mbird

Hi Andy I installed the shorepower specifically for battery charging in the yard. I have never hooked up to shorepower anywhere else, even over the winter, as normally someone else has got to the hook-up pillar first. As they each only have one socket of each type, they are very sought after in winter and therefore difficult to come by! The idea was to take an oil rad with us, but so far we've had to rely on our Propex's to keep us toasty.

Glad to hear you've made your choice Simon Sony do make bloody good games consoles though

Hi Andy I did mine myself, but I do have a good understanding of these things. I used armoured cable so I didn't have to double insulate it where it passed through bulkheads, and also a consumer unit with RCD. I also fitted a selector switch to flick between shore power and inverter for the mains sockets, and wired it so the battery charger also comes on only when shore power is fitted. The actual job itself depends on your knowledge of electical installations but if in any doubt, get a professional in!

Hi Stefan I agree with Jonzo regarding image size. Shoot at the highest quality you can, and then you have scope to be able to crop smaller areas from a photo without loosing detail. To start with I probably wouldn;t worry about shooting RAW, as you need software to convert the images to jpg to enable friends & family to view them. To make the images smaller, for emailing for example, I use Microsoft Office Picture Manager which easily resizes images, but there is plenty of other software that does this too. More compression means less quality, as you are squishing the pictures into a smaller file, and therefore discaring information.

Hi Dave Your journey with DSLR's sounds very simlar to mine. I started with a Canon 350D then upgraded to a 50D earlier this year. I am still getting used to it, but the lenses I have are not the best (both are Canon, neither are L series), so my next upgrade will be a better lens .... when funds allow! I always shoot RAW, so the picture settings you mention have no effect, as I believe does Simon. It's interesting what you say about the Sigma EX DG lenses. I'll certainly have to look into those nearer the time.

Hi Martin I can soon answer that one! As one of the aforementioned twerps, I can confirm it does get a little breezy when they go to full throttle. The photo below is just as the pilot applied full thrust, as you can see by the dust that is being blown. The next shot shows the plane has started to move, but the amount of dust being blown about meant I had to turn around to protect the camera. I did watch a 737 from slightly off to one side after this one, and even just being a little off centre meant there was hardly any wind at all. One thing that amazed me though, was that when the plane was taxiing towards us and then turning around in the turning circle, the noise from the engines and generator was deafening. When the engines were taken up to full thrust though, they went surprisingly quiet. Definatley no cop cars on Skiathos to spoil the fun, although a couple of years ago a campervan did get blown over, so we were told!

What enchanting old scenes JAR, thanks for sharing them. I love the idea that everyone seems to be in their Sunday best to have a trip on a boat, even in a rowing dinghy.

And you thought Riverside and Prince of Wales Rd was bad on a Saturday night nowadays!

Awww bless! One happy grandad methinks Trevor. Congrats to all concerned.

Aww that's a shame. I was looking forward to an evening of Steve's witty repartie, and the p*** taking out of my choice of motorbike

This is a head or heart decision Simon. If going with the head, then Nikon has to be the practical way forward from a purely consumer and financial point of view. The range you want is available as well as the choice when it comes to lenses. If going with heart then stick with the Sony. Ever since I've known you, you have always stated how much you love the pictures your Sony produces, but how much you hate the company. If that's the case and you go with Nikon, are you going to be unhappy with the results for evermore? For me personally, the bit of work in LightRoom is worth it. As I always shoot in RAW nowadays, most of the images tend to look a little flat when I import them, but by adding a couple of presets I've stored, that is easily corrected in just a few seconds, and as I go through the imports to cull out the crap anyway, it really isn't any more effort. You know from previous conversations that my preference is for photos a little more contrasty than those you favour, so that way at least it's easy to "personalise" the pictures and is well worth the few minutes effort. My biggest problem now is not having a lens I am happy with the clarity of. I suspect the lens I will end up buying sometime next year with cost me around £600, but from what I think you've said previously Sony do not offer anything in this bracket? oooooh, decisions decisions eh?

Hi Paul, I can see what you mean when flicking backwards and forwards. I'm not sure if I am seeing a colour cast, or just that the smaller images in the thread are slightly darker and more saturated. It's only marginal on my screen but is there.

Good to have you back Bruce Stunning shots as always, and your mention of the North Noroflk coast prompted my memory to find one I took at Sheringham. It's not in the same league as yours, but was taken on the very first day I got my very first DSLR camera.

Glad you all had a good time last night. I am sorry I couldn't be there, but an evening dentist appointment and a filling saw to that!

Lovely shot Ian. I took out a half decker a few weeks ago from Hunters. The skipper decided I was big enough to be able to handle full sail and dropped the reef out. They can't half shift those old girls For me there is very little that beats the feeling of storming along with the gunwhales in the water using nothing but the wind (And this from a stinky owner ! )

We were out and about this Bank Holiday, and didn't see too much in the way of bad behaviour. We were overtaken on the wrong side when going through Horning, by a private boat crewed by early twenty somethings . When I pointed out the danger of doing so (ie being crushed against the bank) they didn't seem to take too kindly to my advice. We saw the same boat the next day, crewed by much older people (Mum & Dad maybe?) and they were navigating much more sensibly. We almost had a coming together with a private yacht too. He was tacking towards us, but gave no indication where he wanted us. I decided for the both of us (having some experience sailey things) and tried to anticipate where he would tack. Unfortunatley he decided to change his course mid stream and we both had to take avoiding action. He had also just rammed a dayboat into the reads so methinks experienced sailer he was not! Incidents with private craft 2, hire craft 0. When it comes to speeding, I don't think any yards are worse that others, but it's as David says, purely down to fleet size. Yobbish behaviour tends to go the same way, particularly if a fleet hires to single sex parties on large boats. Mind you, whenever I see a Martham boat, they always seem to be overtaking me at full chat! Busy it has been, but I for one am glad to see it and long may it continue to help the local businesses. (ps Rob fish..... are you related to Andyfish, cos the boat in the avatar looks vey familiar!)

Heathens, the lot of you It's an aquired taste certainly, but I also like Retsina! Next you'll be telling me you don't like Feta Cheese or Olives!

Hi Jill, thanks for the link. By the looks of it, it wasn't a Common Swallowtail though, but a Scarce Swallotail. If you click the name I.Podalirius in the list opn that linkm that shows it.

I LURV Ouzo! To the uninitiated it may be a bit like drinking aniseed balls (especially when mixed with Sprite or water), but neat with a single ice cube it makes a lovey aperitife, and is rumoured to aid digestion! unfortunatley the bottle we brought back broke in my Mum's suitcase so she now has aniseed knickers

Not quite that bad, but it was sudden cross wind that caused ours

You are right Simon, it is a bit interesting. There are only a few types of planes that can land here, as the runway is only 1500m long. No sooner have the wheels touched the ground, but the engines are in full reverse thrust, and then it seems you only just stop in time before falling into the sea the other end! When the Airbus's take off, they have to land again to refuel on the mainland as they can;t take off with enough fuel for the whole journey. Still at least we didn't have to suffer a missed approach like the last time I went to Prague. Now that was unnerving!

Pardon?

A Greek relation to the Swallowtail do you think? It was about 4" wingspan. Not a particularly good shot as I had the aperture size, and hence depth of field, wrong, but still pretty.

Hi All I had never visited the Greek island of Skiathos before, but had heard the airport runway was somewhat unique. I made a point of visiting the end of the runway one day, just to watch a few planes land. Rather conveniently someone has built a taverna just off the end of the runway to make the waiting more pleasant! I admit to being terrified the first time I stood on the flight path of a landing plane A bit of motion blurr on this one A tourist attraction in it's own right

And a couple of offerings from my recent holiday in Greece.....