I've had a camera almost ever since I can remember, most of the time a 35mm single-lens-reflex of one make or another. I've always tried to take something more than "snapshots", without really knowing in a systematic way what I was doing.
In 2001 we went on an art/photography tour through the Greek islands, then went on to visit Delphi, Istanbul, Paris and England. The tour leader for the Greece part of the tour was master photographer Nick Melidonis, winner of the AIPP Landscape Photographer of the Year award in 2000 and 2001, as well as numerous other awards. Apart from being a great holiday, the trip really fired up my interest in photography, and I learnt a great deal. It was the start of a continuing process which has raised the standard of my image-making significantly. After returning home I updated all my equipment and joined the Workshop Camera Club, which has also been a great learning experience. Entering competitions is an excellent way to improve almost anything, and photography is no exception. I have enjoyed modest success in the club competitions, including Slide of the Year in 2002, 2003 and 2005. You can see these images, and others which have won awards, here.
I photograph all sorts of things, but one one thing I particularly enjoy is finding what might be called "the abstract in the real world". What I mean is images that are abstract or semi-abstract, but which are straight takes of something around us. It might be a flower, a building or part of a building, or a line across a landscape. Most often such images will have a small number of strong design elements, either of line, pattern or colour. There are numerous examples of this sort of thing in the galleries.
PhotoTrack - the Photographer's Database
After one's entries into competitions and exhibitions pass a certain number, it becomes important to keep track of what has been entered where, so the same image is not entered into the same competition again. I have developed a simple database using Microsoft Access to do this, and it is available for a small price to others. Click the PhotoTrack caption for more.