In Jan 2002 I treated myself to a relatively inexpensive digital camera, a Fuji Finepix 2200. Prior to this I hadn't done any proper photography but really wanted to learn: it seemed like a really creative and interesting hobby to take up. So armed with my camera I trawled my way through the streets of London looking for photo opportunities and realised that there are so many. the finepix 2200 was very basic with very little in the way of use control, so I treated myself to a Canon G1. The G1 has full manual control, an optical zoom and produces much better quality images. In Sep 2004, my G1 died a death and I bought a Minolta DiMage Z3. Besides looking very stylish and having full manual control, this camera has a whopping 12x optical zoom which is pretty amazing and opens up a whole new world of photos.

One really good thing about photography is that it teaches you to both look and to see your surroundings. It opens your eyes to the many strange, beautiful and interesting things that we pass on a daily basis and never really notice. And it's also very nice having a hobby that doesn't involve the pub!

This site went live on 9 Aug 2002 with 133 photos. I know I've still got a lot to learn but I also know that I'm going to really enjoy learning it. If any of you would like to offer any hints and tips then I'd be more than grateful to hear from you.

I hope you enjoy my photos and as always, constructive criticism is more than welcome.