gingerjon

I am so far! Not had chance to test on action pics yet and it's a bit top heavy on my light camera but it really does the job. There's some free lunchtime concerts near work this week and providing I can dodge the PCSOs and Park Police I'll be taking some snaps there!

They're very good buskers so they're probably lying furriners. Well, to take the accordion player ... This is original - all I've done here is re-save the original RAW file as a jpeg. And here it's just been converted to grayscale. If I used the camera's B/W function this is what it would look like. It's okay here but you're right in that it can just be washed out - plus if all you do is desaturate or convert to BW this is what happens. Plus having the image as black and white/desaturated limits what you can in terms of filters. So. The gingerjon way - which is probably not the best way but it delivers the results I like is: Open the RAW image in Photoshop Elements. Sort out any under/over exposure and white balance. Boost the clarity. Open image in the editing window. With the image still in colour adjust first levels and the brightness & contrast. At this stage it will look somewhat unnatural in colour as I'm looking to build up contrasts (although without going crazy) - so the levels will probably move the midtones slightly and possibly drift in the under and over exposure bit. On the contrast I will probably move it within the range of +1 to +6 and move the brightness either + or - up to 4 or 5. So that's three layers after which I flatten the image to get back to 1. Then I apply the Gradient Map which is the best tool for converting to monochrome. It's best to experiment with this - I like using the orange/red end of the filter and having it almost black but not quite. Again flatten the image. Now go to enhance image and apply the Unsharp Mask. I tend to use: 60%, radius 1.0 pixels with 0.0 threshold - don't ask me what all that means I got there by experimenting! Finally apply any colour filters as required which will help with the overall toning of the image. This is something that can't be done if the shot has been converted to BW or was shot in monochrome mode. Flatten image. Save. And that's that. Probably clear as mud. Mods: Can we merge the two photo threads we have going please?

Right - where's everybody else's photies??? Here are some from my debut run with my lovely new Nikkor 70-300 on the South Bank on Friday.

Good stuff. Nice reflection in the water and nice trail from the swan to the pond/lake as well. Could it be cropped a little tighter though - just a personal opinion.

This is bloody genius: recreating famous images using Lego men. There are some on the BBC site but not this one: The Twickenham Streaker The Full Set

Any vomit-inducing combination of blue, red and white. The kits that taste forgot by and large. For once on matters of shirts we agree. That was a fine jersey. Harlequins RL have had a good run of away shirts as well. But Fulham's, as mentioned and kind of modelled by the Skolars these days I think, is the best.

A couple from strolling round London - bit blurry but never mind.

If you want. If you want a large one (fnarr fnarr) you can download from here I think.

Oi! Get yer stuff on here!!!

I'll put a few on ... According to views and favourties, this is my most popular pic on Flickr. It was taken last November at Smithfield Market, central London. But - I think, my mood changes on this - that this is my own favourite. This is from London's South Bank in February. And to annoy Townie, here's an arty rugby one I simply call "Try". More coming soon! And you'll all be thrilled to learn that I am now part of the credit crunch as I mortgaged my granny to get the Nikkor AF-S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 last night. Hopefully will get an outing at St Albans on the weekend.

I think the thread's an excellent idea. Get it started, Mr Townie! Although if artsifartiness is banned then I may struggle.

Looks a good camera. Not sure why anyone would buy a 450D in preference to it thought? I am going to collect my lovely new farcically expensive Nikkor lens on my way home. I am also going to be eating bread and water for lunch for the next few months.

And you can sod off too.

Go forth and multiply. Although I believe that all Canon AF lenses fit all Canon cameras. Have a look at the Nikonians page - there are complex diagrams about which lenses go with which cameras. I think we should have a photography thread over here - nowt wrong with copying rlfans!

It couldn't hurt but unfortunately I wouldn't believe you. I'll be getting the Nikkor version and hoping my bank balance forgives me.

Actually I'd add that this lens issue is very annoying for the Nikon D60. I can't actually get the lens I want because there's no stock in the country - demand outruns supply by 7:1. There's a lot of D40x/D60 uses but not enough lenses to keep us happy! I am now looking at having to double the amount I wanted to spend - which I can't really afford to do - and getting a Nikon own lens.

Photoshop Elements

How easy to use is clikpic - and is it good value for what you get? Very tempted to set up a website.

Geek!

I used a Samsung GX10 (essentially a rebadged Pentax) when 'On Assignment' with Amateur Photographer last year. It's a very good camera although a bit heavier than I would like if out on a long shoot. I think it's GX20 now but it's well worth a look and the lenses that go with it (Schneider I think - but also rebadged as Samsung) do get good reviews.

100% agree. Fantastic book.

I have a Nikon D40x which has been superseded by the D60. It's a superb, light camera which has the right mix (to my mind) of auto features and manual control. The only downside, and it is a major one, is that lenses for it must have an AF motor on the lens as the camera itself doesn't have one. This means that for Nikon badged lenses you're restricted to AF-S and from Sigma they have to be HSM ones. These are comparatively new systems which means there's no secondhand market as such so getting more lenses once you've got your initial bundle won't necessarily be cheap or easy. Jessops are currently offering a bundle of a D60 with 18-55 and 70-200 lenses plus bag, battery and memory card for

A truly inclusive thread would bring in news and reports from the Wizards as well.