22 14 March 2020 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113

When did you start taking
pictures?
In May 2014 I bought my first
DSLR. I had a point and shoot,
which I had taken on safari a couple
of years earlier. I had an amazing
time, but was very frustrated
because everyone else kept pushing
their much bigger lenses in front of
me to get their photos. That was

what made me realise I really

wanted to learn about photography

and get it right.

It took me another couple of years

before I actually bought one,

though, and it wasn’t until I’d saved

up to go on another safari that I

took the plunge, getting a Canon

EOS-1D X, which I absolutely

adore. I spent the next month out in

A P OY

Caron Steele led the way from round

two of Amateur Photographer of the Year

and walked away with the main prize.

Ailsa McWhinnie finds out how she did it

Playing

the garden photographing anything

that moved before going to Kenya.

After that first safari, were

you hooked?

Totally. It meant that the rest of my

waking hours were spent making

sure my business would earn me

enough money to visit amazing

countries. Photography gives me a

valid reason to travel, particularly

as a lone female. It means you can

see amazing things with a like-

minded group of people. I had

barely holidayed much before I took

up photography, but since being

bitten by the bug I’ve been lucky

enough to travel to Mongolia, Costa

Rica, Botswana, the Arctic,

Antarctica, the Galapagos,

Yellowstone and Iceland, among

many other places. I’m now cutting

down on my flying because of

concerns about the environment –

win

to

This vibrant image of a frog

was taken in Costa Rica

Canon EOS-1D X Mark II, 100mm,

1/200sec at f/16, ISO 400

ALL PICUTURES © CARON STEELE