My Name is Bill Spangler.  I live on the Ohio River just down Rose Island Road from Prospect Kentucky.  I've always been interested in photography.  About 25 years ago I bought a Canon A-1 SLR.  I shot a lot of photos, some of them were pretty good, but I never really pursued photography on a regular basis.  The delay between the shot and the print, for me, was an obstacle.  The advent of digital photography helped to eliminate the issue. Another interest of mine is what pushed me back into photography....that is:  boats, ships, anything nautical!  In 1997, I began building a wooden model ship.  It was from a kit -- Artesania Latina's Harvey, a Baltimore Clipper.  Working on and off, nights and weekends, it took me about 6 years to complete the model which brings us to 2003.  I wanted to create a website with photos of the ship.  So I bought a Sony Cybershot digital camera.  The Sony was, I believe, a high end point and shoot.  I took some photos of the model, created a website (See RoseIslandModelShips).  I then bought another kit, my plans being to build one more kit model before tackling a scratch-built.  I chose Corel's HMS Bellona.  One of the questions people always asked about the Baltimore Clipper was, "Geez, how long did it take you to build it?"  The only thing I could tell them was six years.  But during that time period, there were a lot of gaps.  It was a hobby!  I sometimes went several weeks without touching it.  So, just saying that it took me 6 years didn't really give a good picture of how much time was actually spent.  So I decided to keep a log on my wesite of the building of the HMS Bellona which you can find on RoseIslandModelShips.  Now, if you look at the log, you'll see the last entry was June 15, 2004!!  Well, here's the thing...the digital camera got to me.  I began spending more time taking pictures, than I did working on the ship.  With a full time IT job, I didn't make time enough to devote to both hobbies.  The photography took over. The Sony worked really well.  I was able to get some good images, IMHO.  But I longed for an SLR where I could use different lenses.  In March of 2004, I bought a Nikon D70....I was in heaven!  I began taking pictures everywhere I went.  I shot retirement parties, local events, and big cats at the Exotic Feline Rescue Center....a wonderful place!!! Then, in October 2005, the company I worked for, announced that our plant would be shut down due to a company reorganization.  The company wanted the IT department, including me, to move to New Jersey....I was no longer in heaven.  I could not leave Kentucky and my home on the river.  I was fortunate though, to have worked there long enough that I was able to take a retirement package.  So, on June 1, 2006, I retired at 49. Ok, I'm back in heaven now.  In August, a buddy of mine read in the paper that a local, independent film maker was making a zombie move, of all things, and was wanting people to come down and be "Zombie Extras."  Well, on Saturday, we went down there, me toting my D70 of course.  When I got there I decided that I could do a lot better taking pictures than being a zombie.  I was shooting with a 24-85 Nikkor lens as several hundred zombies charged up the street.  I quickly realized that I wanted to change to a longer lens but there was no time during the attack. Enter, the Nikon D200.  It arrived the following Thursday.  AM I LOVING RETIREMENT OR WHAT!!!