When I was 12, my parents took me overseas for the first time, to meet the German relatives. As we waved my aunt goodbye and boarded the train through Switzerland, she pressed a little box into my hands. WOW ! My very own camera! It had a little switch for 'sunny' and 'cloudy' and a shutter release. Excitement! Joy!

I hung out of that train window snapping away at the snow-topped mountains and took many black + white photos of architectural masterpieces: cathedrals, citadels and forts, centuries older than any buildings in my homeland of South Africa. I got creative; took them through arches and unusual angles; waiting impatiently for the prints to be returned from various village pharmacies before leaving for the next place on our itinerary.

In the early 80's I bought my first SLR body (Nikon FE) followed by the FE2 black body; which I still have to this day. As the years passed, digital photography was introduced and I have remained loyal to Nikon. I admit to pixel-chasing and have upgraded bodies more than once and acquired various lenses...and dream of many more.