Ever since I was little I have enjoyed taking photographs.
Initially encouraged by both my grandfather and father, I have rarely been far away from a camera or two or three.
I can still remember being allowed to carry my father’s camera around on holiday when I was very young. I was taught how to use it, being allowed to focus the lens, set the aperture then cock and press the shutter. It never occurred to my five year old self that to begin with there was no film in the camera. I just loved pressing that shutter.
And so it continued until one day there was a film in the camera and MY photos were proudly displayed in the album next to my father’s. They were black and white “12 on” a roll square photos, displayed in traditional albums that had proper corner hinges and semi-transparent tissue paper protecting the pages from sticking together when the album was closed.
Colour transparency slides followed when my Boots Bierrette camera appeared for my birthday. This was a little manual camera that I used with Dad’s incident light meter and loaded with Kodachrome 64. The films were lovingly packaged off to Hemel Hempstead to be developed and returned in the post a few days later. Perutz film was later discovered (along with Agfa) and the slides were projected onto a screen with my newly acquired Prinz Projector. Ah film! Those were the days. There was nothing quite like the anticipation of waiting to see if your photos had come out properly, as if by some magic trick of the light.
So now it’s the digital age of course. I must say I never saw it coming, but it is wonderful and I still get to press that shutter!
However there it is, the camera that started it all. Dad’s Agifold 120 camera…. and he even kept the box!
Welcome to “My World Through My Camera”.
Copyright
Diana Marshall-Kay LL.B (Hons)
Diskay Photography
&
Diana Marshall-Kay (Diskay Photography) on Youtube
***All Rights Reserved***