Photography has been a love, (J would say a passion) for pretty much my whole life, for right or wrong I took the view at 15 that I loved the hobby too much to want to make it into the 9 to 5 treadmill but it continues to be a favourite pastime. My first camera was an old 126 format something or another, the standard of camera and (hopefully) the photography has improved since then.

The digital experience really started for me with an Olympus E-10 bought secondhand in 2006. This was my real introduction to the world of dSLR photography and served me well from 2006 and still was used until the shutter died finally in 2013. It was 'only' 4 megapixel but the detail and clarity suggested otherwise and the lens an absolute peach offering largest f/stop of f2 to f2.4 (in a zoom equivalent to 35mm to 140mm), good going!!!

When the opportunity presented itself to upgrade from the Olympus to a Canon EOS-1d mkII for a fair price in 2009 it just had to be done and many of the photos from then to early 2013 were taken using it. When my beloved Aunty Kath passed away she left me some money and I was able to upgrade to the EOS-1Ds Mk2. The bigger, higher definition sensor of the 1Ds is a revelation (16.4mp and full frame) and provides remarkable results particularly when teamed with the Canon 'L' series lenses, with a setup like this you really feel like the gloves are off and has produced some beautiful results for my first foray into wedding photography . Thank you for my camera Aunty Kath, I really like it (see my website blog).

Canon EOS1Ds mkII

50mm f1.4 Sigma EX-DG-HSM

28-80mm L f2.8-4 ultrasonic zoom

17-40mm f4.0L ultrasonic zoom

70-200mm f4.0L ultrasonic zoom

35-80mm f4-5.6 ultrasonic zoom converted for 1:1 macro

Canon Speedlite 580EX

Cokin A and P series filters

Giottos 9351B Pro Tripod with MH5011 Head

Canon ZoomBrowser EX for photo download

Photoshop Elements for Mac and ACR

Aperture 3

Well the 1D mkII has now been sold and replaced with the Olympus E-1 and E-3 combo which has proved more portable and for now more user friendly (for me at least). Having discovered the charms of an older camera I use an Olympus E-1 with the 14-54mm f2.8 lens and the Olympus E-3 with the pin sharp 12-60mm f2.8-4 and 50-200mm f2.8, (also with some legacy OM-zuiko glass which has been fun and prompted the purchase of 'mint' OM-1n to try some film again after all these years!). The IQ of the Olympus/Kodak sensors are legendary and punch well above their weight; talking of which the greater portability of the Oly's has seen them getting used quite a bit more than the Canon's of late! The Olympus UK E-System user group is a fount of knowledge as well!

Olympus E-1

14-54mm f2.8

Olympus FL-40 flash (for E-1)

Olympus E-3

12-60mm f2.8-4

50-200mm f2.8

50mm f2 macro

Olympus FL-50r flash and FP-1 grip (for E-1 & E-3)

OM-Zuiko (legacy) 50mm f1.8, 28mm f2.8 and 100mm f2.8 and flash guns T20 & T32 and grip (and OM-1n)

Olympus Viewer 3 for photo download/management