I live in upstate South Carolina with my wife, four children (two in college), three dogs, and one cat. I have been using a Pentax dslr for a relatively short period of time. As a matter of fact, until 2007, I had not used an slr -film or digital - for about 18 years. My first film slr was a Konica TC (almost bought a Pentax K1000, but I got the Konica cheaper - a big factor for me at that time), which I bought new while a student in the School of Design at North Carolina State University. I used the Konica almost exclusively for B&W, and usually developed the prints myself. After graduation, I gradually used the camera less and less over the next few years, until the birth of our first child in 1987. At that time, I pulled the Konica out, and took a flurry of shots of our firstborn over the next several months. Then, again, the Konica went into mothballs, and I’ve never used it since. Instead, I found myself using a series of cheap compact film cameras simply for documenting the usual family occasions and trips. Creativity was not a factor, and photography, for me, was no longer a creative, or particularly fun endeavor. In 2003, I bought my first digital point and shoot, and gradually the fun came back for me. The instant gratification of downloading, and viewing photos instantly was exciting, and this made me want to experiment again with lighting, composition, and detail. After a couple of years, I began thinking about getting a more advanced point and shoot camera, but the P&S zooms were still fairly pricey then, and dslr’s seemed more than I needed. Finally, in 2007, a couple of friends who were very advanced amateur photogs convinced me to take the plunge and buy a dslr. After much research, I settled on a used Pentax istDL with the 18-55 kit lens. Wow, was that a great first dslr. I loved that camera, and though I seemed to never find the time to use it as I’d like, I learned a lot, and remembered a lot. I bought several older manual lenses cheaply on ebay (the ability to use legacy lenses is a major reason I’ve chosen Pentax dslr’s), and had a ball. In January 2009, I sold my istDL, and bought a refurbished K10D, and the K10 is the camera I use now. I will certainly never be confused with a professional photographer, but with the fun I have with my Pentax, and inexpensive older lenses, I’ve found a hobby, a creative outlet, and actually a therapy, that I know I’ll enjoy for years to come.
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