Hi,
I'm Dick Collins. I've been into photography for about 45 years. In the film days, I used a view camera and took mostly landscape shots, and some wildlife shots with a 645 Mamiya. I did this for about 15 years and did pretty well selling in art shows around the Northeast.
I stopped doing shows about 15 years ago to spend more time with my two 180 degree opposing hobbies - birding and drag racing. I got back into photography about 5 years ago. I was taking all these great bird trips and had no photos to show from them. I was more interested in ticking the birds than recording my trips.
After seeing the great photos on this site, I want to fine tune my photo skills again. I currently use a Sony A700 and an A580, which I like. I've been doing a lot of insects using a Tamron 180 macro and a shorter Sigma macro lens. I may be too limited with the Sony line as long lenses are harder to find. I just bought a new 150 to 500 F5 Sigma.
I used it this weekend for the first time, to do some ducks above Niagara Falls. It was a very dark day and I wasn't real pleased with the results.
I'd like to know if anybody else is using this combo and if they are happy with the results. I'm going to Panama (Tower and Lodge) in late April and was hoping to mix birding with photography. I'm looking forward to posting some bird shots when I return.
Dick, welcome to BPN! You might want to ask that gear-related question down in the General Photography or Photo Gear forums - you'll get a much better response there. That's where the gearheads all hang out.
We're glad you're with us. Be sure to check out the Educational forums - great information there. If you need any help getting around the site just let me know.
Welcome to BPN and I bet it feels good to be back into nature photography. I put my lens down for a few years myself. Digital really puts a whole new perspective on photography.
Hello from sunny Buffalo, NY
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