[joebeard]

Hi I have recently started DSLR Photography with a K-2S and 18-50mm kit lens and 50-200mm zoom.

[kjphilippona]

Welcome from Alabama

[TER-OR]

Welcome to the clubhouse!

[bertwert]

Welcome to the forum!

[wtlwdwgn]

Welcome to the forum! Looking forward to seeing some of your images.

[debakarma]

Welcome to the forum. Greetings for the festive season ahead.

[Kerrowdown]

Welcome to the forum, just starting out eh, well there's a fine photographic journey ahead of you, enjoy the trip.

[joebeard]

Welcome to the forum, just starting out eh, well there's a fine photographic journey ahead of you, enjoy the trip.

Thank to you and everyone else for the welcome,
I am new to DSLR photography, but not to photography and was bought a Kodak Box camera at the age of 10, Later gettoing a wonderful Leica with a collapsing sort of bellow body and 90 degree viewer. It was second hand when I bought it. My first 'good' camera was called a Paulette Electric which had built-in in flash which was a lot better than light metering gadget and bulb flash. My last camera was Sony bridge camera with articulating lens which thoughts 7mp gives a very good picture and no discernible noise, and gave it to my wife. We both use Black Rapid sling straps and I use an Edelkrone Quick Release which means I can disengage from the BR sling strap to pop my Pentax K-2S onto a tripod etc within seconds, though I now use a carabinier tether to the sling as a precaution which disengages quickly. My preferred subject at the moment is water in landscapes. I hope this little intro isn't boring and thoroughly hope I will enjoy the trip and thank you for your suggestion. Regards, Joe

[TER-OR]

It sounds like you've got plenty of experience to get the most out of your new gear. I think you'll like using the old manual lenses on the new camera, if you take your time the results can be outstanding.

Sling straps are the way to go, too. Far more comfortable and secure.

[joebeard]

It sounds like you've got plenty of experience to get the most out of your new gear. I think you'll like using the old manual lenses on the new camera, if you take your time the results can be outstanding.

Sling straps are the way to go, too. Far more comfortable and secure.

Hi Ter-or,
That may suit at some point. I have only done 3 photo sessions as of yet. One of a river in Autumn/Fall and another same location when the quiet river was in torrent, and an inland harbour of boats reflected in rain - our cameras are weatherproofed. So early days. What kind of subjects do you enjoy? Thanks and regards, Joe

[TER-OR]

I like to take the camera with me when we walk the dogs and see what's out there. We're on the Fox River in Northern Illinois, it's a good migration path so we see plenty of warblers, but you have to be out there looking. The migratory ducks are great too, and sometimes we get rare ones. The dogs don't help with the subjects though, most wildlife is pretty wary of canids! We have a lot of diversity here in this area many people know nothing about, so I'm a bit of an evangelist telling people about the return of mink and beaver, for instance, and the population of rare bumblebees right in our neighborhood.

I do a lot of insects, and have been doing some field study work with wild bees. Mostly this is just getting out there in the prairies and other areas and seeing what I can see. There is a LOT of life in the prairies, and a lot of people are doing a lot of work to rebuild sections of what used to be here before we turned the land into agricultural monoculture.

Of course the dogs get some photographic attention. We're part of a group called a Husky Huddle which organizes on Facebook and meets at dog parks. We've had as many as 50 huskies in the peak winter months. I find the 18-135 is a good lens for that activity. It's light enough, and it focuses quickly and it has a good zoom range for a dog park.