When I hurt my leg seven years ago, there were lots of little bits and pieces that I lost, like confidence when walking, being able to master stairs without having to hold on and the ability to run, not that I ever did much of that to start with unless it was to catch a train.

Learning to counter my knee having a life of its own was also a bit of a tester, it puts a whole new meaning to knee jerk reaction, when it decides to buckle of its own accord. But I adapted and manage, I’m used to the daily pains, sometimes even forgetting about them because its now become part of life.

The thing I missed the most was photography, simply because I was not able to scramble to some of the places I had been able to before. I kind of lost the joy in it because standing shots became a little boring. I put the camera away and on days out just used my phone instead, but often times in my head I was still mentally framing shots and analysing colours.

I love my Nikon D40, thanks to my Sisters very kind gift it is the best camera I have ever owned. I love the feel of it in my hands and the satisfying click of the shutter when it captures what my eye can see. It’s been eveywhere with me and captured some amazing memories, but over time the picture quality has started to change and it doesn’t seem to record colours as good as it once did.

I decided to purchase a new one, opting for something a little smaller and more compact. A couple of weeks ago the Fathership and I went for a little trip. The gallstones mean I don’t like travelling too far away from home for fear of the dreaded pains, but on this particular day we decided to go to the Castle Gardens in Antrim.

Relatively flat ground meant the walking was not too taxing for the leg and the tiltable screen on the camera made slightly funkier shots more possible too. It’s a beautiful place and it reignited my love of photography as I felt the familiar buzz of being able to capture what was around me.

I was pleased with the pictures I took, despite the fact it was my first trip out with and using the camera, well, you can see for yourself, I’ve included some shots below.

The fact that winter is fast approaching means there will not be too many more opportunities until next year, but who knows what the lovely autumnal colours will bring when the bookwork is done and out of the way freeing up a little more time.