I have been working hard and thinking, but mainly working very hard since my return from the US.  Life in the NHS is never without something to do!!

What I have been thinking about the most, apart from the usual ‘What can I eat now’, ‘what am I going to wear’, ‘Should I go out and do something today or stay on the sofa in my PJ’s?’ is, that I really should start making something of my photography.

Unfortunately I wasn’t gifted with an amazing singing voice. The ability to play a musical instrument or the ability to draw and paint. In fact, I didn’t realise I had a creative cell in my body until I started becoming interested in photography.

I guess it all began as a child. My first camera was a Fisher Price toy. After that I upgraded to a poloroid, then I had my first film camera with was long and narrow and slid together to advance the film.

 

 

 

 

My first ‘proper’ camera was about 5years ago. A Nikon D40. I fell in love with it although it had a tendency for overexposure and it had a really small dynamic range. It is the camera I learned how to (very basically) ‘do’ photography. I learned the basics of exposure, what different lens were used for different effects, how to take a picture in the different modes, especially manual mode and store and edit picture files.

 

From this my love of photography developed and it enables me to explore my creativity. I am a long way off being proficient in front of a camera and I can’t yet call myself a professional photographer (more of a very keen amateur photographer). I do have a dream of someday rising to such a level where I can spend my days between my nursing duties ( I really do love being a nurse, despite all the negative stuff happening in the press and elsewhere at the moment) and travelling to far off places, exploring beautiful landscapes and meeting wonderful people, taking pictures.

To get to where I want to be will take a lot of time and effort and dedication. Not everyone has access to unlimited resources to do what they long for. I certainly don’t!! I did attempt to get on a photographic degree at a well known university but didn’t have enough experience or knew really what I was doing or wanted at the time. As such, and with no portfolio, needless to say I didn’t get accepted on the course. This was exactly the right thing for me at the time.

Most of my photographic training comes from books, watching video seminars and surfing the Internet. From this I have grasped the basics of taking a fairly reasonable photograph.

 

I want to do more than take a reasonable picture.

I have booked my first photographic assignment, undertaking a photo shoot for a friend. To prepare for this I have joined a website that enables learning from watching other photographers on video seminars over the Internet and I am going to do more practical monthly projects, all of which I have decided to document on my blog.

I am not alone being looking to self teach skills in photography. There are many people out there who, like me, save up for months at a time to buy a ‘good’ camera and then learn how to use it by taking it out as often is possible and experimenting.

Either way, if I learn something then there is a chance I could help someone else can learn something new too!!!!!

Good or bad, no matter how it all ends, here’s to the journey!!!!