It really comes down to user preference, Phill, and the only way to find out what floats your boat is to try a bunch. If you're on Windows my personal suggestion would be ACDsee, which I've been very happy with (it can be had for pretty cheap compared to some other paying software as they do special offers quite regularly). I found/find it to be very intuitive and straightforward compared to others I have tried, with qualitative results. But I want to move away from Windows and into Linux land and am learning Darktable (freware which runs on both systems) - it has a steep (for me) learning curve, but I think it will be worth it.

Trying a few is really the only way to get an idea of how they work for you... but will eat up a fair bit of your time in the process.

Thanks for looking, Ben, happy you enjoyed them.

Thank you all.

Andy, yes, monochrome is my preferred means of photographic expression, and I find a white border (or whitish when printing - the paper I use is slightly off-white) generally helps the eye focus on the monochrome nature of the image (not to mention its composition). Not that everyone agrees with this...

John, 'special' is always (well, almost always) a nice word to hear concerning one's artistic endeavours - thanks.

Peter, calm is a feeling I'm always happy to have conveyed - one that I more often than not actively seek when on a photographic spree.

Defragged - much appreciated.

Bill, thanks for your thoughts. I'm happy the end results look lightly processed, they did take some work though, a bit more than I thought. 'The Rorschach element' - a fitting title for the set, I'd say But that only really came into play when I started working on them. On site as I was pressing the shutter my feeling was one of capturing different states of fleeing time... but then the shapes just jumped out at me and I went from there. Thanks for the lizard idea, I wondered what it could be! Also I can see the teepee quite well, as it came out to me as a Native American feathered chief, the one above being his squaw and their children (but most of these were comets also at some point). I believe 1 is my favorite too, for its undefined nature...

Gareth, I can see how the first three can seem to stand somewhat apart from the rest. I did try different amounts of contrast, but these were better left as they are here for my taste. I admit the contrast/microcontrast adjustment was a delicate task...

These are mesmerizing, Derek - beautiful work. I find those that are not symmetrical in both axes have something more to them (a slightly unbalanced balance perhaps?) which give them the edge.

A wonderfully atmostpheric set of images, Andy. I particularly like the structures in 6, 8, 9, 10 (6 most strikingly), but the first four work mighty well too - with delicately subdued colours to boot, bringing a touch of softness in contrast with the raging weather.

Although I'm not much of an ocean man, I do enjoy the occasional coastside stroll (especially out of season). The sandy beaches of western France (here on the coast of Vendée, between Bordeaux and Nantes) recently gave me a few interesting forms to work with, some more figurative than others...

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2



3



4



5



6



7



8

The 'fluffy brown one', as David calls it above, is quaint in the way it's cocking its head (and fluffily detailed). And I agree with Bill - great light on the last one.

Looking at it sideways (one 90° turn to the left), it looks like grassy insects flying peacefully across the water/sky... No idea why I looked at it that way, but glad I did.

Good work chasing that light - I particularly like #4 with its mysterious light patch contrasting with the dark opening.

She certainly has a nice set of legs in 3 I like the barely visible windfarm in 6, and the lonely post in 7.