My first camera was some basic model point-and-shoot film camera with a fixed lens and no frills. The main feeling associated with my photography of that era was intense disappointment when picking up the developed photos to find the subject matter I recalled as looming large on the day represented as tiny details in a boring image. First lesson: get closer to the subject! Or, get a longer lens, but as a high school student, that wasn’t something that really factored into my thinking. 

During first year university, I took a course in black and white photography and film development. Darkrooms, chemicals, contact sheets, the whole deal. I borrowed my parents’ Nikkormat and a couple of lenses from the 1970s. I hauled that brick around town taking (mostly very ordinary) photos on weekends for six weeks but the fascination took hold. My first digital SLR came into my life in 2006 and I’ve never looked back. I built my collection on Nikon because those ‘70s lenses of Mum and Dad’s still work with modern camera bodies and still take beautiful photos. Like learning to drive on a manual car, learning to shoot with manual gear can be frustrating but it drills the basics into you. Going digital, though, meant instant feedback on the techniques I was trying out – a huge revelation for me and still one of the most powerful learning tools I have.  

Speaking of learning, I am well and truly still travelling that road. I hope I always will be because it keeps life interesting. If I share my learnings in future blog posts, it’s not to promote myself as an expert but to express my gratitude for the opportunity to make someone else’s photography journey easier, the way mine has been made easier by those who know more than I do. As for the images on ColourSpace, it’s my way of contributing to the beauty in our world. It would absolutely thrill me to know they’re hung in a living room or bedroom somewhere, making a space seem a little bit more like home to its occupants.