Contrasty

I swear I cannot take my camera into a forest! I bought my camera 15 months ago. Can image quality degrade after that much regular use?
Firstly, forests are usually dense and filled with minute details making it difficult to choose a focus; secondly, the canopy of trees contrasting against the sky cause aberrations (edge discolouration); and third, any harsh lighting can result in buried shadow detail and uneasy contrasty looking pictures.
This obviously leads to me whining about my camera. It's not a BAD camera, I just take it into some situations where I'm asking too much from it: too few megapickles and a small sensor = can't resolve detail and limited dynamic range. So, yes, slightly frustrated with what I have now though in context most modern point & shoot cameras still lack the RAW format and have a tonne of noise starting at ISO 200 while I can still get away without having to denoise. I feel I could make good use of one of those high-end point & shoot cameras that are becoming trendy. The Canon Powershot G10 is one option or the Panasonic LX3 though not too enthused with its 3x zoom, saturated appearing output, and greenish leaning white balance. Canon wasn't my first choice honestly, but they make the most accurate compacts as far as colour rendition goes and that's something I want to worry less about in processing.

 

Just Off The Path 
   

Goldenrod

Goldenrod is the most pleasing to me overall, but I was surprised no one else agreed! The second I titled "Just Off The Path" from a quote I vaguely remember from this article. The actual quote says 'Slow down, stop and look -- it's right there,'?" Which I love because pictures are everywhere if you slow down to look for them. It's all about the treatment and focus.
When I'm feeling down I lose focus and clarity in what I see and produce lame pictures! It's only temporary...I'll regret whining about the camera I've been inseparable with tomorrow.