a falling star -- you caught him wonderfully there.