Yes, that's the one I was particularly pleased with. Cheers.

I've had a bit of another attempt on some images from this meeting, having seen some much better quality ones elsewhere and listened to some suggestions. I've also read up on high-ISO noise reduction and it turns out that the RT "sharpen" feature is pretty much the opposite of what I need.

I think these versions look a bit better, though I also think they're probably about as good as they're going to get. It does give me some things to think about for next time though.


proc_a_IMGP0019. by Mike Edwards, on Flickr


proc_a_IMGP0029. by Mike Edwards, on Flickr


proc_a_IMGP0050. by Mike Edwards, on Flickr


proc_a_IMGP0108. by Mike Edwards, on Flickr


proc_a_IMGP0137. by Mike Edwards, on Flickr


proc_a_IMGP0220.-1 by Mike Edwards, on Flickr

Some great shots there.

A grey day turned into a lovely afternoon for a trip to Llangollen, and judging by today's rain I'm glad I went yesterday. As I'd been pleased to find it but not actually done anything with it yet, I thought instead of using my 18-200 Sigma auto lens, I'd stick the manual SMC Pentax 50mm f1.7 lens that I picked up off the car boot sale last year. Here are some results.

1. Exhausting


procIMGP0017. by Mike Edwards, on Flickr

2.


procIMGP0024. by Mike Edwards, on Flickr

3.


procIMGP0031. by Mike Edwards, on Flickr

4.


procIMGP0069. by Mike Edwards, on Flickr

5.


procIMGP9983. by Mike Edwards, on Flickr

6.


procIMGP9995. by Mike Edwards, on Flickr

I'd forgotten a few things, not least how flexible it is to have a wide-angle lens when wandering around a station platform, so I had to do quite a few more close-up shots than I normally would have done. I also got to try to remember the relationship between ISO, aperture and shutter speed that I can normally just forget about - I have one or two completely white images to show for it.

It was an interesting exercise though, and I'm generally pleased with the image quality from the lens.

As always, comments and critique is most welcome.

Yes, some interesting thoughts there. Given how close I am I haven't been to Oulton all that often, but am there again in a few weeks for the VSCC meeting and will have another go.

Thanks, I will have a play with that.

Thanks for that. I did have a play with one of the images in Raw Therapee, but it hasn't made a massive difference, if anything I think the JPG version looked a bit better, but that might be because I'm more used to working with those.

I did have a filter on, and thought about removing it only afterwards. I was pretty careful to keep the lens pointing down when not in use - I was surprised to see more than one person toting what looked like much more expensive gear than mine and aiming the lens up in the air when not in use.

I had a display pass for my classic on the day, and I tend to think of that as a two-way thing, if they've been good enough to give it me then I will turn up unless there's a really good reason. My mate also had one, he was there in his MGA, which currently doesn't have a hood. I'll let you know about the BTCC, I'd like to get there and hopefully at the Gold Cup, too.

Thanks all. It was a poor day, but it's still frustrating that they're not as clear as some of the shots I've seen from others.

I should also add in that I'm using the JPG images from the camera rather than the RAW, as I've never quite got to grips with the only bit of software I've got that will work with raw images. I might have another go with that and see if it really does make any difference.

A few shots from the racing at Oulton Park the other day, hopefully showing the atrocious weather which led to the meeting being cancelled around 4pm.

1.


webIMGP9990 by Mike Edwards, on Flickr

2.


webIMGP0220 by Mike Edwards, on Flickr

3.


webIMGP0108 by Mike Edwards, on Flickr

4.


webIMGP0032 by Mike Edwards, on Flickr

5.


webIMGP0131 by Mike Edwards, on Flickr

The first one is Billy Monger, who some might know was in a horrific crash not very long ago, came back to finish third.

There's a lack of clarity compared to some of the photos that I've seen other people posting from this same event. I'm not sure whether that's my fault, or that a Kx isn't really up to the job when combined with my cheapo Sigma 18-200 lens. I took my manual Pentax f1.7 50mm lens to try out, but didn't end up using it as I didn't want to risk getting no shots at all.

As always any comments or criticism welcome, along with suggestions for improvement.

I like that. The surroundings add to it, I think.