53 Photos
My life as a keen photographer started some 53 years ago - in 1970. And so it seems apposite to feature 53 of the favourite photographs I have taken over this more than half a century.
I have picked out pictures I like for their composition or feel, taking into account various considerations and where possible giving details of when and where they were taken, and, for photography buffs, any information I have about camera, film, aperture, shutter speed and so on. (All images are my copyright.)
1. 1970. Little Brother. This picture is from the very first film I ever took. I persuaded my mum to help me get a Kodak Instamatic 25 camera through an offer on the back of a cereal packet. I recall excitedly collecting the tokens and the delight I felt when this very simple camera arrived. The Instamatic 25 had two settings, sunny or cloudy, which presumably changed the shutter speed from slow to even slower. It had a small, wide-angle lens and was clunky to use. I was upset that quite a few of this debut film came out blurred. I really had no idea what I was doing and my dear parents, who did not themselves own a camera, had no tips to give me. My first film was a 20-exposure Kodak 126 cartridge black and white negative film. This picture, of my younger brother Nic in a woolly hat with a football, was the seventh picture I took. It is the back garden of our home in Hurst Lane, Cumnor, Oxfordshire.2. 1971. First Bike. Nic on his first bicycle, doing an hand signal to turn right. I assume he was preparing for a cycling proficiency test of some sort. I think I took it in the front garden of our house in Hurst Lane, Cumnor, Oxfordshire. The focus is not very sharp. Kodak Instamatic 25, probably sunny setting. The film was a 20-exposure Kodak 126 black and white cartridge. This picture was the third image on the film. In 1971, I also completed a school project entitled Photography My Hobby. It contained photographs, drawings of cameras and sections on cameras, how they work and what to watch out for when you take a photograph. In Diagram B, I drew and wrote about my Kodak Instamatic 25 camera: "It has 6 instruments : the film wind is to turn on to the next photograph, the accessory shoe is to put a FLASH CUBE on for indoor pictures, the viewfinder is look at the thing you are photographing, the lens to let in light when necessary and of course the shutter release. When you are ready, click, you have taken one of your photographs."
3. 1972. The Heath. Even in the early days I wanted to capture what I perceived as beautiful - such as the heathland beside the recreation ground at the end of our road in Broadstone. This is not a great shot but I still recall wanting to photograph the pine tree, the solo house in the distance and the lovely terrain in the sunshine that day. The picture is a bit blurry and was taken with my Kodak Instamatic 25, presumably on sunny setting, on black and white Kodak 126 cartridge negative film. It was the first photograph on the film.
4. 1973. Good Catch. My dad, the late Robin Wilson, catching a ball in the back garden of our house in Charborough Road, Broadstone, Poole, Dorset. I recall being pleased the picture was not more blurred because it was taken with my basic Kodak Instamatic 25, which must have had slow shutter speeds. I used a 12-exposure Kodak 126 cartridge colour negative film. I believe I took it in September 1973.
10. 1979. Bremen Osterwieser. Visiting the Osterwieser (the Easter Fair) in Bremen, West Germany, was a highlight of our annual holidays. Although we were not allowed by our parents to go on many of the rides, we enjoyed the excitement and atmosphere of the massive fairground, built in the car park of the city's sports stadium, the Stadthalle. I have chosen this picture - taken on Fuji slide film - because it captures the spirit of the Osterweise: the bustling stalls, a thrilling ride, the throng of people in the shadow of the iconic Stadthalle. I also like the way one man is walking towards the cameras while almost everyone else is walking away from it. It was taken with my Halina 3000, probably at 1/250 second, and was the 11th picture on a 36-exposure slide film out of which I squeezed 37 photos. That concludes the 1970s - a decade in which I took 33 films - 12 of them black and white. Colour transparency was my preferred medium.
11. 1980. Student Climber. At the Freshers' Fair at Hull University, I had joined the Mountaineering Society and embarked on the first trip of the academic year, to the Lake District. I don't recall taking this picture or the boy in it but I do find it slightly disturbing. He seems boggle-eyed and blurriness contributes to its weird nature. Unusually, I took this picture on black and white transparency film, made by Agfa-Gevaert, probably 200ASA Agfa Scala 200x. This was the fourth slide from the film of the 30 that have survived. Looking at other pictures, I can see we were a long way up at the time, and it strikes me I must also have been climbing to have taken the picture - which probably means I took one-handed! The camera was my new Nikon EM, a Single Lens Reflex camera with a standard Series E 35mm 1:2.5 lens. It was my first acquisition when I received my student grant and a big step up from the Halina 3000. It is an automatic with shutter speeds up to 1/1000th of a second and boasted an aperture range from f/2.5 to f/22. I loved it and still use it to this day. I wonder what happened to the boy in the photograph. Was he scared at the time or just pulling a face at the camera?