My Journey of passion part 2

Here is a great quote...“My life is shaped by the urgent need to wander and observe, and my camera is my passport.” – Steve McCurry

One can become obsessed with photography when you have the photo bug, it is not something you can shake off... it gets under your skin and becomes a very enjoyable obsession.

The little Silver-Eyes of "Tranquillity" originally gave me the photo bug.  After moving from Christchurch to a small remote village tucked away in Southland near Gore I was able to retire my employer alarm clock and pass my day job on to someone else... We settled in quickly and with more time on my hands I was able to reconnect with nature through the lens of my camera...  The little Silver-Eyes were my first subject and I quickly learned that they had a diverse range of personalities and often an amazing comical look... I found them fascinating to photograph and observe and their willingness to be my unsuspecting models allowed me the freedom to begin my 10,000 hour photography apprenticeship.

We can all take photos, and with the technology available today mots of us do... many of the mobile phones have incredible cameras... so most people have a camera with them at all times, and with the new internet age and social media I would imagine that billions of photos are taken every day and posted on the internet...

I make it a policy never to go anywhere without my camera, and on the rare occasion that I have, I have felt totally naked... yet four years ago my camera was not a mandatory part of my attire.

How many photos do you take a day? I confess to capturing somewhere between 300 and 1000 photos each day...every day... 7 days a week... If my subject is interesting like our little Silver-Eyes (especially in the winter months), my husband rarely sees me during the day. My lens and I are captivated...immersed in nature and what she has to offer through my lens...there is always "one more shot", I may not know what it is... but I know it's there.  The more photos I take, the more I learn and the more I realise how much more there is to learn.

My husband Keith often talks about the 10,000 hours... from the book Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell who writes "that it takes roughly ten thousand hours of practice to achieve mastery in any field".  Keith is very wise, he consumes books like we consume breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert... on a daily basis... He is not only my wonderful husband, he is a brilliant mentor and teacher of knowledge... and the support and encouragement he shares gives me the encouragement and motivation to follow my passion...

It takes more than caring to be a true friend... The little Silver-Eyes of "Tranquillity" one of the first in a series of images that gave me the photo bug... I really wanted to share them with the world... I have tried for four winters now to capture something similar to this... but nothing seems to come close... A unique moment captured for all time...

Little Boy Lost!!! Another image of these amazing little Silver-Eyes full of character...

I sing because I have a song, not because I can sing...

Traffic lights... This is Dela our beautiful Galah... (Rose Breasted Cockatoo) His vocabulary astounds us at times..

This time of year flowers are plentiful, they are always a great subject to photograph...

Rocky, the rescued Rock Pigeon... Once he fledged and was able to feed himself, we set him free to go back into the wild... He still pops in sometimes three times a day to have a good feed, often bringing his friends along...

This is one of those moments, probably never to be repeated again... In the right place at the right time with my camera... These split second moments in nature captured forever drive my passion, a gift I humbly receive and share with all of you...