One of Us #69: Andy81

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   One of Us #69: Andy81 

Dyxum member Andy81 writes...

I’ve been a member on Dyxum for a number of years now, staggeringly since 2011. During this time I’ve been an occasional contributor at best (388 posts at the time of writing), so it was with great surprise that I was given the honour of being invited to contribute to the ‘One of Us’ series recently.

About me

As my forum name suggests, my name is Andy, I’m 41 and live in the South East of England, about halfway between Reading and Guildford. I work as a tax accountant for a leading professional services firm based on London, and have lived in the South East pretty much all my life (the only exceptions being the first 6 months of my life spent in the North West, and 3 years at university in Bath).

A rare photo of me, taken in the Lake District, 2012

Unlike many of the longstanding members of this forum, I didn’t grow up in a family which was particularly interested in photography. Whilst I enjoyed using my dad’s Olympus (I think it was a Trip 35), and later his Polaroid instant camera, my first ever camera happened to be a free 126 film novelty camera from a print store. Nevertheless, it was mine! I loved the process of taking the photos and then waiting to get them back from the developer, even if a worryingly large number had ‘quality control’ stickers on them due to poor focus or a finger over the lens!

I progressed onto point and shoot 35mm cameras, and then in 2003 I bought my first digital camera, a Pentax Optic S. The best thing about it was that it was the size of a credit card, so good for nights out at university. 

The world of Sony

I bough my first ‘proper’ camera in 2007, when I acquired a Sony A200. At the time, my main reason for buying it was that I was fed up with the shutter delay on early point and shoot digital cameras, and so thought an SLR was the way forward. Once I had it though, I was hooked, and decided to learn to use it properly. I raided Ebay for some old Minolta lenses - the 50/1.7 and Beercan, all of which lasted me for a few years. 

In those early days, I was keen to shoot anything, but the main focus was landscapes. After a few years, I acquired better glass, including a Sigma 24-70 f2.8, and the Sony 70-300g, as well as upgrading the camera to an A580 and then an A77.

2. My first inclusion in a weekly exhibition, getting POTW in the process

3. And one from Umbria, Italy

At this stage of my photography journey, my main interests were landscapes, and our honeymoon in 2016 provided some great opportunities.

4. Dawn over Annapurna, Pokhara, Nepal

5. My wife playing with a Monkey in Kathmandu

6. Rafting on the river Seti

7. Dawn in Agra

8. At the Taj Mahal

My camera and lens collection continued to grow, reaching its largest when I went to South Africa for a holiday (including a short safari), when I added an A77II and 70-400g. 

9. Cape Town

10. Hermanus

11. Hunting lioness

12. Zebra

At this stage, I had ended up with 2 camera bodies, and around 8-9 lenses. Whilst a relatively small collection compared to some on the forum, I was conscious that some of the kit only got used very occasionally, and I was also aware of the impending demise of A mount. 

Transition to E mount

Around a year later, I decided to slim the collection down, and migrated to E mount, with an A7rII and a set of primes. 

13. A quiet Moray Firth

14. Lovat Lane

At this stage, and with our sone having arrived around 6 months earlier, I decided to focus a bit more on portraiture. My wife had already treated me to an studio intro course, and so I put this to use, doing more indoor and outdoor portraiture than anything else.

15. Emily

16. Retro 60s style

17. Roswell

18. 1920s theme

19. Look into my eyes

20. The singer

21. Kristine

A few years later, and I’m now using an A9, and have another growing collection of glass (I’ve promised my wife I’ll sell some of it soon)! I’ve kept up my interest in landscapes, and also tried a bit of still life and wildlife (inspired by joining a local camera club in the last year or so) and sports.

22. Tŵr Mawr lighthouse

23. Fairy Glen

24. Radioactive wine glasses

25. Tea shot

26. Kestrel

27. Racing at Thruxton

Looking into the future, I’m still really enjoying portraiture, but also plan on doing more sport work. I’ve plenty of shooting years ahead of me - looking forward to them!