I would describe myself as a hobbyist photographer, certainly no expert in any way, and always try to carry a camera; as , for me personally, the best shots, regardless of technical excellence, are always "in a moment", whether they be portraits, street-scenes or landscapes.

I enjoy seeing photographs that find something a bit different in a familiar scene or subject.

The standard of a lot of the work on Flickr is a pretty humbling thing, but I am happy knowing that nobody else would take a picture of a scene in exactly the same way as I would....and that goes for all of us if we are expressing ourselves as well as we can, photographically.

I was recently approached by the Scottish Tourist Board (VisitScotland), as they wanted to ask permission to use several of my images here on Flickr to promote my part of Scotland (Clackmannanshire) to the world as a tourist destination via online and published campaigns.

Obviously I was surprised and delighted; both for the recognition and chance to show off this area in my own small way.

As a footnote, I would ask other Flickr members whose work I fave and/or comment on, not to simply fave any of my own work unless they are genuinely interested.

No offence to anyone, but I am not a "fave collector" and would value ten thoughtful comments over 100 faves at any time.

If I like your pics, that doesn't mean you must like mine...we are all grown-ups after all; and a lot of the people I follow already are much better photographers than I will ever be, so I don't expect them to be wowed by my offerings here !