Lakelandlass

Hi Jim - you've beaten me to it. I was up there last week in October, obviously in the same area so it was particularly interesting and enjoyable to watch your a/v and recognise so many of the places you photographed. Can I ask, please, on which island(s) you took your Hebridean images? Maureen

Jean-Charles I downloaded both these slideshows some months ago as having visited Iceland a couple of years back they were of particular interest. I kept them both as they really are superb and really do give a'feel' of what Iceland is about. Excellent work.

Thanks to Barry, Dave G and Dave Peterson We have Barry to thank for putting me wise to ticking the appropriate box. I have not yet graduated to a large monitor; that'll have to wait a while but glad you all enjoyed the show. Maureen

Thanks John. I wasn't too sure about the music, to be honest. I've tried all sorts but didn't want to use something others had used. Anyway, pleased you like it. Maureen

Late June saw us in Ireland for a couple of weeks. The latest slideshow is on www.beechbrook.com/pte Maureen

Ron I emailed Barry privately as I wasn't quite sure what he meant as I thought I had already answered his question. His reply is copied below as it is something other members of the Forum may find useful to know. It is certainly something I had not considered. [ "Your doing it OK from what I can see. You don't need more than 72ppi and to size images at 1024 and allow the height to take care of itself at 680px retains the format from your camera. The reason I asked is that there seems to be a little known fact that those on the PTE forum are missing. Unless you tell PTE not to do it, it will try and make your slide show fit any other resolution monitor it is played on. Now that is OK if that resolution is the same as yours, but what if it isn't. I have a large monitor running 1920*1200 and when I watched your show I had a suspicion that it was being stretched to fit my screen and that puts a large dent in the quality of your images. They were made for a 1024 pixel screen and were made to fit a 1900. You can easily stop that happening, by going into PTE project options and clicking the Screen tab. There is a small box there labeled Fixed Size of slide (in pixels) If you tick that box, your slide show will be seen by others at the size you created it and then the image quality is retained. You would never know this unless you saw your show played on a large monitor."] Hope this answers your query, Ron. Maureen

Barry I emailed you a couple of days ago as I was not quite sure what you meant. You replied by email giving me a 'tip' you thought some Forum members were unaware of when creating their a/vs. I will relay this info to Ronnie and anyone else who may be interested. Maureen

John As you say, this is getting very confusing. My reply re THE PROMISED LAND was in answer to John DELLER. I have just checked and this appears to be in order. John Deller, too, created an a/v of The Highlands and Skye. I kept both his and yours. Maureen

Hi John Have just watched for the second time your a/v of THE PROMISED LAND and it brought back happy memories of great walks in Snowdonia, particularly Tryfan and the Snowdon Horseshoe. What stunning lighting - the sort of stuff to die for and such a lot of work must have gone into this one. Not only the putting together of the a/v but the rugged mountain walking. Are you familiar with Ken Scott's work? He has a similar style. I recall from when I first came across this Forum your a/v of The Highlands and Skye. Though there was some criticism at the time that it was a bit dark, I absolutely loved it and thought it very typical of the brooding atmospheric conditions with the magical shaft of sunlight bursting through which occurs, if you're lucky, in mountains. I kept it and have played it many times and also showed it to friends who are keen a/v fans. I shall keep THE PROMISED LAND and also keep a lookout for more of your work. Best wishes Maureen

Yes, Bill, you are correct. Taken on a beautiful frosty morning. Maureen

Davy - Good to see some of these old stars again and quite nostalgic. I thought the photos came up well and I DID like the music and thought it suited the mood. Maureen

Hi Paul - glad you enjoyed it. Ambleside is pretty busy (and wet!) at the moment. Maureen

Barry - I've emailed you at bigpond. Maureen

Hi Lin Thanks for your comments and glad you enjoyed the show. It's so good to know that someone else feels the way I do about music. For me, if it feels right then it IS right. I have already sorted out the mouse problem on an a/v I have justed started to sort. Best wishes Maureen

Hi Mary All of the photos were taken in the Lake District National Park which is in Cumbria in the north-west of England. It's a fairly compact area of lakes and mountains and very beautiful. If and when you decide to come, please contact me and I would be only too pleased to advise of places to visit. Maureen

Barry - in every a/v I have done I use 72 dpi, apart from Moods of Lakeland where I had to resize a number which had been taken on a different camera. These were then at 240 dpi. Maureen

Thanks to Ron and Ken for comments and advice. Next time I will certainly do as you suggest. Maureen

Hello Dave First, thanks for taking the trouble to watch and comment. I first came across this music on one of your shows and absolutely loved it. I looked it up and bought the CD and have had in mind for quite some time that I wanted to put something to it. It's interesting that you, like John, feel it's not right. When I did my Mull and Iona (islands off the west coast of Scotland) show a couple of months back the music I used was an Irish tune (with an Irish title) but played by a Scottish Pipe Band and the music felt so right to my ears. However, there was criticism that I shouldn't have used an Irish tune to an a/v about Scotland, so I thought I had better not use Irish or Scottish music to an English a/v. I enjoy selecting the music as much as choosing the pictures and it is often quite a challenge. Sometimes we get it right, other times not. As you say, music - like anything else - is very subjective. However, taking on board both John's and your comments, I may take another look at this sometime and see if I can come up with something else. It's a fascinating hobby, this one of ours. It's good to get feedback such as this as it can help one to take a step back and try to see and HEAR from another's perspective. Thanks Dave and pleased you still like the music to the Greenland a/v. Incidentally, after receiving John's comments about the music I 'googled' it and found that the film was almost entirely shot in the mountains of British Columbia. Regards Maureen

John - thanks for taking the trouble to reply and for your interesting and useful comments. Initially I tried to give the feeling of a misty, autumn morning and then the build up in music as the pictures flowed. I have to admit that my other half absolutely agrees with what you say but I still like it the way it is. It would be interesting to hear what others may think. As regards the B&W transition, yes - I should have tried that. It might have worked out better. Thanks again, John. It's always good to receive feedback. Maureen

A series of images taken over the last year in the Lake District National Park. It can be found at www.beechbrook.com Grateful thanks to Bill for hosting. Maureen

Thanks, Dave, for that. I did wonder about the music; I tried several pieces but this one seemed to me to be the most suitable. Must say I don't envy you your current hot weather, it must be absolutely exhausting. Much prefer the cooler climates myself. Once again, thanks for your comments. Maureen

GREENLAND. A new slideshow I have just completed of a cruise we did August 2008 up the west coast of Greenland, aiming for the 80th parallel. This is not meant to be an a/v of 'pretty pictures', although there are a few, but I have tried to give a fairly accurate overview of what we saw in a land where living is particularly hard. We did see 6 polar bears but unfortunately they were way beyond the limitations of my 18-200 lens. Bye the way, slideshow available at www.beechbrook.com with grateful thanks to Bill. Maureen

I was about to upload one today to Beechbrook but I see Bill is away until mid-July so it can wait. I think that'll be it for a while though; haven't really got anything in mind for another. Maureen

Hi Davy I recall you telling me that you were working on this a/v quite some months ago and so it is nice to see it at last. It also places all the comments you made into context. Whilst, like Mark, I am a member of the pretty pics and nice music brigade, it is good to see something different and it always amazes me to realise what creative minds some lucky people have. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can appreciate the time and work you have put into it. You really do produce some interesting stuff. Maureen

Well done, Davy, I found it very moving. As a mother of sons, I wasn't sure whether I really wanted to watch this, but I am glad I did. You have obviously put a great deal into this. However, I wonder - will we ever really learn? Maureen