Clive Piggott ( CP1 & IC2)
I took my first photograph some 55 years ago on my dad’s Box Brownie. The heads were cut off. I still remember the intense disappointment! At about ten years old I acquired a plastic camera that used 127 film. I still have one or two images from that. My first real camera was an East German 35mm model called a Boots Beirette, acquired when I was about thirteen with the proceeds of a paper round. I took mainly slides though I did eventually have an enlarger and make some monochrome prints. Then there was a gap until in my early twenties I did some colour printing using the Kodak Ektaflex process. I still have some prints from that time, about 30 years old and still in pretty good condition. After my daughter was born, photography was relegated to recording family holidays, birthdays etc.
It was digital photography that latterly revitalised my interest in amateur photography as a proper hobby. For me, the great advantage of digital colour photography is that you can work with it to the same extent (or more) as was possible with 'wet' black and white printing in the darkroom in the past. With colour negative or positive film there wasn't much you could do to 'improve' a print or slide for artistic effect. With digital post-processing a whole new bag of tricks is available e.g. cloning, levels, composites etc. I like having this extent of control and it adds to the interest and enjoyment of a challenging hobby. My first digital camera was a purchase around 2003, which had a resolution of 640 by 480 pixels. It proved to be so amazing to be able to fire away for nothing. So, just a week later I bought my first ‘proper’ digital compact: a Kodak which my brother used until very recently as his family camera. Over the next few years two more compacts followed until finally one year the digital SLR dropped into our price range. I eventually settled on the small and neat Nikon D60 and I was delighted with it. I used it happily for a couple of years before upgrading to a D7000. I live in Hertfordshire, 20 miles North of London, not a lot of beautiful scenery on my doorstep! I am a member of CP1 (postal colour prints) and IC2 (online images for screen) circles. I can’t imagine giving up printing completely in the foreseeable future. I would urge anyone who is interested in meeting like minded folks to join the PPC and add another ingredient to the joy of photography. |