I very much enjoy featuring images sent to me by my friends on Madang - Ples Bilong Mi.  Unfortunately, few friends send me samples of their work. I’m pestering a few of them to do so, but shyness seems to interfere. If you are a regular reader of this journal and you have images that you think will be appreciated by our audience, then please feel free to email them to me. Work them over until you are happy with them and send 1600 pixel (longest dimension) JPG images that are between 200 and 300 Kilobytes. Include some text describing the images and I will include that also. I’ve featured Trevor Hattersley’s images before here and here. Heidi Majano has also had a guest appearance.

Don’t be shy. Have a try.

We’ll start with a couple of shots from Trevor Hattersley. He’s been a keen amateur as long as I’ve known him, probably about twenty years. He recently purchased from me a spare (ordered two by mistake from Amazon) Olympus SP-590UZ superzoom camera and has been diligently learning to use it feature-by-feature. Up at Blueblood a couple of weeks ago he was playing with macro shots and came up with two very nice fungi:This one of Bracket Fungi has very accurate colours, perfect focus and nice composition. A shot that anyone should be proud to display.

Here’s another fungi shot by Trevor:Again, we have interesting and accurate colours, good composition, fine focus (click to enlarge) and a generally interesting and aesthetic image. Well done, mate! I was happy to see that Trevor resisted the urge to use flash on these shots. They are very natural looking – just the way that your eyes see them.

Now let’s move to another friend a world away. Ron Barrons hails from Hamilton, Ontario in Canada. He’s a very experienced and knowledgeable photographer with a good pair of hiking boots. Since Hamilton is the Waterfall Capital of the World, it’s not surprising that Ron has a plethora of beautiful images of water tumbling over rocks. The Niagara Escarpment is responsible for this cornucopia of waterfalls, something for which local photographers are eternally grateful.

Here is a beautiful shot of Grindstone Falls:

This one is of the cascade below the falls:Ron has the “silky water” technique down pat. This requires a tripod, a neutral density filter to cut down the amount of light coming in through the lens, and long exposure times. The result is that the water takes on a very fluid and smooth look which intensifies the appearance of flow. You can see some of my Hamilton Waterfalls and our adventures in waterfall country here, here and here.

Ron is not a one-trick-pony. He sent several gorgeous Canadian Autumn shots taken from the heights around the Niagara Escarpment. This one is a beaut:

Here is another, looking up at the escarpment itself:

I could not resist the urge to try making a watercolour of one of Ron’s beautiful shots. This one is of Rattlesnake Ridge:You will need to click to enlarge to see the full watercolour effect. Ron was kind enough to allow me to modify his work and publish it here.

I know that many of my readers must be serious hobby photographers. Please send me images that move you and allow me to showcase your work here.

I’m not fooling around. I mean it.

Related posts:

1. On the Road – Hamilton, Ontario Things are a little hectic today – no time for frivolity. Our son, Hans, his wife, Tamara, and our granddaughters, Philippa Jayne (Pippa) and Audrey Rose live in Hamilton. Hamilton is a steel town and smells like it. The area below the Niagara Escarpment is the primary industrial area. More...
2. Skies – Trees – Tug Boat – Guest Ron Barrons Two beautiful shots from guest Ron Barrons. He always makes Hamilton, Ontario look good. Also a couple of morning shots across Madang Harbour from our house....
3. The Niagara Escarpment Come and view Hamilton, Ontario from the Niagara Escarpment with photographer and journalist, Jan Messersmith...
4. George Webster – RIP I gave you some images of Hamilton, Ontario waterfalls the other day. I’ve done one post today, but I can’t sleep, so I’ll lay another one on you. As we were waterfall hunting, our friend Ron Barrons pointed out an interesting tombstone. It’s where George Webster was laid to rest....
5. Silky Water – Hamilton’s Waterfalls We finally got a day when it was warm enough to go outside without my fingers locking up. We borrowed our son’s car and headed off with our friend Ron, a walking encyclopaedia concerning the Hamilton area, and went off in search of a few of Hamilton’s approximately 100 waterfalls....
6. A Gathering of the Worst Pool Shots on the Planet To celebrate Trevor Hattersley's impending marriage to Karen Simmons, a small gathering of the word's worst pool players convened to prove their unworthiness....
7. The Strange Mr. Hattersley’s Excellent Volcano Adventure In 2005, Trevor Hattersley travelled to Rabaul on business. He captured some excellent shots of the volcano erupting. The photography is his. I only mildly Photoshopped them to prepare them for the web. Here’s a nice one along the road to the volcano: Since I’m playing journalist these days, I thought it...

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 at 10:32 and is filed under Guest Shots. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.