This milestone sneaked up on me, and it is now 10 years ago that I published my first review – from then on it just kept evolving.
It started when I found online discussion forums and I became an avid reader of online reviews and active participant in forum threads – but there was something slightly lacking…
As a photographer, engineer, outdoorsman and perhaps most importantly an enthusiast, I felt I might have something extra to offer and decided to give it a go and see how I got on. The more work I did, the more I was drawn into trying to better understand the tools and gear I love, and share all of that with others in the most factual and well illustrated way possible. I’ve always worked to introduce new ideas and new tests, many of which have been adopted by other reviewers as part of a standard ‘review formula’.
In 10 years I’ve built up a considerable body of work and experience, and many valued friendships and relationships. Hopefully there is still a lot more to come, with improvements and innovations along the way.
What you might not realise (as a reader) is that all of this (photos and photo editing, technical tests, graphic design, web design, website hosting and management, video and video editing, social media, writing and many more things needed to keep it all running) is done by one person. One person with a full time job in I.T.
I often call reviewing my ‘Hobby Job’, taken as seriously as a paid job, but something that costs quite a bit to keep going, and is a lot to fit around the demands of normal life. ‘Enthusiast’, or is that ‘Crazy Person’?
Thanks to everyone that has supported me so far, in both believing in me, and in taking the time to look at the reviews – Subwoofer (aka Richard)
