David, there's still a fair bit of lambasting potential- it just needs to be prodding into action

Unlike Puggy above there, I don't try and 'grade' my shots into categories of worthwhile or worthless to share. I share my photos, the ones that are significant to me and represent my photography and the subjects I can get to and shoot. On here they are up for grabs as far as others opinions are concerned, the more the merrier I believe. Every thought and contribution is useful, and sometimes it can be more revealing about those commenting than on the images themselves!


I'm not sure if even for me it is going to be possible to completely divide the two! I'll admit that in shots like these I do get satisfaction solely from the technical qualities, and the processing work to get to that. But that doesn't mean the content is irrelevant. Of course I want the image to have artistic qualities, whatever that may mean - I'm sure it is different for different people.

Unfortunately I am very limited in the number of times I can go out and dedicate to a shoot, to 'do it properly', so I can't control things like the sky or sunlight. I thought I had caught these fields & hillsides at an interesting time of day with nice lighting and wide contrast for interest. I certainly tried to get foreground with the wide angle, such as the bands of sunlit flowers, but I accept that it has not been enough to fill the space, and has left most of the interest too far in the distance. Luckily I didn't restrict myself to this type of shot - there are plenty more 'in the bag' with the telezoom, so more to come!

I'm not one to believe in the old chestnut that you can get a shot with any old camera, it'll be great if you have the 'vision' even without technique and expert processing. I know great photographers could bag a shot thats says something with any camera at low technical quality - but that doesn't mean that the same shot taken on high quality equipment and processed to perfection will be anything less - I would say it would be more.

So that implies I believe there is some inherent value in the technical on its own. It may not add up to enough of course, but the value is there I think. So I can't just throw these images in the 'reject bin', as that would be to disregard their other qualities. They have not been criticised technically.

But at the same time I recognise that there are 3 key elements that can add up to make a great image - vision and creativity at capture / technical skill and control at capture (I include here having the best tools for the job) / and processing expertise to bring out and 'develop' the latent image as captured. I'll keep on working at and enjoying the experience of all 3

Thanks again to all who keep helping and contributing to that here.

I appreciate that little bit of balance Andrew, at least as far as the technical qualities of the actual images go. No, I wasn't planning on submitting them for Landscape Photographer of the Year! As for creative qualities, well I'll keep on exploring the area (I don't have much choice). For me, I can't just reject my shots because one aspect isn't perfect - I have to make the most of it and use each experience to build new approaches for the next time - I have to appreciate them and enjoy what qualities they do have.

I'm rather lucky in fact to have what I do around here - it's 45 minutes by train to central London after all!

I'm reminded here a bit of that great Fawlty Towers episode, you know, the one with the hard of hearing Mrs Richardson complaining about the view .... Basil goes into one .. 'yes, yes, that is Torquay -
what exactly were you expecting to see out of a Torquay hotel window? Herds of wildebeast? The hanging gardens of Babylon??'

Thanks also David for you supportive view there - unfortunately longer trips away are only a dream for me. But I'll keep trying to make the most of it around here -so if any of you northern guys are thinking of making a trip to shoot the Kenley & Caterham valleys, don't worry, I've got it covered.

Same here, its my 1st choice 'detailing' tool, very good value at that price. The slider inputs needed for quality results (not overcooked grainy look) are really quite tiny ... as a guide I'd start with around 5% upward movements max. The DeBlur slider at the very bottom is excellent, but again only with tiny inputs, in this case start with on about only 0.3!

Thanks for all the considered feedback people, and good to see that the usual PU high standards are in full force But we need to be critical to benefit in the longer term, agreed.

Luckily I didn't restrict myself to 14mm on this shoot - there are plenty of other options with the telephoto and 28mm in the processing queue, so watch this space! I must admit, I do still like the shots with the illuminated bands of foreground yellow flowers - that was my foreground interest and I find it attractive - but I accept that others may not and still see too much 'empty space'. The 14mm is challenging in this type of location when you are some distance from the main interest, so I'll keep working at it and experimenting.

Yes, lull them into a false sense of security before a dramatic cut to a hair-raising bungee jump and a jet boat crashing through the waves!

Thanks MrB, I think the contrast boost on that first one is better, but on the 2nd I still favour the original dim lighting as the sun was on the way out just then.

Last night at work I had the shots open over 2 browsers and 2 monitors (admittedly not well colour calibrated) and I was seeing 4 different greens Not to worry, these were just the first from a very productive shoot, so I'll do a few similar ones again - it may be the shadow saturation which could be reduced, that might help. There hasn't been any colour balance or hue changes from the camera set daylight (plus a couple of notches +yellow) -the main thing for me is that the colours look good on my monitor and it carries over to the prints when they come back, which I find they always do.

Thanks again for taking a look.

Next Nigel then please ....

Its a quiet night on the forum it seems David But I agree with you, great car action here, very crisp indeed, and all tightly framed. I like the illustrious lineup in the final image as well, good to see a few faces behind the lenses. Excellent work pj!

I like them all, very bright and vibrant colours which suits the subjects well. No 3 is great, especially how you've snapped it before the steam has obscured the castle.

Brings back great memories of holidays around here, we sat in the castle grounds and watched the trains go by as well as had a few rides. No 1 has clever & precise framing. Really nice, enjoyed seeing them!

Thanks techno! You can see the massive difference in focal length magnification between shot 1 & 3 .... in No1, at 14mm,you can see the ploughed field on horizon near the left side with the tiny conifer just in front of it barely visable. The 3rd shot is taken from a nearby position at about 150mm.