Welcome to My Web Log

I started a weblog several years ago but dropped it when I became too busy to keep it up. Now I am going to try again..fingers crossed here!. My interests have changed a lot . Then it was PSP graphics, web design, and IRC chat. I'm still with PSP but now with photo processing as digital photography has become a passion of mine. My website is still going strong but the updates are not as often as I would like. I don't like wasting sunny days indoors when I can be out exploring the countryside with my camera!

I have always wanted to be an artist but the creative images in my mind, never made it to my hand! Now with photography I can actually bring those creations to fruition! It's great! I still get frustrated when it doesn't always work but I get great pleasure when it does...and even more so, when other people notice it too. It's definitely a good feeling.

I started with digital photography nearly five years ago with my first camera.. a Sony Mavica FD91.. only 1 megapixel but what a camera. Image stabilisation, 12 x optical zoom , flip up lcd screen and it took great pictures with hardly an effort. Unfortunately the low megapixels didn't make for quality prints of any size other than web.

My next camera was the Sony DSC F707. 5 megapixels, 5 x zoom and a lot more controls and settings to really learn and use. A simple dust speck in the lens assembly saw it head off to be cleaned and it came back with a lot more specks and a focussing issue which did not exist before the service. It went back to the service centre, came back with a news lens assembly and more focussing issues...After three months of to-and fro Sony stepped in, and gave me a brand new camera... By this time the 707 had been superceded, so they sent me a 717..the same build with some great new options.. (hot shoe, histogram etc).

I took over 10,000 photos with this camera and then I bought the Sony DSC F828, the first 8 megapixel prosumer camera on the market. 7 x optical manual zoom. It's a totally different camera to the 717. It has so many plusses but there are a few cons which has seen me keep my 717 as well. With both cameras, I have been able to cover most of the photography situations I have come across. My 10 year old son likes to accompany me at times and he loves to use the 717. He has a good eye and comes up with some interesting compositions. Kids definitely have no preconceived ideas and they can be very imaginative.

I am hoping to head out tomorrow with my son for one of our "Choose your own" adventure style drives. The past two weekends have seen us travel 400 kilometres each trip ..heavy on the petrol but we have explored some great places (210 feet down a gold mine, stuck up a mountain, a chocolate factory, climbing tracks to waterfalls and even finding gold!) and taken a few photos along the way. Life is definitely good :)