Welcome to POTW #52

The first season of POTW's has come to a close and we've seen some great shots over the past year. Lets see even more participation this year. Everyone and anyone is welcome. Post your best stuff from the past week or the coming week.
Rules as before:

1) No theme just your favorite stuff.
2) Let's keep it to about 4-6 images per post just so the thread doesn't get too big each week .
3) Any Pentax camera is fine, film, P&S, DSLR (or Samsung DSLR)
4) Date : Sunday 03/01/09 - Sunday 3/15/09
5) Enter anything you shot last week or this current week until the thread closes.

Previous hosts: 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, 20 Bamela, 21 Syb, 22 & 23 maxwell1295, 24 dantuyhoa, 25 Gawan, 26 Peter Zack, 27 borno, 28 daacon, 29 gawan, 30 Damn Brit, 31 & 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

Thanks daacon for hosting last week.








That's it. The last of the ice storm shots!

[kevindt]

Beautiful pictures, Peter! I haven't seen an ice-storm since moving from the Midwest - gorgeous to photograph, terrible to drive in.

The weather here has finally cleared for a few days, so here are a few from the yard.

The early spring blossoms are starting.



My wife bought miniature roses for the planters.





And the clouds are (temporarily) gone.

[borno]

Thanks for hosting Peter, and for the great thread that keeps on going. I enjoy seeing what everybody finds to photograph on a weekly basis. For me lately I've been checking on the locaal Eagle nest, we hope the really cold snap we had didn't hurt the eggs.

Those ice shots are really nice Peter
Kevin- I see the rain has stopped for you, I'm looking forward to spring

I have to start with a couple birds

[gawan]

Congratulations are in place here, Peter! Your original idea has proved to be a needed and capable concept! Let it live on!

This is from today:

[virgilr]

Urp- seem to have posted this in the wrong thread! Not an intentional double post.

So was over at my friends condo two nights ago, and wanted to work out with the new Katzeye, so they wanted some shots of their bathroom remodel. No auxilliary constant light on hand- just trying to make do with a nightmarish lighting situation!

Have to say that the tungsten white balance setting did really well in this room- it is that warm in terms of color in this bathroom! All shots are from RAW.

All shots handheld, mix of ISO 800/1600. First shot is with the K 30mm wide open, rest are the kit lens at 18mm wide open (hence the pincushion distortion). Didn't take time to correct this in photoshop: was going for the art vibe of the shots for now! PP in lightroom- using the killer film emulation presets found on presetsheaven.com, then tweaking from there, with no higher than 45% NR in Lightroom.

[dadipentak]

I can't resist the call of the Crocus (K20D & Sigma 24mm f2.8)

[daacon]

Well congrats Peter on starting a thread that has sustained a full year, It was and is a great idea. One could easily make several albums from the shots posted over the lsat year.

Peter - excellent lighting in all of them. I particularly like the trees in the first and last one.

Kevin - Loverly Brid ,flowers and moon. Glad spring is comming your way.

Tom - womderful eagles as usaul and nice BIF on the ducks - a different angle.

Georg - good eye just a rock in the snow to some but I like this shot. The sublte shadows and ripples around the rock add to it.

Virgil - I like the composition and overall tone of these shots. Nice series.

dadipentak - lovely flower I can see why you could not resist.

Nothing for me this week or last so far. It is still bitter cold with the wind howling. Hope to get out some time this week. Well done all.

[virgilr]

Dave-

Thank you for the feedback! Diggin the Katzeye... :-)

Gawan, Peter- I love the drama you've pulled out of winter. I just don't have the camera with me at the right times- I always tend to shoot when everything is gray and dull!

[kevindt]

I agree - I have seen some amazing pictures in this "Mini-Challenge" over the year I have followed it. It was a great idea, provocative and stimulating for many reasons, and I hope it continues well into the future.

Back to the frozen north, Dave! But those pics from down South were so pretty (and we frozen/drowned mortals were so envious...).

Nice birds, Tom - as always.

Virgil - interesting bathroom shots. Wish I was better at interior shots...

Georg - nice winter mood shot.

Dadipentak - I love crocus - one of the first ground flowers of spring.

Here are a few more from today:

Spring is in the air and even the bugs feel it...



But this is California. Sometimes we are a little confused...



Playing around with the 10-17 fisheye at the park with the kids.

[daacon]

Kevin - Nice series love the bugs and the fisheye

Well here it is a week home already. I have shovelled the driveway 4 times in the last 6 days - it's miserable and cold and blowing and I have not taken any pictures since I have been home.

Well you can't keep a good man down - Time for some Alberta Beef - Ribeye's and the hell with the weather the only way to do Ribeye is BBQ even @ -30C

The Preapared raw steaks

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Some side dishes

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[IMGWIDEleft]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3372/3339363689_de40def909_b.jpg[/IMGWIDEleft]

Steaks are done ....

[IMGWIDEleft]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3560/3339363921_c9caea68a0_b.jpg[/IMGWIDEleft]

Umm should we eat on the deck

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It is suppose to warm up on Wednesday let's hope this is downright despressing !

[Toshi]

Just a few from today ...

[madmikess]

I'm kinda partial to these two pictures I snapped on sunday 3/8:

[David Whiteley]

Great shots all.

When I started posting to this section, I was always leaning on stale travel photos. For once, here are some recent shots. Nothing to write home about but at least the forum has got me out & about, using my equipment!

I do like this moody shot:



And while there, I noticed this. Hope no one is offended by the darkly humourous content (lord knows I've done enough unintended offending on the forum lately ) but I did find the presence of fresh roses along side as-yet-unspecified deceased dates... distinctive:



(Apologies too for the cheesy PP: I cranked the clarity way down in ACR to sweeten the flowers, and isolate the subject by dreamy-ing away the OOF. But seriously: low clarity is really cute for baby photos!)

Also caught the moon approaching full, in daylight. Wasn't carrying a long lens, but as if the DA*50-135 needed any more proof of its capabilities, I was impressed by this 100% crop of a hand-held, casually focused shot (and yes it took focusing--it was a measurable amount in from infinity to get the moon crisp):

File Date

View Picture EXIF

[virgilr]

Dave! Bravo!! Grilled steaks in the depths of hell winter!!!!!

We could smell grilling yesterday- it got up around 6c in MTL, snowing and cold again today- and we were like "oh my god... we have to get the grill ready..."

But you went the extra mile!

[virgilr]

Shot with the 50mm f/1.7, at f/2.8. Some cool old cameras that are non-functioning, that decorate a shelf in my "office". Love those bellow cameras! Picked them up at a trader camera show last spring- intend on going this year, too! That's where I bought my 50/1.7.

Edit- I played around with a black and white version with lots of vignetting- like this better, going for a "cover of a photog magazine in the 60's look"