Photography started, for me at least, at a young age. When I was about 5 or 6 years old I can remember being mesmerized by the magic being performed by my Grandad when he shone a light at a blank piece of paper and then, for some strange reason, dipped it into a tray full of water. I can still remember being amazed when, after a few seconds, a picture magically appeared.

It would be almost another 20 years before I took my interest far enough to learn how to do this trick myself. By then I had been taking snaps for about 10 years using a compact camera and always sending the film away to be developed. I decided to get myself a ‘proper’ camera and taught myself the basics with some success (and a lot of failures). The first SLR I bought was a Praktica MTL5. A City and Guilds photography course soon followed which I gained passes in Portraiture and Architecture. Over time I changed my camera and eventually treat myself to a Canon AF SLR and have stayed with that manufacturer ever since.

I found that photography was also a common interest with my best mate, Dave Fletcher. It was Dave who persuaded me to join the camera club in Washington where he had been a member for a while. Looking back, I shudder at the thought of the images I took along to the first competition I entered there. However the very constructive criticism that was handed out on those 4 photos gave me the confidence to take my photography on to much higher levels. I would recommend joining a club to anyone and if you don’t have one nearby then join up with a photography website where you can upload images which can be commented on. Photography Cafe is one such site and can be found on my Links page. You’ll quickly gain lots of knowledge and plenty of friends through either option.

Today, I’m working completely digitally and will still basically photograph anything that catches my eye, though I do seem to favour wildlife and landscapes over other types of photography. I hope you enjoy the images you find here and if you do, keep coming back for more.