My granddad had an old Canon camera he used to take on holiday with him when he and my grandmother would go away. I always begged him to use it to take pictures of the flowers, butterflies and other animals down in the garden. I remember the feel of the camera and how it felt turning the dial, pushing down on the button just enough to hear the whirring of the lens focusing, and then finally… "click". Before I knew it, the shutter had opened and closed and on the display, there it was, the memory preserved forever.
I will always think back to a time when I held that camera. Although technology has improved, cameras these days still bring the same level of excitement and curiosity I felt when I was a child.
The day I got my first camera was amazing. It was a Christmas present that my grandparents had gifted to me when we were away on holiday. The remainder of the holiday was spent taking photos and documenting the things around us.
After the holiday I kept capturing important moments and memories. After a while, I decided to teach myself how to use my camera properly. I started reading the book “Read This If You Want To Take Good Photographs” by Henry Carroll. I learned about shutter speeds, aperture, focal length and other things that would bore anyone who wasn’t interested. The book also included photographs captured by various photographers on alternate pages. This encouraged my love for photography even further; if they can take photos like that, I can too.
Photography has always been a consistent interest of mine since I was little, and although I could never be in any of the photos I took, I still loved capturing the memories for others around me. I will be behind the camera, capturing important moments and memories for the rest of my life.