When I commandeered my first camera, my Granny's Junior 620 Box Brownie, there was little choice. I bought Kodak Verichrome Pan film and the chemist had it processed and printed to En-print size. As a 9-year-old I could afford one film a year on holiday, maybe two, with just 8 shots per film. Things moved along as I got older and I splashed out £6.50 for a 35mm format Halina 35, complete with its almost immovable controls, no meter and really everything pretty much stacked against me. My first darkroom livened things up a bit and I moved to a 35mm rangefinder - the Konica Auto S2. Getting better all the time.
But my photography clicked in when I moved to SLR cameras. First of all the Zenit B, but eventually my first Pentax, the SP1000 with a Super Takumar 55mm f2 lens. Never looked back after that, and a whole new world opened up, one with endless information to find and with endless skills to strive for. We never learn everything there is to learn about photography, but we do get better.
So today I'm going to look at some scans of early camera club prints, made after I joined ADAPS about a million years ago. All monochrome as few people could afford the time or cost of producing colour.
Alison
Donna
Elise
Elizabeth
Kelly
Sarah
Anglesey Cottages
Derelict Farmhouse
Evening at Arneside
Leuven Town Hall
The Meeting