Photography for me has always been a hobby, a way for me to express myself with digital stills. I would be lying if I said I am photographer, I am merely an image scavenger with a camera habit. For me, creative observation is only a starting point, digital technology is jumping leaps and bounds and with it I can make any subject my own. I believe in freedom to capture and record whatever one sees. I may not be a camera but in my experience what started life as snaps may end up as art. But all this could start to change; I may one day make it as a photographer.

Since leaving University, I haven’t been able to do much “hobby” photography apart from the odd holiday or road trip. I have however been busy at work with various forms of photoshoots. From a River Island launch event to a trip to Kent to photograph an inventor with her scrudle - I’ve started to be exposed to more and more commercial photography… and it doesn’t stop there!

Over the past 5 months I have been putting my skills to the test with some Horse photography for my other half’s new magazine – Hooked on Horses. With the combination of dressage, show jumping and cross country, I decided to get myself a quick & cheap purchase in the form of a Sigma 28-300 in order to get the focal length required for the different disciplines. Now I must start by saying that for the price I paid, it really isn’t a bad lens but more so for everyday walk in the park type stuff. Even for outdoor horse photography, I was still able to acheive some good results but no where near the standard of the 70-200 F2.8’s for example. Being an f3.5-6.3 meant it was just too slow to handle the action and I soon came to realise that my impulse purchase had to be replaced.

Then it started… my transformation from image scavenger to photographer. I found myself reading a book called Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson which quite embarrassingly made me realise how much of an amateur image scavenger I am! Don’t let the dry title fool you, this book helped me understand the art of composition, depth of field and all other aspects of field such as the exposure triangle and the difference between correctly exposed and creatively exposed photos. After a few hours of reading I felt my transformation had begun, I now have a greater understanding on how exposures are created and how the creative element must never be taken for granted.

The next step is my kit, and more importantly my lenses. With the Sigma being too slow and having out grown the 18-55 IS – a whole new set of lenses are due. Watch this space… my glass list changes ever day, I did however decide to get the cheap and cheerful 50mm f1.8 for the weekend which I am just about to review… adios!