Correct, but to a degree. If you're shooting RAW then getting the wrong white balance certainly isn't much of a big deal as you can apply a new WB in PP, however, if you get it right at capture it's one less thing to have to do back at the computer. If you're shooting JPEG then obviously getting it right at capture assumes a much greater importance.

That's the beauty of digital! There are so many options, customisations and different ways of doing things that no two photographers (even if using identical equipment) have to use the same methods to get what they want. Most of the time I use my K10D as a glorified ME Super - in other words I set WB to daylight, ISO to 400 and all other image parameters to zero (just like I'd loaded a roll of 400 film) and shoot 95% of the time in aperture priority / matrix metering / selected focus point. It's nice to have the option to use all the other features to make an almost unlimited set of combinations but I don't as a rule, I like it to be quite simple.

You'll soon find a way of working that you're comfortable with, it just may take a little while.

I never rely on AWB; Mine's set semi-permanently to "Daylight" unless I'm shooting under tungsten when I switch to "Tungsten". I also shoot RAW so if the colours happen to be way off (which they rarely are using this technique) then it's a simple job to change them in post processing.

This way I get consistency if nothing else. When I regularly shot film I accepted that the film loaded had a certain white balance (always daylight for me) and I'd use a filter if I was shooting indoors under artificial light, what I never did was make tiny adjustments with an array of filters after every single shot trying to get the colours just so.

Digital has brought many benefits but I think in some areas (like this) it just complicates things more than absolutely neccessary. Keep it simple, ignore the auto options and all should be well once more.

Pollen would be my guess - horrible sticky stuff and quite possibly driven up by the shooting.

Excellent stuff! I like a bit of DIY ingenuity

For film I think you'll generally find www.7dayshop.com are as cheap (usually cheaper) than eBay and they carry a huge selection.

I rather like it as it is; the blue in the glass makes a nice contrast to the red in the carriages and the angle's great.

Very nice photos!

As Don says check the negatives for signs of dust spots etc, it looks to me like there was some carelessness when the printing was going on. If you've got another lab nearby then try them next time and see if they make a better job of it.

You are not alone! My camera is set to ISO400 around 95% of the time and only gets changed in exceptional circumstances (like when I need a longer or shorter shutter speed) - nobody's ever mentioned noise in my pictures and I don't find 400 in any way objectionable.

Favourite aperture varies from lens-to-lens though; for example the DA12-24 tends to be used at f/8, the FA43 at f/5.6, the FA77 at f/2.4, the Sonnar wide open at f/3.5, etc. From getting to know each lens these just happen to be the aperture values I think suit them best.

This should get your mouth watering for the DA35: link

Seems it's rather good at landscapes as well as macro

Good luck! When you do find the size don't forget to report back so we'll know if anyone asks in future