Congratulations to mecrox, DrOrloff and SteveEveritt for submitting images able to survive the highly detailed,'macro-, verging on micro-, scrutiny' of Dodge69 and to all the other contributors for sharing their technical and artistic prowess

Thanks Sean for the choice of theme and for the thoughtful, constructive and highly entertaining judging

Jon

If there are more of this ilk on the memory card/HDD, then, in the words of young Oliver, "Please, sir, I want some more."

Why the dickens did you think we'd be bored :

Jon

I neither know, nor wish to know, the history that has led Gareth to announce his departure from the forum. I can't help but feel, however, that this, comparatively small, community of photographers can ill afford to lose such a long-standing, enthusiastic and good-natured contributor

Jon

Glad to see you've found the time to take some photographs in between selling lenses

What you have captured in such excellent detail is an example of the European garden spider (Araneus diadematus).

Was this 'Little Spidey's' first photo shoot?

Jon

Beautifully captured in all its shimmering glory

For your next challenge I suggest the elusive, and reclusive, bittern

Jon

An universal focus assist device that will increase your proportion of 'keepers' in even the most challenging of circumstances (e.g. photographing a dragonfly in flight, allegedly).


More details here link

Enter the manufacturers 'One that got away - if only I'd used a PinPoint' competition here link

On sale now for around $150.00.

Gimmick or genuinely useful accessory: what do you think?

Jon

Whilst not uncommon, these little critters are proverbial 'fidget-arses' so well done to you for capturing one in an interesting pose in such detail, especially around the eye

The lack of intrusive digital noise in this shot is, to me at least, quite remarkable and shows how well the K10 has stood the test of time Is the image shown a jpeg straight from the camera or an edited RAW file?

I use ISO 800 when photographing birds in low light with the K20D but generally find a degree of noise reduction is necessary if an acceptable image is to be obtained, particularly when a major crop is called for.

Jon

Yet another demonstration, if one were needed, as to why PU deserves to thrive: its incredibly friendly and helpful membership

Thanks to davem for coming to my rescue and all those other users who responded so swiftly to my plea.

Jon

Your C&C is incisive and much appreciated. I will definitely work at developing a more subtle and considered approach to editing .

Some of the perceived weaknesses in these shots,however, especially of the kingfisher, are a consequence, IMHO, of having to shoot hand-held at or near the lenses maximum aperture at 800 ASA.

Normally I find the luminance/colour noise produced by the K20D sensor at high ISO can be removed satisfactorily in LR or, following export to PSE, using the Noiseware Professional plug-in. In the case of the kingfisher however, I felt the need to crop the final image substantially because of its small size and distance from the hide when shot. Unfortunately, this made the 'down side' of the fairly aggressive noise reduction employed all too evident.

With regard to the exposure issues, I assume that you are referring to the shots of the wagtail, which included some very bright areas (water and stones on bank). I did try various exposure settings, but could not get a shot where detail in both the bird and highlights was retained: almost certainly, IMHO, because the dynamic range of the K20D's sensor was exceeded.

Perhaps the time has come to start saving for a K5

Best wishes,

Jon

Ownership of 2 X TC now transferred to Zakkala

Jon