I read the news today, oh boy, 4000 holes in Pentax's latest gear. Although the holes were rather small ...

Apologies,

Glyn

Silicon City

[IMG]http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w20/GlynM/Misc/IMGP8497-imp-small.jpg[/IMG]

Shot on 28/11/10
Pentax K-7 with the Samsung equivalent of the DFA100
3sec, F32 & ISO 200

Plus some tinkering in PSE9 to give it an impressionist feel .

Glyn

My *istDS, from 2005, is still in regular use.

I would recommend lithium, disposable, batteries. When new the DS came with a pair of CRV3 lithium batteries which lasted for months. However these are getting harder to find at reasonable prices. AA lithium are just as good and often you can find them for 4 +2 free at around £5.

I did use NIMH rechargeables but was so impressed with the life of the lithium batteries that I gave up with the rechargeable batteries.

If you decide to go with NIMH then make sure you go for the modern "pre-charged" types as these hold their charge much longer and are much better for intermittent or infrequent use.

Glyn

Hi Judith - What a shame. One more entry would have had this competition level in entries with the previous "Energy" subject.

Lets pretend ...

Judith has given us a beautiful, simplistic image of frozen, digital, time. I wonder what is going on in the kitchen at this time that makes 4:07 so special.

I love the monochromatic colour of the digits and that they darken just a little bit in the extreme corners. The quality of the black background is absolutely stunning. There is also no indication of flicker indicating that some care has been taken with this shot.

A fantastic, simple, presentation of time.

I'm very happy to add JudithAnn to the list of commendations

Glyn

Edit - P.S. The exif data suggests this shot was taken on the 25th, ie tomorrow. You are not having troubles with the date setting on your camera again are you?

This competition has closed.

I had rather hoped that this subject might had inspired a few more entries but I get a feeling that the fortnightly competition is falling in favour, possibly because it now shares this part of the forum with the new voting competition. However I think this certainly raises the importance and commitment of those that have gone out of their way to submit an entry. I would like to express my sincere thanks to all of you that entered. Once again you all have far exceeded my expectations and it has been a privilege to review your work.

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.



darlene – Old & New Time
I think Darlene is very brave. For both this and the last weekly competition she put up the first entries. I think this takes lot of courage because it sets a baseline for everyone else. From the judges direction, though, it is wonderful, particularly with the fortnightly competition where often nothing happens for a week and judge worries that his or her subject is rubbish and no one is going to enter. To see the first entry is such a relief.

Darlene has given us a wonderful shot of an enigma. The first impression is that we have a sort of neo classical interpretation however this only lasts until the eye spots the word “Quartz” on the clock face. Darlene, of course, gives a big hint away in her title for this piece. I think it is also really great that the clock face is not quite vertical which I think reinforces the conflicting dilemmas of this object.

As with all of her competition entries it is a well-executed, quality, shot. The lighting and colour is fantastic. The glass clock front has just caught a little refection of the light but if anything it adds to the shot as without this you probably would not know that the glass was actually there. We even have the traditional 10:10 setting with complimentary positioning of the second hand so that the crucial text element is well exposed.

While it is easy for me to criticise we don’t know how much control the photographer had over the environment but perhaps, as a very small improvement, we could have lost the creases in the backcloth. It might even have been possible to achieve this with a little tweak of the levels or colour curves in something like Photoshop Elements. It could be, though, that possibly I just have my monitor up too bright.

However it is a really great, punchy, shot of wonderful contradictions. Very well done.




thoughton – Degrees of time
I think this is a great shot that uses this simple clock on a plain background to make an enticing image.

It is a very pleasing picture to look at which I am sure is enhanced by the clever positioning of the clock in the frame. It obviously works well in grey scale which is well suited increasing density of the prongs. The lighting is great. I love the highlights we see at the base of the prongs top and bottom of the clock face. The soft reflection of the prongs creates a little depth.

It may just be me but I get a feeling that it is not quite round. While the clock face is definitely round the circle of prongs give an impression that it is taller than it is wider. It is undoubtedly just an illusion caused by the composition but for me it enhances the shot adding an element of intrigue.

Again we can see the traditional 10:10 positioning of the hands which add to the balance in this presentation.

A nice simplistic approach creating a very pleasing image – well done.



TOZZA27 – Time – from the Alpha to the Omega
Tony has given us a very interesting shot of what is obviously a valuable heirloom. (Apologies I’m thinking about treasure. The perils of doing two competitions at once.)

What might have started out as a classical product shot has used the lighting and framing to create an image that straddles the boundary between photography and art.

I’ve no idea how you have achieved it but I love the vertical, noise type patterning, on the clock faces and the speckles on the case. I think we also get a hint that this is a well-loved device that has not been locked away as a treasure but has had plenty of proud usage.

Another 10:10 positioning of the hands are used nicely to frame maker’s name and logo.

A great shot - many thanks.


aliengrove - 1302
I really like this picture. Coming from an electronics background and having been involved in the design of control systems (but not for aviation) it appeals to me.

It depicts a clock on an aircraft fight deck. Doing a bit of research (well just looking in aliengrove’s portfolio) I think this is probably on a Boeing 777. The same source also helps to identify the indication on the right-hand side to be part of the primary flight display showing the airspeed in knots. Now this is where I think it gets really interesting. Deeper research (well a simple Google search) reveals that the clock is positioned on the outside of the PFD on both sides of the cockpit. This indicates that we are looking at the left-hand side of the cockpit. I believe that the left-hand seat is where traditionally the Captain sits so I think this shot was probably taken from the most important seat on the aircraft. Gosh I’m going to have to be careful now and show some respect.

Seriously, I think it is a very well executed shot. I think it is so easy in pictures of illuminated displays to get the brighter parts over exposed. I therefore think a lot of care has been taken with this shot. Composition wise I like that the clock is set to one side. I also love the highlighting provided by the orange glow particularly on the two screw heads and the side of the PFD.

This is also more than just a clock. It also shows elapsed time or a chronometer display as well as a selectable date display. It is therefore a multi-function time piece and well suited as an entry to this competition.

A great shot, I love it – many thanks.



davidtrout – half time
I did see the version of this shot in the forum and am really pleased to see it here as well.

David has given us an interesting shot which can only be a reflection from some windows that must step around a corner. It creates this fantastic picture that looks like an impossible to solve sliding block puzzle and, I think, is a real-life abstract.

The colours are great. The gold hands and escutcheon of the clock are well complimented by the green hue of the copper or bronze clad roof. It was obviously a beautiful day giving this brilliant, almost single tone, blue sky along with very good lighting. There are also some great details. I particularly like the little wire chimney or vent-pipe guard and the mottled roof tiles. Of course the hard black window frames finish the shot off creating an element of division.

While we know from the forum that this was part of testing a new camera body it does not detract from the observational skills needed to spot this opportunity and then compose and execute this great shot.

A wonderfully observed and well executed natural abstract – Very well done.



Hyram - A Treasured Timepiece
I think Hyram has achieved a first for this site. He has managed to enter the same shot in two competitions running at the same time. Not only is this image a very suitable submission for the subject here it was equally suitable for the one-week “Treasure” competition that closed on Sunday where it achieved a place amongst the winners. I’m impressed. I also have to give many thanks as the intention was to help ease my load of having to judge both competitions. So apologies from me if you have read much of this review somewhere else recently.

Having done a quick search I see that skeleton watches range from being only partially exposed to some where all the internal works are open to view. Yours certainly looks like the latter. I assume that there is some sort of outer ring for the numerical characters, makers name and for attaching the strap.

I think it is a very nice shot, almost tottering on the abstract. I see you have not chosen to set the hands to 10 past 10 and I think that is a good move here. There is no maker’s name to mask and I like the way you have all three hands pointing diagonally into different corners.

The lighting is great. I like way this is showing the textured metallic components creating an effect like chroma noise. There is almost a complete absence of any shadows yet the lighting lets us clearly see all the engraved details. Illuminating it from behind as well is inspirational as I think it highlights the jewelled bearings creating some great colour combinations. I also like the blue tint from the spring and the intriguing bright red dots towards the bottom left of the shot.

Engineers are always fascinated by how things work and I’m no exception. The advantage here is that you don’t have to take it apart to service this urge.

From the other competition we know that it was not easy to achieve this shot and that you almost gave up. However perseverance has paid off to the benefit of everyone looking in this forum. A fantastic shot and a really brilliant idea. Many thanks.


prsjnb – Past Midnight
I love pictures that work on different levels and hint at some sort of story and Jon’s shot here certainly achieves this.

We have a very nice view of a pocket watch that been superimposed by a faint, even ghostly, image of its works. Add to this the psychedelic background that radiates from the watch centre and we have an image telling us that something magical might be happening which of course is reinforced by the value of time being depicted on the watch face.

I think it is a great idea and is obviously a combination of multiple, well executed, shots which have been carefully manipulated in post-production.

I think it is great in these competitions if you can get an edge by doing something a little bit different. Not only might it get you in a wining slot but it also inspires other people, not necessarily just the beginners, to have a go and try it for themselves. Inspiring others after all has got to be a primary reason not only for the competitions but the whole site.

A terrific magical image – Very well done.



It has been very difficult to chose the winners. All the images well met the subject requirement and all were of outstanding quality. So to be honest it just came down to which of these appealed to my personal taste.

So this is it:

1st – davidtrout for half time

2nd – Hyram for A Treasured Timepiece

3rd – aliengrove for 1302


In the weekly competition I felt that given the low number of entries that it would be unfair to make any commendations. However here it is no problem at all .

Commendations, in no particular order, to:
darlene for Old & New Time
thoughton for Degrees of time
TOZZA27 for Time – from the Alpha to the Omega
prsjnb – for Past Midnight


Having probably achieved the dubious accolade of setting the competition that attracted the lowest number of entries () I think my responsibilities here are complete. I hand over to David for the next round with hope that he might be able to inspire a revival.

Glyn

I'm one of the people that thought that having the just-joined section was a good idea. Before we had it welcoming messages were being scattered all over the site which I found a bit of a frustration.

I tend to only dip into certain sections, for example I don't look in the Film section at all. This means of course that for me the recent-message list is not quite so useful and I have to admit that I don't use it. It does mean though that it is very easy for me to choose not to bother with the just-joined section.

I guess it all depends on the host site software but I wonder if it might just be possible to exclude messages in the just-joined section from the recent-message list.

Glyn

I think I have an older version of this lens as mine is not the DG version. When I bought my first Pentax DSLR (well actually my first SLR, a *istDS in 2005) it was it was my first lens purchase after the 18-55 kit lens.

The 28 starting point probably suggests that it derives from an earlier full-frame, film, SLR background. While nowadays we might consider it to be a bit mediocre it was a very cost effective way of starting a lens collection and overlapped and expanded the range of the kit lens. I think macro on zoom lenses is a bit a of a compromise but I felt that it worked well enough for someone starting out to get a good feel before possibly laying out their savings on a dedicated macro lens.

I still have my version and while it does not get used much now it can be useful when cycling or travelling light when only wanting to carry a single lens and not being too sure what photo opportunities are going to arise.

Sigma lenses come with mounts for different brands of camera but providing this is the Pentax mount version then it should work well on your K-x.

I hope this helps,

Glyn

Just to let you know that I have posted my reviews and results.

I would like to say many thanks to all of you that entered. You all have far exceeded my expectations and it has been a privilege to review your work.

Choosing the winners has been exceedingly difficult as all of the entries had winning atributes.

I'm now off to some hopefully well earned sleep.

Glyn

Perhaps I have not understood the question but I don't think there is a simple binary, black or white, answer to this. From my direction it all depends on what you are trying to achieve for a particular shot.

For most of my work I try and shoot for an absolute minimum amount of post processing. Like John I'm quite happy shooting at the highest quality jpeg setting and very rarely shoot in raw. Invariably I always need to do a little tinkering in PSE; a little bit of sharpening, tweaking the levels or possibly a bit of straightening (has anyone else found that the level on their K-7 is drifting out of alignment ).

For some things though post proceeding is a definite necessity and for these I might push, say, the ev levels to get more data to manipulate. This is certainly true of my abstract phase where I was into manipulative images. Here of course shooting the initial images is just one of a number of steps to the final result. Part of the challenge is starting with a visualisation of the final result and looking backwards, working out how to get there and what initial images need to be captured.

On perhaps a simpler front I have recently been inspired to have a go at focus stacking to improve the DOF of macro shots and although I have not tried this yet I'm sure a similar approach will be needed.

Glyn

(Who today shouldn't really be being diverted away from his primary task of writing the reviews for the weekly comp )

Glyn

(Who also has a small collection of Adaptall 2 lenses)