I've been taking photographs for over 50 years, which at least makes me persistent. Initially attracted by black and white and the magic of a print appearing in the developer tray I now use mainly digital. Photography gives me an artistic outlet (somehow the skills needed to paint and draw passed me by despite being prevalent in other family members), it creates family memories and a record of my exploits in the great outdoors.
The Film Era
I was given a Kodak Brownie 127 camera around 1962 - I remember shooting the first roll in an afternoon in my Nan's garden including one of her washing on the line - it didn't get much critical acclaim.
When I went to secondary school I joined the school photographic society and acquired my first 35mm camera, a fixed lens Halina Paulette electric. Although a basic camera this produced much better photos and I even managed to use it to shoot some vintage car racing. The school photographic society gave me my first experience of developing and printing made more exciting because we mixed our own chemicals from raw materials and stored them in large glass demijohns.
Having left school at 21 I purchased a Pentax Spotmatic 1000 (the screw thread forerunner of the more famous K1000) when this was stolen in a house burglary I replaced it with a second hand Pentax Spotmatic F. Initially these were just used with the 50mm standard lens but later I added a Vivitar 200m lens and then 3 Tamron Adaptall lenses: a 28mm, SP90mm macro and SP35-80 zoom. The SP90 macro lens was particularly good and I now use it with converter with my digital camera.
Being interested in walking and cycling and, looking for something lighter, I supplemented the Pentax with a Rollei 35TE. This remains my most loved camera and the one with which I shot the most rolls of B&W film easily recognisable because, as the film is loaded upside down, the frame numbers appear on opposite edge. When this developed mechanical issues I added a secondhand Olympus 35RC. Although this has rangefinder focusing, and now has something of a cult following, I have never loved it or the results it gives as much as the Rollei.
A desire to try medium format led to me spend £30 on a Balda Super Baldinax folding range finder camera but, although the negatives looked much more impressive, the lack of a 120 enlarger at the time and a sticky shutter meant I've didn't use it much.
Moving to Digital
After experimenting with a Minolta film scanner and battling with slow speeds and dust I moved bought a digital camera in 2002. Knowing that I would get more use out of a compact camera, I bought a Canon Powershot S50, described by one contributor on the luminous landscape website as being the digital equivalent of the Rollei 35. This is true from a size perspective but, with a zoom lens, exposure modes and autofocus, it was a much different user experience. For colour I immediately found it gave me superior results to 35mm where I'd always found slide film tricky to exposure correctly and prints often disappointing. The S50 succumbed to water damage in the bottom of a leaky dinghy and was replaced with a Canon S80 and, to prevent a reoccurrence. supplemented by a waterproof pentax compact camera.
As digital interchangeable lens cameras became more affordable I was attracted to the smaller size of the Micro Four Thirds system. I bought the original Olympus E-M5 a small and rugged camera which served me reliably for 9 years. Fitted with the Panasonic 20mm F1.7 it fits in a coat pocket whilst a full kit with 3 or 4 lenses ranging from 8mm to 300mm (35mm equivalent focal lengths: 16-600mm) is still easy to carry over the hills. After damaging my Olympus beyond repair in 2022 I now use a Nikon Z5.
For small part of my photography I have now gone back to film mainly using a Pentax MX or a homemade pinhole camera. I am also experiementing producing prints using anthotypes and cyanotypes.