My six month old K-5 level is ok at the moment. However my K-7 started to creep out in the horizontal plane just after a year and is now around three bars out. In the vertical, portrait, plane it is still fine.

I noticed as well that the auto horizon correction function, which I have never used, went out at the same time so must use the same sensor.

I just turned the viewfinder level display off in the K-7 to stop it annoying me.

Glyn

Apologies all round, I have just read the reviews as well. It sounds like an unusual and interesting concept. That the author has come here from writing scientific and technical manuals also appeals to me and so I have added it to my Christmas wish-list .

Many thanks,

Glyn

Here is the place for any discussion about Weekly Competition #226 - A Splash of Colour.

As is traditional I will stop looking in here once the first entry has been submitted.

The competition will close at midnight GMT on Sunday 13th November.

Good luck,

Glyn

We have always had books in our house and they are constantly getting out of hand . The shot just shows one of my shelves but my collection is insignificant compared to my wife's who, in the past, has worked in libraries and is a prolific reader and collector.

We have not yet succumbed to an e-reader. Part of the pleasure of having books is not just reading them but living with them.

For the picture I wanted to shoot along a shelf and the biggest problem I had was finding an example with enough free space to stand the tripod .

Glyn

Mixed Fiction

[IMG]http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w20/GlynM/Competition%20Entries/IMGP2038-44-c1s-small.jpg[/IMG]

A shelf of mixed fiction where L-Space and Jurisfiction combine forces to look after a whole host of characters from Frodo Baggins to Rainbow Six including the odd triffid and Miss Havisham.

A focus stack of 8 shots all taken with a Pentax K-5 and DA35 Macro.
1/20 sec, F7.1 & ISO 200.

All taken on 5th November 2011.

Glyn

This competition has closed.

I would like to express my thanks to those of you that took up the challenge and entered. Once again you all have far exceeded my expectations and it has been a privilege to review your work.

I knew that the subject might be a little difficult but I think I have achieved the dubious accolade for the lowest number of entries in one of these competitions. Recently we have only been getting a few entries in this competition and I fear the low entry today could mark its demise.

Just a reminder that I'm no expert at this. Everything here is just my personal opinion and the results reflect my personal tastes. I have tried to make useful comments for each entry and hope that I have not upset anyone as this was definitely not my intention. As always it is a terrific collection of images.



DrOrloff – I Love The Smell Of Garlic In The Morning...
Adrian has given us a great image to start off this competition and once again has to be applauded for putting up such an early entry.

This image certainly meets the subject criteria. It definitely has a visual and smelly impact which has been leaching out of my computer now for nearly two weeks . I don’t think I have ever seen a whole garlic cut in half this way before but it certainly makes my eyes water.

I think the composition is very good. It is a nice group of three on a wonderfully detailed, old, wooden surface. I love the little snail which adds a great detail and ties up nicely with Adrian’s Icon. Does this also indicate that snails don’t have a sense of smell?

The shot does have a smallish depth of field which has been well offset to highlight the front of the shot. Personally I think I would have liked to seen the DOF a little bit deeper to reveal more of the wonderful wood grain but I appreciate that, as shot, the shallow DOF is well used too emphasise the competition subject.

A wonderful shot to start off this competition – Many thanks.



RPLSF – Elementary, my dear Watson
I like this image and I love the way the title has been used create an extra dimension.

I think it is a very well thought out composition and I think a lot of preparation and work has been put in to create it. The subject criteria is well met being provided by the pipe, the ashtray and being reinforced by the wafts of smoke. I think the black background really works with the subtle but excellent lighting that is used to emphasise the smoke. I love the red colouring and the detail in the glass.

Perhaps the depth of field could have been a bit deeper to put all of the ashtray in focus but I am sure that there was a difficult compromise made with keeping the shutter speed fast enough to capture the smoke.

As mentioned above I love the Sherlock Holmes hint in the title and for me this also adds the extra smell of an old panelled drawing room or library.

A great image, well thought out and executed – Well done.



JudithAnn – The Fragrance after the Rain
Judith has created an image that has a great combination of smells. We have a beautiful red rose that must have a wonderful smell. Water drops on a glass window gives us a hint of recent rain which when added to the subtle green background brings back memories of the smell of a summer garden after rain.

It is a beautiful red rose. I usually have lots of trouble photographing red flowers which seem to come out over saturated but here it has been excellently captured.

There is an interesting transition between the main image and its reflection in the lower part of the composition. I have a feeling that there is a little bit of manipulation going on. It does though work quite well although I find the little triangles and small the small darker shape on the left hand side of the transition just perhaps a little distracting. I think I might have been tempted to have cloned them out.

I love the subtle fade at the bottom of the image which I think helps emphasise the upper part of the picture.

A beautiful picture with a wonderful, but subtle, combination of smells – Very well done.



alexfilipov – Near the quick lunch bar
Here we have a good composition that portrays a horrible smell. I am sure it must put some off eating at the “quick lunch bar”. So it definitely meets the subject criteria.

I like the composition particularly how the buckets have been placed off-centre and with some nice balance achieved with the graffiti. I like the way the image is divided between the blue, cream and wood grain surfaces.

The DA 40 has given us one of its characteristic sharp images. There is some good detail although my stomach really does not want to explore the bucket contents too closely. The subtle, diffused, lighting with just a little splash of sunlight works really well and the shiny buckets, which may have been a problem in direct lighting, come across perfectly. I also like the little reflection we get of the graffiti in the nearest bucket.

A very good, well composed image – Well done.



geordie01 – Fresh Bread from the Oven
This is exactly the sort of subject I was thinking about when I set this competition. A beautiful, freshly cut, hand-crafted and still warm loaf.

The image has a very shallow depth of field which I think is a bit of a shame as I would have liked to seen the foreground slice in focus. We can see, by the grain on the breadboard, that the point of focus is on the end of the loaf. I think I would have gone up to around F11 to get a deeper DOF but of course that would probably have needed a tripod to cope with the longer exposure required.

The background looks a bit noisy, perhaps over-sharpened, and is probably another indication of the compromises needed in these challenging lighting conditions.

You have though captured a terrific smell and I’m sure it has already been tasted by some very lucky people. – Many thanks.





Surprisingly I found the low number of entries made it even harder to pick and order the winners. I have resisted a strong urge to set a winner and make all the other entries joint second. All, five, of the images fell well within the subject requirement and were of outstanding quality. Any of these could have easily won. In the end I ordered my winners by the strength of smell.

So this is it:

1st – DrOrloff – I Love The Smell Of Garlic In The Morning...

2nd – RPLSF – Elementary, my dear Watson

3rd – JudithAnn – The Fragrance after the Rain

Highly Commended:
alexflipov - Near the quick lunch bar
geordie01 – Fresh Bread from the Oven


Some wonderful images but a disappointing number of entries. Hopefully this competition is just going through a low-point and Adrian will be able to revive it.

Now all I have to do is get the smell of garlic out of my computer and make some bread.

Glyn

I'm not sure if I can post a full sized version as I think the hosting site will reduce it in size but I have put it here.

The orignal pre editing shot is also here.

Glyn

Edit - I have put the edited image in the Gallery here too.

I understand what you are getting at but it does seem a bit extreme. The camera was tripod mounted which I will have levelled but I may have been pointing the camera up or down a bit but not much.

I think the left-hand fence post was further away but again not much. The hill adds problems here and fence panels also get smaller in height.

I have just been out and had another look at the site. I took a quick, hand-held shot, standing up straight, of the site using a DA35 F2.8, so from further back and can't guarantee it was in the same line and elevation but it looks fine as long as you ignore the bird-bath :

[IMG]http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w20/GlynM/IMGP1791-small.jpg[/IMG]

Glyn

Just had a quick look for something recently shot inside with the DA* 16-50 and remembered this which is a non-posed shot of my grandson, around 4 weeks old, with him mum, having just been given a dose of gripe-water which disappointingly no longer contains any alcohol .


I have tinkered a bit with it in PSE but is was originally shot with a Pentax K-5 with DA*16-50 @ 50mm, 1/100 sec F4.5, ISO800, d-range highlight comp on and medium shadow comp, bright mode, using a bounce flash all hand-held.

[IMG]http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w20/GlynM/IMGP0337-c2-small.jpg[/IMG]

Glyn

No problem Chris I'm sure you are right. It was not helped in this shot living on the side of hill either . I think at the time I was trying to keep the tree in the middle straight and was just a bit surprised to see the order of difference between the extreme left & right fence posts.

Glyn