My first camera was a small 'point and shoot' camera which was all well and fine, but it didn't give me the freedom to really experiment. These are some of the only photos I can find taken with that old thing when I visited a friend's farm in the far-north NSW town of Yetman:

As you can see, they're not really setting the photography world on fire, but they were my first and for that I will always look on them with sense of nostalgia. It allowed me to explore a passion I had and gave me permission to be more creative and see the world through a different lens.

I generally bought ISO400 film which meant I was okay during the day (mostly) but as soon as it got dark I had to work hard to get photos that weren't blurry - so I just didn't bother trying.

Several years later, I received a Canon EOS 88 as a Christmas present from my parents. And it opened up whole new opportunities. All of a sudden I had more control over aperture and shutter speed, I could use the (albeit standard kit) lens to get closer to the subject from farther away. I still used the same film, but I felt like this camera was more alive in my hands.

It came with me pretty much everywhere I went. I went to the UK to visit family and I travelled with my brother to Spain, Morocco, and the Czech Republic - all with this brand new camera.

But that's a story for another day...