Martyn

It's a steep learning curve, but I'm finding it much more powerful than Lightroom (or at least the version 5.7 that I used). There are multiple ways do do the same thing and some features that seem to be missing are hiding in plain sight.

Hi Denis, it's good to be back.

Oh dear, I'm saddened to hear of the passing of Korky. I very much appreciated his input on the forum!

Hi Clicker, nice to see you again. Yes I did try to drop in occasionally to see how things were going. I had to have a stab at a password to get in this time, luckily I guessed correctly! Oh my goodness, just look at my avatar. He's a handsome young man but I don't recognise him! ?

Thank you Fuji, it's good to see a familiar face!

A few weeks ago I upgraded my camera and was very disappointed to discover that my copy of Lightroom 5.7 was not compatible with the files it produced. I searched around for free raw image editing software and eventually settled on Darktable. Here is a link to one of the best tutorial series that I have found. Hope it's useful for someone! https://www.youtube.com/user/audio2u/featured

Today I is mostly going to poop in your bird bath!

Discourteous

Hi Denis, looks exactly the same as the one I bought. There are reviews on Youtube slating these cheap gimbals, and as many more on how to modify them into usable bits of kit. But I have to say I'm very happy with mine. The only drawback I find is that when I loosen the top knob to raise or lower the view, it allows the camera to droop a little due to the slack in the bush/bearing. This is not a major issue and is easily corrected by slightly rotating the lens in it's mount. I'm told that this can also be corrected by taking the gimbal apart and washing out all the grease which is very heavy and sticky, and replacing it with something like wheel bearing grease. I notice you have the gimbal mechanism on the left of the camera, I find that this interferes with having my left arm on the lens to adjust zoom and focus. I switched mine around so the mech is on the right since my right hand will be on the shutter button.

Hello all, I'm Martyn from sunny Morecambe. I used to be a regular on here, but fate threw a spanner in the works a few years ago and life has never been the same. I'm now retired and spending too much money buying the camera gear that I couldn't afford while I was working. Hopefully I will be able to produce something worth showing. Have I missed anything while I've been away? ?

That's ok Clicker, I also play cornet with the local SA band!

TRUMPET?..... TRUMPET?..... TRUMPET?........ I'll have you know that this is a baritone horn!

The object that has kept me away from this forum for too long!

Yes, they did ask permission to use the pictures I took. Sadly they got some info mixed up and weren't sure who took some of the pics. They've been in touch again and apologised for not crediting me in the mag and they've asked me if I would be willing to cover the event next year as official photographer. I'm not jumping at it, I'll hold out and see what they offer, it may be worth concert tickets and event passes at several other venues.

Hi all, sorry I've not been around for a while. Life has a habit of throwing unexpected challenges at us which we have to get up and get on with. My camera hasn't been out for a while, but an American friend sent me this picture of a Magazine he subscribes to; that's my picture on the front cover.

Hi Geoff, welcome from a wet and windy Morecambe!

What amazes me is that he not only filmed what he filmed; he also filmed himself filming what he filmed! But it sure looked like fun!

Today, me and the missus drove up to the Rheged centre near penrith to see a photo exhibition on the recommendation of a friend. I paid £3.50 each to get into the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2015 Exhibition, and as you can imagine the pictures were stunning. We then went to another exhibition in the same building called Herdwick which was totally free; I was blown away. I've seen a lot of photographs in my time, but none moved me like these pictures by Manchester born Ian Lawson. Over a period of 5 years, Ian worked among the Lakeland shepherds to record a year in the life of these rare breed sheep and the relationship between them, the farmers and the landscape. Firstly I was struck by the sheer size of the prints, many being 5 or 6 foot. The colours just popped and despite the size of prints, the detail in the smallest strand of wool on the sheep's back was pin sharp. I stood mezmerised by each image as I pondered on how such light was possible in the places where I had stood as a walker and taken photographs myself. By the time I got to the end I felt emotionally drained, overwhelmed, even tearful. Here's a link to some of the photos, but they do not really do justice to standing in front of the canvas and letting the image fill your field of vision. If this exhibition comes your way please make every effort to visit. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-31129807

Congratulations Paul!