Thanks Stephen,

Good to be here.

Pete.

I was brought up in the Ogmore Valley (Pantyrawel). Great scenery all around that area - from Bwlch mountain at the top, right down to the Heritage Coast. Living in Blackpool now, which has its moments but I miss the freedom of walking the countryside with the little brooks and fields and all that. Also, its hard to photograph people for 'character' here - they are all in a rush and look just the same; they have no time to slow down and enjoy a bit of reflection, which I find is what often brings out good portrait opportunities.

Having done my rounds of Blackpool for a little while now, bombarded by all the sights and attractions, it gets harder to find inspiration. I need to get away from all the glitz, haha. I plan to spend some time cycling and camping in the Lake District next Spring/Summer - just to get back to that feeling of living in a real world rather than a holiday resort.

I kind of envy you being in Rhoose. There are some great little places around there - I used to love going to Llantwit Major and the surrounding hamlets like Llanmaes and Boverton - some amazing old buildings dotted around. The coastline around there is dramatic too.

Hi Gareth - and thanks for the welcome.

I have a K-5 twin lens kit - amazing stuff but I will be getting prime lenses as finances allow. I chose it mainly because I learned with an MX years ago (my dad had been a photographer and insisted that I buy it off him to learn with, haha). As it happens, I'm getting a reconditioned MX in January to replace the one I had back then. I use all kinds of acessories but tend to prefer working 'man-and-machine' style with everything manually operated wherever possible (which isn't always). Being a mature photography student, I am also fortunate to use Sinar P2 5x4 equipment in the studio and bring Sinar Wolf-2 5x4 kit home with me when required. If it all kicks off for me, I hope to get a 645D medium format in time because I think of the K-5 as its junior relative.

I notice your name says you are in Cardiff. I was brought up near Bridgend - miss the old place, some great lanscapes around there for taking pics, like Ogmore, Ewenny and Merthyr Mawr Dunes, etc.

Pete.

Recently joined the Pentax User website and I must say that it has lots of inspiring stuff - info and articles as well as some incredible photos.