My parents introduced me to photography with a 110 format Kodak Pocket Instamatic sometime around age 4. I don&#8217;t remember making too many masterpieces, but the hobby became a favourite and on my 12th birthday I was upgraded to a Pentax K1000. The K1000 served me well for 15 years, but by the late 90&#8217;s autofocus and motor-drive drew me to purchase a Nikon F70. Soon, I began to combine my photographic hobby with my business (aircraft charter and flying school). As the aerial photo part of my business grew, I became less happy with the results I was obtaining from my consumer-grade lens which showed obvious softness at larger print sizes. I realised that I needed to upgrade to better lenses. The more I researched the options, the more I didn&#8217;t want to compromise. A simple upgrade to better lenses wouldn&#8217;t allow me to take advantage of recent technological advances due to the limitations of the F70 body. I began to consider a digital body, as well as better lenses. While digital had some drawbacks when compared to the simplicity of film, there were also many advantages. In February 2005 Nikon released the D2X, and I placed my order. What followed was a quantum leap in the image quality that I was able to deliver to my clients. The Nikon D2X came with a steep learning curve, but the results were worth it. I hope that you enjoy looking through my galleries as much as I enjoyed making the images. Smugmug offers a referral discount system when you sign up for your own account. If you&#8217;d like to save $5 (and you don&#8217;t mind me saving on my subscription too), then please copy my coupon code ( <span class="green" id="referralCode">CYANijDwiMCIA</span> ) and paste it into the &#8216;referred by&#8217; field on the <a href="https://www.smugmug.com/signup.mg" target="_blank">Signup Page</a>. http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/photos/178829720_Mv4m6-Ti.jpg http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/ 2009-07-17T12:37:38Z Copyright 2009, the copyright holder of each photograph. Some portions copyright SmugMug. All rights reserved. SmugMug <p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com">damonbanks</a> updated gallery '<a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Flowers/Lorri-Kels-garden/8944902_vhCCf">Lorri & Kel's garden</a>'</p><p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Flowers/Lorri-Kels-garden/8944902_vhCCf" title="Lorri & Kel's garden"><img src="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Flowers/Lorri-Kels-garden/Banks-Residence20080315023/440169398_YH3mh-Th.jpg" width="150" height="100" alt="Lorri & Kel's garden" title="Lorri & Kel's garden" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" /></a></p> 2009-07-17T12:37:38Z damonbanks http://damonbanks.smugmug.com http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Flowers/Lorri-Kels-garden/8944902_vhCCf <p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com">damonbanks</a> updated gallery '<a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Places/NSW-South-Coast/Rosedale/3142538_GXbny">Rosedale</a>'</p><p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Places/NSW-South-Coast/Rosedale/3142538_GXbny" title="Rosedale"><img src="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Places/NSW-South-Coast/Rosedale/Hogiefest20080329050/312322675_3nXhR-Th.jpg" width="150" height="100" alt="Rosedale" title="Rosedale" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" /></a></p> 2008-12-16T15:41:59Z damonbanks http://damonbanks.smugmug.com http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Places/NSW-South-Coast/Rosedale/3142538_GXbny <p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com">damonbanks</a> updated gallery '<a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Aerial-Photos/Canberra-Australia/2812389_cvumd">Canberra, Australia</a>'</p><p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Aerial-Photos/Canberra-Australia/2812389_cvumd" title="Canberra, Australia"><img src="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Aerial-Photos/Canberra-Australia/CanberraCentre20061204003/150282438_iwnKj-Th.jpg" width="150" height="100" alt="Canberra, Australia" title="Canberra, Australia" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" /></a></p> 2007-11-13T15:18:52Z damonbanks http://damonbanks.smugmug.com http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Aerial-Photos/Canberra-Australia/2812389_cvumd <p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com">damonbanks</a> updated gallery '<a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/FNAC/20070812-Weetangera-Cemetery/3484472_22i6v">20070812 Weetangera Cemetery, ACT</a>'</p><p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/FNAC/20070812-Weetangera-Cemetery/3484472_22i6v" title="20070812 Weetangera Cemetery, ACT"><img src="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/FNAC/20070812-Weetangera-Cemetery/Weetangera-Cemetery20070812001/196183229_HMbj7-Th.jpg" width="150" height="100" alt="20070812 Weetangera Cemetery, ACT" title="20070812 Weetangera Cemetery, ACT" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" /></a></p> 2007-09-15T21:34:12Z damonbanks http://damonbanks.smugmug.com http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/FNAC/20070812-Weetangera-Cemetery/3484472_22i6v <p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com">damonbanks</a> updated gallery '<a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Birds/Chough-White-winged/3484395_iru8V">Chough, White-winged</a>'</p><p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Birds/Chough-White-winged/3484395_iru8V" title="Chough, White-winged"><img src="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Birds/Chough-White-winged/Gossan-Hill20070909001/196186544_3mRjQ-Th.jpg" width="100" height="150" alt="Chough, White-winged" title="Chough, White-winged" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" /></a></p> 2007-09-15T19:27:09Z damonbanks http://damonbanks.smugmug.com http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Birds/Chough-White-winged/3484395_iru8V <p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com">damonbanks</a> updated gallery '<a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/FNAC/20070909-Gossan-Hill-ACT/3484043_QMwDM">20070909 Gossan Hill, ACT</a>'</p><p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/FNAC/20070909-Gossan-Hill-ACT/3484043_QMwDM" title="20070909 Gossan Hill, ACT"><img src="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/FNAC/20070909-Gossan-Hill-ACT/Gossan-Hill20070909001/196128940_mvVu5-Th.jpg" width="100" height="150" alt="20070909 Gossan Hill, ACT" title="20070909 Gossan Hill, ACT" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" /></a></p> 2007-09-15T19:25:41Z damonbanks http://damonbanks.smugmug.com http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/FNAC/20070909-Gossan-Hill-ACT/3484043_QMwDM <p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com">damonbanks</a> updated gallery '<a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Birds/Cockatoo-Gang-gang/3484371_KmGAW">Cockatoo, Gang-gang</a>'</p><p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Birds/Cockatoo-Gang-gang/3484371_KmGAW" title="Cockatoo, Gang-gang"><img src="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Birds/Cockatoo-Gang-gang/Gossan-Hill20070909019/196129335_gDimN-Th.jpg" width="100" height="150" alt="Cockatoo, Gang-gang" title="Cockatoo, Gang-gang" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" /></a></p> 2007-09-15T19:16:15Z damonbanks http://damonbanks.smugmug.com http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Birds/Cockatoo-Gang-gang/3484371_KmGAW <p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com">damonbanks</a> updated gallery '<a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/FNAC/20070707-Australian-Reptile/3117527_LqFXy">20070707 Australian Reptile Centre, ACT</a>'</p><p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/FNAC/20070707-Australian-Reptile/3117527_LqFXy" title="20070707 Australian Reptile Centre, ACT"><img src="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/FNAC/20070707-Australian-Reptile/FNAC20070707001/175873200_wYrma-Th.jpg" width="150" height="69" alt="20070707 Australian Reptile Centre, ACT" title="20070707 Australian Reptile Centre, ACT" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" /></a></p> 2007-07-22T09:48:38Z damonbanks http://damonbanks.smugmug.com http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/FNAC/20070707-Australian-Reptile/3117527_LqFXy <p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com">damonbanks</a> updated gallery '<a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Places/NSW-South-Coast/Batemans-Bay/3142348_HCQYV">Bateman's Bay</a>'</p><p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Places/NSW-South-Coast/Batemans-Bay/3142348_HCQYV" title="Bateman's Bay"><img src="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Places/NSW-South-Coast/Batemans-Bay/SouthCoast2006-05-130045/155012785_xBWAJ-Th.jpg" width="100" height="150" alt="Bateman's Bay" title="Bateman's Bay" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" /></a></p> 2007-07-12T13:29:50Z damonbanks http://damonbanks.smugmug.com http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Places/NSW-South-Coast/Batemans-Bay/3142348_HCQYV <p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com">damonbanks</a> updated gallery '<a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Places/NSW-South-Coast/Eden/3142334_Qrk3n">Eden</a>'</p><p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Places/NSW-South-Coast/Eden/3142334_Qrk3n" title="Eden"><img src="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Places/NSW-South-Coast/Eden/Eden2005-11-060002/172396865_JdSKH-Th.jpg" width="100" height="150" alt="Eden" title="Eden" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" /></a></p> 2007-07-12T13:28:12Z damonbanks http://damonbanks.smugmug.com http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Places/NSW-South-Coast/Eden/3142334_Qrk3n <p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com">damonbanks</a> updated gallery '<a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Scenic/Nautical/2887447_RD9Ti">Nautical</a>'</p><p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Scenic/Nautical/2887447_RD9Ti" title="Nautical"><img src="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Scenic/Nautical/Eden2005-11-060002/155427301_A8DBN-Th.jpg" width="100" height="150" alt="Nautical" title="Nautical" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" /></a></p> 2007-07-12T13:25:54Z damonbanks http://damonbanks.smugmug.com http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Scenic/Nautical/2887447_RD9Ti <p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com">damonbanks</a> updated gallery '<a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Birds/Heron-White-Faced/3128573_S9Wmp">Heron, White Faced</a>'</p><p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Birds/Heron-White-Faced/3128573_S9Wmp" title="Heron, White Faced"><img src="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Birds/Heron-White-Faced/South-Coast20070617041/171098906_77rKR-Th.jpg" width="150" height="100" alt="Heron, White Faced" title="Heron, White Faced" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" /></a></p> 2007-07-09T14:39:33Z damonbanks http://damonbanks.smugmug.com http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Birds/Heron-White-Faced/3128573_S9Wmp <p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com">damonbanks</a> updated gallery '<a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Birds/Oystercatcher-Sooty/3128524_xpe6U">Oystercatcher, Sooty</a>'</p><p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Birds/Oystercatcher-Sooty/3128524_xpe6U" title="Oystercatcher, Sooty"><img src="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Birds/Oystercatcher-Sooty/South-Coast20070618022/171114702_BzC6z-Th.jpg" width="150" height="100" alt="Oystercatcher, Sooty" title="Oystercatcher, Sooty" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" /></a></p> 2007-07-09T14:30:53Z damonbanks http://damonbanks.smugmug.com http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Birds/Oystercatcher-Sooty/3128524_xpe6U <p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com">damonbanks</a> updated gallery '<a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Places/NSW-South-Coast/Durras/3128496_7qhpc">Durras</a>'</p><p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Places/NSW-South-Coast/Durras/3128496_7qhpc" title="Durras"><img src="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Places/NSW-South-Coast/Durras/South-Coast20070617003/171035351_9Mxcs-Th.jpg" width="100" height="150" alt="Durras" title="Durras" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" /></a></p> 2007-07-09T14:26:57Z damonbanks http://damonbanks.smugmug.com http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Places/NSW-South-Coast/Durras/3128496_7qhpc <p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com">damonbanks</a> updated gallery '<a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Places/NSW-South-Coast/Bawley-Point/3128253_qW5uY">Bawley Point</a>'</p><p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Places/NSW-South-Coast/Bawley-Point/3128253_qW5uY" title="Bawley Point"><img src="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Places/NSW-South-Coast/Bawley-Point/South-Coast20070616009/171035268_SB8L7-Th.jpg" width="150" height="100" alt="Bawley Point" title="Bawley Point" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" /></a></p> 2007-07-09T14:12:14Z damonbanks http://damonbanks.smugmug.com http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Places/NSW-South-Coast/Bawley-Point/3128253_qW5uY <p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com">damonbanks</a> updated gallery '<a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/FNAC/20070610-Coppins-Crossing-ACT/2982968_rH8eB">20070610 Coppins Crossing, ACT</a>'</p><p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/FNAC/20070610-Coppins-Crossing-ACT/2982968_rH8eB" title="20070610 Coppins Crossing, ACT"><img src="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/FNAC/20070610-Coppins-Crossing-ACT/Coppins-Crossing20070610001/161523798_KGHyn-Th.jpg" width="150" height="100" alt="20070610 Coppins Crossing, ACT" title="20070610 Coppins Crossing, ACT" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" /></a></p> 2007-06-23T17:59:58Z damonbanks http://damonbanks.smugmug.com http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/FNAC/20070610-Coppins-Crossing-ACT/2982968_rH8eB <p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com">damonbanks</a> updated gallery '<a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/FNAC/20070506-Bungonia-NSW/2892001_LLGgC">20070506 Bungonia, NSW</a>'</p><p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/FNAC/20070506-Bungonia-NSW/2892001_LLGgC" title="20070506 Bungonia, NSW"><img src="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/FNAC/20070506-Bungonia-NSW/Bungonia-NP20070506005/165994688_sx2ZS-Th.jpg" width="100" height="150" alt="20070506 Bungonia, NSW" title="20070506 Bungonia, NSW" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" /></a></p> 2007-06-23T17:58:32Z damonbanks http://damonbanks.smugmug.com http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/FNAC/20070506-Bungonia-NSW/2892001_LLGgC <p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com">damonbanks</a> updated gallery '<a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Scenic/General/2887621_oguae">General</a>'</p><p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Scenic/General/2887621_oguae" title="General"><img src="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Scenic/General/20060709004/154780852_JNNEz-Th.jpg" width="150" height="100" alt="General" title="General" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" /></a></p> 2007-05-21T22:29:42Z damonbanks http://damonbanks.smugmug.com http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Scenic/General/2887621_oguae <p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com">damonbanks</a> updated gallery '<a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Events/2006/2887477_Q7CcE">2006</a>'</p><p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Events/2006/2887477_Q7CcE" title="2006"><img src="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Events/2006/BeatRetreat20060930013/154812022_YuvtU-Th.jpg" width="100" height="150" alt="2006" title="2006" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" /></a></p> 2007-05-21T21:00:51Z damonbanks http://damonbanks.smugmug.com http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Events/2006/2887477_Q7CcE <p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com">damonbanks</a> updated gallery '<a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Scenic/Industrial/2887453_iXTCR">Industrial</a>'</p><p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Scenic/Industrial/2887453_iXTCR" title="Industrial"><img src="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Scenic/Industrial/Canberra-Centre2006-06-04012/155012544_LoRLn-Th.jpg" width="150" height="100" alt="Industrial" title="Industrial" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" /></a></p> 2007-05-21T20:32:43Z damonbanks http://damonbanks.smugmug.com http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Scenic/Industrial/2887453_iXTCR <p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com">damonbanks</a> updated gallery '<a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Insects/Dragonfly/2887292_3ziFi">Dragonfly</a>'</p><p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Insects/Dragonfly/2887292_3ziFi" title="Dragonfly"><img src="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Insects/Dragonfly/Floriade20061001049/154776849_vohq7-Th.jpg" width="100" height="150" alt="Dragonfly" title="Dragonfly" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" /></a></p> 2007-05-21T18:28:53Z damonbanks http://damonbanks.smugmug.com http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Insects/Dragonfly/2887292_3ziFi <p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com">damonbanks</a> updated gallery '<a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Birds/Cormorant-Little-Pied/2887238_zNinW">Cormorant, Little Pied</a>'</p><p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Birds/Cormorant-Little-Pied/2887238_zNinW" title="Cormorant, Little Pied"><img src="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Birds/Cormorant-Little-Pied/SouthCoast2006-05-140087/155012812_NUYuB-Th.jpg" width="100" height="150" alt="Cormorant, Little Pied" title="Cormorant, Little Pied" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" /></a></p> 2007-05-21T17:58:07Z damonbanks http://damonbanks.smugmug.com http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Birds/Cormorant-Little-Pied/2887238_zNinW <p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com">damonbanks</a> updated gallery '<a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Birds/Parrot-Red-rumped/2887224_5HxYo">Parrot, Red-rumped</a>'</p><p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Birds/Parrot-Red-rumped/2887224_5HxYo" title="Parrot, Red-rumped"><img src="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Birds/Parrot-Red-rumped/20060709050/154811870_UJNPL-Th.jpg" width="150" height="100" alt="Parrot, Red-rumped" title="Parrot, Red-rumped" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" /></a></p> 2007-05-21T17:49:58Z damonbanks http://damonbanks.smugmug.com http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Birds/Parrot-Red-rumped/2887224_5HxYo <p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com">damonbanks</a> updated gallery '<a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Birds/Pelican-Australian/2886771_7MEF3">Pelican, Australian</a>'</p><p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Birds/Pelican-Australian/2886771_7MEF3" title="Pelican, Australian"><img src="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Birds/Pelican-Australian/20060709011/154780875_hrHej-Th.jpg" width="100" height="150" alt="Pelican, Australian" title="Pelican, Australian" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" /></a></p> 2007-05-21T15:23:06Z damonbanks http://damonbanks.smugmug.com http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Birds/Pelican-Australian/2886771_7MEF3 <p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com">damonbanks</a> updated gallery '<a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Aerial-Photos/Snowy-Mountains-NSW/2813157_6xrDg">Snowy Mountains, NSW</a>'</p><p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Aerial-Photos/Snowy-Mountains-NSW/2813157_6xrDg" title="Snowy Mountains, NSW"><img src="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Aerial-Photos/Snowy-Mountains-NSW/SnowyMountains20060808011/150382756_9dkxs-Th.jpg" width="150" height="100" alt="Snowy Mountains, NSW" title="Snowy Mountains, NSW" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" /></a></p> 2007-05-07T12:01:13Z damonbanks http://damonbanks.smugmug.com http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Aerial-Photos/Snowy-Mountains-NSW/2813157_6xrDg <p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com">damonbanks</a> updated gallery '<a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Travel/South-Africa-January-2007/2805505_G2Har">South Africa, January 2007</a>'</p><p><a href="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Travel/South-Africa-January-2007/2805505_G2Har" title="South Africa, January 2007"><img src="http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Travel/South-Africa-January-2007/South-Africa2007-01-09005h/149781927_p95or-Th.jpg" width="150" height="100" alt="South Africa, January 2007" title="South Africa, January 2007" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" /></a></p> 2007-05-06T12:41:03Z damonbanks http://damonbanks.smugmug.com http://damonbanks.smugmug.com/Travel/South-Africa-January-2007/2805505_G2Har