Enjoy your hobby!

Sometimes it’s enough to just go out for a walk and enjoy using a camera. Not every image or roll of film has to be part of a project. Neither does it have to be a test or a trial. No need to take a whole load of gear.

I’m 57 in a few days time, and I’ve been shooting film since I was about 6 or 7. I can remember being shown how to load a film, but from then on I wanted to do it myself. I’ve had 50 years practice at this. Do I still learn – of course, do I still make mistakes, sure. Do I need to prove anything – nope.

For over 20 of those years I was an active film-maker. A fair bit of that was also on film. In fact I’d go so far as to say if I’d stayed making one 16mm film a year for me, I’d probably still be doing it. Looking back I think what killed it for me was going video/digital and progressing to earning part of my living from it. There is a different set of rules when making a film, one has to think in sequences, cut-a-ways to be able to edit, order, structure, story. On one hand none of that applies to a single photograph, and it’s taken me nearly another 20 years to un-learn that discipline. On the other hand to make a good photograph all of those things need to be included in one image!

Does every image need to be good? I don’t make photographs for any one else, I’m not paid for them, making pictures is my hobby – mine to enjoy how I please. I hope this summer you are enjoying your photography, however you wish!

All of these were made with my 6×6 Zeiss Folder, on a roll of Ilford Delta 100 and developed in FX21. I took nothing else with me. There were taken in Christchurch on a slow walk about the place ending in a coffee shop. I developed them the same afternoon. A nice relaxing day from work!