Thanks Moira, your encouragement is most welcome.
I feel that my main attribute (amongst very few:), is that I take LOTS of pics (around 40k in 2 years). Many times I see a picture but can't express it, and I get sSOOO frustrated with that. However, with taking so many pics, some of them work at my level. I only post a few of the best (relevant to birding mainly, plus a few more), makes me seem better than I am. The more I take, the better my eye and ability to compose. Plus getting out a lot helps.
Most of my wildlife pics were taken with either a Sony 500mm CAT lens (lightweight, but fixed aperture, f8) or a 70-300mm Sigma (DON"T buy one, it broke on me 7 times in 20 months, I lost many weeks usage, eventually they (Gentec, the Sigma distributors in Canada) refunded me the purchase). I went out and bought a Sony 18-250 (brillant, reduced my lens changing several fold). Never had problems with any other lens (Sony or Tamron).
My landscapes and closeups were usually taken using the Sony kit lens 18-70mm (now retired).
Also recently got a Tamron 60mm macro (f2), so hopeully my macro will improve and I should post some.
BTW, I also do a lot of ballroom photography (dancing being my main love), and some fantasy post processing (favourite is one of my wife and I looking into a crystal ball, with an image of us dancing).
Should you be bored, here is a link to some I took at a recent comp (I don't compete).
http://www.flickr.com/photos/48676465@N05/Graham.
