If while in LR3 you have reduced the saturation or the luminance of individual colours (particularly the saturation), the 'muddying' or other colour aberration will creep in. At a guess, that's what you're facing here (pardon the pun).

If you're viewing the image at full size in an area that you know you're having these sorts of problems, it can help you identify those trends earlier (but of course you may already be doing this).

Hey Ems, take pics for YOU first and foremost.

Thereafter, use forum feedback in a way that you see fit.

Apply it in a way that suits you, to improve images in a way that fits in with your own vision of where you want your photography to go.

You might choose to keep some pics to yourself, and that's fine - but don't let comments keep you from taking them in the first place. They are all opinions, mine included - no more and no less.

I believe (FWIW) that your photography is sufficiently robust to take on board the sort of feedback that is available.

Thse shots are a good way to kick off with that lens, you'll have a lot of enjoyment with it.

James, the second shot is sharper around the faces and eyes of the birds, so it's my choice.

I agree with Andrew, with an additional comment as requested re your processing, Flossie. There seems to be a big step between the 2nd and 3rd shots, that break any continuity as a series,. The last one is totally brown - the others BW. That said, your idea is fine!

G'day and welcome George - there is a 'Classifieds' forum on this site, that has all the gear you might wish for.

G'day and welcome - K10 and Kx in the stable here, and they (along with the Pentax glass) make for a quality system. Any faults with the pictures I take are mine - not the Pentax gear!

Hyperbole - now isn't that a sporting venue in Las Vegas?

And the Turing Engine would be something... (worth pictures!)

I'd dearly like to see (or hear about) the keyboard then Andrew!

It's time I handed this off to whoever would like to initiate the fourth thread.

My take on this image:

Being my own worst critic, I had no inkling as to the sort of C&C this image would actually generate. I was probably expecting fewer of the positive comments!

My intention was to submit an image that was free of glaringly obvious (to me) technical defects - they were threshold issues, and I didn't wish to waste the time of forum contributors with that level of C&C.

My personal preference was the version of this image that I posted as part of the goldfields series - similar, but much more 'foggy-looking' to capitalise on what nature had to offer that morning.

I also saw the shadowed window and door, and a lack of balance with little space to the LHS of the frame. There were indeed some constraints to that LHS - hence that shot.

Thank you to those that contributed ideas, and also to those that offered an image showing their perspective on the base shot.

May I say that a large part of getting the original C&C image to the forum in that state, was thanks to what I see and read right here.

Thanks again, who's next?