I finally got round to taking a few pics using my IR filter this morning.

That's what it looks like to me - I've seen something similar myself when shooting IR with a Cokin filter. Where in the holder was the filter mounted? I've seen problems if I don't fit the filter in so that's it's right up tight against the holder.

Anyway it's nice to hear someone is enjoying the nice weather while some of us are stuck in the office...

I generally like grain on B&W film, indeed I used to develop certain films (including Kodak HIE) in Rodinal just because I liked the grain it produced. The digitial equivalents don't seem to work as well for me though as the results often look heavy handed.

My version was produced in a similar way to the MattMatic one, however I applied the noise reduction to the entire picture and set the preserve details to 0% and sharpen details off. I liked the effect MattMatic produced in his version, although it is perhaps a tad stronger than my own tastes would prefer and I decided to experiment with his technique. My thinking on my own version is was it's the sort of soft effect on the leaves and grass etc. you'd get with a long exposure when a light breeze was moving them about.

It's interesting all the different ways that a scene like that can be processed. For me the original one lacks some impact and fixing the levels sorts most of that out. I also personally don't like the noise in the sky and perhaps the most impressive component of MattMatics version is that way he's sorted that out.

Anyway I've done a version as well, but I've gone for a more dreamy feel:

Very nice. I've been meaning to experiment with my DS and IR but haven't got round to doing anything more than just testing so far.

Thanks for the comments.

The picture is of the Bass Rock which is in the Firth of Forth a couple of miles from North Berwick. My son and I were staying at a campsite in North Berwick from the weekend and the picture was a grab shot hand-held (DS, Tokina ATX-Pro 80-200 F2.8 & 2x TC) taken from the campsite because the lighting was exactly as Brian described - late afternoon, nice light on the island and great visibility.

In North Berwick the Seabird Centre is well worth a visit. They have remote operated cameras on the island which you can control to zoom into the gannets and other wildlife. There are also cameras on another nearby island (Isle of May) which usually has lots of seals and puffins on it.

Brian mentioned getting on a boat and getting close and that's something I'd also like to do. There are boat trips out there and I think you can also land on the islands as well. Imagine the smell though!

Cheers
Steve

Anyone fancy counting just how many birds they can see in this photo?




Every white dot you can see in the air or on the island is a bird (the vast majority are gannets).[/img]

It's probably a D200, however it's the lenses you get to go with it that are more important.

"Finally, from me anyway, I'm intrigued to know why the original poster has purposely withheld the make and model of his new purchase."

I reckon he bought a Nikon D50 'cause it was cheap and is now too embarrassed to tell us...

These discussions always seem to end up in conflict.

I like my Pentax cameras and in particular think the Z1p is the best handling & most effective camera I've ever used. When going digital the option of staying with Pentax was uppermost in my mind due to my investment in compatible lenses, however my confidence was dented a little by my initial inability to locate a D or DS for sale. Eventually I found a DS however and I've been happy with it so far.

Were I starting from scratch though I'm not convinced I'd have chosen Pentax again, primarily given the difficulty in location anything better than a DL to try locally.

If I was to start shooting professionally now I'd probably continue using Pentax kit - given I've already got most of what I need in terms of lenses. That decision would depend on what cash I had available to invest in kit, and what type of photography assigment I was targetting.

If I was starting from scratch as a pro I know exactly what digital kit I'd buy - and unfortunately it's not Pentax. The full-frame DSLR's that Canon have available now would settle the argument for me - I'd probably go with a 1DS MkII, 5D, 16-35, 24-70, 70-200 F2.8 zooms plus a couple of TC's and flashguns (about £10K all told - probably not far off what I've spend on Pentax kit over the years).