The Nightmare Film.....

I began learning to develop black and white film at the start of 2020 and to be fair I have had a pretty good run so far, until this week that is. The nightmare film from hell hath bitten my arse big time and I'm rather disappointed in myself for letting it happen. Developing film is easy once you get the hang of it, but there is always that one film that will not play ball no matter how careful you are. For me this week that film was Rollei Retro 80S.

Learning a new skill always has it's moments and for me those moments have generally been god ones. The first film I developed was Kentmere 100, it was actually two films in a twin reel Paterson System 4 tank using an Ilford Simplicity Starter Kit. It really was simplicity too. I got the developing times from Ilfords own data sheets they supply with each of their films and, despite shitting a brick, the joy from seeing my first attempt as I hung the films to dry gave me the confidence to carry on.

I had been reluctant to give developing a try for around 30 years after a splash of developer gave me dermatitis in my teens. I didn't fancy that again and I left it in the past until I came back to film photography. The good folk at the Negative Positives Film Photography Podcast facebook group encouraged me to give it another whirl and up to now I haven't looked back.

I have spoken in a previous blog about my gift of some expired Ilford HP5 and FP4 from a dear friend and it definitely helped me out. I learned a lot of valuable lessons from that film and was beginning to move on and put myself through fresh film stocks to continue that education. I have shot a lot of Foma, the Czech film so beloved of photographers around the world for it's grain and consistency. I tried 100, 200 and 400 speed Foma and enjoyed the experience. It's price point was as much an attraction as seeing for myself what the fuss was about.

I have shot a couple of rolls of Bergger Pancro 400, a dual layer film that impressed me enough to try it again. The first rolls I shot I sent away for developing, but this time I'm going to develop it myself in HC-110 and I have two rolls to shoot this week. I have even shot a couple of rolls of Tri-X 400, the legendary film from Kodak that will definitely be making an appearance on my blog in the future. Then came Rollei Retro 80S.

I should have known it would be trouble when I loaded the first roll into my Nikon F801. It felt really thin and flimsy, a total opposite of the more robust films I have used in the past. Kentmere and Foma that cost less than Rollei Retro 80s were twice the thickness and so much easier to work with. After shooting the first roll of Rollei I went ahead and tried to load it onto a spiral to develop and that's where the trouble started, It point blank refused to load onto a Paterson spiral. After getting a tad flustered I wound the film back into the cassette and stepped away for a while to calm down.

I hate being beaten, as my dear wife will tell you. She has heard me shouting and swearing at my motorcycle over the years and bouncing spanners off my garage wall. That's her cue to come in with a brew which never fails to soothe my ire. Ye Gods I love that woman.
 
I gave myself an hour or two to calm my frustrations and think about what was going wrong. Given that we are in summertime here in the UK, I took note of the temperature in my kitchen and it was the same ambient temperature as outside, around 22 degrees celcius which is just nice for letting my chemicals warm up naturally, but not too great for trying to load film onto a spiral with increasingly sweaty hands. I waited until later in the evening to let everything cool down and tried again. I also thought about my spirals, was the humidity making them sticky? I rinsed them carefully under the cold water and dried them thoroughly. A small compressor in my garage has it uses, I blasted the standing water from the nooks and crannys and made sure the spirals were completely dry.

I tried again at around 10pm that evening, the temperature had cooled and the humidity decreased so I was quietly confident that I would be successful at the second time of asking. Wrong! It still wouldn't play ball and by this time I was more than a tad miffed. However, I had a third plan, a steel spiral and tank I had bought that I hadn't got around to using. I carefully wound my film back into the cassette and went to plan C.

The steel spiral was the trick I needed as I was able to load my flimsy Rollei Retro 80S onto it and finally start getting somewhere. However, by this time my brains had fried and whilst going through each part of the process in the correct order, I had forgotten to check my stop bath and fixer were fresh and ruined a roll of film with duff chemicals. I had mixed some Rodinal for the film and was expecting decent results, but due to my negligence I got badly developed and frankly utterly unuseable negs. I was gutted.

I put the experience to the back of my mind and a couple of days later shot the second roll of Rollei retro 80S in my OM-2. I had hoped the first nightmare was a blip, but no. Rollei Retro 80S has got it in for me. I remembered the bother of loading the film onto the Paterson spiral and went straight for the steel. I was loading it as I had practiced and was doing well until I got to the end of the spiral. I still had around a foot of film left. It was going to be one of those days.
 
After some swearing, mostly at myself, and some grim determination I eventually got the bugger loaded and got on with my developing. I also made fresh HC-110 dilution B, stop and fix so all was well as I went through the developing cycle. However... Stupid lad here forgot to use the stop bath and went from developer straight to fixer. Certain words phrases in Anglo Saxon that are not for delicate ears were used. Luckily I hadn't totally made a mess of it and actually got a couple of useable shots on the second roll.

I still have no idea why it was my Nightmare Film. I have been doing well with my developing up to this point and no matter how I look at it, I can only think it was a combination of thin film and humidity equalling a sticky, insubordinate, film. I was so looking forward to using this film, but I will have to think long and hard before developing Rollei Retro 80S again. It can go to a lab. It's a shame as I was looking forward to sharing my experience on a more positive note, but that's life I suppose. Totally my fault and I will learn valuable lessons from it.

Next week I hope to be talking about Bergger Pancro 400 and you can be sure i will be making sure my developing equipment is in tip top shape so I can share that with you. In the mean time, here's a couple of shots from the nightmare film and some digital shots I have been working on. I hope you like them.

If you would like to listen to the Negative Positives Film Photography Podcast you can find it at Negative Positives Podcast It's a great show full of interviews, gear reviews and fun film photography tips and tricks from Mike Gutterman, Andre Domingues and Roxanna Angles. As they say each week, stay positive and shoot some cool film photo's.  

This chap deserved better, this is from the roll I made a mess of.

I was so disappointed i couldn't even remove the barbed wire from the image in post

This is the best shot from Rollei Retro 80S

Perhaps not the best situation to use it

I was looking for contrast

I found contrast

It's actually not too bad

If I use Rollei again, I'm sending it to a lab for developing

I wil never tire of this view, it's my playground

It's great for practicing my growing skills

Lockdown Thoughts

The summer Solstice is upon us and I want to reflect on the first half of 2020 as it's been a crazy year for us all. The outbreak of Corona Virus has changed all our lives this year as we have been guinea pigs in a real time experiment on disease control. Many folks I have spoken to on my  weekly walk around the local nature trails had no idea this is not the first time Corona Virus has caused us problems. In Asia and the Middle East there have been at least 2 outbreaks of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS in the last 15 years. Both are related and they belong to the same family as Covid-19, the latest outbreak. Scientists around the world have been studying SARS for several years now, but as this year has shown us, a sudden outbreak can take everyone by surprise and the world was quite literally caught with it's trousers down.

Once governments got their acts together, to varying degrees, most of the world was asked to stay at home and all but essential services closed. This hit the multitude of photographers whom rely upon workshops and tours around the world to feed their families. No workshop = no income. Not a particularly nice position to suddenly find yourself in. However, the human spirit has seen folk adapt, improvise and overcome the challenge laid before them by this crisis. There are several photographers I follow on you tube whom lost out on income as worksops from Patagonia to Alaska and Madrid to the Mekong Delta were cancelled. That meant they had to put their creative talents to use elsewhere and thankfully for us mere mortals, they managed to keep creating content for us to enjoy and to learn from.

My photography teacher Mike Browne set up a facebook group called Photography Locked Down and has been setting weekly challenges for anyone wanting to improve their photography skills and maybe get the creative juices flowing. This has had its teething troubes as folk found out when judging either didn't go their way or they couldn't find the inspiration to make an effort. This is where the group found its voice and the support from strangers to help those having a struggle finding their mojo was very inspiring. In fact it has inspired Mike to look at how it can continue after we are all unleashed upon a brave new world.

Thomas Heaton, one of my favourite landscape photographers, has been conducting tutorials from his garden and re-visiting old content to see if the passage of time can lead to editing images a different way as his skills have grown. He also took a fresh look at the videos that form the basis of his content to this day, a look back at adventures past to bring them up to date and reminisce. He also finished a book that he has been working on for a couple of years and was sorting the first batch ready for posting as I wrote this blog. These are just two examples of how the world of photography has adapted to having it's heart put on the shelf. Mike and Thomas are not alone as there are countless tales of how folk have adapted to this unprecedented challnge, myself included.


Faced with the prospect of being stuck indoors for three months I had to check all the boxes courtesy of my own health issues. The prospect of being stuck indoors for three months was not one I was looking forward to but one bit of guidance stood out. We could enjoy one hour a day outside for exercise. I looked at it a little deeper and nothing said I couldn't save up that hour and use them all on one day. I found a loophole! Feeling rather pleased with myself it led to me having my weekly walk around the local nature trails and up to the local farm to say hello to the horses and take in my favourite vista. I have learned so much during lockdown that my brain has been hurting, but in a good way.

Having a stroke leaves lasting damage regardless of the severity. I know I was lucky that I only lost a bit of my old self, but others have been less fortunate and lost everything. The ability to communicate is something we all take for granted until we lose it. Losing my speech for a short time led me to find a way to express myself and, thanks to some very dear friends and family, I put aside my beloved motorcycle and found my photography and writing mojo.

Over the last 3 months I have learned a lot more about photography, I've taken a big step away from being a happy snapper and onwards to being a Photographer. I can develop B&W film and have more than one developer in my arsenal. I can read light more instinctively and be able to put some settings into my camera, before I lift it to my eye, that aren't too far off the mark. I can also find compositions more easily, this has led to my photography being more consistent rather than hit and miss. (I'm a 1/250th at f/11 kind of guy now). I have also been able to enjoy my photography and switch between systems easily rather than trying desperately to remember how to use my camera's before heading out.

One thing I do know, it is NOT just like riding a bike.Yes, once you learn to ride a bike you never forget how to do it, but riding a big bike as fast as your skills allow is in a league of it's own. There's no better rush of adrenline. Period. Photography will never match that intensity. The last three months has taught me to appreciate life more, to get out and enjoy that view and actually say hello to strangers as we give each other space on the trails. To slow down and enjoy seeing the results of my skills as a photographer. It has given me the confidence to go out and do it again. I know there is always something new to learn and I still have a long journey ahead of me. 

Lockdown has been  a worrying time for everyone, I think we all know someone whom has been affected by Covid-19 in some way. Friends of mine have had to spend time in hospital getting treatment they needed or having to isolate because their test came back positive and thankfully they are all OK now. I have missed a lot of things I once took for granted, but I have also enriched my life by committing this time to exercise my brain. By eck it needed it. I will leave you this week with a few more images of the beautiful countryside I am lucky to live near taken with my Nikon D700 and AF Nikkor 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6 D and hope you enjoy them. Be safe, be well, but above all be excellent to each other.

I called this a nettle flower on Instagram.
I am reliably informed it's a Blackberry flower.

Lots of texture on moss covered trees

Simple solution

The old gate post

The view towards the farm

Cloudscape

I have grown fond of this tree

Cloudscape

It's a hard life being a Pony.

Gordon Parkes - Documenting Life On Film

This blog has been a great way of sharing my journey as a Photographer. Through the early days as I went back to basics to where I am today, my images are a reflection of places I have been and vista's I have come to love. I have shared my thoughts and experiences with Film and Digital photography and thoroughly enjoyed getting out and about once a week to find compositions to share with you. I have also shared my feelings towards a couple of Photographers who have directly influenced my journey. This week I am not sharing any of my images, it's time to put my images to one side and share with you a photographer I admire for his work documenting life for black people in the USA and the Civil Rights movement. That photographer is Gordon Parks.

Gordon Parks was born in 1912, the youngest of fifteen children, and grew up in Fort Scott Kansas where he experienced first hand what segregation was like for the black community. He attended a segregated school and was told to forget about aspirations of a higher education. Life for Gordon would probably have been one of menial jobs making ends meet had he not had his life altering epiphany. It was upon seeing images of migrant workers in a magazine that he was drawn to photography and It was in his 20's that Gordon had his epiphany. I his own words Gordon said "I saw that the camera could be a weapon against poverty, against racism, against all sorts of social wrongs. I knew at that point I had to have a camera." At the age of 25 Gordon bought his first camera from a pawn shop and began his own journey as a Photographer.

In 1930's America the wall street crash and great depression that followed was tough for Gordon. He got work where he could, he was a waiter, a musician, a bartender and even played basketball at a semi professional level. He saved what money he could and  bought his first camera, a Voightlander Brilliant, from a pawn shop in Seattle when he was working on the railways. He began teaching himself how to use it with some photo's of Pugent Sound in Seattle. Little did he know where that first experience of photography would lead him. The shopkeeper at the Eastman Kodak shop in Minneapolis where he lived at the time was impressed with his images and allowed Gordon to exhibit some of his photo's in the shop. It's unknown when that first exhibition took place, but it set Gordon on his journey and he never looked back.

Gordon grew as a photographer over the next few years, finding work with various newspapers and other organisations and also earning some awards for his work. Life got interesting for Gordon when he applied for and won a coveted Rosenwald Fellowship in 1942. He served that fellowship with the Farm Security Administration, one of Roosevelts "New Deal" programs intended to show "The Face Of America", as a trainee under Roy Stryker, a noted American economist and government official during that time. His education went into overdrive and his already good reputation as a photographer took a significant step towards the level he wanted to achieve.

It was during this time that he took his acclaimed American Gothic ; Washington D.C. portrait of Ella Watson mimicking the famous Grant Wood painting, American Gothic. He pictured Ella holding the tools of her trade, a mop and broom, stood in front of an American Flag, hanging vertically in an office. Roy Stryker had seen his ealrier photo's of Ella and encouraged Gordon to study her until they got the shot. Gordon followed Ella in every aspect of her life, at work, at home and even her attendance at church as he further developed his style.

It was after WW2 that Gordon's work would really come to prominence with his photo essays for Life magazine that included one titled "The Restraints: Open and Hidden" depicting life for three black american families in and around Mobile Alabama. His work was fraught with danger, at one point Gordon and hs colleague Sam Yette had to leave town in a hurry when their handler, known as Freddie, sent them to a bodyguard who turned out to be the leader of the "White Citizen's Council", a group as notorious as the KKK for their hatred of black people. The essay was published in the September 1956 edition of Life magazine but had teriible unintended consequences for one of the black families whom were treated appallingly by the locals who stripped them of their possessions and ran them out of town. Parks ensured that Life Magazine provided the family with support to get a fresh start elsewhere until they once again became self sufficient.

Gordon Parks earned many awards in his career, from local awards for his newspaper work to the Rosenwald Fellowship that sent his career to a whole new level. In 1960 Gordon Parks was named Photographer Of The Year by the American Society Of Magazine Photographers. To be recognised by your peers is often called corporate back slapping, but for a Black Photographer at the height of segregation it was very high praise indeed.

Gordon parks was not just a photographer, he was a musician, a writer and a film maker. He directed the movie "Shaft", he wrote several books on photography both technical help and photo books and he even had one of his songs played on the radio. However, his talent at documenting life through photography led to him earning more awards and more fame in the 1960's for his work documenting the Civil Rights Movement and included a study of Muhammad Ali that is considered the definitive study of the greatest boxer ever.

Gordon would not have been in a position to do this had he not done the hard work, the countless little jobs that built a portfolio, be it for his local newspaper or his fellowship at the FSA. He was self taught and learned his craft the hard way. I have had the benefit of some tuition from some great people, but we must also learn from the masters, the people who captured life on film and told the stories that needed to be told. Gordon was as integral to the Civil Rights Movement as Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X, he took a photo of Malcolm X meeting Martin Luther King Jr that has become iconic in the Civil Rights Movement. His photographs of the marches, the demonstrations and brutality meted on the protesters by the powers that be show us the power of photography as a medium for change.

As I write this the world is still reeling from the death of George Floyd and the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement. Had Gordon Parks still been with us he would definitely have been in the thick of it, camera in hand capturing images that would hang on gallery walls for many decades to come. The Gordon Parks Foundation was founded in 2006 by George Parks and his long time friend and editor at Life magazine  Philip B. Kunhardt, Jr. It's mission is to further what Parks described as "the common search for a better life and a better world", conserving Gordons work and supporting new generations of artists advancing social justice. If that strikes a chord with you then please visit the Gordon Parks Foundation website at www.gordonparksfoundation.org/ 

Gordon Parks self portrait 1948

Moving To Full Frame On A Budget - Nikon D700

In 2018 I was really enjoying using my Nikon D90, it is a very capable crop sensor camera that has given me a lot of confidence to go out and take photo's. Also the photography lessons I spoke of last week certainly helped put me on the right path to being a photographer and not just some bloke with a camera. However, the more I progressed I soon began finding the limitations of my dear mid range Nikon D90.The question was, did I want those limitations to limit my photography? In 2018 I was enjoying attending events on the Biking calendar and taking photo's of the bikes, the folks and the bands. In daylight the Nikon D90 is as capable as any camera, but at night in a dark marquee or building, its low light capability shows why it is a camera aimed at the enthusiast when it was first unleashed upon the world in 2008. My mate Owen was my first stop on my quest to find something a little better.

Owen has been a massive help on my photography journey, he helped me get started, pointed me in the direction of Mike Browne for excellent lessons and he also helped me choose my D90. He also knows I'm not exactly brimming with cash and I hate buying stuff on credit. Now it was time for the next step of my journey he once again pointed me in the direction of the Nikon D700, a 12 megapixel full frame camera he said would be ideal and within reach of my limited budget. The hunt was on.

I began my research on the D700 with everyone's first stop, Wikipedia. It gets a lot of grief for inaccuracies and falling victim to smart alec's who enjoy altering pages, but for the most part it is a decent starting point for any research project. I soon learned the Nikon D700 was one of the camera's Nikon released for sale in 2008, indeed my D90 was also one of those camera's. My interest was piqued and I read on. 2007 was a big year for Nikon, it had been falling behind it's competition who had already made the move to full frame DSLR's and the Photography world was holding it's breath for the replacement for the pro grade Nikon crop sensor toting D2. Nikon did not disappoint with the reveal of the company's first full frame behemoth, the D3 in August 2007.

Nikon always releases pro grade camera's first. It has a commitment to it's line up of professional photographers, its Ambassadors who showcase the camera's to the world and lead in to the consumer grades a few months later. It is a marketing strategy that has served Nikon well since the company gave us the legendary Nikon F 35mm film camera in 1959. The full frame D3 and it's little brother the APS-C sensor wearing D300 led the way in 2007 as Nikon made a grab for the digital market that every camera company had gone all in with in the early part of the decade. The D3 and D300 were, and still are outstanding camera's that showcased the progression of DSLR technology of the day. in 2008 Nikon gave us mere mortals a slice of the pie with 2 affordable camera's aimed at the serious enthusiast. The D90, which I own, and the D700.

The more I read about the Nikon D700, the more I liked it. The reviews it garned when new still hold up today and there are more than a few professional photographers that still carry a D700 as their reliable back up. You tube video's about the camera show enough photographers like the D700 to make it a classic DSLR and well worth investing in. In 2008 it's low light capability was second only to the D3, it shared the same sensor, shutter and auto focus and plenty of other features too. It didn't take long for me to begin researching prices and availability.

The good thing about camera's that sold well when they first went on sale is that there are a good supply of them a decade later. They also tend to get looked after by folks like myself who want a decent camera and wont be giving them a hammering doing a multitude of weddings etc. Armed with the knowledge I had learned from my previous purchase, my D90, I went looking for a decent D700 with a low shutter count and my first port of call was the retailer I bought my D90 from, Wex Photo Video here in the UK.

I decided to buy from Wex as I bought my D90 from them in 2017 and rate their service highly. Their description of used camera's and lenses is quite thorough and leaves no mark unmentioned. There are other great retailers out there so find one you like and keep doing business with them. It also helps that Wex have a store I can visit if I ever need to try stuff before I buy. I soon learned they have a regular turn over of D700's and the prices were definitely within reach. I had some saving to do.

It took most of 2018 to save enough money for a D700, I was determined to own one and went without some creature comforts to help me achieve my goal. Shortly after christmas I was in a position to go for it. I always speak to my wife about big purchases and, after patiently listening to me waffle on, she told me to stop trying to talk myself out of it and hit the buy button on a D700 that was within my budget on the Wex Photo Video website. She didn't need to tell me twice.

A few days later my D700 arrived and, as I had discovered when I bought my D90 from Wex, they had mentioned stuff in the description that I needed a magnifier to see. I was once again the owner of a camera bought from Wex that looked better in the flesh than their description suggested. They had also approximated the shutter count so I had to find out for myself and visited a shutter count website that looks at the metadata on a jpeg and gives you the exact shutter count of the camera that the photo was taken with. Wex's approximation was on the high side of what it actually was and to my delight I realised I had a camera that had not seen any serious use in the 10 years since it hit the shelves. I was looking at a camera that was almost new thanks to whoever had it before me and looked after it.

The downside of buying a used camera is it didn't have the full set of accessories it originally came with, but did have the body cap, battery, charger, strap and manual. The software is freely available online from Nikon and I also downloaded the last firmware update the D700 received in 2013. I already had some Tamron Adaptall 2 full frame lenses that I had bought for my film camera's and a Nikon mount I bought for my D90. I also have a Nikon 50mm 1.8 D that despite being over 20 years old is still sold new by Nikon. Trust me on this, a Nikon D700 with a 50mm f1.8 D is all you will ever need if you just want to take photo's of your kids. I began getting to know my new camera and learning about it's capabilities. It was definitely going to make me improve my skills.

Over the course my photography journey I have bought more accessories and lenses for my Nikon DSLR's and I was also given a Nikon F801 I spoke of in a previous blog post that uses the same lenses. I acquired a Nikkor 24-120 f3.5-5.6 that lives on my D700 and gives me most of the range I need when I am out and about with my camera, but I could happily just use my D90 and 18-55mm or my D700 and 50mm and get photo's I would be happy to print and hang on my wall. The Nikon D700 may be 12 years old as I write this, but it still holds it's own against any camera you can buy new today. It has given me confidence to take Mike Browne's 7 Building Blocks Of Photography course and push on in my quest to be a photographer.

Nikon discontinued the D700 in 2012 as the digital revolution advanced to ever higher specifications and the addition of video capability. However, there is still a place for the D700 as a pure photographers camera and is well worth investing in if you just want to take great quality images that a pro would be proud of. I knew it would inspire me to up my game and my recent images taken with it show how far I have come on my journey. When on a budget and needing to buy the best you can afford, the Nikon D700 is a great choice. Mike Browne says "camera's don't take perfect pictures, you do!" And that is true, but having the right tool for the job makes all the difference and I found the right one for me. here are some early images as I began learning to use my D700, I hope you enjoy them.

The Face of Wigan

Marching off to War

The Beast! Nikon D700 with AF Nikkor 24-120mm f3.5-5.6 D

Low Light capability is outstanding

Vibrant Colours

Excellent sharpness and bokeh

Low light and vibrant colour

Excellent balance of light and colour

Telephoto nice and steady

My Olympi!

Cutting through bright light to capture detail in the shade

Snowdrops

 

Photography Lessons

At some point in our life as a photographer there comes a time when we wonder if it is worth having a couple of lessons to make sure we are doing things the right way. Often it comes after we gain some spectacularly bad habits, but for most of us it is because we want to advance and take our skills to the next level. In my case I found myself floundering just a tad. I had watched one too many videos on you tube and got so far ahead of myself that I had begun to go round in circles without understanding what I was doing or how to put it right. It was definitely time for some proper tuition.

I asked my friend Owen for some advice and he pointed me in the direction of a chap named Mike Browne who offered courses for all abilities from absolute beginners to more advanced photographers who wanted to polish their skills up a bit. I had a look at Mike's website www.photographycourses.biz where I found a wealth of knowledge that Mike had built over many years of being a photographer. I knew this was the man to put me back on the right path so I could finally make progress.

Mike Browne is a professional photographer, but in the beginning he was like you and me. He enjoyed photography as a hobby and earned a living doing other things. That changed when he returned from a trip to Africa and took the brave step of turning his hobby into his profession. Over the years Mike managed to earn a living doing what he enjoys and soon found himself wanting to give something back to the next generation of photographers. Mike decided to create a photography course aimed at the person who enjoys photography as a hobby and wants to progress.

Through his research he found that there was a market for tuition that you don't have to go to college for, you could learn in your own time and with whatever camera you own. It seems simple, but the process of breaking down each step and delivering a lesson is quite involved. Mike used the one thng he has in bucketloads, his enthusiasm. It shines through the many video's he has published on you tube and I took the plunge and bought The Ultimate Beginners Course.

The course is delivered via Mike's website and is split into several weekly lessons. I believe it is called "Remote Learning". Week by week Mike took me back to basics and got me doing things methodically. This was where I had got myself in a pickle as I knew what I was doing, but didn't understand why I was doing it. The Ultimate Beginners Course helped me understand the process, It gave me the confidence to use my camera properly and consistently get half decent images.  Each week Mike would send the next part of the course as a video along with worksheets that we could use and encourage us to practice, practice, practice.

By the time I had come to the end of the course I was able to think a lot more quickly as I framed a composition. I was able to put in place the knowledge of how my camera functions, how and when to change the iso, shutter speeds and aperture without taking my camera away from my eye. The minutiae of detail that once had me triping myself up was now in order. I finally had structure to my photography and I began to make progress at last.

I spent a year or so making good progress, putting the knowledge I had learned from the course to good use. As I had been shooting both film and digital I found myself being more capable at switching from my Nikon D90 to my Pentax SP500 and vice versa. As my camera collection has grown I have definitely been able to pick any of them up and be ready to take a photo much quicker than I had before I took the course, I even began taking the odd decent photo with my phone camera too. Mike's excellent teaching skills had been the difference.

I am currently on the next phase of Mike's  courses, The 7 Building Blocks Of Photography where Mike breaks down the 7 things all photographers need in their quest to take perfect pictures. Mike has a saying, "Camera's dont take perfect pictures, you do!" and he proves it in the 7 Building Blocks Of Photography course. I am learning more about thinking as a photographer and how to get that perfect shot not just occasionally, but time after time after time. I am making more progress and it is all thanks to the excellent teaching from Mike Browne. Check out Mike's website https://www.photographycourses.biz/ where you will find all his courses and a wealth of knowledge he has built up over the years.

Before you go, take a look at some photo's I took on the last weekend in May as I took advantage of my exercise allowance and paid another visit to the local farm. I took these images on my Nikon D700, a christmas present to myself in 2018/19 that is inspiring me to improve. I will speak more of it next time.

High contrast of light and shade in the evening sun

A quick drink to help digest it's evening meal

It hasn't rained for a while, the horses need succulent green grass

One of the residents enjoying a good munch on the grass

It might be a dead tree, but it comes alive in the evening sun

It's not a bad road to wander down in the evening sunshine

I liked the sunlight and shadows pattern on this plough

The low light capabilities of my camera were tested with this image

A busy bee on his evening duties

Evening sunshine produces golden tones

More even tones in mid afternoon earlier in May

I keep coming back to the farm for views like this, it's mesmerising