Hello everybody. I grew up in California, but now I am in Texas. I got my first camera, a fully manual Nikon F SLR, when I was a teen a long, long, time ago. I wore that thing out and haven't touched it in ages. Then a few years ago I bought the Pentax Optio S and never went back to film. Gotta love a camera that fits in an Altoids tin. It took great pictures, but I was never satisfied with the response and lack of control. I held a few DSLRs by the market leaders (you know who) but the ones in my price range all felt so cheap and light. As soon as I held the K10D in my hand and snapped a couple shots in the store, I knew this was the camera I was waiting for. The shake reduction is fantastic -- I never thought I'd be able to take a sharp photo at 1/4s! And I am impressed with the backward compatibility. Not only can I shop for older lenses, but I can use my 10 year old remote control from my 35mm IQZoom. Since this is my first AF/AE SLR, there's really a lot to learn, but this site has been a great resource. I haven't taken any upload worthy photos of it yet, so here's one from the Optio S:
Female Neon Skimmer I like macros and photos with odd perspectives or extreme depth of field. I also hope to become proficient in other styles that I never excelled at before, like portraits. I saw some stunning HDR photos on this site and look forward to trying that out as well.