Damn, I hate doing these things! :-(

Musician, poet, healer cum herbalist, photographer - oh that will do. Fed up with the list already. :-) I'm old enough to get bored of reciting a load of things that this, being the Internet, folks aren't likely to believe.

Also a grumpy curmudgeon who has had far too many adventures in far too many strange places for my own good. :-) Unfortunately I didn't have a camera for most of them, but then taking pictures was the furthest thing from my mind at the time. :-) Don't think taking pictures of the locals in some parts of Detroit, for example, would have gone down well. :-) Some of the photos here may indicate an adventurous streak. :-)

I was at one point on the freelance list of Kerrang! and I've had one of my band photos published in a fanzine. Going to a metal band's idea of a Halloween party was - interesting. :-) Now and then I get someone taking a fancy to one of my pics and asking if they can use it. Then again, some of my poetry has also been published.

When taking pics of people, I prefer that they forget the camera is there. If they remember the camera is there, they pose - I don't want folks to pose, I want them to be them. I invariably don't use flash, except maybe as fill-in for bright sunshine. It is a hangover from shooting bands; you never, ever want to use flash when shooting bands, cos it will knock the lightshow dead and you'll have a disappointing picture. On top of that, if it's a venue where cameras aren't allowed, it will tell security where to find you. :-)

Similarly folks aren't going to relax if there's a bloody great flashgun going off in their faces. Instead, up the speed, get them used to the camera being there, and get a conversation going or otherwise get them involved in something.

My flashgun is probably the most underused bit of kit I've got. :-)

I am, BTW, mostly self-taught when it comes to photography. My introduction to it consisted of being given a camera and expected to get on with it. Me being me, I did things like finding out what happens if you ignore advice not to shoot into the sun. In some of my photos I have quite openly ignored that dictum and included the sun in as part of the shot.

Somewhere along the way I learned composition. I also had a look at the work of great photographers and photgraphic journalists, plus taking advice from folks who took photos for a living. Working with film for a long time was a good discipline - you can't afford to waste film, so you keep your eyes open for the good shot, rather than every shot going. Photographing bands was also good discipline - you have to see like a camera and do everything on instinct. Doing product shots is another sort of discipline. However, in the end it is all about building up time and experience, experimenting to see what happens, and always trying to improve.

One of these days I may master it. :-)