this is really cool.. I love your site....and i love the fact that you leave all the info on how you take the pics....this way I have learned how to use my camra and all the different settings on it.... I would love to see some more pics of your kids... I have a 8 month old myself and I have taken alot of pictures of her because of the things I have leaned here!

Extranger Photo, but interesting sensation.
I like all the noise around the object.

Great the sand texture. And very expressive shot.

love this one :)

Usually, I don't like it when a single object stands out in color, it strikes me as being a bit cheesy, but this is well done. Really, very nice.

I adore the texture on this shot Dave - just wonderful! :)

HAHA that is so funny!!! Spicy curry lol
Lovely picture. I really like how the sand moulds into the pot.

Looks like an ice cream with potential to become the now power flavour! Looks pretty good to me. Good stuff, Dave.

Amazing texture, mixed of snow, sand, sugar, powder, and combination of two opposite elements. Strange feeling as if we were on an unknown land.

Very nice. And I agree that getting the contrast in the snow would be tricky at best with standard processing techniques.

On a different note, I was wondering... Would you ever consider making a fully-processed PSD file of a shot available for download (layers and all), so we could see your magic at work, or am I taking the mick just by asking?

Obviously it would have to be something you didn't expect to make any money on as we'd all effectively have a 'master' copy. I suppose you could resize it so it was fairly small but still had all the layers. That might work.

It's probably a stupid idea. Just something that occurred to me but it's probably just my wishing I was better at processing.

So archaelogical! WIRED magazine (print edition) runs a series called 'Artefacts from the Future' and this reminds me of one of those. We've heard of Cromagnon Man and the Beaker People, well this is future evidence of the 'Pot Noodle' phase of human evolution.

this turned out beautifully

Hello! My Brother Showed me your site about a week ago, and I've been watching it carefully. You inspired to go to our southern version of blackpool, its called weston-super-mare, and its just as tacky. Thanks a tonne for your inspiration.
I love the blend of nature and man in this picture. The Shapes are fantastic.
The color of the pot looks slightly odd though, and I'm not sure what the white glow is at the bottom.On the other hand, its one of my favorites for a while. Thanks!

Get Well soon

Pretty funky. I can see Roy's point; it looks like an excavated artifact in a stone wall. Amazing texture and contrast.

Absolutely splendid! I lovethe clarity and texture of this shot!

Agree with the post on it being an exhibit.....a future museum's "Fossiised Consumables - Cretinacious Period". If you contextualise this in future, lie and claim it was discovered at Lyme Regis.

Hope Finlay gets better soon.....hate babies feeling unwell. Extra hugs for him. As for you....it's a *cold* not flu, not ebola, not lassa fever..the CDC do NOT need to be informed....(I find it's helpful to remind men of this) :)

Yeah....get viral-free soon. (Or don't come back to work) :P

This is a really interesting shot, I especially like the detail in the sand/snow and the lighting on the Pot Noodle. Very nice work.

Very original picture ;) i like it

I see now. Great work. Such a process. I wish I had the time. Whew. Nice work.

David, although I am not familiar with the software you're using, the results are stunning. I'm not sure if I like the processing or the image better today. Doesn't matter as both work well.

very nice.... i found this to be the only photoblog worth following because of the way you describe the technique for every photo.

very nice... keep up the good work :-)

This is just a terrific image. I like it in every respect.

Dave..first...great shot. This is one of my favorite HDR shots you've done...

second,...did you use CS2s HDR for this? And if so, how did you get it to work with the same photo with different exposure settings? I've tried this multiple times and it doesnt allow me to use the same RAW photo set to different exposure stops....is there some sorta trick, or did you end up having to open up and mask?

why ISO400 this time? you usually use 100 and work with aperture and shutter speed.

Looks like the spicy Pot is erupting!

Great HDR, it looks like there is steam coming out of the pot! well spotted.
markmyshots: if you are using CS2 then you have to strip out the exif data, the only way to do this is to save for web at the highest setting. Or just use photomatix instead :)

Great Picture!

This one grabbed me soon as i saw it. The composition and processing are top notch as always. Hard to tell where you were, in relation to the 'pot', directly above it? - [Chuks]

Very fond of this, the HDR and tone-mapping is spot on

Nice picture, but I think better without HDR. Are you not getting bored of it yet?;) Once again I dont like how the picture is glowing below the pot.

sounds like a complicated post processing, might not try to imitate that one ;) I like the shot though, like it a lot.

The HDR really works in this one. I feel that the HDR technique is great and give some feel and texture to shots that a normal processing don't. I am glad that you got the approval from the wife.

nice one here, cool idea to tone map this shot which would otherwise be impossible to achieve..love the texture and lightin you captured.. ;p

Thanks everyone.

Jamey: I'm going to be sorting out some tutorials soon, and these may well include fully processed PSD files.

Roy: I hadn't thought about it like that, but I can see what you mean.

Joseph: the 'white glow' is snow. It looks brighter than the rest of the image because it's not interspersed with sand like the rest of the picture.

Deb: ok, I'll stay at home then.

mark: no, I used Photomatix.

Silver Sova: there wasn't enough light to shoot at ISO 100.

Eos Chaos: yes, I was stood directly over it.

Although the image looks black and withe but then you have that colour in the middles that relay gives life to it.
very beautiful.

Very very cool shot. The minimalism and texture is so good.
Could be used as an ad, if the texture(I think it is snow?!) was curry-yellow.
- Martin

Cool.. Way cool! This is just lovely!

Interesting and a wonderful shot!

Great shot. Two thumbs up. :)

Love this one! Great tones and composition :)