Brendan Roberts

Having a friend who's a professional picture-taker, I've long been interested in photography, but the thought of that learning curve (light, lenses, shutter speeds, f-stops) put me off, so I used a Pentax zoom for years.

For my first European trip (2016), I bought a Nikon Coolpix, but being part of a tour, always moving, not wanting to hold others up, I found it easier using my iPhone 6s to take photos.

I haven't taken the Nikon out of its case since.

For a while, with rudimentary knowledge of the camera's capabilities and controls, I was just aiming and shooting, but even without technical skill, I found I have a good eye for composition, of which I'm proud, for while technical skill can be learned, creative is the key!

When I see the awesome photos others take, I am humbled and I still have the desire to not only get the Nikon out, but one day invest in a professional camera and lenses, but for now I'm happy with the iPhone, especially my new 11 Pro.

My 6s captured the 18 countries of that first holiday through Europe and the UK and most of my 2018 trip abroad, with return visits to two of my favourite cities, Berlin and Amsterdam, plus Scandinavia, the Baltic states, Poland, Hungary and Portugal, before it was stolen in Casablanca (I'ill forever be grateful for the cloud), leading to an XR, used in Fiji & NZ before I recently upgraded to the remarkable three-camera 11 Pro. Though I had to pay out the XR, I couldn't wait!

I hope you like my photos!