A big chunk of my childhood was spent looking at pictures. When I was in early grade school, I remember going to libraries during lunch breaks, and look at pictures in encyclopedias (back then, the internet was practically non-existent for most Filipinos). Pictures of planets and stars, even in black and white, were the most interesting for me. At home, I would spend many hours browsing all sorts of magazines that my uncle from Canada brings home occasionally.
My first camera was a Kodak KB10, which I bought in the year 2001 for PhP600 (about $12 then), the total amount I received during Christmas (in the Philippines, children get gifts and money during Christmas). I remember specifically buying a camera because I wanted to join in a photojournalism competition in our school. I ended up not joining because I couldn't save enough money in time to buy films and AA batteries.
Right now, I enjoy photography as a hobby. The photos below are taken using Nikon D3300 with the standard 18-55mm DX VR II kit lens and a 55-200mm DX VR II zoom lens. As a beginning photographer, I have so far not used Photoshop in processing my shots.