Early on you said you mainly did macro and close up. I would keep half an eye on possibilities along those lines too as well as experimenting with more classic landscape shots. It is always good to build on what you are good at as well as trying new things. With landscapes, try and make sure there is something of interest in the foreground as well as the 'wow' of the big view. Dull featureless foregrounds generally kill landscape shots.

If you are planning to use your tripod --- a good plan in my view but it is a personal thing --- one of those little hotshoe mounted spirit levels are really worth the hassle/money. Nothing more annoying to find that in straightening the image you crop something you wanted to keep in the shot!

Most of all, have fun! My best pictures have always been when I am relaxed and am quietly enjoying taking photos.

K.

On this occasion it was actually thick fog which contributed to the dew drops and the greyness. I like taking photos in the fog.

K.

PS, you could post a link to the photo!

I have terrible trouble getting my horizons straight but thankfully the K10/20 doesn't have a 100% viewfinder so there is a little room round the edge for a crop to sort that one out!

The photos are excellent. My two minor criticisms (apart from the horizon) are:
1) Often the main point of interest is bang in the middle. Off-setting it a little (preferably when framing but can be done by cropping) can help the composition. The little lizard on the rock (my favourite one) is a great example of not centering making things more interesting.

2) Some could do with a little of the featureless areas cropping. The arch, for example, might look a little better with less at the top and bottom (but cf. the lizard one where the rock makes the photo).

I must emphasise that these are minor comments on good photos but you asked me to be brutal. No brutality needed, but some minor edits to improve lovely photos.

Best wishes, K.

Lovely shots all but I especially like No. 3. K.

To post a link to the photo in another place (as opposed to posting the photo here which would not be ethical) just copy the URL of the page displaying the photo, come here, click the link button below, paste the link into the pop-up box then click ok.

K.

K.

Not yet, but I am planning to with my next pay packet...

K.

We all started like that. Funny to think that for the first 15 or so years of my hobby I only acquired four lenses: a 28mm, 2 x 50mm and a 135mm. Now look at me

I seem to have MSBA as well (M series [cameras] BA) I thought I had cured myself by getting one of each until a black MX and a silver ME came with some lenses I bought. Must sell... must sell.....

Back to the OP: if you look at my portfolio the sunset seagulls image and the rose hips image were taken with the Tamron 70-300mm lens.

Cheers, K.

If you don't use the long end of telephoto much the DA* 50-135mm will give you just beautiful images. If you want longer reach, consider the DA* 60-250mm. An alternative that "K10D" is enamoured of is the 50-135mm with the Pentax 1.7x teleconverter but I haven't tried that combination.

K.

PS. There is no end to LBA, it is incurable.

The AF is a bit slow TBH but the quality of the images can be stunning. If you are used to prefocusing and panning you could get some lovely shots with it. 135mm isn't very long however, even with the crop, so it depends how close you'll be to the action. Alternatives would be the 60-250 zoom or the 300mm.

Best wishes, Kris.