Michelle Denbow

I became interested in photography about 12 years ago. I was bought a Pentax k-x camera, and managed to go out and snap a few shots in auto focus. I continued to do so , but always using the auto focus. I never really got down to the nitty gritty of really learning about all the other settings available on my camera.

Jump forward to end 2023, my daughter sent me a Facebook post from the MS Therapy Centre saying there was possibly going to be a photography club starting early 2024. Now I hadn’t been back to the MS Centre since covid. I lost my confidence and socialising was hard for me. And I had my own APS machine at home. But seeing this post gave me the boost I needed. I was straight onto the MS Centre telling them how Interested I would be in joining the photography club and explaining my lack of confidence in coming back.

So I turned up for thefirst workshop, was welcomed back by Karen and Tracy (who both said they had wondered what had happened to me) and that was the big come back.

I met Nicola who leads the photography workshops and over the following months started to get to grips with what my camera could do. Still only really using the auto setting. I was lucky enough to be given an Olympus E-400 at the end of June and I am really enjoying getting to know the workings, and ihave even started to venture out of auto focus and into the world of manual settiing and iso settings and more. Nicola has been a fantastic teacher and has taught me, and continues to teach me. how to use different settings etc.

I have shown her many of the photos I have already taken and she was so impressed with some of the shots that she suggested entering some into the Art exhibition in October. You can imagine how chuffed I was hearing that. So we are working together to get my photos ready to exhibit independently and some as part of the photography club entries .

I am very excited to see my pictures on the wall and mounted on cardboard mounts and to see what people think to them.