I'm not sure what I'm doing here. Flying blind, I suppose. I have been told that blogging is a great way to get your message out there, wherever 'out there' is. I guess that may be true, if indeed you have a message in the first place. I'm not sure I have, which is why I'm new to this, and why I am reluctant to even write this much. I guess the thing that intrigues me about blogs such as this is: who reads them? Who knows about them? How do they know? Why would anyone read this anyway? Do I have anything to say that anyone would care to read?
We'll see.
First of all, you might want to know why I have called this blog 'Photography with a new heart'. The answer's simple really. I love photography, I have loved photography since my first camera, a Kodak Instamatic I bought at the age of 13 or 14. My biggest thrill back in those days was buying a Pentax Spotmatic in 1970. Since then, I have always owned a camera. There have been periods when I didn't use a camera much, mainly because I was working long hours or holding down two jobs, but photography was always in the background. I even had a darkroom in the garden shed for 20 or so years, but it became increasingly difficult to sustain or justify as an occasional photographer.
In 2003, things changed when I bought my first digital camera - a 3MP Fuji (609, I think). Suddenly, I found that taking pictures was an almost limitless learning experience. When I was using film, I was constrained by the amount of film I could afford, so learning composition, developing shooting skills and processing were all constrained. Digital photography changed all that.
Coincidentally, after buying the Fuji, we took a trip to Egypt. Alison and I went there on the day that the US attacked Iraq. Our friends and relatives warned us not to go. But we had paid our fares and were quite determined. It was amazing, not only because of the cultural change, but also because most tourists had stayed away. Well, while we were there, I learned a great deal about digital photography, both its benefits and limitations.
Here are a couple of shots from that trip:
My photography wasn't great on that trip, but I was hooked. You can see more shots at www.keithbroadphotography.com/Travel/Egypt
Later that year, we took a trip to Italy. This time, I left Australia with what I thought was a cold. I had a sore chest and difficulty breathing. I soldiered on. I was really getting the hang of digital photography by this time. Travelling with unlimited 'film' was very exciting to me. Unfortunately, I was unwell the whole trip, so my photography was limited.
A few weeks after getting back to work, my condition worsened. I felt as though I had caught a new, more virulent cold. So, I hauled myself off to the doctor. He diagnosed me as having a heart problem and referred me to a cardiologist. By this time, I was struggling to walk short distances. My cardiologist, an old school guy, said that I had cardiomyopathy. He put me on some pills and over the next few months I had four or five admissions to hospital to undertake drug therapy to try and arrest my condition.
A few nurses and specialists at the hospital warned me that my cardiologist was incompetent. They said that I should try and find a new one. Anyway, I ended up sacking my guy in the hospital and asking him to refer me to another cardiologist who, I had been told, was better.
My new cardiologist put me through a number of tests and finally said that I was approaching death and I needed a new heart within 6 months. My heart had deteriorated so much, so quickly, that it was too late to repair it. He then referred me to the Alfred Hospital in order to get me on the waiting list for a transplant.
We'll see.
First of all, you might want to know why I have called this blog 'Photography with a new heart'. The answer's simple really. I love photography, I have loved photography since my first camera, a Kodak Instamatic I bought at the age of 13 or 14. My biggest thrill back in those days was buying a Pentax Spotmatic in 1970. Since then, I have always owned a camera. There have been periods when I didn't use a camera much, mainly because I was working long hours or holding down two jobs, but photography was always in the background. I even had a darkroom in the garden shed for 20 or so years, but it became increasingly difficult to sustain or justify as an occasional photographer.
In 2003, things changed when I bought my first digital camera - a 3MP Fuji (609, I think). Suddenly, I found that taking pictures was an almost limitless learning experience. When I was using film, I was constrained by the amount of film I could afford, so learning composition, developing shooting skills and processing were all constrained. Digital photography changed all that.
Coincidentally, after buying the Fuji, we took a trip to Egypt. Alison and I went there on the day that the US attacked Iraq. Our friends and relatives warned us not to go. But we had paid our fares and were quite determined. It was amazing, not only because of the cultural change, but also because most tourists had stayed away. Well, while we were there, I learned a great deal about digital photography, both its benefits and limitations.
Here are a couple of shots from that trip:
My photography wasn't great on that trip, but I was hooked. You can see more shots at www.keithbroadphotography.com/Travel/Egypt
Later that year, we took a trip to Italy. This time, I left Australia with what I thought was a cold. I had a sore chest and difficulty breathing. I soldiered on. I was really getting the hang of digital photography by this time. Travelling with unlimited 'film' was very exciting to me. Unfortunately, I was unwell the whole trip, so my photography was limited.
A few weeks after getting back to work, my condition worsened. I felt as though I had caught a new, more virulent cold. So, I hauled myself off to the doctor. He diagnosed me as having a heart problem and referred me to a cardiologist. By this time, I was struggling to walk short distances. My cardiologist, an old school guy, said that I had cardiomyopathy. He put me on some pills and over the next few months I had four or five admissions to hospital to undertake drug therapy to try and arrest my condition.
A few nurses and specialists at the hospital warned me that my cardiologist was incompetent. They said that I should try and find a new one. Anyway, I ended up sacking my guy in the hospital and asking him to refer me to another cardiologist who, I had been told, was better.
My new cardiologist put me through a number of tests and finally said that I was approaching death and I needed a new heart within 6 months. My heart had deteriorated so much, so quickly, that it was too late to repair it. He then referred me to the Alfred Hospital in order to get me on the waiting list for a transplant.
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