The Late Bloomer
I came to photography later in life and quite by accident. I had a successful career in Project Management and Business Development but I began to find myself struggling with the pace due to ill-health. I eventually took voluntary redundancy and left my job. In order to keep my usually very busy mind active, my partner bought me a Nikon D5200. Being the person I am, I had to find out how all the little buttons worked - no point in them being there if I didn't know what they did!
So now I knew how the camera worked and all was good - but I still wasn't quite satisfied that my photos were showing what I saw. They weren't quite capturing the essence of the flower, the magic of a frosty morning, or the motion of the water etc. It soon clicked (groan) that if I knew how my camera worked 'properly' then I must be able to manipulate it to do what I wanted it to do - and then with the addition of creative software including Photoshop and Topaz to name a couple of those that I regularly use, I could get much closer to what my romantic eyes saw on that day. From that came an inevitable move to 'creative lenses' such as the Lensbaby models, as well as some vintage lenses mounted on a mirrorless camera. Yes, that D5200 led to a whole lot more equipment and I now shoot mainly with a Sony A7rii, an Fuji X-T20 and a whole host of lenses and filters. That D5200 was quite expensive in the end but, don't be fooled - I came to realise that a lot of my better shots were created with the most basic equipment! You just need to know how to use what you already have -and to have a lot of fun experimenting.
Now a few years in to my new life as a photographer, I'd be thrilled to be able to share some of what I have learned with you. I have a new Youtube channel as well as an Etsy store to sell my own textures. I am also available for workshops or one-to-one tuition on either creative photography techniques, or creative photoshop editing. I'd love to encourage other photographers to think outside of the box and begin to make photos instead of just taking them. Please contact me for more details.
Sue Woollard