Eatlard

Some interesting pics there. Ant Vs Cricket - he really has lifted that right off the floor! incredible.

I see. He's doing a larger merge than I've been playing with so normally I'm happy with 3 to 5 shots (although my camera only does 3 max) whereas he's using up to 9. Interesting page though, I think I've seen it before and read through, only slight annoyance was that I don't have Photoshop to fully follow it along. Thanks tho

Corydoras, No i did get it, but my explanation was way off Thanks for clearing it up.

CJS2 - Try here. - Rawshooter for free It's pretty self explanatory in my opinion. When you have a raw shot you want to convert then use the "batch convert" - you will need to tell it where to put the new file. Also I unticked the "automatically open with" option, otherwise it immediately opens your new file up. I can't remember the exact layout as I'm at work but if you get really stuck, i'll try and post some screenies. Have fun!

Not to derail the thread at all Steve but HDR works best IMO with bracketed shots, the issue is that it is alot harder to get 3 or more individual exposures that don't just look blurred (unless that what you want) when you combine them due to very slight movement of your subject. Inside shots (churches etc) are ideal for true bracketing and static shots like buildings, scenery, parked cars, castles etc that have alot going on cloud or lightwise in the sky really bring out the best. Some subjects you just cant hope for that - try getting 3 bracketed shots of your kids or pets sitting still

I personally started in JPEG but as soon as I saw what RAW could do I havent looked back - I shoot every shot in RAW. True that processing wise it does take longer and may not be comercially viable but for me just shooting mainly for fun, I find it excellent. I pop all my RAW shots on to PC (5mb each) then slideshow them through Rawshooter, a free programme which is excellent and choose the ones I like. It allows you to make corrections to any shot that you could have done with the camera (other than focusing) - exposure values, white balance, colours etc and you can run it as a batch if you require. Still no substitute for taking a great shot in the first place but as I've said before, it's an option to use if you wish. Files are then converted to TIFFs which can be quite large - around 35meg for my 6.1 MP shots but TIFFs from the way I understand it are pure - no compression at all, which JPEG does do. Once I'm really happy with it I save it down to the size required and post it up. I took me a short while to get to grips with it but overalll if you are happy with editing JPEGs, there's little difference. Best way is to try it on something that you can experiment on and just play around with the software and see how you get on. If you don't like it..fair enough. PS - working in TIFFs is very heavy on the PC - I wouldn't attempt it without a reasonable spec machine ( say 2Ghz processor with 1 GB ram and a reasonable graphics card) otherwise it may well be a lesson in frustration. Have fun!

Here's mine from a walk at Firehills this evening. Bit of an experiment but I quite like it.

Taken in garden yesterday. Shame it's not facing me but happy with the pic.

Interesting conversation this has bought up. Talking of manipulation, surely this starts as soon as you have lenses for particular jobs doesn't it? That's manipulating your image right there, any zoom any wideangle etc....but I'm quite happy that everyone has their opinion. I try to get a reaction of some sort with my pictures whatever that may be and if they get people talking....then it's all good Happy snapping! As it's my thread ( can i say that?) I thought i'd just put you right on one detail... My name So far i've been called Eastard, Eatlord and Ealtard <--- i like this last one best. it's EATLARD.. There..thanks for listening.

Excellent detail on those. The Marbled White is one that I haven't even seen, we don't get them around Hastings as far as i know. I have a Tamron 90 and can also recommend it. Excellent lens and easy to use. Well done!

Thanks for looking These are hosted on the Wild About Britain site, an excellent place for anyone interested in Britsh Wildlife - www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk

I don't actually have Photoshop, so er no . I have Paint Shop Pro but as with all these things, I am still learning how to use the software correctly. CJS2 - Nerdy type anorak? Thanks! I guess this is the time to own up and admit I work in I.T? These certainly aren't to everyones taste which is fair enough. I guess I'm treating this the same way I treat many things, the more you know, the more options you have - it's just another string to my bow to quote a cliche. I do have some more piccies to post from my "normal" shots that i'll add later

Exactly so Steve. There's software that you can play about with the images but that's basically the gist of it. It works alot better if you shoot a static item, say a building, then the clouds and sky behind it really change and come into play. I'm working on a couple more, i'll post when im happy with them - ok now added a vase shot taken on my windowsill, still doesnt give the effect of the clouds i'm talking about but I really need a remote release for that. Here's the original for info

And from the wonder that is Google - "Chrome setting results in a more vivid image with a higher contrast and colour saturation. For example: a deeper green and a bluer sky when taking landscape images" taken from http://www.letsgodigital.org/en/camera/review/14/page_4.html for info - i typed "S7000 Chrome setting". Gotta love google Hope this helps

Ohh yes don't assume you've lost those pictures. If the PC "Blew up" - then it's normally either the power supply / motherboard / processor that goes all of which will turn your PC into a doorstop if it happens but normally the hard drive is fine. Best thing to do is to get a PC savvy friend to pop it into their PC as a slave drive (no jokes please!) and see if they can read the contents. Should be able to get them back, I've done it for people before now. Good luck!

Hi all, Been playing with my kit again and this is what I've come up with. There are 2 ways of doing this, the best being multiple shots that are staggered under and over exposed then combined and then a range of colours are taken from each image then you map the tones back on...well that's my understanding anyway HDRI - High Dynamic Range Imaging Heres my first try. This ones actually taken from one RAW shot which is then multi saved as under and overexposed to get the same effect. It would have been much better had i actually got myself a remote release already so that I could combine actual different shots. This is my nearest and dearest... What do you guys think -

Not that I've done it myself (yet) but I hear that The Gambia has some good mixed fishing from beach and small boat right up to trolling. When I looked into it I liked the idea of being able to go and fish in mangrove creeks etc, as I'd really prefer that over trolling. More info Here

Excellent stuff, thanks Peter. Just got to work and seen this. I now have a spanky new lard related wallpaper

I've not been there (I checked the thread as I thought it might be Whitesands down in Cornwall) but looking at the map the southern end of that beach looks quite rocky and would be worth a shot either plugging / spinning for Bass / Mackerel and Pollock, float fishing for pollock, garfish and mackerel and if you have worm baits probably wrasse also. In fact looking at that map again there must be some great marks around that point. Also just checked Google for a few pictures and although you can't see a huge amount on them, I can see a reasonable headland that should be good for all of the above. I'm sure someone will have some more info though. Happy fishing!

Mackerel head and guts / fillet would be my choice too given that many anglers are probably on there fishing for them at the moment and cleaning them while there. Second choice would be large squid baits. And don't forget to take or have access to a drop net. Sod's law says when you catch a decent fish it'll be the time you can't land it. Happy fishing.

Looking at the picture of the boil - I know it looks like mackerel but I have seen school bass doing this. They wouldn't touch anything else. I got one full hook up after ages of trying to work out what was going on and then left them alone when I realised what it was. Maybe that's why you didn't hook up.

Or this one? - oops didn't realise it was that big though

A few more shots from today. Starting to get the hang of this fiddly macro lark. I now realise I also need to sort my flash options and diffuse some of the light to avoid hot spots. Yes these are ladybirds...I think Some things just have bad habits.... As homes go, this is a bit TOO pink for me Thanks for looking!

Nice pic. At 2400mm i'm surprised you got a good shot. I see them around the garden sometimes but they are so fast, they barely sit still. Good job. Here's my pic for today. Not as rare by any means

Steve, Lovely picture. How much would I pay to be there rather than stuck in my sauna of an office