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My camera brand is...

Canon, although through retail I have held and used most brands including Nikon, Sony, Pentax, Olympus, Panasonic and Minolta along with many others, but when I was younger I always wanted a EOS 1V that they used in Motorsport Magazine.

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I love photography because...

it gives me an outlet to express myself and my interests. I have Dyslexia so I have always struggled to express myself with words, so being able to do so with images that I have captured is great.

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I have been on my photography journey since...

my early teens - my first camera was a Pentax panoramic point and shoot camera that I got as a gift through some sort of supermarket freebie giveaway, but I wasn't very successful with it. After that I had an unbranded 35mm point and shoot, that is when the bug caught. My earliest memory with it was capturing Joey Dunlop racing over the hill out of university corner at the North West 200. After that for a few years I didn't have a camera and tried taking photos on my dads camcorder because it was digital, again that wasn't a great success. Then came my first SLR. The mighty Minolta Dynax 4. I was working in Jessops at the time (I've probably served most of the club members at some stage) selling Canon EOS 300d's every shift and I didn't even have my own camera, so I got bought the Minolta from the used section because it came with a kit lens and a 70-300. I used that until the motor stopped working and then by that stage eventually "upgraded" to digital. I got my EOS 500d. From there I haven't looked back, shooting anything I can point my camera at and most recently, I have switched from SLR to Mirrorless with an EOS M50. That's about where I am now.

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My favourite type of photography is...

extreme & action sports - I got hooked when I was at a motorbike race and that is where my passion lies. I've shot mountain climbing (it's not easy to shoot while hanging from a rope), motorsports (road racing, short circuit, and even drag racing at one stage), road cycling, BMX, skate, downhill and Enduro MTB. I will try anything and through the club I've also learnt that I enjoy street, portrait and event photography too, but I love the buzz around a race or sports event that just gets into your blood.

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I joined Raw Photographic because...

I wanted to meet with other like-minded people to exchange ideas and share experiences with. We get to meet up and go to different places to capture different types of photography and experiment with different techniques. We also task ourselves with monthly challenges which encourage me to go out and capture new images and to push myself creatively to produce better images. Since joining the club I have applied for and obtained my first press pass, bid for and got commissioned work, gained the confidence to model for a shoot, shot my first wedding with a second one lined up, and lost my fear of taking pictures in public. This club has really helped me build my confidence to a point that I couldn't have believed before I joined.

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To find out more about my photography visit: laveryphotography.com.

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