No. 1 is my pick from these Andrew. I like the minimalism, with the even distribution of the poppies and lack of anything to break up the carpet of colours. However I don't really like the panoramic format - I think a portrait format shot would have made more of the flowers receding into the distance.

Shot 2 doesn't really grab me - sorry I can't put my finger on why! Perhaps the relationship between the objects isn't quite strong, or weird, enough.

Shot 3 and 4 aren't quite working for me compositionally although the daisies are very nicely rendered.

I thought of Paw-Prints but of course it's been done already!

To be honest, Pet Photography really makes me wonder whether we have our priorities right as a society... but good luck with the venture! There's clearly demand for it, although quite a bit of competition I should imagine.

If there actually is a disparity between the image you see on the focussing screen and what is projected in the sensor - and I still think the effect is a trick of the eye - wouldn't that be more likely to be an effect of the pentaprism/mirror which diverts the light onto the focussing screen, rather than being a property of the screen itself?

A screen is just a flat surface after all, no matter what it's made from.

I HAVE noticed that effect, but always thought my eye (well, my visual cortex in fact!) was compensating for the out of focus areas somehow when looking at a 3 dimensional scene through the viewfinder.

Well, at least the body was worth a tenner.

Since the sale is over, do you think you can elaborate on why you like the K-7 less? And can you also sell me the K-7 - i'll let you have £100 more than what you paid for it!

Both approaches are valid but it actually makes me quite irate when people disparage the use of RAW as if it's cheating. If you are thinking about what you can do with the shot in RAW and factoring that in when you are taking the shot, that's MORE skillful, in my book, than merely getting the exposure 'right' in camera, which often involves compromises which are no longer necessary with digital. RAW is using the medium to it's full potential, which is why its a popular format with pros.

Looks a cracking lens. Not bad shots, I like the colours in no.3 and the simplicity of the comp. Not sure about the stalk at that angle but it's a good image.

Very nice mono conversion! To be honest when I saw the shot, it reminded me of a brochure shot for either a bridge manufacturer, or paving supplier. Quite well taken, but not interesting enough to stand on its own merit as an image. The contrast seemed a bit strong too.

Andrew's conversion showed there was a satisfying image in there just waiting to be released! The strong contrast becomes more of a benefit in black and white, and removing the inessential parts of the image creates a strong composition of lines and curves. There's something not quite right about where the right hand side of the image is cropped, but it's a great improvement.

Looks to me like PC Plod just didn't want you hanging around taking pictures, rather than this being to do with any supposed official guidelne. They probably see the public taking pictures as a flaming nuisance, especially now everyone has to photograph/video every minor incident of their lives to share on facebook/youtube. (Not that I'm suggesting you're like that!)

Why don't you write to the superintendent to ask why you were stopped?