But first, some camera history

My first “real” camera was a Canon T70. I bought it in 1986 not long after I had moved away from Glasgow and started a new job. I had a friend who owned an AE1 and explained all of the intricacies of aperture and shutter speed to me. Being a bit of a gadget freak, it looked like something I would enjoy. It was a manual focus, film camera but was pretty high spec back then. My new job involved a large amount of overseas travel, so I had lots of opportunities to take pictures. It also meant I was away from home living on expenses for large parts of the year, which was good for my bank balance.

I learned how to use the T70 and about a year later, on a business trip to Germany, I walked in to a camera shop and got my hands on a Canon T90. I was immediately smitten with the design and the way it felt in my hands, and bought it. It was the flagship of the range and I absolutely loved it. In fact, I still have it to this day - although I’m not sure if it still works. I dropped it on more than a couple of occasions and it went back to Canon for repairs a few times.

I used the T90 for many years - I took it on my honeymoon and it was used to photograph my children when they came along a few years later. But then I stopped taking photographs in an “intentional” way. Life got busy, work got busy. I did use the T90 for holidays, birthdays and Christmas, but I gradually fell out of the habit of using it. I was asked to photograph my sister-in-law’s wedding, but that was the last time I took photographs “seriously”.

In the 2000’s photography and videography became a growing part of my job and I found my way in to the digital era. I bought a Canon 350D for personal use and had a variety of stills and video cameras at work.