Nairn Beach, Scotland - K10D + 105 Sigma 1/320s @ f4.0 ISO 100

I haven't been out with the camera since Xmas, I was given the flu as a present, so with the forecast for today being 'frosty with sunshine', and the effects of the flu receding, I packed a few lenses and the K10D, and went for a walk in the countryside west of Edinburgh. Frost was there, but the blue skies never appeared.
Managed to get a couple of shot's before my fingers froze to the tripod, -2.0℃.
I thought these were the best of the bunch.





K10D+ Sigma 105






K10D + Sigma 105





K10D + Sigma 105





K10D + Sigma 105





K10D + Pentax A 50mm f1:1.4





K10D + Sigma 105 - Fungi on a burnt tree stump - Manual - 20 seconds @ f22 ISO 100

K10D + 105 Sigma

You could try taking 2 or more photos, each focusing on a different part of the flower, then layer them in PhotoShop rubbing out parts of each layer that are out of focus, leaving only the 'sharp' parts.





This is an example of what I mean, both ends of the door hook are in focus, but in the original 2 pictures, only one end was in focus in each picture.

Should be quite easy to do on a static subject like a flower with a plain background ?

Looking at both, well I like the 10mm best.

The reason I asked, was with the curvature of the sails, the 10mm might give a better image ? - You know, 'draw everything in together' and I think it does ?

Did you take one of the same scene at 10mm by any chance ?

Eilean Donan Castle - on the 'Road to the Isles'






istDS + 18-55mm kit lens - 1/250 @ f4.5

The reason I was pleased with the majority of the photographs, was because of the lighting. I have used flash before but never got it right, even the dedicated flash, it just never worked for me. I had planned to get one of the fancy new P-TTL guns for my K10D, but then I thought, what if they don't work for me either ? I've seen posts here where people are having mixed results. Flash and me don't get on !!!!
Then as I mentioned above, Matt's post about going for manual settings on power and aperture with my AF500FTZ, and although it scared me, I found easy to set up after a few test shots. Not a single 'RED-EYE" in 100 images - that pleased me too.
I may actually use flash a bit more now, well I might ?

As to the initial picture, 'justgetoutandride', I know what you mean, but the girls love it, they say it makes them look more "Hollywood" ?

I processed all the pictures with a crop here and there, and a little lift in levels, but they all wanted the the extreme PhotoShop treatment, so I did as I was told
There were so many photographs taken that night by the girls, their friends and families, on camera phones, disposables and even Polaroids,
that I guess they wanted something different from me. At least I have the originals and I can learn from the 'curtain' errors and look forward to taking the "Last Day At School" session.

Here is another 'keeper', with a mono-conversion, the rest are on my "www" below

Don, the baseball bat was tied to the leg of the tripod !!!

I could hear shouts from the bedrooms when they were all getting ready, "who's got the titty-tape". When it was explained to me that 'titty-tape' is for keeping certain body parts within dresses, I did offer the duct tape to make sure that everything was secure and to keep the dress on.

There were 9 girls in all, they have been together as a group for years, so my daughter asked me to take a few pictures of them all before they leave school, the school dance was one opportunity, and I think they want something more formal at a later date, so this was good practice.

Here is another I liked,

I've done another version with a more blurred background and that sorts the curtain thing. I was quite pleased with the lighting, and it's thanks to a post of yours Matt. I have a AF500FTZ and the K10D, and I thought there may have been problems re: TTL / P-TTL. But I read about setting it to manual and varying the power and aperture, so I did a few test shots with the flash bounced of the walls and ceiling to the right, and a white sheet held to the left, seemed to work ok for me. The settings were f10 - 1/100 sec. This picture and most of the others were taken with the 18-55mm kit lens, it seemed good as I could get the full length the girls wanted so they could get a look at their dresses, and I could zoom in for close-ups without moving the camera position.