buy epson or hannamule papers and epson inks directly from thier websites to get the best quality, with no chance of old/counterfeight products.

I use a mac and do use a profiled moniter, and have never had color problems, and therefore little reason to learn anything about troubleshooting color problems.....

splashing some watercolor onto watercolor papers to make a small binder full of mini backdrops is a nice way to add complimentary colors to a macro image....

magnetic sheets (like the type used for making stick-on car signs) make great workpads for jobs like that.

also strong torch/flash lights used to sidelight and a strong magnet make spotting and sweeping small parts a breeze.

I wonder if it is even worth testing. any tests using af would be moot (af can be fooled), manual focus would require precise measurements, (not possible on poorly marked zooms) with specialized equipment like lasers.

I'm refering to testing your lens, to learn it's charactoristics as they apply to your end usage. I'm not partial to side by side, which lens is sharper comparos.

I'd try setting your camera to "mtf" in the settings menu, and run your tests again...I'd be curious to see which aperture setting is sharpest for each lens (as measured by your cameras af system, i recall reading once).
then compare which lens is sharpest at apertures you'd most likely use in your photography....ie, wider for portrait/low light photography, and smaller for landscape photographers....
you may find one lens better suited to your usage than the rest...

I'd like to have seen the camera angle a little different (a few degrees to your left)....cutting the woman in half, including her face, and cutting the edge off after her reflection in the window (perhaps using a slightly wider zoom setting).

looks good, so did you get a chance to compare with your pro friends images?

I don't really think it was appropriate for Michaelangello to paint dirty pictures on the ceiling of a church where people bring thier children to learn about abstinence......

so if I can have a difference of opinion with him, I'm sure George's or John Riley's self esteem could survive my scathing tongue.....

My opinion doesn't change wheather or not he's a good photographer, it's just an observation about one image, and I'm sure they'd weigh it appropriately, after all, I'm just some kook on the other side of the pond.

Dirk, I like the images of yours I've seen so far, and don't think you should be so modest.

truthfully, I don't need to know a damn thing about internal combustion engines to know if my car is or isn't running right.

I don't need to know how to drive like Villeneuve to figure out who's winning the race.

We accept that this is a friendly venue with no prizes other than the feedback we get from our friends here. Your opinion (if not the same as mine, must be wrong) is valued, and bound to differ from mine (and therefore must be wrong), but it's ok because I know it's subjective (you're allowed to be wrong).

I like the way things are and might suggest that if the winner is unavailable to judge and post a new topic, the honour (curse) befalls the runner up.

I am a stay/work at home parent.
visators welcome....at your own peril.....there's lotz of kids here....they're everywhere....I think they want the house....I may pack up and move out when they're not looking....
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"I have seen the enemy!!! and they are small...."

what you're doing now looks like fun, experiment and learn and enjoy.
the next step (if you want to push your work to an entirely new level) will be to pre-visualize the end product, BEFORE you pick up a camera.
with an image/look/style in your mind before you shoot, the results will almost always be better.
from simple:


to complicated:


and everything in between.

for example your (ecellent) images above, imagine that effect, done on an image where you had the kidz dressed up for dancing, in a disco/nightclub type setting, or as street punkz with attitude...get the idea?