[Hegemon]

Hey guys,

What do you think, could some of these pictures have been taken with a Pentax camera and if so which one? Would the K-30 be able to reproduce similar results or would the K5-II be more appropriate? I'm not claiming that I have the skills to shoot like the pros which took these but one can dream right? We can always aspire to improve! Thanks.

National Geographic Photo Contest 2012 - In Focus - The Atlantic

[elho_cid]

Great photos, thanks for the link.
Any of them could be done with Pentax. Some require special accessories and most require great skills, but none of them is beyond what a K-5 can do.

I bet some of them was actually shot with a Pentax.

[Lowell Goudge]

I see nothing that is technically outside the abilities of a pentax camera, some perhaps many, might be outside MY ability however

[JinDesu]

#4 looks like something Harklee of this forum would have shot with his 645D

In general, most of these probably could have been taken with even an entry level DSLR. Some (#5) look like a very very fast lens on a Full Frame.

[elliott]

In general, most of these probably could have been taken with even an entry level DSLR.

Many could have even been taken with a high quality camera phone.

[maxfield_photo]

Any of those could be taken with any camera, outside of maybe a fixed lens camera or a point and shoot. I think you're falling victim to "Air Jordan" syndrome. Remember the old Nike ad "It's gotta be the shoes"? Yeah, as if... In reality of course it was the superhuman athleticism, talent and experience of Michael Jordan. His shoes played about as much importance in that equation as the camera make and model did in these photos.

[TER-OR]

Thanks, I've got one or two I may enter.

[Ubuntu_user]

You bet.

[Hegemon]

Thanks for the replies! I just wanted to get feedback from your "trained eyes" since I cannot distinguish between FF and APS-C.

Sure, the pros can do it with ease but that doesn't mean the rest of us can't hit the lotto too; with digital we now have the luxury of taking hundreds of snaps and hope that we've struck gold with one of them; maybe that's the attitude of an amateur such as myself but it's a game of numbers like many things in life.

No syndrome here, at least not that I'm aware of but if I could have a piece of equipment which might be more forgiving with my mistakes (e.g. greater EV range, faster and more accurate focus, etc) why not? I've had a K-r and loved it; no complaints whatsoever but I'm now ready to move onto a K-30 or K-5 II. Still waiting for reviews on the K5 II

Here are some pictures I took with my K-r and I know most are not that great but I'd like to believe there are a couple which might have potential. Feel free to comment. Google made them a bit darker than they are. Now I'm trying to pay more attention to the rule of 2/3rds and composition in general.

https://plus.google.com/photos/105491846501216375169/albums/5775884272151893...CKP78pjCy8ucXg

or

https://picasaweb.google.com/105491846501216375169/Summer2012?authkey=Gv1sRgCKP78pjCy8ucXg

[calculator01]

Wow, some of those are amazing. I think I will submit some of mine to bring the overall quality level down a peg.

[civiletti]

Except for potential extremely shallow depth of field, you would not see a difference attributed to sensor size in these small images.

[vonBaloney]

Thanks for the replies! I just wanted to get feedback from your "trained eyes" since I cannot distinguish between FF and APS-C.

Often, there is no way to tell, no matter how trained your eyes are.

Sure, the pros can do it with ease but that doesn't mean the rest of us can't hit the lotto too; with digital we now have the luxury of taking hundreds of snaps and hope that we've struck gold with one of them; maybe that's the attitude of an amateur such as myself but it's a game of numbers like many things in life.

The pros play the numbers game too.

[Heie]

I was not aware this was happening right now - thank you so much for putting this out. Every time I want to enter things of this nature I realize I am before or after the window.

While a huge long shot, I can now at least say that I've entered a National Geographic competition

I just finished uploading these four images. If you click on the image title, you can find the NatGeo page where they are located.

Category: People

Afghan Sage
I met this village elder while on a combat patrol with U.S. soldiers whose mission that day was to deliver a plethora of backpacks, notebooks, and other school supplies to the children of this village in Eastern Afghanistan.
Location: Afghanistan

*If you don't have a calibrated monitor the sepia treatment will look very bland...

Uparmored Prayer at Sunset
Prior to conducting a nighttime operation, Afghan soldiers perform their final prayer of the day.
Location: Afghanistan



Category: Place

Ridgerunners
To get onto the glacier at the Mont Blanc Massif from the Aiguille du Midi you must first traverse this ridge line of a snowdrift.
Location: Aiguille du Midi, French Alps, Chamonix-Mont Blanc


Descent into the Clouds
Two mountaineers prepare to make their descent on the glacier at the Mont Blanc Massif from the Aiguille du Midi.
Location: Aiguille du Midi, French Alps, Chamonix-Mont Blanc


Hegemon, I know you posted about the image gallery from the competition, but because of you I was made aware of this year's window, and thus wanted to share my submissions. All of mine were taken with Pentax Cameras

Thanks again for affording me the opportunity to enter, because I am sure just like last year I would have found out about it a couple weeks too late.

-Heie

[Hegemon]

You're welcome and glad to know Pentaxians will be represented! Nice pictures!

Adam: Maybe you could change topic so we'll make others aware of the Nat Geo contest.

[vonBaloney]

Contest is open only to individuals who have reached the age of majority in their jurisdiction of residence at the time of entry and who do NOT reside in Cuba, Iran, New Jersey, North Korea, the Province of Quebec, Sudan, Syria or Vermont.

With New Jerseyites, Quebecers and Vermontians out of the way, the path to victory is wide-open!