Do you know what a camera is? A mirror with memory.

- Anonymous

My most important hobby is photography.  I started this in 1999 with one of the later Zenit cameras which I had borrowed from a friend. Although this 35mm film Single-Lens Reflex (SLR) camera is anything but high-end, I believe that it is excellent if one seeks to understand the basics of photography.

Back then I also used to develop my black-and-white films in my own little darkroom. I also printed many images on (black-and-white) photographic paper using the darkrooms and equipment of the photography department of the students' culture society of the university of Athens (called "POFPA").

In 2001 I bought my own SLR camera, a Nikon F65 - and returned the Zenit. The F65 has more features than the Zenit, but I never really used many of them. My favourite shooting modes were "shutter priority" and "manual". The F65 has been with me in all my travels, from 2001 until 2004. Due to the many times my film rolls had to be x-rayed at airports, I also bought a special pouch that is supposed to mitigate the negative effects.

Some of my early pictures, taken with these cameras, can be found here.

In 2003 I realised that I was spending too much money on films and their development, so I decided to buy a digital camera, a Canon A60 in particular. This 2 mega pixel pocket camera is nothing special, but it enabled me to shoot without thinking about the costs (nevertheless, I was also carrying the F65 with me most of the time). I was very happy with the A60, until the day it started to have problems. After trying for several weeks, it turned out that the incompetent Canon service was unable to fix or replace it. As a result, I promised to my myself: never again Canon! - a promise that I have kept until today.

I have published a collection of pictures that were taken with this camera at the holocaust museum in Ausschwitz.

In 2005 I finally realised that I had to have the best of both worlds: a digital SLR camera. However, given that these things were - and still are - rather expensive toys, I bought the cheapest possible: an Olympus E-300 with the 14-45mm and the 40-150mm Zuiko lenses. The only problem of this camera the is amount of noise it generates at ISO levels over 400. Otherwise, I am perfectly happy with it, and I no longer have to carry my other cameras. Interestingly, the E-300 is heavier than the other cameras together (due to the lenses).

Over time, I acquired additional photographic equipment, including a tripod, this magnificent bag, a circular-polarising filter, a skylight filter, and a remote control for the E-300.

A collection of pictures taken with the E-300 during a recent trip to Persia, are published here (if you do not speak Greek, do not forget to choose your language).

Anyway, these are just the insignificant technical details. It is, after all, people that take pictures - not cameras.

If I knew how to take a good photograph, I'd do it every time.

-Robert Doisneau