I have owned a camera for as long as I can remember but when my career became more demanding my camera gathered dust. Years on, with retirement a short step away, I thought seriously about photography once again and bought a new camera, but once again I was diverted: in the middle '90s I moved far outside my comfort zone and started web-based business selling Scottish Highland Dress. That took over my life for ten years and in this time my photography was largely limited to products for display on the website.
Now, with that website in the hands of others, I had time to return to my real interest. The film camera I bought on my first retirement was resurrected but quickly replaced with a digital version.
For inspiraton and focus I joined the Royal Photographic Society (RPS) and my local camera club. My photography started to improve.
I have a passion for the natural world and when the plight of the honey bee was headline news I started to look more closely at insects and discovered a realm that had been hidden from me (until I was bitten or simply irritated by midges). From that point I was captivated: fascinated by their form and their behaviour.
I then started to move down in size to insects that measured just a few millimetres - so small in some cases that I could not identify them properly until I saw the image on my computer screen. So a number of the images that you will see here are macro shots, varying from life size to about three or four times life size as they appear on the sensor of my camera. At these higher levels of magnification depth of field is limited to a fraction of a milimetre so the images are sharp only over a narrow plane.
When I joined the Worcester Camera Club I entered their monthly competitions and then, when I felt comfortable with the quality of my work, I decided to would enter panels for RPS distinctions. In March 2010 I had my LRPS panel accepted and then in September 2010 my ARPS panel was accepted.
Now, with that website in the hands of others, I had time to return to my real interest. The film camera I bought on my first retirement was resurrected but quickly replaced with a digital version.
For inspiraton and focus I joined the Royal Photographic Society (RPS) and my local camera club. My photography started to improve.
I have a passion for the natural world and when the plight of the honey bee was headline news I started to look more closely at insects and discovered a realm that had been hidden from me (until I was bitten or simply irritated by midges). From that point I was captivated: fascinated by their form and their behaviour.
I then started to move down in size to insects that measured just a few millimetres - so small in some cases that I could not identify them properly until I saw the image on my computer screen. So a number of the images that you will see here are macro shots, varying from life size to about three or four times life size as they appear on the sensor of my camera. At these higher levels of magnification depth of field is limited to a fraction of a milimetre so the images are sharp only over a narrow plane.
When I joined the Worcester Camera Club I entered their monthly competitions and then, when I felt comfortable with the quality of my work, I decided to would enter panels for RPS distinctions. In March 2010 I had my LRPS panel accepted and then in September 2010 my ARPS panel was accepted.
© Douglas Gregor ARPS