One of the questions I'm asked quite often is: "Why did you choose a career in photography?"
I first picked up an SLR in 1990, it was a Pentax SF7 film camera as digital photography hadn't been invented at that stage, and I learnt everything I know by shooting and learning by my mistakes. I then progressed to a Nikon F100 and continued learning until I bought digital gear, where the learning became a bit easier due to being able to look at the pictures instantly, on the back of the camera.
With my first full frame camera, a Nikon D700.
I'd always fancied myself as a press photographer, photographing dramatic news stories, page 3 models and celebrities. Once I realised how difficult it is to get a foot in the door as a press photographer, I gave up on the idea altogether and concentrated on a normal job, working for someone else.
Fast-forward a few years and I found myself in Ireland, out of work, having held down a job since moving here in 2003. Eventually I got sick of sending off applications to numerous companies and decided to create my own job doing something I loved and was good at, so I became a photographer.
An image from my first commercial shoot as a professional photographer taken in 2013.
It's not an easy profession to be in - there's no model shoots in the Carribean with bikini clad girls, no backstage access to the latest band and certainly not tens of thousands of Euros in income! No, it's business development, Social Media, accounts, business development, image processing, meetings, business development, training, gear maintenance and did I mention business development? Actual photography takes around 5% of my time and consists of commercial, weddings, portraits, events, tuition and the occasional landscape.
With all that said, I love being my own boss, doing something every day that I love and have no intention of ever giving up!