My first recollection of adventures into photography was being allowed to use an old family box camera with 120 format black and white film on a school trip from junior school to Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, England. My elder sister had dutifully taped little notes all over the camera in order to remind me after taking a shot to WIND IT ON TO THE NEXT FRAME. Despite all this, in the excitement of the trip and the pride of being allowed to use such a sophisticated piece of equipment (I was probably 7 or 8 years old), I forgot. All the photos I took where on just one frame. The first of many hard lessons to be learned about the technical aspects of photography.

My father was an avid photographer, he had converted one of our outhouses (the wash house) into a darkroom. I spent many an hour out there in the cold watching him print, the rest of the time not seeing anything because IT WAS DARK!

My husband also has a keen interest in photography and not long after we married, I took up the hobby alongside him and ever since then we have owned the same model of camera each, with a view to sharing lenses (which mostly doesn't happen). He has strong technical knowledge and I am on the more creative side, so we complement each other well. We have been members of camera clubs throughout our marriage, which apart from the social aspect provides a wealth of information, taking our photography to new levels.

My photgraphy has been described as "eclectic", which is a nice way of saying "Jack of all trades....", but I feel no reason to concentrate on only one aspect, there is so much scope for creativity and adding Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop to one's arsenal, the possibilies are limitless. This is a hobby which can be enjoyed throughout one's entire life and I am still learning daily.