Pete, looks like you put the pressure on to the pro
Nice collection (and I appreciate that these are compressed; you sound a bit traumatised pointing that out all the time ). If you're not very careful you will start enjoying shooting weddings...

Well done!
Prieni

Thought I get in early this time. This shark tooth should be around 100 million years old, I think that qualifies...

*istD, Sigma 105/2.8 DG EX Macro, 2s, F22, ISO200, desk lamp and torch

Gwyn,

the text is nothing special. It describes Argentina (if I make it out all right). It's a book about the Meteor-Expedition in the Atlantic that took place from 1925 to 1927 (Meteor being the name of the research vessel). Apart from being a big scientific undertaking it also was used to rebuild a bit of the reputation that Germany had before World War I. So it was a diplomatic mission as much (or even more than) a scientific mission. The book is authored by the captain of the Meteor and quite interesting reading.

If only my fellow countrymen of the time (and especially the decades after this cruise) would have stuck to diplomatic missions...
Well, how did a wise man once say: "Don't mention the war!"

Prieni

Just downloaded a test shot done Tuesday morning. I thought it hadn't turned out too well and was only a test for the idea. Now that I came round to downloading it I think it isn't bad at all. What do you think?

*istD, Sigma 105/2.8 Macro, 1/20, A2.8, hand held, ambient morning light + torch

Well spoken Chris,

I thought that giving feedback on every picture would be a bit of a strain but your arguments 2 and 4 do it for me. And should someone start to win every week they could stop entering This might reduce strong competition and gives me a chance as well.

<not_ serious>
Maybe we should ban a winner for x weeks
</not_serious>

Prieni

Wow, taken with a 50 mm that's really great, they must have been close. I would leave the background as is as you got good separation of the foreground. Getting into the pedantic, it seems to me as if the heads are a bit overexposed. Also the sharpening has left a few halos (e.g. under the leftmost wing in the picture).

Now, you didn't say wether this is a crop (but considering it was taken with the 50 mm I would think it is) and/or if you shot it in RAW. With RAW you could work on both, sharpening and exposure a bit.

But I don't want to get hung up in minor deficiencies here. I like the light and detail of the feathers on the bodies, good detail still under the wings. Turning their heads the same way is just briliant and I like them against the trees in the background.

Great capture!

Good shots! This lens is better than it's reputation. I have the APO version of it and I'm quite pleased with it. There is a rumour that it is a bit soft on the long end wide open but it looks ok to me. Here are two shots that were taken wide open (no sharpening, 100% crop insert, CA corrected in SilkyPix):

John, thanks for this post. I almost thought I'm the only one giving the photographer/artist a bit more leeway than George et al.

I never had the luck to get introduced to "proper" darkroom work but I suspect that you could do a lot of tricks that when done on the computer wouldn't really find the placet of the purist. So where do you draw the line between pure photography and "photography based artwork"?

We won't solve this as everyone has his/her own opinion.
What we obviously DO agree on that the examples on the original posters link are definitely stepping over the line.

If only I had known in time for the "self portrait" competition. Seems I did something wrong

Congratulations to thomastherhymer! And congratulations to Galoot for a judging job well done (still, the enquiry about last weeks competition hasn't given it's verdict, yet).
And congratulations to everyone participating. This competition is real fun!
Keep up the good work,
Prieni