I've got some re-worked versions - well, mine are just crops as suggested by Michael and Phil ....


This is a square crop, top brought down and rock moved closer ...






This is a slighter crop, top off a bit and foreground reduced ....







And Joe (redbusa99) processed these for me in silver efex pro - a colour high key and mono high contrast conversion ... thanks Joe, very interesting .... what does everything think ?











Thanks again to you all for the helpful ideas. Late tonight I'll be putting up the 3rd of my Five-in-a-Row

A strong set Simon - all dynamic and frame filling. White balance is looking quite cool considering the sunshine, but it is effective and complements the strong car colours. No 4 is my favorite ... great low profile and perspective crushing viewpoint.

From what I've seen Matt, in HS mode the flash indicator ('HS') cycles on and off as you change shutter speeds above and below 180th, so it appears to activate automatically as required - the switch remaining in HS position does not matter I seems.

What I'm interested in confirming really, is the apparent good performance of HSS using P-TTL mode with 'a' series lenses. In theory (I thought) any P-TTL operation should not work with 'a' lenses ?? And it certainly doesn't, not consistently, in normal mode (ie not HSS) - but for some mysterious reason, exposures and compensation adjustments in HSS mode seems to work perfectly with 'a' lenses! Great I say It will make for some great wide aperture outdoor portraits

Thanks Algi, I've grabbed that software and will give it a go A good deal for sure!

Thanks guys I've had a rather uphill battle promoting the Samyang prime around here (UW zooms are very popular), however maybe the tide is finally turning

Thanks also for the feedback from you all about the new version of the cliffs shot ... I think I'll keep the original sky but with the tilt and deeper water colour - that seems to be the best balance!

Moving right on now to my second photograph of the series ....

2) Knoll Beach, Studland, northeast facing

This is one of a series of beaches that make up the National Trust area of Studland. Knoll is the nearest to the headland with the Old Harry Rocks, a sheltered bay surrounded by lush ancient forest. Like the rocks it gets the early sun directly.

K7 & Samyang 14mm f2.8, at f13 ISO 100

OK, here is the 2nd version with the adjustments as mentioned above ...





What's the verdict then ....

The first is very atmospheric - I love how the clouds hug the mountain and seem to have a glow. Its probably better also for being darker, more night-like - the 2nd doesn't have the same feel, more like an underexposed day shot. Yes, they would be more effective with the stones larger in the foreground, I agree with David.

But great job in getting out and capturing these shots!

Ok all you Pentax Flash experts! I've got something here I want to confirm. I've been getting to grips recently with the AF 540FGZ gun (what a great piece of equipment!), and as I'm interested in writing some 'mini guides' to practical flash use with Pentax DSLRs, I've been checking how things work with different combinations of lenses and flashgun modes.

Now, we're lucky of course to have a gun that offers P-TTL, TTL, Auto & manual flash modes - wow, we can really have it all ... but I've noticed an interesting thing ... tell me what you think ...

In theory, P-TTL is not compatable as a flash mode for anything other than autofocus lenses - and mostly thats going to be the later DA type, or third party AF equivelants. (It says so in the manual). So, for A-series lenses, if we want auto-flash on a digital SLR then we should use Auto Flash mode ('A' on the LCD display). Here we tell the gun the ISO & aperture. It needs to be told that because the lens / camera does not send the info through the contacts, nor does the flash get distance and focus info - sound right so far?

Now P-TTL just doesn't work with 'a' lenses - in practice I have found that some lenses will activate P-TTL and you can get a decent exposure, but there's very little consistency - try any bounce and you'll soon see!

BUT - and this is the question really ... my tests have shown very consistent and repeatable performance with HSS , in P-TTL mode with 'a' series lenses ... in manual exposure mode with HSS set on the flashgun you set a speed higher than 180th (this then controls the 'background' lighting) and let the flash provide the 'foreground' lighting using HSS. You get the normal P-TTL flash exposure compensation adjustment (+1 / -3 stops), and this seems to work perfectly! I didn't think it should??? But I've had 100% perfect performance and exposures using HSS in P-TTL with 'a' series lenses ....

Is this how it should be , ie designed to be (because the manual doesn't suggest that), or is it a fortunate and explainable freak of the technology that just gives us lucky Pentax people another great choice for flash shooting?

I guess the low jetty side viewpoints work best in those shots like Alan's, (Blythman), you know with the groynes stretching off into nothingness .... thats the key I think - its ok when there's a uniform seascape behind it, the brain fills in the gaps - with yours here there's so much fantastic interest and detail in the background that it seems criminal to deprive the viewer of any of it!