Hello and Welcome.

I am located in the beautiful Gippsland Region of Victoria, Australia. More specifically -The Shire of Wellington in a town called Sale.

Originally born in Parramatta (near Sydney N.S.W.) my family and I moved to Newcastle N.S.W. in my very early teens. Newcastle is where I went on to establish and build a career in the Finance & Banking Industry.

I picked up my first digital camera back in 2005. At this time I wasn’t interested  in (let-a-lone) aware of the art of photography. I just wanted to take pics of us, where we travelled and to keep these memories on the computer and look at them whenever I wanted. However, it wasn’t long before I started to ignore the auto settings/scenes options and started to experiment with manual control. I wasn’t into photography as such and didn’t follow people or read books – But, I did fall in love with my ability to CREATE an image. to capture images that were different (at least to anything I thought was possible… little did I know). Processes like 2nd curtain shutter on a long exposure at night gave me ghostly images of myself walking down a hallway, the cat had no face, cars could vanish into the night leaving this beautiful ribbon of light that would light up the roadway and guide your eyes through the image. Falling to by belly at the lakes edge meant catching some detail hidden beneath the waters surface whilst revealing a panorama that towered over you.

Over the years that followed I continued to find different vantage points and settings to experiment with.. I was loving the camera so bought a printer. It wasn’t long before our walls were covered with A4 printed portraits and landscapes.

I had established that shutter speed and iso could be managed and controlled. I was yet to discover aperture – something that was not really obvious on a point and shoot.

In 2007 I bought my first dslr. Why? because I felt limited by the point & shoot and wanted to be able to choose a specific lens to suit my intention. I also felt that image quality would improve with a system that was completely customisable.

My journey continued (not without frustration) as I learned to handle this new system. Travelling to Canada and Alaska, New Zealand and Greece over the coming years meant I had plenty of opportunity to capture new and interesting places. Sometimes my images looked fantastic and sometimes I was disappointed with missed focus or a lack of Depth of Field. I learned very quickly that aperture was the key to a successful image.

In 2012 my partner & I moved to Adelaide, South Australia. When not working we spent much of our time exploring – bush walks, day trips, overnight camping, kayaking. The landscapes were foreign to us – Hot, dry, barren, sparse but undeniably stunning and incredibly diverse. There were suddenly 4 distinct seasons and this meant that you couldn’t ever just see it once – you had to go back again and again, so many opportunities to shoot the same scene under very different circumstances.

It was in Adelaide that my enthusiastic interest in Photography matured and prompted a full career change. My “Documentary” style of capturing where we went and what we saw, sharing it on social media to friends and family created an interest from people that prompted purchasing enquiries – yes people started to ask whether I sold prints and canvas. Intrigued and flattered I went ahead and arranged print and delivery.

It wasn’t long before I realised that I needed (?… maybe more accurately wanted) to learn more and so decided to join my local camera club. I wanted to mix and mingle and chat. I had no idea what a club would offer me and the last thing I expected was a monthly competition.

The camera club offered a new opportunity to assess and critique the “Intent” of the image. I was quick to become involved but must admit that it drove me crazy trying to understand the judges views. I became increasingly frustrated with the seemingly inconsistent critique. I rebelled to a certain extent, openly dismissing the feedback as halfhearted and ridiculous…I lost confidence for a time but remained determined to improve and try to understand what a judge was looking for. My biggest frustration was with the fact that I believed a camera club was a social interaction but the judges seemed to critique as if I had submitted an entry into some national competition for professionals.

It was time to up the ante… The camera club had provided a glimpse into another photographic world and I wanted to get this right. I questioned what made an image “perfect”, I questioned what made an image “desirable”.. I questioned Photography.

The solution? Go back to School. I started making enquiries into tertiary education. I quickly found a school and enrolled as a full time student and started my new journey.

Well here I am.. having completed my Cert IV, and then my Diploma at the Centre for Creative Photography in Adelaide.