I’ve first started playing with a camera seriously when I was 9 years old. I signed up for a summer school course in dark room photography, a bunch of kids let loose in a studio. Good times! We played around with negatives, filters, slide shows and blowing up pictures among other things. This was long before the digital age crept in.
In 1995-97 I took Art and Design at college specialising in print making and framing, but I got to experiment with many different kinds of techniques such as abstracts, still life, cubism and other mediums such as pen and ink, oil pastels and water colours.
In 2000 I got my first digital camera (FUJI). It wasn’t an SLR but it was a good step up from the film cameras I’d been using thus far. It was at this point when I was playing around with landscapes, wildlife and portraits that I learned I had an eye for photography; not only on the shot but also for editing them to produce a more polished piece of work using Fireworks and Paint Shop Pro. At the time I was doing my Internet Technology degree (I later got a first) which complemented the switch to digital photography.
Spring 2007 my partner suggested I finally bite the bullet and invest in a decent digital SLR camera so that I can make the move from hobby to profession. His idea inspired me because I knew it would support my writing and could in fact allow me to move away from IT, something I’ve been longing to do for some time.
Unfortunately I was unable to get funding until February 2008 when I went into Jessop’s and came out with a Canon EOS 400D Digital SLR with all the trimmings and installed Photoshop. Utilising my IT skills I’ve now set up a website with an online gallery, a store via CafePress.com as well as signing up to several stock photography sites (See Affiliates). It’s still in the early stages but every business has to start somewhere!
