Beer & Rail - Photography & Travel

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Welcome to my Photography & Travel pages! Click here for the latest news.

Needless to say, my interests in railways, beers and photography have also seen me develop a keen interest in travel so I always try to fit in a bit of tourism/sightseeing during my trips to help understand the difference in cultures between countries.

Having visited almost every country in Europe and most of the major cities within those countries, some albeit briefly, I will try to upload some of my experiences and recommendations from my travels but you can also take a look at my fotopics collection or click on the individual thumbnails at the bottom of the page.

My love of photography started at a young age as my father was a keen railway photographer (I hope to upload some of his photographs onto my Fotopics website soon) but I started to get serious in my teenage years when I purchased a Canon A1 camera. This set the precedent for me and I've owned Canon products ever since.

All have performed well from my A1 and AE1 Program through to my EOS300, however a fluke encounter with the Duty Free Dixons at Stansted a couple of years ago finally got me into digital. The offer of what was basically a free trial while I was on holiday and a full no quibble refund when I got home persuaded me to try out a Canon PowerShot A80 (point and shoot but with features!). I found the camera very easy to use and the flip screen was a gizmo that actually worked! Needless to say, on my return the camera was returned to the local Dixons and the same model complete with memory card was purchased cheaper from Amazon :-)

I am now a true advocate of digital photography and in 2007 I purchased a Canon EOS 400D which is proving to be every bit as good as I thought (although I'm still getting used to all the features!)

While testing my new camera, I snapped a baby blackbird (not a thrush as I first thought) wandering around my garden.

I still haven't managed to capture on film any of the swallows out at Moreton Park while I've been working on D2578 though!

Another favourite subject of mine is weather and there's nothing better than a thunderstorm to give you a testing time.

2010 saw me visit Sri Lanka for the first time and it turned out to be a very memorable holiday but not all for the right reasons! My Powershot A80 finally gave up the ghost after six years of sterling service (I think the bright sunshine was too much for the sensor!) and I took an unexpected dip in the sea complete with my EOS400D and phone - Ouch! My wounds healed after a few months but the camera and phone were a right off so to tide me over I bought a Canon Powershot SX20, A very capable "intermediate" camera with many functions from the SLR range but with the addition of a big optical zoom and a flip screen. However, I soon discovered that it did have a few limitations - the digital viewfinder was difficult to use, the same finger was required for shutter release and zooming but probably most annoying was the slow start up and reset after taking a photo, something that caused me to miss numerous photos. In the end I took the plunge again and bought an EOS60D. I'm still getting used to it but I'm very impressed so far and it's good to have an SLR again, this time with the added bonuses of video and a flip screen!