Spring is here, some sunshine at last




Rgds,

Gary.

Well done George and great judging Chirpy.

Nice entries from all.

Rgds,

Gary.

I found that "Windows Picture Viewer" changed the colour's on lots of images.
Tried "Picass" also this tended to be better but also changed some colour's

My camera and I now use "IrfanView" to display images as this seems to display the same as you would see in for example in "Photoshop".

"Irfanview"is a free download found at http://www.irfanview.com/
Be sure to also download the plugins to allow you to view RAW files.

I would also complete a calibration of your monitor if you are seeing differences in images.

Regards,

Gary.

The RAW files need to be processed to some degree or other as they do look washed (flat) out unless you are shooting in very good lighting conditions.

P&S mainly process in JPEGs with the camera doing all the work to produce a vivd looking image.

As a test take some test images (your cat) in RAW and then with JPEGs see what you have. Most probably the jpegs will look better.

But the RAW files will look better once your post process them.

Regards,

Gary.

I spy a droll oaf - in the picture, how did that get there?

Very well judged Belinda.

Congrats to all entries, excellent images. Wel done to the winners.

Very enjoyable comp.

Regards,

Gary.

Little Monarch.







Captured this little guy on recent trip to Glencoe, It was getting late and lighting was poor so had to drop the ISO down to 800.


F/5.6
Metering: Pattern
ISO: 800
Lens: smc Pentax-DA 50-200mm F4-5.6 ED
Focal: 150mm

You need to keep the shutter button pressed down. I would use a cable release as it will stop some shake.

The manual is incorrect about only needing one press, I have tried and tried but only found keeping the button down works.

Rgds,

Gary.

Okay here is my attempt at judging, don’t expect too much as I am still all new to this:-


Hyram – Nautical Moon:
I like the way the moon has been captured with the glow around and then it piercing reflected light on cold blue harbour area but not enough detail in the boatsyachts.

Belinda B. - Remains of the Fire:
The tones and colours of the reds and greys of the cooling coals give the feeling that if you reached out and touched the screen you would get burnt.

Excellent image very well exposed, captured and presented. Hot Stuff!

Don – Light Expressions Multimedia:
Nice promotional shot, I liked the directed light on the flowers and then hitting the bench giving a central point of focus. However image seems to missing something? I was looking for point of interest where the hot spot of light lands on the back of the bench to further the promotion.

Ikillrocknroll –
I liked the use of zoom technique during the exposure causing interesting light beams as if they were being projected from the sun.

Amoringello – Caves:
Nice long exposure in low light conditions capturing the different tones and colours with nicely rendered reflections in the water.
Only thing I did not get was sense of scale in the image to determine how big the cavern is. Leaves you wondering...

Justgetoutandride – Woodland scene:
You did manage to capture the scene in low light levels and rendered the water smooth; I like the brown tones throughout the image with splashes of green.

Amilner – Waterfall.
Nice image with slow shutter speed causing the candy look flow. Impact wise it is if a head is merging from the water and looking round slightly (top half of rock looks like an eyebrow rising) and menacing dripping forming its teeth.

Hoshisato –
Nice slow shot blurring the water but still showing some action of the water flowing over the guttering. Not to “shaky”  for hand held shot.

Johnriley – Fireworks.
Very nice image very well post processed, lost of colour action, interest and shapes to keep you looking for more.
The bridge support (excuse the pun) holds the image up leading the viewer round the scene; great use of vertical and triangular shapes and placement of the fireworks makes nice balanced image.

Promhandicam
Another nice slow shutter speed to give a nice a cotton candy look of the waves but still enough action to show the power of the ocean.
I liked the colour of the blue green water and the white tines of the waves which mix very well together making a nice image. I might have possibly cropped some of the sky out as I feel it detracts from the waves.

Clarky
Looks like a nice relaxed evening under the open sky by a nice roaring fire. Wish we had such nice weather in the UK .
The exposure captured the glow and warmth of the fire along with the heat trails rising and spreading out towards the campers.

hefty1
Nice burst of colour and a promise of summer to come at least here in the UK. I like the composition and framing of the main flower.


1st Place: Belinda B. I really like this image when I saw it, Gave me a nice warm feeling on these cold spring days.

2nd Place: Johnriley.
3rd Place: amilner


Many thanks to all who posted images.

Best Regards,

Gary.