On 29 November 2012 I bought my very first camera – a Canon DSLR – and unwittingly set off a chain of events that would change my life. Forever.
Well that was a dramatic intro. But got your attention right?
So it’s been a decade, a whole decade since I inadvertently took up Photography. Happy 10 year anniversary to me 🥰
Okay so how did it happen?
Well I had taken to blogging at the time and I had the bright idea that taking better pictures of what I was blogging about would be helpful. So naturally, getting a DSLR was my next step. After scouring the internet and pouring over the research I’d gathered, I finally narrowed down my choice. On the day, I marched over merrily to the store and made my purchase. Yippee. Then off I went back home with my brand new Canon 600D. I was like a kid in a candy store with my new toy imagining what I’d blog about next. I turned on the camera and started tinkering, as you do, wondering how to operate this new contraption. If I was going to use this for my blogs I should probably know how to work it! Right, picture time – let’s do this. I raised the camera, placed my eye on the eyecup, located a subject in my room (a messy desk) for the frame, pressed down on the shutter and “click”. The flash lit up the scene. I leaned back to look at my handiwork on the camera display. Woah. I marvelled at the vibrance and brightness of the image before me. Preettttyyyyyy ^_^ The scene itself was quite ordinary but what I felt in that moment was the exact opposite – see the picture that changed everything for me in my 1st anniversary post. This was it. This was the moment I fell in love with photography. I was mesmerised. 10 years later, I still am. I get such a rush when I’ve captured “the” image – the moneyshot. Whether it’s a candid moment or perfect pose. I love it all.
I had no idea how much joy (and expense) this hobby would bring. Like when I discovered lenses are actually more expensive than the camera body itself 🙃🥲
With time, the blog faded away but photography stayed.
After that first moment, I photographed anything and everything I could in my excitement – flowers, buildings, streets, inanimate objects, food, people, EVERYTHING.
As I developed over the years I dabbled in street, event, fashion & beauty photography until settling on portrait photography.
In this time I’ve cycled through a fair bit of kit:
- DSLRs (crop body to full frame): Canon 600D, 7D, & 5D
- Mirrorless: Fujifilm x20 & 100S, Sony a7 series
- Prime & zoom lenses: 35mm, 50mm, 85mm, 17-40mm, 24-70mm, 24-105mm, 70-200mm
All time favourite lens? Canon 85mm F1.8 – beautiful portraits. E-v-e-r-y-t-i-m-e.
All time favourite body? I very much consider myself a Canon girl still so shout out to the Canon 5Dii. Right now though I’m loving the Sony a7ii and Sony 24-105mm F4 G OSS combo (see below) largely because of size/practicality.
It’s been a fun ride so far. I’ve deliberately stayed a hobbyist/enthusiast, even at the behest of many encouraging me to go pro. Why? Well until I discovered photography I didn’t consider myself creative at all. I was so chuffed to discover that my right brain was actually alive (because things really were looking dire at the time). I think it’s also helped unlock other creative endeavours down the line.
It’s important to me that I don’t lose that joy I get from it. When you find things that energise and inspire you, I think it’s worth protecting in whatever way works for you. When what you love also becomes what feeds you, it changes things. Oftentimes you become led by keeping the lights on instead of passion – you may find yourself having to choose projects you don’t enjoy because they pay well and so you may find yourself falling out of love with it all. Of course that’s not necessarily always the case – there are many pros who love what they do and feel great joy they also have the privilege of getting paid for it. That said, my view is not every hobby is to be monetised. It’s possible I may feel differently in future but for me, I am content with my current set up. I have full control of when I pick up my camera, what I work on and when. That serves me very well.
With that said, I’ll close with a selection of my fave shots over the years (see below) – thank you for reading and here’s to the next 10 years (and beyond)!
