Ballerina, fireman, astronaut, moviestar

When you were 10, what did you want to be when you grew up? What are you now? Are the two connected?

I can’t remember having day dreams as a kid for anything specific that I would want to be when I grow up, but something that does spring to mind is a family holiday to what was at the time Yugoslavia.

There are two things that stand out, the first being how clean and clear the sea was, being able to snorkel between tropical fish. The other, and what’s related to this topic, is my first appreciation of my Dad’s Canon SLR camera.

This was the old 35mm film loading type. At the time you really needed to think about the shot you wanted to take as when you click that shutter button, that’s it, the photo is on the film. Not like today where you can fire off 100 clicks and just keep the best.

Then when you had finished a roll, you would need to send them off to be developed, which could take what seemed like a lifetime. (Well for a 10 year old anyway!) It was only at that point you would you find out if you had actually taken a decent snap. Was it over exposed? Was it properly in focus? That’s where the art came in.

Is it still with me?

I do love a great photo, and truly believe the old adage of a picture paints a thousand words. But in my line of work I am more photo cropping and resizing than photo taking.

Getting the right image with the right message can really make the difference on a website. So yes, photography is still crucial to me, and I must remember to take the time to get behind the lens more often.

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What did you think you would be when you were 10? Did it stick? Let me know in the comments below.