"Try opening a good pic and saving in .bmp format and see what happens. I don't think bitmaps compress. There is ALWAYS data loss in compressions" not true - some image formats use what is called lossless compress - compression that does not involve data loss. for example, lzw compression in the .tif format. i think .png is lossless as well, and gives better compression than .tif

hey! its got red in it! thats no good :)

btw - iso numbers for digital cameras tend only to maen a trade off between shutter speed and grain. high iso (300, 400) mean short exposures, good for action and dark conditions but are more grainy than low iso (50, 100) which are better for bright conditions, or where the subject is still.

i like the sunbeams on 2 and the colours on 1. looks a lot warmer than here in dreary england :(

"anyone who's worked with 3ds max or lightwave will laugh at the use of Poser, Bryce, Vue d'Esprit, etc" (slightly misquoting rork, i know, but its short, ok? :) ) - maybe true to a certain extent. i myself use lightwave, but i think that most pro 3d apps users recognise 3d art from any app, but have isues with the concept of poser, in that so little effort has to be put in to achieve the final image. if any of you have done tradional art, it comes across a bit like a ready made. (that wont mean much to some of you, so ignore it). i do have a problem with the way that the entire front page seems to be devoted to poser. while i recognise that there are a lot of poser users on this site, i have never seen a front page that reflecs the diversity of the content. i myself for several years avioded this site under the impression that it was almost entirely poser focused. contests like this only serve to strengthen the missimpressions, and i really think that more impartial people should be chosen in future.

its possible to achive the high contrast you were looking for on both b&W and colour, but i agree with misha, the dreamy quality works well.

5, i think. but yes, that remark was a bit harsh for my poor and slightly broken pentx me super to hear :*(

no. 1 is very clever. would you mind sharing make and length of lens used? the red lens flare interacting with the tree gives a very intersting effect.

interesting... i might have a use for that improving my little old 640x480 digital pics... (useful for taking places as it fits in my pocket, whereas the monster slr doesnt :/ )

looks really interesting... pity this time of year is so busy for me :/

that does look v nice. would also like to see it with 'unscrewed' params...

i like number 3... the other thing that you can do, of course is use a linear polarizer to take care of the reflections, but if you cant put a lens hood on, i would be surprised if you could fit a filter.