I have the Op-tech ones, which i only use when the weather's very bad. They work fine, and I just put them in the bag when it looks like it's going to be rough.

Phil

Last year a group of friends of mine (not including me) went on a tour in N. Ireland with John Miskelly. They all came back and spoke very positively about the experience. It was well organised, went to some amazing locations and he gave them all plenty of time. The group were all pretty experienced landscape photographers. I know that he does both tours and workshops so it might be worth looking him up on the web. I can't recall what he charged my friends per head, but have a vague recollection that it wold have been within your budget.

I've been on several trips with Paul Sanders (not through L&L), and they have all been fantastic. However, I do know that most of his time he leads trips for L&L, so he may not be available within your time-frame - still worth a look at his website, and he's pretty good at responding to e-mails.

Phil

We have had quite a few presenters from other clubs at ours in the time that I have been a member, and while the quality varies of both their images and their presentational skills/presence varies, I can't recall one who came across as the one you describe.

I might have been lucky, or you may have been unlucky, but in either case in the same circumstance I would have done likewise. We always get feedback after our speakers, and i'm sure that if we had one like that the 'word' would get around pretty smartly and they would find that invitations would dry up!.

Phil

Don

Now that's a dramatic sky! (You should cut it out and keep it, for use when the sky's flat!!!)

Phil

A really lovely, and very diverse, set. What a great eye you've got to have spotted all of these.

Phil

Very nice set - 1 & 4 for me.

Phil

Gareth

I really like this set - No. 1 just shades it for me.

Phil

I have the Pentax version of this lens (Komine - A03) that I bought back in the mid 1970s. I love it and use it from time to time. The build quality is fantastic, as is the resulting image quality. I love using it. If you find a cheap one - buy it!

Phil

No. 1 for me - I love the drama of it.

Phil

Gareth

Thanks for posting the edit - for me, it looks a bit stronger than the original.

Phil