As a relative newcomer to the world of “proper” photography, I can’t write too much about my photographic history. Using disposable and point-and-shoot cameras in my childhood fuelled an interest in photography, followed up with the purchase of a very basic Kodak digital camera whilst on holiday in Scotland with my parents around 1998.

Photography was never really a hobby until I moved down to Southampton in the spring of 2003 and I purchased a Canon compact digital camera with slightly more features than my outdated Kodak. Having adjustable shutter speeds and apertures allowed me to experiment with photography more and some of the first images I took with it were long exposures at night from the window of the bedroom in the flat which I rented at the bottom of the Avenue in Southampton.

Further use of the camera increased as I managed to get out and about in the New Forest, along with in and around Southampton itself. It was only in the summer of 2005 when I made the leap into the world of SLRs and purchased my Canon EOS-350D, having read many good reviews about it and it being in the right price bracket for me. I haven’t looked back since, and have added two lenses, a flash unit, a tripod, and other accessories to my ever-growing camera bag – in my quest to take some good quality photographs but, first and foremost, to enjoy my photography. To help push this along, I decided to join my local camera club, so I joined Southampton Camera Club in October 2005.

I don’t consider myself to be a specialist in any one branch of photography, but I enjoy landscapes and cityscapes a great deal. I enjoy combining my photography with travelling and usually end up taking my camera wherever I happen to travel to in the UK and beyond. I try to set myself a number of photo projects to complete and, with my “proper” photography still being in its infancy, I hope to be able to complete a number of these to add to my personal portfolio of well-composed, attractive images. Since 2003, I have developed my own website at www.njbphotos.co.uk. I don’t use my website as a portfolio of my finest images, but more of an online photo album of my digital photography to date, which I hope you will enjoy viewing.