When a young Duncan Toombs first picked up a guitar he was "hooked", and little did he know where - and how far - that instrument would take him.
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Toombs honed his guitar skills in and around Toowoomba during the 1990s, with a group of like-minded young musicians.
"South East Queensland was pretty alive back in the '90s, with country music festivals and weekend competitions," he said.
"There was a bunch of us young fellas who got into country music together, and because there were a few of us we all pushed each other - we were all part of a little eco system which helped us get good at what we did.
"Back then, all I wanted was to play guitar for great country music singers. When I left Toowoomba I got lucky and it sort of happened for me."
For more than two decades Toombs toured and recorded with some of Australia's best known country music artists including Kasey and Bill Chambers, Beccy Cole, Lee Kernaghan, Sara Storer, Adam Harvey, Troy Cassar-Daley, and Adam Brand.
As a member of the Adam Eckersley Band, he was an integral part of recording and arranging of the band's second album which earned Golden Guitars in 2015 for New Talent of the Year and in 2016 for Group or Duo of the Year.
Eventually Toombs successfully ventured into music videos to become recognised as an accomplished director.
Between 2010 and 2016 his company, The Filmery, won seven Golden Guitars for his directing skills, working with a range of big names including Sara Storer, The McClymonts and Lee Kernaghan.
"This run set a Golden Guitar record for winners in the same category - seven consecutive wins in a row for video of the year," Toombs said.
He's now made another career change.
In January 2023, Toombs released his solo debut album Steel on Steel.
The music industry took note, and Toombs is now stepping into the spotlight to make the front-of-stage his new home, buoyed by two individual nominations for the 52nd Golden Guitar Awards.
The Tamworth Country Music Festival 2024 has the potential to be a personal watershed moment for him.
"These Golden Guitar nominations are for being both an artist and a director - the first nominations I've had as a solo artist because I've been in the background all my life," he said
"This is something new for me - to step out and be an artist and have my own music."
Toombs' third track on the album, 1861, has been nominated for Heritage song of the Year, while his video for the title track, Steel on Steel, created by The Filmery, has been nominated for CMT Video of the Year.
Toombs has a third nomination this year, as The Filmery directed Felicity Urquhart and Josh Cunningham's Size Up video, which has also been nominated for CMT Video of the Year.
During his touring years, Toombs was known as "a gun for hire" for a lot of different artists.
"I loved [touring and playing guitar], it was what I wanted to. Everyone finds their thing ... and I just love playing music," he said.
The travel and time away from family, however, eventually took a toll.
"In a sense the video thing to me was a way [to take] a break from playing live on stage, but I think it was inevitable I would get back into my music and do less video work and directing," he said.
Then COVID-19 hit, and "kicked a lot of us off our hamster wheels".
Toombs had spent his life working for other artists so when he couldn't do that he started "looking towards me instead of helping others".
"I don't know how, I never planned on it, but it just naturally happened and all of a sudden I started writing and finishing songs and people who heard them encouraged me to record them, to do an album," he said.
"I've sung harmonies or back up vocals my whole life but through COVID I started singing more as a lead singer, now I've got an album - you never know what's going to happen to your life, do you."
The result was Steel on Steel, a collection of songs heavily inspired by Toombs' family, while the video for Steel on Steel is a tribute to his father, the late Bob Toombs, who was a train driver.
