PXL Shots

The dog looks as if the cat has a bad smell And the cat is grinning as she knows the dog won't leave. Perfect story telling.

This pic makes my day. Awesome, cute, funny. Thanks for this.

Folks: it's perfectly legal to enter a picture which got lost by the crash.So stop bitching, start shooting

I see. So be it lotus.

Please… it's lotos. Lotus is a British car builder (and also had a famous racing team in the F1 series), founded by Colin Chapman. The brand was bought by General Motors and is still producing cars (like the Lotus Elise).

Those aren't gladiators at all They resemble ancient Roman staff officers, as indicated by the helmets and feathers. Centurios had the feathers square and privates didn't have any feathers at all. The short sword (gladius) was also used by gladiators, but that's the only similarity here. Still a nice couple.

Well, better you take this discussion over to the forum -- I think a lot of people would like to get some inspiration and it would be easier to attach pictures to show certain effects… But don't reveal your contest id however, so maybe you better wait until this contest finishes.

Sharpening: I found 100% - 0.8 px - 0 a 'maximum' setting for pictures of about 1280 x 900, a tad wider (1.2 px) for 3000 x 2000 pics (w/out any pre sharpening in camera)

Indeed -- the f:stop is aperture The wider you open (the lower the number) the more the background will blur. However, NO camera I know about syncs flash at 1/2000. Even 1/500 is very rare -- 1/250 or even 1/60 are the most popular sync speeds. Thus I suppose you camera lets you dial in anything but goes to its sync speed if the flash gets engaged. And your camera is broken, when it changes 1/2000 to 1/1000 if you open aperture by one stop (f:8 -> f:4). It should rather go to 1/4000 (which you said is impossible, but anyway).

Close to perfect. Lighting seems a bit arbitrary, and so does dof. I think shooting at f/4 or even more open would look better, blurring the background more and by this enhancing the 'felt' sharpness of the drops. In any case, great freezing, the rest is just practicing.

As I said: no doubt you got it right. I can only refer to what it _looks like_, and that maybe different from what you _know_ it was. But that's always the same with photography, telling a convincing story with a single shot.

well -- uhm -- where's the bell anyway?

no doubt, you got it right (although it looks as if the moto is standing still with the guy having his left foot on the ground). But it's a great take on the theme and beats the theme pic hands down

Gorgeous. I'd crop off everything above the tree and I'd also crop off everything to the left of the edge in the white building (losing the brown building). Again, great shot.

Probably one of the best entries ever.

Now that's what I'd call a perfectly crisp toast...

Very impressive and a sweet DoF. Better cropping/framing would have propelled this into the pro league… (portrait orientation instead of the square with plenty of "white space" surrounding the subject)

Great you're back -- I simply love your story telling views.

Nice to see her again. Hint: pay for her assistance by buying her new earrings

An absolute highlight. Sure the metal print helped some, but still great framing, use of light, dof.

iirc, it was cropped much tighter BC -- which I liked better. Anyway, still great stones.

Must have been a moderator's ...

Why shall we remove this picture? It's a heart after all, so be it. Good luck!

Maybe because he had some nice legs for dinner?

Nice foreground blur / shallow depth of field.

Folks -- yes, it was removed from the 'reversed DOF' contest. Please comment on the photographic quality of pictures, and restrict administration issues to red flags. Here it fits perfectly well and this is what matters.

Looking on the hires it's clear that softness is in sync with floor and wires, and some of the dirt 'sticks' into the shadow convincingly, so ...

seems there was a hickup at the site, no worries about the double comment. Probably the user got logged out while the first comment hasn't been fully committed.

Folks, sometimes this reminds me of law classes… There is no such thing as "a little pregnant" (or a little oof for that matter). Whether it's oof (and it is) or not ...

There's no need to discuss mod decisions here, kyricom. As a mayor, you may argue with your folks, here you have to accept the decisions of moderation. In this case: mine. There's a thread at the forum regarding these pics and there you can read Websters definition of 'sky': "the region of the atmosphere and outer space seen from the earth".

@kyricom: this is a warning. stop your rant, it is not welcome here. This entry is approved by moderation and if you don't like it, you're free to leave, as Mistermonty has said not long ago.

Exactly, the c/g doesn't specify lenses, the picture has to be taken at night and more then 50% of the frame have to show (a part of) the sky. All goals met here, and that's the proof of the pudding.

@Lodd: most modern lenses have no good feel for "infinity" -- it's not at the end of the barrel rotation, hence it's tough to find. Using a good old manual lens makes this task a lot easier…

Folks, get real: if you take a macro lens to shoot a small detail of some texture, it's the same kind of magnification which appears here. Basically, it's just another lens pointing into the night sky and that's about it. This contestant is lucky enough to have a big gear to shoot stars in a "macro sense" and there's no need to twist the rules to "space or sky" -- looking into the sky with a regular lens is just a wide shot of the same scene. The photo has to be judged on photographical merits anyway.

Folks, get real: if you take a macro lens to shoot a small detail of some texture, it's the same kind of magnification which appears here. Basically, it's just another lens pointing into the night sky and that's about it. This contestant is lucky enough to have a big gear to shoot stars in a "macro sense" and there's no need to twist the rules to "space or sky" -- looking into the sky with a regular lens is just a wide shot of the same scene. The photo has to be judged on photographical merits anyway. And @kyricom: check the web for terrestrial astro-photogs and your eyes may pop out. So...

Folks, get real: if you take a macro lens to shoot a small detail of some texture, it's the same kind of magnification which appears here. Basically, it's just another lens pointing into the night sky and that's about it. This contestant is lucky enough to have a big gear to shoot stars in a "macro sense" and there's no need to twist the rules to "space or sky" -- looking into the sky with a regular lens is just a wide shot of the same scene. The photo has to be judged on photographical merits anyway.

First removal has been necessary because of a technical issue and I don't think there are any issues with this picture. Well, if people want to make us forget where we all came from, that's not in the tradition of European photography. Simply a great documentary shot "to the point" -- and I think the crop puts things into the right perspective. Leave the Burqu to the arabs.

looks as if they have rushed into a dead end at the barbed wire

Great setup. Pity the light is visible, kills some of the wow.

I'd say: the sun shade. However, it's made "in cam" and as such it's perfectly legal. I would crop closer to lose the distraction, however.

Very impressive portrait. Hope this year's b'day has been happier.

I'm not sure Nikon intended pictures like this when they invented the rear sync flash

sweet how the guy is acting against the line behind him.

I spent two days in the jungle and my native american guide guided me to every tarantula hole he knew of, but none ever came out. So no tarantula wildlife shots from me However, most people overestimate the danger of tarantulas -- getting bitten is usually no worse than being stung by a bee or a wasp…

It's a (wonderful low key) 'mortar'. Some more definition at the bottom would have helped to see its shape more clearly

This entry has been moderation-reviewed from the (color) source file as submitted by the author. Close examination didn't reveal any indications of a non-compliant manipulation. Regarding the setup: I do not know how he did it, but from the reflection I'd say he had the cam at the side of his head, looking in a mirror in front of him.

Funny, but I think better placing would make the picture self-explanatory.

))

Just in case: we reviewed the changes and came to the conclusion it is perfectly complying with the contest guidelines and rules.

Veeery nice still life. Softening the light should make it look more even. impressive sharpness/dof.