On two subsequent evening courses (over three years), I had tutors who also shot weddings, a love affair was born. Later I reduced my working hours to pursue a diploma in photography which was taught by a wonderful artist, who concentrated less on technique and more on self expression - my horizons now officially expanded, I started taking commissions and volunteering for charities to gain experience. Around the same time I had been introduced to a wedding photographer of 25 years, who took me under his wing and let me carry his bag to all his weddings for a year. It was here I learnt how tact, diplomacy, patients and gentile persuasion are all essential skills. Over the following ten years my relationship with photography has taken me many places. I have met and recorded extraordinary, inspiring individuals and have been privileged enough to share in the most precious of memories.