Greeting from the Pennines - UK

Hi All
As can be seen by my membership date I have been mostly lurking, with the occasional post, for a while now.
When I was younger (about 10 or 11) I used to check out photography books from the local library but was never in a position to get a camera. I finally got my first SLR at the age of 40, an old Pentax ME with a couple of iffy lenses. Within a year I had changed to a Nikon system, then a TLR and then traded my 35mm gear in for a Hasselblad. I lived in South Africa for 18 years and whilst a beautiful country it wasn't the safest place to wander around with a camera. Most of my photographs were taken in the rest of the world as being a professional musician I was fortunate enough to travel to most continents and get paid for it.

After being the victims of 5 armed robberies my partner and I along with our two children decided to relocate back to the UK. Great, or so I thought, the chance to wander around the countryside and get into some serious photography. However finding a job, somewhere to live and two young girls (6 & 4) seriously curtailed my endeavours. This year we bought our first house and it has enough space for a darkroom. I've just bought another 35mm outfit, still got the TLRs' and have set up the enlargers ready for action. The enthusiasm is back if not all of the time that I'd like.

I'm sure I'll be bugging you guys for darkroom and developing tips and look forward to meeting some of the UK members (probably at the Ilford visit). Hopefully I'll eventually be able (I mean confident enough) to post some images of the windswept pennines on which I now live.

from Tanya

Welcome, Lee, .... To be honest I feel a little strange doing the "greeting " as I have only been on APUG for afew weeks.
However, it seems like a pretty well rounded bunch, technically and compositionally, etc.. I am so happy that APUG is here. I hope you find it as much of a resource as I do.

Hi Lee. As you are hiding somewhere in the Pennines (must be chilly this time of year... ) you can easily pop along to: (there was a url link here which no longer exists) next year...

See you there!

Cheers, Bob.

A warm welcome for Middle England.

Bob F. said:

Hi Lee. As you are hiding somewhere in the Pennines (must be chilly this time of year... ) you can easily pop along to: (there was a url link here which no longer exists) next year...

See you there!

Cheers, Bob.

Click to expand...

Yep, I did see see that thread the other day. I'll see what I can do about getting there. And as for the pennines being chilly this time of the year, it's chilly all bloody year round! Where I live makes Wuthering Heights look like the Bahamas.

Hi Lee
I'm just guessing, but north of Skipton is the Dales, south of Glossop is the Peak district, Lancashire is the west Pennines, and (for me) east of Bradford is where the Pennines stop. Are you in the Halifax/ Hebden bridge area? If you are you are in a brilliant place for landscape pics. The high ground at this time of year is very dramatic and all the grasses are a startling orange colour (good with contrast filters).
I am a great fan of the proper Pennines - the boggy, dark, hard to walk over stuff, have a look at my site www.richard-littlewood.com for loads of Pennine pics!
All the best.

Yup, welcome to The North - wherever you are. Here in Saddleworth it is damp and gloomy - and seems that way particularly having just returned from Cuba!
anyway, looking forward to some pictures of the Pennines from you

richard littlewood said:

Hi Lee
I'm just guessing, but north of Skipton is the Dales, south of Glossop is the Peak district, Lancashire is the west Pennines, and (for me) east of Bradford is where the Pennines stop. Are you in the Halifax/ Hebden bridge area? If you are you are in a brilliant place for landscape pics. The high ground at this time of year is very dramatic and all the grasses are a startling orange colour (good with contrast filters).
I am a great fan of the proper Pennines - the boggy, dark, hard to walk over stuff, have a look at my site www.richard-littlewood.com for loads of Pennine pics!
All the best.

Click to expand...

I live near a little town called Bacup (nicknamed Beirut in the 80's but thankfully much better now) but drive through Hebden Bridge every day to my work in Sowerby Bridge. The scenery around here is very stark but can also be dramatic. There are also some great abandoned farms and quarries.

Welcome Lee. I worked in East Africa for many years and have visited South Africa several times where I still have a family relation living. All this took place before the most recent changes and I can appreciate all you say. I bet you will miss the Berg !

Welcome from the even colder Scottish Borders (English side of course). You've joined the friendliest bunch of snappers in the world here in APUG.
As a former pro musician I'm interested in you musical loves and instruments played.

Thanks to everyone for the welcome.
Yes, I travelled quite a lot throughout Southern Africa and miss most of all the people (and the sunshine!). In addition we worked a lot throughout the rest of Africa from Uganda to Tunisia and it is a fantastic continent.

Les, I play keyboards. Did the usual working mens clubs in the 70's and early 80's before moving to South Africa. In the late 90's I joined one of the most well known bands in South Africa and spent 4 years touring all over the place and was fortunate to achieve what I wanted before responsibility took over. I still have a DVD of when we were on stage with Mandela and for most of the song I was reaching over tripping the shutter of a tripod mounted 35mm! Who knows we might even be able to get an APUG jam session together. Any suggestions for the band name?

Welcome from Hawaii!! I'm glad to hear that you are getting back into doing your photography; it is a great way to remove yourself from the stress of everyday life.

A warm welcome. You've picked the right area for scenery. I was going to say that the real North of England begins just over the Tyne. However others say that Scotland should begin there courtesy of Hadrian and that people like Les should really be Scotsmen.

Pentaxuser - a Jock behind the lines.