I left work at end of 2013 and got an SX50 HS bridge camera as a retirement gift. Up to this point I had always been on automatic, shooting film and JPEG. The bridge camera got me down the road to learning about photography and in 2014 I went on a course at the local college and spent time looking at You Tube to understand about the basics. Helpful sites were Tony Northrup, Mike Browne and most of all Marius van der Westhuizen. (www.youtube.com/channel/UCSMto9RkvcYQ4vWSKLJxF6A).

I added external flash and a Raynox 150 macro lens around this time to give me more scope with the bridge camera.

I quickly developed an interest in Wildlife/Bird Photography at which the bridge camera was well suited with its long reach but found the image quality started to become a restraint especially after joining Flickr in 2014 and seeing what was possible. In 2015 I decided to get my first DSLR and went for a Canon EOS 700D with an 18-55mm kit lens. I quickly added a Tamron 18-270mm all purpose lens for wildlife. Later in 2015 when it came out I acquired a Canon 50mm F1.8 prime lens for high quality portraits of my grandkids etc.

In (2016) I replaced my SX50 HS for the SX60 HS mainly for what I hoped would be improved video/sound but generally found that although better features like WIFI and external sound and increased pixel count the SX50 gave better pictures overall (never mind :-)). I also added a Tamron 150-600mm VC to my arsenal in spring 2016 and this has helped me to improve my images significantly. Still work in progress I think !!

In (2017) upgraded my DSLR to a EOS 80d to give me better image quality, improved buffer capacity, autofocus points etc. Still working on the basis of practise, practise, practise as the only cost effective way to improve is to upgrade me !!!

I shoot RAW and mainly use DXO ProLab to process my images although I also use Photoshop Elements for projects. Have used Photoshop Adobe RAW and DPP4 for RAW files but find DXO works best for me especially the noise reduction algorithms.

Update October 2017 Added the new Tamron 18-400mm as an all purpose travel lens. Only 1/3 of weight but 2/3 reach if 150-600. Not quite as sharp but useful nonetheless.

Update December 2017 I have now passed on my SX60 HS to my 13 year old grandson to enjoy as he is starting out in photography and will now make better use of it than me. Sad to see it go but now progressed to my DSLR.

Thank you to all those who are following me and I hope you enjoy