It's very easu to put up with things through emaillists... :-)
Paul Delcour > From: frank theriault <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Organization: http://www.urbancaravan.com/ > Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Date: Tue, 02 Sep 2003 07:03:22 -0400 > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: New member > Resent-From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Resent-Date: Tue, 2 Sep 2003 07:17:29 -0400 > > This must be Netherlands week, and no one told us! <g> > > You're the second new Dutch member in two days. > > Welcome aboard, Paul. Hopefully, if you can put up with us, you'll actually > learn something! > > cheers, > frank > > Paul Delcour wrote: > >> Hi all, >> >> let me just properly introduce myself. Should have done that before imposing >> my questions about the K2. >> >> My name is Paul Delcour from Hilversum, Netherlands. If you want to know a >> lot: >> >> http://www.delcour.org >> >> I started photography at the age of 8 or 9 woth a very simple all plastic >> camera. I still have those first pictures. Then my father gave me his 6x6 >> rollfilm camera and I made some really lovely snaps with it. Sensation when >> I was allowed a colour film. >> Then in 1978 I did a holiday job and with that money bought the then >> outgoing K2, a black one, for 780 Dutch guilders. Difficult to say what that >> would have been in pounds or dollars, let alone euro's. Wonderful camera and >> I was amazed at having such a fine piece of photographic equipment all at my >> very own disposal. >> >> Did a lot of photography with it for a couple of years. Joined a photography >> club linked to the university of Groningen. Learned a lot from the teaching >> photographer there called Ton Broekhuis. He's still an active photographer >> and I have to say I think he's very good. Bit of an odd one at that, but >> that can go with being artistic I know from my own experience. >> >> Changed studies, found my wife and didn't do all that much photography for a >> long time. >> >> Then in 1992 (I think) I decided I was a bit fed up with being a choir >> conductor and thought I'd make a serious job of being a photographer. So I >> started a course in photography at the Fotovakschool in Apeldoorn. Got me a >> second K2 (silver) and a Metz 60 flash (wonderful) to be fully armed for >> assignments. >> Reason I quitted the course: there's a hell of lot of photographers about >> and who am I to be another competitor. Besides, anybody can push a release >> buttons. As one of the teachers explained: most people are happy if uncle >> Bill's head AND feet are in the picture and he's in focus as well. I >> couldn't see myself being pleased with a lot of that kind of assignments. >> Apart form that, I simply couldn't master the proper film development and >> printing techniques. Hated it and still do. I can drool over a wonderfully >> well measured balk and white picture, but don't ask me to do it. I feel the >> technique is in my way. Felt the same when playing the piano. As a conductor >> I feel I have direct control over the singing. Not so over the keys. >> >> I can't say that I picked up photography again very seriously, but it's >> always lurking in the back of my mind. I 'see' pictures everywhere I go. But >> there's not much point in taking all of them if there's no purpose behind >> them. So I'm looking for small assignments in my circles of family and >> friends. To get going again and get some practise. >> >> I know this is beside the topic of this list, but I also picked up video. >> Got a Canon XM1 for the purpose of making a documentary about my father in >> law who is (since 21st of may was) an exceptional wood artist or sculpter. >> So I need to skill myself in video and photography both. I already took some >> pictures of his work: >> >> http://www.janvantol.nl >> >> They were shot in his workplace with light coming form above from three >> large windows. I bought a Visatec flashset however, because we would like to >> make an inventory of as much of his work as we can trace. That means going >> to people's homes and taking pictures there. In order to get the same result >> we felt a flashset was needed. Kep you posted on this as I have a lot of >> trouble of measuring the flashlight properly. >> >> My best subjects are those I simply run in to. I did some weddings and >> parties and those I love best. I am able to be very not present and thus am >> able to quietly go about and observe and shoot unposed scenes. That's my >> strongest point: abserve and be ready to click. >> >> I do like setting up a scene, especially since we got the flashset. It's >> fascinating setting up a table top and trying to get the light right. So >> far, after just 2 testfilms, I'm not that happy, but than I guess this takes >> some time before I'll know how to get it right. >> >> Equipment. >> I still have two K2's and somehow do not wish to part with not h of them. >> The black has always been my camera to use and I cannot see a lot of >> advances if I take up a much more recent model. Sometimes I feel the lack of >> autofocus as I'm always manual focussing and thus sometimes am simply too >> late to take the snap I 'saw'. Also 1/4000 would be nice as with 200 and 400 >> being the standard I sometimes run out of time... I like a large aperture to >> get depth. >> >> I have all Pentax SMC K lenses, except for one: >> Tokina 17/3.5 (very nice, though clearly softer than my Pentax lenses, but >> this was simply affordable - use it a lot indoors to get a room in one go) >> Pentax 24/2.8 (love it) >> Pentax 35/2 (hardly use it) >> Pentax 50/1.7 (great for low light, but do not use it a lot) >> Pentax 85/1.8 (love it) >> Pentax 100/4 macro (great, though not much in use) >> Pentax 200/4 (good, but seldom used) >> Pentax converter 2x (great with the 200 to get 400, but seldom used. I had a >> Panagor converter once which was terrible compared to the Pentax one) >> >> Wishes: fisheye. Nearly had one a couple of weeks ago, but tehy are hard to >> come by. Also: a zoom from about 24-90 to use at parties where it will >> simply save me a lot of time with the switching of lenses. I don't know how >> some of you mange these, but uptill now I haven't had a great problem in >> having only fixed lenses. Point is, zooms in the 80's were a lot less fast >> than fixed. Nothing beates the 85/1.8 or the 50/1.7 or even the 24/2.8. >> Still, for quickness a zoom would be nice. Browsed the web, but all comments >> are still towards fixed is best, unless you pay a lot of money for a 2.8 >> zoom. >> >> So, I'll try to add a photography page to my website and show you some of >> the things I've seen and shot during my lifetime. >> >> Thanks for all the response on my K2 and now what posting. For now, I'm >> still very happy with it so unless someone convinces me I should get this or >> that model, K2's my way. >> >> :-) >> >> Paul Delcour > > -- > "Jazz is about capturing the moment" > -Herbie Hancock > >

