The Beginnings

Since purchasing a Kodak Brownie 127 at a jumble sale for 5p when I was 8 I have been hooked on photography. It took 2 weeks of badgering my parents to buy some film for it but eventually they relented and I used it up in about 2 hours. My first shot was of some coot chicks on their nest and the addiction grew from there. In the next few years I bought many cameras from jumble sales and eventually got my first SLR, a Zenit E. At the time my junior school had a little photography club and a dark room. When you are 10 and see your photographs magically appear on a piece of paper you never forget it, even if it was a dodgy pic of a cat on a post with a wonky horizon. Hours were spent in the darkroom learning the skills and getting dizzy on the fumes. By the time I was 19 the digital revolution had begun but I doggedly stuck to film for quite some time. Many thought that odd as I was an IT and gadget geek but I never felt that anything of the time could match the film bodies and in particular my EOS 3. It wasn't until Canon released the 30D that I was happy(ish). The AF was a step down as was the metering but the freedom to snap away was a revelation. No more did I have to worry about the cost of film. Gone were the days of waiting for the chemist to return your prints only to find either you or them had mucked up. My collection of film cameras now sit locked away in the darkness, a long gone technology but still one remembered with fondness.

My Photography

Aside from my children, my time is taken up with cycling, windsurfing, a bit more windsurfing and a lot of wildlife photography. To be good at photographing people you need a certain empathy with them, as a miserable git I have none of that so tend to avoid that area. Landscapes can be fun but I get bored waiting hours for the right light so only shoot if I find a shot by chance. Windsurfing and other sports on water I love to shoot but it does detract from getting out and doing it. Mostly these days I photograph wildlife and particularly the macro world as that can be done at any time of day in any conditions. I am addicted but have so much to learn. There are so many wonderful photographers out there that I can only aspire to being half as good as. Until then I will keep writing about my journey and hoping it helps me improve.

Use Of My Images

As for my** images, should you be mad enough to want to use any on your personal, not for profit blogs please feel free to do so but leave a credit back to me and this site. Should anyone be mad enough to want to use any of my images for commercial reasons then please make a donation to the "Phill would love some big white Canon glass but wants to keep his kidneys" fund and I can send you the highest res versions I have. All donations to the aforementioned fund gratefully received. 

** Images used in some articles by courtesy of other photographers remain wholly owned by the talented photographers that created them. If you wish to use other peoples images you will need to ask them. They have been very kind in allowing me to use them so if I find you have not played the game I will be forced to slap you around the face with a wet kipper.