With an interest in photography since 1973 Adrian has accumulated many not so brilliant photos. And some he likes. This is a place for a few of those.
He resisted the move to digital and stuck with three Pentax manual focus SLRs and a small selection of fast primes until early in the new millennium when a compact digicam came his way for free. Now located thousands of miles from his birthplace digital proved an easy way of getting pictures ‘back home’ to a wider family audience and he moved entirely to digital photography. Progressing through Fuji and Olympus digicams he made the upgrade to a dSLR in 2006 with a Nikon D80 and 18-200mm VR lens. A great combo, and many more photos were taken. Of course the proportion of ‘keepers’ fell rapidly and he filled up many hard drives. More recently a D200 and D40 and a move back to fast primes has rekindled his interest in trying to take a ‘good’ image to the extent that he has put down the digital bodies in favour of the discipline and quality that come with film, and in particular monochrome. Long live Ilford.
The current bodies of choice are all previously owned – Nikon F5 and F4 for the 35mm, and a Contax 645 for the 120 film. But it’s not about the gear, and all about what you do with it. I list the gear because people always ask; and because I think this is great engineering that can now be used again, and used well, for a fraction of its original cost.
The move to film has made him slow down, see more around him, and take time to try to make an image that says something. A particular project at present is Stow Lake, a favourite destination for tourists and locals alike in Golden Gate Park. There’s much to see there, and many opportunities for good images, especially those relying on textures.
This site will try to showcase what he thinks is worth seeing, with the aim of picking one image a day. There will be forays into the archives to drag some images out kicking and screaming into the light of day, as well as a few from the dSLRs, especially if on vacation.
Adrian Wadley, San Francisco, June 2010