Most sparrowhawk hunts end up with the prey bird escaping. And in my experience, most hunts to find the camera and suitable lens when a bird does something interesting in the garden end up with the bird having gone before being ready to take the shot. So well caught - both the sparrowhawk and you .

Steve

Stunning. Beautiful. Peaceful. Gorgeous. I'm running out of appropriate words...

And proof yet again that LennyBloke's garden was planted so as to look good in photographs.

Steve

Hi and welcome! This is a friendly forum, so ask questions, we'll try to answer and if you don't understand the answer just say so, we're here to help if we can. There are people here who are very knowledgeable about all things Pentax and photography in general. I have learned a lot from them. So yes, you have come to the right place .

As far as retirement is concerned, my experience is that photography is great for retirement. You can do it when you like and at your own pace, do as much or as little as you like, do it indoors, outdoors, close to home or while travelling the world. It's entirely up to you - and that's part of the fun of retirement .

Steve

Of course, in a land a long time ago, known only to the ancient ones, all photos were B&W and seeing the colours of summer was not an option. Did people subconsciously associate appropriate colours with different items in the photo since they only ever saw B&W photos? Have we changed from 'colour is B&W with colour added' to 'B&W is colour with colour removed'?

Sorry about going philosophical on a Friday afternoon. I've just walked a couple of miles in the peak heat and my brain is boiling!

Steve

Any excuse, eh?

The images produced by pinhole cameras among the leaves have amazed me, too. I don't remember seeing images like that from previous partial eclipses.

Steve

Maximum eclipse and people watching it from a field south of Dorchester, Dorset. K3iii + DA55-300mm, eclipse photo with ND1000 filter, live view, handheld. Just a bit of fun and what I expected - and was proved to be right - would be a sociable occasion. The light level dropped a bit but the temperature didn't drop and if you didn't know what was happening above then you'd never have guessed.

Feel free to add your own photos.

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Steve

One of the down sides of photographing the eclipse is that you might miss out on the actual experience of being eclipsed. I experienced the near-total eclipse that happened in the UK about 25 years ago. Just watched and waited at Portland Bill along with a couple of friends and a scattered crowd of other people. The eclipse was about 99% at the Bill (totality was about 20 mile out at sea), enough for see the shadow approaching across the sea, the day turn to darkness, the temperature drop, dogs start barking etc. A quick couple of snaps with a film camera at maximum eclipse was all I did, just enough to say 'I was there'. And I'm glad I wasn't fiddling with a camera all the time and missing the experience. And being Brits, what did we all do when daylight returned? Queue up at the cafe for a cup of tea, of course .

Steve

And, of course, you can always turn any Pentax DSLR into a MF DSLR by turning the focus switch to MF and taping over it so you're not tempted to turn AF on again .

Steve

That's the Rolls Royce approach and it will work perfectly. My two are just a pole at each corner, tough plastic windbreak material around 3 sides, whatever junk I've got to make the equivalent of a slatted front. They aren't pretty but they are out of sight, they've lasted for over 30 years (with occasional repairs) and, most importantly, they work. A key point, and a reason why pallets are so good, is the need for size. A 1m cube is ideal. If a heap is too small, too much heat is lost for it to get to a decent temperature (seems strange saying that in the middle of a heatwave...).

A few of things to think about if using a plastic bin for composting. First, a compost heap needs air (hence the slats or windbreak plastic above). Without air, it can get horribly slimy and smelly. Second, a good heap needs access to the soil. It's bugs and beasties that do the composting, without them it's just smelly chemical decomposition. Third, a compost heap needs to be turned over at least once in its life or it can get stratified and parts can be hardly composted at all. With a two heap approach, you always fill the same container then mix it up by decanting it into the other container when full (or in my case, so full it's a hazard to passers by). With a single plastic container, you'll need some way of shaking it up, turning it upside down etc. . A plastic bin mounted on a pivot that allows it to be turned over vertically is OK - as long as you remember to turn it over once in a while .

Personally, I'd use both of your current bins for water as it looks like rainwater might be a scarce and valuable commodity in future. One of my water butts is actually an old plastic dustbin, another one (which the previous occupant had installed) looks like a big, plastic beer barrel.

One final point. Used bedding material (hay, wood shavings etc.) from rabbits, guinea pigs or other rodent-like pets is great for a compost heap. It's the nitrogen in what they excrete... .

Steve

Aha, a camera for macro. Perfect! AF is just unnecessary clutter, weight and expense when looking at little things. Unless it can be used for in-camera focus stacking, in which case perfect again! (And I believe would be a first for a non-mirrorless camera.)

Of course, the big question for a MF DSLR is what focusing aids would be built into the viewfinder screen. Without a split screen it wouldn't really be retro .

However, I doubt whether a MF DSLR will ever be produced. But a MF SLR (film) to complement the Pentax 17 ...

Steve