Dani Webb

White-Winged Fairywren.
Nikon D5; 200-600mm lens; 500mm; 800 ISO; f/5.6; 1/1250 sec.
I have become a lover of birds and trying to photograph them. This photo was taken at the Western Treatment Plants in Victoria, an incredible location for diverse birdlife. I chose this photograph because I find the small birds so much harder to photograph as they are so fast! I followed this little guy along the ground while he was darting around catching insects. He jumped up on the post and stopped for a second to pose for me then he was off again. I love the detail in such a tiny thing.

My passion is wildlife photography. I love animals and enjoy spending many hours in locations watching them in their natural environments.

I’ve always been interested in photography since I can remember. My earliest memory is getting a Kodak compact when I was about 8 years old and taking it on school camp. My poor Mum had to get the film developed and there were many images with my finger in them.

I studied photography in high school and spent many hours in the darkroom developing and printing my images. Photography was such a passion and I really wanted to make a carer from it, so in 2001 I started studying at PSC (Photography Studies College) in Melbourne.

From there I started shooting weddings and portraits. This was in the days of only film cameras, so it was very stressful! Limited rolls of film and not knowing the results… I shot film for quite a long time before I could afford a digital camera.

Building on that I started my own business continuing to shoot weddings and adding newborn, family and pet photography while working a few other jobs.

I was lucky to be given cameras from family when I first started out but the first camera I bought myself was a Canon SLR, I also got myself a Mamiya medium format camera.  I was a Canon girl for many years. I moved to using all Nikon gear about 3 years ago – I started shooting sports and what I had was no longer suitable. I was able to get the kit I needed second hand at a great price.

Elephants of Kenya. Amboseli National Reserve, Kenya.
Canon 5D II; 100-400 mm lens; 135mm; 400 ISO; f/11; 1/200 sec.
One of my life goals was to travel to Africa and photograph my favourite animal: elephants. That day I saw them in the distance and didn’t think I would get very close to them, but out of nowhere this herd walked past our vehicle and they were so close it made me emotional. I was in Kenya seeing these incredible animals that I had only seen in documentaries. Although this photo might not be technically perfect, I was there in that moment. To be in that environment and living a dream I had for so long makes me very proud of my achievement.

I started working at Camera House Croydon, Victoria in 2017 and was very excited to be a part of the team. I already had customer experience and photography knowledge but learnt very quickly that there was a lot I didn’t know.

Nigel and I have worked really well together, and I have been lucky to learn the ropes from such a knowledgeable mentor. Recently I have been excited to join as a part owner of the business. As a part of my role, I am also responsible for education and workshops. I love the teaching component of the role and being able to offer advice to people on how to get the best out of their gear.

It’s exciting that Camera House has been around for 40 years – it says a lot about the integrity of the business. We have seen many changes over the years with the decline of film and the introduction of digital. I started shopping at Croydon Camera House around 1996 and the staff always provided me with advice, gear knowledge and printing.

Now we are a part of the team that gets to write the next chapter in the Camera House story which is really exciting! I am looking forward to developing the education side of our business. Also looking forward to seeing where the developments in technology take us with photographic equipment and how that will make more people passionate about photography (as we are!).