DaveTheWalker
22-Jul-2010, 04:57
Hello everyone,
I'm Dave, I'm 30 yrs old and I live in the South-East of the UK. I've been into photography since I was about 16 when I bought myself a Canon A-1 with some money I earnt working over the Summer holidays. I spent a long time with it in "P" mode before getting a bit more serious back in about 2005 (I think!), when I decided to "upgrade" to a Canon 350D digital SLR.
I learnt a lot quite quickly, but my technique soon started lagging behind my vision so I took the advice of a professional photographer and enrolled myself on a City & Guilds course. I passed it with triple distinctions and learnt something in the process... that film isn't difficult or scary, that it can produce fantastic results, that it's cheap and that darkrooms are fun places to be! (I built my own under the stairs at home shortly after the course ended, made some nice prints and held an exhibition at the local library last year).
I also managed to break the A-1 during the course (C&G was 100% film-based at the time) so I replaced it with a Canon F-1N from a friend at work. I love that camera, and it's helped me produce some of my very favourite photos...
OK, so I caught the film bug and wanted to experiment a bit more. I picked up a Mamiya RB67 at a very good price, and it's fantastic, if a little heavy. To act as an antidote to big & bulky, I found a Zeiss Ikonta 524/16 folding 6x6 at a camera fair for a bargain price, and that gets a lot of use. However, I couldn't shake the feeling that I still hadn't touched a "real" camera...with movements.
Finally, this month, I came into a little bit of money for my birthday and I bought a Bulldog 5x4 view camera kit. Construction's well under way and I hope to have it finished in the next few weeks (free-time permitting). It came with a pinhole, but I've got a lens for it as well and I hope to be running some test shots through it very soon. I'm really excited to be joining the large-format gang, and I hope I can learn a lot from this community in terms of technique.
Sorry for rambling! I hope to get to know you all over the next few years.
Thanks for reading ;o)
Dave
I'm Dave, I'm 30 yrs old and I live in the South-East of the UK. I've been into photography since I was about 16 when I bought myself a Canon A-1 with some money I earnt working over the Summer holidays. I spent a long time with it in "P" mode before getting a bit more serious back in about 2005 (I think!), when I decided to "upgrade" to a Canon 350D digital SLR.
I learnt a lot quite quickly, but my technique soon started lagging behind my vision so I took the advice of a professional photographer and enrolled myself on a City & Guilds course. I passed it with triple distinctions and learnt something in the process... that film isn't difficult or scary, that it can produce fantastic results, that it's cheap and that darkrooms are fun places to be! (I built my own under the stairs at home shortly after the course ended, made some nice prints and held an exhibition at the local library last year).
I also managed to break the A-1 during the course (C&G was 100% film-based at the time) so I replaced it with a Canon F-1N from a friend at work. I love that camera, and it's helped me produce some of my very favourite photos...
OK, so I caught the film bug and wanted to experiment a bit more. I picked up a Mamiya RB67 at a very good price, and it's fantastic, if a little heavy. To act as an antidote to big & bulky, I found a Zeiss Ikonta 524/16 folding 6x6 at a camera fair for a bargain price, and that gets a lot of use. However, I couldn't shake the feeling that I still hadn't touched a "real" camera...with movements.
Finally, this month, I came into a little bit of money for my birthday and I bought a Bulldog 5x4 view camera kit. Construction's well under way and I hope to have it finished in the next few weeks (free-time permitting). It came with a pinhole, but I've got a lens for it as well and I hope to be running some test shots through it very soon. I'm really excited to be joining the large-format gang, and I hope I can learn a lot from this community in terms of technique.
Sorry for rambling! I hope to get to know you all over the next few years.
Thanks for reading ;o)
Dave