Canon 60D 18-135mm

The Canon 60D is the camera I bought for a fantastic price from here. It is currently a middle of the range model that can be classed as a camera for the serious amateur or early professional. It has all the features you need in a camera, particularly when you are starting out. Many of these features are advanced and it will take a while to work out how to use them. It is a great camera that produces image quality beyond what I had hoped!

Some of the best features of this camera for those just starting out is the ability to remotely control multiple flashes. Light is one of the most important aspects of photography, and if you wish to become a pro, you will end up needing to control additional lighting.

I bought this camera with the 18-135mm lens. From my research this is a very good lens and is also good for many purposes. The 18mm end gives you a nice wide view and the 135mm end gives you enough magnification to get close to some wild subjects or to enable you to gain some distance from other subjects.

You can also buy the camera with 18-55mm lens or 18-200mm lens as well as in some twin lens kits like this or this. I would strongly recommend you also get the 18-135mm lens. The extra zoom with the 18-200mm lens is not that much and what you gain in magnification, you lose in performance. The lens needs to be locked when the camera is hanging round your neck so that the zoom doesn’t creep (this is not necessary for the 18-135mm). I would also recommend the 18-135mm over the 18-55mm in a twin lens kit. The reason for this is that the 18-55mm lens is very limited with what you can do. In this way it is similar to a prime lens around this magnification. The thing is you can buy a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 lens for a bit over $100AUD that will easily out perform the 18-55mm lens. The second reason I would not recommend this, is because you will need to change you lenses frequently due to the small zoom range of the 18-55mm. This means there is more chance for dust to get into the camera and more chance for things to go wrong.




The Canon 60D 18-135mm kit is a great kit to get you started. It is the type of kit that allows you to build a system that you can keep upgrading as your skill requires. The additional benefit is that this camera will not hinder your advancement in any way because of its quality and features.

If you are worried about maybe needing more features, I can also add this: camera bodies are replaced quiet regularly with newer models, so don’t worry too much about buying the wrong body or camera. Go with what you can afford and allow extra money for quality lenses! This is by far the best option, as the lenses will fit your new camera if and when you eventually choose to upgrade. One suggestion I have is that although the kit lens that comes with the camera may not be the best lens in production, it will enhance the ease with which you can sell your camera body at a later date. Seasoned DSLR uses may be happy to purchase a body only, but many people just starting out want a lens too! So when the time comes, you can offload the kit lens and upgrade with a new body to make the most of the quality lenses you have collected over time.

One final word about choosing a camera brand. Don’t worry about it! You will probably be happy with the product from any DSLR you buy. If you are trying to choose between Canon and Nikon – look to the future and the lenses. I chose Canon as I enjoy wildlife photography and I believe the Canon lenses will allow me to achieve good photos and are slightly cheaper than those for Nikon. SO work out what type of photography you want to do, what sort of lenses you want to buy and then chose the brand that suits. Either brand will be good and the thing that will be holding you back will be your own skill level. Trust me – that is how it is for me!

OH NO!!!!

Well the worst possible thing that could happen to a “wannabe” photographer did happen! I dropped my camera. Not only did I drop it, it broke…in fact it broke VERY well! It still takes photos, but being only a small point and shoot, all of the functions and settings were through the LCD. Now I cannot change a thing!

Well I guess it is not all bad news. I have decided to buy a new camera. Well, fate decided for me, but I am happy to go along with it. So it means that I will actually have a DSLR! Wooo!!

I have previously had an SLR when I was in my teens. It was a great beast of a camera. Russian, in fact, and it came with a 300mm lens and a gunstock to make hand holding achievable. In all the years I had that camera, I managed to take a few good photos….just a few. It wasn’t the cameras fault, it was mine. But it was a great learning experience, there are not a lot of people who have owned a camera with a 300mm f4.5 lens when they were in their teens. All of this only cost $300!! It is what started my passion for wildlife photography. It is also what has led me to this blog – so thank you big heavy Russian camera!




I had a look through all the camera brands and options and I can say this too you. It doesn’t matter what DSLR you buy, if it is your first, you WILL be happy with it. You may out grow it if you are really passion and work hard on developing your photography skills. But the thing is, cameras are updated all the time these days anyway. SO after 2 years, even if you bought the BEST and most expensive, you will still probably be looking to upgrade. SO my advice to you – spend your money on lenses and don’t worry so much about the body!

The problem then is deciding on the brand. If you are serious about photography, it only really leaves two brands – Canon and Nikon. The other brands are good – but the reputation of these two is great! For me, I went with Canon. My broken camera is Canon and it was better than any other point-and-shoot my friends had. Even at only 3MP it performed better than 8MP cameras and its colour and clarity were fantastic – these photos were taken with the camera!

The other reason I went with Canon was the lenses. I would like one day to get a nice expensive telephoto for wildlife photography with image stabilisation. Lenses for Nikon are much more expensive than the already expensive Canon lenses – so where I am going in the future was another deciding factor. If you look through wildlife photography books you will also see that most (Well I thing most) photos are taken by people using Canon gear. If it is good enough for them, then it is good enough for me!

So, what camera did I get…you will have to wait till my next instalment!

Not long now…..

Wow! What a response to the posting of my images for sale here!!! It didn’t take long at all for the positive comments to role in at all! I thought the photos were good – but these comments were instant!

“wow..so many…:O) amazing shot!”

“Wow, very striking shot!”

“Striking indeed, love the greens!”

“colorful! nice work!”

Positive feedback – but no sales yet. I am sure someone will buy one soon! Looks like my experiment is off to a good start!

….or so I thought.  Turns out it has now been about a while since I posted the images. The positive comments have died down, and I still haven’t sold a picture! BUT – I have had a lot of people viewing my photos.

I originally thought that this was the sort of website that had people browsing through looking for something to buy. I am not sure that this happens so much. It seems to me now, that in order to sell something here you must drive traffic to the site. So, looks like there is definitely going to be a strong “business” side to my photographic experiment. I am as interested in seeing how I handle this aspect as you are!

Custom Search

To sell a photo

After deciding to become a professional photographer, I had a quick think about what it actually takes, more on this later. However, I decided the most important thing, above equipment, above what I tell people my occupation is, above approaching pretty girls in the street and asking to take their photo without getting slapped, above all else, was to sell a photo.

Now, at this stage, I am limited in many ways. I am limited in my photographic experience, I am limited in my camera equipment, and I am limited in my sales experience. Not to let these small details stand in my way – I decided to go back through my photo library (aka happy snaps from holidays) and see if I could pull out any photos that someone else might want to buy. After a few hours of searching and reminiscing, I ended up with a LOT of great photos! These photos were of me doing silly things in front of the Great Wall of China, of friends smiling while stretched out sunbaking on a beautiful beach and of some nice scenery shots. I was onto something here! This professional photography caper isn’t that hard afterall!

Now, at the moment, I don’t have a lot of time to wander around selling my photographs to local business and the art collectors who I know would want one of my original photographs. The value of these photos is only going to rise as my name gets out there and I become more famous. To avoid the effort of finding buyers, I thought I would let the buyers find me. After all, these photos are great and the internet will simply bring people to me - The cream (or is it crème?) always rises to the top. A quick Google search found a website where I could create a profile and upload my photos. They can be ordered by customers as cards, prints, t-shirts, all manner of things really. The website handles all the invoicing payment etc, and I simply add a mark-up to the base price, and this is my profit. Perfect! You can check it out here, have a look round and see if you like it.

After finding my soon to be award winning photos, I have since gone back through them and culled them down to three. I realised that although they are great photos, other people probably aren’t going to want to buy them. I think they should buy them, but they just don’t know they should buy them…yet. So I decided to focus on three photos – a photo of a flurry of goldfish, a photo of a piranha feeding frenzy and a tight crop of a peacock on display. I figure that these photos are generic enough to be searched for and all are interesting in their own right. This is where they are available for sale here.

I have since created an account and uploaded my photos. Let the fun begin! By the time I post my next blog, I will probably have sold my first photograph. This may not be enough to call myself a professional photographer – but at least I might be able to elevate my status from enthusiast to amateur?

The Experiment - from zero to professional photographer

How do I become a professional photographer? What is a “professional” photographer? Just what even is a photographer? All very good questions and something that I need to answer!

I enjoy taking photos. Does this make me a photographer? Whether they are happy snaps on holidays or “selfies” at a party, I enjoy trying to take a good photograph. That being said, I don’t overly go out of my way to find the photograph and no one has ever bought one off me. I simply take advantage of the opportunity when it arises. I think it is this combination of facts that means I am not currently a professional photographer, and not even a photographer. I have had friends ask for copies of my photos, but it is not necessarily because they like my photographs, it is because they need something to help them remember the blank spots in their memory or find out what the person looks like that they gave their phone number to. I guess my enthusiasm for photography and my lack of experience would make me a “photography enthusiast”. Not a very interesting title L

On a more serious note, I have taken some photos that I consider good, and I have taken some that other people like a lot. This, combined with a dislike of my current career, sparked an idea. What if I could make a living from photography? How awesome would that be! I could wake up every day knowing that I can do something that I enjoy, and possibly be my own boss! What a great life!

This leads me to my experiment. I will be spending the next two years, seeing if it is possible to become a professional photographer. Before I go on any further, I realise that it is “possible” for some people; otherwise the world would be void of sleazy guys taking photos of half naked girls. What I mean though, is this, for a normal person with a career, friends, family and other interests all taking up my time, is it possible to work on my photography in a fun and enjoyable way that allows me to eventually survive on the income it generates alone. If I cannot survive on it alone, can I generate enough money to buy some nice toys. If I cannot buy some nice toys, can I make enough to buy some nice wine. If I cannot buy some nice wine, can I sell just one single photograph?!?

I know I am not the only one out there who would like to do photography for a living, and I am definitely not the most talented photography enthusiast. All this means is that this will be an interesting experiment!! Along the way I will keep you informed on everything I learn. This will include information on ways to sell your photography, ways to improve the pictures you take, equipment, and techniques, computers and digital editing. I am going to be doing this in a very informal way, no expensive photography courses or degrees for me!

Enjoy reading about my mistakes, but if I make them and write about them, then you don’t have to make them! In the end I might not achieve the goal of becoming a professional photographer, but the only failure in life is not trying. Regardless, it will be an interesting life experiment!