subscribe 0330 333 1113I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI 12 October 2019 55
EricBegbie,
WestYorkshire
In1958,aged13,I soldmyelectric
trainsetandboughta HalinaA1TLR
cameraanda GnomeBetaII
enlarger.Atthesametime,I askedmy
mothertocancelmyweeklydelivery
of theEaglecomicfromthe
newsagentandsubstituteit with
AmateurPhotographer. Sincethen,
I havebeenhooked.
In theearlydays,myinterestin
photographywaspredominantly
scientificandtechnical,ratherthan
artistic.Then,in themiddleyears,it
waspractical– illustratingmybooks
andthethousandsof magazine
articlesI wrote.It wasonlywhenI went
digital,around2008,thatI developed
anappreciationof thecreativesideof
thecraft.It wasthenthatI firstjoined
cameraclubsandphotographic
societies– somethingI regretnot
doing 40 yearsearlier,asthey,along
with AP, are the lifeblood of our hobby.GraemeYoungson,
Aberdeen
Asa ‘notsoold’67-year-
old,I guessI don’tqualify
astheoldestorlongest-
servingreaderof AP.
HoweverI havebeen
readingAPforabout 45 yearsand
I havecometoregardit asa close
friendandguideonmyphotographic
journey.It wasmydadwhofirstgot
meinterestedin photography.WhenI
wasa teenagerhetaughtmehowto
developblack& white 120 films
(fromtheboxcamerahegaveme)
andthentoconvertthemintosquare
contactprints.
It wastoAPthatI turnedforfurther
guidanceonbasicallyeverythingelse.
RonSpillmantaughtmethebasicsof
printingphotos.APintroducedmeto
a rangeof documentaryandstreet
photographers– IanBerry,Don
McCullin,WilliamKlein,RobertFrank
tonamea few– thatinspireda
life-longinterestin street
photography,andtheadsyouranin
whichDonMcCullinextolledthe
virtuesof thediminutiveOlympus
OM-2inspiredmetobuyoneasmy
firstseriouscamera.
I thinkAPis somuchbetter
thanitsmonthlyrivals,covering
photographyin suchdepthanda far
widerrangeof subjectmatter. Long
maythiscontinue.BrianHHolmes,
Wok i n g
I’vebeena ‘happy
snapper’anda regular
readerof APsincethe
late1960s.I’veevenhad
a pictureortwopublished
(thelatestbeingin Damien
Demolder’sAppraisalin AP9 April
2016).I’vealwaysfounda good
varietyof subjectmatterin the
magazinewhichcapturesmyinterest.
I’mstillsnappingawayhavinggone
froma Prinzflex 500 throughmany
CanonSLRs,andnowontoa
PanasonicLumixFZ1000. Keep up
thegreatwork.RayFlynn, Wexford,
Ireland
IhavebeenbuyingAP
sincetheearly1960s,
andI stillbuyit each
week.I havealwaysfound
it veryinterestingoverthe
years.I havespentmyworkinglife
involvedin photographyasbotha
professionalandalsoteaching
photography.I amnowin mymid-70s
andstillshooting– andI stilllook
forwardtogettingAPwhenit hits the
shelves every Wednesday.PaulCarwardine,Essex
Iam82,a retiredveterinarysurgeonandcurrentlydo
voluntaryworkfortheNHSin ourlocalhospitalgroup,
althoughI havehadtostoptellingpeoplethattheycalledin
vetstohelpoutduringthejuniordoctors’strike.Some
actuallybelievedme!
I havebeenreadingAPonandoffforalmost 70 years,
startingwithmyfather’scopy.Therewasnocolourin those
daysbarthebluecover.I recallreadingtheonce-a-year
listingof availablecamerasandlustingfora LeicaIII –
sadlynotfeasibleona 14-year-old’spocketmoney.
LikewisetheVictorBlackmancolumnsalmosttemptedme
toconsiderpressphotographyasa career but, like the
Leica, that was never realised.
MichaelJMills,Gloucestershire
Inearly1950,I leftschoolandstartedworkingin the
laboratoryof thelocalPlasticsCompany.Therewere
severalkeenphotographersworkingin thelabandasa
bonustherewasa fullyequippeddarkroom,plusallthe
chemicalsneeded.I wasintroducedtoAPbyoneof the
teamandstartedtobuymycopywheneverI hadenough
cash,as£25sdidnotgoveryfarafterI haddeductedall
myexpenses.
A coupleof yearslaterI wasservingin theRAFand
startedreadingeveryissue,especiallybecauseI had
obtaineda newEnsign16/20camerawhichwasa bigstep
upfrommyverybasic‘CoronetCub’camera.I finally
switchedto35mm.I stillpreferfilmbecause,at nearly 87
now,it wouldnotbeeconomicaltoreplacemyOlympus
equipmentwithequivalentdigitalmodels.ButI doalsohave
a verybasicdigitalbridgecamera.AsI amnotsatisfiedwith
thequalityof scannedblack& white prints I am currently
reinstalling my darkroom!
TJohnFoster,
Staffordshire
MyloveaffairwithAPstartedin 1957
witha familyfriend’spass-me-down
copy.Withgrowinginterestandmy
ownmoney,theregularflowstartedin
1962.And 62 yearslaterI’mstillas
keenasevertoreceivemyreading
treat.QuitehowmuchI owetoAPfor
itseducationalandmotivational
qualitiesis hardtomeasure.
WhenI’maskedwhyI’vestuckwith
APforsolong,myansweris always
thesame.It educates,entertainsand
excelsat presentinganattractivemix
of topicsforallskilllevels.APhas
neverbeenboringoroutof touch.A
pitythatcan’tbesaidaboutitsrivals.
ThankyouAP,froma committedfan.
And a better photographer for it.OUR READERS