ardenpress

This is an absolutely marvelous picture. Wish I had been there with you. The only change I might have made would have been to lighten the dark spot to the left of the lady's head, That can be slightly tricky to do.

Congratulations!!!

Sorry--

Tony, not Tom---How in hell can I take pictures if I misread names?

Ed (I think)

Tom,

The bokeh is fine, but too much of it at the top and the green out of focus leaf might well go or be desaturated. The flower on the water is really lovely.

As for my  white flowers and foliage, I was not shooting at a high enough speed to stop any motion, and the 90mm lens, bought used after I read up on its reputation, is very hard to use on the M9. The lines in the viewfinder do not correspond properly with what you want, and the focus is very hard to get, as it is even with my 35mm "new" lens. That is partly my fault in not sending the camera to Leica to have them "adapt" the older lenses to the digital innards of the M9.

I don't know where you live, but if there is a top notch store that sells used Leica lenses, you might want to take a look. Older cameras are, of course cheaper, but use film. The newer 8 and 8.5 are costly and not full frame,and the m9 is not always available and very expensive. New lenses are also. I have Zeiss  M lenses that do a fine job at 21 and 50mm, and a crazy 15 mm old Voigtlander. If I had not bought the Leicas, starting with an M7 film camera I traded in for the M9, I would be happy with the lenses I have on a Sony Nex 7. One great camera. Read up on it on Luminous Landscape!!

This year is going to be a crazy one for folks who have to have the latest. Canon and Nikon have just come out with new wonderful cameras.

Get back to me about any of this is you wish. I'm recently retired and practicing with my used Leica lenses before I take a trip next month.

Your finest picture plus!!

Your finest picture!!

Paul, this is an absolutely magnificent picture. It made me look at the rest of your posted pictures--too few by far, I am sure--with equal appreciation. That the rating system here came up with less than a 6 plus , let alone 5  for this picture suggests something aesthetically toxic about it.

quite elegant!!

ELEGANTE!!!

I saw this in a palace room shut off from visitors. There were other

priceless objects here and in other rooms and other palaces in the

Forbidden City, but they were all in cases or enclosed rooms. This one

drew my attention so when I arrived home I worked to bring up the

shape and colors as best I could. If anyone knows what this is I would

like to know. It might have been in a book of palace treasures, but the

books on specific topics were in Chinese.

Most bonzai trees fit in a dish to be placed on a table. Not this one.

Perhaps I should have cropped out the bamboo fence!??

This looks as if the family might be crossing the street, but they were

well protected in their cage.

(Should there be an "animal" or "zoo" category for non pets, or are they

meant to be in the "travel" category if they are lions or baboons?)

These panels seen facing down under high eaves intrigued me.

Cleaning them up and making them sharper and more vibrant I hope you

think enhanced what has not been seen clearly in many years.

Having studied archaeology I know I may have committed a sin. Would

one put lipstick on Venus di Milo? (See the earlier panel on my site.)

This is a bit of what archaeologists do, clean up the artifacts.

See the following picture to understand.

I am always wary of a picture with a white sky, but when travelling there

are often no options.

This is a "tent" of prayers flags near a Buddhist shrine on the slopes of

a mountain bear Lijiang, China.

Remarkable clarity from one whose eye has never failed him.

This is from a series I took near Siem Reap. My driver asked me if I

wanted to see a Cambodian wedding. Of course. It was unexpexted.

I climbed up a rickety ladder with my Canon, stood in a crowded corner

of the room, and took several shots. Since there was motion and not

the best light I did what I could.

Here are four groomsmen waiting for the big event to begin

in a corner of the beach in Ft. Lauderdale.

Like hearing Mozart without knowing how many symphonies he wrote

or what a "K" listing is, I can only say that here was a beautiful bird in

a wonderful place and wanted to share it. You may want to educate me

as to what its name is.

I chose to call it a bird picture, though it could just as easily have been

called a nature picture, given the backdrop that nature provided.

This is a slightly lighter version of a just posted picture. Does the

change make a significant difference?

I hope this conveys a shifting of shades from dark silhouette to almost

pastel lights.

There is no end of spectacular scenery in Iceland, subtle and dynamic

at the same instant.

This is just one of the many shots one can take in the shifting light of

central Iceland on its rutted and rocky roads.

Shortn of using a helicopter, the only way to see the remarkable

landscape of central Iceland is to drive a 4x4 over a rocky and rutted

road and through streams and low rivers in summer. The thrill of that

ride equals the thrill of seeing the unusual sculptured elegant hills and

fields, no less beautiful in the surrounding mists than in a clear sky.