I didn't notice that, thanks.

the colours to me look a bit like an old oil painting, which I quite like. Contrast is generally a problem in England - overcast skies result in pretty dull colours. Even when the sun comes out colours can be a bit washed out, this is why I used the polariser, to try and make the sky a deeper blue.

As a new user, here's a shot taken with my K100D DA 18-55.

Lens set to 24mm, ISO 200 f8.0 1/180. Shot as RAW, but no processing.

The sun is just to the left of the picture and was covered by the clouds for the rest of the day. I used a circular polariser. I noticed when I was viewing this picture that I had left Shake Reduction on.

To the right of the picture are more modern buildings. It was the clouds and the sandstone castle that caught my eye.




So, how should I improve it? What about the composition? I have done no processing, and the camera chose the exposure, what processing do you think should be carried out?

I have some news magazines from the 30's. They are a little fragile and I don't want to scan them with a flatbed scanner for fear of breaking the spine. Instead I have decided to photograph them. I have a K100D with the Pentax DA 18-55.

As a bit of a newbie to digital SLR photography I wondered if there are any tips people would like to share abouit how to get the best shots and tips in post processing. What would yyou recommend for a support? What about lighting? How should the magazine be supported?

In the tests I have done, there seems to be three main issues

1) Lighting. When I view the photos later I see shadows that were not apparent when taking the shots, light from the window etc. What artificial light should I use, a flash seems too bright giving off reflections.
2) Getting the camera absolutely level, if I don't then I need to post process to make the image 'square' (ie solve 'perspective' issues)
3) The pages bend near the spine and so the text is not straight, is there any software that can compensate for this?

Richard