From 1978 until about 2002, I used analogue film cameras – initially a secondhand Praktica Nova B SLR with a standard Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm f2.8 lens and secondhand budget 135mm lens. In 1979 I purchased a Nikon FE with standard Nikon 50mm f1.8 lens, followed by a Nikon 24mm f2.8 and a Tamron SP Adaptall 70-200mm f3.5 lens. In 1986 I also bought and used a Nikon FE2 until about 2002.
Most of my early images were taken either on Ilford FP4 (ISO-125) or Ilford Pan F (ISO-50) film often developed by myself, or Kodachrome 25 or 64 (ISO-25 and ISO-64).
In 2000 I started to go digital initially using a 2.4MP Canon DIGITAL IXUS before purchasing a 5MP Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717. This was superseded in about 2008 by a Nikon D300 (12.3MP) with a Nikon f2.8 17-55mm lens and a Nikon f2.8 70-200mm lens. In 2014 I also started using a Nikon D800 (36.3MP) along with a Nikon f2.8 24-70mm lens, with the later addition in 2020 of a Nikon f2.8 14-24mm lens.
In 2022 I added a second full-frame body in the shape of a Nikon D850 (45.7MP), with an amazingly powerful high resolution sensor capable of recording detailed imagery in pin sharp detail and clarity in low-light conditions, even at speeds of up to ISO 25,600.
Any analogue images on this website will have been digitally copied using a Nikon ES-2 slide and negative holder mounted on a Nikon 60mm f2.8 macro lens and a Nikon D800 or more likely a Nikon D850 body. I am illuminating the slide or negative with a single Neewer ZC-10S LED panel, which has a colour temperature of 5,600K. The D850 has in-built firmware that can automatically reverse the polarity in-camera to output the image as a positive JPG image.
I normally acquire my images simultaneously in RAW and Nikon’s Fine JPG★ modes, and edit from the RAW files keeping the JPG images for quick review. (If you are unsure of the difference between RAW and JPG image format files here is a link to explain it all: RAW vs JPG) My digital editing process has evolved over the years as I have become more proficient and also as I have gained access to different software.
Currently I do most of my standard editing from RAW using Nikon’s freely downloadable NX Studio software, and finish off with a few tweaks using Adobe Photoshop. However in the past I have also used Nik software, particularly for conversion to monochrome. For HDR imaging I tend to use Aurora HDR software, although that is being discontinued as I write (in 2023) and being replaced with LuminarNeo software.
For preparation of images for loading to this website, I have started to use XnConvert, extremely useful and powerful software that is freely downloadable, and excellent for optimising image file quality at a reduced image size to enable fast page downloads for internet browsing. I am currently also experimenting with RawTherapee and GIMP software for editing, both of which are also freely downloadable.