My Top 3 Photography Achievements

I’ve been into photography for as long as I can remember. I haven’t always been as serious as I am now, and there have been spells where I’ve not even had a camera, however, most of my life I have wanted to achieve things with my camera or with photography.

What I have here is a list of my three favourite photography achievements. The ones that I am absolutely most proud of. Photography can be a very rewarding experience, and there is a lot of opportunity for those who want to stick at it and make something of it.

In reverse order, here are my 3 favourite photography achievements that I am proud to share with you.

3. Winning my first international photography competition.

It was back in 2017 that I first entered a photography competition. Nikon International were running a photography competition where you had to send in a landscape photograph that you had just taken. The photograph had a strict guideline where it had to be a landscape photo, that was not shot on long exposure, but had the potential to be an amazing long exposure image.

I cannot find the actual edit of the image that I sent in sadly, back in those days I didn’t always keep many images as I was quite tight on storage space, however, I believe it was a composition very much like this one below.

In return I won some vouchers, a book on long exposure photography and my image published in future Nikon material (which I sadly didn’t chase up!).

2. Setting up Great Photography Walks South Wales/Photography Adventures Wales

2017 was a busy year, as it was the year that I decided to share my knowledge of photography, along with taking people out on photography meets. It started off slowly, and with only a few people, and after the first few meets, I gave up as the uptake was not very big.

However, a month or two later I decided to give it another go, and it blossomed into something very special for me. Great Photography Walks South Wales (originally called Great Photography Walks NPT [Neath, Port Talbot]) became my entire life into this year, so much so that I felt I had created a monster! Those of you who know me, know that I had to let it go this year for my sanity. It was something I was way too close to, and it was becoming an unhealthy relationship.

I stood back, gathered my thoughts, renamed and re-evaluated things, changed it to Photography Adventures Wales and now take a very hands-off approach, not really worrying what happens with its future.

1. Publishing a photography book

Although I have had a number of books actually released and available to buy via Amazon and other retailers, they were all digital books with nothing to do with photography. Publishing and selling “Alleys, Art and Architecture” was the dream of a lifetime.

What started out as a project, turned into something I had only dreamt of. A physical book that captures a time and a place, of which I’ve sold over 25 physical copies, a dozen PDF copies and now the book resides in my local library (it is currently being processed by their services).

Concentrating on a book, and print in general was prompted by my “From Project To Print” projects, and is the first of many (I hope) printed books. Not all well be available to others, as the current projects “Welsh Summertime 2023” will be scrapbook form, and “August, 30 Day Challenge” will be a one-off hardback book for myself.

I hope you enjoyed!