peter_daalder

John, the last time that I was honoured to receive one of your commentaries, you made mention of my best photographic effort. Again, in this particular folder of close up shots, the image above would rank very highly on my list of personal favourites.

I found this whilst on a leisurely walk and was lucky to encounter a clear blue sky at the same time.

This image was originally posted in my PN portfolio during 2004. At that time, I fairly quickly provided a second image to indicate how I found this dead Agave Americana bloom (thanks go to Walter Hinterberger for providing the correct name of this plant).

I may do the same again this time around, but decided that, for the moment, I should leave it up to people's imagination as to how I obtained this shot.

A polarizing filter was used to get the deep blue backdrop, but no additional actions were taken in Photoshop to improve the composition. This is exactly how I recorded it with my camera

Birte, Yann, Michael and Stefan, thank you very much for viewing and commenting on this one!

It was really great to find your comment, Els!

As indicated above, I did indeed have this one in my portfolio, before I took a break from photo.net.

It is nice to read that you actually remembered it. Nothing wrong with using the idea. I regard that as a compliment, actually...

Matthew, this is indeed in the Derwent Valley. To be precise, it is a very short distance to the west of Hayes...

This one is from my very first trip to the US, in 1995.

I have been back twice, since and still have many other regions of your country on my travel wish list.

One day...

Once I have sold all of my tasmanian calendars, perhaps...

Marta,

Your images have an incredible 'dream like' quality to them...

I have enjoyed my visit to your PN portfolio and hope to see more of your works of art!

Just like spectacular cloudy skies, I have a definite weakness for trees.

This one jumped out at me and demanded a comment.

A very effective silhouette shot here, which suggests that the tree was reaching out towards the source of all life on planet Earth - the Sun...

Thanks, Kim!

I would like to assume that this is a fairly unique creation.

All credit goes to the property owners of "Fairfield", at Epping Forest, Tasmania!

A personal favourite from 2002.

These two dead eucalypts are no longer there.

A local group, concerned with the severe dieback of trees in the midlands of Tasmania, painted this trees yellow. This was to (literally) highlight the problem.

When the yellow trunk was still standing, it could easily be seen along the Midlands Highway at Jericho.

Thank you all for the feedback on this one. Sometimes, the effects from using a circular polarizing filter can be overdone.

I cranked up the contrast of the sky in CS3, but I'm quite happy with the result here.

Hugh, thanks for your words! What a perfect way to describe this particular scene...

I'm pretty sure that I was using a polarizing filter on my 28mm lens. Some of this slight vignetting is visible in the original colour slide. I just helped it along a bit in CS3.

G'day Hugh,

Yes, you are quite correct about the heritage value of this bridge. It is the third oldest bridge in Australia (1836). The oldest is situated in Richmond, down near Hobart. That one was completed in 1825.

I find the Ross Bridge far more attractive, though. The one at Richmond has been 'photographed to death', so to speak...

Thanks for pointing out the deficiency, Pierre!

I have applied some sharpening and hope that it has improved the overall look now...

Great image in a superb portfolio.

I'd like to be able to make images like these, one day...

An excellent composition with a great combination of warm and cold tones.

That little bit of smoke from the chimney emphasizes the cold atmosphere.

Beautiful landscaping, Richard!

G'day Ken,

I have to agree with Shay...

There is a distinct lack of foreground interest in this image.

The rocks don't grab enough of my attention.