Graham

Thats a good question. I think the number of MP doesn't means as much as it used to, these days, its the quality of the pixels instead. I think you might be better off buying a D200 for a bargain from someone upgrading. I've been very happy with my D200, except for noise at higher ISO, and the D300 only gives about one extra stop of ISO without noise issues. The live preview mode is nice, but I doubt I'd use that much. If the D300 had a live exposure Historgram, I'd be buying a new D300 today. I carry my D200 and several lenses on stream, inside waterproof Simms camera belt bags. I don't pull it out unless I have sure footing, and imediately put the camera strap around my neck. I have crossed streams occasionally with the camera hanging from my neck, but I need to stop taking that risk, especially in boulder filled streams with tricky wading. I'm sure the D300 is much better than the D80, especially the cameras ability to focus on fast moving objects. Having mirror lock up and depth of preview buttons are also worth the extra cost.

Here's a few new years morning snapshots. I thought about going to the Rose Parade, but wanted to avoid crowds, and spent a few minutes at the beach instead. No crowds. There was a kid surfing and a guy with a camera on a tripod taking pics, likely his dad. He was haing a great time Until a bull sealion swam by real slow tight to shore There weren't many birds around But it was a nice day, mid 70's.... Happy New Year!!!

I haven't checked this thread in a a while, sure are lots of beautiful images. Peterjay, I really love your B&W horses running, WOW.. Really an eye grabber. And the shapes of the horses, so unique, the silhouettes remind me of the ancient French cave paintings. Great stuff here. I agree with you Colbyjack, time for more. I have new pics and just need to resize them for the web. I'll be back...

I just look at the beautiful scenery and fine weather and know I would have been thrilled to be in your shoes capturing these fine images. And doing it with your son makes it even more special. Thanks for sharing, Great stuff. Graham

Your first decision should be your budget, and primary use of your first lens. I bought a 105 macro lens with my SLR and started with that. But I soon wanted a wider angle lens. Then a telephoto... I think the Nikon D40 is a great first SLR camera. I'm sure there are many others.

Hey Peterjay, I noticed that as well. I was quickly skimming over messages and noticed" (god help me and thank you for my understanding wife) " and then the saving the pennis.... Really got me scratching my head...

Saint Swithin's day if thou dost rain, for forty days it will remain; Saint Swithin's day if thou be fair, For forty days 'twill rain na mair.

Hey Peter, I also stay indoors during the Feast of St. Swithin, with windows closed and drapes drawn tight.

Thanks Wulff. For Christmas my wife bought me a Lowpro DryZone200 gray/black water proof camera backpack, which is completely waterproof even when submerged, and will float with 80 pounds of gear inside. I guess I had thought of this as my insurance, and life preserver...lol... I'll contact my insurer tomorrow to inquire about real insurance. From what I've been reading the D300 only has about one stop improvement with respect to ISO noise, but every little bit helps. I really am quite happy with my D200 but I plan on taking a number of trips this year and having a second camera for backup seems wise. I wish the D200 and D300 used the same batteries.

Very cool, I bet Nikon would love that image as well. I wonder how it would look if you place the Nikon box upside down. Would the text be right side up and backwards, like reading off a mirror?

What a beautiful capture Wulff. This year I hope to buy a second DSLR and will likely go with the D300 instead of the D3. If money was not an issue I'd get the D3 and the 200-400 VR lens, but I can image hauling that weight around wishing I'd brought my D200 and 300 f/4. I should also look into buying an insurance policy. I have a number of policies with State Farm including home, auto and contractor liability, and I have no idea if they do photography gear coverage? Graham

The White Hills look like a nice place for boarding, certainly cold enough. Good job on the pano. Graham

Those sure are Beautiful fish. Nice shots! Graham

Thanks Ray and FTG. Ray I use bug-balm which is sold at fly shops, not exactly sure whats in it? I have vials of bugs collected over a decade ago and they still look perfect, except for the faded coloring. Fly Tyer Guy, I'm here on the forum almost daily, mostly in the Photography section. For the past year I've really been interested in learning photography. June of 06 I bought a Nikon D200 and didn't know the first thing about using any of the buttons and controls. It's taken me a year or so to finally start feeling confident when using the camera. One thing that has amazed me is how much of a demand there is for photos. Two weeks ago I emailed a photo of a white egret in flight to an Arab advertising company, to be used on billboards nationwide in the country of Oman, as well as on pamphlets. I couldn't be happier with the amount that was wired into my bank account. I had the cover shot on American Angler magazine in November, that was cool. The Orvis store in Pasadena sells my framed photos... Ive been having a lot of fun with my camera. I've also really been having fun with bird photography, and I've started posting a few favorites online... click here for a few bird pics... Graham

Hi Ray, I took the pics several weeks ago while fly fishing the S. Sierra Kern River. I used a piece of mesh between two dowels to trap bugs while I lifted rocks. I filled a few dozen vials with various stoneflies, salmonflies and a monster sized hellgramite. They stay in great shape for many years when preserved in bug embalming fluid. I posted more pics in the Photography section of the FTF.. clcik here for more pics in the Photography forum... Graham

Jason also writes a lot of very interesting articles for California Fly Fisher magazine.

Thanks Day5. I don't have a digital video camera. Years ago when I was into the local monster bass fishing and when I first started going on fly fishing trips I used a video camera but it was a Sony that used tapes. Someday I'd like to digitize those old tapes as well as buy a new digital video cam. I would probably want to buy one of the new HD video cams but my wife has been suggesting for a while that I buy a webcam and set it up so that friends can join in while I'm tying.

Wow, that looks like hog heaven! And they're beautiful as well. Thanks for sharing. Graham

I can probably fit hundreds of these on a standard sized sheet of printable waterproof paper. I'll be printing in a few mintutes, and tying soon...

Awesome capture! I really like your recent abstract work, very creative and vibrant.

I'll try a golden as well. Most of today's chores are behind me and now I can start having some fun. I'll go through the rest of my recent stonefly photos to see if I took one that shows the top of the bug. If I have a pic I'll use Photoshop to make some printable wingbuds and head shield.

I really like the flies of John Barr and assume he's an interesting person to interview.

For the macro stonefly shots I recently posted, I used ambient light, no flash, no tripod, just placed a stonefly on a finger on my left hand and held the camera with my right hand, used auto focus in continuous shooting mode, and fired away. Granted the pics are not super closeup, but they are basically the images I was hoping to capture. They look great printed. I think you will be happy with the lens Mokia posted, for general bug and fish face shots, you can take lots of cool shots, and then, if you want to get into super macro such as insect faces and eye balls, then you'll need to start collecting accessories. Next time I hit a trout stream I'll bring a flash bracket to place my flash forward above the lens.

Awesome bird!!! Killer photos as well!!! Graham

I want to get back to some of the fun stuff we did here in the past, such as the monthly Match the Hatch Challenges. No winners or losers, instead we all learn from each other, and have fun tying. I hope we have active participation, as in years past, and get to admire lots of cool flies and techniques. I think Stonefly Nymphs would be a good bug to kick off the New Year, and I'll officially start the topic now. Below are some photos I took a few weeks ago in the Sierra of Golden Stones as well as Salmonflies. I haven’t decided yet which one I’ll tackle at the vise, hopefully both of them before Februaries Challenge. In March the stoneflies will be hatching in the Sierra and I’ll be back fishing and photographing and the April Challenge will likely be adult Stoneflies. Here’s a few pics to start with, I’ll take and post more pics of the bugs inside the vials I have them in now. Could even take them out for measurements…. Golden Stones Salmonflies