Greetings from Deepest Essex, England ! Yes, it's pentaxpete on here,joined a while ago but just found this 'intro' thread so here's about me -----
I started Photography in 1951 when I joined the School Photo-Soc and saw boys doing 'contact printing' of roll-film negatives after school in the darkened out Chemistry Lab -- the master 'Gabby' Heyes (named after one of Roy Rogers the cowboy's film friends)sold sheets of Kodak 'Velox' chloride paper at 1 penny a sheet and provided home-made developer and fixer - I thought it was wonderful to see the image appearing on a blank white piece of paper 6x9cms format !
I went home and mended my Mum's Kodak Brownie Hawkeye Box Camera with brown paper and pins ( I had taken it apart when I was about 4 years old !), then I cycled about 4 miles to a wonderful 'Emporium' called Marston & Heards in East London, where ex WWII chemicals, films and papers were sold and bought some ex-RAF 120 film at 6 pence a roll. Then I 'blacked out' the bathroom with an old ex-Army blanket, wrapped some Red paper around the bulb as a 'safelight' ( I had been told I could use a 'red Safelight', put some spoonfuls of home-made developer in a dish I used to hatch frog spawn out and my Mum used to make Tapioca Pudding ( luckily NOT at the same time !) and see-sawed the film through the solutions-- the resulting greyish images I thought were WONDERFUL !
I have been a 'Pro' since 1959, nearly fully retired as a local Freelancer, Past President of Barking and then Brentwood Photographic Club,have many cameras ( a lot given --pleases the wife!)three enlargers, a Nova 16x12" processor for RA4 colour prints, some studio flashes and a traditional darkroom -- I DO have 'dreaded DIGITAL', a Pentax K10D, used for local Press work but for REAL photos I like my film cameras !
I started Photography in 1951 when I joined the School Photo-Soc and saw boys doing 'contact printing' of roll-film negatives after school in the darkened out Chemistry Lab -- the master 'Gabby' Heyes (named after one of Roy Rogers the cowboy's film friends)sold sheets of Kodak 'Velox' chloride paper at 1 penny a sheet and provided home-made developer and fixer - I thought it was wonderful to see the image appearing on a blank white piece of paper 6x9cms format !
I went home and mended my Mum's Kodak Brownie Hawkeye Box Camera with brown paper and pins ( I had taken it apart when I was about 4 years old !), then I cycled about 4 miles to a wonderful 'Emporium' called Marston & Heards in East London, where ex WWII chemicals, films and papers were sold and bought some ex-RAF 120 film at 6 pence a roll. Then I 'blacked out' the bathroom with an old ex-Army blanket, wrapped some Red paper around the bulb as a 'safelight' ( I had been told I could use a 'red Safelight', put some spoonfuls of home-made developer in a dish I used to hatch frog spawn out and my Mum used to make Tapioca Pudding ( luckily NOT at the same time !) and see-sawed the film through the solutions-- the resulting greyish images I thought were WONDERFUL !
I have been a 'Pro' since 1959, nearly fully retired as a local Freelancer, Past President of Barking and then Brentwood Photographic Club,have many cameras ( a lot given --pleases the wife!)three enlargers, a Nova 16x12" processor for RA4 colour prints, some studio flashes and a traditional darkroom -- I DO have 'dreaded DIGITAL', a Pentax K10D, used for local Press work but for REAL photos I like my film cameras !
