Welcome to edition 172 of the Pentax Forum's Picture of the Week. Thanks to xs400 for hosting last week!

This edition covers photos from July 3 - July 17, 2011. That 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. It gives us all a chance to see what other members are up to with their Pentax (and Samsung) cameras in the parts of the world in which they live or have visited. We can share ideas, learn from one another, and have a good time.

So show us what you've seen in your little corner of the planet! Looking forward to seeing all of what's out there this week. A special welcome to all new members!

Again same rules as always:

1) No theme, just post your favourite 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 Peter Zack, Moderator via PM.

Here are the links to 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 xjjohonnol, 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
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[TOUGEFC]

x-posted to get the ball rolling -
A few from today:
Full res of this one is 54mp and looks unbeleivable at full size!-

[rparmar]

Very nice look at that temple!

[ramseybuckeye]

TOUGEFC, thanks for hosting, and great starting series!

A few from yesterday at Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus:

[rparmar]

So, I finally had an excuse to take some shots with my Pentax, as I was out this evening recording some local soundscapes. It's quite amazing how much life there is if one takes the time to look closely in the under-brush. These with the Leica 60mm Macro-Elmarit-R. Nothing exceptional, just snaps.


slippery climb




snail nestled on leaf




dragonfly




fly on the prowl

[Gareth.Ig]

I'll continue with my backyard bird. Little guy will let me get good and close to him. Tiny little bird looks really big in a 300mm telezoom from 6ft!

[ramseybuckeye]

Robin, Nice snails and very nice dragonfly. Not your normal fare, but very well done.

Gareth, great detail on your little friend. Do you know the breed?

[reeftool]

I was out in my kayak today and had my first shots of the season of a Heron, and it was a reunion of sorts. The first shot is from last fall. I took a lot of shots of this bird and was able to get in very close, close enough that I got shot of him with my DA 10-17 which I have in my Single in September album. The bird was injured and had difficulty flying.


Today, I happened upon a Heron quite a ways back in a beaver swamp in the inlet stream of the lake. I got as few dozen shots. I wasn't as close as last fall but I had some extra length, an M300/4 with a Pentax 2x A converter. It was my first time using this combo and my focusing skills with it need improving but I'm 99% sure this was the same bird. The odd mark just above the wing and although I didn't get a clear shot of it, there is scar tissue visible from a different angle. I'm happy he made it through the winter.

[jmschrei]

Thanks for hosting TOUGEFC. Lots of nice natural shots to start the week. It was a nice summery long weekend here (Canada Day) and a good excuse to get out.

[TOUGEFC]

Very nice look at that temple!

Yeah its a work of art, I think Im going to have to go up there again soon(without my 2 little horrors ) and spend a bit more time, it was so peacefull and relaxing there.

TOUGEFC, thanks for hosting, and great starting series!

A few from yesterday at Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus:


Thanks mate! Great shots there

So, I finally had an excuse to take some shots with my Pentax, as I was out this evening recording some local soundscapes. It's quite amazing how much life there is if one takes the time to look closely in the under-brush. These with the Leica 60mm Macro-Elmarit-R. Nothing exceptional, just snaps.

Very nice! I like 2,3 alot

Thanks for hosting TOUGEFC. Lots of nice natural shots to start the week. It was a nice summery long weekend here (Canada Day) and a good excuse to get out.

Your welcome Looks like you had a great day out too!

[Gareth.Ig]

Robin, Nice snails and very nice dragonfly. Not your normal fare, but very well done.

Gareth, great detail on your little friend. Do you know the breed?

Thanks, I had lots of practice with this guy and my choice of shots. And thanks TOUGEFC for hosting this week.

The bird is the black-capped chickadee. A great bird for your back-yard as it feeds on all manner of grubs, insects and anything rparmar cares to photograph!

[rparmar]

Robin, Nice snails and very nice dragonfly. Not your normal fare, but very well done.

It relates closely to the environmental recordings I do, and a philosophy of paying attention to the obscure and commonplace. It's refreshing to take the time to see little creatures. Very limited PP, hand-held in low light, ISO 400, f/4-5.6. Just to show what can be done simply.


spider catching supper




baby spider nest




spider

[reeftool]

Some more of my Heron shots from Sunday afternoon.

A "normal" view with the DA 40 from where I had my kayak set. The Heron is visible in the center, if you squint. From this distance, the DA 40 is a little wider than a normal lens IMO.

The old injury is visible in this shot.

Another angle. The M300/4 with a TC is quite a beast to handle. The lack of a tripod collar makes it difficult to keep steady with the camera mounted and all that weight up front. Time to do some fabricating I think.

[sjtryon]

Here are a few of mine...

[Paleo Pete]

Some great shots here, the Chickadee is excellent. We don't have the Black Capped here, we have the Carolina Chickadee. Very similar birds.

A couple I've taken while out trying to work the very sore back muscles a bit. I've been doing a lot of macro shots, mainly because I can sit on a stool...

This Skink showed up 2 days, at least I think it was the same one the second time...Look at the "I" key on your keyboard. His head would barely touch the top and bottom of that letter. He's about 2 inches long, and being young I guess not quite as skittish as they get later on. Usually all I see is a streak when they head for a leaf to hide under. Rarely get a shot.

Lentar 135mm f2.8 M42 lens, Vivitar extension tube set AET-1, Vivitar flash on 1/4 power. f16 at 1/180. No editing at all, crop and resize only.



Click image to view larger size.

The next day, caught him coming out from under a leaf, looking around to see if I'm still there apparently...same rig and settings.



Click image to view larger size.

Damselfly. I wanted a side shot but this all he would give me. Every time I tried to move, he would fly around and land back in this same spot, but still facing me. I really wanted a good side shot of this coloration. First time I've been able to shoot this one. Lentar 135 and extension tubes again.



Click image to view larger size.

One I also posted in the Tiny flowers thread, this one just started blooming here, this is the first one I've seen this year. The whole cluster is almost an inch across, taken with the same Lentar 135 mm and extension tubes. All taken at f16, 1/180 and flash at 1/4 power.



Click image to view larger size.

All these shots are exactly as they came off the camera, no editing except crop and resize.

Enjoy...