Interview with Shaun Mills

Hi Shaun! Tell us about yourself in two sentences - who are you?

My name is Shaun Mills, living on Mersea Island, located just off the coast of North Essex (yes, it is a real Island!), also known as 'Mersea Millsy' because this is where the vast majority of my photographic inspiration is driven from. I've been a budding amateur photographer for around 10 years (since I purchased my 1st Canon EOS 350d), however, I've started to take things a little more seriously in the past 18 months or so.

QWhat's the weirdest situation you've found yourself in while taking a photograph?

AThe weirdest situation I've found myself in? I'm sure the vast majority of dog walkers I see at ridiculously early times in the summer months (just so I can catch the sunrise) think I'm weird! However, I'd probably have to say it was while I was walking down a rickety old wooden jetty to try and get the perfect shot, but slipping on some seaweed before falling off the jetty into deep mud. At this point in time, I was drastically trying to keep my camera, tripod and backpack from disappearing into the famous 'Mersea mud', all to the amusement of some slightly confused tourists!

QWhat do you shoot on? What's your favourite set up?

A I'm a Canon user and have been since I started. Right now I'm using a EOS 760d, but looking longingly at a 5Ds (hint hint Canon!). My lens upgrades over the past year have all been based on me changing to full-frame in the next 12 months. Given that I tend to take mainly landscapes or seascapes, my go-to lens still tends to be the Canon EFS 10-22mm. That being said, my preferred body / lens combo is the 760d + EF 70-300 F4-5.6 L lens, and I've just purchased a EF 24-70mm F4 L lens so I'm presently playing around with this. The improvement in quality when using the L series lenses is so noticeable. Good glass on an average body is so much better than poor glass on a good body.

QWhat's your number one tip for an aspiring photographer?

AMy number one tip for any aspiring photographer is simply keep taking photos. Photography is like any discipline, the more you practice the better you will become. I look back now and see the photos I took 10 years ago, and can't believe I saved them to the computer! There are so many free tutorials out there on the internet that it's now very easy to learn and put into practice.