A long time ago, I started creating photographs using my old trusty, dented, Zenit 11. The light meter was a selenium affair with a long narrow window above the 50mm lens and wasn’t part of the mechanical picture taking process. It powered a needle that moved along another narrow window on the top of the camera and you had to move a small circle on the end of another needle until it intersected the meter needle. You could then read off the various f-stop/shutter speed combinations. In a blizzard, on top of a mountain, in the freezing cold. However, as it had no batteries it was immune to the conditions. The perfect mountaineer’s companion. But eventually it started leaking light and the meter stopped working and I moved on to a Minolta XG-M. Which had batteries and a built-in light meter.

I used the Minolta for many a year, sending off my colour film for developing and printing and eventually moved into B&W photography, developing the film myself and using a darkroom at Jordanhill College to make prints. I liked constrasty prints and gritty grain from fast film. I liked ISO 1600!

Then digital came along and I went from a few pixels to lots of pixels. I wrote some magazine articles, illustrating them with my digital photographs and even wrote a book and had a successful exhibition where lots of digital prints ended up on people’s walls, which humbled me no end.

During this journey I began collecting vintage cameras. A few quid here, a few quid there, some parts ordered, some exotic film (127) obtained and suddenly I was developing my own B&W film again. ‘Scanning’ with the DSLR was convenient but I wanted the full monty. I wanted to print again. Luckily I’d come into posession of three enlargers(!) and I’ve just got hold of 10x8 paper and developer and scouting for developing trays. The darkroom is almost ready.

I’ve been experimenting with a Kodak Pocket Vest camera from around 1911, having obtained 127 film from Nik & Trick and am really enjoying my Bronica 645. Developing the films is great fun but I can’t wait until I complete the darkroom and get back to those wonderful days of film.