I have a lot of interests but the two that consume most of my spare time at the moment are Photography and Computers.

I first became interested in photography in my early teens when I was given a Kodak Instamatic camera for my birthday. I used it to record things that caught my eye on holidays and during day trips with my friends. Later on I was given a Russian Zenith E 35mm camera, which produced reasonable results even though the shutter was, to say the least, a bit problematic. Unlike the instamatic, it was able to take interchangeable lenses which opened up a whole new photographic world to me. That was it, I was hooked. Over the years I have been able to acquire better equipment and pick up photographic experience through my hobby and work.

My first brush with computers was whilst working at a College, starting with a Sinclair ZX Spectrum, moving on to the BBC B and Amstrad machines. Until the advent of Desk Top Publishing I didn't fully embrace the use of computers. Once I had been introduced to the Mac Plus and seen how friendly the interface was and what the computer could do, my interest took off and I haven't looked back. These days I'm using a Dual G5, which is a bit behind the times now that the Intel Macs have arrived on the scene.

After working my way through different formats of film cameras from 35mm to 5x4in, I purchased a Canon PowerShot G1, the first, really versatile, digital compact camera, in my opinion. This enabled me to combine my two main interests more easily, although I had already been scanning in my slides. A couple of years later I moved on to a Nikon D70 digital SLR and bought a variety of lenses and a Nikon Speedlight for it. More recently I have acquired a Nikon D200, which I have yet to put properly through its paces.

As far as subject matter goes, I am willing to tackle most things but I have a passion for flowers and plants. I enjoy taking the whole bloom and also getting in close, using macro equipment to capture the detail which isn't usually visible to the unaided eye. I prefer working with natural light but I am quite happy to make use of studio flash so that I have control over the lighting.