Six years ago when Josh Beames started fiddling with his iPhone camera, he never dreamt of becoming a Nikon School lecturer.
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As May celebrates National Photo Month, the Warrnambool-based photographer is encouraging people to get out and explore their native landscapes.
"Photography is a great way to express yourself, get out in nature and an outlet to show people how you see an image," Beames said.
"Now, there's even more of an opportunity to try a new skill."
After moving from his iPhone to a Nikon D750 camera, Beames began to test his self-taught photography skills on landscapes across the south-west, Australia and the world.
"I wanted to stand out so I started using a different perspectives," he said.
"A few of my photos were in the Herald Sun and the Bureau of Meteorology and two years ago Nikon invited me to try a new camera for a bit.
"I was rapt and I wanted to prove myself so I went to Uluru for a few shots.
"Last year they wanted to work more closely with me and I became one of their lecturers."
Through his teaching role, Beames has held workshops along the Great Ocean Road and in Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide.
In recent years, he's pushed his skills abroad and travelled throughout Europe.
"My classes are for beginners and intermediate photographers who want to learn the basics and take the next steps," he said.
"My approach is showing what the camera can do to an image and drama can be added.
"When people start out, they often push images too far. My classes are based around getting an image right in the camera for little as possible processing. I help to understand the idea of composition and talk about gear like lens selection."
Beames boasts an Instagram following of almost 50,000 followers and shares his work through the social media and has even picked up work through the platform.
The landscape photographer shared his top tips to help you learn his trade.
"When approaching a scene for the first time or maybe it's at popular spot that has been shot a thousand times, I always look for a nice foreground that can lead the eye into the scene," he said.
"I find that having a nice wide lens, is crucial for capturing a dramatic foreground.
"The best technique to find that delicious foreground is to simply switch in the LCD and walk around with your camera assessing all the different compositions and using the screen as a reference. Once you find something interesting set your camera up and fire away.
"Don't be afraid of trying new perspectives.
"Leave your tripod at home and use what is around you to get that unique shot. I have been known to sit my camera on almost anything to get a shot. A lot of my personal favourites that I've captured have been without a tripod.
"You would be surprised with what you can achieve."
To learn more about photography and Nikon School, head to: nikon.com.au and to find out more about Beames head to instagram.com/joshbeames
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