Well I clearly remember having holidays with my dad and not really having an interest in scenery, being completely bored by it, and then as I grew up I started to take a little interest in it.

When I was younger I remember having Mickey Mouse kodak camera (I found a picture of it on ozcamera.com), I think it was a present my brother brought me back from America in 1995 or earlier.. what I do remember of it was a pain to get films for as it wasn't the standard 35mm film, but a 110mm, and you had to use the little wheel to scroll on before you could take the next picture! -it was a great little camera, I loved it to bit... I wonder if its lurking about in any of my boxes!!

Then I had a standard 35mm camera, and I remember going to Aberswyth in Wales in 1998/1999 with a school friend, and taking lots of lovely pictures from a big hill called Constitution Hill, and getting lovely pictures of the sea and landscape, including a the sun setting over the sea.

However most my film pictures would be from concerts of Westlife from around 2000 and I'd get though 2 rolls of film that would take either 24 pictures or 26 pictures... and I'd be going to the pharmacy down the road and getting them developed, and then posting the best ones on my westlife website (which I deleted towards the end of last year 2007)

But when I went to Ireland in 2002, with dad, we went all over Southern Ireland I really loved Ireland especially the Ring of Kerry tour, theres a lovely picture of me sitting on some rocks with lovely scenery around, and also I love visiting a place called "Ladies View" and doing the tour of Dingle, where there is a resident dolphin called "Fungie".
I have visited Ireland several times since 2002, and its a place I feel relaxed, and can take hundreds of photos.

Then dad brought a digital camera by Kodak, from 2003, which I would 'share' with him, though it ended up with me using it alot at more concerts and even my first trip to Silverstone F1 Testing in 2004, unfortunally I was in complete owe that Micheal Schumacher was there, I was too shakey to take pictures and they were down to my brother. And when I met D-side in London.
In 2005 I headed back to Silverstone testing and using dads camera once again, and that October I celebrated my 21st birthday, as a surprise dad booked me a trip to Scotland to see wild Dolphins, I won't forget Aberdeen Harbour.. lots of Dolphins it was amazing.

In March 2006 I went on my first solo holiday without my dad, and met my Dutch pal (through the Jonathan Rhys Meyers Messageboard), as a gift of thanks for designing my stunning 21st birthday dress, I went to the theatre in it.
Two weeks before going to Holland, I went and brought my first digital camera, it was a HP R717 photoshot camera, it was funny as when I met my dutch friend she had to previous HP model.. I took plenty of pictures over in Holland, and was great as I didn't have to take lots of recharable batteries, just the lithon battery which you can charge inside the camera.
Again in 2006 I went back to Silverstone for the testing, saw Jenson Button test there and as always took over 200+, Also took a visit to Donnington Museum, and to Geoff Hamilton's Garden in Barnsdale (an old Gardeners world present) As I've been into gardening since 2004.
my interest in F1 was growing, I'd supported Michael Schumacher for years, but my notice for Jenson Button was visiting Silverstone testing that April with my friend, and then Jenson won his first Grand Prix in Hungary that August. But then Michael Schumacher announced his retirement, it was hard, but had the slight distraction of following Jenson Button, in which it lead me to join onto his official messageboard on the 18th October.
I immediatly started making friends, and then booked tickets for me and Marney to go to the British F1 Testing (all three days) and the British Grand Prix 6-8th July 2007.

As 2007 approched, we counted down the days, took a few road trips with Marney to Brackley, Stowe Gardens and Kew Gardens, and then the testing for all three days, it was a great laugh, as for the testing, I borrowed my friends big massive tent, which we put up in the garden, for practice as we would be camping at Silverstone Grand Prix. At the end of the Silverstone testing I went to Derby, to take Marney back home, and we visited the "heights of Aberham" and Chatsworth House -which was fun (well I found it fun) cos it POURED down with rain, and we were talking the grounds though trees, was nice to be walking in the rain and seeing the trees when they were wet! (hard to explain)

Then July hit us. we'd had lovely summer in April, and now July it was pissing it down with rain, myself and Marney packed up my car, and then I drove to Silverstone on Wednesday, we were wheel spinning in the mud, we should have got some wellies (big mistake), setting up the tent was hard we couldn't get it how we had in my garden, and so the couple next to us helped, and then by the time we'd got it up, one of the enterances to our tent was all muddy!
It was here I met the other JB friends off his forum, Katie, Laurance, Gary, Pete, Carrie, Marney, Alison and a few others

Over the course of the weekend I took 700+ photos -well I was armed with TWO digital cameras, and had some real battery problems due to the cold. It was a brillient Grand Prix for several reasons: 1) I will no longer moan when it rains... 2) I camped out which was fun. 3) I made new friends. 4) met Jenson Button, which topped of the whole weekend.
As we all left over the course of Sunday, we all make a promise to have regular meet ups....
At the begining of September myself, Marney, Katie and Laurance met up round Alisons house, It was a few days of photography, it was the start of my obession with photography.. And at the end of the month I went to Italy's Lake Garda with my dad, the views were stunning... which only ment I came back home with TONS of photos!
We'd visit famous spots in London, The london Eye, Whitehall, and sometimes I'd just meet up with Alison, to learn more about photography, we all met in september to to the David Coulthard booksigning, but it was canceled at the last minute, and so the follow week only myself and Alison went to the event, In November we all met up and went along to the Johnny Herbert Karting event, which was great fun, cold even though it was indoors, I found it hard with my camera though as when it got darker, the camera would struggle to take pictures.
Alison and Katie and myself met up for the Autosports awards, we got to chat with Jule's (Jenson's PA) and chat with Jenson's dad, but Jenson went in through another enterance... but it gave us an uneque opitunity to photograph Lewis Hamilton being presented with a mercades car, in which it drove with this brother Nicholas in the passanger seat, And Lewis had REAL problems getting over the speed hump!
After the event Katie went home, and myself and Alison roamed the streets taking photos, like Stella McCartneys shops, which was OTT'ed with Christmas lights (but thats how Sella wanted it) and we photgraphed a few other bits.. including some things in Black and White, which Alison liked the look of..

It really hit me how my camera was struggling, and was thinking about getting a new digital camera.. maybe an SLR... After doing some reasearch round at Alison's it became clear that maybe i'm not ready for an SLR yet, but also I wanted a camera which would record videos...
After alot of thinking, and research and oppinions, I went to Jessops in London at the beginning of December and brought myself the Canon G9 Powershot Camera, it had only been out for four months.
Armed with my new toy and a jelous Alison ( :P ), we went to Trafagular square and photographed the Norwegian Christmas tree, and the fountains which had dolphins (I LOVE ANYTHING DOLPHINS!) with my OLD camera as the new one needed to be set up and battery charged, we set about putting the camera on timer on the fountain wall, getting some great snaps of the dolphin fountains as there was just enough light.. Alison's camera was snapping away fine... eventually I headed home with my new toy... but there was a problem...

I had only ONE WEEK to understand my camera, as I'd be taking it out for its first major event.. The Race Of Champions at Wembley Stadium..

So armed with my new camera, and wrapped up nice and snug as it was December, I set about that week, going for walks, taking photos of things around my area, like bardges on the canel, horses in fields.. and even a house that every year is decked out with christmas lights and all the money raised goes to charity..

Race Of Champions day arrived, met up with Alison, Katie and Laurance at Wembley station, and we headed for the stadium.
I first started to take pictures on my old HP camera, as I wasn't fully ok with the set up on my new Canon G9, but after getting Alison to take a look at the settings, I was away snapping Jenson Button and Michael Schumacher to name a few of the drivers... there was only one problem.. IT WAS FREEZING.. and towards the end of the night (and lots of pictures and video recordings later) my camera battery died, so resorted back to my HP.
At the end of the evening we headed back to Alisons to 'chimp' though our pictures, I really noticed the difference between both my cameras especially looking at videos I recorded on my Canon and the last video on my HP.

Since then i've been going to and from London, meeting up with Alison and taking pictures, we both met up for New Years Eve celebrations and took lots of photos (although it got a big smokey and my camera decided to focus on the tree!), we've photographed the British Museum, St. Pancras station and verious other things.
I was even chatting to dad saying I need to get a tripod, in which he replied 'i've got one from several years back'.. (he brought it for one of my school choir concerts he record), so now I've got my own free tripod, and recently purchesed a Lowepro sligshot bag to put all my bits and pieces in.

I will over the course of the next few years, buy a lens adapter and lens converters for my camera, but first of all i'm gonna stick with my simple camera and learn to use more settings and get fermiluar with it more... So theres no stopping me now..

To see alot of my photos I've got them hosted on my Flickr site (link opens in new window) All comments on my photos -good or bad are welcome... but you do have to sign up for an account to comment.. but then you can host any pictures yourself..

Oh and on a very good note, for Christmas 2007, I boxed up my old HP R717, and gave it to my brother as a surprise... he now has caught onto the photography bug :D