Contents

• Introduction
  • Cameras
  • France
  • Photo gallery
  • Links
    
    
  • Photography homepage

Introduction

Most of the photographs that I took as a teenager, during the 1960s, were b&w. I took a few colour prints which have not stood the tests of time very well, as they have all faded badly, unlike my b&w prints which have lasted well.

Sometime during the period 1965-1968, I bought a Robot (35mm camera) from a work colleague and switched from b&w to using reversal colour slide film. At that time I used mostly Kodak colour slide film, but I also used Agfa film. My colour slides have lasted remarkably well. Nowadays, I use mostly Fujichome Provia 400F colour reversal film for colour slides.

Photo gallery

The photograph below, of some hippopotamuses at London Zoo, was actually taken using Boots colour slide film, probably sometime during the 1970s. It was taken with a Praktica LLC (35mm SLR) and Tamron telephoto lens.

My first SLR was a used Zenit B (35mm) and later, I upgraded to a brand new Praktica LLC (35mm SLR). During the 1980s, I upgraded to a second-hand Canon EOS 630 (35mm SLR). I still use this classic EOS for colour slides. I enjoy taking photos of flora and fauna. The photograph below is of poppies which can sometimes be seen growing in fields amongst the crops or by the roadside. They flourish in disturbed soil, hence their prevalence on battlefields in spring during WW1. This photograph was taken with my Canon EOS 630 (35mm SLR) and a Sigma EX HSM 17-35mm zoom lens.

I caught this frog was peeking out from beneath a lily leaf, amongst the duckweed in our garden pond. This photograph was taken with my Canon EOS 630 (35mm SLR) and Sigma APO Macro 70-300mm zoom lens.

I photographed this deer after watching it swim across a lake in Norfolk with my Canon EOS 630 (35mm SLR) and Sigma APO Macro 70-300mm zoom lens.

For a few years, I belonged to a photography club called Findon Colour Circle. Other examples of my colour photography can be found scattered about this Web site.

During the period 1997-1999, I also used a Canon Ixus Z90 (APS format) to take colour prints. It was ideal for 'point & shoot' situations, when I didn't want to lug a heavy bag full of camera equipment around.

During the 1990s, I paid to have some of my colour slides transferred to Kodak Photo CD, so that I could use them on this Web site. That worked quite well, but it was rather expensive.

I bought a Fujifilm MX-170 Zoom (digital camera) in the January 2000 sales, which I used for digital photography up until December 2004. It produces excellent results and is now used by our son. It was ideal for taking pictures for this Web site, as the resolution was more than adequate for most computer displays at that time. The photograph below of Cissbury Ring was taken using the Fujifilm MX-170 Zoom.

Nowadays, I use a Nikon Coolpix 8800 VR for digital photography. I also use a Nikon COOLSCAN IV ED to scan 35mm slides and an Epson Perfection 1640SU flatbed scanner with a film adapter, to scan larger format film and negatives. The film adapater uses an overhead light source, so that film is scanned using light transmission rather than reflection.

The ease with which digital photographs can be manipulated and transmitted electronically has clearly revolutionised modern-day photography. The photograph below of a Goldfinch was produced by scanning just the cropped area that is outlined in white. This photograph was taken with my Canon EOS 630 (35mm SLR) and Sigma APO Macro 70-300mm zoom lens.

Note that the area scanned is approximately ¹/₉th of the 35mm slide (ie approximately ¹/₉th of 24x36mm, or 8x12mm).

The photograph below was taken with my Nikon COOLPIX 8800, while handheld with the zoom lens at full stretch and vibration reduction switched on. I didn't have time to set up a tripod.