Wow factor..how to get it..

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by freiston

Another cheap option for filters are 'Kood' brand - P-type - similar to Cokin - filter holder that screws on to the lens via an 'adapter' - so you only need to buy a relatively cheap adapter to fit each lens in your kit then use the same filters on any of your lenses. Once you've got the filter holder attached to your lens, it's really easy to change filters. Because the (ND grad) filters are square and held in a slot, you can adjust the position of the filter to match the horizon.

There's a site selling an ND kit for £50 that contains:

1 x P-Type ND2 Filter
1 x P-Type ND2 Soft Graduated Filter
1 x P-Type ND4 Filter
1 x P-Type ND4 Soft Graduated Filter
1 x P-Type Filter Holder
1 x P-Type 52mm Adapter Ring

Edit addition: Of course, all components are available separately and there is a larger range than above, so you're not restricted to the kit - you can mix and match to your taste/requirement.

Most adapter rings go for about a fiver.

Kood also do a P-Type circular polarising filter for a relatively cheap price (the site referred to above does one for £30).

Something to think about cheers,
I have just spent nearly £50 on a polarized filter so I will not be spending any more just yet, the ones I have are easy to change they just screw on and don't vignette with the filter holder this could be a problem.

[The_Moaner]

Just clicked that Link of yours Lee. Great images on that Flickr site. Thanks. I got one of those 10stops. 0 to 10 but not used yet. Must get out to take some landscapes soon.

[sidewalkdoctor]

Just followed that Flickr link too, I am at #104 of 782 .

[nightshade]

I have met people that still don't have the shot they want and they know the area and the light, and always have a camera and tripod to hand.
It must be skill with a helping of luck

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by nightshade

I have met people that still don't have the shot they want and they know the area and the light, and always have a camera and tripod to hand.
It must be skill with a helping of luck

I also think you are over critical of yourself I know I am, maybe I just want something out of my league we are always looking for that perfect shot.

[JaySteel]

Now you remind me of my wife! lol
She's always telling me that I'm too critical of my own photos. If I manage a fairly good shot then my wife thinks it looks good so I should be happy. But I'm never going to be happy with just a good shot. I want (as many photographers do) a great shot! And I think only by having that quest for perfection to we grow and improve. As long as we appreciate how much we have already learned and are grateful for the images that we have already managed to capture then I think we can still be happy and be perfectionists at the same time.

Jason

[PMG]

Originally Posted by JaySteel

Now you remind me of my wife! lol
She's always telling me that I'm too critical of my own photos. If I manage a fairly good shot then my wife thinks it looks good so I should be happy. But I'm never going to be happy with just a good shot. I want (as many photographers do) a great shot! And I think only by having that quest for perfection to we grow and improve. As long as we appreciate how much we have already learned and are grateful for the images that we have already managed to capture then I think we can still be happy and be perfectionists at the same time.

Jason

Nail and Head! I coouldn't have put it better myself ... the trick is to get myself to believe it

Pauline

[DorsetDunk]

not easy when my fathers a photographic judge and my mother thinks she is
and picks my images to pieces with a critical eye
and then when you get on to flickr in the big wide world of photography
you need to up the anti to a whole new level just to rise above mediocre

i feel you need to be ultra critical of yourself and always trying to improve methods and skills there is no such thing as perfection in photography
but everyone chases it nevertheless I look at every shot i have taken and in retrospect always see room for improvement but i guess that's what keeps me snapping


i

[Kayleigh]

I have just tried a couple in RAW and wow what a difference that has made only trouble is I cant preview them without uploading one at a time to elements from the computer editor on the laptop.
Is this the norm or am I missing something.

[Jim Ford]

'raw' images are just raw digital data (hence the name - and strictly speaking it shouldn't be capitalised because it's not an acronym) that is not directly viewable without processing. It doesn't even contain any colour information.

You can view raw images conveniently in 'Faststone', which contains a built-in raw processor for many formats.

http://www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm

Jim