Hi, I'm browsing this forum for some time now and decided to give something back, being grateful for the wealth of information found here.
I am from 'over the big pond', from Eastern Europe / Romania. The region that I call home hasn't anything to do with vampires but foreigners often say "ah, Transylvania!" and relate to movies/fiction. Well, it's behind the woods and surrounded by mountains. Those I miss very much, being homesick in the plains, on the riverbanks of the Danube, close to the Black Sea.
Photography led me to appreciate the marvel of this world, as a daily pursuit to filter the beauty out from what's not so pleasant around us.
I owned a 35mm film DSLR for over 25 years, a Pentax ME Super with a manual M50 F1.7 and a Tokina 70-200mm zoom.
Since 'Black Friday' of 2012 I'm happy with a new Pentax K30 and DA18-135mm.
I am definitely into macro photography, anything that's small, down to microscopic. Flowers, critters, textures, anything that needs a closer look and an eye for details.
Landscapes, low-light/night, timelapse movies is what I want to do more. Portraits / street / architecture / sports do not tempt me much. Wildlife maybe.
Underwater photography is what I'm very intrested in, being an avid cold-water SCUBA diver. The best UW photos that I shot so far came from a rugged Olympus mju770 SW.
I would like a housing for my Pentax K30 but I will most probably build it myself.
Now I am keen on getting a Sigma 70mm F2.8 EX DG dedicated macro lens. Meanwhile I play with a cheap legacy
Tamron AF 28-80mm that I only use reversed for macro work, nothing else. I'm still amazed by 'the bang for the buck' with this lens reversed.
While the DA 18-135mm is fast and quiet, has a good IQ and zoom range and is well-suited as a permanent walk-around lens, my expectations have grown during the last year and I've come to appreciate the bokeh and DOF of faster lenses.