My Journey Into Photography: Ilford HP5

This week I wanted to document the ongoing demolition work of The Galleries Shopping Mall in Wigan Town Center, but wasn't sure of what camera to use. After a bit of a think I decided to go for my Olympus OM-10 and Zuiko 50mm f/1.8 I had recently bought from Ffordes Photographic, an excellent new and used camera gear retailer based in Scotland.

I still have gear for beginners firmly in my mind after spending quality time enjoying photography walks with my Grandsons over the summer holidays. The Olympus OM-10 with Zuiko 50mm f/1.8 was a popular beginners camera back in the 70's and 80's, and I went for Ilford HP5, the ubiquitous learners film in schools and colleges all around the UK.

I have been very impressed with my OM-10 since my dear friend Gren gave it to me earlier in 2023. The Aperture Priority mode and light meter built into the OM-10 are both outstanding and I took full advantage of them to make life easier as I wandered about Wigan on a Sunday morning. When faced with quickly changing light conditions, aperture priority is the perfect choice.

I spent around half an hour taking photos from the few vantage points around the demolition works where you can see how far the demolition has come and how far it has to go. I hadn't been into town for a couple of weeks and I could see the progress that has been made despite it looking like not a lot is happening.

As part of the demolition as much material as possible is being recycled, metal and concrete are separated before being loaded into trucks and taken away. Whilst it takes a lot longer to demolish a building this way, it reduces the amount that goes to landfill sites.

I got a few shots before I had to head to Wigan North Western railway station as I had a meet up in Manchester with my Daughter and I figured I would get the rest of my film shot when I returned. My plan didn't happen and I had to wait for a week before I could get to Wigan town centre again.

The following Saturday I headed into town and took my camera with me. One big change I noticed right away was the Atrium of The Galleries has gone forever. The huge glass skylight ensured there was a lot of natural light in the Atrium area and It was popular with folks who wanted a sit down on the benches and chat to friends and family.

The Atrium was also the home of the big ornate clock that hung from the rafters and I have no idea what happened to it. I hope it was removed for re-use somewhere else in Wigan. It was a big expense at the time and I really hope it hasn't been scrapped along with the rest of the metal fixtures and fittings in the building.

I took a few photos around the site before heading off around the town centre to visit some old haunts and it didn't take me long to finish my 24 shot roll of Ilford HP5. I spent the rest of my time in town doing a bit of shopping before heading home.

Later that evening I developed my roll of Ilford HP5 in Zone Imaging 510 Pyro for 8.5 minutes at 20 celcius. Ilfo-Stop and Fotospeed FX-30 fixer finished it off and I soon had my film hanging to dry in my bathroom. I was quite pleased with the density of the negatives and it gave me confidence I would get a few decent shots from it.

After letting it dry overnight, I scanned it the next day with my trusty Ion Slides2PC 35mm scaner and edited the photos with Affinity Photo 2. To be honest I didn't have to do too much editing, just remove dust spots and scratches. Aperture Priority on Olympus OM cameras is outstanding and I didn't have to do much more than that to make them presentable.

I am happy to recommend the Olympus OM10 to a beginner or newcomer to film photography, it's a very easy camera to live with. The controls are simple to use and even the manual adapter is fine to get along with.

When new the OM-10 came supplied with the Zuiko 50mm f/1.8 lens as standard. These days we would call it a kit lens, but don't let that name fool you into thinking it's not a very good lens. On the contrary it is an outstanding 50mm prime lens and doesn't cost much compared to similar offerings from Nikon, Canon et al.

I used both manual and aperture priority modes whilst shooting this roll of film and I soon got used to it. I really enjoy using the camera and it wont be long before I use it again. If you fancy owning one you can usually find them on sale at Ffordes for a reasonable price. You can visit Ffordes and check out their excellent range of new and used cameras via the link below.

Here's a few of my photos documenting the changes here in Wigan and as always I have placed them and more in an album on Flickr you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed taking them.

FFordes Photographic
Ilford HP5 - Olympus OM10