Dragos writes

“I’m 20 and studying at the Institute of Architecture in Bucharest. I discovered beautiful landscapes in my hikes through the mountains a few years ago, so I bought a Canon A520, with which I took this image. I saved up to buy a Nikon D80, which offers everything I need to evolve my skills. I liked the versatility of the kit zoom but I also bought a Nikkor 50mm 1.8, for the excellent sharpness and price. Your mag helps a lot not only in choosing kit, but also with the excellent techniques.”

Martin says

This is one of those pictures where you have to do a double-take to work out what the subject is exactly. I like the colours and the golden glow in the centre of the glass that makes the subject look almost metallic.

There is only one thing wrong with this photo and that is the lack of sharpness, which I corrected by using the Unsharp mask filter in Photoshop, using the settings shown here. Note that I used a highish radius setting of 1.5 in order to increase the halo width and give more edge to the small water droplets on the glass.