So welcome to my world, this is the bit about me and my life so far, the pictures above are just a tiny sample of the places i have travelled to so far.
So i class myself as a semi pro photographer, in that i have worked as a Pro Photographer in the past and continue to consider future work.
I was awarded my First contract working on cruise ships a few months shy of my 18th Birthday, for Carnival Cruise Lines. Since then I have worked for Celebrity Cruise Lines & Festival Cruise Lines.
I first went long distance travelling when i was 16, i went to Canada, after that i travelled to Chile & Argentina when i was 17.
After working for Jessops in Leeds, gaining some background info, i was approached by Carnival Cruise Lines to join one of their Photography teams.
I travelled to Trieste, Italy to join the Carnival Victory, Carnival's new flagship. After a two week transatlantic,and an overnight in New York i said goodbye to my new friends and headed off to JFK.
A flight to Miami, which to be honest i have no recollection anymore, and we had a weeks stay in Miami to look forward to, i remember vaguely, shopping on South Beach, days at the beach, and even managed to get a days golf in.
After the awesome week i'd had, down to earth with a bump I along with two others from the crossing embarked on the Carnival Triumph. One of my few memories from the shipwas screwing up one formal night, funny now but at the time trust me anything but funny.
So having got dressed for formal night i ran down 12 decks of stairs, only to be told i had the wrong uniform on, lets just say i'd up 12 decks of stairs, and down 24, went down a storm with my boss Hector.
I enjoyed working with the team, i had a storm, but all good things come to an end, and after a month i was transferred to the Imagination.
It was a tough 5 months, really tough, and a period which culminated in me resigning shortly after New Years 2001. I did however decide i wanted to have a crack at working in the gift shop, thanks mainly to the friends i had met working on the imagination.
So I returned home, with my head held slightly low, but adamant that i'd be back i had to prove some people wrong. When i returned home i got a job working for Jessops again, this time working in Huddersfield. But after 3 months i was starting to get itchy feet.
Now when i was working for Carnival I picked up a contact for Ocean Images and this was the company which i spent 3 mostly happy years with, one thing i have learned is like the seas, there are plenty of ups and downs working on ships.
My first contract working for Ocean, was working onboard the MV Flamenco, of Festival Cruise Lines. I went onboard in Genoa, Italy, and met the Photo Manager Andi, and Phil the number two, i was going on at number three, which suited me fine. So Andi Offered me a Beer before showing me to my cabin, It was beginning to dawn at me, that a career at sea beckoned.
Progression was rapid as a current at Ocean and this was not the only time, i made manager by the time i was not much older than 19. My first contract spanned something around 10 months. I think the stresses of haveing to learn how to become a lab tech, dealing with the accounts, sales and dropping earnings, finally took their toll. Though i did return for a second contract i didnt see it out. I was dissapointed as we had just made it back to the Baltic/Fjord season, and in it one of my favourite regions of the earth.
So i took some time off to gather my thoughts, and by the time my two months off were up i was desperate to get back to the ships.
My new challenge lay back stateside, actually i joined the ship, The GTS Summit, in Vancouver, Canada. Something i'll never forget is having to stay shipboard for the first 10 days, idiot that i am i lost my i-95 so i was unable to disembark the ship in any of the hawaiian ports we went to. As luck would have it we were on back to back Hawaii cruises and the first ten days were loaded with boatdrills anyways.
This ship was awesome, from the point of view of the atmosphere anyways. We had some awesome parties and listened to some killer hip hop right there. Again i stayed on this ship for two contracts, and again i did not see out the second contract, seems to be a theme developing you think? but again it did get me to another one of my favourite regions, Alaska.
After this i was ready for a longer break, i was 23, no savings, no drivers license, so i decided to put away my sea legs for the time being.
After a couple of years at home though i had my drivers license but was desperate to travel again. I have never been in a position to freelance travel such was my desire, so i renewed my interest in becoming a holiday rep. I first had to do a weeks training in Blackpool, and looking back after the week and even now, that was one of the best weeks of my life, with one of the best groups of people i have ever met.
So i was placed in Paphos, Cyprus, repping 5 different hotels, Again, i have few memories from last summer, Bar St. The bowling alley, my friends from back in the day. But again this now goes down as something i'm glad I tried but wouldn't do again.
So we are upto present day, June 2006, actually at the time this is being written it is exactly the 1st June. and 13 days prior to my departure to venice Italy, to join the Spirit of adventure.
