Embracing our journey
My name is Mike Clarke and I am an amateur photographer based in North Wiltshire, United Kingdom.
My photography journey started in 1992 when I worked overseas in Belize City when I bought a second hand Canon EOS SLR film camera from a friend at work. This gave me the opportunity to capture memories of working in this amazing Central American country.
Of course I had no idea how use the camera and shot everything in automatic and had to wait for a trip home before I could get any images developed. The pleasures of film!
Then through the early 2000’s I purchased a series of Olympus digital cameras which were excellent, but again most of my images were family holiday snaps!
In 2017 on a family holiday to California I was asked by another tourist if I could I take a picture of them in front of the iconic Golden Gate bridge with their Nikon… Well that was an eye-opener!
They gave me temporary control of their very posh Nikon camera and I was blown away by what I could see through the viewfinder. Back home, later that same year I purchased my very own Nikon D500 for a trip of a lifetime to Northern Scandinavia and I was hooked. This trip was to be the beginning of my obsession with learning more about photography. But then came covid and like many people lost my work-life balance, working exclusively from home during this period.
At the beginning of 2023 I joined the excellent Swindon Photographic Society as a way to redress that work life balance and of course to continue learning more about the subject from the very friendly members and regular presenters.
I never thought I would have the confidence to enter my images into the many competitions, but I took the plunge and have not looked back. The competitions are an excellent way to challenge yourself to improve. Receiving feedback from the judges and members is critical to this process and has allowed me to learn more about my camera, photographic composition and some of the many “breakable” photographic rules that help to create a decent image.
In addition to the process of capturing the image, I have also discovered the absolute pleasure of producing my own prints. I never thought printing your own work would be so rewarding. Having a tactile print that you can hold and show friends and family beats an onscreen image every time.
In 2024 I traded in the Nikon D500 for a mirrorless Nikon Z8.. The journey continues.!