helen

I promise there are plenty of unedited photos too LOL, mainly tonnes of puppy photos lately http://www.flickr.com/photos/rivamist/ I would love to do more creative work but just don't have the time

It is a terrific and appealing artwork................. guess digitally enhanced photo should accompany it................. Creative section is for digitally enhanced artwork mine is small fry compared to some, just have a look at this gallery from the last Vigex international competition http://www.vigex.org.au/Slideshow.html?Sal...SalonSection=CE

I hope all you talented photographers are going to enter Vigex competition, closes 20 March so still time - http://www.vigex.org.au it is open for all photographers, amateur and professional, and counts toward Australian and international honors It is one of 2 international competitions held in Australia and is run locally at Geelong, a lot of people from the 2 local camera clubs put in a lot of work for the compeition. Your entry includes a printed catalogue which is a lovely book. I purchased the last one as I didn't enter and it is worth having.

polorising filters are popular for landscape and can increase blues in skies etc, different films had different chemical mixes so different films have more saturated colors than others

Here is one that would make the purist wince, but it has been accepted at national photography competitions, in the creative section so is still classified as photography

The photos above look like she has just adjusted contrast/curves etc and added vignette - a purist may add a filter to their lens to achieve the same effect rather than doing it in photoshop - but all the photoshop in the world won't rescue a bad photo. here is a before and after photo for you using similar effect - I don't consider this cheating myself as I knew when I took the photo what I wanted and with digital always take the photo in color and convert to black and white later - this photo BTW was taken on a little pentax compact, it happens to have a swivel back so you can take this angle without having to get on the ground LOL

I have an old fashioned one that I haven't used so I might start with that until I get the I-click one. It is for show training for 2 of my Elkies so the I-click will come in handy as it is quieter as well. I want to start training our new puppy when it arrives with a clicker as soon as possible. Have you seen these books? http://clickerpets.stores.yahoo.net/potrforshdor.html http://clickerpets.stores.yahoo.net/cltowiavford.html

I think what you have is the best

I normally use the old fashioned ones as I have more of them. If you are using it for show training I would get an I-click as you can use it with your foot while stacking the dog etc.

Those Border Collie ones are fantastic, great job. I have a new siggie too

Karen Bridge is from Sydney, she is a qualified Delta instructor, and she started this club amongst other things - http://www.getsmartdogs.com.au/ She is excellent, I have been to a couple of training days she has done for another club's instructors and committee and she has loads of knowledge and experience to share. She is very interesting and I will be going.

Couldn't have explained better myself kja - I would love to know where you purchase lenses from too, and have you ever had any problems with postage?

Congratulations everyone, and especially to the new obedience champion

I have put the lens to the test and am very happy with it, very sharp and good detail. Will try some action shots over the next few days when the weather cools down a bit - here are a few of the photos, taken on apeture priority f2.5 f1.8 f4.0 f3.5 f3.5 f2.5

Someone has just lent me a lens to test, a Canon 85mm, sells for about $500 and is apparently as good as the 50mm which has not come off my camera since I purchased it. I will take some photos using it in the next few days of the pups, if it is as good as I have been told I will be buying one, the prime lenses have spoilt the zooms for me.

Glad you all like it, and good to hear the after you get your puppy book is good too.

I think so, I went back and edited to add the wall bit LOL

I would back chain and get the sit in front solid first then gradually recall from longer and longer. For a while when the dog is doing a recall tell him to sit well before he gets to you to give him time to slow down enough to sit in front of you, just work on the timing Also stand with a wall/fence behind you so he can't go past you.

Good luck, hope all goes well

Not sure how to do it but you would need to read up on advance selection tools so you can select all the hairs of the dog so you are not loosing the coat

Nice to hear your input into the photography tips GayleK - interesting about the lost data with JPEG, didn't know that. I downloaded the Lightroom trial a while ago now and love it too. At the moment it is a bit much for me to buy as I want to spend some money on a 85mm lens but one day

I borrowed one of her books a few years ago from a library and didn't read past the first chapter. See this link for a good list of available books http://www.clickersolutions.com/reading.htm PS - there wasn't anything harsh or strict in the 1st chapter, the book just plain didnt interest me

See this link, this book comes highly recommended and is available free on the internet, great read even if you already have your pup http://www.siriuspup.com/beforebook.html

sounds like a normal puppy LOL. Try this link for some further reading on anything puppy, including what you have mentioned - http://www.k9events.com/pups.html - has loads of training info

Get a car harness and attached the dog to an anchor point of some type or put it in a secure crate. I use a car harness myself (for safety) and have a hatch so have the seats down so they are not on the seat and use a blanket but you can also get good back seat protectors if you want to