Here is a little about my photographic history, and how it lead to here (here being the series of Photographers Quick guide books that I am about to release!). Photography seems to have been a significant part of my life at all times. My parents had cameras (multiple), and took many photos, in an era where that was not all that common. They therefore got me a basic camera as soon as I showed any interest at all. As a small child I took pretty terrible pictures (as do most small children) but by the time I was 15 I was taking quite good shots of fairly difficult subjects (like fast moving horses over jumps) well enough to have a few of them published with small articles in magazines. It seemed inevitable that I would end up with others around me with similar interests, and my photographic knowledge got expanded by one of my first boyfriends, who had a full darkroom setup (albeit intermittent, as it happened in his parent's bathroom!) and did some professional work as a sideline. A few years later I found myself working as a professional photographer and spent some years doing everything from school portraits to weddings and debutante balls. I decided that I was not exactly thrilled with that as a job - whilst I enjoy capturing the essence of a subject in a portrait, I prefer to do that with time to spare rather than in formal conditions with stressed subjects. So, after a short burst of working in other industries, I found myself drawn back into photography, this time managing retail camera stores. In general I enjoyed this, and it not only gave me an extended range of knowledge of camera equipment and use, but a growing understanding of how little most people knew on the topic, and how often people did not have a try at doing what they wanted to with photography, because they felt that it was "all too hard". I then went on to work in many other areas, progressively more centred in Computers and IT, but the interest in photography stayed with me, and those I associated with all tended to be interested in, and have worked in, the photographic field, in one area or another. As digital cameras became available, I was very aware of the possibilities, and closely associated with those using, for business, some of the earliest ones on the market. Once high quality mass market small size digital cameras became commonplace, I began to take a lot of photos again. I have done a lot of outdoors activities, and travelled quite a lot in my life, and this has made me very aware of all of the beautiful things around me. I have never lost the habit of mentally framing them to a picture, even if I do not have a camera to hand. Small digital cameras removed the cost limitation of film - I have always believed the adage that, to get a good shot you have to take lots of photos - 1 in 10 will be worthwhile. So now I have the ability to capture all of those things that I framed in my mind, to always carry a camera with me, and to show to others the detail in my world, which more and more fascinates me in its beauty and diversity. I have previously produced a number of photo books (such as “Detailed Beauty : Australia Through the Macro Lens”, which is currently available at Blurb.com), and the majority of the photos used in the upcoming “Photographer’s Quick Guide “ books are drawn from my personal catalogue of more than 100,000 digital photos (a count which grows every day, at a pretty rapid rate!). I dedicate this book series to making photography accessible and easy for people with ordinary digital cameras, with no need for deep technical knowledge of any kind. Oh, and I also write cookbooks, and business books....

5 books published as sole author, featured as joint author in 2 other books, 13 books currently in production, and helping others publish too - 2 books to date and 4 in the pipeline.