Dear ,

A warm welcome to the course. You might be feeling nervous, or excited as you start this journey. Photography is a great creative outlet and I intend to share everything I can to make sure you get great results. We'll start by getting to know each other a little better.

This course is primarily concerned with helping you to shoot images that you're proud of. There will be some camera 'tech', but only what you need to know to be able to go and shoot great images.

The fun parts are where we get into the creative aspects of photography and you will quickly realise how simple many of the techniques are.

I thought I would start with a brief introduction so that you know who I am. Don't worry, I will only do this once!

I've been into photography since I was a boy and I've certainly got through a few cameras in the nearly fifty years since then. I love to travel and have been fortunate enough to take photographs in some very interesting places. These include parts of Africa, India, from the cockpit of a supersonic aircraft over Moscow and from a submarine at the bottom of the Atlantic where I photographed the wreck of the RMS Titanic.

I am trained in portrait and wedding photography, and photo-journalism. My main interest is wildlife photography and wildlife conservation. I also have a coaching background and see photography as an important creative outlet which supports good mental health.

I've designed this course in a way which takes you through the technical aspects you need to know (for both the camera and 'creative photography') to shoot great images. You may need to go over some aspects a few times (with lots of practice) to fully understand them so there are no limits to how many times you can look at the videos. The course handbook provides additional examples and explanations for many of the topics covered.

I hope you enjoy this module and the rest of the course.