Francis Wilson

Hi, there. My name is Francis Wilson, and I'm from Huddersfield, an old mill town in the north of England, which just so happens to be surrounded by rolling hills of countryside. I've been taking my photography seriously now for about 18 months. Now when I say seriously, what I actually mean to say is that 18 months ago is when I jumped from using my phone, to buying my first DSLR.

This came about because I was sick of having a creative vision, but then not being able to bring it to fruition with just my mobile phone. Now I say I bought my first camera 18 months ago, but this is not technically true, as I owned a Samsung NX 1100 a number of years prior to this, but I never really progressed out of auto mode, as the exposure triangle was alien to me. To remedy this, I said to my better half, “I’d quite like a camera for my birthday, but this time I'm going to do learn it properly!”

So the 9th of march came by (my birthday), and after much careful deliberation, I finally decided on the purchase of the Nikon D3500, as it seemed to fit my needs and price range perfectly. Unfortunately, the Covid 19 Pandemic began and the government declared a nationwide lockdown, stating that we would be allowed one form of exercise, for one hour per day.

What wasn’t clear though was, whether anyone would be allowed to take their cameras out on their daily exercise routines. I took advantage of this! Now as I was taking my camera out on a daily basis, it quickly became apparent to me that not only was I learning something new everyday, it also allowed me to get some much needed respite from the news & the confines of four walls. It was a tonic for my soul, one which allowed me to grow & develop my shooting skills at an accelerated rate.

If we fast forward 18 months, I can tell you what I have learnt. For the 37 years of my life, prior to buying my first DSLR, I no longer see the world as I once did. Where once before, I’d see a gate & field, I now see the possibilities of an interesting composition. Previously I would run inside because of the rain, I'm now running outside to try & capture some reflection shots in puddles. And when I'd head in because it was getting dark outside, I'm now reaching for my tripod, to see if I can capture some light trail shots, not to mention a nice sunset.

It’s fair to say that since I bought my camera, the world at times has felt like it’s been turned on it’s head. But one thing has remained constant in all of this though, my passion for photography, particularly landscape. Photography has developed my desire to express how I see the world through my mind. Photography is a beast, one which I’ll probably never tame, but it’s one which I'm willing to give almost anything to try and do.

So to summarise. 18 months ago, I never thought I'd still have as strong a desire to shoot & edit images as I did when I first started, and in all honesty, I can’t see it ending anytime soon.

I think it’s safe to say, photography has become.... ’the new norm.

C a f e G r e e n D o o r

17 Brougham Street, New Plymouth