You're probably right Simon, although I think it makes you slightly less noticeable, and I don't know whether opportunistic thieves are likely to think much beyond the 'bigger = more expensive' mindset.

Whether using a prime makes you less conspicuous when taking people shots is another debatable point, but I certainly feel more confident using one than waving a zoom about, and therefore less shy about photographing scenes that contain people.

Using a film camera the other week was even more liberating, no one seemed to care less about my tiny P30n and I didn't have to worry about anyone demanding to look at the LCD or delete shots

I had wondered how you'd done that! Great set although I can't get excited about the packet of biscuits, even if it is from Waitrose... Brian Cox is looking a bit rough in shot 11

That's terrible Joe.

I hope you were left with your sd cards, or had been able to back your shots up somehow.

They say you should make sure your shutter speed is equal to or greater than the focal length of the lens. So 18mm would need minimum 1/20 second. If your hand is unsteady, double it - 1/40 sec.

And then you have focus. Make sure your camera has focused on the subject correctly. Use a higher f-stop to increase the in-focus part of your image, and boost the sharpness of the kit lenses. f8 is a good one if the light is good enough.

[Sorry took too long with my comment and Andrew has made the same points!]

That's really nice - where did you make it?

These are very nice, all of them really! But I don't like the vignettes either.

Yes John stop being such an old grumpus. If focus stacking was a feature offered on the K5 you'd probably be raving about it

I quite like the background... but that has nothing to do with focus stacking, it's just what he has chosen to shoot the subject against (orange OOF flowers presumably, and pink in the second). The first one shows how dof can be extended modestly without it looking unnatural, and works very well IMO. The guy's only 17, btw! Perhaps he'll ease off on the saturation slider in a few years!

I think the white glow following the line of the building and trees is a bit of a giveaway - you can use a massive soft brush to erase away the sky, and not be too exact - if the sky is faint and you are using a multiply layer, it doesn't matter if the sky overlaps the foreground a bit - it will just be slightly darkened. You can go round with a smaller brush and erase away some of the overlapping stuff if necessary, but keep within the edge of the building and trees. My attempt:




I think the sky you have chosen is ideal, the washed out quality is fitting for the lighting conditions in the foreground.

Tanner (Yeatzee) over on PF must be the king of this technique.

From 3 or 4 stacked images for a regular 'macro' look: http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5187/5623475026_7b30e4efaa_z.jpg

Or many images deep stacked for ridiculous detail: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2665/5765764029_79fc958e5a_z.jpg

He does it hand-held I believe!