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 period of 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 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 a 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. I used my Kodak Instamatic 25, probably on 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 of the project, 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 to 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 being 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 then 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. 

5. 1974. Three Wheeler. A rather strange image from a year in which I only took 12 photographs, on a 12-exposure Kodak 126 cartridge using my Kodak Instamatic 25 camera. I noted at the time that I took this picture of a three-wheeled car, at Sandbanks, Poole, although I cannot remember the exact location. It is beside a cafe. The car is an odd little vehicle, possibly Eastern European. It would have been a rare sight. Sadly, the print has not survived so I have taken this image, the last one I took in 1974, from the colour negative, partly explaining its poor quality. It's not great but I find it interesting - like a fuzzy peek into a forgotten, bygone era. 

6. 1975. Beating The Bounds. My photography took a massive step forward in 1975 when I saved enough Green Shield Stamps to buy a Halina 3000 camera from the Green Shield Stamp shop in Christchurch, Bournemouth. Although it would be considered basic now, I could not believe my good fortune in taking possession of what I considered to be "a proper camera". The Halina 3000 featured shutter speeds from 1/30 to 1/250 of a second plus B (for long exposures, which I never used), apertures from f/2.8 to f/16 and a 45mm, 1:2.8 lens. This picture was on the first film that I took with my new camera and also the first on 35mm film. I used Orwo colour transparency film (speed unknown), which I am sure I bought for its cheapness and the fact the processing was included in the purchase price. Incidentally, it wasn't my first foray into slides - my previous film had been a 126 cartridge Kodachrome colour transparency one on which I had recorded a school trip in 1975 to Stonehenge, using my faithful Kodak Instamatic 25. This picture, however, is of the Beating of the Bounds - an old tradition of the town's folk and fishermen sailing round the harbour boundary in Poole in Dorset before returning to Poole Quay for some additional alcoholic drinks. I remember being in the crush of the crowd, feeling and loving the excitement and sheer joy of the event. I believe that comes across in this photograph. That day I felt like a real photographer!

7. 1976. Rembrandt Strasse. This was taken at Easter 1976 in Bremen, West Germany, on the balcony of 11a Rembrandt Strasse, the home of our German grandmother. It is of my brothers Edgar and Nic, looking very happy. I was always trying to capture more than one thing in a photograph. I wanted a picture of my older brother and younger brother but also one of the houses and foliage behind which I found appealing. It was taken on my Halina 3000 camera on 35mm colour transparency Kodachrome film, probably 25ASA (otherwise, 64ASA) - slow film. It is slightly blurry but doesn't suffer for that, in my view. It was the 15th picure on a 20-exposure film, although I squeezed 21 pictures out of it.    

8. 1977. The Bench. It was in this year that I started processing my own films and printing, developing and fixing my own prints, in the school darkroom at Poole Grammar School. As a member of the Photographic Society I was allowed to book the surprisingly well-equipped darkroom. I jumped at the chance. I felt a calling to darkroom work - and also wanted to avoid the bullies at lunchtimes! In truth, I was pretty terrible at developing and processing. Trying to develop a film, I would end up double-loading the film on the spool, destroying most of the negatives. For instance on this film, which was 125ASA 35mm black and white Ilford FP4, I ruined 24 out of the 36 pictures on the negatives during developing. Even some of the survivors were badly blemished. Nevertheless, I love this picture of an empty bench at Evening Hill, Poole,  Dorset, which was one of my first prints (my dad had not been pleased when I took a bus to Westbourne to buy the photographic paper that I used). It was taken with my Halina 3000 camera. I don't know why I like this picture so much. I suppose it speaks to me of an almost lost time when standing on a hill and enjoying a sunset was magical to me. 

9.  1978. Sandbanks Windbreak. I took only two films in 1978 - both sets of transparencies. There is an interesting picture of a sailing boat in collision with the Sandbanks chain ferry, with a motor launch struggling to rescue it, but I have chosen this one of my parents behind our windbreak. One doesn't see windbreaks a great deal on beaches these days but in the 1970s your windbreak was essential piece of beach equipment, not only for protecting you from the wind but also for changing in privacy. It was taken with my Halina 3000 camera on 35mm colour slide film of unknown make. I think I must have bought the film cheaply from an Amateur Photographer advertisement and processed it myself with the help of a friend of my older brother. I certainly put it into the mounting myself (not very well!) It was taken at Sandbanks beach, Poole, a favourite spot of the Wilson family in the late afternoons and early evenings during the glorious summer months. I have cropped the picture a bit. 

10. 1979. Bremen Osterwiese. Visiting the Osterwiese (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 Osterwiese: the bustling stalls, a thrilling ride, the throng of people in the shadow of the iconic Stadthalle. I also like the way that one man is walking towards the cameras while almost everyone else is walking away from it. It was taken with my Halina 3000 camera, 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 it 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?

12. 1981. Humber Ferry. This photograph is special to me for various reasons. I was born in Scunthorpe and my parents told me they had taken me to Hull on the Barton-on-Humber Ferry when I was a baby. So,  when I was in my first year at the University of Hull, one winter's afternoon I cycled from my hall of residence in Cottingham to Hull Pierhead to take the Humber Ferry to Barton. It was still running because the Humber Bridge was not quite complete (it opened a few months later in June 1981, at which juncture the Fferry retired). I recall the day I sailed on her was bitterly cold, light and dark. At Barton, I took some photographs of a chapel and returned to Hull. It was getting late. I love this picture of the ferry arriving at Hull Pierhead. I used inexpensive transparency film which I processed and mounted myself. I like it because the clouds are very vivid and the sea and darkened ferry are just as I remember them. I used my Nikon EM with its 35mm f/2.5 lens. Looking through my 1981 pictures, they were mainly slides and I took quite a lot of good, interesting photographs of life as a student at Hull University. An exciting time for me! 

13. 1982. Punch 'n' Judy Man. Visiting London with a friend, I captured this delightful sight at the Piazza, Covent Garden. I love the fascination the children had for the Punch 'n' Judy Man's show and the way he had moved it outside of the traditional stripy tent. I took the picture on Kodak colour negative film (probably 200ASA) with my Nikon EM with its 35mm standard lens.

14. 1983. Berlin Squat. In the summer of 1983, I went hitch-hiking in Holland and Germany, taking in West Berlin. This picture is of a squat in Kreuzberg, very near to the Berlin Wall. I recall it was quite scary hitching through communist East Germany, particularly with a passport that showed me as a 10-year-old boy! In West Berlin, I slept rough in a playground and hurt my arm. Still, I found it exhilarating and I particularly liked Kreuzberg squats like this one which overlooked the Berlin Wall. The spirited graffiti and old, battered cars add so much to the shot. I used colour negative "Kodak Safety Film 5075" and my Nikon EM with its 35mm standard lens.

15. 1984. Party Sleeper. The young reporters of the Hull Daily Mail threw some pretty wild and drunken house parties. This picture is of a reveller mate who crashed out after one party and probably awoke with the mother of all hangovers. This was my first foray into using high-speed film. I splashed out on a roll of Fuji colour negative 1,600ASA stock, and used my usual Nikon EM and standard 35mm f/2.5 lens.

16. 1985. Last Night at the Hull Zoological. The famous Zoological pub, at the top of Beverley Road, was being demolished to make way for a new Hull Daily Mail building. I loved that pub, which had been there as the Zoological since the 1840s and as a public house under other names since at least 1815, and wanted to capture its sad demise. Unsurprisingly, the Zoological was packed on its last ever night (2 March 1985) and I took quite a few pictures of my friends from the newspaper and some pub regulars, but I particularly liked this photograph of the barmaids. They were rushed off their feet that night which, of course, ended with a lock-in. I used 1,600ASA Fuji film and my Nikon EM with its standard 35mm f/2.5 lens. I still hadn't found the money to buy any other lenses.

17. 1986. Young Love. As a reporter at the Hull Daily Mail I was asked to cover a week-long charity sailing trip, from Hull to Great Yarmouth, with a group of young people from Hull, on a 75 -foot-long yacht. I jumped at the chance. One young man on board stood out. He was charming and funny - and the girls loved him, as you can see from this portrait that he invited me to take. I have fond memories of that trip, although I was asked to be a crew member on account of a yachtsman not turning up. I recall having to get out of my berth at 4am to do a four-hour watch in freezing, foggy conditions in the North Sea. I enjoyed it though. For this picture, I used 400ASA Fuji colour negative film,  and my trusty Nikon EM with 35mm lens.

 

18. 1987. Sky Blue Heaven. When Coventry City Football Club won the FA Cup in May 1987, the whole city united in a spontaneous street party. I took quite a lot of pictures that day, but I particularly like this one because it reflects the multi-culturalism of Coventry and the mutual joy felt by all on that great occasion. I used Fuji colour negative 400ASA film and my Nikon EM with 35mm lens.

19. 1988. Two Pints of Guinness. Working for the Coventry Evening Telegraph in the late 1980s, I wrote the Street Talk pop column, and my dear friend Jason Tilley took the photographs for it. This is a picture I snatched of Jason emerging into the garden of a Coventry pub (I believe it is the Black Horse, Spon End - sadly later demolished) with two pints of Guinness for us. I used his camera, a Nikon FM which he had left with me, and whatever black and white negative film he had in it. Jason, a great photographer who went on to do brilliant work in India as well as amazing pop concert photography, processed and printed the picture. I like his impish smile when he realised I was about to snatch his picture, while he maintains his concentration on not spilling a drop of our Guinness. 

20. 1989. Doggy Island. On holiday on the idyllic island of Levanzo, Sicily, I came across this lovely dog. He would hang around on the harbour wall, glancing back at you as if to say: "Come on! Follow me! I want to show you something." He was brilliant at it - like an unpaid tourist guide. I took the picture with an Olympus AF-1 - a sureshot camera with an automatic film winder. I liked using this camera, although, with the benefit of hindsight, I can see that with many of the images I took with it, the automatic flash didn't help! No such problem with this picture, however, which was taken in bright sunlight, on colour negative film.

21. 1990. Sunlit Girl. This year is a bit lean for my pictures as many are lost or otherwise unavailable. However, I like this one of my university friend Belinda basking in strong sunlight from behind her, into which she seems to melt. She looks so joyful. I took it with my Olympus AF-1 camera using colour negative film but prefer it in black and white.

22. 1991. Budapest Decay. I visited Budapest, Hungary, to write a travel article and found much to like about it - friendly people, punk clubs and great bath houses. However, the air was hugely polluted and many of the buildings were falling apart after decades of neglect under communism. This was a typical scene, featuring a couple of super-polluting Trabants and a block of flats that has seen better days. I used my Olympus AF-1 camera and colour negative film, although I like it in this black and white version.

23. 1992. Red Snow. I love it when something goes wrong in photography and as a result you get an interesting effect. Getting more photos than you are supposed to out of a roll has always been an interest of mine. Sometimes it leads to a partially exposed first picture - as with this gloriously red, yellow and orange photograph of a snowy day on Clissold Crescent, London N16. I used colour negative film and my Nikon EM with 35mm standard lens.

 

24. 1993. Nellies. The White Horse Inn, in Beverley, East Yorkshire, is a gas-lit 16th Century public house known to all as Nellies. I always found it very atmospheric and great for low-light photography, in which I was developing a keen interest. This picture is of a university mate having a pint of ale, and was taken on black and white film with my Nikon EM with 35mm lens.

25. 1994. Stoke Newington Kurds. In this year I became more serious about photography, took a night-school photography course and started making my own prints again. Living in Foulden Road in Stoke Newington, London N16, I would wander around my patch in early mornings, evenings and at weekends, taking pictures of the diverse population. This one is of a demonstration by Kurdish people, with whom I had become friendly, near to my home. I liked the way the shop signage blended in with the placards and that just one guy is looking into the lens. I had finally bought some alternative lenses to my Nikon EM's 35mm standard lens, and started writing down technical details in a little blue book (although that habit did not last long!) This picture I took with my Nikon EM with a 135mm lens, 1/60 second and f/22, on black and white negative film. During the year I also took black and white sets in Florida, USA, and Montreux, Switzerland.

26. 1995. Quito. In early 1995 I visited Ecuador and absolutely loved it. Travelling by bus or hitchhiking, I went various areas of the country - so varied and beautiful. I often wonder why I have never gone back! This photograph was taken in the capital Quito and sums up for me the hustle and bustle, vibrancy and thrill of that great city. It was taken with my Nikon EM but I am not sure of the lens, possibly 135mm. I used colour negative film. In the same year I took sets of pictures in New York and Florida, USA, Cannes, France, and London squats.

27. 1996. Swing Time. I love it when you can catch a special moment - as in this picture of a dad and his son on the swing at a playground in Highgate, London. I had bought a Nikon FM body, from the London Camera Exchange shop in Bournemouth, and probably used a 135mm lens. I took it on colour transparency film. In the same year, I took pictures in the Black Forest, Germany, Florida, USA, and in Stratford-upon-Avon, Hackney and Brixton in London, and at the Green Gathering festival in Wiltshire.

28. 1997. The Pub Landlord. I took this picture of the great comedian Al Murray,  a.k.a. The Pub Landlord, at the legendary Comedy Cafe, Rivington Street, Shoreditch, London. It was before he was properly famous but was headlining on the club circuit. I recall Al telling me: "I'm making hay while the sun shines." I used my Nikon FM and, I think, my recently acquired 50mm, 1:1.2 lens - a fantastic fast lens that I still use. The film was 800ASA Fuji HP stock.

29. 1998. Victorious Gooners. Driving home through Islington in 1998, the path of my Fiat Uno was blocked by jubilant Arsenal FC fans - "Gooners" - who were celebrating winning the football league, after beating Everton 4-0 at their Highbury ground on the afternoon of 3 May. I wasn't in a rush and didn't mind that the celebrants had stopped the traffic. Indeed, I got out my camera and took some pictures. I used my Nikon FM, 50mm 1:1.2 lens, and Ilford HP5 Plus black and white negative film.

30. 1999. The Comedy Referee. I took this as part of a set of photographs of my comedian and window cleaner friend Ivan Steward, a.k.a. The Comedy Referee, to help him promote his comedy career. I loved his act and often put him on at my comedy club, Joe's Comedy Madhouse, in Stoke Newington, London N16. This picture was taken in East London with my Nikon FM, and, I think, 135mm lens, on colour negative film.

31. 2000. Log Fire. For a couple of years I lived in the countryside in south Leicestershire. Log fires were very important to us, but I have sometimes found it is hard to capture their significance and loveliness in a photograph. I like this picture because of the beauty of the fire and the interesting beam of light coming down the chimney. It was taken with my Nikon EM, probably using the 50mm 1:1.2 lens, on Agfachrome colour transparency film.

32. 2001. Henna Here! Morocco is a wonderful, exhilarating country - and great for photography. I took this photograph in the marketplace in Marrakesh, with my Nikon FM and, I think, a 35mm 1:1.2.8 lens, using 200ASA Kodak colour negative film. I recall that I was about to take another picture when she assertively thrust her wares, a henna tattoo kit, towards my face!

33. 2002. Dancing Nun. This picture was taken on a visit to a Catholic centre in Celje, Slovenia, and is of a nun dancing with a visitor in a cave bar. I like the way it captures a moment of her bashful enjoyment in this social activity. I took it with an Olympus Mju point and shoot 35mm film camera, using 400ASA Kodak colour negative film. I have turned it black and white because I prefer in that way. In this year, I also took some good pictures of country life in South Leicestershire, Bonfire celebrations in Lewes, East Sussex, and a friend's wedding in Wapping, East London. 

34. 2003. Yasser Arafat. I was fortunate to be able to accompany a group of Catholic bishops on a visit to the Holy Land. While there, we visited the Israeli President and also the President of the State of Palestine, Yasser Arafat. We had a long meeting with Yasser in his compound in Ramallah, central West Bank, and afterwards he walked outside with us to say goodbye, in the rain. I took this picture on 200ASA Kodak colour negative film with my Nikon FM, 50mm 1:1.2 lens, getting as close as I could to Arafat. I recall I moved a few inches nearer afterwards and immediately his security guards pushed me back! A memorable occasion - and Yasser Arafat was very hospitable. The following year, he died, aged 75.

35. 2004. Archbishop Peter Smith. The picture below I took of my one of favourite Catholic bishops, Peter Smith, who in 2004 was Archbishop of Cardiff. I took it on my little Olympus Mju point and shoot  camera, using 200ASA Kodak colour negative film. (I have turned into a black and white picture.) I had helped to organise a Catholic book launch inside Brixton Prison and Peter was one of the speakers. He was an enthusiastic smoker and, before, event I found him enjoying a quick fag on the iron stairs to the Prison Chapel. Peter was a great guy, a down-to-earth, no-nonsense Londoner. Sadly, he died in 2020, aged 76.

36. 2005. Phil Nichol. One of my favourite stand-up comedians, I booked Phil Nichol to headline at the last ever night of my comedy club, Joe's Comedy Madhouse, in London. He was brilliant, as always. What I love about this picture is that he seems to be spotlit not by a theatre lamp but by a beam of light streaming in through a small window. I used my Nikon EM with, I think, the 50mm, 1:1.2 lens, and 1,600ASA Fuji S colour negative film.

37. 2006. Seven Seven. This picture was taken on the first anniversary of the 7/7 terrorist attacks in London on 7 July 2005. I happened to be passing through London and stopped off at King's Cross to see what was happening. It's a digital image. I had started playing around with digital photography in 2003 but still preferred film cameras. For this photograph, I used a Nikon D50 digital SLR camera with an AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 55-200mm 1:4-1:5.6 lens. ASA (ISO) was 1,600, zoom was at 82mm, f/22, 1/30 second.

38. 2007. Hove Silhouette. For me living by the coast is all about relaxation. And this picture, which I took during a break while on jury service at Hove Crown Court, sums it up. Basking in the sunshine, staring out to sea, not a care in the world! I took it with my Nikon FM (not sure which lens) and on 200ASA Kodak colour negative film. It was almost monochrome and I have turned it fully black and white. 

39. 2008. Flower Men. I took this picture of market traders and their wares at East London's Columbia Road Flower Market, using my Nikon FM and either an 85mm or 135mm lens, on 400ASA colour negative film. Usually, the traders are putting on a show for the Sunday morning crowds but this picture shows them in repose, waiting for something to happen.

40. 2009. John Agard. A great poet and a good friend, John Agard played my poetry club, Lewes Poetry, in this year. The room had never been so packed, people were standing all the way down the corridor,  hoping to hear him, and some even stood outside the pub, beneath the open windows. I took this picture with a Panasonic DMC TZ4 digital camera, a little camera that I grew to love, 1,600ASA, 28mm, f/3.3,  1/30 second.

41. 2010. Lisa Stansfield. Back in the 1990s, I joined the infamous Colony Room Club, Soho, London. The singer Lisa Stansfield was also a member  and I found her a thoroughly good egg. By 2010, sadly, the Colony Room had closed and its final proprietor, Michael Wojas, had died. Hundreds of Colony Room folk came to his funeral and his wake, which was held in the adjacent Groucho Club, with a giant print of the Colony Room bar as a backdrop. Lisa Stansfield sang. I captured this picture of her at close range - about two feet away - with my Panasonic DMC TZ4 digital camera, set to sepia, 800ASA, 24mm, f/4.8, 1/5 second.

42. 2011. Sun Caburn. Boxing Day in the beautiful cold on Mount Caburn, near Lewes, East Sussex. I took this picture with the Panasonic DMC TZ4, 1,600ASA, 280mm, f/11, 1/1,600th second. It was 4.42pm.

43. 2012. Victory Parade. The London celebration for Britain's Olympic medallists was tremendous. I took a lot of pictures with a Lomography fisheye lens camera but the one I like was this grainy photo taken from a very packed crowd with my Nikon FM with a telephoto lens and Kodak colour negative film, on The Strand, London.

44. 2013. On The Brink. It was a heatwave and kids at Port Meadow, Oxford, were jumping from the bridge into the river. This girl was on the brink of jumping. The next shot I have of her is of her feet hitting the water, with her hands covering her eyes. I prefer this picture because you can see the determination and apprehension on her face. I took it with my Panasonic DMC  TZ4 digital camera, 100ASA, 96mm, f/4.7, 1/80 second. 

45. 2014. Bob Crow. I took this picture at what turned out to be trade union leader Bob Crow's final public appearance. He was invited to Brighton by the trades'  council, of which I was a member and part of the executive committee, to mark a significant anniversary of the great miners' strike. I recall chatting to him at the event and he asked about my NUM badge, which had been given to me in 1984 by  a kind miner because I'd helped out collecting money to pay for food parcels for miners'  families in west Yorkshire. RMT leader Bob Crow spoke passionately to a small audience at this meeting in one of our regular venues in central Brighton. With the benefit of hindsight, I can see he didn't look well. I believe he was taken ill later that day, 8 March, and he died on 11 March, aged just 52. (Technical details: Panasonic DMC TZ4, 400ASA,  28mm, f/3.3, 1/15 second.)

46. 2015. Feline Friends. Our cats Django and Mr Cheeky - the best of friends - outside the local pub they loved to visit together. I don't recall when they were staring at - possible Mighty Whitey, a bruiser of a tom cat who lived across the road. Mr Cheeky, sadly, died the following year and Django has never been quite the same since. I took this picture with my Panasonic DMC TZ4 digital, as I did with all the photographs of 2015. I believe the technical details were: 250ASA, 280mm, f/4.9, 1/125 second.

47. 2016. Pisa Party. A bachelor party playing around on Vespas beside the Leaning Tower of Pisa,  Italy, on the morning of the wedding. They were very friendly and amused and delighted when I told them I am a Mod and own a Vespa PX125. This year I had been experimenting with a Lomography Sardinia 35mm camera - ingeniously made out of a sardine tin - but I did not get on with it, so it was just as well I took this picture with my trusty Panasonic DMC TZ4 digital camera, 100ASA, 28mm, f/3.3, 1/1,000th second. It was taken in colour but I prefer it in black and white.

48. 2017. Peter Kyle. During the 2017 UK General Election, I was one of a small army of volunteers who walked around Hove and Portslade to canvass for our local MP Peter Kyle, a gentle, affable and genuine man. I took this picture on Election Night in Peter Kyle's office and campaign headquarters in Hove. He is with a supporter whose name I forget. I believe the clock behind them had been counting down to the Election for years! I used a newish camera, a compact Leica D-Lux 5, which eventually became my work-a-day camera when my Panasonic broke. The picture was taken at 400ASA, 35mm, f/2.3, 1/20 second. 

49. 2018. Murmuration. An occasional and exhilarating sight in winter on Brighton and Hove seafront is a flock of starlings returning to their winter roost in a swirl after feeding, a murmuration. I was pleased to capture this murmuration from above while standing on Brighton's Palace Pier, in February 2018. I used my Leica D-Lux 5 digital camera, 1,600ASA, 32mm, f/2.8, 1/160 second. 

50. 2019. Rag'n'Bone Man. Working at a charity event at London's Trafalgar Square, in the green room I introduced baritone-voiced pop star Rag'n'Bone Man to a talented aspiring singer who wanted to meet him. It was a good day. I found Rag'n'Bone Man (a.k.a. Rory Graham) good company and he treated everyone with great courtesy and respect - as well as singing beautifully to raise money for people experiencing homelessness. I took the picture with my Leica D-Lux 5, 1,000ASA, 32mm, f/2.2, 1/15 second.

51. 2020. Lockdown Beach. Of all the many lockdown pictures I could have chosen, I liked this one because it sums up why on a gorgeous day close to mid-Summer the beach at Bognor Regis was completely deserted. Not a soul in sight and nary a store open in the town. I took it with my Leica D-Lux 5, 80ASA,  24mm, 3/4, 1/800 second, and have turned it black and white. 

51. 2021. Remeece. Purely out of interest,  I decided to photograph a demonstration in Brighton and Hove. I was struck by the sheer magnetism of this young man, a rapper called Remeece with a catchy number entitled Dont Tek Di Vaccine. Whatever your views on this contentious topic, you could not help but be impressed by his talent and charisma. I took the picture with my second Panasonic DMC-TZ4 digital camera, which I bought for a few quid from a pawn shop, 100ASA, 32mm, f/3.5, 1/400th second. I turned it black and white. 

52. 2022. Her Majesty's Funeral. Naturally, I was very sad about HM Queen Elizabeth II's death. I travelled to London to watch the funeral and could just about glimpse the cortege going past. It was just great to be in the crowds on that historic day. Very moving! I took this picture with my Leica D-Lux 5, 1,600ASA, 90mm, f/7.1, 1/800th second. I turned it black and white.

 

53. 2023. Hove Skies. In early 2023  I found myself for quite a lot of time on my hands. I dusted down my old but largely unused tripod and spent the late afternoons and early evenings in freezing conditions on the seafront taking low-light photographs. I like this one, which I took with my Leica D-Lux 5 on a tripod, 80ASA, 26mm, f/8, 30 seconds. It was taken at 7.58pm on 1 March.

So, that's it! Fifty-three photographs, one for each of 53 years.

I have really enjoyed the evenings and weekends I have spent on the project. It has been like putting together an online exhibition of my work - my first.

A couple of things strike me: I didn't end up using many of the images I'd thought I would. The depth of my collection of photographs was deeply than I realised.

And although I have taken a lot of images on iPhone cameras in recent years, none of them made the final cut. Interesting!

What does the future hold for photography and me? Well, I will continue to read and learn photography and take pictures. As film photography has become prohibitively expensive of late, I may invest in a Nikon Digital SLR body, so I can use my lenses with a digital back. 

It strikes me that I have spent a lot of time taking pictures with compact cameras, which is fine, but you rarely get quite the same image quality as you would with a SLR format camera or a larger format one. 

But whatever hardware I am using, I will always focus on composition. 

Finally, if you have got this far, you've done well. 

I truly hope you've enjoyed my photographic journey, which I may update with a picture from each future year I am active as a photographer, and, of course, please remember that all these images are copyright of Ollie J C Wilson.

P.S. Here are images from subsequent years:

54. 2024. Hen Party Plus. This picture, not technically the best, I like because of how it came about. I was walking down the seafront near my home in Hove with my newly acquired Nikon D810 camera when two drunken stragglers from a hen party accosted me and demanded that I take their photograph. I agreed, but then, to my astonishment, they grabbed a passer-by, sober and dressed completely differently from them, and asked her to be in the photograph.  She stole the show!  (I think I was using an 85mm Nikkor  lens, but unfortunately no technical has been recorded, probably because it is an old manual lens.)