Thank you for visiting my page. Let me introduce myself.

My name is David Airey. I live in Chorley, Lancashire, with my wife, Joanne. We have two daughters who have now flown the nest and are making their own way in life.

I have read many photographers’ “About Me” pages to understand what inspires and drives them. Most speak about their passion for photography and the pursuit of the perfect image—the standout shot that sets them apart. So, what drives me? Let me explain how photography has evolved throughout my life.

As a child, I was given a Kodak Instamatic camera—it is there in the picture of me when I was 13. I had so much fun taking photographs of everything and anything with that camera. I was hooked. Next came a twin-lens reflex camera from Russia, my Lubitel 2. With its larger C120 film and waist-level viewfinder, I quickly learned about composition, balance, F-stops, shutter speeds and ISO. It gave me a grounding in light, exposure and focus range, and I still have that camera today.

In those days, you had to wait patiently for your Supersnaps prints to arrive through the door. Because C41 processing was so expensive, monochrome became the way forward. I was lucky to have a darkroom in our attic, where I would count elephants to time the perfect exposure. My photography progressed to 35mm, shooting with Rollei, Pentax, Yashica and Minolta SLRs as I learned the craft of manual exposure.

My teenage years brought motorbikes, fishing and girls, but I still carried a camera of some kind with me. I photographed holidays, events and everyday life, experimenting with filters while always wanting to record the people and moments around me.

Life moved on, and I met my wife, Joanne. I continued photographing our holidays and the wonderful memories we made while raising our children—precious moments captured in print forever.

In 2007, my desire to put my talents to work was reignited. Following a bereavement, I acquired an Olympus E330 digital camera—a quality piece of equipment with a Four Thirds sensor and Zeiss glass—and I was hooked once more. After much thought about systems and some careful saving, I began my journey into digital photography, choosing Canon as my platform.

A few weddings for friends followed, giving me valuable experience. But as those who know me will tell you, I always want to deliver my best, so it was time to invest in training. Having been an apprentice in a craft trade in my early years, I knew professionals need proper guidance to improve. I have since trained with some of the leading names in the industry, which has been priceless in learning the craft of photography. Stripping everything back to the basics and learning how to build an image has been a godsend.

So, what is my passion? It is using photography to connect with my subject—capturing emotion, a moment, a life event or simply something that stirs a memory or a happy feeling.

If I can convey even some of that through my images, then I have done my job. That is what drives me: bringing emotion, joy and memories to life through photography.

Please take a look at my images. They are just a small sample of what I have captured.

Thank you for reading.

David