Updated 31-01-12

I am a very keen amateur photographer and I have been ever since I was about 8yrs old when my late father Norman first let me loose on his camera gear, he along with his best friend Cyril took many photos in the West Yorkshire area (Then known as the West Riding) sadly however most of his work was lost whilst moving house and this is something that I sadly regret.

I was born in 1959 and growing up in the 1960's was very enlightening, It was a time of change and a time of discovery both technological and moral and as we approached the 70's "my most fomative years" the country was in turmoil. Being an only child I was spoilt to a certain extent and my time spent with my parents was educational and informative.




My Mum (Edith) and Dad (Norman) on their wedding day.

Mum (Edith) was a very good homemaker she was one of thirteen children so she knew how to respect the little we had at the time, she looked after me very well, my father (Norman) worked in engineering, first of all at a company called Bradley and Craven and then later on for boilermakers Spurr and Inman who were taken over by Greens on Calder Vale Road in Wakefield.

I took a keen interest in news and current affairs and photography was a natural progression. I often went out on my own taking photo's of what I thought were interesting subjects, and that has rubbed off on me in later life.

My camera at that time was a little Halina 35mm, I used to take it everywhere with me, I would then rush back home blank out the bathroom window put a board on the bath and set up my fathers darkroom equipment which consisted of a Gnome enlarger an home made safety light made out of an old contact print box and several dishes with home made heaters, IE light bulbs sealed into old biscuit tins.




My Old Halina 35mm Camera

I only dabbled in Black and White I just didnt have the money for colour in those days. I would hang the strips of negatives to dry on a piece of string fastening them with bulldog clips one at the top and one at the bottom for weight.

Once dried i would load up the enlarger and print my photo's I can almost smell the Hypo (Fixer) now.

That was then this is now.......

I got married then divorced !!, photography was put on the back burner for many years, but being single again has re-awakened my passion for photography and it takes up a lot of my spare time.



Wakefield Cathedral and City Centre from Clarence Park

I will photograph just about anything and I am always on the lookout for a good photo opportunity, When I first started on Flickr I had a Fuji S9500 bridge camera that did some great macro work, I then moved on to an Olympus E420 before getting a Nikon D5000 with an 18-55mm and a 55-200mm Zoom along with a 50mm 1.8 very fast prime lens which I have just aquired and am very pleased with the results so far, having now upgraded to a Nikon D5100 I am really liking the results especially with my nature work, I invested in a Tamron 70-300mm with a macro facility which is great for birds and dragonflies as you dont have to get too close and risk spooking them.

Whilst still working on a budget I bought a Nikon 50mm Macro with true 1:1 ratio, the only downside is that you have to get real close to the subject which of course is ideal for one of my favourite subjects flowers.

My hometown is Wakefield in West Yorkshire and at the moment it is going through quite a bit of redevelopment, not all for the good either in my humble opinion, and I suppose that I am trying to preserve the past in some of my work by recording things that will sadly be no longer with us soon.



Sandal Castle just South of Wakefield at Sunset.

HDR
I really like to do HDR (High Dynamic Range) but it do not go in for the arty type of HDR which looks overprocessed and garish, I just like my pictures to look natural and use HDR to see into places not normally seen on a single exposure.

Please take a look at my photos any comments will be greatly appreciated (Good and Bad) but overall please enjoy the photos as it makes it all the more worthwhile.



Irises in Springtime taken at Thornes Park in Wakefield.

Recently I have become interested in Macro photography of still life subjects and also flowers, and as the seasons change there is a profusion of flowers available to photograph, to my utter joy and amazement a couple these have made it into Explore which of course is the Holy Grail of Flickr.




My first front page on Flickr, this was my 600th upload and the 50th photo to make explore.

BTW You can also find me on Facebook.
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