My photography story starts way back in 1984 when my grandmother bought me my first camera, a Kodak Brownie shooting on 110 film with a cartridge flash bulb that you had to plug into the top of the camera (& throw away after you had used up all 8 bulbs). As a 12 year old and still in primary school, I loved my little camera and used it to snap anything & everything, from landscapes to people (even when they didn’t want it) or to whatever I thought needed a photo. The only thing that slowed me down was the cost of purchasing film & then having it processed… pocket money only stretched so far and as a boy there were so many other things to spend it on at the same time.

Time went by, I grew and progressed through a few 110 film cameras, still snapping away at anything; however, my interests waned as I started to find my chosen vocation in electronics. In 1989 I started an electronics apprenticeship with the Royal Australian Air Force. It was during this apprenticeship that I moved from 110 film to 35mm film. I purchased a Ricoh 35mm instant camera with the first of my ‘pay checks’. During a rough patch in my electronics training I almost transition across to become a photographer, but it was not be at the time… electronics was where I was headed.

For the next few years or so I still managed to drag my Ricoh out, taking snapshots whenever I could, but I was in my late teens / early twenties and we all know what that means for boys; girls, cars, and generally having a good time. 1995 saw me starting a family and a lot of interests went on hold in-lieu of family responsibilities. Unfortunately life changes and throws speed bumps along the way; my partner & I went our own separate ways.

Funny how things work out because that led to an interest in my local community cinema to which I immersed myself into for then next 5 years or so. I became the chief equipment maintainer looking after 2 Bauer 35mm projectors & the accompanying sound system. One thing leads to another and one night I found myself having to be the projectionist, which led into becoming the senior projectionist.

Being around image projection equipment, sound systems & electronics placed me in close proximity to the emerging technologies of the digital world. The first digital camera I saw was a Kodak system where the recording media used in it was the old 3.5in floppy disk and a resolution of 640 x 480. Being a gadget/technology freak I watched on in awe as the digital revolution occurred and in 2001 I purchased my first digital camera, an Olympus C720 with 8x optical zoom, a staggering 3.0 megapixels and a resolution of 1024 x 768. My love of photography was rekindled and reignited.

In 2006 I bought my first DSLR, an Olympus E500 with two standard kit ‘zoom’ lenses. I quickly found there where limitations with the kit lenses, I had to have better and I needed specialty lenses…. wide angles, macros, better f stops…. Whilst the E500 had ‘point & shoot modes’ to make it easy to point it a something & snap a shot, I wanted more, I wanted to learn how to set the camera to take exactly what I wanted. So the next purchase was the Olympus’ flag ship at the time, the E-3. Wow, what a steep learning curve!

Since the purchase of my first DSLR I travel everywhere with my cameras, photography is a passion and a soul rewarding part of me. Getting lost with and behind the camera for a few hours is exhilarating and liberating. To be able to share the resultant images with people is uplifting; after all, what good is a great picture if no one can see it or enjoy it?

"I never studied photography; I just learned what the little numbers meant. There isn't much to learn really, once you find out how to set an f-stop and shutter speed. The rest is about what you see, and when you choose to push the button." Henry Diltz - who in the '60s and '70s, photographed some of the top names in the music industry, known for his iconic cover shot for The Doors' album "Morrison Hotel"

I try to spend a little time daily looking at other photographers' work (here, elsewhere and occasionally in print) since inspiration comes from everywhere.

One of the best things about digital photography is that I no longer have any inhibition about shooting anything and everything that might be interesting, as well as dozens of shots of the same scene, especially if it involves people in motion. The other wonderful thing about digital photography is the ability to crop, edit, tweak, and adjust the images.

At the end of the day, I take photos of what I like & present them in a way that appeals to me and whilst I occasionally photograph flowers and things of that sort, most of what I shoot, however, is either abstract, landscapes or people (in a “Street Photography” or “CosPlay” sense, not formal portraits, weddings, or drooling babies). I only hope that people enjoy them as much as I do.

So here’s hoping that you too will find some images amongst my varied collection that appeal to you and that bring you some form of enjoyment. I'm appreciative of any feedback and comments that people make about my images, so please feel free to comment.