I had my first camera when I was 12 years old. It was a Brownie 127 and when I look at some of the pictures taken with it, they are very sharp and clear. The only problem was it didn’t have a flash.

 

The next move up was a Kodak Instamatic, which had a flashcube on top, which turned round after each flash until all four were used. It took a 110 film so had very small square negatives. I used these cameras for many years until at the end of the 1970s I bought a hardly used Olympus OM1. It was totally manual which made me think when I took photographs. Not like now where it is so easy to just set to Auto.

 

A few years later I acquired a second hand Olympus OM40. Much the same as the OM1 but with a lot more automatic settings. I used one for prints and the other for slides right up until the digital era. I loved both of those cameras and still have them tucked away.

 

I joined Selsey Camera Club after moving down from London in 1988. It was great fun as we had lots of outside competitions with other clubs. We had a coach trip every summer and various walks and car outings. 

 

Several of the other members also belonged to Chichester Camera Club, and I was persuaded to join too. In those days the Chichester Club had a lot of social groups, so I was kept very busy between the two clubs.

When I look back over the years it is very sad to realise that Peter Clark and myself are the only two members of that era still at the club.

 

If you could photograph anything what would it be?

I would love to have the perfect picture of a baby bird being fed.

 

Since joining the camera club what have you learned that you didn’t know before?

I have learned to set my pictures up before I press the button, even before I put the viewfinder to my eye.

I always imagine what the judge would say when I compose my pictures.

 

What is it you like about taking photographs?

I love taking photographs because it is capturing a moment that will never come again. In candid pictures you are sharing a moment in somebody’s life forever and will never know what happens afterwards to that person.

Photographs can be a very happy memory that you can keep forever.