Lakelandlass

Thanks to all of you for your comments. Very encouraging. Maureen

Davy - I downloaded especially to see the hot chick. WOW! Where do all these great ideas of yours come from? You always come up with something new. Maureen

Mick - recently I have tried to keep the majority of slides on for 7 secs with a fade of 5 secs. Of course, to fit in with the music and to ensure the show is not too long I do make some variations, but I am definitely keeping the slides on longer than my earlier shows. However, I do prefer to have a slow transition. Certainly the first few slides with the clouds over and around the mountains are on for a shorter time. This was intended to prevent the show being too static. I know that I should really get around to trying animation which I feel would be appropriate here. Maybe sometime.... Maureen

Hi Gilio I'm glad you enjoyed the show but note you have reservations about the music. 'The Lonely Shepherd', the first piece I used, is said to be written by James Last who is German and was played by Georges Zamphir on the ROMANIAN pan flute. Whilst we tend to always associate pan flute music with South America I believe this piece has no such connection (I may be wrong) but for me it suits the mood in the mountains I was hoping to create. Regarding the French/Spanish Pyrenees, I did say when I posted Part 1 that we were going into both the French and Spanish Pyrenees but it so happens that both Bagneres de Luchon and Cauterets are in France. I took a look at your website today and have downloaded some of your shows which are very enjoyable. You, like me, have obviously had rather a creative week. Maureen

INTO THE PYRENEES - PART 2 - starts in the High Pyrenees above Bagneres de Luchon where we stayed 3 nights before moving on to Cauterets, a ski and spa town in south-western France. Pictures taken over this time whilst exploring the area. The area may be familiar to fans of the Tour de France which took place a short while before our visit. There will be a third and final part sometime. Once again, Bill at Beechbrook is kindly hosting at www.beechbrook.com/pte Maureen

Thanks to everyone for your comments. When I took these pics I had no idea I was going to buy a 24" monitor so recently, when it came to processing and cropping to the 16:10 format it gave me a few problems in shots where I had photographed narrow streets,houses, etc, where I had already framed tightly in-camera. Consequently, I was not too happy with some of the results. However, I have now just to remember to leave a little space around the top/bottom. Thanks again. Maureen

Andrew - we have just watched your show and enjoyed it immensely. Stirring stuff and very well done indeed. Wnsoft Forum members never cease to amaze me with their original ideas for a/vs. Maureen

Part 1 is set mainly in and around St Jean Pied a Port in the Basque region of France. It is a quaint little town and is the traditional starting point for the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. The Camino de Santiago de Compostela, also known as The Way of St James, is a collection of old pilgrimage routes which cover all Europe. They all have Santiago de Compostela in north-west Spain as their final destination. For more than 1000 years pilgrims have been walking along the Camino de Santiago. We spent 3 nights in St Jean Pied a Port in September 2009 whilst exploring the surrounding countryside before travelling further into the Pyrenees. This is the first part of a selection of photographs taken over the ensuing two weeks during which time we were travelling through mainly the French and occasionally the Spanish Pyrenees. The music I have used is Basque. Bill at Beechbrook is again kindly hosting the show which can be found at www.beechbrook.com/pte Maureen

Nice one, Mick. I haven't yet got around to trying pan and zoom but yours seemed fine to me. Unlike Eic, it seems you were exceedingly lucky with the weather here in the Lakes. I look forward to your next one after your return visit in May. Regards Maureen

Re the old age comment - tell me about it! Maureen

Andrew - a very nice a/v but the music ended rather abruptly. I'll be the first to say I'm not too clued up on music editing, but I think a slow fade out would have been better. Certainly a place to visit when in the area - thanks for this. Maureen

Thanks very much for the offer, Peter, but I will pass on that one. Regards Maureen

Hi Peter I'm afraid I was unable to create a MAC version of 'Autumn Days in the Lakes' as I don't have the version of PTE which enables me to do so. However, I was able to create a MAC version of a slightly earlier A/V 'Lakeland in Winter'. Maybe you have already seen this but if not it can be found on http://www.mediafire.com/?otqujxqmm05 Maureen Maureen

Hi Mick I'm sorry, but I don't have the photos on any other website. Maureen

Davy - you always do this sort of thing extremely well and are never afraid to tackle something a little less comfortable. Choice of music excellent. Maureen

I thought this was very well done. Maureen

Hi Barry I would echo Mike Davies' comments regarding the second piece of music you chose. Also, and I must stress that this is only MY opinion albeit everso humble, the use of borders is very subjective. Some workers dislike them but I always use them - just a very thin 2 pixel line, in a very light grey. It is considered that a WHITE line tends to distract the eye from the photograph and I think your pics are strong enough not to need the border you have used. Keep the a/vs coming Barry. Nice to see someone else contributing. Maureen

Thanks, Mark. Something to think about. Maureen

Mark - I am very grateful for the useful comments. You have obviously gone to a fair amount of trouble. Regarding transitions, I also have used fades only, apart from my Lakeland in Winter a/v and this current show. I have seen in other's shows what I believe are wipes coming in where there are horizontal or even diagonal lines in a slide and these I found to be very effective. However, they did come in much slower than in my programme and I guess I am still trying to get to grips with the correct settings. Re shadow recovery, we had a recent competition at my local Camera Club where the judge (strings of letters after his name!) was red hot on shadow recovery and was insisting that everybody get busy and bring out the detail in the shadows. This had the effect of making me more aware of shadow detail than previously but there again, a question of getting it just right. We have a Mini A/V night at the club on Wednesday and I shall put it on there. There will be no feedback though as despite some of us trying to encourage members to try PTE there appears to be little interest. There is just a polite applause at the end of any presentation no matter how good or poor it is. My main critic is a 91 years old man who got me going in the first place and he doesn't mince his words! Once again, thanks Mark for taking the trouble. It is much appreciated. Maureen

Colin - it is always nice to see pics from the other side of the world and in great weather, too. It certainly gave you an opportunity to try out your new camera with good results. It must be a great place to take the kids. Maureen

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to respond so quickly. Rick - I anticipated the music would not be to everyone's taste but I love it and it is just what I had in mind for this kind of show, so I hope it grows on you. Bill - sorry about the MAC. I have emailed you separately about this so maybe you could let me know if I have been successful. Don - No, I don't USUALLY use a tripod, bad practise I know. I do have a carbonfibre model, which I still find too heavy to carry around when walking on hills for several miles. I know I should use it more often than I do, but I try to find rocks or fences on which to rest my elbows if light is a bit low. The lens I use is a VR model which helps. Mark and DaveG - valid comments regarding timing and fades which I am still aiming to get bang on. Mary - thanks for your comments. I do keep forgetting to put my name on the end credits. However, I have now created for myself a Check List of 'dos and don'ts' resulting from comments from Forum members. Now all I have to do is to remember to look at it. Off topic, I hope the skiing went well. DavyC - thanks as always. Don't know what I would do without your advice. Again, thanks to everyone for your comments. It all helps to try and improve. Maureen

A new slideshow on www.beechbrook.com with grateful thanks, as always, to Bill. Shorter than my usual ones. Just a few days out and about in the autumn. Maureen

Thanks, Anthony, for your comments. To be fair, it is such a remarkable environment that to take a bad picture would, I think, be difficult. As far as the length of a/vs is concerned, I believe it is felt that the attention span of the majority is not more than a few minutes. We have a 'Mini-A/V' night a couple of times a year at the Club at which I am a member and there they stipulate that the presentation should be no more than 4 minutes. I'm afraid as far as I'm concerned they have to take what they are given. LOL!! Maureen

Thanks, Mark. One of these days I WILL manage to keep it within 5 minutes. I've not done it yet! Maureen

Colin - to enable others to see the show at the size and quality you created it, go to Project Options > Screen > and tick the 'Fixed Size of Slide' box. This will prevent your pictures being stretched on larger monitors. Hope this helps. Maureen