Ha Ha !

Yes I like it much more now ... except for the missing spire & pathways of course, obviously the act of straightening it means we've lost those.

When using a 10-20 you always need to allow plenty of extra 'crop space' around the subject as you'll lose a lot in processing.

Kris, Dr.O, Gallot, Gareth & Andrew - thank you all for your kind comments, I'm pleased you liked them !

I saw this earlier today but had no time to comment - work getting in the way of life again *rolls eyes*.

I really love #1 - great idea perfectly implemented. And you had the patience to actually take and stitch those shots together. I have to do this occasionally in macro work and I'm now looking at multiple stills stitched into one 360 quicktime movie. It's a lot fo work so I applaud yo for your effort.

I'm with Womble & Gwyn. #3 doesn't do it for me - I feel uncomfortable with the fact the building needs straightening (and no I don't mean the sloping pathways). The building IS off-set and I think it's the lense that's caused it .. I'd bet it was a 10-20 (watch me lose my money now) !

However I really like the rest of the set, especially #1,2,5 & 6. If I had to choose then #5 after PPing out the cables would be my winner.

Love #2 - the colours, the composition.

Well I did want to try it out .... nervous though I was. So one rainy day last month I went for a long stroll through the Shanghai Botanical Garden.

Most of the time I had the DA*300 on the K5 but on occasion I also got out the K7 (with an non-WR Tamron 17-50 on it - and a plastic bag over the lense ).

I have to say I was feeling pretty pleased with myself as the rain came down and I strolled past a handful of Canon / Nikon bird shooters sheltering under the awning of a cafe. One of the them shouted out ... "hey what about your camera in the rain" ..... "it's a Pentax" was my reply.

It really was a miserable day, though walking in the Gardens in the rain was much better than being at home watching afternoon TV (or being stuck under an awning) !

Excuse the title on this shot - it was actually February, the same day as the other shots. My mistake. #1, #2 & #4 were K7 & Tamron 17-50/2.8, #3, #5 & #6 were the K5 & DA*300.

#1
[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Shanghai-Botanical-Garden/Rainy-Day-at-the-Shanghai/1232465560_VatJM-XL.jpg[/IMG]

#2
[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Shanghai-Botanical-Garden/Shanghai-Botanical-Garden/1232765654_pocZ8-L.jpg[/IMG]

#3
[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Shanghai-Botanical-Garden/Shanghai-Botanical-Garden/1232784937_PbMRQ-L.jpg[/IMG]

#4
[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Shanghai-Botanical-Garden/Shanghai-Botanical-Garden/1232789248_dV94r-L.jpg[/IMG]

#5
[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Shanghai-Botanical-Garden/Shanghai-Botanical-Garden/1232795142_Jk9oA-L.jpg[/IMG]

#6
[IMG]http://frogfish.smugmug.com/Other/Birds/Shanghai-Botanical-Garden/1232759260_oUVYV-L.jpg[/IMG]

Great capture - you needed all of that 600mm but at least your trip up the hill paid off big time. The male's wings are magnificent when unfolded.

Very nice capture Don !

Thanks Pentax ! Funny that's where I first became enamoured with them too - it seems Collins' was every young lads' first bird book.

Nice set - I really like #2 the best.