for those who use aperture:

the newest update allows dodging and burning (with full tablet support) identical to photoshops' tools.
there is now a plug-in api that allows 3rd party plug-ins to work inside aperture.
nik has a new color plug-in.
noise ninja has a new plug-in.

As I said..I really don't know why...it just appears to randomly affect the odd card.... could be the os, the reader, or the card or the camera, but I've heard too many people come up with some bizzare circumstance where-in a card they though was bad, worked fine after formatting in camera....

do not use your computer to erase your cards.Always format in camera.

I don't know why red means stop and green means go.... I don't know who came up with that... but I do know that colliding with a truck on my motorcycle is not good for my health, so I just follow the rule... and hope the other guy does too. things seem to work out ok so far that way!

here's an interesting editor (was free, may still have a trial download).

http://www.pixelmator.com/

first step is to goto system preferences (the little lightswitch icon in your finder bar) and click on displays, then color, then calibrate.
follow the instructions. see if that helps.
(pantone huey is another good option if you want to spend some money).

that and using something bigger (peice of cardboard etc to shade the lens)....I find the lens hoods are barely useful.....in fact I rarely ever use them.....
also if you do a search..some clever individual discovered a trick using the multiexposure setting to get a nd effect without using the nd filter....might befun to try that both with and without the nd filter......

don't sue your pentax.
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what firmware is your k10? some people experienced streaks with long exposures on the version 1.0 firmware.

looking through the viewfinder, it would be tough to spot a moderate amount of lens flare, with a nd filter like that...try shading the lens?

give more meta info on the images, might also help.

your friend may have the same filter, but not the same lens...what lens?

two benifits of the 16-45 over the kit 18-55 that is noteworthy, and a must have for me is it's constant aperture f4, and close focus abilities.

nothing is more annoying, than having to re-calculate exposure everytime you zoom the lens.

Also not being able to get close enough to a small subject. like when you want a closer element in your image to appear larger (or distorted) in your frame (ie: making your kids little fish look bigger than your kid on a fishing trip).

also...yes the lenses will work, 1.5x factor, and yes dust removal works, your milage will vary....

I WON'T MENTION ANY NAMES! NOR WILL I CAST THE FIRST STONE....

http://whattheduck.net/

don't change it!
You picked a fantastic subject, composed and exposed it very well...It will certianly be a contender on it's own merit.
I wasn't trying to imply anything else... I really like it, and would not be embarrassed to lose to that image.

(mine was a test shot that was supposed to have a lop-eared rabbit, but my model called in sick....don't tell the kids....the Easter Bunny nearly didn't make it this year!).