I consider myself to be an inspired photography enthusiast. I find professional to be a very loose term lately, seeing that there are so many new photographers who rate themselves to be professional.
My love for photography goes back a few years, but never really took a swing for the better until working may way into a pro-photo retail environment, where I was able to learn and eventually share and exchange knowledge with fellow employees, photographers, customers, suppliers...
Needless to say, once I saved up enough to start gathering my own equipment, the world of image capturing really came alive for me and have been enthusiastically shooting away ever since.