Hello from Belfast

Hello Pentaxians. I'd like to introduce myself, my name is Gareth, I'm 27 and hail from Belfast. I work in a modern day factory that is a call centre and have within the last 3 weeks got myself a K100D Super to kick off my venture into the world of DSLR. My first passion (aside from my partner, Clare) is biking, wether it's riding, racing or supporting and it's because of the great photos people take on the bike scene that made me step-up from digital compacts to my first 'proper' DSLR. I know I'm going to have all sorts of questions to ask about settings and such likes as previously I was a point and shoot guy with everything on auto. In the last few weeks I've had a great oportunity to get a few good snaps and here are the best of the bunch.

All critique welcome,

Welcome Gareth!!

For a "newbie" you're taking some wonderful shots!

(I say "newbie" in jest. They are downright wonderful shots - period.)

You seem to have panning down to a science. Was your camera set on auto?

A tremendous feeling of action in the picture of the flagman.

The equipment and its operator are working flawlessly, and I congratulate you.

'course, now you have to outdo yourself.

What camera does Clare use? Get her to sign in too.

Cheers,

Hello and welcome to the forum!

Looks like you are going to need less help than I did when I first got here, the tracking shots are great.

Hope you enjoy your stay, there's a great friendly bunch here who know their stuff, so when you've had a chance to look through the forum, fire away!

Thanks for the welcomes folks. The above pics were not in auto as I had a go at adjusting the shutter speeds and ISO levels etc (I sound like I know what I'm talking about, but I really don't) I've had a lot of help from friends on what to do and how to do it.I have tried some Macro's as well, but nowhere near as good as the guys on here.

Clare much prefers to be on the other side of the camera though, check her out having cocktails doing last weekends BBQ LOL

Makes a change, most of us are on here because we like our side of the camera!

A warm welcome from The Netherlands also,Gareth. That is some impressive stuff you show us. I sure know were to turn to now, for sharpening my panning skills. I should say: Keep them coming
One minor point though, and I know I am not alone here
The used watermark could be a bit less obvious. . It really is pulling down the pleasure of looking at the otherwise great pictures. Maybe you could experiment with another color, different blend mode and opacity of the used layer. Just my humble opinion, of course.
Martin.

I promise that no more of my images will be watermarked (at least until I get a bit better). I only did it as I have never used CS2 before and a mate showed me how to

Another welcome to the forum, Gareth!

I don't know anything about biking, but I do like your photos, especially the second from the last in your set!

Glad to see you arrived safely in the forum!

That is Conor Cummins on the Van Fit Yamaha R1. Shot at 300mm, ISO-200, 1/90sec and F16 and was a hand-held shot.

Thank you for you help Mr Riley.

Hey,you don't have to apologize here. If you take the time to use the search function someday, you can find some good tips on the protection issue. But rest easy knowing that as long you don't turn pro( there is much more at stake, then), the low resolution and relative small picture size, are protection enough.
Martin.

Hello and welcome,
I hope you love your K100 as much as I love mine! 6mp is plenty for my needs and the camera is dead easy to use, especially if you have old manual lenses like me.
As a bike enthusiast I have to say what a great shame it was to hear the news about Robert Dunlop. What a family of true sportsmen.

Rob

Welcome aboard! Your panning seems to be first class (and I know it is not as easy as it seems when you first try it). I especially love the one with the rider staring at the camera. Good shot.

I'm no veteran here, but welcome anyways! I too recently purchased a K100 and I love it. Looking forward to seeing more of your stuff - these are great.

Love those bike shots!
Welcome!