Is that a real poncho, or is that a Sears poncho?

They say that "concert" shots are hard to do well because of the generally low lighting and all the action. These are great. Nice and sharp and without flash (or so it seems). Photos to be proud of.

I'm willing to share the glory with Sue on this one. :-) I think it's a sewage treatment plant too.

Attached Link: http://www.dpreview.com

I've ordered a set of Hoya macro lenses for my digital
camera and will be posting some shots taken with them
along with my impressions when they arrive (in about a
week or so). Stay tuned if you're interested.

Above is a link to DPReview.com. They do digital camera
reviews with current prices, if you're interested.

Your courage pays off, Michelle. That's a great little structure and a beautiful photo of it.

I think perhaps a good rule of thumb with respect to filters
for use on digital cameras is "Use only filters which
enhance the clarity and tonal range of the captured image.
Most all special effects can be simulated in post
processing." If you make an image with a given filter,
you're pretty much stuck with that effect, as it
is very hard to undo the effect in post processing. What
I would aim for is the sharpest image with the best tonal
range as a starting point, and then work from there in
post processing. This gives me the freedom to change my
mind about effects after the fact.

I think they put in the speakers so they can yell at people
who try to steal the camera. "HEY! Stop climbing up here!
No! Leave that camera alone! Wait! Come back here with that
camera!!!!!... Drat. I guess we need a robotic arm. Oh!
Is this mic still on??"

Very nice work. My favorite is #1 as it has the most plesant lighting and seems the most candid.

I'm guessing that the Fuji is your digital camera?
I just ordered a Lensmate filter adapter tube for my
Powershot G2. It takes 49mm filters. Along with it I
ordered a set of Hoya Macro "filters" (lenses) because
I'm still fascinated by super-close up work. Aside from
the macro set I think the only other essential filters
would be a UV (Haze) or clear glass filter to leave on the
lens in order to protect it, and a Circular Polarizer. Since
you're working in digital most color filters can be
simulated in postprocessing. The same is pretty much true
with other special effect filters, such as diffusers etc.

Oh, I might add that Tiffen makes a super-wide angle add-on
lens and a telephoto add-on lens. The widest wide angle
lens they sell is .45 times your lense's focal length,
and the telephoto is 2 times your lense's FL. I plan to try
one of each and see what their quality is like. (BTW, I've
read that in England these are much more expensive than they
are here for some reason)

Just a general comment about converting color images to B&W. I just got a great little filter for GIMP (Gnu Image Manipulation Program -- very much like Photoshop, except FREE :-) which allows you to specify the percentages of red, green, and blue components to use to create a B&W image from a color one. Works really well. The result is like using combinations of red, green, and blue filters with B&W film. If there is an equivalent filter for Photoshop I would recommend trying it out.

Doruksal, you may or may not be an "expert" but you
certainly expressed just what I was thinking about the
tones and textures of the B&W version versus the color
version, but couldn't find the words. Very well stated!
Thanks.

What a great close-up! I've got tons of tree rats in the back yard. So many, in fact, that the tree limbs can't support all of their weight when they get to scurrying around. I never get too close to them because of their venomous fangs.

What a lovely Mother's Day card!

F: Man, is the pizza guy on the other side of that door in for a surprize!

Ok Mike, I just have to ask. Does this give you special
access to these buildings in order to photograph them?
Like, access during normally closed hours so you don't
have to fight with crowds, or access to closed off parts
of buildings?

Sounds like a very cool gig indeed.