Looking through files from years ago for the weekly competitions has made me remember photos that I nearly got but didn't. In most cases it was due do error, incompetence or just being too slow. Some cases, however, were due to not having the right equipment. My most memorable example of the latter was when setting up the K20D (my only DSLR at the time) with 16-45mm lens (it came with the camera) on a tripod half way up a hillside to take a stunning landscape at dusk. Then I noticed a short eared owl flying towards me at my level, head down and hunting. It hadn't seen me. So get the camera off the tripod and a quick change of lens to the 55-300mm. But the owl was quicker, it saw me and all I got was a shot of its rear as it flew away. That was annoying. It was also expensive as it was one reason why I decided to spend hard earned cash on a second body (K3) to be able to have two cameras with me, one with long lens attached, one with shorter lens, 'just in case'.

Do any of you have memories of photos that got away? And were they as expensive as mine??

Steve

Stupendous!

Link, please, so we can compare.

Is it the cooling that makes the astro camera so special? Or something in the electronics? Or is it an iconograph imported from Ankh-Morpork?

Steve

Will we ever see a fish in it??

Steve

Speaking personally, I like the fact that there isn't a traffic jam of planets in the photos. If there were, I'd be looking at them and ignoring the rest of the picture. As they aren't there, I've been looking at and thoroughly enjoying two absolutely glorious photos. Superb. Keep 'em coming!

Steve

Sums up my own view perfectly.

I've found that an unexpected benefit of entering the weekly competitions is that I'm now looking through photos from years ago that I had forgotten about. Often a pleasure, sometimes a sobering reminder that perhaps my photography hasn't improved over the years. But always interesting.

As for commenting on each entry, there is absolutely no need to do that if you don't want to. It's perfectly OK just to pick a winner and helpful to add a comment about why the winner has won. A 2nd and 3rd place is usually appreciated too. However, after that it's up to you. As far as I'm concerned, if you're happy to do it, fine. If you don't want to do it, then that's fine too.

Steve

Or alternatively, photography can have some great side benefits .

Lovely photos. 3 completely different approaches to mist. And none with the latest, greatest, multi-gizmo, AI-packed camera and lens. As always, it's the grey matter a few cm behind the viewfinder that really matters.

Steve

Mr davidwozhere, you are a wicked, wicked man! Thanks to your monthly comp, what was meant to be a quick trip to the local supermarket this evening via boring and well-trodden footpaths ended up taking absolutely ages. I now know every inch of those paths in greater detail than ever thought possible. And did it produce an entry for the comp? Not a chance... .

Steve

It takes time to do a systematic survey, process the data, assess the results, evaluate the options... taking the photograph is the quick and easy bit .

Steve

Is it wrong for a person to look at the photos on Pentax User and other photographic websites, work out what the characteristics of a decent photo are, go and take some photos of their own and sell the results? Your copyright photos have been used by someone else without explicit permission as a means of making money. Not a million miles from the AI copyright issue...

As for AI putting people out of work, there were about 1.5 million domestic servants in the UK at the start of the 20th century (some being my relatives). All but a handful were soon replaced by domestic electrical equipment. You don't see millions of unemployed servants hanging around nowadays, though. Humans are pretty good at finding things to do.

Keep calm and carry on .

Steve

In this case, the lawyers are innocent. It's IT speak, not lawyer speak - the sort of thing that price comparison websites do to bring you the latest camera prices across the internet.

Steve