The word 'Gila' in the Malay language (Malaysia, Indonesia) means 'Mad'. I was wondering why a native lizard in North America would have a Malay name. Seems like it is named after a mad county instead!

Thank you for the link. I downloaded it in case I ever get the opportunity to shoot steam trains. I don't think any other country has such a strong tradition, number of working steam engines and preservation societies as the UK. I once attended a lecture by a very dedicated amateur UK photographer (whose name escapes me)in the early 80's who travelled the world looking for and shooting all the steam engines ever built in the UK. One sticks in my mind in particular. He found it in a sugarcane plantation in South America.

HD is great when there is a lot of contrast so a grey day is not the best sort of lighting condition for textured subjects like the castle wall. Tone mapping can reduce the contrast even more. On such days, stick to shooting flowers & portraits and scenery without the sky.
To improve the above 'after' image, increase the contrast and add a blue to the burnt out sky through the window.

Thank you everybody for some terrific ideas which can be built on. I shall be watching this post forever, so anytime anybody wants to add to the above, please do so or PM me.
Cheers.

You did well there. Definite improvement.
I was going to ask if you may have a 'colour blind' issue if you didn't see it in the first place, but if you corrected it, then that may not be the case.

I tried thinking of a title last night but couldn't. I still don't have one today. Sometimes it is very difficult, and one may never think of one. The point I am making is that the title should describe/add to the main interest of your image. In this case, the main interest is the items in the foreground, as they dominate. The background of the mount and lovely sky adds to the overall beauty of the image. A title of 'St. Michael's Mount' should have the Mount much more dominant in the image, but it isn't. Don't get me wrong. The image is is terrific, it just had an inappropriate title that confused me somewhat.
Let me give an example. You have an image with a foreground of craggy rocks and huge waves crashing against them and sending up sprays, and you have a tiny lighthouse in the far distance background which is lit up. The mood is stormy. It would be inappropriate to call the image 'lighthouse in the dark', where else 'stormy coastline' would be more appropriate. The main interest will be the foreground rather than the lighthouse. Conversely, if the lighthouse is in the foreground and more dominant, but you can see the waves and rocks in the mid and background, then calling the image 'lighthouse in the dark' will be more appropriate, and 'stormy coastline' not so appropriate.

So do I. Well done.

Looking for some new, interesting, out-of-the-box ideas for my camera club meetings.
We have the usual open and themed competitions, studio portrait, still life sessions, macrophotography, getting-to-know-your-camera sessions, guest speakers on various topics, members presentation on photography, computers and photoshopping, weekend outings locally and further afield, competitions against other clubs locally and internationally. We've had specific challengers where members shoot with a cheap disposable film camera, shoot a list of given objectives, learn to judge images. We have an audio-visual group, visits to a camera shop and printing shop, equipment from manufacturers to play with.
The club has a website, blog and forum (not regularly updated and poorly utilised - that's being looked into) and I plan to have a newsletter for members.
Thanks in anticipation.

Nice composition, but I find the blue snow too un-natural.

No, a ND Grad will not give you the same end result. I like the HD effect and your black framing. My criticism is the huge rock and amount of seaweeds in the foreground which has dominated the image instead of Mont St Michael. If you didn't mention its name, it would not have been that apparent to me. Name it something else appropriate and it would be perfect. The title of an image can have a great deal of importance to an image.

I like the colours and bringing out of the details. That's what our eyes will adjust to see at the real scene. Maybe the brightness can be turned down a wee bit so that the bright areas of water and pavement are not so bright. I would correct for perspective and tilting horizon too.
Good try.

Zoom browser and even its newer version (Image browser) cannot edit RAW or video images.
If you need to convert RAW to tiff or jpg, use Canon Photo Pro. But seeing that you have to use another program to convert, you might as well use Canon PP or PS to edit the RAW images.

I'm sure it took a lot of effort. Maybe something for a boring, wet and cold weekend. I have a couple of Rock fonts but not as nice as the one you created.

When I first saw your question, I suspected you had a photo contest in mind. I suggest you contact the contest organiser and get their definition of No Manipulation.

In photoshop with the pen tool. Can be done with any photoeditor.