What photography means to me

[Eric Hardy]

My first camera was a box brownie, which I got in 1945. You could even make your own prints by putting the negative in a frame with the paper and leaving it in the sun!! This went everywhere with me and I used it a lot in Germany just after the war as a member of the BAOR. I was at HQ Rhine Army in Bad Oeynhausen. We had cigarette rations, which in those days, if they were not smoked, were used as currency. I used my cigarettes to get a German photographer to develop and enlarge my photos to full plate and half plate size.
I was amazed how much detail I could get, even with a box camera. I was hooked!

My first real camera was a Braun Paxette 35 mm which I got in the late 1950s



This was followed by about three different versions of the Pentax Spotmatic SLR

By the mid 1970s I was taking things really seriously, built my own dark room, developed my own films and prints and even tried my hand at developing coloured prints, which was VERY time consuming. I bought myself a Mamiya twin lens reflex which gave 2 ¼ inch square negatives.



In the late 1990s came the digital revolution and I went digital! I sold all my dark room equipment and Mamiya camera (getting exactly what I paid for them twenty five years later, much to my surprise). I progressed through a couple of Olympus cameras, a couple of Fuji cameras until now I use the Canon EOS 450D DSLR. My lenses are a 12mm – 24mm Tokina wide angle zoom for church interiors, an 18mm – 55mm Canon lens for general use, a 55mm – 250mm Canon lens for telephotos and a 50mm Canon prime lens. (You have to multiply by 1.6 to get their 35 mm equivalents).



I am keen on photographing churches and a little group of us get together to visit and record them. In fact we are getting together tomorrow to visit three churches in Oxfordshire.

Here is a picture of me in action taken by a fellow enthusiast!



I have had no formal training whatsoever but I have learned a lot from experience and reading round the subject.

In the end, it just boils down to getting a lot of enjoyment from an interesting hobby.

Eric H

[Kathy & Laurie]

A very fascinating and detailed piece of your photographic history there Eric - thank you for sharing it with us.

Our older cameras certainly bring back some memories don't they. 

.......... I used it a lot in Germany just after the war as a member of the BAOR. I was at HQ Rhine Army in Bad Oeynhausen.

Small world Eric.  Kathy used to live in Bad Oeynhausen around 1967.  Her dad was in the Army (Royal Signals), stationed at BFPO Herford.

Have a great time in Oxfordshire. 

Laurie.

I've moved the thread from this point onwards to http://www.flowergenie.co.uk/ideas/forum/index.php/topic,986.0.html as it has moved off topic slightly and doesn't detract from this current thread.

Laurie.

[greenfinger]

I am a church afficionado too, Eric. Especially the oldest Roman churches in Burgundy. I understand what you mean by learning by experiment: a lot of trial and sometimes (often? ) error. My camera is a very compact Panasonic DMC-TZ2: it's rather basic, but all I need at the moment.

[Eric Hardy]

I have just been overcome by lens lust !!!

I read a review of the Tokina 100 mm macro lens and this sold it for me "Regardless of the great optical performance of this macro lens, technical proficiency is a prerequisite for sharp images at high magnification. I made over 250 images with the Tokina AT-X 100mm f/2.8 PRO D and feel it is suitable for both serious nature photography and as a conventional short telephoto. This multi-platform lens is a very fine performer. Quite affordable for a 100mm macro with the latest multilayered coating technology, it offers exceptional value."

I have ordered one from Amazon and just can't wait for it to arrive 

I have the Tokina 12 mm - 24 mm lens and I know what that can do. Here is one of Fingest Church, near us, taken with it two days ago



I will be shooting bugs and flowers like mad.

Eric H

[Kathy & Laurie]

Nice one Eric - "boys and their toys"   

It's great to hear you still get a buzz of excitement for new equipment.

Waiting expectantly for it to arrive for you, and then seeing your 'super close-up' shots.

Laurie.

[Eric Hardy]

Boys have toys but men use tools 

Even at my age Anthea puts up with me and my toys with mild amusement.

Eric H

[Eric Hardy]

I am a church afficionado too, Eric. Especially the oldest Roman churches in Burgundy.

I am sorry Andre, I have just noticed your post that I never replied to. There are some magnificent Romanesque churches in Burgundy which I would love to photograph. I am afraid that these days I have to content myself with churches a bit nearer to home.

Eric H

[ideasguy]

RE:

I will be shooting bugs and flowers like mad

You have my attention 

[Eric Hardy]

My new lens arrived yesterday. I feel like a boy with a new toy 
I have been shooting off a few experimental shots. I think I will need practice, it isn't always easy to get perfect focus when handheld but a few give an idea of what should be possible. I will have to try it with a tripod sometime.


Blackthorn


Viburnum Burkwoodii


Magnolia x soulangiana


Hellbore


Bee on Grape Hyacinth


Magnolia Stellata

Eric H

[Lyn and Malcolm]

Excellent images Eric.
I particularly like the first one, the anthers show well.

Malcolm

[ideasguy]

Absolutely stunning quality.
Nice to see names to the plants, Eric. I'm looking forward to more and more 
I love all those plants.
Did you have a sniff at the M. stellata? Some have a very faint but very beautiful scent.

[Eric Hardy]

Thank you Malcolm, I had as many misses as hits so I will have to keep practising.
Eric H

[Eric Hardy]

Absolutely stunning quality.
Nice to see names to the plants, Eric. I'm looking forward to more and more 
I love all those plants.

Thank you George, I am beginning to like this lens. Here are a few more from today: -


Our black cherry is in bloom


and so is our Victoria Plum.


This Japonica Chaenomeles(?) has been in bloom for ages


The snakes head fritillaries are going over but one or two are still in flower


Someone please remind me of the name of this one.


Scilla siberica


Finally a little bit larger so that you can see the little fly 
The daffs are still going strong.

Did you have a sniff at the M. stellata? Some have a very faint but very beautiful scent.

Our M.stellata has a lovely but delicate scent. At the moment there is a heavy scent pervading the garden so you have to put your nose very close to appreciate its subtlety.

Eric H







 

[ideasguy]

Sheer quality
White flowers are one of the most difficult to capture. Youve excelled with those examples.
That Black Cherry is just tres beau!

The next difficult colour?
Well, I'd say purple and blue.
Youve done very well with Scilla siberica.
Comparing to the real thing, is the colour true?

RE:

Someone please remind me of the name of this one.

I'd say Dicentra spectabilis.
Could be a cultivar of course.
That was taken today? Mine is nowhere near flowering stage yet!

RE:

Our M.stellata has a lovely but delicate scent.

That describes that plant perfectly. Gorgeous. My best scented one died a few years ago. I now have 2 replacements but I dont think their scent is as good.

[Eric Hardy]

Thank you George.

Youve done very well with Scilla siberica.
Comparing to the real thing, is the colour true?

You have made me go out in the garden and look very closely at the colour. It was not quite true although the difference is quite subtle.
I have adjusted it in Adobe Elements 5 to as an exact a colour as I can manage. It looks much truer now: -

I'd say Dicentra spectabilis. Could be a cultivar of course. That was taken today? Mine is nowhere near flowering stage yet!

Thank you for that name. I have looked it up in the RHS A-Z and it does not show an illustration of D. spectabilis. The leaves in D. Stuart Boothman, which is illustrated, look very similar. The one in my picture of is in the herbaceous border and in full sunlight. It just about clings on. We have another large clump on the north side of a holly hedge and under an apple tree. This is thriving and, along with some ferns, really seems to like the damp and the shade.

Eric H