I'm a relative beginner to photography, having only just bought my first DLSR as a Christmas present for myself in Dec. 2018, a Nikon D5600. But through the wonders of YouTube, and after watching hours (or was it days) of videos by the likes of Nigel Danson, Thomas Heaton and Attilio Ruffo I soon developed an eye for composition. I started off on landscape photos, and got carried away (as you do) when I got my first wide angle zoom lens and a set of ND filters for long exposure photos. I treated myself to Sigma 150-600mm zoom in March, and started to get a few decent bird photos. The skies are wonderfully dark where I live, so I wanted to get into astrophotography. I tried with my D5600 but couldn't  see anything in the view finder or LED screen, seems that a full frame camera is the way to go, so I bought an old Nikon D700 and a beautiful 20mm f/1.8 prime lens to go with it. Wow, the milky way just popped right out of the sky. That's when I really started to get carried away, and get serious with my astrophotography gear.

I joined the Motueka Camera Club in May 2019, and was astounded when the first two photos I entered into their monthly competition both got awarded honours.  My favourite genre at the moment is landscapes, the astro is out of favour this time of year  (December) as I can't manage to stay up late enough at night. I've hardly seen anything of New Zealand yet, I can't wait to travel round and photograph more of its wonderful scenery.