My Story
My two children, Nicole and Jason, gave me a digital SLR camera for my 50th birthday in 2006 ... it was the first 'real' camera I had ever owned.
I wanted to take 'close up' photos of the beautiful Azure Kingfishers who live along the creek at the back of our property ... my husband Roland suggested the camera ... my children thought it was a good idea ... so they bought me a Canon EOS 350D - complete with zoom lens (70-300mm).
I read the manual ... took the camera my dog and the kayak and went out for a "test drive" to see how it worked.
I got my photo of a kingfisher ... but from the moment I looked through the view finder and saw that beautiful bird "up close" I fell in love ... now my camera is my constant companion ... it goes absolutely everywhere with me ... I don't go anywhere without it ... I love it!
I have since upgraded to a Canon EOS 60D ... though my little 350 still goes with me as well!
My Kingfisher photo was printed in the 2009 Broken Boosey Catchment Management Network calendar; it has also been printed in the "Broken Boosey & Goldfields Birds" booklet.
Three other of my photos (the Blue Tongue Lizard, the Cicada Shell, and the Micro Bats) were
printed in the 2010 Broken 
Boosey Catchment Management Network calendar.
I won a Lowpro backpack with my photo of The Crocodile Eyes when Roland and I did one day Chris Bray photography course at Melbourne Zoo in 2010. (This course is an absolute must if you really want to know more about your camera and how to take great photos, it's a fun day out as well!)
I have had photos exhibited and sold at the Nathalia Art Window display over the last four years.
I had two of my photos After the Storm and Morning Colours on the Black Water exhibited in February 2011 at The G.R.A.I.N Store Nathalia 'For the Love of Landscapes' exhibition.'Morning Colours' was purchased by the Nathalia Hospital who now have two of my photos on their walls, the other being a photo of the paddleboat 'The Hero'.
The G.R.A.I.N Store Nathalia also had an exhibition titled "Experiencing The Barmah: Creating The Vision" running from 22 October 2011 until 21 January
2012, I had two of my photos Barmah Forest Panorama and Reflections on the Creek exhibited there. I was extremely happy to have sold both. "Barmah Forest Panorama" was purchased by a local person and "Reflections on the Creek" was purchased by The Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre at the Austin Hospital in Melbourne.
I had two photos Lake Mulwala and Morning Clouds at the Junction printed in the Murray Community Calendar for 2012
I sold Morning Mist on the Creek through the Community Living & Respite Services exhibition at the opening of their new venue No. 4 in June 2013 as well as selling The Frogmouth Mum and Chicks to a cafe in Tongala called "The Happy Owl" also in June 2013.
I had two of my photos, A Foggy Morning and Morning on the Deep Creek, chosen to go into an exhibition for The Museum of Australian Democracy.
I have some of my photos printed as 5" x 7" greeting cards and post cards and sell them together with both my ABC of Animals, Birds & Things cards and my Inspirations cards at at the Barmah Forest Heritage & Education Centre in Nathalia.
So while these achievements aren't up there in the big league, for someone who has no background or previous knowledge of photography and only discovered their passion a few years ago, I'm pretty happy with what I've acheived to date and I'm sure I will continue to practice and learn and practice and learn and practice and learn ..... !
Cheers ... Di