Horses rolling , Iceland

I was given my first camera, a Brownie 127, at the age of eight, and a lifelong passion began.  My well-worn early photo albums display tiny black and white images of family and friends, a succession of pets, and memories of Cornish beach holidays with crooked horizons and eyes squinting against the sun.
 

My interest in photography continued into adulthood, whilst moving from London to Canada and back, finally settling in West Norfolk nearly 50 years ago.  After retiring from Norfolk Social Services, I turned a hobby into a professional career following a two-year photography course at the College of West Anglia.

Near Anmer

Suddenly I viewed the world differently, as exposure to the work of great photographers gradually seeped into my consciousness.  I no longer plonked my subjects unadventurously centred in a picture.  Pretty views became boring and needed more structure with a focal point, a feeling of movement, and an indefinable sense of balance within an interesting composition.  I experimented with new subject matter.  Everywhere I looked images leapt out at me, attracting me with colour, texture, pattern and the juxtaposition of shapes, light and shade.  
 At college we learned our trade in the darkroom with black and white development techniques.  But I discovered that my heart lay with colour.  It was the beginning of the digital era and I bought a digital camera, and gradually (very gradually) learned Photoshop.  I could do in seconds what took a box of paper and hours in the darkroom.  And I could do it in colour.  

Arches , Meknes, Morocco

I used to have a Nikon camera with various lens for different situations.  But my husband and I went on a trip to India and I knew it was going to be dusty – not good for swapping a close-up lens with a telephoto.  And all those lenses are heavy.  So I bought an all in one “bridge” camera which combined many functions.  However, nowadays I often take photos on my phone, except if I need to substantially enlarge an image.
 
Many of my photographs have been taken on trips around Britain and Europe in our trusty camper van (sadly now sold), including visits to Morocco and Iceland.  Others have emerged from flights further afield.  But locally I nearly always take a camera with me, just in case.  Occasionally I really plan a photograph, deciding to be in a particular spot to catch a particular light or moment.  But most images are taken when I just see something that resonates with me. I’m always trying to catch that magic and often fleeting moment when the light is right, the clouds are dramatic, the people are in the right position, and the composition just works.
 
A growing interest of mine is the digital restoration of faded or damaged photographs.  I love bringing an image back to life.  It may have been folded up in a wallet, torn at the edges, left to fade whilst sitting on a table in direct sunlight, or have developed chemical stains.  It is usually possible to make surprising improvements, much to the delight of the owner for whom the photo may have great personal significance.