Just tried a similar search. Entered "pentax q" in search forums as you did. When the search options came up, clicked the 'Search for this phrase' button and everything that was listed was to do with the Q!

John

I suspect that might have been to do with the nature of the subject matter of this particular competition. It was only towards the end of the month that the nights were starting to draw in again and what about the endless rain early on in the month?
I had been out one night in the middle of the month but came back with nothing suitable to enter. I don't think even the moon had been visible until the last few days of the month and its re-emergence was what encouraged me to try again, though in the end it didn't appear in the one I submitted.

John

I've had a couple of those a long time ago (purchased new while it was still a current lens.) Optically they were both superb but both came unglued after a very short time, so be warned. The second one was a warranty replacement! In the end I got a second hand Pentax 28mm with the refund.

Hopefully for you if yours has lasted this long it might be a survivor!

John

Shooting at (stretched) arm's length hasn't really worked as the crowd behind are fine but not the subjects! For a fast moving subject like this one needs to pan the camera with the subject so the cyclists are sharp and the crowds are in a 'motion blur.' This enhances the impression of speed, particularly if a relatively slow shutter speed is used.

John

It's not a print viewer, it's a slide viewer. Not sure how much use they are with digital but worked well with 35mm Kodachrome slide film and a standard 50mm lens.

John

Maybe a bit late now, but perhaps this should have been stated as up to 35mm full frame equivalent or whatever was intended. A 35mm lens on a APS-C sensor has a field of view equivalent to approximately 53mm on full frame which is normally considered to be a standard lens and its equivalent on a Pentax Q is nearly 200mm! That's not generally considered to be wide angle however it seems to technically qualify under the 'maximum focal length of 35mm' requirement.

John

Would it help to include something in the competition title to make it clear before they enter the gallery section, e.g.
Monthly Competition #1 - Night Shots (photographed in July 2012 only)

John

If you have the raw file for the shot it might be worth trying to do a pseudo HDR with it. That won't get rid of the blue thing but it might help bring out the colours and contrast a bit better. It is possible to load raw files into Photomatix without the need to take several exposures (though if you have these it offers more options.) Clearly this would be impractical with a moving subject such as your moving train.

They do a free trial version at http://www.hdrsoft.com/download.html to experiment with. There are other alterntives too of course and similar results may be possible using more traditional photo processing software but would require more understanding of the best settings to use; with Photomatix you can try different effects just by clicking on their thumbnail versions. This really can sometimes make a silk purse out if a sows ear!

John

It's great that the fortnightly competition has ended on a high.

Thank you again to those who entered and for your kind comments from my side of the fence!

John

Sorry, result later than planned.

Well a great crop of entries in terms of both number of entries and quality given the miserable weather which could have encouraged only the brave to go out to take photographs.
A mixed selection of subjects to choose from and decide which one. Please remember this is my own subjective view and nothing else. Others may agree, others disagree, that's the way it is. So for the last fortnightly competition, here is the verdict of the jury (that's just me of course but you are welcome to add your own comments/thoughts about the entries afterwards and shoot me down if you wish.) I found it extremely difficult to pick out a 1, 2 & 3 so I did try a scoring system which certainly helped (more mention of this later.)


Heritage - snappychappy

Now I know you revised this but I still get the original come up in the browser for comparison. My initial thoughts after you posted this first version were as follows:
Trying to make us thirsty with a long standing drink product on the shelves of a supermarket. The idea was good with the special Union Flag labelled bottles. I think as a competition image it would be improved if the price label section had been cropped off the bottom and the background toned down, especially the fluorescent light strips at the edges.
This entry was excluded in the judging of course at the request of the photographer.


No title (Alnmouth arts festival) - geordie01

A good example of a photograph isolating the subject. It looks light it was lit with natural daylight through a window which has given the picture a natural look, something that using flash would have destroyed.


Pebbles cafe - sandinista

I see where you're coming from with the Heritage aspect, most of these just get demolished now by the local council, but what happens if you get caught short? Lovely colours and textures but that might not be appreciated if one's desperate!

Several things don't seem quite right though:
1. Cloning in bottom right hand corner is perhaps too obvious. Was there some 'Rubbish in the Environment' (sic) you were trying to hide?
2. A strange darkening, perhaps vignetting on the left side of the photograph.
3. Personally I feel the ultra wide angle lens has made the building corner something other than a right angle and is starting to make the effect unreal though maybe that's what you wanted. The building certainly stands out against the blue of the sky.
The photograph is certainly a good record of that heritage of the coastal amenities there but don't think you've quite pulled off the best photo of it. It might prove useful in a few years for one of those books that shows photos of scenes then and now.


Heritge Protecting Heritage - redbusa99

This one certainly tells a tale in a nice crisp shot with good depth of field of what I presume was a barge left to rot for the purpose you describe. The wood-grain texture is captured well; I feel this one is well taken.


Baby Solomon - JudithAnn

Certainly a different take on the Heritage theme. What amazing lips!
Technically some may say the fur and background highlights are slightly blown. If you have a raw file of this it might be retrievable, if not it would only make it go grey.
Anyhow, what a super record for the family album.


Jubilee Pool, Penzance - Frankie

Britain's largest surviving salt water pool - I think you are showing off knowing that ours was only filled in recently!
I know they often say isolate the subject but in this case it might be interesting to actually see the pool as well.
I note you've managed to capture the shot while the sun nearly made a brief appearance from amongst the clouds and its all nice and sharp and well exposed so again a good record of that entrance
I think what worries me here is deciding what the picture is of; is it the entrance arch or is it the flags. Having them both confuses the image somewhat. Maybe there was no other way to take it and again, might prove useful in a few years for one of those books that shows photos of scenes then and now should the pool suffer the same fate as ours.


British Heritge version 2 - snappychappy

Well you clearly read my mind and comments and did just what I suggested! That was weird!
Unsurprisingly the changes have made the image much better as a pictorial photograph and it no longer looks like a something for the staff magazine! I'm pleased to see that you thought about the purpose of the image and re-edited it but why didn't you do that first? While not specifically referring to the fortnightly competition, our JR wrote that when you have posted your image please leave it there and don't change it. It would be a little unfair to keep changing an image in the light of other entries. So I do have to take that on-board when deciding the winning entries. But how did you read my mind?


Saint George's Cross - bforbes

An interesting semi-symmetrical composition. The St George's flag flying on the old building. This one has grown on me from when I first viewed it. Not sure if it is my misted up specs or the photograph though, does anyone else think it could do with just a touch of sharpening? Also, if the flag is the main subject, it is cropped very close to the edge of the photograph. It has a good blue sky with clouds so getting the flag more on the vertical third as well as horizontal may have worked better (if the sky was bland then I doubt it would but it is a pleasant sky and worth including more of it.) On the other hand, maybe it wouldn't have!! In adding more sky you could have lost some of the fussy brickwork and the street lamp and the tiled roof would give a firmer base to the picture which detracts from the subject of the picture. A well spotted entry for the competition however.


John Howe - johnha

Almost your PU namesake! I expected more of this type of entry - Heritage Railways and the like.
You were suffering lack of light problems with this one so the colours ar somewhat lost. I'm sure you've read about avoiding taking portraits of people with trees behind them in case it looks like the tree is growing out of their head - this one suffers from a similar syndrome - the engine has got an extras big blue mast coming out of its funnel! It's a good record of your visit and of that locomotive but unfortunately the weather being so poor hasn't helped you take the shot you really were after.


Seaton Delaval Hall - tyronet2000

No one can deny this isn't part of the British Heritage. This too has suffered from the unseasonal weather that has given a flat tone to the image. It's hard to believe that this was taken at the time the sun should have been directly overhead, it looks like a late evening shot. I suspect a bit of judicious PP might bring it out a bit and lift the colours and contrast. Maybe you tried that and it didn't work. Going in a bit closer to the statue with the lens set wider so that the statue was more significant and still have the building behind it may have given you a stronger image and having the statue dead centre hasn't given you the best composition. Another thought looking at it again, could it be sloping slightly to the right? Another day, another time and this might have been a stunning shot.


Tornado at Durham - davidtrout

Another steam engine. Out of al the steam engines running I guess this one is the least deserving of the title heritage as it isn't very old! Notwithstanding, what a super picture of it. Looks like you caught it after it had just been through s shower of rain and now with the sun on it it is glistening! Technically it is good and has what some of the other picture were missing; decent lighting. An excellent photo, well done.


The Devils Arrows Boroughbridge - annieogg

Well I've not even heard of these before so you've made me curious to go and have a look myself.
This one so nearly works. Once again the poor light hasn't helped but it isn't quite so much of an issue with this shot.
You've got a contrast in texture with the natural greenery versus the hard stones and I think the composition of the image is well seen. I'm amazed that you remember them being transported there such a long time ago!


Beningborough Hall - Blythman

Hunt as I may, I've still not found the squirrel that surely must be lurking in some nook or cranny!
I feel technically it is a very competent effort that has made the most of the overcast conditions by careful but not overdone PP. You have transformed what could have been a very flat image into something that stands out. A very symmetrical design to match the building. I think I may have gone just that one step further and matched the arches on both sides thus cropping of that short section of hedge on the left so both sides match. I also notice a sloping black line at the base of the photo where I would suggest you corrected a sloping horizon. But that's a very minor point and an excellent entry and an unusual one given the usual subjects we see in Blythman's photographs. Not sure it's a good idea to include extra script over the photograph for a competition entry, if you must I'd put it in an empty space underneath so it's still associated with the picture.


Junior Showtime - simonarron

A terrific panning shot of the historic racing car displayed in black and white to match photos of the era. There's space for the car to go into. It's lovely and sharp. There's nothing unwanted displayed, or if there is it's just a blur! A definite contender.


What we take for granted - Frogherder

A good idea, a small section of a country lane where it appears to enter a village. I like the idea of the natural composition with the red of the letter and phone boxes contrasting the natural greenery. It does seem to suffer from some lack of sharpness, perhaps the 1/8 sec exposure has something to do with that and would indicate it was taken early or late in the day though the colours don't suggest that. Let's hop over that sty and see where the path goes!

======================================================================================================================

I feel that three of the images really stand out and privately scoring them helped me choose the winner. It was extremely close. I am happy to show the scores I awarded if the majority would like to see them. I awarded 5 points each for 'Heritage', Technical, and composition, total 15. The lowest score was a 10 and the highest 14.5 so no one should feel their entry wasn't valued. Up until yesterday David's photo of the Tornado is the one that really stood out and is still there in the top three. With today's entries, the result is

1. Junior Showtime - simonarron
2=. Tornado at Durham - davidtrout} Both scored the same!
2=. Beningborough Hall - Blythman }

HC Heritge Protecting Heritage - redbusa99
HC The Devils Arrows Boroughbridge - annieogg
HC British Heritge version 2 - snappychappy (should have entered this version first off!)

+ a pat on the back for all the other entries - thanks for sharing - they were all worth viewing but they can't all win as much as I'd like them to be able to.

John