Welcome to Picture of the week #249 covering 13 Jan 2013 through 27 Jan 2013. Looks like we are heading towards the end of the first month of 2013! Let's see those great, interesting shots you've been taking in your part of the world If you would like to host next week please send me a PM, otherwise I will be asking you. We saw a great variety of wonderful shots last week! From blazing heat to frigid still nights. This POTW lets you show off any shots you took last week but haven't processed until now. In other words, you can post your shots from this week AND last week. POTW is a great place to show what you've been shooting day-to-day. We can share ideas, learn from one another, tell stories, and have a good time. There are just so many splendid photos out there so let's see you post them to this POW 249.

Again same rules as always:

1) No theme, just post your favorite pix.
2) Lets keep it to fewer than 6 images per post just so the thread doesn't get too big each week.
3) Any Pentax camera or Samsung SLR is fine, whether it's film, P&S, or DSLR.
4) Enter anything you shot last week or during this current week until the thread closes.
5) The current host will appoint the new host as an invitation via Private Message (PM). If possible, the new thread will be linked to the previous one and the new thread will start between Noon EDT and 5PM EDT on Sunday. If the thread doesn't start, please contact bluestringer, Moderator via PM.

Here are the records of previous POTW threads:

1 Peter Zack, 2 Eaglerapids, 3 rmtagg, 4 Peter Zack, 5 daacon, 6 Bramela, 7 mtnbearhug, 8 dantuyhoa, 9 gawan,10 roentarre, 11 daacon, 12 Kris, 13 mtnbearhug, 14 SCGushue, 15 daacon, 16 maxwell1295, 17 dantuyhoa, 18 daacon, 19 maxwell1295, 19(2) daacon, 20 Bramela, 21 Syb, 22 maxwell1295, 23 maxwell1295, 24 dantuyhoa, 25 Gawan, 26 Peter Zack, 27 borno, 28 daacon, 29 gawan, 30 Damn Brit, 31 maxwell1295, 32 maxwell1295, 33 dantuyhoa, 34 daacon, 35 Peter Zack, 36 Damn Brit, 37 Borno, 38 Kevint, 39 Peter Zack, 40 Timbo13, 41 daacon, 42 daacon, 43 gawan, 44 dantuyhoa, 45 daacon, 46 Rense, 47 daacon, 48 Rense, 49 borno, 50 Rense, 51 daacon, 52 Peter Zack, 53 Peter Zack, 54 dadipentax, 55 David Whiteley, 56 planedriver, 57 daacon,58 Bramela, 59 daacon, 60 gawan, 61 virgilr, 62 daacon, 63 RickL, 64 Peter Zack, 65 Peter Zack, 66 Causey, 67 daacon, 68 Bramela, 69 georgeweb, 70 daacon,71 seacapt, 72 daacon, 73 AOski, 74 Rense, 75 eccs19, 76 daacon, 77 xs400, 78 daacon, 79 Bramela, 80 Borno, 81 legacyb4, 82 daacon, 83 gawan, 84 Rense, 85 Peter Zack, 86 davef, 87 davef, 88 xjjohnno, 89 Bramela, 90 Peter Zack, 91 daacon, 92 stevebrot, 93 reeftool, 94 jezza323, 95 oldschool, 96 Iris, 97 Rense, 98 planedriver, 99 xs400, 100 Peter Zack, 101 Netuser, 102 Photolady, 103 Tamia, 104 Irishwhite, 105 Ramseybuckeye, 106 xjjohnno, 107 Bumbibop, 108 JeffJS, 109 Tpeace, 110 Nomad, 111 Photolady, 112 rparmar, 113 Peter Zack, 114 casil403, 115 Tamia , 116 JeffJS, 117 bbluesman, 118 Clou, 119 ruggiex, 120 Jimbow007, 121 jmschrie, 122 VaughnA , 123 pop4, 124 casil403, 125 woof, 126 twitch, 127 stevebrot, 128 ohce, 129 jmschrei, 130 photolady, 131 photolady, 132 bbluesman, 133 rparmar, 134 reeftool, 135 reeftool, 136 Oldschool, 137 xjjohonno, 138 KarenH , 139 Rense, 140 daacon, 141 Tamia, 142 JeffJS, 143 bbluesman, 144 fotaki, 145 fotaki, 146 Woof, 147 Bramela, 148 Bramela, 149 Tamia, 150 Nomad, 151 Clou, 152 drugal, 153 rparmar, 154 Nomad, 155 jmschrei, 156 noelcmn, 157 noelcmn, 158 rwfarnell, 159 ramseybuckeye, 160 christophleipzig, 161 JeremytheIndian, 162 SpecialK, 163 emetcalf, 164 emetcalf, 165 stevebrot, 166 rparmar, 167 Mattt, 168 JeffJS, 169 jmschrei, 170 fotaki, 171 xs400, 172 TOUGEFC, 173 TOUGEFC, 174 Warped, 175 MaryAD, 176 Davidw0815, 177 baro-nite, 178 baro-nite, 179 pentaximus, 180 lukulele, 181 lukulele, 182 rob 1234, 183 lukulele, 184 lukulele, 185 pentaximus, 186 ramseybuckeye, 187 ramseybuckeye, 188 StDevious, 189 Free Soul, 190 Clou, 191 brvnara, 192 pentaximus, 193 Noelcmn, 194 Noelcmn 195 GmcarsMAN, 196 jmschreii,197 wolfiegirl, 198 xjjohnno, 199 Arn , 200 Peter Zack, 201 bluestringer, 202 cif, 203 Rollsup, 204 noelcm, 205 Davidw0815, 206 Davidw0815, 207 cif, 208 ramseybuckeye, 209 paulh, 210 Oldschool, 211 SpecialK, 212 mecrox, 213 pentaximus, 215 bramela, 216 jmschrei, 217 Exandr, 218 Noelcmn, 219 Noelcmn, 220 sergiu, 221 sergiu, 222 sergiu, 223 sergiu, 224 sergiu, 225 sergiu, 226 sergiu, 227 sergiu, 228 Davidw08, 229 reeftool, 230 reeftool, 231 cif, 232 mecrox, 233 mecrox, 234 glennbp, 235 glennbp, 236 pentaximus, 237 pentaximus, 238 pentaximus,239 Paul, 240 Nick Nero, 241 Arnold, 242 Arnold, 243 Arnold, 244 Arnold, 245 Nick Nero, 246 ramseybuckeye, 247 ramseybuckeye, 248 Douge

[noelcmn]

Mecrox - what a great set of shots (in spite of your dreary weather)! The swans in the snowy pond is stunning.

+1 on that comments.But I like that snow on flowers shot even better. Maybe just my OCD (that's Obsessive Compulsive desire) for some snow. We have a heat wave here, mid 30 degrees. One friend said she had 39 degreesC in the bedroom at 17H00 in the afternoon.
Like that Johnny Depp lookalike too! What's he doing in London?

[ruggiex]

Haven't played in a while in POTW; I've been so busy with work and other things. But, like anyone with a shiny new toy, I feel obligated to post a few shots from the little Q. All these are taken with 35mm Ltd and just around my office. I'm not sure how much magnification these photos come out to be -- not sure how the math works out.

This is the surface of a pomelo.



Some sweet treat in the office.



Face of a snowman statue.



Xbox controller lying on my desk.

[TenZ.NL]

One more, taken with my freshly aquired DA15ltd. Just a testshot, hopefully the weather today allows some serious shooting (it`s snowing right now)


Allright, just one

[ramseybuckeye]

One more, taken with my freshly aquired DA15ltd. Just a testshot, hopefully the weather today allows some serious shooting (it`s snowing right now)

Not a bad test shot. Every lens should be WR because shooting in the snow can be awesome.

[TenZ.NL]

Not a bad test shot. Every lens should be WR because shooting in the snow can be awesome.

Yes, that would be nice

[noelcmn]

Thanks for hosting again Douge, what a wonderful collection here. Love that test shot, and can't wait to see what the "serious shooting will look like TenZ.NL.
This POPW starts with the 13th Jan- that was the last day I was in the Kruger Park, so I'll post some images from that day. A really good day as far as wildlife sightings are concerned.
Cheetah, which, with the limited number of this animal in the Park, is always a wonderful sight.


Blessed to see lions on two occasions.


A Maribou Stork, an interesting bird, a scavenger, though I have also seen it (on this visit) scrounging around for termites and other smaller reptiles.


A flock of Redfooted Falcons (no idea why it is called that, though my ID could be wrong) was also seen, this one settled for a short while on a tree close enough where I could get a couple of shots. They are restless birds, and will fly for hours on end.


Then on the 22-23rd I had to travel again to Mpumalanga Province where Kruger Park is located, with a friend who was doing some training, and I took the opportunity to visit Kruger again, albeit for a mere 3 hours in the end. we stayed at a grand 5 star Lodge called Highrove House.
This is what the road was like travelling to the Lodge


Saw this Steppe Buzzard in the 3 hours I was in the Park


And just to get back at all you snow loving Pentaxians that make me so envious of your shots-I'll go over the normal 6 shots and post one of the Swimming Pool at Highrove House.

[glennbp]

[Nick Nero]

Thanks for hosting again Douge, what a wonderful collection here. Love that test shot, and can't wait to see what the "serious shooting will look like TenZ.NL.
This POPW starts with the 13th Jan- that was the last day I was in the Kruger Park, so I'll post some images from that day. A really good day as far as wildlife sightings are concerned.
Cheetah, which, with the limited number of this animal in the Park, is always a wonderful sight.


Blessed to see lions on two occasions.


A Maribou Stork, an interesting bird, a scavenger, though I have also seen it (on this visit) scrounging around for termites and other smaller reptiles.


A flock of Redfooted Falcons (no idea why it is called that, though my ID could be wrong) was also seen, this one settled for a short while on a tree close enough where I could get a couple of shots. They are restless birds, and will fly for hours on end.


Then on the 22-23rd I had to travel again to Mpumalanga Province where Kruger Park is located, with a friend who was doing some training, and I took the opportunity to visit Kruger again, albeit for a mere 3 hours in the end. we stayed at a grand 5 star Lodge called Highrove House.
This is what the road was like travelling to the Lodge


Saw this Steppe Buzzard in the 3 hours I was in the Park


And just to get back at all you snow loving Pentaxians that make me so envious of your shots-I'll go over the normal 6 shots and post one of the Swimming Pool at Highrove House.

I beleive cheeta is rare sight anywhere. Magnificent animals. Truly envy all you guys who´s got more than an occassional sparrow for wildlife // Nick

[arnold]

Thanks for hosting again Douge, what a wonderful collection here. Love that test shot, and can't wait to see what the "serious shooting will look like TenZ.NL.
This POPW starts with the 13th Jan- that was the last day I was in the Kruger Park, so I'll post some images from that day. A really good day as far as wildlife sightings are concerned.
Cheetah, which, with the limited number of this animal in the Park, is always a wonderful sight.


Blessed to see lions on two occasions.


A Maribou Stork, an interesting bird, a scavenger, though I have also seen it (on this visit) scrounging around for termites and other smaller reptiles.


A flock of Redfooted Falcons (no idea why it is called that, though my ID could be wrong) was also seen, this one settled for a short while on a tree close enough where I could get a couple of shots. They are restless birds, and will fly for hours on end.


Then on the 22-23rd I had to travel again to Mpumalanga Province where Kruger Park is located, with a friend who was doing some training, and I took the opportunity to visit Kruger again, albeit for a mere 3 hours in the end. we stayed at a grand 5 star Lodge called Highrove House.
This is what the road was like travelling to the Lodge


Saw this Steppe Buzzard in the 3 hours I was in the Park


And just to get back at all you snow loving Pentaxians that make me so envious of your shots-I'll go over the normal 6 shots and post one of the Swimming Pool at Highrove House.

Fantastic pictures. Was there a lot of pp?

[noelcmn]

Thank you Nick and Arnold. Nick,, yes Cheetah are rare, though I gather not in the Kalahari Transfrontier Park (KTP), where they are commonly seen. They struggle with more competition in the Kruger Park than in KTP.
Arnold, yes, usually there is: Resizing, composure/cropping, sharpening and exposure correction. Sometimes colour too. And of course cleaning away all the spots and dirt.

[noelcmn]

had to get me back . Fantastic shot. Was there snow falling?

[glennbp]

had to get me back . Fantastic shot. Was there snow falling?

Thanks! No, the snow had ended and a layer of fog (mist?) was laying low near the ground.

[nosliwmit]

Mecrox - Awesome swan photo
Noelcmn - The road photo is definitely a winner.

This photo was originally an accident. Horribly under-exposed and I had the "blinkies" turned on. Took me quite a while to replicate the blinkies (used Topaz B&W Effects). Ok, so it's goofy...

[Douge]

Lovely shots everyone

Thanks very much for hosting, Douge. It's been a week of bitter cold and grey skies here and I am getting a little envious of the fab pictures from all around the world which have some sun in them. Here are a few of mine, mostly K5 and various stuffies:

---

Really love the swans mecrox! I like the flowers in the snow too.

One more, taken with my freshly aquired DA15ltd. Just a testshot, hopefully the weather today allows some serious shooting (it`s snowing right now)


Allright, just one

Very lovely for a test shot

Thanks for hosting again Douge, what a wonderful collection here. Love that test shot, and can't wait to see what the "serious shooting will look like TenZ.NL.
This POPW starts with the 13th Jan- that was the last day I was in the Kruger Park, so I'll post some images from that day. A really good day as far as wildlife sightings are concerned.
Cheetah, which, with the limited number of this animal in the Park, is always a wonderful sight.

Brilliant shots noelcmn. Espcially the cheetahs!

This photo was originally an accident. Horribly under-exposed and I had the "blinkies" turned on. Took me quite a while to replicate the blinkies (used Topaz B&W Effects). Ok, so it's goofy...

I like it!

[Douge]

Lots of fantastic shots by everyone
Hopefully you've all enjoyed this edition of POTW! Did you all have a good week?

And with that, we close up #249 and go onward to #250! Is this cause for a celebration? Perhaps we should eat a little cake and have a little drink for this occasion.
www.pentaxforums.com/forums/weekly-photo-challenges/213310-weekly-challenge-potw-250-20-jan-2013-through-3-feb-2013-a.html