Thank you for the welcome. Another reason I've decided to jump in is having found members here friendly and supportive.

I've been lurking for most of this year and have just begun to post a little, but thought it was time I introduced myself.

My father was always very interested in photography, both still and film. My first cameras were his ancient hand-me-downs - a c. 1930's folding camera and a 1950's Zeis Ikon - and, somewhere in-between, a Christmas gift of a Brownie Hawkeye. In college, I bought a secondhand, 35mm Minolta with a 50mm lens which I used until it fell apart. Then, in the late 1970's, my husband-to-be brought me back from a business trip to Japan a Nikon EL2 with motor drive, a 200-300, a 35-85, and a macro. I loved that camera! He also bought himself the same camera, with different lenses, including a 70-210, so we were pretty much covered. That's when I took some courses at the New School in NYC and got into bw developing/printing. He already had darkroom equipment and I happily gave up my kitchen to pull all-nighters.

After years of sitting at a computer, I developed carpal tunnel and, eventually, could no longer hold the weight on the Nikon, so I went for a Sony point-and-shoot (unsatisfying) and, later, iPhone photography (enjoying).

Last February, I bought my first DSLR, a Canon T4i with two kit lenses and added the 60mm macro (a weight and budget decision, though I long for the 100mm) and discovered Ugly Hedgehog. I find that the DSLR is SO DIFFERENT from the SLR that I am having a blast learning/relearning.

My main interests have always been landscape/waterscape (incl. panos), macro, and historical sites (esp. old cemeteries). With all my supposed experience, I still shoot from emotion and have very little in the technical knowledge end. I'm learning so much from others here, but would really also like to participate.

Happy holidays, everyone!

I love birds and bird photos. When a shot touches my heart, I consider it a winner. Yours did and is!

I so a lot of waterscape photography; also love macro and portraiture. After years of being away from 35mm photography, in February I bought the T4i with kit at Costco and added the Canon 60mm macro. My choice was based on what I thought best on a restricted budget and knowing I have a lot to learn about digital photography. I've never regretted my decision.

A month or so go, I went to a well respected camera shop in my area, talked to several of the experts there and came away with the same feeling - I had made the right decision for my level of expertise.

You may want to do the same as only you know what you expect from yourself and your creations.

I think you did an excellent job capturing the San Francisco feeling. I especially like the cables disappearing into the fog.

Thank you for the welcome. This topic overcame my shyness. I've had entire website designs and photos stolen in the past. When confronted, there is an attitude of, "if it is posted on the Internet, it is free game," or, "how the heck did you find me!"

Even if something isn't specifically stated as copyrighted, it comes down to respecting another's work. If this is not motivation enough, it simply is never worth the chance of a law suit.

When designing a Web site, sometimes an on-a-budget client will want to "borrow" pics from another site. Unless I can reach the owner of the site, whether by Whois, webmaster, or info embedded in the photo or indicated on the Web site itself, to get written permission, I will adamantly refuse to use it. If I do track down the owner of the photo, I will offer complete attribution and/or link back to their site.

Depending on the situation, having either myself or the client take the photos is by far the best and safest way to go (besides having control over content).

Be careful of sites that say the photos are copyright free, yet have an elaborate disclaimer. If they won't take the responsibility of ownership, then you may end up using stolen photos.

Hope this helps. I am a first time poster, but copyright enfringement is a hot point with me, enough to bring me out of lurking. :wink: