I live in the lush green Northern Suburbs of Johannesburg, South Africa. A small piece of trivia I'm sure most people don't know is that Johannesburg is not only the largest city in Africa - surprisingly, it's also the biggest man-made forest in the world, with 10-million trees in its private gardens, parks and on sidewalks. I live with my gorgeous fiancé in a beautiful house designed by Kim Hutton which sits up on the crest of a small hill and has a lovely view over the leafy treetops of the suburban greenbelt, as such I enjoy taking pictures of the house and surroundings. All in all the beautiful weather, the interesting cultural and economic diversity and the spectacular scenery make SA a wonderful place to live and visit if you are passionate about photography.

I have been in investment banking for the past 12 years, currently I'm a director working in the area of Equity Derivatives, but I have been fortunate to have done a range of different investment banking jobs (Project Finance, Stock Broking, Research Analyst and Corporate and Structured Finance) which has allowed me to travel extensively, learn new skills and keep inspired in a corporate world which for many is tedious and unforgiving. Prior to this career, I worked as an actor for around a year. I studied drama at university, majoring in acting and directing, and after completing my degree I really enjoyed working as a stage performer for a while, until the long hours, volatile pre-madonna personalities and hideous pay overwhelmed the joy I received from a squeal of laughter or a rousing round of applause. On deciding to move on from acting, I qualified as a English and Drama teacher, however I have never used the qualification as a turn of events led me into the world of investment banking, and I have never turned back, nor do I expect to in the foreseeable future.

My passion for photography has only really developed over the past 2 years, although my interest was probably perked about 6 years ago. I bought my first camera in 2001, I took a 8 month sabbatical from work in 2001 to travel the world, and in the first month bought a Canon Rebel XT with a 28-70mm kit lens and a 70-300mm Sigma lens to capture some of the journey. I had no skills whatsoever, so the results were variable, especially using film, I guess around 300 of the 3000 shots taken were any good, but it was my first venture into the world of photography and it certainly was a springboard to the desire to become a little more skilful in the medium, even if a passion was not developed at that point.

The types of photography I have been doing has been pretty consistent, however the style is becoming more refined over time. My three main focuses are travel, nature and architecture. I dabble in some social commentary photography, but, apart from their role as being representative of a culture or a destination, I have very little interest in people/portrait type shots.

My move to a Canon 5D was pretty swift, as was the purchase of a number of speciality lenses, as my interest grew. I did extensive research into the lens range I needed for the types of photography I wanted to take, and settled on 3 L lenses that would give me the required range in the least number of lenses; 24-105mm, 50mm, 100-400mm (with 1.4 and 2* converter), and then, over the next few months, as finances allowed, I shopped around for a decent price, and acquired them. I've been working very happily with that set for about a year now, it covers 90% of all my needs, but I am now considering adding a 16-35mm ultra wide-angle lens to the collection.