(click on images to view them full size)

Branching out into new areas.

When I started out wanting to learn photography with my Nikon d5600 DSLR camera and 18-55mm kit lens purchased with points, I had no idea where it would all lead. I got that camera about 6.5 years ago now and it was a great camera to learn on. I initially hired my wedding photographer to spend an hour with me teaching me the exposure triangle and how to use the camera - it was a great starting point and got me going.

I then had the great fortune to stumble across an online 5 day boot camp hosted by Audrey Ann Murray about how to move away from shooting in auto - I signed up for it and found that I loved her teaching style. It helped to consolidate some of the information I had gained from the 1 hour session.

Finding Audrey at the beginning of my photography education was so lucky as I didn’t end up wasting time trying to find information on the Internet. I loved that I found someone whose teaching style is so aligned with my way of learning - it’s a nice balance of technical and practical along with creative content and there’s lots of videos and practice homework.

I went on to take other courses with Audrey (Launch into Lightroom and Photoshop to learn editing and file management, The Art of Light and Composition and Macro Magic) which built on my knowledge and ability.

It enabled me to grow in my photography skills and branch out into wildlife and bird photography with confidence.

Audrey also hosts a private group for sharing images, asking questions and generally engaging with other photographers who have taken her courses - I’ve met some really great people and talented photographers through this group.

Therefore, when Audrey reached out to me and asked if I’d like to join her on her podcast “Photography Made Simple” - I was delighted to accept.

Preparation

We had a bit of back and forth discussion about what we generally wanted to talk about which included some background about my photography journey, my transition to retirement and how photography has helped me make that shift. We also wanted to cover my blog and how that fits in with my photography journey. Basically we were going summarize what I’ve been talking about in this blog.

Audrey sent me a list of questions to get an idea of the direction she wanted to take in the podcast so that I could make any suggestions or changes and also so I could be prepared for the podcast.

I should mention that this is not the first podcast that I’ve done - I have been a guest on podcasts three other times - the first two were on CatExplorer where I talked about how we leash and harness trained Roxy and the third was work related.

My experience from listening to a lot of podcasts (I’m a bit of a podcast addict) is that the most interesting ones are more like conversations rather than interviews or information dumps. As a result I didn’t write out formal answers - just some bullet points of key things I wanted to remember to cover.

Before recording day, I needed to get a proper microphone to make sure the audio was clear - cue music afficiando hubby who got me all ready with a great sound set up. I also sent Audrey links to my website, social media and some images for her to use to promote the episode.

I was ready and prepared for recording day - so exciting!

I should mention that my favourite podcasts apart from Photography Made Simple are The Wild Eye Podcast (about wildlife photography and safaris), Seize the Yay (amazing Australian Funtrepreneur), Films to be Buried With (so fun!), Dare to Lead/Unlocking Us (Brene Brown), and Biceps After Babies Radio (Macros 101). I mainly listen in the car and I have found it is a great way to consume information and get new ideas.

Recording Day

After some discussion we settled on September 16th to do the recording - oh and I forgot to mention that Audrey is in the UK (she has a lovely Scottish accent) and so she’s seven hours ahead of me. This meant an early start for me with a 7 am my time/2 pm her time recording time. It’s a good thing I’m a morning person!

I got up early and did a final test of the set up to make sure it was all working well and then I grabbed a cup of coffee and a comfy position to start the recording. My biggest fear was not about doing the recording, but rather being interrupted by Roxy (my cat) who has a tendency to be very vocal when she’s not getting the attention she believes she deserves. This is often triggered when I am in a meeting and she can hear talking that doesn’t include her. She’s quite a princess sometimes.

Luckily my husband kept Roxy amused and she didn’t make any surprise guest appearances.

Audrey’s platforms and how she started

Audrey started out wanting to document her son’s growth and development through lifestyle photography and she initially tried to teach herself through videos and articles on the internet. She found it very confusing with so much information and a lot of it seemingly conflicting, or geared to different photography genres. Learning in this way was a lot of trial and error and took a much longer time - I imagine that most people would have given up in frustration. This experience and her work background inspired her to set up LiveSnapLove and use her business and organizational/teaching skills to develop course material.

Audrey has a very methodical approach to teaching and she explains concepts in a number of ways because let’s face it not everyone learns the same way. She has also taken a multifaceted approach with the information and resources provided through her company LiveSnapLove and she has a website which houses all of her course offerings and private community, social media channels (IG, FB and YouTube - great videos!), blog with lots of free resources and information (Audrey is all about giving back and making sure that people can learn photography easily), podcast (Photography Made Simple) and monthly live Q&A sessions for her students. There is a lot of ongoing support and all of the courses are kept current and up to date as software changes - these are great learning courses that I highly recommend.

How did it go?

I would have to say that as expected this was a great experience. Audrey is such a pro at making me feel comfortable and at ease, so it felt very much like we were having a chat. I found myself really enjoying reflecting on the last couple of years and we even found some new common ground as we’ve both worked in Aberdeen Scotland.

From this reflection and chat, I can see how photography has really helped me with my retirement transition and wellbeing. It was also interesting to understand that as Audrey’s son is much older that her photography focus is going through a transition as well - so we had some intersections in experiences there as well.

As I mentioned doing this podcast was a great way to reflect on my photography, get out of my comfort zone and also to take a breath after a very busy 6 months. Coming up for air I was able to really give some thought about where I’m heading - surprise reveals in the podcast (how’s that for a lure to get you to listen to the podcast?) Go here to have a listen. (Podcast Episode).

I didn’t realize how much I enjoy interacting in a public forum, but this year I’ve done a presentation at a seniors’ centre and now this podcast - I would definitely be open to doing this again in the future and I might have to give some thought around how to build some new skills - what do you think about a Transitions, Transformations and a Little Photography podcast?

Have you ever spoken in public or done a podcast/interview? How did it go? What is your best recommendation for someone thinking about doing this?

I hope you’ll come back soon, share a cuppa, relax and enjoy more of my musings.