We're not used to looking that closely 'cos we haven't got anything carrying deadly poison in this country...

Have a great time Gwyn and I hope you get some stunning Grand Canyon shots.

I think I prefer your home-made rig too; the ring flash certainly brings out the fine details but it leaves everything looking a little flat and 2-dimensional. The shots you've shown before with your rig really jump out of the screen.

Having said that, I do like the first one above with the spider cross.

I've just counted all the prints I've made from the K10D and they add up to 37. I've taken 8809 photos meaning that I've printed (on average) 1 in every 238 shots. Of the 37 only two have found their way into frames and been hung on the wall.

This may sound poor but actually it's not a bad hit rate for me, previous digital cameras in my possession have had far fewer "printers" (pro rata) than the K10D has. Also, I've taken pictures for other people which they've arranged to have printed themselves and these probably make up quite a few more than the 37 I've done.

I tend to be very fussy and only print if I consider the picture to be "perfect" (in my eyes).

Now that's MUCH better - I'd be happy to hang the first one on my wall!

On closer inspection I've answered my own question - no they're not, the angle's slightly different. Still like to see them in colour though...

I like the second one very much, but as I'm not a fan of black and white I can't help feeling it'd look so much better in colour. Actually, the third one's nice too, were 2 & 3 different crops from the same photo?

I love the metallic red sheen in the first photo and the emerald green in the third especially, but all of them are great shots.

I too notice an apparent difference between photos from the K10D and the K20D, however, it's not enough to get me parting with any cash as long as there are lenses on my "to save for" list...

I really like the first one; the square crop suits it perfectly. For the second I'd probably crop a lot more heavily and concentrate on the staymen (lose the border and a good chunk of the petals too). Keep 'em coming!

Very nice photos; the pink and brown hues make me think of Autumn rather than Spring but that doesn't make them any less pretty. As for the DOF issue I think it's something that's down to personal taste. I like a restricted DOF on these sorts of shots and I think you've done very well at isolating your subjects in the first three, but on the fourth I'd have liked to see the whole bud in focus.