Hey. I joined Flickr to be part of a photographic community ... Picasa and Facebook are places to 'stick stuff up' mainly for family and friends,but you don't really get many comments from people who 'know' or at least appreciate your efforts ;-)

I have been interested in photography for a long time, starting out with a Pentax P30n, but very much still regard myself as a beginner. A couple of years ago a got a Nikon D80. I think I have a reasonable eye, but need to improve on technical execution, and digital means I can be more experimental/risky (at lower cost). I certainly use photoshop from time to time, but I'm not a big fan of post-production work - artificial colours, light effects, editing out blemishes, etc. - it feels like cheating! I tend to use photoshop to tweak and dabble with poor quality images. Part of the appeal to me of photography is in capturing the moment and the mood, from the photographer's perspective. A picture should be a personal interpretation of a scene, at a point in time, a blend of natural conditions (light, colour, form, etc.), camera settings - and the photographer's skill in choosing them - and composition, to achieve the desired representation. A simple, quick snap on auto can be as rewarding to me as an image I've made more of an effort to capture. That said, there are levels of 'good', and I'm certainly on level zero.

I suppose I'm here on Flickr to be inspired by other people's work, to help me to realise the photos that are all around me, to improve on my own techniques, to put my own pics out there, and to have fun!

James