The usual walk, yes, but you're showing that the more you get to know a place the more you see. And seeing in B&W, too, which is quite different to seeing in colour. A really nice set. Keep 'em coming!

Steve

The rule of thumb about shutter speed vs. focal length of lens is nicely summarised in link (ignore the 'Beginners' in the title, it's just a good summary of what it's all about). Key to it is that the rule of thumb is from the film era, it's essentially what you needed to do to get something like 7x5 inch prints looking sharp enough. Digital has pushed sensor resolution beyond that of film, made big crops easy and turned us into pixel peepers who want pixel-level sharpness. If you want the ultimate sharpness, you need even shorter exposures than the rule of thumb. Image stabilisation can help but how much help it can provide depends on the photographer (some hands shake more than others!) and the situation (static or moving subject). And no amount of image stabilisation can correct for subject movement within the frame. The conclusion? Experiment, find what works for you, your hands, your technique, your kit and your subject matter.

Steve

It's the first Saturday in September, so it's WORLD BEARD DAY! If you've got it, flaunt it!!!!!

... or bring back the aperture ring .

And modernise it. Keep the 'A' for what it does now, but setting a numerical aperture just tells the camera what aperture has been selected and leaves the aperture wide open for open aperture metering. Just like setting the aperture on the body but doing it where it used to be done. The 'next model' camera then uses on-lens numerical aperture control for M and Av, 'A' for other modes, while older models can only use 'A' and set the aperture from the body. It might need another electrical contact. However, having aperture control where the aperture actually is would have a nice retro feel about it and would surely enhance the photographic experience. And isn't having a Pentax DSLR meant to be all about 'the experience'??

The mind can have strange thoughts when it's freewheeling while walking the dog...

Steve

... and a modular, user-replaceable screen so you can change between a thin, light weight fixed screen and bulkier, heavier flippy-out screen as the mood takes you - the modern take on the interchangeable viewfinders for the LX???

Steve

There are people in some corners of the internet who think that a couple of blurred pixels at the edge of a photo of a brick wall is sufficient to say that a lens is 'soft at the edges'. And who are those landscape photographers who think that the edges of a landscape photo must be razor sharp? For most of us, most of the time, the stuff at the edge could be as soft as a baby's ****** (fill in with whatever takes your fancy!) and it wouldn't affect what we are trying to convey with the photo. So go on, make John's day and relieve him of a lens or two!

Steve

Yes, definitely a tree that needs to be photographed. But what's intriguing me is the thing that is trying to hide behind the bush at the right hand side of the second shot and is presumably the reason for the 'no access' sign. Is it a radar? Military? Coast guard? Is it so secret that you aren't allowed to say and would be sent to prison if you photographed it???

Steve

Doughnuts are there. Look at the full size version of the 2nd heron shot, right hand side. The rough look of some of the OOF areas may well be due to Incipient doughnuts (how's that for inventing a new technical term?? ).

Steve

Yes, there are artifacts, the birds look to be rather over-sharpened to my eyes. However, a good first attempt. As a long focal length, manual focus lens with small aperture, focusing the Sigma 600mm is inevitably going to be tricky. In that situation, there is something to be said for taking several shots with slightly different focus then choosing the best - or even focus stacking if the subject hasn't moved between shots. Were you using a tripod? With a 600mm lens, your hands would need to be a lot steadier than mine to get really good hand-held shots. As you say, a lot more practice is needed - but of course that's the case with most of the worthwhile things in life .

Steve

Most sparrowhawk hunts end up with the prey bird escaping. And in my experience, most hunts to find the camera and suitable lens when a bird does something interesting in the garden end up with the bird having gone before being ready to take the shot. So well caught - both the sparrowhawk and you .

Steve