Hi Malcom ... It's really hard to answer your question as everyone's idea of what's needed is different, and everyone's idea of what's creative is different. You ran into an unusual - perhaps once-in-a-lifetime - situation, and that doesn't mean that you'll ever need a copy stand or a macro lens again. And, truth be known, had you more time to spend copying these photos, you may well have come up with some ingenious solutions yourself.
All photography makes a statement, and all photography requires one skill or another, and perhaps a piece of specialized equipment. Personally, the kinds of photographs you're making are very creative. You have to document something clearly, without ambiguity, and in a manner that someone - even if only you - can look back and learn something from the photographs. That's a major accomplishment. Don't negate it. To make a photograph that shows what's intended is an accomplishment, and just because it's a photo of a bent car does not lessen the skill required to make such a photo when compared to, for example, a macro shot of a flower or a landscape. For those, or any photographs, to be successful, they must show what's intended - they must tell the story of the scene and recount the moment. That said, you've got enough of a kit to get started without adding lots more gear. Maybe a wider lens, like a 28mm, to compliment the 50mm, the 75~15o zoom, and the 500mm. Since you've got an LX you might consider the FB-1 finder base and the FC-1 eyepiece. That will allow easier work with close-up photography, but it will also allow you to use the LX in ways other than by holding the camera to your eye, allowing for a more interesting or creative POV with familiar subjects. Skip the expensive macro lens for a while until you're sure you need it. Get a set of extension tubes instead, and see how you like working close. If you do, and want to pursue that aspect of photography further, then you might consider a true macro lens. Instead of buying gear, experiment with new subjects and photographing familiar subjects in new ways. Learn the scope and limits of what equipment you have, and see where equipment may help improve your vision. Gear, in and of itself, does little or nothing to train the eye or increase creativity. Gear only helps you express the creativity you have. Malcolm Smith wrote: > > As I have become more interested in creative photography, what items would > you say were essential. > > My use of a camera in the past has really been "statement" photography; > accident photos showing damage for company insurance, taking shots of cars > during rebuilding (in the hope that I will see how to put it back together > the right way). Not creative at all - does it show what has been intended, > that's all. I can't honestly say that any of the family pictures show a > great deal of skill, other than showing how quickly the children are > growing. > > Having established that I need a camera stand, macro lens, what other items > are useful? I have a couple of filters and a 75 - 150mm zoom and a 500mm > that I picked up at an auction for £40. That's it. > > I'd like to take a few frameable photos, as well as some suitable for > Christmas cards. -- Shel Belinkoff mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.earthlink.net/~belinkoff/ - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
