Introduction - @Just.in_frame

Who am I?

Hello everyone, or no-one! My name is Justin, I'm a peri-operative nurse from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. In the past year I've been learning about what it means to be a photographer. I would like to provide a space where I can encourage or inspire anyone that is looking for a creative outlet to consider photography. I'm self taught, and have progressed in what I feel are leaps and bounds since starting out. I would love to give back to a community that has been so welcoming by helping others.

How did I stumble into photography?

I owned my first camera (a Nikon D3100) for many years before actually picking it up and using it properly outside of the odd "auto" photo, which would eventually rot on the memory card never seeing the light of day. I also dabbled in a bit of "phone photography," purchasing a wide angle lens that would fit on to my phone case, but even then, I don't consider this event or purchase the start of my photographic journey.

So when do I believe I actually started on this journey?

I was on a work/education holiday with some work friends in 2018. We booked a conference cruise to Papua New Guinea to learn more about peri-operative nursing and also to visit the local hospitals to better understand the difficulties they face in their practices. I decided to take the camera to document the journey and do a small write up for my workplace. Papua New Guinea was a lovely, luscious, vibrant environment filled with beautiful landscapes, crystal clear waters and beaches, and incredibly hospitable locals.

And that was pretty much it from there. I was hooked. I fell completely head over heels in love with photography. Initially after this trip to PNG, I found myself carrying my camera with me more often, taking it on other trips with friends, learning more and more about the concepts of photography. Then, having my camera with me on trips wasn't enough, so I started wandering around Melbourne, a city I've frequented at least once a week nearly my whole life, but with a camera in hand, it was now a completely new playground. Eventually wandering around Melbourne wasn't enough, so I started trying to find other creatives nearby to learn from them and create with them. I found myself consuming more material from social media, with an actual purpose, I was looking at photos, and critiqued my own work against it. What made their images more appealing than my own, how could I change my own practices to improve my photography? And the progress has continued from there.

So what is this Vocal account about?

In the near future (at this point in time; weekly), I will be releasing articles hoping to educate those who are a little lost on how to start, or how to progress with photography in a step by step manner, from understanding cameras in general, to how they work, to how we work them, and what we do with what they produce for us.

As I mentioned earlier, I want to help inspire or guide individuals that are considering trying a new hobby, looking to improve their photography, or even just those looking to try out a new style. Photography has been a beautiful outlet for me. It has helped manage mental health issues and promoted positive changes in my life. I feel like if there is someone out there that feels a little like how I felt, and I didn't try to explain to them something that might help with how they're feeling, I'm not doing my part in giving back to something that has already given me so much.

If you'd like to see some of my work, I post on Instagram three times a week (@just.in_frame), and weekly on Facebook for more "album" or "theme" related posts of all extra shots that I can't fit into my feed.

Thanks for stopping by, I'll see you guys real soon! - J