Back To Basics

 There comes a time in everyone's life when we have to take a step back and think about how we got to that point in our lives. Mine happened recently with the passing of my Mum on May 2nd aged 86 and I wasn't sure if I wanted to write about it. Then I looked back at my humble beginning as a Photographer and it was all thanks to my Mum.

I would not have my love of photography if Mum hadn't let me take one photo in the disgracefully early 1970's, of my brothers and sister, with her Kodak Instamatic that had a cube flash on top. Mum loved to take photos of us as we grew up, all proud parents are the same. We love to capture special memories like birthdays, christmas, summer in the garden and so on. 

We had moved into our home in Skelmersdale and Mum wanted a photo of us all together. I asked mum if I could take a photo and she was reluctant at first, but I persisted and she let me take the photo. Mum really wanted a special photo of all of us, but I remember saying to Mum "it's special because you let me take it." I still have that photo as I was entrusted with looking after our family photo archive when my Dad passed away. Now they are together again and I miss them both dearly.

Looking back, I didn't like being opposite the camera, but little did I know at that time that I would be very comfortable behind the viewfinder. In 2017 when I came back to film I bought a cheap Pentax SP500 with Helios 44m-4 58mm f/2 lens and I haven't regretted it. It was with my Mum in mind when I went for a walk a week after her passing and I loaded a roll of Ilford FP4+ 125 into my Pentax SP500, fitted my Industar 50-2 lens, which to be fair I haven't used for a long time, and went for a wander along the farm roads and nature trails.

It turned out to be a very cloudy day and I knew I had picked the wrong film and made an even worse decision by fitting a yellow filter, but I didn't care. I was thinking about my Mum as I walked and wasn't expecting to take any photos at all. I had also taken my Agfa Isolette as I hadn't finished my #FolderWeek film in it. I didn't get far when I saw the first mahoosive Tractor towing a big trailer loaded with freshly cut grass. I had to get to the fields and see if I could get some photos after all.

Every year I miss the harvest in Autumn, be it cereal crops or corn. This is the first time I have seen a silage harvest as it happened and I really enjoyed photographing the Tractors as they whizzed around the fields. Silage is grass that is cut and used to feed livestock. As we have seen over the last few years, a drought will stop grass from growing and grass is a much needed resource. 

I got through two thirds of my roll of FP4 in my Pentax before getting past the fields and headed on my way. It has been working beautifully since I invested in having it cleaned, lubricated and adjusted a couple of years ago. It had one test left and it came when it started to rain as I got to the paths that were resurfaced in 2024. 

I haven't used this camera in the rain and I was able to give the light meter a good work out as the sky darkened and I got under cover of the trees. I took the yellow filter off and was shooting with the lens at f/5.6 and the shutter speed as low as I dared to go hand held during the last part of my walk. It was a lesson in breathing like a sniper as I held still before releasing the shutter each time. 

I soon finished my roll of film and was able to put my camera in my hoodie pocket and zip up my leather jacket before the rain really started to come down harder and headed home. I needed this walk as it helped me gather my thoughts and think about my Mum. I also swear the rain made my jacket 10 pounds heavier.

I developed my roll of Ilford FP4+ 125 in Bellini Euro HC, 1+31 dilution B for 6 minutes at 20 celcius and soon had it hanging to dry in my bathroom. Once dry I digitised my film with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi 35mm film holder, Pixl-Latr and A5 sized led light pad. I processed the RAW files with Affinity Studio.

First impressions of my efforts on the day were better than expected. Yes, the yellow filter boosted the contrast when I really didn't need it, but I managed to get some half decent photos. I really didn't expect a slow film to produce the goods on a grotty day, but I underestimated the performance of my Pentax SP500 and Ilford's finest FP4+ 125. For the last half of my walk the setting I used was f/5.6 at 1/60th of a second and it worked! 

The lesson from this walk is have faith and trust in your skills. A few years ago I would have made a right mess of this roll of film. Now I am almost a decade more experienced and wiser, I had the confidence to go with it and just see what I could get. Here's a few favourites from my wander with a roll of Ilford FP4 in my Pentax SP500 on a grotty day in early May. I have placed them and more in a album on Flickr you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them

Ilford FP4 - Pentax SP500