Taken by Tayyub, aged 9, a next generation photographer...
About
My first camera was a Kodak Brownie, given to me by my grandmother when I was 11. Due to the McDougall family habit of hoarding everything I still have it. That did not spark an enduring flame as a photographer, but then, it was a Kodak Brownie.
My primary career was as a professional flautist, I started playing it at the age of 16, and against all predictions I did eventually make a go of it, playing freelance with some pretty good London orchestras, at the same time as becoming an enthusiastic piccolo player and losing the top 3 octaves of my hearing range as a result. My second, alternative career started as a sideline to support the music, but led eventually to being the HR Manager for a children's hospice in Boston Spa, Yorkshire.
Over the years I have dabbled with film SLRs and other cameras, but the recent interest in photography came after I bought a DSLR in 2015, and thereafter I got horribly sucked into the whole thing.
My two dogs get really excited whenever I pick it up because they know they're going to get a walk out of it but my partner just rolls his eyes. In solidarity for the many budding photographers that have had that reaction from friends and family, I decided to start writing this blog. You are not alone. But that doesn't make you any more popular :)