One day early in 2013, my brother (Russell) and I decided to go to Warrnambool. One of my friends said I could have a loan of her camera (Olympus OMD). I enjoyed going to the beach and taking pictures of the waves, the rocks and sunken boats, which reminded me of my younger days when I was growing up. My uncle used to take us down to Rye, Rosebud, and also Tooradin. It was compulsory for us to take buckets with us. Believe it or not, the buckets were to bail the water out to raise the boat before we could go fishing. The next day, we went to the Tyrendarra Show, where I took a lot of pictures of horse jumping, which was so much fun. I made some new friends while we were walking through the photography shed, where they were judging the pictures.

When I came back home, I would not stop talking about how much I enjoyed taking pictures. I think in order to keep me quiet :):), my husband decided to buy me a camera, a Nikon D5100 for our 40th wedding anniversary in March. A couple of weeks later, I joined the Cranbourne Camera Club and have been having so much fun making new friends and learning how to take pictures since. My brother and I went up to the Murray River. I didn’t know what I was doing but I fumbled through the camera settings and I think I have been improving since. I have also been to Castlemaine for a weekend with my brother and that is where they make the smallgoods “Don is Good”. I try to take pictures every day if I can and put them up on Project 365.

 

Have you noticed I go on a lot of trips with my brother? I believe I have him fully trained now. He stops when he is told and executes U turns with precision.

 

I have been entering club competitions and getting other people's and judges' opinions which is good for improving my photography skills.

 

In July, I entered into a raffle, where I won a trip to Norfolk Island for a week. I took a lot of pictures and have entered several into the Pakenham Nationals. I got an acceptance for one of my images. I was so thrilled and waiting now to see where it will go. I have also entered several pictures into the Ballarat Nationals.

 

The MotoGP has just run through Cranbourne, where I took a lot of images, including portrait images of children. I have always thought I would like to do landscapes.

 

I have now realized that I may be finally getting somewhere with photography, so I am going back to school (a bit scary). I started Photography College in October part time for two years which I am so excited about.

 

I want to give a big thank you to everyone at the Casey Camera Club for their friendship and help.