Welcome

  • I began photography, or at least began to take it more seriously, in 1979 while at school. I was struggling to find an arts subject at which I wasn't terrible and had eliminated any form of drawing, painting or ceramics from the list. Photography combine a geekish interest in mechanical contraptions with an attempt at artistic expression, and then threw in a dose of chemistry and physics. I was hooked.

    I started collecting old cameras for several reasons:

    • Many of them were things I coveted as a youth but could never afford
    • Several of them I owned at one time or another, and had fond memories of them
    • Some were, to me, historically significant and lay on a path to where photography is today
    • They're relatively cheap as a way of admiring engineering triumphs

    My slowly growing collection isn't particularly methodical, nor is it especially thorough. There are several brands that are significantly underrepresented merely because they never interested me much. It's my collection, so I get to be as random as I choose :-)

Search the collection

Items Count: 25
  • The unbundling of air travel

    Photographer's Travels May 31, 2013 | 04:52 am

    My memories of air travel in the ’70s are of a special experience; we joked about meals but in fact they weren’t bad, kids got activity packs with airline badges, drinks were complimentary and there was a sense of occasion[…]

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  • Of emulsions and equipment – quality goes small

    Photographer's Travels Apr 27, 2013 | 16:50 pm

    The advent of 35mm and rangefinders Everything changed profoundly when Kodak introduced the 135 film canister in 1934 – we’d come to know it as 35mm film. This addressed ease of handling by holding the film stock in a light[…]

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  • When travel loses its glamour

    Photographer's Travels Apr 3, 2013 | 12:10 pm

    I’ve been traveling quite a bit this week, from Seattle to LA to Heathrow to Bradford, most recently flying from Bradford to Amsterdam. As a kid flying was always at least a bit glamorous, but that’s vanished in many places[…]

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  • Of emulsions and equipment – the early years

    Photographer's Travels Mar 10, 2013 | 16:50 pm

    The camera came before film The Camera Obscure (translated as “dark chamber”) dates to around 1021 when it first appears in print in a work by a Muslim scientist Ibn al-Haytham, and it was little more than a sealed room[…]

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  • Field of view and 35mm equivalency

    Photographer's Travels Jan 16, 2013 | 20:12 pm

    Another topic that frequently seems to confuse people, and for which they appear unable to engage in even a small amount of self education. The focal length of a lens is the distance between its optical center and the point[…]

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  • Pick a new camera for me

    Photographer's Travels Mar 31, 2012 | 06:24 am

    Read through the Beginners Questions forum on dpreview.com and you’ll probably see one question in 4 asks “what should I buy”, or a variation on the theme. This on a site that is filled with reviews and any number of[…]

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  • Airport lounged

    Photographer's Travels Aug 24, 2011 | 02:28 am

    Unsurprisingly, airport lounges are better than general seating at the gate. There’s complimentary drinks and snacks, and free wi-fi.Posted from Dyce, Scotland, United Kingdom.

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  • Traveling with gear

    Photographer's Travels Aug 23, 2011 | 08:35 am

    We travel internationally every year, and have done so for the last 15 years or more. I’ve always taken my photographic gear with me. Checking baggage I’ve checked video and film equipment into the hold as luggage with only minor[…]

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  • Filters, the great debate

    Photographer's Travels Aug 23, 2011 | 00:27 am

    Right up there in the list of most re-asked questions seems to be “what UV filter should I buy”. There are only really two camps to this debate: every lens needs a filter and no lens needs a filter. I’m[…]

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  • Search, where art thou?

    Photographer's Travels Aug 22, 2011 | 22:59 pm

    This blog started as a result of me encountering one of the most frequently asked questions on a photography forum, for what felt like the thousandth time. If you regularly visit some of the consumer oriented forums you’ll find certain[…]

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