I have always been a huge fan of the medium of photography, since leafing through my dad's 1950s books of black and white photos of historic moments, people, monuments, still lifes, etc.

It sounds like a cliche but I think a good photo can tell a story, convey a feeling, evoke a memory, and simply be a great marriage of technology and creativity to create great art.

It can shock, make you laugh or give you a glow, and any object can be shot in an infinite number of ways so the possibilities of the craft are endless.

Anyway, since becoming keener, I bought my first DSLR (a NIkon D40) and have been trying to learn as much as I can about photography at every opportunity and get some better shots, later moving up to a Nikon D5100, my current go-to body.

I then bought a Nikon P7100 as a compact that shoots in RAW, for use when travelling light or where a full sized DSLR is impractical (concerts, football etc) and recently acquired an 'old-school' film SLR - a Praktica MTL3 (a model from about 1980) with the intention of learning more about photography pre-digital.

I'm finding that quite educational, and at times easier but at others more difficult than digital (no playback to review images for starters!) and I'm enjoying trying, and learning.

I work in shipping, which gives me access to the container port at Seaforth, Liverpool - an honour, because security prevents many 'toggers who would like to shoot images of the ships there. I'm lucky in that. I am married with two young daughters, so they're my favourite models too. My oldest (aged 6) is already showing interest in photography and has her own Kiddiezoom camera - editing her shots is quite a task because she averages about 400 shots per hour!

In the last few years I have been massively chuffed to have around 50 photos selected for use in various newspapers, books and websites, all via Flickr, plus several Flickr 'Explore' selections and I'm always absolutely thrilled any time anyone takes the time to view or comment on my shots!

Anyway, I think Flickr's a great site for seeing other people's work, showing your own and getting new ideas.

Happy 'togging, all!

Keith