In addition to developing my painting, I have also returned to photography and love it.
If you are bemused by the variety of cameras and lenses on offer, then the story of my journey back may help you to grasp the nettle and jump on in.
I'm old enough to have had expensive memories of photography.
I loved snapping away on my old instamatic, but at the end of every cartridge of film I had to send the negatives away for developing.
There was a delay in seeing the results, and quite often the whole batch was spoiled by something silly I had done, or by poor processing.
The camera was put away and I did not take photographs for years.
In the intervening period I have looked on photography as something very technical, as I had a husband who was very keen to talk about exposure lengths, focal this and that's, shutter stops and lens specifications.
All details that meant nothing to me.
While I could see that digital cameras had huge advantages, in that you could review all your shots without needing to print them I had no interest in mastering the technicalities.
I wanted something more organic.
Jump forward to the recent past, and things began to change.
My lovely brother and sister-in-law are keen and expert photographers, and I loved the work they were producing.
Last year, my sister-in-law mentioned that she was selling her Canon as she had been given a newer more sophisticated model.
So we bought it, just with a standard, all-purpose lens.
They advised me to start on Automatic settings, and just to have a go, and that is advice I am now happy to pass onto you.
These days you can get excellent results on your mobile phone camera, but if you want the flexibility to move to photographs that you have more control over, then a digital camera is what you need.
Just get the best basic camera and lens that you can, and start developing your eye.
Use editing software such as Picasa to enhance your pictures, and you can create some excellent results.
Whether you want family portraits, holiday pictures or something more creative and artistic, you can get results you like without any understanding of the technology.
As you progress, there are huge numbers of books and tutorials available, as well as local camera clubs where you can share results and learn from more experienced photographers.
Then get out there.
Have your camera with you, use your eyes, your imagination and your camera.
You'll love the results and have an interest for life.