These are lovely, worth getting up early for!

I finally got around to a photo printer, an Epson SureColor P400; hells teeth it ain’t straightforward! Firstly the instructions (which are on a disc) haven’t been updated for IOS 12 Sierra but traced the drivers on the US Epson website. Now, just press Print? Oh, no, first you calibrate the screen with a special gadget then unless you are using Epson photo paper you download the ICC profiles for each type of paper you use from the manufacturers. Then find how to load these into the right folder which in Sierra has been hidden so you need to know how and where to look - who knew? Why are they hidden? Wasted a day trawling through google to find how to do this. Next, make a softproof copy in Lightroom and set up the print. After some trial and error I have a couple of acceptable test prints on 4”x 6” so ready for some larger ‘keepers’. To be honest before all this I thought I would just do the odd one or two a month but it is getting rather addictive and can’t wait to try an A3 size.

Also occurs that as everyone’s computer screen is different and most won’t be calibrated then our images will be viewed differently; doing a print means I can get the image how I want it to look and keep.

The interior of this 14th C stone house is very dark, and being owned by National Trust no flash or tripod is allowed. I took these with the K1 and 28-105mm lens, handheld and with maximum aperture. The ISOs are as high as 12800 and Lightroom used to reduce the noise and in the circumstances I think the camera performed exceptionally well.

I trust you contacted the Rarities Committee!

I'm a member of a small local photo group which usually has about 15-20 members at our fortnightly meetings, and came first in two out of three competition categories! Next stop RPS.
INSECTS


CLOUDS

Agree, no. 2 is good with the reflection and I also really like no. 6, nice grouping.

Outstanding!

Best not stand around too long there, could give a new meaning to 'rooted to the spot'! Creepy.

I would have thought that any current APS-C sized body would do if used with a good prime lens, say 50mm f1.4. I have been impressed by the sharpness and detail shown by the cheaper 50mm f1.8 lens which you could consider if nearer your budget. Such a lens would give minimal distortion, and use a good tripod as well. As your images will be online rather than large prints I don't think the K1 would be justified unless you want to do other things as well. Also if you photograph in RAW you have more flexibility in adjusting the colour in post processing including getting the colour temperature right if the lighting is giving a problem.

if you use Flickr just as a free cloud storage then why not restrict the view to family? I suspect most allow public view for the feedback and the warm rosy glow of a 'like'. From what I can see of the site's copyright rules, which come under the Yahoo umbrella, your copyright is protected as long as you haven't opted for 'Creative Commons' use. Yahoo copyright infringement team only get involved if another member claims your photo as their own and you must have a solid case and also not disabuse the other member (it could be an honest mistake - really?). They also point out the risk of legal costs if the other person fights the claim, which the cynical might take as a veiled threat.

Flickr has abandoned it's attempt to set up a licensing facility but I suppose a link on your profile to your own website is ok. To minimise the risk of unauthorised use there are a couple of things you can do, like adding a copyright to the image, and maybe posting very small images of limited commercial value and say larger images are available if contacted. Plastering a watermark all over would be effective but a bit counterproductive.