There is something quietly miraculous about photography that I’ve never quite got over. That with a small mechanical box – or these days, a slender electronic device that also orders pizza and argues with strangers – we can capture light itself and freeze a millisecond of existence for all time.

I was reminded of this recently when I found myself fumbling with my camera in Cornwall, trying to capture a particularly splendid sunset whilst simultaneously preventing my chips from being eating by a sea gull. The seaside has a way of making us attempt multiple tasks at once, usually in light drizzle.

Photography is peculiarly democratic. Anyone can take a photograph. Whether it’s any good is another matter entirely, of course, but the act itself requires no special talent beyond the ability to press a button without simultaneously dropping the camera. This puts it in stark contrast to, say, playing the violin, which requires years of practice before you can produce anything that doesn’t sound like a cat being slowly deflated.

Yet while photography might be accessible, mastering it is gloriously complex. There’s an entire vocabulary to learn – f-stops, ISO, shutter speed – terms that sound like they belong in a particularly technical car manual rather than an artistic pursuit.

In the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing my own stumbling journey through this marvellous medium. I can’t promise expertise, but I can guarantee enthusiasm, occasional moments of accidental competence, and absolutely no expectation that you’ll understand what ‘bokeh’ means any time soon.

You can see some of my Cornish shots here.