My love of photography began when my Dad bought me a Praktica MTL3 35mm SLR and a 50mm prime lens when I was 12 in the early 80s. I shot black and white film - which was so much cheaper to get processed in those days. I was incredibly fortunate to have a Canon T90 for my 21st birthday, which I loved, and still miss.
The flexibility brought by arrival of digital (a Kodak DC210, with 0.9 megapixels and a 2x zoom) was a revelation, even if the picture quality was dreadful, and couldn't replace a film camera. That changed with a 3 Megapixel Canon Powershot G1 though, which landed just in time for the arrival of my first son in 2001, and which was good enough for 6x4" prints...
A Canon EOS20D was my first DSLR, and various iterations of mirrored and mirrorless cameras from Canon and Panasonic finally led me to get my first Leica in my mid-50s. That's re-kindled my love for heading out with no agenda other than to pay attention, slow down, and take pictures... and in taking inspiration from the work of others who have artistic ability I can only dream of! It's humbling and inspiring to see what can be achieved by those with patience, care, technical ability, appreciation of photography as an art form, and a willingness to invest their heart and soul into their craft.
I have a wonderful, large family - 7 kids and 1 grandchild (so far) - and I love capturing candid portraits when we get together at family events. I've always loved travel snaps and landscapes, but I've recently discovered street photography, and have a couple of street workshops scheduled to try and get the hang of a very new and challenging discipline.