prendy

Are there a number of forces influencing this? 1. In relative terms Adobe looks like it is here to stay but the pattern is that even the leading companies come to the end of the line a la Kodak and Nokia. Thus this will continue to happen. 2. At one time there may have been an ethos behind companies that welded them to their customer base and product heritage. Apple, under Steve Jobs demonstrated that such ethics obstructed growth and profits and so following market trends became far more important. Thus any modern company with a need to satisfy shareholders must do it best to follow the growth curve. It will maintain cash cows, such as Aperute, while they deliver profit for little cost but then, when they become dogs, it will dump them. 3. I can almost guarantee that if you take almost any digital image you can, with all the magic tools available make something that many will consider a good image. What I mean is that I find there is less and less pleasure in taking good photographs that are just that - good photographs and not images to be manipulated. 4. As most of us realize the iPhone and it's colleagues are undermining the camera industry anyway and it could be that we see some of the big names start to wobble.. So I look in my cupboard at my Leica R8, Contax TVS, Linhof Technika and a few more and wonder the obvious.

Arthur, I have read Margaret Macmillan and find her book an embarrassing piece of pro British, anti German propaganda. I would suggest The Sleepwalkers and perhaps something on Verdun. The causes are complex beginning with Serbia followed by the knee jerk reaction of Austria Hungary. Germany was dragged by Treaty to back them but tried persuading them to find a better solution. France and Russia saw a possible chance to beat Germany and could not be held back. Why on earth did Britain join in if not to join France and Russia in trying to gain control over Germany?

We've probably all been in this situation - need a couple more stops and a longer telephoto and usually, when you get that, you still find siyuations whe that still applies. What do we do? We do whatever is needed to get the shot, boost up the ISO, pan, use whatever is available to keep the camera steady, take several shots and then with the magic of Lightroom, or whatever we use, we carefully manipulate the best shot to get as close to the rendition that we want. Usually we find this has atmosphere and life. Another alternative, if it can be afforded is to get a more modern camera with high ISO capability and loadsa pixels. We can then 'telephoto' it in Lightroom and Bob's your uncle, another way to get good shots.

I support Ellis; one camera, one lens and then you might be able to enjoy the trip.

Matthew, many years since, probably before I had the spirit to try the spirit, I would occasionally play darts with my friends in the pub. Not really my game but it was more of a social event. However, I found that after a couple of pints, I was far more relaxed and could get more shots on target. My camera, I think, was a Zorki. It might have been even better with a vodka out of that glass.

My best glass is a whisky glass. I have several of these but my favourite is an Irish crystal glass, a little larger than the others but it fits nicely in the hand. A finger of whisky in this is probably twice as much as the same measure in some of my other glasses, so one must be careful. I haven't yet tried a Nikon, Canon or Leica as being an amateur only I can't work out how to use them. Can they be used for whisky or are they intended for water only? My Nikon and Leica lenses work well on their respective cameras but when I try other glass, such as my whisky glass, the photographs are not too good, perhaps I should empty it first.