Gillies

The Raleigh Burner - Mag wheels, oval tubing, mushroom grips ------------ oh sure brings back great memories of growing up as a very young kid in the 80s !!!!!!! I had a white Skyways I think it was called, sold my Grifter and saved and saved and saved for it .... could never do any tricks on it at all, other than wheelies and bunny hops that barely left the ground, but I was very good at the falling on my behind trick though, did that a lot. As mentioned before the Mongoose, that was the real expensive one ..... silver if I remember right. The days of BMX, fond memories :-) Gillies

Really really nice guy from all I knew of John on here, could only have been a really great guy for those lucky enough to know him in person, so sorry to read about this loss. Will be missed in every circle of life he moved, my sympathies to Johns family and friends. Gillies

Lid, thats your opinion, it just depends on where you see it from .... in my opinion there is not that to many improvements other than a few stated to say that the camera is much much better, and unless you desire the obviously stated differences in the camera to suit your photography, you would be better saving a few pounds and putting it towards some better glass. The sensors on 20D, 30D and 350D all use the same processor for the images, the Digic 2. The difference in the sensor equates to around 0.3 of a megapixel, as the sensor physical sizes are. 350D 22.2mm x 14.9 mm 30D & 20D 22.5mm x 15 mm Under a millimeter in size difference. If you are looking at the main changes in the cameras, then yes the cameras are different - but in my opinion, not overly different. Take the 5D and the 1D Mk2 N, and the 1Ds Mk2 ............ then you have massive differences! Ive used my uncles 350D, I didnt find it that much different to my 20D, I used my pal who is a pros, 1D Mk2 - that was a whole new ball game, as the difference in price shows (1.3 crop, 45 AF points, 8 fps and built like a tank) ... then you have the 5D and 1Ds, more megapixels, full 35mm frame. Your right from your point of view, but I still stand by my guns and say I dont think there is that many changes when you look at broad picture, it depends on what you want from the camera I guess. Gillies

Since you already have Nikon gear - why not upgrade to the D200 if your budget stretches to it, its a superb camera, it matches and beats the Canon 20D and 30D in all but noise levels at higher ISOs .... its more directly comparable to the Canon 5D. Its got a great body, excellent features, and all in all and fantastic camera. There have been some grumbling about Banding issues on the D200 ............ but Ive heard the same grumbles are coming out regarding the 30D also. At end of the day though a 350XT, 20D, 30D, D200, D70 will all give you great photos, its as you say ... do you pay a few exrta quid for extra knobs and whistles, or take the money saved by getting a 350 or 20D and get some more lenses. If I were you, Id get the calculator out and see how much the lenses you'd like for Canon fit would be, read reviews on them ... and see if they are better than your current Nikon lenses, if not go for the Nikon D70 or D200. Gillies

The Canon Lens and Camera thing can be a mine field :-) this is my take on it. All three cameras will do a great job, its just about balancing the pennies - all three are 8 megapixel cameras, and the main differences between them are minimal 350D to 20D 7 autofocus points / 9 autofocus points 2.8 frames per second upto 14 shots / 5 frames per second up to 23 shots Smaller Body / Larger Body 20D to 30D 1.8" Screen / 2.5" Screen No Spot Metering / Spot Metering There are really no dramatic differences between the 350D and 30D, if I was buying one of those cameras just now, I would have to think very hard about it --- is it worth saving a few pennies and putting it towards a decent lens instead! Dont be to put off by the kit lens - its extremely cheap, and you might get a good copy, Canon and Sigma have major quality control issues - two exact copies of the same lens may produce very different results. My kit lens, I only really use now out fishing - it has so far survived numerous soakings in by the spray from waves at sea , falling out of my hands, and more recently rolling down a hill in the snow with lens cap off, and turning into a snowball! I still do sell a few prints from the lens, at sizes up to 30"x20" ....... so, I'd say get the kit lens and hopefully you get a good copy of it ..... to get another lens of that range, you have to pay a few pounds. For prosumer lenses (from Canon - ones that are not the more expensive pro L lens series) read up about a lens you are interested in before you buy it, a lens may say that it has a range from Nmm to Nmm, but the results at both ends of the range might not be great at the more well used apertures. Read reviews on the lens before you buy, and read what other people have though - dpreview.com and fredmiranda.com are great resources. If your on a budget, Id suggest getting the kit lens with what ever camera you choose, a Canon 17-85 IS or a Canon 28-135mm IS for a walk around lens, for a larger zoom the Canon and Sigma ones all seem to deliver the same kind of results I hear, getting one thats sharp around 300mm as it is, say at 100mm can be tricky .... but results are still extremely usable. Gillies

Sounds like a great day out Mahoo - nice to hear some people getting a bend on their rod. Gillies

An 11.5 lb Thornie would be very nice, and put a great bend on the end of the rod ... I've had nearly 30 from the shore since the beginning of February, nothing big .... 7.5 lb been the best so far, they have all been caught during the day, so chances of a better fish would be in the evening. Strong northerly winds forecast for us for the weekend, our boat competition is cancelled and the shore mark I've been getting Plaice, Turbot, Dabs, and Flounder from the past few weeks will be unfishable due to the large swell ... so maybe back to fishing for the Thornbacks if I'm brave enough to venture out in the cold. Hope you all get a few fish, and the weathers nice to you. Gillies

Fantastic read Davy. The area the shore caught commons have came from up here is 5 to 7 meters. My pal has had two from the shore ..... targeted them twice, got them twice, I've never had a got around to having a go for them yet - big tides in September he says is best time to have a go, getting a high tide as its getting dark. Gillies

Well done Judy - my favourite shot that was entered into the challenge. Gillies

One of my best friends has worked on Kilda for years now, the ones who do maintenace to keep power etc on the island. Its a beautiful place, there are trips daily out to the place that take a few hours ... the rock formations and landscape are breadthtaking, I'd also love to visit one day. The Shiants Islands, I can see from my window just about - depending on the weather Im there for a boat fishing competition on Saturday, Im down there 2-3 times a year, I was last down at the end of January fishing ... its a very unique environment, loads upon loads of species of sea birds, including Sea Eagles and Puffins, Grey Seals litter the rocks everywhere you go, masses and masses of Pollack surround the islands (why we fish there .... great sport on light tackle .... must be some amount of fish to sustain that amount of Seals), oh and the Black Rats on the islands ... though Im yet to see any. Its so rugged and varied it all adds up to make a beautiful set of islands. Gillies

Took some beach shots yesterday and today. Sadly didnt come out to great - but here they are. Was a dull and cold day yesterday .... so quite hard to get shot I'd have liked ... this is best from a bad bunch. Reef Beach. Only had a few minutes as sun was going down, and was very overcast.... need to return here, beach is HUGE so very hard to find a place to frame the shot from, hopefully get a great shot on a better day) Ardroil Beach. All, F11 @ 20mm, ISO 100. Gillies

I know Im supposed to say it was tough to choose a top three, but you have no idea, it really really really was hard to choose three. Last night I had a top three in my head, but today I went through every photo one by one, and worked my way down though each one, the top three in my head was changing all the time, eventually I came to seven in which I had to choose from. The following seven are the ones I would have had in the top three, splitting hairs to differentiate between them - so in choosing from these I got critical hat on and stuck to the key elements I was looking for in the challenge, so that was though. Nurse Judy - Winter Gardens Looking Up ... Great perspective, composition and framing in this shot, nicely exposed to catch lots of details ... loved this shot the minute it went on. This personally was my favourite shot. Matt Hillman - Coming in to Land ... Fantastic shot, nice and colourful shot, with loads going on in it. You have the rugged old slates, poo ridden ridgetiles, every bird doing something different, then you have the one in flight above. Really liked this shot. Chippy - Tree Tops ... Superb framing, exposure, composition, perspective and most of all the thought that went into it. Beautiful shot to look at. Great symmetry, almost have a perfect clock face with 30 degree angles between the trees. Pass the biscuits - Hubby with his Habit ... What a shot, excellent, this shot has great thought put into it, and has lots and lots of character, the pencil, the hat, the smoke, the cigar. Superb shot. Rabster - On Sentry Duty ... Very sharp and colourful shot of a Starling, great detail. Finepix - Angel ... I really really like this shot, the exposure, composition, perspective, the light to dark, detail and the thought that went into it, great shot!!! but I had to make a tough choice with this one and this didnt make it in last three as it wasn't framed to the center ... otherwise, my top choice along with Judies. Ollie Jay - Dream ... This shot didn't really do much for me when it initially went on (sorry), but today looking at it more the though that went into it is fantastic, and the end result of having a fish eye view of the goings on in a room in this dark ball on a bright background to emphasis the shot .... all this while looking up !!!! In the end I had two chosen, and then three shots battling it out for my final shot, that was the hardest part. I tried to make this challenge something anyone could do anywhere, it really brought out the photographic eye in people I think - well done to those who had the vision to make a superb shot out of the simplest of subjects in the simplest of surroundings. Thanks everyone for entering, nearly every shot was different and showed some fantastic usage of cameras and more importantly the thought that went into the shots. Oh, and I dont that you all for making the choosing of a final three so hard. Gillies

Just got my prize for winning in post about 5 minutes ago - thank you very much! They are of super quality, and look great !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks, Gillies

I personally feel something needs to be done in the Sea Fishing forum - I have rarely posted on it over the past 6 months, and stayed clear from any of the arguments that have broken out ... instead, I just read them and felt sorry for Elton and the Moderators whom had to deal with them, it seemed a no win situation. Its became apparent that over the last year this forum has sadly gone from probably the best live sea angling references for UK fishing on the web to somewhere that is full of arguing and childish comments .... nothing wrong with opinion, but to much narrow minded opinion, and to little content. I go boat or shore fishing almost at least once a week throughout the year, I catch fish, taking fish home, and releasing fish. Every trip I do, I take a number of photos of anglers holding fish, some of these fish released, some of them taken home. But when you see sea anglers on here putting up catch reports, especially ones with photos ... and then the Catch & Release mob or someone just looking for an argument vilifying them for daring to keep a fish ... and the poster has to defend the actions for daring to eat a fish that has not been bought from supermarket or fish mongers, it really defeats the purpose of this place, and turns many anglers away from posting here. I think one of the funniest comments I seen was where someone did a catch report with a photo of a fish kept for the plate - and a poster went crazy and started going on about why was the fish killed, and instead they should of went to the supermarket and bought fish if they wanted to eat it. The politics involved with the simple hobby and pastime of going fishing is just amazing. If one angler keeps fish for the plate, or enjoys fishing for certain fish, or fishes a certain method, there is always seemingly someone ready to make some kind of attack at them for their actions. Be it a 20 lb Cod, or 6 lb Bass, fishing for Skate, fishing for Cod, fishing for Bass, or the ins and outs of certain methods of fishing. There is not enough "agree to disagree" going on where peoples opinions clash - with each one determined to have the last word and it sadly turns into getting personal. Ive been since the beginning of year having very good fishing from the shore, catching lots of Thornback, Dab, LSD, Pollack, Coalfish and the odd Flounder. I would have liked to have posted catch reports but just could not be bothered with the flack attached with doing so, I was keeping the odd fish for the plate, and releasing a number of them also - but no doubt someone would of jumped on any catch report I do to make some kind of issue. It seems now even the simplest of threads can now be turned into a reason to try and stir things up, just take a look at the Flying Gaff thread just now, perfectly good question posted by Winter, but yet some have jumped onto the thread so they can make jibes at another forum member and what he fishes for. That says it all, for the way things have now gone on here! Please if any of the usual arguing squad from 2005 are not happy with this posting of mine, send me a PM instead of the usual self ego boosting threads you see on here, cause I wont get drawn into the usual bickering that goes on on the forum by responding publicly. Eltons forum is fantastic, and I see what's going on the Sea Fishing section as a small lull that hopefully will resolve itself over the coming months. Looking at the threads we have had over past 6 months, a seperate Conservation and Politics section would in my opinion be a great addition as it covers a broad range of issues and would help with debating/resolving a lot of the current issues that go on ... I think the majority of sea anglers on here will check it out, even if they dont want to post in it - but just for reference. I have learned so much about Political and Conservation issues regarding species I dont fish for such as Skate, Bass, and Tope from this forum .... from reading posts from the likes of Davy Holt, Leon Roskilly and Ian Burrett, to have this kind of information discussed separately would in my opinion be a good idea. As we all know fishing in different areas of the country differs from location to location, so Conservation and Politics issues and opinions will differ vastly, so the section of the forum could be pretty lively and for those interested in such issues a great resource, leaving the Sea Fishing section hopefully for a place for anglers who catch fish that are MLS through legal rod and lines methods to post about sea fishing without the fear of getting into an arguement to do with conservation of political issues. Crossing my fingers the Sea Fishing section gets back on track soon and back to what the good old days were like, and yep Im all for the Conversation and Politics section. Gillies

Made the most of probably our last day of Snow on Sunday, and went out and took a few shots ... here are some. I didnt ge as many photos as I'd of liked, as I was stuck in the middle of nowhere in a blizzard most of the time. I took a few shots for panoramics also ... http://www.gilliesmackenzie.com/photos/sno...0_watermark.jpg http://www.gilliesmackenzie.com/photos/sno...0_watermark.jpg Stupidly I didnt clean my cameras sensor before I went out, a number of my photos at F16 and F22 are a mess with dust ... I look forward to the day Canon have a sensor cleaning facility in their cameras, drives me mad! All shots ISO 100, Av Mode, F11 Rabster fantastic Rat photo, liked a lot - funny, I took photos of a Rat also on Saturday, just seen it where some bread was down for feeding birds - never shot one before. Heres one of them. http://www.gilliesmackenzie.com/photos/sno...91_edit_700.jpg ISO 400, Tv Mode, 1/400 Gillies

Thanks - yep, he a Golden Retriever Made more of the snow yesterday, and went out to take some more shots (really should of been working) ... couldnt post them as server I use was down, but back up now. ISO 100, Av, F11 @ 20mm ISO 100, AV, F11 @ 20mm ISO 100, Tv, 1 Second, ND Grad Filter @ 20mm I was also taking a panoramic of Stornoway Harbour - heres a link to the image: http://www.gilliesmackenzie.com/photos/sno...it_pano_700.jpg ISO 100, Av, F11 @ 20MM -1 EV Sorry about watermark, but its a pretty large image, and who knows who looks here ..... even though I've reduced it significantly in size. Some highlights are blown in this shot ... but its snow, so I wasnt to upset. I was ontop of a hill taking the harbour shots, waiting for a boat to go out to have it shot (which none did, apart from the one in shot that moved slightly) - this fellow flew by, so I watched him land and followed and was lucky enough to get a shot off before he took flight again. ISO 400, Tv, 1/1000th @ 200mm + 1.5 TC A Buzzard. Gillies

Photo Challenge #8: Looking Up Theme Definition: A photo you have to physically look up at to take. Tried to think of a broad subject that could be done without to many problems, and would give a wide, varied and interesting response depending on where you stay or what they see as a good shot. So try and find somewhere or something you have to physically look up at or tilt your head upwards, and photo it, just try to avoid horizons and the ground if you can ... so if something you want to photo is at eye level, crouch or lay down to take the photo. Some examples could be looking up a tree, looking up a building, looking up at a plane flying by, something hanging of the roof/ceiling, a bird flying by or perched, an object thrown in the air ....etc etc etc, a subject that you have to physically look up at to see. Criteria. * Color or B&W photo * Crop, Contrast/Brightness and levels are only done in digital photo manipulation..Further editing is discouraged * Framing is not allowed * 2 entries maximum/person * 500 - 700 pixels length down the longest edge of the photograph, 150KB maximum file size Your posts must include the following information: Title: Date: Camera Used: Photographer: Where possible please also include your EXIF header (if you know what one is) to help check dates. Open Period. Start posting your entries from 11.59pm March 4, 2005 Deadline: Saturday, March 18, 2005 Midnight GMT. All images must be shot and posted within the "open" period If you have any questions please post them on this thread http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=55943 this keeps this thread easy to view because it just contains entries. Have fun and good luck to all! ============= Challenge Rules ============= New Photos Only The competition is only for photos taken during the "open period" as defined in the Challenge announcement. You may post only two entries in each Challenge, and you may also replace with newer version anytime before the end of the challenge. Photo size & dimension Photo should be limited to a max dimension of 700 pixel for the longest dimension, and the file size to be less than 150KB in JPG/jpg format. If the photo needs to be replaced by newer version, you can do so by clicking Edit. Presentation & Content Entries should provide, the title, the date the photo was taken, and the author. Frames are NOT allowed. Digital manipulations All entries should limit the use of digital manipulations to only file conversion, level, curve and sharpening. Adding elements to the original image that were not there are NOT allowed. Voting & Comments During the "open period", please do NOT enter the comments in the thread, this way we will have all the entries together without interruption and it's easy to view. Comments are welcomed during the voting period. The Judge will select the top three finalists' work to include in the Poll for all members to vote on. VOTING will follow after the end of Challenge, for one week only. Registering multiple user accounts to vote is not allowed. In the event of a tie, the judge will make a decision between the tied finalists. Chief Judge The winner of current Bi-weekly Challenge will serve as the Judge for the challenge after the next, for example, the winner of Challenge #1 will be the Judge for Challenge #3. By entering the Challenge, members agree to grant anglersnet.co.uk a perpetual non-exclusive world-wide royalty-free license to modify, publish and reproduce that material for the purpose of operating, displaying, distributing and promoting anglersnet.co.uk. However, anglersnet.co.uk will not use Your materials without attributing them to You, without Your agreement. Failing to comply with these rules will automatically disqualify the entry. =================== END OF CHALLENGE RULES =================== All of the above is proven to stop abuse, unfortunately even when NO prizes are offered, some will still try pull the wool over peoples eyes and win for winnings sake Remember any questions....ask them here http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=55943 Good Luck!!! Gillies

Thanks - its not an old castle, it overlooks the harbour and was build in early 1900s ... no one uses it, falling apart inside, though somethings been set up to try and restore it. All great photos on this page ... Rabster Lovely bird shots, love one on fence ... Wiggly, beautiful landscape ... Judy, love the effect of the Cathedral in the windows. Took some time out in the snow today playing with my dog - he hates the camera, so had to bribe him with snowballs to get him to be in frame and look at camera. Had to quickly photo this small stand off with a Ram by this time he was getting bored with me. Gillies

We had a light dusting of snow in the morning - grabbed a few minutes to take a photo ... could of done with more snow, and didnt really get the photo I wanted, but this is best of a bad bunch. ISO 100, Av, F 13, 20mm Gillies

Thanks everyone for your comments! His neck is so big cant get a collar for him ... so picking up big sticks etc is no problem for him as neck so strong. Tracy - his name is Carlo Gillies

Welcome Sooz, look forward to seen your photos - really like way you have dark on light with the branches in foreground of your shot in current photo challenge. Gillies

Thanks loads to everyone who voted for my shot - I did have a slight advantage in having a dog and living by the sea, sorry ... ironically he hates the camera, point it at him and he turns his head. I took a number of shots of him in a field and in the sea, and then picked out my favourite two ... here are the ones I was going to enter. Too get him to run in the water, I was throwning wee stones in and he'd splash through the waves to get them, was a nasty bright sun shinning right into me so taking the shots was pretty hard going ... thats why colouring not great in water shots. Running up and down the field - I just crouched down as much as I could to get half decent perspective and framing, asked him to sit, then walked 20 meters or so, held the camera in one hand and a stick in the other and shouted him, and took shots as he ran to me. Again, a big thank you to everyone who voted for the photo of me and my big mad dog. Well done to everyone who took part, some really nice shots. Gillies

I took this sunset two weeks ago when shore fishing, didnt have usual camera gear with me - just my beloved workhose the 300D and kit lens for fishing shots ... but this lovely sunset and calm sea ... I couldnt resit taking shots of the sunset, but just could not get a shot I was happy with .... keeping with the 2/3 rule as ever ... handheld shot at F8 ISO 100 ... a vertical shot with sun glinting in water or showing the clouds, or landscape shot showing wider view of scenery ... in the end, I just could not get shot I wanted ... though I think the shot with 2/3 clouds I liked best, as water was not silkly ripples calm (some disturbance from boats passing by). Wished I had tripod with me for getting more level horizon and better shot!!!!!!!!!!!! The shot below, I had at hand just now as recently got print done for someone... is taken August last year, from same spot, but turning to my right ... and with the sun setting into Atlantic Ocean beyond the small islands. Gillies

You'll get pretty comprehensive reviews of lenses at dpreview.com ... but you might prefer reviews at fredmiranda.com ... I do, you get users reviews of the lens and pros and cons. Gillies

"Making a Splash" Camera: Canon EOS Digital 20D ISO Speed: 400 Shooting Mode: Tv Shutter Speed: 1/1000th Focal Length: 20mm Gillies