Hello and welcome to my blog!

This is my first blog so I'm going to tell you about myself and how I got into photography.

My name is Damian Coleman and I'm a 20 year old photography student from Cork, Ireland.

I have always has a keen interest in photography as a kid. I used to steal my parents' camera on holidays and trips and take photos of everything. When I was in my first year of secondary school my biology teacher, Mr Doyle held an after school photography class in which he taught a hand full of us the basics of photography: how to compose a picture, how to expose a picture etc, He also used to send us on assignments to take photos of a given theme and to come back the next week and present the images.

This really got me interested in photography and I asked my parents for a camera again and again for my Christmas present until eventually they gave in and got me a Fujifulm S3300. I brought it everywhere and took photos of everything until i smashed the screen a few years later when i threw my bag on the floor... Luckily I had an iPod with a relatively okay camera so i kept taking photos.

It was never the same though so I yet again began to bug my parents to buy me a new camera for my birthday. Being a couple years older now they trusted me with a better camera. (I was also made get a proper bag for it...) They got me a Canon 1200D which was an entry level DSLR which was something i had always wanted. I got that in the summer of 2016 I believe and I still use it to this day!

I learnt as much of the theory and techniques I could so I would be able to operate the camera inside and out. (Literally. I have taken it apart on a few occasions... I would not recommend) I took photos at every opportunity I could. I was paid to take photos at family events and I sold prints to people by going door to door with a stack of framed prints in the rain on more than one occasion. I eventually saved up to buy some lenses and way to much gear which now i rarely use. (You live and learn I guess??) By the end of that year I had got a 70-300 f/4.5-6.3, a 50 f/1.8 and a 24 f/2.8.

I began my Facebook page and got Lightroom to edit my photos. at the beginning of 2017 and I took any opportunity since to take photos and build my portfolio. I shot headshots, communions, confirmations, small weddings and school events. I eventually set up countless social medias to see what worked for me and got business cards printed.  It was that year I finished up in secondary school and decided to try pursue photography. (even though I had spent more than 4 years insisting I was gonna do Biological Environmental and Earth Sciences)

I began to study Photographic Studies in St Johns College, Cork last year, I got to make a load of friends and meet some amazing people while learning so much. I learned how to shoot with film and how to process and print from negatives, I learned the history of photography and I learned about the greats such as Cartier-Bresson, Capa and McCullin. I also found a love for documentary photography, so much so that its what I chose to do for my work experience. After my work experience I realized that this is something I wanted to do, I began to shoot as many events as i could and sent them into the papers picking up tips and hints along the way.

I am now a week or two away from beginning second year and I send photos into the papers almost every day and shoot any events I can.

Make sure to comment below if you have any questions or topics you'd like me to write about!

Thanks for reading,

Damian